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WingedEagle

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Everything posted by WingedEagle

  1. Christopher complaining about a chain, then clips of Tommy Rich beating Doug Gilbert before both Gilberts take him out post-match. Eddie says the 3 of them are the new Memphis Mafia. Tommy Rich is still one of my favorite discoveries on this set, even if he's not even remotely prominent.
  2. Gene rundowns the card, Diana with emotional comments going overboard with the the tears and crazy. Then Bret & Davey with promos. They also preview the Beverlys vs. Disasters, Taker vs. Kamala and HBK vs. Model.
  3. Savage promo that he's not getting help from Perfect, who comes out saying Savage wants him in his corner and that the best man will have him in his corner. Interesting dynamic in that its unclear which face the crowd should get behind. When I watched this as it played out back then I wasn't too invested in it at all, but this time around I've enjoyed it a lot more. Go figure.
  4. Its not Dump/Chigusa nor is it the the tag match from earlier in the night. But its still pretty damn good. Surprisingly little heat for the predictably fast start which sees dropkicks raining everywhere. The crowd gets into things as the near falls start coming pretty early. Tons of great high spots and counters playing off their previous encounters. I normally don't go for Toyota bridging out of falls but it felt right here. The post-match was intense, emotional and just as big a part of this as anything that took place during the match. I wish I'd know a bit more about what led up to this as well as that Chiguys was Yamada's idol growing up. As great as this was, it didn't compare to the tag from earlier in the night. It deserves its own recognition, but man that match blew me away. ****
  5. Flik didn't leave much to cover. I absolutely loved this, much moreso than the hair match later that night. Bull & Aja plays monsters perfectly, while Yamada & Hokuto take a thorough beating while staying determined and never laying down. Hokuto's brawling was just awesome. So much to love here, there's really no good place to start or stop identifying it all. You have to question the booking a bit because given the beating she takes here I don't know anyone can give her a chance to win the hair match later. Kong & Bull bust out a couple dives that put heavyweights around the world to shame. Just such great storytelling with different roles on the Yamada/Hokuto team, the big vs. small element, high spots, brawling and a killer finish -- everything you could ask for. Was there ever a big Hokuto/Yamada match coming out of this? ****1/2
  6. When does Pogo jump back to FMW? Pogo takes his cowboy boots off to use as an early weapon, and one Hunter springs a gusher right away. Headhunters' matches always read better than they watch, and that's no different here. Pogo accidentally nails Matsunaga with chair and they need to be separated afterwards w/ challenges issued. **
  7. This was pretty decent and kept my attention throughout. That may be more due to the setting and atmosphere, but what's wrong with that? They keep things simple and do simple very well. Charming for what it is in front of dozens of people. Looking forward to PG13, but Jamie can definitely work underneath and throw a punch. **3/4
  8. Best part of this was Manny Fernandez on the mic pre-match. Unique, but forgettable and stupid. They also should've shot it during the day as the lighting here was poor.
  9. Rude with his usual pre-match schtick that seems to go over well, though he was apparently compelled to include a a pretty derogatory term that hopefully the live crowd didn't pick up on. We get both national anthems to set the stage for the tourney's climax. Rude went out of his way to bump really well for Chono throughout the match to put him over as strongly as possible. Loved him taking Flair's face first bump after eating a ton of offense. Things slow down a bit which was probably necessary given how long they were going. I actually thought Rude could've sold quite a bit more here, as Chono spent a lot of time on his knee and arm, and Rude was right back with a jumping piledriver and top rope dropkick showing no ill effects. The crowd really got into things after they traded superplexes, before kicked out of a sleeper like Austin/Hart for a near fall. After Rude used the top rope kneedrop as a finisher throughout the tourney, Chono kickd out to a massive pop. By the time we get to the STF spot that followed, it even looks like Watts & Dusty are marking out. Great finish and post-match celebration as well. No question this was a great match but it didn't rise to MOTYC level for me, even for Rude, as I preferred the Steamboat Iron Man match. ****
  10. After a brief Scott/Muto exchange to start, the Steiners clear the ring with power moves and you can tell right away just how hot their act is. The natives then pull the same move and mock the Steiner's barking & crawling in a great spot. I thought this was a really great performance by Muto, as he had his working boots on but also didn't hesitate to throw in a lot of the Muta showmanship responsible for that great character. Strong finishing stretch that put the Steiners over big after Muto really held his own for a while. ***3/4
  11. Between these and the Samurai matches, Liger's record of quality on the year holds up against just about anyone. Can't ask for much more out of an extended sprint between these two, with awesome power moves a cut above juniors anywhere else in the world. Benoit really looked like as much of a monster / powerhouse in the division as was possible here. Awesome finishing stretch with reversals on big moves including a tombstone and near falls before the awesome power bomb off the top for the finish. ****1/4
  12. Really focused arm work by Charles in the first fall which Atlantis sells well and sets up the marathon armbar in the third. I enjoyed the the quick second fall even if I just can't buy a stretch as a finisher. They did a really spectacular job working the arm in the third, with Atlantis making his way around the ring seeking a rope break for nearly 5 minutes. Its tough to argue with Atlantis working underneath for almost all of the first and last falls before the finish, but I didn't mind it because of how strongly and consistently he kept selling the arm into and after the finish. Really great. **** This started off what at least for me has been by far the blow away disc of the set. Six ****+ matches by my count with one falling just short, and not one of them stateside. Such a comp would make quite the international intro, and that's before you explain it all took place over 9 days.
  13. Did I miss something?
  14. Really sad news, especially leaving behind such a large family. Best wishes to all of his loved ones.
  15. We get a pretty quick start with counters and strikes before things slow down. Muto delivers a dragon screw here before it was the hot move. Pretty clear early on we're not getting a repeat of the '91 Final but this isn't a stinker either. Muto works extensively on Chono's neck with a couple suplexes. We get a neat sequence where they trade Yakuza kicks and dropkicks before Chono wins with his second STF. ***1/4
  16. I actually liked this a whole lot less than the Hashimoto match. This felt like a resthold display with some work on Rude's back and Sasaki's neck mixed in. It also felt unnecessarily long. I like Rude's use of the top rope kneedrop as a finisher in Japan but don't recall him ever using it as a big move in the states. **1/2
  17. Rude sells well for Hashimoto's kicks. I loved Rude selling his back while doing his dance. Man Hash's kicks were really something else. Nice to see their breakout moment on this yearbook. I agree that Rude looked out of place here, but I didn't think it was bad. He didn't tone down his heel schtick at all and it felt different and fun, with Madua's interference getting pretty solid heat. Hash eats a big DDT and gives Rude a pretty soft one. Rude with a great looking DDT off the top and top rope kneedrop for the finish. ***
  18. Ventura builds up Jake, who talks about his father telling him to say his prayers and eat his vitamins, and then Jake spit on that. Hell. Of. A. Promo. If you put this on a Clash or PPV instead of a Saturday night it should've been huge. I still wish we got his debut attack on Sting. Such a shame his run was short because he came in on fire.
  19. We get clips of the drawing for Vader's challenger due to Jake attacking Sting earlier (which unfortunately didn't make the set). We then join Simmons vs. Vader in progress, with Simmons overpowering the champion. Everything we get here is great. The crowd is on fire. Simmons' offense on the bigger man with a lariat, backdrop suplex and spinebuster make him look like some kind of superhero and not at all out of his league. Jim Ross also contributed with one of his classic calls here. Simmons kicks out of the Vader splash, flips out of a power bomb and hits a great looking powerslam to take the title to a *huge* pop. *** for the match, but a full 5 for how this was laid out as far as establishing a new world champion in a matter of minutes. Basically a perfectly executed money in the bank type situation about 15 years earlier. Now why is the Barbarian the best you can come up with for your hot new babyface champion all fall? Rude? Vader? Jake? Something?
  20. Cornette delivers a great promo before the match about women giving up their husbands & children for a night with the Bodies, Lane's busted eardrum & Armstrong. Cornette is ejected from the building which likely spells his return for the finish. Everyone blades, Cornette predictably returns but Armstrong cuts short his attempt to interfere with the racket and the Fantastics roll up Pritchard for the title change. Along with his pre-match promo, Cornette's post-match tantrum is the highlight here. This probably reads better than it was as the match felt unnecessarily long and didn't live up to any of the clips setting it up. SMW featured better storytelling both going into and coming out of Fire on the Mountain than it'd shown throughout the year so I'm really looking forward to seeing if it can get on a roll. **3/4
  21. Great clips of how the feud developed and built to barbed wire cage match. Starts with the Bodies winning the tag titles, then an backstage brawl with chairs & boards, which spills out to the parking lot before Bodies drive off & the Fantastics break the rear windshield. Clips of another match & brawl around the arena after. Finally clips of a street fight where Bodies tie Bobby Fulton to the post. Tough for the match to follow this video.
  22. Wright distracts the ref while Lee has DWB covered, allowing someone to interfere and DWB to win the title. We are very fortunate this was clipped.
  23. RNR are super over. The production quality makes this look more dated than anything on the Memphis 80s set. We get your standard Morton face in peril segment early including a blade job off a post shot. Like Loss said, I would've liked the double dropkick serve as the finish here but what we go better set the stage for the post-match attack. That of course came with another Fuller promo, so in the end we win anyways. ***1/4
  24. This is the $5K Challenge, and they do a good job explaining the rules. The Bodies make good use of the ability to tag someone other than your own partner. The Fantastics are out first thanks to a loaded boot that the announcers completely miss, but then Fulton knocks the Bodies out with Cornette's racket to build for the big show. Awesome visual of Golden ripping at Davis's eyes and cuts. Studd Stable do a great job working over Davis and then Dynamite. Gibson is out to save the faces, who lose via DQ and the Studds win $5K. Both tag feuds are furthered here and it was a solid TV match. ***1/4
  25. Questioning Bob Armstrong about Brian Lee in the title match. I definitely enjoy Dutch in his role, but Armstrong is not a compelling character.
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