Loss

The figure four everyone spot actually first happened at the January Clash in the Windham/Dustin/Simmons v Arn/Eaton/Zbyszko match, a match I wouldn't call great, but that is hella fun and a good primer for some of the upcoming feuds nonetheless. The Dangerous Alliance period was a great time for WCW. The finish was a little overdone in '92, and I'll agree wholeheartedly with that -- it's the one thing that keeps the match away from the full monty for me, actually. I don't really think any of the War Games matches have had very strong finishes, except for maybe the '91 one, but that required Brian Pillman almost becoming paralyzed, so I don't like to include that one. BTW, Helmet, the finish in this one was the spike that Ellering brought into the ring being jammed into his JJ's face until he submitted. Can't remember who was the one doing the jamming -- I say Ellering, but I'm not totally sure off the top of my head.

I really despise the rematch at the Orange Bowl for lots of reasons. I may like it a little more if the crowd wasn't totally muted so they could have Tony Schiavone do his voiceover. One of the best things about War Games is the heat. I think, in terms of having a designated cleanup guy, Luger played that role extremely well. He was only in for a short time, but it worked. I was also a fan of the spike piledrivers on Nikita, especially because they followed up with it and Luger ended up working over Nikita's neck for the entirely of their title match just one week later where Luger won the belt. I actually think the gimmicky brawly stuff from the 80s ages far better than most gimmick matches in the 90s, if only because they're more basic, and the basics will always remain the same. I'd rather watch any pre-1992 War Games match over the first ladder match with Shawn and Razor, for example.

You know, as many hundreds of times as they've faced off, this is probably the only match of note they've had that I haven't seen. If Vince McMahon was a godly person, WWE 24/7 would air the 08/16/86 title change in full.

So ... Bret Hart won. I was trying to compile more detailed results, but I keep going braindead when I try, I guess because it's too freakin' early in the morning. I'll come back to it later.

Dave Meltzer seems to think we're about one step away from the second version of the Monday Night Wars, according to the latest Observer. TNA is expected to sign with WGN in the next few weeks and go head-to-head with RAW on Monday nights from 8PM-10PM. There is major infighting right now in the company between Panda Energy and the Jarretts that could possibly end with the Jarretts being let go, and they're looking to bring in Samoa Joe, CM Punk, American Dragon and Ultimo Dragon. Danielson is not a lock yet because he's reevaluating his career at this point. Those are definitely positive changes in the right direction, but I think they need to do something to attempt to secure a bigger name from WWE who can go, but it's going to require loosening the pursestrings to lure away a few big names. The only big name who's contract is expiring this year is Chris Jericho, and while he'd be a huge coup for them, it would take more than Jericho to make them competitive with RAW. Styles is the right guy to be champ at this point, although if there's a problem they face, it's probably WGN not being visible in most markets. It's also going to take 2-3 years, at least, for them to become completely competitive with WWE, and Panda is going to have to be willing to spend quite a bit of money. The safe bet is to bet against them, but legitimate competition would make wrestling fun to watch again, and it just might light a fire under Vince's ass to make his product better as well, so let's hope TNA can get their act together and form a viable alternative. They seem to be making attempts to rid themselves of the Jarrett stigma, so they're moving in the right direction.

What the title says.

Vote for the wrestler that you think had the better career in WWE (whether you base that on impact or match quality is your decision), from 1985 to 2005. Voting will end tomorrow morning at the latest. Please give the wrestler's name first and any explanation thereafter. Thanks.

Vote for the wrestler that you think had the better career in WWE (whether you base that on impact or match quality is your decision), from 1985 to 2005. Voting will end tomorrow morning at the latest. Please give the wrestler's name first and any explanation thereafter. Thanks.

Vote for the wrestler that you think had the better career in WWE (whether you base that on impact or match quality is your decision), from 1985 to 2005. Voting will end tomorrow morning at the latest. Please give the wrestler's name first and any explanation thereafter. Thanks.

LOD has done the move both ways throughout the years, actually. I'll call it the Doomsday Device until a better name comes along.

Midnight Express v Fantastics - Mid South 1984 (No DQ) I think my favorite worker in this match is Bobby Eaton, because every time he cheats, he thinks he's getting away with it, and Bobby Fulton comes from behind and either punches him or chokes him out. The heat is insane, as would be expected for '84 Mid South. I love the way they get the little things right -- the heels are relentless on Bobby Fulton's arm, to a point where Fulton is trying to run in circles at one point to get the momentum going against Eaton, so Eaton drops down instinctively to avoid this. He finds a counter, which works, so Eaton distracts the ref so they can weaken him some more illegally. The way they progress and not only cheat to be assholes, but cheat because they try wrestling first and Fulton is too good at that, is a subtletly lost on so many modern-day heels, and if this match proves anything, it's that the best matches progress all the way through. "X" move leads to "y" move leads to "z" move. The Midnights are also good for some really cool offense -- I really liked the butterfly suplex from Eaton and the lariat from Condrey, and of course the doubleteam finisher is great! This was the first time I'd seen the Midnights do the Doomsday device, but it's probably the best version of the move I've ever seen. This isn't really the best match from either team, or even close really, but it's another good example of what tag team wrestling used to be and how far it's fallen. ***1/4

Vote for the wrestler that you think had the better career in WWE (whether you base that on impact or match quality is your decision), from 1985 to 2005. Voting will end tomorrow morning at the latest. Please give the wrestler's name first and any explanation thereafter. Thanks.

Vote for the wrestler that you think had the better career in WWE (whether you base that on impact or match quality is your decision), from 1985 to 2005. Voting will end tomorrow morning at the latest. Please give the wrestler's name first and any explanation thereafter. Thanks.

Vote for the wrestler that you think had the better career in WWE (whether you base that on impact or match quality is your decision), from 1985 to 2005. Voting will end tomorrow morning at the latest. Please give the wrestler's name first and any explanation thereafter. Thanks.

Vote for the wrestler that you think had the better career in WWE (whether you base that on impact or match quality is your decision), from 1985 to 2005. Voting will end tomorrow morning at the latest. Please give the wrestler's name first and any explanation thereafter. Thanks.

Vote for the wrestler that you think had the better career in WWE (whether you base that on impact or match quality is your decision), from 1985 to 2005. Voting will end tomorrow morning at the latest. Please give the wrestler's name first and any explanation thereafter. Thanks.

Vote for the wrestler that you think had the better career in WWE (whether you base that on impact or match quality is your decision), from 1985 to 2005. Voting will end tomorrow morning at the latest. Please give the wrestler's name first and any explanation thereafter. Thanks.

Vote for the wrestler that you think had the better career in WWE (whether you base that on impact or match quality is your decision), from 1985 to 2005. Voting will end tomorrow morning at the latest. Please give the wrestler's name first and any explanation thereafter. Thanks.

Shawn Michaels

Shawn Michaels

Eddy Guerrero