soup23
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Everything posted by soup23
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Prick Jerry Flynn is pretty fun. Again, Goldberg is able to show off some wrestling and avoiding kicks defense. He also hits a spear out of nowhere at advances to 62-0. Another fun squash for Goldberg. (*1/4) -
Hogan and Bischoff come out and give a fairly generic gloating promo. It is fine but doesn't break a ton of new ground. The NWO music flares up an none other than Kevin Nash struts down. He wants to know if Hogan is the leader of the NWO like he claims, why his buddy Syxx no longer has a job. He also wants an explanation for why Hall hasn't been on shows. Nash says that the Wolfpac was the heart and soul of the NWO. HOgan straightens him out and says Syxx couldn't cut it. He talks about teaming with Nash at the next PPV and they will team up tonight to gain some chemistry as a tag team. Nash sarcastically says it will be an honor and walks away. Dissension is happening again among the NWO. I was shocked that this little angle kicked off on Thunder and am now wondering if this split was originally for Savage or they just used him as a red herring for the first part of the year.
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Man, this was really good. I really don't understand how everyone wasn't behind Akiyama around this point in time as him hanging with Misawa/Kawada and trying to prove himself has been the most interesting aspects of All Japan in the past year or so. Here, he is able to control the start with his explosiveness featuring an exploder and then break things down with working over Kawada using a wrestling base. Akiyama is conscious not to make a big mistake but falls pray to a backdrop to change the tone. Kawada's strikes and stalking are a nice contrast and put over Akiyama as a good threat. Akiyama catches a kick and hits a dragon screw to put Kawada in danger again. Akiyama follows up with a sharpshooter. kawada kicks away with his good leg but has trouble standing because of the weakened one and Akiyama's elbows are proving to be more powerful. Two Exploders followed by cocky ass Akiyama putting Kawada in the stretch plum. Awesome move showing that he will not back down. Kawada's comeback was impactful and inspiring and I appreciated the struggle he had for every move and being able to put away Akiyama with just enough. (***3/4)
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Sting had to have some evolution. There was so much mystique to his character throughout 1997 as to where he felt betrayed and owned nothing to no one. Now, he mostly just walks out to the ring like anyone else. By the time, they do add some more elements to him like him repelling up with Savage at that Thunder or coming to the ring from the helicopter at Club La Vela, he feels either foolish for being so trusting to Savage again after how betrayed he was initially or just grasping at straws and performing circus stunts just because he is Sting. I don't know what type of angle or character development would have worked for him, but this wasn't it. As we have seen throughout Sting's history, he is a go with the flow guy no matter how drek the shit he is involved with is.
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Short Snow video getting over his mulitple personality with scattered voices and the music playing throughout.
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Flowers will be at WrestleMania. Weird celebrity placement to me going into the show.
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You, Heartbreak. That line was delivered as bad as I thought and kind of played up the obnoxious nature of everything. I don't think Shawn dressing nicer and classier when with Tyson is an accident given the amount of mainstream attention he may receive. HHH still feels very two-bit and we get clips of Chyna taking out Owen's ankle and HHH regaining the European title. Owen really had to win that match at Mania to be relevant. HBK does the final sell job for the PPV and it is effective and we have had a cohesive build without being burned out with interaction and back and forth promos with HBK and Austin. They just faced off on PPV 9 months ago, but this feels like a first time match up and the stakes are so much higher. Splendid job by the WWF.
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Taker does a interview from the graveyard apologizing to his loved ones for what he has to do with Kane. I found this effective and pretty stripped down on the supernatural stuff for a Taker interview. This is about as close as an emotional one on one interview you were going to get at this time with him. Effective stuff.
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Tennessee Lee introduces Jeff who comes out on a horse complete with blinking costume and all. The horse even has the same lighting effects. Alrighty then.
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A weird setup here that didn't make a lot of sense as NAO comes out in tuxes and sets up a table and champagne while Cactus/Chainsaw wrestle the woefully out of shape Quebeccers. They end up attacking Funk/Foley and do a good beatdown setting up the PPV. Stuff was really coming into place heading into Mania and you are clamoring for Funk/Foley to get some revenge.
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Jericho welcomes us to Monday Night Jericho. Lane interrupts and asks for the $1000 Jericho agreed to pay for impersonating him. Jericho says that actually Lane owes him $1000 because he stunk up the suit and now it is ruined. Lane decks him. Good continuity and giving Jericho something minor to do while Malenko is on the bench playing up the angle.
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Sort of WCW's answer to both the momentum being gained by WWF and to Austin vs. HBK from the standpoint of up and comer possibly being his time vs. a established vet that is presented as the most dynamic performer in the company. This really should have headlined a PPV. They cut a great pace and the match centers around counters. Sting goes for the deathlock early on and DDP rushes to the ropes. Ditto for his Diamond Cutter attempts. They keep things friendly but not boring and both are out to achieve the goal of winning the match. The chinlock in the middle of this is some particularly engaging chinlock work with lots of escape attempts and desperation from DDP. Sting has a better reaction than most of the year and I think that is also a testament to DDP. In the end, he gets greedy and goes for one too many Diamond Cutter's. It is reversed by Sting into the Scorpion Death Drop. They embrace afterwards and it feels like a moment of WCW gaining some momentum again. I really enjoyed DDP's tv match with Hogan from last year but this was better and the best TV match in the US so far this year we have seen. (***1/2)
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The Jericho stuff has been saving a lot of WCW and now we get this, Uncle Eddy. I love the promo here that Eddy does after Chavo loses to Ultimo. Apologize to grandma. He also says tonight he will go out and beat a Japanese wrestler (probably better than the one that just beat you). WCW has two great heels underneath the NWO nonsense.
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Man, besides a few undercard acts on WCW and most of the WWF angles heading into Mania, we are in a rut right now. I thought this displayed some of the worst qualities that have seeped into All Japan in the latter portion of the decade. Nodowa's and powerbombs a plenty being kicked out of. Reversals and transition on offense occurring too easy, and then the match ending anticlimactically with one strike. They struck the perfect balance of that narrative on 1/20/97 and have been chasing that since. Taue winning is a fun surprising upset and showing Misawa not looking that much like the "man" so far in the year as he was taken to the brink with two lesser opponents in Ace and Akiyama and now loses this one.
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Quack has without a doubt, the worst ring attire I have ever seen in this match. If anything screams indy more than that, I haven't seen it. The contrast between this and the early 2000's indy stuff is still glaring. Some of the athleticism is there as Quack does a few good dives but also some awkward one. Darling has some nice punches mixed in with this but also seems unmotivated and lifeless at points. He ends up winning this one on his way to winning the Super 8 this year. I didn't like this at all and it felt like more of an exhibition than a wrestling match. (*1/2)
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RVD has really become one of my least likable personalities. I know part of the gimmick is to show a carelessness to ECW as a whole and that he is above the whole thing but him just constantly stalling and doing nonsensical spots in his matches take me completely out of them. It is a shame because much like in the Douglas match, Scorpio seems game and pulls off a crisp performance hitting his highspots more flushly and impactful than RVD. Finish is humorous as Sabu interferes but Sandman comes out to Scorpio's defense. Sandman then does the Scorp dance that makes me smile. Match should have been a lot more and I would actually like to see Scorp vs. Sabu at this point in time to see if Scorp could reign him in and have a very good match. (**)
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The concept of these shows is that they are WWF/E centric and we take one match from each show in WWF/E's PPV history to make one ultimate PPV card. We also can't repeat titles/individuals unless they have totally revamped their gimmick (Papa Shango and Godfather for example) .
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Same person that thought the Ding Dongs were revolutionary.
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I really despise the WCW/NWO partnership. WCW won at Starrcade remember. Steiner and Hennig are facing off. Rude comes in to interfere and DiBiase cuts him off. Vincent, Adams, and Norton hit the ring. Ray Traylor makes a run at them but the numbers are too much. Rude is really hammering Traylor on the outside. This was the main event? Jesus. This is the Thunder I know and love. DiBiase beating up Vincent does always make me smile. This beatdown goes a long time and feels really flat with NWO C-team doing the damage. Goldberg comes out with pyro and gets a Sting like buzz. The double spear has people coming unglued. Norton gets one as well. Why the show didn't end with that I don't know as Traylor and Rick cleaning house of Hennig gets no where near the same reaction. Goldberg was looking like a big star here.
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Pretty big shift in this video and the stuff we saw on Raw for the Mania stuff. This was about as cookie cutter as it gets with Hart's awful music in the background.
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I thought Carson Daly was going to be the next big thing. DDP is chilling on the couch talking to him when Raven pops up on the tv. DDP tells Raven that he got banged. DDp has a great line about Raven only caring about himself. While Raven is talking on the tv, he comes out of nowhere and hits DDP with a stop sign and then DDT's him through the table. Effective.
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This was worked as Busa having to show his flash and speed to avoid Awesome as much as he can. I liked it a good deal because Awesome didn't focus on a body part so it didnt make anything inconsistent when Busa went flying around. All of the impact spots were hit with authority. One thing I am not appreciating though is the rampant kickouts that are starting to occur. Busa ends up picking up the big upset off of a dragon suplex that seemed too anitclimatic and not flashy enough given the entire narrative of the match. Good stuff but falling short of the great level. ***1/2.
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Sting repels down from a helicopter. This guy didn't say no to anything ridiculous they asked him to do. Sting just got screwed by Savage the night before so now he trusts Luger? That doesn't seem wise based on past history. Savage and Luger start off and have a decent little segment together. Savage tags Hulk and Hulk takes a walk, Savage drags Hogan back into the ring and Hogan looks good vs. Luger. Disciple comes in for the DQ and here comes NWO and this feels so played. Savage is fighting Hogan and I have checked out and so has a lot of the crowd. Match was actually good before the shit finish and may have actually been the PPV main event. **1/2
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Nash and Hall come out in Hawaiian shirts and a BAC above the legal limit apparently. Nice swerve as Nash says Giant doesn't have the ..... guts to come out. Giant does come out and The Outsiders retreat. Nash does a cannonball in the pool in a hilarious moment. Hall gets a wedgie and then powerslammed into the water. Bobby's and Tenay laughing is really bad here.