Jump to content
Pro Wrestling Only

tcg91

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    818

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Everything posted by tcg91

  1. tcg91
    Swede Hanson vs Bob Orton (11/26/84) Bless Orton, he tried, but not even Ric Flair could have dragged Hanson to a good match in 1984. The worst part of this was the complete lack of continuity and follow-up. Hanson went from a bearhug to a wrist lock to an armbar in the same minute, without any logic. Later on, he drove his full weight onto Orton's sternum, only to apply a chinlock instead of capitalizing on the chest damage in another way. Orton's offense was obviously better, but Hanson didn't bump enough for him, forcing the Cowboy to get creative. Orton's finishing splash looked quite weak, especially since Hanson had to slowly climb to the top rope by himself before taking it, which could have been avoided. 1/4*
  2. tcg91
    Rick McGraw vs Mad Dog Vachon (10/22/84) Vachon couldn't really go here and this was a bit of a mess. Nothing much happened during the first few minutes as they traded dull holds, but the match became mildly entertaining once Mad Dog started biting his opponent. I don't think McGraw did much to save this, and there were miscommunications on both sides, such as during a dropkick spot, where Vachon clearly didn't want to sell the move that McGraw used as a babyface last lifeline. There were also several pinfall attempts with no heat or believability, as Vachon never made McGraw look like a legitimate threat when he was on top. Mad Dog went over with a piledriver, but he didn't make a good impression. 1/2*
  3. tcg91
    David Sammartino vs Mr. Fuji (10/14/84) Yeah, this sucked. This was obviously designed to make Sammartino look like an underdog who would suffer against veteran before showing his skills, but the problem is that Fuji's offense looked so horrible that selling it just made David look weak. Apart from David selling Fuji's bad strikes like he was dying, this mostly consisted of meaningless rest holds that went nowhere and quite rightly drew a loud "boring" chant from the crowd. It wasn't completely terrible, as it at least had a purpose, but Sammartino's "flashy" win didn't do much for him when he had spent more than 10 minutes getting his ass kicked by an old, frail man. Monsoon even claimed that this had been David's strategy all along, which is such a stupid statement. 1/4*
  4. tcg91
    This was a very good match, despite not being the best of their excellent series. The heat between Jumbo and Tenryu was always there and they kept hitting each other at every opportunity, but they also gave plenty of space to their partners. Kawada sold his chest very well and proved himself as a good support again, helping Tenryu and resulting decisive, but exhausthing himself too much against Yatsu. This match would be a highlight of many people's career, but is relatively unknown just because of how great these four were. ***3/4
  5. tcg91
    This was pretty good and fine for what it was. Their chemistry was weird in a good way, as Rude was able to carry Warrior and to sell his stuff without making it look forced, most of the times. Yes, Warrior's mannerism could be annoying, but the crowd was hot for this one and that clearly boosted their performance. Rude did okay during the heat segment and that allowed Warrior to save some energy for the finishing stretch. I don't think the finish was super good, especially for a babyface winning a title, but it went quite over with the crowd. **3/4
  6. tcg91
    This was a good match, but maybe a bit disappointing as they both were excellent tag teams and they didn't deliver to my expectations. The Harts' shine segment was fun, especially at the expense of a frustrated Blanchard, but it may have lasted a bit too much. As of a result, the heels didn't generate much heat on Neidhart later on, and their control was kind of average. Decent finishing stretch, but even this one felt a bit awkward in terms of ring positioning and timing. I felt like they called a lot of this on the fly and didn't enough chemistry to pull it off in a flawless way- ***
  7. tcg91
    The correct date should be 8/18. This was a good and fun match. The first 2/3 minutes between Astro and Panther were top notch, then a lot of focus was put on Charles avoiding any contact with Atlantis, which disrupted the pace of the bout but generated good heat. Decent rudos control later on, despite the lack of major heat segments on any of the tecnicos, but this was very crisp when Atlantis was in or when Charles was grappling with Faraon. Good finish by Faraon, this looked like a match that was hyping some future matches, but was a good contest as well. ***1/2
  8. tcg91
    This was a good match for the most part, apart from a couple of big flaws. The matwork mostly went nowhere, despite Fujiwara trying his best, as Maeda switched the body part focus a couple of times without much logic and they all looked like rest holds at the end. However, they told a good story of Maeda using his kicks to take down Fujiwara and the latter trying to block them or, at least, stay down as long as he could to get some rest. The finish was realistic but not very satisfying. ***1/4
  9. tcg91
    This was enjoyable for what it was, but also a bit of a letdown if one was expecting a good old hoss fight, as this never reached the next level despite being more than fine. I liked the way Vader didn't look vulnerable despite taking bumps, as even Choshu had to work extra hard to bring him down, but their limb work wasn't exactly great. That being said, the crowd was into this and this made the count-out tease very effective. Surprising finish. ***1/4
  10. tcg91
    This was a great match and an improvement of their first battle. Sano put on some aggressive armwork and Liger sold it perfectly, making this some of the best limb focus of the whole decade. We also see Liger's evolution continuing, as he gets new stuff out of his arsenal to put less pressure on his hurt arm. Sano paid for his arrogance by being busted open, but Liger still only had one arm and lost clean with a very impactful finish. Some of the best Junior Heavyweight wrestling since the Fujinami days in the early 80s. ****1/4
  11. tcg91
    Chief Jay Strongbow vs Paul Orndorff (7/23/84) Wow, this was bad. It took Orndorff ages to get undressed, and that was by far the best part of the match, if you can ignore Strongbow being so antsy that even Monsoon told him to chill for a bit. It took them 3 minutes just to touch each other and that was followed by another 3 minutes of very uninspiring action. After a few rest holds, they collided and Strongbow fell out of the ring, ringing the bell as he fell down, which was hilarious and I wish the camera angle was better . Strongbow then proceeded to no-sell Orndorff's offense before the heel finished him off with an ugly clothesline that probably hurt like hell, but looked more like a strange forearm. 1/4*
  12. tcg91
    The Fabulous Moolah vs Wendi Richter (5/21/84) Moolah worked as the babyface here, which confused me at first, as I clearly remembered her being in the heel's corner at the first WrestleMania. Wendi played a decent heel in terms of generating heat I guess, but the action stank. Of course, Moolah also had to do her forced referee-climbing spot, which the heel Richter decided to join for some reason. Moolah showed no continuity or ring psychology, trying to work on the arm, then the back with a horrible leg scissors, and then the leg. Richter had Moolah beaten for what felt like a full minute after a series of weak slams, but instead of going for the pin, she decided to shove the referee and got herself disqualified. DUD
  13. tcg91
    Bobo Brazil, Rocky Johnson & SD Jones vs Afa, Sika & Samula (5/21/84) Brazil got a decent pop, but he was badly exposed here. The whole point of putting him in a six-man tag should have been to protect him, yet he opened the match with a long, horrible sequence against Afa, as he could barely move his legs properly for kicks and headscissors. It was sad to watch, and not really his fault, unlike his annoying no-selling. This quickly turned into a mess, and of course the Samoans weren't good enough to carry their opponents, relying on dull chinlocks and a lot of growling. They tried a finish with SD leapfrogging one of of the Samoans just to be hit by a combo clothesline by the other two, but the execution was horrendously sloppy. Thankfully, this lasted less than 10 minutes. -*
  14. tcg91
    Salvatore Bellomo vs Afa (5/5/84) They both got booed during the introductions, which was funny, although Bellomo gradually won some of the crowd over despite his offense not looking very good. Watching him do those pointless cartwheels in the middle of the match always made me wonder what the goal was, I think he was trying too hard to get a pop. There were even a couple of "boring" chants as Afa used a long chinlock before switching to an armbar for a minute, which didn't make much sense, especially since Bellomo never really had any trouble during his comeback. The finish was actually fun, as Afa back body-dropped Bellomo into the ropes, and it looked so nasty that Bellomo might have hurt himself in the processs. 1/2*
  15. tcg91
    Chief Jay Strongbow vs The Masked Superstar (1/23/84) "What the hell is he doing?" is what Superstar asked as Strongbow was doing his stupid dance, and I couldn't agree more. Strongbow wasn't in good shape and clearly didn't have much left in the tank, but unfortunately he still dominated most of the match with a series of side headlocks before going after Superstar's mask, which at least got a decent reaction from the crowd. Despite doing the job, Strongbow took about 90% of the offense, but none of it was particularly good. He also no-sold some of Superstar's strikes, before suddenly collapsing after a simple clothesline and losing the match in a quite unticlimatic way. 1/2*
  16. tcg91
    Ivan Putski vs Tiger Chung Lee (1/16/84) This was painful to watch. What hurt it the most was their inability to build any momentum or a meaningful heat segment, as everything they did felt random. Lee's static nerve holds didn't mean a thing, as Putski was kicking him without any problem a few seconds later (and his kicks looked awful as well). The match was just a series of meaningless comebacks, one after another, followed by another rest hold as if nothing had happened. They didn't manage their time well either, as they went past the 10 minute time-limit and it felt like forever before Putski threw Lee off the top rope, prompting the referee to finally stop the match at the 12-minute mark. -*
  17. tcg91
    This was a great match for the most part. Dandy played his part beautifully, selling Charles' punches like they were lethal and then hitting an explosive and merciless comeback. This got bloody, which only added to the good atmosphere and some effective match pacing, as they were bit on selling exhaustion without boring anyone. Dandy took a few dangerous bumps, including a top rope suicide dive, that was followed by a furious fists exchange outside the ring. The non-finish in an apuestas match was a bit of a let-down, even though their feud continued, but this was a very enjoyable match anyway. ***3/4
  18. tcg91
    This was a beautiful match and definitely the kind of stuff I like to see during shoot style bouts. Tight and intense grappling, rather than being just a filler series of rest holds between a kick and the next one. The strikes were good too and told the story of a desperate Yamazaki who tried to win the match by KO, while Fujiwara was more focused on his holds, until he realised he had to switch gear to keep up with his opponent. This got bloody due to the hard strikes and they got down to a decisive KO point, as Fujiwara won with a few violent headbutts, but Yamazaki was getting closer and closer to the upset. ****
  19. tcg91
    This was way impressive, lasting less than 10 minutes and showcasing most of the shoot style features that I like, as there were no filler holds and these two hit each other hard, while indulging in competitive matwork. Nakano's nose started to bleed due to Funaki's hard shots, so seeing his revenge shots on Funaki was very satisfying and the crowd got into it. Funaki sold his opponent's kicks very well, but he managed to come out on top with a good submission finish. ***3/4
  20. tcg91
    I loved both guys and this was great stuff, but this match always left a bittersweet taste in my mouth. As an angle advancement and story development, this was pretty much perfect. However, there was some sloppiness and forced spots, like the double fall from the apron. Also, the piledriver was such an important part of the feud here and they just dropped one in the middle of the match without any consequence. I don't think this was an all-time classic, but it was still a great spectacle between two of the best ever. ****
  21. tcg91
    This was a decent match, enhanced by a very hot crowd. The War Games formula is pretty much the same at all times, but some guys worked hard to keep it compelling and some just did their 2 cents. Doc looked like a monster and the babyface in general shined a lot. Usual finish. Definitely not the best War Games match, but not a terrible one by any means. **3/4
  22. tcg91
    This was very fun and a cool story, as Luger was very worried about Steamboat's skills and played the part of a coward despite his bigger size. Not only Steamboat sold generously for Luger, but so did Luger every time Steamboat tried to find an opening and use his experience to turn things around. Luger got so much heat from the crowd here and, despite the non-finish, Steamboat's comeback and raged chair shot were so satisfying. ***1/2
  23. tcg91
    This was a great match and also Kobashi's breakout performance. Jumbo was in rebuilding mode, after losing the Triple Crown, and Kobashi proved to be a valuable ally against the Hansen/Tenryu dream team. Just like Kawada did the previous year, Kobashi mostly sold his opponents' stuff, but every dropkick or move looked like progression and development, celebrated by such a hot crowd (Jumbo had to work babyface too). Cool finishing stretch and everything had a purpose here. ***3/4
  24. tcg91
    Very enjoyable match. This was a mix between a classic Southern tag setup and a Japanese junior heavyweight battle, showing elements of both with good heat and a competitive focus on matwork. This could easily considered a spotfest by most, but a late 80s All Japan version of it. The Fantastics fit right in with good selling and they brought extra amount of excitement, which made the Malenkos look like total mat masters. Good finish. ***1/2
  25. tcg91
    This was a great match and the best Liger bout at that point. Liger gradually evolved from his first matches as a highspot machine, indulging in heated and aggressive action against such a dangerous challenger. This still had some nice amount of flashy moves though, looking like a very modern Junior Heavyweight setup. Sano looked sloppy a couple of times, but brought tons on intensity, leading to a rare and well-executed double KO finish. ***3/4
×
×
  • Create New...