Scott Steiner vs Konnan
Only a brief taster of a match, with Steiner basically
running over Konnan for two minutes before the NWO run in. Still, it’s fun to
watch Steiner hurl Konnan about with a t-bone suplex and a big press slam
before the hubbub.
Chavo Guerrero Jr & Super Calo vs Silver King & La
Parka
This was a blast, as much fun as you’d expect from these
guys given 5 minutes. La Parka sets the tone early when he bumps onto his head
when he gets legswept into the ropes. Calo gets briefly worked over, with
Silver King draping him off the apron to allow Parka to hit a pescado stomp in
a nutty spot. Silver King drops him with a big Eye of the Storm. Calo makes the
tag after an awkward double enzuigiri spot where Calo has boots from both Parka
and King, they both try an enzuigiri and you can’t tell who is supposed to have
been hit. I assume that Calo is supposed to have ducked as he brings Chavo in,
who looks great. He moves so well, culminating with him taking out Parka with a
suicide dive and Calo pins King after a top rope flying headscissors.
Marty Jannetty vs Dean Malenko
So this was an unexpected little gem. I mean, both guys are
capable of great things, but it’s as if the stars aligned to catch them both at
their best. You’d probably not think of Marty Jannetty as a great matworker,
but here he is keeping up with Malenko in a competitive opening section.
Neither gets a sustained run of control, as there’s always a stiff punch or a
well-timed kick to break things up. Loved Malenko hitting a series of shoulder
barges in the corner, only for Marty to lift a big knee to smack Malenko in the
face. Malenko hits a neat low angle crossbody and Marty gets a nearfall with a
victory roll, before Malenko is able to escape a Rocker Dropper, hit a double
underhook powerbomb and lock in the Texas Cloverleaf for the win. Great stuff.
Goldberg vs Kendall Windham
Fun squash, with Goldberg surprising Windham from the bell
by snatching a leg and locking in a rolling leglock. Windham hits a lovely big
punch and a clothesline, but Goldberg hits the spear and the Jackhammer to win.
Rey Mysterio Jr vs Eddie Guerrero
Only brief, but you give these guys a few minutes and they’ll
still give you gold. They cut a quick pace from the start, Rey sending Eddie to
the floor with a tilt-a-whirl armdrag. Rey is wearing a kneebrace, so Eddie
trips him from the floor and hits a slingshot senton onto the knee. Eddie keeps
focus on the knee to wear Rey down, before hitting a big brainbuster. Rey sends
him to the floor and hits a big tope con hilo, but Chris Jericho comes out to
attack for the DQ…
Chris Jericho vs Chris Benoit
In a nice little block of TV, Jericho and Eddie beat down
Rey, drawing out Benoit who was due to face Jericho later on in the show. Eddie
sees him and swiftly leaves, leaving Jericho to turn around face to face with
an angry Benoit who attacks to start the match. Jericho plays a cat and mouse
game, constantly fleeing the ring to try and lure out Benoit. Eventually, he
fakes a knee injury, allowing him to pull Benoit into the corner, hitting his
head on a turnbuckle. Jericho hits the Lionsault (no cover), a surprisingly
nice forearm and a top rope superplex, but Benoit lands on his feet on a back
suplex and gets a surprise German. Dig Benoit, while still recovering, using
Jericho’s momentum against him, avoiding a charge and letting Jericho
essentially stungun himself. Benoit ducks a clothesline, and locks in the
crossface, with Jericho tapping before the hold is even applied. A glorious piece
of cowardice, with his cruiserweight title match in two days.
Rick Martel vs Saturn
This was set up by Saturn throwing Martel through a plate
glass window earlier in the night, so Martel is fired up from the start,
rushing the ring, sending Saturn to the floor and hurling him into the steps.
Martel is such a good fired up face, it makes you wonder why his most
well-known WWF run saw him primarily as a heel. Saturn needs a Flock
distraction to get back into it and, when Martel jars his shoulder on a corner
charge, Saturn goes right into a Fujiwara armbar. Really liked Saturn’s focus
on the injured shoulder, locking in a cross-armbreaker. Also liked Martel
reversing it into a Regal Stretch, but not being able to properly hold a
crossface due to his arm hurting. Saturn goes for some quick pins, including a
nice Rings of Saturn into a pinning combination, but Martel rolls through a
sunset flip and locks in the Quebec Crab to win.
Scott Hall vs The Giant
It’ll come as no surprise to learn this ends with outside
interference. What we do get is pretty good, and it’s an unselfish performance
by Hall to let Giant look so good. He gets hurled from the start after cockily
getting in Giant’s face, he gets picked up and placed on the top rope after
trying a front facelock, and his attempt at a top rope move sees him caught in
a big bearhug. We’ve seen Big Show for years, and by now have a good idea how
big he is, but it’s still impressive to see him ragdoll a guy the size of Hall.
We get the inevitable melee of faces, with Hogan, Nash, Luger and Savage all
getting involved, but the ref doesn’t throw the match out until Giant
chokeslams Hall and Nash breaks the count, drawing a DQ. Hall basically let
Giant destroy him here.
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