Superstar Sleeze

WWE Raw Women's Champ Ronda Rousey vs Natalya Neidhart - RAW 12/24/18 I thought this was really unique and cool on multiple levels. They played up the friendship aspect really well and how hard it can be to go against your best friend. As I have said many times the name of the game is to pin your opponent for three not to hurt them. Notice Ronda's offensive choices early on they are all takedowns and jntense pins. Nothing that will hurt Nattie. It will win her the match without injuring her. Here's the big thing I want to key in is the amount of physical contact time in this match. No Irish Whips, no bullshit rope running. Flesh on flesh and real deal chain wrestling. Rousey put on a fucking clinic. Lots of cool takedowns. I liked Nattie going for the Sharpshooter early as she was getting blown out and takes a nasty spill to the outside. When Nattie does take control she is showing her killer instinct while Rousey is conflicted. You can see how that inner turmoil was affecting Ronda and messing with her mind. I liked the slapped to midsection a lot. I would have liked Nattie to have channeled her Uncle Bret the king of the face vs face match more and play a subtle heel with some cheating. The finish stretch was well-executed. Rousey finally starts throwing punches and strikes but stops short of the armbar. This affords Nattie the opportunity to lock in the Sharpshooter but Rousey wakes the fuck up and finally applies the armbar. Note how fast she releases the armbar almost before Nattie taps because she wants to let go as soon as possible. Excellent unique psychology, loved how lo-fi this was. So much contact time. Really worth checking out. ****

WWF World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair vs Bret Hart -WWF 10/12/92 Imagine being a random adult or kid attending this show Sasakatoon and seeing Bret Hart win the World Championship they must have been in total shock. I am still unclear on why the WWF moved so suddenly to Bret as a champion. Flair does leave in January so I'm sure that is something to do with it. The Bret singles push had been in the works since 1988 and they went full bore with it in 1991. The fact he Main evented Summerslam is a clue that's the direction Vince wanted. What confuses me isn't the choice of Bret but rather the suddenness. How there was no formal build is what smacks me as strange. Flair is a great opponent for Bret because it forces Bret out of his comfort zone. Bret has to fight through Flair offense to win his holds even small things like Flair applying an armwringer and Bret countering it into his own or Bret getting an armbar from a lockup in the corner matter because it is not just Bret ragdolling his opponent. Great arm work and Flair is at his hollering best. Flair adds a lot of energy with his motion and bumping. The heat segment transition is weird it is just a simple Flair kick to the midsection as Bret is drawn into the corner. False one I should have known. See that's I mean Bret had to overcome being thrown to the floor and some strikes to get a sunset flip and expose Flair's ass. Good pop. Bret hammers him with clotheslines. Flair Flop! Flair thumbs the eyes. A couple Bret Bumps later & Flair is in control. Kneecrusher...Bret sells this exceedingly well. Bret turns it around on Flair and attacks his knee and applies the Figure-4. Definitely a Flair match thus far. Bret goes for a sleeper after some struggle but Flair hits the back Suplex. Flair runs through his offense: butterfly Suplex and knee drop and chop. Flair gets another kneecrusher when Bret shows signs of life and applies the Figure-4. I like how much struggle and even this is. Flair definitely feels more like his 80s self less cheating and bump 'n' run. He is more in control of the match and he is more intense. He grinds down on the knee until Bret starts firing up with punches and then the press slam. Flair runs through his back body drop before we hit the Five Moves of Doom. Flair makes Bret Hart become the "Total Package" Bret Hart. Bret does the no sell and pulls the straps down. Bret is not as good at no selling as Luger or Hogan that's for sure. A good no sell is an art. Sharpshooter and Flair submits! Wow! I remembered a roll up for some reason. Flair went out and submitted to Hart thats a pretty big deal. Definitely a Flair match with how it was structured and worked. I am sure Flair was calling the majority of the match. This match harkened back to the Flair title defenses of the mid-80s thought build up to the Sharpshooter was a little too routine. The surprise submission popped me! ****

WWF Intercontinental Champion Mr. Perfect vs Bret Hart - WWF Summerslam 1991 Having seen their 1989 matches more recently, it is amazing that after two years this match is still so similar to those matches. I grew up really liking this match and it was a definite favorite when I got the Bret Hart DVD set. Then I rewatched it back in 2011-2012 timeframe and it did not do much for me. Watching it for the first time in like 5 years, I really enjoyed this again. There are a couple of Bret-isms that still bother me, but overall this is an enjoyable package and a great moment. The shine is pretty much a carbon copy from their 1989 match series. Perfect takes the crazy spin out bump. They do all that hair pulling stuff that I eat up with a spoon. What I like about Perfect he makes Bret earn his offense. It is not just Bret grinding his opponent down. It is Perfect hitting a bodyslam but Bret mule kicking and hitting his own bodyslam. Or Bret having to make his way back in the ring and retake control. I forgot how much of this match Perfect takes and this is surprising for somebody who really does not have much offense. I loved the ode to the AWA with the King of the Mountain especially Bret's bump into the railing. What bothered me as usual from Bret is that he never makes a heel work for his offense. He is just always selling would it kill him to throw a punch of two and then Perfect could rake the eyes. Yes, Bret threw in some hope spots, but there he could have made Perfect work harder for it. I thought Perfect looked great on top probably the best of his WWF career. Bret is such a great sympathetic babyface, but I just thought it could have been more. I am not a huge fan of the kick out of the finish then immediately make the comeback by punching. Yes, the heel hitting his finish and kick out is the perfect time for a transition, but I think it should have been due to an egregious mistake by Perfect. It was funny Heenan going crazy about no one ever kicking out of the Perfectplex next to Piper when two nights ago I watched Piper kick out of the Perfectplex. The Five Moves of Doom looked great. Perfect sold and bumped for everything like a million bucks. I liked that they still threw in some more false finishes for Perfect to throw in a wrinkle of doubt. The kick to the middle rope while Bret Hart had it straddled was the perfect last gasp for Mr. Perfect. I really liked how Bret came up with an interesting way to apply the Sharpshooter from his back. It was definitely an iconic moment for Bret Hart. It was a pretty standard shine-heat-comeback match but I thought what put it over was how much effort Mr. Perfect put it into this match both on offense and bumping. Everything was well-timed and paced well, they could just added more struggle and grit to the match. Bret overcoming the ballshot at the end and ultimately applying the Sharpshooter was a really great finish. I still prefer their King of the Ring 1993 match, but this has definitely moved back into the great category for me. ****

The Rockers vs Orient Express - Royal Rumble 1991 I believe this is the most famous Rockers match because it happens on a PPV and it is actually given a serious amount of time. PPVs were much easier to get a hold of then a random MSG card so this has gone down in lore as THE ROCKERS match. I respectfully disagree, but I do think this is a wicked fun match and it was great that they were given this much time on a PPV especially to open. The crowd was right there with them. What this match does so well is make the Rockers look like world-beaters. The OX definitely were working this in the vein of the Midnight Express, not quite as good, but they were very selfless. Many of their spots to gain control were double teams. Why? Because they simply as good as the Rockers so they have to cheat gain the upper hand. However, the Rockers are so good they outfox them and it backfires on the OX. There are two good examples of the OX using the apron member to interfere, but then on the resulting criss cross the OX ends up running into each other in very entertaining fashion. Another example is at the outset of the match, they jumpstart the match by pushing Marty Jannetty off the top rope while he is posing for his entrance. He ends up dropkicking Tanaka and superkicking Paul Diamond. Then they do the stereo dives to the outside that wipe out both of the OX that is such an iconic spot. Another great sequence sees Michaels overcome both OX members with a moonsault and then was punctuated with stereo dives from each corner to the floor. Here is where I am going to deviate from those who truly love this match. Note what am I loving about the match: the spots. I thought the connective tissue was pretty boring. Lots of chinlocks and the such that did not lead anywhere. To me this is one of the first spotfests. I love a good spotfest and this is a damn good spotfest. To me this match was not about getting over the story as much as it was to get to the next spot. Now I think they did this better than most spotfests because the babyfaces were the ones doing the awesome highspots and the heels were being thwarted at every pass. So I will say for a spotfest they kept true to babyface/heel dynamics which makes this better than the average 21st century spotfest. Spotfest does not have to be a dirty word. If I was booking, I'd almost always have a big, dumb spotfest open my show that required almost no thinking. They are fun. They use the old Brainbuster heel transition spot of the assisted hotshot on the top rope. Tanaka gets an AMAZING LEGSWEEP! Oh shit I marked out for that. There is a long nerve hold at some point. Another great spot is Shawn does a Flair Flip as he is on the apron Tanaka hits a superkick to send him back in the ring. The transition to the hot tag is another great sequence as OX looks to clothesline Shawn with their ribbon belt but Shawn dives on it to make them collide. Hot tag to Marty! Goddamn he reminds me so much of Ricky Martel the way he is fired. Marty Jannetty is a lot sloppier than I remember in rewatching these matches. The hot tag is full of piss and vinegar. The actual finish is great as the OX goes for another catapult, but Shawn doubles over Tanaka with a punch so that when Marty is catapulted he sunset flips Tanaka for the win. It is a great spotfest that sees the Rockers overcoming one after another OX double team and allows them to show off a ton of really cool, innovative offense. ****

WWF World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan vs Sgt. Slaughter - MSG 6/3/91 Desert Storm Match U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A! ALL THE WAY! Hogan's entrance should be shown every Independence Day! Hogan looks badass in the camo & American flag doo-rag. They do really exemplify this is war by doing a war of attrition style match. Most of Hogan's matches are uptempo, quick bursts of energy. This turned down and you really watching a war unfold. Slaughter was amazing in this. His selling throughout really put over the damage he had taken. Tipping over with the chair or falling off the top rope all came off great. Hogan too, gone was his Hulk Up and all that jazz. A major toll had be taken on his body and he was selling the exhaustion. I liked that Hogan absolutely kicked ass at the beginning. He threw all of Slaughter's dirty tricks back in his face quite literally with the "tear gas" (jeez Gorilla). Lots of choking and slamming Slaughter's head into hard, metal objects. Sarge of course is busted open. I am surprised Hogan did not blade. I wish Slaughter made Hogan earn his shine. Hogan definitely should be on offense, but a little more life from Slaughter would have been nice. Slaughter was great on top going for the eyes and the throat. The Camel Clutch was a great nearfall for Sarge and signaled the time for Hogan to take charge. He throws Sarge off the top rope. FIREBALL~! I forgot about the Fireball again, damn marked out again! I love that it was Fireball vs. The Boot. Who could pull the trigger first? Fireballs wins everytime. There really needs to be more fireballs in wrestling. Hogan uses the Boot against Sarge! Then in the ultimate Fuck You, Hogan makes General Adnan unconditionally surrender for Slaughter in the Camel Clutch! Hogan just used all of Slaughter's tactics to beat Sarge at his own game. This is a great down-tempo, war of attrition. It is not personal favorite style, BUT they do it extraordinarily well especially Sarge. AMERICA, FUCK YEAH! ****1/4

Merry Christmas, bruthas! I am really excited about this volume of Pro Wrestling Love because it covers the first half of the Hulkamania Era 1984-1987. The year 1984 is basically 1AD in pro wrestling history. The WWF was an all star promotion at this time with so many great wrestlers making pit stops in New York City. That it is a treasure trove of great wrestling that is criminally underrated. There are the stud workhorses we know and love with Tito Santana, Greg Valentine, Ricky Steamboat and Randy Savage but there are others contributing like Harley Race, Brutus Beefcake and Jake Roberts. Hell the WWF was such a big tent promotion at the time you even got crazy awesome things like Glamour Girls vs Jumping Bomb Angels. There are plenty of honorable mentions to sift through and I implore you to check them all out. http://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2018/12/pro-wrestling-love-vol-21-best-of-wwf.html?m=1

Lol! I popped for that one! I think I may actually get to that before New Years. We will see!

The Rockers vs Powers of Pain w/Mr. Fuji - MSG 1/90 This could be my favorite match of all time. It is such a perfect David vs Goliath match. Marty Jannetty gives one of the greatest performances of all time. This one has been pimped in the 1990 yearbook and very rightfully so. This is the Rockers' David vs Goliath masterpiece. They have the incredible sprint against the Brainbusters, a dramatic "face vs face" tag match with the Hart Foundation, a wicked entertaining light-hearted match with Rougeaus, a speed vs power Championship match with Demolition, bloodbath against Rose & Somers and an ultra-hot PPV opener against the Orient Express. (Yes, I mention this all to build to upcoming post on why the Rockers are worthy to be in the discussion with the Rock n Rolls). This takes on a different dynamic than the Demolition. The Demolition match reminded me how the RnRs wrestled the Russians it was speed versus power, but not necessarily size. In those matches, the heel teams use their power to attack specific body parts and work holds. This match worked more like a David vs Goliath spotfest (I mean that in a good way). The Powers of Pain are just throwing out all these badass bombs to defeat the Rockers. The Rockers are attempting to overcome pure power and are treated more like smaller wrestlers in this match. Out of all their classic matches, this has to be the most surprising because Powers of Pain really did suck. Look, Barbarian has the raw talent, but did not seem to pull altogether into one solid match until this match where he looked like the next big power heel in the WWF. Hell, the fuckin' Warlord looked great in this match. Jesus, if that is not an achievement I do not what is. Barbie chucks Shawn around early to establish the power advantage. Marty crossbody blocks Shawn on top of Barbie to demonstrate that the Rockers will need to use teamwork and tricks to overcome this power advantage. The Rockers clear the ring with a series of double teams done continuing the theme of teamwork including a Marty dropkick to help Shawn over on a rana and they tabletop Warlord. When they cleared the ring with the double dropkicks and double superkicks. The crowd went nuts. Such a hot moment. I really loved the dropkick/tabletop combo. That was my favorite spot of the shine. Warlord catches Marty with a wicked powerbomb eventually the Rockers were going to get caught and POP made them pay. Let the shit kicking commence. HOLY SHIT! The height that Marty takes on that back body drop needs to be seen. I marked out so hard for that again. I totally forgot about that. Holy shit now they just throw Marty up in the air and let him land hard on the canvas. It should be noted that Marty's ribs are taped so this gives the POP something to focus on while they beat the ever loving shit out of him. Barb hits a wicked headbutt on Marty's back. KICK OF FEAR sends Marty to the outside to take a cane shot from Fuji and Barbie rams him back first into the post. Marty shows his dogged determination by throwing ineffectual punches at Warlord's chest. Marty is starting build a little momentum but keeps getting quashed. He really needs to tag. BARBARIAN HITS A MASSIVE POWERSLAM AFTER CATCHING MARTY! This match rules! This onslaught ends when Barb missed second rope elbow. Shawn sunset flips Warlord, but Marty clothesline him, it is all about teamwork! In all the chaos, Shawn gets tripped by Fuji's cane and as he is getting up Barbie stops him in his tracks with an elbow for the win. Shawn in a fit of rage (Shawn temper tantrum? No way, right?) dropkicks Fuji, but Powers of Pain take control and beat the ever-loving shit out of Marty with the cane and a Hart Attack. I love this match in a string of great Rockers performances this one stands out for how concentrated they were on telling the teamwork story and how great Marty was at eating all the POP offense. For one match, Barbarian took all this athletic spots finally lived to his potential with some great work throughout the heat segment into the finish. Killer match right up there with Rockers best stuff and a contender for best Hulkamania Era WWF tag team match. Easily the WWF Match of the Year of 1990. ****1/4

WWF Intercontinental Champion Mr. Perfect vs Roddy Piper - MSG 12/18/90 Been meaning to watch this for years because it is such an interesting match on paper. You never hear any talk about the Perfect vs Piper feud or any of their matches. Then when you do a little digging you find a lot of people see this as the WWF Match of the Year for 1990 (a pretty weak year admittedly). The other reason I was curious is because neither one of these men are offensive dynamos so I was curious to see what a match between these two would look like. Well it is filled with shenanigans and gaga so I fucking loved it! I love a lot of hijinx and this match was chock full of that. It felt very Memphis. Piper spits and smacks Perfect in the face and just rag dolls him for the first five minutes or so. Perfect loves being thrown by his hair. This features a lot of hair pulling and hair biels. Perfect is bumping like a madman for Piper. Piper hits him with a chair and feigns a ball shot only to poke him in the eyes. This is really great. My favorite part is Piper blocks a ballshot by catching Perfect's arm mid-swing. This needs to be done more often. Perfect is so overwhelmed. He has the perfect face throughout just one of "what the hell did I get myself into" and I loved him his slumping back into the ropes. The double clothesline is a pretty trite way to level the playing field. Perfect cements his advantage by exposing the turnbuckle and slamming Piper's head into it. Yep a lot of gaga! Hennig jabs the chair into Piper's head. I love their flagrant disregard for the rules. We dont have any offense so we just use gimmicks liberally and I love it because it feels exciting and fresh. Perfect applies a long sleeper. Then we get a lot of nearfall trading which I actually didnt care for. I much rather them continue to basically do a Rat Boy vs Rat Boy match rather than a low-rent Misawa vs Kawada. The kneelift spot was weird. It looked like neither really connected. So did Perfect miss or did Piper no-sell and hit his own. Perfect hitting the Fisherman Suplex and Roddy kicking out is so Piper. The finish sucked. Piper shakes the ropes and Perfect gets crotched and counted out while on the top rope. Yes thats technically a countout, but I think a bump to the floor and then a ten count would have been better. They do some gaga post-match with belt with both men playing tugging of war and then Piper swinging it around. Piper wins this fight and leaves the belt with Perfect. Highly entertaining match back when pro wrestling was about entertaining via fun rather than MOVEZ! So you know I dug this. Piper was on fire and had that wild eye look. I loved his rulebreaking abuse of Perfect. Perfect sold and bumped his ass off. As a cheater vs cheater match this was great and people really should see it. Finish was too lackluster for me to call this great. ***3/4

Pro Wrestling Love is back! Yes, Pro Wrestling Love makes its triumphant return right before Christmas to give you plenty to enjoy on Christmas Day. This volume is basically a tribute to the creative genius that is Brock Lesnar as three of his matches make it. In addition, we have the classic Eddie Guerrero vs JBL bloodbath and in my opinion the ultimate feel good moment in WWE history as Eddie Guerrero wrestles Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship. All this and much, much more in Pro Wrestling Love vol. 20! https://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2018/12/pro-wrestling-love-vol-20-best-of-wwe.html

World Heavyweight Champion Triple H vs Shawn Michaels - RAW 12/29/03 I promised a more fleshed out review of this classic and away we go, three years after the fact. I watched this match live in a hotel room in South Carolina and I will never forget that. Even at 14, I knew I saw something special. First 15 minutes: This is the best 80s NWA Touring Match to not take place in the 80s. It is Triple H doing his best Ric Flair impersonation (and I mean that with respect & admiration) against the literal hometown hero in Shawn Michaels (this takes place in San Antonio). Shawn Michaels outwrestles Triple H early. I am a mark for people holding onto their headlocks through a shove off. Shows struggle and grit. Nice job, Shawn. Triple H takes some big bumps for Shawn. HHH was very keen on throwing Shawn to the outside to reset and gain some space. However, on the first attempt this led to a skinning of the cat headscissors that brought Trips to the floor. Shawn hams it up with a Flair strut and the crowd is going wild. Flair gets pissed. Shawn decks him. Then it is an Asai reverse crossbody. It is cookin' San Antonio. Some other great spots in this red-hot shine are Triple H blocking a hiptoss so Shawn switches arms to the armdrag. That should be cribbed. It is shows resilience and the ability to think on your feet. Another spot that should be cribbed is Triple H is straddling the ropes and Shawn casually kicks the middle ropes into his balls. Triple H is pissed and Shawn wins another slugfest. This may not be Flair vs Garvin, but I like the frequency of the slugfests because it gives it a feel of struggle and it gives Shawn a bunch of mini-battles to win. Shawn takes a massive back drop over the top rope to floor to begin the heat segment as we go to commercial. Damn good heat segment. Lots of focus on the back, plenty of hope spots that make you believe Shawn is still in it and strong cutoffs. I like Shawn trying to punch his way out trouble because that had been working, but Triple H nails a backbreaker. Shawn is so tenacious. Triple H hurls him outside the ring and whips him hard into the steel steps. Both guys are playing their roles perfectly. Long abdominal stretch with Flair pulling on Triple H. They do that great Tommy Young spot where he breaks their clasp with a kick and Shawn hiptosses out. Triple H hits his massive high knee to cut off, but lands awkwardly. Great selling here from Triple H. It is just enough to clue you in that something is up, but not too much that it hurts the flow of the match. Shawn nails a kneecrusher and goes for the figure-4. It is really feels like 1986, baby! Flair rakes the eyes. Really great shine to open just chock full of fun spots. The heat segment was rock solid, but they added the wrinkle here with Triple H, the heel is the one with the injury. How will the back half of the match go? Back half: They built to an awesome crescendo in this. Like I said earlier I do like the frequency of the slugfests. It is action that means something rather being in a hold or just doing another highspot. They are mini-battles that advance the plot and show Shawn's pugnacious attitude. I really liked the testicular abuse that Triple H underwent. It is the perfect bit of 80s camp and lightheartedness that keeps the match entertaining. Today's pro wrestling is missing the gaga as Steve Austin would call it. Shawn accidentally falling and headbutting Triple H in the balls or the repeated inverted atomic drops were great. I love HHH Brody'ing Shawn on those. He did not take a bump instead he fed for the Flying Burrito to get the maximal effect out of that spot. Kudos to Triple H on a wise decision. Flying Elbow Drop! Tuning up the band and here is more gaga! We get a ref bump and the Championship belt shot...1-2-NO! Ref bump again! HHH exposes the turnbuckle but per Pro Wrestling #57 he who sets up the spot must take the spot means that HHH eats the unforgiving steel and is bleeding. Eric Bischoff, who I am 99% sure is a heel, comes out and counts 1-2-NO for the Hometown Kid! Shawn blocks the inverted atomic drop out of the corner, landing on his feet and decks The Game for 1-2-NO! Bischoff actually has a really good cadence and form. He is light years better than Hebner. HHH hits his facebuster for his nearfall. The finish see Michaels do the Flair Flip on the exposed turnbuckle, sell the back, BANG SWEET CHIN MUSIC! He falls into the cover and his shoulders are down to. 1-2-3! DRAW! Great Dusty Finish as San Antonio explodes as they think Shawn Michaels had won and Michaels sells the moment really well. Normally I hate Dusty Finishes, but this match was so 80s it just needed that Dusty Finish to make it feel extra nostalgic. , Michaels was the plucky Hometown hero firing away punches and going for broke. Triple H bumped and sold his ass off for Michaels. They really built to the finish well and there was a ton of gaga to hold you attention. Just the perfect 1980s NWA Touring match ****1/2

Strike Force vs The Islanders - 10/87 MSG 2 Out of 3 Falls I couldnt find this one either. Strike Force try to start off early, but the Islanders are wary of this and bail. Bock is on commentary again and does not know what to make of it when Gorilla posits that The Brain maybe in drag somewhere in the building. Neither do I, Bock. Was there an angle at the time? There is obviously the Weasel Suit, but I know nothing of drag. Anyways, Strike Force starts off hot with Strike Force controlling the action. They use a headlock as a base in this match. Tito hits a pretty sweet Thesz Press that only gets two. Haku catches Martel with a back suplex while in the headlock shades of Mr. Saito. Tama and Haku do some double teaming on Martel. Martel is a lot better than most WWF babyfaces in working underneath by mixing in hope spots. He tags in Tito who immediately goes in for the kill with the Figure-4. However, the Islanders break it up. Haku sends Tito crashing to the floor and as pay back attacks Tito's right knee. THIS AINT MEXICO, HAKU!!! Tama follows this up by stomping the left knee. This leads to a continuity problem the rest of the match as Tito & Haku are on the same page with the right knee psychology, but Tama works over the left knee. The knee psychology is sound and refreshing in this match up. Tito maybe a bit better at selling than Martel as he is really milking this injury. The Islanders are really relentless making this a very dramatic segment. Martel gets fed up with this, but inadvertently allows The Islanders to hit their double diving headbutt to pick up the first fall. There should be a short respite in between the falls, but the Islanders want to keep the full court press on Tito's knee. So Martel stands over the fallen, hurt Tito challenging to take both the Islanders on at the same time. It is just a great visiual and I am a total sucker for things like this as it is such great drama. The second fall is wicked short as they work on the knee briefly before Martel reverses a cradle attempt for Strike Force to even it up. THE CROWD ERUPTS!! The babyface cheating is justified by the Islanders being total assholes constantly blindsiding Tito and Martel throughout the build-up. They do same angle during the respite. Haku just slaps Tito around a bit to start. At this point, Gorilla notices the leg discontinuity, he claims that Haku is the one who fucked up by going after the right leg even though Tito had been selling the right leg. But like most Americans, he was accustomed to left side work so did not notice that Tito was selling the right leg. The Islanders go for the kill with the double headbutt, but Thou Shalt Not Hit The Same Spot In The Same Match In America. ITS RICKY MARTEL TIME, MUTHAFUCKAS~! THE GARDEN IS ROCKING!!! Backdrop, strikes, reverse crossbody. Haku thinks he has Martel, but YOU CANT HOLD DOWN RICK MARTEL and he moves out of the way causing Tama to send Haku crashing to the apron and Martel to get the reverse sunset flip victory. STRIKE FORCE WINS!!! Martel does his usual I just won the World Title celebration! I would say this is below the September tag match, which just had so much more action and really showed how much Strike Force wanted to pummel The Islanders. I liked the drama with Tito's knee, but it just felt a little too compressed. Plus I would have liked a little bit more definitive ending like a Boston Crab or cross body block to really put Strike Force over. That being said, they had the Garden with them every step of the way. This series has had incredible heat. This would be my WWF Feud of the Year and best Tag Feud I have seen from 80s WWF. This is just really classic stuff. ****1/4

Strike Force vs The Islanders - 9/87 MSG This is the most heart-breaking of the matches I can no longer find. This is my favorite of the awesome Strike Force vs Islanders feud. Holy shit! How has no one ever told me of this match before. This match was an instant classic for me and currently one of my favorite matches. Before the match (shown on MSG Classics), Mean Gene shows a clip from Superstars where Tito gets assaulted by the Islanders due to him saving Martel from an earlier attack. So it is now personal between all four men. They do not wait for the formal ring introductions as Strike Force storms the ring and KATIE BAR THE DOOR BECAUSE THERE IS A PIER-SIX BRAWL A BREWIN!!! Islanders bail and Heenan leaves his hand on the apron and Strike Force stomps each hand. Then Martel brings in Tama the hard way who does a belly flop into the ring. A Martel dropkick send Tama over the top rope. I am loving every bit of this and so is the Garden. Tama asks for time out, bitch please. Martel ducks a corner shot and he levels him. They set up the arm bar as the base of their attack with Tito coming off the ropes with an elbow to Tama's elbow and then swiftly knocking Haku off the apron. Tito leapfrogs over Tama and then turns around leveling Tama with a clothesline. Tama breaks up the armbar with headbutts and he tags Haku in. Haku promptly misses his big elbow. Time for him to play pinball for Strike Force. Once again, the armbar is the base with Martel using his speed. This is the best face shine sequence I have seen save for the MX/RNR Wrestlewar '90, which is also wicked fun. All good things must come to an end and while the ref's back is turned, Tama comes off the top rope with an illegal forearm on Tito to set up the heat segment. Tama hits a wicked reverse elbow. The Islanders do all the good stuff: double teaming, choking with the tag rope, and false hot tag. Haku hits a monster superkick, but Tito kicks out at two. Haku goes for the kill with a SOMERSAULT SPLASH, but misses. TITO MAKES THE HOT TAG!!! THE GARDEN EXPLODES! ITS RICKY MARTEL TIME, MUTHAFUCKAS!!! He is one man wrecking crew, but as he has Tama in a pinning predicament Haku blasts Martel with the ref distracted. Haku vehemently chokes Martel with his foot. Tama had Martel scouted on his reverse cross body. Martel has been watching his share of film too and avoids the second rope headbutt. The ref busy with keeping Tito out of the ring allowed Haku to hit Martel with a headbutt and throw Tama out to get the pin. I loved this match. It was bell-to-bell action with great face/heel dynamics. When you have watched the whole angle progress you just couldnt wait to see Strike Force manhandle The Islanders that is what you get in the outset. The Islanders are no slouches in the offense department and really work a solid heel tag team. They could be a bit more vicious and there were times they were, but this is late 80s WWF so given the circumstances it was good enough. Santana and Martel are two of the best babyfaces of all time and holy shit is Rick Martel a MONSTER hot tag. I have this as my favorite 80s tag team match topping the Bulldogs/Dream 2 Out Of 3 Falls SNME match. ****1/2

Rick Martel vs Haku - 8/87 MSG I couldnt find this match either. My review from five years ago. Both Islanders play King of the Mountain and won't let Rick Martel into the ring. Ricky is like two can play at that game and goes to back to bring out Tito Santana! STRIKE FORCE, BABY~! This angle has been excellent and the addition of Tito as Martel's partner due to Zenk's departure only makes it better. Gorilla explains that during of the Islander's 2 on 1 muggings of Martel, Tito made the save from the Spanish Announce Team. After a great 3 year run anchoring the upper midcard, it only made sense to use Tito in a new capacity as he stil something to give as a major babyface player. The British Bulldogs were withering in the face of injuries, so by pairing the recently AWA World Heavyweight Champion and recent WWF Intercontinental Cheampion made Strike Force an instant babyface superteam. The Islanders started off as their establishment feud with the Hart Foundation & Bulldogs wrapped up their feud. Strike Force went over the Hart Foundation to establish themselves as the number one babyface tag team only to drop the titles at Wrestlemania IV to establish Demolition as the lead heel team. Man, I miss this Vince, just really simple, but highly effective booking. In the summer of 1987, Rick Martel is my pick for the best wrestler in the WWF. As I mentioned in the last match, he is working as if he is still the AWA World Champion, who is hot at the heel's underhanded tactics. Martel & Haku begin the match off hot with a BIG Martel cross body block. Martel just starts throwing hands because he aint gonna take it, anymore! My favorite aspect of this match is the sense of struggle as both men are constantly attacking each other, but not in a way that is hapahazard or chaotic. One examples is early when Martel sets early for a back body drop and Haku pounces leading you to think Haku will capitalize, but Martel cartwheels out of a Haku back body drop and hits a hurricanrana, which he punctuates with some punches to Haku's skull. When Haku takes over, he does have to work very hard to keep Martel because Martel just wont stop moving forward. He uses a chinlock effectively and follows up with a back suplex. However when Haku gets a bit careless and gives Martel that separation by Irish WHipping him into the corner, Martel responds with reverse cross-body off the second rope. That is the story of this match, Haku has to stay on top of Martel. One lapse in Haku's offnese and Martel will explode. In a desperation maneuver, Haku grabs Martel's trunks and throws him out of the ring. Martel seems more pissed that hurt on the outside. Haku brings Martel in the hard way with a vertical suplex. Haku misses his second rop headbutt and here comes the signature Martel left and Martel is on fire. Martel gets cocky trying the rana again, cardinal wrestling sin, Haku dumps him headfirst onto the top turnbuckle for his infraction. Haku with a diving headbutt only gets two and he drapes him over the second rope to choke him. Tama hits the prone Martel with a chair. In a rare WWF mistake, we actually miss the pinfall as we focus on the proud Tama. Tito rushes to the ring to make the Islanders pay for their transgressions and ensure Martel's safety as he actually does a stretcher job off the chair shot. They have put some serious heat on this feud and have really built their first tag encounter well. I am sitting here twenty five years in the future and I can not wait for the first Strike Force vs Islanders match. ***1/2

Rick Martel vs Tama - 7/87 MSG I cant find the match online anymore. This is my review from five years ago. I dont know that I would vote this over either Savage vs Steamboat matches or the Jumping Bomb Angels vs Glamour Girls match, but this is an insanely great match that if you can find it you must watch it. Zenk has departed the WWF and thus Martel has activated AWA World Champion mode. He says he would wrestle the two Islanders himself (in separate singles). Throughout this match, if you did not know any better it felt like it was of his really high end AWA World Championship defenses. Martel is such an offensive dynamo and Tama is trying his best to break it up anyway he can with underhanded tactics. Martel is looking for revenge for Superstars and that fire conveyed really well here. For those who have trouble keeping the Samoans straight (I think that is everyone), Tama is Rikshi's twin and Haku is unrelated and from Tonga much like The Barbarian. Haku & Tama double team Martel to start, but he explodes with a double clothesline that gets the crowd going and sends the Islanders to the floor. Tama keeps trying to break Martel's momentum: putting himself in the ropes, pointing at his clenched fist, not giving him clean breaks, but Martel is too much to handle and eventually gets a hold of Tama's leg. They break up the leg work with some fun stuff as Martel outsmarts or outquicks (cartwheel) him at each turn to get him back into a toehold or leglace. The way Martel is working this with all this energy just makes it feel so pertinent that he win. Tama sells the knee work very well. The one thing about wrestling barefoot you better not have sensitive feet. Eventually Martel lays a little too far back and Tama has the chance to lay some shots in. Tama still selling gets caught with a shinbreaker and Martel grabs Tama by the feet while he is holding the bottom ropes giving him the ol'heeve ho. This has been some really excellent stuff so far with Martel wrestling more like a World Champion than an upper mid carder in the tag ranks. Martel drops all his weight on Tama's knee before going into the spinning toe hold as he gives Tama his back that is enough to push him off and send him crashing to the floor. That was such a good transition spot. Tama, still selling the knee, takes Martel and runs him headfirst into the steel ring post. Haku adds some shots for good measure. Tama hits his flying reverse elbow, but he is still selling and is frustarted with only a two count. Tama knows he needs to contain Martel's explosiveness slaps on a Vulcan Nerve Pinch. Martel hope spot is ended by a Tama knee lift who immediately winces in pain and tries for another cover off the knee drop. Much like Martel using a toe hold as his base, Tama is working the Vulcan Nerve Pinch. At this point, both guys are in such a groove that they still have me enthralled with their energy in the hold and another hope spot. This time Tama punches Martel in the face on his sunset flip. A Tama clothesline gets two and it is back to the nerve pinch. This time it looks like our French Canadian hero is fading. The Garden just wont let him die and a third time is a charm...Martel crashes and burns on his reverse cross body and now Tama is just relentless with the stomps and tosses Martel to the outside. He rams Martel's head against the apron. Martel just keeps coming. Haku now rams him headfirst into the ramp. This match is so fuckin good. Tama brings Martel in with teh vertical suplex and Martel kicks out again. YOU CANT HOLD DOWN RICKY MARTEL!!!! Martel ducks a clothesline and hits a kneelift on Tama. Tama with some more, but Martel is coming back with strikes. Tama bodyslam and misses the diving headbutt. Lefts by the southpaw, Martel and a back body drop. ITS RICKY MARTEL TIME, MUTHAFUCKAS!!! Tama begs off and Martel connects with the reverse elbow that sends Tama to the floor. Martel gives Tama a taste of his own medicine ramming his head into the apron. Now he jerks the ropes so that Tama does a belly flop into the ring. That was a frigging awesome spot. Tama is now tied up in the ropes and Martel does a running headbut to Tama's midsection. Haku helps him get out, but Martel catapults Tama into Haku. This only gets 2, surprisingly, great false finish. Martel reverses a crossbody into a pinning combination. Martel celebrates like he just won the World Title. The dastardly Islanders double team and where is Tom Zenk?!?!?!? That coward. Islanders hit their double headbutt. The refs try to break up this mugging, but Islanders are relentless. Ricky, dont be a hero! You need to find a friend in arms to combat these nefarious Islanders. This is a strong WWF MOTYC for 1987. This is truly an incredible match on par with Martel's AWA matches against Bockwinkel, Saito and Jumbo and a real testament to Martel's natural babyface charisma and his relentless work ethic. This did not feel as segmented as so many 1980s WWF matches, but a true struggle where they constantly mixed in hope spots with their sound psychology. I can not wait for the next chapter in this feud. ARRIBA! ****1/2

Strike Force vs Islanders - WWF Boston 10/03/87 I couldnt find any of the classic Strike Force vs Islanders matches I have reviewed. So I decided to check this out. Man, I have I said many times, many ways, Tama should have been a heel megastar. He is such a cocky asshole. He takes three king-sized bumps early. The biggest is off a dropkick over the top rope to the floor and then over the railing. Martel is such a joy to watch. He is always high-stepping his way into your heart. Tito Santana is a great blood feud worker. I loved him just punching Tama right in the face on a leapfrog. The heat segment is set up nicely by Martel knocking heads with Haku and falling back into enemy territory. Tama chokes him with the tag rope. Tama is the biggest douche and the best part is that he spits at Tito. Some really great Islanders offense paired with great heel tactics like slamming Martel's head into a ring post and a dropkick & shoulderbreaker by Haku. Haku misses a somersault splash. HERE COMES TITO! Big back body drop on Tama, he was up in the rafters! FLYING BURRITO! Haku makes the save. Strike Force double dropkick! Strike Force looks poised to win as Tito wraps Tama up in a figure-4, but as the ref is sending Martel out, Haku hits a king sized diving headbutt on a prone Tito. Haku pins Tito to win. Typically great Strike Force vs Islanders match not as good as their MSG classics as this is a bit shorter, but it is the three of the best workers of all time just ruling the ring. God I love Tama! ****

WWF World Tag Champs Strike Force vs The Hart Foundation - 11/87 MSG From what I have seen, this is the best match from heel run of the Hart Foundation. It should come as no surprise as Tito Santana & Rick Martel are not two of the best babyfaces of the 80s, but of all time. Plus this had Bock on commentary!!! I did not know Bock was ever in the WWF. He had no singular gems that stood out just added a lot of intelligence to usually bereft of intelligence WWF commentary team. The early story of the match told very well by commentary was that Bret is a technical wizard, but can be a mental marshmallow in there. Once things start going against him he is too easily rattled. After some early successes against Martel, he takes two armdrags and bails to the outside tagging Anvil. It was a nice little story early. Strike Force work the headlock against the Foundation. Martel executes a headlock on Bret that would make Backlund jealous. Before it gets too entrenched in "heel in peril", Tito executes a small package and that brings him too close to Hart corner. Bock thought that was awfully dumb. Tito takes some offense before Bret takes his signature bump into Tito's knee this time, which was a cool variation. Martel is a house of fire. He definitely one of the best at throwing strikes with both hands. Too often wrestlers try to use their off-hand and those are the strikes that look wicked awful. However, his zeal betrays him as Anvil holds down the top rope and he tumbles over onto the exposed concrete. Anvil whips him back first into the railing and Bret follows up with a backbreaker. Everything is against Martel's ribs & lower back with an Anvil bearhug. There are more hope spots than usual in a Hart Foundation match. Martel got a Oklahoma roll and he was really working to get out from underneath the Hart Foundation onslaught. Bret was going to what would become his stock moves: 2nd rope elbow and vertical suplex with of course liberal choking and switching. They do a great false tag with Martel firing up out of the corner only for Bret to pick his ankle right before he can get to Tito. Martel is able to whip Anvil into the ropes which sends Bret on the apron flying to take the Pillman bump on the railing. Now Tito is in and he clocks the Anvil with the flying forearm and Bret comes in only to elbow his partner. Strike Force hits a double clothesline and Martel goes for the Boston Crab on the big man, but nothing doing as Bret breaks it up. Tito with the Flying Burrito on Bret. Then they whip the Hart Foundation into each other Boston crab this time locked in on the Anvil, but Bret blindsides him with the megaphone drawing the DQ. Harts lay a beating on them post-match. This match was all-action for about 15 minutes with both teams playing their roles excellently. Strike Force looking to overcome the cheating of the Hart Foundation with their speed and heart. The Hart Foundation look to take back their titles by any means necessary. The best tag match of Hart Foundation's heel run. ***3/4

WWF Womens Tag Team Champions Glamour Girls vs Jumping Bomb Angels - MSG 11/24/87 Holy shit! Hart Foundation & British Bulldogs eat your hearts out, this is how you do a workrate match in the 1980s. You expect the MSG crowd to shit all over this, but they come out so blazing hot that all four women are immediately over with the Garden. I know watched this for Tag Teams Back Again, but this match blew me away all over again. It was the perfect combination of workrate and babyface/heel dynamics. I have no clue which Japanese girl is which and in fairness I have a hard time keeping track of the Glamour Girls. I just know Judy Martin as the woman with the Kick of Fear! The babyface shine is so amazing and in 1987 it was downright revolutionary. This is my point that it is not about the moves, it is about the energy and emotion. The moves the Jumping Bomb Angels used here would be passe now, but what makes this timeless is the energy and excitement with which they are hit. Those flying high knees and crossbodys are hit with such vigor that you are pumping your fist with all these New Yorkers. New York loses its shit for the top rope kneedrop and then top rope lucha armdrag. It was exhilarating. The Glamour Girls were great at stooging and acting discombobulated with all the powdering. They were also good at attacking first and forcing the Jumping Bomb Angels to overcome their offense. The transition to heat was great with one of the Jumping Bomb Angels missing a HUGE Top Rope Senton. The Glamour Girls were the perfect heels once they got control they stuck with hair pulling and choking. This heat segment had all the trappings of a great tag team match. Man, New York lost its shit on the false hot tag. They were pissed. They got even louder when one Jumping Bomb Angel saved the other from the Scorpion Deathlock. The ref held her back and that Angel was just going off on the ref. The crowd was molten hot! I love how into the match the Japanese girls were they. They really sold their emotional investment. Lots of good hope spots that kept you believing. I liked the ankle pick and all the roll ups. The best were the bridges out of the pins it really put over the strength and athleticism of the Jumping Bomb Angels. The Glamour Girls go for a JBA Sammich but the Japanese girl ducks and The Glamour Girls collides. HOT TAG! OH SHIT! Its on! I loved the stereo bridges out of the pin attempts and then throwing the Glamour Girls together. DOUBLE MISSILE DROPKICK! MSG LOST THEIR FUCKING MINDS! I AM RIGHT THERE WITH THEM! JBA COUNTS WITH HER OWN HAND! 1-2-3! IT DOESNT COUNT! 1-2-JUDY MARTIN BREAKS IT UP AND POWERBOMB! POWER-FUCKING-BOMB! 1-2-3 for the Glamour Girls! WOW! There is some sloppiness in the JBA's offense and the rollup constantly being the hope spot got a little old, but still HOLY SHIT WOW! The energy level was great, I loved the heat segment and that finish run is one of the best all time. This is a pretty famous match, but if you have not watched it, you got to do it. It is definitely one of the 100 best WWF matches of all time. ****1/2

Roddy Piper & Bob Orton vs Paul Orndorff & Bruno Sammartino - WWF Philly 9/28/85 KAL RUDMAN BAR THE DOOR! THERE IS A PIER-SIX BRAWL A BREWIN~! Wow! This was raucous mayhem. It is no surprise after watching this why ECW took off in Philly. These fans were lapping up this brawling with a spoon. All that was missing was the blood and I got to imagine they were saving that for next month. Dont know too much of the story, I know this was after Mania I when Mr. Wonderful had turned babyface and he was clearly outgunned 2-on-1 against Piper & Orton. So he got some back-up in the form of the Living Legend, Bruno Sammartino. This is an out-and-out brawl. It is basically a Texas Tornado match. It was a melee to start and just kept going. Tons of great bumping and stooging from the heels that made the faces looks great. I think my favorite spot was Wonderful grabbing the cast of Ace Orton and slamming it into Piper's head. I just thought of another one near the end when Wonderful is choking Piper out with the tag rope and Piper is so out of it he can not even eye poke him. I love how the heels needed to blatantly cheat to get an advantage: go for the eyes, the cast or the tape from the cast. Tons of brawling ringside. Some good heat on Sammartino by using the sleeper. I loved Wonderful saving once and then Bruno just going for the eyes. Fight fire with fire. The end of the match I thought we were going to get blood when Wonderful went off the post, but nada. Then Sammartino got slammed in the back of the head. The babyfaces get counted out and then throw a bunch of furniture in the ring to clear out Piper & Orton. Perfect match to get you pumped for next month's match, which I believe is a cage match and I bet a blood bath. ***1/2

Hi Paul, I updated the review to note that the majority of the review was written in 2013 but I just watched it last night and some different thoughts on it.

The British Bulldogs vs The Hart Foundation - 9/85 Very Good match! This one had the better shine than the July affair (agreed, that the shine of this was fantastic). The Hart Foundation really milks it and the Bulldogs are bringing their A game offense with Dynamite's catapult, Davey Boy's powerslam and victory roll. Bret does his knee lift to seemingly set up Davey Boy for a heat segment, but it is a pysch out as Dynamite comes in. Only this time, for Dynamite to run the ropes and take a blind knee to the back (a Hart Foundation staple). Dyanmite really throws himself into the bumps thats the good thing, but apparently thinks selling just consists of laying motionless. Bret hits his bodyslam on the outside. Bret and Davey Boy do a good chase sequence, which breaks up the heat segment nicely. The transition is the same as the previous match with Bret tying up Dynamite in the ropes and Bret eating ropes. I would be remiss to mention that they botch the Bret backbreaker->DK flip out->DK backbreaker spot, but thankfully they don't redo the spot. Davey Boy comes in and cant stop Irish Whipping people. The Hart Foundation love having their opponents Irish Whip Bret into Anvil or vice versa. That's the first time I have brought up the Anvil that just seems wrong because he has been entertaining, but I guess nothing noteworthy so far. Davey Boy hits his gorilla press slam, but the Hart Foundation counters into Demolition Decapitation and then a top rope version of the Hart Attack. However, while the ref was distracted Dynamite comes flying off with a diving headbutt and rolls Davey Boy on top. I can see why this match gets a ton of love. It feels very 90s workrate but ten years prior. You can see how much Stampeded influenced Jushin Liger & NJPW Juniors and the 90s WCW Workrate crew. I thought it was a ton of fun, but as usual needed more struggle. ***1/2

WWF World Tag Champs British Bulldogs vs The Hart Foundation 11/1/86 Editor's note: The majority of this review was written in 2013 but I watched it again recently and updated my thoughts. How much a difference five years makes? I thought the finish sucked the meat missile in this one, but five years ago I thought it added drama. I thought it was way too slow and plodding. Davey Boy was just hanging on the apron forever. The rollup was so slow. Just contrived all around. Last time we saw these teams face off was about a year ago. The Bulldogs have wrested the titles off the Dream Team in a fantastic and defended the title against the teams ye likes of Sheik & Volkoff. While the Hart Foundation matured as a team against the Killer Bees in some fun matches. The Hart Foundation trap Dynamite in the corner, but the fights out, which is one of my favorite early shine spots. Now we do Davey Boy vs Anvil, but Bulldog can't budge the Anvil and ends up taking a powerslam. This begins the heat segment a little bit earlier than I was prepared for. Yeah the shine was pretty lackluster and so was the transition The heat segment is a Best Of Hart Foundation spots collection. They are all there for your enjoyment: Anvil slingshotting Bret over the ropes, Demolition Decapitation, the blind knee to the back, Bret's bodyslam on the concrete, Bret irish whipping Anvil into his opponent. I like the Hart Foundation offense just fine, but have three major qualms. First, it made the match totally about the Hart Foundation. It felt like the Bulldogs were just any opponents taking the Hart Foundation's offense. It could have been the Killer Bees, Islanders or Rockers. I like when matches utilize the differences to make a unique match that only these two teams could have. Bret just seemed like he wanted to do "plug and play" in this match. Second, Davey Boy is no Ricky Morton. This could have been Bret eating him up, but some of the onus has to be on him to perform hope spots and make people notice him and not just be a rag doll out there. The first two points culminate in my last point, I hate how this match had no sense of struggle. When wrestling matches become exhibitions, they lose their gravitas. Exhibitions are useful in wrestling for getting over offense or gimmicks, but in title matches against established opponents I expect a sense of struggle towards victory, not neatly defined "my segment, your segment". That is what the Dream Team matches so much better is that there was a sense of struggle in the Wrestlemania and 2 Out of 3 Falls match with both teams working hard to overcome the other. I kept my complaining from five years ago in there because I do agree with myself, but that is a little harsh. The Hart Foundation had cool offense and it was nice just to see them bust out all their moves. Davey Boy did have some hope spots so it was not a total squash. Bulldog is able to pick up Bret and crotch him on the ropes (this is a GREAT transition!). Dynamite comes in and supplies the Bulldog offense for the match: hooking clothesline, snap suplex and diving headbutt. I loved the Bulldogs' arsenal against the Dream Team and think it was criminal that they didn't get to show it off here. Anvil wipes out the ref and tries to cheat to get Bret to win with lots of dramatic (2018 Martin: Slow) two counts. Before Davey Boy rolls up Anvil for the pinfall after an exaggerated count. Great showcase of the Hart Foundation offense nothing more, nothing less. ***

The Rockers vs The Brainbusters - 1/89 MSG This match is all about the Busters putting over the Rockers as the hot, new WWF tag team. Double A slaps Michaels and Michaels returns the favor showing he wont back down. Another fun spot is Tully tries to tag out while in a wristlock by having Arn tag his foot, but ref wont allow it. The babyface shine throughout is a really great combination of the Rockers' high octane offense and the BrainBusters' stooging. In an excellent sequence, both the Busters put top wristlocks on Marty, Marty skins the cat; dropkicks the both of them; slams Arn and gives Tully a double superkick. The Rockers are rolling. Tully, sensing things are getting out of hand, feigns extending an olive branch only to kick Marty. Jannetty gets an atomic drop onto Tully, but when Shawn enters the match in the confusion he misses a dropkick, but Shawn is able to get a hurricanrana on Arn and a double dropkick re-establish the Rockers on top. Shawn gives chase to Tully and Arn is lying in wait and Shawn eats a clothesline. I really like how it took a couple moves for the Brainbusters to earn their heat segment. Shawn Michaels did not just succumb at the first sign of trouble. He registered the pain and lost a step, but it was AA's clothesline on the outside that did him in. The Busters double team and choke Michaels, but they are not zeroing in one body part. Shawn's punches look so much better here than in the 00s. The Busters really did a great job during their heat segment, but I thought Michaels' selling was next level and really the hook & draw of this match. Tully/Shawn do to the bridge into backslide sequence that I have always liked. Shawn must have been over the moon working with Tully and especially doing that sequence. Shawn does the leap for the tag, but Tully catches him and gives him a reverse atomic drop. AA follows up with a spinebuster for 2. AA does his knucklelock sequence and Shawn gets his knees up. They both tag out. Tully is hilarious begging off for Marty. The Rockers get the rocket launcher, but Arn saves. As Marty goes to suplex Tully, Arn grabs Marty leg out from under him and holds down his tassel as Tully gets the pin. That would also be the finish for Rude/ Warrior Wrestlemania V match. I thought this was an excellent, action-packed Southern tag match that would have not looked out of place in Crockett at all. ****1/4

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? biggrin.gif 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. ****1/4

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. ****