smkelly

FIGHT~!

I look at this match like Steamboat/Savage from WMIII. From adolescence, I remembered this match being God send, like Savage/Steamboat. But over the years, as I grow older and my likes and interests spread and explored new horizons, the less interested I am in this match, like Savage/Steamboat. TM is overly botch like in this match, and it hinders the progression of the match. Dyno's dramatic and over-exaggerated selling makes me laugh, which isn't a good thing in a non-comedy match. Although I see the significance in this match, and their rivalry, this match is mediocre to the true junior classics. I re-watched the Andre/Hansen match for the fourth time. It is firmly sitting at #1. I hated it when the match ended though, I wanted more. That is a great match, when it leaves you wanting more, like a stripper, but in a good way.

I downloaded Jericho vs. the Rock 10/21/2001 and skipped through the match making sure it was a legit file, which it was. A spot in the match caught my attention; it was when the Rock gave Jericho a dragon screw. He did the same unusual fall in that match as he did against Danielson on NXT. I went through and watched the match anyway, and here are my thoughts: Chris Jericho vs. the Rock 10/21/2001 • Match is for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship – a title that hasn’t had any credibility for about eight years prior to this match. • The typical, yet excellent video montage of why we’re here, and why Jericho and the Rock are feuding with each other – the WWF has always excelled in this region. Their video packages can make or break a feud. • I still find it surreal to hear anything WCW related on a WWF Pay-Per-View. I still think the WWF completely bombed the Invasion angle – and I am not alone in that thinking. It could have been a legendary success; instead, it turned out to be a legendary failure. The match: What worked: • Jericho was a man possessed in the opening minutes of the match, as he really took the fight to the Rock. I wish Jericho would have flairs of this aggressive side occasionally as a heel. • Jericho acting all smug like in the match, like with the boot scrape and throwing his elbow pad in the Rock’s face was awesome. • JR’s analytical observations and generally solid to excellent announcing is surely missed. • Jericho’s flurry of offense including a nice hurricanrana up to the finisher theft was well scripted. • The contrived announce table bump of the WWF’s. Yeah it is obviously planned, orchestrated and all of that jazz…but it is still neat. • The People’s Elbow counter into the Walls of Jericho – it was extremely fluid and well performed. What didn’t work: • This is petty, but why did the Rock throw Jericho to the floor, only to toss him back in without brawling or making Jericho headbutt random things? • The theft of finishers and subsequent abandonment of proper pacing, and selling was not scripted well. There was no drama behind it, and I think it cheapened the moves. Jericho hits the Rock Bottom and immediately hits the Lionsault, and then immediately covers the Rock for him to kick out. There should have been that pause, that momentary stall, and then Jericho crawls over and makes the pin attempt, only for the Rock to kick out at 2.9. The crowd would have erupted, and it wouldn’t have cheapened two finishing maneuvers – at the time, the Rock Bottom had pinned all of the mega stars (‘Taker, Austin, HHH), while the Lionsault covered all of the lower tiered guys (Angle, Benoit, Kane). The way things went down; I think it discredited both moves simultaneously. • The Rock’s sharpshooter. Yep, I am a part of that camp. I have never liked the way he got his opponents in position for it, how he turned them over, how he locked it up, or the fact he does it standing up. The way he performs it makes it look phonier than it really is. Also, I find it disrespectful for him to be using it since it was Bret’s finisher. I find it very disrespectful. Outside of Eugene’s comically usage, no one else uses the Rock Bottom. No one will be doing tombstone piledrivers after the Undertaker is gone. I know damn well that Pedigrees will not be seen after HHH stops doing them. I just think it is tasteless, like how HBK started doing the cripple crossface. • The end of the match was a ball buster for me. I had never viewed this match prior to this, and only knew Jericho eventually won. I didn’t know he would win his first World title by stupid interference of a steel chair. This was a bad contrived spot. Obviously, Stephanie wasn’t going to use the chair, but conveniently placed in the ring so the Rock could get his head bounced off it. Jericho had already trapped the Rock in the Walls of Jericho, worked his back over a bit with backbreakers…so why couldn’t Jericho make him submit instead of the cheap finish? • Stephanie’s abysmal selling with the Rock Bottom. She was on her feet too quickly post-match. • No blood, and a poor false finish – those are absolutely crucial to huge matches of importance. The blood sells the violence and hatred of the match and the false finishes builds drama to intensify the crowds’ reactions - and while it did pop the crowd, the aforementioned finisher theft negated the effects in my eyes. All the while, it was still a decent match. ***3/4 I wrote this for my Intro to Creative Writing class... Like Superman vs. the Hulk The fans were like zombies, blood lusting as Dracula. The men in the ring sturdy as concrete were the martyrs of entertainment like sacrificial meat puppets in an arena like an abattoir. The champion was typically aplomb in the squared circle like the Fonz, but tonight he was curt as search warrant. With hands like lead and bodies like diamonds, they battled as Gladiators, while howling like Wolf Men. Two men of epic proportions like Everest, struggling as single mother, I am stuck in time like Marty McFly, and my eyes deceive me like a hallucination. It was as though they were being controlled like marionettes, their fury and rage unquenchable like an F-5. Before long, the champion like Achilles was bleeding like a bank, I was smiling like a jack-o-lantern, nodding in approval as Caesar. The quasi Brad Pitt resorts to chicanery like Satan, and unleashes a whirlwind of violence like a wolverine. But Umaga refuses to be slain like a hydra, Cena must solve the puzzle as Sherlock Holmes, and uncover the weakness of his opponent like Lobo. Cena lifts Umaga like Sampson and pauses like TIVO, but suddenly tosses the man like a hot potato. Umaga flies as a space rocket and floats like a feather, lost in space like Boba Fett, and crashes to the mat as a meteor. The white titanium laced ropes slither into play like an anaconda, and with a tormented smile like the Joker, Cena drapes the ropes around the throat of Umaga like a noose. I am marking out like a groupie! The announcer yells like a hyena, and the crowd wants resolution like an AA member. Even monsters have to breathe like Hannibal Lector, as Cena chokes Umaga like Peyton Manning in the Super Bowl, his eyes roll into the back of his head like a heroin junkie. The large Samoan’s tongue rolls out like Jabba the Hutt’s, but the war is far from over like chemotherapy. Cena presses on like a Marine and suffocates the fight out of Umaga like divorce, but Umaga’s will to stay awake is like an insomniacs, and he rises from the ashes like a phoenix. This is $44.95 well spent I think. With millions of fans’ support on Cena’s back like Atlas, he pulls out a miracle like on Elm Street. The beast has been bested like the Yamato, and I am at home testifying like Martin Luther King Jr. The square-jawed wrestler like a hit man has bested the Goliath as David, I am beside myself like a lottery winner. 5 stars are what I wrote, the Starry Night of wrestling.

Agreed. His transition from "Miz is the meanest man ever", to "Miz needs to teach Bryan respect", as the Miz is pummeling Danielson is really lopsided. It reminds me of those WCW/TNA face to heel turns. I bet Cole is back to face by Monday.

WWF’s first episode of NXT aired last night, and it was an entertaining show for two reasons – Bryan Danielson…erm…Daniel Bryan, and Chris Jericho. I was pleasantly surprised to see Danielson being showcased right off the bat to begin the inaugural show. His interactions with Miz were humorous, but I wonder what direction they will take with the angle they started. Will the Miz end every show pummeling Danielson after he stole the show with the match of the night? Matt Striker and Michael Cole came across as douchebags, which isn’t anything new, but Cole’s sudden heel turn was unexpected, but cool. He was harping on the Miz only a day prior, but the next day he is a supporter of the Miz and his heelish actions. I’m presuming his lines were being fed to him, as he still cannot string together a sentence of his own without citing one of his favorite lines ad nauseam. Cole’s incessant burial of Danielson was head scratching (it does serve a purpose), but at least Matthews continued defending the best in the world. The WWF wants to hammer in how unimportant Danielson really is because of his non-WWF accolades – not surprising in the least, but tacky, yes, lame, certainly - but they will make him into a superstar (hopefully). Judging from last night though, that is the plan, and I am game for it. I also hope Danielson responds to Cole's bashing and beats the "living life" out of him for being an obvious mark. The main event was awesome. I was excited to see that Jericho’s intro music played with twenty minutes left of television, but they started the match with five minutes left until the top of the hour. Damn commercials and advertisements. The match itself was no MOTYC, but a simple star building exercise for Danielson to display what he can do in five minutes. As it stands, it is my favorite match of the year. Danielson’s tope suicida bump was inane, very similar to what Benoit did on SmackDown! many years ago against Booker T. It was funny seeing Jericho botch a dragon screw, as he hasn’t competed with someone that has a lot of talent since what…Mysterio in mid 2009? Honestly though, there were a few mistakes which I noticed - like Danielson falling backwards after an enzuguri, and the attempted topple over the ropes. I chalk that up as nerves. It was scary how truly small Danielson is; I just forget that he is another “vanilla midget”. Nevertheless, yeah, the match was an awesome debut match, not on par with Benoit/HHH, but damn close. **1/2 in my book. Probably high for a six minute match, but oh damn was it entertaining. The other “rookies” are forgettable, and some are very annoying. That Otunga guy…*vomits* Slater looked like a woman when the camera was panning around in his vignette, and his voice is all nasally. I can’t even remember the guys name who is with Jericho, or Punk’s rookie. Tarver is unimpressive as well. The Carlito/Christian match was nearly identical from last right – apparently, Carlito forgot his back springboard attempts were reversed…. Maybe it is my biased outlook, but Danielson is hands down the best in the WWF right now, even after ONE match. Now that is in-ring talent alone, more than half of the roster is better on the stick than Danielson, but I do not care about those superficial qualities. I want to see wrestling, not talking. All Japan 1980s – Been watching me some “classic” and actual classic All Japan from ’80-12/31/89 @12:00PM… Harley Race vs. Giant Baba 9/9/1980 • Race looked like a pimp I met in Chicago in 2005, or the grizzled shark hunter from Jaws. • Baba is Akira Taue’s father, the resemblance is too similar. • Baba is defending the NWA World Heavyweight Championship and he looks completely miserable and out-of-shape. • Baba even does the Taue stomp and those stupid overhead chops that look incredibly soft and fake. • The theme of the match for me was laughing at how incredibly slow and physically weak looking Baba was in this match. I mean, he is normally slow and plodding, but tonight was extra helpings of that bad stuff. • Race was the consummate professional, bumping all over the place for Baba and his quasi Hogan move set. Race took a gorilla press slam from the top rope, a big bump circa 1980. Race also did a better version of RVD’s piledriver bump than RVD’s own version. • Race stalling on the pinfall attempt following a vertical suplex I found interesting. • Race started head butting tables and the ring post on the floor busting himself open, which did add some level of drama and excitement to the match. • There was this intense bro hug on the ropes that made me do a double take…they seriously stood there just hugging each other for a few moments. • The ending was abysmal, Baba goes up top (no idea why), gets crotched, and is pinned to lose the title. • Race was blown up by the end of the match – his physique slipped considerably from a match with Lawler in ’77. • *1/4 – if this is on the viewing list, bottom tier has some company. Stan Hansen vs. Terry Funk 9/11/82 • I anticipated this match to be one crazy ass bloody brawl – who wouldn’t when HANSEN and TERRY FUNK get in the ring? • Terry looks like a stand in for Dale Dobeck, which I find hilarious at 4:30AM. • Funk goes punch drunk early in the match, and takes an awkward looking back-body-drop from the ring through the ropes and to the floor that caught my attention. • Hansen is spectacularly stiff in this match. • Terry bailed to the floor A TON. It’s rare to see a FACE bail to the floor. • Funk’s use of Stan’s kneepad for a takedown was splendid – a nice touch of excellence. • Funk using the London wake-up call numerous times was also spectacular. It is one of my favorite strikes of all-time, because it really works in disorientating an opponent – I have used it in MOUT training and in combat. • I found it interesting how long it took them to go for a cover. • I loved how Hansen absolutely hurled the chair that Funk had just thrown at him back at Funk who was on the floor. That was awesome. • Whoever assisted Hansen is a genius. He held Funk to get lariated, and instead of standing upright so Funk can duck so his captor takes the shot, he bends down and is at knee level. Attention to details… • Hansen beating on young boys never gets tiresome; neither does Hansen low blowing Jumbo. • Funk’s selling of the lariat post-match was incredible. • Although there was *zero* blood, and a zero finish, the brawl was still hate filled, which I mark out for. ***

Michael Cole has noticeably gotten worse at announcing - it is like he is purposely saying all of his trademarks, as though he knows its drinking game, a la Robin on "How I met your mother". Oh, and Lawler saying "he's beating the living life out of him" was a funny line.

The thing I don't understand is that wrestlers like RVD, Sabu, Sandman, Dreamer, Snow, Raven, Dudley Boys, and countless others who have come into the WWF have used their monikers that weren't created by the WWF. There never seemed to be a problem with them using their names, so why can't a strictly small indie wrestler retain his original moniker.

This has become a February viewing tradition. I still love it, and will add more thoughts later.

I am glad Danielson is in the WWF now.But...Daniel Bryan? That's all the writers could imagine? What would have been the problem with what he was using, or the American Dragon? Has Meltzer specified? I do wonder if Danielson did not want to give up his trademarks... Anyway, I think this is going to be awesome.

Stan Hansen vs. Kenta Kobashi 4-10-94 This is a Champion's Carnival match. WHAT WORKED: * Hansen being absolutely surly, and Kobashi being a daredevil against the huge Texan. * Kobashi bringing the fight to Hansen, retribution for years of being Hansen's punching bag. * The brawling on the outside was terrific, Kobashi was like a man possessed. * The bumps and stiffness, staples of AJPW in the '90s. Like the powerbomb on the floor with Vader like force. * Kobashi's spectacular selling, Hansen was no slouch either. WHAT DIDN'T WORK: * The ref and his terrible counts - All Japan had some of the worst refs ever. * Didn't live up to expectations of their 7/29/93 match, but it would be hard too. ****1/4 Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada 4/11/94 For some reason, this is not a Champion's Carnival match. WHAT WORKED: * Its Misawa and Kawada. I know that this train of thought wouldn't be as valid in their later stages, but in '94, it is gospel. * Action packed contest until the time limit is reached. There is no wasted movement. * Closing sequence. I knew it was going to be a draw, but the heat and build is epic. Kawada holding on, while taking immense damage is a great character building match. * The dive block sequence was splendid. * Kawada utilizing the head exploding philosophy, but not going ape shit with it. * No moves are really given, I have always liked this. It is not just kick in the gut, then wham, like in the US. * Pacing was well executed. WHAT DIDN'T WORK: * Clipping. I hate it when matches like this are clipped. * Misawa's Hogan-esque comeback and spotty selling. * Again, expectations. Although this is an awesome match, and each of their bouts was a building experience leading to 6-3, I just want more. ****1/2

Great write up, I really enjoy your comments. I just downloaded this match today, and now I definitely cannot wait until I watch it.

Hansen vs. Andre 9/23/81 I watched it, and was not overly impressed. I watched it a second time, and it grew on me. I watched it for a third time, last night, and I found out why it is hailed. Andre goes on his berserker rampage like he did against Khan in the stretcher match, and it is awesome. They brawl like two men possessed, literally beating the shit out of each other. Andre has a look of sheer anger at times, which is awesome. I disliked the finish though, but neither man was going to do the job to each other, but Hansen will job to Inoki... I am not sure where this will place on my ballot, I do like the match, but I dig juniors work typically more than huge heavyweights, but it remains, it is Hansen and Andre.

If I recall correctly, Steiner went ballistic with his "lead" pipe, but it took numerous shots to subdue Goldberg.To be honest, I miss the days of WCW. The undercard was routinely good with the cruisers and tag teams, but the main event scene was abysmal for a long, long time. Good thread though, I really like reading your comments.

He could have stayed in Japan prior to joining ECW, WCW, or the WWF. From all accounts, he really enjoyed himself working opposite Liger and Ohtani. He enjoyed getting paid well for shorter tours, and apparently the traveling wasn't as bad as trekking through the continental United States.

I noticed three of the Benoit books quoted each other, Bret's book, deathvalleydriver, and thesmartmarks. I was definitely surprised to see DVDVR as a source, and a poster being quoted. I never realized DVDVR was that popular. Ring of Hell - It was an okay read, had some interesting moments, but it felt like a bad day of mania, flip flopping from Benoit is a monster to it wasn't his fault, back to a monster, then he was the most caring and compassionate father in history. It was at time too sensational, the consistent flip flopping got irritating. Some of the side stories were also interesting, like Sabu having a bullet in his face. The author seemed to genuinely hate Vince McMahon, or at least portray the IWC opinions. Scott Hall and Konnan being used as a credible source was humorous. I had been watching Benoit since '94, or '95 and had never really noticed him looking like he was in immense pain or psychological duress. Although some of the things he did do was insane, like belly flopping from the top rope to the floor on a table, or his diving head butts from atop a cage or ladder. I still think there is too much blame being placed upon the business, and Vince. He has unethical, unmoral, and unprofessional demands, but no one has to follow them. I wonder why Benoit didn't just move to Japan and stay on the New Japan roster. One of the Benoit books, titled Benoit was weird. It was really weird that they included Benoit's title reigns.

I agree with that as well, and as I said, I download a ton on a daily basis. I do that because I never know when a link is going to die, and since I only use Megaupload, I have to often act quick. Oh, I will say this, it sucks when matches I have wanted for a while show up online in sendspace or rapidshare But quick glance at my categorized list, I have over 1500 matches on my external hard drive, and about 300ish DVDs. That is a lot of matches, obviously it pails in comparison to many, but it is nevertheless a lot of wrestling. But yeah, there is never enough wrestling, but the catch game gets irritating sometimes.

I download around four gigabytes worth of wrestling on a daily basis, but never watch it. Well, it takes a long while to watch it. I have hundreds of DVDs, unwatched. I buy, or download, and then it takes me forever to get around to watching the footage. Oh, I only buy and download single matches, full shows are often unbearable. Being a hardcore wrestling fan is very demanding, especially if you have a wide range of likes and interests, (AJPW pre-split, '90s NJPW juniors, fabled lucha, '90s WCW, ROH from '02 to present, BattlArts, NOAH from 00 to present). That is a lot of footage. Now, keep in mind, when stuff is being pimped by reputable posters, I go out of my way to get that match(es). So yeah, it can be overloading.

Was it me, or did Vince's eye look swollen after Bret started pummeling him? Also, any thoughts on Bret's ability to perform? I wonder if he will be able to compete again, and at a high level. I had a heat stroke, which is different than a normal stroke, but after a few years I was able to perform athletically near the same level I had before.

Same here.

FAVOURITE WORKERS: Benoit, Danielson, McGuinness, Kobashi, KENTA FAVOURITE PROMOTIONS: WWF (00-03), NOAH (00-09), ROH (02-09) FAVOURITE MATCHES: Angle/Benoit RR '03, Kobashi/Misawa Mar '03, Danielson vs. KENTA/Joe/McGuinness/Morishima, Benoit vs. HHH vs. HBK, Orton vs. Foley, Cena/Umaga RR '07 BEST THING ABOUT THIS DECADE: Introduction of Ring of Honor, Flair retiring and not dying in the ring, Benoit & Guerrero becoming World champions, Kobashi returning from countless "career ending" injuries WORST THING ABOUT THIS DECADE: Too many workers dying, drugs in professional wrestling, NWATNA, Feinstein

That is sound booking.

What happened to Samoa Joe? Have not seen him on television lately, or the PPV. I wonder if TNA would have ran the same storyline had Bret not returned.

I watched the Angle/Styles match. Seeing Angle do all of the crazy things he did made me cringe and expect him to suddenly stop moving. Hell, just watching him struggle to get to his feet made of think of Mickey Mantle in the 60's.

I agree. Hardcore wrestling like what the IWA in Japan presented, or what FMW was doing was insane for the human body. Chairshots started weak, typically soft blows on the back or an appendage. In the 90s, Sabu started throwing chairs while Cactus Jack was using them to deliver elbow drops off ladders. Blood flowed more in the 90s than in the 70s and 80s with the meteoric rise of hardcore wrestling and low-level independent circles opening. There were cards where every single wrestler bled, and bled heavily. There were few huge gushers I can remember from the 80s, almost none from the 70s, the 90s is where the blood flowed freely. If anything, it is what you said: to make it look good. His tendency was to wow the fans, which he did either with his willingness to sacrifice his body or to look real in the ring with his stiff strikes, chops/kicks/head butts. His swan dive head butt was dangerous because of the shock absorption his body sustained from falling from that height and the velocity of which his body crashed to the mat. Gravity was much harsher when he was throwing himself off a cage to the mat or to the floor through tables. His superplex was also particularly dangerous – he made it look good, and in a bad way by landing on the back of his head and rolling over. His topes through the ropes were always dangerous, like the one against Booker T when he crashed into the announce table back first. I can only presume that years of taking head dives in the ring would lead to a poorly functioning brain. Neither do I. When I got my first compilation puro tape in the late nineties I was blown away by the amount of headropping going on. I was an avid fan of them. I loved watching Kobashi or Misawa get spiked on their heads. At the time, I also liked the Goosebump books. Now the situation is different. I have been exposed to a greater level of understanding in wrestling – I prefer a story in the ring without the need for excessive headropping or senseless endangerment. The ends of their actions are certainly undesirable, but they had something to be proud of when the song was still in tune. They made money, had fun, and entertained us. That has to count for something. In addition, just the overall hard shots he took to the head from All Japan’s best. We know his lower extremities are not at peak performance. How many knee injuries have placed him on the shelf? Test also had drug and steroid problems. That could be a major indicator of why he had problems. Benoit was a devout steroid user. Some people can withstand the pressures of professional wrestling and some cannot. No one person is cut from the same exact cloth. Edge did fall off plenty of ladders and take unprotected chair shots. From late 99 until his neck injury he was a bump magnet for the WWF. Hell since his return he is still falling off ladders and getting brained with chairs. Edge also worked with Angle and Benoit often. He took many overhead suplexes. Or in CZW, doing a death valley driver off a cage through some tables. That all depends on who is doing the tackling, Goldberg and Rhino have hurt people using this move and the former broke his neck spearing the barricade. Edge’s spear is more like a running hug rather than a sternum-breaking move. Another note of impact is the whiplash effect Goldberg and Rhino’s spears had. I believe Goldberg concussed many people in WCW from the spear, most notably Curt Hennig. Regarding the training, I find it odd that many young wrestlers have been trained by legends in the sport. Another thing of interest to point out is the prevalence of young wrestlers training other wrestlers, like in the ROH academy or Homicide’s hundred pupils.