AJS

I'm not a big fan of battle royals but I enjoyed seeing Andre tower over everyone else. I also thought the exchanges between Wahoo and Hernandez were nice and heated. I'm not that familiar with Gino and i'm looking forward to seeing more of him.

This is an excellent tag bout with a great post-match angle. Piper and Martel are like a well oiled machine working over Williams' arm, and Piper does a great job selling the leg damage in the second fall. This is super heated from the word go and only gets more crazy as the match goes on. The Miller/Rose confrontation after the match is expertly done, as is Miller's promo setting up the match for the following week. Superb stuff all round. ****1/2

This match gets off to a wild start when Rose destroys Martel's flowers and Rick makes him pay, giving him a real battering and taking control of the match for most of the first fall. Buddy eventually gains the advantage after a back suplex. The way they transitioned to this was very impressive and you could tell that it really took the crowd by surprise. Buddy, logical and brilliant as ever goes right to work on the back and it is beautiful to watch. He finishes off Martel with the backbreaker to win the first fall. The back work continued in fall two but Martel turned things around and won with a sleeper. Between falls rick has to bring Buddy back around. i'd never seen this done until i watched Portland but I think it really adds legitimacy and realism to the matches. I didn't find the third fall quite as compelling as the first two, and I would of preferred one guy pinning the other over the DQ ending, but this was a great match overall with a super heated crowd and excellent performances from both wrestlers. ****1/4

This was another very enjoyable and intense match. I was particularly impressed by Piper as face in peril in the third fall. I expect Martel to be excellent in that role but Roddy did a great job here selling really well and building anticipation for the hot tag. i thought the finish was well done too and set the rematch up beautifully ****1/4

Buddy is wearing the mask/wig combo and it's awesome! He looks ridiculous in the best possible way. The first fall is mainly Buddy working on Martel's leg and he does a masterful job of it I must say. Martel is equally good selling the punishment. Second fall, Martel turns things around and gets some revenge by working on Buddy's back, while continuing to sell the leg damage. I expected things to really go crazy in the third fall but it didn't quite reach the heights I was expecting, although Martel trying and succeeding to get the mask off at the end was a good moment. There was some really good stuff here but I wasn't a big fan of the count out finish. There is another match between them coming up on the disc though, and I seem to remember that one being pretty great. ***1/2

There was plenty to enjoy in this match. I know a big criticism of Harley is that as champion he gives too much to his opponent and it looked like it would be the case here with Martel controlling the arm for much of the first fall. I did think though that after Race hotshotted Martel on the ropes and worked on the neck, things were more even and it became more of a give and take bout. Both men's punches looked great and they both bumped and sold really well. I love Harley's suplexes and the fire Martel brings as the babyface challenger. A great way to kick off the set. ****1/4

Jerry Lawler was a major revelation for me going through the Memphis set. Growing up I was always a fan of wrestlers who did lots of 'moves', but Lawler completely captivated me with his more minimalist approach. On every match on the set he held my attention from beginning to end. His punches are without a doubt the best i've ever seen and as beautiful to watch as any flip or dive. He had such great timing and an incredible connection with the Memphis fans. I need to see more of the King!

This was brilliantly done. Obviously I knew the stunner was coming but the way it was done took me completely by surprise and made me laugh at loud. A fantastic moment!

This is a tremendous. I've been working my way through the 97 Raw's and PPV's on the network and pretty much hated every babyface interview Shawn has given. He's been totally upstaged by Bret Hart and Steve Austin on the mic. He tries to be cool and funny but instead comes across like a gurning imbecile. As a face it just doesn't work. But here, heeling it up in Canada, everything clicks into place. Instead of trying to funny and failing pathetically, he actually is funny. His little jig around the ring while twirling the tiny Canadian flags had me rolling. I'm really looking forward to seeing this heel turn develop.

One of the all time great performances on commentary. Heenan added so much to that match.

I've recently been watching 70's Jumbo Tsuruta. I've seen the stuff on the 80s sets and a lot of his 90s work, but was largely unfamiliar with the 70s matches matches. I've watched about 40 of them recently and enjoyed the experience tremendously. Not every match is great of course but many of them are. Even when they've fallen short Jumbo is always very watchable in them I think it's amazing that he was basically a top guy from the start working with the Funks and Briscos and looking like he really belonged in there with them. My plan was to move into the 80s and work through his career chronologically as much as I can, but i've just found about 40 more matches from the 70s so i'll be making my way through those first.

I have a special place in my heart for the WrestleWar bout because it was the first Ric Flair match I ever saw and i'd watched it quite a few times before I got to see the other two so I know it really well. I also love the post match angle with Funk. One Classic feud ends and Flair goes straight into another one. I loved the Clash match though and that seems to get better over time. I was always a bit less keen on the first match but I watched it again recently and thought it was amazing. I'd go 1) Clash 2) WW 3) Chi-town

So many of the matches have been full on from the start. Most of them have been great, but this was a match that began relatively low key and gradually increased in tempo. I enjoyed and appreciated that. It was to interesting watch a young Muto strut his stuff in this one. His dropkick is superb and we of course get the moonsault. Invader looks great on offence too, hitting some terrific chops. Cool match.

This was very enjoyable. Hugo look great in this one (nice looking suplex, great flying body press), and having him provide the commentary on his own match really added to the experience.

Yeah not as good as the previous match but one with some intense moments. Sheik whipping Colon with the belt looked full on.

This sounds amazing thanks for this El Boricua. As a PR novice I was excited to start watching the set and make comments, but your opening post where you mention the importance of knowing the lead-up and context for some of the matches has made me think I may be best served slowing down a bit and getting some background first so I can get the most out of the set. Perhaps I'll apply the breaks a bit after disc 4. Don't get me wrong i'm loving it so far, but getting a bit of history will make it even richer. Thanks again Andrew

I wouldn't know where to begin in describing this. So many wrestlers and things happening all at once. Just another super intense match. When I think this set can't get crazier, this match comes along to prove me wrong. My eyes were glued to the screen from start to finish.

Thanks for this, it's really helpful. I need to watch the match again with this in mind.

This isn't quite as gory as their last match, but it's no trip to Disneyland either. both men take some severe punishment here. The final moment with Ayala in the figure four grabbing the ropes and screaming was fantastic. I've got to mention the standard Colon come back with the cartwheel and punches etc. It's superbly done and perfectly timed. It's pretty much the same every match with no change up but it never gets boring. He always manages to make it exciting and the crowd is always into it 100 percent.

I expected to absolutely love this one but I honestly didn't find it to be as heated or compelling as other matches on the set. Despite that there were still great moments: Invader getting a small package and a backslide leading to near falls each time were a couple of very dramatic moments. There have been so many low blows on this set that they can lose their impact a bit, but there is a moment when Chicky hits Invader with a shot down below so brutal looking that it made me cringe. The best part of the match for me was Starr choosing to go and hide under the ring rather than fight. That was genius! In fact I think that might be my favourite single moment of the set so far. Such an amazing cowardly heel move.

I'm not a big fan of the Road Warriors but I love the Funks so I was hoping it would be good. I thought what we got was fairly decent but nothing more than that. As usual I was focused more on Terry than the other three and he looked good as always, selling and bumping nicely. Hawk hitting Dory with the chair was pretty lively too. Apart from that nothing majorly stood out for me really.

Out of all the Colon matches on the set, I think this is his biggest thrashing so far. He takes one hell of a beating in this. He is absolutely covered with blood as Ayala continues to pound on him after the match. Really brutal stuff. On a lighter note, i'm really enjoying the Hugo and Jaggers commentary.