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PeteF3

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  1. PeteF3
    Other than the Bushwhackers segment which goes on like a too-long one-joke SNL sketch, these are uniformly hilarious. Seeing Bret in this environment might be the highlight, but almost everything about this is WWF-style EntertainmentTM at its very best.
  2. PeteF3
    Good Lord, the feud that's had more resurrections than the Friday the 13th, Halloween, and Nightmare on Elm Street franchises combined returns to haunt us again. Still, even though I consumed way more WWF product than was healthy as a young Hulkamaniac, I've never, ever seen this angle before. So it has something for me to look forward to. This is a triumph of Pat Patterson or whoever laid this out. Again, not a great match, but Savage and Dusty know or were instructed exactly what to do to get full attention on the angle with DiBiase when necessary (probably helps that Savage, he of the laying out of matches beforehand, was involved). The tension and conflict between Dustin and DiBiase is built up to just enough so it looks natural (heh heh) when Dustin finally clocks Ted and the beatdown gets on. Then even more tension in the ring as Dusty has his back turned beating on the Macho King while Dustin gets destroyed on the floor. Dustin eats a wooden chair to the head and gets busted open (!!!). Dusty finally sees this and goes out to run off DiBiase, but at the expense of taking an axhandle from Savage and getting counted out. At that point all he can do is cover Dustin to prevent any further damage, but DiBiase has made his point. WWF Angle of the Year. This had an AMAZING "organized chaos" feel to it that simply was not seen on SNME in particular or even the WWF product as a whole, but those WWF production values still gave the angle every bit of impact that it needed. You had a bunch of fans getting out of their seats to see what was happening with Dustin and DiBiase and then you really, REALLY are exhorting for Dusty to see what's happening. And of course, blood (!!!). The blood is never acknowledged at all but there's a nice close-up of Dustin's head at the end. Part of me wonders if he wasn't busted hardway by the chairshot, but it doesn't matter. And of course nobody can put over anguish like Dusty Rhodes. All the goofy shit about Sapphire getting "bought" is firmly shunted to the background now. You know it's a good angle when a fabulous Sherri performance is reduced to footnote status.
  3. PeteF3
    Hawk cuts possibly the greatest Oktoberfest-themed promo possible. Pun-filled in that SNME fashion but still pure Hawk. I'm not sure anyone was quite aware of the implications of three ostensible babyfaces chanting BLITZKRIEG. Annoying Germany references on commentary aside this served its purpose. Nothing close to a great match but legitimately heated and gives anyone who really wanted to see LOD vs. Demolition what they wanted.
  4. PeteF3
    I'm really enjoying the barely-under-the-surface tension between Vince and Hotrod. Piper continues to shit on the Warrior.
  5. PeteF3
    Great match. Even Lane's standard offense stood out as looking good. Eaton has the physical skills to take everything the Steiners want to dish out and the ring smarts to have it all make sense. Scott busts out a funky counter to Eaton grabbing his leg to block a kick, and then a fantastic sequence of Eaton trying to superplex Scott and ending up on Scott's shoulders to set up the Steiner Bulldog. I normally wouldn't like such a killer move being rolled out early on but both Midnights sell it great, with Lane pulling Eaton out of the ring to recover. We get some comedy from Rick working the Midnights from all fours, some timely Cornette interference for a hot near-fall, and an ending that works. This is not far off from the highest-end tag matches of the year.
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  7. PeteF3
    If I remember Foley's first book correctly...absolutely not.
  8. PeteF3
    Didn't watch the match but it's in two parts on Youtube. That would indicate that it's a longer bout which would point to this: - Ted Dibiase (w/ Virgil) defeated Paul Roma via submission with the Million $ Dream at 10:01 (1/4/89; Birmingham, AL; Jefferson Civic Center) And DiBiase's announced from his winter residence.
  9. PeteF3
    Other serious candidates who could have worked: Terry Funk The Great Muta ... ... With a delay in the ultimate reveal, and a reveal that he was the "master" behind it all and not a wrestler... ... Dusty Rhodes.
  10. PeteF3
    And I went with Steamboat because: - He was theoretically available, at least if the money was right. - He would have that "holy shit" effect when unmasked. - Motivation wouldn't be particularly difficult, even with Flair as a heel again. He tried to be a family man/role model and was booed for it, and was forgotten in favor of Flair and Sting. Not saying there aren't significant drawbacks, but there are going to be significant drawbacks to just about any choice short of the Warrior himself. We don't really know how good Steamboat would have been as a heel, or how well he would draw in main events again. He has no real background with Sting as far back as '86, since he was entrenched in the WWF by then. Gilbert has his own strengths and weaknesses. He does have the legitimate Sting connection and was a good enough talker to explain his way into having this bullshit make some semblance of sense. But, he's far from an instant main-event guy. Upon unmasking he would have to take a Roddy Piper-esque manager/background role, at least for awhile. The unmasking itself would probably come as an anticlimax--we'd have to wait for a post hoc explanation later whereas Steamboat would be an instant payoff. And when it comes down to it, I don't think the "legit 1986 connection" thing is all that important. That can be bullshitted around or have an explanation of a past friendship wholly made-up.
  11. PeteF3
    I'll elaborate later: Rick Steamboat.
  12. PeteF3
    I was wondering where Eddie Marlin went and where Lawler came from. Jamie always looks like the scuzziest human being alive.
  13. PeteF3
    Dirty White Boy & Doug Gilbert are ready to wrestle Dundee & Jarrett, but with Jarrett out they're surprised by Brickhouse Brown & Dan Davis, who pull off an upset in about 30 seconds. Dundee shitting all over Austin Idol is one particular standard of his that never gets old, though his one after Idol got Lawler's hair cut about how Idol had never been to Vegas in his life was far more epic.
  14. PeteF3
    Dundee is on the phone offering to take the injured Jeff Jarrett's place teaming with Lawler at the MSC when he gets mauled by the Dirty White Boy and the Gilberts, while Eddie keeps Lawler on the line so he can listen in. Apparently Gilbert has learned the secret of the Las Vegas Leglock as he applies it to Dundee. Idol hasn't lost a step at all when it comes to working the stick, as this is an absolutely fabulous promo. Idol was a two-time NCAA Champion at Oklahoma State and WON OLYMPIC GOLD IN WRESTLING AND POWERLIFTING, and deplores Lawler's tactics in the tournament final when Idol wanted to wrestle him amateur-style. It's hard to completely overshadow Eddie Gilbert in the promo department but Idol comes through here.
  15. PeteF3
    See, there's another issue that I'd prefer not to focus on but can't ignore. Martel would spray guys with the stuff constantly and it would be sold the same as salt in the eyes. This was apparently Super Turbo Arrogance Xtreme.
  16. PeteF3
    Rick Martel hasn't gotten any more careful in spreading Arrogance around. Brother Love's talk about Warrior being afraid of Savage is hard to argue with. WWF Magazine tried to sell this as though Warrior felt that Savage had already had enough title shots, but as a kid who also read PWI and knew title matches were repeated all over the place, I wasn't buying that for two seconds. Savage was pretty right to be pissed about Warrior not signing a contract. Another reason why I wasn't sold at all on this guy as the Babyface of the Future. I'm probably never going to come around on Warrior's promos, but he's demonstrably improved here because he HAS SHIT TO TALK ABOUT. Savage is afraid, he's hiding behind Sherri's skirt, and here he also has Brother Love to play off of. These aren't great promos or even close, but they're clearly effective for what they are because he has an honest-to-God storyline to focus on instead of Normals and Poison, which wasn't the case with either Hogan or Rude. And it really didn't take that much. All that said, there are much better Brother Love-gets-embarrassed segments than this. As a kid I wanted to see Love get his ass kicked. Brother Love or Percy Pringle--who looks better in a dress, Loss?
  17. PeteF3
    Like I said about Hansen/Vader, eye afflictions FREAK ME THE FUCK OUT. Did in 1990, and they still do, to the point where I can't watch that match. It took 17-odd years for me to muster up the courage just to put in a contact lens, and I can still start cringing if I don't get it right the first time in putting one in or taking one out. This is all to say that even in an ultrasanitized, controlled WWF environment with a set-up that probably doesn't stand up to serious scientific scrutiny, this angle has always hit me in a very real place. The ophthalmologist conveniently gives us exactly 1 week until we find out the extent of the damage. Jake manages to cut a killer promo while he's getting eyedrops and his eyes re-bandaged, while Martel offers an apology which is clearly more about Rick patting himself on the back for being such a gentleman than being genuinely sorry. Jake will get and deserve the lion's share of the credit for selling this but Martel really does come off as a self-centered douchebag.
  18. PeteF3
    Takano works some quasi-shootstyle stuff to smother Tenryu at the start, but makes the mistake of going highspot happy and whiffs on a pescado to give Tenryu a run. Takano still gets a lot of the match and looks good. He's bulked up from his Cobra days so his dives are all high-impact and crunchy-looking. There are some power bomb teases at the finish, including Tenryu buggering his ankle to give Takano some hope, but eventually he gets put away. I liked this the best of the SWS matches so far and by a comfortable margin. I suspect, without seeing much of anything from the promotion until now, that SWS will never develop a legitimate native rival to Tenryu, and that's not a company with a strong long-term future. But it's clearly not a promotion without talent.
  19. PeteF3
    Orton was reported to be going back to the WWF around this time, but nothing came of it. "Jeff Jallett"--oh, dear God, that's too easy. Fun to see Jarrett in such an unusual (for him) setting. He acquits himself quite well despite a few moments of tentativeness, busting out some pretty great flying headscissors. Orton's offense is as crisp and vicious as it's ever been, and Kabuki works a long FIP segment to give the foreigners a chance to show their stuff. A very American layout all around, as Tenryu gets the hot tag and scores the pin shortly thereafter.
  20. PeteF3
    Hey, Corey Macklin's here, too! Idol rambles on the mic beforehand about giving Lawler extra rest and wanting to wrestle scientifically. The crowd isn't impressed by this, but it's a nice set-up as Idol levels Lawler on the handshake. Lawler gets brutalized again as Idol methodically works his way through his offensive arsenal, but Lawler makes a furious comeback that might be the single best moment of this tournament. Idol manages to cut the comeback off by sending him into Jerry Calhoun, which brings out Gilbert & Funk. The triple-team backfires predictably and Lawler gets a 3-count by the skin of his teeth. Another beatdown follows as Lawler eats another stuff piledriver, and Jeff Jarrett gets beat down while he tries to make the save. There were your usual Memphis booking quirks but it's hard for a one-night tournament to have this good of a percentage of decent-to-good matches. Who knows how many of these people stick around but even with the Unified World title situation finalized, there are myriad ways for the future booking to go. Three top challengers for the gold plus six-man possibilities with a Gilbert/Funk/Idol team.
  21. PeteF3
    PIG! PIG! PIG! DAMN YOU, PIG! All while unleashing some incredible punches. Lawler does not get in one single offensive move, but Funk levels both Frank Morrell and Paul Neighbors with piledrivers, then hits one on Lawler. Eddie Gilbert comes in and tries to count Lawler out, but Lawler keeps kicking out anyway! A spike piledriver finally puts Lawler down for a fast "3-count" (with what looks like an ignored rope break). Whether it goes in that direction or not Funk is pretty much cemented as the #1 challenger to the title once the tournament is over.
  22. PeteF3
    He was never great, but I think '80s Idol is a lot better than his rep--"carry job" or not, he's been in an awful lot of pretty good matches to have the all-talk-can't-work label. That said, that was the '80s and this is 1990 when he's only semi-active. But this is perfectly acceptable with a surprise finish as Sam Lowe throws the towel in when Idol applies the Las Vegas Leglock. Even if it wasn't an actual submission I'm glad to see a match end with a submission hold, and the struggle to get the Leglock untangled was a nice touch in getting the thing over as well.
  23. PeteF3
    There has been a little too much referee abuse for one night of wrestling for my liking, but this is yet another fun match.
  24. PeteF3
    Lawler's doing the Randy Savage different-color-schemes-in-every-round thing, which I approve of. Definitely the best match so far as it was pretty much all action with no Memphis stalling. This takes some unique turns among its false finishes. An especially clever spot sees Lawler getting in a piledriver while Frank Morrell was bumped (after Slater had attempted to piledrive him numerous times, giving the babyface some moral high ground), but Slater yells about the piledriver as he's being covered and Morrell stops the count and the match goes on. Morrell actually comes across as a real-life competent official here, "letting 'em play" while still enforcing the rules.
  25. PeteF3
    That's absurd that they couldn't book a "first man off his feet" finish like they said they were going to do when the rules changes were introduced. And these guys could have worked a great sequence around that. This was good stuff before that and a nice change of pace from the first two matches on tape.
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