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PeteF3

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Everything posted by PeteF3

  1. PeteF3
    Luger and Arn by the numbers, which is by no means bad, though there wasn't much if anything new here. Predictable finish, Horsemen save Arn from the Rack, Dudes with Attitudes save.
  2. PeteF3
    I guess they wanted to take this match around the horn and cut a generic hype promo to fit all the markets? Flair and Sting talk trash at one another with each mentioning their own personal posses. Flair's posse shows up in the form of Sid and Arn, and Sting walks off. Way to bitch out the World Champion and the Dudes with Attitudes as a whole.
  3. PeteF3
    From Choshu's big superplex on, that was a comeback for the ages. The ending was certainly one of the best-executed chop-down-the-tree sequences in wrestling. The opening parts were admittedly slow enough to keep this from being a truly great match (though I really dug Choshu going after the eyes, because you so rarely see that in Japan and was a good way to put across Choshu as fighting for his life), but it was definitely really good and a cool moment at the end.
  4. PeteF3
    That ending kind of left me cold. The legdrop was sloppy enough to look like it killed Liger, but that 3-count was kind of out-of-nowhere. Before that this was quite good, though I agree it wasn't Liger/Sano. This had a lot of shit that faceless indy guys would imitate, like the fish-out-of-water sunset flip reversals and the trading armdrags & backdrops, but this looked way more organic and less forced than a typical indy-standoff spot. Liger's crunching top-rope somersault senton was absolutely sick-looking.
  5. PeteF3
    I was ultimately let down by this, too. Frankly I thought the kendo-sticking was the most eye-rolling moment of the match. Bull has done nothing but cut off opponents and no-sell shit all throughout the set and now Aja fucking Kong, who's physically bigger, whaling away at her with a kendo stick doesn't phase her, either? I'm not well-versed on joshi history but the big blowoff when someone finally puts Bull down for the count better make WrestleMania III look like a studio squash at the rate this is going. And then, yeah, this meandered like crazy after the DCOR tease. Not a lot of near-falls, or any sense that either side was approaching danger or losing energy...it just ended because it was time to go home and that was the finish. Negativity aside, it's not like I hated this. Grizzly and Bison working the stiffest, most hardcore possible Jeannie vs. Toni catfight was fun. Bull was good dishing out on offense even if I'm really into her psychology at this point. This would be a MOTYC instead of just a joshi MOTYC if they shaved off ten minutes. (I'm missing the "filled with heat" part, too. I thought the crowd was noticeably quieter for this than the Toyota match, even if Vince McMahon or Gorilla Monsoon would chalk it up to "awed silence").
  6. PeteF3
    Toyota just tries to annihilate Hokuto's broken leg, busting out every leg submission in the book. In a way it's almost a mat-based version of her go-go-go style, if that makes the slightest bit of sense, with how she cycles through the holds. She doesn't lose focus, though. Then we get dives to the floor and that stupid, fucking, dueling-tombstones sequence. Nope, it's not any better here when they're actually hitting spots. Then Hokuto goes into some LOOONG dragon sleeper work that isn't particularly well-worked, inasmuch as you marvel at how far Toyota's body can get twisted around. It's especially noticeable in contrast to the awesome leg work that they were working in the beginning. This picks up with some great near-falls before the time limit expires. Man, I was thinking I was in the midst of a MOTYC the way this started, but the middle portion and the ignoring of the leg will drag this down considerably. I get that joshi isn't really big on body-part-psychology but when the body part in question practically has a target painted on it and everyone knows that in advance, the blowing off of the legwork is an issue.
  7. PeteF3
    Lawler is reached on the phone, where he makes threats towards the "ex-Red Rooster." Lawler cuts what's almost a shoot promo about Taylor's squandered potential before tying it back into his aligning with Akbar. Taylor rebuts after Lawler hangs up, citing Lawler's jealousy and declaring that no one in the WWF could get rid of him, and neither will Lawler. Good promo from both guys. It's useless to pretend the Rooster stuff never happened, so you may as well pull the Band-Aid off and get it out there.
  8. PeteF3
    Austin and Jeannie have already proven their point re: Chris & Toni, and Austin will not accept any "Pillsbury" match. Adams runs them off and says the match is already signed and does another hard sell. This feud appears to have already reached its peak a few weeks ago.
  9. PeteF3
    Jeff Jarrett tries to beat the identity of the mystery partner out of Akbar, but gets ambushed by Gary Young. As soon as Jarrett fights him off he gets leveled by TERRY TAYLOR, fresh out of the WWF! This starts a loooong beatdown with numerous jobbers getting tossed aside by the heels, ending with a spike piledriver. Its to everyone's credit that the Red Rooster comes off as a threat here but this probably could have been twice as effective in half the time.
  10. PeteF3
    Chris and Toni have reconciled, apparently. It'll be Chris vs. Austin under "Queensbury Rules"--any rulebreaking is an automatic DQ--along with penalty box rules. Any interference from one of the valets puts them in the box for 1 minute. Toni spells out her plan: Jeannie will interfere first and get thrown into the cage, at which point Toni will blatantly slap the referee so she can get in the cage with her. It's a Prisoner: Cell Block H Match! Oh, and the winner gets to pick the gimmick match for another mixed tag the following week. This is a tad overbooked but Adams & Toni do a very good job of spelling all this stuff out.
  11. PeteF3
    Jeff Jarrett has defeated Gary Young, thus reinstating the King. Now Akbar is going to try to take Lawler out by putting him & Jarrett against Young & a mystery partner. I don't particularly like Akbar's act but him vs. Lawler is sort of a dream feud in an odd way.
  12. PeteF3
    Wow, I thought this was almost complete dogshit. "Almost" only because of a few awesome Pillman dropkicks (none delivered the same way) and Eaton's way-cool backbreakers. Lane and Zenk were complete millstones here. Lane was only interested in stalling (not in a very interesting way) and blowing spots, and Zenk was Zenk. Absolutely hated all the spots of the MX selling for Pee Wee Anderson, too. This picks up a bit and just as I'm about to forgive everything we get this nonsensical Sid run-in and I have no clue what the fuck any of this is supposed to be about. Single biggest disappointment of the set and maybe my least favorite MX match that I've seen.
  13. PeteF3
    The Freebirds have been coming out with a trophy claiming to be the South's top tag team, and have put it on the line in a 3-match series against Steve & Tracey. Hayes and Garvin are wearing a ridiculous glittering suspender/tights get-up, like something World Class-era Garvin or Double J would wear, except they had the sense to take it off before the match started. Garvin (after not tagging in the whole match) levels Steve with a DDT behind the referee's back to allow the Freebirds to tie the series. Match 3 to come on the Main Event! I wonder if that cover photo of El Gigante with Ted Turner was legit.
  14. PeteF3
    Robert Fuller is with his Stud Stable in what appears to be a legitimate stable. He brings in "Luther D," who's dressed in an amateur singlet and has a Kid 'n Play hairdo. Fuller accidentally refers to him as "boy" but apologizes and wins him over to sign a contract by offering him his wallet, complete with credit card. Fuller serenades us again though this isn't quite pack the emotional punch that his lament for Sylvia did.
  15. PeteF3
    Bret Hart isn't the only guy who struggled with the phrasing "the SummerSlam." Perfect accepts the challenge of KVE, as both men cut SNME-style pun-tastic promos on each other. The Tornado's promo is pretty jarring in contrast to his Texas interviews, both in content and delivery. He was always pretty laid-back before, even when he was selling anger. He's much more shouty here.
  16. PeteF3
    Dino Bravo makes specific threats towards Tugboat, that Earthquake won't have to worry about him come SummerSlam. Those threats would pay off at the end of this show in an angle that's never had its background fully explained to my knowledge. Fare thee well, Jesse. Unless we get an Update/recap of the Tugboat attack this little cameo will be Ventura's final appearance for the WWF for 9 years and final appearance on this yearbook. (As a completely irrelevant aside it just blew my mind that 9 years is all that separated this from a SummerSlam in the midst of the full-blown Attitude Era. The WWF product has changed less in the 13 years since that.)
  17. PeteF3
    This wasn't quite as good as the first 6-man tag, but it's a hell of a match nonetheless. It's also the first truly "'90s" AJPW 6-man that we'd see a lot more of. Other than Kawada's weird-in-retrospect color of tights, it's pretty much indistinguishable from them. Everyone looks good here but this is really Kikuchi's match all the way--he's great as the gutsy fighter, great as FIP (obviously), and great down the stretch getting in some really hot, credible near-falls on Taue before succumbing.
  18. PeteF3
    Pretty sure this is Chris' one and only match that exists on tape. It's a rough sight. Supposedly Chris' asthma was so bad that he needed a doctor at ringside and he once broke one or both arms doing a dropkick. And he looks particularly absurd trying to work with Austin. Dude had no business in the ring at all. But Fritz pushed Mike into the ring--I guess he wasn't going to stop another son who genuinely wanted to do it. He and Pringle really do try, but not only are they not wrestlers, their opening sequence goes WAY too long. Adams and Austin pick things up with Adams throwing out some new offense and Austin bumping like a lunatic. Kind of a clever finish as Austin is slingshotted into the turnbuckles and accidentally tags in Percy, who's quickly beaten down by Adams and pinned by Von Erich with a sunset flip off the top. Pringle and Austin get in some shots on Von Erich afterward before Adams runs them off with a chair. I dunno...as little as I want to see Chris Von Erich actually wrestle, he logically SHOULD have been the FIP. Even being a Von Erich in Texas he's obviously the weak link of the team. There sometimes exists a major disconnect between what makes sense from a storyline standpoint and what makes sense from a "good work" standpoint. Had he had any physical strength at all he could have at least made for a decent sympathy babyface. I'm amazed at how much I'm enjoying heel Pringle, after absolutely hating his first run in the promotion with Rick Rude. He's fat here but not super-morbidly obese. Pretty sure we wouldn't ever see Paul Bearer taking somersault bumps.
  19. PeteF3
    Kimberly has always had a white-trashy hotness about her, but the Dirty White Girl in a business dress? I could go for a lot more of that.
  20. PeteF3
    Well, I'm sold.
  21. PeteF3
    Bischoff has gotten a haircut and dye job from when we last saw him on the AWA '80s set and is now the WCW Bischoff we know and love. Lee Marshall narrates highllights of a "Behind the 8-Ball Battle Royal." Curtis Hughes throws a nice dropkick. Two teams get points, and Bischoff promises another look at the 8-Ball Battle Royal--what the fuck did we just see, Eric? Larry Zbyszko calls out Sting and the Anabolic Warrior, and even takes a much-welcomed potshot at Chris Berman! The crack AWA production crew didn't bother to edit out any references to "Sgt.'s Snipers" in the highlight package or graphics, even though the Snipers have since become "DeBeers' Diamondcutters." The Russian Brute has possibly the worst look I've ever seen and as a worker makes Jeff Gaylord look like Jumbo Tsuruta. Hughes takes an absurd bump over the top from one uppercut from Johnnie Stewart. Verne Gagne supplies clueless, lost commentary having no more comprehension of the points than I do. The Trooper is the first guy in this segment to have any semblance of future star power about him. "The Unknown Soldier" who suddenly has spouted a moustache is the last one standing until Jake Milliman enters, to Larry and his team's objections. Verne and Lee do a pretty ridiculous job of dancing around who the Unknown Soldier is. Milliman tears the mask off as he's getting bodyslammed and then tosses DeBeers. Verne and Lee are clueless as to who's actually won the damned series until Lee remembers that the winning team gets 5 points. One million dollars to Larry's Legends. Milliman is genuinely amusing trying to get in on the post-match celebration. Every subsequent week of the AWA from SuperClash III onward got more and more depressing, reaching its final descent here. A dead sparse crowd, a ridiculous kayfabe payoff, ridiculous rules, a dumb masked switcheroo angle, and wrestlers working as though they're trying not to break a nail. The AWA was full of surprises in the '80s, even for quite a long period after Vince started raiding talent left and right. But it just didn't have the depth or vision to do a Memphis or World Class and survive into the '90s.
  22. PeteF3
    Akbar is still wielding influence over the Board of Directors even post-World Class, getting Lawler suspended for piledriving Tony Falk. Lawler promises revenge when he comes back and points out a crippling injury to Sweet Daddy Falcone as an example/warning. Lawler is 100% believable when he says that he's going to take Akbar out for good--he's a babyface but still a babyface with an edge. Quite a contrast to the goody-two-shoes Von Erichs. Akbar and Gary Young are presented with a contract for a hair vs. hair match with Jeff Jarrett. Young says that Jarrett without his locks will look like "Bart Simpson or some other cartoon character, maybe Babar the Elephant!" Ooo-kay then. Jarrett comes out not to fight, but to negotiate. Jarrett takes responsibility for Lawler's suspension and vows to get him out of it. Since Gary Young with a shaved head would be an improvement, instead of putting his hair on the line Akbar will get Lawler's suspension gets lifted. Jarrett signs, Young and Akbar will get back to us. Logical, effective booking all the way around. World Class/USWA-Texas at its best was one of the best possible "organized chaos" promotions ever. Things seemed constantly on the verge of completely breaking down or descending into "crap at the wall" booking, but the storylines are constantly going places and clearly the people in charge--whether it's Embry, Gary Hart, or Jerry Jarrett--have plans that they're putting into action.
  23. PeteF3
    Great hype job from Flair to set the stage for the next Clash. Ric makes challenging Luger for the U.S. Title out to be the most logical thing in the world, and he's sold me on it. Both guys really feel like they have something to prove with a win.
  24. PeteF3
    Somehow I think the "line" that's crossed in professional sports is somewhere well before you get to jumping people in parking lots. Standard babyface promo from both men.
  25. PeteF3
    Dirty White Girl is still pretty iffy as a talker but she's improved dramatically in recent weeks. Tessa rebuts the comments from the DWB&G but Dundee and the Dirty White Boy keep them separated. Tessa vs. Kimberly in a cage this Monday--I think it's about time to wrap this feud up. DWG tries to run in on Tessa's mic time and another separation. DWB has had enough of crybabies and demands that Lawler & Dundee man up. He then switches gears to a pretty chilling, Ole-level description of what it's going to be like in the cage. Gilbert is loving his topical references.
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