PeteF3
-
Posts
10287 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Blogs
Everything posted by PeteF3
-
I'm not sure I'll be voting for any shootstyle guys besides Fujiwara, Volk, and Takada, and even voting for Takada seems somewhat against-the-grain in this community where he's taken a beating the past few years. Naoki Sano will probably be on there also, but the shoot stuff is a bonus for him rather than the meat of his candidacy. The other core UWF guys have virtually no chance. I like Yoji Anjo, and I could see being won over by Kiyoshi Tamura or Yoshihiro Takayama as I make my way through the '90s, but I don't know if I can make room for any of them in a top 100. And I'm also not sure that my "first shootstyle guy off the list" spot wouldn't go to Gary Albright. I won't be voting for Gordy or Doc, either. As of right now Akira Hokuto is not guaranteed to make my list. I would imagine she'll end up there eventually, but if the list were due tomorrow there's a very real chance I'd leave her off. (Whoops, now I see Childs listed her, too).
-
Any idea about the date or the wrestlers? The translated page doesn't seem to say the date or the opponent, but the clean-shaven guy is Adnan al-Kaissie. I'm about 98% sure the opponent is Scottish worker Ian Campbell.
-
Davis did use the Mr. X identity but I don't think this is him. No tattoos, for one thing--the tats are why Davis always wore long sleeves, as both a ref and a wrestler.
-
Perhaps it'd be more accurate to say that strategy, even good strategy, doesn't always work. A football team facing a high-power, no-huddle, high-scoring spread offense may do a good job of playing conservative, ball-control football to keep the other team's offense off the field, only to commit a key fumble or miss an assignment that leads to a score, a momentum shift, and all that work going for naught. Now, I don't want to jump ahead in Yearbook-viewing but I'm not far from SummerSlam '95, so I can offer a more informed opinion in a few days. It is possible that they didn't tell the "strategy doesn't work" story as effectively as something like Hansen vs. Misawa from the '92 Carnival, which is all about Misawa tearing apart Hansen's arm only to fall to the Lariat anyway. But generally, I'm no longer of the belief that opening limbwork absolutely must play a hand in the finish.
-
[1995-08-01-ECW-TV] The Sandman vs Mikey Whipwreck (Singapore Cane)
PeteF3 replied to Loss's topic in August 1995
Great work from Mikey, and there's something about Sandman...objectively he's a dogshit worker, but somehow that just adds to the package rather than detracts from it. I can't think of any other analogous wrestler, other than maybe late-'90s Sabu. Mikey scores the upset, but Woman refuses to hand over the cane...until the referee threatens to strip Sandman of the title and award it to Mikey, which causes her to immediately acquiesce. Funny. Eventually Woman steps in and prevents Mikey from getting his full ten shots, so Mikey lays one on her. That earns another beatdown from Sandman, but once again Woman caves the instant her gold is in danger. Woman is absolutely spectacular here, one of her best performances, playing both the evil wench as well as a stooge heel at once. -
[1995-08-21-WWF-Raw] Diesel & Davey Boy Smith vs Men on a Mission
PeteF3 replied to Loss's topic in August 1995
A truly terrible interview from Diesel, that says absolutely nothing of note over some of the most absurd canned cheers you'll ever see. They even zoom in on Diesel's face so you can't recognize how incongruous the noise is with the crowd activity. Davey Boy Smith is out to rescue this interview segment (how many times has THAT been said?), offering to help Diesel out after MOM made a challenge earlier in the night. REALLY not good when you're completely upstaged by the Bulldog on the stick, Kevin. The match barely gets started, as Davey Boy levels Diesel with a clothesline from the back and Diesel gets laid out, with multiple legdrops from Mabel and the running powerslam from the Bulldog. The turn itself was done very well--even Davey's disingenuous cheerleading on the apron was entertaining. And this was probably the first time anywhere that Davey Boy had worked as a full-blown heel, a full 15+ years into his career, so it carries some historical weight to it also. -
Goldust drops his first movie quote(s), from Terminator 2.
-
Douglas is starting to drop the monotone and slowly morph back into something more resembling the Franchise. Better than the other Dean segments.
-
Not a good match, as both guys have little left after working 2 deathmatches already, and it features a very Borat-looking Tiger Jeet Singh performing the most needless run-in in the history of wrestling. But it's not terrible either. The "explosion" is pretty hilarious to watch, as is Funk's "I'm just as confused as you are, folks" reaction to the laughing crowd. Both guys step it up a bit to try to make up for it, but only partially succeed. Crowd sort of shits over things again at the finish, with nobody really sure if the match ended or not. A pretty vital historical document, as whether the show is good or not, it was a puroresu gateway drug for a lot of people just as the first Super J-Cup was.
-
[1995-08-19-WCW-Saturday Night] Dungeon of Doom vignette
PeteF3 replied to Loss's topic in August 1995
THE BALANCE OF POWER HAS SHIFTED. THE NEXT WARRIOR HAS TRAINED IN MARTIAL ARTS IN TOKYO, MANCHURIA, AND MONGOLIA. HE IS...THE DRAGON MASTER MENG. -
Cactus' opening line is even more ominous in the wake of more recent knowledge about concussions. I hope for his sake he was only working. Good explanation and good table-setter for the Cactus-Raven alliance.
-
[1995-08-15-NJPW-G1 Climax] Keiji Muto vs Shinya Hashimoto
PeteF3 replied to Loss's topic in August 1995
Yet another terrific bout and this whole G-1 has felt like a rebirth for Mutoh, who was sort of lost in the wilderness these past few years. Mutoh comes off as a gutsy bastard but Hash looks strong, too--down the stretch it felt like both guys were leaving it all out there and whoever capitalized on a mistake first would win. Mutoh got the win but it was anybody's ballgame until the last 3-count. Another top-10 MOTY--there seem to be a jumble of these this year and I don't quite see this finishing higher than #5, but it should stay on the list. -
Gaylord is an excellent pick. On top of being a horrible wrestler, his mannerisms and interviews were so utterly bizarre, like how an alien attempting to pass himself off as a human would act. Kevin Kelly/Nailz belongs in the discussion, I think.
-
There's a Ladd vs. Inoki match that was taped in Cleveland but aired in Japan from '74 (I think).
-
If Beefcake gets bonus points for "having a decent match with Ricky Steamboat," then Honky should as well. And hell, Honky's SNME match with Hogan is probably as entertaining as any Hogan-Beefcake match.
-
Zulu also worked New Japan for at least a tour or two in the '80s, under the name "Hercules Lone Hawk" (possibly a mistranslation or Engrish). Some of his matches made TV.
-
That doesn't work, because the thumbtacks were under the ring and clearly planned to be used (that was the "surprise" that Foley had promised beforehand).
-
Question for the '80s WWF project guys: is there a single good Hillbilly Jim match out there? Was he at least passable before breaking his leg? Did a Harley Davidson vs. Jerry Lawler match ever make tape? The '89-'90 version of Jim was easily worse than Beefcake, though granted his career wasn't as long.
-
Hiroshi Wajima, though I would question how "proper" his true dojo experience was, or if he got the Bad News Allen express treatment. He was still godawful, though. And yes, El Gigante had enough of a "real career" to qualify, though if you go by Fantastic's criteria absolving guys who just "fell into the business") he wouldn't.
-
Even though I proferred this as the answer initially I STILL read this as "Sting." I have to cut down on the WON HOF arguments.
-
I'm personally not as concerned with background or how/why they broke in. But I do think it has to be a guy with a real career. The worst band in the world is some shitty dive act playing bars in Lima, Ohio or somewhere, but they don't annoy as many people for as long as a band like 4 Non Blondes. I would be hard-pressed to think of a guy who was worse for longer, while still getting big pushes, than Tiger Jeet Singh.
-
A study in contrast with the Goldust promo. Dustin didn't have the act down pat yet, but he put more effort into a gimmick that could have been a disaster of Rooster-sized proportions than Shane did with his Douglas calls out Bret Hart for failing to execute a proper leg hook. Somewhere Gorilla Monsoon is creaming his pants watching this. Douglas makes his "!" for the first time. Somewhere Elaine Benes is--oh, the hell with it.
-
I dug this from the moment I first saw it, but the reaction at large was almost universally negative, with many thinking this was the end of Dustin's career. That said, not even the most cockeyed optimist could believe that he could still be kicking ass and winning titles with this gimmick 19 years later. I like the story of Dustin nodding along with Vince's pitch for the gimmick and signing off on it, because he didn't know what the word "androgynous" meant.
-
Won't someone help me to break up this crown? Let's all drink to the death of a clown...
-
Dang, this is like Buddy vs. Armstrong and the Lawler-Dundee Christmas LLT, rolled into one and cranked up. Flair staying in Mutoh's blind spot and peppering him with rights and lefts was absolutely awesome. Flair is a pure heel and Mutoh is a pure babyface, and both play their roles perfectly, though it's clear that Flair has lost a step and that Mutoh is the superior worker at this point. Pains me to admit it, but it's true. Flair still knows what he's doing though, in terms of laying out a match and timing his kickouts and giving Mutoh his hope spots. Mutoh's moonsault actually looks really vicious here, and is a convincing way for him to go over. New Japan carrying the banner of '80s southern wrasslin' in the middle of the '90s is something I can definitely get behind.