Loss

Tim, I love your assessment of Dundee. I'm glad more people are watching Memphis wrestling. As for me, I just watched Dynamite Kid v Tatsumi Fujinami from 02/05/80, and it's the best Dynamite Kid match I've ever seen. That's probably because most of the other DK matches I've been have been against Tiger Mask, and I like Fujinami way more than I like Sayama. So much of the TM/DK series seems to be about highspots and gymnastics (although there are a couple of their matches I really like) while this match was more about hate and pro wrestling. Definitely my current MOTY for 1980, although really that's meaningless considering the small sample of footage I've seen from that year. Dynamite struggling to lock in the abdominal stretch and building to that for the entirety of the match is really awesome stuff. Rewatched Eddy/Rey from Havoc '97 last night and enjoyed it much more than the other two times I've seen it. I thought it was underwhelming considering the hype in the past, but I love it to death now. In some ways, I still think Rey/Ultimo from World War 3 in '96 outshines this, but Rey is better here than there. Also watched Eddy/Brock from NWO '04 this morning. For all the talk about the matwork in this match, there sure wasn't much of it. Still, really good with a few too many repeated sequences for my tastes, but lots of good stuff as well. Eddy's leg work on Brock is great. I wish they had done more wrestling in the final five minutes after Goldberg's spear, and I wish Brock wouldn't have sold that spear from Goldberg as long as he did, but it wasn't to be. Very good match in spite of everything, but only barely in the upper tier of Guerrero's 2004 work.

Benoit/Guerrero from the 10/16/95 Nitro is a beautiful match as well. Just watched that one. Good God, has Benoit deteriorated! He's a total machine here. Love Eddy's hand injury, but I wish it would have played into the match in some way between the time he first injured it and when they recalled it for the finish. My second favorite B/G match at this point.

Watched the Los Gringos Locos v Santo/Octagon tag from When Worlds Collide. Great, great match that has been discussed to death. In fact, I sometimes get annoyed when people mention it when others ask for lucha recommendations because it's such an obvious choice. But yeah, it's an outstanding match and it transcends the lucha style more than anything I've watched so far. My only complaint was that all the falls came too easily, but maybe that's just a lucha thing for pinfalls to always work on the first try - I'm not sure.

I love how in their quest to make RAW even stronger with the draft, they've made it a worse show. Logic says you don't put Benoit and Guerrero on the same TV show if you care that every show has at least one good match.

What the HELL? WWE is now officially WCW. Three hours. Old fogies. Bigger names. Stale, bad product. Counterprogramming galore.

Most of Baba's work from his prime holds up well, actually. He worked hard, he bumped hard, he was great at working a crowd. Yeah, some of his offense looked really light, but I consider that the *least* important part of a wrestler's game. The fact that he was able to make fans suspend their disbelief _in spite_ of the fact that he wasn't quite as explosive as some of his peers says a lot for him.

Just watched Baba/Destroyer from 3/5/69. Unbelievable. This match created a debt for the future that I'm not sure has totally been repaid to this day. Destroyer is the greatest heel of all time. Even in his era, he stands above Fred Blassie, who had the body language and the charisma without the awesome matwork. A comparison I noticed is that Blassie seemed to represent the theatrics of Flair while Destroyer seems to represent the more aggressive, passionate side of Flair that doesn't surface often enough. So many comedy spots on display here that Flair has lifted in matches against big stiffs since that I don't know where to start. That's the first comparison. Then there's Jerry Lawler. I've seen Lawler construct entire matches around hiding something in his trunks. I thought he was the first to do so, but I now know better. So, at this point, imagine Destroyer working a Ric Flair/Jerry Lawler hybrid style that exemplifies the best of both guys without the worst of either. That's only the beginning. Now, add in Eddy Guerrero. You know Eddy, right? The guy with perhaps the best facial expressions and demonstrative selling in wrestling today? The look of shock, the rolling out of the way of big moves and pointing to his head -- the psych Destroyer has on display here is *so very* similar to Eddy's rudo stuff from 1994-1998 or so. The idea of the rule of threes being applied to wrestling may very well have its origin here also. Destroyer can outwit Baba once and it's funny. He does it twice and it's frustrating. He tries it a third time and pays a price. Oh, but there's more. Jushin Liger v El Samurai. Remember that match? From the BOSJ '92 final? This match is that match 23 years earlier, with Destroyer as the total prototype of Samurai using heelish taunts, heckling the crowd and having his mask moved and torn over his face. Baba is sort of Liger, but he's actually a step above Liger. The '92 match had Liger asserting himself in his role and erasing all doubt, but Baba had already passed that point before this match even happened, so he's a richer character who's more established and is able to accomplish even more by doing far less. In fact, not to take away from Baba, who was awesome here, but he could have just showed up and stood still and Destroyer could have had a match almost this amazing. The fact that he didn't makes this match even better. I am not speaking in hyperbole. As of today, this is my new #1 pick. Not only is this the greatest match I've ever seen, but it's the blueprint for almost all of my favorite heels and the nuances they have that I love so much. I could probably draw at least 9-10 more examples if I took the time to do it. This match could be worked today and it would still get over huge. FIVE FUCKING STARS.

It wouldn't surprise me to see the next match have the stip that if Matt wins, he gets five minutes alone with Lita.

According to the Observer and the Torch, Sean Waltman has resurfaced just as his immediate family was on the verge of filing a missing persons report. No one knew where he was for a week. TNA was pretty upset because they wanted to feature him prominently on the Spike TV show, and from all accounts, he's been having a career renaissance lately in the ring. No explanation was given for his whereabouts, but this comes at a pretty bad time for him, because WWE was starting to show interest in rehiring him and TNA was willing to go out of their way to keep him. Who knows what will happen now, but I fear that he is another Scott Hall or Jake Roberts case, where you can only get so many second and third chances before every promotion out there finally gives up on you for good. I never wanted that to happen to Waltman. While his latter days as X-Pac were pretty crappy, the guy at his best is a big asset. It's sad when wrestling makes someone a has been who's only in his early 30s, but that's sort of the perception of him. Unfortunately, he doesn't have anyone to blame but himself. Maybe as details surface about where the hell he was, he'll end up back in the good graces of TNA at least. He's an odd case, because he's been wrestling since he was a teenager so it's really all he knows, and if he's on the road and has a purpose, he's far less likely to self destruct. I wanted to ask -- do you think wrestling promotions, when they sense someone has talent and can contribute but they also have some personal problems that could potentially get in the way, have any obligation to keep them busy? I don't think it's the job of a wrestling promotion to act as a charity case, but Waltman did a far better job staying out of trouble when he was wrestling a full schedule. He didn't really start slipping until he went to WCW and his schedule was reduced while his pay was increased, and he became lazy and stagnant as a result.

I'm sure they felt the earth would stop turning if HBK jobbed twice in a row to two different opponents. I'd imagine it was payback for putting over Hogan so reluctantly ... or something. Flair winning the IC title is to give the upcoming HHH/Flair feud importance by making Flair seem relevant. Having him win an irrelevant belt isn't really the best way to accomplish that, but that's WWE for ya.

Do you think that extends itself to film critics and music critics, who also typically use a star ratings system?

They won't release Punk because they know he's valuable elsewhere. I always thought he'd end up as the new Chris Jericho in WWE, and so far, it looks like they're proving me right. The problems he's facing early on are almost identical to the ones Jericho faced early on, although it may be a little worse for Punk just because Jericho at least was pushed as a star right out of the gate, even if he was portrayed as a bumbling, overmatched star.

Expect Keller to take the side of HHH and HBK.

It's possible for two matches to be equally great, just like it's possible for two matches to be equally bad. Calling a match *****, to me, says that you're saying it's as great as any match that has ever taken place. You may prefer Misawa/Kawada 6/3/94 over the 6/9/95 tag, as an example, but you're also willing to admit that it's not outlandish to say the reverse is true. At least that's my personal little policy.

Another point Meltzer failed to mention was that by 1991, Ric Flair's stock had dropped quite a bit. Someone like Flair is always going to mean something in wrestling, but he had passed his peak as a money-drawing heel, and he'd been so damaged in the previous few years under Jim Herd that he didn't have the same aura or ability to draw that he once did. Flair v Hogan in '86? That would have drawn like nobody's business. Flair v Hogan in '91? With Hogan's star beginning to fall and Flair's best days behind him? It just wasn't going to be as big as it could have been, no matter how good the booking was. I don't think Flair was sabotaged, but I do think the ever-standing WWF booking flaws were as exposed in this feud as in anything else. It's rare that a heel in WWE is protected and not portrayed in underhanded fashion on commentary. That's why I always preferred someone like 1984-1992 Jim Ross selling angles -- he was far from objective, but he at least put forth the illusion that he was *attempting* to be objective, so his opinionated rants meant more as a result when they finally did happen. EVERY announcer in WWF history is essentially a color commentator, with some favoring faces and some favoring heels. Major difference.

Probably not, since he participated in the production and has a Legends deal.

Actually, WWE is fully within their rights in this case. There is something called precedent that could be used in court later if, say, the Undertaker jumped to TNA. If they allow it to happen, they're leaving themselves wide open to have their intellectual property stolen in the future. It's just smart business.

In regards to Eddy/Rey, I applaud WWE for doing something different and establishing one guy as better than the other by having him win almost every time they wrestle. One of the biggest problems with WWE booking is that guys are constantly trading wins, so no one is ever really elevated. The feud probably hasn't done Eddy any favors, but it's sure helped Rey.

I realized watching the show this week just how MUCH rebuilding needs to be done. It's a pretty tall order. Angle/Cena, which has actually had a halfway decent buildup, won't drum up a bit of interest because everyone knows the reset button will be hit after the PPV and all will be forgotten. Angle/Cena already happened at No Way Out this year and it's happened on PPV many times. There's no effort to make fresh matches and no remembrance of their own feuds from earlier this year. I really wish they'd learn to pay attention to their own storylines.

I think JR would improve tenfold with better booking and a better broadcast team. Bring Michael Hayes back from the abyss and get rid of Lawler. When the product was good, no one compared about JR.

GH, of the stuff you have, I'd check out the Fabs v Ware/Austin match that's on the '85 Memphis comp. Also check out Fabs/Guerreros on the Mid South set.

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The best thing I can say about this match is that it was falling apart at the seams constantly, and Eddy refused to let it go completely asunder. Great performance by Guerrero in carrying Rob Van Dam through a pro wrestling thunderstorm, but the match itself is nothing - at all - to write home about because of those very flaws. Most will be hard pressed to find a better performance from an individual though, at least one where they're having to deal with opponents blowing everything left and right and a fan running in and practically trying to shove Eddy off of the ladder, only for Eddy to salvage it all into something watchable. For 2002 clusterfucks that aren't good matches, this is smoked by the Edge match just after Unforgiven on Smackdown.

I stand corrected. It *is* the same person! My apologies.