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[Loss]

Talk here.

[Guest FlairPinnedMe]

Chris Jericho vs Sabu, Extreme Warfare 8/2/96

 

Real small crowd here, there can be no more than 100 people in the crowd. So, we know the match will have little to no heat anyway. No biggie.

 

They start of with some mat wrestling (really), and reversals and such. Waistlock takedown by Jericho, Sabu gets free and does a go behind with a roll up for a 2 count. Sabu works a little on the leg. They get up and they exchange some strikes for a bit. Sabu’s offence is already annoying me.

 

Single leg takedown by Sabu, followed by a body scissors by Jericho. They get up and Jericho gets the vertical suplex on Sabu. They exchange strikes. Sabu with the dropkick to Jericho’s knee and a wacky spin kick.

 

Jericho is outside. Flying baseball slide by Sabu. Springboard dive to Jericho into the ‘crowd’. Jericho gets laid on the table, but he gets up before Sabu puts him through it. Springboard dropkick to Sabu, followed by a springboard dive.

 

They exchange strikes again. Jericho misses a splash in the corner and jumps outside instead. He catches a breather and goes back inside. Sabu with the guillotine legdrop to Jericho for a 2 count. Sabu decides to work on Jericho’s arm now, instead of the leg he was working on earlier. Great sense is made by Mr. Sabu.

 

Oh, now he goes back to the leg. Springboard clothesline then to Jericho. Slingshot legdrop. 2 count. Jericho catches Sabu as he’s going for another flippy thing, and body slams him. Nice. German suplex and the bridge, gets a 2 count for Jericho. Powerbomb also gets a 2 count. Superplex to Sabu~! Doesn’t go for the cover as he’s out himself. Sabu throws a chair at Jericho…

 

Jericho catches Sabu in mid air for a dropkick, which gets a 2 count. Jericho’s nose is now busted open. Not sure what caused it. Chair to Sabu. And again. Lion sault with chair to Sabu.

 

Jericho is outside. Sabu dives onto Jericho in the crowd. Puts Jericho on the table. DDT through the table to the floor. “E C Dub” chant. Sabu rolls inside. Jericho eventually gets back in. Jericho is put on the turnbuckle, and Sabu misses the headscissors. Dropkick from the top to Sabu gets a 2 count. Fisherman suplex to Sabu for 2. Nice butterfly suplex from the top to Sabu gets a 2 count. Sabu doesn’t sell it for long. Spring moonsault to Jericho for a 2 count. Triple jump moonsault to Jericho gets the 3 count. Finally.

 

This match was pretty painful to watch. Sabu was revolutionary for his time, and did a lot of stuff that no one else in the US did. But, boy does his stuff not hold up at all. His offence is so sloppy and boring. Especially his strikes and the stuff on the mat. When he was doing flippy things it was okay, but still not all that exciting.

 

Chris Jericho vs. 2 Cold Scorpio (The Doctor Is In 8/3/96)

 

This looked a typical show at the ECW Arena so there was a little more heat. Scorpio coming out to “Whoomp! There it is!” Awesome.

 

They lockup to start. Waist lock to Jericho, he reverses to put one on Scorpio. Scorpio grabs the ropes and they separate. They do a bit of mat wrestling, lots of reversals and such. Takedown by Jericho and a leglock, and he turns it into a bow and arrow. Scorpio rolls through, and there are claps. Leg take down by Scorpio and he does a surfboard. He does a chinlock! (This move is incredible to me considering how often Orton uses it). Lets go… Jericho takes him down. And he puts him in some sort of submission (Styles didn’t have a clue what it was). Front face lock on Scorpio then.

 

Leg takedown by Scorpio and he stretches Scorpio’s arm. Double under hook slam gets a 2 count. Test for strength. First Scorpio is winning, then Jericho overpowers him for a bit. Monkey flip by Scorpio, followed by a monkey flip by Jericho, and then dropkicks Scorpio. Nice. Stand off. Scorpio takes him down, and he has the arm. Up again. Crucifix takes Scorpio down.

 

Dropkick in mid air to Scorpio, and a Japanese arm drag. Kick to Jericho, strike to the head. Followed by a clothesline. This gets a 2 count. Spinkick to Jericho. Jericho comes back with a suplex. And then a slingshot bodypress.

 

Scorpio is getting a little frustrated and kicks Jericho in the groin. Knee to the head of Jericho. T Bone suplex to Jericho for the 2 count. Followed by a head but. Then a high kick to Jericho’s face that knocks him outside. He comes back in. Gets a bulldog for his troubles. Crescent kick to Jericho. Jericho misses a springboard dive which gets him “you fucked up” chants. Scorpio lands a kick, and Jericho lands outside.

 

Back in. Powerbomb to Jericho. Chops to Jericho in the corner. Jericho gets the springboard dropkick this time. A dropkick by Jericho to the outside, that sort of connects. Suplex to Scorpio get a 2 count. Double underhook powerbomb also gets 2. Scorpio does a powerbomb from the top that gets a 2 count, I would have had no problem if that was the finish, really…

 

DDT to Scorpio. Jericho misses the lionsault. Scorpio misses the moonsault. Jericho gets the splash. Scorpio shoves Jericho off turnbuckle to outside. Jumping kick to outside to Jericho. Back in. Scorpio counters suplex to DDT. Scorpio goes up top, Jericho cuts him off and follows him up. Powerslam from the top gets 2 by Jericho. Tombstone by 2 Cold. He goes up top, and the shooting star press gets a 3 count.

 

When people are talking about the brief period in ECW where they had a lot of really good wrestling, this is the kind of stuff they’re talking about. Two really good workers going out and having damn good matches. The offence here was pretty even, with neither guy really coming out looking bad. You felt throughout the whole match that either guy could likely win. I think the finishing stretch of the match may have been a little bit of overkill, but still, I really enjoyed the match.

[Guest ~RW]

Rocky Romero & Atsushi Aoki vs. Bryan Danielson & Davey Richards - NOAH - 7/1

 

Going into this, I didn't really expect much of it, neither did I expect either team to work as good as they did together, but man was this match fun. I didn't really think this would be as good as the Mark Briscoe & Jay Briscoe vs. Naomichi Marufuji & Kota Ibushi match that was going after this, but I was wrong, as I just thought this was better than that match.

 

I know Rocky Romero & Davey Richards aren't exactly liked by everyone, but man did they look good in this match and did they get over with the crowd. Richards played the gaijin dick'ish heel perfectly by being a total dick to Aoki during the whole match, by just tossing him around and beating the crap out of him. Aoki on the other side was just all kinds of awesome, as he bumps like a freak for Richards & Danielson's offense and is just awesome at drawing sympathy from the crowd. Danielson is just his awesome self in this and just looks really good at beating Aoki around. Romero was fun in this also, as all that was required from him in this match was to jump in and save Aoki everytime he was in trouble and hit a couple of neat looking spots here and there and that's exactly what Romero did.

 

The early interactions before the bell with Richards and Aoki were awesome, as Richards spit in Aoki's hand when he went to shake his hand and the crowd just poped for it. Early on Richards and Aoki just kept on some interactions on the mat and then Danielson comes in and destroys poor Aoki's fingers, hand and arm and then some sweet exchanges between Danielson & Romero. Then there's some awesome stuff with Aoki suplexing Richards over the top followed up by a sweet looking tope from Romero and Richards throwing Aoki stomach first on the top rope.

 

Later on, Danielson & Richards suplex Romero on the floor and Danielson locks on a half crab and Aoki does an excellent job of getting it over, by screaming and shaking his head saying no, while Danielson just screams at him to tap, while Richards stomps on Romero on the floor and pulls the ropes back so Aoki couldn't reach them, but Aoki ends up reaching them and gets a pop from the crowd and Richards just slaps the ring in frustration. Then some more awesome double team kicks and headbutts from Danielson & Richards on Aoki, which they decide to end off by destroying Aoki's neck with a double team DDT, that gets a hot near fall. Danielson then locks the half crab on again and Romero out of nowhere breaks it up with a springboard dropkick and that gets another pop from the crowd.

 

Then they went crazy and just started trying to destroy each other in the last couple of minutes. Romero comes in and gets in some spots on Danielson, before Danielson kitchen sinks him and tags in Richards who comes in a all pumped up and elbows the teeth out of Romero's mouth and then just explodes with a lariat that gets a big pop from the crowd and german suplex which gets another hot near fall. Romero tries to fight back, but Danielson catches him with a nasty looking backbreaker and powerbomb from Richards and Aoki breaks that up. Romero then decides it's time to end this and puts Richards away.

 

So yeah, this was just fun tag team stuff and ya'll should really give this a watch, as it's just fun.

[World's Worst Man]

Samoa Joe vs. Bryan Danielson (8/5/06)

 

I really liked the contrast between the first and second halves of the match. At first, Danielson was taking the worst of it during the striking exchanges, and was just trying to survive. He tried to accomplish this by rolling out of the ring whenever possible or taking the contest to the mat and slowing things down. But in the second half, it was Joe who was just trying to survive, as he was greatly tired and had a bum knee. Danielson was great at his little heel tactics, like the aforementioned stalling, and things like going to the eyes when in trouble or mockingly using Joe's own spots. If the early portions were Danielson's time to shine, the late portions were certainly Joe's time. I think what made the late match so fantastic was because Joe really was tired. His awful body language (in a kayfabe sense), pained facials and noticeable hobble all pointed to a picture of a guy who simply had nothing left. But he still managed to fight. The dazed and sluggish back and forth near the end was simply everything you could hope for in a long, epic, clash of the titans. The flash nearfalls off of move attempts were brilliantly timed and used to good effect. Joe's reaction to the elbow-barrage was so pure and authentic that it was one of the most emotional spots I've seen in a long time. The finish was expected, and while the leadup was good, it was hard to buy anything as the finish. The way the false finishes were worked was certainly convincing, but matches ending in the last five minutes of the sixty limit timelimit almost never happens, if at all. That's certainly no fault of the workers in the match though.

 

There a lot was going on throughout the entire course of the match, not just the very end and very beginning. Focused work, paced excellently, and the downtime served a real purpose. Great performance by both, especially Joe, who looked like he had lost his wind twenty minutes in. This was just an incredible match.

[smkelly]

I've filled my computer to the brim with puroresu from Ditch's now deceased web site.

 

Liger vs. O. Hart 4/28/1991 - Great match. I really enjoyed being able to see this match again. Owen Hart outside the WWF is pure greatness, especially when in the ring with Jushin Liger. They start off with some good chain wrestling and mat work, and then bust out the moves we still see today. People say that Kid/Mask were years ahead of their time, well Liger and Owen along with some select others were also years ahead of their time.

 

Tenryu vs. Hase 9/23/1993 - I was greatly disappointed in this match. Hase is underrated, he's fantastic. Tenryu on the other hand, totally dragged this match down. Hase was motivated and busted his ass. Tenryu wasn't and his offense was pathetic looking, his powerbomb's were so weak looking it was embarassing.

 

Hashimoto vs. Hase 12/14/1994 - Great match, even though I don't like Hashimoto all that much. Hase's sell job of the leg was phenominal, and his offense was great, as usual. They kept picking it up a notch until the finish. Hash wrestled extremely dirty in this match, and his kicks weren't as stiff as usual, but Hase's chops were lethal looking.

 

Chono/Mutoh vs. Sasaki/Hase 11/1/1990 - By far the greatest New Japan heavyweight tag of all-time. Just phenominal work, heat, and finish. Hase again rocks it, and Sasaki picked it up a huge notch, and this was back when Mutoh actually tried and could actually physically perform and before Chono was injured. I'd go out of my way to watch this match.

 

Chono vs. Mutoh 8/11/1991 - Another great match involving Mutoh. The heat and work in this match was fantastic, but the ending was no surprise. One of the best New Japan heavyweight matches I've ever seen.

 

Kobashi vs. Hansen 4/10/1994 - Kobashi is fantastic in this. Kobashi takes a nice floor powerbomb, Hansen sells amazingly, and Kobashi pulls off the upset victory.

 

7/28/1993 8 man elimination - Disappointing. Kawada/Taue vs. Kobashi/Misawa didn't get much time, and everyone seemed off.

 

6/30/1995 six man - Definitely overrated.

 

Kawada vs. Fuchi 7/18/1991 - Fuchi is the man. I love how much of a dick he is, and Kawada isn't one to take lightly either. Good match.

 

Misawa vs. Kawada 10/21/1992 - The start of their rivalry. A good match, but their matches get better through the years.

 

Misawa vs. Kawada 3/27/1993 - They picked up pieces from before, and build more on to it. Better than the first.

 

Misawa vs. Kawada 7/29/1993 - Continue to esculate their rivalry. Glimpses of hatred begin to be viewable.

 

Misawa vs. Kawada 4/11/1994 - Another good match. I'd out this in fourth out of the ones I've watched recently though.

 

Jumbo vs. Kobashi 5/24/1991 - A great match indeed, but I don't think as good as Jumbo's match with Kawada. The match is over before it really has a chance to get off the ground. It's a great match, but it just doesn't have the same feeling as the next match.

 

Jumbo vs. Kawada 10/24/1991 - A great match. Kawada gets in a lot of offense, Jumbo sells really well, the heat is great, and it just has that feeling. The intangible feeling of greatness.

 

Jumbo vs. Williams 7/20/1991 - Eh. A typical bad finish in AJPW. Not very surprising that it wasn't that good. Williams wasn't an established singles star yet, and Jumbo was on the fast decline.

 

Kobashi vs. Misawa 4/13/1993 - Good match, but no where near the levels of their later battles in '97 through '99. They crammed alot of stuff into this match, only around 10 minutes worth after the JIP starting.

 

Jumbo vs. Misawa 4/18/1991 - I loved this match. You could taste the hatred, and literally see Jumbo holding onto his legacy with his fingertips trying his hardest to not let the younger and better wrestler pass him by. Just phenominal.

 

Destroyer vs. Giant Baba 3/5/1969 - I downloaded this simply because I saw Loss's star rating. I generally hate old school matches, with long drawn out rest holds and over the top incredible psychology and no action packed brawls and head drops, but I absolutely love this match. By far, one of the greatest matches I've ever seen. The Destroyer is one of the best wrestlers I've ever seen. He's amazing.

 

5/22/1992 six man - One of the greatest six man tags I've ever watched, and I have no problem giving this *****. What do you expect when you have Kobashi/Kawada/Misawa/Jumbo/Taue/Fuchi is a match together. The interaction between Kawada and Fuchi is great. Taue's offense is lame, but he makes it up with his *amazing* selling and willingness to take sick bumps for a man his size. Jumbo is great trying to hold on to being the go to guy.

 

Kobashi vs. Vader 1/15/1999 - A good match. Vader impresses the hell out of me with his moonsault. Vader just steamrolls Kobashi, it's disturbing how easily he did it too.

 

Kobashi vs. Vader 4/16/1999 - A great re-match. Kobashi gets in way more offense, and Vader works alot harder in this match. Kobashi takes alot of punishment, as usual in this match.

 

Vader vs. Misawa 5/22/1999 - Misawa shows up to get beaten, and he gets beaten very badly here. He gets beaten so badly it's ridiculous. Misawa takes anything and everything Vader has and continues to fight on. It makes Kobashi look far less credible in my opinion. Vader's bumps in this match was impressive, considering Vader was roughly 350 pounds at the time and he's taking head drops.

 

Hansen/Gordy vs. Tenryu/Kawada 12/16/1988 - Great, great match. I thought Tenryu was going to stink in this match, like he did against Hase. Boy was I wrong, though. Hansen is such a great asshole in this match, and he and Gordy absolutely torture Kawada and beat the crap out of Tenryu all through out this match.

 

Taue vs. Nagata 6/6/2003 - Taue has improved his game over the years, but his chokeslams are still disgusting to see. Nagata takes a few nice bumps, and his kicks and submission holds are great.

 

Kobashi vs. Takayama 4/25/2004 - Kobashi's willingness to take and receive punishment is disturbing and makes me feel sorry for the man. Takayama is a stiff working wrestler, and he absolutely beats the shit out of Kobashi. Kobashi is his usual Kobashi-self.

 

Kobashi vs. Akiyama 7/10/2004 - Fantastic match. Kobashi is 37 years old, and he takes an Exploder from the top rope to the floor. Absolutely ridiculous and phenominal to say the least. People say it's being overrated at *****, but I do agree with the rating.

[Tim Evans]

Jeff Hardy vs Umaga IC title match from Great American Bash

 

I loved this match for some reason. Maybe more than Cena/Umaga which I have to watch again. Hardy has been so good lately since his comeback and cutting out the Meth. It started out with restholds but brought the crowd back with Jeff Hardy taking incredible bumps and his selling of the Spike was awesome. If it wasn't for Cena being awesome this year, I would say the Co wrestler of the year this year are the Hardys.

[JHawk]

Antonio Inoki vs. Dusty Rhodes (11/1/1979)

 

For Inoki's NWF Title. A very solid 17-minute affair with a hot crowd. Too much of an Americanized finish with the ref bump and screwy ending, but that shouldn't take away from the first 15 minutes of the contest.

 

Not sure I'd go out of my way to finding it, but certainly worth a look.

[Johnny Sorrow]

Before I moved to Colorado I picked up a bunch of ROH DVD's at the COD show. I never got around to watching them all so last night I finally watched disc 2 from Supercard of Honor. The Danialson/ Strong match in that is all kinds of great. Danialson's scientific heel stuff rules it, Strong as plucky face who's secondary to his partner Aries because Aries is a former champ, so he needs to prove himself stuff is cool. The match is a lot of fun.

What sucks on the DVD is the "pop-ins" on commentary by "Jimmy Bauer". Ugh, just awful.

[Guest The Unholy Dragon]

Watched Terry Funk vs. Mark Henry from an episode of Raw in 98 today...shockingly good match, basically amounting to a fun squash for Henry. Still, it's interesting to see how mobile and motivated he was back then, using all kinds of fun power moves to beat down Funk, who basically just fought back with all he had to stay in the game.

 

Shockingly fun match. ***

[MikeCampbell]

Lacey vs. Daizee Haze from the first SHIMMER show. Anyone who's only seen Lacey doing the loudmouth manager shtick in ROH needs to see this yesterday. Really good stuff, with Lacey pulling out all kinds of brutal ways to dish out punishment, and Haze doing a great job with her selling, and then making a great comeback (with a better Yakuza kick that Chono) and pulling out the win.

[MikeCampbell]

I've been reviewing Vengeance 2003, and I was totally taken by surprise by Cena/Undertaker. I could have done without them disrespecting the FU, but aside from that, the match seemed to be exactly what it should have been, judging by the storyline, the young punk needing a lesson in respect, but also earning some of his own along the way.

 

The more of these earlier Cena matches I see, the more I agree with Loss about the Cena backlash being all about his character, and not his wrestling. Not that Cena was a great wrestler here, but he was more than up to the task. I saw the Word Life DVD a few weeks back at FYE, and I'm wishing I picked it up to see how good their SD rematch is.

[ohtani's jacket]

Today is ADRIAN ADONIS day.

 

Adrian Adonis was so fucking cool. I once had this great conversation with a Japanese rock guitarist about how cool Adonis was. If I could do it all again, I think I'd change my user name to adonis' jacket. There wasn't a single second in any piece of footage where that guy didn't work his gimmick, & his strange body shape made his offence unbelievably cool. He makes working in and out of a wristlock mesmorising -- the single most unorthodox big man ever. I watched a few Southwest Championship Wrestling bouts (vs. Terry Daniels, Bob Sweetan and Ric McGraw), and there he was in a dinky little ring, in a dinky little studio set-up, ruling over everyone with his gimmick and athleticism.

 

There aren't that many great Adonis matches out there, but the ones we have are some of my favourite memories of US pro-wrestling. One of the better Adonis bouts is the Adonis/Murdoch vs. Inoki/Fujinami, 12/84 tag. Inoki and Fujinami are about as interesting to me as a Japanese salaryman, which is kinda ironic, since in the 80s there were probably tons of drunk salarymen stumbling out of izakayas and imitating these guys on their way home. This is a great match, though. Hot crowd. Inoki and Fujinami can work, and Adonis and Murdoch are probably my favourite tag team ever. Take one look at them & you think -- that's a tag team. One guy's supposed to be a street wise, tough New Yorker and the other a Texan redneck, but they like fucking people up with their elbows and knees. I'm a sucker for freakish bumping, comedic stooging & punch drunk selling. I think those are the staples of US heel work & these guys were kings.

[ohtani's jacket]

Today I decided to watch some New Japan heavyweight pro-wrestling.

 

New Japan is a promotion I've never really cared for, and I could give a shit about New Japan heavyweight wrestling, but I felt like watching some Hashimoto fights. More than any other Japanese heavyweight from the 90s, Hashimoto was capable of bringing that big match feeling to a bout. Judging by the shitty heavyweight wrestling I see on Sky Perfect, New Japan heavyweight wrestling has gone the way of heavyweight boxing... I know some guys like that stuff, though, so let's not dwell on that... Instead, let's dwell on Hashimoto/Hase, 8/9/93 and Hashimoto/Hase, 12/11/94, two great matches. The first is an opening match from a single elimination G-1 Climax tournament, the second is a classic heavyweight title bout. They're beautifully worked to suit each set of circumstances. The title match is the classic, but the G-1 match is no slouch and you should go out of your way to see both.

 

These are the type of matches that make you think Hase was 100% better as a heavyweight instead of a junior, but in reality it's because he's wrestling Hashimoto that the matches are such tight, hard fought bouts. The other match I watched today was Tenryu/Hase, 9/23/93... These type of matches are never as good as they should be because there's a certain element of showmanship involved in wrestling an outsider. Hase was capable of some of the gayest showboating ever seen, and I thought Tenryu did a really good job of settling this bout down, since Tenryu didn't care which New Japan wrestler you were or where you fit on the totem pole, you were on the list and that's Tenryu's list. Hase wrestles the Hashimoto matches straight up.

 

There's a clear pattern to both matches, as there are to most matches. I don't mind that, I think most wrestlers need a basic idea of the shape of their matches and the way they want to work. I always thought that "thinking it through" shit was armchair stuff. They sell well in these matches and put over the struggle. That's all you need from pro-wrestling.

 

What really impressed me about Hashimoto this time round was the way he carries himself. People talk about fighting spirit and all that shit, but from my experience in Japan, power, skill and dignity or grace (hinkaku) are the most important qualities in any kind of fighting. Everybody knows that Hashimoto is an exceptionally strong stand-up fighter, but what you see in his matches is that he's also exceptionally fair. He uses his strong kicking power to his advantage but his kicks are never unsighted. He always waits until his opponent is aware that he's about to kick him and has a chance to defend himself. I think these little touches are what made Hashimoto such a popular wrestler in Japan. He's like a great yokozuna or judoka.

 

I have to give a lot of credit to Hase too. Hase is a wrestler who's more than capable of annoying the fuck out of me, but he fought hard. Great, great stuff.

[ohtani's jacket]

I ended up watching a fair bit of 70s wrestling today.

 

Harley Race vs. Giant Baba, 12/9/75

 

This was pretty good for a match with mostly headlocks. Harley was good at working these kind of holds, using enough movement and the right kind of selling to keep things interesting. As with most wrestling, all of the switching on the mat was just a way to bide time before the hard hitting stuff. In this case, Baba was really into the heavy hitting & it came across as a hard fought bout. Harley's supposed to have this rep as a tough guy -- he could shoot on anybody, other wrestlers were afraid of him -- but as a touring champ he spent most of the time putting his opponent over. Baba didn't need to be put over this strong; I guess that speaks for Race's work ethic.

 

Billy Robinson vs. Giant Baba, 7/24/76

 

Man, this is awesome. Definitely the best match I've seen from All Japan in the 70s. I was really surprised that they worked this standing up instead of taking it to the mat. The basic strategy of Robinson trying to take Baba's legs from under him & Baba trying to strike Robinson down was brilliant. Robinson was a wrestling machine, but you have to give Baba a lot of credit here for understanding what Robinson was trying to do & working with that. Great match. Looked like something from the 90s.

 

Jerry Lawler vs. Harley Race, 12/10/77

 

Long, excellent title defence by Harley. It wasn't without its flaws, but that's to be expected when they go one hour. This was different from the Harley you see in Japan. Here he was like Flair and pretty much got his ass kicked for one hour. Lawler won this thing on points and then some. That kinda led to a less than hot ending, because Lawler was in control the whole bout and you knew he wouldn't put the champ away as the time keeper counted off the remaing minutes. Still, the body of the match was strong with lots of deft touches.

 

The Destroyer vs. Mil Mascaras, 10/9/73

 

Man can Destroyer wrestle. It never ceases to amaze me. He had the best possible build for wrestling ever. This doesn't get as much praise as their match from '74, but I guess anyone who cares to see Destroyer has seen him by now... That was a great time when we all started discovering The Destroyer. Mil always gets overlooked when talking about Beyer. He was a fine wrestler in his own right, and the figure four leglock they work in this match is quite possibly the best figure four spot I've seen.

 

The Destroyer vs. Horst Hoffman, 12/17/75

 

Fun bout, nothing more. It's a treat any time you see Destroyer work.

[Guest *FH*]

Roddy Piper vs Bret Hart, WrestleMania VIII

 

I guess the older I get, the less time I have for this wrestling folderol. I pretty much like shortish matches with a simple story. I just don't really have the time or patience for overblown 60 minute epics or whatever anymore. This was a fine, simple match that worked perfectly. Piper and Hart one upping each other, getting frustrated, heeling a little, Hart bleeding off a Piper punch to sell that the former golden gloves dude's fisticuffs were to be feared, it was all good. Piper, in the end, fights off his heelish tendencies because he's a good guy now and he respects Bret enough not to beat his ass with a foreign object, and then the Hitman outwrestles him because THAT IS WHAT HE DOES. Fuck your quick clapping and streamers and nobody did any dueling chants here. Awesome match.

[Kronos]

UNFORGIVEN 2006

 

I kinda thought this was a so-so card, but it's getting high ratings around the web. So I may go back and give it another chance. I thought the Nitro/Jeff opener was good followed by a tense promo with Matt, but the HITC match bored me.

 

I just wanted to point out a couple of things that really struck me:

 

1. I am a fan of women's wrestling, and I am a fan of both Lita and Trish. But I thought this match mostly blew from a tech standpoint, what with Lita having to oversell Trish's slow motion head scissors and whatnot. It was a bit more physical than most diva matches, though. And when Trish busted out the Sharpshooter, I totally marked out! It was awesome and so unexpected! Loved it.

 

2. Orton's promo ruled! "All the crazy haircuts and apple-spitting won't change the fact that Trish Stratus is still a b****! And Carlito, I'm gonna make you mine." Genius.

 

3. TLC -- Gotta say, I have become more of a fan of Cena over the years. This match was filled with crazy spots, ending with a wicked insane blast through two tables. I'll be watching this one again! Both of these guys should be dead from this match. . .

[JHawk]

Clash of the Champions XXXV

 

I loved this on first showing but it hasn't aged well, although Ultimo Dragon-Alex Wright was good and Eddy-Jericho was cooking until Jericho blew up doing the Giant Swing.

 

I still hold the garbage with the vulture at the end to be one of the worst endings in the history of any major event.

[Kronos]

RAW 5/5/08 Harry "Canadian Bulldog" Smith v JBL

 

I have come to like JBL more and more over the years. I didn't like him at first, but I think his mic work as an announcer finally won me over. I am glad he's back in the ring, even if he does look pretty out of shape.

 

That said, I have major questions about this squash. JBL cuts a promo about how the Hart Foundation is DEAD (!!!!). He tells Harry that Davey Boy can't save him. Bret can't save him. I almost expected him to mention Owen, but mercifully he didn't. I think insulting the poor kid's dead father may be over the top, even if they planned it in advance.

 

Layfield then proceeds to beat the crap out of little Harry, who looks like a high school kid in there next to this hulking monster. I was praying that The Anvil would come waddling in and save Harry, but of course he didn't.

 

What does this prove? JBL could have beat up any jobber and come across just as mean. But they took it too far in this segment, disrespecting the fans and the legacy of the sport and the poor kid's family. And this could have done major harm to Harry's young career.

 

Bad for you, Bradshaw. Bad for you.

[Tim Evans]

Negro Navarro vs Solar 6/1/08 Arena Coliseo de Monterrey CMLLVIP

 

So I finally remembered what time Arena Coliseo airs on Multimedios. This is a independent organization that uses CMLL talent. Last month they had a deal with AAA but reverted back to CMLL. If you've seen matches between these two, you know what to expect. Lots of Mat work, no strikes and no flying. Navarro has to be close to 60 and is still better than most wrestlers. Solar also is great. Solar is the Salvador Champ coming in.

 

Both men are fairly even throughout the match. Solar wins the first fall with a submission and Navarro wins the second fall with a nice cradle pin. Of course if you know Monterrey, it's famous for shitty finishes and this was no exception. Dusty Rhodes would be proud. Negro hits the ref on accident and the ref goes down. He gets up and Navarro is pinning Solar. Navarro thought he won but the ref raises Solar's hand. Great match with a shitty finish.

[Kronos]

Last night, I was finally catching up on my PPV watching, and I saw most of Backlash 08. Can I just say that the bulk of this show was just plain boring? Okay, I have yet to see it all. But the MPV/Matt match was surprisingly a snoozer, and the Kane/Chavo was even worse.

 

Seriously, Kane has never looked so fat and slow. Maybe he should hang it up?

 

Show/Khali will get a second viewing because I was falling asleep, but I don't hold out hope.

 

The Divas match was actually kinda fun, mostly because Mickie gets to be in-ring a lot. (Truthfully, who else on the Face team can really go? Michelle McCool was actually better than I expected, but still. . .)

 

HBK/Dave started slowly, and I haven't finished it. And I have yet to watch Edge/Taker or the 4-way Main Event. So it may be that things will get better.

 

Anyone have any thoughts on it?