Superstar Sleeze

I will answer your questions when I have more time as they will require me to really sit down and flesh out what I want to say. I don't want to skim due to time constraints. I still wanted to post my latest blog on the BrainBusters. Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard are one of the best tag teams of all-time with an incredible run in the NWA. When they went up North, they immediately started a great program with the Rockers that put both tag teams on the map. It established the Rockers as the best pure babyface tag team on the roster and the Busters as the next heel challengers for Demolition. While I think the Demolition feud fell flat due to Ax indulging his worst habits of guzzling his opponents. It was nonetheless a successful one year run that bolsters both the legacies fro Arn & Tully as they proved that they were not just NWA workers, but workers that could get over anywhere. http://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/20...n-wwf-1989.html

I have not fully fleshed this out yet, but hear me out. Valentine is like the Flair of the WWF in the 80s. Valentine and Flair have very similar spots: very stiffing, hard-hitting strikes, Flop vs TIMBAHHH, begging off, figure-4. Flair cuts a bit better pace. Valetine prefers to work on top and Flair is more giving in the ring. I think people who's major hang-up on Flair is that as the champ he got his ass kicked too much, but probably love the Hammer because he does all the Flair stuff, but works on top in the majority of his matches. Since the WWF had Hogan as its ace, they needed their "Flair" to be on top, but rather in the midcard and tag division where he can be put in place to have great matches with a whole host of folks. I thought the following match could be viewed as what a Valentine NWA title defense could be like. I don't even think it is anywhere near his best match, but felt more in that vein than any other singles match I have watched. The one issue with being in the WWF midcard and now being featured is you became prone to getting lost in the mire, which is what hurts Valentine in comparison to Flair. Greg "The Hammer" Valentine vs "The Rebel" Dick Slater - 1/87 Boston I love how Gorilla and Lord Alfred always goof on Joey Marella. That's definitely something my Dad would definitely do to me if we were ever on TV together. Valentine works this match in a style that you would believe would be how he would work a NWA World Title defense. Unlike Flair, even though they have similar mechanics and spots, Valentine is going to work the match more on top and make Slater earn his keep. Valentine has vaulted into my Top 5 wrestlers I wish got World Title runs at some point. I will say I believe this is the only Dick Slater match I have ever seen. I know of the tag team with Bob Orton and feud with Jake the Snake in Mid-South, but other than he is a blind spot in wrestling. He definitely lives up to his reputation as a poor man's Terry Funk with how he sells Valentine's chops and blows. Valentine bails early after Slater gets the first punch in. They regroups, but Slater is able to maintain the advantage until Valentine tosses him over the top rope. Before he brings him in, he swings down the hammer across his chest. Valentine goes for the figure-4 after some hard-hitting work, but Slater counters into the small package. Valentine unloads, but here comes Slater with some punches of his own. TIMBAAAAAHHHHH! He even begs off after this. They have a wicked slugfest in the corner. Valentine gets his foot on the ropes and Slater drops down on his knee and goes for the figure-4 of his own, but Valentine eyerakes. Valentine pours it on with a sleeper and a figure-4 with Slater countering each, but unable to garner any momentum. Valentine pulls his trunks into corner gaining the pinfall while Joey Marella is oblivious to Slater's feet on his ropes. That is not going to help his reputation. Valentine still went out of his way to put over Slater with TIMBAAAHHH and selling the leg of the figure-4, but I did not get a good feel for what were Slater's spots or what him unique. This really felt like Valentine was the champion and they were going to run his match which is a high-intensity slugfest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- I take it back, this following Tom Zenk match is a better representation of what I think would be a prototypical Greg Valentine NWA Title Defense. Zenk is that perfect mid-card white meat babyface fodder that Flair would defend against (as he would in early '90) often. It was interesting to get to see Valentine in this context. Greg "The Hammer" Valentine vs Tom Zenk - 2/87 Philly The Dream Team was programmed with the Can-Ams (I have not found the tag match and we are robbed of Valentine/Martel in '87, my dream match) thus they broke it up to singles affairs for this show. They start off with some hot arm work with a good sense of struggle. Valentine follows up with a Oklahoma Slam into the post and then proceeded to stand on Zenk quite a long time. I was listening to the Titans show, I was laughing so hard during this part. This is a great match to contrast with the Flair match because Valentine is working on top and Zenk is forced to shine via selling rather than through offense. He hung him out to dry with a front suplex onto the ropes followed up with a figure-4. Valentine knees Zenk onto the floor and then swings the Hammer down on the ropes. I loved the bit with Zenk pulling Valentine out to the floor and he holds onto the ref. Even though Valentine prefers to work on top, he still shows ass like the above and then later lets Zenk chase him around the ring. Valentine wins the chase, but Zenk finally fires up and does a poor man's Martel with his highstepping. Finally, Valentine hoists him up and crotches him on the top rope, which the ref signals for the DQ. I don't think this is as good as the Slater match, but it is not a bad match per se. The Flair-style matches let the opponents look good, but they are just doing the Flair spots and only the cream of the crop were able to actually stand out by contributing. The Valentine-style matches force the opponents to look good at selling and earning it. However, again, his opponents do not show anything that makes them stand out. They look plug-in-play wrestlers while Valentine wrestle around him. You have to hold these wrestlers accountable. I think the Valentine/Blazer match is a great showcase of how the Valentine can get a wrestler over, but it is on that wrestler ultimately to get himself over by contributing interesting and unique spots. Valentine has proved time and time again that he can get good matches out people as disparate as Zenk and Muraco, which shows his style is readily adaptable. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Greg "The Hammer" Valentine vs Brutus Beefcake - 7/87 MSG I felt compelled to include a match from this series even given my disdain for the Beefer. Valentine must have really not wanted to lose his hair because they put over the ultimate goal being to cut "Luscious" Johnny V instead of Valentine's golden locks. This series is also important because it bridged Beefcake from top heel tag wrestler to #3 or #4 babyface from 1988-90. Shockingly, this is a very good match, but who am I to doubt Greg Fuckin Valentine. They work in this WWF feud style so it is not a Katie Bar The Door Pier-Six Brawl, but just than version of it. Beefcake knocks their heads together and starts teeing off on Valentine. I love how Valentine sells the atomic drop as hurting his body from the tailbone to the top of his head. Valentine uses the leverage move into the turnbuckles to gain the advantage and Johnny V chokes Beefcake. "Luscious" Johnny V taunts the debilitated Beefcake with his hair. Valentine crashes down on Beefer with all his weight. Valentine applies the figure-4 onto Beefcake. He kicks Valentine off on his second attempt into the turnbuckles. I like how in WWF matches this is not an immediate transition, but there is a real sense of struggle. Valentine goes for a desperation suplex, but Beefcake reverses it. Beefcake reels off a nice lariat and follows up with his sleeper on Valentine and then on Johnny V before Dino Bravo interferes. They cut off a couple locks before the Bulldogs save. It is not an all-time great match, but Beefcake is surprisingly good throughout this match. He brought plenty of energy in his shine and home stretch runs. He actually worked in some hope spots in the heat segment and he sold pretty well. Valentine was Valentine, which is to say he was pretty damn good. I loved him crashing down on Beefcake with all his weight and I thought he sold like a million bucks for Beefcake. Given, the crowd reactions it was to easy to see that Beefcake was getting over and definitely part of that was how well Valentine sold for him and structured the match around him.

Greg "The Hammer" Valentine vs "The Rock" Don Muraco - PTW 06/88 I went in expecting the absolute worst and was pleasantly surprised at how well this came off and yes that is mostly due to the amazing carrying powers of The Hammer. If you let Valentine work his match, you are the very least going to get a good match and thats why the Roberts match was so boring as the wrestled a Snake match. Muraco put himself in the very capable hands of the Hammer and I was entertained for the 15 minutes of the match. Muraco for his part actually worked hard and ended up blowing up, but at first I was impressed with how quick he looked with all that muscle mass. The short shine was a showcase of Muraco's surprising quickness and one sweet sequence on the mat. Only for Valentine to start taking over with nasty, high chops that look at home in Japan. Yes, Valentine goes back to the chinlock a lot, but I liked his striking and the grittiness. He hit a sick hotshot on Muraco and then started landing wicked blows on Muraco. Muraco takes exception to this, but Valentine bails and resumes his offense with harsh strikes. This has to be up there for one of the best striking showcases from Valentine. Valentine crotches himself on Muraco's knees. Muraco still has some energy with some decent strikes and punctuates with a shoulderbreaker, but only gets two. Valentine starts to work the knee, but he crashes on his ass to the mat. Muraco ends up on top of the ref, but moves at the last second so Valentine lands an elbow on the ref. Muraco is totally blown up and the ref calls for a DQ while Valentine has him cradled. This is a match to watch to see Valentine just unleash his arsenal on a willing victim, but nothing especially great. ------------------------------------------------- Greg "The Hammer" Valentine vs "The Rock" Don Muraco - MSG 7/88 "[Muraco] told me it is his lifelong dream to put Valentine out of business" - "Superstar" Graham "They are not just fighting for a paycheck. They are fighting for morality. MORALITY!" - "Superstar" Graham I decided to push my luck and watch another for their series and once again I thought it was good, but not great. Muraco goes after the HeartBreaker early. It took them a year and half to pay off that storyline thats incredible. Valentine's shoulder eats the post. Muraco very gently rams him into the post. Muraco's arm work is pretty decent and I smile when he hit the Asiatic Spike onto the arm. Valentine revs up and just starts unloading with blows. Muraco turns the tide and Superstar starts talking smack on Valentine while Muraco lays into him. Valentine picks the leg and wraps it around the ringpost. Valentine works the leg and alternates with some nasty forearms and clubbering on Muraco. Muraco keeps fighting out of the figure-4. Muraco mounts his comeback with Valentine begging off. Muraco finally gets the HeartBreaker off only for the time limit to expire. It is a match that I will be probably forget soon, but during it I never thought it dragged, but never really hit that next level. Valentine could still go in the post-Dream Team and I would have loved to see him get a run in the tag division against the Rockers or against Savage for the title in a one-off. Alas.

Greg "The Hammer" Valentine vs Jake "The Snake" Roberts - 5/88 Primetime Wrestling This was a pretty disappointing affair as most Jake the Snake matches are for me. This is a perfect example of an air-tight logical match that is boring as piss. Roberts did not seem up to work at all as there was no babyface shine and he worked the entirety from underneath in holds. The entire match was structured as Valentine works a hold -> mini-Snake comeback ->signals DDT -> Valentine bails & stall. Rinse, lather and repeat. I will say the first couple holds were boring, but the leg work was the most entertaining and Roberts is always game to sell, just not put any effort into anything else. It did not feel like Valentine was really laying in his shots. They built the entire match around the "D-D-T!", which the crowd was chanting at the beginning until they were lulled to sleep. Now I was ready to be pissed if Roberts signalled for the DDT and then finally hit it because the whole bout was built around Valentine bailing when he knew it was coming. Roberts may be lazy, but he ain't stupid. He hit the DDT out of nowhere, which paid off that internal story. Jake the Snake brought the internal consistency and his usual selling, but left Valentine to the carry the workload in a really layout. Valentine did not even stiff him. Booooooooooooo!

I lol'd. Greg "The Hammer" Valentine vs Ronnie Garvin - WWF Royal Rumble 1990 I Quit Match Valentine and Garvin staged an all-out, NWA-style war in this one. They are two ornery muthafuckas looking to beat the piss out of each other in a match. I loved the boxing bits at the beginning. At first, Valentine wants to leave due to the Hammer Jammer. After TIMMMMBBAAHHHH, he is giving just as good as he gets. He was never a heel to succumb to the WWF heel tradition of getting steamrolled. He would cheat and stooge, but he always dished out punishment too. Ronnie Garvin is such a great striker. This audience reminded me of the Survivor Series '93 audience for the RNRs/Bodies match. They could not make heads or tails, but stiffness is an universal language and eventually the audience started to get into it. The pinfall attempts to get tiresome after a while and yes some do act as reversals, but I think there were still too many. I didn't mind the Hammer Jammer stuff with mocking faces as much as they had established that was the role for the Hammer Jammer. I loved the struggle for each transition as they were laying into each other. It was smart and entertaining to keep going back to that. The head cracking spot was perfect to get the Hammer Jammer off. Say what you will about the mocking faces, once Garvin got in the figure-4 he sold it for all its worth going above and beyond most to sell it the rest of the match. The Flair press slam off the top was a nice nod to the past. Once Garvin got the Heartbreaker off, I enjoyed the WWF-style antics with Jimmy Hart, hitting the Hammer with his shin-guard and slapping on the Scorpion Deathlock for the finish, I have no idea why Vince let them go on PPV, but I am sure glad he did because this is great match. It is so different for the WWF given how strike-oriented and vicious it is, but still has the WWF touch with the opposing leg braces. It is a great swan song for both men as they would never reach this peak again even though Valentine's career would continue into the next decade as it epitomizes their stiff, vicious style in the ring. ****

I really liked this concept, but never had time to contribute, but this is the missing piece to the BrainBusters blog. The Ultimate Warriors (Ultimate Warrior, Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart, The Rockers) vs The Heenan Family (Andre The Giant, Arn Anderson, Haku & Bobby "The Brain" Heenan) - Survivor Series 1989 Everyone is riding the white lightning in the opening promo. I have no clue how anyone could focus on a promo with Warrior grabbing their heads. He ends the promo with Shawn and Neidhart between his biceps. We need more gibberish promos (no, Bray Wyatt does not scratch that itch). I love the WOYAH~! This is a fun, WWF-style match and my favorite Survivor Series match (not that I have seen many). It is action-packed, but it tells a clear story and everyone plays their roles perfectly. Andre is the Heenan Family's big weapon and Gorilla even states to the effect that the Weasel can only hide behind the Giant if worse comes to worse only to have the Warrior summarily eliminate right at the outset via countout. The look on Arn's face says it all: "We're fucked." However, Arn and Haku make the best of it. They eliminate the Anvil in a decent segment with a crescent kick. Arn & Haku could have been a great tag team as they matched up with the Rockers well. I loved Warrior pacing up down the ring like a man possessed. Hidden highlight was Warrior actually propelling Shawn off the top rope while they were doing Rockers quick tag routine. I liked how the Rockers blocked the suplex with one catching the other and double superkick both Arn & Haku and friggin' Warrior just stands there ominously in the background. Heenan lived up to his moniker "The Weasel". He tags in when Marty is down, but when Marty hits him back he immediately hightails it out. I really liked the sequence that eliminated Marty: Arn blind knee during a criss-cross, Haku crescent kick (eliminated Anvil), Heenan gets some licks and pins Marty. Arn & Haku get trapped in Warrior bearhugs, but manage to get out and gain the advantage on Shawn. I am not a huge fan of lots of rope running in a match and WWF definitely has more criss cross sequences than any other promotion. Even though I don't like it, credit where credit is due this is all really friggin' great rope running by Shawn, Haku and Arn. I loved the Warrior-assisted Rocket Launcher on Haku, which I could believe was not a finish. Only for Haku miss a springboard reverse cross-body (it looked bitchin') and Warrior propelling Shawn off the top to securing a pin. We get our first taste of dissension in the Heenan Family during a sunset flip saying that Heenan was not helping. Arn is able to hit his spinebuster to eliminate Shawn. They do a short heat segment on Warrior, which is not Warrior's forte at all before Warrior sends Arn into Heenan on the apron. Gorilla press, splash, crowd is going wild and it is rubber pants time for Bobby Heenan. Heenan busts out the Ray Stevens bump in the corner and the fans lap up as Warrior revels in beating the Weasel after Wrestlemania V and all the shit he has put him through. This is a match that the WWF excels at the babyfaces dominate and the whole is a crowd-please affair. You see the Heenan Family lose their big weapon, but they pick off some easy fodder. Then you some great tag work before settling down into main event: The Brain & The Enforcer vs The Ultimate Warrior. They keep it short and sweet manage to pay off Heenan Family dissension and Warrior sending the family home happy. Great popcorn match!

It was actually the first installment of this series: http://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/20...-1985-1987.html. I basically go after the Hart Foundation's over-inflated legacy in this one also. I think the big point of contention is if you think the Bulldogs/Harts work holds up. If you do, then you can construct a case around that, but I did not. I think Bret shined a lot brighter in the Steamboat and Savage singles match. What I thought was really special about Bret even though I thought the matches were underwhelming was how amazing a ring general he was. He was clearly the leader of every single tag match he was in. You wrestled Bret's match. It was those qualities that you witness that with hindsight make it almost obvious that he was going to go on to be a great wrestler. I know others have said it (Loss I believe), but if there was such a thing as a 90s NWA touring champion, Bret Hart would be the guy I would pick. He was a perfect fit for the style especially for how good he was at working subtle heel in face vs face matches.

Does anybody else have trouble watching Misawa take Back Drop Drivers? The home stretch epitomizes All Japan and how incredible Misawa and Jumbo are as workers. This is the type of match where if you came in JIP to the slapfest in the middle, you may come away thinking there was a five star match here. There is one element of the beginning that I did like. I liked how Misawa took it to Jumbo immediately and hit his big diving elbow. It is a title match and Misawa is going in with the challenger’s mentality that he has to take the match to Jumbo. However, the match goes into a whole another gear once the slapfest breaks out and Jumbo annihilates Misawa with the high knee. As soon as the crowd is finished doing the Jumbo cheer, they break into a “Mi-Sa-Wa” chant. The heat segment was ok, it is nothing that will set your world on fire with Jumbo working the knee after a kneecrusher on the table. Once Misawa dodges Jumbo on a criss-cross and hits his lariat, the match really picks up into a great sequence for the Triple Crown. Misawa is not quite where he would be in a couple years, but this extended comeback is portent of the amazing things to come. The highlight spots that stuck out in my mind were the reversal of the back drop driver, but Misawa’s faces eats the ropes, just nasty. Misawa’s diving elbow (I kept thinking this was in the Champion’s Carnival so I bit on that finish). The hotshot by Jumbo followed by the Misawa German was friggin crazy and it was so cool to see a Japanese audience lose their shit over it. What I love about this finish by actually watching matches backwards is how in some ways Misawa feels like Kawada. He pours it on attempting to get the pin after each bomb. He goes for the big bomb, Tiger Driver, only to be reversed and eat three back drop drivers. You would see that in Kawada/Misawa matches with Kawada running out of gas and Misawa hitting the repeated moves to get victory. It enhances those matches because now you know Misawa knows how Kawada feels. He was there. He lived it. He developed his killer instinct wrestling these matches with Jumbo where he learned when you get the chance you pounce and you do not let up. If that means three Tiger Suplexes so be it, I friggin’ earned this and I am not letting go. This was another in a slew of star-making performances for Misawa where you could feel he was getting closer both in kayfabe sense and in a real sense. The match was becoming more built around him and what would become predominant All Japan style. He had so much more confidence to lead in this match. In a kayfabe sense, he took it to Jumbo early and his comeback was filled with a lot of nearfalls that you got the impression that Jumbo was desperate (hotshot), but pulled it out in the end. I am slighting Jumbo by not talking about him more because he was great in this match timing all his offense well and selling the Misawa elbow like a million bucks. The Misawa elbow only works if he, the Ace, sells it and he made that move. I think the top three matches are all hovering around four stars for me and I will give it sometime before I make argument for ranking them, but hot damn that was one helluva night if you were attendance. Judging by the crowd reactions, they knew they were getting the best and they were hot as hell for it.

Does anybody have a better bodyslam than Jumbo Tsuruta?

I'm thinking a best and worst of HH may be the ticket. Hard to not mention any of those. Hogan vs. Warrior. ONE. WARRIOR. NATION.

Guess who's back in circulation. I have spoken my piece on here about the Hart Foundation on multiple occasions. This was good for me to collect all my thoughts in one place. This focuses more on booking than most my blogs because I think the greatness of Hart Foundation is predicated more on great booking than any other tag team. Bret Hart is a great wrestler and he proves in his singles matches, but his "tag team legend" is a construction of Vince McMahon's excellent booking. I don't think this a blight on a record, but in a lot of ways they are more wasted years and when you are vying for greatest of all time you cannot afford wasted years. http://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/20...-1988-1991.html

Holy shit! Did anyone see Doc absolutely level that fan in the intros? I don't think he pulled that punch. The Japanese fans sure as hell love them some Stan Hansen. I mean how can you not. What can't he do? Well, if you thought he couldn't play Ricky Morton, guess again. Even, with all the respected posters above me telling me he could. I thought it was still an incredulous statement that you have to see. Blessed are those who believe without seeing, but doubly blessed are those who have seen because you can revel in the glory that is Stan Hansen. Gordy & Doc were just pricks in this match constantly interfering and that is how we see Hansen get busted open right from the get-go. Whta I love about Hansen's FIP performance is how he is slowly sapped of energy. In the beginning, he is struggling more fiercely and then by the time Gordy is biting his cut you see he has all but withered away until a last second reverse elbow. It was really high-end work. Doc & Gordy were tenacious on that cut never deviating from it. While Spivey is hitting all his big spots, Hansen is still selling on the apron. Then we get the second round of Hansen's great performance where the ref misses the tag due to trying to escort Gordy from the ring and Doc clocks him. The home stretch is so dramatic as Doc is trying to finish off Spivey with everything he has and Gordy keeps running interference on the Human Heat Seeking Missile known as Stan Hansen. The Japanese fans are actively booing Doc & Gordy and they pop progressively bigger for ever Hansen break-up. I LOVED Gordy's tackles to the outside and the wide shot so we could see how much mayhem was going on. They built to a fantastic finish that all paid off with the second ref deeming Hansen legal and Hansen taking Doc's head off with a LARIATOOOOOO~! Hansen played two different roles to perfection in this match as Ricky Morton in the beginning and a wild man running rampant who finally gets his revenge from the first half with a monster lariat. Gordy & Doc keep it off the mat and are excellent pricks with their interference, working the cut, Gordy tackling Hansen at every turn and Doc trying to polish off Spivey. My favorite part may have been all the Japanese fans doing "Hook 'Em Horns" with Stan Hansen. When Americans get that over in Japan it is just cool. Nothing beats 4 big, bad Americans kicking ass and getting over in Japan.

Kawada and Taue are hungry for top billing and they demonstrate that in spades in this encounter. It may be the two second bananas going at it, but they know a victory over the other could secure future matches against the opposing team captains or the Triple Crown. The match encapsulates that tension with wrestlers working hard to secure the victory and throwing caution to wind. They were both willing to take shortcuts and throw big bombs even if meant they risked losing it all. This match and the last both surprised me in how they were worked. This one was a throwback to the 80s. You had the intense matwork, blood, ref bumps and a countout finish and I loved it. The opening matwork is some of the best you will see in 90s All Japan and seemed sensible for the smaller Kawada to keep Taue contained with gnarly submissions. We see once Taue gets free how much of a power advantage he has over Kawada. Kawada is not above taking any measure necessary as he scrapes his boot across the forehead to disengage from Taue's figure-four on the arm in the process cutting Taue open. Now Taue is hot and he proceeds to sumo slap Kawada until they fall out of the ring ending with Taue executing a kneecrusher on the guardrail. I always loved that All Japan spot. Taue's leg work is pretty spot-on and Kawada keeps the struggle alive. They roll out of the ring Taue hits a powerbomb, but waits too long to capitalize allowing Kawada to hot a jumping kick. In a display of superb storytelling, he tenaciously goes after the arm. However, in order to get more leverage on the taller Taue, he is shoved off the ring ropes by Taue. They hit the home stretch each getting nearfalls, Kawada hits his spinkick knocking Taue into the ref. Kawada is able to hit his powerbomb, but the groggy ref is a bit late and he only gets two. They end up on the floor with Kawada looking to put the nail in the coffin with a powerbomb on the floor, but Taue hits the Nodowa on the floor for the countout victory. I loved how scrappy Kawada was in all of this. He was just going from broke and throwing everything he had at the bigger Taue. Taue, for his part, was no slouch and was definitely timing his spots well and looked really invested in the match. The transitions were pretty top notch and the dueling arm/leg work was pretty great. It was a showcase for how effective a simpler style AJPW match could be. It also one of the better usages of the countout finishes. As Zenjo pointed out, Kawada high-risk offense finally bit him in the ass and it got over Taue's finish as a devastating move.

Wow, I was surprisingly underwhelmed by this match. This was one of the best two-person male gymnastics routines even the Canadian judge would have a hard time disagreeing. This was way too cooperative for my tastes. From the beginning the fluid headlock to headscissors ending in a stalemate seemed more at home in the American Indies circa 2007. The strikes were surprisingly weak and the whole match felt heatless. The cartwheel escape into a clothesline sequence by Kroffat would be perfect for ROH. The transitions were perfunctory and the spots aimless. It was weird that punches were used so liberally in a AJPW match. In this match, Kroffat does not bother to sell and at least Kobashi at least displays anguish on his face after Kroffat's moves. Kroffat was a gymnastic robot. An example of the hyper-back and forth was Kroffat hits a huge dive and Kobashi immediately counters into a rolling cradle; Kroffat rolling senton->eats knees on splash->Back drop driver. There was just no sense of struggle. The one interesting takeaway was why didn't Kobashi keep the double-arm DDT in his arsenal. It was the only thing that looked wicked and it is a relatively safe head-drop. This is a great exhibition of wrestling spots, but it misses all the glue that makes wrestling good. I agree with Soup, I think Perfect/Tito is pretty definitively better than this.

Thanks for having me and it was a true pleasure. I hope that I get the chance to do many more. While my Dad may hate Stan Stasiak, he sure loves DISCO INFERNO! Not the wrestler actually, but the song (we were an Alex Wright family). I actually got him a birthday card this year that played the song for him. It was amusing that you chose that song totally at random.

"Guys busting their ass to get signed - but El Torito gets a paycheck - guess its good for business" - Rip Rogers' twitter.

I see said the blind man.

Was the match with Murdoch a one-off? I remember his tag team with Garvin then it just goes blank in my head until Starrcade '87. I thought he was in the UWF during the dying days.

What the fuck was I smoking? This match was all Jake and he truly took this match which always was teetering on being dull to something worth watching. In the hands of lesser work, we would all be snoozing, but then again Dustin probably would not be having this style match. Dustin is not that proficient in working holds; he tends to sit more than wrench, but it is Jake's selling (biting his finger) and his movement (missing punch, taking a punch; rolling to outside -> getting yanked back in) that has this hold weight with audience. I liked the use of the trick knee to break Dustin's momentum and finally give his arm a break. I am still going to harp on him for not selling the arm. It was the crux of the first half of the match and he invested so much in it. It felt wasted and like a reset. The heat segment was also good and solid built Jake up as methodical and vicious while Dustin was fiery. Dustin's comeback allowed him to show some of his personality punctuated with a sweet bulldog. I am not a huge fan of the "I thought I won, only to get kicked in the back". At the end of the day, Dustin was a solid upper midcarder, but Jake was supposed to be a main even heel. No doubt, he should be eating the DDT. One of my favorite Jake matches that showcases him really well while letting Dustin look good.

Everyone getting Parv wound up about Bossman being better than DiBiase was hilarious. O Barry, did anyone ever have a worst case of "ants in the pants" than Barry. If this dude could have just stayed in one place long enough, he could have been a big deal. US Express in WWF '85, leaves Crockett in '87 for Mid-South, leaves WCW in '89. Was the grass always greener on the other side? By the time he comes back to WCW in mid-90, he never was able to make good on that potential until his almost breakout in 1993 then an injury finally did him in. Sad story. WCW World Heavyweight Champion Ron Simmons & Barry Windham vs Jake Roberts & Babarian w/Cactus Jack - WCW Saturday Night 9/26/92 I was hoping for a hidden gem, instead just got a solid build to Halloween Havoc. For all this push about Ron Simmons as this big-time power wrestler, this is a bit of a problem when he is the smallest guy in the match. Windham and Roberts tower over him and Barbie is visibly bigger. You see why Simmons would not have made it in the NFL given his stature. This is a basic fundamentals match with Windham controlling Roberts early with arm work -> power showdown between Simmons/Barb -> Windham FIP -> Simmons house a fire -> Melee ending. Roberts is good at the little things in wrestling, but he tends to bore me. Barbarian was more interesting in the control segment. It is amazing how athletic Windham is given how tall he is. They tease the DDT, but Windham back drops out of it. Simmons is a good fired-up babyface with some great shots. I think they could have done better by him by putting him in a babyface tag team. I guess Windham/Rhodes was the hot babyface tag team, but you could slide Windham back up the card to be 1a to Sting's ace. The Snake breaks up the pinfall attempt after the spinebuster. Barbie gives Simmons the big boot and Cactus comes in to lay the boots on Simmons. Barbarian leaps off the top rope and delivers a diving headbutt. Dustin Rhodes & Van Hammer (?) make the save. It is a predictable tag match that is serviceable in hyping the Simmons/Barbie match. Bruno was on commentary, which is just so weird.

No worries, brutha. I will try to discuss Watts booking when I get a chance. Cactus Jack vs Dustin Rhodes - WCW Worldwide 9/5/92 This was taped before the Clash and judging based on this match, it lends credence to the injury slowing him down in the Clash match. This match shows a Cactus that looks great as he just keeps coming no matter how much Dustin dishes out. I forget who said this (Eadie or Sullivan), "The difference between a face and a heel is that face is always moving forward and a heel has it in reverse." However, I think there is a lot to be said for a heel that is always moving forward because it is so menacing. What can I hero do to vanquish the best? In this match, there are a lot of momentum shifts, but in a really good way because it is a gritty struggle not a my turn, your turn. Cactus earn his offense with short elbows as much as Dustin earns his with his backhand jabs to Cactus' face. The Cactus crossbody that looked like shit in the Simmons match looks great here. Dustin's punches look friggin' sweet here and it is only weapon against the onslaught of Cactus. They crack heads off a turnbuckle shot gone awry and both end up on the outside. Dustin gets in a nice uppercut until Cactus gets a leverage move that sends Dustin face first into the apron in an excellent spot (someone needs to pilfer that). Cactus hits the Cactus Elbow for the countout victory, which is an excellent finish. Dustin is really milking the ribs after this match and here comes Cactus's new buddy, Jake The Snake to deliver a gutbuster to Dustin. This is a near perfect 5 minute TV match that gets over both wrestler's characters by delivering a good, gritty contest. ------------------------------------------------------

G-1 Climax '92 doubled as the NWA World Title Tournament I believe and the belt was mainly a Japanese staple in New Japan until Windham won it at SuperBrawl III (I have been meaning to watch Chono/Rude at G1 Climax forever. I thought Mutoh/Chono at Dome '93 was pretty good. Not as good as their G1 Climax '91 match, but still high level for NJPW). I am pretty sure Chono/Rude and Chono/Mutoh had PPV matches over here that were universally panned. It was weird also because Doc & Gordy are AJPW and the NWA Title was firmly in the NJPW camp. Thanks for the Cactus Injury update. I didn't know when it happened, but knew it must have happened for him to be used as a manager for so long. I am surprised Watts liked him so much.

You cant really go wrong with Bret. '86 Steamboat, '87 Savage, '89 Perfect, '89 DiBiase, '89 Martel and those are just the ones I would rate as great. Bret is so much better as a singles wrestler. I don't get why his tag matches came off as so cold and mechanical. Flair/Eaton from 01/90 is so freakin' good. Makes me so disappointed in the '91 match, but different dynamics. Eaton was better as a heel. Shawn's big three singles matches are weird (DiBiase, Perfect, Flair). He has clearly progressed as worker as time goes on, but the matches themselves get worse and worse. Valentine/Davey Boy MSG '86 is pretty good also.

RICK MARTEL vs. TAMA!!! MSG 7/87

So my current plan is to turn through the following 8 WCW mid-carders in the early 90s: Brian Pillman, Arn Anderson, Barry Windham, Dustin Rhodes, Cactus Jack, Steve Austin, Rick Rude and Ricky Steamboat. I was pretty excited at the start of the WWF Tag Project and now I am dragging my heels to finish it. So I hope this does not kill my love for WCW. Giving a preliminary look through the booking sheets through 1992 for Cactus Jack uncovered something that I really did not recognize he was near the top of the card from his introduction with Abby against Sting in late '91 through his managing a stable of wrestlers against WCW World Champion Ron Simmons. In between, he had a strong run against Abby, Sting and Steamboat in '92 that was usually well-positioned on the card. This status level seems pretty consistent right through his feud with Vader. It was not until after Havoc '93, when he settles into the tag scene that he sort of relegated to a more mid-card role. I was under impression that he had a one-off against Sting and was pushed out of relative obscurity to face Vader, had the fuckin dumb amnesia angle and then was shunted to the tag scene. I knew he managed Barbarian against Simmons in late '92, but I guess I never really connected the dots that Cactus was a pretty big deal from late '91 through early '93. He feels like he has his fingers in a lot of different angles helping Vader and Rude (top two heels) a lot against Sting and Steamboat. Then later he and Jake The Snake are best pals during Jake's main event run in the Fall of '92. The following match though does not show him in the same light though. WCW World Heavyweight Champion Ron Simmons vs Cactus Jack - Clash of the Champions XX 9/92 They may have busted out Bruno and Andre for this show, but holding it at Center Stage made WCW feel like small potatoes. This match does not have a World Title vibe at a big show at all. It feels like a aimless mid-card match that they would randomly throw out on Saturday Night that would feel like it would make a nice novelty for a wrestling fan. This is not the atmosphere you want to aspire for your World Championship match on the 20th anniversary of your big free TV show. I will say the crowd was digging Ron and were behind him with "Go Ron Go!" chants. I thought Simmons was better than Cactus in this. I liked his shoulderblocks out of the three point stance, they looked particularly good and his spinebuster was impactful. Cactus seemingly had no idea how to structure a match at this point. They build the Cactus Elbow early by having Simmons close in on the apron before Cactus could hit it. Then Cactus hits some surprisingly weak looking offense especially a shitty cross-body that Pat Tanaka is way better at. Then JR and The Body are marveling at his technical acumen while he has a chinlock on Simmons. Simmons makes his comeback, which is the best part of the match. Cactus gets him on the outside and hist the dreaded Cactus Elbow. Simmons pops up, they do an Irish Whip Exchange off the ropes and Simmons hits the Spinebuster for the victory. Literally less than a minute after he had been hit with the Cactus Elbow, Simmons won. What the fuck was that? This match was pretty below average. This just reeked of a mid-card match between two wrestlers trying to find themselves. Cactus was all about sick bumps and he did not bump really big for Ron. They put the belt on Ron way too early given this match. The belt needed to be on Sting or Vader because they were the true stars. I am not a huge fan of using the belt to create a star. I think it can work like with The Rock or Savage, but they were really on the cusp. Simmons felt more like a hotshot. I have an open mind so I will definitely be looking to re-evaluate going forward.