Jump to content
Pro Wrestling Only

Stiva

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    2025

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Everything posted by Stiva

  1. Stiva
    Lawler and his phone is always going to get a laugh out of me. Another solid heel promo from someone who would be entertaining reading the dictionary.
  2. Stiva
    Another fun little segment from the WWF and nobody ever really did these kind of things as well as them. Great character work, Damien remains the most feared worker in the company. Jake should have entered him at Number 30 in the Rumble and mopped up.
  3. Stiva
    From the ridiculous to the effective. Didn't they try something like this a couple of years back with Sean Mooney returning?
  4. Stiva
    Man, I HATE these promos. Coke-fuelled ramblings of the worst kind. I mean, he and Warrior are clearly larger than life personalities but they do nothing to actually hype their eventual meeting over the course of the next couple of months, other than talk in circles about total fucking nonsense.
  5. Stiva
    Tenryu continues his streak as middle-aged man who is tired of people's shit, this time including half of the assembled hordes at ringside. I think I enjoy the previous tag, despite the more frequent Tenryu/Jumbo interactions since I loved the way they went after Misawa and the finish was great but man, this is another fine example of a tag match. Great start with Takagi trying to get the drop on Tenryu who responds, not out of anger, but indignation that someone even tried that. Like he's thinking "THIS motherfucker needs told" and that sentiment runs through with him in another great performance. I think Fuyuki looked better with Tenryu since they came managed to come up with more interesting ways to continue the heat and keep things interesting but Kawada does a great job at selling Jumbo's offense whenever he's in there with him. The ringside action is what makes this though as Tenryu goes nuclear on whoever happens to be in his path. The boys fighting back is a great touch but it brings to mind Mongo from Blazing Saddles. "Oh no, don't shoot him. You'll just make him mad"
  6. Stiva
    Good TV match that seems to end a little bit abruptly. Nevertheless, I enjoyed Sawyer's work on the back and being a legit, unpredictable asshole really makes him a lot more watchable than other 'crazy' guys. More great Arn babyface work and his selling here is great, finding the right balance between selling and keeping up the tough guy persona. It helps when Sawyer straight up rams you into the ring post at full speed, I would assume. Cornette and Ross were great in the Arn/Muta match and they're great here, showing how their 98 WWF stuff was a far cry from the loose, natural feel that they had here. Once more, we get another WCW match that leads into the Clash, albeit this time everything is ramped up with the spike piledriver and Ole taking the splash. Really solid stuff all around.
  7. Stiva
    Foley did have quite a few supporters of his in WCW at the time, except everyone that mattered, I suppose. This is a nice little look at baby Foley but Terry Funk's asides to the camera are what make these segments awesome. You can tell he was a huge Laurel and Hardy fan since the exasperated looks are pure Oliver Hardy.
  8. Stiva
    Billy Joe is as good a comedy worker as you'd expect. Not much more to add than that but it's a testament to USWA that it can flip the switch and have a really intense post-match angle spawning out of a simple 6-man
  9. Stiva
    Great tag match with a fantastic crowd and I agree that this should be a match that guys study today if they have to open a PPV card. The Rockers really were a sublime babyface team but The PoP are there with them in this one, loosening up the strings on their movesets and using Fuji pretty much perfectly on the outside. Jannetty must have been flush with adrenaline since his FiP segment is inspired, to the point where the hot tag can't even hope to compare. Having said that, Michaels is great on the apron, reacting to Jannetty's bumping like he's watching a guy fall out of a 4th floor window. All in all, a textbook example of a hot tag match.
  10. Stiva
    Man, I should have called Sky in 2000 when our PPVs were broadcast on TV with ad breaks at random points. I remember missing about 3 eliminations in the Royal Rumble.
  11. Stiva
    Oh Tenryu, let me count the ways...Out of the park heel performance where he treats Misawa like he's just spilled his pint. As mentioned, this is the formula of a great tag with all the variables that can make it fantastic, present and accounted before. I LOVE this finish; a great way to have Fuyuki take the loss but keep him looking strong; it was all that asshole Tenryu's fault, damn it! Definitely one of my top 3 matches on Disc 1 as a total mark for Tenryu and great heat segments.
  12. Stiva
    Fun little TV match to get Cactus over. Lee Scott looks really solid, attacking Cactus at the bell with some fiery offense and selling well as the match rolls on but the result is never in doubt. As said, you can hear that Sullivan and, to a lesser extent Ross, are high on Foley and the staples that would make him great are lingering on the edges, even if they haven't surfaced fully yet. I do laugh at Ross admonishing Sullivan for suggesting that Cactus likes high art when he would eventually reveal himself to be a thoughtful and articulate kind of lunatic. Sullivan was right all along!
  13. Stiva
    Cool segment that lays another piece of groundwork for the road ahead and it's always nice to see Cornette and Flair have a chance to do something together. Great Balls of Fire is a silly theme song for someone like Woman but it's nowhere near as out of place as Nitron who, once more, despite his size, looks like the least intimidating bodyguard ever. Nevertheless, Woman and Flair work well together and the segment has a funny little run-out with Cornette looking a goof as usual.
  14. Stiva
    "Did someone say Free Cheese" is legit one of my biggest wrestling laughs ever. Cobra puts out a better promo this time than last and shows enough babyface fire to hype the show. As said, it's a nice bit of symmetry with Austin bowing out here and then finishing the year in the biggest superstar run of all time.
  15. Stiva
    Next level stuff from Lawler. That guy must have soaked up every joke and insult he'd ever heard before unleashing them on the wrestling world.
  16. Stiva
    Lawler is just fantastic in these promo segments; he really was a master at flying off the top of his head and Dave Brown is great in his role as bemused bystander who is just trying to keep the ball rolling. He really does cut near to the knuckle with some of his remarks but god damn if this crowd isn't laughing their head off anyway.
  17. Stiva
    When I first started this yearbook (and lost myself half way through), Billy Joe Travis was my biggest revelation. I'm so happy to see that rewatching it hasn't dulled my love for him. I have a strong affinity for campy music videos as a way to get heels over and this is one of the most effective you'll see.
  18. Stiva
    Great match with a really hot finish and strong build for the 6-man. Flair's booking threw out some fantastic TV mains. Arn as a babyface seemed really motivated and put on a good performance; all his big spots looked typically great and when he had to bump, they were great. As mentioned, the Horsemen turning heel really robbed us of great Flair/Arn face runs.
  19. Stiva
    Did the details of Lesnar's mega money contract ever surface?
  20. Stiva
    It's interesting to rewatch this having just watched Cornette's 1990 timeline shoot as he mentions that Flair would use his status as booker to put together good singles matches with guys he wanted to work with and Eaton obviously fit the bill. Not much to add other than I agree with everyone saying this is a brilliant match that hits every mark pretty much perfectly.
  21. Stiva
    I think WWF/E always had a great record at the "King" gimmick whenever they resuscitated it (King Booker, for instance) but Macho is the all-time best at it. 100% committed, Sherri being great alongside him, even though they were around the middle of the deck at the time. Typically strong promo from the two where they just leap off the screen and more solid Rumble hype from the WWF.
  22. Stiva
    A nice contrast with the previous segment with Flair, here. Very calm with his PWI award and in full Nature Boy mode here. And who can blame Sting for being excited at joining the Horsemen? It was the sweetest gig of the time.
  23. Stiva
    Three great talkers talking greatly. Poor Sting...
  24. Stiva
    I crack up every single time I see this painting, it's hilarious. I wonder who drew that thing. The crowd seem to really be into Norman, to the point where I agree that this could have been a great angle to rehash with Eugene.
  25. Stiva
    Lawler kills it with a hilarious, albeit racist promo. It's always funny seeing Lawler swing for the crassest stereotypes possible in Memphis, while the black section of the audience laughs their head off. King Cobra, on the other hand is....not great though is probably perfect face-fodder for heel Lawler to work around.
×
×
  • Create New...