Where the Big Boys Play #88 - Superbrawl III

[The Russian Daydream]

This was a good listen. Thanks as always. It was particularly interesting to hear the discussion about the Observer Hall of Fame. Congratulations to Chad and the others who have been given ballots.

 

I really love all three Sting vs Vader matches and alternate on which I like better. I don't suppose ranking them really matters though, there's so little between them in terms of quality, even though all three are so different.

 

Max Payne is a weird one. He had a legit amateur background and trained in the New Japan dojo at the same time as Benoit but never really showed a lot of evidence of either. Given his background, he should have become a Bam Bam Bigelow / Vader / Brock Lesnar style legit big man but he never put the pieces together. He had been wrestling for about five years when this match took place so there really are no excuses. He should have been a lot better than he was.

 

You are both right on Paul Orndorff. He was awesome throughout most of 93 and had flashes of brilliance as late as 95. It's a shame because he gets credited with having a great run with Hogan in the 80s but this section of his career is largely forgotten, yet it contains some of his best work.

 

I would have been interested to hear what you guys thought of Cactus Jack here. I was a big fan of his at the time and throughout the remainder of his career, but looking back, I'd point to this match as where he started to go just a bit too far. He'd always done silly bumps, but in this match, he took a few that really made me wince. The splat when he hits the floor on the middle-rope sunset flip to the concrete is a sound that I always remember, and the way his back bends on that suplex on the guard-rail looks really nasty. I agree with your match rating. It was superb, but do you think it would have been inferior if Cactus had not taken quite so many chances? It's interesting to note that he was really on a crusade to get over at the expense of his health at this time as it was only a few weeks later when he let Vader smash his face in and power bomb him on the concrete, which led to the silly 'Lost in Cleveland' stuff.

 

It was really interesting to hear that conversation at the end about upcoming good matches too. I was really surprised that the two of you have really different memories of the Bulldog vs Regal match from Halloween Havoc. It's been a good seven years since I saw it but I remember really loving it. I thought at the time that it is a good template of what British wrestling should have evolved into; sort of an World of Sport influenced American style, rather than the American-indie-in-a-tiny-ring that it predominantly became. I will have to watch it again and see how I like it now, before you guys talk about it in a few months. I will be interested to hear if Parv still likes it or what Chad didn't like.

 

Keep up the good work guys.

[DeanColes1987]

Schiavone ran WCW is something that has always intrigued me, doubt it's financially successful but artistically could be really good.