Other 1994 worth watching

[goodhelmet]

Vader vs. Guardian Angel (Bash at the Beach 1994)

- As good if not better than the previous match but it has a super dog shit ending. If this was the 1980s sets, we would accept it and just move on but it would be on a set somewhere. People may be less forgiving because it is 19 fucking 94. Still AWESOME match leading up to the finish.

[PeteF3]

Riki Choshu vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara - 1/4/94

 

Somebody got a haircut! In addition to that big news, this is Choshu's return from a nasty injury. I don't think he was 100% yet but I guess he didn't want to miss the big Dome show (or lose any power with a prolonged absence...) This isn't a high-end match in the rivalry, nor was it consequential enough to go on a Yearbook when so much other, bigger stuff from this show made it. But it's a fun stiff-fest between two guys who know how to get the most out of the least. At the very least you have the compelling contrast of Choshu's lariat vs. Fujiwara's finisher which is basically an ideal counter to the Lariat. Finish is something I feel like I've seen between these two before, with Choshu just repeatedly Lariating Fujiwara until he drops.

[Superstar Sleeze]

Ricky Steamboat vs Bobby Eaton - WCW Worldwide 6/4/94

 

Have these two ever wrestled a 10+ minute match? It would be a crying shame if this is all we got, but still a good match. Steamboat does some fancy armwork to wow the Disney crowd while Tony and Jesse do what would become WCW announcing's favorite pastime talking about what Hogan is doing instead of the match at hand. He had not even wrestled a match yet. Eaton gets a chopblock on Steamboat. In a nice touch, Steamboat sells, but still tries to maintain control by going back to arm work, but one of those sweet Eaton rights and a kneecrusher turn the favor into Eaton. The one weak point is Eaton's leg work just really consists of Eaton hugging Steamboat's leg, but The Dragon sells the hell out of it and even does the knee gives out on a slam attempt to put it over. Eaton hits a right all the way from Sweet Home Alabama to setup the spinning toehold, but Steamboat kicks him into the turnbuckle. Eaton tries to throw some rights, but the Dragon won't be denied and he hits a cross body block from the top for the win. It was a fun little 8 minute match. It is really worth it just to see Steamboat and Eaton finally lock up. **3/4

 

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Ricky Steamboat vs Arn Anderson w/Col. Robert Parker & MENG - WCW Main Event 8/21/94

Here is another matchup that was not exploited enough in WCW. I thought this was even better than the Eaton match especially since The Enforcer has some heat on him since he had just aligned with the Studd Stable against The Rhodes Family. Steamboat's arm work here is tighter and more vicious against Arn. I love him taunting Parker before dropping back on the hammerlock scissors. Anderson is also doing a better stooge routine than Eaton was. He has great facial expressions and him asking for timeout never gets old. The spinebuster is such a badass transition move. Anderson zeroes in on the back and Steamboat proves why he is one of the best faces of all time with his selling. Anderson's back work culminates with a Boston Crab and he just lets go, which is a pet peeve of mine. Steamboat starts to mount his comeback with chops while selling the back, but I would have liked a better transition then him just getting up from the Crab going back on offense. Steamboat looks like he is going garner the victory with a top rope cross body, but Parker is distracting the ref. Steamboat gets an O'Connor roll, but MENG kicks Steamboat in the head while the ref is distracted to give Anderson the win. I liked the finish put over the team aspect of the Stud Stable and gives them more momentum. This was a good TV match and I wish we had more Enforcer/Dragon singles matches to go with it. ***

[PeteF3]

Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi, & Jun Akiyama vs. Toshiaki Kawada, Akira Taue, & Takao Omori - 1/20/94

 

I think I've seen Takao twice in my life--the 1996 Royal Rumble where he didn't do anything, and the 2000 Carny match with Jun...not a whole lot to extrapolate from that marathon. Omori is full of pep and energy in his first big showcase match. Unfortunately for him Team Misawa sees to it that his hopes and dreams are swiftly and efficiently crushed, leaving undoubtedly a bitter cynical shell of a man. Omori gets the absolute snot beaten out of him--even Akiyama gets to act like a grizzled old veteran stiffing the shit out of some young snot. Omori is in peril for a LONG time, and we must go about 15 minutes before Kawada tags in. He's doubtless still working hurt, but when he tags in for the first time it's with Misawa down and vulnerable, and having milked the big showdown for quite awhile the crowd is suitably amped for it. The other running subplot from this and other recent matches is the budding rivalry between Kobashi and Taue--every exchange they've had recently has been stiff and exciting and full of hate. Anxious to see a singles match between the two now, and that's probably the least notable of the Four Corners match-ups. After being on a big hot streak, by the end of this Kobashi is back to being the gutsy overmatched underdog having to hang on for dear life--not necessarily because he's outranked but because the numbers game overwhelms him. Taue eventually puts him away with a nodowa to put more heat on that matchup. I guess this is it for Omori's major involvement in these stable wars, and honestly it's kind of hard to evaluate how he'd place in future matches--he looked promising but he really didn't do a lot besides act as a punching bag.

[PeteF3]

Chigusa Nagayo vs. Plum Mariko, 2/11/94

 

This had everything that I should like about the older, slower-paced JWP style, but for whatever reason I had trouble keeping my attention on this one. Plum just brutalizes Nagayo with an opening barrage for the ages, busting Nagayo open, but she settles down afterward and is content to stick with her more traditional leglocks and such. Nagayo pays her back and then some, heeling it up for a crowd that's apparently backing Plum 100%. There wasn't anything wrong here, and I should really be more appreciative of a joshi match build around a sleeperhold, but in the end I didn't feel like the Yearbook was poorer for missing it.

 

The best thing about viewing this was that the Youtube uploader added subtitles to the post-match talk. Chigusa cuts an angry-sounding promo that's really a motivational speech for Plum, then a pure-sports-build locker room interview follows, as she announces her desire for a match with Kansai and also discussing the booing.

[PeteF3]

Sakie Hasegawa vs. Dynamite Kansai, Wrestling Queendom 3/27/94

 

Well, on paper these two are almost perfectly matched for each other: one of joshi's nastiest individuals against one of its most sympathetic underdogs. There's actually some fine counter-wrestling on display for most of this, before Kansai asserts herself with her sick kicks. From there this is an extended squash with a few timely hope spots from Hasegawa. I had trouble with this because the Youtube video was off circa-1978 equipment and woefully out of sync, so maybe this would be better on rewatch. As it is, not really essential viewing by either woman's standard, but a good Champions Carnival-style match.

 

Toshiyo Yamada vs. Kyoko Inoue

 

Just a note for future reference if I can find a better clip. The Youtube audio is so out of sync as to render this unwatchable for me. Some fun stuff with Yamada working underneath, which isn't normally her role, before I threw in the towel.

[PeteF3]

Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Jun Akiyama, Champion Carnival, 3/19

 

Very effective ace vs. upstart match, with a closing stretch even better than I anticipated. Akiyama's Exploder is not yet named but is now being treated as a big move--Misawa acts desperate to avoid it at first, and when Akiyama hits two of them, Misawa is saved by the ropes from what looks like a huge upset. That's the last bullet in Akiyama's chamber and Misawa effectively takes control with his elbows soon afterward, but a good little scare was put into him nevertheless. This isn't an all-time performance for Mitsuharu but it's a good look at him as the dominant ace, who shows just enough vulnerability to put Akiyama over but effectively re-establishes himself in short order.

 

Toshiaki Kawada vs. Stan Hansen, Champion Carnival, 3/24

 

Nothing fancy here--just two guys stiffing the shit out of each other in gritty, gritty fashion. Kawada seems to have an answer for what most of Hansen tries, and has some cool counters to the Lariat. But eventually Hansen catches him with it. Kawada has seemingly been lost in the wilderness since losing the Tag Titles--he desperately, desperately needs a signature win or three. As it stands at the moment, no one could possibly expect that he "should have gone over" on 6/3.

[PeteF3]

Toshiaki Kawada vs. Jun Akiyama, Champion Carnival, 4/1

 

Pretty similar layout to the Misawa/Akiyama match--Akiyama gets beaten down, makes a comeback, goes down quickly afterward when the Exploder can't put him away. Misawa actually seemed to give more--he was clearly saved by the ropes and looked "out," whereas Kawada kicks out of it, granting that Jun was slow to cover. Kawada was nastier in the opening, working over Jun on the floor and twisting him into knots on the mat. I liked this a little bit more--Kawada worked a little harder and they threw in some more complicated sequences.

[PeteF3]

Jun Akiyama vs. Steve Williams, Champion Carnival, 4/10

 

Holy SHIT. Doc is just absurd at this point--it's one thing to start putting on great matches with the Four Corners, but to have a match THIS good and THIS well-worked with Jun (who's still not a Corner, despite his tremendous rookie credentials), after where Doc was just a couple years ago, would have been beyond my comprehension. This opens with some of the best matwork seen in an All-Japan ring in years--I daresay I'd put it up against almost any '80s Project match outside of Robinson vs. Bockwinkel. Then we progress, and it's another star-making performance from Jun in defeat, but this may be the most star-making of all. Some great hope spots and comebacks from Jun here, set up perfectly by Doc. I particularly liked Jun taking a page from Williams' book and ramming his back into the turnbuckle before hitting the Northern Lights. Williams fails to put Jun away with the Stampede and then Jun counters the Doctor Bomb, leaving Doc no choice but to bust out the backdrop driver for a tough, tough win. Williams is making a strong Wrestler of the Year push, and he's still got a lot of big matches to go! I enjoyed this as much as almost any match I've seen so far on this Yearbook--it was THAT good. And a very different style of match by '90s All-Japan standards. Easily the best of Jun's career to this point--he deserves to get a pin over somebody before the year is out.

 

 

Riki Choshu & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Keiji Muto & Masahiro Chono, 4/4

 

Outside of the Dome show and the Hash/Tenryu match it's been a quiet first quarter for New Japan. Choshu & Tenryu as partners is just weird. And we must be in the Sportatorium, as Tenryu WORKS THE STICK in the middle of the match, inciting Muto with something before dumping water on him just because he can. Muto bails and Chono decides to take on both opponents with a chair as equalizer. That doesn't last long, as Tenryu & Choshu are working better together as former enemies in the early going than Hokuto & Kandori did. Things take another left turn as MUTA emerges from the locker room. He destroys Tenryu on the apron but can't seem to tag in legally, as the opponents more or less keep Chono isolated in the ring. Muta eventually has enough and nails both guys with the mists and somehow Choshu pins an apparently comatose Chono anyway. Muta lays waste to everything that moves afterward, misting the opponents about 37 times each and beating the shit out of Tenryu with a stretcher from under the ring. This match pretty much defies a traditional star rating but it was entertaining bullshit.

[PeteF3]

Sting vs. Vader, Slamboree '94

 

I barely have any breath left after the Bullrope and Broad Street Bully matches, but okay, one more to go. This isn't on the level of the best of this series--a lot of it's more low-key, and even mat-based until they unleash the big bombs at the finish. Vader working over Sting's knee is an interesting way to go, but it works. A lot of this is standard, including all the Harley Race bits, and if Slamboree had an overriding flaw it was an overreliance on referee drama, as we get a gratuitous ref bump here. But we've still got great Sting power spots, still got great moves from Vader, and a few nice twists and turns. Sting hits an awesome splash off the top to regain the vacant International World belt. The fall-out-of-bed match between these two, but those are always welcome. Schiavone was fantastic during this, it should be noted, reciting almost the entire history of this rivalry and placing every spot in its necessary larger context. A rare instance of Sting/Vader not being match of the night, which speaks to how strong this card was.

[PeteF3]

Chigusa Nagayo vs. Mayumi Ozaki, JWP Super Major Queens

 

Nagayo's SNK-sponsored video game entrance gear is rather amusing. I'm not sure to what extent the "generation battle" aspect of this meant anything, but this was definitely more epic in scope than the Kong/Kansai match. Ozaki brutalizes Nagayo on the floor to start with, but Chigusa begins a reocurring theme of the match by cutting Oz off with her "Super Freak" (tilt-a-whirl power bomb). Nagayo keeps it in the ring a bit and then pays Ozaki back on the floor with everything Oz did to her--including talking trash on the mic. There's sort of a story of Oz using weapons and chairs and whatnot while Nagayo keeps it basically to wrestling, but by the end of it Ozaki is the one who's bleeding a gusher. Ozaki throws all her big moves at Nagayo but Chigusa keeps kicking out, and then a finish that's similar to Hasegawa/Toyota, as Nagayo slips down Ozaki's back and levels her with one big surprise move for the pin. Very good match. I honestly hesitate to say if it was Match of the Night--I was clearly the way-high vote on Kong/Kansai and it was probably a little bit tighter and not really any less intense. This is definitely one for a supplemental set, though. It *feels* somewhat historic even if I'm not sure if it really is.

[PeteF3]

Lord Steven Regal vs. Johnny B. Badd, Bash at the Beach

 

Badd's been pretty quiet lately. The last memorable thing of his that I can recall was the Maxx Payne feud, an angle that I always rather liked against my better judgment. He's a sub for Sting, who's out with a "scratched cornea" courtesy of Sensuous Chaplin on WCWSN. Badd is game, especially down the stretch, but this is really a Regal carry job all the way. His selling of the arm is tremendous and basically sets up every possible transition. Great moment towards the end as Regal bails after eating Badd's big punch, and while William is consoling him, Badd suddenly flies in from out of nowhere and takes both guys out. Then a callback to the Regal/Arn sunset flip finish with the umbrella. This time Nick Patrick catches it, but Regal finds another reversal to escape with the title. Calling this possibly the best PPV opener ever is a little crazy--Rey-Psicosis is right there even if you're just talking about WCW. But it is a truly standout performance by Regal.

 

Afterward Gene Okerlund delivers a fawning intro for Antonio Inoki, as we get a mini-Slamboree-type presentation for no particular reason other than to set up a farcically contrived angle for the match with Regal at the Clash. No one in the crowd has a clue who this guy is or what this is about, until Regal comes back to save the segment. He actually gets the crowd invested into this, though they were hot coming in. Jesse takes over at the commentary's table and is visibly very, VERY annoyed and irritable. I'm guessing he wasn't happy about being demoted upon Heenan's arrival to start with, and the arrival of Hogan couldn't have sat well with him either. Still, he's acting pretty unprofessionally right off the bat, and it's about time for the Body to go away.

 

 

The Guardian Angel vs. Vader, Bash at the Beach

 

This wasn't at the level of Stampede, but this was a nice gritty sequel anyway. Vader busts out a spin kick (!) among some other new tricks, and the Angel responds with some awesome punches and power spots. Race hands Vader a telescopic baton, but the Angel gets it and gets disqualified just for holding it. Laaaame--and Schiavone makes sure to beat us over the head with the idea that he's a Guardian Angel and thus would NEVER use a nightstick. The limitations to wrestling brought upon by the use of the Angel name, and the problems therein, are already coming to light.

[PeteF3]

Johnny B. Badd vs. Lord Steven Regal, Fall Brawl

 

Oh my God, this was AWESOME. Absolutely fucking smokes Bash at the Beach, because Mero is on here. He actually hangs with Regal on the mat to open, and even busts out an airplane spin--which is a great move for him that he really should have kept. Plus it allows Regal to do a great dizzy stooging sell on the floor, before Badd levels him with a pescado. Badd whiffs on another flying tackle in the ring, and Regal, having been outclassed on the mat, absolutely fucking loses it, just raining forearms and palm strikes and punches down on him in the corner and this turns into a borderline Japan-style "out of control for real" shoot-angle type situation. Some absolutely great hope spots and good selling from Badd and great cut-offs by Regal, and they throw in some cool false finishes playing off past Regal victories, before Badd catches Regal with a backslide to take the TV belt. Fire this sumbitch up on the Network--this is one to put on a supplemental set for sure. Absolutely the match of Mero's career to this point and really just a shade behind the Zbyszko matches.

[PeteF3]

So some psycho on Youtube uploaded the entire Big Egg Universe card in two 5-hour parts. Bless that man. Thus begins the non-Yearbook Big Egg Universe Matches That Look Interesting reviews. Thanks to Flik and others for their insights earlier in the thread...

 

Reggie Bennett vs. Chigusa Nagayo

 

I wasn't planning to start with this but the downside of a 5-hour Youtube video with no timestamps is that picking the match you want to see is an inexact science. I haven't seen Reggie before so when this started up I stuck with it. Reggie doesn't seem like a bad fatso worker and she would have been a better monster heel option for the WWF than Bertha Faye, but the tank top+jorts look is awful. She doesn't look like a monster, she just looks like a slob. Her splashes off the turnbuckles look nice, however. Reggie works typical American-style holds and Nagayo throws a few decent strikes from underneath, then gets in one roll-up for a sudden (and ambiguous) pin. Chigusa does make sure to point to her head after the match, which is nice, I guess. Pretty half-assed match from a bored-looking Nagayo, and Reggie actually seemed to work harder.

 

 

Toshiyo Yamada & Tomoko Watanabe vs. Shinobu Kandori & Mikiko Futagami

 

Basically a tale of two matches. When Yamada and Kandori are in the ring, it's gold--tremendous heat, and the action lives up to one's expectations of these two badasses going at it. The partners add very little other than making saves and taking up space, and things die off when they're legal. It's more like a singles match with two assist characters than a straight tag. Yamada throws kicks and Kandori twists her limbs in various directions, before Shinobu catches Yamada coming off the top in a Fujiwara armbar for a tapout. Somehow in the middle of a 10-hour show this match still felt rushed, but the action was good while it lasted and has you wanting to see these two women go at it again.

 

 

Etsuko Mita & Mima Shimoda vs. Yasha Kurenai & Michiko Nagashima

 

I have no idea who LCO's opponents are. More slob-like ring gear for them, with oversized purple trousers and wifebeaters. I don't know why I'm so fixated on joshi fashion all of a sudden, but it's striking me as odd. They look like Japanese trailer trash, if such a thing exists. LCO themselves come out with the most ridiculously elaborate entrance of the year, with a choreographed dance troupe and being carried out King Haku-style, except somebody forgot to bring the thrones. Amusing contrast to the LLPW team. There are parts here that would fit right into a traditional southern tag--the LLPW team does lots of cheap double-teaming, and even some referee distraction spots and eye pokes to maintain or gain an advantage. There's also a payback spot involving their kendo stick, and Mita catching one of them in a fireman's carry and flinging them into their own partner in the corner, which is a basic spot that somebody should steal today. There are also some sloppy parts here, and while the LLPW team takes a hefty chunk of the match, it never really feels like LCO is in danger of losing. Also absolutely no heat for anything--I know the Dome could suppress crowd noise but this was pretty damn stark. I liked seeing what the mid- and under-card joshi types were doing, but this could have been pruned and the earlier tag given more time as a result.

 

 

Alundra Blayze vs. Bull Nakano

 

Had to watch this to make a comparison to SummerSlam. It is really cool how many promotions got involved with this show--I don't know if getting the WWF to contribute to this was really a major deal in Japan or not, but to me it is. Alundra gets a full-fledged motorcycle brigade as an entourage, so maybe it was. This was pretty well-worked but it suffers in front of the cavernous Dome crowd instead of the super-hot fans at the United Center, plus in Chicago they were really going balls-out to try to get over in front of a more skeptical audience while this is a little closer to going through the motions. It's also a very one-sided match in Bull's favor with Alundra getting in a few hope spots, including a badly blown attempted reverse dive off the turnbuckle. Decent match but I liked SummerSlam better and I suspect their Raw match next spring is better as well. This is a weird instance of a Japan show seemingly booking a match in a "death slot," WWF-style.

 

 

Aja Kong vs. Akira Hokuto

 

Can't watch all this stuff without getting to the finals. This may or may not be Hokuto's "retirement," which I know is bullshit but I'm not really clear on what the story with that is. Anyway, Aja really seems to have almost nothing left in the tank at this point, and they compensate by having her work a leg injury. Smart move, as it leads to a rare body-part-focused joshi match and Aja does a great job in selling it. However, the match still stands as a disappointing anticlimax. The finish probably could have been on the Yearbook just because it ended a show of such magnitude, but I can see why the match itself was left off. Hokuto, for whatever reason, seems to lack aggression when the opening is there to take Aja out, and a burned-out crowd (that was quiet to begin with) certainly doesn't help the atmosphere any. They throw a curveball at us by having Hokuto go "out" on top, which I certainly wasn't expecting. It's a nice moment for her, and she tearfully refuses Aja's WWWA title in another melodramatic post-match scene, but it certainly didn't come as the result of an inspiring performance. Lorefice's review has him incredulous that the card didn't end with Aja going over Manami, and I'm inclined to agree with him on that point. Jobbing your champion to a woman going into retirement (...right?) just smacks of being too clever by half.

[Timbo Slice]

So am I gonna be the outlier on the Payne/Cactus vs. Nasty Boys SuperBrawl IV match? Payne started the match off throwing the Nastys around like Gary F'n Albright and Cactus breaks out the Nestea Plunge AND gets busted up from the inside because of it. I thought this was actually a pretty well laid out match considering it was the Nastys in there, and the faces did more than their fair share to carry the bulk of everything. Ending was kind of a cop out but then it set up Spring Stampede well, too. I dunno, it's definitely watchable at the very least, if not good.

[alexoblivion]

Mocho Cota vs Negro Casas (9/23/94) Feels like a more fleshed out version of some of the stuff they were doing in their tags, and given the extra attention and time, it works very well in a singles setting. Cota works aggressive throughout the match; overwhelming Casas with violent strikes and continually targeting his tweaked ankle to maintain control. Cota also works in some cool pining combos and submissions that work well within the narrative of the match. Casas selling in this was great, and helps put over the violence of the match. Really good match that was smartly worked by both. No post-match footage is disappointing, though since the match made CMLLs year-end review show, I wonder if that version has any additional footage.

[victory]

Mocho Cota vs Negro Casas (9/23/94) Feels like a more fleshed out version of some of the stuff they were doing in their tags, and given the extra attention and time, it works very well in a singles setting. Cota works aggressive throughout the match; overwhelming Casas with violent strikes and continually targeting his tweaked ankle to maintain control. Cota also works in some cool pining combos and submissions that work well within the narrative of the match. Casas selling in this was great, and helps put over the violence of the match. Really good match that was smartly worked by both. No post-match footage is disappointing, though since the match made CMLLs year-end review show, I wonder if that version has any additional footage.

Just watched this match for the first time after hearing about the death of Cota. My review will not do this justice at all. Wow, what a great match. The ankle work by Cota was great every step up of the way. Cutting off almost every Casas comeback to the end was really great stuff. This is where Cota's heel mannerisms really stood out. The selling by Casas was great as usual.

 

I presume this was not available when the set came out, but it's definitely worthy.