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KB8

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  1. KB8
    Haven't Japanese promotions been sort of okay with their handling of intergender matches as well. I mean, not ALL Japanese promotions (I assume), but a while back you'd usually get one match a year where Ishikawa and another one of the Battlarts crew would be involved in an intergender tag. And outside of Ishikawa doing some of his creepy old man shtick it was usually pretty straight. Even the creepy old man shtick led to him getting walloped in the mouth by whichever woman he was leering at so if nothing else it had a decent payoff. Then again I could very well be overselling these matches. I recall Kandori being involved in a couple back in the 90s as well. There was one one where she teamed with Kodo Fuyuki against Tenryu and Ultimo Dragon and they certainly played up that she was a badass. She got to work mostly even with Ultimo Dragon and of course she was laying into Tenryu.
  2. KB8
    Still an absolute whirlwind of a bout. Some of the best, most intricate blink-and-you'll-miss-it matwork ever and really the perfect example of my favourite kind of wrestling at this point in my life as a pro-wrestling nerd. I'm up through 1993 with all of the RINGS footage and Han was basically a phenom straight out the gate, but there were times in his first couple years where he'd take just a few seconds longer to set up one of his awesome throws or takedowns. He always loved those wild hapkido wrist throws, but there was an amusing carny aspect to them where you knew they'd be nigh on impossible to pull off in an actual fight (I mean, it's all fake anyway, but in shoot style it's obviously trying to portray everything as being LEGIT legit). He does one of them right at the start of this and by golly that did not look set up in the slightest. I didn't see him reaching for an arm, didn't see Tamura complying; Han just did something and then he had Tamura's wrist in his hand and Tamura was getting thrown around whether he wanted to be or not. Another thing you notice about Han if you watch some of the lesser bouts is that he's a bit of an underrated striker. He's not nearly as polished as Tamura, but he loves that spinning back fist and he was often happy to trade blows as soon as he came into the promotion. This wasn't striker v grappler as such, but even with Han being a solid striker he can't hang on the feet with Tamura, so the difference in ability there adds a cool - if certainly not uncommon for shoot style - dynamic. Tamura makes a point of going after the legs with kicks and a few times he almost buckles Han. That of course opens the door for other shots and we get the signature Han knockdown after he's been smashed in the gut. In plenty of early Han bouts he'd get up after that and try for the spinning back fist almost immediately. It usually worked too. This time he waits a bit longer, but he tries it anyhow. That Tamura effortlessly sidestepped it was another cool little highlight of the difference in striking. It's hard to describe the matwork because it's all so tricked out and fast and reading about it never does it justice anyway, but it's worth reiterating that Han is the absolute GOAT at occupying limbs and tying you up in preposterous predicaments. He'll grab a leg and you'll reach for the ropes, then he'll grab that arm and you'll have to reach with something else, but then before long he's got you tied up completely and you're fucked. One of the best sub-15 minute matches ever, and if this isn't the best match-up ever it's probably the best trilogy of matches. The wild thing is this might be their weakest/least transcendentally incredible bout (I'd probably say it's #2 behind their 9/97 match but I could see all three of them having a case for being the best).
  3. KB8
    The pinkish background here sort of reminded me of the Memphis studio during those earliest matches on the DVDVR 80s set. Thought Giant's promo was good and an effective way to further build Souled Out, so that's about all you can ask for.
  4. KB8
    Fairly heated last few minutes before the inevitable Nash/Syxx interference. Luger actually holds them off for quite a while and does an admirable job of it. He's been booked fairly well as one of WCW's top babyface defenders against the Outsiders and Hogan. He picked up the first real victory for them at Starrcade and here he successfully went one on three against the three biggest nWo members outside of Hogan (well, Syxx is probably arguable). Steiners come out to even the odds and we get a decent brawl to close the show. Scott Steiner looked rough here, btw. That mullet had seen better days and he looks bloated to heck. Never really thought about Eddie, but yeah, he probably could've done with the exposure there.
  5. KB8
    This was probably a bit too on the nose that they were trying to capture that Great American Bash lightning in the bottle, because they headed for the bathrooms straight away, but at the same time they worked a great little seven minute potatofest. They actually wrestle most of this IN the bathroom this time, rather than doing a brief pit stop there before taking the fight elsewhere ala the GAB. Benoit flies into a radiator and hand dryer, Sullivan gets conked with a bin and chucked into a cubicle, the referee ends up in a urinal. On their way back to the ring Sullivan absolutely heaves Benoit down the stairs and Benoit takes a fucking bonkers bump down about forty stairs. Finish was maybe a wee bit daft but post-match Benoit BLASTS Sullivan with a folding patio chair. I'll be honest, I could watch these two potato each other for days (although yeah, there's a sort of creepiness to the Benoit/Nancy stuff).
  6. KB8
    This isn't really the kind of thing I care too much about in 2019. It had some okay bits, though, and tbh I probably liked it better than Starrcade as well. Crowd were actually super hot for Dean and plenty of his legwork was pretty good. The dynamic is sort of backwards because he - the babyface - works more like a heel while Ultimo - the heel - does babyface highspots, but the crowd cheer Malenko and boo Ultimo so I guess it works fine? Ultimo doesn't give a rip about selling any of that leg work and planchas out the ring landing on his feet like those last several minutes were a mere fever dream. I guess we'll go with the finish paying it off anyway.
  7. KB8
    Hogan's "let him through! Get in here!" as Giant has no chance of being let through or actually getting in there ruled. He's the best character in the US right now and the whole ambiance of the nWo promos with the single spotlight and surrounding darkness is great. Both of the Monday flagship shows knocked it out the park this week.
  8. KB8
    Bischoff was absolutely dripping with obnoxiousness here. Liz being visibly uncomfortable and Bischoff feeding off that made the desire to punch him in the mouth all the greater. "All you've ever wanted was two things, Savage: her...and my hair!" The character might've jumped the shark eventually, but he was on point here and really nailed that shit. I thought this was a great promo.
  9. KB8
    I actually had very little recollection of this so holy shit was I way into it. Savage popping folk in the mouth, shoving old ass heads of security on their keisters, telling Bischoff to kiss his ass, all in front of a rabid crowd; man this ruled. The stuff with Sting might've come across as a touch confusing or corny at the time, but I'd guess every single person in that arena were too busy flipping out to care.
  10. KB8
    This had to have been one of the best episodes of RAW in the entire run up to this point, right? I know we only get the good bits on the yearbook, but all of this feels head and shoulders above most of the goofy shit we saw in the first few years. For the first time in a while it feels like the WWF have the makings of something that might actually run Nitro and the nWo close...
  11. KB8
    Yeah, this was great. Everything with Austin is gold because he'll just verbally tear into everyone like a madman, and you buy that given opportunity he'll tear into them physically as well. That jackass line at Monsoon was fucking great. It feels like they're giving him a little more leash every week and boy is he making the most of it. Awesome stuff all around and all the good aspects of Attitude.
  12. KB8
    This was an excellent segment. It along with big brawl to close the show feels like some of the best out of the ring stuff they've had in the show's run up to this point. Also echoing the others in thinking this really felt like a launchpad for them to really get their shit together and start competing with WCW and the red hot nWo. Bret didn't really seem that whiny to me here; if anything he seems entirely justified in being angry. Then again, taking his ball and going home was a bit whiny. Austin's promo was tremendous and he has about twelve absolute zingers. "Son, you better get me some equipment that works or I'm gon' whip your ass."
  13. KB8
    This wasn't doing a ton for me. Kyoko basically deciding fuck it after having her shoulder torn at and hitting four powerbombs in a row like it wasn't a thing struck me as a pretty weak transition, particularly when viewed straight after Misawa/Kobashi. I don't mind Kyoko when she's in there with someone I like and Takako is usually somewhat interesting, but I'd check out the '93 match mentioned earlier before seeking this out in full.
  14. KB8
    Of the two matches from this show, this is the one I'd be more likely to check out in full. Decent selling of exhaustion, a huge back fist, Aja's brutal double stomp, and Ito managing to see out the time limit while even leaving you wondering if the powerbomb at the end might just have been enough for more.
  15. KB8
    Not much left to say about this, but yeah, it's tremendous. Over the last few years I've sometimes struggled a bit early on when rewatching some of the lengthier All Japan superclassics, like even in the '96 Tag League I wasn't totally hooked during the first ten minutes. But they had me here from the very jump and not once did I check out. From the micro to the macro, the selling, the build, the rhythm, it all pretty much clicked into place. I mean, I'm at a point where I can't really be bothered with a heavily extended finishing run, but the fact this could've ended as a MOTYC after 25 minutes and yet they went another 15 hell for leather WITHOUT losing me...yeah. Held up like I hoped and I think I'd still maybe have this as my #1 All Japan match of the decade.
  16. KB8
    This wasn't Ikeda/Ono, but as far as four and a half minute matches go it was pretty choice. They got their stuff in, hit a few big bombs, teased a few bigger ones, made Akiyama look like someone who could potentially hang at the top level in singles matches (with Taue coming off the Tag League final and the tag titles win a few days earlier), and it all came in under five minutes. Sure it was a massive upset, at least in the sense that nine times out of ten even if Akiyama does win it'll take longer than five minutes, but still, All Japan's stodgy booking needed more little fresheners like this. Plus it maybe ever so slightly cast into doubt the length of the upcoming main event...
  17. KB8
    I remember reading about this back in the old DVDVRs. Like, fifteen years ago, not back as in all the way back IN THE DAY of 1997 as at that point I was merely a pup and the internet didn't reach Scotland until 2003 anyhow. I wasn't really hip to the lucha libre then, intent as I was in tracking down the New Japan juniors and the All Japan classics, but I knew Wagner from his stint in Japan and Dean gushing over this match made it seem impossibly cool. Those old DVDVRs were the best. I wish they didn't get ether'd when the board went down, because they probably shaped my tastes in wrestling as much as anything at a time when I was paying £40 for three tapes from fucking Golden Boy and the likes. Anyway, I finally checked this out a few years back on one of the re-released Schneider Comps and it never quite lived up to my hype. Rewatching it today it stands up as being good without ever reaching that upper level, although they aimed for that in the tercera. The first two caidas were pretty neat and made up my favourite stretch of the match. Niebla doesn't necessarily look like he'd be the most graceful flier, but for a light heavyweight he sure could move. At times it looked like Wagner didn't know how to handle him. Everything he tried, Niebla would flip out of it, whether it was landing on his feet off a monkey flip or straight backflipping off the top turnbuckle. You could argue that he went to the dive too early, but it was a great tope and it at least made sense for him to stick with what was working. It followed a similar pattern in the segunda and Wagner was still having trouble keeping him grounded. That Niebla sold the winning crucifix pin between falls longer than the Liger bomb a few minutes earlier was a bit jarring, but Wagner coming out aggressive in the tercera covered well enough. The tercera itself was something that wouldn't have looked out of place in 2007, at least in terms of some individual moments. Then again if you transplanted this into the third fall of a 2007 title match it would look about a hundred times better than the norm. I mean it was largely a collection of bombs, but they built the nearfalls gradually, and even if the flow was a little stop-start it was head and shoulders above your shoddy Mistico/Averno bouts of a decade on. We got some decent legwork for a minute there, Wagner stopping mid-beating to get on the house mic and talk trash, and Niebla's second tope was a peach. Wagner dipping into his New Japan bag was a cool touch as well and the finish looked brutal. Not a classic, but 1997 was an absolutely loaded year so I guess it's hard to stack up.
  18. KB8
    Their match from the 7/21 Omni showed ruled as well. It's a rare opportunity to watch Flair work as pure babyface World Champ during his absolute peak and the match was a total blast. I somehow didn't make the connection that it was during the Flair/Nikita cage blowoff where they did the angle with Dusty. I knew they did that angle during *a* Flair/Nikita cage match, but for some reason I figured that angle came a bit later and assumed there was another Flair/Nikita match down the line or something. I actually watched this on the set and it really is one of the all-time best angles. You hear some of the old timers talk about how wrestlers used to get REAL HEAT back in the day and if you were good you could almost start a riot, and sometimes it comes off as being carny as fuck, but this crowd was legit ready to jump the ring and cops were almost being squashed up against the cage trying to keep them out. Also, Tully mentions on one of the WWE-released DVDs from years back (probably the Four Horsemen one) that Flair always had pockets of fans in the crowd even when he was heel because of how cool he was (and watching everything leading up to that angle, he was the fucking coolest). If you've seen enough of him you know it's true. He says after the Dusty angle, though, there was way more animosity towards him and he started getting even more heat. I haven't gotten very far past that point yet, but even on TV the week after the angle Flair is different, as are fans in the studio and the way they react to him. He's not just the jet-flyin', limousine-ridin' son of a gun anymore; he's one of the thugs who broke Dusty's leg and no amount of swag will change that. Flair's first promo on TV is absolutely incredible as well. Crockett says Dusty should've left him there for the Russians and Flair just cold as ice puts him in his place. It was such an awesome retort (and I'm so lame) I even took a note of it on my phone: "David, what I like about you is that you've always got something nice to say about me. But next time you have an opportunity, talk to your accountant and see who built the building your office is in." I should hop back on this.
  19. KB8
    I took a break from it not long after the point where Baby Doll's thirty days of hell with Dusty comes to an end. I've gone on to a few different sets since then, but I'm watching a bunch of wrestling right now and will very likely cycle back around to it soon.
  20. KB8
    I watched this in its entirety a while back and it was mostly whatever, but the finishing stretch comes off alright minus one spot where Shawn is clearly and obviously telling Sid what to do (the Lothario spot). Shawn taking a powerbomb on the floor and being up and about fifteen seconds later was sort of rubbish, but Sid grabbing both Lotharios by the throat while Lawler howls in glee makes up for it (I mean, I guess). The bit with the camera is a nice revenge spot from Survivor Series, the pop for the finish is huge, and the post-match feels like a proper celebration. I've always loved the atmosphere for this event and it's certainly a stark contrast to the types of crowds the WWF had been running in front of the previous few years. Did they ever run the Alamodome again? This and the SkyDome always had a special aura to me as a kid.
  21. KB8
    I've always really liked the ending to this and thought the booking of it was pretty great. Bret really did sell the shit out of it as well. He always tended to be so laid back, even as a heel a decade prior, that when he truly lost his mind like he did here it came off super legit. Loved Lawler shit talking him before Bret came over to the desk, his pointing at Vince when Bret is reading them the riot act, then shit talking him again as Bret leaves.
  22. KB8
    Well joshi is three for three in the month of January and I guess I liked this more than the rest of you. I thought it was borderline great and it's the most I've enjoyed Ozaki in years. I struggle with her more than any of the other highly-praised joshi workers, but I'm with Loss in thinking she was really good here. Even as someone who isn't usually bothered about execution I sometimes find her stuff hard to buy, as it'll veer more towards sloppy bad rather than sloppy reckless. Here she hit pretty much everything well, and even if she whiffed a few things there was a scrappy element to it. Matching up against Chigusa she basically had to ramp up the stiffness a bit and when her strikes didn't look good Chigusa could viably shrug them off anyway. There were a few moments where they got involved in super rough and uncooperative exchanges and I loved Ozaki just slapping Chigusa's partners in the face when they tried to interject. That happened during one of the floor brawling segments as Satomura came to get her a piece and Ozaki just pie-faced her really hard. She also threw an absolute corker of a back fist at one point, coming out of nowhere and getting an audible "holy shit" out of me. It's been ages since I've watched any Chigusa but I thought she was a really fun tank in this. It made sense for her to absorb more hits than her partners and the spot where Nagashima and Sato finally managed to take her out felt like a significant moment. There was one punt to Ozaki's head that was ridiculous as well. All four of the younger girls ranged from decent to really good and the nature of the match helped everything feel frantic rather than overly go-go-go. This might be the earliest Satomura I've seen and I thought she looked first class, especially when she was stepping to Ozaki. Team Chiggy going about business with a clear chip on their shoulders added a cool dynamic to this as well and a few times Chigusa would smack someone in the face and flip the finger to her partners. I could've done without the plunder towards the end, but it didn't last long and we got a couple brutal bumps out of it, so I can deal. I'll usually always get something out of a wild six-person tag, and whether it was my lowish expectations going in or not, this gave me more than I figured and I enjoyed it a lot. I certainly liked it more than anything Ozaki was involved in on the '96 yearbook.
  23. KB8
    Really fun segment. As a match it obviously wasn't much, but the brawl felt plenty chaotic and of course Funk coming back out to get some more of Austin ruled. HHH smashing a poll cue over Goldust, Funk getting backdropped into a tub full of beer, drunk folk in dixie shorts and cowboy hats getting caught in the crossfire -- a fun way to build to the rumble and certainly felt way more chaotic than the more goofy/amusing nature of previous weeks.
  24. KB8
    This was Greco at his suffocating best. He dominated most of this with his grappling and at times it was hard to see Taira having a lifeline. When it looked like he might be able to at least bring the fight to its feet - where he'd conceivably have more chance of doing something - Greco would grab a cravate from his own back and twist Taira back to the mat. It's not even that Taira is useless on the ground -- he has some moments and works his way into the mount nicely at one point, it's just that Greco is in full demon mode on the night and that'll be a struggle for anyone. Towards the end we even got to see him unload with some knee combos so maybe Taira doesn't have an advantage on the feet either. There were a couple rope running sequences that felt a wee bit jarring given the previous ten minutes, but I don't think I've ever seen a cross body score a nearfall in Battlarts before, and I suppose you could look at it as Taira having to get especially creative just to weather the Greco storm. Taira had a quietly fun year in 2000 and Greco being quietly awesome in general is kind of his thing.
  25. KB8
    This was like 40% Battlarts, 60% New Japan juniors. It's not really what you want from these two, but you take that 40% when it's there and I guess if nothing else it's interesting seeing how they approach the 60%. There's a kind of novelty aspect to it. It's a little experimental. I don't know man, you want Aquemini André 3000 but at this point you take what you can get and even The Love Below had 'A Life in the Day of Benjamin André.' Ono was actually really fun dicking it up and working full rudo. He went after Usuda's leg for a spell and would hold on longer than necessary on rope breaks, then he went after the arm and approached that the same way. In between he even raked Usuda's eyes across the ropes. He was visibly pulling a lot of his shots though, his punches mostly grazing and his kicks thrown with less mustard, some of them at three quarter speed. Usuda was doing the same so maybe they just decided they wanted to get through this show with all their teeth for a change? Considering Usuda was pulling double duty on the card it's hard to blame them. And yet we will, because we are the harshest of critics. Usuda channeling Fujiwara for a few minutes there was cool, at least. He rolled out the headstand counter to the Boston Crab and even followed up with some Fujiwara-style headbutts, rocking all the way back before delivering the blow. It's hard to complain about Takeshi Ono footage being available on the internet.
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