Matches From 1996

[Loss]

Rey Misterio Jr v Ultimo Dragon - WCW World War 3 1996

 

A match like this is hard to talk about and still do justice. You say the action is "incredibly fast", but lots of matches have "incredibly fast" action, so what makes this stand out from the pack? You talk about Rey's selling, but Rey's selling, with few exceptions, is typically excellent. So what makes his selling here stand out more than it normally would? Sometimes, a match is greater than the sum of its parts. I consider that an achievement when it happens, because I think it's part of the goal of working. That said, it's only part of it. The other part of working is to live up to, even exceed, the expectations set, the hype that is often out of the control of the performers. In this match, Rey Misterio Jr and Ultimo Dragon succeeded in doing both.

 

The match starts by establishing parity through a series of all-action sequences which look great and pop the crowd early on. I like the transition to Ultimo being in control here, since it's not because Rey misses a move, it's because Ultimo forced his own way. The standard transitions you often seen in American main events have the babyface going wild early on, missing a move or getting overzealous and the heel stepping in after that. There's nothing wrong with that at all, as it's very effective, but it's a nice change in pace to see a match worked in this fashion. In this case, it's just Ultimo taking what he wants and going with it. Rey takes a hellacious beating. With every amazing move Ultimo performs, and with every subsequent kickout from Rey, the crowd becomes more and more involved. This is Ultimo getting himself over as the ultimate asskicker, the high-flying assassin who knows 137 ways to kill you instantly. By proxy, this type of character is a perfect foil for Rey, because it's such a contrast to who he is. So, you also have Misterio getting over as the ultimate underdog who can withstand anything, the smallest guy in WCW who's greatest weapon would appear to be his offense. That's true, but his greatest defense is his heart. He shows here that he has it in spades.

 

Another reason the match is excellent is because after five months in the company of outclassing everyone he faced as an aerial wrestler, he has perhaps met his match. Ultimo is the guy who holds eight junior heavyweight titles from all around the world; in fact, the WCW cruiserweight title, held by Dean Malenko, is the only one of note that he doesn't possess. He'd love nothing more than to add that title to his collection, but to do that, he has to get past Misterio, the man who is easily the most established contender to the title.

 

Rey has small windows of hope toward the end, as he starts countering Ultimo's moves to the best of ability, but Ultimo is still clearly a step above. However, as determined as Rey is, finding anyone with enough wherewithal to kick out of a slingshot powerbomb after being destroyed for 15 minutes would be a daunting task. Ultimo is the one who goes in the record book as the winner, but really, they both achieved a major success here, and they were both able to ride the wave of momentum this match created. A rematch with Rey avenging himself was definitely in order, but it was never to be. Despite that, WCW got it right for one night at least, and Ultimo would go on to finally capture the title the next month.

 

****1/4

[goodhelmet]

Loss, have you seen their matches from Japan? They had one in 1996 that was pretty damn good IIRC. It is on one of Socha's Best of 1996 comps but should be found in better quality somewhere else.

[Loss]

I think that was in WAR on Osaka Crush Night, but no, I haven't seen it. It's something I definitely want to see, though.

[Tim Cooke]

The WAR match from 10/13/96 has the same finish at World War III but not as good of a body, from what I remember in one viewing a few years back.

 

Tim

[goodhelmet]

Sadly, I don;t think i have seen the WW3 match unless I have it on a comp from teke. I think a comparison between the two is definitely in order.

[goodhelmet]

****3/4

Whoa Whoa Whoa....

 

Is this really one of the best matches you have ever seen?

 

At first, I thought you had it down as ***3/4.

[Loss]

Yes, it is. It's a strong candidate for best WCW match in history. That rating is not a typo.

[Tim Cooke]

I need to watch Ultimo/Rey again. After watching Vader/Sting strap match and Eddy/Rey havoc last night, I am pretty positive I would have those ahead of the WWIII match, as well as the MX/Fantastics Clash, 4/26/88 MX/Fans, and maybe 1-2 more things.

 

Tim

[Loss]

I probably would as well (need to watch Eddy/Rey again, others you've mentioned are up there too), but it's definitely in the upper echelon of WCW stuff.

[goodhelmet]

I guess I am accustomed to reserving most of the matches in that range for high-end All Japan stuff as well as the very best of American matches. For you to speak so highly of that match and for me to not remember seeing it or actually seeing it is killing me.

[Loss]

I guess I am accustomed to reserving most of the matches in that range for high-end All Japan stuff as well as the very best of American matches. For you to speak so highly of that match and for me to not remember seeing it or actually seeing it is killing me.

What about high-end New Japan stuff? What about high-end lucha? How can you call out bad star ratings when you don't assign them?

[goodhelmet]

What about high-end New Japan stuff?

jdw said it best when the best NJ Heavies match of the 90s was blown away by a Taue-Misawa match.

 

New Japan Jrs? Of course, Ohtani-Dragon, Liger-Samurai are def. in that range.

 

What about high-end lucha?

I haven't seen nearly enough lucha to assign that rating to any lucha match I have ever seen inc. Santo-Casas. the closest match I think that would hit it is Atlantis v. Villano III. THat is about to change as I hope to collect a huge amount of lucha in the next two months or so.

 

Let me clarify... when I say All Japan stuff, most ****3/4 matches I have seen are from All Japan. That is just the nature of the beast when you are the best promotion in the world for 6+ years. I couldn't really have said another promotion (although there are matches that obtain that level) that would have been as effective in my point... When you give a match that rating, are you comparing it to the best the world has tooffer? If so, then I am not questioning the rating. Hell, I can't even remember seeing the match so how would I know? I just wanted clarification to make sure that wasn't a typo.

 

How can you call out bad star ratings when you don't assign them?

Easy... look at the criteria that someone would use when dishing out stars and compare that match to that criteria. Like I said, I wasn't criticizing the rating. I just wanted to see if you were that confident in the match. If so, then I need to get it ASAP since our opinions on matches usually are side-by-side with one another. In fact, I have only openly questioned two star ratings that I have ever seen you give... Canadian Stampede and Savage-Warrior. Stampede, we ended up agreeing in the end as we analyzed the match. Savage-Warrior, we clashed and will probably always clash on it. No biggie.

 

Also, I don't usually give star ratings because I think people tend to rely on them too much. However, when searching for good matches, I think they can be a valuable tool. Look at my favorite ECW match... Corino v. Tajiri. If I were to give that a star rating, would it really be a *** or even a **** match? Hell no, but I thought it was more important for people to understand it is one of my favorites than to give it a star rating.

 

If we were doing a list of five-star matches, I could easily contribute to that list even if I have never officially given a match *****.

[shoe]

I find this the 2nd best Cruiserweight match in the history of WCW behind Rey and Eddie. I feel their War match was really good too, but is about 3-5 minutes shorter. So they trim a little out of their match and it hurts it a little. The crowd at WW3 was really hot for both guys.

[anarchistxx]

Mitsuharu Misawa/Jun Akiyama v Jonny Ace/Steve Williams (AJPW 07/06/96

 

For all the hype about this match, it isn't really all that worthy. It's a match built on well defined roles; Akiyama is the underdog kid, Misawa is the dominant champion, who struggles because he's teamed with someone who isn't actually that good, and the gajins play the typical roles of the evil foreigners. To be fair, they all play their roles perfectly, and it's great to watch, but apart from that, the match is fairly standard stuff.

 

Whatever people might argue, there was no complicated story in this, and I think you miss the point of the match if you looked for one. It was solid, stiff action reminiscent of many All Japan matches of the 90's, but its substance has been vastly overstated. There is so much stuff they could have done better; shit, I know Misawa is stoic, but I'd like him to show at least a shred of emotion. Here, he merely looks lazy. Jonny Ace looks like his 'talent relations' job didn't come a moment too soon, with a lacklustre display only saved by a great moment where he gets pissed and murders Akiyama.

 

Akiyama is decent enough in this match, but it's Doc who really saves this, with his usual awesome performance as the monster heel. I love the way he totally disrespects Jun, and he's so good that it ends up being more disapointing than satisfying when Misawa takes him out with some less-than-compelling offence. The final stages of the match are overbooked, and I couldn't decide whether it was five minutes too long or five too short, as I felt distincly underwhelmed by the finish. What you get out of this match depends what you look for. There are some neat moments, and if you love stiff All Japan tags building to an action-packed finale, you'll love this. And if you're some over emotional angst ridden teenager, I'm sure there's some complex and inspiring story for you to drag out of this; although, in reality, it's merely a pro wrestling match, and one with little emotional content at that. It's pretty good though. ***1/4

[Resident Evil]

I like Ultimo vs Rey but it's one of the matches I don't get and was shocked to no end when I discovered others liked it so, so much. To me, both Ultimo vs Dean matches destroyed Ultimo vs Rey. The Dean vs Rey series as well.

[Bix]

Pitbull 2 vs Chris Jericho - ECW Arena 6/22/96

 

This is on History of ECW on 24/7 right now. I loved it at the time but parts of it don't age well, like Pitbull 2 hitting a press slam into a tombstone piledriver in the first 2 minutes for a 2 count, Jericho really blatantly calling spots with his hands, and Pitbull braining Jericho with a chair which is really out of place in what's otherwise a babyface match spotfest where you can sort of see every HHH criticism of Jericho as the truth. That said, it's still a lot of fun to watch, with some really cool moves that I haven't seen anywhere else, like the aforementioned press slam -> tombstone and Jericho's Silver King dive into a moonsault, plus the really awesome finish where Jericho goes for a top rope huricanrana, Pitbull stands up to counter with a Superbomb, and Jericho counters with the huricanarana at the last second to get the win. Still worth watching but it's not the great match it seemed like at the time, not holding up as well as similar style matches like Steiners vs Luger/Sting.

[Guest The 3H's]

Pitbull 2 vs Chris Jericho - ECW Arena 6/22/96

 

This is on History of ECW on 24/7 right now. I loved it at the time but parts of it don't age well, like Pitbull 2 hitting a press slam into a tombstone piledriver in the first 2 minutes for a 2 count, Jericho really blatantly calling spots with his hands, and Pitbull braining Jericho with a chair which is really out of place in what's otherwise a babyface match spotfest where you can sort of see every HHH criticism of Jericho as the truth. That said, it's still a lot of fun to watch, with some really cool moves that I haven't seen anywhere else, like the aforementioned press slam -> tombstone and Jericho's Silver King dive into a moonsault, plus the really awesome finish where Jericho goes for a top rope huricanrana, Pitbull stands up to counter with a Superbomb, and Jericho counters with the huricanarana at the last second to get the win. Still worth watching but it's not the great match it seemed like at the time, not holding up as well as similar style matches like Steiners vs Luger/Sting.

What is Triple H criticism of Jericho? I heard they had heat, but never hear the specifics, other then the usual "HHH is burying Jericho" shit people have been saying the last 10 years.