Superstar Sleeze

It has nothing to do with wrestling. Wrestling is such a small part of the casual smart mark fan's mind (casual smart mark would be your ROHbot). John Cena is not cool. He never will be cool. That's the whole point about Bob Backlund. CM Punk he is cool. He is an irreverent asshole. Daniel Bryan looks like a nerd. He looks like a smart mark. Cena makes shitty jokes and is a goody-goody. Cena gets shit on because it is combination of his muscular look and his shitty character. Same reason Sheamus gets booed even though he is a top 5 worker in the WWE right now. Sheamus is a shit character that looks too big for workrate fans. --------------------------------------------------------- Also the WWE caved and they don't market him as a wrestler as soon as Daniel Bryan made the you are not a wrestler talking point. I wanted Cena to fucking crush him into oblivion. This started with HHH in 2006 hell maybe even with Angle. They didn't market Cena as a wrestler and they got fucked. They market HHH as a wrestler and he is some sort of King of Psychology with "smart marks". WWE Promotional Machine can work everyone including themselves.

I'm willing to set one up -- similar to the yearbook forums -- if there's interest from a lot of people. I was going to use the Microscope. It is six and one half dozen for me. Though one nice thing about the Microscope is even when I talk about matches people sometimes go interesting tangents just about the wrestler. It is not as match focused, but it is more broad to focus on the wrestlers in involved. However, I would also post in a sub-forum and it would be easier to see other people's thoughts in regards to one match. I could go either way, but if it is made, I will use it. Kawada vs Sasaki 10/00 - quick notes a bit underwhelming and actually felt abrupt. I'll have more notes later just my knee jerk reaction. I preferred Kawada/Tenryu and Tenryu/Sasaki. I have not felt like anyone has hit a home run yet. But all three matches were very entertaining.

So I was playing tennis tonight and I still have to flesh this out, but I think I had quite the revelation. I predict that in 30 years or so wrestling fans will view John Cena much in the same way we look at Bob Backlund. Both men had considerably long tenures on top of the WWF doing admirably jobs keeping business afloat. Backlund was not the draw that Bruno or Hogan was, but it is not like business was in the toilet or the WWF was close to folding. In the same way, since the Attitude Era, WWE has just been plugging along as a profitable company. It is not going to close up shop anytime, soon but Cena has kept the business going. Both men are incredibly goofy in the ring in their mannerisms, how they move and do just about anything. Bob had his goofy side headlocks, Cena has his comeback with that ridiculous looking slam. Both men are underrated in their in-ring efforts and how they are able to present unique, entertaining main events because they do not fall neatly into the workrate-oriented mindset. Finally, the biggest common thread is that both are the ultimate goody-too-shoes. Backlund was Howdy Doody made out to be some joke because how vanilla and goofy he was. Cena, for all their attempts to make him an amalgamation of Hogan, Austin & Rock, has become the modern equivalent standing up for respect, manners and what's right. Fans want him to cave into his baser instincts and just be a prick and disrespectful. Cena has too much moral fiber and will not cave to moral fiber. I want to flesh this out more, but I think you can make a really good case for John Cena as the Modern Day Equivalent of Bob Backlund.

Hawk should be strung out and unprepared more often as I thought he was the best worker in that match. The Bravo match does allow you to see Bret carry someone as opposed to DiBiase, Perfect and Valentine where he is working with equals. Ricky, thanks for explaining that to me. Thinking about it, I didn't see Hart Foundation have the titles and there was no mention of the tag titles. By not knowing that, I didn't predict the finish, which is usual in 95% of these matches. Unfortunately, I could not find any Hart Foundation vs R&B matches around this time as that was the main tag title program in late 1990, which sucks because I basically I don't get to see Valentine for the majority of 1990. We will see the Hart Foundation take on two other Jimmy Hart managed squads, Earthquake & Dino Bravo and the Nasty Boys. WWF Tag Champs Hart Foundation vs Earthquake & Dino Bravo w/Jimmy Hart MSG 3/15/91 Just weeks before, the Hart Foundation's clash with Jimmy Hart's Nasty Boys, Jimmy Hart leads Earthquake and Dino Bravo to soften up the Hart Foundation. I always liked when there was intra-stable continuity as sometimes it just seemed liked all wrestlers had in common was their manager. It is cool to see them work together. Even though, I have become quite the mark for Dino Bravo, Earthquake really impressed me in this match as this was the first Tenta match I have ever seen. I could see how that Summerslam 1990 match with Hulk Hogan could be fun and I should watch sometime down the line. The beginning starts with the usual, perfunctory heel in peril arm work on Bravo. Bravo seems awfully subdued and Hart Foundation dont use much in the way of speed to overcome him they just impose their will. Hart Foundation were working too much as a superteam at this point. Bravo is able to get a reverse atomic drop, but Quake misses an elbow. Bret whips Anvil into Quake in their corner. Melee ensues and Bret is caught by Earthquake and slammed hard into the post. This where the match picks up. I would be remiss not to mention that at some point, Lord Alfred says the term "cock-a-hoop", which has me, Gorilla and the Brain saying "What!?!?!" sounds like a pretty bitchin' term once I looked it up. Good job Al! Speaking of the Brain, he gets spit on my Bravo when he misses the Anvil, but Brain still defends him now that's commitment. Quake throws his weight around while Bravo gets a piledriver for 2; Anvil saved. Quake slams/elbow is broken at 2 by Anvil. Earthquake stares a hole into the Anvil. Quake slam again gets broken up. Bravo hits the bearhug. False hot tag leads to the heels double slamming Bret. Quake jumps around to simulate an earthquake, but Anvil bulldozes him over. The Hart Foundation execute a double slam and Anvil slams Bret into Dino for the victory. I really like the heat segment in this match as the offense was entertaining and Bret is such a good face in peril. I liked that Earthquake stood his ground and made the Harts work for it rather than how they treated Bravo as their jobber. There was actually no comeback, which was different. Bret was not afraid to change pace at his own expense. In the Demolition match Anvil looked like the world-beater and here he was again saving Bret's ass. Bret was also a fan of not always using their finish to end matches, which gave his matches a sense of unpredictably. Nothing to go out of your way to see, but further proof that Hart Foundation had improved since their heel days. Still Bret is much better singles wrestler. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WWF Tag Champs Hart Foundation vs Nasty Boys w/Jimmy Hart - Wrestlemania VII I love the Nasty Boys gimmick as lunkhead, cartoon goons. They remind me of the goons in the Power Rangers in a good way. Wrestling needs more teams like the Nasty Boys. For all intents and purposes the Hart Foundation were done after this and this was pretty fitting way for them to go out in a pretty mediocre match. So much of the Hart Foundation run has either been overrated or just generic. Bret was such a better singles wrestler maybe because he tried harder or had better competition or just knew how to structure his matches better in that environment. The Hart Foundation was a real disappointment. The Nasty Boys are actually pretty good in this match in terms of bumping, but holy shit was their heat segment the shits. The match starts with Bret firing off moves on the Nasties with Knobs bumping a lot better than I remember he could. Knobs goads the Anvil in and Anvil shoulderblocks everyone to a big pop. I know Neidhart had drug problems, but if they gave the New Foundation a bit of a better name and a better push they could have been pretty good. Bret does the 10-count punches in the corner, which I have never seen him do. Did the Nasties actually contribute a spot? Bret hits his Russian Leg Sweep into the second rope elbow gets a 2. Knobs cracks Bret in the back of the neck and Sags capitalizes with a backbreaker. Then in a heat segment that felt interminable the Nasties put Bret into a succession of reverse chinlocks. Knobs accidentally hits Saggs with the megaphone. Anvil is a house afire one last time. Sags is able to save Knobs on a powerslam. Jimmy Hart's hopes for tag team gold remain alive. Bret chases Sags and Sags collides with Knobs in a funny spot. They hit the Hart Attack on Knobs , but ref is busy detaining Bret and they hit Anvil with Jimmy's motorcycle helmet for the win. Jimmy Hart's celebration is one for the ages. The Nasty Boys were perfect transitional champions for the Legion of Doom, which were heirs presumptive to being the babyface ace tag team fucking the Rockers over in the process. The match was pretty much by the numbers and having watched the Halloween Havoc '90 match with Nasties and Steiners you see how much the WWF style can handcuff you. The Hart Foundation had a solid, but uninspiring six year run and if Bret never made it big they would be mentioned like the Bulldogs a good little team.

Could you expound on that? I thought it was a pretty good carry job by Bret and his best to date, but Bret does seem to be a bit better when he does not have to carry his opponent as he was visibly frustrated with Bravo. WWF Tag Champs Demolition (Smash & Crush) vs Hart Foundation - Summerslam 1990 2 Out of 3 Falls This ain't Eadie's Demolition as they are treated like any other heel tag team. There is none of that sense of struggle that Demolition usually imposes on its opponents. Instead of the Hart Foundation are having their way with the "Mighty" Demolition even Bret is able to manhandle both members of Demolition at once. It begins with some basic arm work on Smash, which Bret always make look good even when it is perfunctory. Crush catches Bret on a cross body attempt and Bret takes a blind boot to the head when running the ropes and I felt the heat segment coming, but instead he tags out to Anvil. Bret back in and a melee ensues with Bret coming out the better. Anvil gets wiped out on the outside, but Bret is in command with a Russian Legsweep, backbreaker, second rop elbow, but Crush breaks it up. They hit Demolition Decapitation to win the first fall. This first fall even though Demolition picked up victory made them feel like generic also-rans. Hart Foundation was definitely piloting the match and looking good. Second fall does its job, but it is a bare minimum effort. Weak, weak heat segment on Bret. Bret clotheslines and struggles to tag in Anvil. Anvil running powerslam gets two and then Bret slingshots Anvil into Smash in the corner. Hart Attack, but Crush leaps on the ref to prevent the pinfall only to get DQ. Stupid finish to a lame fall. Ax hurries out in the intermission to hide under the ring. Third fall was a little better as up until this point it had been a Hart Foundation squash. Crush wipes out Bret before the fall and Bret sells on the outside, but this does not last for long as Bret immediately is back on offense. Anvil shoulderblocks Smash and slams Bret on top for two. Smash and Ax switch. Finally the match picks up as Ax pulverizes Bret with his double ace handles. He gets a two off the Bret Bump and Crush executes a nice tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Crush detains Anvil while they repeatedly double team Bret on the outside and they finally get some heat on this match. Road Warriors come out to a massive pop to break up Demolition Decapitation. Anvil does his slingshot shoulderblock on Crush while Bret tabletops him for the three and their second World Tag Team Championship. This was a really lackluster affair that felt like more of a squash match for the Hart Foundation than a dramatic title bout. If they wrestled the match like the third fall and really made use of the three man advantage this could have been something a bit more. Instead, it seemed clear that Bret was set to be a big star and Demolition was on job duty for the LOD so the match really reflected their momentum on the pecking order at this time. Summerslam '88 is definitely the match to watch between the two biggest WWF Tag Teams of this era. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WWF World Tag Team Champs Hart Foundation vs Legion of Doom - 3/12/91 I'm surprised this match even exists as these are the two biggest babyface tag teams in the WWF at the time. It was inevitable LOD were going to win the tag titles soon just as it was inevitable that Bret was going to rocket up the singles ladder. Thus you have one team on its ascent and the other headed to its disintegration because of that they didn't need to keep the Hart Foundation as strong and Bret was always willing to heel it up in these situations. Bret is such a great heel in face vs face matches. It is a really unique talent that he possesses. This match is the Hart Foundation's guile versus the unadulterated power of the Road Warriors and it was much better than I expected. The LOD really had their working boots on and Hart Foundation seemed game for this match. The match begins with Animal and Anvil proving that they are even in power game with no man gaining an advantage. This is the typical start to face versus face matches to establish equality between the participants. Animal does manage to bowl the Anvil over with a shoulder block, but both Animal and Anvil tag out. Bret and Hawk is also even stevens as Bret escapes a military press and Hawk escapes Bret rollup attempt. When Bret gets dumped to outside he is more frustrated than hurt. Bret hits a swinging neckbreaker, but gets thrown off during a pinfall attempt. Bret pissed tags out to Anvil. Bret buries a blind knee to Hawk's back and then stomps him in the gut on the outside. That is some really nice progression from the Hitman. If you can beat 'em, cheat 'em. Hawk does really well in this face in peril. He does not immediately sell like he is dead. Instead the life slowly drains from Hawk's disposition. In the beginning, Hwk is still trying to bury shoulders into the Hitman in the corner, but by the end of the segment he is on jelly legs, which is some really smart wrestling from Hawk. Whenever, Hawk gets testy they always apply a front facelock to keep him from Animal to contain the explosiveness of Hawk. Bret comes over and punches Animal. This is some of the best heel work from the Hart Foundation I have seen. HART ATTACK! Animal saves. Bret slingshotted into corner. Hawk Moves! Bret Bump! Hawk clotheslines Anvil and HOT TAG TO ANIMAL! Animal fills his victims full of dread with shoulderblocks. They set up for Doomsday Device but thwarted by Anvil. Bret hits a backbreaker on Animal and slingshots Anvil onto him. They go for a Rocket Launcher attempt and Animal catches and pins Bret!?!?!??!?!? It is not so weird they would job out the champs given that they not only lose the titles soon and also disband, but it seems weird they would let the LOD pin them clean. It was not announced as non-title so I was really taken a back by the finish. They all shake hands after the match. I liked that match a whole lot and thought everybody played their roles perfectly. That may have been the Hart Foundation's best heel tag team performance and it was when they were ostensibly babyfaces. The LOD looked great here and it is one of the better matches I had seen them in as Hawk really delivered an inspired performance as the FIP. -----------------------------------------

Kane/Bray Wyatt sucked pretty hard and is the worst match I have watched this year. Cody/Damien packed a lot of shit in there. It was about as heated as they could get a undercard match like this. Christian/ADR got overshadowed by what followed them. Christian kept this match together with his selling and the way he built his offense. ADR is pretty spotty and tends to usually just throw stuff out at the end of his matches. They needed to breathe more between the spots. Punk/Lesnar - HOLY SHIT! I have been so happy with Brock's return. He is incredible in all his matches even if HHH did not always hold up his end. Unlike so many wrestlers, Brock knows exactly who he is and never strays. I know if they used him more it would lose its luster, but selfishly I wish we had more Lesnar. I think he could be one of the greatest wrestlers of this era if he wrestled more regularly. Not as good as Brock/Cena (but not much is), but definitely my WWE MOTY. Mixed Tag - Fun spotfest that I liked quite a bit. Cena/Bryan - Great match that built well. I would have a longer Bryan heat segment so that his comeback would have been super hot. The action was great and I thought Cena was really great in this. What a fuckin' clothesline. I need to watch it again as I was a bit burned out. The finish was fuckin awesome. After he thanked his Mom and Dad, I felt so bad just knowing what would happen. I predicted the Orton victory and my brother predicted the HHH pedigree. I thought the crowd acted more confused than pissed. I was expecting an nWo type reaction pelting the ring with shit. Damn, I wish WCW crowds were back! Definitely, put me in the camp where this is for the best. I am pretty excited for the upcoming TV as the Orton/Bryan TV matches were really good from earlier this year.

EDIT: Just noticed the double-post.

Genichiro Tenryu vs Toshiaki Kawada - Vacant All Japan Triple Crown 10/28/00 This is probably the closest classic father vs son match we will ever get to see (sorry, David Flair). A lot of time has passed since Tenryu left in 1990 leaving Kawada leaderless in his war against Jumbo Tsuruta. Yet both men are in their classic yellow and black outfits ready to wage over the vacant Triple Crown. Kawada reminds me very much of myself in my teen years when I would play my father in tennis. I never just wanted to win. I had to win the "right" way by out-muscling him with raw power. Kawada just keeps coming at Tenryu with strike after strike looking to bludgeon his father-figure into submission. My father much like Tenryu was a lot wiser and was going to take his time let me make mistakes and find ways to win. Tenryu and my dad both hit hard back. Kawada and I both learned the hard way that tunnel vision is the enemy of success. This starts off a lot more tentative than Tenryu and Sasaki as there is a great amount of respect between these two veterans. Eventually fires off the first salvo, a series of three wicked kicks to Tenryu back. Tenryu shakes it off and unphased just looks at Kawada as if to say, "Is that all you got, little man?". In that moment, I finally got Tenryu. Ditch says above "radiates contempt", I really saw it in that moment and everything about Tenryu really clicked for me. Tenryu retaliates with a kick to back and Kawada immediately gets up and starts kicking the back of his leg in an awesome spot. Then begins the macho posturing that just works in this match. Each man takes the other's best shot. Kawada fells Tenryu with a high kick so now from the ground Tenryu kicks the back of Kawada's leg so he responds with a knee drop. Tenryu rolls outside bested by his protege. Tenryu begins firing off a closed fist and Kawada does that excellent almost fall on his ass sell. Tenryu is looking for alternate avenues already, but Kawada just keeps coming with his kicks. So then Tenryu gets a hold of that leg and just wrenches it in a dragon leg screw. Tenryu is working smart progressing from a strike battle to the ground game where he does a great job working over Kawada's legs with a variety of holds like the Figure-4 and Sharpshooter. They then do an even better struggle over the vertical suplex than in Sasaki match. This is where the match goes off the tracks for me a bit. You have Tenryu using the fist to control and work over the legs as a neat story and natural progress from the macho posturing early. But here Kawada blows off all the leg work and just fires off kicks with both legs. The King of Leg Selling pulling that shit was weird. I felt it hurt the progression of the match. I don't mind that Kawada goes back to all the strikes because that makes sense. Kawada has tunnel vision. He never content with just winning he has to win a certain way. In this match, it is clear he is going to win by bludgeoning Tenryu with strikes. He does that and Tenryu absorbs them and hits a lariat and immediately goes for a pin. Tenryu does not give a fuck how he wins. He just wants to win. Tenryu now with his standard offense: enziguri and falling elbow, but not enough. After being with that damn closed fist for 18 minutes, Kawada gives him a Fuck You! Closed Fist. They really built that up well as Tenryu sold that incredible. Finally, Kawada looks for a win with a Stretch Plum. In 2000, nobody thought the Stretch Plum would finish a match, but you feel that Kawada offense is progressing towards a victory rather than annihilating his opponent. Kawada attempts his powerbomb hitting a wicked Kappo Kick in between two attempts. Tenryu back body drops him and hits a lariat and goes right for the pin. Again, Tenryu is looking for a victory. Tenryu attempts his powerbomb and hits a Kappo Kick of his own to set his up, father like son! Tenryu powerbomb only gets 2. Now we hit the home stretch, Kawada rattles off two back drop drivers in quick succession. Tenryu attempts to get up but stumbles out of the ring wiping out the camera man. As he gets back on the apron, Kawada kicks him fucking flush in the face and bloodies his nose. That looked wicked. Kawada on the outside whips him in the railing and kicks him over the railing. Back inside, Kawada is not pressing his advantage instead futzes around with more strikes. He cracks off his own enziguri, but Tenryu hits a clothesline immediately. The All Japan delayed selling is a bit annoying. Tenryu on the next exchange catches with a right to the back of the head that knocks Kawada out cold. He hits a Northern Lights Bomb for his first Triple Crown since 1989. **** I thought Kawada's performance offensively was very genius. He told a coherent story he was going to win in a very precise manner and he never backed down from that. I really didn't like that he blew off the leg selling. Tenryu was excellent in this as the father who still has gas in the tank, who can absorb a ton of punishment and still dish it out. I would have liked his leg heat segment go even longer and then having the Fuck You! Closed Fist transition back into Kawada's offense. I feel like they did the strike exchanges a little too often. Kawada smashing Tenryu's face in really added a lot to this match putting over his strategy and Tenryu's ability to absorb his best shot. I think the booking was smart as it gave All Japan two top dogs instead of one when they would have been ultra-thin. I liked the Sasaki match a lot for its progression and I would say these two were about even. I am probably in the minority for thinking that, but I think there is a lot these two could have done to improve the match. I hate to sound so negative because this match is ridiculously good and a MOTYC for 2000. When you are ranking the best matches of the entire decade, I believe an extra fine analysis warranted. I would say without a doubt if you want to understand why Tenryu is a GOATC then watch these two matches.

For everyone who has ever thought to themselves, damn the High Flyers are friggin awesome; I wonder if Brunzell stuff with the Killer Bees is that good. I hate to crush dreams, but it is not. At least I saved you some time! Brunzell is content just to be the hot tag and work somewhere around 25% of the match. Blair is just generic as they come. Overall, the Killer Bees come off as very mediocre contributing very little to the matches they are in. http://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/20...compendium.html

With all the focus on New Japan in the puro scene, I had totally lost track of All Japan and NOAH. I was looking up the Triple Crown title history and I saw Suwama was champion again. Yawn. So then I went to see who the GHC Champion is and it was FUCKIN KENTA!?!?!?!?!??! Has this helped increase business at all? I always thought the All Japan and NOAH merger was inevitable since Misawa's death, but each year it never happens.

Marty Jannetty in a FRIGGIN OVERKILL SHIRT IN 1991!?!?!??!?! I know C*bain had officially killed Metal yet as Skid Row still had a Number One album in 1992, but heavy metal was on its last commercial legs. Then add that Overkill is a non-Big 4 Thrash band and Marty had a Glam Metal gimmick, it just made me mark out like crazy. I wonder if Shawn was more excited to wrestle DiBiase in his hometown or wrestle Flair on TV. This was excessively lopsided in Shawn's favor and I have no idea why that is? It is not like Shawn had a ton of offense to get in at this time. I will say this some of the best I have ever seen Shawn's strikes look. This was definitely a low-rent Flair/Pillman match with all the strike exchanges in the corner, which looked good on the WWF sliding scale, but don't compare to the JCP/NWA/WCW stuff. Flair's offense is really basic Flair and he works in his three major bumps: Flair Flip, Flair Flop and press slam off the top. That was the strangest Flair Flop as he literally just flopped for no apparent reason. Shawn wipes himself out on a plancha after clotheslining Flair out and Jannetty in the Overkill T-Shirt pushes him back in. Flair puts his feet on the ropes for the easy win. I like how he just puts his feet on the ropes just as that extra dig. Marty Jannetty Came To Shred! Flair & Michaels came just have the most basic Flair match you'll see as Michaels did not have much to add to this, but Flair still let him have the most of the match. Both inside and outside of the ring, you cannot deny that Flair is very generous.

I liked this match also better the second time around as opposed to the first. I remember the match being really disjointed and pretty much having no flow. This time I enjoyed it as a popcorn match and one of Perfect's better focused heat segments. Did no one notice the hot blonde going absolutely nuts for anything Shawn Michaels did? I was beginning to think she was a plant until an usher actually had to sit her down halfway through the match. You can actually hear her scream towards the beginning of the match something at Mr. Perfect. I just love nutty wrestling fans like that. Shawn hits a European Uppercut early and Mr. Perfect contorts and convulses as the Battle of Bumping begins. They do a little boxing exchange that comes off fine with Shawn hitting a diving right to win that. Shawn then rockets over the top rope over Mr. Perfect onto a crew member. Damn, son. Perfect drops him throat first across the railing, which begins the heat segment. Perfect does standard trademark WWF moves (standing dropkick, neck snap, knee lift) but with a bit more energy and punch to them. He also does a crazy bump off a Shawn kick when he telegraphs a back body drop. Michaels not to be outdone spins like a madman off a kneelift. Perfect slaps Jannetty and Jannety punches Perfect. Perfect knees Jannetty in the back to ringpost, while Marty was chasing Heenan. Michaels posts Perfect and his expression is hilarious. It is Perfect bump-o-rama as Shawn gets a series of nearfalls. Heenan distracts so Perfect gets the Perfectplex, but Bossman just comes in and hits Perfect with the nightstick. What the fuck? This was a really fun popcorn match that really just featured a bunch of crazy sells and bumps off routine moves. Mr. Perfect is still the King of Bump, but Shawn was no slouch. Shawn seemed more confident in this match and you can tell he was getting better. The finish sucked as stated. Bossman did not have a motivation to really attack Mr. Perfect other than they were feuding so why not before then at that point it was academic anyways. The bigger question was did Shawn nail that hot blonde?

I liked this match a lot better the second go-around. My first watch was about a year ago when I thought it was boring. This time, I could really see the frustration Shawn displayed at the outset when seemed like the singles wrestler was going to smoke the "tag specialist" then Michaels gets his dropkick and puts together a series of moves. You can see him grow with confidence with each side headlock takedown. DiBiase gets his foot up in the corner and actually has a pretty focused heat segment on the back. He does linger in the chinlock quite a bit, but he does seem to moving pretty well. Shawn gets a roll-up in a hope spot so he tosses Shawn out. Virgil runs distraction while he drops Shawn throat first across the railing. Shawn does a great job selling throughout the heat segment. Shawn back body drops out of the piledriver, which surely would have been it. DiBiase regain control only to miss the Tenryu elbow and takes a great back roll bump out of it. Shawn is on the comeback trail with a reverse atomic drop. I agree with the comments that Shawn didnt have much offense at this point and it felt pretty generic. He was never the offense of the Rockers team and Im sure someone would argue his offense never really got that good. Still, his babyface offense was fine and he hit a nice cross-body from the top to get a two. Virgil trips him up and Jannetty gives chase only to be leveled by DiBiase. They kill time until everyone comes in for the schmozz. The Rockers send everyone home happy with the double team moves to clear the ring and they announce it is a double disqualification. I am sure Shawn was over the moon to get to wrestle singles against the Million Dollar Man in his hometown. He did a pretty decent job for his major singles outing in the WWF. I don't think it was as good as Bret's match with Ted the year before, but Bret was a much more seasoned singles wrestler. Shawn has proven to me to be the better tag wrestler. It was a good TV match that gave a little more credibility to The Rockers and gave DiBiase something fun to do.

I don't know if I am on board the Tenryu as a GOAT, but I would sure love to watch more to figure it out. I love Soup's discussion of being one of those guys who dabbles in a little bit of everything. I think that hurts him from being an obvious GOAT candidate and is someone just needs more investigation. I am starting the Japan 2000's poll with this review. Japan it has been far too long! IWGP Heavyweight Champion Genichiro Tenryu vs Kensuke Sasaki - 01/04/00 Kensuke Sasaki has a nice slab of symphonic metal as his entrance theme and a bitchin' mullet. Tenryu looks extra lumpy at this point. This match reminds me of how the simplicity of New Japan can be just as beautiful as All Japan's complexity. This match is structured to make Sasaki to look like the conquering hero against the gritty veteran proving himself at every turn as surpassing Tenryu. The match proves that anything Tenryu can do; Sasaki can do better. It really makes Sasaki look like an ace of a promotion. They do not waste time going into the chopfest. This match reminds me of Valentine/Garvin at first as it seems like they are just stiffing each other for the hell of it. However, this match transcends inane strikes by developing into a well-woven story with a beginning, middle and end. The beginning is a battle of two bulls seeing who can inflict more damage on the other. Tenryu is the first to throw a closed fist in the corner. Sasaki says "Two can play at that game" and levels Tenryu with a wicked closed fist. Even though this match utilizes the closed fist more than any other puro match I have seen; the closed fist still seems really special as they sell it as a big deal. The way Tenryu transitions into his heat segment on Sasaki is be means of the closed fist. Before we get to there, I just wanted to mention that after Tenryu fells Sasaki with a huge chop that Sasaki actually wins a struggle for a vertical suplex. These are the little battles that Sasaki wins before ultimately winning the whole match. The second act is Tenryu's heat segment, which is concise and is focused on making Sasaki look vulnerable, but resilient. His chops to the throat area look vicious. Sasaki gets a hope spot in sumo slap battle, but Tenryu wins that with his enziguri. He does a super German suplex and follows up with his falling elbow drop from the top rope for 2. He does a powerbomb only gets two. Then he hits Sasaki's Northern Lights Bomb but he cant hold Sasaki down. He goes for the kill by a top rope Frankensteiner, but instead Sasaki powerbombs him in a pretty impressive spot. Then Sasaki shows him how it is done by doing his own top rope Frankensteiner. I fuckin' loved that exchange. Sasaki is looking for the kill, but Tenryu still has some fire left in the belly and they exchange strikes. Tenryu hits his enziguri again, but this time Sasaki hits his Northern Lights Bomb. Then goes for the second one to polish off Tenryu to win his second IWGP Championship and prove he is King of the Hill. **** This match never overstays its welcome clocking in just under 15 minutes and in this "less is more" attitude pervading the internet I feel like this one could do well. They sets this up as a Clash of Titans that Sasaki is looking to prove himself against the Elder Statesman. He wins small battles and displays Fighting Spirit in the face of the deluge of Tenryu's offense. The finish was definitive that Sasaki was the better wrestler in that match and he felt like that night as the Ace of New Japan. There are some issues with no-selling on Sasaki's part and I think they could have done so much interesting stuff with the holds. Those are just some nitpicky stuff. This is a great first match to start off the project.

I am starting to get sick of 80s WWF even though Greg Valentine is fuckin awesome. This seems like a fun project to come in and out of. I have watched a good chunk of the NOAH stuff, but almost none of the rest. I had been using your DVDR Polls to guide my watching of NOAH, so I meant to thank you for that, anyways. I am not wicked obsessed with chronology so I will be jumping all over the place. I will be posting my thoughts in the Microscope. Thanks a million, Ditch for putting this together!

I have to say the Hart Foundation vs Rockers matches were very much the same match over and over that save for the 10/90 match. This is true for a lot of 80s wrestling, which is why I dont watch the MSG, Boston and Philly matches from the same period. I will just choose one of the three. I try to watch the continuation of feud rather just all the matches. The Hart Foundation/Bulldogs came off really underwhelming to me. If you care to further discuss them I be interested. I really liked the first SNME match between the Busters and Rockers, but the rest of stuff felt just good rather than great. My favorite programs have been the Islanders vs Strike Force and Dream Team vs British Bulldogs. I have not found a Rockers program I was really into yet, but they really only had Busters (early 1989), Rougeaus (rest of 89), Hart Foundation (late 89-early 90), Orient Express (90-91) and Nasty Boys (Mid-Late'91) then done. The rest was just a series of one-offs. I believe the Rockers are the best tag team of the WWF and I am looking forward to the OX & Nasties stuff. However, even though they are a lot better than the Bulldogs or the Dream Team in my opinion, they never achieved a really great program from what I have seen so far. I think they peaked with the Busters, but it never quite got it where I wanted it to.

I prefer Heath Slater as a bumper. I think Slater is one of the best jobbers they have had in a long time. I know that sounds like a backhanded compliment, but whenever Zack Ryder bitches and moans about not being pushed; it irks me to no end because he sucks as a jobber and he could learn a lot from Slater. Darren Young is a lot of meh to me. Titus O'Neil seems like the star to me especially with that bark, which will be over like rover in a couple years. Real question, would Pat Patterson be the first openly gay wrestler or does he not count because it is just a poorly kept secret? I know that someone mentioned they were surprised that JR was pro-gay marriage, but I do think Pat has had a lot to do with something like that as he seems really well-liked in the inner WWF/E circles. I really enjoy his appearances on the Legends' Roundtable and I do think his presence paved the way for someone like a Darren Young.

Tough one. Maybe the big tag team Survivor Series match? When we did the non-cannon WWF Best of the 1980s set, the top finishers for 1988 were: #21 Randy Savage vs Ted DiBiase (7/22/88 MSG) #37 Blue Angel (Owen Hart) vs Barry Horowitz (8/13/88 Los Angeles CA) #49 Ten Man Tag Survivor Series 1988 (11/24/88 Richfield OH 1988 Survivor Series) - high standard deviation on this one Other matches on the list were: #51 Bret Hart vs Bad News Brown (4/25/88 MSG) #75 Tim Horner vs Barry Horowitz (12/30/88 MSG) #86 Brainbusters vs Young Stallions (11/6/88 Toronto) #95 Hulk Hogan vs Ted DiBiase (3/12/88 Philadelphia PA) I just watched a Valentine/Santana match from 88 that was pretty damn good, but it would not be a MOTYC in any other fed other than WWF 1988 where there seemed to be a real dearth of quality. I was going to make a point of watching Survivor Series '88 soon. Busters vs Stallions would be nice to see the Busters against another face tag team. Though there is a Busters match I really want to see against the Bushwhackers that I cant find. I don't know how I missed Hart vs Bad News. I need to rewatch Savage vs DiBiase feud because I remember being underwhelmed, but the last two DiBiase performances I saw were way better than I remember. Also, I agree with you , Matt, that Hart Foundation vs Demolition at Summerslam 1988 would be current MOTY for 1988 WWF. That being said I am surprised you didnt say Demolition vs Rockers 10/88 or am I confusing you with someone else?

This a million times. I was laughing so hard when he was discussing how Valentine was actually good-looking. I have seen that match and I remember Valentine looking as he always looks. The dude is truly ageless. Anyways, I really like 1979 match, but I actually like 1984 MSG match a bit better. I know jdw and a host of others disagree with me, but I think 1984 match is one of the best WWF matches of the decade. I also like 1978 Inoki 60 minute match better than the 1979 Valentine. I don't know if you guys wanna check that out on your own to see a really good broadway from Backlund. I am really excited for this podcast because it really fills in a huge blind spot for me. I have checked a lot of the Backlund stuff and Backlund is friggin bitchin as all hell. I think you will learn to love him as matches with Patera and Hogan in 1980 are really incredible.

Greg "The Hammer" Valentine vs Dusty Rhodes 6/89 - Niagara, NY With Tony on commentary, this feels like some down-home Southern cooking, baby. Dusty's antics always make me laugh; definitely one of my favorite wrestlers to watch. They establish the elbow early as his signature weapon felling The Hammer instantly. This is a battle of the Bionic Elbow vs. The Hammer Elbow. Dusty misses an elbow and Hammer takes over with a chinlock. Dusty and Valentine exchange blows in the corner. He goes for the Figure-4, but Hammer rakes the eyes enabling him to work over Dusty's leg. Valentine has the Hartbreaker is looking to make Dusty submit to his Figure-4, but Dusty pulls the hair. Dusty mounts the comeback out of the comeback and Dusty proves his work translates well to the North whipping the crowd into the frenzy. Valentine gets his knee in the corner and Jimmy Hart ascends the top turnbuckle!?!?!??! Garvin grabs him off the top. Rhodes gets the roll-up win. The match is nothing to write home about and you do not have to go out of your way to watch it, but it is cool this match exists. Dusty in WWF is almost as weird as Flair in WWF, but I think Dusty fits a bit better in WWF, but not by much. It is always interesting to watch him in WWF. His bells and whistles still got over with the crowd. Valentine worked his usual stuff in, but I wished he turned it up a bit. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Greg "The Hammer" Valentine vs Blue Blazer - 4/89 Boston WOW! I did not expect this match at all. Pretty much all the pre-94 Owen I have seen has been pretty disappointing as many have pointed out he works too much like a gymnast. He starts off with a backflip off the top turnbuckle and I expected much of the same throughout the match. Instead, we got a hard-hitting, focused and well-paced match. This is the type of match that convinces me that Valentine is the best WWF worker of the 80s. He really wrestles a smart match that makes the Blazer look incredible. The Blazer was a pretty cool gimmick and could have really cashed in on the superhero craze that is going on right now. Blazer targets Valentine's left arm with armdrags and wristlocks. He gets a nearfall with a cross body block. Blazer has dizzied Valentine with his speed and this is some of the best ground game I have seen in 80s WWF. Valentine is able to send the Blazer crashing to the outside. Valentine comes off the apron with a double axe handle. Owen sucks at selling as he kind of staggers around the outside and is not evoking sympathy rather just looks confused. Hammer plays King Of Mountain keeping Owen at bay with elbows and knees. Valentine hits him with a backbreaker and stomps. He wrenches his knee in the corner and he delivers vicious forearms. Blazer mounts a comeback with a second rope dropkick TIMBAAAAAH. Blazer fighting fire with fire using European uppercuts. He crashes and burns on a dropkick when Valentine hooks the ropes. Valentine realizing that the Blazer is for real wastes no time trying to apply the figure-4 but fails on all three occasions eventually crashing to the outside. Blazer seizing this opportunity works through a series of nearfalls attempting to secure the victory with a series of high spots including a missile dropkick and a top rope elbow drop. On his last move from the top, Valentine catches him and slams him for the victory. I loved this match! It really felt like two wrestlers struggling working hard to secure a victory. Blazer was able to focus on Valentine's arm early, but Valentine was able to throw him to the outside and deliver some heavy blows, but that does not phase Blazer enough. Valentine regains the advantage tries to go in for the kill, but the Blazer is persistent. The Blazer would not let up with a barrage of moves. Eventually the ring veteran Valentine snaps him up to get the win. It was just a really well-constructed match that was executed beautifully. One of the best matches I have seen from the WWF 80s era. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Greg "The Hammer" Valentine vs "Rugged" Ronnie Garvin - 10/89 MLG Well this match did not sneak up on me as I knew how much I liked the Royal Rumble match. This is one of those "Katie Bar The Door, Pier-Six" Brawls, just a drag-out, burn-down, bare-knuckle slobberknocker. You can count the "wrestling moves" on one hand, but who gives a fuck because they bring the heat with every blow. Gorilla tells me Valentine is the one who asked for Garvin's reinstatement after he retired him. Lord Alfred says if he gets his ass handed to him that he would be "hoist on his own petard", which I had seen elsewhere and now know what it means. Who says wrestling can not be educational? They lock up and Garvin wins a shoving contest in the corner. Then it turns into a boxing match with Garvin getting the better of that. Valentine tries coming in full bore with some vicious blows and chops, but Hands of Stone cannot be denied, well until Valentine gets a kick that may have been low. Valentine capitalizes on this immediately with elbows, but Garvin spreads his leg on a piledriver attempt. When Gorilla says look at that spread I get a chuckle out of it. Valentine piledrives him anyways, but only gets two. Here comes Garvin again with punches and chops; he attempts a pin after a headbutt/splash combo. Valentine backdrops Garvin on piledriver attempt, but Garvin tries a sunset flip however his legs are too short. Lord Alfred had a good laugh over that one. Garvin Stomp! The Sharpshooter gets blocked by an eye-rake and Valentine tosses him to the outside, we play a little King of the Mountain as Valentine sledges and elbows him. Garvin grabs a sleeper but he is just too damn short. He pokes him in the eyes and gnaws on his forehead. He goes for the kill with the Sharpshooter, but Valentine punches his way out. Garvin walks into a shinbreaker and Valentine applies his figure-4 leglock. Garvin makes the ropes, but is selling the leg for all it is worth. Valentine going for his second rope elbow gets caught and eats a press slam by a debilitated Ronnie Garvin. Garvin removes the shinguard and threatens to strike the Hammer with it, but in the confusion gets rolled up. Garvin beats him down the aisle way with the HeartBreaker. This was an ugly, brutal wrestling contest and I loved it. I will say that stand up wrestling matches like this are not my absolute favorite, but I do liked them every once and a while. This was a great change of pace from 80s WWF tag scene. I can only think that Savage, Backlund and Santana are serious contenders against him for best worker in the WWF 80s. Backlund obviously is missing half of the decade, but he did run on top for the whole first half. I have watched enough Santana to know he can have a few borefests or clunkers even though his stuff with Valentine, Savage and the Islanders is some of the best stuff of the 80s. Savage was not with the company as long as Valentine and Santana, but he obviously had some great stuff and in addition had a main event run. I am sure if started watching Savage again in earnest I would say he is the best, but Valentine is hard to deny with so many great performances.

I have been watching quite a bit of Tito lately and he really excels in blood feud environments and tends to get lazy in just "random" matches. He is at his best when he is striking and having heated confrontations, which makes me believe Tito and WWF just really were not that great of a fit. I think post-Strike Force this is really apparent as Vince has really moved away from the Tito/Valentine & Tito /Savage feuds that made Tito so great. Tito did not have a bevy of crowd-popping spots or that effusive charisma to really get over in the late 80s WWF. From a quality standpoint, he would have kicked some serious ass as a babyface in JCP/WCW, but I am sure McMahon compensated him handsomely. Tito Santana vs Ted DiBiase - 11/88 PTW Cow Palace Even though this match is not apart of a program (DiBiase was being programmed with Hercules and Tito was in a holding pattern until Martel came back), both wrestlers treat it like they are feuding. Santana is pissed over some cheapshots from the Million Dollar Man when he does not break cleanly. Tito is fired up and those strikes on the outside looks great. He brings DiBiase in the hard way and really wrenches on some side headlocks. I did not expect such a good Tito showing. DiBiase is really hamming it up and bumping excellent for Tito. We come back from commerical with DiBiase having hit a side suplex out of the side headlock and both men on the mat. DiBiase dumps him to the outside. I have remarked on this before, but WWF did not take advantage of the outside enough. Tonight, I watched Valentine and DiBiase successfully hit moves from the second rope, will wonders ever cease? DiBiase misses a Tenryu Elbow. VAMOS TITO!!! Tito unloads on DiBiase. He signals for the Flying Burrito, but Virgil trips him up. DiBiase slugs him and Virgil lays in the weakest slaps ever. The Mighty Hercules runs into make the save and swing his chain around. DiBiase goes from being programmed with Savage to being programmed with Hercules take about falling off a cliff. Tito was being the fire and passion. DiBiase was bumping and stooging for Tito like a million bucks. The heat segment was effective and kept moving. I felt Tito went into oversell mode a little too early and there could have been more sense of a struggle. It was a pretty good TV match and a good showcase for both men. I wished it developed into something more of a feud than just a one-off match. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tito Santana vs Rick Rude 10/88 PTW Ft. Wayne, IN I have not watched much pre-1989 Rick Rude. He look awfully lanky here. Weird. He is wicked lean and there is zero percent body fat on him, but he does not look like he has really grown into his frame. Though he looks like a 40 year old in the face, but that mustache always made him look older than he was. According to wikipedia, he was 30 at this point. His face looks really pale; I cant tell if he is sick or he just didnt tan that part of his body. Rick Rude does his usual pre-match spiel and there are bunch of crowd shots of young Indiana women taking pictures of him, which I find amusing. Lord Alfred compensating for Tito mentions that he is also very good looking and hell even Mooney has women chasing him. Mooney actually does a good job turning it against himself stating was a 60 year old geezer who wanted to jump his bones. Anyways, the match is nothing much and definitely the least of Tito's work in 1988. Rude does some stalling in the beginning realizing that Tito was getting the best of him he challenges him to a test of strength. Rude gets the better of this bringing Tito to his knees and then gyrating in his face. O that is just cold and makes me laugh. Tito mounts his comeback sending Rude to the outside where he stomps on both of their hands. Tito grabbed a side headlock while we go to commercial break. Rude has Tito in a reverse chinlock when we get back and has some time to do his hip swivel for the entertainment of all these "Indiana Idiots". Rude applies a bearhug and then a reverse chinlock again. Rude wrestles way bigger than he is. He wrestles like he is Nikolai Volkoff even though he is the size of a Hennig or Flair. Rude is better at the stooging and bumping than Volkoff, but he sure does like 300+ lb offense. Tito hits the electric chair drop out of the reverse chinlock and Rude sells it more like a ballshot, which amuses me. They trade splashing each other's knees. Tito has the worst strike exchange so far mostly because Rude is not every good at that part of the game. Well at this point, Rude is just generally sucky at offense. Cross body block gets two for Santana, Rude tries an atomic drop, but Tito blocks it and almost gets the figure 4 before the bell sound signaling a draw. I did not realize how many draws there were back then. They ought to bring back the time limit draw. In post-match shenanigans, Bobby brings out one of Indiana's finest. Look at dat hair, hot damn. She is an eager beaver to take the Rude Awakening, but first she has to say she is not a harlot like Jake The Snake's old lady. After that, Rude and her dance to his music, but Tito the Cock Block comes in and dropkicks Rude. Then he plants a wicked liplock that drops this young lass to the mat. He climaxes with the world's worst hip swivel. How fucking hard is that to do? Arriba! There was more workrate in the post-match than in the actual match. As for the actual match, I would take a pass as it is late 1980s WWF wrestling at its worst. The post-match is pretty fun for what it is worth.

Greg "The Hammer" Valentine vs Tito Santana - 10/88 MSG This is the Ultimate Greg Valentine match. You got to give it 10 or minutes before it really kicks your ass. The first ten minutes are not that bad, just a bit pedestrian. Valentine is rocking the "Heartbreaker" Shinguard and Ronnie Garvin has not produced the technological innovation of the "Hammer Jammmer" so Tito is left defenseless to the extra pressure the Heartbrekaer will apply. Thus Tito immediately goes after the shinguard this tunnel vision leaves him open for a cheapshot. Tito get a better of this strike exchange sending Valentine out to the floor. We are partying like it is 1985 because their strike exchanges still rule the school. Tito is really good at selling, strikes and comebacks, but he is pretty awful at opening babyface shines. He settles on the side headlock while Valentine settles on the chinlock to begin this match. The work is solid, but uninspiring. Valentine forces Tito into the ropes and kicks Tito's injured right leg. Valentine then wraps Tito's injured knee across the apron. Ok, now we are talking! Back from commercial Hammer is dropping some elbows before relentlessly attacking Santana's knee. Just when it seems like Valentine may be in a toehold too long (crowd is getting restless), Tito pulls down Valentine's trunks and just starts hammering him with punches. The crowd pops like mad for this. However, Valentine is able to catch Tito coming off the second rope. Valentine grapevines the leg and drops back a couple time. He then does the Arn knucklelock spot only he scissors the leg and forces Tito to bridge out three times before taking a shot to the balls. Valentine looks more shocked than hurt. Santana inside cradle only gets 2. Valentine winds up and misses a fist drop. Vamos Tito! Nasty strike exchange, Tito overwhelms Valentine and TIMBAAAAAAAAAH! Now Tito works over Valentine's knee to set up his own figure-4. I am loving this. Tito gets eye-raked and Valentine fells him with a brutal chop. Valentine back on the legs turning the shinguard around but gets caught in an inside cradle. Valentine with two big shots, but fails to get the figure 4 on twice as he is shoved to the outside. They exchange strikes on the outside, which I wised lasted longer. Valentine rakes Tito's eyes, but as he rolls back in the bell rings signaling a draw. They tease a Valentine victory by Countount, but it is confirmed as a draw. Tito clears the ring of Valentine to keep his heat. After Martel was "injured", they put Tito in a holding pattern until he got back though he mainly faced Rick Rude, which I am looking forward to watching. Valentine had returned to the singles ranks after his team with Bravo failed to set the world on fire even though I think with the right push they could have been a bigger deal. Valentine was working with Muraco at this point so neither guy was in a major angle, but they pulled busted out a pretty hard hitting match together. Outside, Randy Savage/Ted DiBiase, I cant think of anything else that would get on this level. In a pretty light year for the WWF, I would say this is a serious MOTYC.

Quick question is there a general consensus 1988 WWF Match of the Year? It is a pretty light year in terms of in-ring quality. I would presume it is one of the Randy Savage vs Ted DiBiase matches, but other than that I cant think of any major 1988 WWF program/feud that would deliver great matches. Just curious, if I am brainfarting and missing something wicked obvious.

The Barbarian w/Bobby The Brain Heenan vs Tito Santana - 09/90 MSG What a massive disappointment! Here I was thinking getting Barbarian in a longish (15+ mins) against Tito was going to make my Sunday Night instead it left me with a case of wrestling blue balls. The beginning was fine with Tito establishing some quickness that cause Barbie to seek refuge on the outside with Heenan. You could tell he could move quickly, but he was moving purposefully slow as if he was instructed that was how a man his size should work. Well fuck that person! Tito did some basic headlock work and then Barbir just sort of took over with methodical stomps and two bearhugs. Barbarian ascended to the top and the announcers said this was not his domain even though I had seen multiple times hit moves off the top. Here he does miss the shoulder block. Ugh, now the announcers can be all smug about it. Tito ascends, which I have never seen before, but the announcers make it sound like it is second home. Barbarian rolls through his cross body block to pick up the victory. 1990 was a really uneven year for Tito. He had some great stuff with Martel and Perfect, but was booked the majority of the year against The Warlord and Akeem. Pretty much those two and Brutus Beefcake are the Unholy Trinity of WWF Suck, poor, poor Tito! This match also sucked, for shame.

Bret Hart vs Greg Valentine 5/89 Meadowlands Bret Hart was just ostensibly a tag wrestler at this point as he was splitting his time in a program with Mr. Perfect and wrestling random matches with Neidhart against random tag teams. Outside a small program with Powers of Pain isolated to Primetime and the Rockers program at the end of the year, Bret's main focus was against Mr. Perfect and other midcard heels. I think Vince's booking restraint at this point is genius and displays how good used to be. He would never be that patient anymore. After two really awesome matches against DiBiase and Perfect, the bar was set high for the Hammer. I believe Valentine outclasses both DiBiase and Perfect in the WWF so I had really high hopes for this one. However, this came off as one of Bret's more pedestrian matches. I was not expecting a brawl per se, just something a little bit more hard-hitting. DOnt get me wrong, Valentine definitely laying in his shots and Bret gave as good as he got, but did not reach the fever pitch I wanted. The beginning was some by the numbers Bret control work with a chinlock and wristlock. After a headbutt, Valentine feigned doing his TIMBAAAAAH, but instead stood frozen until Bret's dropkick. Valentine chucked Bret out of the ring. Bret really milks out on the floor and they play King of the Mountain for a bit. I think Bret really liked that in 1989. Bret is a really good sympathetic face and Valentine is great when he is on top. So the match picks up here as Valentine is really laying in his stuff. Valentine is the Patron Saint of Clubbering because he is so damn good at it. Valentine whiffs on a second rope elbow drop. Bret mounts his comeback and shows a lot more fire. He headbutts Valentine again and pushes him over TIMBAAAAAAAH! Bret gets his backbreaker and goes for his second rope elbow, but Mr. Perfect distracts him. Valentine catches him with a high knee and stomps on his ankle repeatedly. Bret is really milking this and he attempts to crawl away that is such a great moment of helplessness. Bret is able to muster up enough to kick Valentine off on the figure 4 sending him into the post, but the bell rings before the 3 count registering. They were doing a nice slow burn with Bret Hart going to draws with a lot of mid-card heels and it was a good booking decision. The match picked up once Valentine took control and the finish was really well-done, but I felt overall it could have been better. I would liked some more meaty exchanges. Bret is really proving his worth as an underdog babyface. ------------------------------------------------------ Bret Hart vs Mr. Perfect w/The Genius - 10/89 Primetime Wrestling This was a very good TV match that highlighted two superstars that were definitely on the rise. I didn't feel like this was a AWA title defense, but more two hungry wrestlers looking to show each other up. Bret hiptosses Perfect to start who busts out his spin out bump. Perfect misses his drop toehold like in the MSG match, but this time Bret points it out and mocks him with some exaggerated applause. Then they work a side headlock, but they keep it entertaining with each wrestler pulling the other's hair liberally. Perfect powders out and comes back. They run the same spot as from MSG where the ref tries to get a clean break in the corner and Perfect capitalizes with a cheapsot. Perfect with a vicious high kneelift. He chops away on Bret and they do a brief King of the Mountain. Perfect starts to mock Bret and Bret starts mounting his comeback, but ends up taking the Bret Bump to give Perfect a 2 count. Perfect biels him by the hair. Perfect goes on top only to get crotched. Here comes bump-a-rama. I love his oversell when Bret kicks the back of his leg. Perfect goes nuts with a reverse atomic drop sell that looks more painful than the actual move. Dolph aint got nothing on this guy Bret biels Perfect by the hair twice and second time Perfect posts himself. I love that payback spot. Bret starts to get frustrated as he cant negotiate the pinfall. Bret sends Perfect on the floor and they do some fighting outside. It really demonstrates how underutilized the area around ring was in the WWF when the NWA used it so effectively. Bret gets his reverse sunset flip, but Perfect pulls his trunks and pins Bret for the victory. This match was a lot of fun mixed comedy well throughout with all the hair pulling at the beginning and then Perfect overselling like a madman. I prefer most of their other matches, but this one was entertaining as two midcarders scrapping to get a victory to propel their careers. The finish really encapsulated that idea with it being nip and tuck only Perfect was willing to go the extra mile and cheat to get the victory. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bret Hart vs Dino Bravo - 10/89 London Dino Bravo blows a lot of spots. He is pretty awkward in the ring. He relies on some boring holds. I don't care. I love Dino Bravo. He is hilarious and he puts so much effort into all his matches that he is a total guilty pleasure of mine. This is a pretty decent carry job by Bret, but you could he is pretty frustrated with Dino and his inability to do his spots. Some of the problems were with the layout as the transitions were pretty poorly done and felt very forced, which is unusual for Bret matches as usually everything progresses pretty logically. Dino establishes he is stronger than Bret and with every shove off he celebrates like he has beaten Hulk Hogan. When Bret hits a cross body block to get Dino off his feet, the crowd pops huge. I will say the crowd was rabid for this match from beginning to end. London absolutely loved Bret. Bret slugs Dino on the apron and he goes for a walk threatening to leave. Bret does pretty decent arm work keeps it varied and moving. Dino is blowing spots left and right during this portion. Bret does his stomp to the midsection to a huge reaction. At this point, Dino just sort of takes over, which I hate as a transition. They play King of the Mountain until Bravo slingshots Bret off the apron into the guardrail. I love that bump. Dino hits a sweet gutwrench suplex for 2. Bret looks like he is revving up takes a wicked version of the Bret Bump. He was fucking flying into those turnbuckles. Bret timed his hope spots well, but Dino would stop his momentum with some power holds like the bearhug. Dino goes on top and gets caught with a strike to the midsection. Really, Bret that was your babyface transition spot???? Dino bumps and sells really well for Bret and his usual offense. The crowd is lapping this up with a spoon and they are just mad for the Hitman. Bret dropkicks Bravo to the outside and follows him out with the plancha. Between the plancha and the guardrail bump, Bret was pulling out some big spots for London. Suck up. Bravo pulls him off the apron back onto the floor. Bravo looks gassed and Bret comes back in with a reverse sunset flip that is reversed with trunks to give Bravo the duke. Where I have seen that before? It is not a match, I wanna watch again. Dino really has no business going anywhere near 20 minutes, but if this was around 10 minutes this could have been a fun TV spotfest. Bret busted out some of his big guns and Dino was entertaining. It is nothing to go out of your way to see, but a fine match nonetheless.