[1990-01-15-WWF-MSG, NY] The Rockers vs Powers of Pain

[drew wardlaw]

Great match. It'll be interesting to see how this compares to the Midnight Express matches this year. I reckon I'll like some of those better but The Rockers collective fire can't be beat. I really liked the tag sequences from them. Very cool.

[ohtani's jacket]

#413

 

Miracle match that's still fresh a second or third time round. Jannetty is phenomenal in this. Not only because of those high elevation bumps but for his selling throughout. He was just brilliant. Both teams looked good here. The Powers of Pain for their power wrestling and the Rockers for their teamwork. The match didn't overstay it's welcome but at the same time left you wanting more. Too bad there wasn't a rematch.

[Matt D]

This is the "rematch," though I can't speak to the quality.

 

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xe4sgd_rockers-jim-duggan-vs-powers-of-pai_sport

 

(and a promo setting it up:

)

[ohtani's jacket]

Matty D delivers!

 

It's a match that pretty much has zero chance of being as good as the first since Fuji and Duggan are involved, but Heenan is hilarious on commentary and carries the match with his back and forth barbs with Hillbilly Jim. Shawn plays FIP in this one, but it's nowhere near as meaningful as Jannetty's performance. Still, Heenan's quips keep things interesting.

[JKWebb]

I remember going through 1990, and this was my second favorite match of the month only behind Liger/Sano 1/31. I love this match. It's tons of fun. Perfect to throw on anytime, and I think it's one most anyone would really enjoy. A great match (****), and I'm pumped to watch the rematch posted above when I have time. Nice find! This would make a great educational/template match for younger guys on a great way to work David/Goliath type tags.

 

http://placetobenation.com/countdown-top-500-matches-of-the-90s-450-401/2/

 

#413

[dawho5]

I can't disagree with any of the above. Honestly it's a shame the Rockers had to implode the way they did. Michaels the tag team specialist is so much better than Michaels the singles wrestler.

[SmartMark15]

Just a joyous power vs. speed match. Marty bumping like his life depended on it was awesome. The height he got on some of those drops were legitimately impressive and frightening. Then you add in the simple tag heel tactics like choking on the ropes and Fuji's interference all building up to that dastardly finish and you have a really great old school tag team match. Loved this.

 

****1/4

[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.

[cactus]

Surprised I've never heard of this match before being a big Shawn Michaels mark and all. This deserved to be on PPV.

 

Just an utterly fantastic power vs speed match. The Rockers work around their limitations with some cool double team moves and they don't look out place working on the Powers of Pain. The height Jannetty got on those flapjacks was insane. I have no idea how that didn't injure the little creep.

 

★★★★

[C.S.]

This match was given to me by soup23 for the Match Review Trades thread. As always, I haven't read any of the above comments before composing my own thoughts.

 

On commentary are Gorilla Monsoon and...some Southern guy I can't recognize. Seriously, who is it? It's driving me crazy. It sounds like a more coherent Dusty Rhodes, but it can't be him. (Edit: It's Hillbilly Jim. I forgot he did commentary. He spoke a little too fast for my tastes but he wasn't bad at all. Hearing Gorilla again was also a wonderful nostalgia trip. Meltzer must have a cranial protuberance not to appreciate the golden tones of Gino.)

 

My first thought: Wow, The Rockers are a hell of a lot bigger than I remember them being. They're giants compared to today's "heavyweights" like Finn Balor, to the point where the size difference between The Rockers and PoP is a lot less pronounced than I was expecting.

 

The crowd heat is off the charts. I have no idea if the audio was sweetened or the mic-ing was different back then, but these fans sound so LOUD compared to today.

 

The Rockers truly were "tag team specialists" as they were called. The quick tags, double-team maneuvers, constant inning and outing - it's even more impressive now than it was 28 years ago, because it's such a lost art these days. I really feel every single tag team today could learn a ton from watching The Rockers. This match solidifies their status in my mind as one of the most underrated tag teams of all time. In addition to the flash, they also had the substance of being absolutely fantastic sellers. The character work and charisma were still works-in-progress, but they obviously nailed that later on - especially Shawn as a singles wrestler.

 

That isn't to diminish what the PoP brought to the table, but this match really was The Rockers Show. Still, PoP had a great look, a fun act with the "devious" Mr. Fuji, and opponents who could sell their asses off. What more can an old-school wrestling fan ask for?

The WWF version of "face in peril" formula is as stale now as it was then - the middle of the match dragged because of it - but man, it still felt cathartic when Shawn finally made the hot tag.

 

Marty's tapes were ribbed up. I have no idea if that was a legitimate injury or part of an existing storyline.

 

I wasn't expecting the totally awesome and bonkers stretcher job at the end. The notion of WWE spending nearly that much time on an angle for two midcard tag teams seems so foreign to today's product that it really felt like a breath of fresh air to watch this.

 

No idea what the "star rating" would be for something like this, and it doesn't even matter. The whole of the match is more than the sum of its parts in this case. Great fun to watch, a wonderful nostalgia trip, a useful roadmap for current and future wrestlers, and a bittersweet reminder of how much better things used to be in a lot of ways. Thanks, soup23!

[zep81]

I fucking loooooooove this match.

Should have been on a PPV somewhere. It's POP's best match and one of the Rockers' best. They bump wonderfully here, the POP are great on offense too, esp Warlord, who looks good throwing the smaller guys around and this formula suits them perfectly and the rockers make them look great. Jannetty in particular is a bumping machine, including this gem;

An excellent tag match that i can't recommend highly enough. Like the Twin Towers/Rockers WM 5 match formula, but much better IMO. Really is one of WWF's diamond tag matches and a huge personal favorite. The classic big man/little man match that's very enjoyable. Fuck the Rockers were really great.

[Superstar Sleeze]

The Rockers vs Powers of Pain w/Mr. Fuji - MSG 1/90

This could be my favorite match of all time. It is such a perfect David vs Goliath match. Marty Jannetty gives one of the greatest performances of all time. 

This one has been pimped in the 1990 yearbook and very rightfully so. This is the Rockers' David vs Goliath masterpiece. They have the incredible sprint against the Brainbusters, a dramatic "face vs face" tag match with the Hart Foundation, a wicked entertaining light-hearted match with Rougeaus, a speed vs power Championship match with Demolition, bloodbath against Rose & Somers and an ultra-hot PPV opener against the Orient Express. (Yes, I mention this all to build to upcoming post on why the Rockers are worthy to be in the discussion with the Rock n Rolls). This takes on a different dynamic than the Demolition. The Demolition match reminded me how the RnRs wrestled the Russians it was speed versus power, but not necessarily size. In those matches, the heel teams use their power to attack specific body parts and work holds. This match worked more like a David vs Goliath spotfest (I mean that in a good way). The Powers of Pain are just throwing out all these badass bombs to defeat the Rockers. The Rockers are attempting to overcome pure power and are treated more like smaller wrestlers in this match. Out of all their classic matches, this has to be the most surprising because Powers of Pain really did suck. Look, Barbarian has the raw talent, but did not seem to pull altogether into one solid match until this match where he looked like the next big power heel in the WWF. Hell, the fuckin' Warlord looked great in this match. Jesus, if that is not an achievement I do not what is.

Barbie chucks Shawn around early to establish the power advantage. Marty crossbody blocks Shawn on top of Barbie to demonstrate that the Rockers will need to use teamwork and tricks to overcome this power advantage. The Rockers clear the ring with a series of double teams done continuing the theme of teamwork including a Marty dropkick to help Shawn over on a rana and they tabletop Warlord. When they cleared the ring with the double dropkicks and double superkicks. The crowd went nuts. Such a hot moment. I really loved the dropkick/tabletop combo. That was my favorite spot of the shine. Warlord catches Marty with a wicked powerbomb eventually the Rockers were going to get caught and POP made them pay. Let the shit kicking commence. HOLY SHIT! The height that Marty takes on that back body drop needs to be seen. I marked out so hard for that again. I totally forgot about that. Holy shit now they just throw Marty up in the air and let him land hard on the canvas. It should be noted that Marty's ribs are taped so this gives the POP something to focus on while they beat the ever loving shit out of him. Barb hits a wicked headbutt on Marty's back. KICK OF FEAR sends Marty to the outside to take a cane shot from Fuji and Barbie rams him back first into the post. Marty shows his dogged determination by throwing ineffectual punches at Warlord's chest. Marty is starting build a little momentum but keeps getting quashed. He really needs to tag. BARBARIAN HITS A MASSIVE POWERSLAM AFTER CATCHING MARTY! This match rules! This onslaught ends when Barb missed second rope elbow. Shawn sunset flips Warlord, but Marty clothesline him, it is all about teamwork! In all the chaos, Shawn gets tripped by Fuji's cane and as he is getting up Barbie stops him in his tracks with an elbow for the win. Shawn in a fit of rage (Shawn temper tantrum? No way, right?) dropkicks Fuji, but Powers of Pain take control and beat the ever-loving shit out of Marty with the cane and a Hart Attack.

I love this match in a string of great Rockers performances this one stands out for how concentrated they were on telling the teamwork story and how great Marty was at eating all the POP offense. For one match, Barbarian took all this athletic spots finally lived to his potential with some great work throughout the heat segment into the finish.

Killer match right up there with Rockers best stuff and a contender for best Hulkamania Era WWF tag team match. Easily the WWF Match of the Year of 1990. ****1/4

[Calvin]

The Rockers are a terrific pure babyface team, and Jannetty stands out here as he plays the face-in-peril role with gusto. Powers of Pain are solid bomb throwers, pinballing the smaller Rockers around with ease, and they're able to keep up a more fast, workrate pace. Great, great match. I would imagine this is up there as one of the best WWF matches of 1990, and probably one of their best tag matches of the decade.

****

[Chess Knight]

The perfect blend of popular Southern Rock n Roll Express-style glam metal boys against a villainous Mad Max beefhead duo. It's just one of the most purely fun matches of all time and as I've grown older I've become way less inclined to use "fun" as some shorthand for "three stars" or "less than very good." It's a seriously outstanding match. POP aren't remembered as a great team and I can't go to any lengths to prove anyone wrong on that, but you'd be hard pressed to criticise them here or say they wasted any motion. The match had heat from the opening shine and it stayed the whole way through, with POP during the FIP sticking to awesome power moves to show off the strength difference between the teams. And adding a dash of cheating to even add to the heat. There's THE back body drop in this match where Jannetty gets absolutely ludicrous height like he can't figure out how to work one of those bounce rope thingys and tries to stop a non-existent fall....but then he actually falls. There's THE boot that sends Jannetty over the top rope. There's THE sunset flip reversal where Warlord poses and then gets reversed himself by a dropkick. One of my favourite little touches in any FIP probably ever is Jannetty trying to grab the rail to stop being driven into the ring post. The post-hot tag is actually pretty remarkable given the size difference; easily it could have come off as silly that Michaels was firing on such big guys but once he was in, everyone bought POP were in more trouble than a minute prior. Good thing Fuji was there for them. To me this is a top 50 WWE match ever.