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Barry Windham was a great, great wrestler


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Let's talk about Barry Windham.

 

I've been going through Will's comp for the past week or so and am pretty overwhelmed. It's amazing how many great matches he had, and the variety of opponents he had those matches against. It's easy for me to get tired of watching a wrestler for any significant amount of time in every match, or even watching one particular style for too long. Barry Windham really defies that.

 

I have so much to say, and fully intend to elaborate in the next day or so when I talk about the two dozen or so Windham matches I've watched, but I wanted to start the appreciation thread in advance.

 

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I too am a big fan of Whindam. A natural athelete with in ring charisma. My favourite matches of his are a match he had against Steamboat, the match he had against a bloody Pillman on WCWSN and the TV title match he had against Johnny B. Badd in the computer challenge. I love the ending of that one where Whindam connects with one of the best small packages I've ever seen in my life. It's up there in beauty with Benoit's inside cradle and Edge's unbelievably awesome small package (Rip Rogers would like that line) near fall at the legendary 2003 No Mercy tag.

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What amazed me about Widham in going through Goodhelmet's comp was that even in 1999, when most of his athletic ability had left him, he didn't suck. He gets picked on for having a short peak and it's true that he wasn't consistent over his career. But he was damn good as early as 1983 and still had redeeming qualities as a broken down heel 16 years later. That impressed me.

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Guest teke184

What amazed me about Widham in going through Goodhelmet's comp was that even in 1999, when most of his athletic ability had left him, he didn't suck. He gets picked on for having a short peak and it's true that he wasn't consistent over his career. But he was damn good as early as 1983 and still had redeeming qualities as a broken down heel 16 years later. That impressed me.

 

Barry's problem, IMHO, was that his "sure-thing main-eventer" heat dissipated when he jumped from WCW to the WWF in 1989, then he couldn't capitalize on his great WCW tag run in 1991 and 1992 because he kept blowing out his knees.

 

 

If Barry hadn't jumped in 1989, things would probably have turned out fine as long as Kendall and Blackjack's legal issues didn't cause him trouble with the WCW front office.

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I'm going to have to come back to this later. I can't seem to put my thoughts together at all. The two matches I do want to specifically mention are the War Games match from Wrestle War '91 and Windham/Rhodes v Austin/Zbyszko from SuperBrawl II. Wrestle War '91 is a great match that I think I had downplayed for a long time because I liked Wrestle War '92 better. The match is what it is almost entirely because of the Windham/Pillman feud. Pillman specifically gives maybe the best War Games performance ever, and one of the best babyface performances probably ever. Breaking from the pack and fighting the match with a shoulder injury, going toe-to-toe trapped in a cage with Ric Flair and Barry Windham doubleteaming him -- it was really awesome to see Pillman working with a storyline where he got to show some hate and intensity. He was too often pushed as a token high-flying midcarder, and this I think is really the only feud from his physical prime where he got to actually work a storyline, and he came through in a big way. Probably the US MOTY for 1991 by a pretty healthy margin.

 

The Pillman/Windham matches from TV and PPV around this time were recently discussed in the Match Discussion folder, and they're all really strong. There's a definite progression in the feud, with Windham basically squashing Pillman on offense, but Pillman getting the match over as a non-squash through his selling and facial expressions. As mentioned, the first match on Will's set between them (Main Event, 03/23/91) is just a really solid feud starter. The Pro match, aired on 4/6, is tremendous and has a great performance by both. Windham is really good at treating Pillman like someone clearly not on his level, but giving him enough openings to keep it interesting and keep Pillman looking strong. Really great match that I hope everyone will check out, and the post-match angle with Pillman repeatedly coming back for more. The SuperBrawl taped fist match has been discussed plenty, but it's worth mentioning again that it's a very good match, especially when you consider how much they accomplished and how strongly they put over the feud in such a short amount of time when put right in the middle of the card on the PPV. Another match everyone should see, but honestly, it doesn't touch the match from Pro. That's the shining moment of this feud for both guys.

 

Windham/Rhodes v Austin/Zbyszko from SuperBrawl II ... where do I begin? I've always loved this match, but watched it again and I'm convinced it's the best US tag of all time. It's comparable to the All Japan style of the time -- with lots of big lariats, awesome power moves, a fast pace, and a really logical progression where the transitions and swings in momentum are so big and important. You take that style and plug it into a typical US face in peril tag formula with strong heels, strong babyfaces and a big grudge match feel and it works really well. No one else has really come close to hitting this dynamic so well, where nothing is sacrificed. Everything you can want is here -- a great storyline, four great performances (the first really shining moment for Steve Austin from my point of view), awesome action, a heated crowd, and a really brilliantly laid out match. The best WCW match of the 90s -- most likely. The best US tag ever -- most likely. I doubt if I'll see anything else I like better, and the Southern tag style is probably my favorite style with tons of great matches to choose from.

 

I saw plenty of other great matches from him, which helped the case, but the above matches are really what prompted me to start this topic. I don't feel like I'm really covering the matches to the degree I want to, as calling a tag the best US tag ever really deserves some high-quality elaboration from me, but hopefully this is better than saying nothing and will prompt some discussion.

 

Also, check my blog later tonight, as I'll post all the Windham matches I've watched this week and where I think they fall in line with everything else from that particular year.

 

Tomorrow is Day 1 of World of Sport week!!

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Dammit i really need to see their match from Pro now! I'm watching the Windham comp a bit by the day and loved the pillman matches, so if this was their best, can someone please tell me where to get a copy :)

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oops. I should have figured that, i think i meant the WCWSN match that wp praised. All good!

 

I don't know if WCWSN (I hope I'm remembering that correctly) is the best match they had because I've only seen parts of their other matches. All I know is that the match freaking rules and is a personal top 100 fav of mine which is saying something. And in the end that's all that counts is that it freaking rules. :) I know they showed this on one of the early editons of the Canadian WCW Power Hour show.

 

Classic face/heel stuff done to perfection with Pillman in his physical prime. JR and Paul Heyman are commentating and they do a great job here as well imo.

 

 

You don't want me to spoil the match, do you? I'm trying not to talk about it so I won't ruin it.

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