soup23
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Everything posted by soup23
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Tammy did some rogue ECW appearances but wasn't officially there until late August/September 1998. -
Expectations play a heavier role for me watching the yearbooks than a blank mosaic I have came into some of the 80's footage with. Therefore, I do think this was severely hindered by not being up to the level of any of the matches featuring these guys that we have seen on a yearbook in a long time.
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Man, Kobashi is going to be all over my year end top 100. This was super and featured stuff teetering on the edge of getting goofy at times with the no sell sequence and battle for apron spots, but they did just enough to make it forgiving in my eyes. The no sell spots are giving a few seconds of staggered selling to soak it in and the apron spot paid off with Taue getting the Nodowa. Speaking of Taue, this really feels like the last match he is a "pillar". What I mean by that is obviously he would have main events and even a GHC run after this, but I don't think Taue as a guy in the mix was presented as such a threat after this match. He throws most of his arsenal Kobashi's way and Kobashi is able to absorb that and put him away with the lariat. It feels like a fitting end and this show has as much of a reset feeling as you got from All Japan since 1990. ****1/4.
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I can see this being a match that is shifted over based on its length and who is in it and everything else that is going on in All Japan in the 1990's. This may not make my top 50(?) matches of All Japan in the 1990's and that is a conservative guess. However, if a set of 1990's All Japan was made, this has to go on it. Everything was great from Ogawas shortcuts to the onlooking Misawa and him making his choice to kickstart what felt like a new feud. This almost felt like a transitioning moment for Misawa where he would go into Grumpy Jumbo mode vs. Kobashi and Akiyama. I don't think we got much of that but it is a fun narrative to see and almost happens in the same vein as himself kicking Jumbo off the apron in the 5/26/90 six man. The match is simple but highly effective. Bravo. ****
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It did feel like the jump started the Flair return to Monday but this was a great return to form for Bischoff playing his best heel role as a power hungry fool that has disregard for people beneath him because he can. This evokes so much more natural emotion than the too cool for school Bischoff persona over the summer. I loved the little jab of them arm wrestling with their left hand
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I don't see how that list should be any way surprising. I doubt most 50+ aged people are reading ign.com. I still am a bit bothered with the Bruno is a folk hero iron clad argument being tossed around like he just rolled out of his house one day and obtained legendary status with legions of people. Marketing with WWF may have increased over the years with its expansion but the reality is that Bruno hasn't had a wrestling match on their programming in 28 years. There is a shit load of 35 year old and younger wrestling fans that don't really no the guy beyond, "big star of the past" and have no desire to seek it out. The definitiveness that everyone believes him to be a folk hero as genuine and everyone buying into Michaels as GOAT is pure jibberish manufactured by WWE is choosing sides.
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If they didn't market him as the champion for so many years, would he be held in such high esteem? The term marketing I think is being misused somewhat as it isnt like there was foam fingers and ice cream bars of Bruno, but they certainly marketed him as the top star based on how he was presented with the championship.
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Hero vs. Punk 2/7/03 - 93 Minutes I'm fairly certain all the Ciberneticos from Chikara except 1-2 went over 60 minutes. The longest clocked in at around 100 minutes IIRC.
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Do you like his post comeback stuff Joe? That is where I have more trouble with Shawn and I have a few examples. One is the 2004 Taboo Tuesday match vs. HHH. HHH gives a spirited performance on selling here and Shawn overacts way to much and brings the match down. The other is he seems inconsistent at times. What matches are out there to present as feather in Shawns cap in 2002-2003 beside the Jericho WM one after SummerSlam 2002? That seems like a big hole between stand out performances for a top 10 type guy.
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This was a big ECW mess that I can see some ECW fans liking but I thought was dumb. The match was ok and we get the inevitable catfight with Sunny ripping off Dawn's dress. Then, Sunny pins Storm and the ref counts. WTF. I was enraged by this. Candido not to be outdone, strips down to his g-string with puckered lips on it. Him and Sunny do at least seem happy to be working together so there is that. (**)
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Even though Hales vs. Lawler as a feud has been fun, this match shows how a house show around this time might not be as the Memphis talent was pretty putrid. The masked guys on Lawler's team didn't even get named unless I missed it and the intensity and violence is not near as good as the DX vs. Nation tussle from Raw a few weeks ago. The stuff with Baxter and Stacy locked in the cage and the melee with Hales and Lawler was fun to end the show but this felt like a long episode of PPW and we only got about 30 mins of footage on a 90 min show. (*1/2)
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