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[Loss]

Ric Flair v Scott McGhee - 04/15/84 - Florida territory

Ric Flair v Scott McGhee - 05/04/84 - Florida territory

 

Well, it's nice to know what it would have been like had Flair in his prime gone against 1993 Chris Benoit. Two excellent, fast-paced matches -- McGhee is actually really awesome and seems to be the lost worker of the mid 80s. His style is pretty much exactly like that of Benoit in '93, and it's cool seeing him finish Flair off in the 4/15 match with a German suplex into a bridge, a great spot for any era and especially for the US in 1984. The 4/15 match is a studio match played off as a huge upset with Flair talking about everyone else in the territory except his opponent prior to the match, and also giving the great line to a woman at ringside, "Do you know what three words a Floridian woman has never said to me? Where's The Beef. Whoo!" The 5/4 match is more competitive and is given a good 15 minutes and is completely non-formula Flair. There's not even any leg work. Really good wrestling all around.

[Resident Evil]

Scott McGhee Interview

 

 

http://www.cwfarchives.com/articles/ScottM...eeInterview.php

 

 

 

 

Rock'n'Roll Express vs Minnesota Wrecking Crew Steel Cage from 1985 I think

 

 

This match alone is almost better than any match on the WWF DVDVR set. Going in I didn't think the match would be as good as it was as I was underestimating the Minnesota Wrecking Crew. The match starts off kind of eh but once Gibson gets the tag into Morton and Morton gets the crap beaten out of him the match picks up. A lot of that was due to Morton's well known selling ability. The Andersons work on both his head and his arm area well enough to the point where it's hard not to get behind Morton. One thing you'll find different watching this match in comparison to matches of today is the amount of times Morton was cut off from making the hot tag. I had lost count but it was a lot and it was refreshing to see so many hot tags cut off for the simple fact that it was different.

 

There were moments during the face in peril section that were tremendous. The Andersons did a good job of pulling things out of their hat to beat up Morton's arm. They kept on upping the ante which is something I like to see in my matches. There were some moments in the Morton beatdown that were just okay though and I felt they became more visible just because the other parts were so good. The ending was fine but it felt a little anticlimatic after everything else that went down. Still, the match was great and it should be checked out. You can find it on www.youtube.com Do a search for Arn Andeson and you should find the match.

[shoe]

I just watched both those McGee/Flair matches.They were both well worked. McGee's offense was really state of the art for 1984. The Benoit comparisonof 93 is pretty spot on. In the 2 matches you saw McGee perform a German Suplex,flying lariat, flying headbutt, and some really solid matwork. That bump he takes into the turnbuckle for the finish of the 2nd match was incredible. McGee just seemed really smooth in the ring. Loss, I think you liked them a tad bit more than I did, but not by much. Pegasus thanks for the link; I always wondered what happened to him. Also does anyone know of anymore other McGee matches that are worth going out and seeing?

[Resident Evil]

I just watched both those McGee/Flair matches.They were both well worked. McGee's offense was really state of the art  for 1984. The Benoit comparisonof 93 is pretty spot on. In the 2 matches you saw McGee perform a German Suplex,flying lariat, flying headbutt, and some really solid matwork. That bump he takes into the turnbuckle for the finish of the 2nd match was incredible. McGee just seemed really smooth in the ring. Loss, I think you liked them a tad bit more than I did, but not by much. Pegasus thanks for the link; I always wondered what happened to him. Also does anyone know of anymore other McGee matches that are worth going out and seeing?

Before Johnny Smith turned heel he had a pretty good little match against Garfield Portz (Scott McGhee) who was a heel in Stampede. Of course it was clipped.

 

Portz had a good match that I just can't remember right now.

 

He had a nice match against Pillman as well.

 

 

His gimmick in Stampede was that he was the best wrestler to come out of England. He was booked strongly and it was obvious the guy had some talent. The kind of guy where if you're watching a tape you stop the tape and watch because you know something good might be coming on.

[shoe]

I loved that match between the Andersons and Rock n Roll. The match was so smartly worked. Like you said the finish was anticlimatic but did play into the fact that the Rock n Roll were the master of the flash pin. I felt the blood and the psychology were really strong in the match. The Anderson's were just destroying that arm, and cutting the ring in half getting heat 1st on Gibson, and then on Morton. Just really good stuff.

[shoe]

I just watched the title change between the Rock n Roll and Fernandez and Rude that was on Saturday Night that took place after the the match with the Andersons at Starcade. The Rock n Roll were selling their injuries from Starcade. The guys got about 35 minutes to tell one heck of a story. The more Manny Fernandez I watch the more I realize what a complete and utter stud worker he was. Rude was a solid worker at this point, but was smoked in comparison to Manny. Morton was gold in this as well. He would sell his arm that it hurt doing arm drags and the like from his injuries at Starcade. A match that told a similar story that the Starcade match with the Andersons told which made perfect sense since they were selling injuries from Starcade. I feel both matches were in similar quality.

[anarchistxx]

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title: Koji Kanemoto & Wataru Inoue vs. Jado & Gedo (NJPW 3.14.05)

 

This was going along really well until the last 6 or 7. Jado and Gado started off targeting Kanemoto with some arm work at the beginning and did a good job. They weren't particularly inventive or exciting going about it, but it served its purpose and more importantly became a factor later down the road. Kanemoto did a brilliant job of selling it as well, not overselling, but once he got on offence just shaking his arm out and holding it at the right time. From what I've seen, for my money he's one of the best sellers anywhere.

 

The best part of the match is suprisingly the middle sectoir, which can drag in tags like this. Basically it's the ultimate sympathy face routine. The heels (Jado + Gedo) use chairs to get the advantage, targeting the arm of Kanemoto and giving Inoue some sick shots to the face busting him up. Now one of the faces has a fukced up arm and one is bleeding all over the place. The face in peril segment on Inoue is just great. The heels are such dikcxs to him, taunting at him, laughing at him, tearing and punching at the cut, using chairs and if he ever tries to mount a comeback poking him in the eyes or pulling his hair. Inoue is also fantastic here, as he sells the blood and the shots really well, but knows when to mount his fiery comebacks. They do some really good teases for the tag as well, and they succeed in getting the faces really over, with the crowd popping big for every kick out and willing the hot tag.

 

When it finally comes it doesn't disspoint, and it leads into 5 minutes of great action. Plenty of near falls, lots of suspense and some great moments. Inoue sacrificing himself and taking a super-powerbomb and a backdrop on the floor to buy Kanemoto some time, Kanemoto bringing him in to do the damage so he can rest. Plenty of high impact, move teases, especially for the moonsault, so when it does get hit, it's big.

 

Unfortunately, instead of ending it there, they keep it going for another 5 or 6 minutes. It becomes boring, and strategies and psychology go out of the window on the heels side as they try and get their spots in. Jado seems to want to be Chris Benoit, hitting multiple germans, multiple applications of the crossface and super powerbombs. Unfortunately for him, he lacks the intensity or execution of Benoit, and it just looks like somebody doing an impression. The last 5 minutes also looks something like an Angle/Benoit match, with Ankle-Lock-Crossface reversal sequences and just the general direction they take it in. It feels so out of place and leaves a sour taste in your mouth after what had been a really good match. They pick it up for the last couplr of minutes, and we get a great payoff with thr faces winning the belts, but unfortunately the match had lost the it factor. There were problems in the early part as well, with the first few minutes being a bit too pedestrian, and the heels not looking entirely comfortable on offence, but they looked like they were on their way to a really good tag match until that 6 minute section. Nonetheless, it's still a good match. ***

[Mad Dog]

I was wandering around youtube the other night and came across an Ultimate Warrior PSA for not smoking. It was quite hilarious.

[Guest savagerulz]

Rock/Hogan from Wrestlemania 18...watching Hogan stumble through a called out match is fantastic. DAMN that crowd was hot for the match. Fucking crazy.

[Guest savagerulz]

Watched Sid vs. Shawn Michaels from Survivor Series '96. It was fun seeing Michaels kayfabe not giving a shit about losing the title because his manager took a bump off the ring apron after Sid hit him with a video camera. The match was a classic "big man vs. smaller man" bout, and Sid was awesome in it. Interestingly, the crowd cheered the heel more than the face, much like they have in John Cena matches over the past few months. They popped for some of Shawn's moves, but booed more of them. Sometimes there would be cheers when he hit a move, followed by a loud chorus of boos shortly after.

 

At the same time, Sid got cheered a lot and touched fists with a few of the fans, even though he was supposedly the heel. I loved when Michaels did his silly "skinning the cat" spot, and Sid clotheslined him out of the ring to thunderous cheers. Hilariously, the same thing happened again when Michaels did his "kip-up". I forgot how funny Sid was. Yet another classic comedic moment happened when Shawn was checking on his manager and Sid hit him in the back with a camera, before yelling "fuck you" twice. It was also interesting to observe how much more creative, thoughtful, insightful, and witty Jim Ross was as a color commentator ten years ago. The best part was when Sid accidentally backed into the cameraman in the corner and smacked the camera with his hand in irritation.

[shoe]

Steamboat/Muraco @MSG 11-25-85

 

It was a pretty solid match. The psychology was pretty solid with Steamboat working over Muraco's neck. Muraco eventually gains control on Steamboat and Steamboat gets juice on himself to help gain sympathy. Muraco works the cut like any good heel should. Overall, really solid stuff.Steamboat really had good psycholgy to his matches in general, and this was no exception. The crowd seemed a little lackluster at times. The guys were able to bring the crowd up and down when they wanted to.

[Guest Josh]

Watched Sid vs. Shawn Michaels from Survivor Series '96. It was fun seeing Michaels kayfabe not giving a shit about losing the title because his manager took a bump off the ring apron after Sid hit him with a video camera. The match was a classic "big man vs. smaller man" bout, and Sid was awesome in it. Interestingly, the crowd cheered the heel more than the face, much like they have in John Cena matches over the past few months. They popped for some of Shawn's moves, but booed more of them. Sometimes there would be cheers when he hit a move, followed by a loud chorus of boos shortly after.

 

At the same time, Sid got cheered a lot and touched fists with a few of the fans, even though he was supposedly the heel. I loved when Michaels did his silly "skinning the cat" spot, and Sid clotheslined him out of the ring to thunderous cheers. Hilariously, the same thing happened again when Michaels did his "kip-up". I forgot how funny Sid was. Yet another classic comedic moment happened when Shawn was checking on his manager and Sid hit him in the back with a camera, before yelling "fuck you" twice. It was also interesting to observe how much more creative, thoughtful, insightful, and witty Jim Ross was as a color commentator ten years ago. The best part was when Sid accidentally backed into the cameraman in the corner and smacked the camera with his hand in irritation.

Sid wasn't the heel going into this match, he was a tweener and even at that, he was closer to being a face.

[Guest savagerulz]

I thought the amount of cheers he got was surprising even for a "Tweener", and I assumed he was a heel because I remember that The Undertaker won the belt from him as a face in the next Wrestlemania after the event.

[Guest Josh]

I thought the amount of cheers he got was surprising even for a "Tweener", and I assumed he was a heel because I remember that The Undertaker won the belt from him as a face in the next Wrestlemania after the event.

Well, yeah, the MSG crowd turned on Shawn hugely and went with Sid, but Sid wasn't a full on heel heading in (they'd done a deal in the build up where Shawn and Sid would go to help each other and mess it up somehow each time, leading to them both believing the other was out to get him) - attacking Lothario was designed to turn him and there was no doubt as to who was face and who was heel by the Rumble in San Antonio.

[shoe]

Bob Orton v Pat Patterson 8/30/82 MSG

 

 

This was from the show with the famous Tiger Mask/Dynamite Kid match. This was a solid match nothing special though. The guys got about 10 minutes so the match didn't build real well especially since the finish was a C.O. Orton took some Curt Hennig like bumps. My expectations were high for the match, and in that case I was dissapointed. Overall, it was ok but could have been a lot better.

[Guest Bruiser Chong]

Survivor Series 1988

 

I've seen this plenty of times, although not as many as its surrounding counterparts. This was my first viewing of the PPV version, though. The commercial release did some nice editing getting most of the dead air time out of the way. I'm finding that with the first two SS, there was a lot of down time in between matches, probably because there were only four. It still makes for a lethargic pace, which is something you don't feel watching the commercial releases.

 

Still, it's nice to see the matches and ring intros themselves uncut. The opener (Warrior's team vs. Honky's) isn't helped by this, but the Duggan/Jake vs. Dino/Andre one is. This had always been a one-match show for me (the big 20-man tag), but this one actually stood out this time around. The pacing's great until the end, without sacrificing realistic eliminations.

 

I love the eliminations in the match, too. Patera charges at Rude, misses and stumbles away from the corner. Rude sneaks up on him and hits him with the Rude Awakening. Tito Santana attempts a sunset flip on Andre (!), but naturally, the big guy just sits down on him for the pin. There's also the elimination of Scott Casey at the hands of Bravo. Casey tries to roll him up off the ropes, but Bravo hangs on and Casey walks right into the sideslam he used as his finisher.

 

The pace gets real slow after Roberts is left 4-on-1, but they hint at him being choked out by Andre later by having him choked in various fashions throughout the match. As an aside, Andre must've been great at the chokehold or really choking Roberts out, since the ring left around his neck is crazy. Someone with this show should watch this just to see if I'm not off for thinking this is a fun, well-paced encounter.

 

The big tag team match is excellent and still the match of the night. I'd prefer it to the first one the previous year were it not for the last chunk. The bulk of the match utilizes the possible combinations and makes me wonder if there's a Brainbusters vs. Bulldogs match on tape out there. As with the previous year, Jesse and Gorilla seem determined to put over a particular team. This time, it's the Conquistadors, who outlast just about everyone else, eventually falling to the Powers of Pain to finish it. It's good fun watching them get brutalized during the match, rarely having an upperhand and still sticking around until the end. As the match gets closer to the finish, he really starts to harp on them still being out there.

 

I know no one's ever praised the PoP for being workhorses, but damn were they green. They're so ridiculously sloppy at times, it's a wonder no one was hurt. I guess in that sense, they win the Road Warrior imitation award over Demolition.

 

Speaking of the Demos, that doubleturn at the end of the match was so poorly executed. Having retrospect, we can see what they were shooting for, but how they pulled it off left the crowd confused. I don't believe they alluded to dissention among Fuji and Demolition, so the whole thing was out of left field. It's done in such a matter that most of the crowd thinks it's supposed to be cheering for Fuji after the match because the Powers of Pain have taken him in.

 

I haven't watched the main yet and don't plan to, as I recall it being an overbooked mess of a match-up. This one's worth checking out for the two matches sandwiched in there.

 

I'll finish watching SS '87 a bit later (been actually watching the first three over the last couple of days) and post on it.

[Loss]

Owen Hart v Marty Jones - World of Sport 03/05/87

 

Excellent match with really superb build from the opening matwork to the big moves being pulled out later on. Match was structured awesomely. I only wish death moves like the tombstone piledriver were sold (Owen ate the move and was to his feet before Jones), and that the double bump over the top would have resulted in something. That said, the exchanges and chain wrestling are far too awesome to ignore. You wish they would have put over the big moves a little more than they did, but that's really the only complaint I can make. What they did right overwhelmed what seemed out of place.

[shoe]

Curt Hennig v Ronnie Garvin 3-18-89 MSG

 

 

 

These guys got around 11 minutes and had a pretty good match. Hennig was the Benoit/Malenko/Guerrero type worker for the WWF in the 80's early 90's for television and houseshows. If a Nitro or Raw was around in his prime he would be given 8-20 minutes to eat up show time. Hennig of course bumps like a pinball. Some of the bumps he takes are just incredible. No wonder his back was shot by 91. The way Hennig sold Garvins punches were awe inspiring. Heck after the 1st one I thought Garvin legit knocked him on his ass. It was just a good give and take match.Hennig was a master heel in heeling it up with hair pulls etc. For about 30 seconds the crowd begins to turn on the match. To both guys credit they suck the crowd right back into the match.

[Loss]

Angel Azteca, El Dandy & El Texano v Fuerza Guerrera, Pierroth Jr. & Jerry Estrada - CMLL 03/04/90

 

I don't know what I love most in this match. It's either the dumb luck of Fuerza Guerrera consistently pinning the wrong guy, the melodramatic booking, the incredibly fast-paced first caida, Pierroth taking an accidental bump off of the top rope breaking that looks like it would kill a normal man, the incredible ability to improvise that everyone in this match displayed as a result of that bump or Jerry Estrada selling a tombstone piledriver for ages, long after the match is over. Rudos wrestle at a 3-2 disadvantage after Pierroth takes the bump, which for the record is one of the most brutal things I've ever seen in wrestling. Dissension is there between Dandy and Azteca (teasing a feud??). I think what impressed me is that the match wasn't really one that had fate on its side and could have easily fallen apart, if only because the wrestlers would be so shaken by the Pierroth thing that they'd wrestle too cautiously the rest of the match and be afraid to do their normal routine. But they wrestled with as much confidence after the rope break as they did before it, and stayed on the same path they were on before that. These guys are true pros. What a great match!

[shoe]

Backlund v Buddy Rose 8/30/82 MSG

 

 

These guys had a really good match. Rose really was a good worker in the 80's. People really don't give the guy enough credit. Rose took some good bumps, but I thought some of them were a little too comical for a World Title Match at MSG. With that said Rose's stooging in the match was really good. We got the typical Backlund mat game. The match had a clean finish with helped it a lot. I liked this match better than the one they had on the DVDVR best of the 80's WWF DVDS. The match had a pretty good structure to it. Rose was controlling Backlund with a headlock, hair pulling etc, and worked spots around it. Both guys took the crowd up and down when they wanted to. Even with the rest holds their was something happening. I would definetly recommend the match.

[shoe]

Jake Roberts v Ted Dibiase 1-9-88 Spectrum

 

These guys have had a lot of really good matches with each other in Mid-South as well as in the WWF. I've seen them work in tags, singles, elimination matches etc. They have all been good. This is no exception. What they did in the ring was fine. Even the finish was a fine finish. My gripe was the time they got. The match time was right around 8 minutes. These guys need at least 12 minutes to tell a story. Both guys are excellent workers, but if you get shafted on the time it's hard to have a great match. Both of these guys are great in ring psychologists. Haveing more time is usually a benefit to them. Their was a lot of good talent on the show. Other matches were Rude v Warrior,Strike Force v Hart Foundation, Bulldogs v Conquistadors, Beefcake v Valentine, Jumping Bomb Angels v The Glamour Girls, and Savage v HTM in an NWA cage. So obviously with so much talent it's hard to get 15 minutes for a match. Oh well, it was still a solid match.

[Guest Bruiser Chong]

Whatever happened to the Bomb Angels, anyway? I recall them lighting the Federation of fire in the late '87, including being one of the highlights of the first Survivor Series. They won the belts in that two-of-three falls match, but were gone. Not having any WWF TV from that time, I'm working with seeing them win the tag team belts at the first Royal Rumble to Wrestlemania IV, where such a division doesn't seem to exist. What happened?

[Loss]

Good question. I'm not entirely sure.

[shoe]

Brody V Abby Feb of 87 Somwhere on the Island

 

 

Growing up these guys terrified me. Wrestling really misses guys like this in today's product. Watching these guys you really believed in them as brutal animals. This was just a bloody brawl. Both guys are carving each others up with the Wooden Forks. The most surreal aspect of the match was when they were brawling all over the building all the spectators were running all over the place. Overall, it was a fun brawl.

[sek69]

Whatever happened to the Bomb Angels, anyway?  I recall them lighting the Federation of fire in the late '87, including being one of the highlights of the first Survivor Series.  They won the belts in that two-of-three falls match, but were gone.  Not having any WWF TV from that time, I'm working with seeing them win the tag team belts at the first Royal Rumble to Wrestlemania IV, where such a division doesn't seem to exist.  What happened?

I think it was a combination of them wanting to go back to Japan, WWF not having anyone who could hang with them on their roster, and some of the guys feeling upstaged by Japanese chicks doing shit that wouldn't be commonplace in men's US wrestling for almost another decade.