[1999-04-19-WCW-Nitro] Rey Misterio Jr vs Juventud Guerrera vs Psicosis vs Blitzkrieg

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

My personal pick for best Nitro match ever and something that will for sure make my 500 matches in the e-book. This is worked kind of as a Rey/Blitz vs Juvi/Psi tag at times and then it will shift to a four-way. Incredible collection of highspots, but more than that, they paused at the right times so everything could sink in and did a heck of a job working the crowd and laying out the match to give everything meaning. The crowd is very into Rey which helps them a lot, as this is unusually long for TV. I lost my mind over this match at the time it aired and was convinced it was the greatest thing I'd ever seen. Psicosis wins the cruiserweight title in a major shocker. Absolutely awesome.

[tim]

Rey losing the mask might have been done but it didn't kill his heat much, he is super over. This match went on way too long for me. There was some cool stuff and this must have been something to watch on TV in 1999 but I was beyond burned out by the end of it. As for Nitro matches I don't think this touches the Rey/Kidman cruiserweight title change a few weeks earlier.

[Tim Evans]

I gotta agree with tim. This had some real good spots especially the dives. However, it went on too long and had a ton of those "stop the pin" spots that make me hate 4 way matches. It also seemed like the crowd was chanting "boring" in the middle of the match which is weird. Good match but not great.

[soup23]

I adore this match. It goes long but keeps the action going and has a ton of crazy dives and spots from all four guys involved. It feels like a mesh of people but it works. IN some respects this broke down into a tag formula, but I liked the spot where Blitz and Rey hit dives to the outside then started brawling back inside the ring to give the match an edge. Psicosis winning at this point felt like an upset and he has been sort of an afterthought on this yearbooks the past few years so it was nice to see him get a chance to shine here. This was right when I was giving WCW my last big chance of investment into the company even though I could sense things slipping away, matches like this is what made me stick it out for longer than I probably should have. ****

[Superstar Sleeze]

WCW Crusierweight Champion Rey Mysterio Jr. vs Blitzkreig vs Psychosis vs Juventud Gurrera - WCW Nitro 4/19/99

 

Weird, this match really did not do much for me. I remember really liking it when it happened live because my favorite luchador, Psychosis finally won the Crusierweight Champion. To me that remains the highlight of the match is that Psychosis finally got the recognition he so richly deserved. Much like my main man, Diamond Dallas Page, it just was not to last and it is too bad. It starts off with the heels teaming up to take out the babyfaces, but when Juventud accidentally legdrops Psychosis the partnership dissolves into a heated confrontation. Now the babyfaces align to send the heels to the floor and WOW us with Stereo Asai Moonsaults. The crowd is definitely hottest for the Rey vs Juventiud match. I am surprised they never really had a signature singles match in WCW. I know they had a real classic in AAA and a strong showcase in ECW, but they never really had that one awesome match in WCW they could have had. The Thunder match in '98 is probably the best match they had, but I would liked them to get some more time. Psicosis nearly takes Rey Rey head off with a dropkick to break up the pinfall. I always like the spot in these multi-man where someone dives on top of a prone opponent after a different opponent hit a finish on him, which we see with Psychosis here. Psychosis really wipes everyone out with a corkscrew to the outside, which was my spot of the match. Psychosis seems more motivated here since 1996. Blitzkrieg decides to throw in some limb work and applies a figure-4 to Psychosis so when Psychosis hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker, he can't capitalize. Now we do the big, fun finish run with Rey Rey playing to the crowd with bronco busters, Blitzy hits Skytwister and Juvy gets the Juvy Driver, but the last man standing is Psychosis with his top rope guillotine legdrop. It was a really fun and entertaining spotfest, but I saw it as just that a collection of crowd-pleasing highspots. ***1/2

[Zenjo]

With the break this must have been one of the longest WCW matches of the year. It was one of the best as well. You had two faces and two heels who started off on the same page. Naturally it soon became every man for himself. The format worked well. They had sufficient time to vary the pacing and sell the accumulated damage. Plus they avoided the surplus of contrived multi-man spots that plague this genre. Admittedly that was probably because the format was immature rather than a conscious game plan. Plenty of high flying and state of the art offence. Everyone hit their moves well and there were plenty of broken up near falls. Blitzkreig was physically very talented and would be a loss to the sport. The other three all brought their A games as well. The crowd reaction was bizarre. Lots of the wrestling fans were super into it, cheering loudly and marking out for the near falls. Then you had the fad followers, who were chanting 'boring' because it had gone way beyond their crash TV attention span. They only stuck around for a short period, and were the reason wrestling TV ratings peaked around this time. They were also the only viewers that Vince Russo understood.

[ohtani's jacket]

#317

 

I remember liking matches like these back in '99 when we were starved for quality wrestling on TV. Now that we have so much quality wrestling at our finger tips it's not quite the same. I felt like tapping out a few seconds in but watched this out of respect for Loss calling it the best Nitro match ever. I'm about as big a fan of Fatal Fourways and Triple Threats as I am that influenza test where they stick a swab up your nostril and tickle your brain. This was awfully spotty and hard going. I didn't help that Bobby kept reminding us how long it was. At least Psicosis won. That was a cool result even if the Cruiserweight division was a shell of what it was in '96 and '97. Did Eddie and Rey clock the Cruiserweight division at Halloween Havoc '97? It all seemed to go downhill from there, but I suppose you could say the same about the entire promotion post Starrcade. Sorry for not liking this more, Loss!

[stro]

Rey losing the mask might have been done but it didn't kill his heat much, he is super over. This match went on way too long for me. There was some cool stuff and this must have been something to watch on TV in 1999 but I was beyond burned out by the end of it. As for Nitro matches I don't think this touches the Rey/Kidman cruiserweight title change a few weeks earlier.

 

Losing the mask didn't really hurt him for a few more months and especially into 2000. The Filthy Animals has to be the worst stable of all time to have the talent it had in it.

[JKWebb]

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

 

I don't think this is the best Nitro match ever, and off the top of my head I'd go with DDP vs. Sting from 4-26-1999. I didn't think this was too long really. The commentary wasn't saying it was too long of a match, they were putting over the endurance of the wrestlers. I thought this was really good, and I appreciated that they took the time to sell the fatigue, rather just throwing out quicker spots in a shorter match. For me, all that helped get the moment for Psicosis over. I thought it was really good. ***3/4.

[PeteF3]

I don't know if it's the best Nitro ever, but it's certainly on the short list of them and on the short list for U.S. MOTYCs. They *did* lose the crowd for the length and sheer volume of highspots, as there's a "boring" chant just past the midway point and they're actively booing every save and kickout at one point, after starting off hot. I'm willing to chalk up part of this to "crowds can be wrong sometimes" because it wasn't poor work or overwork that provoked that reaction, it was a bunch of Spurrier-worshipping Gator assholes who probably were impatient for the chance to sing along with some Wolfpac catchphrases and--*smack* Okay, hatred for the University of Florida aside, back to the match: it's a stirring display of spot-fu but like those great Michinoku Pro 6-man tags, it's a really really *good* display of spot-fu, with the spots hitting, the spots having impact behind them, and the numerous transitions all making sense. This style would burn itself out very quickly if we got it every week but Nitro needed way more of this and way more matches like that WCWSN tag to create a point of difference from the WWF, the same way WCW did so successfully in 1995 and '96. Between the ending of WCWSN and this match one might *almost* think WCW is a hot promotion. Oh, and not knowing who won this, the finish was a markout-worthy shock and Psicosis does a great job of celebrating like it's the biggest win of his career.