[2001-01-06-JCW-Battle of the Bulge] Da Hit Squad (Monsta Mack & Mafia) vs The Moondogs 2000 (Mollson & Wenzel)

[GSR]

A JCW tag title match being contested under Texas tornado rules and with Commissioner C.J. Johnson appointing two referees to officiate the match due to how out of control the previous encounter between these teams was. This version of the Moondogs consists of Mollson and Wenzel, with neither baring any resemblance to the original Moondogs or even the slew of Moondogs that showed up in the USWA in the early to mid-90s. As the Dogs make their entrance the commentator says “(they’re as) maniacal as they appear, this is not a work!” Oh, FFS! Although this starts with all four men in the ring swinging at one another, it quickly becomes two going at it inside while the others take it to the outside. A cannonball off the apron to the floor by big Mollson is completely obscured by what’s happening in the ring due to an out of place cameraman. Monsta Mack with a peach of a German suplex dumping Wenzel right on his head. He grabs a chair and positions it to help him leap over the top rope and nail Mafia and Mollson with a tope. Crossbody off the top turnbuckle by Wenzel out onto all three. A pair of stiff clotheslines don’t drop Mollson, but a shoulderblock from the middle finally takes him off his feet. Meanwhile back on the outside Mafia clocks Wenzel in the head with a drinks can, to which this progressively annoying commentator quips “that was wet”. The camera misses catching a Mollson sidewalk slam, although he doesn’t bother with the lateral press, instead choosing to go and help his partner and the pair of them whip Mafia into the locker room door. LEG LARIAT ON THE FLOOR IS NOW MISSED AS THEY WOULD RATHER SHOW US A SHOT OF A LAID OUT MAFIA!!! This was plain barmy as we see Wenzel whip Mack, but moments prior to impact the camera shot cuts away. Mafia is back to his feet, however can’t get Mollson up for the piledriver and he counters with a backdrop onto the concrete. Inside Wenzel telegraphs his own backdrop and Mack with a scoop powerslam for a two. Apparently Mollson went to hit Mafia with his bone, missed, and crushed it between his own head and the ring post, but like so much of this match, we didn’t see it. DHS use Mollson’s own collar against him, yanking him into a chair that they’d positioned against the ring post. Wenzel with a baseball slide dropkick to a chair that connects with Mafia, but you can add that to the ever growing list of missed stuff as I’m fast losing patience now. Running bulldog onto a couple of upright chairs by Mack, while in the ring Wenzel drills Mafia over the head with a chair. Modified chokeslam and he makes the cover, however at the same time on the floor Mack is covering Mollson. The two officials each count to three as both teams think they’ve won the match. Commissioner Johnson is back out and, due to the double pin, holds the tag belts up pending a rematch. The Dogs and DHS go at it again, fighting all the way to the dressing room as security has no luck in trying to separate the two teams.

 

Despite this being ‘Texas Tornado’ rules, they work it so two fight on the inside while the other two go at it on the floor to prevent the ring from getting too congested. The downside of this is that we miss an awful lot of the action, more than I’ve listed above. It’s crying out for a good editor because on a couple of times that we do miss stuff, it’s clearly been filmed but they cut away to a different shot. Knowing Da Hit Squad I was expecting something akin to the Moondogs/Fabs or Moondogs/Lawler & Jarrett, however it never approached the chaotic, violence level of those matches. All four put their bodies on the line here but your viewing pleasure is hampered greatly by the camera work (you don’t even see what led to Mack getting the pin on Mollson as he kicked out after that bulldog onto the chair and something else happened resulting in him taking the fall). The commentator was also a major negative on the match with his knock off Joey Styles routine complete with two “Oh my God’s”, along with getting Mafia and Mack confused with each other (although I can kinda let that one slide).

[soup23]

This struggled coming after the IWA three way. It was inferior in every way from the crowd heat, the camera catching the action and the pace of the brawl overall.  The commentator was awful.  I am unsure why the crowd was so dead but they didn’t react for much at all even the bumps that looked brutal that the camera barely caught. Moondogs 2000 are pretty generic and trashy and not even at Bad Crew level of brawlers of Molsonn does at least look the part of a Moondog in 2000. Add to that the lame finish where the match talking about needing two referees and the finish sees each member of one team getting the pin with one referee counting.  The announcer is confused as to what is going on.  End result is that the titles are held up and a rematch is needed to settle the score. They brawl to end things with more intensity and urgency than at many points within the match. **1/4