Frankensteiner

Bret/Owen NHB, Bret-Kid-Holly/Yoko-Owen-Hakushi, Bret/Hakushi, Razor-Savio/Yoko-Owen rematch, Shawn-Diesel-UT/Yoko-Owen-DBS, Bret/Lafitte, Shawn/Owen with injury angle 1995 was one of the strongest in-ring years the WWF had in the decade.

Man, that is hyperbole. There's at least 6 or 7 Raw matches from 1995 that were just as good if not better than Punk/Henry.

The other issue is all of those matches are money matches on their own. They really wouldn't be maximizing their profits running them on the same card.

I'm thinking that card might draw a bit. John That seems like a lot to put on one card. This year's build to Cena/Rock and HHH/UT basically took up most of their TV time, with Punk/Jericho clearly getting the leftovers. Now each of those proposed matches is MUCH bigger than Punk/Jericho so will they have enough time to give them all a proper build?

I can't remember the last time Raw was that exciting. Last night was like a call back to '98 -'99, only with the added bonus of a really good match.

Rock/Cena did not need 30 minutes (neither did UT/Triple H but that's a different issue). Rock/Hogan went 16 minutes at X8 and that would have been the perfect length for tonight.

Match was great, the one I was looking forward to the most. So glad it delivered.

I'm sure OJ could provide more detail and possibly other examples, but first thing that jumps to mind is the excellent Steve Grey/Johnny Saint series in late '79-early '80. They start off with non-title matches with Grey chasing Saint which then builds to a title match between the two. The problem is the entire series wasn't shown in the re-runs and some of the matches are only available in clipped form from the original airings.

They never aired. Missy put them on her pay site at one point but WWE might have gotten them pulled. Some have shown up on Dailymotion and maybe YouTube. Try using alternate characters like $ signs for the S-es. EDIT: Here's one http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xamv1t_mi...vage_shortfilms Thanks Bix! It's no wonder why the videos never made TV as Missy couldn't talk w/o tripping over her words. I didn't really think that was so bad. Macho carried the segment of course but Missy only made one real glaring mistake. This was sort of different than the other interview segments they had around this time: Piper's Pit, Body Shop, Snake Pit.

I DVRed the last month of RAW leanding up to Mania and been getting caught up. Gotta say the buildup to this show has been awful almost across the board. I'm interested in Punk/Jericho and, to an extent, Cena/Rock. Rock seems less likable now than at any other point I can remember.

The vertical suplex was never a move that was no sold in any sort of context before Guerrero implemented it into the Three Amigos spot. I don't agree with the idea that the vertical was less dangerous than the german, and such a discussion is really beside the point (two wrongs don't make a right, after all). The fact is neither should have been countered in any way after two previous ones had already been executed.

When the final suplex is reversed it automatically becomes a horrible spot. I can't see any argument against this. The only difference between the Rolling Germans (Benoit) and the Three Amigos (Guerrero) is that one guy didn't murder his family so I suppose there's going to be some more leeway given to the latter.

I watched some 2003-2005 Smackdown matches lately and it's been ok but really not the type of stuff I would feel the desire to ever re-watch again. Although I can certainly see why people on the internet dig this style with how athletic it is and the constant motion in the ring. One thing that stood out to me for sheer stupidity is those Guerrero and Benoit triple-suplex spots that get reversed at two. Off the top of my head, I can't think of anything I dislike more in wrestling than that. The other annoying thing was Cole and Taz just wouldn't shut up during the matches. Like they couldn't possibly have a few seconds of silence. I specifically watched the Guerrero/Lesnar match and the Guerrero/JBL series. The former was ok, really more of a great moment. The JBL matches were pretty good. I've seen them compared to the Bret/Diesel series but I just don't see the comparison. Most importantly the size difference between Eddy/JBL is completely ignored so it's basically a different type of match. The Cage match where JBL was eager to get away from the much smaller Guerrero was strange to say the least. Like when Nash needed police protection from Punk on Raw in the fall. Seems backwards.

This is from Bret's interview with the Score, via some website called Wrestling Inc.

I would probably add the Dandy/Llanes title match from 3/94. I think this is a match most people can enjoy as everything appears hard fought, it's packed with terrific submission work and the selling of submissions is top notch. There's something similar in the Dandy/Llanes match as well. Dandy slaps Llanes a couple of times with an open hand and Llanes is pissed and rolls-up his fists in response. Ref Roberto Rangel steps in immediately before Llanes even has a chance to think about throwing his fists.

I think that match totally holds up. I'd say it's their second best match behind the Cage match.

Well, what's the difference? They're both older guys talking about getting ass.

I don't think Flair was lame in 1989.

I'll second the recommendation for that Rockers/Nasty Boys match. Great, all action match and I don't even think it's 5 minutes bell-to-bell.

I long considered this match underrated. Think I even wrote a long review of it somewhere (maybe the SC board). It's a smartly worked match if you can get past the absurdity of a "techincal" wrestler going up against a Zombie. One of the only times 'Taker had a chance to go up against a technician during this phase of his gimmick, which makes the match interesting in and of itself.

I'm starting to think Tamura/Yamamoto is the best shoot-style matchup ever. Their '98 and '99 matches are epic, but the '96 one is really good too. I feel like the matches are also some of most accessible for shoot-style.

I agree but "throughout AWA history" is stretching it. How many babyface singles champs of any length were there, ever? Martel...and Verne Gagne. MAYBE you could count Jerry Lawler but he wasn't an all-the-time face champ by any stretch of it. That's it. I'll give you that it was overdone with Martel (Garvin and Hayes happened almost back-to-back), but he did have some successful AWA title defenses that were "clean wins". Robinson, Saito, Zbyszko, King Tonga and Bockwinkel come to mind that made film. He ended up technically getting pinfall wins over Zbyszko and Bockwinkel but I wouldn't say they made him look very strong. They were all of the double-pin variety (except 3/85 in Winnipeg, which had Bock with his foot on the ropes, after Martel had been in the same predicament seconds earlier).

I don't really have any holy grail matches, just wish we had pro-shot footage of early-to-mid 90s WWF House shows (MSG, Boston Garden, Spectrum) like we do from the 80s. I'd love to see those Bret/Owen and Bret/Flair Iron Man matches pro-shot with commentary.

It was Murdoch, no Dibiase.