Matt D

In this case, I don't think you can compare 1993 WWF to 2017 WWE. Look, isn't the comparison point Rusev? I mean that's what everyone's thinking, right? The counterpoint would be Owens. Bray would be in the middle.

Some more down. Mega-Powers vs Hart Foundation/HonkyTonk Man: Some of these are kind of weird, in that, you know why they exist, but if they just went a couple more minutes they could be pretty good actually. That was the case here. For the size of the match, the bits were spaced out well. We could have used just a little more in the comeback. After seeing Piper and Hogan together, it was fun to see Hogan and Savage. Savage was doing much more playing along, with the double big boot and the endless posing at the end. I hated Hogan's posing as a kid. Hated it. I hated that every PPV ended with it. Now though, it was just neat to see it with Savage (who we've lost, like Piper) one more time. It felt like a missed opportunity that they didn't let Liz in. Even though the match could have gone another couple of minutes, it's telling that Hogan wanted to make sure that crowd got every second possible of the posing. I wish we had gotten just a few more seconds of Bret interacting with Hogan. Him pulling Neidhart around by the beard was great, as was Sherri on the outside playing a character that was very much NOT the traditional Sherri. Caruso saying she remembered this stuff was a joke. I think she was 1 when this happened? Owen Hart vs Barry Horowitz: Yeah, look, if I had to decide between hiring Warrior based off his match or hiring Owen based off his, I'd say screw 'em both and hire Horowitz. I'm not kidding. I think Owen was the shits here. The absolute shits. The crowd was more into him at the start of the match than they were at the end, and that's after he hit every spot in the book, including three moves off the top, a leap off the apron, and a freaking tope splash thing. None of it mattered at all because he was wrestling in a vacuum. He was wrestling as if there wasn't a single person in the crowd. There were no breaks between moves, no time for things to settle, no resonance at all. It was just spot, spot, spot. Horowitz on the other hand would wind up big with his foot before a punch, or lift his leg up high before a leg drop. One guy was ready to wrestle in front of crowds like this. One guy obviously wasn't. It's a testament to how good Owen would one day get and it's also a testament to how blind people who touted him so heavily at this point really were in their appreciation of wrestling. Talk about missing the forest for the trees. Randy Savage vs Andre the Giant: What a weird layout. Savage and Andre are really great at what they're doing but I'm lost at why they're doing it. Andre looked like he was in so much pain but he was still an amazing presence. Everything he did was massive and looked like the most credible thing in the world, even when he was just sitting on Savage. Savage did more than his part in his selling and recoiling. The problem was that there's no payoff. Past Savage being brave enough to come straight at him (and noble enough to make sure to defend Elizabeth from Heenan), he gets eaten alive and when he comes back it's with a chair and a cheapshot and a DQ loss (with Andre not even looking all that phased). Ultimately, probably not how you want your champion to look. There were ways to do the same thing but make Savage seem like more of a threat or at least a brave fighter. Still plenty of presence all around though and the crowd was still into him post-match. I stopped at the start of Demos vs PoP. It's so cool to see Tito lead the Powers out. That's one of those things I only read about. I saw about one minute of it before stopping and it's amazing how Eadie switched up what he was doing based on his opponent. Looking forward to it for next time.

What is the purpose then?

I haven't seen it in years but for something which is not really a WWF match at all, how does Adonis/Murdoch vs the Briscos hold up?

I'm 4 matches in (it'll be a while for me to get through everything) and I'm really enjoying this. I didn't start watching WWF until 1990 but I've gone back and watched a ton of footage around this time, some on video when I was a kid and almost all there was to see back when I was getting back into wrestling post-Benoit in 09. I'm not a Titan or anything but I've dived pretty deep. As such, it's such a treat to be able to see additional matches from wrestlers, in this setting, that I might never have thought I'd see another match with. Machines (Hulk/Big/Super) vs Studd/Bundy/Heenan: I'm not giving full reviews on any of these but I thought this was a quite good match with Eadie the star of the show. He knew he was the only logical FIP and with Bundy/Studd, he was a doubly logical one and he was fully engaged all the way through, from his "japanese" chop offense to the really solid transition with him fighting off an interfering Bundy only to eat a cheapshot from Studd to how active he was fighting out of the bearhug. He's just a wrestler that gets it so well and is willing to play whatever role the match needs and able to execute it perfectly. Hulk was tons of fun here, from the bowing to cleaning house post-hot tag to the mugging for the crowd with his mask off afterwards. Studd is hugely (criminally) underrated as a stooge (especially against big guys) and Heenan was awesome between his swagger and his huge bumps. The finish and the post-match was a blast. Savage vs Morales: see, this is what I mean. You know you're watching a Savage match you've never seen and you just watch all the more closely. How many more of these will you get? I haven't seen every match of his or even every match from this era, but it was just a joy to watch him here. He briefly played "hide the object." He grabbed flowers from the crowd to attack (and be attacked with). He forced Elizabeth to the other side of the post for no reason but to get heat and then posed on the top rope. He stalled, he swarmed, he stooged. So great. Morales didn't bring much to the table but what he did bring was ok. He knew what he had to work with in there. You're not expecting great matches here so you can look deep at particular performances without losing too much of the big picture. Hogan/Piper vs Race/Orndorff: I'm not looking at a match listing as I go, so I was surprised by both pairings. Race/Orndorff is such a cool team on paper and I was expecting JYD (and would have been ok with that) so i was glad to see Piper. This may not have been everything you'd want it to be but it WAS everything the fans would want it to be. Piper and Hogan are ambushed from the get go and the big moment of the match, a handshake between the two, is what's deferred to the very, very end. That's wrestling. I swear, the two of them milking every tag with an aggressive high five meant for the very last row is worth five high spots every time. Piper's shine armwork is great and Hogan goes out of his way to try to keep up. Hogan's perfect as Gibson once the FIP starts and Orndorff and Race are full of character and mean looking stuff (like Race's belly to belly). I've not seen Piper and Race interact often so that was very welcome. Piper's hot tag leap is both unnecessary and awesome and like i said, the fans get everything they could want, a visual pin, the leg drop, Heenan breaking up the real pin, Hogan getting his hands on Heenan (and a gnarly over the top rope bump AGAIN, no wonder his neck was a mess), and finally, after all the build, the handshake. Warrior vs Estrada: oof, this was bad. Historic, sure, but bad. Warrior had some things down, elements of the crowd interaction, enough gumption to turn his physical awkwardness into brutish charisma, strength, a look, but this was bad. I've rarely seem someone stumble for an arm after an armdrag quite like this, and he kept going for it. The structure was brutal. They work in and out of Warrior's armdrag/armbar, but it's more out than in, which means it never leads to real heat or a comeback, and the shine gets muddled with hope spots which makes a press slam into a hope spot and Estrada (whose strikes look pretty good actually) never really sells much and Warrior sure as hell can't work out of nerve holds at this point. I feel bad for Patterson or whoever watching in the back and realizing that Warrior brought so much marketable to the table that he'd have to work with him moving forward.

That you guys keep repeating the Nord talking point after the work Eric has done lately is disappointing. Otherwise, another fun show. I enjoy it when you go this far back.

As a kid, I always bought Flair winning the belt as the payoff to him messing with the babyfaces' heads at Summerslam, like how he beat Sting right after the Black Scorpion stuff.

I'd be ok with him if he didn't try to do an epic style match. He could probably do an awesome 1991 style attraction match with the right opponent feeding and stooging for him and it'd bring presence and star power.

Hopefully this leads to him working LA Park on some Mexican Indy.

Especially because he makes it very obvious that he really doesn't know that much outside of a very specific bubble.

Generally, even if it's not a work, if there's money to be made, they'll find a way to eventually make an angle out of it and everything will end up all the more blurred. That's pro wrestling for you.

Whatever they do, the key is to make it matter and have some weight. I think the idea that losing to Rocky started some sort of downward style for Cena wasn't actually born out in the text or the "selling" of it, but I like the general concept of it. Let's say Cena catches a superman punch attempt and turns it into an AA for a pin and it turns into some sort of actual character development for Reigns paid off whenever Cena gets back, great. I just have zero faith for them to manage that, or even to attempt it.

Because we loathe Sexy Star and like Taya, obviously. Let us riot in peace.

In some ways, this could almost extend his main event run. I feel like he was a PPV away from getting cycled down as it was. Now he'll come back fresh in 6 weeks able to make an immediate impact and get into a program for the fall.

I've been on the hunt for this. Haven't found anything concrete yet, but: So there could at least be footage of their 8/7/81 match in STL since Dusty's jacket says '81 on it. Johnny P or someone should do a documentary on the hunt for footage.

Maybe a can of worms they don't want to open when the Young Bucks do Too Sweet and Suck It gestures Can you really trademark that? http://www.mtv.com/news/1517546/diamond-dallas-sues-jay-z-over-diamond-cutter-hand-sign/

CMLL is free live streaming arena footage three times a week.

I have never seen a match with any of the ROH goons, but it sounds like they're booking them very well.

If India ends up being an important facet of WWE business and he's the guy who opened up that market then you have to examine his case as an important drawing card whether you like him or not.

El Hijo del Santo vs. Negro Casas (WWA 05/17/1991) https://youtu.be/94XaNoEJKNk Upped it on YT for anyone who wants it. Piling on the thanks for that upload. If I had ever seen it, it was before I had any sense of what I was watching. I really love how defined the rudo/tecnico roles were in that brilliant opening matwork. (And obviously it picks up to be an almost iconic version of the rest of the form as it goes).

Reading in between the lines, Tony has to follow more of the current product due to his radio show he has now. I'm not sure if that's streaming online anywhere. I wouldn't mind hearing the Flair interview he mentioned if so.

I honestly feel like the best big match WWE matches are multimans. It covers for the weakness of big match WWE Style, and can be constructed perfectly. Some of that is because it allows for break-ups instead of kick-outs making things mean more. That, and it leads to less "both men are beaten down and hurting" stuff, cause others can be taking there place for a while. And it spreads out Brock's suplexes which helps too.

I honestly feel like the best big match WWE matches are multimans. It covers for the weakness of big match WWE Style, and can be constructed perfectly. Some of that is because it allows for break-ups instead of kick-outs making things mean more.

Sometimes wrestling is really great.

There was a fun moment there where I had forgotten Joe was even in the match and then I was happy to see him show up.