Superstar Sleeze

Biff is from Boston loved seeing him the couple times I did on the indies and make a point to see him live when NXT comes to town. He never disappoints: best comeback in the business. Glad he is being recognized.

I'm surprised you all didn't like the beginning and close to RAW. I really enjoyed the opening a lot. No promo. Great old school Angle that really put heat on the Riott vs Nattie feud. I'm so fucking hyped for Facebreaker vs Armbreaker! Their first match was killer and think with Nia with this much heat will be great. Sasha & Bayley have oodles of charisma but is not shining through. I did pop for Bayley saying Bliss is from Hell last week. The Men's division is fucked. 50/50 booking on Drew McIntyre was fucking stupid. This one week push of Finn Balor to feed him to D-Mac is silly. It's too little too late. I like the move of turning Ziggler but they shot their wad and should have saved that match for next month. Things like the Gold Medal for destroying Angle is a great old school spot but it needs to followed up and constantly brought up. This should be like Larry Z claiming he retired Bruno every fucking week. Much better work from Ambrose still think it is a terrible evolution of the gimmick. The Rock of Gibraltar popped me. The watering down of The Shield was the first good explanation. Smackdown was great. No great sound bytes from The Man but the attitude was great. the only two I'd ever chant Fight Forever for is Asuka vs Sonya Deville they could fight forever. Daniel Bryan has been reading a lot of the Shelleys. He even used "Sublime"! His transformation into an early nineteenth century Romanticism villian is complete! Weird medical device (hyperbaric chamber) that creates a transformation, mantras (fight for your dreams & they will fight for you) and being consumed by an obsession. This is textbook Romanticism and it is my favorite literary time period. AJ Styles rules! AJ vs Miz was killer and match of the week. im really looking forward to TLC!

Ric Flair & Barry Windham vs Midnight Express - Clash of the Champions IV The Midnight Express had turned babyface after their feud with the Fantastics and were being positioned against Dangerously's Original Midnight Express. I have never seen that angle nor the subsequent matches I should fix that. I had seen this once before maybe ten years ago and had no real recollection of it. It is tremendous. The only reason I can imagine this does not get talked about more is the match exists in a vacuum. Flair was feuding with Luger and MX like I said with the OMX so there is not much build or follow up. Flair is the World Champion & Windham is United States Champion, the Midnights do not have either tag belt. From bell-to-bell, this is action-packed there is almost no respite from the action. The babyface shine is extra long. They do a tremendous. I just watched face Flair vs heel Eaton and now watching face Eaton vs heel Flair I fucking loved that. Flair was really peacocking and he stuck that big beak out and Eaton damn near smacked it into the front row. I popped huge. I loved the firefight that broke out with Eaton overwhelming Flair with those rights. If you love punching, you gotta check this out. Eaton and Windham put on a master class. Hell even Flair has a really good closed fist that Eaton sells. Windham had one on Eaton towards the beginning of the heat segment that was thunderous. There was one towards the end of the heat segment where Eaton fucking nailed Flair in the nose with a straight right and Flair had the best delayed sell...tries to make the tag...Flair Flop. I was just lapping this all up with a spoon. Jim Ross was in his wheelhouse because this was a very physical match and a lot of flesh on flesh, brutha. I got off on a tangent. A natural story would be the great tag team vs two great singles wrestlers. I wouldnt say they play that up too much. Besides the Double Flapjack not much double team moves. Bob Caudle does point that MX has been tagging at a 2:1 ratio to the Horsemen and I give him credit for putting over the natural story but we werent seeing frequent tagging from MX. I will say Flair did take more of the shine than Windham without it feeling like heel in peril. I enjoyed Sweet Stan doing his little dance after kicking his old teacher's ass. I am surprised they didnt bring up that Lane is Flair's only student during the match. Stereo Figure-4s as one would expect. The transition to the heat segment is that Windham decks Eaton from behind on an O'Connor Roll, which I like. Blows from behind should be treated as extra devastating. Windham takes most of the heat segment seemingly to let Flair recover as Flair took most of the ass-kicking during the shine. Flair really paintbrushed Eaton a couple times as a receipt for being shown up early. Windham looked smooth as ever here and Eaton was great in the Ricky Morton role. I covered the transition to the hot tag earlier and Stan Lane was a house on fire. He looked like money here kicking some serious Horsemen ass. TOTAL ELIMINATION! ALABAMA FUCKING JAM! There is chicanery afoot Cornette whacks Dillon with the racquet but his shoe falls in the ring and Flair whacks Eaton in the back of the head with it. Windham rolls up Eaton for the win. If you like action, you will love this match. If you love physical, hard-hitting blows, you will love this match. If you like big bumping and just generally fun wrestling, you will love this match. If you are a pro wrestling fan, you will love this match. ****1/2

NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair vs Bobby Eaton - WCW Main Event 1/7/90 Saw this before remember liking it so much that I needed to go back and rewatch it again. Babyface Ric Flair is tremendous, great shines and great selling. I am so happy this match exists. Probably two of my ten favorite wrestler ever and they just put on a clinic. I love how Eaton sells that first shot from Flair. Perfect combination of pain and what the hell have I gotten myself into. I marked out at the beginning when Flair hiptossed Eaton. Years and years of watching him get blocked and then hiptossed, I was so happy he hiptossed someone. I love how the shine is earned. Bobby is still connecting with those Sweet Home Alabama rights, but Flair is fighting through that to kick ass. Eaton took some awesome bumps on the outside. The Irish Whip on the apron into the post was great and the rocket launcher from the apron to the railing was even better. Eaton finally earns his heat with a swinging neckbreaker. How did I forget? We get Lance Fucking Russell on solo commentary as an extra special treat and he just rules so hard calling this match. Flair does a great selling especially verbally his neck and head pain. Lance reminds us of the Terry Funk piledriver on the table incident which was about six months ago. Bobby does a great job working the neck, kneedrop and bulldog. Two great sequences were Flair getting jabbed with the racquet by Cornette, his first reaction is to lunge from his knee at Cornette but he is in so much pain he falters and just writhes on the mat. That is excellent! Another is Eaton is beating him down with punches and he leaps from his knees and goozles Eaton. Eaton keeps punching but Flair absorbs the blows and then rifles him with a chop but too little too late as Eaton knocks him down with a big right and then goozles Flair on the mat. That was so fucking heated! I loved it. Eaton uses a figure-4 on the head after that to sap Flair of his energy. He hits a top rope elbow drop as a big highspot but only gets two. Eaton is so smooth. Flair begins his rally. Eaton takes a nasty backdrop on the concrete. Chop abound. Stan Lane is out. Flair catches the kneedrop from the top rope. He wants the Figure-4...Lane hops on the apron...Cornette gets brought in the hard way...Flair nails Corny with the racquet and then Eaton for the finish! I loved the finish as the heels get a taste of their own medicine and the triumphant World Champion stands tall 3-on-1! Terrific TV match with great selling, psychology and action! ****1/4

Barry Windham vs Brian Pillman - SuperBrawl I Taped Fist Match 1991 WCW where beautiful hair went to die. Windham looks like he got the standard mom haircut of the early 90s. I have seen this before, but never wrote a review, which is odd. Pillman was in a major feud with Windham and the Horsemen after they injured his shoulder right before Wargames. Windham and him started Wargames in what I think is the best 5 minute opening of Wargames history. They opted for a slower more measured style here than the frenetic pace in Wargames. The slowed down tempo increased the dread and doom of the violence. Windham is so good at using his size. He establishes he is bigger than Pillman early to give Pillman that mountain to climb. Pillman had to some great shots of course, but was a little too reliant on the chop given that he had a taped fist. I know the chop has better sound effect logic says use the fist. I thought Windham ruled in this match. Huge bump off the top rope to floor on a Pillman dropkick and then feeding Pillman the top rope to the floor forearm. Windham stymies Pillman by pulling the trunks and Pillman gashes himself on the post. We have double juice now. Windham drives Pillman's head from the ramp to the railing and then a big right hand from Barry. Then they are just in a groove. Pillman with fiery comebacks and Windham quashing them with shortcuts. As Pillman is going for Air Pillman, Windham hits a low blow which even in a No DQ match is a pretty cheap way to win and then hits a superplex for the win. Great violent slugfest that was only hampered by the time, way too short. ****

WCW World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair vs Brian Pillman - 4/13/91 Pillman was at the height of his babyface singles career embroiled in a feud with Windham & the Horsemen. Here he takes on The Man himself. This is a very transitionary point in Flair's career and not just in his hair style. He is transforming into his Dirtiest Player In The Game character liberal cheating...feet on the ropes multiple times, low blow, eye rake and jaw jacking with fans & ref. These were all present in the 80s but he takes it to 11 in this match and incorporates it into almost every spot. It is Flair vs Pillman so it is still very much in the vein of Flair vs Garvin with the tremendous fire fights. I love how Flair would crowd In the corner. It was chop-clinch to avoid retaliation. We get the wrinkle of Pillman attacking the leg with the ringpost and then the half-crab. Flair gets that Inverted atomic drop and it is a very entertaining heat segment. The 1990 match was about a physical Flair this is can Pillman withstand the cheating. The moment that really put over this match to me is Flair slapping Pillman in the face after a kick out. It seemed so degrading. You just wanted Pillman to roar back and that's exactly what he did! Pretty unique Flair spot with the eye rake blinding Pillman and him dropkicking the ref to set up the visual pin on Air Pillman. I totally bought on Pillmans shoulders being counted down in the Figure-4 with Arn assisting (I watched this before but forgot the finish). El Gigante makes the save because Brian Pillmans leg was going to break before three sizes too big heart was. It sets up the Flair vs Gigante loop. ill echo my sentiments from before Flair vs Pillman in 1990 and 1991 are GREAT matches but they are drastically different and it is not just Flair's hair cut. ****1/4

Which kick to the gut? The one towards the end? That looked fine & vicious to me. It did what it is supposed to and that's stymie the Pillman comeback. The finish was fine. Wrestling is supposed to be a struggle. When it's too quick it can look too cooperative. How about the Flair high knee? That was a great one. The way he ramped for it and delivered really added to chaos. NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair vs Brian Pillman - 2/17/90 I love how they played up Pillman's righteous indignation against Flair for his heel turn as the reason for his violence. This match was an incredible sprint and reminds you what happens when Flair has a worker opposite of him. Pillman is on fire (lots of stiff chops that ride high) early looking for revenge for his buddy, but Flair gets him to follow him outside so he can thumb in the eye. He throws Pillman into the railings and then just unloads some of the best Flair offense I have seen in a long time. This is the type of the match where Flair never felt like he was "bringing the bitch", but he was pissed off as the audacity of Pillman and was going to show this punk a lesson. Flair is at his best when he has that crazed look in his eye and he wants to punish his opponent. I like the gradualism of the heat segment. Pillman is fighting back until the invented atomic drop out of the corner really cements Flair's lead. The hope spots leading to the figure-4 was great. I loved when Flair was pushing Pillman's back down and then popping him and Pillman coming back with chops, fantastic exchange. Woman's interference was weak but Pillman's babyface comeback was killer and climaxed so well with Air Pillman. The finish was oddly clean with Flair rolling through a cross-body and sort of grabbing some tights. For people that think Flair bitches out too much, this match is a great way to point how Flair can work toe-to-toe with a pissed off babyface and be just as pissed too. Amazing TV sprint early in Pillman's career in WCW & highlights Flair's transformation from babyface against Eaton cowardly heel against Zenk and violent heel here against Pillman. GOAT ****1/4

Ric Flair & Sting vs The Great Muta & Dick Slater - Clash of the Champions VIII Ric Flair is the MVP of this unheralded NWA tag team classic. After watching this, I think this would have been the best way to extend Flair's career in a productive manner in the 90s. He was a beast on the apron. High-fiving Sting and exhorting when he was selling. He was keeping the crowd in it all through this apron work. I loved the part where he just booked it over to Muta and started slugging him when Muta was trying to beat up Sting on the outside. Then every time he was in the ring, he was just pure fire. The shine rocked. By far, the best Sting & Muta sequences. Flair was a monster in there and just chopping and punching everything in sight. Dick Slater (RIP brutha) is the perfect Terry Funk replacement because he wrestles so similarly to Funk. There was a great part where Flair Woos and Muta catches him with a thrust kick and then dives onto him and Sting follows suit on Muta! Slater just does a Terry Funk tumble over the top. It was really great organic chaos. They do a Double FIP and Flair is great at his verbal selling. I wanted to see that Flair hot tag so bad when Sting made it. I damn near exploded like I was in South Carolina in 1989. Flair's energy was just infectious in this. You gotta see to believe. The finish is just perfect crazy pro wrestling hijinx. Muta sprays the dreaded Yellow Mist in Sting's eyes. Slater blasts Funk with the cast to bust Flair open and then Funk looking crazy as fuck tries to suffocate Flair with a plastic bag! It was bedlam! High-energy tag team match that is overlooked with tons of action and lots of heat. Highly recommended! ****1/4

Ricky Steamboat vs Terry Funk - Clash of the Champions VII I'll never forget the first time I watched this. My date was late and I got a chance to watch this entire match. I just thought it was so cool that while I was waiting that I could just check out a legendary match. What a time to be alive indeed. I didnt get a chance to do a review so here I am revisiting this three years later (Wow how much has changed in three years). Very physical match. Steamboat and Funk have a lot of great stand up exchanges and there is almost no wrestling. I have to re-watch some more Funk from around this time but I think he was purposefully doing less chain wrestling to get his heel character over. He was making Steamboat earn his offense by initiating each firefight but everytime he ended up on his ass. He was doing a lot of stooging and bumping to get Steamboat over. They were really laying in their chops. I thought the transitions to the heat segment and the heat segment itself was weak. Thought Funk did that one spot I really like where his opponent is sitting hunched over and he just splashes the back of the shoulders. It looks painful and organic. Someone should crib that spot. Steamboat looks like an asshole on the top rope waiting for Funk did finish drunken walk around the ring. Steamboat carries Funk around the ring before slamming him which is definitely a Funk idea. This crowd is terrible but it is a military base and it must have been hot as blazes in there. Jim Ross looks like he is about to pass out and most of the crowd is shirtless. They went an interesting route. I wonder if this came from Funk's time in Japan or Steamboat's work with Savage, but there is two major nearfalls off piledrivers. That would almost never see in the USA at this point. Nowadays people would be popping like mad for Steamboat kicking out. Both kick outs barely register with the crowd. It is weird because Funk put out Flair with a piledriver and Ross puts it over huge on commentary but you think Steamboat was kicking out of a suplex or a neckbreaker. Steamboat actually mounts a comeback when Funk eats knees. He attacks the abdomen. Funk grabs the mic and bonks Steamboat on the head triggering the DQ. Luger comes down and completes his turn on Steamboat. The post-match Luger angle is classic and is definitely a must see, but this match is pretty overrated besides some really good chopfests there is not much else going on. It is the Funk show thats for sure, but there is not much heat (probably because there was too much real heat in the gym) and it ends anti-climatically. ***

Smackdown was pretty good. I would have went full Austin...had her strip of the championship. But I understand they no main eventers besides Rousey so they need her. I can't begrudge them that. As an Asuka mark, I'm glad she is joining the main event mix. I hope it is not like Alberto Del Rio. This is a pretty exciting time in WWE and as I said above it feels like Nitro circa 1995. So many different directions and so many moving parts. AJ Styles was great in defeat. So many times Cena is worried about coming off as a complainer but instead he can come off like he doesn't care. If someone cheats to beat you, then you have a just cause to complain and say you want to smash in his face. Great job by AJ! Rest of the show was fine. They cooled off Rusev and should have had him unseat Nakamura earlier. Orton vs Mysterio feels out of time and like it is 2006. I'm excited because they have great chemistry but it doesn't feel like it with have consequences. Joe vs Jeff Hardy, was that done in TNA? I think that will be good.

NWA US Heavyweight Champion “The Total Package” Lex Luger vs Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat Great American Bash 1989 Backstory: Steamboat lost the World Heavyweight Championship to Ric Flair at Wrestlewar 1989 . Terry Funk was looking to get a shot at Flair after being snubbed and then summarily piledriving Flair on a table. First Funk had to beat Steamboat and this was built as the Main Event of June’s Clash of the Champions. So one day, Luger interrupts a Steamboat/Funk promo and cuts the promo of his life. As much, I love Luger, I always thought his promos sucked the big one due to dry mouth and lack of any rhythm. So after Funk/Steamboat, Luger comes out and destroys Steamboat with a chair to seal his heel turn and set up this match. Now the match is supposed to be No Disqualification with build being Steamboat getting his revenge during this match. Steamboat has a ridiculous entrance as he is carried to the ring on a plank with the least terrifying looking komodo dragon all the while he looks terrified of falling. Luger’s entrance actually malfunctions as he is on a rotating disk that is supposed to show him doing bodybuilder poses. He tries to spin with his feet and when it wont give so he just turns around and flexes. So Luger marches to the ring and he will have none of the NO DQ stip. In fact, if Steamboat does not waive it, he is taking his ball and going home. This makes sense because in a No DQ match the champion loses his advantage and in essence the title is held-up. Steamboat just wanting to get his hands on the Total Package accepts Luger’s desired alterations. First thing I LOVE about this match is that Steamboat leaves his usual armdrags and armbars at the door because HE IS PISSED~! The beginning they establish Luger is stronger and Steamboat is quicker with multiple quick pinfalls. Ross and Caudle work to establish Luger’s heel turn even mentioning that some fans continue to cheer for him even though he mocks them. Steamboat brings the hate with chops, dropkicks and a back body drop. Luger takes a powder and Steamboat continues his onslaught with an atomic drop. In one of Luger’s favorite spots, Luger cuts Steamboat with a kneelift as the Dragon attempted to get back in the ring. Luger is using Steamboat’s intensity against him and is setting up opportunities to create an advantage for himself. He follows that up with a wicked lariat on Steamboat. But Steamboat will not be denied as he drives Luger’s head into a table on the outside. Back in Ross informs us that Luger said “A good big man would beat a good little man everytime”. Luger catches Steamboat as he comes off the top rope with a punch to the gut. This continues the theme of Luger being able to turn Steamboat’s reckless abandon against him. Luger immediately follows up with a backbreaker and a Gorrila Press slam, which gets an audible pop. This time Luger established a heat segment with his focus on the lower back. The first act of the match was all about Steamboat’s anger and intensity and Luger looking for a way to stifle him. This introduces three elements: set up for the Torture Rack Will Luger get cocky or will he attack purposefully now that he has grounded Steamboat This whole match the Dragon has been offense how will he react on defense Luger doing extra taunting in order to get a heel reaction Funny spot as Luger bitches about the count, Steamboat rolls him up quickly and the ref fast counts him. Tommy Young is one cheeky bastard. Luger, in a fit of frustration, rattles off three big lariats. Steamboat does the out on his feet, swinging in their aimlessly, fall on his ass sell job. Got to love Steamboat! Luger connects with a powerslam for two and finally a “Luger Sucks” chants starts. Steamboat catches him with a cross-body to get two in a well-timed hope spot. After trading moves, Luger crashes and burns over the top off a missed lariat (a typical 1989 Luger spot). Steamboat proved resilient, which forced Luger to go for a big bomb. This allowed Steamboat to use his quickness to cause Luger to miss his big bomb. Luger falls on top of Steamboat on a bodyslam attempt for a 2 count putting over the fatigue at this point of this grueling contest. Luger eats a Flair press slam off the top and Steamboat gets a second wind a barrage of chops and dropkicks ensue. Steamboat connects with a top rope chop to get a 2 count. Now Steamboat is the one frustrated because he finally hit his big bomb and it only led to a two count. Luger grabs a chair (the same weapon he used on him a month ago), but as the ref blocks him from using it, Steamboat is able to catapult him into the corner with chair meeting Luger’s skull. Steamboat letting his anger get the best of him attacks Luger with chair thus getting DQ’d. Steamboat chases Luger to the back with the chair as that segment ends. I love this match. Everything makes sense and it is so heated and action-packed. Steamboat does not work any holds and is out to punish Luger. He starts going for big bombs and Luger is able to finally stifle him. Luger works him over nicely and gets the crowd going. Luger gets frustrated and goes for a bomb and misses letting Steamboat back into the match. Then when Steamboat hits his big move and cant get the win the drama kicks into overdrive because it feels as if it is only a matter of time before Steamboat wins. Only for Luger to feel the only way to save his title is the chair. Then Steamboat letting his emotions get the best of him use the chair to inflict more punishment on him. One of my personal favorite matches and all-time classic, definitely check this match out. ****1/2

Is Great Muta's TV Title victory from the Omni on 9/3 available? Sting vs The Great Muta NWA Power Hour 9/1/89 Vacant TV Championship (Taped 8/15/89 Cleveland, OH) Muta has not been looking good in these matches. I came around on him watching some early 90s New Japan where he had a really cool monster vibe to him. Here he just seems to be sandbagging. Sting's shine is quick pinfall attempts and a top rope crossbody. It looks the Stinger is about to run away with this. This draws Terry Funk out and he proves to be enough of distraction for Muta to jump Sting. Besides Gary Hart doing some choking with the towel, I thought this was a pretty pedestrian heat segment. Sting hits his facebuster and does Snake Eyes on the railing outside...I liked that, good violence. A fight on the apron breaks out and Sting eats the steel on a lunge. Muta hits his back handspring elbow but on a Thesz Press/Hotshot the ref gets wiped out. I thought the finish stretch up to the DQ Finish was done much better than GAB and it was pretty exciting. Sting hits the Stinger Splash and going for the Scorpion Deathlock he gets whacked from behind by Gary Hart. Thats a good nearfall. Backbreaker, you know whats next, MOONSAULT EATS KNEES! STINGER SPLASH! Gary Hart triggers a DQ and the TV Championship remains vacant even though that is very ambiguous on TV. Muta would win the TV Championship two nights later in Atlanta. ***

NWA World TV Champion Sting vs The Great Muta - NWA Great American Bash 1989 Sting's Splash from one ring to the other was the perfect way to jumpstart this match and it is the iconic spot from this match. This match and feud has quite the reputation that is more built on the myth of these two gimmicks than the actual work. It is more a collection of great spots than a great match. There is plenty of great splashes all over the ring. Muta's offense looks crisp and love that he goes for bombs early. The greeness of both men is exposed. At one point, Sting hits a bodyslam and he looks unsure of what to do next and after hesitation he goes for a cover. Stuff like that just takes me out of it. Muta also kind of runs out of offense at one point. The finish stretch is exciting and then stupid. We get a ref bump off the accidental mist. Missed Stinger Splash...Moonsault...1-2-NO! Great nearfall. The finish itself is terrible. Both men get their shoulders up in the double pin situation so Tommy Young should have stopped counting. Then they announce Sting as still champion which is fine I guess it was a draw but then Gary Hart and Muta just take the belt. Sting and Eddie Gilbert just have their thumb up their ass. One of the all time bad finishes in pro wrestling, so stupid, leaves a bad taste in my mouth, the work before was ok, just some good spots.

NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair vs The Great Muta - NWA World Championship Wrestling 11/18/89 Up until the disqualification finish, I was wondering to myself how the hell was this not discussed more. It is two major stars in a TV match that is actually great and yet it is pretty under the radar besides a review on Where The Big Boys Play (shoutout to Parv & Chad). The DQ finish means it is does not feel definitive, but this is amazing Ric Flair performance. I dont know how you can come away not thinking Flair is one of the best of all time from watching this. All the same-y Flair bullshit goes out the window when he wrestles as a babyface. How can that lame criticism stand up when anytime you watch a babyface Flair match it is totally different than a heel Flair performance. My two favorite spots were when he got up hopping on one leg with his fists clenched and then later on when he just leaped on Muta with two knees. It is felt so organic and so passionate. It is so engrossing. Before the bell was great, Muta sprays the Mist and Flair Woos and throat slashes. Flair can do some great NWA style chain wrestling and really dominated on the mat. Muta hits some chops and a reverse spin kick to set up the knee work. Half-Crab, Deathlock and toeholds. Kevin Sullivan does a great job explaining that Gary Hart has become obsessed with making Flair submit after the I Quit debacle. Good explanation. Flair is his usual great verbal selling stuff. This is when the one foot hop with his dukes up happens. It turns into a great firefight on the outside. Back in the ring, Flair builds momentum and thats when he pounces on Muta. Flair was amazing on offense. All that energy can go into offense. Great chops and punches. Muta was kinda sandbagging him here. I know it is not Muta's thing to see because he is a Demon from Hell, but at least he could have fed Flair. He does nothing. Flair is making up for it by being a whirlwind. Flair sets up for the figure-4 and when he goes for it here comes The Dragonmaster. DQ, but Flair gets the Figure-4 on Nagaski on the outside. Muta sprays the mist on the vulnerable Nature Boy. Then Buzz Sawyer comes out for the beatdown. I really liked the the part where Muta hits the Moonsault and Buzz counts 1-2-3. Flair vs Muta should have main evented Starrcade. You get one PPV main event with Muta before he returns to Japan and one more PPV main event out of babyface Flair before he turns heel. A really energetic Flair performance coupled with good work from Muta on offense makes this an easy thumbs up. ***3/4

Ric Flair & Barry Windham vs Ricky Steamboat & Eddie Gilbert - NWA World Championship Wrestling 1/21/89 Before I forget, I want to talk about the post-match. Steamboat was great: calm, cool, collected he just pinned the World's Heavyweight Champion clean in the middle of the ring and stated his goal to become World Champion. It really picks up with Flair. Flair loses his fucking mind. Wow! How much does that loss mean to him? Think about you truly believe you're the best, but you just got your shoulders pinned to the mat 1-2-3 by your archrival from a decade ago who just showed up unannounced for the first time in five years. In a shoot, that would fuck with you head. Flair lets you believe it does. Flair goes berserk because he is insecure and he knows his place as champion is tenuous. He cites the fact that he is a multi-millionaire and that shit like this doesnt happen to people like him. He is trying to cling to some status. It is only making the psychotic break more real because it attacks his very identity. Flair is the best. The match itself is awesome and you cant ask for much more out of a tag team TV main event. Steamboat as a surprise partner on TV was a huge angle and really jumpstarted Flair & NWA's incredible 1989. What a shine! Steamboat looked like a million bucks out there. Windham & Flair were in full bump 'n' run mode. Loved Steamboat chucking Flair into Windham. Flair was so good in this. The laughs or the shouts "Now Im got him" only to be thwarted at every pass. Thats what makes Flair so good. It is not just running through and bumping for Steamboat. He is confident. He does believe he get this done, but he ends up going flying and landing on his back. Steamboat tagged in Gilbert. They even shined Gilbert up real good. This is Flair so he is always a selfless wrestler. Windham was just magic selling for babyfaces. The tide turns the Horsemen favor when Windham rakes the eyes of Gilbert in the figure-4. Blink you will miss it. This black glove just slides into the camera shot rakes the eyes and presto is gone. The heat segment is great and I liked it a lot better than the one from the one on one Windham vs Gilbert match because there were a lot more hope spots. Cocky Horsemen is so good. They were high-fiving and smiling. Windham comes flying off that top turnbuckle only to crash and burn. The finish stretch is short 'n' sweet. Flair bumps all around for Steamboat. Steamboat hits the top rope crossbody for the 1-2-3. Talk about being paid, laid and made. With a snap of their fingers, Flair vs Steamboat is the hottest thing in the NWA! ****1/4

NWA United States Champion Barry Windham vs Eddie Gilbert - NWA World Championship Wrestling 12/24/88 I love the basic story here of Windham as the overconfident, arrogant champion taking the smaller Eddie Gilbert lightly at the outset only to be proven wrong. Windham would be facing the behemoth, Bam Bam Bigelow in two nights at Starrcade and this viewed as a tune up match by Windham and JJ. JJ has a smug grin on his face, nonchalantly strolling around ringside. Windham picks up Hot Stuff and places him on the top rope as if he is a small child. I like how they actually let Windham take the beginning of the match. They dont rush into Gilbert proving himself. Windham is armdraggin and taking Gilbert down at will. It establishes Gilbert is the underdog and he does need to overcome the champion rather going into bump 'n' run immediately. Gilbert starts to get pissed that Windham is tasking him lightly. Things get testy with a shove and then Gilbert starts to tee off. This is where Gilbert is at his best when you can use those punches. He is a Memphis guy. He is at home in a match centered around fisticuffs. Windham does a great job selling. I love the way Windham just melts into a puddle as he powders. Unfortunately, we dont see how Windham takes over. I liked the heat segment in the sense that we got to see really great Windham punches and a wide variety of suplexes. Gilbert's selling was great and he was always rising & always moving forward. I am a big proponent of hope spots. There were none and therefore I thought the heat segment dragged a little. The comeback was built around Gilbert shoving off on the superplex. Again using those right to create fire. Windham traps him in the claw. I thought the finish was weak. Gilbert was midcard at this point to break the claw really undercuts the claw. Furthermore, it being a knee from JJ that finishes that match. I mean he took how many suplexes and kicked out. That knee did not look that vicious and its from he manager. If the knee set up a DDT, Superplex, Lariat or Claw, I dig but to get right to the finish really undercuts Windham. They did a great job and told the full fleshed out story of the overconfident champion and the game challenger, a good hidden gem to go check out in your spare time. ***1/2

I'm going to try to be more religious about getting my comments on here & on Twitter because I do watch the show every week. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the early Nitro style booking of the Women's main event scene. Nia, Becky, Ronda & Charlotte all have beefs with each other and everything feels electric. Love all the name dropping. I'm so stoked for Nia vs Becky...I hope it's at Rumble but Mania would be even sweeter! im pretty apathetic about Rollins & Ziggler individually but I think they have great chemistry together. Very good match normally not a fan of Superplex/Falcons Arrow but it felt electric and felt like THE FINISH and best part it was THE FINISH, no kick out good stuff. Baron Corbin is the number one heel on RaW. That's really...amazing...RAW Main Event just screams midcard right now. I do think Corbin is a good stooge and has a sweet right hand. He moves like Kane so much and has so many of his mannerisms. We got another 17 years of Corbin people! Heyman has to be booking right? This stuff with Drake Maverick is terrible. Has it been confirmed he is booking again? WAIT THAT WAS THE WORST RAW EVER?!? Oh my God are you guys kidding me? That was child's play compared to some shit we have all seen. Holy Overreaction! I went to RAW in Boston in July that was way worse and way more boring. Y'all being silly. Nia Jax ruled in that segment.

NWA US Heavyweight Champion “Total Package” Lex Luger vs “Flyin” Brian Pillman Halloween Havoc 1989 Unfortunately, this is pretty much our only example of how Lex Luger, touring NWA World Champion would have looked as he takes on young, hot newcomer, Brian Pillman. It is a helluva damn match and it is too bad we didn't get more Luger matches like it. I do not know of any backstory to this match. Basically, I get the feeling that Pillman was a bright newcomer so they put him in there with one of the top heels and give him a shot at a major title and see how he does. This is one of the smartest worked matches I have ever seen. It is not like Steamboat/Luger, which has the ability to play off a feud. Instead all the drama in the match has to be generated between the ropes, which is not an easy task. Now factor in that both men debuted about three years before this and it is a very tough challenge. Both men delivered in spades with big time performances and getting very good crowd heat throughout. The story does take a couple of viewings before you get a good grasp of it. It seems that not even announcers really understood what was going on as he often wondered why Luger was not going for power moves instead of his strike-oriented offense. All will be explained in the following paragraphs.Instead of establishing the obvious Luger strength advantage, they put over Pillman’s tenacity by letting him stick with collar-elbow tie-up and get a playful slap out of that. Luger does not take to kindly to the insolence from the rookie (it was Pillman’s first year with company) and takes him to the woodshed. Then he gets cocky after all he is Lex Fuckin Luger. Pillman does not take kindly to that and TACKLES him to the ground then follows it up with a chop, back body drop, dropkick, baseball slide and another chop. This felt really heated and Luger was bumping like a madman to make Pillman look good. Luger is giving Pillman a lot here and making him look really good. Air Pillman misses and Luger bails; Pillman gives chase. Luger cuts Pillman off with a kneelift, hmmm where I have seen this before. Luger tries to set up for a power move to consolidate the advantage but Pillman evades him with a cross body block, which gets two. Pillman then grounds the more powerful Luger with an armdrag and wristlock. This is the sequence I just fuckin love about this match. Pillman started off full of piss and vinegar, but that got him in trouble so now he is content with controlling the pace with an armbar. This frustrates Luger rather than really hurting him. Everytime, Luger tries to get something going on offense Pillman will use his quickness to get back into the armbar. They go back to this like three times, which really hammers home the point. Pillman does not how to put away Luger and Luger cant use his strikes to set up a control segment because of Pillman’s quickness. This only works because Luger consciously only uses strikes and no slams or suplexes during this portion. You really get a feeling that Pillman is out-wrestling Luger, but you are worried that he wont put him away. Perfect analogy is when an underdog has the slight lead on a favorite the whole game. You are in shock that they are hanging tough with the favorite and as the match progresses you are nervous if they can hold on. Just like in that scenario, when the favorite or Luger in this case starts to build momentum your stomach drops. That’s when it happens. Pillman goes for the put away and crashes and burns on a splash attempt. Now Luger finally has the ability to put together an offensive sequence that makes Pillman only more sympathetic as he takes an ass-kicking from the much bigger Luger. Luger crushes him with a wicked clothesline from behind, steps on his throat and a delayed vertical suplex gets two as he releases all that frustration. Luger is so jacked in terms of energy. It was an awesome burst of offense. As Pillman tries to build a comeback, Luger sends him crashing through the ropes onto the outside with a well-timed leverage move. Pillman gets a sunset flip for two when he gets back in and then Luger crashes and burns on his big lariat attempt as he hurdles over the rope to the floor. It is such a great spot because it looks visually impressive and Luger uses it late in matches to put over the fact his opponent is so resilient that he needs to go for a big move to end it, but cant connect. As they tussle on top, Pillman pushes Luger off the top and gets a sunset flip for 2. Pillman follows this up with a flying reverse elbow for 2. Now the place is rocking as Luger is begging off and Pillman is looking like a million bucks. Air Pillman (springboard clothesline) connects, but only gets two as Luger puts his foot on the ropes (protecting the finisher). Pillman misses a dropkick and Luger connects with a hotshot to escape with title. Luger gave so much to Pillman throughout the match. In the beginning, he let Pillman look like his equal in the collar-elbow tieup. He sold for Pillman well during the hot shine segment. Then he let Pillman control a well-put together body of the match, which illustrated how Pillman’s quickness was besting Luger’s power. The heat segment put over Pillman’s resilience. Then finally the Pillman comeback really felt like Pillman was one move away from winning. The finish paid off how Pillman’s mistakes were his downfall and that Luger escaped with his title by hitting one lucky move off. Fabulous match and really shows how Luger was one of the best workers in the world in 1989 and that Pillman had a bright future ahead of him. ****1/2

NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ricky Steamboat vs Ric Flair - NWA/WCW 3/18/1989 Two of the all-time great silent movie actors do battle here. What I love about this match is it as shot I believe as a fan cam and the only noise is ambient crowd noise. Occasionally, you can hear a Flair howl or chop, but other than that there are no sound effects. Yet what you watch on the screen is so engrossing. You can see how big each man's motions are. These are two larger than life characters. First 20 Minutes: I love how these guys take their time. The shine is 10 minutes and so much fun. I loved Steamboat slapping the taste out of Flair's mouth in the corner. How they lingered in that staredown! Flair is so great at throwing so much at his opponents in the early going only to thwarted at every pass. He really makes the babyface earn the shine. He gives us so many different looks that sets up so much great Steamboat offense. He was really into begging off which was creating some openings with the point of the boot to the midsection. Steamboat would sell that like he been shot in the chest, but then he would fire off the chops and send the Nature Boy packing. I thought the real transition was pedestrian. It was a simple kneelift to the midsection. It was only saved by the fact that was something Flair had kicked twice before. Flair was great at crowding and controlling Steamboat's positioning by constantly moving him into corner. I loved the early figure-4! We dont get it often, but Flair worked the leg like a son of a gun and throw in some liberal Hiro Mastuda cheating and some big time Steamboat selling and you have a recipe for an awesome heat segment. Flair never let up on the knee, really great work here. Best part was Steamboat was rallying goes for a headlock, but Flair turns it into a kneecrusher. Flair would keep quashing those rallies by attacking the knee and eventually applying another figure-4. He would hit his patented kneedrop, but when he went for a second one he missed! Ooooooooooooooo drama! Last Half: Well everyone and his mother knows that Flair was going into the Figure-4 after that spot. Not to be outdone, Flair gives a ***** selling performance in the figure-4. He is so loud you can actually hear him holler. He was really great here. Steamboat vigorously attacks the leg with elbows and then another figure-4. He goes for his splash and eats knees. This levels the playing field for the finish run. Lots of Flair gaga down the stretch: shoving Tommy Young, press slam off the top, Flair Flips, Flair crossbody off the top lands! I actually liked the beginning better because Flair focused on leg work is not something we get to see a lot and I loved how well Steamboat was selling. I enjoy this, but this is something we have all seen before. It is all the usual spots. The only new spot is a spot that would be used to great effect at the Clash rematch which is the Double Chickenwing. Something weird happens towards the end it looks Steamboat wins via a top rope crossbody but Young kinda just stops counting and even Steamboat seems confused. He really kicks some Flair ass and Flair really goes into selling overdrive. Flair gets caught with his feet on the ropes before Steamboat rolls him for the win. This is a master class in taking your time and letting things breathe before really running away with it at the end. When they have at least two ***** in the same year, pretty much everything will be a step down, but this is still great and a great look into what an average house show was (how cool would it have been to be there for this!) ****1/2

Fun fact I was at the Eddie vs Rey 2004 match live. I feel so lucky to have seen it. 2005 match does rule and that spot going into the heat segment is the stand out spot!

Eddie Guerrero vs Rey Mysterio - Smackdown 6/23/05 So I had some time between my tour of Schobrunn Palace in Vienna & dinner at that palace so I figured I watch me some pro wrasslin. But they closed halfway through this match so i had to relocate to this fancy ass restaraunt. I felt like kinda asshole with my headphones in watching this match, but I'm by myself & it is too early to eat. It was just a weird setting to watch this match and felt the need to give some context to this match review. I got a Mozart concert at the palace after dinner and am really hoping they play his hit single, Amadeus. :p Onto the match proper, everyone knows this is a badass bout and one I watched lived and again about 5-6 years back. Let's get this out of the way, I prefer the Havoc match. Based on memory, I thought this would give the Havoc match a run for its money but the Havoc match has every bit the hate this match has. Eddie was cold & souless here. In '97, he has that heel sneer. What puts the 97 match over is the flawless execution, high velocity of the impact, and the efficiency. Now this match is still tremendous. Again before the match, a lot of adieu before the match, let's give a shoutout to this hot, traditional crowd. They were rooting hard for Rey. Hell they popped for an armdrag two minutes in. They were chanting 619 when REY was doing the ab stretch. When do you ever hear that. Eddie sucks was ringing throughout the match. The wrestlers & the story was over. People need to stop with this bullshit that today's crowd is how it has to be in a post-kayfabe world. It is 2005 and this crowd is every bit as good as a 1985 crowd. It can be done but we need better writing and wrestlers who are invested in the writing. Ok now onto the match proper, the story is simple Eddie turned heel in a violent fashion because he couldn't beat Rey in a clean, straight match. It drove him to insanity. This match is a representation of this turn as Eddie wrestles the first portion straight but is consistently bested by the quickness of Rey Rey. Rey hits a big springboard plancha to really kickstart his control. Eddie has a wicked bruise on his hip from a steel chair attack from a vengeful Mysterio from a previous episode of Smackdown. Rey uses abdominal stretch to work it over. The match kicks into the next gear when Eddie shoves Rey off the ropes and he takes a gnarly tumble off the top to the floor. Eddie has that mid-match metamorphosis becoming that sadistic sociopath Hell-bent on brutally destroying Mysterio. Again, he was bested by Mysterio in a straight wrestling match and this fueled his mid-match psychotic break. It was quite the heat segment and should go down as one of the all time greats. Focused on the back, Eddie expertly combines grizzly holds, sudden cutoffs and humiliation tactics all focused on the back and breaking Rey's spirit. To me the two bavkbreakers and the powerbomb were standouts. Rey sold well and timed his hope spots well. The first 619 tease got a huge pop. He really did a great job dragging out his comeback. Gradually having longer runs but Eddie would suddenly cut him off. Eddie sold his frustration of not being able to pin Mysterio well. Eddie misses the Frogsplash and that was Rey's big opportunity. 619->Drop The Dime! It was not quite as violent as I remembered. To me this was a really high end execution of a fundamental pro wrestling match. The mid-match heel turn by Eddie and Rey resislently resisting to lose and eventually winning to keep storyline going. Probably the 2005 WWE match of the year but I'll have to take a look back. ****1/2

WWE Champion Tripe H vs Jeff Hardy - No Mercy 2008 I got into it a little with Dave Meltzer on Twitter recently. Nothing too extreme maybe three tweets each traded back and forth about how classic wrestling is timeless. He believes that today's wrestling far outstrips yesterday's wrestling and most five star matches of yesteryear would be more like ****. As a staunch fan of the years gone by, I took great umbrage with this. He made the point the evolution is natural and today's wrestlers have learnt then refine on their predecessor's work. My point was a lot of today's wrestlers only picked up bits and pieces and more often than not are missing that connective tissue. This match is a great example. This is a very good match. There is nothing bad about it, but there is nothing excellent about it. Triple H gives a souless Ric Flair travelling NWA Champion against feel-good fan favorite Jeff Hardy. Triple H is a perfect example of somebody who has studied pro wrestling, but is very mechanical often forgets the charisma and energy part of the performance. He plugs Jeff Hardy into his version of the Ric Flair formula, but does not do any of the stooging and bumping to really get the crowd going. The shine is just good when it could be great. The best part of the match is the transition to the heat segment. I liked the organic tease of the Pedigree by Hardy shouldertackling through the ropes but HHH negotiating him into a Pedigree position only to take a big back drop bump over the rope to the floor. Then Jeff Hardy comes flying over the top for a Swanton Bomb but eats nothing but floor. Tremendous sequence with a big time payoff. The heat segment was very ho-hum from HHH some targetting of the back, decent holds. The comeback was way too simple. Just a sling blade. Need to make him earn it. Hardy scores with the Swanton Bomb over the top but the commentators miss that this is the payoff for the earlier attempt. The finish run is pretty basic counter-secondary move-counter, but I do like that here are not hitting their moves. They are either missing or being countered. Hardy gets his big run with Whisper In The Wind, Twist of Fate and nails the Swanton. The place explodes they really think he is going to win. HHH gets an Oklahoma side roll due to Hardy's sloppy cover to escape. Some matches have a lot of great parts but the bad brings it to down to a very good rating. There are some matches that are very good and just never get to the next level, but there is nothing bad about them. This is the latter. ***1/2

ECW Champion Jack Swagger vs Christian - WWECW 2/24/09 I was not watching much ECW at this time, but I think I actually watched this match live specifically because I knew Christian was back. If it was not this match, it was another Swagger match from early 2009. My point is I really thought Swagger was a cant miss prospect at that time. I am a total sucker for those Watts-type, amatuer hosses. Swagger looked like the second coming of Doctor Death here. I would continue to have a soft spot for Swagger until the end of his run. This match totally lives up to the hype. The ultimate game of cat & mouse. On paper this is a no contest. Swagger should murder Christian. All American wrestler that can takedown and suplex Christian at will. Christian has a great right, but his stand up game is not that strong and his submission game non-existent. He can fly but he ain't Rey Mysterio. The beginning of the match we see just that Swagger take Christian down at will. He gets in a punch here and there, but his actual game plan is to move & stick. He is gonna evade Swagger and then strike. My making Swagger miss he keeps Swagger off balance. The problem of this strategy is made apparent readily is Swagger catches Christian its lights out. Christian avoids Swagger in the corner only to eat an Axe Bomber. He tries to evade by jumping over the top rope on the apron, but Swagger bulldozes him with a shouldertackle this would injure Christian's left arm. This would be a touchstone for the rest of the match and hats off to Christian for a tremendous long term selling performance that plays into the finish. Christian gets desperate here due to the injury. He avoids Swagger who ends up by the steel steps. Christian rushes headlong and now it is Swagger that moves and Christian eats the steel. We see how dangerous this "cat & mouse" strategy is and how it is backfiring for our hero. Swagger controls with a nice top wristlock and an armstretcher. Christian tries to make a one arm comeback but Swagger quashes that with a VICIOUS Shoulderbreaker->Oklahoma Stampeded->Shoulderbreaker! WOW! Can you say Hello Doc? Great offensive stretch from Swagger. Christian gets on the comeback trail with a second rope dropkick. He definitely needs more of that where he can create separation from a pure wrestler like Swagger. Thats how Christian's comeback materializes by evading suplexes he can create separation and hit his reverse DDT and a nice top rope headbutt (he misses his first attempt). Swagger does get his suplexes in such as the Belly-to-belly and Northern Lights but Christian still has the wherewithal to kick out. What I love about this finish stretch is that is a great mix of missed/block moves and secondary moves that hit. It feels hotly contested while also building to a crescendo. Then on top of that you have Christian selling throughout this stretch fabulously. The finish is the cherry on top. Christian has started really stringing together moves when Swagger throws him bad shoulder first into the post. He wants the Doctor Bomb, but Christian counters looking for the Killswitch but his arm fails him, it is just too injured. DOCTOR BOMB! 1-2-3! The look on Christian's face and the way he was contorting his hand made you believe that despite all his internal desire his body just could not deliver the finishing blow and Swagger took advantage with his finisher. Tremendous cat & mouse story paired with awesome big man Swagger offense, great Christian selling and a great finish run. Cant praise this enough, this what high-end TV wrestling looks like! ****1/4

ECW Champion Jack Swagger vs Christian - WWECW 2/10/09 I accidentally watched the wrong match. I was wondering why this was thought of so highly. Christian returns to ECW after being in TNA for about 3 years and says "Sufferin' Succotash" in his opening promo so thats where Roman got it from. Swagger lost his first match to Finlay the week before due to some Hornswoggle chicanery. Swagger was great here gobbling Christian up with his amateur wrestling stuff. Christian's right hand was great and rang throughout the building. He used that liberally in his shine and as hope spots. He kept Swagger off balance early with roll ups before succumbing to Swagger's amateur acumen. During the break, Swagger press slammed Christian to the floor in an impressive spot. Finish stretch was paced well by Christian a good mix of highspots and missed moves. Neither one can pull the trigger on their finish.The exposed turnbuckle is a red herring as Hornswoggle distracts the ref, Finlay takes out the leg and Christian engages the Killswitch for the win. Good TV match Swagger looked great here and Christian shows what he lacks in offense he makes up for in layout and escalation. Look forward to the actual hyped match. ***

WWE Intercontinental Champion Rey Mysterio vs John Morrison - Smackdown 9/4/09 Two of the most deceptively hard hitting wrestlers in the modern WWE era are pitted here. No one is going to confuse either for Stan Hansen (or Nia Jax for that matter, lets see how this one ages), but both lay their stuff in and do not work Kofi light. One of the big revelations of going back and watching this era is realizing John Morrison is actually a pretty good wrestler. He is athletic without being too athletic and like I said he does have good strikes. I thought this was a perfect, respectful babyface match. It reminded me a lot of the Sabin vs Shelley match from January 2009 I just watched in that there is no subtle heel in this match. It is just two dudes going out to prove they are the best. In this match they do work control segments and there is a more fundamentals based approach so it is not quite as avant-garde as Sabin vs Shelley but this is still great. Lots of traditional symmetry proving devices trading headlocks, knucklelocks, cradles and stare-offs. We dont see Rey work control often due to being a babyface and undersized, but it is refreshing to see that. Some really great ranas from him in this match along with good strikes. Morrison has a great mule kick that lands right on the button and his control segment is great. Again there is athletic moves like Standing Shooting Star Press and Break Dance Leg Drop. It is not that I see a flip and immediately hate it. I like these moves. I have come to realize I hate athletic sequences. When it is looks like two dudes are re-creating their favorite men's floor exercise routine. Wicked cross body collision takes into the commercial break before the home stretch. They never break rhythm and keep this respectful throughout. There is a good sense of escalation and back & forth without feeling "my turn, your turn". Some great finisher teases. I did think there was a bit too much no selling down the line and moves were not being treated as consequential particularly egregious was the 619, Morrison duck and then the Tidal Wave. It really undercuts the 619. I LOVED the finish. Rey interrupts Starship Pain for a second time, signals for a Top Rope DRAGONRANA, but Morrison holds onto the ropes and hits Starship Pain from that position for the upset I-C Title victory! Really cool finish. A pure, respectful babyface vs babyface which I love I think matches like this should be more commonplace to make heels & cheating more meaningful. ****