PeteF3
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Everything posted by PeteF3
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A top 3 U.S. MOTY, maybe #1. Not much else to add but it's incredible how much more over the Southern Boys were than the two former World Champions and national stars in the previous bout. A testament to great tag work and to the Midnights & Cornette as well. Some of the greatest southern tag near-falls you'll ever see mark the end of this one: both tag finishes AND a babyface switcheroo attempt before a well-timed Lane enzuigiri allows Eaton to eke out a victory. -
I know this match primarily for Jim Ross making one of the all-time great announcer saves, in regards to Race's crown gear, speculating that Harley must be a fan of the Sacramento Kings. Actually JR, I think he'd be a Royals fan. This is a pretty impressive bomb-throwing sprint albeit with a marked lack of heat. Race throws some wicked clotheslines in addition to his usual arsenal and surprises me by rolling through a cross body to get a clean pin.
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Great Austin promo, though not really one they really should have been running considering the TV situation as he regrets not breaking every bone in Toni's body and promises to put her and Chris in wheelchairs. Jeannie has some good lines and tells Craig Johnson to stop looking down her dress, but she sort of goes off the rails and starts rambling as this segment anticlimactically peters out.
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Jarrett and Travis are hyping an upcoming tag match against Devastation (is the "Inc." gone now?) when suddenly Iceman King Parsons crashes the area. Iceman is upset that Jarrett has a job with the USWA and he doesn't, and eventually security and John Brazelle escort him away from the ring area in a fairly intense scene. Later on Iceman, even though he was supposedly arrested for trespassing, crashes the area again after a Jarrett squash and another shoot-style fight takes place on the floor. Now Iceman is taken out in handcuffs as Jarrett threatens John Brazelle that if he doesn't get a match with Parsons, he quits. It's a re-do of the initial Lawler/Snowman angle but this doesn't really measure up. It's not a total failing because we're talking about the Angle of the Year, but the attempts at shoot/spontaneity fall pretty flat. The camera catches Parsons right as he makes his entrance and there are a lot of convenient reaction shots, though everybody plays their role well. Furthermore, while Snowman was only known to listeners of local black radio or readers of black newspaper coverage in Memphis, the Iceman is a longtime Sportatorium staple and the crowd is clearly excited and happy to see him back. The second segment comes off much better. We again get a convenient camera shot of the Iceman's entrance but the intensity is upped a bit with some very good use of selective bleeping. Still, Snowman's intentions were clear from the get-go ("The USWA is racist") while Iceman's issues with Jarrett seem more personal and I'm having some trouble grasping each guy's motivation. Hopefully some backstory is spelled out going forward. For a guy who was almost a clown act for most of his career, whether babyface or heel, Iceman does make for a good thug troublemaker.
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Tatum, for once, delivers an intense, heated promo. Tessa is like the women he used to pick up in bars: at 8 o'clock she looked good, at 10 o'clock she looked great, at midnight she was a goddess, and when he woke up at 10 the next day she was a dog! Great interview. A first-blood match for Friday's Sportatorium card is hyped. Dundee rebuts in a taped segment.
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Sting (in a "NO JUICE - JUST GENETICS" shirt) and Flair go back and forth on the mic as Gordon Solie vainly attempts to keep the peace. Flair is a supreme asshole here, calling the fans idiots and trying to bully Solie around. I approve. Ole comes out and he and Flair make as though they're about to put a beatdown on Sting and this segment awkwardly falls apart, as it appears someone has missed a cue. FINALLY El Gigante comes out and Ole shuts up. Sting gets some last words in and Flair goes into his psycho mode in response. Bad timing aside I liked this segment more than Loss. Ole stooging is fun because it's so rare and Flair really carried everything else.
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Solid tag match that ends with Lawler & Dundee coming in with a baseball bat and trash can respectively to put a beatdown on the DWBs. Anthony charges the interview set after the break and makes threats for Monday night towards the babyfaces. Anthony's delivery is there but he's still not as polished on the mic as he would become later. Eddie Gilbert is AGHAST at having to wake up early to come to the studio for his check only to find that he's not getting it. He delivers an ominous warning that if he doesn't get his money, someone's getting hurt Monday night or next Saturday morning. In lieu of a second fall we get another promo from Downtown Bruno while the Wild Things pose. This is actually one of the better Bruno promos I've heard but it's drowned out by the "Get bucked" chant. Bruno's "It's like mama said..." catchphrase is over enough that the crowd sings along with it.
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Gilbert again daydreams as Bill Dundee gets attacked by the Dirty White Boys. As Tessa pleads with him to help, Gilbert throws her to the floor, which brings out Lawler who decks Gilbert and then makes the save. Dundee withdraws his offer to Gilbert and Lawler agrees to take his place. Another hot segment and I get that this was just a way to get Gilbert back into the territory, but dammit, I wanted to see that tag match. I think, as inevitable as it was, that the Gilbert turn could have waited for a week or two.
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A lot to digest here. Bill Dundee pins Tony Anthony in an MSC match but gets destroyed by Anthony, the Dirty White Girl, and John Tatum after the match. Kimberly lays in some pretty weak shots with a whip before getting run off to the back by Tessa in a catfight that isn't nearly as intense as the ones between Jeannie and Toni. Dundee is repeatedly spike piledriven in a beatdown that lasts longer than the announced time of the match. Dundee and Tessa are out for a promo and I'm not a big fan of Dundee strutting around like nothing's happened. That's the kind of shit Cena got criticized for on Monday. His promo is pretty great, as he announces he's paid $5,000 to make a Deal with the Devil: "Hot Stuff" Eddie Gilbert is back in Memphis. Gilbert is the "best friend that money can buy" and touches on his past history with Tatum from the UWF. Tessa actually gets mic time, but DWB and Kimberly come out for an attack. Dundee and Tessa get abused while Eddie Gilbert stands there. He was paid to wrestle on Monday night, not help in the studio or even team with Dundee on television. He generously offers to stand in Dundee's corner, because that's free. Really great segment that gear-shifted multiple times in ways that only happen in Memphis. Intriguing tag match to come as Gilbert promised he wouldn't turn because of the payoff, and I actually believe him at least for this week.
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Lawler finally gets to the bottom of what the hell the crowd has been chanting all these weeks. I too thought it was "kick butt." Clips from the MSC--Lawler has declared that he's through with managers, but Downtown Bruno appointed himself to be in Lawler's corner that night. Lawler and Snowman work a fully pro-style match at least that we see. Snowman saves himself with the ropes on one pin attempt, but when Lawler does the same, Bruno shoves the foot off and Snowman retains the title. Lawler makes threats to both Snowman and Bruno, which draws Bruno out along with Jeff Gaylord and Scott Braddock, the Wild Things. Lawler is told to leave and casually walks away as Bruno makes threats towards Rex King & Joey Maggs and declares the Wild Things the "Tag Team of the '90s"--I'm sure. Lawler just as casually walks back to the set...with a baseball bat. The heels take off and Lawler finishes up. Fun segment. Lawler as a babyface once again is a breath of fresh air and even Bruno and Gaylord were pretty good for the time they were out there.
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Vince hilariously dumps on a fat woman in the crowd. "Think there's any relation?" once it cuts to Brother Love. Love declares that world peace is a HOAX and declares Volkoff to be a traitor. Duggan comes out and welcomes Nikolai to the United States in the SPIRIT OF GLASNOST. Lame as hell--but wow, Brother Love was legitimately fantastic here.
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Zeus! In Puerto Rico! As a BABYFACE! Drawing "Zeus!" chants! This...is not the worst thing I've ever seen. It goes on way too long and they lose what's a genuinely hot crowd to start, but you can't fault these guys for lack of energy. Clearly Zeus was watered down in the WWF as Puerto Rico gave him some time to show off what he could do: swinging forearms, bearhugs, swinging forearms, chokes, selling, bearhugs, forearms, bearhugs, and bearhugs from the apron. And Abby charging a downed Zeus and eating a monkey flip = spot of the year.
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Yatsu's still around?? Wow, this is unexpected. This was slow going for awhile as we seemed to be retrogressing stylistically for awhile. Pretty telling that Jumbo has to work 85% of the match or more for his team. Kawada in addition to being tentative at times still hasn't quite decided if he wants to be a heavyweight or a flyer, though I'm just fine with Misawa & Kawada busting out the old Heavenly Bodies tag finish. Jumbo is awesome as grumpy-vet-in-peril down the stretch, eating doubleteams and giving Kawada a credible near-fall that realistically has no chance of happening but comes oh so close. Kawada counters one backdrop, but that indecisiveness about style actually pays off for the finish, as he's a bit too pokey climbing the turnbuckles and eats a backdrop superplex for the pin. This picked up in a hurry, though the writing is on the wall that Jumbo is going to need a new partner sooner than later.
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Tony Falk quickly breaks up the opening brawl, declaring that this is going to be a straight tag match. This descends into some pretty epic chinlockery on Austin's part, but the crowd goes nuts when Jeannie and Toni get tagged in. Hot post-match angle after a DCOR or DDQ or something, as Austin piledrives Adams on the floor as Jeannie works over Toni's injured ribs. Austin shoves Adams' carcass back into the ring and gives him another piledriver as Toni sends Jeannie out. Toni then sees Austin going to the top turnbuckle and dives on top of Chris to protect him, but Austin leaps off anyway and levels both Adamses with a splash. Jeannie's gloating over this is pretty great. Ft. Worth kicked the USWA off the air over this episode, and both instances were pretty gratuitous. Tatum's breakdown could have been handled another way (shoving Tessa would have gotten the point across) and there was nothing new to seeing Chris and Toni get destroyed again. This had great heat for the ladies and the beatdown was very well-done, but this was ultimately a disappointment for a match that had possibly the best build on the set to this point.
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Craig Johnson teases a Tessa heel turn, as they push that it's ambiguous where her heart lies. After pleading for her return before the match Tatum mostly wrestles on the level with a minimum of shtick. Tony Falk gets in the way of two big Dundee offensive moves, allowing Tatum to roll him up and yank the tights to regain the Southern title. Tatum again pleads with Tessa after the match and this time she emphatically tells him that she's never going back and that he's "sick." Then Tessa turns around and eats a SUPERKICK TO THE BACK OF THE FUCKING HEAD and gets laid out on the floor. A true holy shit moment that even gets Craig to stop cramming cutesy puns and transitions into his announcing for half a minute. This feud appears to be just heating up.
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Best "traditional" USWA-TX match (i.e., one that does not partially take place on a pick-up truck) of the year. Travis has maybe the greatest punch ever in wrestling, which covers a hell of a lot of ground--but he's at least in the conversation. He puts it to use here liberally, while both teams make a big deal about going after each other's eyes. I complained about the initial hot-sauce angle somewhat but they're really milking it to the hilt here and I approve. It's a total babyface carryjob but Falcone is at least competent at selling and Torres is able to give off a chicken-shit vibe that pays off at the finish. Jarrett figure-fours Torres after the match and tells him to deliver that message to Akbar. Really great, intense performance from both babyfaces carrying two anonymous loads to a fantastic match.
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Flair makes a Buddy Love-style entrance. Ole's just kind of there but Windham (rather surprisingly) and Arn (not so much) are fantastic, as is Flair. Curiously they seem to be hyping up "stipulations" as though the presence of the Dudes with Attitudes and the Ole handcuffing aren't supposed to be known yet--plus Sid is nowhere to be seen or mentioned.
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Kid blindsides Lynn with a chair during his entrance and this is another brutal fight between the two, foreshadowing ECW but seeming more like a hate-filled fight than an excuse to do EXTREEEME spots. It doesn't measure up to the first match, but that was a MOTYC so it's pretty forgivable. Kid already has a grasp of character instead of just the physical skills, really coming off as a psycho who's loving his work as he bloodies Lynn. Lynn makes a comeback but runs into a hotshot and Kid yanks the tights and gets the victory. As I said in their previous match, I think Kid had fantastic potential not only as a star wrestler but also in the Pat Patterson role laying out matches and finishes. He has an incredible knack for it at a young age here.
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One lone trumpeter plays the national anthems. Fantastic. Wanz deserves some major props for going through with this, as a promoter and made man in his own country he didn't REALLY need to book himself to get the shit knocked out of him by Vader, but that's exactly what happens. Wanz for his part returns the favor nicely and really comes off as a tough bastard rather than a fat glorified comedy act. Crowd is electric and there's a big struggle that adds to basic moves like the suplex and bodyslam. I tend to think the knee injury was planned but either way it makes for a great "THE RUSSIAN IS CUT!" moment and may be the best selling of Vader's career. Orig Williams finally throws in the towel once Vader is no longer able to stand, a neat twist of a finish that I really didn't expect. I want to see Big Daddy work a match at anywhere close to this level before I consider him for the WON HOF.
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I really like Finlay against ultratechnical guys like Wright and Saint, because it almost comes off as a NJPW vs. UWF match not in terms of holds and moves but in terms of two philosophically different ideas of what wrestling should be, colliding. More of the same here though Wright works a lot more in terms of payback spots and giving Finlay his own medicine than some of the other Brits do. Wright was pretty great working underneath, actually--most of his matches, even the good ones, tend to come off like athletic exhibitions. This is one where he came off as fighting to survive. Excellent match overall. The only thing that bugged me was the referee inordinately getting on Wright's case throughout--you have to build heat for the heel but unless this some heel ref angle we don't know about, the heat is supposed to be on him, not the referee. It did, to its credit, pay off really well with a great spot that's sort of a mirror of the Nick Patrick Spot from earlier.