What are you watching?

[goodhelmet]

Jimmy Rave vs. AJ Styles "Street fight" 7-23-05

 

Man, these guys had me... until the end when it all fell to shit.

 

This is the perfect match for AJ Styles... where he doesn't actually wrestle like AJ Styles but channels his inner-Buzz Sawyer. Seriously, if all AJ matches were like this, Loss would be proclaiming him the savior of wrestling.

 

Still, another match that leaves a bad taste in your mouth because of the ending and another spot that bothered me...

 

When you guys get the MOTYC DVDs, you will see one match where the guys chop the shit out of each other for 5 minutes. Another where one guy chops the shit out of another guy for 5 minutes. Now, you will see another guy headbutt a guy 30 times around the ring. Sorry, but it was over-the-top, I didn't believe it.

[Ray]

The headlock was an excuse to do the spot where he holds onto it going into the ring.

It was a great spot and not the only headlock in the match. What's the problem?

 

If he wanted to show the guy he could control him at will then why was he getting his arm busted up the whole match?

Suzuki kept running away and dodging Kobashi's offense.

 

The only problem here is that Suzuki applies 2 armbars, kicks the living shit out of the arm, an arm ringer, and a friggin hanging armbar. Regardless of who the wrestler is, if that does not incapacitate a wrestler's limb, well, that is just shitty selling.

It's hardly shitty selling when he sells the arm throughout the match. He's the ace, the champion, seen as the strongest wrestler in the country, and ranked far higher than his opponent. There's nothing at all wrong with hitting the lariat after having his arm worked. Just like Misawa would still elbow you after having his arm worked. Just like Kawada would still kick you in the head after having his knee worked. It's ingrained in the psychology of the promotion. It'll hurt you more than it will hurt me.

 

A better finish would have shown Kobashi winning despite his arm, not because of it.

What then? Should he pull out the moonsault? Or the Burning Hammer? To finish off someone as low as Suzuki? Come on now. Lariat is the best choice for a finish.

[Loss]

It's also sad to see how badly they dropped the ball with Benoit after the standing ovation he got.  It seems they had him on the shows as little as possible to get his heat down.

Meltzer has said the standing ovation was staged by the company with plants standing up to give Benoit the ovation and everyone else in the crowd following suit. Not that that takes away from the moment at all, since it was a moment created by the company that was appropriate, and not that it didn't accomplish what would appear to be the goal of getting the match and/or Benoit over.

[Loss]

I just watched Bret/Yokozuna from Wrestlemania IX.

 

I'll be damned if Bret doesn't give quite the amazing performance there, despite the fact that Yoko is horrible. Proof that Bret at his peak could have a *** with anything, animate or inanimate. Had Yoko been even halfway game, this would have been remembered as a very good main event, just because Bret was FEELING IT. The Hogan crap after the match, to this day, still pisses me off, though. There's lots of unintentional humor in that last segment, with Savage saying nary a word during Hogan's post-match celebration, choosing to stand up and give rather sarcastic applause instead. And when they do the final wide shot, being outdoors, the sky, which had been beautiful and sunny all day, starts to get a little darker.

[Mad Dog]

I was watching something with Dustin Rhodes earlier. He's really grown on me since his BookDust run. It's a shame that he got so overshadowed by Goldust and how bland he is without it.

[sek69]

I've always been a fan of Dustin, but he's always been stuck fighting perceptions that may or may not have been at work. His first WCW run was good, but everyone just assumed he was being pushed because of his family name. Then his first Goldust run was overshadowed by the "is he gay or not" crap that had any other company but WWE handled it, could have been a breakthrough in wrestling. Then he was back to WCW with the abortion that was "Seven", until finally he went back to the WWF/E and got the props he deserved with the BookDust team.

[Resident Evil]

I just watched Bret/Yokozuna from Wrestlemania IX.

 

I'll be damned if Bret doesn't give quite the amazing performance there, despite the fact that Yoko is horrible. Proof that Bret at his peak could have a *** with anything, animate or inanimate. Had Yoko been even halfway game, this would have been remembered as a very good main event, just because Bret was FEELING IT. The Hogan crap after the match, to this day, still pisses me off, though. There's lots of unintentional humor in that last segment, with Savage saying nary a word during Hogan's post-match celebration, choosing to stand up and give rather sarcastic applause instead. And when they do the final wide shot, being outdoors, the sky, which had been beautiful and sunny all day, starts to get a little darker.

The end of Mania 9 always made me quit the WWF. Booking wise it just deheartened me in so many ways. They didn't believe in Bret and the ending was way too sports entertainish/fake. Just when you thought you were safe from the old they go right back to it again.

 

 

Loss, you gotta watch the cage(s) match between the two!! It's super and Bret puts on a performance that I don't know if anyone else could've matched that night. Yokozuna's has a thumbs up performance too. Treat yourself to an excellent match with terrific heat to beat too. They had the crowd in the palm of their hand.

[Loss]

Samoa Joe v Bryan Danielson - ROH MX Reunion 10/02/04

 

This match seems to be in the shadow of Joe/Punk I & II, which is a shame, because I think it's a better match than both of those. Easily the best match I've ever seen in ROH, an all-time classic, and my choice for 2004 MOTY, unless there's still something out there I need to see from that year (I guess I need to see Joe/Punk III). I'm going to do a full review of this in the very near future, along with some other stuff, but at this point, I'd call this ****3/4. I think the main difference is that Joe/Punk telegraphed the 60-minute draw for me on both occasions due to the pacing. While the action was great, I didn't think any of the nearfalls were all that believable until late in the match, and there also weren't as many pin attempts as you'd expect in that environment. When there was a pin attempt, it was off of a cradle or rollup, which I think did little to put over the great offense in the match, in both cases. I understand that it was believed at that point that the best strategy against Joe would be a quick pin since you couldn't go toe-to-toe with him and succeed, but he was also the one not attempting pins after big moves when you'd think he would.

 

Danielson/Joe didn't have that problem, as the match was built more toward a finish than a series of sequences, with each move being a little more dangerous than the one before it. Sure, there were quick pin attempts mixed in, but they didn't do it at the expense of the match itself. The heat in the building when the fans thought they were about to see something really historic was very awesome. Danielson also is so head and shoulders above Punk in every way in this match -- the coughing selling, the crowd interaction that doesn't kill the rhythm of the match, the counters ... it was a much more believable "chase" than that of Punk. And while I sound like I'm burying Joe/Punk, I'm really not, it's just that the flaws I noticed in both of those matches were huge strengths of this match, which may be causing me to like it more and overrate it. But it was an incredible match worth going out of your way to see, whether this opinion sticks with me down the road or not.

[silverwidow]

RE: Kobashi/Suzuki

 

GH, I think you're underestimating Kobashi's performance in this match. Just a couple of things to touch on really quickly:

 

The fire that Kobashi put behind his headlocks were enough to keep the spots interesting to me. They were good in that it allowed Kobashi to exert a sense of dominance and control at the outset without having to dig too deep.

 

As for Kobashi's selling of the arm throughout -- pretty damn good if you ask me. From what I've seen, he tends to produce quality performances when that theme is sewn into a match (i.e. 10/95 M/K vs. K/T and 4/04 vs. Takayama come to mind).

 

That said, it was still a one man show -- I wasn't into Suzuki's clowning at all, although his submissions were quite fun. Good, enjoyable match but I wouldn't go higher than *** or ***1/4.

[anarchistxx]

I didn't think Dragon/Joe was anything special. Dragged somewhat in the middle, and they went right off track towards the finish. I never got into it at all. Also, too much time spent doing the ole ole crap.

 

Perhaps it warrants a rewatch. I might review it once I finish my Final Showdown review.

[Guest Mike Campbell]

I guess I should step in, since i nominated the match and all, even though most of what I felt made it such a good match has already been covered. The aforementioned headlock spots from Kobashi, as well as the way he puts over Suzuki's submissions. The crawl to the floor bit, I'll admit was a bit on the silly side. But I'll still take that over Kobashi and Sasaki pasting each other with chops for five minutes straight, or Kobashi and Misawa dumping each other on their heads.

 

The thing about Suzuki that put the match over the top for me, was that he never really stopped being the disrespectful prick. Even though Kobashi is just killing him dead, he's still trying his damnest to paintbrush Kenta with those slaps.

[World's Worst Man]

I just watched Eddy Guerrero and Rey Mysterio's June 23 2005 Smackdown match. Best WWE TV match I've seen, and WWE MOTY for 2005! I loved Rey's intensity early and his use of the abdominal stretch. I loved Eddy snapping and picking up the pace after getting somewhat dominated early. The long heat segment on Rey was great, and Eddy's offense was really focused. Just a classy match all around, and goes to show that just because 2 guy's are having a "sports entertainment" feud, doesn't mean they can't have good, solid wrestling matches.

 

Also, people should check out Kawada vs. Suzuki from this year's G1. It was basically a better version of Kobashi vs. Suzuki. ie. Suzuki versus a strong opponent, but being a dick until the very end.

[goodhelmet]

With Kobashi-Suzuki, it is already back in but for Kawada-Suzuki, has anyone else watched this? I need some backup before I add yet another match!!!!

[World's Worst Man]

I thought Kawada vs. Suzuki wasn't a MOTYC, but I also thought it was better than quite a few of the matches on the MOTYC list. Actually, there were a few matches in the G1 that would fall under that category. I can list them if you want them.

[goodhelmet]

Yeah, that was my problem when making these comps. There were so many people passionate about certain matches and I was so underwhelmed by them.

[Guest Noah]

NWA/TNA Turning Point 2005

[anarchistxx]

ROH FINAL SHOWDOWN

 

Alex Shelley v Roderick Strong (Final Showdown)

 

One of the best ROH openers I've seen. They play the story of Shelley coming for revenge against generation Next, emphasized by his attack on them before the match, and this leads into an intense, hard-hitting affair. We soon establish that they know each others moves, and it's going to come down to a mistake, with the coll finisher reverse section in the early stages, and the pace never really lets up from then on. The key to a successful opener, is that there's plenty happening, and this match has that, whether in stiff strike battles, or nice, if a little predictable, counter sequences.

 

It follows a tried and tested formula, with early face domination, followed by a heel beatdown, followed by a face comeback. They manage to keep the intruige going, by the way they let their oppone t have comebacks. Shelley teases several comebacks during the Strong control segment, and when he finally does get a run of moves going, the build gives it a big pop. A lot of good moves were hit in the match, but unlike a Special K match, they all felt in the right position, and not just that they were their for show.

 

One criticism is Shelley's selling. It isn't anything really glaring, but there isn't much of it. He's OK once he's just taken a move, but he forgets about the reasonable extensive back work later on. Strong doesn't have a lot of long term stuff to sell, but what he needs to he sells well. They told a simple revenge story., which they touched on reasonably. There were some really strong buts, such as Shelley spitting on him, and calling him a 'piece of s***', but when it came to actually hitting moves, and using mannerisms, it wasn't all their, a frequent problem with some ROH workers.

 

Despite this, we got a really fun opener. It isn't an Owen/Bret, but it's the type of solid bout ROH needs on its undercard. The finish was well thought out, in order to make both wrestlers look good, which it did. In fact, Shelley and Strong weren't afraid to make each other look good in the match, bumping hard for each others offence and strikes, and in the end, it payed off, with both men coming out of the bout stronger than when they came in. ***

 

 

Matt Striker v Masked Chicago Superstar (Final Showdown)

 

Why they felt the need to put this match on the show is beyond me. If they were so desperate to put Striker on the show, they could have at least given him a opponent off the roster for a vaguely interesting bout. As it is, I went into this match with no interest in it, and nothing they did changed my mind. It wasn't that anything they did was that terrible, or full of botches. It's just that it was mundane, meaningless action, and I found my mind wandering about 30 seconds in. There's nothing to see in this one, I suppose if you are a fan of Matt Striker, then you might think this was OK, if not, avoid it. 1/4*

 

Samoa Joe v Jack Evans v Delirious v Ebessan (ROH Final Showdown)

 

As far as entertainment goes, this was one of the best matches on the event, well the first time I saw it. It was still entertaining the second time, but the humour had lost its edge. It isn't worth discussing the work, because that's not what they go for here. They went for a humorous bout, and for the most part, succeeded. Evans and Joe ruled, but I didn't find the Ebessan/Delirious stuff any more than midly amusing.

 

Evans going over was good for me, though I'd have liked to see him run off with Joe's Pure Title at the end. The match protected everyone, Joe didn't look bad, seen as he didn't take the pin, Evans looked good, and it only made his character better, which can mean more entertainment. Delirious and Ebessan have no credibility, so they've nothing to lose. I actually liked Delirious's match with Lethal at JVPII, I'd like to see him do some more serious stuff. But that's another story. As far as this match is concerned, you'll be entertained, but don't expect anything with any substance. I enjoyed it. **

 

ROH TAG CHAMPIONSHIP CM Punk/Ace Steele v Jimmy Jacobs/BJ Whitmer (ROH Final Showdown)

 

I got nothing that I wanted out of this bout. Not only was it underwhelming and for the most part boring, it was also a real waste of what could have been a reasonable match. After they spent so long building the tag in to Whitmer, he gets taken out after a couple of moves. And where's all the hate between Whitmer and the Saints? Who knows, but had they used it, and demonstarted it properly, this could have been a good match. They were actually trying to build something in the first couple of minutes, but that soon went out the window.

 

The heat segment on Jacobs was nothing to be interested in, and the lack of a real face/heel structure completely damaged the match. Whitmer gave out his usual moves, with no thought for placement or timing. It all looked very lacklustre and by the numbers to me, and it is one of the worst matches Punk has been in. I couldn't get excited about anything that happened, and just wasn't bothered by what I was seeing. Most importantly, they didn't draw me in.

 

It didn't help that the live crowd seemed uninterested for the most part, or that the only good spouts of offence were badly placed. There were some good things about the match, everything was done pretty crisply, and they built to a hot tag in a decent way. Unfortunately, since it wasn't a hot heel team dealing out the offence, it ceased to matter. This match isn't the worst you'll ever see, but it just leaves me feeling completely underwhelmed, and that watching it has been a waste of my time. *1/4

 

 

Jimmy Rave v Matt Sydal (ROH Final Showdown)

 

This is a Top 10 ROH match this year for me, and much better than a lot of the pimped, for several reasons.

 

Firstly, there is an actual heel and face demographic here, and each man's working and understanding of their role is far better than many higher up the card. Sydal times his comebacks to perfection, and he always includes something exciting, fiery and innovative to keep the crowd on his side. Rave, as well as the brilliant Price Nana on the outside, taunt the crowd at every opportunity, and heel it up. A simple Abdonimal Stretch segment in this match is far more effective than any of the fancy stuff much of the roster busts out. The result is you desperately wanting Sydal to win, and hating Rave and wanting him to not only lose, but get his ass kicked. This is all shown by the reactions of the live crowd, and the heat the bout generates.

 

Also, there is none of the garbage that usually happens at the start and finish of a ROH bout. You sense these guys actually hate each other, and want to hurt each other, and they show it in other ways than simply throwing out stiff strikes. Instead of 5 Minutes of tedious mat work, that leads nowhere apart from to 40 Winks for the bored viewer, they start off with a fiery sequence of face domination, the way it should be. They don't try and make it epic, there's no handshake or anything like that, it's all action. It's the best match to demonstarte this since Lethal/Ki from MXR in ROH. There are no sickly cuddles at the end, just elation, anger and relief from the respective compeiteters.

 

In terms of offence and the actual moves they perform, there's so much to see here, mostly from the awesome Sydal. His high flying moves are all so crisp and so effective, and he always knows the right time to use them. He also pulls out some great innovative slams and pins, all beautifully performed. They allow the crowd to get behind him and show he has to pull something extra out the tank to beat Rave. Rave, on the other hand, uses a more simple attack, but it is very effective in its own way. He does a great job of targeting the ribs, and they play a huge factor in the match, finally culminating in the finish courtesy of a Rave Clash. He busts out gut-busters, spears, all nicely done and positioned. There were plenty of near falls, and the match kept you on the edge of your seat. The structure of the match is good as well, as everything feels in control, and the beginning, middle and end all have clear themes and control sections.

 

Rave's offence works so well, because Sydal sells it really well. There are no examples of him no selling everything, and he sells right up until the end, even when he's on the offensive. They make the most of every move, and make it count, and nothing looks forced. In addition, the timing is right on everything they do, nothing looks out of place, and they tell a consistent story of Sydal having to pull big moves out to beat Rave, while the cocky Rave wants to punish Sydal to send a message to Punk, and stop him messing with the Embassy. It's simple, but works well, nothing deep, but you wouldn't expect it from this sort of match. The pacing is brilliant, they never let up, and yet it doesn't feel too go-go-go. It's all spot on. The psychology was reasonable too, from rave's point of view, with him targeting the ribs as a set up to the Rave Clash.

 

There are a few things that stop the match going to the top level. Firstly, the length. The bout simply isn't long enough (Around 10 Minutes) to build anything complex, or take it to the next level. Don't get me wrong, the length helps the match, as I doubt they could produce anything better in 30 Minutes, but it still stops it from being 'great'. There is also little attempt at charisma displayed. Rave especially needs to work on his facials, because to be honest, he doesn't seem to have any, and he showed little emotion in the match. It was less of a problem for Sydal, since he was the face and didn't have to rely on them much to get the crowd going, although he did make some attempt at evoking sympathy at a few points. Had Rave not had Nana on the outside, though, his shortcomings could have been a major problem.

 

This was a really underrated match, and made a great change from all the 'epic' action of ROH. It didn't try to be 90's AJPW, it just went out and was itself. They were fairly ambitious in their offence, but mainly went for a simple match from a story perspective, which was fine by me, given its place on the card. May actually just creep into the Top 5 ROH this year for me, though it was not without its difficulties. I'm sure the ROHbots didn't dig it, but I really enjoyed it just the same. ***1/2

 

Doug Williams/Colt Cabana v Chad Collyer/Nigel McGuiness (ROH Final Showdown)

 

Much the better of the nights Tag Matches, even if I wasn't a Williams mark. They actually keep a continuing theme throughout the match, of the cowardly McGuiness not wanting to go at it with Cabana, and Cabana and Williams outsmarting their opponents with the British style. This could have been a whole lot better had a drip like Collyer not been involved, who, while a reasonable wrestler, has the charisma of a fish.

 

Still, his teams control segment was actually pretty good. They heeled it up nicely, and built to the hot Cabana tag. At the same time, they allowed Williams his comebacks, and always made the match look like a contest. The match had a slightly exhibition feel to it, which didn't help matters, but I though all 4 performed their roles to a decent level, if not producing anything too spectacular.

 

At the end of the day, this was just a nice tag match, nothing more, nothing less. There are some cool spots, and there are some bits that aren't that good, but luvkily, due to its short duration, these are infrequent. Far more entertaining than the other Tag Match, and while they didn't throw out as much stuff, the stuff the gave us here was much better, and got me into the match. A solid outing. **1/4

 

 

ROH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP Austin Aries v James Gibson (Final Showdown)

 

This isn't a half bad title match. I fail to see how its been pimped as a MOTY Contender, but it's still a good match.

 

The opening mat work is decent, but I'm still left wondering what the actual point in it was, except to show they can mat wrestle. It leads nowhere, and although you could call it a 'feeling out process', none of the work here convinces me that it's relevant. The Aries arm work that comes after is OK, but I would have preferred to see him work the back, which he actually started doing briefly, and then seemed to give up on.

 

The main problem with the arm work is that it just doesn't lead anywhere. Gibson sells it great, but it is worthless, as it plays little part in the match. There are no payoffs at the end of the bout, Aries doesn't try to put Gibson out with any submissions, Gibson even manages to hit the Tiger Bomb. Had he not done this, I might have got at least something out of the arm work. In fact, it's not as if the actual wear down of it is anything to write home about either. Aries pulls a few interesting moves out of the bag, but they aren't executed with any conviction, and you really get no sense that he actually wants to hurt Gibson.

 

The match picks up dramatically once they go to the outside for the second time. Gibson is showing his desire to win the ROH Title perfectly here, with his determined facials, and moves like the awesome flip into the crowd. We then go into several believable near falls, which again emphasize Gibson's desperation to win the Title, before Aries gets the win.

 

Aries, on the other hand, shows me little in the match. No facials or emotion, not determination, no sense of urgency. It's by the numbers stuff, you don't feel as if Aries really wants to win, or that he is willing to hurt Gibson to do so. Sure, we may see it in his offence, but the way he carries himself while doing the moves is bland. Gibson was pretty great throughout the match, but his selling really got to be iffy at the finish. While he did a great sell-job on the arm the whole way through, he forgot about Aries Brain-buster and 450, being up 20 Seconds after both these moves took place. It hardly puts over Aries finishing holds, when Gibson is up, and not even bothering to sell the damage soon after.

 

On the plus side, the match is certainly not what you'd consider bad. It has a nice flow and structure, and a decent face/heel structure, which the fans promptly ignore for the sake of their duelling chants. The commentators don't help the match either, with their pimping of the match as a 'classic' after an unremarkable first 10 Minutes. But back to the good stuff. it's a credit to Gibson that he manages to get the crowd behind him as mkuch as he did, and as I have mentioned, his facials, gutty comebacks and timing helped matters. There was a decent range of offence shown, with some good teasing of spots, such as the finishers onj the outside. Unfortunately, they don't seem to build to the finish much, apart from in the story of Gibson's determination, and unwillingness to let go of a hold. This also doesn't make a great deal of sense, as if he was so desperate to win the belt, he would surely release the hold, so as not to get DQ'd or countered. But still, it's just a minor fault.

 

Unfortunately, they don't seem to be able to take it to another level. The have the ground work down, but instead of building up on what they did in the first half, they just resort to the usual finisher stuff at the end, when something a bit more intelligent could have been worked out. Don't get me wrong, the finishing moments are sufficient, and they do a much better job of showing Gibson's determination that Aries would do with Punk at DBDIII, but there is something missing. there is something missing the whole match actually, and I can't put my finger on what it is.

 

But this was a good, if unspectacular match. All the MOTYC talk was misguided, but what you got was a solid World Title match, but not a lot else. The length is about right, and they do a good job of creating excitement in the second half. It almost seemed to me like you had a first half, and a second half, and while they were good in their own right, didn't fit together that well. ***

 

 

STEEL CAGE American Dragon v Homicide (Final Showdown)

 

I actually enjoyed this much more than the first time I watched it. Maybe my expectations were too high back then, but this is actually a pretty good match. It's not great, but they do a good job out there.

 

It helps that the crowd are involved, and hate Homicide's guts. Speaking of Homicide, he is awesome in this bout. The opening attack on Dragon, where he appears vicious and deadly, using a fork to get the early advantage. Not only on the attack, he bumps hard for Dragon, really putting over everything he does. He launches hinmself into the cage head first, he does a good blade, he sells everything Dragon does on him superbly. This is quite pivotal to the success of the match, in fact, especially due to Dragon's ridiculous appearence. I can't decide whether he looks more like a librarian, or a character from Lord Of The Rings in this, but whatever it is, he doesn't look in the least bit threatening. Had Homicide not sold and took his attack as well as he did, Dragon could never have been bought as a credible opponent.

 

In fact, he doesn't help his own cause. He doesn't appear to want to hurt Homicide a great deal, and while it picks up towards the latter stages, his mannerisms don't go with his actions. One such example is him grabbing the referee by the throat, onlyhe looks calm and unemotive when he does it. He bumps OK for Homicide's offence, but the Super Ace Crusher looks sloppy, and he shouldn't be executing Diving Headbutts from the cage if he is going to land on his feet. However, he does attack Homicide well, and with some good stuff. I was especially loving the Surfboard he busted out in the middle.

 

The action was consistent in this, and always went at a nice pace. It never got boring, which is a rarity for Dragon, at least in my viewing, and cage stipulation seemed to be used well. There was some great intense spots to see, such as the trading headbutts and strikes on the ropes. Unfortunately, had they been done by Benoit or Regal, they could have been so much better. Still, they were good in their own right, and effective in telling the story they wanted to hurt each other, and din't mind hurting themselves in the process. There was about as much psychology as you can expect from a cage match, and while that isn't a lot, they showed they wanted to kill each other, mostly in Homicide's case, and Dragon used a smart attack to wear Homicide down.

 

Not sure about the finish, didn't come across very well to me, especially with the way it was built, but it didn't bother me in a major way. There's nothing new or innovative to see here, and the match certainly isn't a classic, but you'll still find it an enjoyable bout. Homicide shines in particular, with his character being spot on, cursing and swearing at everything in sight, and attacking Dragon after the match.

 

The near falls were sufficient, with the Homicide Low Blow-Lariat combination, which he used to put down Dragon at reborn Stage 2, being the best and most believable of these. It's worth checking out, moreso if you're a fan of Cide, but at the same time don't expect anything too great. I did, when i first watched it, and wound up being disapointed. ***1/4

[Mad Dog]

Watching the Wrestling Gold DVD set. Matches are so so for the most part but the commentary from Jim Cornette and Dave Meltzer really make it worthwhile.

[Loss]

04/21/80 - Pat Patterson v Ken Patera (WWF)

 

Really liked this match. Far from great, but really good, with lots of very basic, but effective stuff. Patterson is fantastic as a babyface and is probably the best seller of everyone from his era. His pulverizing of Patera's arm is also awesome, although I do wish that would have gone somewhere, because it was set up so beautifully. Still, a ***1/2 effort with great heat and strong command of the basics.

 

10/11/80 - Bob Backlund v Larry Zbyszko (WWF)

 

I liked this one far more than probably anyone else in the entire world, I think. Yes, there's lots of stalling and restholds, but it's all done so effectively, played for heat, built properly, sold properly, executed properly and timed properly. The build to Larry wailing Backlund with whatever object was in his hand was nicely done, with the announcers and fans going crazy minutes ahead of time that Zbyszko had something and the ref not noticing. Also, terrific spots galore, such as Backlund's monkey flip and some of his matwork that words don't really accurately describe. Wrestlers could have matches like this and please the crowd without killing themselves and I still have a feeling it would work. Fans are so conditioned to that nonstop action style these days; someone who knows how to stall the right way is needed and they'd instantly be over as a heel because it would tap in so well to fan instinct and selfish desires to see guys kill themselves. I don't care what anyone says - Zbyszko rocks! Yet another piece of proof that Bob Backlund was the best wrestler in the world in 1980.

 

****

[Mad Dog]

Randy Savage vs. Jerry Lawler - cage match from Memphis

 

This has to be the worst cage I've ever seen. It's a bunch of wood wired together and it about falls apart everytime someone touches it. I'm suprised Savage didn't kill himself trying to do a move off the top.

 

Also liked the Adonis/Orton Jr. match. It's easily been the best match on the first 2 Wrestling Gold DVDs.

[goodhelmet]

Randy Savage vs. Jerry Lawler - cage match from Memphis

 

This has to be the worst cage I've ever seen.  It's a bunch of wood wired together and it about falls apart everytime someone touches it.  I'm suprised Savage didn't kill himself trying to do a move off the top.

 

Also liked the Adonis/Orton Jr. match.  It's easily been the best match on the first 2 Wrestling Gold DVDs.

Initially, I thought you said it was the worst cage match you had ever seen whichhad me scratching my head. However, I agree 100% that the cage looks horrendous but in its own warped way is very appealing, very Southern. Another horrendous looking cage in one of the best cage matches out there is the Duggan-Dibiase cage match.

[Mad Dog]

I agree. A lot of the charm of older wrestling is the awful rings and cages.

[Mad Dog]

Kid Kash vs. Dustin Rhodes - Final Resolution 05

 

Now this is how you work a small man vs. big man match. Kid Kash gets overwhelmed right off the bat by Rhodes and then fakes a knee injury to get control. He then spends the majority of the match just relentlessly attacking the knee of Rhodes. Rhodes to his credit sells like a champ during the whole thing. If you watch closely he never fully plants his foot or knee after Kash works it over except for a brief moment in the finish. Shawn Michaels could learn a lot from this match. ***1/4

[Mad Dog]

the Sheik vs. Tiger Jeet Singh - cage match

 

Dear God some sick bastard had this go longer than 5 minutes. I know the Sheik is a legend and everything but I fucking hate his matches when it's more than a quick brawl. I just hate Tiger Jeet Singh.

[Loss]

For Sheik matches, get the Sheik/Abby v Funks RWTL finals matches from the late 70s. I think you'll like them.