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[1994-10-30-WWF-Action Zone] Shawn Michaels & Diesel vs 1-2-3 Kid & Razor Ramon


Loss

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  • 1 month later...

I'm probably the only one who rates it so highly, but this is the best US tag match I've ever seen. Just a classic Southern-style tag without any of the conventions of the genre that annoy me. Having Ramon play Ricky Morton seems counterintuitive, but they make it work. Ramon and Kid had some pretty cool big man/small man double-team maneuvers as well. The one sour note for me was the hot tag that the ref disallowed because he didn't see it. I dislike spots that put the heat on the ref rather than the heels. But it set up the heel miscommunication that knocked Diesel out, so it worked out in the end.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hey buddies. We all like each other so lets go out and tear the house down and we will all look good in the end. Razor's Edge right away on Shawn but Diesel pulls him out of the ring. Tag champs look to bail but Shawn gets thrown back in the ring. Diesel tosses The Kid around. I see match jumped ahead a bit. Maybe just a commercial break. Hebner could learn something from Chioda about how to count pins.

 

Razor plays the FIP which is kind of surprising with The Kid being involved. It sure is interesting to watch Nash like this when he is putting in the effort. False tag to Kid, Diesel grabs Razor from behind to hold him for the Superkick. You know what happens. Razor makes the tag to The Kid and him and Michaels go at a incredible fast pace. Diesel lies out cold on the apron the whole time. It is like Diesel was the one who should get credit for getting the Superkick over for Michaels. Michaels is surving double teaming from both opponents. Shawn slows things down with a sleeperhold. One the rare holds in the match but it does kind of make sense since he waiting for Diesel to get back to his feet.

 

Diesel stirs from his coma. Super close call when Kid hits a top rope leg drop and Michaels barely gets the shoulder up. Crowd was thinking title change there. Diesel nails The Kid with a big boot and Michaels gets the pinfall. Great match and for one night the tag titles were relevant again in WWF. Michaels and Kid could work a crazy speed together.

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I watched a lot of mid-90s WWF "classics" years after the fact, and almost every time was let down. This match is an exception, I think in part because its hype is based entirely on match quality rather than a significant portion being the storyline/significance. Other than it being "clique vs clique" there is zero significance, and it didn't matter in any long-term storyline. It's just a very very good match.

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Awesome match. What stands out to me is how good even Nash looks. I enjoyed him doing power/speed stuff with Kid, and the out-of-nowhere flying shoulderblock on Razor later in the match was awesome. The one thing that does bug me is how long Nash was laid out by the superkick. Unconscious? Really? Everything else about this is gold.

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  • 3 weeks later...

This is a really great match that was hurt only by Nash's unnecessary unconscious sell of the superkick for five minutes and the second clipping missing a Razor hope spot. Waltman was the star in this for me but HBK was really good in this too. Nash was pretty excellent in this too but it's not surprising because he was in there with his boys. Razor did an exceptional job at FIP as well. This match was a whole lot of fun and delivered big time.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Nash was my MVP in this match and the selling of the superkick really felt like the first time that move was gotten over as an elite finisher. The storyline of the match was well presented and Razor was really good FIP. Vince is at his most annoying here missing move names constantly and yelling 1 - 2 - he got him no he didn't for every nearfall in the last five minutes. Great match overall.

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  • 1 year later...

Awesome match, probably the best tag for the WWF so far this year after a bevy of fantastic tag bouts in the first couple of months. Everything is so crisp here--that's what stands out, more than any super-innovative offense (save Razor doing his fallaway/blockbuster slam on his own partner, sending him flying into HBK). The execution is pitch-perfect the whole way through. Both Kid and Razor work FIP segments and Shawn does a long and awesome HIP towards the end, but overall this avoids the usual three-act WWF tag structure and throws some wrinkles into the story. This is also pretty much the birth of the "Sweet Chin Music," as Diesel's unconscious sell is a little over-the-top (though not nearly as bad as Davey Boy a month from now) but it's effective in getting over the move. Nash does about everything he can, and he's really perfected the punch-drunk staggering sell--it helps that Razor throws some great punches here.

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  • 2 years later...

WWF World Tag Team Champions Diesel & Shawn Michaels vs Razor Ramon & 1-2-3 Kid - WWF Action Zone 10/30/94

 

I would say this is the best WWF tag team match through at least 1999 if not the all-time greatest WWF tag team match (I feel like I am missing something obvious in the 2000s). Yes it is Kliq vs Kliq so it is dripping with effort, but I think more than that it really stands to show how well these four understood pro wrestling. There is a real deep understanding of the fundamentals here. It is cool that reading other reviews that everyone has a different MVP. For me it was Shawn, all the way. After years being in the Rockers, he was great at turning around all the shit that was done to him and throwing right back as a heel. He was doing so much great apron work in this: feeding Razor, using a blind tag to set up heat, constant cheating. It was a really masterful heel tag work performance and I thought he was the one directing traffic. When it came time to get his ass kicked, he threw himself all over the place for Razor and Kid. He was basically their tackling dummy. I think all four guys impressed, but I would go with Shawn as my MVP.

 

Loved the shine, love when a babyface hits his finish early, but just cant get the pin. Makes it feel like anything can happen and that they are trying to win the match. Perfect for a tag setting more than singles, because the partner saving is an easy out. Loved the Razors Edge early. 1-2-3 Kid was great at his nearfall barrage and loved Shawn randomly countering with a powerbomb. Diesel/Kid was wicked fun. I cant believe we never got an awesome Diesel/Kid or Shawn/Kid singles match those would have been bitchin'. Razor is definitely the against the grain pick for face in peril, but it works. Who is this Kevin Nash and where did he go? Nash LITERALLY flying around all over the place with a flying shouldertackle. He looked awesome in there. Shawn was throwing himself into everything. They cheated like muthafuckas and Razor sold really well. I actually liked building to the Kid as the hot tag because you know you are going to get a crazy burst of energy. Michaels superkicking Big Daddy Cool is great angle advancement. People complain about the 5 minute sell by Diesel but I rather that than him just shrugging it off, plus it gets Sweet Chin Music (about a year old if not less) over as a killer move, which Shawn needed. Plus it helps explain the finish. Shawn/Diesel beat the shit out of Razor and now Shawn is going to have get a taste of his own medicine without a partner. Kid was awesome flying around here and Razor throwing him fallaway slam style on Shawn was just badass. That or the flying shoulder tackle by Diesel was the spot of the match. Shawn using a sleeper to grind the Razor/Kid fast break to a halt was so friggin smart! Awesome, awesome psychology. Still HBK is partnerless and Kid takes advantage by slugging Michaels and then once he gets the tag hitting a top rope leg drop. GREAT FALSE FINISH! The sleeping giant is stirring and OUT OF NOWHERE just nails the running Kid with a big boot and Michaels covers to win.

 

From beginning to end, just friggin awesome. Babyfaces look to win early with Razor Edge and nearfalls. Razor takes heat off a cheap tag and then liberal amounts of cheat. One of the all-time great tag team stretch runs with really strong psychology. Kid was a killer hot tag. Razor worked the face in peril well. Diesel was shockingly awesome at offense in this match and then selling as he hit the big boot. I thought Shawn Michaels showed why he is one of the all-time greatest wrestlers here, awesome command of psychology from beginning to end. Serious contender for best WWF tag match of all time. ****1/2

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  • 2 months later...

I think all four guys impressed, but I would go with Shawn as my MVP.

 

Agree, an excellent performance by him. Brilliant heel touches, good bumping and some nice looking strikes. The two babyfaces were very good as well. Also a decent Kevin Nash performance, I guess miracles can happen. Everything after he was knocked out was interesting and well done. The best non-Bret WWF match of 90-95, IMO. **** 1/4

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  • 2 months later...

#312

 

Give the Kliq their due. They may have been pricks backstage, but they knew how to work a good old Southern tag and make each other look good. I was also surprised by how good Nash looked in this. Makes you wonder if a super motivated Nash could have been closer to someone like Roman Reigns than Big Daddy Cool w/ apologies to people who think Big Daddy Cool was better than Roman Reigns. I mostly agree with everyone else's comments -- there was no excess here and no ego. Even the "Shawn accidentally superkicks his partner" storyline wasn't too overplayed. With this and the Kevin Greene six-man, Loss' list has been a win for the Kliq thus far.

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  • 4 weeks later...

#312 - placetobenation.com/countdown-top-500-matches-of-the-90s-350-301/2/

 

I was wondering when this would pop up on the list. I've seen this multiple times, and I too thought this was probably the best WWF/WWE tag match in history (until November of 2016). The pacing of this is incredible. There's so much great stuff going on, but it doesn't seemed rushed at all. It's hard to keep up with all the creative things they are doing (in a good way). I love when Razor gets tagged in and delivers those big blows to Diesel. He sells them so well, and I've always thought Razor had such a great punch. Shawn pulling the hair of Razor in the corner is great (right before the break), and when we come back him sliding between the legs for Razor to hit the lariat from Nash was fantastic. Nash delivered a brutal looking elbow to the center of the back of Razor. I just think everything was so crisp in this match. Everything connected, and everyone was on point. Shawn was all over the place, so he probably is the MVP with all that he contributed. But, there is a reasonable argument for Nash or Razor too. You might not like how long Diesel was out could, but man he sold the super kick perfectly. You have to think the taller the guy, the harder it is to pull off that well. They do a great job building the suspense that Shawn will get pinned while Diesel is knocked out. They are hitting him with everything they've got. Great false finish off the leg drop, and the big boot gets the three.  I still love this match.  MOTYC.

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  • 1 year later...

Just watched this match today. This match seems to be forgotten because on that same card, I believe we had Bret Hart vs Owen Hart for the WWF Championship (which was billed as the final match between the two if I remember correctly). What I like about this match is that we see a lot of unexpected stuff like Razor Ramon playing the babyface in peril rather than the shorter 1-2-3 Kid who's usually a natural fit in that position. The spot with Shawn accidentally superkicking Diesel leaving Diesel knocked out cold during a full 5 minutes was also very well played. It just sets up the desperation that Shawn is in, knowing that he can't seemingly count on his partner to bail him out of this situation and Razor/Kid pulling all the stops but Shawn's in full-on survival mode and some fantastic drama right until the end when Diesel finally comes through and delivers the big boot.

Again, it's amazing that this match flies under the radar so much. But then again, as short-lived as Action Zone was, they still delivered some very fun matches.

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  • GSR changed the title to [1994-10-30-WWF-Action Zone] Shawn Michaels & Diesel vs 1-2-3 Kid & Razor Ramon
  • 1 year later...

One of the classic tape trading internet lore matches of the 90s, in part because it's so good and in part because no one saw it when it aired. As others have pointed out, truly amazing how it lives up to the hype - remember finally getting a copy of this and not being let down at all, and it stands up on rewatch. Just keeps building until a clever little finish. Top 5 WWF tag match of the 90s, and maybe #1.

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  • 1 year later...

The Kilq working together to make each other look good created one of the best WWF tags ever. The crowd is molten-hot throughout and everyone plays their role to perfection. Despite being the much bigger man of his team, Ramon does a sublime job at being the face in peril and Kid is the rocket-fuelled fresh man. HBK puts in a top chickenshit heel performance and he sells Ramon's punches well. Diesel didn't stink up this match at all, but I'm wasn't a fan of him being knocked out for minutes on end after a single Sweet Chin Music. At least it put the move over as deadly, at least.  ★★★★¾

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