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PeteF3

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  1. PeteF3

    Other 1994 worth watching

    PeteF3 replied to jdw's topic in 1994

    Toshiaki Kawada vs. Jun Akiyama, Champion Carnival, 4/1 Pretty similar layout to the Misawa/Akiyama match--Akiyama gets beaten down, makes a comeback, goes down quickly afterward when the Exploder can't put him away. Misawa actually seemed to give more--he was clearly saved by the ropes and looked "out," whereas Kawada kicks out of it, granting that Jun was slow to cover. Kawada was nastier in the opening, working over Jun on the floor and twisting him into knots on the mat. I liked this a little bit more--Kawada worked a little harder and they threw in some more complicated sequences.
  2. PeteF3
    Not to diminish it, but Gordy's OD seemed to have flipped a switch for Doc. He's been on fire ever since, and has had good performances against just about all the top AJPW guys, and matched up well with each one in a different, specific way.
  3. PeteF3

    Other 1994 worth watching

    PeteF3 replied to jdw's topic in 1994

    Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Jun Akiyama, Champion Carnival, 3/19 Very effective ace vs. upstart match, with a closing stretch even better than I anticipated. Akiyama's Exploder is not yet named but is now being treated as a big move--Misawa acts desperate to avoid it at first, and when Akiyama hits two of them, Misawa is saved by the ropes from what looks like a huge upset. That's the last bullet in Akiyama's chamber and Misawa effectively takes control with his elbows soon afterward, but a good little scare was put into him nevertheless. This isn't an all-time performance for Mitsuharu but it's a good look at him as the dominant ace, who shows just enough vulnerability to put Akiyama over but effectively re-establishes himself in short order. Toshiaki Kawada vs. Stan Hansen, Champion Carnival, 3/24 Nothing fancy here--just two guys stiffing the shit out of each other in gritty, gritty fashion. Kawada seems to have an answer for what most of Hansen tries, and has some cool counters to the Lariat. But eventually Hansen catches him with it. Kawada has seemingly been lost in the wilderness since losing the Tag Titles--he desperately, desperately needs a signature win or three. As it stands at the moment, no one could possibly expect that he "should have gone over" on 6/3.
  4. PeteF3
    Okay, so I heard the words "final countdown," a la Inoki, during the intros, so I get the Hokuto retirement tease thing. Other than that, was there a storyline explanation for why she and Kandori were teaming? Just curious. So anyway, Dream Rush was the best match I'd ever seen, and this by comparison...well, gosh, I'm going to have to at least think about it. Hokuto and Kandori are facing possibly the longest odds in the history of wrestling--they hate each other (somewhere a certain young WWF Magazine editor is--oh, wait, I used that reference already) and Bull & Aja, despite an old rivalry in their own right, have been doing a lot more teaming than feuding of late, and they're the two most dominant women in the sport. Naturally neither Akira nor Shinobu gives a shit about the other's well-being, at least first, and it leads to both women getting the shit kicked out of them. Any attempts to fight back are met with more hate and hostility, climaxing when Aja brutalizes Hokuto on the announcer's table--at this point the audio goes out and the announcers are rendered silent, adding to the chaotic nature of things. The Odd Couple team gets brief moments of control but continually fuck themselves over through their own bickering and lack of cohesiveness. The turning point to when they finally start acting as a team is carried out pretty brilliantly. Kandori is trying to lock on a cross armbreaker and Bull leaps off with the guillotine legdrop to break it up, but Kandori manages to dodge it anyway (way cool spot). Hokuto then runs in and clamps on an octopus hold to neutralize Bull. But things aren't rosy between the two yet--moments later Bull tries another saving guillotine legdrop, this time on Hokuto, and Kandori won't return the favor by helping her. Finally things reach a permanent turning point with another awesome spot, as Kandori and Hokuto catch Aja (I think--maybe it was Bull) as she goes for a lariat or uraken or something and take her down into a combination wakigatame/STF, before Bull quickly breaks it up and NOW these two teams are on equal footing--from a teamwork standpoint, if not a fatigue standpoint. Just a fabulous combination of blending inventive spots with the overarching story. Now Kandori starts using her judo chokes that Aja seemingly has no defense for, while also getting Bull to take herself out on an ill-advised tope attempt. Hokuto gets the Northern Lights bomb...but Bull saves in a heart-stopping moment. Kandori neutralizes Bull yet again, now practically encouraging her former enemy to go for the win. Another Northern Lights bomb gets...two. I'm dead tired and in a lousy mood for other reasons and I'm still almost jumping out of my chair at this point. Then Aja gets a last tease of her own, because she's still the WWWA Champ and hasn't eaten a fall in God knows how long. But it doesn't last, and a THIRD Northern Lights bomb finally gets the seemingly impossible pin. Yeah, that's one of the greatest psychological masterpieces you'll ever see. More psychologically sound than Dream Rush, if I may say so--that was so compelling because it was such a heated war between two promotions trying to outdo the other. This was just as compelling for completely different reasons. That was great from a physicality standpoint but this may well have been "deeper" (and it's not like they were taking it easy physically here). In a way, AJW booking has been about as conservative as All-Japan, in terms of hierarchy and who does jobs to whom, and when. Hokuto pinning Aja barely sounded conceivable in a one-on-one setting, much less with an antagonistic partner against Aja *and* her only legitimate peer. For her to do it under *these* circumstances was something special indeed. I figured going into this set that I could write 6/3 in for MOTY in ink and figure out which match was 2nd place afterward. Now that's out the window--I anxiously await getting to compare these two in-depth.
  5. PeteF3

    Other 1994 worth watching

    PeteF3 replied to jdw's topic in 1994

    Sakie Hasegawa vs. Dynamite Kansai, Wrestling Queendom 3/27/94 Well, on paper these two are almost perfectly matched for each other: one of joshi's nastiest individuals against one of its most sympathetic underdogs. There's actually some fine counter-wrestling on display for most of this, before Kansai asserts herself with her sick kicks. From there this is an extended squash with a few timely hope spots from Hasegawa. I had trouble with this because the Youtube video was off circa-1978 equipment and woefully out of sync, so maybe this would be better on rewatch. As it is, not really essential viewing by either woman's standard, but a good Champions Carnival-style match. Toshiyo Yamada vs. Kyoko Inoue Just a note for future reference if I can find a better clip. The Youtube audio is so out of sync as to render this unwatchable for me. Some fun stuff with Yamada working underneath, which isn't normally her role, before I threw in the towel.
  6. PeteF3
    This was okay, and I too enjoyed Toyota's...wristlocks on Plum's hair, I guess would be the best description. Some heeling out of Toyota that you almost never see. That said, this is about the least-focused match ever as both girls just sort of run through their thing with almost no regard for transitions or psychology, at least until the end when Toyota crushes Plum with a power bomb counter off the top. It's not suffocatingly paced, which is nice, but between Toyota working on top at the beginning and the end there isn't much of a compelling reason to care about what's going on either. I think I like the concept of Plum--a spunky, joshi submission type--more than Plum herself. She's talented and works hard but a lot of her matches on these Yearbooks have come across as very samey. I see the point about her being about athletic counters more than pure mat skills--her scissor takedowns and leg submissions are very cool but they're executed the same way in every match, giving them the appearance of rote spots rather than pure technical skill. Anyway, I still liked a lot of this and appreciated the decisive finish, as well as the reigned-in performance from Manami.
  7. PeteF3
    I'm always interested in seeing where the AJPW mid- and under-carders are, but this is pretty much Kawada vs. a broomstick. Ace's execution is SO awkward and loose--I don't equate stiffness with high-quality wrestling, but I at least want to see some consistency across a promotion. Other than the match layout and the timing of his kickouts, there just isn't anything I can point to and say, "This is what Ace does well." It's a good mid-card performance from Kawada, but in the end this is only marginally better than the last Ace singles match I saw, the Mean Mark match at Capital Combat.
  8. PeteF3
    Erik Watts is still around as a "promising youngster." Good God almighty. Did Bill sign him to a 5-year deal or something? Man, I can't go with the hate for the build to Spring Stampede. I think it's been fine, though admittedly Steamboat was in no position to be main eventing a PPV in a World title match at this point. Flair calls out Hogan some more.
  9. PeteF3
    Prince Kharis has "been watching snuff films all week," preparing for the Dirty White Boy. I'm with Cox--Van Horn tries way, WAY too hard. The stuff about brutalizing puppies just seems desperate rather than heeling.
  10. PeteF3
    I believe Cornette lifted this idea from the Lawler/Dundee LLT match, where Georgia's Freddie Miller and I think somebody else sent in tapes inviting the loser to come wrestle in their promotion. It's a fantastic concept, and Vince in particular is AMAZING. "Smoky Mountain's loss is going to be the World Wrestling Federation's gain!" Jim Cornette is a combination of Rhett Butler, Ted Turner, Red Barber, and Col. Sanders! Cornette and the Bodies won't appear live in the arena, lest the Rock 'n Rolls try to jump them before Bluegrass Brawl. Prichard personally promises not to let Mama Cornette down. One last money promo from Cornette follows--he's relishing the idea that Ricky & Robert will retire rather than wrestle anywhere besides SMW. Morton is darn near choked up, having written a letter during a bout of insomnia brought on by the upcoming match. Ricky talks about reuniting with Gibson and subtly acknowledges his heel run--and the crowd is SILENT, hanging on to every word. Morton gives a pre-emptive thanks to the fans in the event that they lose. Spectacular stuff, probably the best Morton promo ever from a criminally underrated talker. Robert Gibson stands nearby, and adds one sentence to the proceedings. If that doesn't sum up the Rock 'n Rolls in five seconds, I don't know what does. But this has been the best-built match of the year, hands down, in a year that's seen some damn good builds already.
  11. PeteF3
    Lawler has regained the Unified World title, and talks of the support of the fans of Senatobia, Mississippi. With Eddie Gilbert involved, this thing SCREAMS "phantom title change," but nope--they have video proof of it. Cool little segment, with a different sort of atmosphere for a Memphis house show match.
  12. PeteF3
    Very timely Leona Helmsley reference there. IRS is a lot more over-the-top here than in his introductory vignettes, when he was just an officious douche.
  13. PeteF3
    Of all the other 4 Corners Matches, you can immediately point to a signature match or series of matches. Kawada/Misawa is obvious. Kawada/Taue had their epic early '90s bouts. Kawada/Kobashi has the two hour draws. Misawa/Taue has the broken-face match. I couldn't begin to tell you what the "signature" Kobashi/Taue match is. This is a good one, but it's really sort of a "filler" match after they'd been building a rivalry between the two in the various tags before this. Almost a total American-style layout, with Taue as the dominant heel and Kobashi as the plucky underdog. That even extends to the moves they do, from the double-clothesline spots (that I'm pretty sure I've never, ever seen in AJPW before this) to Kobashi doing all the flash-pin type stuff. The criticisms here are all valid, as this sort of peters to the draw with Taue having run out of things to do. And I was secretly hoping for something a little more epic or heated given what these two had done against each other recently. But it's a really solid bout in any case and a particularly good performance from Taue.
  14. PeteF3
    Nice little promo, with a good use of the Stones quote at the end.
  15. PeteF3
    Never a big fan of this banana-peel finish, but the pop Bret gets for the winning fall is nuclear. I really hope WM30 ends the same way that this does. (Maybe CM Punk in the role of Owen? Or Brock?)
  16. PeteF3
    Vince expressing annoyance with Shawn's pre-match strip routine is pretty funny, considering where he'd be in about 12 months. Smart move to get Diesel out of there ASAP. What strikes me is that his comes off as a legitimate fight with a ladder involved, rather than a stunt show. Razor throws some terrific punches and takes a nasty bump on concrete even before the ladder is involved at all. And once the ladder does get involved, this is filled with all kinds of cringeworthy shots. This held up GREAT--probably way better than the majority of the TLC bouts, as the transitions here all make sense. In one show we've probably had two of the top 5 matches in WWF history to this point. Quite an accomplishment.
  17. PeteF3
    As far as Cornette WWF promos go, I think I'm partial to his one at SummerSlam ("I could provide a list of infractions as long as Rick and Scott Steiner's police record!" before seguing into main event hype). But this is great in its own right.
  18. PeteF3
    And so we come to the end of All-American Lex Luger: Main Eventer. And not a goddamn moment too soon. He didn't have a ton of booking favors, but going through the Observers I was stunned--and I say this as a guy who hated the push from day 1--at how staggeringly unsuccessful the summer mega-push really was. It's really one of the biggest booking busts in WWF history. This finish is kind of weak, but it's not like it's not comparable to half a dozen AAA finishes. And...well, the identity of the guest refs was one of the worst-kept secrets in wrestling. With Mr. Perfect and what happened at WM9, does any ending that's not "Perfect screws Luger over" make sense? This probably would come across better if Perfect had actually stuck around for his post-show program. Lex shows more fire and intensity in the post-match confrontation than he has in his entire WWF stint to date. For a second, the WCW Lex was back.
  19. PeteF3
    FWIW, this match stood out to me way, way more than the ladder match back when I ordered WMX. Part of it was because I was still a Heel Fan, and this was a rare case of a WWF heel beating a top babyface clean as a sheet. Still, this is easily the best WWF bout since the WM7 retirement match. Lots and lots of little call-backs here for the devoted fan. Some of that is probably simply guys liking to re-use spots, like Bret's victory roll. But some of it is definitely intentional, like Owen kicking Bret's leg out of his leg in an exact recreation of the Rumble post-match. Just an incredibly well-done match, that establishes Owen as a new main eventer and sets the table for rematches. In a way, this is almost the U.S. version of Misawa pinning Jumbo, if Misawa were the heel. Not a "passing of the torch," then or now in retrospect looking at the rest of Owen's career, but a clear sign that a new main event guy had arrived. Incidentally, I'm not the biggest Heel Lawler Commentator fan, and I've explained a few times how I think he's a clear step behind Jesse, Cornette, and the Brain in that role. But man alive was he a breath of fresh air in his return to the WWF. Having to hear Stan Lane, Gorilla, DiBiase, or Johnny Polo on this simply wouldn't have worked at all. Lawler balanced his usual jokes with a strong sense of getting the story over, and also had his personal history with Bret to draw on. I'd say it's one of his better announcing performances ever.
  20. PeteF3
    The slow burn to Ric's heel turn continues--he calls out Okerlund for referring to Hogan as "immortal." He also passive-aggressively refers to Hulk as a "great movie star," which really comes off as a backhanded compliment--like how he praised the city of Memphis for having an airport. The conversations with Ric and his World title constantly drifting toward Hogan would seem like a great catalyst for a Steamboat heel turn as well, but that's not happening. Ric does a public dressing-down of Steamboat over what happened the previous week and in the previous interview. Flair points out that as 11-time World Champion he can do whatever he wants. Steamboat responds that Flair BROKE THE LOCKER ROOM CODE by belittling him in front of the other wrestlers. Somewhere a lightbulb is appearing over a certain young WWF Magazine editor's head, but in this context it works. Steamboat ends up getting the last word in.
  21. PeteF3
    Looks like I already covered this. Rude's protest that THIS AIN'T LEGAL is pretty much 100% correct, but I think the title match is going to stand. Rude putting his phone number next to the signature was a funny touch.
  22. PeteF3
    Fun TV main event. There's no real precedent or expectation of ladder matches to go by just yet, but these two work incredibly hard and throw in some neat spots involving the ladder, particularly Candido wearing it like a necklace and Smothers using that to his advantage. Not to mention some stiff shots with the ladder itself, and of course that pretty crazy ending. Candido trashes Smothers with the ladder afterward, and this feud will CONTINUE at Bluegrass Brawl. I'm sold on that, though not on "The South Is Gonna Rise Again!" as a catchphrase.
  23. PeteF3
    Fun stuff. Fytch reveals her strategy for winning of tossing a $10 bill at the Dirty White Girl and having her strip voluntarily. Of course hype for a strip-the-clothes match ends with BRIAN LEE being stripped.
  24. PeteF3
    The inhaler thing seemed like phony sympathy to me, so it was fine. Plus it was a funny contrast to Cornette gushing about what great shape they were in. The Rock 'n Rolls have raided the Midnight Rockers' closet for their old AWA gear.
  25. PeteF3
    Gilbert and Lawler have gone from feuding over Sam Bass' jacket to feuding over Peggy Gilbert's Aerostar van. Double dose of lame, but I'm amused at Brown's implication that Gilbert put the van up without his mother's permission. This is extremely hacked-up, and while it's certainly better than ECW Gilbert, I'm pretty much over him at this point.
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