soup23
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Everything posted by soup23
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This really feels a lot more ECWey than the night the line was crossed match two months earlier. Joey Styles in only one step above the laughing All Japan Carnival announcers at this point. Fun brawl and their matches have been very good with each other this year. Post match was fun and nice to see Eaton and Anderson in this type of setting. -
Can't this guy put in his two weeks notice already?
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Couple of things before the match since I loved re-watching this PPV and it remains one of the classics. First, it is cool to see Aaron Neville sit ringside for the entire show along with Nick Bockwinkle. Having a celebratory sit and watch the whole PPV makes it feel important. Neville is by no means a big star but we have seen same claiber stars before look like they had rather be anywhere else in the world but a wrestling ring and scurry off as quick as they can. Bockwinkle being there gives credibility to the proceedings since he is the commissioner of the company. Second, it is a shame how Bobby and Tony would become because I thought they were fantastic here. Bobby has been around the product for a little while now so he is familiar with all the talent and their banter back and forth is just enough to be interesting but not derail the action. They constantly seemed genuinely enthusiastic about the product also. Bobby's rationale of why Steamboat was booed comparing Hank Aaron to Babe Ruth i thought was spot on. I thought the work in this match was excellent. I agree with Dylan's post above and would add that while the crowd was certainly not as hot as they were doing the street fight, they did still seem to be engaged in the opening 15 minutes of the match. There was not a lot of jostling in the seats, leaving for concessions, or side conversations going on. It almost reminded me of watching a classic movie like the Godfather compared to an action flick like the Avengers. The Avengers may have more adrenaline and fist pumping moments but The Godfather is overall the better crafted movie and really sets in on you how great it is the longer it lasts. The nods that Flair and Steamboat did to their previous matches was astute and rewarding. I loved the added torque they put on the finishing pins. Flair cheating more and more as he gets more in trouble is brilliant. The ending while not a great finish does logically set up a rematch and I liked that it occurred on the hold Flair lost the title on and one Steamboat didn't use very often at this point. Great match overall up there with the best in the year so far.
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Quick match but good work in time allotted and it did feel like a big match for the USWA studio format. Clever finish also even though the ref may have been too gullible.
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I don't know if I had seen this match since the first time I watched this tape 10 years ago. I am sure at that time I didn't get into it until the Sasuke special and the finishing run. That is still well executed now in retrospect but where this match really shines is in the opening 5 minutes of matwork. Really tight and intricate work being done. I almost feel like this is two separate matches and I didn't think the transition from matwork to dives and nearfalls was done well but overall this was a good match showcasing Sasuke rising up the ranks.
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One my favorite matches of all time. Always a match that starts out kind of slow with some table setting and then Williams hits the tiger suplex and BOOM there you go with the story of the match and show why we had such a careful beginning because when Williams is able to hit a big move, Kawada is in serious danger. Kawada logically and barely avoiding the big moves is one of the best examples in wrestling where his defense became offense as the match progressed. The finish is so rewarding and feels like a crowning achievement for Kawada.
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Really great match that featured nice long control sections of each and a lot of defense played in with the blocking of moves. I love Childs analogy of the high school jocks and it fits perfectly. Kobashi had two great Carnival matches and it is a shame we didn't get to see a Misawa or Kawada match with him.
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These two always have good intense matches and while this didn't live up to the 1995 Carnival or 1991 match, it was a welcome addition to the series. Taue targeting the knee was nice work but was once again really enhanced by the other person's selling of his damage. The finishing run was perfectly timed and they have done a good job getting the stretch plum over as effective because I bit on it being the finish.
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Was a match that felt like 25 minutes even though it went only 17. Hansen headbutting Williams to get him nuetralized in the chinlock along with his facial expressions was a nice touch. The size of these guys defintely restricted some of the big throws and impact they could make on their moves in the finishing stretch.
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DLO had quite the gut back then. KIng taking the bump was amazing.
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When all the yearbooks are done, it will be interesting to see where this ranks on the Misawa/Kawada all time scale. I can see it finishing last or being in the bottom three. That being said, this is still really good. Methodical, but not boring pace and I think Kawada was showing some patience with dealing with Misawa. This was a big growth moment and really helps build up his credibility for the 6/3/94 match.
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EVeryone else has talked about the fantastic storyline with hansen's ribs I will just say that Hansen's selling was sublime and Kobashi is making a strong WOTY case so far in what kind of felt like an under the radar year for him going in. The only signature singles match was vs. Williams but this match was great and he has looked really good in tags.
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You were right Loss that the build for this match got significantly better the closer to the PPV it did. It is also amazing how much better this type of interview setting was than any of the pre fight interviews UFC does at shows. I loved Flair calling out Gene for him inviting Steamboat to watch his match last week. Flair is at his cocky best here.