Jump to content
Pro Wrestling Only

PeteF3

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    10267

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Everything posted by PeteF3

  1. PeteF3
    Kobashi doesn't quite get everything right but a lot of the classic touches are already there--the rolling cradle, bodyslam+moonsault+kickout+cry and pound mat, etc. Most of this is worked very junior-y with the trading arm drags and faceoffs and kip ups and all that. We do get some good old-fashioned AJPW near-falls and a VERY well-done buildup to the Tiger Driver finish. Still, Misawa was pretty much going through the motions here and the first half to 2/3 of the match wasn't bad (except for that neckbreaker) but pretty unmemorable. The last part was more Stuff than great psychology (except for Kobashi trying to avoid the TD), but it was pretty fun Stuff.
  2. PeteF3
    Maybe it was just some random Kowalski trainee, as the Pink Assassin apparently was.
  3. PeteF3
    DDP gropes two Diamond Dolls while cutting a promo declaring his intentions to come after Paul E. to avenge an attack on him down in Florida. Typical "cram 9 million catchphrases into one interview" promo with DDP sort of sounding like a southern Roddy Piper.
  4. PeteF3
    Paul E. does his best to get this over, claiming the Lethal Weapons are his best team and even declares that he isn't "doing a Lou Albano" and saying his latest team is automatically the best. Doug Gilbert is the "problem child" of the Gilbert family, which is saying something, and Paul E. doesn't even like him. They're not a "family," they're not a "stable"--they're an Alliance.
  5. PeteF3
    The Pink Assassin minces around the ring while raking eyes and straddling his opponent on pin attempts. I love that they don't bother to edit this into a real music video, they just take footage and hit the Demo button on a Yamaha keyboard lay a synth track on top of it. Diamond Jim(?) says that he intends to "straighten this guy out." The Assassin, whoever he is, plays the gimmick to the hilt and declares that he is from Fire Island, New York--"and judging by that cowboy hat and that shirt, you've been there a time or two yourself!" Diamond Joe doesn't want to be touched by this guy and assaults him for doing it too often, repeats the "straighten this guy out" line, and gives him a spanking. Holy shit, I barely know what to say. Even in a not-overly-tolerant world like professional wrestling, Diamond Bill is about the most heelish babyface in history.
  6. PeteF3
    Jesus, Atlas has been a fucking revelation here. What a complete fucking waste that neither of the Big Two were able to find any way to use him in a manner, at this point, befitting his absurdly underrated mic skills. I know he was past done in the ring, but THAT never stopped anybody in charge. Actually I'd like to have seen Atlas get involved in the Lawler/Snowman feud. At the desk they run down what actually looks like quite a fun card in Philadelphia, and Paul E. informs Paul Orndorff that he made a grave mistake in signing an open contract and allowing himself to face a member of the Dangerous Alliance. Was Leopard Man Johnny Grunge, or somebody else?
  7. PeteF3
    VQ still makes it hard to understand Atlas, but he makes threats towards Rochester Roadblock, who's only challenging him because he's pumped full of steroids, and Tom Prichard. He wraps it up with an Elmer Fudd laugh! Tony also looks like a legit psycho badass--actually for a second I thought this was a way-early New Jack promo.
  8. PeteF3
    They're really pushing the phrase "moment of compassion," as it's been tossed around by Funk, Cornette, and Solie. Flair is about the most evil he's ever been here, outside of the Monday Night Wars feud with Savage.
  9. PeteF3
    Supposedly he took a UK indy booking either without Bischoff's permission or actively against his wishes.
  10. PeteF3
    Tully would perhaps be the most miscast babyface in history. I've seen Ole work babyface on the Cornette garbage films--like, total, bouncing, hand-clapping babyface with Gene, not as an "antihero." He was actually really, really good and energetic about it.
  11. PeteF3
    Lawler doesn't let mere technicalities like the end of the program stop him from murdering a jobber.
  12. PeteF3
    Lawler warns Champion about showing up, even injured, to a wrestling program, where an accident might befall him. He illustrates this point by accidentally slapping Champion, then accidentally slugs him a few times, accidentally clobbers him with a chair, and is about to accidentally piledrive him on a chair when Eddie Marlin and Jerry Calhoun threaten him with a firing if he doesn't stop. Lawler then walks over Champion a few times as they're trying to help him out, and then throws a stool at him as they're carrying him out of the studio! Lawler is fucking incredible here as he was last week, just this constant lurking terror that hijacks an entire program if anything doesn't go his way, whether it's losing the Unified title or having water thrown on him. Champion's New Breed promos were pretty great...in their own way, I guess. So it's a disappointment to see how stilted and wooden he is in his role here.
  13. PeteF3
    Lawler completely eviscerates Nate for having the gall to fetch him a pie (more advertising for somebody) without Lawler asking for it. Then Lawler's abuse turns physical as he dumps the pie on Nate, fires him, and then pounds the crap out of him for good measure--all to put himself in a better mood. Nate's "I quit!" promo is actually pretty fiery and effective. Worked brawling on a tile floor that's been covered with pie and milk sounds like an ACL tear waiting to happen.
  14. PeteF3
    CHAMPYUN! MEMPHO! TENNESSEE! I don't recall Well Dunn being offensive or anything, but...if those are the BEST action clips they have of the Southern Rockers, that's not really a great sign.
  15. PeteF3
    "You keep sitting at that bar stool, Dave, which I'm sure you're used to." As many times as the Memphis desk got destroyed, Royal Furniture could have made a killing in all the potential advertising.
  16. PeteF3
    IT BELONGS TO JIM-MAY VALIANT. IT BELONGS TO MEMPHO, DADDY! At first I was kind of annoyed that Lawler's first priority was furniture rather than losing the Unified title, but he recovers to cut a strong promo on Valiant then hilariously gets silent and pouty when the fans get on his case too much. KIIIING FISH?? GOOO FISH!
  17. PeteF3
    Valiant levels Lawler with his own chain before passing it off before he can be caught. Same ref bump spot as in the Texas match, but Frank Morrell doesn't go all the way down. Nate passes something to Lawler and he attempts to throw fire at Valiant but catches Morrell instead. Valiant gets a rollup and Jerry Calhoun makes the count, and Valiant is the new Unified World Champion!
  18. PeteF3
    I'm flabbergasted that they would even allow this Warrior promo to air, especially in contrast to the Hogan one preceding. If one didn't know better they'd swear they were prepping for a Warrior heel turn, which isn't the effect you want to create for what is ostensibly your heir to the #1 Babyface throne. Warrior delivers a BDSM-tinged promo talking about how he needs no help from the normals and thrives on combat and talks of poisoning Hulkamania, and for the hell of it takes a potshot at "the God that you speak of, Ho Kogan." At age 8 I had not yet turned on Hogan at this point, and really wouldn't at all until his comeback in '93 and not fully until his arrival in WCW. But this is where I started turning on the Warrior.
  19. PeteF3
    Valiant is slowly starting to turn into the sickeningly emaciated Boogie Woogie Man of the '90s and '00s. Lowrance pushes that Lawler has held the Unified title since SuperClash III, which doesn't make sense in real life or in kayfabe. Valiant makes out with Tony Falk beforehand in a visual I didn't need to see, but Lawler cracks me up insisting that that be a disqualification. Total clown show to start, which isn't befitting of a World title match but has me laughing out loud multiple times, and that's better than watching Handsome Jimmy wrestle. Valiant making out with the cameraman and the cameraman getting his own "KISSED BY VALIANT" chyron is about the most glorious thing ever. They work about as good of a match as you can possibly have with Valiant, as he can at least bump a little and sell in his own convulsing way. Falk takes kind of a weak ref bump and Lawler misses a diving headbutt (!) for a visual pin. After playing hide-the-object for most of the match, Lawler pulls ANOTHER object out of his boot and knocks out Valiant for the win. Lowrance is utterly incredible throughout all of this. I don't know how the soon-to-be Baptist minister kept it so straight describing the action of Valiant. This was everything Lawler vs. JYD wished it could be, because in his own way Valiant was a much better in-ring worker than the Dog at this point.
  20. PeteF3
    Yeah, boy, another underwhelming appearance by Cactus. He just can't come off as crazy as the other two guys. Sullivan makes what is probably the first and only Kurt Vonnegut reference in the history of wrestling promos, and makes sure to emphasize that the Mad Dog was never PROVEN guilty. Sawyer had a lot of potential in this angle to make an impact on a national level, but his own problems ensured that it never came to be.
  21. PeteF3
    I was pretty lost as to what was going on for a lot of this. Match is slow to start, though it's fun seeing Pierroth work some pretty athletic spots and Azteca (about whom I know absolutely nothing) looks really good. Then Pierroth takes a sick fall to the floor when the ropes break and the match grinds to a halt. We get a LOOONG argument on the technicos side after the second fall, I believe because Los Cowboys want to continue the match 2-on-2 and Azteca wants to keep competing. Then El Texano levels Estrada with a martinete for...what I guess is the DQ, except one referee counts a pinfall on Estrada anyway. This never really got out of first gear and then went off the rails with the (unplanned? shoot angle?) injury to Pierroth. I get the whole technico ref/rudo ref aspect of lucha but the officiating was all over the place. Aside from the finish, at one point the refs act like Azteca can't compete because it's supposed to be 2-on-2 now, but then don't make any real effort to break things up when the rudos move in to attack him. Hopefully the next lucha 6-man is just 6 guys wrestling.
  22. PeteF3
    I'm beginning to see where Yatsu got his rep of suddenly falling off a cliff as a worker, after not really seeing it in the '80s AJPW set. I wouldn't call him horrible but he's noticeably out of shape and is pretty lethargic. The pace when Jumbo tags in is strikingly faster and more upbeat. Yatsu goes down to the Oklahoma Stampede and...how much notice did the SWS guys give, exactly? Between Tenryu eating a countout loss and Yatsu being pretty decisively beaten down here, it sure looks like they're getting jobbed out. Yatsu was a valuable utility man for both major federations in his career, but performances like this...well, as Noel Gallagher said when Bonehead left Oasis, "It's not exactly like Paul leaving the Beatles, is it?"
  23. PeteF3
    I really like Aguayo working as a monster heel, and Hamada provided just the right amount of hit-and-run offense. That said, the first fall finish was a mess...actually, until reading this thread I thought it was a DQ and then a restart. Final finish was a bit anticlimactic with Aguayo just sort of methodically beating Hamada into the ground before finishing with the top-rope double stomp. Aaand there was a lot of meandering outside the ring. That said, I did enjoy this even if could have been pruned by 5-7 minutes. I don't get the purpose of the 2/3 falls stip at all, but this was a fun showcase of all the cool shit Aguayo could do, at least with the right opponent. I have pretty high hopes for the rematch.
  24. PeteF3
    Some of this did look overly cooperative, especially in the early going, but...well, I've overgeneralized enough about UWF without doing it for lucha too, but generally lucha tends to be a lot...looser than this match. No air in this--the holds were worked nice and snug and when they weren't working holds they were pounding the shit out of each other. There were some awkward moments and Asai did a whole lot of spin kicks considering he whiffed on probably half of them. Not a great match but Asai did get to show off a lot more stuff here than he did in the 6-man.
  25. PeteF3
    This is getting into arguing over ice cream flavor territory and I really don't want to come across this way in every post about this promotion, but this was FF material all the way. I'm trying to give this stuff a chance, I really am, but after 100+ '80s matches and a few so far into 1990 my opinion isn't getting any more favorable. The most enjoyable UWF matches invariably involve Bob Backlund, the Brits, or some other outsider shaking things up. The rest, even the good matches, are just a bunch of guys in a blender of matwork that almost never goes anywhere long-term or gets me invested in who wins or the consequences of such. The post-match really was good, though.
×
×
  • Create New...