Makai Club #1
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[1990-10-27-NWA-Halloween Havoc] Sting vs Sid Vicious
Makai Club #1 replied to Loss's topic in October 1990
“That's why this company is in the damn shape it's in because of bullshit like this”. Very few words have never been spoken with more truth. Booking wise, this turned a meandering match into a bad one. For a TV company, they totally miss the boat on capturing the angle for the audience watching at home, but even those in attendance didn’t get it at all. It doesn’t read at all with where they had the story play out. What happened from what I can tell (or I was told by the commentators) was that Sting was baited out into the backstage area by Sid, who inexplicably ran away. “Sting” and Sid quickly returned to the ring where “Sting” did a failed body slam with Sid landing on top of him for the three count. The fans are stunned but cheer as the announcement is called out - that we have a new champion. I was baffled but new there would be a restart. And then suddenly, out came Sting with a small rope tied to his arm and the crowd in attendance is left to their own devices to discover that Sid had pinned a fake Sting (Barry Windham) and the match had continued. But it was so messy that they had to get Sting to return, win the match and then do an interview in a short space of time. It was so confusing. If they were going to do a false sting gimmick, they should’ve done it on the main ramp where everyone in the building could see the two Stings together and allow time for the audience to get it. But they opted for a back entrance setting, where only 40 fans could see what happened and they had 1 minute to do it all. Rushed and poorly executed, but the idea at its core was rotten. But what about the match? Utterly forgettable. *1/2 -
[1990-10-27-NWA-Halloween Havoc] Rick & Scott Steiner vs Nasty Boys
Makai Club #1 replied to Loss's topic in October 1990
Excellent match, but I will say that the structure could throw someone. The first 7 minutes was a ball to the walls spotfest before they finally settled into several heat sections where The Nasties target the lower back of Scott and then work on Rick. There wasn’t as much heat when the Nasties were on top, but I still thought they looked great. They took their licks but were great in targeting the weaknesses of the champs. And Sags took a brutal chairshot which drew blood so that was cool. The last third was where the odd structure grew thinnest and most muddled, but the rest of the match was pretty entertaining. Rick got targeted by the Nasties after the match and was injured, getting the Nasty Boys their heat back. **** -
[1990-10-27-NWA-Halloween Havoc] Ric Flair & Arn Anderson vs Doom
Makai Club #1 replied to Loss's topic in October 1990
Maybe this could’ve done with Reed being the main FIP opposed to Simmons, who is more bland and harder to care for opposed to Reed who is more expressive and has history with Flair. But we get excellent moments where that is the focus, where Reed was busting Flair with outstanding punches and Flair was bumping and selling for him like only he could. Where Simmons may have limited the match, Flair and Arn made up for their outstanding abilities and chemistry as a duo. They could’ve done more with them, especially if they wanted to rotate Flair down the card. The finish was decent and a sign of to come (see: the Starrcade match) but a little obvious, if I had to be honest. Near MOTYC but little hold it back. ***3/4 -
Tommy Rich only came in for the finish but he was sweating like he had been going non stop for twenty minutes. This guy. Maybe the easiest 4 star match he’s ever had. Whereas Ricky Morton put in a near masterclass of a performance against the MX. It was a worthy hurrah for the definitive tag feud of the 80s. There were a few flubs including the finish and a dive from Eaton to the floor that he seemed to miss. Otherwise, they were sublime. Intense wrestling, great punches, smart and intelligent double team moves. Eaton and Morton probably could’ve had a singles match here and it would’ve been just as great. Or even a handicap match, which this essentially was. Terrific opener. ****
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[1990-09-05-NWA-Clash of the Champions XII] Ric Flair vs Lex Luger
Makai Club #1 replied to Loss's topic in September 1990
The way the commentators explained the reason for why Flair wants the US title was very good - the classic the US champion is the number 1 contender for the world title (which hasn’t been the case for a decade, if ever). And it explained the added intensity and desperation for Flair here, which is mostly caused by the TV time restriction. But the speed and intensity from both was incredibly impressive. Dave Meltzer called it an abridged version of their matches, which is accurate. It’s their WrestleWar match on crack but that doesn’t make it inferior. It had great character work from Flair, phenomenal chemistry from Flair and Luger which makes the Sting result from the GAB look ever more awkward and again, the pacing added some otherworldly excitement to the mix. Luger had never looked better either. The finish was decent enough to lead into a Hansen/Luger feud for the end of the year. Hansen is put over as dangerous while protecting Flair from a loss which probably shouldn’t be wasted on a Clash, even against Luger. Great match. **** -
Tully came back in 1994 and had a really super match with Terry Funk, so I think there is a place in there with him. But maybe he goes the route of Ricky Morton.
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[1990-07-07-NWA-Great American Bash] Midnight Express vs Southern Boys
Makai Club #1 replied to Loss's topic in July 1990
This was as good as I remember. Sensational work. Great storytelling with the Midnight’ under estimated the newer challengers and them needing to adapt and change their routine. And Tracy Smothers was excellent in this portion of the opening shine. He made great use of his spots and was credible in kicking Bobby’s ass with his karate trick, who sounded those kicks superbly. That brought us a wonderful sequence with Stan Lane, who is more proficient in karate and at first was winning but eventually fell victim to Smothers’ strikes as well. And the eventual MX dominant portion was great and so compelling. Bobby was still selling fatigue and damage while Stan Lane was more vicious and nasty. And the two together? Forget about it. No one else is better as a duo. Armstrong was a strong hot tag and the closing stretch was great with the use of blind tags, legal partners and false finishes. The MX overcame the challenge but it was a mighty challenge. ****3/4 -
[1990-07-07-NWA-Great American Bash] Harley Race vs Tommy Rich
Makai Club #1 replied to Loss's topic in July 1990
The battle of two former NWA Heavyweight champions! Harley Race returns to WCW for a cup of coffee and doesn’t really last a month in the promotion but beats Tommy Rich, a mainstay in the undercards, in an upset. But to his credit, he looks spry. Bob Caudle credits the pacing and I concur. The two work well and aim to impress and they do somewhat. But the crowd doesn’t seem enthused with the nostalgia act. **1/2 -
I'm thinking Danielson is too high now. 🫣
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Pre-10 The likes of Kawada and Tanahashi missing out is a surprise to me. I would've thought enough people would've had then number 1 to make the top 10. But I like the surprise at least and it has lead to a few interesting wrestlers within the top 10. 10. Mitsuharu Misawa At his best, Misawa is the greatest ever. Super subtle but capable of going big. Excellent at building holds, just as much as Kawada is and has got some of the best big moves to ever grace the squared circle. But some low-key performances in critical moments and the overall underwelming Tiger Mask run hurts him for me. I don't know if that was considered with all voters though. Misawa was my #3 9. Bret Hart I think yes, if you truly compare Bret to, let's say, Misawa, Bret comes up short in every way. His match resume is little leauges in comparison. But Bret to me is the embodiment of American wrestling, especially classic American wrestling, where having MOTYCs wasn't on the agenda. It was about having the right match on the right occasion and Bret always did that. Bret whether he wrestled 5 minutes on Superstars or on a PPV. Had him #12 8. Rey Mysterio I can't think of anyone who, week in, week out, was as good as Rey for near on 3 decades. With injuries, WCW booking and age all playing apart with it. Crazy work from Rey. He was my #21 7. Stan Hansen The King of the best performance rather than the best match. Who else is a better version of themselves as Stan Hansen. He is a holdover from the era where all you could sell is yourself and he did that perfectly. My #10
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Particularly why Vader should be first, as the actual holders of these accomplishments.
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AJ is an interesting wrestler. He was a late edition to my top 100 and it was largely due to the last two matches he had with Gunther which put him on my mind. Otherwise, he's someone I don't really connect with nor think about. He's got tons of quality work out there, but I struggle to really love any of it. The obvious examples would be the Suzuki match and even the Ibushi match. He was also a really awkward Okada opponent in an era where he had great matches with everyone. So yeah I think he belongs, but 18 is very high. Good for him though. As for the blurbs? It's a strange one. Very TribalChief of Rhodes coded. Half the stuff isn't even true, first of all.
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Steamboat had great match with Rick Rude, Randy Savage, Steve Austin, Regal, was apart of War Games 92 and had a classic tag match at the 91 Clash return. But it's reliant on Ric Flair? Those Flair matches are certainly his best but he's got the body of work to back up the praise. Edit: and Luger! Forgot about that match. Plus I love the Halloween Havoc 93 match with Orndorff.
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We should agree not to mention wrestlers we don't want to drop next. It's a curse
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Oh yeah I certainly agree there. The Omega praise was pretty mythic. Even die-hard WWE fans had him as their canon non-WWE choice for best wrestler. But I think with a long reflection (almost 8-9 years now), people may have softened on that praise as such.