stomperspc

The early parts of this match are really great. Otsuka sort of leads the way and looks great doing so. I am told that Ishikawa (who is fine here) doesn't get really good until later on, which was sort of evident throughout the match. Lots of nice, subtle action going on like Otsuka punching at Ishikawa while the two are tied up on the mat as a way of getting Ishikawa to break his grip. The best element of this particular match was how seamlessly they incorporated "normal" pro wrestling moves (hurricanrana, power bomb, suplexes, ect.) into the shoot-style environment. Even when they end up on the top rope, it felt somewhat natural and lead to a beautiful flying arm bar. The match lost some steam in the last couple of minutes I thought, but nothing too bad. They picked it up with a great finish as soup mentioned. Good match.

I think that's a fair statement. Just a classic segment in every way. Vince is brimming with excitement at being able to officially announce Tyson's participation at WM. Before they get there, however, Vince makes small talk with Tyson (who looks impressive surrounded by his entourage). Austin interrupts though. In not all dissimilar fashion to how Flair is acting over on Nitro, Austin is peeved that someone else (Tyson) is walking into his world and claiming his title ("the baddest man on the planet"). Tyson's reaction to Austin's middle finger gesture is totally natural, as is the entire pull apart. I loved how one of Tyson's guys held Tyson back long after Austin was contained. It really got across the idea that Tyson was just as pissed as Austin was and that if he wasn't being held back he might go right after him. Vince kicking at Austin in frustration and anger was a great touch too that set the seeds for their increased involvement with one another later in the year.

Every time Gene pops up in the ring on one of these year books, I am hoping for a "shank of the evening" line. I think we are now two for two with that on this yearbook. They risked repeating themselves at this point. While some of this did come off as stuff we had already seen in the previous weeks, both guys (Flair particularly) kept the feud moving forward. After things got very heated last time, both guys appear to have cooled down and there is never a real chance of anything escalating. At the same time, you can feel the tension and also understand where both Bret and Flair are coming from. Flair's reaction to Bret's final line about heating "those words" ringing in his head Sunday was classic Flair stuff. It made a so-so line come off like the world's biggest insult.

Solid match. Vader doing the Vader Bomb with Luna on his back was an awesome spot that got over big time. Both of these guys feel like they are being underutilized by WWF at this time but it is doubtful either would have been better off in 1998 WCW.

I thought this was a fine match but out of all of the many Rey/Juvi matches over the years, it doesn't stand out all that much. I will see for sure when I get there, but my recollection is that their matches in the fall and winter of this year were stronger. Juvi drops the title in his first defense. I am not sure why Rey just couldn't go over Ultimo Dragon himself, but I guess they wanted to get over Thunder as being "must see" with two rapid fire title changes.

If anyone else walked to the ring sipping on a cup of coffee, you would immediately know something was up. Knowing Nash however, it doesn't seem that out of place. Of course, the coffee does end up all over the Giant anyway. We get an early glimpse at the Giant acting emotionally distraught, which we would get a lot more of years later in WWE.

Nash's laid back persona is perfect for segments like this. Nash responds to the leading questions in a real athlete sort of way but calmly downplaying the incident with Savage and Bischoff. You can tell he is just playing the PR game however and when pressed, does drop a line about how Savage doesn't want to mess with him. In comparison to the real athlete dynamic Nash's interview had going, Hogan's few lines seem even more cartoonish than usual.

Like the Don King segment a week earlier, this one was nice for its subtlety. Pro wrestling is a place where fights can be agreed to on the fly and deals get done on a whim, so it is nice to see one angle where negotiations are presented as having to take some time. McMahon admits that the talks are not complete, but it is clear that he believes they will get there since Tyson is promised as being at the Rumble and RAW the next night. Vince teases a "big announcement" on RAW involving Tyson.

The WON back issues are not up to this point yet, but was Hogan going back to WWF at this time even an option? I know there were some rumors of it in early 1997 but I didn't think there were any rumblings in early 1998 of that happening. Not that wrestling hotlines ever needed their rumors to have a basis in reality, I am just curious if this one even had a shred of truth behind it.

Cornette putting over the RNR Express always feels wrong. The NWA was completely irrelevant in 1998 when this angle was done. Here we are 16 years later, the NWA is still as irrelevant, yet a major wrestling promotion (New Japan) is still doing an NWA invasion angle.

I also thought they did a good job toeing the line between promoting Austin's involvement with Celebrity Death Match while at the same time sticking to his character. Ross' line (paraphrasing) that he doesn't know what MTV is thinking making Austin a spokesperson was a nice way to sell that. I started watching wrestling on a weekly basis in the Fall of 1998 but I am fairly sure I was logging significant time with Celebrity Death Match before then. It might have been my first exposure (in a roundabout way) to pro wrestling.

Relative to the rest of his work, this was a solid promo by Neidhart. While Bret is too laid back to let Flair get to him, Neidhart is wound just as tight as Flair so there is no surprise that these two get physical. I loved the added touch of Flair going to the back to get the object before heading to the ring. It made a lot more sense than the idea that Flair just happened to be walking around with a pair of brass knuckles (or whatever it was he used) in his pocket all day. Flair taking down Neidhart is enough for Bret to react physically for the first time in the feud. You can't beat this build so far for simple, logical progression.

I had forgotten or more likely just never realized how over Goldberg was at this stage of things. Flynn was always a good opponent for Goldberg because he could some courtesy arm bars and take down sequences with Goldberg before the usual finish. Goldberg was way ahead of his time with the shoot style influenced spots as far as the major US promotions went.

Another great segment building to Bret's first WCW match. I enjoyed how Bret basically said he has thought about what happened Monday over the past few days and was basically willing to let cooler heads prevail. It was a very natural reaction, rather than the usual wrestling standard of one small perceived slight immediately setting off a big war. At the same time, Bret is a proud guy and he is not going to shy away from calling himself "the best there is . . ." since he and his fans truly believe that. That draws out Flair is getting more annoyed with Bret's presence every second. They still do not come to blows, which once again is totally refreshing. They have issues with one another but not enough yet to even think about getting physical.

Yea, poor Ultimo Dragon. Loses nine belts in the span of a week. That has to be a record. I think the title switch was done here so that the first Thunder would have a memorable moment. Juvi wasn't exactly over at this point and this abbreviated title reign did nothing for him (or Ultimo Dragon for that matter).

We see the initial Thunder set which if I recall, doesn't last very long. That's a good thing (the whole cave concept didn't work). Probably the most stacked episode of Thunder of all time in terms of star power.

Fun television match. Jericho was so great in his heel role during this time. I've found him to be hit-or-miss throughout his career, but this was one portion of his career where he thought he totally nailed it. I am looking forward a lot to all of his segments throughout the year.

I thought the slow build with Tyson that started with this segment was very well done and refreshing. Don King was Don King but his involvement added a sense of authenticity to the entire thing. I loved how King pointed out that the deal was not done yet, but that they hoped to finalize something soon. I think all too often in wrestling history, the promotion would have immediately telegraphed that they were building to Austin vs. Tyson in some capacity. Instead, there is no hint of that in the initial hype and no hint at all of what Tyson might be doing in the WWF. Tyson being involved with WWF was more than enough for the initial segment without having to set up or tease anything else.

I am not easily offended (particularly in regards to wrestling) but this was pretty offensive. There is little justification for a wrestler in 1998 to wear blackface, especially when it is being done in part because he is facing a black wrestler. I get that the angle was "Goldust wants attention" but you can't justify a tasteless act in wrestling simply by pointing out that it fits the angle and/or character. The match was an okay short television match but nothing more. Vader makes the save for Flash Funk and the two hug/dance together about four years before they would be GHC Tag Team Champions together in NOAH.

I missed this stuff when it happened live but can remember reading about it a year later on DDT Digest and thinking the entire angle sounded really well done. Actually watching this stuff, it was even better than it sounded. Such a simple but effective way to set up a feud. Flair is a guy whose whole identity is built around being "the man". He has just spent the past 3 1/2 years in the shadow of Hulk Hogan, but at the very least the loyal WCW fans still knew that Flair was good in ways that Hogan never was or could be. Now in walks Bret Hart who, at least in theory, can lay claim to being as great of a wrestler as Flair. It makes total sense that Flair would be miffed by his presence. Flair is great here staying on the right side of the line that separates "justifiably annoyed" and "whining". Bret's attitude is a perfect contrast to Flair's. Flair gets worked up about the perceived slight (Bret calling himself "the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be) while Bret calmly and continually needles him. Great start to the build.

This was an understated but very well done tribute video. Touched on all of the highlights of Choshu's New Japan career including his 1983 turn on New Japan and the 1991 G1 climax where he put over Chono and Hashimoto. Production wise, nothing beats WWE videos but New Japan has long had a good handle on understated highlight videos that tell a coherent story, which this certainly was.

I tend to agree. It is never good when someone loses a job through circumstances beyond their control. That's life though and it happens in all industries all of the time. In the end, the wrestlers with something to offer will land on their feet. The guys with the toughest road ahead will be your Bobby Roodes and James Storms who probably deserve a job elsewhere but there just aren't many obvious fits for what they bring to the table (mid-30's, not big stars, no ties to former promotions, good but not great workers, ect.). I think it is possible for guys like Joe and Aries to be better off financially if they can land the right gigs and many of the other wrestlers should be able to land on their feet one way or another. I definitely agree with the last point. Maybe there is no market at all for a #2 wrestling promotion in the US. It is certainly possible that if/when TNA fully goes under that nothing pops up to fill that "void". However, TNA was doing little to help wrestling besides being a place where 20 or so wrestlers and a few dozen more office employees could make a living. They were the #2 by default and more than anything, the promotion served as a road block from any other promotion even having the opportunity to up their profile. On the audio update from last night, Meltzer seemed pessimistic about another promotion being able land a good TV deal. He sighted WWE's mediocre TV rights deal, WWE's inability to find a new home for Main Event or Saturday Morning Slam, and Jarrett's (so far) inability to land a TV deal for his project. Those are all solid points but I think another promotion will land on national television at some point. Wrestling as too long of a track record on cable for some network not to take a chance. It would be a reach (but not a huge one) to argue that on a network with comparable reach to Spike TV, the floor for a weekly pro wrestling show with at least okay talent and good production values is probably around 1 million viewers (roughly what TNA was doing). Some network at some point will take a shot at wrestling given that kind of potential return if the price is right. Hopefully the next time, the promotion that gets that opportunity is more suited to handle it.

Good show this morning, but not at the level of Nights #1 and #4. Good crowd. The crowd reactions have been a nice surprise so far. I don't think there has been a "bad crowd" yet during the tournament and more often than not they have been way into everything. Gallows looked as good as he has looked to me in New Japan in the opener versus Ishii. His timing was there in a way that it hasn't often been in this promotion. He got some decent heat too which hasn't come too often. Not much a match in the grand scheme of things but both guys looked good. I thought Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. Kojima was fun. Without any blow away matches, one reason this tournament has still been a strong one so far is because of the solid performances up and down the card. DBS Jr. and Kojima are two guys who have been solid at least the whole way through. It makes the shows much more enoyable to watch in one sitting when the under card is filled with easy to watch (even if they are ultimately unmemorable) matches. Smith wrestled more as a power guy here than he maybe did versus Shibata and Nakamura. He's got good power offense and like I've said before, deserves a higher profile. Tenzen/Archer wasn't much. Didn't care for Yujiro/Suzuki at all. Yujiro is easily the worst regular on the entire roster. I think he can serve a purpose as a low card comedy heel (and he does get decent heel reactions here and there) but working competitive matches in this environment is way out of his comfort zone. Yano/Anderson was fun, as all the Yano matches have been. I am not a big fan of Anderson's shtick in general, but him putting on Yano's coat and impersonating his mannerisms was genuinely funny. I hope this mini-weak streak of Yano's in the G1 leads to a NEVER title match with Yujiro where the story is that only Yano has the chance of being able to out cheat Yujiro. Shelton Benjamin finally loses! There were a couple parts of this match I liked but it never really gelled for me. Styles/Goto was okay but was missing something particularly before the stretch run. The final minutes were strong and the crowd really got into it. Goto's top rope Canadian Destroyer was visually and athletically impressive, but man that is a poor move that somehow just won't die. I've already seen more than enough Canadian Destroyers in the US indies and Mexico over the past ten years to last a life time. Don't need to see it become a regular New Japan move as well. Fale versus Tanahashi was okay, but I thought Fale has his worst performance of the tournament. His offense looked sloppy and he just seemed a bit off the entire time. His bump on Tanahashi's skin-the-cat head scissors was pretty great, however. Tanahashi's comeback culminating with the high fly flow to the floor was fun. Is any finisher more protected in all of wrestling than the Bad Luke Fall? Nakamura/Honma was another good Honma match. Best match of the night up to this point. They were a bit out of sync in a couple of spots but that didn't kill the match or anything. Good series of false finishes at the end. They got me buying a couple of times that Honma might get his upset win in this one. I am thinking he might go over Shibata now for his win signature win which would make sense. Shibata is good at giving a beating and Honma is good at taking one, so Honma can get get beat up the entire match only to survive and pull out his one big, upset victory. With the exception of one miscue that they recovered fine from, I though Naito/Okada was a very good match. I want to watch it again, but on first view I thought it was significantly better than their Dome match (which I also liked). This was more your typical "New Japan style" match (if there is such a thing) in terms of the fast paced and extended ending with lots of reversals and near falls. Like any style, it has its good and bad moments but on my initial watch I think this was one of the positive examples of that type of match. Naito is definitely getting an IWGP Heavyweight title shot at one of the Destruction shows in September. I've been assuming that the entire time (I correctly had him beating both Styles and Okada in the VOW contest!) but now that things have actually played out, it feels like a lock. Okada's title shot waits until October (Naito gets first crack since he beat both Styles and Okada in the tournament) where he likely wins it. I also predicted a three way tie at the top of Block B between Naito, Okada and Styles with Naito winning the head-to-head tiebreaker, which is also looking like a real possibility at this point.

NIGHT #3 Naito vs. Yano was fun and different. I like little threads that carry throughout a tournament, which I am guessing Naito's busted open forehead will become. Shibata vs. DBS Jr. was a good match, but I have it a notch or two below the Nakamura/DBS Jr. match from the night before. DBS Jr. is underutilized both in NJPW and in the US. Didn't think that Fale/Nagata was anything special but also didn't think it was anywhere near as bad as Dylan makes it out to be. I was surprised to read both extreme reactions after watching it live. I can see why people liked it since on both offense and defense Nagata moved as fast as his 45 year-old body would allow him in an attempt to cover up for Fale's limitations. It just didn't result in anything truly great. I thought the match was more than watchable though. Goto/Suzuki and Tanahashi/Kojima were both fine if not unmemorable. Kojima has really looked solid in the tournament, though. I am not surprised at how hard he is working, but rather that the work has resulted in solid or better matches each of the first three nights with 3 rather different opponents. I enjoyed Makabe/Okada live, but not as much as others apparently. It was a good main event largely because Okada is such a solid singles, main event performer these days. He's rarely going to have a disappointing match in an upper card singles position. NIGHT #4 As an aside, I took a cross country red eye flight Friday/Saturday. I have never been able to fall asleep on planes (or in cars for that matter), so I watched this live on from 35,000 feet in the air. I had a couple of buffering hiccups but otherwise a perfect stream. It is hard to take Meltzer's reports about how there are a ton of streaming problems still with U-Stream and WWE Network seriously when US Airways questionable Wifi produced a very good stream for me from California all the way to Pennsylvania. I think the plane is now probably the "oddest" place I have watched live pro wrestling from . . . I liked this show quite a bit, but I am not sure I thought it was appreciably better than Night #1. Ishii/Honma was very good. I need to go back to watch the Dontaku match since at that the time that was my favorite Ishii match but I think this one was probably a bit better. Honma has such a great underdog presence about him. How can you not root for a guy who looks absolutely pained every time he misses the head butt, only to smile wide-eyed the few times he is able to hit it? As others have said, these guys didn't hold back on the hard shots or big neck bumps but relatively speaking I don't think they went "too far" either. Not a MOTYC for me necessarily, but a very good match nonetheless. Undercard was all fine and about on par with Night #1. Loved Styles/Naito in the sense that it was exactly what it should have been. Styles was really great at callously working over the cut. Both the booking and Styles' own work is really effective right now in building heat on him for his eventual title loss. Styles was going to lose a few times in the tournament because everyone does and because he will likely have at least one title defense before dropping the title. I liked Shibata/Tanahashi but I'll have to watch it again (watched it initally while waiting to transfer flights in Philly and had been up 24 hours straight at that point so my judgment might have been off). It felt like a huge match as everyone else has said. The contrast between the two makes for a strong dynamic. You can't get much more polar opposite than the guy in the back tights, who never smiles and places an emphasis on hard-hitting wrestling and the guy with the colorful ring gear, who plays air guitar and places a premium on showmanship. In terms of feeling like a big match, this beat everything in the tournament but some of the work annoyed me (particularly the strike exchanges). Best Matches So Far (Through Day #4) Styles vs. Okada (Night #1) - Just watched this again and didn't like it as much as I did live, but was still a really good match. I agreed with Meltzer (and still do) that it is one of Styles' best performances but that is more of an indictment on how few top notch singles matches Styles had in 10+ years in TNA. This match is up there with July 2005 Jimmy Rave Match and June 2003 Paul London ROH matches for best Styles performances of his career. Nakamura vs. Shibata (Night #1) Nakamura vs. DBS Jr. (Night #2) Shibata vs. DBS Jr. (Night #3) Honma vs. Ishii (Night #4) Styles vs. Naito (Night #4) Tanahashi vs. Shibata (Night #4) BEST PERFORMANCES Too small of a sample size to list an "MVP" so far, because it is hard for me to distinguish between the best and 2nd best guy when everyone has only had 3-4 matches and some guys have wrestled higher quality opponents. Having said that, in some sort of loose order it would be something like this: Shibata, Styles, Davey Boy Smith Jr., Ishii, Okada

Agreed that the execution was spotty in places. However, I thought Naito ate Archer's offense (which generally looks awful) as well as I can recall. They laid out the match in such a way and Naito's bumping was strong enough that Archer controlling a large portion of the match didn't feel as forced as it could have. It is not a match I am probably going to remember in a month but I thought it was fine for what it was.