Diamond Dallas Page v Chris Benoit

[Loss]

Diamond Dallas Page v Chris Benoit - 02/22/98 (WCW)

 

This is a good match, but it's obvious Benoit isn't working to his full potential. That has its advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that the goal here is to get Page over, and Benoit wrestling without dumbing down his style, even a little, would have totally exposed his opponent. They're working so many parity sequences early on that they had to be effective to translate the story properly; it's often argued that wrestlers should get over the match first and themselves second, and that is what Benoit is doing here. The disadvantage is that Benoit isn't doing everything he could do, so the match isn't anywhere near the best matches he has had. The announcers allude to the fact that DDP purchased a Best of Chris Benoit tape to prepare for this match, which would lead me to believe this was meticulously planned out.

 

The cobra sleeper is the centerpiece of this match, as it's the move Benoit uses to put sympathy on Page. It works in that regard, and keeps the match going somewhere, and Page's body language really puts over its effectiveness. It's interesting to note that the crowd boos pretty much everything, which means they were split down the middle, which means that at least in San Francisco, Benoit was every bit as over as upper-carder DDP. Page is the first one to get aggressive as they start out wrestling in a fairly friendly manner. Page wins a test of strength, but Benoit stays bridged and they fight over quick pins, which the audience loves. Benoit puts over the diamond cutter as a total match-ender by rolling outside when he almost eats the move, and even breaks the count so he can have more time. He comes back in and they're nose-to-nose, talking trash, until they're rolling around in a slugfest that wasn't really built up well, even if the crowd does get into it. I compare that to the build I saw to the dogfight between Benoit and Jarrett on the Nitro match I watched not long ago, and I think this pales by comparison. Benoit goes for the knee off the ropes, but he never really follows up on it, so that part of the match is pretty much abandoned. Page counters the cobra sleeper with a jawbreaker, but Benoit is still the first to his feet, and he corners Page and beats the everloving shit out of him. This only serves to anger Page, as he reverses the tide and does the same. One of the best parts of the match sees Benoit catch Page in a sleeper. DDP tries to belly-to-back suplex him out of it, but Benoit lands on his feet and immediately locks the hold in again.

 

This match does have some good going for it -- the crowd is very into everything they're doing, the match plays nicely to Page's strengths, and the match accomplishes its goal of getting DDP over as a good wrestler. The wrestling, while basic, is far from bad or boring, and they keep things moving at a fun pace. The downfall to the match is that Benoit didn't get nearly as much as he gave, and this was merely the first step in DDP pushing him out of the Raven feud so he could have it for himself. I wish we all had Chris Benoit to make us look good when we needed it, although to Page's credit, he would put him over the following year.

 

***1/4

[goodhelmet]

I don't disagree with your assessment of this match at all.

 

However, I noticed you covered this match and the Cruiser match. I there a reason you didn't cover Disco-La Parka and the Booker T matches from the same show? I don' remember La Parka-Disco so I would like to revisit it. As for the Booker matches, I remember that being his coming out party and being very impressed with him at the time.

[Loss]

I have those matches on a comp. I don't own the rest of the show.

[goodhelmet]

I can fix that... or if Ginnetty has them in perfect VQ, that will change.