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PeteF3

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  1. PeteF3
    Lawler makes sure to mention that Koko has a big house in Germantown, a ritzy suburb of Memphis that's to Tennessee what Edina is to Minnesota, or Shaker Heights to Ohio. In a pleasant bit of wrestling news during a time when there was very little of it in the U.S., that great Koko/Lawler TV confrontation led to one of the bigger attendance figures the MSC had seen in awhile. Lawler shrugs off interference from Samples & Prentice (Prentice ducking a Lawler punch and catching him in a full nelson is just comical). Lawler gets back at Koko by getting a job co-hosting the WWF! Ha! What a fantastic way to kayfabe all this to the USWA viewers. Koko declares that Lawler won't be getting any Unified title shots without the permission of Koko's good friend, Vince Mack-Man, and that it will have to take place in MSG, the Meadowlands, or the Boston Garden. Lawler promises bad things for Prentice and Samples, and teases a fire appearance.
  2. PeteF3
    Yokozuna being pulled up in a rickshaw was even bigger "Oh, WOW" moment than Razor's line about executions. Flair and Shawn together seems so natural, that one wishes could have been explored more. This is total damage control spin that's even more obvious when you realize what was happening in real life at this time. Incredibly Mooney does NOT say anything about "putting smiles on faces."
  3. PeteF3
    Razor isn't as good as Bobby and Flair, who are outstanding even by their standards. But his line about "knowing all about execution" got an eyebrow raise from me, at least. Very good segment overall.
  4. PeteF3
    Wow. See, a standard match layout especially in Japan sees the guy who's taking the fall get most of the offense in the match, so both guys can ostensibly look strong. So I had this big write-up in my mind as I was watching this expanding on that. Even when it's designed to get the guy over, that type of layout can be counterproductive--a lower-ranked guy kicks his opponent's ass six ways from Sunday, but the higher-ranked guy basically shrugs it off when coming back at the end, which ironically can make the guy doing the job weaker, not stronger. That's exactly where I figured this was going since of course Chono wasn't doing a singles job to Hase. Well, that whole idea went for nought (not that it kept me from writing it up anyway). Hase levels Chono with almost everything he's got and a few more wrinkles--and even busts out an STF and a series of Yakuza kicks, just to mess with him...and it all pays off when he pins him. I guess this is another example of my AJPW-centric thinking and another testament to Riki Choshu, as that one blindsided me. Hase was absolutely terrific, with some huge bombs like the Northern Lights superplex and Chono's moves which had you really buying into the upset-tease-that-wasn't-a-tease-at-all. Chono was kind of just there, but it was a stunningly selfless performance, and the ending was one of the most markout-worthy moments of this Yearbook for me.
  5. PeteF3
    Bret/Magee was a TV taping dark match and apparently Meltzer has seen it, as a source got him the tape. I always thought the Kerry-fucked-up match was from Hawaii, but I could be conflating things since that match happened in so many places.
  6. PeteF3
    Heck, I'm not sure they've mentioned it at the time I'm up to. The implication was simply that Perfect went into consulting after losing his title, and that Heenan was deliberately keeping him out of the ring, away from Flair. I think the Apter mags talked up the back injury, but the first on-air mention of it that I can recall was by Jim Ross at WM9.
  7. PeteF3
    I could be completely crazy and I haven't watched it since it first aired, but Triple H vs. Kane from '99 sticks with me. Possibly for the result, which HHH won and which came across as a monumental upset as Kane was still fairly protected.
  8. PeteF3
    Really surprised at all the love for Pedro Morales. The guy was over and there are indications that he was good in the early '70s when there's less footage, but having 4+ matches on the WWF '80s Set was not something I would have ever predicted.
  9. PeteF3
    This isn't as good or as heated as the previous WAR/NJPW matches, and Kanemoto is still finding himself for most of this. But the closing stretch is great with all four guys looking good. That dive train was the biggest highlight--it's about time we saw the 1991 WON Move of the Year as busted out by Orihara.
  10. PeteF3
    There are people ready to graduate college who have no personal recollection of Lawler before he was in the WWF, much less how incredible this development really was at the time.
  11. PeteF3
    Rude was working hurt here, missing a bunch of house shows (presumably WCW paid him anyway) as well as Starrcade, and it showed. He doesn't do much at all and Simmons is not a guy to carry somebody in that condition. Naturally Sting and Vader work circles around them, though Vader has a good little sequence with Simmons as well when Ron gets the hot tag. Neat ending, as Rude hits a still-illegal kneedrop off the top to Simmons' throat to set up a Rude Awakening for the upset pinfall. I know Watts was all about having his top babyfaces do jobs but this is probably a major sign that Simmons as World Champion was not long for this world.
  12. PeteF3
    Cornette does not want to get into the ring for a 3-on-2 handicap match, because he's petrified of hurting the Rock 'n Roll Express. He's also incensed about the Bodies being signed to defend their tag titles against the Stud Stable, but Jim feels he can call that match off now that they no longer have the belts. But Fuller & Golden are eager to have a #1 contenders bout. Lane does a great job of being a duplicitous, passive-aggressive asskisser, congratulating the Studs for their "small time local" success as opposed to the Bodies' national exposure. Funny stuff. Dutch's association with the Stud Stable is spelled out for the first time on this Yearbook. Not much more entertaining than six heels all gladhanding each other and talking up sportsmanship.
  13. PeteF3
    This concept could have been submitted for McMahon's approval during the insane Lex Express push and Vince would have said, "Get the fuck outta here."
  14. PeteF3
    Great point about the use of Koko--he calls out Lawler, but praises Jarrett. And, hey, he's a WWF employee still--he's just being a company man. Then he gives Prentice & Samples the brush-off when they come out. A great back-and-forth follows that Memphis does better than everybody. Ware stands up for himself quite well against a guy who's capable of smothering you if you can't keep up on the stick.
  15. PeteF3
    Check out Super WrestleMania, available for the FIRST TIME EVER on Genesis! Don't pay too close attention to the character on the apron! (It's the Warrior). A rundown of Bret's title defenses that's effective at both putting over Bret's hard work as well as how weak the WWF roster was once you get past Flair and Razor. Flair cuts a promo from a restaurant, and for once in a WWF setting Flair gets to be low-key, and he's as great as you'd expect. Flair going for the direct cheap heat on Saskatoon was out of character but I found it amusing. Stuff from Mr. Perfect's introductory vignettes from '88 follows. For a guy who's gimmick is doing things "perfectly," his basketball shooting technique is laughable.
  16. PeteF3
    For me this was like watching the '80s Other Japan set all over again. That's not a good thing.
  17. PeteF3
    This is sort of an anticlimax before it even starts. The Super Generation Army #2 man just pinned Dr. Death, are we really expecting either one of them to do a job here? I know this isn't a true "final" but it seems like they didn't want to change up the booking too much after Jumbo went down, because a Generation Army/MVC "final" seems to be the only logical option. The match itself is still quite good and Akiyama acquits himself amazingly well considering his talent level. Having Taue level Misawa with the nodowa and then the nodowa/backdrop double-team was a great way to get Jun some credible hot near-falls on Misawa, but of course we get the inevitable (and correct) result.
  18. PeteF3
    Crazy match, with Hotta standing out. Not that she was necessarily the best worker but she was clearly positioned in the Jumbo role as the #1 woman, and the match centered around that as well as the veteran-youngster dynamic that was clear even to a joshi noob such as myself. The near-falls are awesome and the finish is pretty awesomely decisive. Bring on more of these interpromotional matches, both for the men and women.
  19. PeteF3
    Decent match that got better down the stretch. They were clearly working "lighter" than usual as they built a usual '90s AJPW match without ever really going to the big bombs, aside from Doc's powerslam off the turnbuckles. The MVCs still have a propensity to lay around while working on top. HUGE surprise finish with Kawada pinning Doc for what has to be his biggest victory to date. Fun to see these guys starting to get elevated more rapidly now that Jumbo is gone.
  20. PeteF3
    A clever twist on the ether finish but I'm still not crazy about all these screwy interference-laden finishes, particularly in a barbed wire cage where Cornette really shouldn't be involved at all. One of the biggest creative flaws Cornette had in SMW was his propensity to kill off pretty much every gimmick or stipulation match he booked.
  21. PeteF3
    No way it's ****1/2 but I'd easily put this up against any Moondogs match from this year. And it's the best Smoky Mountain match of the year, hands down. Great chaotic action and some cool payback stuff involving the table. Cornette's involved a lot, yes, but he comes off as a guy picking his spots and being overmatched when he's not doing that, rather than a Shane McMahon wrestling cosplayer type.
  22. PeteF3
    The overreliance on screwy finishes in SMW is at hand here. I also wasn't a fan of only having one referee in a tornado-style falls-count-anywhere match. These are the little details that Bill Watts would have been all over. And after that sterling backstage promo from Cornette it's a little disappointing to see the match types all changed around. Does that ten-fall Texas Death Match exist anywhere?
  23. PeteF3
    Quite a bit of good action to fill out a 4-and-a-half minute video, considering they haven't been in Smoky Mountain for all that long.
  24. PeteF3
    Sullivan paraphrases Pogo in calling out Bob Armstrong for shaking hands with his enemy the Mongolian Stomper. Yes, this is the absolute best that Sullivan has been since his Devil-worshipping Florida heyday, and will probably hold up as his artistic high point going forward as well.
  25. PeteF3
    Heated promo from Ric & Razor in an unusual setting for the WWF at the time. Slick is at a pulpit with some stained glass green-screened behind him. Hadn't he been Rev. Slick for most of the year at this point? They're talking up his "new attitude" again and how he's "back." The usage of Slick would just get classier and classier from this point forward.
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