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PeteF3

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Everything posted by PeteF3

  1. PeteF3
    Good match with some surprising vulnerability shown by Takada. It really seemed like Sano had his number for most of this. Good look at Takada finally working against a non-monster in '94.
  2. PeteF3
    Yeah, the Piper imitation is obvious, he just imitates different aspects than Dr. Tom did. Like Piper at his best, this is a good promo in that what he says is basically irrelevant or even nonsensical, but he manages to say it in a compelling way.
  3. PeteF3
    Ah, Mr. T. Too long out of the spotlight to be relevant at this point, but not out of it long enough to qualify as a nostalgia act.
  4. PeteF3
    Hard a tough time getting into this. Nothing was technically wrong in either execution (minus a few things, but at the pace the joshi girls work that's almost an inevitability) or in psychology or in pacing or anything else. But nothing stood out and grabbed me until some hot near-falls down the stretch. In the end it all felt very Joshi-By-Numbers, and there are simply too many better and more epic joshi tags for this to really qualify as a great match by the standard. It was nice to see Takako getting to shine in the end, and her evil smile celebration was a definite highlight. But very little from this will stick with me 48 hours from now.
  5. PeteF3
    I wonder how many people simply asked their CC companies to stop payment? I can't imagine anyone being *that* dissatisfied with the Network already, to take that kind of action. But...
  6. PeteF3

    Current WWE

    PeteF3 replied to Smack2k's topic in WWE

    How ironic. Bischoff went with the term "cruiserweight" because precisely the same thing had happened with "light heavyweight" and "junior heavyweight," at least in the U.S.
  7. PeteF3
    Plato is then suspended or loses a retirement match, and is replaced by the mysterious masked Shadow. ... I'll show myself out.
  8. PeteF3
    Shocking. There's still a Sporting News??!
  9. PeteF3
    The story as I understand it is that Piper was supposed to hesitate just slightly before making the save, adding a bit of tension to the potential Piper/Flair split without overdoing it. For whatever reason, either Piper was given bad instruction, misunderstood the instruction, or just missed a cue and he stayed put for way longer than he was supposed to.
  10. PeteF3
    Gangstas music video interspersed with on-location promos from the NEW SMW Tag Team Champions. New Jack and Mustafa return to the 'hood to show off their newfound swag, while gloating about how things have changed--now they get to be seen AND heard. Al Sharpton personally phoned them with congratulations! Lots of shots of guys brandishing nightsticks, open containers, and a guy smoking a joint. Nice to see an almost-jovial New Jack in a new kind of setting, even if this really isn't any different from the WWF portraying all of Japan as heels, as El-P alludes to. Bob Armstrong and the Rock 'n Rolls follow to explain what's up. The Gangstas enlisted a civil rights lawyer and threatened a racial discrimination suit unless the original Tennessee Valley Fair result was allowed to stand, and SMW had to either award them the tag belts or face bankruptcy. Morton goes for the, "Pointing out racism makes YOU the real racist!" card but otherwise cuts a fine promo, basically vowing to leave wrestling if they can't regain the belts. Robert Gibson stands nearby. Ole and Bryant continue to talk over each other while threatening Tracy Smothers. I don't know if Bryant's heart was really in the business or if Ole eventually talked him out of it, or if he simply had no actual in-ring talent once the bell rang. But from these very short promos he certainly seems to have lots of promise. Of course this shtick isn't exactly conducive to getting a job in the Big Two or even ECW in their contemporary environments. New Jack and Mustafa are out in the studio and Robert Gibson is actually getting some face time (???) as New Jack cuts a promo directed at him. Nice to see Robert acknowledged for once.
  11. PeteF3
    This is just about every Memphis cliche thrown into a blender and put into a three-minute smoothie. Belt whippings, run-ins, interference, foreign objects, and chains. Then Lawler gets in one roll-up to take Gilbert's mask. I guess they were running short on time. Gilbert obliges with the match stips and sells horrific embarrassment despite sporting a crew-cut by this point. Lawler is double-teamed afterward and I was REALLY expecting a Buddy Landell run-in after Rich's promo earlier, but PG-13 do it instead. Memphis is possibly at its hottest, at least artistically, since the Moondogs were at their peak. This was a terrific episode of television.
  12. PeteF3
    Dave apparently has a special-needs child, so I can see that word hitting close to home. Though I'm pretty sure it was being bandied about on Memphis TV years earlier. Anyway, every segment here was very strong. Doug Gilbert cuts another good promo gloating over his stretcher match victory over Brian Christopher, thanks to two Sid power bombs. Then Tommy Rich gloats over his newly won USWA Heavyweight title, while also dismissing Buddy Landell. Then highlights of the week before, with the aforementioned Bowden interview and a run-in by Randy Hales. Goddamned if these two skinny guys didn't put on a damn realistic brawl. I mean, it's not quite Lawler/Snowman or Gilbert/Jarrett, but it's one of the studio brawls since 1990 that have come closest to evoking that out-of-control feeling. Then the stuff with Sid and Humongous, which is amusing for us even if I'm sure no one in the studio actually picked up on it. How the FUCK am I actually really, really enjoying Sid in this setting? I feel like my whole world is turning upside down. Sid is legitimately awesome working these rinky-dink Memphis angles and he's easily the most appropriate giant monster champion Memphis has seen, among many. We finally get a money Lawler promo for the first time in what seems like forever, as he actually sells us on Sid vs. some big random guy in a hockey mask as a legitimate World title main event.
  13. PeteF3
    We open with a semi-blasphemous but clever little spot with Razor Ramon in confessional. Meanwhile, somehow the Major League Baseball strike has extended into Little League games--don't ask me to explain the logic behind that one. One Federation still believes in making dreams come true--their season never ends! We NEVER go on strike! This message brought to you by John Kasich & Scott Walker. Backlund corrects Shawn on how to properly refer to him, both with the honorific and without the use of the word "former." Backlund was ostracized from wrestling for ten years, despite never losing the title. I like Backlund cutting promos on Shawn & Backlund, before moving his attention back to Bret. Backlund is getting more and more into this gimmick, talking of rebuilding a modern Utopia like he's a more demented Ra's al Ghul. What the hell was up with Diesel's eyebrows?
  14. PeteF3
    Tenta rocking the Natural Disasters gear--now that's cool. Yamazaki seems like he's in the Kikuchi/Ogawa role--well, he is, but as the match goes I start to wonder more and more if he's there to be a sacrificial lamb or if they're playing a trick on us. The opening is spectacular, with the crowd frothing at the mouth for Vader and Albright to lock horns and Tenta having none of that. Vader and Tenta even give each other a pre-match hug to the added annoyance of the crowd, like they're the fuckin' Fabulous Rougeaus or Cornette and the Midnights or something. There's also some great perspective shots here that show just how massive Tenta really is. I mean, we all knew he was big, but he absolutely dwarfs Vader and Albright, which gives him an added dimension. He's not exactly a mat whiz, but he knows enough to get by, and he's a fine brick wall for Yamazaki to play off of, plus he has his trademark belly-to-belly and powerslam that he can roll out. Kazuo unloading on Vader is one of several early highlights and is the first point that I start wondering who's actually doing the job. They milk the Vader/Albright confrontation for as long as possible, and it lives up to the hype. Gary throwing Vader around is pretty spectacular, and Gary having the advantage on the mat is what eventually nets him the upset submission victory. Really fun match, and a standout performance by Albright although everyone looks good.
  15. PeteF3
    Ugh. This had a 20-minute time limit that felt like 60. The stand-up portions were great, full of fire and guys busting out enzuigiris and Takayama even does a dropkick. But the matwork dragged bad, and moreover nothing ever seemed to HAPPEN. I get that you're not going to get focused body-part-psychology in a shootstyle match, but no one seemed to be in a different position or state by the end of this than they were at the beginning. And at some point you could call the "guy grabs a hold, but oh, he's too close to the ropes" spots before they even began. If ever there was a time to book a double-KO in UWFI after a balls-to-the-wall sprint, this was it.
  16. PeteF3
    Gorilla being Gorilla--why bother putting over the new heel's finishing move, when you can just dismiss the chance of it ever working on Hogan and that it's a waste of time to even try? Monsoon's refusal, starting around Ventura's departure, to ever, EVER give the heels credit for anything is absolutely his most infuriating aspect.
  17. PeteF3
    Believe it or not, the "undefeated at WM" factoid was dropped at WM11, against Bundy. Obviously it was just an aside and not a major part of the match.
  18. PeteF3
    I definitely remember from watching at the time that they were building a Backlund-Savage feud. Without bothering to check I think Savage's last match in the WWF was in a tag bout with Bret on a European tour.
  19. PeteF3
    Nice to see another AJPW 6-man, but from the work to the atmosphere this is a ways off from the early-'90s classics. It's still really good, and solid and well-worked, and it gets better as it goes along, But it's just a nice solid match. The guy who really surprised me here was Ogawa--he was spunky and full of fire and energy and got in a lot of offense and all-in-all looked like he really belonged. This is probably the best performance of his on any Yearbook so far.
  20. PeteF3
    For me personally, this is what made ECW a must-follow. Moreso than the NWA title stuff, which even at the time just came off as indie promoter squabbling. This was truly compelling stuff. The execution isn't exactly perfect, watching it now, but it's well-done--especially once we get backstage. GABE SAPOLSKY files a report from the hospital and I seriously had to mute the TV when Styles started talking about eyelids and such. Eye injuries are just too much for me. All in all a good piece of business that had a lot of the so-called smartest fans in wrestling completely fooled.
  21. PeteF3
    There wasn't much to this, though seeing in advance that this was Hara's retirement match explained things a little. I believe that's Dragon Master/Kendo Nagasaki interfering, and it's a convenient excuse for Tenryu and Hara to go through their old double-team spots together, albeit not very well. Kind of dippy to us, but I can understand why they did it. ("So why not have Tenryu and Hara team up and make Hara's retirement match a tag?" There is a very good answer to that question that will have to wait for another time.)
  22. PeteF3
    Andre is indeed 700 pounds, but Hogan sticks to a plausible "94,000" attendance number. Flair then fails to defeat Dave Sullivan, and gets bitched out some more by Hogan. The masked man attempts to help, but Beefcake(!) fights him off (?!). Did they still expect Mr. Perfect at this point? Kevin Sullivan does not approve of all this. Not on this clip but I always loved his grilling of Hogan after the match: "I have just one thing to ask you--WHO IN THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?" Anyway, Flair is out for an interview and Evad is out to interrupt AGAIN. Why can't this fucker mind his own business for once? The big issue here is that Evad would have beaten Flair with the help of his magic slippers if Sherri hadn't interfered. What a way to build Flair for the biggest PPV match in company history. Flair is actually pretty good as an exasperated parent/teacher, but before he has a chance to mercifully break Evad's leg, Hogan is out. Hogan offers to team with Evad against Flair and a partner if...Flair agrees to put HIS career on the line at Havoc. Flair is on board immediately. WHAT THE FUCK?? What the hell is possibly in this for Flair? Yeah, this is awful on almost all counts. I still want to know what kind of "in" the goddamned Equalizer had to get this level of TV time, killing off the heat of all kinds of valuable heel assets. Even the pushes of Duggan, Honky Tonk, et al are way more understandable. Oh, Flair and T were spotted together in Chicago. Smell the intrigue. In 1996 they probably would have pulled the trigger and actually done a T heel turn.
  23. PeteF3
    I never even thought about that but video games are almost a perfect analogy. And that led to a huge debate on Roger Ebert's old blog (when he said that video games weren't and couldn't be art) that had some great discussion but also made my eyes glaze over at points.
  24. PeteF3
    A contrast between Savage the composer and Steamboat the jazz musician.
  25. PeteF3
    Isn't Ricky Steamboat the pre-dominant, kayfabe-era example of the wrestler as an artist? This is a guy who audibled a 20-minute house show match with Haku just because he felt stifled, and is generally down on his WM3 match with Randy Savage because of the pre-planned and choreographed nature of the bout, despite it being a match that earned him more money than he may have ever seen in his life. And yet, you hardly hear a bad word about him from anybody else in wrestling--I could be wrong, but I've never heard any peer of his dismiss Steamboat as a "mark," the way I've heard it tossed at guys like Tommy Dreamer. And he clearly made good money from the business and does so to this day. Maybe he's an outlier but he's an example of a guy who struck the balance between art and commerce.
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