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Everything posted by PeteF3
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Samurai actually works a Crippler Crossface, which was both jarring and cool. The matwork is pretty intense, as is the rest of the match when these guys are slinging each other around the ring with suplexes and murdering each other with stiff-looking dives. I think it's about neck-and-neck with the Scorpio match, but both matches are evidence that Benoit is coming into his own as an elite worker. His earlier bouts with Liger looked exhibition-y, and this didn't at all. Low-level MOTYC, perhaps just out of the top 10, a worthy tournament final, and I can see why people went nuts over this at the time. I really, really hate these post-produced, after-the-fact video commentaries. The calls are so subdued in comparison to what you normally hear in Japan that it distracts from the match. Benoit does a fucking power bomb off the top turnbuckle and the announcers call it like Phil Mickelson trying to decide between a seven and a nine-iron. I'm fine with a Gordon Solie/Pat Summerall-type announcer, but they also deaden the crowd just to make things even worse.
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Fun ending--I actually rather liked the switch to total pro-style when they begin trading wrasslin'-style punches (the old "going toe to toe" spot). Fujiwara's constant attempts at going for the wakigatame are an effective way of putting Kido over as a real threat.
- 14 replies
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I always hated how inconsistent the WWF was about reversing referee decisions. Luna whacking Bret with a chair draws another official out to restart the match, but an exploding camera that results in a WWF title change only results in a backstage "congratulations" from Jack Tunney? Ric Flair letting Undertaker tombstone Hogan onto a chair went by without a second glance, but when Flair whacked Hogan with a foreign object a few days later that brought out the brigade. Regardless of that, even though a lot of it is similar, this was a stronger match than Barcelona because the narrative of Bret coming in so banged up against such long odds was so much more compelling. Lawler's attack is one of the most glorious things in history, even if he was careless as hell throwing that throne and cost me a chance to see Bret live at the Challenge tapings the next night. And the context--that Bret was so kayfabe-beaten-up going into the ceremony just adds to the heat--Lawler immediately became a major player as a result of this and I think his push could have gone a lot farther.
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I've gone back and forth on Hogan over the years--from being a Little Hulkster to actively praying for Vader to fuck him up legit to a Hollywood Hogan mark to getting sick of him again to enjoying his old-timers run to...so on, so forth. But this was welcome to see again--it was past time for Hogan and the WWF to part ways and this rectifies a title run that never should have happened to start with. Hogan is noticeably skinnier, with Heenan even having to make excuses for it by claiming Hogan had trimmed down so he would be able to outpace and out-endurance Yokozuna. Yoko gets gets shot off Hogan when Hogan does the Hulk-Up kickout, which was cool to see. Notable that it was the belly-to-belly suplex that started the Hulk-Up comeback--they didn't let Hogan kick out of the Banzai Drop. Hulk also doesn't get to bodyslam him, needs three big boots to put him down, and of course the Big Leg doesn't put him away. A great way to build Yokozuna up for the rematch but an even greater way to slam the coffin door on Hulkamania. We'll see this again at One Night Only with Davey Boy, but this is another area where Vince can be a brilliantly evil mastermind. Hogan's arrival certainly won't change WCW's product for the better but I can understand why it happened from both parties' perspectives. In the meantime I'm going to enjoy watching this next calendar year without him.
- 10 replies
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The pre-match spot is tremendous, drawing on history and heeling Perfect up for the match. The perfect (ahem) way to go. I have little to add to the match itself, but it's a solid WWF MOTYC though not one on a worldwide level. These guys really lay it into each other in a way that stands out among what else has been going on in the WWF. Bret's performance throughout this card might make for the most psychology-heavy WWF event ever to this point. Seemingly every spot is based upon either a previous match (with Perfect) or an earlier match on the card (the hurt fingers, and later on the hurt leg). I'm not sure how well the Yearbook captures it but Jim Ross' influence on the on-air product was palpable, and he may well have had something to do with this.
- 12 replies
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This might be Razor's standout performance to date, maybe even his best performance not involving a ladder. He times the near-falls great and has developed a good variety of offense to sling Bret around with. It's not a great match but Bret has to work two more long matches and a big angle, so it wasn't designed that way. It still had a very hot crowd doing everything the WWF wanted of them--booing when Razor poked the eyes, living and dying on the near-falls, and rattling Ramon with the "1-2-3" chants.
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I think the Clash's only competition for Worst Show Ever comes from the late Nash-booked and Russo-era WCW. Fall Brawl '99 is one that gets talked about a lot. GAB '91 may as well be WrestleMania X-7 compared to this.
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Also, Starblazer was definitely Tim Horner. The Mark Kyle that Parv mentions is the same guy as Killer Kyle. Wikipedia as I'm reading it says he wrestled against Starblazer on TV.
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Okay, the final word (assuming it's not touched on again when I get to the match): Col. Deklerk = Ted Petty, aka Rocco Rock Sgt. Krueger = Ray Apollo, aka the babyface Doink. Kahlua = Somebody named Larry Hamilton--obviously not Jody's brother who was also the Missouri Mauler. The Beast = Bill Tabb, former NWA jobber.
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This is the only thing worth a shit going on in the entire company.
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A fat hillbilly woman playing "Colette" tearfully asks where Jack is. Jack has a quick-healing body, but his memory is gone. All while "Catherine White" constantly nods or shakes her head and "Colette" yells at "Dewey." "Dewey CLEVELAND?" Oh, how subtle. This is my first time seeing these...holy shit, this is already as bad as its reputation. WCW is so utterly godawful at this point. I'd love to know who Catherine White is.
- 13 replies
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What the fuck is with the New Orleans big band music?! Cheetum is here, and he SPEAKS. This is a press conference held in front of a bunch of chanting, pro-Vader and pro-Sid construction worker types. And shot on film, which makes this look even odder. Sid and Vader are officially the Masters of the Power Bomb, and right on cue the attendants start chanting "POWER BOMB." These aren't bad promos on the part of Race or the Colonel, but this could just as easily have been done on the Saturday Night set instead of whatever the hell this was supposed to be. Thank God this should be the worst of the Beach Blast build-up.
- 7 replies
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A stereotypical-as-all-hell gimmick, but Regal fits into it. They're seriously trying to pretend Regal is a newcomer? Seeing Dundee in this setting after watching two and a half years' worth of the Superstar in Memphis is jarring, to say the least. Regal is upset that Schiavone is interviewing him and not his "friend" Lawrence Zbyszko, which is hilarious in hindsight. Regal wants Lady Di to stop pestering him with phone calls and then recites what an embarrassment the Royal Family are at the moment, and he has been tasked to show that the Brits are still the greatest people in the world. Regal is trying but this gimmick still needs a lot of work. Eventually he'd incorporate his own touches into making it slightly more authentic, but here he's just reciting crap from a British Stereotypes 101 textbook and doing it rather awkwardly--tea crumpets queen Di hovel--there were Tugboat promos more subtle than this.
- 10 replies
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Clips from Pikeville, KY. Cornette cuts what sounds like a total scorched-earth promo on Ricky & Robert, but sadly we can't quite hear him. As Cornette rambles, the Bruise Brothers hit the ring and attack from behind. The Express bump for about 7 to get these guys over. Tim Horner makes the most ineffective save attempt in history. This went on, but it was a pretty selfless and masterful performance by the R'nRs, all told. Ricky promises they'll be ready next time. Great intense response, to continue this master class in babyface work.
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Magazine stills from Albany, NY where Shawn regains the Intercontinental title, via help from his "new bodyguard." On Raw he was simply referred to as "my insurance policy," so they obviously hadn't pinned down a name yet. Gorilla gloats over Shawn having to turn around and defend the belt against Crush at KOTR. Way to put the new champ over, Monsoon. Crush delivers an awful promo, even by his standards. Shawn's whiny, pouty response is much better.
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This Texas Chain Match has gotten even more hype than Kid/Razor II. Paul E. comes out and Tod does a terrible job of acting scared and awkward, trying to get Terry to calm down even though he's not doing anything. This was all really, really weird and nobody seems to be on the same page with anybody else. Why'd Paul E. come out alone if he's so petrified of Funk?
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For $7500, Razor could have everyone in the Manhattan Center standing on their heads naked. Vince points out that only 7% of hotline voters believe Razor will beat Bret at KOTR. Razor responds with a lot of Nutter Center puns. This was a strong promo and the slow build to the rematch continues to be awesome.
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This isn't quite DX-as-the-Nation levels of funny, but it was still pretty biting for the time--without being overlong and legitimately meanspirited like the NWO Horsemen parody. Flair's age wasn't exactly a huge secret but it had never been openly dealt with on television until now. Super-hot brawl to end the show. Wrestling fans do suck--as bad as WCW has gotten, this was a set-up worthy of a better rating than the Clash got.
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How in the name of FUCK did this air on the same program as that last spine-tingling promo?? Arn goes from dead-serious all business to playing dress-up. Flair FINALLY gets around to asking a question relevant to the fucking ongoing angles, as Badd gets around to talking up the feud with Maxx Payne. Maxx has stolen a Badd Blaster--the original Badd Blaster, given to him by Mommy B. Badd. This is a terrible segment setting up a pretty terrible premise for a feud, though Mero sells this as best as he can. We get a '50s-style sock hop that the crowd is INTENSELY unimpressed with. I could go the rest of my life without seeing Arn Anderson do the twist again. I continue to mark for the Clash angle with Payne blasting Badd in the face, though.
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Flair is SEETHING. He was content to be on the outside looking in, but two punks in jean jackets and stars stapled onto them have forced his hand. Flair is officially on his way back. Best Flair promo since coming back, of course--one of his best of the past 12 months.
- 8 replies
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Intriguing angle at the end of the match. White Boy and Smothers are in the respective corners, and after both get involved Smothers gets powder in the eyes from Cornette, and when Horner goes to check on him Smothers decks him and starts working him over. Horner fights back until the Rock 'n Rolls break them up. Things get smoothed over in the locker room. I was starting to follow SMW pretty closely through PWI Weekly and I have no recollection of this at all. Curious if this is going somewhere or not.
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Cornette and Dutch officially make nice, and Cornette asks to see the latest from Methuselah Armstrong. Bob cuts one of the promos of the year--absolutely spellbinding, laying out how he felt getting strung up in the cage and beaten, dropping the official tease of Brian Armstrong's arrival after his discharge, and his training regimen (ARMSTRONG AVE.) for coming back. It's so good that even Cornette's response pales in comparison, at least until they read a letter from Scott Armstrong's girlfriend (at least, the parts they can say on television.) That brings the Armstrongs out and the Bodies and Cornette bail.
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This felt like an opening-matwork segment dragged out to 10+ minutes--none of it ever went anywhere, it was just to fill space. It did get good once the dives started. Kid's somersault was cool and Eddy's springboard to the crowd was spectacular. Reasonably hot finish follows, though I agree that Kid's low blow was weird and totally unnecessary. There was sort of a quasi-payback spot when Eddy did a Fuerza Guerrera-style atomic drop, but it wasn't really sold as such. Good-looking tornado DDT ends it. They were able to save this and make it into something worthwhile but this wasn't really up to either guy's reputation.
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I would just add that Angle was far more giving and selfless than Steiner. They were both suplex/spot-heavy guys insistent on "getting their shit in," but Angle tended to want to make his opponent look good, too. Sometimes to the detriment of the match (Shane McMahon). I'm not the guy to be pontificating on wrestling of the past decade but I don't know of Angle outright abusing guys the way Scott did.