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Tim Cooke

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  1. Tim Cooke
    Ric Flair returns after a world class Arn Anderson promo and proceeds to cut the greatest promo I have seen in wrestling. Meanwhile, the crowd is just losing their minds the entire segment. This is wrestling’s version of baseball’s Cal Ripken Jr. 2131 game, which has unreal emotion, intensity, and aura. The height of WCW and one of the biggest blunders in terms of not being able to capitalize on what they had with Flair and the reinvented Four Horsemen. This quarter hour did a 5.44, leading WCW to a 4.54 rating, which beat the 3.99 rating RAW did.
  2. Tim Cooke
    Kidman made his face turn at Fall Brawl by drop kicking Raven. This is the match where he wins the cruiserweight title from Juventud. The finish had outstanding heat but they were given way too much time to work, as both guys didn’t have enough in their arsenal to fill the time to the best of their abilities. Kidman will go on to have his best WCW match in March 1999 against Rey Jr. on Nitro.
  3. Tim Cooke
    Definite work
  4. Tim Cooke
    This is pro wrestling's version of Cal Ripken's 2131 game. An atmosphere, emotion, and intensity that will most likely never be topped
  5. Tim Cooke
    Flair had the pre-Clash TV match with Sting in Feb 88 and that's all I remember off the top of my head in terms of anything bigger than a squash. In 1989 he had the Muta match later in the year and probably 1-2 I am forgetting.
  6. Tim Cooke
    I disagree with this a lot, especially after making my way through the 1998 yearbook. I've watched the 1996, 1997, and three quarters of the 1998 yearbooks over the last couple of years. Austin, prior to the Summerslam 97 neck issue, was very sound technically, but he hadn't put it all together yet. There isn't a whole lot of difference between Steve Austin 1994 against Sting on WCWSN and Steve Austin vs. Bret Hart from Survivor Series 1996. By the time 1998 rolls around, his bumping and brawling is still all there, only now he is over as much as anyone in the history of US wrestling and working some of the most solid angles that the WWF ever ran. As for Foley, I've never been a huge fan, but I don't see this shell of himself in 1998/1999 as compared to what he did in prior years. I value in ring work as well and I'm certainly not claiming that WWF was producing MOTYC's on TV throughout 1998 but most of the Austin TV matches are solidly worked. And where they really excel is in the angles, as everything from the night after WrestleMania really comes together throughout the summer with the Austin/McMahon feud. The 4 month stretch from April 98 - August 1998 is some of the best wrestling storytelling I have seen. It is very Memphisesque, only on the national stage. If you don't like Memphis, I guess I can see you not liking the Austin/McMahon week to week build. The 4/13/98 RAW is maybe the single best job the WWF ever did in building up and hyping a match, even with the bait and switch at the end. So far throughout 1998, he hasn't had any blow away Raw matches, but everything has at least been average. Working with Kane and a still unover Foley certainly doesn't help that. But if TV matches really matter so much, Jerry Lawler and Bill Dundee wouldn't be all time greats. Most of their TV stuff is very solid but it was the arena matches that brought them to the next level. I just don't think that looking at TV matches to rate a guy is the best approach.
  7. Tim Cooke
    Looked like a legit injury. Have to check the WON to see what Dave said.
  8. Tim Cooke
    Foley’s bump off the top of the cage, the chokeslam through the top of the cage to the mat (which wasn’t supposed to happen), and chokeslam into the thumbtacks makes for an out of this world music video highlight but not a good or even average match.
  9. Tim Cooke
    I was very amused by the Rock vs. Ken Shamrock King of the Ring final. It’s very much a match you would expect from your WCW mid card at the time, with lots of good moves. This also had a lot of heat for the 6-7 minute stretch of near falls they do, which is the difference from a lot of those WCW matches. But the most amusing thing about this match was for the decent moves and the heat, both guys had trouble with simple irish whip spots. Reversing a floatover DDT into a northern lights suplex? No problem Whipping each other from corner to corner or side to side? Not so easy.
  10. Tim Cooke
    (Continued from the 6/29/98 Kane vs. Austin Title Switch) The second is Goldberg defeating Hogan in front of a huge crowd at the Georgia Dome. People were losing it when Goldberg went up against Scott Hall earlier in the night but they took it up another notch when he hit the jackhammer on Hogan to win the heavyweight championship at the end of Nitro. In hindsight, it was still a stupid move to have the title switch on Nitro and not on PPV. BUT, I do wonder that if the booking had been different (and thus, better) with Goldberg after his title win, would this be remembered as such a big blunder. Goldberg wasn’t in the main event at Bash at the Beach, but with Malone and Rodman, it’s a little bit understandable. But he isn’t in the main event at Road Wild and doesn’t have a match at Fall Brawl. He main events Havoc against DDP, does a quick run in at World War III, and then loses to Nash at Starrcade. As quickly as they had someone who should have been able to carry them in 2000, it disappeared. Another of those what if’s – and Goldberg vs. Austin at Summerslam 1998 would have been out of this world.
  11. Tim Cooke
    Two of the biggest title change pops of the 90’s occur with in a week of each other in 1998. The first is Austin regaining his title from Kane the night after King of the Ring. While the storyline wasn’t great, it was hardly ill-conceived. Kane defeated Austin in a first blood match after Undertaker hit Austin with a chair while the referee was knocked out. Austin had a legitimate gripe the next night on Raw and because Vince (and Paul Bearer) are both made out to be cowards when they aren’t gloating, they both pass the buck. Austin demands a rematch from Vince, who says he is fine with it if Paul Bearer is okay. The same thing happens as Paul Bearer says he is fine with it as long as Kane is okay. The Yearbook joins the match in progress and it certainly doesn’t look like anything special but the reaction for Austin winning the title back is great. It would be out of this world if Ric Flair didn’t return later in the year and Austin didn’t get maybe the biggest pop of the attitude era on January 4, 1999 (taped December 28, 1998).
  12. Tim Cooke
    11 days after the best pro style heavyweight match of 1998 comes to the best worked shoot match of 1998 (and maybe of all time). After losing to Valentijn Overeem in April in a shoot, Tamura was forced to job the RINGS title to Tariel in May, in what was essentially a squash. This is his redemption “fight” with Kohsaka, who he is 1-0 against in RINGS. Kohsaka is essentially the third rated native in RINGS (with Maeda being 1). The first 11 minutes of this match are all on the mat. That’s not exactly out of the ordinary until you realize that they don’t use a single point (of the allotted 10) during this segment. The flowing mat work consists of what might make up a legitimate grappling match. Tamura hits his usual high spots (the spin out of the arm bar attempt) and it goes by effortlessly. The final 19 minutes kick up the drama with near submissions, knock downs, and more standing exchanges. Yet, at the end of the match, both guys still only use 5 of their 10 points. 30 minute draws are hard to pull off, especially in a worked shoot environment. Those who watched the UWF 2.0 matches from the DVDVR Best of the 80’s Other set can testify that you can’t just have any two wrestlers try to go 30 minutes. I watched this with Paul a couple of hours after watching the Kobashi/Kawada match. He thinks he had at least seen the first ten minutes of this match but wasn’t completely positive. What he was positive about was this was one of the best matches he had ever seen and holds up perfectly in the 1998 MMA landscape.
  13. Tim Cooke
    There was a time when I thought this match wasn’t just over rated, but was also just not that great overall. Seeing it again in the context of the 1998 yearbook and also comparing it to the “great” New Japan heavyweight matches of 2013-2014, I was dead wrong on this being over rated. I generally think that great matches stand up on their own over the test of time and this one certainly does. But the greatness of this match becomes even clearer when looking at it against the 1998 heavyweight landscape as well as the 2014 heavyweight scene. I like to be positive in my reviews so we’ll start with the one negative before moving into everything right about this Budokan Hall match. As All Japan progressed throughout the 90’s, it fell victim to an issue that is pretty common across wrestling. How do you top yourself and make the crowd react to spots that they have seen over and over throughout the years? The same issue happens with booking but I think it often affects the in ring stories more. Instead of toning back and re-educating the audience that a face lock or stretch plum could end a match, they are simply rest hold filler at this point. The theory that once you open Pandora’s box, you can’t close it may be true but there are small things you can do to work smarter. Instead, All Japan went the route of just throwing bombs. They threw them well and usually sold them okay, but when a burning hammer or tiger driver ’91 won’t end a match, what will besides death? This match is far from the extreme end of this philosophy, but it is still there. And now for the good. Where to begin? In modern Japanese wrestlers, a lot of matches are built around strike exchanges that are very plain. Two guys throwing forearm after forearm at each other gets repetitive fast and hurts a lot of matches for me these days. Kawada and Kobashi mix up the striking so well that you forget they are having multiple striking segments in this single match. Kobashi primarily relies on chops but will occasionally throw a forearm. Kawada brings a great amount of variety (and does it all very skillfully), using chops, kicks to the chest, kicks to the leg, kicks to the face, and the occasional forearm. The 6-7 striking exchanges would drive me crazy if they were both just trading forearms. Here, it didn’t seem excessive at all. Kobashi came into this match with his knees wrecked. Kawada had to work around this limitation, though to his credit, Kobashi worked as hard as ever. They opened with non-traditional mat work, which would come up later in the match when Kawada got a near submission with a cross arm breaker after Kobashi almost ended the match with two big lariats. The big moves were all sold very well, with transitions being out of this world. Instead of just popping up after a backdrop driver (which was starting to happen with some frequency in All Japan and is certainly around today, especially in Shibata and poorer Ishii matches), Kobashi might get back to his feet after 6 or 7 seconds, but only because he was using every last ounce of effort. Kawada had some of his spectacular selling here as well, which was organic and never once took you (or the crowd) out of the match. The booking also made this match a challenge and that they were able to overcome it speaks volume to both, but especially Kawada. This was Kawada’s first title defense since beating Misawa at the Tokyo Dome on May 1. Since he was booked to lose here, he had to put Kobashi over fairly strongly while also making sure he didn’t look poor in defeat. That is an extremely hard thing to balance. Kobashi gets a definitive win by brute force while Kawada looks good in defeat (“if only I wasn’t facing this determined Kobashi today…). Watching this over the weekend was the first time I ever saw it as a possible top 20 AJPW match of the 90's. Just great and an awesome comparison match to the 6/27/98 Tamura vs. Kohsaka RINGS match from a few weeks later.
  14. Tim Cooke
    Introduction to Japanese MMA for the Japanese Professional Wrestling Fan Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Carlos Newton (Pride 3) I tell people all the time that this fight is the way I envision the perfect UWF match in a non-worked environment. The mat work is absolutely sublime with amazing transitions and fluidity on the mat. Rumina Sato vs. Charles Taylor (1/15/99 – Shooto) Rumina Sato vs. Caol Uno (5/29/99 – Shooto) The first is one of the greatest submissions in MMA history, something that everyone has tried to replicate but no one has been able to do. The second is the best Japanese MMA fight of the 1990’s, with a complete back story in addition to being on the 10th Anniversary show as the main event. Frank Shamrock vs. Allan Goes (5/13/95 – Pancrase) For my money, the best Pancrase fight. Because of the rule differences (no closed fists to the head standing or on the ground) and the rope breaks, this is a good comparison to the Sakuraba vs. Newton fight as a “real UWF style match.” Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera vs. Gary Goodridge (7/27/01 – Pride) Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera vs. Mark Coleman (9/14/01 – Pride) Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera vs. Heath Herring (11/3/01 – Pride) I lump all three of these fights together because it gives some continuity and shows just how far and above Nog was from the rest of the heavyweight world in the early 2000’s. The first is Nog’s Pride debut, after winning the 2001 RINGS King of Kings tournament. The second is his second fight in Pride, against Pride World Gran Prix Champion Mark Coleman. And the third fight is for the Pride Heavyweight Title, with the winner becoming the first Heavyweight Champion. The first two matches are short and exciting, while the third is an extended squash as Nog dominates but Herring tries to pluck away as much as possible. Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Renzo Gracie (8/28/00 – Pride) I would strongly encourage anyone new to Japanese MMA to watch all of Sakuraba’s fights in order from Pride 2 through 12/31/2003. The Royce Gracie fight is the epic 6 round, 90 minute battle but it doesn’t work as a stand alone match. This is the best of the “stand alone” Gracie fights. Caol Uno vs. Joachim Hansen (3/26/05 – K-1 Hero’s) Maybe the best lightweight fight of the 2000’s in Japan, with a spectacular mix of ground work, standing, and throws to go with a highlight reel finish. Fedor Emelianenko vs. Semmy Schilt (7/27/02 – Pride) Fedor Emelianenko vs. Heath Herring (11/24/02 – Pride) Fedor Emelianenko vs. Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera (3/16/03 – Pride) Similar to the Noguiera trio of matches, this is Fedor’s first three Pride fights after winning the 2002 RINGS King of Kings. Fedor isn’t able to handle Schilt as well as you would think, but then lays a beat down on Herring, leading to the epic FOTYC against Nog at Pride 25. Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera vs. Volk Han (2/24/01 – RINGS) This isn’t on the list because it is a great fight. Don’t get me wrong, it is good in it’s own right, but it is more of a novelty of seeing Han, in his early 40’s, go toe to toe with the greatest heavyweight fighter of the early 2000’s. A lot of fun.
  15. Tim Cooke
    The Austin vs. McMahon storyline (from January through Over the Edge 98 - that's where I am at on the yearbook right now) has been fantastic. I haven't seen most of this stuff and it's no wonder they completely overtook WCW. Great stuff, even with the clear Russo influenced garbage surrounding this in the other parts of Raw
  16. Tim Cooke
    Ikeda and Ishikawa have met numerous times throughout the years, with this match and their August 29, 1999 tournament final matches being the most highly acclaimed. I have always thought that Ishikawa was a good worker from 1996-1998 but truly started to get great in 1999. This match brings that theory into question as Ishikawa is great here. He is the perfect foil for Ikeda’s brutal standing game. Ishikawa starting in the guard position on the ground popped the Korakuen Hall crowd big time. This was obviously an Inoki spot but was also a clever bit of completely unintentional foreshadowing for a big story that was still to come in Japanese MMA: the Gracies butt scooting their way against Sakuraba. Ikeda lands a nasty spin kick square to Ishikawa’s face as well. Probably a top 10 match for 1998.
  17. Tim Cooke
    No blood for 4+ years now
  18. Tim Cooke
    Southern style tag team wrestling is my favorite single style of wrestling. Faces dominate early with the heels bumping and stooging for them, transition to face in peril, and then take it home. It’s simple and with a little thought, can be done extremely well in a variety of different circumstances and with different kinds of wrestlers. OMEGA was a promotion that came the closest to blending the traditional southern wrestling tradition of building heat in matches while adding in state of the art moves and high spots (for the time). Death and Destruction bring the heat here, Helms brings the high spots and youthful energy, and Maverick brings the big man power spots. This is the OMEGA match that I think best represents the promotion, although I am looking forward to rewatching the Helms/Maverick vs. Hardy Boys matches from Dec 98 and Jan 99.
  19. Tim Cooke
    Yea, Meltzer never thought of Dustin as more than good. It was his opponent who would make or break how good his matches were from most of Dave's reviews.
  20. Tim Cooke
    This is an interesting match that I suggested needed to be put on the yearbook, even though it is a 100% shoot. RINGS transitional period of blending more shoots alongside worked matches occurred from August 1996 until August 1999 when they went to a complete shoot company. The company ran shows in Holland in 1997 and 1998 that were all shoots. Tamura participated in the Feb 1997 show and won his fight against Andre Mannaart in 2:11 with a rear naked choke. His April 1997 match against Tsyoshi Kohsaka looks to have been a shoot but no one is really 100% sure. In September 1997, Kohsaka would go to a 30:00 draw with Frank Shamrock in a legit shoot. Tamura won the RINGS Battle Dimension Tournament in January 1998 to win the RINGS World Title. For whatever reason, Maeda decided it would be okay for Tamura to fight Valentijn Overeem on 4/16 in a legit shoot. Tamura was noted for being highly talented as not only a worker but also as a shooter. Overeem was way too much for him and Tamura lost the fight in 4:00 minutes. Consequently, Tamura was forced to drop the RINGS World Title to Tariel Bitsadze in May 1998 because of his “real” loss. Tamura would get his win back from Overeen in a worked match in February 1999. The fight is so short that it won’t be hard for anyone to sit through (and it is entertaining in its own right) and the booking decisions that accompany it are something New Japan would deal with a lot from 1999-2005.
  21. Tim Cooke
    I’m not a fan of DX (especially HHH and Shawn) but this was strong TV, with an immediate replacement for Shawn, the shooty comments that would be a staple of the Monday Night Wars, and a guy switching companies. This set up the New Age Outlaws joining DX at the conclusion of the main event cage match. Definite Best RAW candidate.
  22. Tim Cooke
    The “official” kick off of the Vince/Austin feud. Vince brings out a new title belt and Austin takes it. The do a slower than usual Russo build in terms of upping the ante in the promo (and continue doing so as the feud progresses). Most of this feud so far has revolved around different interpretations of the English language. “What is your definition of the easy way or the hard way?” “Why did you say Tyson was the baddest man on the planet?” Austin ends up giving Vince a stunner to a huge pop and is then arrested backstage. It’s no wonder that the next episode of RAW ended Nitro’s winning streak.
  23. Tim Cooke
    I was disappointed in their 1995 and 1996 USWA Studio matches, mostly out of ridiculously high expectations. But with low expectations coming into this match, I was pleasantly surprised. This is the digest version of their big spots and everything looks great. The punching, especially from Lawler, is super tight. Lawler hits a great bulldog and Dundee hits his football chop tackles, which Lawler bumps big for. Austin Idol is also really good on commentary, coming off as a stuck up mid-40’s bachelor who is trying to egg both Lawler and Dundee into a fight with him.
  24. Tim Cooke
    Vince comes out first to talk about Austin’s arrest and how he was kind enough to bail him out of jail that night. So he introduces the “new” Stone Cold Steve Austin. Austin comes down in a suit but also with a baseball cap. Vince appreciates Austin’s effort but he isn’t wearing his Gucci shoes and he shouldn’t be wearing his hat. Austin asks Vince if one of the security guys can take a picture of this moment. Vince gives a great cocky smile for the camera. Austin then says that’s the last time you will ever see him in a suit and he rips it off. He asks Vince to bow down to him and hits him in the stomach so he bows down. Another excellent segment. Vince’s selling of the shot to the stomach was better than almost anyone on the WWF roster at the time could do for selling that required more subtly than over acting.
  25. Tim Cooke
    Russo must have been in heaven with these vignette's. "Val Venis is coming..."
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