Resident Evil Posted September 13, 2005 Report Share Posted September 13, 2005 Some brief thoughts on some of the matches I've seen so far from the deathvalley best of 80s series. Thanks a million to deathvalley for this. This is a must for any fan. I've been watching the majority of these without audio. I've used a PS2 which works fine for the video but not for the audio. THe Magnasonic DVD player worked better but the majority of the matches were without sound. One other DVD player I tried didn't work as well. Anybody know what DVD player I should be playing these discs in? Please help! Adonis vs Backland MSG 1/18/82 -- So far the best match I've seen from the discs and I don't think anything's gonna beat it. Great bloody brawl at the end. JBA vs Gilmore Girls -- Second fav so far. For matches like this I believe you have to put yourself in the MSG crowd watching wrestling like this for the very first time. The JBA actually pulled off maybe the toughest move in wrestling to preform. The double top rope missile dropkick Dynamite vs Bret -- Yeah, I'm a big fan of this. Bret takes all sorts of pnishment that has the announcers marking out and DK comes back with the greatest offence you can possibly ever see. I liked how they went to a fancy pinning sequence after all their offence didn't work. Bret Hart with the lifter!! Bulldogs vs Harts MSG -- Loved the pacing and selling. Bulldogs vs Dream Team -- People miss the point of this match. It's all about making the Bulldogs look spectacular and this match does this in great abundance. Davey with an unbelievable military press, Dynamite with the speed and both of them with the moveset. The way the superb finish "comes out of nowhere" leaves the viewer with the impression that not only can the Bulldogs do anything but they can stike anytime with whatever they feel like doing. Bottom line, it makes the Bulldogs look spectacular Bret vs Perfect -- Great all around Adonis vs Backland Phily -- Starting to forget this. Great finishing sequence. Adonis can do an awful lot inside that ring. "Steamboat vs Savage" Maple Leaf Gardens 7/27/86 -- Yes, I like it better than Mania. In fact, I like it a lot better than Mania. All the counters are cool. The selling is mostly on. The sequences in the beginning are terrific. You have bumps. You have blood. You got everything in this. Backland vs Hogan Philly -- I am such a Backland mark now. This wasn't perfect and it was a touch anticlimatic but it was still awesome. I love Backland's arm scissors in peril spot although he may stay in it too long. Backland is unbelievably strong and the effort he put into this spot automatically allowed me to relate to Backland for the pure physical effort he put into this. Ronnie Garvin vs Mr. Perfect -- 12/12/89 Nashville Tennesse -- 1989 was when I really started watching wrestling. When talking to other fans about wrestling one of the hottest topics would be Mr. Perfect's perfect streak. The match is great in making us hope that Perfect might lose his streak. It's also great in that even though Perfect wins the match leaves us thinking that Perfect was just "lucky" and that his time is coming up. Hogan vs Savage Mania -- Different formula than most WWE matches. I had actually watched part of this a couple of months ago and tapped out it to in a few minutes wondering why I liked it so much when I was younger. Well, this time I watched it all and was surprised on how much I liked it. The match gives off the long hard fought battle vibe. Tito Santana vs Macho Man No DQ 4/22/86 -- What I've noticed about the Savage matches in this collection is that most of them all got the long hard fought out feel to them. The matches all feel very important. This is no different. Hogan vs Bossman Cage Match MSG 3/18/89 Backland vs Rose Spectrum -- Nothing wrong with this match and I loved how Rose took over control against Backland. Very good all around. Hart vs Steamboat -- Very good. They really protected Hart here. Steamboat vs Valentine -- Steamboat was full bode into his martial arts gimmick here. I had never realised he was that deep into the gimmick before so that alone made this interesting to watch. Both wrestlers work hard. Steamboat had a nice looking kick here that I really liked which I hadn't seen before Backland vs Slaughter 1/81 -- The ingredients were there to have a classic. It's just that they were screwed up somewhat. Backland is not afraid to bleed. Bulldogs vs Harts 11/1/86 Boston -- Very good. I wish they gave more time to this one. Adonis vs Backland "Bret Hart vs Randy Savage" Saturday Night's Main Event Bret Hart vs Ted Dibiase -- Real good match. They both bring the nice offence. Hart's small package is a thing of beauty. Jose Estrada/Johnny Rodz vs Travis/Garea -- This one surprised me. I was impressed with their ability to keep it interesting for 3 falls especially considering the first fall actually felt like a full WWF match. Rick Rude vs Rowddy Piper Steel Cage MSG Adonis/Murdoch vs Backland/Blair Spectrum -- The ending is a memoarable one and help brings the match up a notch. Were they trying to bury Backland some here by showing a couple of anti Backland signs in the crowd? Backland vs Ivan Koloff Steamboat vs Roberts Boston 8/9/86 Hogan vs Savage MSG -- Very intense. It's just not that long. Backland vs Slaughter 10/20/80 MSG Chair Steamboat vs Savage Mania Rockers vs Rougeaus France -- Highlight was the Rockers cheating against the Rougeaus. Really only a solid tag but the cheating story brings it up to over average. Slaughter/Daniels vs Adonis/Murdoch Bad News Brown vs Hulk Hogan SNME Santana vs Sheik -- Solid Hogan vs Sheik Title match -- Good match Hogan vs Macho Man MSG Lumberjack match 2/17/86 Santana vs Macho Man 3/16//86 Backland vs Slaugher Cage match -- I'm probably being too hard on this. I just didn't like the concept of having escape rules in a cage for a match like this especially when the situation calls for something different. It should've been pin/submit only Hart Foundation vs Rougeau Brothers 9/22/86 Orndorff vs Santana -- This caught off on me after the vicious Orndorff clothesline Owen vs Horrowitz -- Good match though the flow wasn't the best. Owen hits a superb dropkick off the top rope which has to be seen. Steamboat vs Roberts Johnny Rodz vs Koyobashi -- This got some extra points for being different. The spot where Rodz had Koyobashi trapped is a sweet one. Slaughter vs Rick McGraw Steamboat vs HonkeyTonkMan Hogan vs Muraco Steel Cage 6/21/85 Santana vs Bass -- There was interesting stuff in this match but the flow wasn't there for me. Hart Foundation vs The Killer Bees 2/23/87 MSG Mr. Wrestling II vs Les Thornton Hogan vs Shultz -- Solid Hogan vs Orndorff Spectrum Slaughter vs Sheik (3rd disc) Tim Horner vs Barry Horowitz Snuka vs Muraco -- okay match Hogan vs Muraco -- Good stuff but way too short Patterson vs Ken Patera 12/29/80 Piper/Orton vs Snuka/Atlas Slaughter vs Orndorff Spectrum "Murdoch/Adonis vs Mascaras/SD Jones" Spring 84 "Hogan vs Dibiase" 3/12/88 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Cooke Posted September 13, 2005 Report Share Posted September 13, 2005 WP, connect the red cable into the white slot on the TV instead of the white into white and that will get you sound. The discs have the audio coming form the right speaker (red) and the left is the (white) speaker. Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted September 13, 2005 Report Share Posted September 13, 2005 Loss, you may want to try the same thing for the discs you were having issues with that I sent you a long time ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Cooke Posted September 13, 2005 Report Share Posted September 13, 2005 BTW Will, this was the problem with Santo/Casas. Both discs worked fine, just didn't have sound coming out of the left. When I got the WWF set, I thought my players were fucked but it was only a small reconfigurement of cords. Figures... Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted September 13, 2005 Report Share Posted September 13, 2005 Ok, excellent. Then I am almost 99% sure this is the problem with Loss's discs. As for the extra Santo disc, just use it as trade bait. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest EastCoastJ Posted September 13, 2005 Report Share Posted September 13, 2005 Man I wish I had the time and attention span to watch all of those matches. You got my interest up in seeing that Adonis vs. Bob Backlund match. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted September 13, 2005 Report Share Posted September 13, 2005 Hey Masterlock... didn't you say you were Haas of Pain at DVDVR? If so, are you going to repost the WCW Observer quotes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resident Evil Posted September 14, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 14, 2005 WP, connect the red cable into the white slot on the TV instead of the white into white and that will get you sound. The discs have the audio coming form the right speaker (red) and the left is the (white) speaker. Tim Thanks. I checked that out on a couple of matches and it worked for the audio. I should've thought about that. Man I wish I had the time and attention span to watch all of those matches. You got my interest up in seeing that Adonis vs. Bob Backlund match. Check it out if you ever can. I loved how the match just turned into a vicious fight. Like two bloodthirsty NHL hockey players going at it. I wanted to go on deathvalley yesterday to see what everyone thought of this but unfortunately I discovered they got hacked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Cooke Posted September 14, 2005 Report Share Posted September 14, 2005 Some quick thoughts on some matches since I have a little time. - Slaughter v Sheik (6/16/84) - #1. For a blow off match to a hate filled feud, building on everything they had done in past matches, this might be the best in US history. - JBA v Gilmore Girls - top 10. The JBA ability to get over with their state of the art moves was fascinating. Plus, the Gilmore Girls using 70's heel tactics and not much else until the nice powerbomb at the end really made for a contrast in styles and a good story. - Dibiase v Roberts 89 MSG - top 10. the best Dibiase match on the set from what I have watched. Roberts is way over as a face, Dibiase is a fantastic heel hiding, running away, stomping his hands and feet when something doesn't go his way. The numerous DDT teases are straight out of AJPW pysch. - Roberts v Steamboat 86 Toronto - didn't like this at all. Other than the slingshot on the floor into the post, I thought this was barely average. - Sheik v Slaughter 5/84 Landover - Top 20-30 but notable for a chairshot that may be the GREATEST ever. - Adonis v Backlund 1/18/82 - Top 5. Backlund usually needs an interesting heel to make his matches interesting (Adonis, Rose, Slaughter). The arm work from Backlund is so much fun and Adonis puts it over big time before throwing all of his neat offense at Backlund. - Backlund v Rose (11/82) - Top 15. Aside from the abrupt finish, I dug this almost as much as the Adonis match. 2005 wrestling needs more fat guys who can work. - North-South v Backlund/Blair - top 10. Best N-S match on the set. I initially like the Slaughter/Daniels match better but this is the better match because of Blair and the finish is painful yet probably safer than 75% of finishers today. - Slaughter v Backlund 1/81 - top 30. Liked this a lot until the end where it started to fall apart a tad. - Windham v Murdoch - top 10. On first viewing, this doesn't look all that great but I was tired that night (always bad). Second time around, it is vet Murdoch wanting to make Windham pay for beating him for the tag titles. WIndham's bumps and selling are top notch here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted September 14, 2005 Report Share Posted September 14, 2005 Isn't the female tag team that faced the Jumping Bomb Angels the Glamour Girls, or did Lorelai and Rory go back in time from the WB? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resident Evil Posted September 14, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 14, 2005 Isn't the female tag team that faced the Jumping Bomb Angels the Glamour Girls, or did Lorelai and Rory go back in time from the WB? I was hoping someone would pick up on that. I'm all about pushing the Gilmore Girls. Steamboat vs Savage from MLG is now way up on the list for me. Garvin vs Perfect is a match that I want to talk about later. Definite thumbs up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted September 14, 2005 Report Share Posted September 14, 2005 I've only watched 2 matches direct from the DVDVDR DVDs. Steamboat & Santana vs. Dream Team - I did not like Greg Vaentine's performance here at all. So dull and uninspiring. To be honest, I think Brutus Beefcake's performance as a heel (choking, cheating, hiding from the ref) was much better. Tito and Stemaboat both played face in peril in this one and when they got in thier hope spots, things picked up. THis has already been mentioned over at DVDVR but the two key spots are the finish and when Tito attempts to tag Steamer by going through the heel's (I forget which one) legs to make the tag. Would only make the top 50 if there are that many matches that are better. Andre the Giant vs. Killer Khan - A bad match. May be in my bottom 10 when all is said and done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest EastCoastJ Posted September 14, 2005 Report Share Posted September 14, 2005 Hey Masterlock... didn't you say you were Haas of Pain at DVDVR? If so, are you going to repost the WCW Observer quotes? Just got them all back up, with many more to come. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resident Evil Posted September 15, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 15, 2005 1989 was when I really started watching wrestling. When talking to other fans about wrestling one of the hottest topics would be Mr. Perfect's perfect streak. This is all about Garvin taking it to Perfect with Perfect only getting in brief offence in the middle of the match. And it works. I was back in 1989 again "wondering" if Perfect's streak was going to get beaten. Perfect looks like he's beaten only for him to kick out again and again which serves to frustrate the viewer of the match. Garvin is absolutely creaming Perfect and the only thing Perfect can do at the closing moments is hit a temporary headlock. Than we had the ending which I loved. Garvin goes for the small package but Perfect retaliates by being the "perfect" wrestler that he is by going technical and reversing the small package. To the fans the pulling of the tights that accompanied the pin leaves us with the feeling that Perfect was just lucky and keeps our hope alive that his time will be coming up shortly. So this match did a lot. It had us thinking Garvin could beat Perfect, it had us popping for the annihilation of Perfect and it had an ending that fit Perfect's charactor to a tee. He can still brag about being Perfect but for the fans we can see that Perfect is "nothing more" than a lucky cheat who had to use the trunks for a pinfall victory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted September 24, 2005 Report Share Posted September 24, 2005 Watched a couple matches last night... Adrian Adonis/Dick Murdoch vs Sgt. Slaughter/Terry Daniels (7/23/84 MSG) I'll have to rewatch this one again. The story was simple but effective. Sarge's underling, Daniels, plays face in peril for most fo the amtch while Adonis and Murdoch beat the living snot out of him. When Sarge comes in, he cleans house but Daniels still loses the match. One of the biggest problems is that you knew who was going to lose before even watching the match. However, I think I have seen better tag matches that if this drops out othe Top 20 it will not be missed. Hulk Hogan vs David Shultz (6/17/84 Minneapolis, MN) What was shown really did not impress me. I think since it was clipped , it is really hard to grasp how good or bad this really was. I think that is my biggest problem with these discs is the inclusion of clipped matches that really don't allow you to evaluate the match fully. This will be in the bottom quarter of my ballot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted October 5, 2005 Report Share Posted October 5, 2005 *bump*, since I know a lot of us have these now 07/23/84 - Adonis/Murdoch v Slaughter/Daniels Murdoch and Adonis might have ended up the best tag team of the 80s had they been in the NWA and lasted a lot longer as a team. Great match that I loved and a terrific way to start off the set. I'm thinking Adonis may eventually become one of my five or ten favorite wrestlers ever, the way he bumps and plays his character in the ring. This match is so simple yet so brilliant, with Daniels following Slaughter's lead and the game plan working like gangbusters. I love the way Adonis bumps off shoulderblocks, and I love the way they lured Daniels in to show his inexperience. Twice, earlier in the match, Daniels had caught both Adonis and Murdoch with an armbar off of a criss-cross sequence and the third time, Adonis caught him with a WICKED elbow to his face! Crowd goes nuts and Adonis and Murdoch are great at the typical heel clowning spots. I love how eager Adonis is to get in the ring early on when he tags in, and by mid-match, he exercises much more restraint. This is a clinic in not just doing great sequences and involving the crowd, but taking every sequence somewhere important. Murdoch's Backlund-esque spot with the armbar shocked the Hell out of me. I've probably seen better tag matches, but I've seen few tag matches paced as well as this one -- since when does the FIP stuff start 17 minutes into a match? I agree with others that this would have been even better with the heels torturing Daniels longer, but it's still an excellent match. ***1/2 or so sounds about right, all things considered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted October 5, 2005 Report Share Posted October 5, 2005 06/17/84 - Hulk Hogan v David Schultz I agree with goodhelmet that the clipping really hurt this match. I do think this is probably a satisfying match and it's decent for a "babyface snaps and the match is no longer about the title" affair, but I guess the word I'm looking for is meandering. Hogan hulks up midway through the match, hits the legdrop and pulls Schultz up himself. I also don't like the way Schultz took the dive from the top bump -- what the hell move was he going for anyway and why did he roll on his shoulder before he even hit it? Kind of a flash pin to boot -- great bladejobs and great heat, but not much going for it between the ropes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted October 5, 2005 Report Share Posted October 5, 2005 I wish alot of us had these so people would start discussing them more. I only think a small handful of people here actually possess them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted October 5, 2005 Report Share Posted October 5, 2005 05/20/85 - Hulk Hogan v Don Muraco Gotta love Okerlund on commentary. "If anyone knows anything about Pearl Harbor, it's Mr. Fuji!" Times have changed in 20 years. Crowd is absolutely molten. In terms of what Hogan brings to a match, this is one of the best efforts I've seen from him if offense is your thing -- check out his headbutts, his elbow drops, battery ram, vertical suplex and belly-to-back suplex, all of which look really good. The problem is that this isn't much of a competitive match at all -- it's just Hogan beating up Muraco for a few minutes before getting DQd. Nothing special and I'll probably never watch it again. Of the three matches I've watched so far, this is my #3. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted October 5, 2005 Report Share Posted October 5, 2005 I wish alot of us had these so people would start discussing them more. I only think a small handful of people here actually possess them. I still think we'll be doing good if every person who has them will at least say a line or two about every single match. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted October 5, 2005 Report Share Posted October 5, 2005 08/28/86 - Ricky Steamboat v Jake Roberts -- SNAKE PIT MATCH I dug the opening few minutes of this a lot, with Steamboat coming out like he should have come out at Wrestlemania III, with guns a-blazin'. He's also really good working over Jake's arm, although slowing the pace down so dramatically after starting off so fast really comes across as anti-climatic. You can see them calling spots on camera early on quite a bit, with the camera even zooming in on them doing so. Oops. Steamboat just isn't that great in this match compared to his best, as he hesitates to take any flat-back bumps and throws way too many chops. It's not as good of a match, but I prefer this to Savage/Steamboat at WM III for wrestling the right kind of match in the right environment, and also for showing real hate and real emotion. In terms of the action, I even think this is more brutal, with most of the offense looking really tight and the pace not being so fast that some of the good stuff is lost in time. Jake's knee-first gutbuster and his catapult of Steamboat into the ringpost are world class spots. Not much of a fan of the flash pin finish, just because it doesn't feel like it resolved anything, but it's still a strong match. *** or so Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted October 6, 2005 Report Share Posted October 6, 2005 06/16/84 - Sgt Slaughter v Iron Sheik -- BOOT CAMP MATCH Slaughter's entrance is so incredibly grandiose, even by 2005 standards. Anyway, I love seeing Slaughter come out so strong so early and destroy the evil foreigner to the delight of the crowd. Sheik bumps like he means it and Slaughter is an awesome babyface. Slaughter's no slouch as a bumper either, bumping to the arena floor off the Irish whip in big fashion. I love the little morality play going on here, as Sheik starts using weapons and the crowd boos him out of the building for using the same tactics that were used against him. This match could have been held in the middle east and wrestled the exact same way and the Iron Sheik would be the babyface. Kind of a precursor to the USA/Canada angle in 1997 in that regard. I also love how everything has so much meaning here -- the mythology surrounding Sheik's pointed boot is something missing in today's wrestling, but it's so simple and could so easily be done. Fans buy it as a death spot when Slaughter gets thrown into the boot head first. Great paybacks too, with Slaughter doing the same spots on the floor that Sheik did to him early on - in some ways, that's the tone of the match, with Sheik giving Slaughter a dose of his medicine and then some early on and Slaughter following up by getting revenge for all of that and then giving *him* more, and the match continually escalates that way. By the time they get to Sheik trying to use his boot as a weapon for a second time, Slaughter gets a huge pop for just blocking it and the crowd buys that Slaughter is in danger of going down for good when he goes stomach first into the boot. Such smart stuff that the crowd makes so epic. Every time Slaughter makes a comeback, Sheik cuts him off with a kick to the midsection. Imagine the added drama Muhammad Hassan's matches could have had this year with something as simple as pointed boots. The payback with Slaughter's steel-toed boot ROCKS and still doesn't deviate from the direction the match had already set. By the time they start attempting covers, they've already destroyed each other and are fatigued and looking for a way out, as opposed to Savage/Steamboat where Steamboat is trying to win from the opening bell. Far more hatred on display here. Slaughter using Sheik's boot against him as a weapon and loading it up couldn't possibly be a more fitting finish. This just may be the best US match I've ever seen. I know it's ***** in my book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted October 6, 2005 Report Share Posted October 6, 2005 10/02/89 - Bret Hart v Mr Perfect Starts off with some really nice fast-paced action and Perfect's spin bump off of the hiptoss is so cool, as is the look of frustration on his face afterward. That frustration continues when Bret embarrasses Perfect off of a criss-cross sequence by stopping and applauding for him. When Perfect tries a go-behind, Bret stomps on his foot. Perfect tries to pull hair to get out of a headlock and Bret turns the tables on him by doing the exact same thing -- TWICE! This is great, totally uncharacteristic comedy from both guys. It also says a lot that fans are buying nearfalls so early in the match off of something as simple as a sunset flip or a crucifix that NEVER gets a pinfall. The speed things up/ slow things down approach on and off of the headlock works really well here. Perfect tries showing Bret up again, Bret retaliates with the exact same tactics and now Hennig is afraid to even lock up with him. This is priceless! At this point, he's desperate and sneaks in a punch when the ref is trying to force a clean break and creates lots of space between himself and Bret, repeatedly knocking him off the apron when he tries to get back into the ring or doing as much damage as possible on the floor. Genius' reaction at ringside when Bret crotches Hennig on the top rope while making his comeback is hilarious, and things just get worse in that department when Bret tries to back away from Hennig and ends up crotching himself on the ringpost. Crowd is going nuts with every attempted Bret nearfall, and keep in mind that they've succeeded in putting a guy wrestling main events with an undefeated streak and a midcarder who's seen as the weak link of a tag team on the same level by this point. No small accomplishment at all. Hennig having to pull the tights to get the win is the right ending, considering how much the body of the match did to make Bret look like a player. This will probably end up in my top 10. I'd say it's **** or so -- better than Summerslam '91, but not as classically great as King of the Ring '93. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted October 6, 2005 Report Share Posted October 6, 2005 11/15/86 - Randy Savage v Jake Roberts Match was okay, but nothing special. I normally like heel v heel matches and feuds because of the unpredictability involved, but this match never really came together for me like I thought it would. Lots has been made about this match being heel/heel, but Jake played the total face here and had the crowd on his side. In some ways, that's cool because they can do more with that dynamic, and in some ways, it's disappointing, considering the way people talk about this match. I might have liked this more without the Internet hype for it being something special. I'm a fan of Savage, but I think sometimes his matches are way too predictable. He's much better carrying slugs than he is going against someone who can work at his level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted October 6, 2005 Report Share Posted October 6, 2005 Pinned!!! Since Tim, Loss, WP, and myself have this set, I know there is going to be alot of talk going on in the next couple of months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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