PeteF3
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The Moondogs had been tag champions continuously since winning the belts back in December. Seven months is an eternity in Memphis, so a title change in 5:24 seems anticlimactic. The pin gets a monster pop, though. The Moondogs gang up on Fargo after the decision, but are run off by Lawler and Jarrett. Anticlimax or not this was a well-done feel-good moment. Anything goes rematch on television, thanks to $5,000 put up by Richard Lee. Lawler seems incredibly confident, which leads me to believe the belts are going back to the Dogs. Richard Lee is out with a briefcase handcuffed to his wrist and demonstrates that he does indeed have $5,000.
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I remember Bobby Heenan laying into that same shirt in one of Bobby's last Raw appearances, maybe the last. Razor spits in the face of people who don't want to be cool.
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Pretty presumptuous of Okerlund to just start peppering BBM with questions without asking if he was busy or something. Quick comments from the BBM promising to return sooner than Nailz thinks. The photos were an incredibly effective followup to the attack. As cheesy as the idea is this has been executed very well in every aspect except the in-ring part. Kelly sucked to begin with and on top of it he was being asked to play essentially a non-wrestler--which I guess is the right role for him.
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I'm the way-high guy on this--I really thought this was awesome and that the Can-Ams did a fine job of adapting to the different style. It was spotty, but I think I'm showing a pattern of being fine with spotty tag matches if said spots hit. These are probably the two best tag teams of 1992 and while that doesn't equate to a MOTYC, it didn't leave me disappointed either.
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Fun stuff because of how hot the crowd was and the somewhat unique-for-lucha match layout. Misterioso and Fishman are interesting contrasts. Misterioso is young and super-athletic and flashy and charismatic but sometimes looks lost and doesn't seem to have learned how to put together a real match yet. Fishman is well-muscled but is otherwise about as athletic as Montgomery Burns with weaker strikes, but everything he does makes sense and he's in position to set up the technicos for anything they want to do. At some point Misterioso gets taken out of commission in an event that I completely miss, and the technicos are beaten down 3-on-2. This is actually a nicely well-structured chaotic brawl, with babyface comebacks and cut-offs and all that fun stuff. Konnan runs in which pops the crowd big--which is saying something considering their volume level throughout the match. This isn't really a great match, but the story told is fun and different even if the moves and such really aren't. -
Looks like most of this has already been covered. This wasn't one of my all-time favorite matches as I was watching it, even though I basically agree with everything else written so far. So therefore my MOTY still rests with Liger/Samurai and Liger is still in a semi-comfortable lead for Most Oustanding Wrestler. But this is a top 3-5 candidate. Not trying to slight the match, but the first half of 1992 has been just that loaded from pretty much every viable promotion on Earth. After spending most of his transcendent 1990 in either an outright rudo or heelish technico role, Dandy excels in the clean-working sympathy babyface here--the man really could do anything.
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These two are giddy to the point of possible chemical enhancement, especially Landell. Fun stuff.
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Cornette and Prichard try to come as close to saying that someone is literally going to die in this feud as they possibly can. Great, serious promo that draws tremendous heat.
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Play this in a minimized window and you'll swear this is Pat Patterson. And he was 47 here, not 41 as he claims--though obviously in phenomenal shape. Garvin acknowledges ruling the Smoky Mountain area at one time and is coming in to help Brian Lee against Paul Orndorff.
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Another Moondogs studio run-in as they assault Lawler & Jarrett, but JACKIE FARGO runs in with a trash can and runs off Lee and the Dogs. Fargo's enthusiasm and panache is so darned infectious--even in his old age it shines through. And the normally stoic Dave Brown is just completely losing his shit over this. Fargo will be officiating this Monday's tag title match--usually Jackie's presence is a clear signal that some big stuff is going to go down.
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That was a SHOOT HOMELESS GUY? Somehow, with this being Jerry Jarrett and Memphis, I find that fact to be wholly unbelievable and making complete perfect sense, at the same time. The video was great.
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Tatanka, Razor, LOD...I'm suffering from On Location Vignette Overload here. Did the Roadies grow up in Mogadishu or something? Even the worst soundstages slums in the U.S. haven't gotten this bad. Animal works a WWF merchandise plug in a clumsy exposition of what Rocco meant to them. I can't believe I'm bothering to explain this. Paul: "This is the best thing to ever happen to the Legion of Doom!" High standards from Mr. Ellering. Rocco is a bigger deal than winning the WWF Tag Titles? I wish the LOD could have done a more dignified type of vignette, like crashing to the Earth from a computer-generated spaceship and being taken in by meat tossed to them by a cackling Ellering.
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"The chicas, they for fun. I prob'ly scar her heart for life--that's too bad." I like how Razor has been explaining what his plans are for when he's actually wrestling.
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This comes off as pretty patronizing, as the Awkwesasne Reservation is on the U.S./Canada border. It'd be like pushing the British Bulldog as a hero in Italy. Throw in some noble-savage rhetoric from Okerlund and Tatanka's rambling pep talk and this is all pretty bad.
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Weird atmosphere, with the dark lighting and oddball school-basement-like venue. This is like a professionally produced indie match, or a Raw from the low points of 1994. And then the studio voiceovers, which I just hate when any promotion does it. This is still an enjoyable match that I seem to be in the middle on. The super-urgent second fall was the peak of this, with Toyota and Yoshida going balls-out after dropping a fall and quickly downing Hokuto to equalize--the fall lasted just as long as it needed to, which was refreshing. Toyota badly blew a lot of stuff in the third fall to the point where I'm surprised she wasn't injured, but got the pinfall anyway. Decent match that didn't overstay its welcome.
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I don't think this quite lives up to its initial rep and the finish sucks on a few different levels, but it's a hell of a match. I have less of a problem with Vader and Bigelow being thrown all over the place because they're simply not expected to work as brick walls in Japan. Plus they dish out quite the beating to both Scott and Rick and keep this structured--Bam Bam catching Rick off the turnbuckle and hitting a stungun is a great cut-off to extend things after the ostensible hot tag. Is 91-92 New Japan Bam Bam's peak as a worker? I would think it'd have to be. The '86 Memphis stuff is a promising but raw talent being carried to great matches and the '93 WWF is more of the "decent stuff" variety. Here he looks like a standout worker with the talent, charisma, and drive to be at least a fringe contender for the IWGP Title or Triple Crown.
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Best Sasaki match ever? Well, to this point in his career, it's a no-brainer. Lots of hate and intensity with Sasaki's return coming off as a big deal.
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Samurai does a fantastic job of selling his arm throughout this match, even to the point of being unable to hold Liger for stuff like the tombstone and German suplex. Sammy looks completely done from the opening bell when he gets KO'd by a rolling kick, but slips through Liger's legs and locks him in a sunset flip for the shock victory and IWGP Jr. title. This obviously wasn't as epic as the Super Junior final but it wasn't supposed to be--the flukish nature of the victory was the only one possible in the story of the match, and the fact that the match was shorter adds meaning to every single near-fall in any conceivable New Japan match, because you never really KNOW if a big title match is actually going to go 20+. Classic staples of Choshu booking--or, if Liger was booking the juniors at this point, of a guy who clearly studied under Choshu. This feels like something more than the typical "Liger gets upset for the title" match--it appears after a few years of trying that Liger has found a replacement rival for Sano.
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PWFG so far has sort of had the same issue SWS had with regard to the roster--it's just Fujiwara and a bunch of other guys not on his level. Well, Vale already showed that he's on Fujiwara's level (kayfabe-wise, at least) so for the first time that we see, Fujiwara goes into a match where he can't just toy around with his opponent. I liked this as much as any "matwork + reset + repeat" shootstyle match so far, because Fujiwara gets a chance to show off his supremely underrated abilities as a seller. It was deliberately paced and lacked the raucous U.S. crowd but it was another excellent addition to this series. Vale puts Fujiwara down with a sleeper and I'm about ready to type up a smartass quip about why he'd bother letting it go, but Fujiwara doesn't get up. Shut my mouth. The result surprises me as I was expecting an "I'll do a job on your home turf and you do one on mine" deal.
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This was an excellent show--pity it had to be wasted on such a middling crowd. This is a fine capper to the night's events, with Yamada forcing this match into her pace--Yamada is as close to a clone of Toshiaki Kawada as you can get, right down to the colors. Lots of stiff kicks and twisty submissions instead of spot after spot after spot. Toyota is almost always better when someone forces her or she forces herself out of her sprinty comfort zone. I agree that this is not a Joshi MOTYC but it's a hell of a match with a very well-done finish. I do hope the hair vs. hair can top it.
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I don't know about **** but I didn't think it was far off from that. Sort of a poor woman's version of the LCO/Jungle Jack match with a similar mode of attack from the Inoues--isolate Hokuto, stay away from Bull. This isn't as successful but I appreciated the Inoues constantly making saves for each other, which made for some hot near-falls and also put over the moves--the match was clearly put across as being over if not for Takako and Kyoko saving each other's bacon a few times. I don't think either of these two matches were of much consequence in the big picture, but neither was Rude vs. Dustin and I'm glad that made the set. Speaking of the 1/4 Toyota vs. Yamada, somebody upload that shit already.
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Debbie's not an easy listen but I'm sure the short, basic responses were directed. Y'know, I thought this was kind of refreshing for a joshi match. Lots of blood and chair-throwing and brawling, but this was more of a nice, straightforward match instead of two girls trying to cram in every highspot imaginable. Reading the backstory helped a bit too--I wish I'd known about Bison getting a tapout on her so I could give her slightly more of a chance here. Aja reasserts herself and of course this ends with hugs.
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I know I'm responding to two-year old posts, but what the hell--doing this angle on the weekend probably would have worked fine, but the ostensible logic was Cactus Jack attacking the fatigued and vulnerable Steamboat. Anyway, this was good down the stretch but I don't exactly relish watching these two teams go for 30 minutes. They do have very good chemistry and I wouldn't mind seeing this go to a proper blowoff, or at least see the Omni title change. Gordy looked as good as he did in the standout matches with Misawa, and unlike Scott at the end, Gordy was paying attention to the time calls. Check out Scott waving his hands around during the countdown, while Gordy has to pop back up from the tiger driver so they can get the Frankensteiner in before the bell. I look forward to comparing these two matches with the Bam Bam/Vader match upcoming, as the IWGP champs match up to the Steiners very similarly to the MVCs--willing to go up for spots but with enough skill to keep them reigned in.
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I didn't have a problem with the excessive falls--especially with Rude since he hurt his ribs right off the bat, which would affect anybody's endurance and which are sold and put over tremendously throughout the match. The only weak fall was Rude's first on Steamboat after getting his ass kicked for the first 8 minutes. This match illustrates why I've rarely been a star-ratings guy. I think this about as good as WarGames, to be honest--and I had that rated at *****. And yet I wouldn't rate this a full five. I may have to go watch WarGames again, but right now this is the #1 WCW and by extension North America MOTY. The most focused body part work you'll ever see in a North American ring, just a smidgen of shtick from Rude but not too much, and one of the best-worked sleeperholds ever. Love Rude kicking Steamboat's arms away from the ropes and Randy Anderson (who incidentally was tremendous for this whole bout) checking on Steamboat's eyes. I never understood the kayfabe reason why this wasn't a title match, but it's a satisfying payoff to the Rude/Steamboat feud which was, judging by the action we saw and the Observer reaction to their house show series, North America's best from an in-ring standpoint for the first half of the year.
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Good match that's probably better than 99% if not every Hardcore Title match. They pay a bit of lip service to the injured-ribs storyline (though not enough for my liking), there are the requisite loony Foley bumps, and Sting provides some hot moves and bumps of his own. Also, backslides and pin reversals and Irish whips on the floor, which are spots that should be in every falls-count-anywhere match. Most refreshing of all there are no contrived weapons to be found anywhere--all they use are the guardrail and the chairs. I was always waiting for Russo or someone to take one of those "falls count anywhere on the Gulf Coast/in the building" stips literally to the extreme conclusion. Big Boss Man gets a pin attempt on Al Snow for "1, 2...oh, he JUST got his foot outside the arena door in time!" Feel free to let me know if someone has done this already.