PeteF3
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Everything posted by PeteF3
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Much more highspot-oriented than the August match, as they go almost immediately to the dives and only use matwork as sort of a comedown period. Benoit tries the diving legdrop that won him the title again, but misses and gets shooting star pressed to drop the title. About as crisp of a spotfest as you'll ever see with a better ending, at least, than the August title change. Liger shows himself to be a master of waiting until the last second to kick out, turning a few routine rollup spots into hot near-falls. -
Yeah, I was wondering why the IWGP Title match was going on before the juniors. Oh well, minor quibble. This did start slow and as a result I don't think it was as overall strong as their match from early in the year, but Choshu makes another great comeback that starts with a superplex. The series of lariats doesn't put Hash down the first time, and after a neat tease of Hash coming back but whiffing on a spin kick, one last Riki Lariat gets the win.
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I suspect that the date disconnects are continuing. Going by the commentary this match is clearly part of an already-ongoing feud, but the previous match actually seems to have more of a finality to it. That said, each match has had a different feel to it and even though this comes off as more of a table-setting match, it's a chance for Kid to shine working as a dominant heel--not easy when you're a scrawny 18-year old kid, but he pulls it off. Some of his legwork suffers from pretty wonky execution but this match layout as with the others is absolutely top-notch. Other than a few teases, Lynn is basically on defense from the knee injury on the plancha until the end, when the match is finally stopped. A lot of my match evaluations for either this or the '80s sets are based on expectations. I'm definitely a sucker for an unexpectedly good performance (John Studd in his one AWA appearance is the one that comes immediately to mind). So, I still think the first match (or first that we see) is the best of this program--I went in expecting a curiosity and got a MOTYC candidate. Now, fairly or not, I'm going in expecting to see MOTYCs which puts both guys in a corner already. But this is definitely another notch in the Kid's belt as a worker of great ring smarts on top of his copious athletic talent.
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As the match started I was actively looking for those SNME-ian spots and I honestly didn't see any. No regroups on the floor, no one coming to or leaving ringside, etc. I always thought the point of doing 2/3 falls tag matches on SNME was because those "breaks" were built right in. No need to cut to commercial anywhere except between falls which doubtless would have happened. You had those two awkward moments in the 3rd fall but I don't think those are enough to keep this from my WWF MOTYC, which would put the Rockers at 1-2 on that particular list. Even the criss-cross spot comes a little more like Bret the character saying, "Screw this running around shit, I'm going back to grinding things out." I'm fine with blown spots that still come off as logical in the context of the match and this was all about the Harts trying to negate the Rockers' quickness. I'm not sure if the work was quite as good overall but this was much, much more in tune with how a "teams on the same side" tag match is worked than Horsemen/Doom. Incidentally, this is the only 2/3 falls WWF match I've ever seen that went 1-1-1. Seemingly every other such match, the winning side lost the first fall and then won the next two. Seeing that pattern broken would have made this result quite the shock if I'd seen it in 1990.
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In that case, I suspect that the pressure would have gotten to the WWF to a greater degree and the angle would have gotten killed sooner than it actually did. I can easily see NBC deciding around April that with U.S. casualties mounting, either Slaughter would not be a part of any SNME or the program would go away permanently. That's the kind of consequence that would get the WWF to backtrack real quick.
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Funny you mention the crowd. It's struck me that the crowd has been quiet most of the night. Not just for the tag title match but for the Midnights as well. Not "heatless," per se, more of a "sit and watch intently" way, almost like a stereotypical Japanese crowd. They do pop for the stuff designed to get pops, so they're paying attention. Just not a lot of sustained volume. Sting works really, really hard here. The best way--maybe the only way--to get a good match out of Sid is to have him stand there like a brick wall and let a Sting or Shawn Michaels just bounce off of him repeatedly. This is not a great match and maybe the whole thing doesn't stand up, but the action we see here is pretty decent because of the match layout and Sting going balls-to-the-wall. I actually thought the Fake Sting was pretty well-executed at first. It's a complicated set-up as you have to get Sting and Sid to the back, but you just had a DCOR in a major match earlier so Ric and Arn need to be out to distract the ref. Then the camera keeps a wide shot on Windham so that it legitimately looks like it's the real Sting. Crowd certainly buys it, too. Then it falls apart as Barry runs away and the cameras miss Sting confronting him in the aisle. Setting off the fireworks and balloons was kind of a clever touch, but since when do they set off balloons and fireworks for heel title victories? The fake Sting is so convincing that the crowd seems to have no clue at all what's supposed to be going on as looking closely at most of the reactions, they clearly thought it was a legit title change. I like the idea and parts of the execution, but Windham needed to hang around at ringside longer so everyone could get to see the real Sting confront him. This was a case of booking to a TV audience at the expense of the live crowd, and it showed.
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I didn't mind Spivey's appearance by itself, particularly with Paul E. mentioning their partnership in Japan. Ross completely shitting all over Paul E.'s "clean in the middle" declaration did bother me. The cowbell didn't factor into the finish one iota, so shut the fuck up JR. This was good action from what we saw and a rather shocking conclusion to Luger's epic reign as U.S. Champion. He'd held the belt for 18 months and done two full turns in one title reign, which might be a pre-2000 record.
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Crowd isn't quite sure how to react to this with Doom working as babyfaces, but...well, every tag match on this show has topped the last one. Yes, I liked this better than Steiners/Nasties and I REALLY liked that match. Teddy Long gets a nice moment to shine earlier when he slaps Flair in a classic "Oh no you DIDN'T" moment even if it's a heelish act that undermines the attempted story of the match. Simmons works a surprisingly good FIP that makes me at least understand the decision to push him as a babyface even if the consensus is that Doom was broken up prematurely. Ric and Arn are awesome at cut-offs and working around the referee, and the finishing stretch is super-hot with a stunning array of false finishes. The DCOR...eh. The U.S. tag title bout proved that you can build anticipation to a rematch even with a clean pinfall, but it does set up the Street Fight stip nicely. Easily the best Doom match on the Yearbook.
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This was very much organized chaos if you want to describe it as such. Not to go all Ross here but he and Paul E. did a great job of getting over their "game plan"--isolate Scott and work over the back that got slammed onto the table. Scott works a pretty impressively long FIP with some teases and cut-offs before making the hot tag and then we get several more minutes of action after that. One thing that must be said in credit to both teams is that for their sloppy, bullying tendencies, neither team at least at this point was remotely concerned about taking everything in return that they dished out. Both teams brutalize the other with chairshots and Knobbs almost dies on a scary ending Frankensteiner. The other thing that jumps out watching this is just how much offense the Nasties were capable of, Saggs in particular. Without noting everything I counted a pumphandle slam, a gutwrench, a Boston crab, an attempted superplex, and a Cactus Jack-esque kneedrop to the floor. And the "restholds" were all consistent with working over the back. Honestly, give full credit to the Nasty Boys for structuring this properly...not something many match reviewers have ever said, I'm sure. The Nasties get pushed hard after the match. Rick gets destroyed immediately after the match and then later Scott is cutting a promo when he's leveled by the tray of a snack vendor who turns out to be Jerry Sags. Did they have a fake vendor costume that they brought with him knowing that this situation was a possibility? Seems like a fairly well-laid-out plan by the Nasties' standards. Knobbs promises that the war is not over. I would fully approve of this, but sadly WCW's shortage on guaranteed contracts would mean that it pretty much was.
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Sting legitimately sounds like he's on something--indeed, the precise opposite of the "tunnel vision" he talks about. Scorpion does a birthday party-level magic trick with a female crew member and sets off a random fireworks display. An absolutely asinine segment on every conceivable level.
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Gibson is still being acknowledged on the pre-match interview, having been allegedly put out of action by the Freebirds. Between Rich & Morton here and seemingly everyone decked out in the stuff on USWA television, leather jackets were apparently the ultimate "in" thing in October of 1990. This show is notable in my mind for having probably the ugliest ring ever put together for a major promotion. Morton works the whole first portion of the match, taking on both Midnights before an awkward turnaround moment on the floor where everyone looks uncharacteristically lost. Paul E. covers by noting Rich and Morton's lack of experience as a team. Eaton continues to be an absolute terror, doing a Rocket Launcher onto the ramp and busting out a DIAMOND CUTTER of all things. Then he launches himself into the ringpost and takes a huracanrana on the floor. Cornette absolutely murders Rich with a racket shot, but the Southern Boys dressed as nerdier versions of Cornette allow Rich to recover the racket and clobber Lane with it for the pin. Have to say that for all the talk about this being the "final chapter" in the feud, however ill-fated it may have been by the Gibson injury, you'd think they could at least allow Morton to get the winning fall. Not quite as good as the other two big-show matches between the MX and R'nRs, but a worthy final chapter for the Midnights in general, as sad as it will be to bid them farewell. Part of me is starting to wish that, however watered down they may have ended up, the WWF had gone after them instead of the Nasty Boys.
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Next to "guy leaving ring meets guy approaching ring in aisleway," the old Unannounced Random Award Ceremony is probably my least-favorite angle set-up in wrestling. Dennis Brent stiffly talks about the Southern Boys' popularity and hospital visits. By this point even the densest mark has to be able to see what's coming. First we get extended clips of the Southern Boys upsetting the Midnights on television months earlier. Cornette comes out to rant, but successfully talks Steve out of clocking him--not befitting of a "good citizen," and besides he's wearing glasses! Steve settles for pushing Cornette on his "big fat ass" instead. Cornette was good as usual but this was overall pretty lame. I suppose this served as a distraction from the fact that Robert Gibson was out and we wouldn't be getting MX/R'nRs at Havoc.
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Scientific match, as Ken Wayne sits in on commentary. He calls it fairly straight-laced but takes some passive-aggressive shots at Davis a few times, saying he taught him certain things and saying Joey Maggs "needs all the help he can get." Some fun perfunctory scientific work until Davis is jumped by Doug Gilbert, while Jarrett is beaten down by Eddie & Lowe, and he gets yellow spraypainted down his back. Ken Wayne sadly has to make an emergency bathroom run and is unable to intervene. Jarrett has improved on the mic but clearly isn't on the level of the best talkers in the territory, which are numerous. Ken can just barely be seen in camera range pointing and laughing at Jarrett's paint job while his promo is going on.
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SHEIK FABIANO. Fabulous. Jamie already has a nifty finish in his holster, using Bill's aid to climb down Fabiano's back from a fireman's carry and sunset flipping him for the pinfall. But the babyfaces pay for it afterward. Bill gets handcuffed to the ropes while Jamie gets busted open and salt/powder thrown into his eyes. We even get video distortion on Jamie's face to sell this further. Dundee introduces a home video and Jamie either authentically had the shit beaten out of him or has a great make-up job, as he looks like he's been through a car wreck as he barely is able to mouth words of revenge through a swollen jaw. Bill goes from somber to fired-up and furious. The Internationals will be taking on Bill Dundee, Chris Champion, and Dick Murdoch! A babyface dream team...er, of sorts. Dundee continues to rant and the studio is EERILY silent.
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Gilbert vs. Jarrett from the MSC ends in a bloody pull-apart, and this week Gilbert is, for the first time in his career, putting his hair on the line vs. Jarrett's Southern title. Gilbert says that with the new decade, he'll be the new King of Memphis by taking the Southern title, long thought to be Jerry Lawler's belt. Then he accuses Dave Brown of getting extra pay-offs from Jerry Jarrett for toeing the company line about Jeff Jarrett and Jerry Lawler, and Brown yanks the mic away and actually cuts a killer promo of his own describing the difference in how Jarrett and Gilbert both grew up. Dave is awesome.
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Travel can grind on Jerry Lawler, but as long as the wrestling is fun he's going to hang in there as long as he can. I wonder if he had 2012-13 in mind at the time. Lawler hypes up a wrestling hotline--get his thoughts on Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan! Leave messages! Wrestling hotlines weren't the scam of the year, ALL hotlines were the scam of the year. I remember them being absolutely ubiquitous at this time, wrestling-related or not. Thank God for the interwebs. Sadly we don't get to see Lawler take on M.C. Slammer.