PeteF3
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Everything posted by PeteF3
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Snow will probably never be as over in the WWF as he is at this moment. He actually controls the crowd well for most of this, though the Stooge Is Right doesn't quite work. We do get a semblance of a payoff as he whacks Patterson in the family jewels with Head. Still kind of ridiculous in the era of Crash TV that this guy has been asking for a meeting and asking for reinstatement for 3 months.
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I don't know if I'd put this up there as one of the great Triple Crown psychological masterpieces--this was basically a war of attrition, two big studs trading chops and a few bombs with one (Kobashi) outlasting the other. It's a very good Kobashi-as-"ace" match, though, weathering a flurry of offense from Taue but still coming off as a top guy in doing so. Against all odds, AJPW is turning out to have quite an enjoyable 1998 and I hope we can close out with a strong Tag League. It wouldn't last, but pieces seem to be moving to freshen the company's direction a bit...and one major piece is still to come.
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This was great--it took me back to years ago when I tried to make my way through all of Dan Ginnetty's AJPW season sets of the early '90s and seeing all these awesome forgotten mid-card matches that got time to breathe in the 1-hour AJPW timeslot. But I also liked it for all the reasons Loss mentioned--Ogawa stands out precisely because he's not on the level of the other top AJPW guys and he wrestles like it, with a tinge of guts, desperation, and a willingness to do anything to get an edge. I always think of him as a perpetual rookie, even though he was actually a 12-year pro by this point. I also liked how two big turning points came on guys borrowing moves from their respective new partners: Ogawa busts out a tiger driver and Akiyama turns the tide later on with a Kobashi double arm DDT. I don't feel like it can be a true MOTY contender, but who knows--but I did enjoy it as much as any other 1998 All-Japan match, and it deserves an extra snowflake just for Ogawa getting one over on Jun and stopping to point at his own head, as though he'd stepped out of the Budokan and into the Mid-South Coliseum.
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Hey, what do you know...WCW just decided to prove my point in the Duggan thread for me. Let's piggyback of a real and emotional cancer diagnosis announcement with a phony neck injury angle. Okay, that bit of cynicism aside I have one more major gripe with this angle: NO ONE IS CLUED IN THAT "LEFT-HANDED" MEANS ARN'S BAD ARM. We have to figure it out for ourselves because Schiavone, Heenan, Marshall, Bischoff, and even Arn himself all have simultaneous brain farts and fail to get that part of the stipulation over, when that should have been a major plot point to plant doubt in the fans' minds as to if Arn can win or not. Okay, enough negativity: everything else about this was terrific, especially Bischoff, who is back to playing a cocky little prick but not drowning in ego, either. That it plays on real-life events and emotions and plays on the feelings of many, many WCW viewers is icing on the cake.
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Jericho explains the meaning of the TV title, and being a TV company he feels he has its most important title. So if Phil Goldberg can have a security entourage, he should have one, too. Jericho has hired his own cameraman and security firm to give us Jerichoholics a backstage peek, and closes it out with a sickeningly goofy grin to the camera. As far as teased elevations to the upper card that won't go anywhere, this is way better than the Eddy Guerrero shit.
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Boy, the contrast in unopposed Nitros between this and 1995 is pretty readily apparent. This whole show felt like a swing and a miss when WCW had a golden opportunity to put the screws to the WWF, having put together a bit of a ratings win streak against all odds. I don't know why I'm even trying to parse the logic of these segments but how *does* this smoke only knock out certain people at a time?
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Yeah, I liked this, too--probably my favorite overall Snow segment as it recalls the sitdown interviews of 1997 but Al remains true to his character, with plenty of exposition for fans who don't know the deal with Avatar or Leif Cassidy. That said, yes, this is months too late and it took way too long to get from Snow's first appearance to his first real match.
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I was actually getting into the action here, and thought it was about as good as I've ever seen Lance Storm look...but that ending, Jesus. First, Dawn Marie blows her interference spot, forcing Candido to stupidly get off Storm early for no reason. Then we get Tammy small packaging Storm for the win, with Tammy being the announced winner. Joey Styles doesn't try to justify this, just loudly yelling, "WE HAVE SEEN HISTORY!" Heyman seems to have entered his 1988 Dusty Rhodes phase of just trying to throw whatever shit at the wall he can to draw a reaction. Also, someone explain to me why Candido feels the need to be aping 1991-era Rick Steiner, please.
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Pretty tepid brawl--ten guys in that little studio plus Bruno, plus Hales in the shark cage, and then Brandon Baxter later, just feels way too cramped. Weapons shots aside this is mostly worked by guys trying not to break nails. The post-match angle where Baxter locks himself in the cage with Stacy also doesn't feel as hot as it should.
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Yeah, you kind of wish Hales had another heel threat on his side who was capable of standing up to Lawler. I like Travis but he's played out in that regard and it's hard to buy him as a true main eventer the way you could with Dundee or Idol. Hales continues to get more and more comfortable in this role, and while it may be a bit of an ego trip to book yourself as lead heel, you can't accuse him of booking himself to be overly dominant either.
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We continue the storyline of Bret wanting to be friends with Sting despite being a heel, and he saves Sting from Hogan using the belt, telling Hogan "you gave me your word." The argument leads to a countout and then a pull-apart back in the ring. As Hogan challenges Bret to an impromptu singles match, smoke fills the ring (after a false start or two) and the NWO lies unconscious...except Hogan, cowering in the corner. Warrior will continue to demonstrate how selective his magical powers are in the weeks to come. I get why they felt the need to turn Bret, but making him a Hogan lackey did nothing but undermine the big showdown they had planned.
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I dunno, I actually thought JJ was being an ass and was hoping Arn would verbally put him in his place like he did Deano. Still, this is definitely an angle that served as a point of difference with the WWF and the fact that Arn just walks away and says very little serves as a progression.
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In fairness to the OP, Hogan's other partner wasn't the Disciple, it was Bret Hart. Wait...that's even WORSE because it just makes Stevie Ray stand out that much more. Ray can't even be bothered to appear at ringside to surround the Warrior. What exactly *is* Bischoff's status? His "suspension" was never lifted to my knowledge but apparently he's still signing contracts and making orders.