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[1995-11-18-WCW-Saturday Night] Eddy Guerrero vs Chris Benoit


Loss

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  • 3 months later...

Very good match against a horrid lyric, the lyric being the announcing. I adore Dusty Rhodes, but he is burying these guys throughout this match. He likes Eddy, which is obvious, but when Tony talks about how these two and Dean coming in have really revolutionized WCW, Dusty says that's not true and that all this stuff does no good if they can't get out from under the bigger guys. When Tony talks about Benoit joining the Horsemen, Dusty says maybe they are younger and quicker than previous versions of the Horsemen, but they just aren't as good. Dusty was obviously a huge Eddy fan, but I don't think he was a fan of making these guys a division and this style.

 

This is more mat-based than most of the sprint-style matches these guys had in WCW. Eddy does a dive to the floor at one point, but most of the rest of this is really well-done mat exchanges until they hit the closing minutes. Lots of exciting offense at that point and a terrific finish, as Benoit does a belly-to-back suplex from the top and they are both counted out. On par with the Nitro match a month earlier. I remember that for me during this time -- and I was pretty far from the typical Internet fan at this point -- Eddy was my favorite wrestler and Benoit/Eddy was my favorite match-up.

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  • 7 months later...
  • 1 year later...

Very good match against a horrid lyric, the lyric being the announcing. I adore Dusty Rhodes, but he is burying these guys throughout this match. He likes Eddy, which is obvious, but when Tony talks about how these two and Dean coming in have really revolutionized WCW, Dusty says that's not true and that all this stuff does no good if they can't get out from under the bigger guys. When Tony talks about Benoit joining the Horsemen, Dusty says maybe they are younger and quicker than previous versions of the Horsemen, but they just aren't as good. Dusty was obviously a huge Eddy fan, but I don't think he was a fan of making these guys a division and this style.

Yep. Terrific match, but Dusty was just putrid here. But a terrific match nonetheless. Eddie & Benoit were getting over by the sheer excellence of their in-ring work.

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  • 4 months later...
  • 8 months later...

Agreed on Dusty, and Schiavone has made little effort to familiarize himself with the new revolutionizing moves he's talking about here. Even the hype for the Dean Malenko video to come, designed specifically to teach us new names, is shit on by Dusty--"my vocabulary's full!" Tony is barely one step above "what a maneuver!" levels--there's a fine balance between that and going all Joey Styles on us, but Tony and Dusty are too far to the lower extreme.

 

The match itself is terrific. They don't have to worry about losing viewers to Raw so they get a chance to slow things up a bit and work more holds, punctuating them with the occasional big move. I don't know if it was intentional, but I thought it was cool how both guys lost their footing and almost fell off the top turnbuckle right before the finish. Makes the double-KO just a little more plausible. Meltzer and fans were moaning about how WCW had no intention of these guys actually getting over (the first Eddy/Dean match on Nitro took a backseat to backstage cameras showing an arriving Hogan, something that sent the Internet fans into a frenzy) but in some ways, it's almost better for everyone that WCW just told them, "go out and do your stuff for ten minutes."

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  • 4 months later...

Damnit, I watched the rematch, which was exciting, but does not sound as good as this. I was interested when Guerrero went for the legs of Benoit early, but Benoit just powered through that with a gutbuster and knee lift. He was selling, but it was also clear it was not going to go anywhere. Guerrero was so good at armdrags and really making you feel like he was yanking Benoit off his feet. Tony was good at explaining how useful it is to keep your opponent for his feet to discombobulate him. Benoit's transitions back to offense were simply just too easy. They tease the superplex causing them to be both knocked out but Benoit was up first. Eddie gets a couple nifty spots like hurricanarana and brainbuster, but ultimately succumbs to Benoit. This was a good match, but it was not at the level of their first Nitro match where they must have blown so many people's minds. They were working a good match, but not a match to impress. I need to watch the 11/18 match because that seems pretty well-liked.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Chris Benoit vs Eddy Guerrero - WCW Saturday Night 11/18/95

 

Good, but not great match from these two. They given more time and they do with the slow start trading hammerlocks and top wristlock takedowns. They get it rolling with some quick pinning combinations. Benoit looks for the kill with the powerbomb, but Eddie knows this song and dance and counters with an arm drag. Eddie gets the big move over the top rope, but this time he keeps his emotions in check and does not wrap his arm around the post. Benoit is so great at selling the armdrag. He is able to control the match with a camel clutch and Gory Special. Unlike the Nitro match, Eddie gets to take top portion of the match. So that is nice tit for tat. Benoit is able to get a couple quick lariats to stop the bleeding. I like the play off from Nitro, but there has been some awkward exchanges and it does not have the same sense of urgency. Benoit misses the diving headbutt and Eddie looks to capitalize with La Magistral Cradle. We go back to the series of nearfalls. Guerrero gets a crucifix powerbomb, God Bless 1995! Eddie hits a brainbuster and he gets two. Eddie goes for the frogsplash, but Benoit meets him and hits a super back suplex that knocks both men out. I really liked the finish, but it just like a generic technically good match. I feel like anybody from this era could have this match. I liked the play off the Nitro match, but besides the finish nothing too memorable. ***

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  • 2 years later...

It's a shame this wasn't on a bigger stage than WCW Saturday Night. They were reigning it in a bit early doors, but it picked up and they delivered a nice TV bout. 12m was a generous duration. The double KO after a top rope move was unsatisfying and cheapened what had gone before.

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  • GSR changed the title to [1995-11-18-WCW-Saturday Night] Eddy Guerrero vs Chris Benoit

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