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garretta

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Everything posted by garretta

  1. garretta
    I'm not sure if you can call this foreshadowing Virgil's turn; Teddy's abused Virgil in one way or another since they came to the WWF, plus he was understandably emotional over the loss of his property. This was fun stuff, but I'm not too keen on the Million Dollar Belt as an idea; Teddy was never the World title contender he should have been after it was created. It was almost like telling the fans straight out (as much as they dared at the time) that he would never be WWF champion. You can put the crown in the same boat, at least before Lawler showed up (since "The King" was, and still is, his personal gimmick more than anyone else's in the sport, at least since he became identified with it in the 1980s).
  2. garretta
    These are the kind of hard-hitting matches I remember from the 80s All-Japan set. Mask takes a real beating, but the spot of the match is Fuyiuki's knee being driven into the security railing. He actually undersold that through most of the rest of the bout, although it definitely played a role in the finish, which was certainly unique for its time. The turn wasn't really, but anyone who's been watching (or had watched in the past like me) knew that Tenryu wasn't taking responsibility for the loss. Rockers/Powers of Pain beats the match for Best Tag on Disc 1 in a photo finish because I'm a bit more familiar with the people involved, but it was closer than I thought it would be.
  3. garretta
    After a steady diet of the Lillian Ellison catfight school of women's wrestling, it was refreshing to see a match where the competitors actually knew holds and strikes. The sleeper selling was tremendous, as several people have already noted, and the pace was lightning quick. Was Etsuko busted open hardway at the end? I'm not sure if they allow women to blade in Japan or not. This is neck-and-neck with Flair-Eaton for match of Disc 1 with one match left to watch.
  4. garretta
    You didn't need to understand the commentary to know that this match was miles ahead of any typical American six-man seen at the time. Great matwork and high flying, and the technicos get the big win, then celebrate with what seems like a few hundred of their younger fans. I agree that the camera work detracted from the match more than a little, but it was still a satisfying experience overall.
  5. garretta
    Now that I understand Demon's turn, I agree that it was stupid. Nice to see Eddie and Mando in their native environment. Lucha's a lot like shoot style for me: I can appreciate the athleticism and effort, but without JR or Lance or Gino to explain what's going on in English, it's not much more than a moves exhibition to me. Two-minute Hogan squashes connect more with me as a fan. Sorry, but that's the way it is.
  6. garretta
    This match just narrowly runs second to Flair/Eaton for my American match of Disc 1, and Flair/Eaton gets the nod mostly because it was a World title match. Marty takes the beating of the set so far, complete with back-to-back ridiculous bumps off of a backdrop and a front press slam. To take those bumps on legitimately injured ribs (if they were legitimately injured) is one of the gutsiest things I've seen in a while. Interesting that the Powers went over, since this was one of their last big bouts as a team. You'd have thought the Rockers would have won to solidify their presence in the title picture. Hillbilly isn't exactly Jesse Ventura in his prime on color, but he's a hell of a lot better than Billy Graham or Pete Doherty or even early-nineties Roddy Piper, much as it pains me to say that. This match set up a six-man on the February card: Powers and Fuji vs. Rockers and Hacksaw Jim Duggan. The faces won when Marty pinned Fuji after Duggan clocked him with the two-by-four.
  7. garretta
    Count me in with those who don't care much for shoot-style. I can appreciate the effort and intensity, but the rules and object of the matches are just too radically different. I'm with Parv; I like the men in silly hats talking shit to each other. Nevertheless, I understand why these matches are here, and will get the most I can from each.
  8. garretta
    Most of my comments have already been taken, so I'll just add that Lance Russell's commentary made this match. His familiarity with Bobby and Corny (even if most of the audience wasn't aware of it, since it came from Memphis), his selling of the Funk piledriver as still dangerous to Flair's neck a month after the angle was blown off, and his selling of Bobby, who'd very seldom wrestled singles in the NWA and theoretically should have been easy pickings for the World champion, as a dangerous threat really added to my experience. This match would have most likely been the best American match on Disc 1 regardless of who called it, but Lance made it even more of a slam dunk. How he didn't end up on TBS more (maybe even alongside JR on Saturday Night, at least until Jesse came along) is something I'll never understand.
  9. garretta
    Nice to see the Tastics slowly morph from a babyface Southern team to a buttkicking All-Japan team during the course of the match. If I recall correctly, the All-Asia belts are the third most important tag title in All Japan, basically (as one poster has already said) the TV tag title. Being mostly a WWF watcher during this period, and knowing what constituted a tag team TV main event for Vince, this was a (welcome) case of culture shock. Can't wait to see more!
  10. garretta
    This was a World Championship Wrestling bout or Clash opener delivered on the C-show. How often can the WWF claim that at this time? Even the biggest matches on Superstars only got three or four minutes tops. Tremendously hard-hitting for its time and place, and Muta drops the TV title, as his run was almost done. JR and Corny continue the burial of Gary Hart and proclaim Buzz Sawyer, of all people, as the new brains behind J-Tex, which shows you just how far they'd fallen. I'd like to know more about Corny losing $10,000 of Mama's hard earned money to the Dynamic Dudes. Next week's main event: Arn vs. Sawyer. Should be something else! I forgot to mention Corny accurately forecasting Sting's troubles with the Horsemen. Just like in most relationships gone bad, the one getting screwed over is the last one to figure things out.
  11. garretta
    And so the legend of Mick Foley begins. All the trademarks are here, as is Kevin Sullivan, who would be a major part of Cactus's WCW career. JR really makes you believe that Lee Scott has a chance. Moment of the match: JR's disgust at the idea that two men like Sullivan and Cactus would actually discuss fine art.
  12. garretta
    Seems to me like someone's been watching the Honky Tonk Man! Seriously, it would make sense, since Travis and Wayne Ferris undoubtedly crossed paths in Memphis at some point. I have to say, as wrestler-wannabe musicians (or musician-wannabe wrestlers, take your choice) go, Billy Joe's not half-bad. My favorite line from Dundee was, "Maybe it's a good thing you hit me in the head. That's the reason I'm standin' here!" It's nice to know that, in an age where many babyfaces literally proclaim themselves (or are proclaimed by their promoters) immortal that the art of self-deprecation isn't dead.
  13. garretta
    Even while he's insulting the Memphis crowd, Lawler has them in the palm of his hand. Dave does what he does so well: brings the show back on format. In the part of my brain that still thinks wrestling is real, I can just imagine him doing the rundown in the locker room before the show and telling the heels: "PLEASE don't mess us up this week, okay?"
  14. garretta
    Austin didn't sound as different as I thought he would. Cobra was a little better here than the last time we heard from him, although still not in Lawler or Dutch's class by a damn sight. Interesting how (at least in the storyline) they're trying to take away the King's clout. Thankfully for the fans in Memphis, that doesn't last too long.
  15. garretta
    The phone bits from Lawler were great; I wonder if he's ever actually gotten to the owners' box at a Browns' game? He's certainly famous enough these days to be a legit celebrity, albeit a low-level one. The promos were fine, as was Dave, but what struck me is that, even as Public Enemy #1, Lawler's still getting heavily cheered. He's a lot like Flair in the Carolinas; no matter what he does, most of the fans simply won't boo him, even though they may also cheer for his opponents, depending on who they are.
  16. garretta
    Great use of psychology by everyone involved. Lawler was fantastic as usual, Eddie Marlin was written a lot stronger than most authority figures and made the most of it, and Dave, like Lance before him, just wants the show to flow smoothly. The only one not on fire here was Cobra, but with Lawler backing him up, he didn't have to be. I've never heard before of the heel in a feud wanting a no DQ match, but it makes sense here, as does Marlin/Cobra's refusal to grant it.
  17. garretta
    All Dustin needed to imitate his dad perfectly was an "in pulic, eef you wheel". Young's heel promo was nothing out of the ordinary, though I agree that the abortion references would never fly today. If this had been three years later and Vince was working with the USWA, Dusty might have come down to help Dustin defend the family honor. As it is, why mention him at all? I guess being Dusty's son was still Dustin's main drawing card back then.
  18. garretta
    That was certainly different. The only one I recognized for sure was Owen. Interesting that the song was in English; I thought that Wanz's CWA was based in Germany or Austria.
  19. garretta
    Am I the only one who thinks that this should have been two distinct segments? I was really getting into the Corny/Flair interview when Woman showed up. The Woman/Flair stuff was good too, but it could have happened at a different time. I love the look of disgust on Corny's face when he introduces Flair, especially since he's a big Flair fan and good friend in real life. Discontinuities between kayfabe and real life such as this intrigue me. Somehow I don't think crochety old Ole would be bothered one bit by Woman, even at her sexiest.
  20. garretta
    I agree with those who say that there was really no reason to mention Dunk, unless of course he might have been in negotiations to come to the NWA that ultimately went nowhere. I got a kick out of Terry trying to rap at the beginning of the segment, and Sullivan could make the Bible sound evil. Too bad this really didn't go much of anywhere.
  21. garretta
    Sting already has a feeling that things aren't quite as they should be; he should have acted on it. Old man Ole doesn't really fit the babyface mold, or the manager's mold either. Flair and Arn are 100% on point. It'll be interesting to see this play out as it did in real time.
  22. garretta
    I agree with Brad; Gordon was the star of this segment. You could tell Scott was still learning on the mic, and he never really improved that I saw. Flair was in humble mode, which is refreshing after seeing him scream his fool head off in most promos.
  23. garretta
    The usual effective Horseman promo, particularly from Arn and Flair. I've seen most of this angle before, and one thing was never addressed properly: if the Horsemen knew that Sting had a championship match coming as a result of his victory at Starrcade '89, why would they invite him into the group, knowing as they did from past experience that he was too much of a competitor to turn down a World title match, even if it was against Flair? It's not like he was into the whole "bright lights, big cities, pretty ladies" routine, even in character. Making the whole invitation a deliberate sucker job on Flair's part might have allowed them to get more heat with this than they did; as several others have said in various threads, the biggest problem with heel Flair at this time was that nobody wanted to boo him.
  24. garretta
    The picture wasn't professional, of course, but it was appropriately childlike, considering who it was from. This was done mostly to cement Woman as an all-around bitch who acted that way because she could, and at that it was a success. I agree with Kevin that Nitron was made to look like a useless chump whom even Norman the Lunatic could flatten with one shot. Maybe they should have had Sullivan get clobbered and Nitron make the save.
  25. garretta
    This is the type of segment Mean Gene was so effective with. They missed him when he left, and from what I remember, he was never quite the same in WCW either.
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