PeteF3
-
Posts
10285 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Blogs
Everything posted by PeteF3
-
Hillbilly Jim gets acknowledged as Hogan's buddy for the first time in about 5 years. You'd think HE'D have turned on Hogan at some point considering he got abandoned once he broke his leg. -
Zeus! In Puerto Rico! As a BABYFACE! Drawing "Zeus!" chants! This...is not the worst thing I've ever seen. It goes on way too long and they lose what's a genuinely hot crowd to start, but you can't fault these guys for lack of energy. Clearly Zeus was watered down in the WWF as Puerto Rico gave him some time to show off what he could do: swinging forearms, bearhugs, swinging forearms, chokes, selling, bearhugs, forearms, bearhugs, and bearhugs from the apron. And Abby charging a downed Zeus and eating a monkey flip = spot of the year.
-
Yatsu's still around?? Wow, this is unexpected. This was slow going for awhile as we seemed to be retrogressing stylistically for awhile. Pretty telling that Jumbo has to work 85% of the match or more for his team. Kawada in addition to being tentative at times still hasn't quite decided if he wants to be a heavyweight or a flyer, though I'm just fine with Misawa & Kawada busting out the old Heavenly Bodies tag finish. Jumbo is awesome as grumpy-vet-in-peril down the stretch, eating doubleteams and giving Kawada a credible near-fall that realistically has no chance of happening but comes oh so close. Kawada counters one backdrop, but that indecisiveness about style actually pays off for the finish, as he's a bit too pokey climbing the turnbuckles and eats a backdrop superplex for the pin. This picked up in a hurry, though the writing is on the wall that Jumbo is going to need a new partner sooner than later.
-
Tony Falk quickly breaks up the opening brawl, declaring that this is going to be a straight tag match. This descends into some pretty epic chinlockery on Austin's part, but the crowd goes nuts when Jeannie and Toni get tagged in. Hot post-match angle after a DCOR or DDQ or something, as Austin piledrives Adams on the floor as Jeannie works over Toni's injured ribs. Austin shoves Adams' carcass back into the ring and gives him another piledriver as Toni sends Jeannie out. Toni then sees Austin going to the top turnbuckle and dives on top of Chris to protect him, but Austin leaps off anyway and levels both Adamses with a splash. Jeannie's gloating over this is pretty great. Ft. Worth kicked the USWA off the air over this episode, and both instances were pretty gratuitous. Tatum's breakdown could have been handled another way (shoving Tessa would have gotten the point across) and there was nothing new to seeing Chris and Toni get destroyed again. This had great heat for the ladies and the beatdown was very well-done, but this was ultimately a disappointment for a match that had possibly the best build on the set to this point.
-
Holy shit, I really wanted to see a real match between Kerry and Percy. Borne is history, and a few days later the Modern Day Warrior would be as well. His final USWA-TX match was 3 days after this show took place. See you in McMahonland, Kerry.
-
Craig Johnson teases a Tessa heel turn, as they push that it's ambiguous where her heart lies. After pleading for her return before the match Tatum mostly wrestles on the level with a minimum of shtick. Tony Falk gets in the way of two big Dundee offensive moves, allowing Tatum to roll him up and yank the tights to regain the Southern title. Tatum again pleads with Tessa after the match and this time she emphatically tells him that she's never going back and that he's "sick." Then Tessa turns around and eats a SUPERKICK TO THE BACK OF THE FUCKING HEAD and gets laid out on the floor. A true holy shit moment that even gets Craig to stop cramming cutesy puns and transitions into his announcing for half a minute. This feud appears to be just heating up.
-
Best "traditional" USWA-TX match (i.e., one that does not partially take place on a pick-up truck) of the year. Travis has maybe the greatest punch ever in wrestling, which covers a hell of a lot of ground--but he's at least in the conversation. He puts it to use here liberally, while both teams make a big deal about going after each other's eyes. I complained about the initial hot-sauce angle somewhat but they're really milking it to the hilt here and I approve. It's a total babyface carryjob but Falcone is at least competent at selling and Torres is able to give off a chicken-shit vibe that pays off at the finish. Jarrett figure-fours Torres after the match and tells him to deliver that message to Akbar. Really great, intense performance from both babyfaces carrying two anonymous loads to a fantastic match.
-
Boss Man had no coordination, couldn't break an egg, and played guard--guarding the water bucket and cheerleaders. I did like the coach continuing to nod along as DiBiase ran down the hick school, hick town, and hick inhabitants of Cobb County.
-
Flair makes a Buddy Love-style entrance. Ole's just kind of there but Windham (rather surprisingly) and Arn (not so much) are fantastic, as is Flair. Curiously they seem to be hyping up "stipulations" as though the presence of the Dudes with Attitudes and the Ole handcuffing aren't supposed to be known yet--plus Sid is nowhere to be seen or mentioned.
-
I'm sure Valentine was dying inside throughout all of this.
-
Kid blindsides Lynn with a chair during his entrance and this is another brutal fight between the two, foreshadowing ECW but seeming more like a hate-filled fight than an excuse to do EXTREEEME spots. It doesn't measure up to the first match, but that was a MOTYC so it's pretty forgivable. Kid already has a grasp of character instead of just the physical skills, really coming off as a psycho who's loving his work as he bloodies Lynn. Lynn makes a comeback but runs into a hotshot and Kid yanks the tights and gets the victory. As I said in their previous match, I think Kid had fantastic potential not only as a star wrestler but also in the Pat Patterson role laying out matches and finishes. He has an incredible knack for it at a young age here.
-
One lone trumpeter plays the national anthems. Fantastic. Wanz deserves some major props for going through with this, as a promoter and made man in his own country he didn't REALLY need to book himself to get the shit knocked out of him by Vader, but that's exactly what happens. Wanz for his part returns the favor nicely and really comes off as a tough bastard rather than a fat glorified comedy act. Crowd is electric and there's a big struggle that adds to basic moves like the suplex and bodyslam. I tend to think the knee injury was planned but either way it makes for a great "THE RUSSIAN IS CUT!" moment and may be the best selling of Vader's career. Orig Williams finally throws in the towel once Vader is no longer able to stand, a neat twist of a finish that I really didn't expect. I want to see Big Daddy work a match at anywhere close to this level before I consider him for the WON HOF.
-
I really like Finlay against ultratechnical guys like Wright and Saint, because it almost comes off as a NJPW vs. UWF match not in terms of holds and moves but in terms of two philosophically different ideas of what wrestling should be, colliding. More of the same here though Wright works a lot more in terms of payback spots and giving Finlay his own medicine than some of the other Brits do. Wright was pretty great working underneath, actually--most of his matches, even the good ones, tend to come off like athletic exhibitions. This is one where he came off as fighting to survive. Excellent match overall. The only thing that bugged me was the referee inordinately getting on Wright's case throughout--you have to build heat for the heel but unless this some heel ref angle we don't know about, the heat is supposed to be on him, not the referee. It did, to its credit, pay off really well with a great spot that's sort of a mirror of the Nick Patrick Spot from earlier.
-
[1990-08-25-WWF-Superstars] Brother Love: Hulk Hogan & Big Boss Man
PeteF3 replied to Loss's topic in August 1990
I know it's way after the fact, but the Tugboat attack being left off the set (apparently) was an oversight, IMO. It was the same Superstars episode as Earthquake & Bravo on the Brother Love Show and could have easily replaced that segment if time was a factor. It was a rare case--at least at that time--of the WWF changing plans on short notice and was also the final segment that Jesse Ventura called as a WWF announcer. -
Oh, thank God we got confirmation of what "GQ" stands for.
-
Pringle invokes all he's done for the USWA in the past year with the Eric Embry write-in campaign. The hype is on for the Final Battle--Armageddon--between Kerry Von Erich and Matt Borne. Which is ill-fated. I wonder if Borne hasn't walked out already in favor of the NAWA. Kerry's final Texas match would be 3 days after the big show.
-
Adams gets hot at an Austin fan. The hard sell for the 4th of July show continues.
-
Austin and Jeannie are coming off a handcuffing of Chris Adams, and are quite sure Adams has been handcuffed before. This might be Jeannie's best interview yet, bringing up a past tryst with "Sly" and continued hype of the mixed tag.
-
"NOBODY will get ripped off this time!" Yeah, what Loss said.
-
Ole is unhinged and clearly trying to mask the fact that he's scared out of his wits at his exclusive GAB stip. Ole is pretty fun to see as a stooge for once. Flair is unshaken--Sting still has to beat The Man.
-
Somehow the last-minute build to WrestleWar and the less-than-last-minute-but-still-plan-B build to Capital Combat were so much more compelling than this. That said, this was the first time I'd ever seen El Gigante and I have to admit that my mind was utterly blown. Standing silently and pointing his finger was likely his career highlight with me.
-
I think Steamboat had a stake in the promotion itself. WrestleMania I: The Sequel! Borne and Steamboat are JIP just smacking the shit out of each other. Borne gets to kick out of the flying karate chop. Steamboat goes for a high knee and hurts it in the process. Borne goes after the knee but gets small-packaged on a figure four attempt. The announced time is about 6:27 but both guys look like they've gone through a war. Steamboat is a mess by the time Robert Fuller gets to the ring. Fuller is relentless tearing after the knee from the opening. Steamer does his trademark backflip-out-of-the-suplex counter but hurts the knee again in landing, and Fuller seamlessly scoops the leg up, applies a stepover toe hold cradle, and gets the pin! Markout city for that upset. This seriously may be the greatest 90-second match in wrestling history. They told every single thing they needed to tell in that time. This is also another one of those "That guy wrestled that guy?" matches, but it's the best one of the set so far. Mid-Atlantic meets Memphis with Memphis winning this one. Steamboat is interviewed afterward and gives what might be the promo of his career. Fuller is awesome as usual. NAWA/SAPW was a promotion that was actually really deep with talent, both veterans like we see here to go with Vince Torelli/Ken Shamrock, Chris Chavis, the American Bulldogs/Pitbulls, and the Nasty Boys. But the changing face of television would doom them just as it would Smoky Mountain Wrestling.
-
Good, strong promo from the DWB. Kimberly isn't completely terrible saying her one line or anything but she's a step below Toni and Jeannie in the mic department.
-
Yes, this was one of my most anticipated matches of the set. It's only the last couple of minutes but it seriously lives up to the billing. Spinks actually comes across as competent from what we see, selling well and throwing good-looking punches. Snowman interferes as Lawler has Spinks on the ropes in round 5, and Lawler is double teamed afterward. As much as a fuck-up as he was it's still absolutely astounding to see a former world boxing champion work a glorified indy show and doing it as a heel of all things, needing to be bailed out by a crony. Lawler in studio starts off doing a full-fledged babyface promo and ramps it up from there, referring to Snowman as someone who belongs in the audience buying tickets to see him and to his posse as a bunch of welfare stooges. "Hey, when are you due back in the display window at Woolworth's?" 1990!
-
The ill-fated Beefcake Intercontinental title run is in full force. Heenan gushes over Perfect's looks to a degree not seen in...well, months, when the Genius was doing it. We're talking unveiling-of-the-Narcissist levels of homoeroticism here. Perfect does a really good job of moving the focus from haircutting to what the title belt means. A very NWA-esque promo that makes the championship look important.