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garretta

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Everything posted by garretta

  1. garretta
    True, but Vince wasn't thinking quite differently enough to make sure that the man who was still the walking symbol of his chief competitor got over well enough to threaten the spot of the man who made his promotion a household word. Flair was there because he'd had enough of Atlanta (and vice versa), so it was either take the legdrop for Hogan and play dead doing it or retire, at least in the States. He probably knew going in that he was going to look second-rate when push came to shove, that Vince wasn't going to treat him with any kind of real respect, and still he went. It's only because Hogan had to lay low due to circumstances beyond anyone's control that he wasn't squashed flat by Hogan once and for all at Mania VIII and proven to be a bum (in the Hulkamaniacs' eyes, at least) once and for all. So why change things up and bust his ass when it wasn't going to do any good? What would Flair have gotten out of it except hurt? Maybe I'll find some good stuff (other than Rumble '92) in Flair's run as I go along, stuff that leads me to believe that Vince actually cared about making him look half-decent, but I'm not holding my breath.
  2. garretta
    Yes, Soup, but it doesn't look like we're getting one, since if I'm not mistaken Lawler moves on to Travis exclusively after this. What a waste. The biggest match of the year in the territory with months of buildup attached, and it gets three minutes with a foreign object shot which leads to an Embry pin, which then leads to.......nothing. Whose brilliant idea was this, anyway? Was Embry so opposed to laying down for Lawler that this was some sort of salve to his ego? If that's the case, he should have been fired. To take any territory's biggest match of the year and hold it hostage until it's reduced to being on the same level as a jobber squash (not that the match itself was one, but it took the same amount of time as one) is absolutely inexcusable. I guess Papa thought that didn't have any other credible main event heels, so keeping Embry happy was his main priority. No wonder Lawler was done with him. The amazing thing is, Embry not only kept his spot, but he and Prichard got to feud with Jeff and Fuller, which is just a slight step down from Lawler; only Dundee was higher on the totem pole. Who says acting like a spoiled brat doesn't pay? All I can say is that Lawler/Travis better be a real barnburner of a feud, considering what we potentially missed out on in its place.
  3. garretta
    I'm not really sure what the consternation's about; this was by-the-book early nineties Flair, a WCW World title match that happened to take place on WWF television instead. The only thing different was that Gino was calling the action in place of JR. Other than that, this was the same old same old, right down to the press slam off the top and the shoving match with Dangerous Danny Davis. Tito was a perfect first opponent for Flair because he allowed Flair to work the style of match that he was comfortable working, which translated surprisingly well to the WWF. I had no real problem with the figure-four spot or the finish either; since when has the figure-four meant anything in a Flair match other than an easy reversal, and since when has Flair beaten anyone with a reputation clean as a sheet? Seems like about 1984 on both counts to me. You guys seem to be asking for a Flair that neither Vince, Crockett, nor Turner has booked since Ric homesteaded in JCP after the Crocketts bought the TBS slot in '85. (I know he traveled after that, but not nearly as much.) Besides, Vince still had plans for Tito, as we'll see when he wrestles Taker; it wouldn't have done anyone any good to turn him into a sacrificial lamb, even for Flair, and submitting to his own hold (which the figure-four still was, even at that point) was simply not going to happen. Maybe it would have been best for Flair to destroy a few jobbers first, then go against the Santanas of the world once he'd shown his skills to the WWF audience. Then again, I don't believe Vince wanted Flair to be seen as particularly skilled, because the last thing he wanted was for the average Hulkamaniac to think that Flair could even keep up with Hogan, let alone beat him. I have a bad feeling that if Hogan/Flair had ever made it to pay-per-view during this run, we'd have been looking at 1/23/84 all over again, with Flair as Sheik. If Flair would have even lasted ten minutes with Hogan on that kind of stage, I would have been shocked. Gino treated Flair like any other heel newcomer around this time; he wasn't about to make him seem like anything special, especially with Heenan as his partner. That granted, I thought he was particularly hard on Bobby, and the byplay that was so funny for so long on Prime Time is really developing an edge to it that makes me uncomfortable. Bobby didn't help by being as far over the top as he was, either. I've seen the '92 Rumble, and his performance there was peerless. The problem is, that match was for the World title, and Flair was fighting for his life against twenty-nine other guys who were trying to kill him. Here, he's only fighting Santana, who most people know is on the downside of his career. To hear Bobby screaming, yelling, and unable to breathe to the point of almost asphyxiating himself over a midcard match is overkill of the highest order and only serves to make both him and Flair look ridiculous. Add to that the kind of asides that sound good in the studio but almost universally fall flat during actual match commentary, and you have yet another poorly called match, of which there have been too many in the WWF lately. This wasn't too bad for a first match, but I'm glad there are better performances to come for all concerned.
  4. garretta
    Marlin and Fuller are fine, but Jeff should be looking to do more than pin Embry; he should be looking to tear Embry's stinkin' head off, no ifs, ands, or buts. The man tried to kill your grandfather, Jeff. It's okay to threaten to do the same to him. The stuff about retiring if he doesn't pin Embry should add suspense, but think about it: Would Papa (or Pops, for that matter), even onscreen, honor such a stipulation when Jeff's fighting on his grandfather's behalf? I like how Marlin admits that he could never take Embry one-on-one; all he wants is one punch in the mouth. I also liked Fuller trying to fire him up and make him sound like Superman. Fuller mentioning his own grandfather, who could "read the newspaper" on him even today, was another highlight. I hope that clips of this match made the set. So Tony Falk had to take a job as Embry's driver, huh? Boy, when they say reffing in Memphis doesn't pay, they're not kidding!
  5. garretta
    Frank Morrell (at least I think that's who the ref was) should have just worn trunks and boots to the ring, because he took as much abuse as the wrestlers did in that MSC clip, which has to be one of the most out-of-control brawls I've seen yet. I'll say this for Embry and Prichard: when it comes time to knock off the palaver and have at it, they deliver. If we'd had the full match, we might be looking at a Top 5 candidate for the entire year, and that's not just hyperbole. I counted at least five major ref bumps in what we saw, and who knows how many other times Morrell was jostled and/or slugged in the parts that were cut. Come to think of it, the ref almost has to be Morrell; who except a former worker could take all those bumps and shots and not have to be carried out on a stretcher? Then we hit the studio, where Jeff and Robert talk about regaining the tag titles and ask the fans to vote in order to get them a "dream match" with Embry and Prichard. Soon after, they're wrestling Tojo's Texas Outlaws when Embry and Prichard hit the ring, handcuff Jeff and Robert to the ropes, and start beating them down severely with every piece of furniture and musical instrument that isn't nailed to the floor. For a while it looks like this past spring, as every face who comes in to help gets a piece of the beating until Lawler finally clears the ring with a softball bat. Embry's kind of on a seesaw; they clearly don't want him near Lawler anymore, but he's too good of a lowdown skunk not to be a big part of the promotion going forward. He and Dr. Tom are still the two best heels in the USWA, much more suited to be top dogs than Honky Tonk Travis. They're meaner, sleazier, and more committed to hurting people, and why Lawler's wasting his time with his cousin Wayne's palest imitator only makes sense if you're a wrestling political junkie. After what we saw in these segments, there's plenty of money still to be made in Memphis with the Texas Boys running the heel side against a variety of faces.
  6. garretta
    Just when you think you know the Memphis booking playbook inside and out, you get a curve thrown at you. I wasn't the only one thinking that this was leading up to a Dundee heel turn; some people in the crowd even tried to warn Davis not to trust him. But the Superstar retains his honor by turning down the belt and Davis' check from Japan, which thrills the crowd and inspires Dave to reflect on how classy both Dundee and Davis are. We do get a tease of future title matches between the two, and a hint that they will be hard-fought, as Davis wraps things up by hoping that he and Dundee can remain friends afterward. I wouldn't want every rivalry to end on a note like this, but it's good to know that some wrestlers can settle their differences without altering their philosophies. I honestly can't think of a confrontation with the heated rhetoric this one had that didn't end with one guy or the other turning (the obvious exceptions being one-offs such as Hogan/Warrior).
  7. garretta
    This is one of the more inventive bullshit finishes I've ever seen. It's a bit involved, especially since there had to be two ref bumps in order for it to be pulled off correctly, but the heat it gets more than justifies its intricacy. If Eddie's not Public Enemy #1 in Dallas with Raven as 1A after a screwjob like this, something's definitely wrong somewhere. I was going to say that I was surprised that WMC didn't find and air this footage to set up the Lawler/Gilbert unification bout, but it was probably still being edited for broadcast. I'll be interested to see if it turns up on any future shows, though, and that goes for Eddie as well. My guess is that with Embry still going strong, Memphis doesn't need another top heel at the moment, so Eddie's only in for a one-shot, which is kind of a shame. I'm looking forward to seeing what he and Raven have in mind for the good folks of Dallas, though. Bagwell looked good in what little I saw. I'll be interested to track his progress going forward as well.
  8. garretta
    Which, of course, ends up going nowhere and settling nothing, just like almost every other unification match in wrestling history. At any rate, Lawler and Gilbert try to keep things respectful, but they just can't pull it off, not that anyone really expected them to. I'm fairly sure they wanted to try and keep both men faces since Eddie was hugely popular when he left Memphis the last time, so we don't get any fisticuffs, but the same old arguments about imitation vs. succession when it comes to Lawler are made on both sides, and they come no closer to being settled now than they've ever been. Quite frankly, I'm surprised that one didn't challenge the other to step into the ring, but I see from the match listing that Lawler decided to take care of some other urgent business first. If you've heard the history of the Unified title a hundred times like most of us, it gets a little tedious. But there are always new fans that need to know things like this, and besides, why pass up a free shot at Vince and Turner when it's sitting there right in front of you? The average Memphian probably wanted to see Lawler and Eddie get their hands on each other more than they wanted to see a title unification, though. Did Global actually sanction this match as a unification bout, or was it a case of Eddie having a free Monday and deciding to take a date against Lawler and bring the belt with him to show off and be put over as an equal championship on TV? The reason I ask is that I have a hard time believing that Global would want to be put in a situation where it might have to recognize as champion a man who seems to be deathly allergic to the idea of wrestling in its main city (Dallas) like Lawler is.
  9. garretta
    How did the original angle where Embry piledrove Eddie not make the set? Either it wasn't available in good quality or someone fell asleep at the switch terribly. I agree with Soup concerning Eddie's reasoning for not firing Embry. If Embry needs to be put out of wrestling, it's his wrestlers that should do it, especially Jeff and the Stud. Firing Embry gives him what he wants: a free ticket out of a state that he considers a stinking hillbilly hellhole. They really don't want to blow Lawler/Embry off, do they? Now they've got Embry in a tag match against Jeff and Fuller, which is understandable in a way since Eddie is Jeff's grandpa, but still. They're finally on track for the match everyone in the territory wants to see, and here comes another diversion. I'm guessing that Embry's still fighting the idea of jobbing to Lawler clean, but if something's ever going to happen between these two, we're just about out of time. The issue either needs to be settled for good or dropped for good in the next few weeks at most before the fans no longer care, if they haven't reached that point already. I wonder what kind of revenge Eddie's going to get on Embry without signing to wrestle him? Whichever kind it is, I hope we get to see it!
  10. garretta
    Hansen at a rodeo in Tulsa? Since when did Tulsa become a suburb of Tokyo? The search for the mystery letter writer is a good way to get the Dutchman back in the mix. I'm surprised that they threw in the stuff about wrestling terms pissing Dutch off, but I guess they wanted to make it seem like the writer was violating the backstage brotherhood, which is the worst thing you can do in this era where kayfabe is still rigorously defended (at least in some places). Dutch and Embry definitely have chemistry together, and in another place and time they'd make a hell of a team. But not in 1991 Memphis, as Dutch emphatically declares. Back when the Tennessee/Texas feud was in full swing, it would have made sense for Dutch to join the feud on either side. Now, this whole dustup seems like a way to keep Embry relevant once he inevitably loses clean to Lawler, and the letter-writing stuff that seemed so interesting just a few minutes ago now comes off as terribly lame. The interplay with Dave was good, mostly because Dave seldom comes right out and stirs the pot between two guys like he does here. It's obvious that he's tired of Embry and wants him out of Memphis once and for all, whether it's because of Lawler, Dutch. or someone else. Crossing the line in order to decide friends from enemies? How grade-schoolish. Then again, Embry's beginning to resemble nothing so much as an overgrown spoiled brat anyway. Just after I say that, the psychotic side of Embry shows itself again, as he attacks Eddie just after Eddie proclaims Dutch as the man to run Embry out of the USWA for good. This was great way to reestablish Embry as a force to be reckoned with instead of just Lawler's next piece of roadkill. I liked Travis intercepting Jeff, but Jeff sure took his sweet time getting to his grandpa, preferring to brawl with Travis all over the place first. This allows Tony Anthony to play Good Samaritan for the second time in one show, which has to be a record for him. I like the idea of a Travis/Embry alliance, even though Travis isn't a Texan. They seem like two peas in a pod to me. Sorry, but I think Wayne Ferris is a better Honky Tonk Man than Billy Joe Travis. The one thing I'll give to Travis is that he seems to hit people harder with his guitar. I think Frazier sold it better than the WWF's babyfaces ever did with the exception of Jake (who was supposedly hit by a non-gimmicked guitar, which means he wasn't really selling.) Boy, Dave sure did a lot at WMC; through the byplay between him and Travis, we learn that he's also the host of a series of bridal fairs that took place in the Memphis area, which I'm guessing the station sponsored. Travis being up in arms about this development was the comic highlight of the segment (except, of course, for the "Eyes of Texas Are Upon You"/"I've Been Working On The Railroad" mashup.) Before I forget, Lawler was awfully late in trying to save Eddie, only coming onscreen at the end, and he was nowhere to be found when Dutch needed saving. You'd think he'd have been right out front both times, since he's supposedly still Embry's chief rival.
  11. garretta
    I would have liked to have seen more of Harley; the segment was cut off just as he got rolling. Simmons isn't the smoothest talker in the world, but he delivered beautifully here. Dusty's had a lot of missteps as WCW booker this year, but this push for Simmons has been done well for the most part. Yes, it was a bit out of the blue, but Ron's overcome that by being the humble, hard-working man of the people, which is a nice contrast to Luger's entitled arrogance. I liked how he mentioned their past on the football field, which probably should have been emphasized more as a reason why the championship committee thought he'd be a worthy title challenger. His message of hanging on to your dreams and working your butt off to make them come true is simple, but the crowd ate it up. Yes, we all know they'd probably have rather seen Sting in his place, but for right now they've put their hope in Simmons to bring the title back to them. I like the idea of Dusty as Ron's cornerman, given his past history with both Harley and Luger. Maybe it should have been Windham, since I don't think he's wrestling (regardless of what the Control Center might say), but Dusty actually adds more gravity to the situation than an active competitor would. Kudos to JR for taking time to explain why Hughes was banned instead of Harley. I would have loved to see Luger's reaction to this, but if he had one it didn't make the set for whatever reason.
  12. garretta
    The problem with this was that Piper had to spend almost the whole interview recapping the incident from Superstars. By the time he could get rolling with his own comments, the segment was over. Don't get me wrong; his recap was tremendous, especially when he referred to Vince as his buddy (which was far from true outside the ring, of course). Maybe they could have shown the Superstars confrontation in full prior to the interview so Piper could spend his time running Flair and Heenan down, which is most likely what everyone really wanted to see. Beefcake had nothing to say after his intro, which, sad to say, is probably the say it should be. The truth is, Mean Gene could have handled this interview as well as he did. Think about it: when were segments like Piper's Pit and The Body Shop ever preempted for an interview conducted by someone else? Sure, a few key Pits were replayed on the B-show in place of whatever segment was being done at the time, but those segments (Body Shop, Snake Pit, etc.) were never replaced by a regular interview from Okerlund or Monsoon. That just goes to show how weak Vince thought The Funeral Parlor and The Barber Shop were in terms of advancing angles, which was the primary reason for the existence of interview shows in the first place. If Vince for whatever reason didn't want to bring Piper's Pit back, why not The Snake Pit? Could you imagine sick heel Jake with a weekly interview segment which he could have used to taunt Savage and the other faces? It would have been gold if it was done right. Line of the segment goes to Heenan when Piper mentions his six (real-life) kids: "One of each!"
  13. garretta
    The whole controversy with Kazmaier and Cactus was Abby's fault for coming to the ring too slowly. According to James Beard at Kayfabe Memories, referees are supposed to count pinfalls and armdrops in real time, even if they're not the planned finish. The ref (was it Pee Wee or Fonzie?) should have kept raising Cactus's arm; if Abby hadn't interfered by the time it had dropped three times, the ref should have awarded the bout to Kazmaier via submission, even if the planned finish was a DQ. That's one way that refs used to keep kayfabe, and JR, being a former ref himself, would know that and was right to call out this match's ref on it. Other than that, this was a pretty standard run-in, followed by Sting's save. Nice to see him swinging that stick the way he would a baseball bat six years later
  14. garretta
    Well, that was pointless. Why would the Chamber of Horrors be built in Los Angeles when the pay-per-view where it's being used is in Tennessee? Why are Heyman and Missy acting like anything but blood enemies? (I guess Rick Steiner got Missy's revenge for her at the Bash, but Paul's still been taking shots at her until recently.) When did Missy move to Los Angeles anyway? Answer any one of those questions for me and you get a million dollars in tax-free Monopoly money. I guess the whole point was to see Paul in the mask scaring Missy back to her natural hair color, but we never even saw that. Here's an idea, Dusty: If you want to get the Chamber of Horrors over, how about telling us the rules of the match? How about telling us who's going to be in the match? Quite frankly, I'm not sure he knew the answers to either of those questions until just before Havoc. And he was the booker! Unbelievable, but typical WCW.
  15. garretta
    Now we know why The Barber Shop took the week off. This interview needed to happen with Gene because of the final bit with the cobra. Somehow I don't imagine Beefcake selling it that well. Jake may be the scariest heel I've ever seen, and that covers some ground. Most heels love to brag or threaten, some are tough enough to do what they say they will, but Jake's another breed in that he literally does not care who he hurts. The shame of this is that with everyone else in the WWF paired off, he only gets to go around with Sid and Savage. How I'd love to see him up in everyone's face just because. Let him go up to the booth and lay out Piper with a DDT on the floor like he did Steamboat. Have him let the cobra loose in the middle of a Hogan match and see the Hulkster run like a rat. Really get across the notion that he can and will go after anyone at any time with no advance warning, even guys he theoretically shouldn't have a problem with, kind of like a one-man NWO. Unfortunately, that's just not in Vince's DNA, and I doubt it would be in many other promoters' DNA either. The weird thing is, this is the first interview I've heard where Jake's been soundly booed. I think it has something to do with his theme song, which is the same one he used during his face run. That may be why they changed it before too much longer; a lot of fans popped automatically for the song's first few notes before they realized just what they were cheering for. Again, the Taker alliance is being kept very loose, almost secret. I know Taker's headed for Hogan, but I would have loved to have seen Jake interject himself into that feud seemingly on Taker's behalf and get his own piece of Hogan, even if only briefly. This would put Savage in the middle as well, leaving us with a six-way feud: The Megapowers and Piper against Jake, Taker and Flair, with a cameo by Sid until Savage is reinstated. Could you imagine the kind of money a feud like that with all its permutations could have drawn between now and Mania VIII? I loved how in awe Heenan was of Jake and the cobra, and not in an admiring way either. He's more than just a comedy foil; he's damn good at analysis and getting people over too. It's just a shame that Gino's getting worse, because this Heenan and 80s Gino might have been a team known for more than just a few laughs on Prime Time.
  16. garretta
    Thanks, Phil!
  17. garretta
    I like how upbeat Sting is here. Cactus and Abby have been creepy enough; we really don't need Sting sinking to their level, like Hogan did with the Gulf War references during the Slaughter feud. That denim jacket looked snazzy, by the way.
  18. garretta
    I was just going to bump this to the top, but since I'm here I might as well conform something: Heyman returns as a manager after the Novermber Clash, right? I believe his first promo as the head of the WCW version of the Dangerous Alliance comes on the 11/30 WCWSN.
  19. garretta
    This video definitely gets the "Heavy Metal" part of Van's gimmick over, but not much else. I'll have to see him in a promo or in the ring before I can really comment. So he thought he had come to WCW to save the company, huh? Since he was so forgettable that I got him mixed up with jobber Zan Panzer when I first saw his name on the disc menu, I'd guess that any success that the company had while he was there was in spite of him, not because of him.
  20. garretta
    More insanity from Cactus and Abby. I like how they're so frightening that even Heyman wants no part of them. Did Abby lose his trusty fork, or was there too much blood on it from him to eat that beautiful cake properly? At least he used a rather inventive substitute, although I wonder how Galoob felt about their Sting action figure being used as a kitchen utensil. I loved the "BANG BANG!" from Foley between "Happy Birthday" verses. This guy's almost too creepy for a pure sports promotion like WCW at this point. I've seen bits and pieces of Mankind, but I actually think this run might be even more insane, since he's playing against a relatively normal guy like Sting as opposed to a cartoon zombie like Taker. I can't wait to see what Abby actually does in a WCW ring, where you would think that they wouldn't allow him to blade either himself or his opponents like they do in Japan and Puerto Rico.
  21. garretta
    This was apparently the match that Zenk was going to referee, but Dusty decided to do it himself instead, thank God. I notice that he didn't say that he was definitively retired, and he was pretty clear about taking care of Harley if he decides to interfere. This whets the fans' appetites for a confrontation between these two old rivals, or possibly for a six-man the following month. As limited as Dusty and Harley most likely were by then, I would have still paid money to see them in the ring, even briefly. I don't think I've ever seen Dusty in red before. He looked like he'd raided one of Cornette's old wardrobes!
  22. garretta
    Most of my thunder has been stolen. I will say that I don't know which one of these two is weirder: Heyman and Missy suddenly burying their feud like it never happened or Windham being booked on the heel team for the Chamber of Horrors despite being a face since the Bash. It's almost like someone writing the rundown sheet for Gordon to read either didn't know or wasn't told what the real matchup was and decided to make one up. Knowing WCW, I wouldn't be surprised if that's exactly what happened. I also wouldn't be surprised if Gordon, whom we haven't seen in forever, didn't know the first thing about this card before he filmed this spot and was just reading what they gave him in complete ignorance. I'm not even sure when we saw him last; I remember he did a couple of features leading up to the Bash, so that's at least late June or early July. I wonder why he took such a long vacation. Was he or his wife sick, or had he perhaps been fired by Dusty, then brought back to replace Heyman, who was going back to managing soon?
  23. garretta
    Thank God these vignettes and the Slaughter ones appear to be over; I'm not sure which were worse in terms of getting fans to believe what was going on. If I had to, I'd give the advantage to these, since the El Matador character undoubtedly prolonged Tito's WWF career instead of driving the final stake into its heart. I guess credit is due the WWF editing department for at least trying to make us believe that Tito might actually be fighting a bull. If only they hadn't gone for the view from the top of the stadium!
  24. garretta
    Soup said it all, and these are getting worse and worse every week. It would almost be better now if Sarge went with the flow, dismissed the fans as a bunch of worthless maggots, and resumed his heel run minus the Iraqi sympathizer stuff. I don't know what else they could have done with him as a heel, but literally anything would be better than this garbage. Pete said in another thread that this was worse in its own way than the turncoat routine was originally, and after seeing these vignettes it's hard to disagree.
  25. garretta
    Another reason why this is all wrong: Sarge is demanding his country back, but he hasn't pledged to do anything to earn it back. There's no real change in him, not a bit of humility or contrition; he even says that he doesn't expect to be forgiven. Well, then why bother with all of this? It's almost business-exposing if you think about it, like Vince is saying, "Please cheer this man. He's already lost to Hogan, and I have no good guys for him to fight that will make me any money." This turn would have been a whole lot more effective if it had taken place as the result of an altercation between Sarge and Adnan/Sheik; that's Booking 101. Why Vince thought these little thirty-second vignettes would be enough to make the fans forget all the months that Sarge trashed this country and supported its opponent in an actual shooting war, I doubt even he knows for sure.
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