PeteF3
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Everything posted by PeteF3
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Hmmm...the fact that Finkle takes special care this year to explain how going through the ropes isn't an elimination doesn't sound like a massive red flag or anything. Leave it to Russo to try to kill off the Rumble match because gosh darn it, it's just not interesting enough on its own. So we get STORIES, people coming into the ring with no one to fight, Kane eliminating himself because of the presence of asylum orderlies, Mabel being kidnapped, Vince doing commentary on his own match...and yet, with all this ridiculous overthinking and overbooking, we get maybe the most unimaginative ending possible. Surely there had to be a better fuck finish leading to a Vince win than a lame distraction that makes Austin look like a complete idiot. I think the 2015 disaster eclipsed this as far as bad Rumbles, but this is certainly the worst to date and one of the worst ever. -
I'll allow the delay in playing the recording, since a.) Rock wanted to settle a personal grudge with Mankind by inflicting punishment on him first, and b.) you could argue that the Corporation thought they were being clever in delaying it so that they wouldn't blow their cover, even though their scheme was blown the next night on Raw anyway. I actually had a bigger problem with Rock climbing up to the platform for no real reason other than to set up the big bump into the electrical panels--not a terrible idea for a big spot, but the set-up beforehand was contrived and it's forgotten about 5 minutes after it happens. As for the match...as work, especially before the brawl to the back of the arena, it's pretty good--by 1999 WWF standards, maybe even great. Mankind's mini-comeback while handcuffed is well-done also. As theater, I can't say it wasn't engrossing. As a heated hate-filled grudge, I have to say both guys put across their agendas well, separating this from some other late-'90s exercises in brutality and gore. The chairshots were icky to watch even for me live at the time and it's certainly gotten worse since then. I can't excuse it other than to say that it was a means to an end in pushing this feud to another level and that it was compelling to watch in a sick sort of way. We'll see if this holds up as the WWF MOTY--there won't be a ton of competition, but there's still two Austin/Rock matches and the No Mercy ladder match that I'm pretty sure I've never actually seen before.
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Just playing devil's advocate here: TNA got burned because Drew Galloway got hurt at a WCPW show and they had to re-do Bound for Glory because he couldn't wrestle. If a guy's out for one day, he misses a month's worth of TV. I can see the company wanting some sort of insurance policy.
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Stasiak kind of comes off as a dolt for truly believing that Stacy wants him, but...well, Sean Stasiak kind of *is* a dolt. And the best wrestling characters are usually just real-life extensions. Parking lot brawls are nothing new to Memphis but this was a refreshing swerve rather than doing yet another on-location angle.
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Volk, even when mostly dominating, still knows when to throw in a few hope spots for his overmatched opponent, as he as per routine takes a shot and goes down, teasing a KO. That's about as close as Kanehara gets, though. Fun match--better RINGS matches to be sure, but Han was showing his adaptability here as he makes this look more realistic than some of his other dominant carry-jobs that look like exhibitions.
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Also in-between here, though in the end I found more to like than to dislike. The first fall and a half really just isn't very interesting--Charles looks scary with the blood on his face, but it's just kind of "there" until the technicos start their big comeback halfway through the second fall. Aimless as the opening was, it certainly did build well to a pretty crazy third fall with big bombs being the order of the day more than crazy dives, the biggest being Felino's crazy crucifix super bomb. Not sure this reaches the heights to be a serious MOTYC but it was a fun trios match with everyone looking good in the end.
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There were lots of other options, including Sapphire, Coach, Hiro Matsuda, and numerous post-Jimmy Hart Memphis doofuses. All worse and less effective than Fuji.
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Here's the Rhodes/Race/King stuff. Not sure every last bit of this needs to be included but the Rhodes interview in question starts at around 7 minutes.
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Every time I turn around I think, "Yeah, that's one of Dusty's best promos." The segment with Bass and Rhodes in the studio is almost a must-include. Bill Watts vs. Jack Brisco for the NWA title may be worth a look. It's Watts narrating arena clips and he's just a gloriously asshole heel, a contrast with his Mid-South elder statesman persona (a contrast that may be lost on these fans, granted). He's his "walking tall" Mid-South self except he's targeting other babyfaces and it's entertaining to watch/listen to. Plus some CWF lifers maintain that the '70s were a much better decade, and it's a glimpse of CWF as something besides the Dusty & Sullivan Parade of Freaks.
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Cool idea for a podcast. I might start by checking out the Exile on Badstreet with Barry Rose where they count down the top 25 angles in CWF history. I can't look to see if all this stuff is online, but it all was at some point or another: - The Dusty Rhodes/Sonny King feud over King costing Rhodes an NWA title match with Race. Dusty's promo in response ("BEFORE THEY LOVED ME, I WAS AS *BAD* AS YOU CAN GET") is one of my favorite Dusty interviews, which covers some ground indeed. The film-grain look is neat and unique, too. - Speaking of before they loved Dusty, his babyface turn with his own narration. A good jumping-off point. - So that this doesn't turn into the Dusty Show, the angle where a crew is invited to cover a workout for Oliver Humperdink and his men Don Muraco and Mr. Saito, where they're covertly recorded practicing a spike piledriver, leading to Humperdink freaking out and attacking Gordon Solie. One of the great chaotic scenes in studio wrestling history. - Is there even film of Jake Roberts as Santa Claus interfering in a Midnight Rider-Lucifer match? I assume there must be. - Karl Kox exposing the Iron Sheik as being from Iran and not Saudi Arabia is the type of angle that's almost purely of its time (politically) and place (as a studio wrestling show), which would be interesting for a newer fan to dissect.
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I have to agree with Loss that this is a secondary match in the feud. Not only are he and I over this as a feud, but it kind of sounds like the crowd is as well. They pop for things down the stretch, but this is not the batshit crazy crowd that these two would draw in the mid-'90s. That said, Kawada's performance with one arm is amazing, and you have to be paying close attention to see that he injured his arm at all. The striking thing about this is that the Ganso Bomb--put over by the online community in the early '00s as the Ultimate Move of Ultimate Death--isn't really treated as a huge spot here. The announcer kind of loses his shit and the crowd pops for the kickout, but it seems to me that it was supposed to be a regular power bomb and is sold as such during and after the move. Still...I don't see this finishing as a top-3 MOTY and is only a real contender for the list because the U.S. is going to offer very little in the way of candidates.
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Henry capitulates to Chyna's ultimatum and reveals that they didn't do the wild thing, the mild thing, or anything else. So Chyna double-crosses him and rolls the footage from last week anyway--what a hero. Henry is comforted by Sammy, but it's a MAN, BABY. Yeah, boy...this was a horrible segment live and it's aged about as badly as possible since.
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Number 2 in the Royal Rumble, number 1 in your heart! This is fantastic, maybe the best of the bunch. What strikes me is what a traditional wrestling promo Vince cuts, in-between the in-ring workout stuff. Of course the end results aren't going to be what anyone wanted, but this has been some great build for the PPV, and the promise of Austin vs. Vince for 2 minutes is a strong drawing card by itself.
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At least they kept the match short, though the little action we see is pretty bad. Bischoff puts the stip over okay enough, but yeah, running this match with less than an hours' buildup is madness. Good to see at least *one* instance where President Flair actually gets one over on somebody.
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I did like how you could hear the fans yell at Goldberg pointing out to him where the taser went. The ending is okay in concept, not so well-executed. And the NWO has reformed for about 2 weeks and them constantly getting their heat back is already as old as it was getting in late '96 and late '97. Feuding with Hall is such a step down for Goldberg at this point.
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This is a revelation--it's sort of a showcase for Yoshida, but man, what a showcase it is. All kinds of holds shown off--some that were old like the cross armbreaker, some that I recognized but were making their Yearbook debuts that I can remember like the calf slicer, and some that were brand-new to me. She's immediately like Kandori in that I want to see her match up against every possible joshi worker just because she stands out so much in the style. Consider my mind blown that Akino was a raw rookie here--okay, yeah, she did look raw, but she didn't look *that* inexperienced, and her dropkicks were spectacular. Ultimately she goes down rather meekly to the Air Raid Crash, to the point where I don't know if I can put this on a MOTY list, but it's continuing an excellent January.
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