Superstar Sleeze

Toshiaki Kawada vs Akira Taue - AJPW 4/8/95 It is very interesting in both tag partner vs tag partner they went into full bore with no reservations. THE HOLY DEMON ARMY EXPLODES~! Had to. Taue has a victory on Kobashi and Kawada has drawn Misawa thus for Kawada to advance to the Champions Carnival he needs a victory here and a victory over Kobashi and hope Taue does not beat Misawa. This match is wrestled with this idea in mind. Kawada needs the win more than Taue and thus goes out there and wrestles more aggressively than his partner. Taue, much like in the Kobashi, does his usual throwdown defense, but Kawada catches him early with a wicked, short spinning heel kick. (2020 Martin: I think I was underestimating Taue's will to win. Taue CRACKED him with a slap triggering a great Kawada stumble on his ass sell. There was a great throwdown Nodowa that Kawada sold the back of his head well on the outside. Honestly I thought Kawada was getting routed until the kick to the head in the corner and the aforementioned spinning hell kick) Kawada is on offense for the majority of the match and employs some wicked submissions, which is something that All Japan matches lacked. (2020 Martin: I am disappointed in myself for not making an auto-fellatio joke given how Kawada was stretching him at one point). This works twofold to put Kawada over a sadistic sum bitch who needs the win and Taue as a sympathetic underdog. (2020 Martin: I do agree that Taue became very sympathetic in this match). Taue times his hope spots well using a Tenryu-style enziguri and his snake eyes moves well, but Kawada remains in command. (2020 Martin: I am underrating the Taue clothesline on the outside and the Snake Eyes on the guardrail) Kawada relies heavily on his explosive kicks to stymie any Taue flurries. (2020 Martin: Kawada uses the Spinning Heel Kick and Cowboy Kick twice. Stretch Plum is used as a mid-match nearfall of sorts) The tension in the match is derived from Kawada’s urgency to win, but Taue is not letting it become a Kawada exhibition. (2020 Martin: Kinda right. I think the other part of the tension is we all know Taue has these huge bombs and hasnt hit them yet and when he does hit the series of NODOWAS around the 15 minute mark business picks up. The way they set it up with Kawada hitting Kawada kicks and Kawada knees and eventually Taue just gets so fed up that he shoves him on his ass popped the crowd huge. It was like the little kid finally standing up to the bully. It was a great moment!) Taue does deliver a DDT onto exposed concrete and a couple Nodowas. (2020 Martin: The Exposed Concrete DDT was a huge spot. Really cemented Taue's advantage) In the ultimate display of desperation in puroresu, Kawada uses a closed fist to quash this turn of events. (2020 Martin: I didnt see this. I rewound and everything I saw a Spinning Heel Kick turn the tide and then a Jumping High Kick cemented the advantage resulting in a hot nearfall of a Kawada powerbomb.) I never thought I would say so-so is the greatest wrestler at using apron, but Godamnit Taue is the greatest apron wrestler ever. The best sequence of the match is when Kawada Yakuza Kick (high kick to face) on Taue on the apron. Taue returns the closed fist from earlier to set up Taue’s big bomb: the Nodowa to the floor!!!! (2020 Martin: Terrific sequence! High drama as they walk the tight rope! Whoever wins that apron sequence wins the match...great stuff!) Kawada, similarly to Kobashi, sells it like death and the end is inevitable for Kawada as he falls to Super Nodowa (rolls away) and ultimately the DYNAMIC BOMB~! (2020 Martin: Terrific finish!) Best match of the Carnival so far, it does not blow away the competition, but I liked this match the most because of Taue coming from behind and besting Kawada in the upset. (2020 Martin: I disagree with myself. I liked the Taue vs Kobashi match better more urgency & energy, but I dont dispute my own point that come from behind victory for Taue was satisfying). As these two are partners, I think Kawada busting out new tricks was his way of keeping his partner off balance. However, Kawada was not able to wrangle Taue into his powerbomb or DANGEROUS~! Backdrop driver, which are his bread and butter. (2020 Martin: 2012 Martin is wrong, Kawada did hit his powerbomb after a Spinning Heel Kick & Jumping High Kick. It was a really strong nearfall because Kawada was the odds on favorite to win). Taue kept his offense very true to form and used his size advantage over his partner to connect with his moves. (2020 Martin: I wouldnt just say size, but all his tenacity. He would just get fed up and ROAR~!) It almost felt like some an act of hubris with Kawada willing to engage his junior partner on the apron knowing full well what happened to Kobashi. Taue with two victories is guaranteed a trip to the finals with this victory, who have thought Taue would be the one 2-0. Taue is definitely on fire in this tournament. ****1/2

Mitsuharu Misawa vs Toshiaki Kawada - AJPW 4/6/95 The famous Kawada breaks Misawa's eye socket match and Misawa wrestles for another 29:30 minutes. This would lead to a great hook for the Carny Finals and the Misawa/Kawada 7/29/95 match. I would hate this to be the first Misawa/Kawada match anyone watches. It is such a classic rivalry and this match disappoints. It disappoints because about 30 seconds into the match Kawada breaks Misawa’s orbital bone legitimately. It is off a kick that does not even look all that bad. Misawa takes an extended break in the corner. The ref checks on him. Twice the young boys try to give him an ice pack for his eye. This obviously causes Misawa immense pain and it is a real tribute to his actual toughness that he continued on for the next 29:30 of the match. It did cause him to botch a couple moves of his routine and for the match to start a bit slower, but he did find his groove eventually. The spot of the match is Kawada actually busting out a dive onto the outside of his own, which made me go nuts. (2020 Martin: I thought the same thing. It was not very graceful but it was crazy!) Misawa blocks a piledriver on the floor delivers a Tiger Driver for the first big move of the match approximately 12 minutes into the match. (2020 Martin: Up until that point, they did seem to be buying time, the AJPW Surfboard spot and some holds. I am surprised I didnt mention how good Kawada's selling at some points. Misawa threw some fierce kicks to the core and Kawada did a great job doing doubled over selling.) Kawada still goes after the eye, which makes me cringe. (2020 Martin: Nothing has changed) As I mentioned earlier, Kawada had never pinned Misawa before. The injury forced their hand to structure a match where Kawada would be offense for a majority making it feel like Kawada would eventually get that victory. Kawada is really good at nuances like the struggle over a powerbomb. (2020 Martin: Three attempts, Misawa-rana and Misawa kicks to the head stymie the first two. I liked Misawa getting a brief run before Kawada turned to Double Stomps to earn that Powerbomb. He really launched him too. Not quite as much heat as 6/3/94 Powerbomb but this was top notch work). Kawada keeps going back to the stretch plum because of the pressure it puts on the eye. Misawa lands a spin kick and goes through his offensive arsenal and the Tiger Suplex gets a good pop as a false finish. (2020 Martin: The key to this is that once Kawada gets the powerbomb they move to Misawa on offense which is smart. They work it as Misawa trying to avoid a suplex by clutching the top rope and when he lets go his elbow recoils and snaps back to hit Kawada. Then they work Misawa finish run. They work it so convincingly that I thought Misawa was going to stand tall when the bell rang for the draw) My second favorite spot of the match is when Kawada is clutching the ropes for dear life fending off a sleeper suplex attempt (Misawa's new favorite move as it put away Kobashi) and then fires off this nasty chop to Misawa’s throat. (2020 Martin: I dont know what your favorite spot was but that was the spot of the match, dude. Same recoil spot as Misawa's elbow earlier.). It was a perfect confluence of desperation, fatigue and dickishness. (2020 Martin: The Jumping High Kick was crucial here after the recoil spinning back chop) Kawada lands a brainbuster and a powerbomb but time expires with him desperately trying to hit a Back Drop Driver. The general theme of Misawa/Kawada matches is Kawada getting closer and closer to pinning Misawa. In 1993, Kawada worked over Misawa’s arm to eliminate Misawa’s vaunted elbows. In 1994, Kawada worked over Misawa’s neck and was even more aggressive in his stance. In this match, he was in control of the match before time limit expiring looking that with just a minute more and a successful Back Drop Driver he would have secured his first victory over Misawa. This was a great effort from both men given the circumstances of Misawa’s unfortunate injury so early in the match. The first 15 minutes or so is pretty rough, but once Misawa finds his groove the back 15 minutes are really, really strong. It is an unfortunate injury but the silver lining is that the injury adds a ton of heat to Misawa's classic matches of '95. ****1/4

Mitsuharu Misawa vs Kenta Kobashi - AJPW 3/26/95 The following is a 2012 review from my re-watch of the 1995 Champions Carnival. It is important to note that Stan Hansen is the Triple Crown Champion at this point not Misawa. It is easy to forget as they were using Hansen as a transition champion from Kawada to Misawa. Kobashi just lost a hard fought battle to Taue. Kobashi will look to get himself back on track against his tag team partner while Misawa will be looking to prove he is the Undisputed Ace of All Japan. I was surprised at how vicious Kobashi was towards Misawa. (2020 Martin: Kobashi came to play. This was no exhibition. He wanted the "W" and was chopping Misawa hard). Even after Kawada left Misawa for Taue, Misawa always seemed to wrestle Kawada diplomatically. Going into this match, I expected Kobashi and Misawa grapple until it got to a boiling point and then they went balls to walls. Instead, Kobashi came out to prove a point and he made it loud and clear with his thunderous chops on Misawa’s chest. Misawa and Kobashi work well together because Kobashi wants to do a ton of shit and Misawa wants to take a lot of shit until he gets to make his extended comeback. (2020 Martin: I still agree with that assessment) Kobashi’s opening shine segment is fun with lots of good moves and plays to both men strengths. Cool spot at the beginning with Misawa doing a monkey flip out of the corner as a hope spot because I had not seen that before. Misawa, of course, goes to his trusty elbows when in doubt. There is this fuckin wild sequence out of a surfboard that just has to be seen to be fully appreciated. (2020 Martin: Nothing has changed. I was going to rave about that sequence but 2012 Martin beat me to it! Awesome stuff!) A great instance of Misawa selling is when Kobashi roundhouse kicks in him the gut and he begins to cough. (2020 Martin: I missed that! I know the kicks but I missed the cough.) This is a great exhibition for how stiff and violent the strikes in All Japan can be as Misawa delivers some great Fuck You Elbows and Kobashi with Burning Lariats. (2020 Martin: Those Lariats are not quite Burning yet, but those Elbows were wicked) Kobashi begins to pour it on with Backdrop Driver and German Suplex, powerbomb and moonsault triggering “Mi-Saw-wah” chants and a loud pop on the kickout from the moonsault. (2020 Martin: Misawa took a lot of head drops in this match. I have not been keeping count but I would say there were more here than in 93/94.) I was shocked to as I expected a foot on the ropes rather than a straight kickout. (2020 Martin: I agree. I think this shows the gap between Kobashi & Misawa. Kobashi hit Misawa with all his best moves and still couldnt put him away. However if he did hit the Moonsault against Taue you think he could have won. It is goo to have that doubt in the fans' minds.) Things are looking bleak for Misawa as he rolls out and trying to extend the match. ROARING ELBOW~! From Misawa regains control for Misawa. (2020 Martin: I would not use a Tilde Bang there. This match lacks the awesome Nodowa off the Apron spot. All Japan was so great at "Tide Turner" moment. There's none here. Misawa catches Kobashi with two elbows and a Tiger Suplex and then that's when the end becomes nigh. Not big enough in my opinion). Tiger suplex, frog splash get near falls and trigger “Ko-Bashi” chants. I do not know if it was a split crowd or if they just respected the hell out of both men. Kobashi does his dramatic crawl away but a Tiger Driver followed by a Sleeper Suplex finishes off Kobashi. (2020 Martin: Was this the debut of the move? I have watched 93/94 pretty extensively and never seen it. I know Misawa would settle on Emerald Flowsion as his ultimate finisher but was the Sleeper Suplex supposed to compete with the Dynamic Bomb?) This is a great match to get a feel for the All Japan style if you are a first timer. There is pretty of fantastic sequences full of heated strikes and big bombs. (2020 Martin: I agree with this is a very solid, typical All Japan match with stiffness that knocks you to your knees, big bombs, well-paced and a very dramatic home stretch.) Kobashi comes off once again as a wrestler on the cusp of making it big, but doesn’t have enough to put away one of the big guns. Misawa does a good job giving Kobashi a lot before making a typical great comeback although a bit shorter than his usual (2020 Martin: I noticed that too). I greatly preferred Kobashi/Taue for the interesting story and heated struggle. Some people really liked this, but to me this falls into the category typically great "fall out of bed All Japan" match. ****

Glad you liked it as much as I did!

Akira Taue vs Kenta Kobashi - AJPW Champions Carnival 3/21/95 The 1995 edition of the Champions Carnival is my favorite Carnival of all time (even though 1994 has made a serious play for number one when I just watched it a month ago). To me this is when the Four Corners were all peaking together, Taue was a bit of a laggard, but in 1995 he took a big step forward and was every bit their peer and it all starts with this Carnival run. Dr. Death is to 1994 what Taue is to 1995. The most important thing to note is Kobashi has never beaten Taue, BUT he does hold a time limit draw against then Champion Kawada and several big Tag pins. If you were setting odds, this was a push 'em, but I'd say whoever does win this match was getting the big push for 1995. I reviewed all these matches in 2012 and actually wrote one of my very first blogs on the 1995 Carnival. I will throw in some editorial notes from 2020 as I watch the match. The first match is a contest between the two junior partners in their respective teams. It really feels like both these men are out there with something to prove (2020 Martin: Effort level is very high). This gives this match a real sense of struggle as both men are making each other work for their moves (2020 Martin: Damn straight). Everytime, Kobashi looks like he is putting something together, Taue will throw him down (2020 Martin: Noticed this theme of Taue being very reactionary. Kobashi was fire up and Taue would have to just defend himself from being overwhelmed). There is a theme among most Kobashi matches of his macho posturing costing him matches as he gets too involved in one up manship that he loses sight of winning the match. Taue, for his part, avoids getting sucked into this like Kawada sometimes will by avoiding the test of strength and going for shortcuts like eye-rakes and throwdowns. Taue is going his best to disrupt Kobashi’s offensive flow. For his part, Taue looked his best on offense that I has seen up to that point. His Jumbo high knee and enziguri combo looked fantastic. He delivered some stiff blows a particularly vicious lariat comes to mind. (2020 Martin: I know the exact lariat that I am talking about. I marked out for that again and I would add the Taue elbow drop from the top was a great highspot). 2020 Martin: I would add that there is a fist fight that breaks out mid-match that Kobashi actually starts when they scrap to the ground. Then Taue comes up swinging. You can tell how badly each man wants it. There is a desperation to win in this match unlike almost any other I have seen. It makes for very engaging viewing. Kobashi continues this theme of struggle by doing his best to cut off Taue during his offense. Kobashi comes off like a warrior with dogged determination to press on even in bleak circumstance. My favorite spot of the match is when Taue does a throwdown to stop a Kobashi flurry into the corner only for Kobashi to rebound off and lariat him to a great pop. (2020 Martin: I would no longer say thats my favorite spot of the match, but it is a great spot. Noticed how Kobashi needed a Spinning Back Hand Chop, this lariat, and a DDT to just level the playing field.) Eventually string together two pinning combinations off of a bridging german suplex and a powerbomb, but then misses his put-away: the moonsault. This gives the feeling that Kobashi was one move away from his getting his big victory. (2020 Martin: Always smart booking. I am an advocate for missing the finisher. The finisher-kick out is one of the most damaging trends in pro wrestling). As part two of my favorite spot of the match, Taue Irish whipped Kobashi into the guardrail and Kobashi went to do a rebound lariat only for Taue to catch him this time and throw him back into the guardrail. That was sweet! (2020 Martin: This is my favorite spot. 2012 Martin seems like a good dude. ) Taue follows this up with a HUGE Nodowa off the apron onto the floor! (2020 Martin: This would become a theme throughout the '95 Carnival and a signal that end is nigh. This being the first match we didnt know the pattern yet). Kobashi sells it like death. (2020 Martin: Kobashi's selling from here on is sublime). Taue has to bring him back in to get the pinfall, but Kobashi kicks out. Kobashi is working under the “lights are on, but no one is home” guise just trying to extend Taue to a 30 minute draw by rolling to outside. Taue obliges him by POWERBOMBING him on the floor. There is no safe haven! Taue is such a prick and the fans love it oddly enough as they cheer his name. Kobashi desperately trying to avoid the NODOWA~! EPIC! Taue polishes him off with the DYNAMIC BOMB~! This is Taue’s new and improved finisher to add a bomb to his arsenal. I liked (2020 Martin: I believe the word you are looking for is "LOVED") this match a whole lot as Taue really blew me away with his performance. He reigned Kobashi in and made sure that Kobashi never ate him alive with all his offense. Taue worked hard to impress and deliver some great offense. The match did a great job to put over two moves: the Nodowa off the apron and the Dynamic Bomb. In addition, it really Taue over as a scrappy, ruthless competitor that would never let a match get too far out of control. Kobashi was able to work his moves in a logical fashion and his facial expressions added to put over how much of a struggle this match was. His most important role was selling like he dead after the Nodowa to the floor and really putting Taue over as a threat. It felt like he was one moonsault away from winning, but at the day he went for one too many rebound lariats and got caught. That was turning point because it allowed Taue to set up the Nodowa to the floor. A fantastic start to the tournament and I think one that places the bar very high for all the matches to follow. (2020 Martin: Wants to add the effort level was extraordinarily high, I loved Kobashi's dogged determination to keep charging & Taue's equally dogged determination to keep throwing him on his ass. I came in thinking we going to start with a kickass match, but this could be the second best match of the tournament). ****3/4

Toshiaki Kawada vs Gary Albright - AJPW 10/25/95 I've this match a couple times and I thought it was great, but not necessarily a classic. They instantly blew my expectations out of the water with this kickass match. When I was watching this 10-15 years ago, I didnt get how big of a deal UWFi was. I watched Vader vs Takada and knew about the UWFi invasion of NJPW, but I didnt fully grasp. Now that I have I become more steeped in puroresu history and watched a lot of UWFi, I get it, but I also part of the novelty is that 90s All Japan did NOT do matches like this. It was the Four Corners and later Akiyama with the top gaijins of Hansen, Doc and Ace in a mix and match. So this was the closest thing All Japan did a big money interpromotional dream match in the 90s. I prefer Hashimoto vs Takada to this, but this blew Mutoh vs Takada out of the water. Huge Fight Feel! Budokan is rocking! It feels that Albright is instantly over as a monster. Holy shit! Listen to the reaction of him grabbing a reverse waistlock! You think he just hit the greatest highspot in the world! He just wrapped his arms around a person's body. That's when you know you are fucking over. I like how Albright evaded the typical Kawada kick to get out of the German Suplex. Then Alright just pounced and Kawada retaliated with a deep heel hook. Loved the urgency set the tone for the match. Kawada did a greta job playing by Albright's rules respecting his size advantage and his shoot credentials without looking overwhelmed. Kawada brought the fight to Albright early on. That enziguiri rocked him and that flurry of strikes was so over and I dont think Kawada looked better in the 90s. Then Albright finally got hold of him. The takedowns and suplexes took their toll. An early cross-armbreaker caused Kawada to powder. I liked Albright immediately going for the Fujiwara armbar. I liked how they built to the German Suplexes. He was hitting other suplexes but Kawada was avoiding that one. After a belly 2 belly and a powerslam, Albright hit the massive German. Kawada did one of his classic selljobs and collapsed to the outside. That was his only saving grace as by the time Alright rolled him back in, Kawada could kick out. With the German not winning him the match, Alright tried to up the ante to the Dragon Suplex but Kawada hoists him into the Back Drop Driver. STRETCH PLUM~! Watch the Stretch Plum, you can tell Kawada is having the time of his life. I think he is out to prove to Baba and everyone there's more to wrestling than just King's Road. Also he feels like a super duper star. He was first in the shadow of Misawa and then Kobashi, but in matches like this and against New Japan in 2000 that Kawada feels like a huge star instead of second fiddle. He was so over on this night. After the Stretch Plum, he goes for the Powerbomb, nothing doing and MACK TRUCK LARIAT! Albright does not bump. That was just man on man! Wow! Albright counters the next Lariat with a kneelift. They go to the ground, Albright gets a double wristlock and then rides a harmmerlock on the bad arm of Kawada. Albright wants the Dragon Suplex. Kawada breaks free, Spinning Back Chop, KAPPO KICK! Albright armdrag goes for a Cross Armbreaker but Kawada counters into his own for the flash win. I think the finish was a little too easy and quick. Albright had wrist control and almost the cross armbreaker applied it was too easy for Kawada to just stand up and apply his own. One thing I am forever grateful towards Shoot Style wrestling is how it forced pro wrestling to respect the cross armbreaker. So at least the hold was feared, sold well and used as a finisher in this match. Kawada going over was the right call but I thought Albright looked great in the loss and no reason why he couldnt be used the down the line. I am interested in Misawa's 96 title defense against Albright. Albright's size and suplex arsenal was on display but Kawada showed off his striking game and his ability to counter. A big feather in Kawada's cap proving he could classic matches outside of his Four Corners opponents and in a different style. Check out his match against Naoya Ogawa from Zero-One 2003. I'll be honest I had been enjoying the other three Corners a lot more when I was watching '93 and '94 back. I think the other three has such big personalities. Kawada just wasnt clicking with me. He really did here. I saw the fire in his eyes and pep in his step. He had been missing that in some matches. If you want to make the case for Kawada being the best of the Four Corners, it starts here and showing his versatility, urgency, passion and asskicking nature. ****1/2

AJPW World Junior Heavyweight Champion Dan Kroffat vs Rob Van Dam - AJPW 6/9/95 Very famous match: potentially RVD's career match (I think I like the Bigelow match from ECW a hair more), the best non-Four Corners 90s All Japan (I need to rewatch a couple Hansen/Spivey vs Miracle Violence) and it is on the undercard of maybe the Greatest Wrestling Match Ever (no not Edge vs Orton...man that comment is not going to age well). Also what better way to transition from ECW to All Japan than this match, well maybe Tommy Dreamer vs Akira Taue...the ECW/AJPW loose affiliation could have led to some weird pairings. Kenta Kobashi vs Sandman in the ECW Arena would have been insane. Genius match laid out by Kroffat here as he made RVD look like a million bucks. Karate RVD > Carrot Top RVD. Basically, RVD is working a headlock, Kroffat does something dickish and RVD shows him up. Dont overthink babyface/heel psychology folks. The commentator I think keeps pointing out that the challenger, RVD, has a ponytail. Lo and behold, Kroffat keeps yanking on it. RVD flips him off and I am pretty sure the Japanese commentator says "Fuck you". RVD runs through some flashy offense and stylized kicks. It is good fun. Kroffat spits on him from outside the ring. In 2020, RVD would have destroyed him, here he just kicks him in the head. The point is Kroffat is a dick and RVD is making him pay. Kroffat snaps off a couple suplexes including one out onto the floor and then on the floor to establish the heat segment. Best spot of the match he pulls the ponytail hard in a surfboard and RVD sells it like a million bucks. Great shit. Kroffat hits a senton for two for the first nearfall. Then they work a really nice finish stretch with lots of good transitions and nice nearfalls. They built to RVD's split-legged moonsault well making him attempt it twice before he hit it. That was his big nearfall. He crashed and burned on the 450 Splash which I dont think Ive ever seen him do. This was Kroffat's opening. HE SMOKED HIM WITH THE LARIAT! I thought that was it and it really should have been. I liked how it was out of nowhere. Of course this is 90s All Japan so it draws on and it takes a Swanton Bomb (really nice), Tiger Driver (Jesus can anyone win with this move) and A Super Reverse Suplex to win. Really great face/heel layout that established heat in a match that easily could have been a bland workrate match. RVD showed up the dick champion which made you invest in RVD and thus when they went to heat you were looking for that comeback. Then finish stretch was All Japan magic sprinkling in some RVD acrobatics to give it a unique twist. I thought this was better than ECW Furnas which is just really violent but I kinda liked the Bigelow ECW with its David vs Goliath a little more but same rating. I am excited to get back into All Japan. ****1/4

Cactus Jack vs Mikey Whipwreck- ECW Big Ass Extreme Bash 1996 In a rare moment in 2020, I actually had to go to my WWE DVD collection to watch this match in full because the version on the Network is clipped. I am glad the investment is still paying off. In the lead-up to the match on the DVD, Cactus says this is his favorite moment in his ECW career of course in a very WWE move they edit out the ending which I guess is the best part, but this is a very good match. It has been advertised that this is Cactus's last match but there is not nary a "You Sold Out". It is all "Cactus!". Cactus lets Whipwreck know he can tell his kids that he had Cactus's last match but he wont be able to tell him he won. Mikey has a neckbreak on for reasons I dont know. Cactus goes right into the heat segment working on the neck. This is a great mid-tempo groove brawl with Cactus working the neck and Mikey takin' a lickin' keep on tickin'. Mikey has great hope spots and Cactus has great cutoffs. The best cutoff is when Mikey dumps Cactus over the railing but Cactus immediately responds with a Hangsman Neckbreaker on the railing. I liked Mikey's first hope spot being avoiding all those chair shots which could have been curtains for him with the bad neck. Even though he avoided the chairshots, he didnt get in any offense. His first offense was the Cactus Clothesline and then Cactus takes the Nestea Plunge. Cactus was working his Greatest Hits one last time. Cactus dumped Mikey on his ass to the floor. He back suplexes him hard on the table. CACTUS ELBOW! This is not just Cactus' Masochistic Theatre of Pain, he is dishing it out too. At one point, he does an early version of Mandible Claw which I think is the first of its kind. Double Arm DDT and a piledriver. Cactus looked good. Cactus does a Bottom Rope Spingboard Back Elbow for a really nasty Nestea Plunge into the railing. Mikey got a big time dive into a crowd to trigger the E-C-DUB chant. Mikey's big comeback is hitting about 5 wicked chairshots to the head and then some arena touring to the Eagle's Nest and Mikey leaps off it. Didnt look as good as the dive into the crowd. Once back in the ring, Cactus makes short work of Mikey with a piledriver on a chair. This is a great grinding brawl with lots of focus on Mikey's neck right up to the finish being a piledriver. I am surprised Cactus didnt go out on his back but Mikey is the type of babyface that can absorb a loss, but he did have a pretty mediocre 1996 after a stellar 1996. The Mikey hope spots were the most exciting parts. It was a very sound brawl, but missed that energy to really put it over the top. ***3/4

In fairness, Paul E was always very respectful of legends and the traditions of the business. He just hated what wrestling had become. In a lot of ways, ECW was what Paul E thought the natural progression of Southern Wrestling was supposed to be in the 90s. WWF/WCW had gone too commercial and sanitized. He was bringing 80s pro wrestling into the 90s by supping up the violence and the sex. It made for incredibly addictive TV. I have been watching for the past month or so random episodes of Hardcore TV and it is great. It feels must-see because it is episodic. It is not like today's RAW or Smackdown where nothing fucking happens ever. There a lot of angle some good, some bad, some just poorly planned but at least they are trying. I think I have seen it said before that ECW is just Memphis on crack and that sounds just about right to me.

What did people think of Louie Spicolli in 1997? I remember him in WCW as Hall's lackey in what early 98 during or around the time Dusty joined the NWO. I remember online there was a decent buzz around him as a good heat-seeking heel. Madonna's Boyfriend is such a great fucking name for a pro wrestler even if I have never seen any of that work. Ive never seen Rad Radford either. The reason I bring him up and I have been binging on a lot of ECW recently and he was going a really strong push against Dreamer. Injuring Beulah's neck with the Death Valley Driver and taking part in the big Wrestlepalooza 1997 angle. I dont remember reading about his ECW run at all. I imagine he went to WCW for the money. It is absolutely horrible what happened to him and that he died so young. Do people think he was going to be big a star? Was he Kliq-adjacent? I know there is the core 5 of the Kliq but it seems like certain people are a bit more friendly with the Kliq than others like the New Age Outlaws and Justin Credible. Was Spicolli one of those? I ask because the Dreamer feud starts because Spicolli is being a prick and asking Dreamer to "Too Sweet" him and Dreamer and breaks his fingers. Spicolli keeps throwing up the Kliq hand sign. The fact they align him with Hall pretty much immediately in WCW makes me wonder if he was legit boys with The Kliq? Long story short whats the PWO take on Louie Spicolli?

ECW World TV Champion Chris Jericho vs Shane Douglas vs 2 Cold Scorpio vs Pitbull #2 - ECW Heat Wave 1996 A pretty famous ECW match and generally considered one of their best. I have seen this before on a WWE Comp and thought it was really long and boring, lets see. I watched the first 15 minutes and the only person with any semblance of a character is Shane Douglas. He is playing the rat bastard opportunist that only tags in when another guy is beaten up. Pitbull #2 is the wrestler who beat him for the TV Title after after Douglas ran a gauntlet of jabronis a couple shows back. Douglas sneaks attacks him on Pitbull's entrance with a steel chair. For those keeping track at home Francine is still the Beastmaster. She is actually probably the most effective person at getting crowd heat during the match constantly leading the Mutants in cheering for Pitbull #2. We get every combination besides Douglas/Scorpio in the first 15 minute. Jericho is such a 90s workrate try hard. He does all the tropes from the stiff chopping, athletic sequences and big bombs. I wold have liked to seen what Douglas could have done with him one-on-one based on the Scorp match not much as Douglas is a legend only in his own mind. Scorp/Jericho is the best pairing of the bunch because of that 90s workrate style. Pitbull#2's heat segment drags even though Francine does her best. I ended my viewing with Jericho hitting a Standing Top Rope Frankensteiner which is still one of the most insane moves in history. I think he tried that against Benoit or Gedo in a couple months in WCW almost killed himself. Douglas tags himself in and tries to cover Scorpio for 2. Joey's righteous indignation actually makes sense here. It is slightly better than I remembered not much though. I see why I thought this was horrible. The middle 15 minutes is an absolute slog. I dont know if Jericho was selling fatigue or blowed up but he was lethargic and blowing spots left right and center. The "Tiger Suplex" was so pitiful. The best spot of this slog was Scorpio dropkicking Jericho mid-air in a Lionsault that was crazy. Jericho is definitely reckless but makes for great TV. Scorpio was easily the best wrestler in this. His punches especially on The Franchise looked great. The whole point of this match is Douglas vs Pitbull and they pissed it all away. Douglas tags in a fallen Scorpio when Pitbull has him covered. Why? Douglas has been a total coward. Why attack now when Pitbull is in a position of dominance? This is not even the Cardinal Sin. The Cardinal Sin is Pitbull gets up and very cooperatively lets Douglas Irish Whip him. FUCK THAT SHIT! You get up there and slug him in the eyes like a man. Aint nobody wanna see an Irish Whip. BRAWL! Fucking horseshit. Scorpio and Douglas use a pincer attack on Jericho trapping him and Douglas tags Jericho back in. Scorpio Tombstone and then Drops Da Bomb (it may be Tumbleweed I can never remember) to eliminate Jericho. Jericho was very over in WCW with his Lionheart gimmick he looked like someone ECW would hate a pretty boy with Sebastien Bach Hair in 1997 but it was probably the Japanese/Mexican/Hart Dungeon connection that got him over. The Mutants lapped that shit up with a spoon. He would not fare as well in WCW until he came up with the Crybaby/Conspiracy Victim gimmick which I still think is his best work ever. Douglas wants to create an alliance with Scorpio to take out Pitbull #2. Scorpio balks at this offer and unleashes a great series of right jabs. Scorpio's punch was on point in this and a couple weeks later his kicks looked great against Jericho. It is too bad Scorpio didnt get a signature run in WWF or WCW or just stay longer in ECW. I get it. You gotta get paid. Belly 2 Bell Suplex and then Scorpio hits a Sunset Flip Powerbomb, transition could have been better. Liked the finish on this elimination. Scorpio misses a moonsault that would have taken out both guys and he is out could. Douglas convinces Pitbull #2 to hit a Superbomb to eliminate Scorpio. Thats twice Douglas has used someone else to eliminate an opponent. Nice story. Scorpio was by and away the best wrestler in this match. I think we have another 7-10 minutes left in the match so things do not look promising. Well this was bad in a different way. I thought it was going to be boring bad. It was bad in a shitty booking way bad. If Francine was going to turn why fucking interrupt when Douglas has the cover on a Belly 2 Belly his finish? Because you need to SWERVE~! Lame. If Pitbull kicks out on his own, then Francine becomes worried and comes in the ring makes a lot more sense. Francine throws powder in the Pitbull's eyes, but it looks like they were running low on powder because it is not much. Douglas hits a tremendous ballshot. It is NOT the 90s if the turn is not punctuated with a wardrobe change. They raise the bar from a simple T-Shirt change to revealing that Francine is wearing Franchise bikini bottoms! OH SNAP! In probably the fastest comeuppance in the history of storytelling, the Pitbulls immediately Superbomb her through a table. What the fuck!?! The Mutants POP Huge! The Pitbull were fucking over for a good two years...what happened to them that they never made it to WCW or WWF? Douglas hits a Single Arm DDT on Pitbull #1 that takes him out. It takes a belt shot, table shot, brass knux, a chain, a missed Hashimoto spinning wheel kick and a Belly 2 Belly Suplex to put Pitbull #2 down. Hogan eat your heart out that's fucking protection. Gotta love that's the Belly 2 Belly that gets it done just like HHH who believes that it is all about the Pedigree. The whole thing is not terrible. It is long. Scorpio is the bright spot and all the Douglas storytelling stuff with him being a cowardly, mastermind heel works but it could have been done more efficiently and a little more thought down the stretch. I cant believe they already Superbombed her. ***

Raven vs Tommy Dreamer - ECW Wrestlepalooza 1997 If you’ve never seen this before, do yourself a favor and watch this. Don’t watch the edited WWE version like I did on a WWE DVD. Watch June 10, 1997 episode of Hardcore TV on the Network devoted to this entire piece of fluid awesome TV. Heyman have a brief return to the peak of his powers after they had been slowly diminishing since 1995. I have seen this before on a WWE DVD so I was familiar with Lupus and Chasity. They came out at the Buffalo Tag about a month prior with Richards vs Dreamer & Funk. Joey didn’t know their names. So it sounds like they didn’t have backstories. Their sole reason to exist was to replicate spots from the first Raven vs Dreamer match from over two years ago. Chasity did the hairspray gimmick and had a take catfight with Beulah nothing like the shit Francine and Beulah were doing in 1995. I remember Chasity in WCW as Raven’s sister and managing Hak aka Sandman. I can’t believe fucking Sandman and Whipwreck made it to WCW. I don’t know what happened to Lupus? Pretty good Raven vs Dreamer brawl. The Mutants Chanting “We Can’t See Shit” during the Arena brawling is reason #69 Arena brawling sucks. As far as Arena brawling goes this was above average some good table spots and a couple crazy times the table didn’t break. i thought this picked up in the ring. Raven does the drop toehold onto chair which is how he blinded Riggs and made him join the Flock, one of the first wrestling angles I vividly remember. The Rocket Launcher that crumpled the chair was insane. After that there was so much tomfoolery and DDTs that I can’t remember the order but Louie Spicolli got involved. I’ll leave who won as a surprise because the heat on the nearfalls was insane because the pinfall mattered so much. **** lights out in the Impact Zone, it’s Sting up in the rafters...lol...sorry had too...RVD smoking Dreamer with the Van Daminator. Perfect booking. Dreamer, spirit of ECW, against the traitors RVD& Sabu and the invader Jerry Lawler. Amazing angle I had never see. It before wicked entertaining. After all had failed it’s Taz that clears the ring by his presence. He wants Sabu. Fonzie bitches and Taz is about to duplex him and the match is on. Sabu vs Taz - Wrestlepalooza 1997 Put me in the camp that liked this best than Barely Legal. Sabu had so much more energy, spring in his step, clean on his spots and good punches. He worked more on top and made Taz earn it. Sabu purposefully missing the Triple Jump Moonsault and crotching himself is peak heel Sabu. This was the Sabu I know and love. Taz missing a Somersault LegDrop from the top was a great missed spot. Sabu hit a wicked Twisted Bliss through the table for two. I didn’t love Taz pop up no sell Tazmission. Sabu does a version of Survivor Series 96 finish pinning Taz while in the move. I think this is my favorite Taz match ever. **** ECW World TV Champion Shane Douglas vs Taz - ECW Wrestlepalooza 1997 Taz while pinned was not beat and so he unleashed his Path of Rage choking out hapless refs because this is his first loss since November 2 Remember, Goldberg before Goldberg. So Shane Douglas of all people tells Taz to scram. They make a wager. If Taz can choke out Douglas in 3 minutes or less then he wins the TV title. If he can’t Taz has to leave ECW for 45 Days. Douglas works the neck well hits these cool innovative snaps someone should steal. Tazmission of course and Taz wins! The Path of Rage continues and the Monster Babyface Push is fucking on! Great booking here as Douglas did all he could with the TV belt with Raven, Richards gone and Funk just being plain old. It was down to Douglas, Sandman or Sabu to get the belt back and Douglas made the most sense so he needed to drop the TV belt. Doing a Warrior like quick win over Honky Tonk Man here was great put Taz over strong and also gives Douglas a reason once he becomes World Champ to be scared of Taz and duck him. It also gave Taz his heat right back after the loss to Sabu and I like booking that loss as it gives something for Sabu to hang his hat on. Maybe the best one hour TV wrestling show ever! That covers a lot of ground but Paul e at his best!

The BWO was wicked over by all accounts that I have seen from the shirts in the crowd. It makes sense to keep his heat by still associating with the gimmick. I have seen Wrestlepalooza at least once and even if the match falters...this promo is the promo I needed for closure. He nails when he says the difference between him and Raven is that Stevie wants to heal, put that pain in the past, lead a fulfilling life where he wins the World Championship and accomplishes his dream. Raven is trapped in limbo and cant get past his pain because he does not want to. Raven's identity and his pain are so intertwined that he cannot get past it. Whereas Stevie has an identity outside being nerd in high school & being told he would never amount to anything in pro wrestling, he has the BWO and he learned from the BWO that a smile is just as powerful as pain in the world. Nailed it. It got me really excited to see Stevie vs Funk. Stevie should have never, ever left ECW to rehash the same gimmick with Raven in WCW. I get it the money was there and you gotta make hay while the sun shines, but I think 6-12 months on his own maybe even winning the ECW title would have been beneficial to his confidence and acumen to really perform well on the big stage. My heartbreaks that ended up injuring his neck. You can tell how much he loved pro wrestling and his trajectory was really high up on the card if it was not for the injury. A real shame.

Raven & Stevie Richards vs Tommy Dreamer & Terry Funk - ECW Buffalo 5/20/97 I am a Big fan of Raven & Stevie but this emasculated Stevie too much. I would have liked to see Richards get a nice shine rather than get his ass kicked and validate Raven’s abuse. Raven’s abuse should ring hollow because Richards ripped it up. The actual action is pretty meh. Funk had good matches left in him but he just looked old in this. His best spot was he takes the table with him on a bump so the table is covering him so he starts kicking out on instinct. That was fun. Funk is in dire straits so Richards slaps on a leg lace!?! Again Raven is correct that would never work. Imagine the heat if Raven told Richards the Spinning Toehold would never work only to tag in and put the Spinning Toehold on! So many misfires. Dreamer whips Raven and looks like he is going to get that pin but the ref is bumped and here’s Louie Spicolli (Madonna’s Boyfriend and Rad Radford) who was getting a huge push against Dreamer breaking Beulah’s neck. Spicolli eats A StevieKick and Stevie puns Funk. Does Stevie pinning Funk make up for 15 minutes of emasculating booking? For a lot of people the finish matters more but for me nope there’s so much they could do. A Dud

You all don’t understand Raven’s pain but I sure do. This is fucking wonderful. At this point Raven knows he is going to WCW, he drops the title to Funk at the first PPV as the first chapter in his last hurrah. Now this is the last chapter to go out in a blaze of glory. They have taken everything from him, even his flunkies/worshippers. His worst fear is realized he is alone. When you’re alone and isolated you become desperate. Desperate people make no sense. They vacillate between extremes. He lashes out and threatens to take ECW down with him in an inferno of violence with the anger focused on Funk and Dreamer. Another part of him just want it all to end to just fade away and die. Blaze of Glory or Fade Away? Then there’s the role Stevie plays in all this... The Raven/Stevie relationship is fraught with abuse. Raven keeps Stevie dependent on him through his abuse. With Stevie threatening to assert his independence, Raven for the first time tries to cajole Richards and be sweet to him. The old I have learned my lesson and I’ve changed. Only once they come face to face Raven starts in with the abuse again and screaming for Richards to put him out of his misery. Because Raven can’t help himself. Hurt people hurt. If you don’t heal your own wounds, you bleed on those that never hurt you and that’s what happening with Raven and his violent mood swings. As for Richards you don’t just get over this type of relationships in the matter of weeks or months, it takes years. His love for Raven is fucked up but in his heart it is love. Raven has his hooks in him. Raven can still work his voodoo magic. Richards logically has admitted Raven’s love is toxic and unhealthy but that’s just step 1. The next step is overcome the years of emotional abuse and not fall off the wagon when Raven comes knocking. People can bitch and moan about the waffling with Stevie all they want but that’s seeing the world in black and white. Stevie is a strong, independent man or a clueless putz. What if the truth was that Stevie was a young man who didn’t who he was and just wanted to fit in. He fell under the spell of a charismatic asshole. Now he is dealing with years of abuse, he wants to stand on his own but he is beaten into submission. This is NOT a babyface turn, not a flick of a switch but a process! Yes because of the WCW thing we never got a climax but the process is what is interesting. One Stevie Kick and voila Stevie is a Man who has faced & conquered his demons would be a slap in the face of two great years of storytelling and a slap in the face of anyone who was faced abuse in their lives.

2 Cold Scorpio vs Chris Jericho - ECW Doctor Is In 1996 Theres an excellent sequence where Scorpio misses a moonsault and Jericho immediately gets to the middle rope on a splash before Scorpio can roll over. We need that type of urgency in wrestling more often! An underrated ECW departure was 2 Cold Scorpio, he was their workrate workhorse once they lost him there was a huge vacuum. What happened to him after Flsh Funk? I remember him being apart of the Job Squad but what after that? Wasn’t he in NOAH for a bit? As far as ECW workrate this is pretty damn good and pretty cutting-edge. Jericho before WWF is pretty hit and miss in the ring but he was a hit here! They do the fast nearfalls then bust out some wicked cool Lucha submissions and then Scorpio busts out his favorite knucklelock sequence. The heat segment was strong too. I don’t remember Scorpio being soo good at kicks and knees. Lots of great pump kicks and knee lifts. Good missed hope spots by Jericho so when he did hit that Springboard Dropkick he does it looked great. I really enjoyed the bomb throwing down the stretch. There was some waiting to hit the move but for the most part they were urgent and the offense looked good. There were missed moves! I love that. So the transitions to each guy made sense. The finish was set up by Jericho missing a twisting splash. Scorpio nails a tombstone and a strong Shooting Star Press to win. Very fun 90s workrate Match. ***3/4

Sabu vs Taz - Barely Legal 1997 You gotta love the WWE for remastering the footage. The video quality on this is Bitchin! ECW got new floors! Imagine if they went on PPV with those grimy nasty floors. The double turn was the fucking shits. It was the ultimate 90s T-Shirt turn. If Fonzie had so much money riding on the match why didn’t he interfere? He doesn’t even have to coat the match at least try to stop Taz winning from happening. There was the whole “Get up Sabu” that foreshadows the turn but another than that nothing. Why is it RVD instigating the shouldnt Fonzie popped a gasket at that point? Also this is the opposite of Bret/Austin. In Bret/Austin they told the double turn story by the action in the match. Sabu should have worked on top throughout with the chairs and made Taz win from underneath. Decoupling this from the insipid booking, the match itself is pretty good. Unfortunately given the two year build, the insane amount of hype, pretty good ain’t gonna cut it. The ECW mutants were quieter than usual but ultimately respectful. Taz is one of my least favorite wrestlers but I gotta admit he outworked my beloved Sabu. The blown spots are part of Sabu’s charm but here they looked lame. Sabu didn’t have that raw, unpredictable feel in this match. Taz looked great working the shooter the best he has ever looked. Great takedowns and holds. Sabu can wrestle. The played off Sabu’s leg dives. Sabu used dropkicks and enziguiris to set up his chair-based aerial offense. Pretty much that was the rhythm of the match. Sabu bit off more than he could chew and ended going through a table alone. From there it was Head Drop City, three big time head drop duplexes. That’s the one thing I didn’t see get imported too much from All Japan it was on display here. Sabu in the middle does the copy cat gimmick hits a Tazplex and then Taz pose. Taz pops up and Taz pose...good pop. They needed more character spots. More Taz Head Drop duplexes and then choke out. Good shit. Would have liked to seen more energy from Sabu but this was a great Taz performance. Sabu would have a much better match with The Sandman of all people about a year later. ***1/4

Raven & Cactus Jack vs Tommy Dreamer & Terry Funk - ECW November 2 Remember 1995 It is the climatic finale of the hottest ECW feud of 1995 as Raven would move into Sandman and Dreamer to Brian Lee, who I think was loosely aligned with Raven. Cactus turned on Dreamer in August shifting some of the heat to Cactus. Terry Funk was the perfect addition to the feud given his shared history with Dreamer and Cactus. Even though, this is the climax to such a red hot feud , it is a pretty pedestrian brawl with not much heat. There are couple misfires that I think the expected more heat but I feel that Dreamer especially was not bringing the energy and intensity. The first was Cactus goads the babyfaces to the floor only to take the high ground. They play King of the Mountain and then the babyfaces storm the ring to really kick the match off but nothing. The beginning he better than end. I’ve seen this match numerous times because it made Cactus’ WWE DVD SET in the mid-00s. I remember the VCR shot, Stevie in the shopping cart and Funk swinging a golf club seemingly millimeters from Raven’s balls. After that the match kind of peters out which so strange given how hot the feud and the characters are. Another misfire was the Cactus shirt thing. So Cactus has a homemade airbrush shirt of the Dungeon of Doom which is initially the best part of the match only to be outdone by his airbrushed shirt of Eric Bischoff and in the back it says “Forgive Me Uncle Eric”. Now Dreamer wants to pull the shirt up so That he is symbolically punching Uncle Eric is a great idea but it doesn’t get a reaction because Dreamer is not broad enough. He should have been parading Cactus around the ring with Bischoff’s face and fist clenched then unloaded to a massive pop. Even the chairshot to “Bischoff” gets nothing. Not much else happens. The finish is Dreamer hits Raven with 2 DDTS and a piledriver but it is Funk that pins Raven. Feel good ending without giving Dreamer that elusive gratifying pin. What I don’t remember or maybe the WWE version cuts off is Raven/Cactus make a comeback and beat up the babyfaces. The last image is a bloody Raven with barbed wire in his hair doing the Crucifix pose. Dumb. Let the fans go home happy. Why are the heels standing tall in the blowoff? The pin is NOT enough they should be standing tall too. Very disappointing.

Eddie Guerrero & The Steiners vs Dean Makenko, 2 Cold Scorpio & Cactus Jack -ECW Wrestlepalooza 1995 Taz had befriended the Steiners in an effort to train after his neck injury to get revenge on Scorpio. Eddie/Dean/Scorpio were all kind of feuding over the TV Title. Benoit was the original tag partner as he was Malenko’s regular tag partner. There’s a Steiners vs Benoit/Scorpio is it any good? I don’t see anyone talk about it. it is funny listen Joey Styles swing from the Steiners’ nuts when they typically represent what he loves to mock. Once the Luchadors come in doesn’t he start mocking Scotty’s Frankenstein’s compared to the Hurricanarana? Am I remembering that right? Given this lineup there’s going to be some great offense! Scotty/Malenko have a way better exchange than I guessed. It was my favorite of the match and maybe the best Malenko have ever looked. Great amateur stuff at the beginning and they threw up some good bombs. Scotty took a wicked duplex over the top to the floor but returned the favor with a nice belly to belly throw. Scotty took a backseat the rest of the Match. Rick/Scorpio didn’t have the best chemistry. Clunky on the Rana and not as much snap as usual on Rick’s powerslam. They did pull off a great top rope bulldog. Rick vs Cactus was solid but yeah this is not Cactus’ forte. Lots of big bombs and highspots. He did a take a overhead belly to belly by Rick on the floor that was wicked. Cactus hit an electric chair on Eddie and then Eddie missed a Frogsplash. Here comes the heat segment. Great stuff lots of ring cutting off, hope spots, I really like how hard Eddie was working to get the tag but kept getting cut off. Scorpio shines the most here. The Drop Da Bomb Legdrop is most impressive for crushing his opponents face with his ass and not tearing his quad. The powerbomb was great. Eddie using the Frankensteiner was very fitting to create the space for the hot tag. Steiners hit their big fun spots. It’s a Doomsday Device for Scorp, Doomsday Device Dropkick for Cactus and they go for a Doomsday Device Frankensteiner ok Malenko but he chumps our and doesn’t do the flip. In 2020 there are plenty of wrestlers that could pull off this spot but in 1995 they weren’t ready yet. Hell I couldn’t do it. After that Eddie looks brainbustee but Malenko gets a rollup/cradle for the win. As someone put a very Japanese match heavy on the action and highspots and less on character work. Not surprising as the Steiners were very Japanese oriented as were Eddie & Malenko. A fun slugfest with some cool unique pairings. ***3/4

Appreciate it, MOS and KawadaSmile, I was kinda annoyed at myself for staying up late to write that post but I am glad it was well-received. I cant take credit for "Length is strength" I was apart of the first generation of kids to undergo standardizing testing in Massachusetts and every year English teachers would argue whether "length is strength" was the right test strategy and the turn of phrase has always stuck with me. MOS one thing I would dispute is that Sasha has been neutered. Jimmy Redman and I have talked about this. She is in the camp that she has been neutered, but I think at least 50% blame needs to fall on Sasha's shoulders. I think she has lost her Boss swagger/mojo she had in NXT. She is very much a person that wears her emotions on her sleeve and lets her mood affect her work. I dont think that's necessarily a bad thing. She needs to figure out to channel that. Emotion is the basis of great pro wrestling so the fact she experiences emotions very vividly could be an asset. Charlotte may just like wearing high-heels shoes. There's a Taylor Swift song (yes Im a Swiftie 4 Life) where she is complaining about how her ex would bitch that she would wear high heels. Taylor is 5' 10'' and I think Charlotte is about the same height. They are already taller than the average man so they do NOT NEED to wear High Heels but maybe they want to. Charlotte/Rousey based on their Survivor Series match would definitely have at least another killer match in them. I would not hold my breathe about them having a great feud based on angles or promos. The WWE could have the second coming of Austin and Rock right now and I would not trust them to have a great feud. It is not indictment on Charlotte and Rousey thats a WWE promotional machine malfunction. As for the babyface/heel dynamics of this feud, I disagree that Rousey would have to murder puppies. The cracks with Rousey began to be exposed around November/December 2018 where the fans started to turn on her. Once she turned on the fans, I thought she was a red hot heel. I am a huge Rousey the pro wrestler fan and thought the fans' reaction to her did not match her work ethic and workrate. Even a couple months ago, she demonstrated the ability to still get under fans' skin. Charlotte is both a lukewarm babyface and a lukewarm heel. I do NOT hear a vocal contingent that "Hails the Queen" or "Boos The Woo". She just exists. Charlotte needs a opponent with heat. Rousey would have heat and Charlotte would be fine as the nominal babyface. I'll give Naomi a shoutout now. Part of it was that it was getting late and I was going long like a bad HHH promo and sent myself home. Naomi is athletically gifted, but it is a bit overstated. Those rhythmic kicks to the sides of her opponent were Kofi-light and I was not a fan. Incredible entrance and the most modern of its kind by actually incorporating "hip" EMD aesthetic. I love her vibrant colorful outfits when everyone else is in fucking black. Michael Cole saying "she calls that the Rear View" always pops me. She is great in the babyface role and winning the championship a couple times here and there is a perfect role for her. I think it was a dumb decision that she didnt get a one-on-one title shot against Bayley at Mania based on her return. I think in the thing tag ranks that she would do well to form a tag team. So I thought about what it meant to be Overpused. I think it comes down to three different types of overpushing. Overpushed relative to talent: Edge, 100%. I didnt want to bring up Edge in my original post because I think Edge is abjectly the worst main eventer they had in the 21st century based on wrestling because I know he is "over" with certain fans, I think it comes from the fact that he was a part of the TLC matches. Then I realized Edge should be precisely mentioned because he was an atrocious wrestler. When it comes to actually have good or great matches and contributing to them is their anyone who contributes less. He is offensively inept. Is he good at strikes? No. Matwork/grappling? No. Takedowns/Throws? No. Aerial offense? No. Does he feed well? No. Stooge? No. Contribute to movement/tempo/energy? No. Bump well? No. Sell well? No. He is useless. Overpushed relative to Charisma: Randy Orton, Seth Rollins and Charlotte. I have covered that Charlotte is not very entertaining but does have great matches. Rollins has anti-charisma. He is weird combination of an overconfident, unnatural, "tries way too hard to make you like him" dweeb/tool with a nasal delivery that is just toxic as an ace face. Rollins is totally fine in-ring and actually fits the 21st century workrate style perfectly. In the 80s, he would have been hidden in tag teams and in workrate-focused midcard feuds, but because pro wrestling has been become more workrate-focused he has gotten pushed. Orton should have been at the level of his father. He is perfectly fine mechanic just like his dad, athletic and coordinated. Unlike his Dad, he got a main event push and way too soon. Orton did eventually get over but I think it took him about 6-8 years to really click and some of that was attrition. The RKO Outta Nowhere is legitimately over. His promos were very weak for a long time and only recently has he gotten more comfortable delivering them. Orton and Charlotte both seem like emotionally dull people. Whereas Rollins is a try hard. Toxic Overpush That Hurts The Company: HHH and Rollins. HHH I think is a talented wrestler whose reach sometimes exceeds his grasp (ok a lot of the time this happens). I do think he has good ideas and I would say he is about equal hit to miss. I do think he is very charismatic, personable and funny when he wants to be. Ultra *breathes heavy* Serious *breathes heavy* Triple *breathes heavy* Haitch *breathes heavy* The *breathes heavy* Game is intolerable because he is humorless world-beating prick that never shows ass. D-X HHH in both incarnations and during Daniel Bryan showed a lighter side to himself is a great main eventer. That 2003 run killed the WWE's popularity and it has never come back. HHH has to shoulder a lot of the burden. Cena got back to a healthy level and Roman kept maintained. I think you can trace the most recent dip to when Roman got cancer. There are three things in play here. One they badly underpushed Rousey. She should have main evented everything right through Mania. I think that would have stopped the bleeding. Second they went directionless in the male division until Mania. Its fine they reverted to Brock but no one knew what the plan was until Rumble so they hemorrhaged viewers. I think using AJ or Bryan as a workrate stopgap champion (Bryan was the champ on Smackdown and AJ was on Smackdown but fucking Roman got cancer it was an emergency and if you need to move someone do it) would have helped rather doing a start-stop push with younger talent. Even with the Rousey underpush and losing 4-5 critical months due to aimless male booking, they could have remedied the situation by choosing the right heir to Roman and they went all in on Rollins and it blew up in their face. I think this is getting to be like 2003 and it could be a permanent loss of viewers just like what was experienced in 2003. The scary thing is I dont see a "Cena" on the roster. I always plug Big E at this point and would love to see him get a shot. Drew McIntyre is showing a personality and seems likeable but with the pandemic and the WWE Promotional Machine broken, he has a lot stacked against him.

Yeah Hogan as Terry is still weird. Triple H actually did look like a Hunter when he had the long blond hair, but Paul is not too weird to me.

I think also the way he died asking for his son to be saved from the riptide and him ultimately drowning makes this a story much bigger than wrestling. He could have been just a random Dad showcased on the local news and I would have been moved by the story. An inspiration to all fathers and a real hero.

I popped for the Maryland State Athletic Commission fining them for juice. Some things never change. Also Kenny Omega's real name is Tyson Smith...I mean I dunno...he just doesnt seem like a Tyson. I guess I always thought Ken/Kenny was his real first name.

I have learned for years of experience front-load and bold key conclusions: Charlotte is deceptively entertaining. On the surface with her droning, monotone promo delivery and poor one-dimensional character, it is easy to believe that Charlotte is not entertaining and therefore overpushed. I have never gone into a Charlotte match thinking "this is going to rock" but 90% of the time I am at least satisfied. I really enjoy when she brawls and works stiff & hard-hitting like against Rousey & Ripley, they really wailed on each other. Some of her work with Logan I think early this year was wicked, it was like sub-5 minute FUTEN-style stiff brawls. She usually produces at least one WWE Women's match of the year candidate a year (vs Rousey, vs Ripley, vs Becky @Evolution 2018, vs Sasha in 2016, vs Asuka in 2017, I am just missing 2019). Therefore, I would argue her in-ring exploits are commensurate with her push and it is in large part because she is at the very least in the top 5 female workers of the main roster at any given time. While I cant point to a single non-wrestling segment Charlotte has ever entertained me in, I do enjoy her matches. So is Charlotte overpushed? No especially in comparison to her peers. Bayley's heel run has been dreadful and has only been propped up by Sasha Banks' fierce, keen fashion sense during COVID Lockdown. They screwed the pooch with Bayley's babyface run which seemed unfuckable but this is WWE after all. Bayley is not a good promo. She trips over her words and also has a flat delivery. Again, a lot of it has to do with the total lack of angles or storylines ever. I do like Bayley in the ring probably more than most even if she is a little clunky. The Smackdown women's roster is pretty thin but Bayley has led Lacey Evans and Ember Moon through above average matches through solid pacing and escalation. Sasha Banks when she is on is every bit Charlotte's and Becky's equal if not their superior but man when she is off, she is off. The Boss was The Man before The Man was The Man. They seemed hell-bent on making Sasha a babyface. She could never cut loose since 2016. The Boss vs The Man produced the WWE MOTY at Hell In A Cell again because they wailed on each other and it was just a great fucking firefight. The build was brutally boring. It was clear the Boss had lost her swagger and mojo and lets be honest it has been gone for a while. Banks is a great bumper, she can really sell, and the Becky match proved she can go toe-to-toe and wail, her and Becky also had the best double-limb psychology match of the 2010s. She is very versatile, but when she loses her confidence everything goes South. My girl Becky! I was a huge Becky Lynch since I saw her Sasha match in 2015. There was something about her that I immediately latched onto and I picked her to be my favorite Four Horsewoman back in May 2015. I think it was the passion, drive and effort. Since Smackdown plays the B-towns and I live in New England, I usually go to 4 Smackdowns a year and all to see Becky Lynch because there is one performer that always gave 110%. Her promos always felt more authentic than the rest and most importantly they were fun! No Becky is not the smoothest in the ring but she makes up for it with sheer willpower and determination. To her credit has a three legitimate classics under her belt and probably the most iconic scene of the late 2010s (thanks Nia!) even if it was an accident. If you watched her Steve Austin Show appearance, you will see this is a person that it doesnt come naturally to. She stresses and really puts thought into every word and action. That can go either way. Randy Savage and The Rock have proved you can be a meticulous planner or have every word spelled out but if you can make it organic then it is fucking organic and I am none wiser more power to you. That's the key to Becky she was putting a lot of effort in and still coming across natural and organic. Mad respect for The Man! The non-Four Horsewomen: Shockingly it looks like Asuka is making a comeback. I would have never guessed that in a million years. The rising tide raises all ships looks to be helping Kairi Sane. Besides Becky, Asuka & Sane are my favorite WWE women's wrestlers. I thought the Pirate Princess gimmick was gold and loved her work with Shayna in 2017 and went to an NXT House Show in Lowell just to see her live. I have always enjoyed Asuka but I always figured she would never be more than a workrate queen because I just didnt think Vince/WWE would know how to market her and WWE fans at large wouldnt know what to think of her (similar to Nakamura). The Kabuki Warriors was something designed to pop me but I was disappointed time and time again first by not winning the tag titles and second by lack of air time. Then they turned heel. It took Sane a little longer than Asuka to find her sea legs as a heel but once they did they have been the best act on WWE TV by a country mile and especially during COVID Lockdown. They have amped up the zaniness and it is fun! Perish the thought, pro wrestling is fun! I am nervous they will do the WWE standard of Sane pulling a disappearing act now that Asuka is champion but it looks like based on her terrific recorder (who else played the recorder in 3rd grade!) performance that she is safe for now. If you are asking most underpushed in the women's division it is Kairi Sane without a doubt. How we didnt get a lengthy Becky vs Sane singles match back in the beginning of the year is insane! It has been covered but Alexa Bliss' concussion issues has shunted her down to the tag ranks. I think Alexa is amazing promo and the best at reciting the WWE drivel. She makes it seem like something a normal human would say and thats a real, rare talent. I like her ode to Nikki Bella right punch and she has great chemistry with Nikki Cross. She was overpushed for a spell there as a heel and I do think there was a market to turn her babyface earlier because she was over. She is the closest a woman has gotten to breaking the Four Horsewomen glass ceiling. I like Nia Jax more than most. I get it. She is dangerous. Some of those throws on Kairi were brutal recently. She does really need to tone it down, but I just love hosses and she is a hoss. That girl has power. The Rousey match was bonkers! Fucking terrific! Her power is so addictive to watch. When she goes on her sassy rant of being a 6', 300lbs Samoan woman I always pop. A safer Nia Jax that does awesome splashes and safely tosses her opponents around would be a wonder. Shayna is by far the most athletically gifted and coordinated wrestler they have. Her matches with Nattie have been terrific. She moves so well in the ring and is so fluid. She is beautiful to watch. Booking fucked her up but they can still recover. A thin division will make it tough on her but I enjoy her a lot. Shoutout to Sonya Deville. I change my pick the most underpushed wrestler in WWE is Sonya Deville, excellent offense. I would drool at the prospect of Sonya vs Shayna. I was fortunate enough to see an Asuka vs Sonya random house show match which is probably the best house show match I have ever seen, Beautiful mat work and strikes, built to a hot finish. That's my rundown of the women's division. I dont think you can call Charlotte overpushed based on her workrate talent and her peers.

The contenders in my mind are HHH 2002-2004, Randy Orton 2004-2009, they backed their way into JBL and lucked out, Great Khali was fucking brutal (I stopped watching Smackdown for years because of him), Kane is a decent candidate, Baron Corbin is definitely overpushed, Seth Rollins but only recently I would say 2019. I am surprised a certain someone has not come up but I am such a huge mark for him I won't bring it up. HHH (2002-2004) - It was a truly brutal time listening to those 30 minute windbag promos as he went over every single WCW star (Steiner, Booker, Nash, Goldberg and I am probably missing others). He considers himself such a student of the game and idolized Flair so much but when he got a chance to play Flair he totally missed the point of what made Flair work...sub-5 minute promos and shining babyfaces. He is a fool. He is probably my pick. Randy Orton (2004-2009) - Cena & Batista needed a heel to wrestle ultimately and I guess Orton was good as any. He grew on me in the 2010s. I like his grinding style now. He has a great European Uppercut. I really enjoy when he makes some really weird faces. After 20 years, he has become a halfway-decent promo. He was the shits as a kid. He was the victim of the first start-stop push winning the World Title before Cena/Batista only for HHH to shit on him. I am glad they went with Cena & Batista over him. He was their go-to heel but he was pretty blah. The WrestleMania 25 build and match with HHH was pretty terrible. Once they laid off the push in the 2010s, he became more palatable. He was the PERFECT choice for the Authority's Candidate to go against Bryan in 2013. That was marvelous and the best he ever was. Bryan and Orton had freaky chemistry. The stuff with Edge right now is brutally bad. To hype it as the Greatest WRESTLING Match ever is so insulting. Orton is a classic case of getting pushed before he was ready. If it was like Bret and he was in a tag team 5, 6 years and then I-C level 2-3 years, dude would have been golden. Too much, too fast. It is too bad they rush things. JBL was so short and he turned out to be a tremendous promo that even though it started out as an overpush, it became a deserved push. Great Khali the absolute shits. I dont remember how long he was around but it was too fucking long. People can say well he became a comedy character but I think he had at least three years as a monster and it was three years too long. While overpushed, perhaps not the most overpushed but he needs to be mentioned for how atrocious he was. Kane - In late 90s, Kane was so fucking cool. Then they took off the mask and oh boy. I dont know if others remember this but Kane had a resthold my brother and I would affectionately call the "Kane snuggle". In the mid-00s, the reverse chinlock was running rampant as the preeminent resthold during a heat segment. Ever the rebel, Kane decided his resthold of choice was going to be a reverse waistlock while lying on the mat of his opponent. Kane was going to spoon his opponent into submission. There it was every year the Kane push. It almost felt like a rib. I did like Corporate Kane though. Baron Corbin - The heir to Kane. He is totally in the Kane role and I have been pushing this narrative for a while. He is tall and moves similarly to Kane. He occupies the same spot on the card that upper midcard heel they love to go to fill in those dead zones of their calendar right after Mania and right after Survivor Series. I have said this time and time again, Baron Corbin is not a bad wrestler. He is very serviceable. I have always liked his tribute to Big Bossman. I have always liked his right hand. I think he has two strong signature moves. He is actually pretty good at reciting their alphabet soup of a script. I get why he is pushed as he is universally hated. There is no pocket of fans that will cheer for him, hardcores, traditionalists, kids, casuals will hate him. He is too bland to sustain a run on top. Rotating him in and out of tag team/IC title hunt like Greg Valentine would be perfect. Seth Freakin' Rollins - If Corbin is the heir to Kane, then Rollins is the heir to HHH. I liked Rollins in the Shield. I liked 2015 chickenshit Rollins as the Authority's new heir to the throne. The Kingslayer stuff is when the wheels fell off the wagon and it got really bad last year against Brock Lesnar. The problem is that he has gone to the HHH school of promos and feels that length is strength and that if the promo is not 20 minutes he has failed. It is brutal. I have said this before the saving grace of HHH is that he has a sense of humor. The problem with Evolution HHH is that he was a humorless twat. There have been a couple times during DX revival HHH where I chuckled and I was like ok this fucker is pretty funny. HHH did rule so hard during the build to Bryan match at Mania XXX. Rollins does not have a funny bone in his body. The Messiah gimmick reeks of Heyman, who loves his religious references and is beyond bad. I would say Rollins is on track to exceed HHH. I wanted to talk about Charlotte and the women's division but this post got long. I am just going to split into two as it will be easier to read.