House Shows you Regret Missing

[Matt D]

This is probably not worthy of its own note, but I was trolling Graham's site before and came across this:

 

WWF @ Boston, MA - Boston Gardens - September 25, 1994 (4,000)

Sparky Plugg defeated Steven Dunn

Abe Schwartz defeated Jim Powers

Owen Hart defeated WWF IC Champion Razor Ramon via count-out

WWF Tag Team Champions Shawn Michaels & Diesel defeated Fatu & the 1-2-3 Kid (sub. for Samu)

WWF Women's Champion Alundra Blayze defeated Bull Nakano

WWF World Champion Bret Hart defeated Jim Neidhart

The Undertaker defeated Yokozuna in a casket match

 

Now, you have to understand. Growing up, I had a friend of the family who was a special needs kid, really loved wrestling, and I looked out for him somewhat, just socially. His uncle worked for Titan and it meant that during the early 90s, I could have probably gone to any show at the Garden comped. It also meant that I got to meet Bret Hart when I was 9 in a Mean Joe Green, just out of the showers, sort of moment. However, between 93 and 98, I just wasn't interested in wrestling at all. I watched Bash at the Beach 96 in scramblevision just to see who the mystery man was (I think the advertising for that PPV is something we don't talk about enough). But past that no wrestling. Basketball cards. Other geekier things. No wrestling.

 

But then I look at some cards that I missed that I KNOW I could have gone to, and yeah, I get frustrated.

 

That's a really cool card. Madusa vs Bull, obviously. They didn't run Bret vs Neidhart one on one as much as you'd think. I love the substitution team of Fatu and Kid, especially against Michaels/Diesel. Owen vs Razor.

 

That card was 5 days before my 13th birthday. I absolutely could have hit it.

[khawk20]

Only 4,000 in Boston. Damn.

 

Bret vs. Jim would have been kinda fun to see.

[Death From Above]

Not specifically a house show but I do sort of regret not hitting a WWE show in Edmonton years ago one of the couple times they rolled through with Flair on the card, just because I never did see him live and honestly at this point it's beyond kidding myself into thinking that's really worthwhile. Not that TNA is rolling through central Alberta any time soon. But it would have been cool to mark out for Flair live, just one time.

[KB8]

Only time I got to see Flair was in Aberdeen about 5 years ago. He wasn't wrestling, but he was hosting some bikini contest shit and he wooed and strutted around like a psycho pervert.

 

Best part of the night.

[jdw]

My second trip to Japan was going to be built around these cards:

 

All Japan Women

August 30, 1995

Osaka Furitsu Gym

1. Rie Tamada & Yoshiko Tamura & Yumi Fukawa vs. Chaparita ASARI & Misae Watanabe & Yuka Shiina

2. Kaoru Ito & Mariko Yoshida vs. Tomoko Watanabe & Kumiko Maekawa

3. Yumiko Hotta & Toshiyo Yamada & Etsuko Mita vs. Jaguar Yokota & Bison Kimura & Reggie Bennett

4. Lioness Asuka vs. Bull Nakano.

5. Mima Shimoda vs. Akira Hokuto

6. WWWA Title: Aja Kong vs. Dynamite Kansai

7. WWWA Tag Titles: Kyoko Inoue & Takako Inoue vs. Manami Toyota & Sakie Hasegawa (2/3)

 

Pancrase

September 1, 1995

Nippon Budokan

1. Larry Papadorov beat Katsuomi Inagaki (10:00) via decision.

2. Yoshiki Takahashi beat Osami Shibuya (5:12) via submission.

3. Yusuke Fuke beat Todd Medina (5:30) via submission.

4. Jason DeLucia beat Ryushi Yanagisawa (2:25) via submission.

5. Frank Shamrock KO Hirofumi Ito (7:23).

6. Maurice Smith KO Manabu Yamada (2nd - 2:17) in a "kickboxing" match.

7. Masaharu Funaki beat Guy Mezger (6:46).

8. Bas Rutten beat Minoru Suzuki (15:35) via submission to win the KOP Openweight Title.

 

 

All Japan Women

September 2, 1995

Nippon Budokan

1. Watanabe & Endo & Kato vs Fujimoto & Shiina & Tamura

2. Little Tiger Jeet Singh vs Little Nakamaki

3. AJW Japanese Tag: Chaparita Asari & Kumiko Maekawa vs Rie Tamada & Yumi Fukawa

4. Yamada & Takako & Watanabe vs Blizzard Yuki & Yoshida & Ito

5. UWA Tag: Etsuko Mita & Mima Shimoda vs Lioness Asuka & Jaguar Yokota.

6. Yumiko Hotta beat Reggie Bennett.

7. Aja Kong beat Bison Kimura.

8. Kyoko Inoue pinned Bull Nakano (20:57).

9. Manami Toyota pinned Akira Hokuto (20:46).

 

All Japan Women

September 3, 1995

Korakuen Hall

1. Yuka Shiina & Yumi Fukawa vs. Nobue Endo & Yumi Fujimoto

2. Yoshiko Tamura & Misae Watanabe vs. Kumiko Maekawa & Chaparita Asari

3. Little Tiger Jeet Singh vs. Mr. Buddhaman & Little Frankie

4. Elimination Match: Bennett & Hasegawa & Yoshida & Ito vs. Yamada & Mita & Shimoda & Tamada

5. Grand Prix 3rd Place: Takako Inoue vs. Bison Kimura

6. Aja Kong Debut 10th Anniversary: Kyoko Inoue & Tomoko Watanabe vs. Aja Kong & Reggie Bennett

7. Grand Prix Final: Manami Toyota vs. Yumiko Hotta

 

All Japan Pro Wrestling

September 10, 1995

Nippon Budokan

1. Masao Inoue & Satoru Asako vs Tsuyoshi Kikuchi & Maunukea Mossman (13:09)

2. Bobby Duncum, Jr. pinned Kentaro Shiga (4:10).

3. Jumbo & Joel Deaton & Momota vs Izumida & Eigan & Mighty Inoue (14:11)

4. PWF Jr Title: Yoshinori Ogawa pinned Dan Kroffat (13:37)

5. Giant Kimala II & Tamon Honda beat Richard Slinger & Johnny Ace (12:28)

6. Patriot & Eagle & Lacrosse vs Fantastics & Doug Furnas (17:03)

7. Survival Tag Team: Kawada & Abdullah & Baba & Fuchi vs Hansen & Kobashi & Akiyama & Omori (60:20)

a. Abdullah & Fuchi beat Akiyama & Omori (9:46)

b. Kobashi & Akiyama beat Abdullah & Fuchi (19:17)

c. Baba & Fuchi beat Kobashi & Akiyama (32:12)

d. Hansen & Kobashi beat Baba & Fuchi (40:39)

e. Baba & Kawada beat Hansen & Kobashi (60:20)

8. Triple Crown: Mitsuharu Misawa pinned Akira Taue (20:50)

Dave got a bad case of bronch that he didn't take care of, went worse and we had to cancel the trip.

 

There were other cards going on in Japan in that period as well, which we typically went to in between the "big" cards. Usually in the Tokyo area, but in other cities if the fit in. Of example, the day after the AJW Osaka card, there was this in Osaka:

 

Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling

08/31/95

Osaka Prefectural Gym # 2

1. Tetsuhiro Kuroda defeats Hayato Nanjyo (10:30)

2. Katsutoshi Niiyama defeats Hideki Hosaka (10:22)

3. Horace Boulder & Ricky Fuji defeat Koji Nakagawa & Masato Tanaka (12:16)

4. Captain Falls Street Fight: Nakamura & Sato & Shark vs Combat & Nakayama & Kudo & Ishikura

5. Mr. Pogo & The Gladiator defeat Hido & Super Leather (12:36)

6. Grand Slam Brass Knuckles Tournament Bunkhouse Death Match: Mitsuhiro Matsunaga defeats WING Kanemura (11:13)

7. Grand Slam Brass Knuckles Tournament: Hayabusa vs. Hisakatsu Oya - Time Limit Draw (30:00)

That has the shot of being interesting.

 

Of course then it would be a rush back down to Tokyo to catch the Pancrase show... so that might be tight. No doubt we would have been looking for stuff between the 9/3 & 9/10 shows.

 

Anyway... kick myself for not telling Dave earlier to get to the doctor on the chest cold, or simply going solo.

 

John

[El-P]

Holy shit John !!

[Jingus]

Holy shit John !!

!! indeed. He's pretty much got all of us beat, easily. But ah well, we must soldier on.

 

My one big regret is also not a house show, but was an ECW on TNN tv taping. My girlfriend had some kind of weird fainting fit just as I was about to drive to the show, so I stayed with her to make sure she was okay (all the while silently cursing myself for not being a complete asshole and just driving to the show anyway). It turned out this show, the only time ECW ran anywhere near Nashville, was the one where Masato Tanaka won the belt off Mike Awesome. Motherfuck, man. And it also had all kinds of WAR-level goofy but fascinating mismatches in the undercard, like Wing Kanemura vs Tracy Smothers, RVD vs Mikey, and Ikuto Hidaka randomly showing up. AND a Tajiri/Crazy match! Practically every young indy worker in Nashville attended that show, and all of them raved for years about how it was the most awesome thing they'd ever seen live.

 

But it would have been cool to mark out for Flair live, just one time.

I went to a WCW house show in 2000 for the same reason, and it was incredibly depressing. Flair didn't cut any promos, but he was in the main event... against Kevin Nash. Nash was even lazier than he was on TV at the time, moving like he was underwater and quite literally never taking a single bump. Babyface Flair was DQed for some stupid bullshit, and then the heels stomped on him for a minute and then everyone just walked to the back and the show ended. SHOW OVER. Drive home safely, everyone! Gee, why the fuck did WCW go out of business?!

[Dylan Waco]

That ECW show did not have Crazy/Tajiri on it. It had Crazy v. Hidaka and Tajiri v. Super Calo. It was a great show.

[Boondocks Kernoodle]

WWF @ Port Chervis, NY - High School - January 6, 1994

Fundraiser for the Port Chervis High School Student Council

Included Adam Bomb, Shawn Michaels, Doink the Clown, Jeff Jarrett, WWF IC Champion Razor Ramon, WWF Tag Team Champions the Quebecers, and the Undertaker

It's actually Port Jervis, and it was just 20 minutes from my house, but my mom wouldn't let me go. Same with the Raws from the Fernwood Resort.

[jdw]

Holy shit John !!

The Mar-Apr 1995 and Aug 1996 trips were pretty cool, so I can't bitch.

 

There are some lucha shows I wish I'd gone to. The TripleMania II-B card (05/15/94) that Dave went to is one I kick myself in the ass for not going to.

 

John

[Mad Dog]

I went to an ECW house show in May of 2000 and had a pretty fun time. I found out about 2 weeks ago that they came through town again in August and didn't advertise the show very well. I kind of regret missing a second chance at an ECW show.

 

The one I made:

 

May 27, 2000 in Columbus, OH

Newport Music Hall drawing 950

Shawn Evans beat Jorge Estrada.

Hellraiser beat Prime Time.

Danny Doring & Amish Roadkill beat CW Anderson & Bill Wiles.

Chilly Willy beat Chris Hamrick.

Jerry Lynn beat Simon Diamond.

Balls Mahoney beat Johnny Swinger.

Kid Kash, Chris Chetti, & Nova beat Vic Grimes, Tony DeVito, & Angel.

ECW Champion, Justin Credible beat Mikey Whipwreck.

Rob Van Dam beat Little Guido.

Tommy Dreamer, Sandman, Yoshihiro Tajiri, & Raven beat Steve Corino, Jack Victory, Scotty Anton, & Rhino.

 

The show I missed:

 

August 5, 2000 in Columbus, OH

Newport Music Hall drawing 800

The Musketeer NC Prodigy.

Phoenix NC Michael Shane & ???.

Chris Chetti & Nova beat Simon Diamond & Johnny Swinger.

Chilly Willy beat Red Dogg.

Danny Doring & Amish Roadkill beat Christian York & Joey Matthews.

Balls Mahoney beat Bilvis Wesley.

Steve Corino & Scotty Anton beat Chris Hamrick & Julio Dinero.

Kid Kash beat EZ Money.

Yoshihiro Tajiri & Mikey Whipwreck beat Guido Maritato & Tony Mamaluke.

Rob Van Dam beat CW Anderson.

ECW Champ Justin Credible beat Tommy Dreamer.

[hammerva]

I have no idea when the shows occurred and technically it wasn't a house show but I always regretted not going to Dominic Dennucci's promotion when they use to run shows in the Clarksburg/Fairmont part of West Virginia when I was a kid. I could have actually seen Cactus Jack first match and the early matches of Shane Douglas and stuff he did with Mark Hildenbrand (Mark Curtis)

[Jingus]

I have no idea when the shows occurred

I think it would've been roundabout 1986, iirc.

[rzombie1988]

I regret missing the ECW ppv held in Pittsburgh. I think it was november to remember. I was about 10 and I thought if my mom took me to this, I'd never be allowed to watch wrestling again. I've been to WWECW and Viking Hall, but never made it to an ECW event.

 

Also, there was a local indy that had Milano Collection AT at one of their shows. I really wanted to go but the car was broken, so no dice.

 

I also regret not being born about 10 years or so sooner. By the time I made it to Japan, japan's wrestling peak was long gone. I probably would have been like my friend and would have caught over 100 shows a year back in the 90's. I also regret WCW being out of buisness before I was old enough to drive. I totally would have gone to tons of those cards with the foreign wrestlers.

[Strummer]

I could have went to Royal Rumble 92 but pussed out to stay home and watch the show with my cousins and brother instead. I don't know I always liked watching the PPVs like that but it was still a dumb decision. It wasn't like my mother had any qualms about buying a ticket

 

No Mercy 2000. Was going to go but woke up the morning of the show sick as hell. psss plus I also didn't want to miss Game 2 of the subway series (bad decision) Again lame on my part

 

I guess I could have convinced my parents to go the Clash in Troy, NY in 89 (Flair v Funk obv.) but I only knew of WCW through Worldwide and the Apter mags at the time. The show was the talk of school the next day. My friend Brent went to the show. (I've mentioned before his father did TV squash jobs at the Poughkeepsie tapings in the early 80s although untrained) IIRC the show took place on a Tuesday and we had "Computer" class the next day where we just lounged around and talked about shit. That clash was the topic that day

 

In attending live events I much prefer house shows

[Cox]

I regret missing the ECW ppv held in Pittsburgh. I think it was november to remember. I was about 10 and I thought if my mom took me to this, I'd never be allowed to watch wrestling again. I've been to WWECW and Viking Hall, but never made it to an ECW event.

Ironically, November to Remember will go down as a House Show I Regret Going To. In addition to being a god awful PPV, my friend's car broke down on the PA Turnpike and couldn't get fixed, so we wound up in Pittsburgh with no way of getting around town and having to take the bus home since none of us were old enough to rent a car. Just a miserable weekend all around.

[Mad Dog]

I skipped whichever show had that 45 minute HHH/HBK Hell In A Cell. I don't regret skipping that. More than one person I know stopped going to wrestling after that show.

[Phil Austin]

Remember ignoring an advert for Sasuke and the Michinoku crew appearing in the UK as I figured it wouldn't happen (it was before big name imports regularly appeared in the UK and a time when 'tribute' acts turned up a lot). Imagine how gutted I was when I found out it happened!

[Ricky Jackson]

Lately, I regret not seeing Hogan live at least once, especially in the 80s. I know he wrestled in Calgary a few times back then, but the only cards I attended were B shows headlined by Savage and Roberts (not that I'm complaining, because those are two of my all-time faves). I also lost interest in WWF in 2001, so I didn't go to Mania 18 in Toronto (didn't even watch it on PPV), when only a year or two earlier I would have went out of my way to go to a show like that. Passed on Mania 19, even though I had friends who were going. I also missed the only Superstars taping ever held in Calgary (summer of 91), but I only became aware of that show through Cawthon's site, so it's not like I skipped it when I had a chance to go.

 

I also have never seen Flair live. My friends went to a 92 show where he headlined against Savage, but for some reason I didn't attend, even though I was super into WWF at the time.

[goodhelmet]

I would kill for a time machine so I could experience this house show....

 

5/22/86 San Antonio

Dusty Rhodes vs Ric Flair

Magnum TA vs Tully Blanchard

double Russian chain match

Road Warriors beat Ivan & Nikita Koloff

Midnight Express beat Rock & Roll Express

Taped Fist Match

Jimmy Valiant beat Shaska Whatley

Wahoo McDaniel beat Jimmy Garvin dq

Manny Fernandez beat Baron Von Raschke

Ron Garvin beat Barbarian

 

 

One of my best friends went to this card when he was a kid. Bastard...

 

11/25/84 San Antonio

Kevin Von Erich ddq Chris Adams

Kerry Von Erich beat Jake Roberts

Terry Gordy beat Killer Kahn dq

Fantastics beat PYT Express

Mike Von Erich beat Gino Hernandez

Stella Mae French beat Andrea The Lady Giant

[Dylan Waco]

I was going to try to go to Lawler v. Funk last year in the New York. I missed it because of circumstances beyond my control and have been kicking myself ever since

[EricR]

WWF @ Santa Rosa, CA - Sonoma County Fair - July 30, 1992

 

Tito Santana defeated Louie Spicolli

Shawn Michaels defeated Koko B. Ware

Repo Man defeated Owen Hart

Tatanka defeated Rick Martel

The Ultimate Warrior defeated Kamala

 

This is the only card that came close enough that my mom would actually consider letting me go (WWF obviously played Oakland and SF, but this was literally 10 minutes from my home). I was 11, and had friends that went and had a blast...but boy does this seem pretty damn missable. Now I would have interest in Michaels vs. Koko, but I don't even think the rest of that card would sound appealing to 11 year old me. My Warrior fandom peaked when I was 9, and I wasn't a Michaels, Owen, Koko, Tito or Martel fan when I was a kid. Truthfully I would have likely been most excited about Kamala, since I thought he was an actual Ugandan cannibal (like the kind in the Disneyland Jungle Cruise. I always thought he would be not the leader of one of those kinda tribes, but moreso the toughest guy in the tribe, like the kind Michael Douglas had to fight in Jewel of the Nile). Still, I'm sure I would have had fun.

[Mad Dog]

If I go live I almost always have fun. The only time I ever hated a show I went to live was a Smackdown in 2003. They had Booker T vs. Hardcore Holly and that match literally lasted for 35 minutes and 20 of it was spent in a headlock. They botched the end and came back out later to shoot the end again and the crowd was screaming "no!" when they thought they were going to have to sit through more.