TheBean

Holy cow! Dustin & Arn tore things up in the beginning segment!! It was so creative & violent. It's probably my favorite part. Terry Funk was excellent using his boot and ring to his creative advantage. Bunkhouse Bunk continues to add nothing but a warm body. This is return to form for the Nasty Boys and I felt they could unload on their foes. Parker & Dusty were there for the finish but things really picked up out of the approaching monotony and ended in a fever pitch. Meng going berserk ringside was exciting too! Great spectacle match.

This was a really good brawling match and *spoilers* Cactus Jack loses but does he really go out with a bang (bang). Foley really took some harsh bumps here. It's a silly statement 31 years later but, they messed up getting rid of Mick. Along with Regal, he has been the most entertaining and unique wrestlers that WCW has shown in '94. No one can combine the brawling with the energy, character work & toughness that Foley did.

An escalating of the previous match. It's pretty much the faces beating up the shit heels so it's a bunch of fun! 😋 He had a helluva 1994!!!

Super fun tag match. A cheap finish but it works in context. Buck isn't my favorite by a long shot but is a good bit player for the stable. I wish this was a little longer. Steamboat and Arn could wrestle for another 5 minutes by themselves and I would be happy.

An absolute blast where it's about the whole package rather than the match alone. It's chaotic goodness 🙂

Well, the era of picture in picture shots of Hulk Hogan backstage while an actual fucking wrestling match is happening has begun. Here we see Hulk getting loaded into an ambulance while Steamboat faces Austin... a year long feud. Anyhow...Holy cow, this is awesome! They are chaining so much together and it really does feel like the culmination of their skirmishes on TV. Austin is such a dick throughout by slapping and taunting Ricky. Steamboat doesn't take this lightly and goes after his foe. Stunning Steve is no pushover though. Quick, technical and heated from beginning to end. I thought this was a classic. HIGH RECOMMENDATION

Long main event but dammit, they went for it here! I would say it's a great match especially with the finish in mind. There were parts of the middle that sagged. I think it's because they needed to fill time. It's weird actually... there was good action but it didn't seem to escalate. It reminds me of someone on a treadmill. But it was still good during these portions... but not really moving the match forward. They eventually did and again the finishing portion was excellent and it reminded me that we have 5 of the best workers of all time here...and this is a TV match! Awesome post match interview/promo too.

This is only 15 min and more my speed right now. And it is fucking great! Awesome baby face performance from Steamboat! Awesome heel performance from Flair - chicken shit heel stuff had me laughing! Sherri Martel was great as well - so many cheap shots and crazy bumps. This was top notch stuff between these two. No it's not a human chess match but was an electric wrestling match with great work by everyone involved.

They show Hank Aaron & Antonio Inoki sitting next to each other, ha! That's awesome! Hank seems to be enjoying the show. This was a fun match with the two big dudes going at it. Harley takes some big bumps here too. This finish is an 80's finish but without the post match goodness. It's all good though. Fun one off match for me.

This was OK...It just didn't need to be this long for the cheap and unbelievable finish that they did. How didn't the ref see that?It's like he counted 1-2-3 because he wanted to wrap the match up too. I watched the Match vs Bad Attitude afterwards and OK this finish plays off that but two things - that was a better but similar match & the finish was better executed there. This was right before Flair vs Hogan on the show so the fans were mildly into this too which didn't help.

Haha, Regal's got a powdered wig on! Yes! Anyhow, this is not your technical duel. These two are heated and they are beating each other up most of the match. But it's not that out of control way like Nasty Boys vs Jack & Sullivan... it's more like you'd see in NJPW or AJPW. It feels like competition instead of just a brawl for the sake of brawling. I really appreciate that nuance here. But don't get me wrong this was intense. Another great match.. I might say it was a near classic or more. These just keep ramping things up.

Oh yeah, they deliver again! This is just a straight match but they keep the intensity going and are laying in their shots. And just when you think you've got a grip on the match, Cactus Jack does what he does best. Seriously, if anyone else took that bump, you'd be seriously worried... don't get me wrong that shit hurt Mick too. Anyhow, great match and opener for the Clash of the Champions.

What a great fucking match! The intensity & the pacing was out of sight! You don't need angles when the story is being told in the ring. It's two guys trying to prove who's better. And Steve & Larry had a master class in that type of wrestling. And this was shown the same day as the Marquis of Queensbury final...holy cow... Regal was peak technical wrestler for 1994 putting on two absolutely fantastic matches in the day (on TV at least). Note that you want to make sure you see the full match as the match doesn't end when the TV time does..so they show the conclusion the next week. Someone online has the regular version missing the end & another person has the match footage & ending & post match spliced into one video online.

Hahaha I love that ECW fans are here in Philly! Hell yeah! What's great from the start is Regal is jaw-jacking with the fans like a shit talking heel...just like Larry Z used to do! So many of his AWA on ESPN matches started like this and really helped me appreciate that aspect of pro wrestling. This really started cooking once Larry shouted "You aren't good enough!" to Regal. His lordship began laying in the European uppercuts and elbows and Zbyszko returned the favor. Very good match and they definitely have more in store for us.

This is an awesome brawl where they legitimately are trying to beat each other up...they are working but this is like the UWFi of brawling. No one's really swinging chairs & trash cans safely, there's little to no setup time on highspots. Perfect that this is in Philly. This is a near classic to me...if everyone was bleeding then I think that would have increased the sense of chaos and violence. ECW, Cactus Jack/Mick Foley fans want to see this. Recommended!

This Marquis of Queensbury series was a good way of pairing Flair and Regal up for TV and it delivered on what I had hoped for. It's over 5 different shows and from a fan perspective, it seemed easy to miss...let's be honest, these WCW Worldswide shows were hard to see unless you were a devotee. And now you still have to track them down online match by match. It's worth it because you definitely want to see these. Recommended!

Oh yeah, they gave them time to work and it was very good wrestling. Good rope stuff, Regal stretching, Pillman was fiery...I liked this quite a bit. A good mix of everything here. Definitely a match for wrestling fans, I feel.

Set aside some time, be in the mood/mind set and watch these two masters go at it one more time. I thought this was a classic. As far as my opinion, I have no real flaws in mind but I would say that you're going to be watching something in line with their '89 matches...which are more technically oriented than brawling or full of the fanciest moves of 1994. Headlock work, backslides...there's chops, dropkicks, moves off the top but they're not the bulk of the match. So bear that in mind

This was a great match from beginning to end - technical but with some fisticuffs, shenanigans but nothing that spoiled the match, full of action but no mindless spots. Yeah, this definitely Recommended wrestling. And a good finish that leads to bigger things.

This was really good stuff that honestly was just starting to really pick up when it ended. Orndorff didn't add a lot to the match but he wasn't a drain either...I just can't remember him doing anything meaningful. So I guess I would have been OK with just as Sting & Brian Pillman vs Rick Rude & Steve Austin. Enough criticism, I had a lot of fun with this match. There were some memorable moments and sick spots... Austin was bumping like crazy. It definitely felt like a spectacle.

Hello! I'm continuing my selective look into 90's shoot style. Seeing as I'm cherry picking and avoiding tags & Takada, Albright, et al. we're starting mid way into 1992 with UWFi. Let's go! Yoji Anjoh vs. Masahito Kakihara (6/28/92) - This is looking to be a shoot style squash match early on as Anjo dominates. Kakihara delivers a gutsy performance. It's like the enhancement talent isn't going to go down so easily. This is a fine example of drama and storytelling in shoot style. This is a stand out in that regard. LOVED IT Tatsuo Nakano vs Masahito Kakihara (09/21) - Kakihara goes berserk with palm strikes and bursts Nakano's nose. It's bleeding like a faucet. There's blood all over both guys. You gotta watch this for the stand up fighting. The ground stuff is perfunctory because the sanguine stuff is over both and they can't get a grip. For that matter, I think this has to end early and that's a shame. This is one I'd recommend to any wrestling fan for the reasons above. LOVED IT for what it was. Kazuo Yamazaki vs. Yoji Anjo (09/21) - Yamazaki gets Anjo in a shoot dragon sleeper at one point - hell yes!! A ten minute match but one that crammed with the intensity and technique. I really dig watching these two scramble on the mat. It's probably not as godlike as Tamura but its the right amount of speed for me. This also had a good bit of drama with it as well. I generally understand the points system and this match used that but didn't rely upon it. You could see the momentum swing just by watching the bout. Amazing finish. LOVED IT Kiyoshi Tamura vs Kazuo Yamazaki (UWFI 10/23/92) - This was pretty dang awesome for most of the match. But it gets very close to being samey...like "oh they are working the Achilles hold again." But it's as if they knew this and kicked it back up. The finish was great too but I really wish they gave it a minute more to develop. Still this was excellent stuff. LIKE/LOVED IT... ----- Hiromitsu Kanehara vs Yoshihiro Takayama (UWFi 12-20-92) - Takayama is only 6 months into his career. Kanehara is also young. So this is a youngster match. They'd been having them each show. Anyhow, this is thought to be their best. I thought it was really exciting stuff. Takayama seemingly was ready to go. Throw knees to the abdomen and take a shot. Kanehara was still developing but clearly seemed much more well rounded. Still their enthusiasm to show the crowd something special paid off. Takayama was light enough he delivered an awesome flying knee and Kanehara had a few spectacular strikes too. No wizardry on the canvas but it was solid and kept things moving along - telling the story of Takayama's height/reach could nearly get him a rope break from anywhere. Really LIKED IT Nobuhiko Takada vs Naoki Sano (12/20/92) - Our first Sano match! I'll make an exception and allow Takada. Sano is great here. It was clear to me that he was intentionally trying not to win though. Do you know what I mean? Takada is like Muto in that you have to wrestle his match and he has to do his stuff. So Sano has to wrestle much slower and let Takada just slip out of holds like he's a master technician despite not employing any real speed, strength or technique. Takada just kinda ends up getting out of a hold and into one of his own by magic. Still this was fun because it's a sampling of what to expect with Sano. And while I'm firm in my avoidance of Takada in UWFi, this was still a good performance by him if you lean into this more as typical puro that shoot style. I like him in UWF 1 & 2 and NJPW and this felt closer to those. He's a no good in UWFi as he's drunk on his ego and that's my issue here. Seeing how much work Anjo & Yamazaki do, it's apparent how much Takada phones it in by comparison. LIKED IT for the reasons mentioned. Let's see what RINGS is up to! Volk Han v Grom Zaza (5/16/92) - Don't watch this for the kicks 😋 Watch this for the grappling. Han, a Sambo practitioner, and Zaza, a wrestler, throw as good a kick as you'd expect. And that's my complaint. There's downs from strikes more than rope breaks. These two should just be mat scramblin' ! I think that they probably were given orders to do more stand-up here. Fuck dat! Zaza suplexing & throwing Han more is what I want! Thank you! Still it's a lil longer than it needed and isn't exactly what you want all the time. IT'S OK Dick Vrij v Mitsuya Nagai (5/16/92) - In case you forgot it was 1992 or weren't old enough, Nagai's neon yellow-green ring wear will inform you. What now is considered safety wear was athletic fashion wear. Good start and then Nagai gets booted in the nuts. Afterwards it's fun. Nagai shows a lot of guts as Dick takes his time and picks him apart. It actually looked like Nagai might have had him with a toe hold. IT'S OK Grom Zaza vs Shtorm Koba (RINGS 8-21-92) - Shoot suplex city right here! Hell yes! Was that a shoot Gorilla press slam!? This was extremely fun, exciting stuff. Lots of throws and hold and an excellent showing from Grom. Not sure if we see more Koba down the road but he's not to be taken lightly. LOVED IT...favorite RINGS match so far Mitsuya Nagai vs Sergei Sousserov (RINGS 12-19-92) - I liked that they went for Tiger Mask kicks but were actually interested in wrestling! It made the stand up fun but brief. Then got to the real business of trying to snap each others knees & ankles. That said, Sergei is bleeding from the mouth. This was great, competitive stuff. I LIKED IT UWFi from what I'm watching is better than RINGS. I'm guessing that the main reason is the UWFi guys have way more experience in shoot style pro wrestling. Many of the non Japanese RINGS competitors are martial artists who are only learning how to apply their craft in a entertainment setting. My guess is that Nagai & later Naruse are taught catch wrestling, striking as well as how & when to work. UWFi has been doing this in some form for almost a decade. My intention isn't to compare & contrast the two groups. I'm just stating an observation and opinion. I like UWFi better but am eager for RINGS as well. Thanks for reading!

Saw the WCW YouTube page posted this one versus Sting

I would recommend Toshiaki Kawada & Kendo Kashin vs. Shinya Hashimoto & Wataru Sakata (12/05/03). Sakata vs Kawada is stand out part of this match. Gaora has it up still on YouTube Also recently watched Low Ki vs. Wataru Sakata (Zero One 08/31/03) and really liked that one alot.

Unfortunately looks like Gaora got rid of the Kaz Hayashi matches that were linked when I posted this 😒 There's an unrelated match in both of their places.

These are from Nitro. They started limiting him as they went in 1997 but I think these still in his style with little compromise for the Nitro format or style. vs Chris Benoit (01/01/96) - Very good aggressive match. Looked like more potatoes than Idaho. Regal got dumped on the German suplex, it was great! Unique finish too. vs Eddie Guerrero (01/08/96) - Technical but very punishing match. That is to say Regal punished Eddie - European uppercuts, knee lifts, palm strikes and an arm trap dragon sleeper to name few. Eddie doesn't quit. Despite Regal's size he took the head scissor moves and the like very well. This was a really good bout. vs Dean Malenko (08/19/96) - Great under 10 minute technical wizard duel. I think this match was the best of the 3 Cruiserweight musketeer matches because they wrestled a faster pace. But speed isn't everything so perhaps it was the story of them both being evenly matched. Regal had size and strikes but Malenko was had a slight advantage from a technical standpoint. Iirc I'd maybe put this as a top 5 Malenko on Nitro match.