I've had this tape for over 10 years, but had never gotten round to watching it until I found it the other week and decided to crack out this review. I think I've always been put off by the sub-handheld camera work and the terrible audio (making interviews with Jeff Hardy and Christopher Daniels unlistenable), but there's no denying the quality of the talent on display here, and this was a rather pivotal show in early 00's indy terms. How well has it all aged?
Low Ki vs Billy Fives
Fives has the look of exactly the kind of cruiserweight you'd find on WCW Saturday Night in the dying days of the company. They do some basic sequences to start, punctuated by a big Low Ki dive. Ki's speed and dynamicism mark him out as the face early on, so I do enjoy Fives doing basic heel stuff to ensure he gets booed, like calling for time-out outside the ring and doing the old "choke with shin bone across throat whilst chatting to the ref" spot. Ki wears Fives down with strikes, but Fives does get some decent offence in, and I loved the spot where he got Ki in a pumphandle, then just clubbed him in the back whilst he was prone. I also like the fact the Fives seems to time his comebacks for the moments when Ki most obviously telegraphs his kicks, allowing him to hit a sweet capture suplex. Ultimately though, Ki is too quick and too tough, winning with the Ki Krusher. Good stuff here.
Jayson Reign vs Tony Kozina
This feels a lot like a decent Heat match in the early going, partly helped by Reign's WWE developmental circa 2003 look. He seems to be in pretty impressive shape. He overpowers Kozina early, and hits a mad tope to the outside, which goes some way to winning me over. He hits his spots well, but you get the feeling that he is still being led through the match by Kozina. I adored Kozina diving from the top with a rana, which he used to send Reign to the outside. Kozina starts working over the leg of Reign, which makes sense to counter the power advantage, but Reign pretty much gives up on selling it as soon as he gets back on offence, even when hitting a bridging suplex, where his injured leg should have buckled under his weight. Kozina kicks out of a screwdriver at two, which really should have finished it. The end was pretty good, with Reign slipping out of a powerbomb into the perfect position to hit his Sister Abigail finisher, but this lost it's way a bit towards the end, especially with the non-sell of the leg.
American Dragon vs Spanky
I know I'm speaking here with the benefit of hindsight, where these two guys became big stars, one of whom is arguably the most popular wrestler in the WWE today, but it really is obvious how much better these two are than the guys in the first two matches. You suspect that they may have worked the opening sequence together many times in training, but the match itself is really good, and tells a far better story than the previous two. Here, Dragon works over Spanky's left arm relentlessly, with some lovely snap to his offence. I loved him avoiding a springboard crossbody and sending Spanky right into a Fujiwara armbar. For his part, Spanky sells it like a trooper, even resting only on the good arm when trying to get back up again. Dragon sends Spanky outside and hits a baseball slide (to the arm!) and then hits a swank top rope moonsault to the floor. Spanky's main offence from this point consists of hopespots and roll-ups, but the arm injury prevents him hitting Sliced Bread #2 properly, and Dragon locks in Cattle Muttilation for the tap out. Really good match.
Mike Sullivan vs Reckless Youth
Sullivan certainly has the better look of the two, though that doesn't mean he'll be the better performer. They work a nice series of counters and reversals that looks really good, before Youth hits a lovely tope to the floor. Nothing Sullivan does is particularly fancy, but it does look good, with a meaty German suplex looking particularly good. Sullivan also adds a nice hint of slight heeldom to add some flavour to the match. Youth hits a top rope cutter and a frog splash for two. They work a few more counters, but these don't look quite as good as before - one which sees Sullivan "power out" of a Boston crab gives the impression that Youth did a diving flip for no reason whilst holding the move. Youth gets the win with a quick fireman's carry roll-up which dropped Sullivan right on his head. Not bad, but not one to remember.
The Haas Brothers vs Ty Street & Simon Diamond
Street is a guy I've seen work for CZW a few times, not particularly impressively. Indeed, the best thing about the match is the double-teaming from the Haas', with a slingshot into an overhead belly-to-belly suplex being very nice. They work a looooooong heat section on Street, before Diamond gets in. In a referee botch, Diamond has one Haas rolled up for at least ten seconds in plain-view of the official, who doesn't bother to count. The end sees Dawn Marie at ringside preventing Charlie Haas from using a chair, allowing Diamond to grab it. However, Simon clearly realises his partner is shite, so nails Street with the chair and lets Charlie DDT Street for the win.
Jayson Reign vs Low Ki
Things start off with a bit of a bang, Ki missing a pescado and Reign nailing a huge tope early on. It doesn't really continue this way, however, seemingly due to some inexperience on the part of Reign. Ki is noticably having to temper his natural dynamicism here to allow Reign to keep up with him, most notably when he stands awkwardly on the second rope for ages to allow Reign to hit a sunset flip on him. The match is also quite short (good) but also quite spotty, and not all the spots hit cleanly, with Ki taking a flipping dive to the floor and only barely hitting Reign being especially noteworthy. The bout ends when Ki escapes a German suplex attempt and rolls reign up for three. Poor.
American Dragon vs Reckless Youth
By way of contrast, this is a very slick affair. The opening matwork was great, everything felt like a battle and the holds looked like they genuinely hurt. Neither guy seems hesitant, even as Dragon takes a big bump to the floor and gets hurled into the ringpost. Youth has some really good looking offence here, chaining his moves together nicely into pinning predicaments. I also dig some of the little touches, like Dragon trying for a Dragon suplex, finding Youth blocking him so hitting an elbow to the back of Youth's head to weaken him, then hitting the suplex. Finish sees Youth go for a frog splash, only for Dragon to meet him up top, send him crashing arm first onto the canvas, then locking in Cattle Muttilation for the win. Great bout.
Cheetah Master vs JJ & Patch
The box also advertises a battle royal, but it never happens. This is a handicap match, and not a very good one. Patch in particular is woeful, hitting the tamest backbreakers on Cheetah that I've ever seen. A short match looks to be over as Cheetah hits a HIGH elevation frog splash on JJ, before the Haas Brothers, Simon Diamond and what looks like Nick Berk come in to beat him up. Some other lads come in for the save, and another chap comes in dressed as a ref. For reasons unknown to me, this upsets JJ, who gets rolled up by Cheetah for three. No idea what that was all about, but it fucking sucked.
Low Ki vs American Dragon
And so to the final. I loved the initial matwork, especially from Dragon, who was throwing in little headbutts to add some spice to the grappling. He also nails a big boots to send Low Ki to the floor, but Ki is the master of striking, so he pummels Dragon in the ring. This seems to make Dragon change his plan, as he catches a kick from Ki and hits a lovely dragon screw legwhip. Given Ki's reliance on kicks, it's a good gameplan to start working the leg, which Dragon does with gusto. It also means that, when Low Ki gets back on offence, it just takes AmDrag one blow to the leg to regain control. Ki does get back in it, and sadly stops selling the leg, but the action in the final stages is still fun. I loved Dragon's deadweight fall to the floor when Ki kicks him off the apron, and I loved Ki following that up with a corkscrew moonsault from the top rope. There is a super slick sequence where, following repeated attempts by Dragon to hit a Dragon suplex, he manages to catch Low Ki mid-cartwheel, hit a Dragon suplex and quickly chain that into Cattle Muttilation. Just lovely stuff. The end sees Dragon go for a roaring elbow, but Ki catches him with a Ki Krusher and locks in a Dragon Clutch, which Dragon taps out to immediately. Really good match, and one that has aged really well in the past 13 years.
Wednesday 30 July 2014
Sunday 20 July 2014
WWF Mega Matches
Back in the early 2000's, before YouTube and discovering the indies, it was always a massive treat to discover wrestling on sale for cheap, no matter what it was, and those rare days where some wrestling would turn up in Cash Generator were an absolute joy. I still fondly remember finding 3 ECW PPV's on tape at £3 each, and snapping them up even though I wasn't a huge ECW fan. This tape I bought and watched it in full once, before it went into the small hamper I have of wrestling tapes and sat there until this week. Let's give it another watch
Tito Santana vs Earthquake
Tito goes into this match with the dirt-worst game plan possible, which is to totally underestimate the power of Quake. He tries go-behinds that see him rammed into the corner, tries shoulderblocks that he clearly is never going to win and gets caught by the big man when he tries a crossbody. He does try to work a body part but, despite having used a figure-four as a past finisher and knowing that working a leg would make it hard for Quake to support his weight, he instead decides to work the arm. This, of course, leave the other arm free, so Quake clubs him down and starts to go to work on Tito. Quake seems to be in "methodical house show" mode here, so his attack is pretty unexciting. I did like Tito managing to escape a bearhug by climbing the turnbuckle, whilst still in Quake's arms, to get better elevation. Flying forearm only gets two, so you know Quake is getting pushed here. A missed Tito dropkick sets up the usual finishing sequence for Earthquake, but Tugboat comes in before the seated splash to attack and give Quake the win by DQ. Dino Bravo and Rhythm & Blues enter the ring (to save the heel from an unprompted 2-on-1 assault mind you; Quake hadn't broken a single rule all match) before Hacksaw Duggan makes the save for Tito and Tugger with the 2x4. Lord Alfred Hayes describes this as a moral win for Tito. What the fucking fuck? Match was pretty dull.
Bobby Heenan vs Big Boss Man
You know this isn't going to be much of a match, but you also know this should be fun. Heenan is gold on the mic to start, begging Boss Man's forgiveness for all his mother jokes, saying he'd sent roses to Boss Man's mother and saying she was on the phone in the back to ask Boss Man not to fight the Brain. This is clearly gearing up to an ambush in the back (not picked up on by the announcers), and Boss Man thinks about leaving the ring, before quickly decimating the Brain in 30 seconds, pinning him with a foot. Mr Perfect tries to save his manager (so you know there was a backstage assault plan), but fails and Bobby gets a ball-and-chain dropped on his chest. Fun deal.
Hacksaw Jim Duggan vs Sgt. Slaughter
Not much to this one. Slaughter takes a few nice bumps off Duggan's big goofy punches, before a flag to the back from General Adnam gives him the advantage. Slaughter looks to be maintaining focus on the back by hitting a backbreaker, but Duggan soon recovers and makes an abrupt comeback. Three point stance is interrupted by Adnam grabbing his leg, and Hacksaw chases him away to lose by DQ. Pointless.
Bret Hart vs the Barbarian
I like both guys, so this should be decent. Bret oddly goes against his usual logical instincts and decides to try and hiptoss the Barbarian, which fails, and this allows Barbarian to dominate with some power moves. Bret uses his speed advantage to avoid a 2nd rope elbow, and the Hart Attack clothesline is counted as a three in a botch by the slow, doddery old ref. He's terrible all match. Barbarian hits a lovely powerslam for the comeback, but when he drops down to counter a sunset flip, Bret in turn reverses that into a winning pinfall. Another match that's way too short on this tape.
Rhythm & Blues vs the Bushwhackers
By way of contrast, I'd prefer this match to be kept short. I've no idea why poor old Rhythm & Blues were forever paired with Luke and Butch. Valentine nails a lovely clothesline on Luke to take over, and the match is bearable when Valentine and Honky are in control. Butch comes in to break up a fair pinfall, then gets annoyed when Honky comes in to send him out to the floor. This seemingly makes it fair for Butch to level HTM with a guitar for the DQ. I fucking hate the Bushwhackers.
Hulk Hogan vs Dino Bravo
Earthquake is in Bravo's corner, so the Big Bossman is announced for Hogan's corner. This leads to a hilarious over-reaction by one girl in the crowd, who repeatedly shrieks with excitement. Scary. The match isn't much to speak about, though Hogan does his best to make it interesting. I did love him levelling Bravo with a single chop. Some Earthquake interference gives Bravo the advantage, and he keeps interfering throughout the match, with Bossman's only attempts to stop him being to slowly wander over, by which point the damage is done. Even Sean Mooney points out how useless the Bossman is here. Bravo's offence is really dull, all chokes and punches, and the only thing stopping a bearhug being tedious is how well Hogan sells it. Hogan has the smarts to nearly break it, before letting Bravo sinch it in again, to keep the crowd into the match. Bravo hits his finishing side suplex, but Hogan kicks out on two, Hulks up and swiftly hits the big boot and legdrop to win. Poor match.
Haku vs the British Bulldog
This must be early in the Bulldog's comeback, as he's only billed as "Davey Boy Smith" here. We come in joined in progress with Bulldog holding a sleeper. We've got two big lads who can move here, highlighted by a nice crossbody and a crucifix by Smith. He also takes a huge bump from a back bodydrop. Haku is pretty methodical here, and holds Smith in two consecutive restholds for a little bit too long. Bulldog gets little comebacks, but Haku is pretty good at cutting them off. Bulldog at one point breaks a sleeper, but ends up being hurled upside down to the corner. There is a midring collision, where Davey Boy somehow recovers quicker, despite being beaten up for the past 5-7 minutes. Davey locks in a sharpshooter, but Bobby Heenan pushes to rope to Haku to force a break. Bulldog sends Haku flying with a back bodydrop of his own, and the running powerslam gets three. Nice to get a decent length match here.
Randy Savage vs Hacksaw Jim Duggan
There are a lot of smoke and mirrors in this match, but I don't really think they needed the help. Both guys put in a really good effort in the match. I loved Duggan's big punches early on, which Savage sells big time. Sensational Sherri attacks Duggan to give Savage an opening, and I love Duggan's selling here. Not only is he not afraid to sell for a lady, he also does a great job of making Savage look good. There is a great bit where Duggan slowly gets to his feet, getting fired up, only to turn into a top rope ax handle by Savage, and this leads up to Savage trying again a few minutes later, only for Duggan to be ready with a clothesline to the gut. Savage takes two big bumps, one from the ring to the floor then one from the floor over the guardrail. Hacksaw levels him with a chair, which doesn't draw a DQ somehow. The big knee only gets two after Sherri distracts the ref, but Duggan is smart enough not to take his eye off Savage as he yells at her, and avoids a sneak attack. Savage misses the top rope elbow, but the three point stance from Duggan sends the Macho King to the outside. The ref gets bumped, giving Duggan a visual fall, before Savage levels him with a weapon. A slow count from the ref means this only gets two as the drama gets cranked up, before Savage pins him with his feet on the rope to win. Really good match, with great effort from both men.
Randy Savage vs the Ultimate Warrior
This is a cage match, though they battle outside the cage at first, following a misguided attempt at a sneak attack by Savage. Warrior wipes the floor with him. I would be remiss in not mentioning how fucking unbearable Brother Love is on commentary. The opening stages are so slow, as Savage hurls Warrior into the cage with a handful of trunks, then both guys get VERY slowly to their feet. A double clothesline spot puts both down, and they act like they've worked an iron man match when we're only 5 mins in. Savage wears Warrior down with chokes and eye rakes, before the top rope elbow only gets two. Warrior fires back with the usual, but the splash hits knees. Suddenly, the match is nearly over as Savage climbs almost all the way out, only for Warrior to grab him by the hair. Sherri comes in to interfere and bang, Savage falls to the floor a victor. Terrible match, with no real drama or pacing. After, Warrior beats up Savage and looks to be about to beat Sherri before a sudden cut.
Tito Santana vs Earthquake
Tito goes into this match with the dirt-worst game plan possible, which is to totally underestimate the power of Quake. He tries go-behinds that see him rammed into the corner, tries shoulderblocks that he clearly is never going to win and gets caught by the big man when he tries a crossbody. He does try to work a body part but, despite having used a figure-four as a past finisher and knowing that working a leg would make it hard for Quake to support his weight, he instead decides to work the arm. This, of course, leave the other arm free, so Quake clubs him down and starts to go to work on Tito. Quake seems to be in "methodical house show" mode here, so his attack is pretty unexciting. I did like Tito managing to escape a bearhug by climbing the turnbuckle, whilst still in Quake's arms, to get better elevation. Flying forearm only gets two, so you know Quake is getting pushed here. A missed Tito dropkick sets up the usual finishing sequence for Earthquake, but Tugboat comes in before the seated splash to attack and give Quake the win by DQ. Dino Bravo and Rhythm & Blues enter the ring (to save the heel from an unprompted 2-on-1 assault mind you; Quake hadn't broken a single rule all match) before Hacksaw Duggan makes the save for Tito and Tugger with the 2x4. Lord Alfred Hayes describes this as a moral win for Tito. What the fucking fuck? Match was pretty dull.
Bobby Heenan vs Big Boss Man
You know this isn't going to be much of a match, but you also know this should be fun. Heenan is gold on the mic to start, begging Boss Man's forgiveness for all his mother jokes, saying he'd sent roses to Boss Man's mother and saying she was on the phone in the back to ask Boss Man not to fight the Brain. This is clearly gearing up to an ambush in the back (not picked up on by the announcers), and Boss Man thinks about leaving the ring, before quickly decimating the Brain in 30 seconds, pinning him with a foot. Mr Perfect tries to save his manager (so you know there was a backstage assault plan), but fails and Bobby gets a ball-and-chain dropped on his chest. Fun deal.
Hacksaw Jim Duggan vs Sgt. Slaughter
Not much to this one. Slaughter takes a few nice bumps off Duggan's big goofy punches, before a flag to the back from General Adnam gives him the advantage. Slaughter looks to be maintaining focus on the back by hitting a backbreaker, but Duggan soon recovers and makes an abrupt comeback. Three point stance is interrupted by Adnam grabbing his leg, and Hacksaw chases him away to lose by DQ. Pointless.
Bret Hart vs the Barbarian
I like both guys, so this should be decent. Bret oddly goes against his usual logical instincts and decides to try and hiptoss the Barbarian, which fails, and this allows Barbarian to dominate with some power moves. Bret uses his speed advantage to avoid a 2nd rope elbow, and the Hart Attack clothesline is counted as a three in a botch by the slow, doddery old ref. He's terrible all match. Barbarian hits a lovely powerslam for the comeback, but when he drops down to counter a sunset flip, Bret in turn reverses that into a winning pinfall. Another match that's way too short on this tape.
Rhythm & Blues vs the Bushwhackers
By way of contrast, I'd prefer this match to be kept short. I've no idea why poor old Rhythm & Blues were forever paired with Luke and Butch. Valentine nails a lovely clothesline on Luke to take over, and the match is bearable when Valentine and Honky are in control. Butch comes in to break up a fair pinfall, then gets annoyed when Honky comes in to send him out to the floor. This seemingly makes it fair for Butch to level HTM with a guitar for the DQ. I fucking hate the Bushwhackers.
Hulk Hogan vs Dino Bravo
Earthquake is in Bravo's corner, so the Big Bossman is announced for Hogan's corner. This leads to a hilarious over-reaction by one girl in the crowd, who repeatedly shrieks with excitement. Scary. The match isn't much to speak about, though Hogan does his best to make it interesting. I did love him levelling Bravo with a single chop. Some Earthquake interference gives Bravo the advantage, and he keeps interfering throughout the match, with Bossman's only attempts to stop him being to slowly wander over, by which point the damage is done. Even Sean Mooney points out how useless the Bossman is here. Bravo's offence is really dull, all chokes and punches, and the only thing stopping a bearhug being tedious is how well Hogan sells it. Hogan has the smarts to nearly break it, before letting Bravo sinch it in again, to keep the crowd into the match. Bravo hits his finishing side suplex, but Hogan kicks out on two, Hulks up and swiftly hits the big boot and legdrop to win. Poor match.
Haku vs the British Bulldog
This must be early in the Bulldog's comeback, as he's only billed as "Davey Boy Smith" here. We come in joined in progress with Bulldog holding a sleeper. We've got two big lads who can move here, highlighted by a nice crossbody and a crucifix by Smith. He also takes a huge bump from a back bodydrop. Haku is pretty methodical here, and holds Smith in two consecutive restholds for a little bit too long. Bulldog gets little comebacks, but Haku is pretty good at cutting them off. Bulldog at one point breaks a sleeper, but ends up being hurled upside down to the corner. There is a midring collision, where Davey Boy somehow recovers quicker, despite being beaten up for the past 5-7 minutes. Davey locks in a sharpshooter, but Bobby Heenan pushes to rope to Haku to force a break. Bulldog sends Haku flying with a back bodydrop of his own, and the running powerslam gets three. Nice to get a decent length match here.
Randy Savage vs Hacksaw Jim Duggan
There are a lot of smoke and mirrors in this match, but I don't really think they needed the help. Both guys put in a really good effort in the match. I loved Duggan's big punches early on, which Savage sells big time. Sensational Sherri attacks Duggan to give Savage an opening, and I love Duggan's selling here. Not only is he not afraid to sell for a lady, he also does a great job of making Savage look good. There is a great bit where Duggan slowly gets to his feet, getting fired up, only to turn into a top rope ax handle by Savage, and this leads up to Savage trying again a few minutes later, only for Duggan to be ready with a clothesline to the gut. Savage takes two big bumps, one from the ring to the floor then one from the floor over the guardrail. Hacksaw levels him with a chair, which doesn't draw a DQ somehow. The big knee only gets two after Sherri distracts the ref, but Duggan is smart enough not to take his eye off Savage as he yells at her, and avoids a sneak attack. Savage misses the top rope elbow, but the three point stance from Duggan sends the Macho King to the outside. The ref gets bumped, giving Duggan a visual fall, before Savage levels him with a weapon. A slow count from the ref means this only gets two as the drama gets cranked up, before Savage pins him with his feet on the rope to win. Really good match, with great effort from both men.
Randy Savage vs the Ultimate Warrior
This is a cage match, though they battle outside the cage at first, following a misguided attempt at a sneak attack by Savage. Warrior wipes the floor with him. I would be remiss in not mentioning how fucking unbearable Brother Love is on commentary. The opening stages are so slow, as Savage hurls Warrior into the cage with a handful of trunks, then both guys get VERY slowly to their feet. A double clothesline spot puts both down, and they act like they've worked an iron man match when we're only 5 mins in. Savage wears Warrior down with chokes and eye rakes, before the top rope elbow only gets two. Warrior fires back with the usual, but the splash hits knees. Suddenly, the match is nearly over as Savage climbs almost all the way out, only for Warrior to grab him by the hair. Sherri comes in to interfere and bang, Savage falls to the floor a victor. Terrible match, with no real drama or pacing. After, Warrior beats up Savage and looks to be about to beat Sherri before a sudden cut.
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