Dylan Waco

Best one yet..well..the Barnett/Last show where they shit talked Lano for the whole time may have been better, but not as informative. Or something.

The tag is actually up on youtube. Hell practically the whole Rumble card is.

BookDust v. The Blondes was a "standard" match in the sense that the people involved weren't going out of their way to put on a classic, or fill the match with state of the art spots or lots of "go-go-go" segments. To me one of the things that becomes more obvious to me the more I watch wrestling is that lots of times matches that are less ambitious and willing to stick to basic formula end up being much better matches than the ones that have alot of "cool shit", but a strange formula and/or a lack of selling and pacing. I'm not saying the SD tag from the show neccesarily falls into that category, though I do remember thinking parts of it were kind of sloppy, and that the selling was really annoying. I actuallyjust bought the No Mercy DVD and was planning on watching the two matches back to back this week. I may try to do so tonight. I also can't help but notice that you keep bringing up that certain matches are matches to remember. That's sort of what I was getting at with the dream match thing. Steiners v. Luger and Sting was a match to remember. All larger than life faces, some of the most over guys in the world, offensive juggernauts, et. It's a fun match, recently watched it and didn't think it was anything all that great. But it's remembered by everyone and it "sticks out". On the other hand there are tons of tag matches from that period that were better matches that aren't as well remembered. Being "memorable" usually has more to do with how much "cool shit" is going on, or a storyline leading into a match, or whether or not the match was pimped by certain people, or the personalities involved. A match being more memorable than another match is pretty much meaningless when trying to discern what is a better match. Haas and Holly v. MNM were underrated matches. Focused tag matches, with good pacing, fun spots, good FIP segments, some strong "playing to the crowd" schtick, and some really good nearfalls. But they were basic, didn't take place on a ppv, weren't neccesarily filled with "cool shit", weren't pimped by Meltzer and didn't feature some of the IWC's favorite sons. So they aren't all that memorable.

The appeal of the No Mercy tag is that it's a dream match, with a bunch of guys who have good wrokrate and do cool shit in the ring. So was The Steiners v. 2 Cold and Benoit from ECW, and while I like the match alot, it wasn't as good as Haas and Holly v. MNM, and neither was the No Mercy tag..though BookDust v. the Blondes may have been. I actually would love to see a comp of forgotten good tag matches. Shit like the Raw match with BookDust v. The Blondes, The Blondes v. Test/Steiner (shockingly good match), Hollys v. APA from Heat, MNM v. Haas and Holly, et.

I just watched Bigelow v. OMG on WWE 24/7 and though i love Bigelow, I'm not really sure that booking him as a jovial fatman, who could do somersaults, was the best way to push a guy from Asbury Park with flames tattooed on his cranium.

One of these days I will find the Windham v. Bobby Jaggers stuff and review it.

Well you know Homicide won't fill Joe's place if the NOAH thing is the issue with TNA. I would guess the Briscoes could fill in that slot, after their recent NOAH run, but it'll take some creative booking to say the least. Minus Joe and Danielson, I'm not sure I would go out of my way to drop twenty plus dollars on a ROH show.

A few days ago, I said I would do an in depth review of Eddie/Rey from June 2005 opposite The Rock/Austin WM 17. Not sure this is really going to match that promise, but after just rewatching Rock v. Austin it is my attempt to explain why I prefer Eddie/Rey and think it's as good a candidate for the best match this decade as anything else. First off as a said before, the Eddie v. Rey match is basically their feud self contained to a single match. In a sense that is a grandiose idea, BUT Austin v. The Rock is really the career ups and downs of Steve Austin contained within a single match at the biggest show of the year. For that reason alone, it's a more ambitious match. By the standards of ambitious matches in the U.S. this decade it's pretty much unparalleled. The Rock v. Austin in many ways is the preeminent "Sports Entertainment" match. You've got; larger than live personalities, ref bumps, gratitious weapon use, low blows, guys using each others finishers, outside interference galore, et. What makes it interesting and so great is how well done the whole package is and the succesful integration of more "pure" wrestling charactoristics into the equation. The Rock v. Austin to me is like the career of Austin reverse. It starts off right where he is. The offensive exchanges at the beginning are simple, but frentic, and within the realm of Austin's usual "big match" traits. Lots of punches, clotheslines, smashes into the table, thesz press, and of course The Rock brings his standard "big match" over the top rope swandive bump (it's a really good bump, less over the top than alot of his big schtick bumps, but just as theatrical). They trade attempts at each others finishers early and it sort of fits with the pacing of the match and the speed they are working. Things settle down a bit right around the time Austin hits a superplex and we ease into the second segment which is basically alot of Austin cheating with bell shots and dirty tricks to open Rocky up. At this point the main thing I notice is that the match is well paced, but the execution is not very good. It's not that what you see is bad per se, but we've already seen some punches and clotheslines with alot of air and little impact, and The Rock kind of missed a blade. Still this match isn't really about high end offense or smoothness, it's about Austin and his devolution of sorts. The best spots in this match are spots that steal from Austin's history. The sharpshooter spot, with Austin bleeding ala WM XIII (via a returned bell shot, which is what juiced The Rock earlier in the match), really is a great, great spot. Visually it's incredible, and it plays off of Austin's peak moment as a performer. It's also a throwback to Austin in defeat at the biggest show of the year, which is sort of important and relevant to the match. Austin returning the favor on the sharpshooter isn't bad either, though the break of the hold and return to it strikes me as pretty unnecessary. When Austin brings back the million dollar dream it's also a flashback to Austin's past. when The Rock does the Bret Hart kickoff ala Survivor Series, there is another cool PSYCHOLOGY! moment. All of this is like a big set up for the desperate feeling of Austin that is leading toward his siding with Vince by matches end. The end run, is interesting, with the guys running through various things, including each guy doing the others finishers (GREAT BUMP by Rock on Austin's Rock Bottom) and stuff of that ilk. Rock is very good as the guy who can't be pinned and Austin is very good as the frustrated guy doing anything to get his title. It's a great match, but it has problems. The execution is not what it should be. In and of itself that's not really a huge problem, but when comparing it to a match like Eddie v. Rey that had incredibly good execution, with more difficult stuff going on, isn't favorable. Also while the story of the match is good, and the build is great, the finish is one I have never been much of a fan of. In general I'm not high on screwjobs, but what I really don't like about this finish is that it really felt like a massive deflate from the rest of the match. A match like that should build to a finish that feels as authentic and urgent as everything else. The finish, despite the "snap" and crazy sequence of chairshots, felt really delibrate. Maybe had Vince not been standing right there it wouldn't have been so bad, but I just have never been satisifed by the finish. For "Sports Entertainment" style matches, the Foley v. Austin OTE 98 match, has far more "shit" going on, and just as wacky a finish, but the viewer is left feeling that the peak of the match was the end of the match. Not so with Austin v. The Rock. Austin v. Rock is a great, great match. Rarely are matches that ambitious on shows that big so succesful. But it was not a perfect match. It was not a match that I find to compare well to Eddie v. Rey in particular, because the Eddie v. Rey match builds to a stronger finish, has surperior execution, and tells just as solid a story, both internally and as part of a long term storyline. Rey v. Eddie right now would be my MOTD. Not sure Rock v. Austin would be top five.

Taker is just a master of capturing, creating and conveying the dramatic moment in general. I think a part of this is for years his gimmick pretty much precluded him from having good matches in the conventional sense, so he was forced to develop a schtick that catered toward "popping" the crowd based on moments. Obviously the sit-up spot was part of him from day one, but he's worked on variations and themes of that since then. Even things like adjusting his gloves, flipping his hair back, et. can add to his bouts. He's also REALLY good at changing speed and pace at just the right moments, whether it be for an upswing "take it home" kind of run, or just a comeback spot, or whatever. Taker is really underrated and it's really not surprisingly at all that he's done so many good and interesting things with broken down or underdevloped wrestlers over the last few years (Orton, Angle, Michaels, Kennedy, Khali). To me Liger is a master of body language, whether it be subtle or overt. Obviously he's known for his taunts, but even the way he bounces off of certain fakes, or titls his weight during certain moves and stances fits his charactor and makes him more interesting in the ring.

Al Bundy scored four touchdowns in one game FWIW

I have not trained in MMA, but I have trained and participated in Judo, Wrestling, Boxing and Tae Kwan Do. A good friend of mine however is a MMA fighter and trainer for a living. You train and are taught to finish the fight and not stop until the ref tells you it is over. The end.

I would imagine that UFC was NOT looking for that sort of performance out of Herring. I've never seen a guy more clueless on the ground..or at least not one with a reputation. Evans continues to impress me. He looked a bit sketched that first round, but the guy has great cardio and he always seems to show more as the fight guys on. That high kick was vicious.

Not drunk, just lazy and tired.

In 02 Rey was still sort of a special attraction, and the hot new thing. He was inbetween being the spot working speedy little man and the sympahty face guy he is now. I do think he had an incredible "Top This" style match with Angle at SS 02 that year, and some other good stuff, but I actually think alot of the SD stuff he was involved with from that year was overrated and I think at times he was a caricature of his former self, trying to work a style and present a pace that he couldn't keep up with anymore. I think HH 97 is an incredible match. It is NOT a blowaway winner for best Rey match on U.S. soil, because he had a match with Psicosis at BATB that was an even better pure spot match, but with less of a story...and then there is the 05 match, which I think is right on that same level. I agree that if you are looking for incredible spots and nice tight pacing the HH match is going to suit you more. But if you are looking for a story, that builds well and delivers on an established theme that has been the central focus of tv for months..well Havoc doesn't have that. It had more storyline behind it than the average cruiser match from the period, but comparing it to the 05 match would be laughable. The point is that both matches are great and very much different in what they set out to accomplish. Both are at minimum legit candidates for best matches of the decade in their respective promotions. Both showcase different aspects of two of the best wrestlers of the last twenty years. Both belong in any "canon" of great matches to take place in this country over the last ten years. Which one is better doesn't really matter to me.

Oh, actually I really should review those two together. Look for that next week.

Jeff Jarrett v. Don Greene 2/3 Falls Ladder Match This is the sort of gimmick match that really should be terrible. It doesn't sound or look good on paper and it actually boggles the mind that it was attempted at all. That it was done well and it came off succesfully is even more mind boggiling. Basic story here is that Greene has smuggled all kinds of shit up the scaffold to try and disable Jarrett making him easier to pitch off the top. This really doesn't come to fruition till the second fall, but it's well done, with a powder to the eyespot, a chain spot, et. Most of the match is actually spent straddiling the scaffold, which is really small, but they actually do a good job with exchanges and reversals, working things like facelocks, headscissors, et. Jarrett overcoming the chain use to win two falls to one, was really well done. Fun match.

Eddie Guerrero v. Rey Misterio Jr. 6/05 This is my WWE MOTD thus far. The fact that these guys had another MOTD in a different promotion working a totally different style makes this even better in a way. The whole match really is the story of their feud developing from beginning to end. It starts with both guys trying to outwrestle each other and Rey coming out on top. The mat exchanges are solid, well done, and reasonably simple. When it becomes obvious that Eddie isn't going to win this way, he breaks the match long pattern of clean breaks and throws Rey off the top rope to the floor. This transitions into Eddie beating Rey down, focusing on the back and just smashing him to bits with stuff. The mannerisms and expressions of Eddie are awesome throughout and Rey is great with the mini-comebacks. They do a great job teasing the 619 throughout the match, and the setups for it were unusually realistic. Eddie was great as he gradually got more confident, than cocky and then scared as he realized he had unloaded everything and he still wasn't quite there. Rey is great selling throughout. I really should do a much more focused review of this, but it's just a great match and Rey winning is perfect here because the match is just the living embodyment of the whole feud.

Great call on Michaels in gimmick matches btw. I've been saying for years that the strength of Michaels is that he's a great guy for getting over new gimmick bouts (Ladders, HITC, et.) because he's a good stunt worker and good at conveying emotion through his movements. I've often wondered if Michaels only really significant influence on the business is preponderance of gimmick matches in the "attitude" era. Not saying he deserves all the credit, or even any of it, but he seems like the guy that was the "bridge" in alot of ways

Kanemaru/Suguira v. Briscoes 1/7/07 Just watched this and it was really disappointing. I guess I have been a bit spoiled by the last five or six Briscoes tags I've seen, all of which have been good to very good "top this" style matches. The best part of the match was the finish doomsday device and the fact that the Briscoes come out to Skynard. Everything else seemed very pedestrian.

Yeah the MOTY category is a great example of how Meltzer influences the awards, as the Do Fixer/Blood Generation tag got absolutely insane accolades from him. I would have been stunned if anything else won, and yet most people I know who have seen it and alot of other ROH this year, don't even feel it was a top three match for the company.

Boy, that is rich, espcially considering the fact that Da Meltz' HoF is pretty much a joke now, not considerably better than the E HoF and JYD is a better candidate than several people that have gotten in or gotten very close over the last couple of years.

I know I got a good laugh out of the posted star ratings for the TNA ppv.

Yeah I seem to remember him making that distinction. Soon after that the argument devolved because Meltzer was basically arguing that anything that is called pro wrestling by a substantial number of people is in fact pro wrestling regardless of what exactly is going on.

I have no problem saying they are similar..they are..but when you reduce it to a question of violence being promoted to a paying auidence you are getting into murky water.

Actually Dave's main defense, in my discussions with him at least, has been that since the Japanese wrestling fans, culture, media, et. decided to equate MMA and Pro Wrestling, he has to respond to that reality.