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Loss

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Everything posted by Loss

  1. Loss
    Good match, but not as good as I hoped it would be. The Tanaka match against Kanemura earlier in the year was way better.
  2. Loss
    Raven does an interview saying he was in rehab for the fifth time in seven years, which is why he lost the ECW title and Stevie Richards had to defend it. He then says the only reason he got a rematch was because Heyman and Gordon knew it would draw. Then we get a highlight package of the title change to "Come Out And Play" and "Enter Sandman". Hey, here's a bad match we can make look better with a nice video package. Wow was Raven's push a lot of smoke and mirrors.
  3. Loss
    The third Piper segment of the show. He brings a chair into the ring and sits down until Hogan comes out. Instead, we get Bischoff, who gets DOUSED with someone's drink in a funny moment. Piper decks Bischoff and grabs a chair and holds the entire NWO at bay. Then Kevin Greene comes out to help him out and the show goes off the air. This was the first time anyone had held the NWO off, so it got over huge, and they picked the perfect city to do that in and get a huge pop.
  4. Loss
    I thought this was Flair making his first appearance since his injury, but there was all the Jarrett stuff. Still, cool to see him again. Of course, he gets a big pop since they're in Charlotte. This was the beginning of the "Flair does a meaningless promo and has obviously lost a step" period that would continue through most of '97, although this one is pretty decent. Flair does an amusing promo alluding to their wild times on the road. "What do we think of Hulk Hogan in this town? He sucks. Hogan sucks. Hogan sucks." You can tell Flair took a lot of pleasure in saying that. Flair offers Piper all the support he needs at Starrcade. Piper respectfully declines, but says this is his last shot and needs to do this by himself. Good stuff, and believe it or not, there was a time when they DIDN'T bury the Horsemen every time they were in this area.
  5. Loss
    They never directly pointed to it, but it's cool that they don't avoid Piper's history in the Carolinas. He definitely gets a "welcome home" type response. Awesome that this crowd was dying to boo Hogan forever and finally now they can do it without rebelling. Piper tells a story about how the WWF wanted him to take a dive against Mr. T at Wrestlemania II and he refused, even though they made him fix his boxing gloves so that he couldn't clench his fists. It's the most shameful thing he's ever done, and if anyone thinks he's taking a dive for Hogan, they're dead wrong. He then wants Hogan to come out, but the segment wraps up. Stuff like that works well in small doses, usually better when it makes sense, which Piper didn't totally do.
  6. Loss
    I didn't realize the word "Pillmanize" was ever used on WWF TV. They do recaps of recent developments in the Bret/Austin feud -- Austin attacking him at the end of a match with Owen and Sid beating him up in London. (Sid has a tendency to do that to people, I guess.) Bret promises Sid he will regain the title. Not much of an interview, but interesting to see the crowd reaction, as Bret is already getting a few scattered boos.
  7. Loss
    This is definitely worth watching, but I don't like it as much as other MPro matches on the set because I'm not a huge fan of elimination matches generally. And if they are good, they work much better for teams of individual wrestlers than an actual stable. Usually, these matches last about 30 minutes before either team is victorious. And because of the gimmick, the wrestlers are kind of handicapped into doing quicker decisions than make sense. Funaki tapped out immediately like 7 minutes into the match. It's just a stretch to buy that, that if this was a one-fall match it would already be over. The other reason is that Michinoku Pro matches aren't about the individuals as much as the teams. You lose guys, you lose what they bring to the match when they're gone. The heat also isn't quite at the level of most M-Pro matches. Really good match, but not one of my personal favorites for those reasons. That said, this is about as good as an elimination match can be.
  8. Loss

    Wrestlemania XXVII

    Loss replied to Loss's topic in WWE

    No one has ever said Johnny Ace doesn't know where his bread is buttered. He knows Vince likes that look, so he knows that the more guys he signs with that look, the more he'll be viewed in a favorable manner. That's my theory anyway, as Ace's booking was so drastically different at the tail end of WCW that no way is it him imposing his own values.
  9. Loss
    I'm a little burned out on these two wrestling each other, but this is as true to their style as any of their matches, I suppose, with some crazy spots mixed in, like Toyota doing a somersault dive through a table. I really enjoy the inside out lariat bump anytime anyone takes it, and Toyota takes it well at one point here. I prefer seeing both of them against other people where there is more of a styles contrast, but I guess this rivalry is probably one of the more memorable ones in Joshi history. And me being tired of the match up or not, this is really good, and Kyoko takes the WWWA title! Good for her, she had a good year, and lost enough matches that in theory, '97 should bring her plenty of challengers.
  10. Loss
    This doesn't stand a chance after the double whammy that was the two 12/6 matches. Not that it would anyway. Kinda weird and some male-on-female violence that feels unnecessary. If Bill Watts was a psychopath, this might be a match he'd book, as there are heavy Mid South moments too, like the "accidental" female bumps. I can't see Bill Watts booking a cunnilingus piledriver though. But I don't really have any desire to ever see this again.
  11. Loss
    Santo loses the first fall and has to defend his mask. Dandy loses the second fall and has to defend his hair. Dandy's knee is injured, which he sells masterfully, and then we get to Santo vs Dandy, which is the meat and potatoes of this match. Santo wastes no time in setting out to destroy Dandy's knee. Dandy fights back, but not enough, as Santo finishes him off relatively quickly with a surfboard. Dandy has an AWESOME fired up comeback in the second fall that is built up so well, because he keeps teasing it and then Santo cuts him off and brutalizes him again. Dandy is a bloody mess. As Childs said, it's surprising that they did everything right and the crowd is still very pro-Santo. The only thing I can surmise from a booking point of view is that he got too much comeuppance already in the 11/29 trios match, then starts this match as the underdog being double teamed by the other two. The final fall is tremendous. Dandy appears to have this in the bag, until Santo gives him a back body drop over the top rope. Dandy takes an insane bump and Santo immediately follows him to the floor with a beautiful tope. It's anyone's match, as Dandy gets in a figure four, a spot that is worked as well as in the best Flair match. Santo gets out and locks in a camel clutch to finally secure the win. And the building explodes. I'm torn on this. Dandy/Santo taken alone is probably the lucha MOTY, but with the early Casas involvement and the crowd not responding as designed, it does lose something. It's still a classic match and one of the best of the year, but I think I'd still have Dandy/Black Warrior slightly ahead, but just slightly. I may change my mind by the time I do the final ranking.
  12. Loss
    Whatever I write won't do it justice. It's far and away the best match of the year, and is possibly the best match of all time. My pick for best match ever, Toyota/Yamada vs Ozaki/Kansai from Dream Rush, is right there, but I'd like to make the direct comparison sometime. When all the 90s yearbooks are released, I will watch select stuff again in chronological order, including this. And hopefully at that point, I can do a write-up fitting to such an incredible match.
  13. Loss
    Victor Krueger looks like someone the WWF would salivate over. I've only seen Carl Greco before in an '08 match against Ishikawa which was amazing, so I have high hopes here. I can't figure out if the problem with Krueger is that he's so much bigger than everyone else that it looks awkward when he wrestles, or if it's that he is just really bad. Greco works most of the match for his team and is a genius on the mat. Not as good as the Taka/Funaki match, but still very good.
  14. Loss
    Excellent match. A little more pro-style than most of the BattlARTS so far because Taka and Funaki bring the Michinoku Pro tendencies, so you get an awesome styles contrast. Great finish with Ikeda keeping Ono at bay while Ono locks in this crazy contorted hold on Funaki for the submission.
  15. Loss
    Hall, Nash and Bischoff take over the announce booth. Bischoff has quickly adapted, doing a good heel promo about how he's Piper's best friend, because he tried to keep the match with Hogan from happening. Then they show Hogan beating up random guys -- Vader, Flair and Savage. This is where I have to ask what the circumstances were of Savage's brief departure from WCW, as even though Vader was in the WWF, Savage is the one guy he actually buries. "Gone, but not forgotten. Or is he?" The NWO was far from stale in December 1996, but the warning signs were there of these guys getting overexposed for sure.
  16. Loss
    Really great match, one I'd probably put slightly ahead of the 10/10 tag even. Hoshikawa does a terrific job adjusting to these guys, and in a scary spot, puts a sleeper on Funaki at one point and does a giant swing while he's in the sleeper. However, the stars of the match are Yakushiji and Togo. Yakushiji legitimately looks like one of the best wrestlers in the world in this match, both for taking a beating and busting out some great high flying moves. This is a worthy addition to any Michinoku Pro collection, and it's probably better than most of the touring matches because it feels more associated with the storyline.
  17. Loss
    Good match with a hot ending, but there is way better from everyone here on this set. Samurai and Otani always work well together, and this is no exception.
  18. Loss
    When was the previous match?
  19. Loss
    Naniwa is ridiculous. He attacks Ultimo before the bell and crotches him on the ringpost. He even does a huracanrana from the top rope to the arena floor! Nice match at times, but lots of down time and little crowd heat. There are nice touches to this that I wouldn't mind seeing more often, but this match is really forgettable.
  20. Loss

    Wrestlemania XXVII

    Loss replied to Loss's topic in WWE

    I will also flip the question: With Cena continuing as he currently is, what money matches are in his future?
  21. Loss

    Wrestlemania XXVII

    Loss replied to Loss's topic in WWE

    There are a lot of holdover feuds they could do while they build someone up. Cena vs Lawler, Cena vs Rey, Cena vs Bourne, Cena vs Morrison, Cena vs Undertaker and Cena vs Orton is a year's worth of programs alone. (I'm not crazy about the last two either, but they would fill time just fine.) I just know that WWE is a company that for whatever reason likes to push wrestlers the opposite of crowd response. Punk was getting huge cheers a few months ago, then they brought him back as a heel. And I like Punk in that role and think he's well suited for it, but it's another example of how the company puts guys in the roles opposite of what the fans want to see them in. Punk is good enough to overcome that, but not everyone is. But building up Punk as the big babyface to knock off Cena would work. I liked the divided Cena crowd reaction in 2006-2007. It was clearly working. Business was good, his merchandise sold well and his matches had genuine heat. In 2011, business has dropped a lot. How much of that can be pointed to Cena turning fans off? Yes, he's still their biggest draw, but for a historical comparison, Ric Flair in 1988 was the NWA's biggest draw. That doesn't mean that Flair's portrayal wasn't actively turning people off of the promotion. I think Flair in '88 and Cena in '11 is an apt comparison. It's not that either guy has worn out his usefulness on top. It's that he's cast in the wrong role. I agree with Yohe's general point, but I don't think it applies to Cena. If Cena was getting more universal response and business wasn't dropping every year, I would agree. But he's not an iconic, once-in-a lifetime babyface. He is, though, a special wrestler who people genuinely care about who people will pay to see if he's portrayed properly. Just like Flair.
  22. Loss

    Wrestlemania XXVII

    Loss replied to Loss's topic in WWE

    By the way, does talking about Wrestlemania 27 make anyone else feel old?
  23. Loss
    Do you guys have any feedback on how we should treat Pancrase on future yearbooks? It sounds like there may not be a good "rule of thumb" standard, but if we could figure out something that would work most of the time, that would be great. I totally agree that shoots shouldn't go on the yearbook.
  24. Loss
    I think what I've learned is that when preparing matchlists for these yearbooks, title matches should jump off the page at me a little, especially when involving guys with strong reps. And most of them are probably worth at the very least checking out to see if they should go on.
  25. Loss

    Wrestlemania XXVII

    Loss replied to Loss's topic in WWE

    I like the idea of giving the people what they want. They'll probably never do it again because they overlearned the ending of WM X-7, but the show ending with Cena laying Rock out when Rock offers a show of respect would be a great way to launch a big money heel Cena run, and if they wanted to, they could build to a Cena/Rock match at WM 28. If not, it would still work.
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