World Class Championship Wrestling 15/01/1983

This is the first episode of World Class after the Freebirds turned heel on Kerry von Erich in his NWA title match against Flair, and in keeping with that, this is a very Freebirds heavily episode

Buddy Roberts vs Brian Adidas

Adidas looks pretty awkward in the early stages, stumbling running the ropes, taking a monkey flip clumsily and hitting a poor pair of dropkicks. Roberts takes over by cheapshotting on a rope break, and levels Adidas with some big shots, including nasty knees and kicks to the head. Buddy continues by working the arm of Adidas, including a nice bit where he keeps trying pinfalls while holding the ropes, moving just in time to avoid getting caught. It’s a familiar spot, but executed really well, as the ref never catches him doing it, but is suspicious of the shaking ropes, until the third time when he catches Roberts in the act. Felt natural, as opposed to “a bit”. Adidas gets two on a terrible sunset flip, and Roberts gets a series of two counts from a swinging neckbreaker and a backbreaker, before the time limit expires. Great stuff from Roberts.

Michael Hayes vs Al Madril

The crowd is absolutely molten for this, popping every time Madril lands a shot. Hayes stalls a lot in the early stages, not giving the fired up Madril a chance to retain control. Hayes rakes Madril’s eyes to take over, and goes to work wearing him down, with chinlocks and kneedrops keeping Al on the mat. Madril gets openings, and is always fired up on his comebacks, but Hayes is really good at stopping him in his tracks. Hayes looks to have it won with a piledriver, but decides instead to keep attacking Madril, drawing out Jose Lothario for the DQ win.

Bill Irwin vs Andre The Giant vs Terry Gordy vs King Kong Bundy vs Kerry von Erich vs Bugsy McGraw

This is a six man battle royal, with pins and submissions, with the winner claiming $5,000. Michael Hayes is accompanying Gordy, and pays dividends early, as von Erich focuses his entire attack on Gordy, going after him from the off. However, a distraction by Hayes lets Gordy shockingly eliminate him early. Andre is always a threat in battle royals, but here his gameplan is very odd – just keep strangling Terry Gordy. He just wont let go of Gordy, even when Bundy jumps on him from the second rope. He breaks the hold for a moment, then goes right back to choking Gordy. McGraw is eliminated by Bundy, leaving Andre 3-1 against the heels. They team up, FINALLY getting Andre off Gordy for a period of time. Gordy and Bundy hold Andre by the arms, to allow Irwin to attack, but Andre soon escapes, eliminating Irwin with an atomic drop. Hayes stops Andre eliminating Gordy, and Andre goes after him…climbing over the top in the process, and eliminating himself. This leaves Bundy vs Gordy, two heels and, after Bundy misses the avalanche, Gordy dropkicks him out.Very strange match, mainly dedicated to Andre choking Gordy, but quite enjoyable.

WWF Maple Leaf Gardens 02/10/1984

Greg Valentine vs SD Jones

This is for Valentine’s IC title, a belt you’d really have to suspend your belief to imagine SD winning. This is pretty slow in places, but I kinda dug it. Valentine adds a bit of flavour to the match, faking off from a Jones attack, getting his boot caught when trying a kick then getting spun into an atomic drop that he sells with a comical sell. He misses an elbow, and Jones wisely starts working over this arm as his focal point. In turn, Valentine focuses his attack on SD’s legs in preparation for the figure four. However, Jones grabs a big old handful of tights to stop him locking the hold in. They fight on the floor, but Valentine gets in first due to Jones being slowed by his hurt leg, and Valentine is able to hit a back suplex for the win.

Nikolai Volkoff vs Rocky Johnson

This was much less interesting. I liked Volkoff repeatedly teasing to the audience behind the refs back that he just might have a foreign object in his tights, drawing decent heat, especially as it never actually plays into the ending of the match. Volkoff’s actual offence is sloppy here though, missing a kneedrop awkwardly and hitting really weak boots to the gut. Johnson is nicely fired up, really liked him peppering Volkoff with a few shots, which Volkoff counters with a wild swing that misses. Nikolai controls a bulk of this match, but Johnson makes a comeback, only for Volkoff to use this momentum against him and drop him throat-first on the ropes for the win.

Davey Boy Smith & Dynamite Kid vs Goldie Rogers & Bobby Bass

The future British Bulldogs aren’t billed as such here. However, this feels like a great showcase for them. They spend the majority of the match outsmarting and outpacing the heels, who stooge about for them wonderfully. The heels even work a fun sequence of spots where the one on the apron won’t tag in for fear of taking some of the Bulldogs’s offence. This must have looked so ahead of it’s time, as the Bulldogs are an offensive dynamo. There’s a slight bit of heel heat as Davey Boy gets worked on the mat, but by the end DBS is able to plant Bass with a tombstone and hoist an onrushing Rogers onto his shoulder, allowing Dynamite to leap onto Rodgers as a launchpad to hit a diving headbutt for the win.

Andre the Giant vs Kamala

I realised as they approached a steel cage on that familiar rampway, that I’ve already reviewed this match for the WWE’s True Giants set. Didn’t like it then, still found it dull here. Andre attacks at the bell to at least start this with some fire, and Kamala at plays the character well by acting like a scared caged animal, but nothing really happens. Andre hits some big chops, but a lot of this is just Kamala trying for the door and Andre grabbing his leg. For nearly twenty minutes. By the time Andre finishes Kamala with a pair of buttsplashes, I was desperate for it to finish. Not a good match.

WWF WrestleMania I

One thing I've realised in my time writing this blog is that it serves as a useful resource to myself when I'm trying to remember what I think about a certain match. Sometimes, as a ageing 36 year old, my memories of matches are just like fading fingerprints on an abandoned handrail (to paraphrase Bob Mortimer). Thus I've decided it might be fun/useful to work through the PPV's of the WWF to act as a kind of archive for my thoughts. Ergo, here's Wrestlemania I

Tito Santana vs The Executioner

Executioner is, of course, Buddy Rose. The ropes here are super loose. I kinda got used to it, but it felt really noticeable here. This is neatly worked to make Tito look good, loved him working a headlock, even running up the ropes to get a headlock takeover. Executioner had cut a pre-match promo stating he was going to take out Santana’s legs, and to his credit he starts to focus his offence on them. However, Tito fires up leading to a nice little run by both guys – Santana slams Executioner from the top rope, but eats knees on a splash. Santana slams Executioner back into the ring from the apron, hits a flying forearm and locks in the figure four for a straightforward victory.

King Kong Bundy vs SD Jones

I mean, it’s obvious that this goes longer than the 9 seconds they bill it as, but it’s still a fun deal. Just a nice squash, makes Bundy look killer.

Ricky Steamboat vs Matt Borne

Enjoyed the fun opening stages that establish Steamboat’s superiority to Borne, luring him into running into a chop and slipping out of back suplexes. Borne comes back with a nice belly-to-belly suplex. Both guys exchange nice snug blows, with Steamboat hitting a few choice kneedrops. Steamboat hits a nice top rope crossbody for the win.

David Sammartino vs Brutus Beefcake

Considering how much longer than the previous match this was, there’s very little to say about it. Pretty sluggish stuff, with Sammartino controlling on the mat. He’s not a compelling mat worker, doing some leg work that doesn’t seem to be leading anywhere. Beefcake in control was more interesting, as at least his blows hit with some force. His elbow to the nose in the corner was pretty nasty. Johnny Valliant attacks David on the floor, and we get a big melee leading to a double DQ with Bruno Sammartino getting in and the faces clearing the ring.

Greg Valentine vs the Junkyard Dog

I enjoyed this. Valentine has a good gameplan, going for JYD’s legs as soon as he was on the mat. Also, unlike Sammartino, Valentine’s legwork has a clear end goal and actually looks like it’s going to cause some damage. Loved Valentine’s face first plant to the mat when JYD shoves off a figure four attempt. JYD sells the leg nicely, backing into a corner when on his feet to shield it, and walking gingerly on it when he’s got control. Jimmy Hart ends up taking a big bump when Valentine hits him by accident, falling backwards to the floor, before the Hammer gets a cheat pin in the corner with his foot on the ropes. Post match, Tito Santana comes in to get the result reversed.

The US Express (Barry Windham & Mike Rotunda) vs The Iron Sheik & Nikolai Volkoff

Fastly paced little tag sprint, with the US Express looking great to kick off. Nice quick tags and maintaining complete control. The heels get heat on Rotunda, including a nice moment when Rotunda holds onto a hammerlock when getting to his feet to try and make a comeback, with Jesse Ventura and Gorilla Monsoon nicely putting over the instincts of an amateur wrestler to do this. Sheik locks on a sloppy abdominal stretch, which Rotunda hiptosses out of, and Windham is a great hot tag, working at a really high pace. However, he gets taken out by Sheik using Freddie Blassie’s cane and the heels pick up the win and the tag belts.

Andre the Giant vs Big John Studd

This is the $15,000 slam match, with Studd’s money vs Andre’s career. I wrote this up for the Andre the Giant DVD a few years ago, and I agree pretty much with what I wrote then. A pretty brief bout, with Andre never looking in any danger. He wears down Studd with some chokes, a few big chops and a bearhug. He even catches a Studd boot and beats him down before getting a slam from nowhere to win the match.

Wendi Richter vs Leilani Kai

Super hot crowd for this, with Richter trying to regain her women’s title. Cyndi Lauper is the manager for Richter here, which has made this a featured bout for the show. Lots of token matwork to start, which does at least lead to a nice power spot as Kai gets caught in a bodyscissors and lifts up Richter from the mat. Impressive spot. Richter gets Kai on her shoulders and hits what looks like Sean O’Haire’s old Widowmaker finisher for two. This is perfectly fine, aided by a hot crowd, but the ending is terrible. Kai hits a top rope crossbody, but Richter clumsily rolls through for the win.

Hulk Hogan & Mr T vs Roddy Piper & Paul Orndorff

This match is so carefully orchestrated to milk the maximum reaction from the crowd. The audience pops big when Mr T tags in to face Piper, and there’s been no contact made by anyone. T works a nice little mat section with Piper, before we get a big melee, drawing in Muhammed Ali and an even bigger pop. The heels start to walk out for a fake count out spot, and the crowd are pissed. Just glorious conducting of the crowd. The match starts properly, and the faces outsmart the heels, who stooge about fabulously. There’s a real feeling of chaos and things about to breakdown at any time, as people keep getting into the ring, Bob Orton keeps getting on the apron and Ali on the verge of having to reappear and keep order. There’s two heat sections, on Hogan and on T, and I loved Piper when he is working over Hogan, including a lovely wind-up running punch. We get another melee, and in the mess Bob Orton accidentally hits Orndorff with his cast, leaving him to get pinned by Hogan for the win. Just really well-worked crowd pleasing stuff, with a hot crowd getting built to a fever pitch.

WWF Philadelphia Spectrum 19/02/1983

Jose Estrada vs Curt Hennig

Pretty decent opener. Hennig is really early into his career here, and is obviously lacking some of the polish he’ll have in in just a few years time. A lot of the early stages of this match are based around front facelocks, with Hennig grounding Estrada for a long time with one, and later Estrada holding one of his own. Outside of the front facelocks, both guys looks pretty fired up. Loved the short knee to the head hit after Estrada placed Hennig on the top rope and Estrada catching Henning with a big shot on a leapfrog. The end sees Estrada roll through a top rope crossbody to win.

Mac Rivera vs Johnny Rodz

Rivera jumps Rodz to start here, and even cheapshots him over the refs shoulder, but Rodz controls the majority of the bout. Really liked Rodz on offence here, thought his execution was excellent. Lovely diving fist from the second rope and I loved him causally stepping over a dropdown in order to attack. A stomp to the throat from the second rope looked nasty. They maybe throw in a few too many headlocks, seems to be peppered in between every 2-3 moves, but the meat of this was good. Rodz wins after side stepping a backdrop and hitting a back elbow for three.

Tony Garea vs Charlie Fulton

Like the Hennig match, Garea is more than happy to hold onto a headlock for a while. It takes Fulton cheapshotting on a break to take over. Nothing Fulton does is fancy, but it provides a welcome change of pace and his focus on Garea’s back is nicely done with Irish whips to the corner and a bearhug. Garea takes a big bump over the top to the floor and there’s a mix up on commentary as they think Garea has won it with a sunset flip. He hasn’t, but an O’Connor Roll gets the win moments later.

Swede Hanson vs SD Jones

Bit uncomfortable to watch in places, as you watch a tubby looking redneck, who’d come to the ring with the Confederate flag, slapping about SD. There’s some neat strikes by both, some nice kneedrops and Jones hits a nice diving headbutt as he gets up. The end sees Jones going for an airplane spin, but Hanson holds the ropes and falls on top for the victory.

Baron Mikel Scicluna vs Eddie Gilbert

Interestingly, Gorilla Monsoon says on commentary that the Baron has the flu, giving him a bit of an out for the upcoming result. Slightly clunky match, early on Baron gets caught up in the ropes Andre The Giant style, and Gilbert doesn’t really do anything, which kinda deflates the crowd. Scicluna controls with some weak blows, but Gilbert is at least fired up on his comeback. He misses a crossbody, but gets a sunset flip to win.

Bob Backlund vs Big John Studd

Not a great match, but a fun Backlund performance. He works an enjoyable cat and mouse sequence with Studd early on, ending with a leg lock on the big man. Studd doesn’t offer much offensively, aside from a nice elbow, but Backlund works the crowd nicely, getting them fired up for a near slam. He also really works a hammerlock, torqueing the arm. Studd controls a good chunk of the match, not particularly memorably, but Backlund fires back, locking on the crossface chickenwing from the apron, and climbing back into the ring just a second too late and getting counted out. Match result keeps both men strong and builds to a rematch, but it felt like it dragged when Studd was in control

The Wild Samoans vs the Strongbow Brothers

This is 2/3 falls and a bit of a mess. It really feels like the Samoans should just be able to wipe the floor with the unimpressive Strongbows, but instead they get controlled by the Strongbows ineffectively working an arm on Afa. The Samoans eventually work heat on Jules Strongbow, choking him out with wrist tape, hidden from the ref. Eventually Jay Strongbow has enough, and chokes both Samoans with their sarongs, getting disqualified for the first fall. The second fall sees the brawl continue and Jay getting choked on the outside. The Samoans crotch Jules on the top rope for the win in two straight falls. Not much to enjoy here.

Andre the Giant, Jimmy Snuka, Rocky Johnson, Pedro Morales & Sal Bellomo vs Buddy Rose, Mr Fuji, Ray Stevens, Billy Graham & Don Muraco

This, on the other hand, is a total crowd pleaser of a main event. It’s 3/5 falls, which allows for a lot of possibilities and fun nearfalls. The tone is set as Rose and Stevens pinball all around the ring for Johnson’s armdrags. The crowd is hot for everything, and everyone involved seems to be motivated, which is great. Muraco takes a big dive over the top from an Andre boot, only to be awkwardly shoved back in by his partners. Lots of goofy selling, Graham takes a tree fall bump from an Andre chop, whilst Muraco makes himself really dizzy hitting an airplane spin on Bellomo. A belly to belly on the hapless Bellomo by Fuji gives the heels a one fall lead and a bit of heat is worked on Sal after that. The falls are equalised when Fuji tries to slam Bellomo, but Snuka dropkicks Sal on top for three. The end comes quickly as everything breaks down. Snuka hits a sunset flip on Rose to make it 2-1, before Andre rampages everyone, hitting Rose with a big boot and buttdrop for the victory. Immensely enjoyable.

WWF Prime Time Wrestling 09/06/1986

George Steele vs Adrian Adonis

Obviously, there is only so much that you can do with Steele, so the fact this is quite fun is pretty impressive. Adonis controls with some nice punches and an assortment of chokes, before Steele takes control with a foreign object. Adonis is a lot of fun here, taking a huge bump over the corner and hamming it up when a wobbly rope causes him to crotch himself on the top turnbuckle. We get a ref bump, allowing Adonis to survive Steele’s hammerlock submission and roll him up for the win. This was fun.

Steve Lombardi vs Tony Parisi

This is less fun, but that’s mainly because Lombardi isn’t much cop. Parisi is impressive here, he was winding down at this point, but still has really good movement, wrestling quickly around Lombardi. Lombardi locks on a lengthy chinlock, before Parisi takes a big bump over the top rope to the ramp. Lombardi’s generic offence sadly means that this match does drag a bit, but Parisi nails him with a corner elbow and a cannonball for the win.

The Rougeau Brothers vs Terry Gibbs & Hercules

Well, I wonder who will eat the pin here. This is a pretty decent tag match, nothing spectacular, but good solid formula stuff. I enjoyed the early spot where Herc challenges Raymond to an arm wrestle in the middle of the ring and is winning, only for Herc to poke his eyes to take control. Jacques becomes face-in-peril after missing a springboard crossbody from the corner. Heels control decently enough, showing some actual continuity by holding hands on an abdominal stretch or Gibbs holding Rougeau in the ring after making a tag. Raymond is all action on the hot tag and we end up with all four guys in the ring. In the melee, Raymond hits a missile dropkick on Gibbs to win.

The Moondogs vs Tony Parks & Nelson Veilleux

Fun squash, where the faces get a little shine before Veilleux becomes the face in peril. The Moondogs are nicely stiff here, with Spot hitting a vicious shoulderbreaker and Rex nailing a nasty looking kneelift. Loved Rex holding a headlock and punching Veilleux in the face as he releases. Parks gets tagged in (because Rex lets him), but his fire is soon snuffed out by a big Rex powerslam and a decapitation elbow.

Andre the Giant vs Alexis Smirnoff

Basic, though fun, squash where Alexis tries ill-advised moves like a hiptoss and a flying headscissors that Andre is easily able to block. Andre holds an armbar for maybe a bit too long before ending a brief Smirnoff flurry with headbutts, a big boot and a butt splash.

SD Jones & Paul Roma vs The Menace & Jim Haley

Not much to this one. The faces do some basic arm work to both heels, lots of arm wringers and ax handles from the turnbuckles, before Roman hits Haley with a powerslam to win. Nothing bout.

King Kong Bundy vs Tony Atlas

Fun opening spot, as Atlas crashes and burns on two attempted shoulderblocks, but has more success taking Bundy down with a crossbody. Sadly, Bundy is really not up for much in this match, some very slow and plodding offence. Atlas nicely blocks an avalanche with a headbutt from the corner, but Bundy quickly hits him with another avalanche and a big elbow to win. 

Mid-South Wrestling 16/01/1982

Bryan Blair vs The Monk

Fun stuff with Blair just working smoothly around the Monk, looking for ways to take him over to the mat. Monk gets a little shine, nice suplex, but Blair takes him down with an Abdominal Stretch pin for the win.

Ernie Ladd & the Wild Samoans vs Dusty Rhodes, Andre the Giant & Junkyard Dog

My opinion on this hasn’t changed since reviewing it for the True Giants DVD:

This is a really quick sprint, but it’s a load of fun. It’s not pretty, but they work a high tempo and keep the tags quick enough to maintain that pace. Loved the heels trying to isolate Andre in their corner, only for him to free himself, dragging Ladd and one of the Samoans with him as he gets to his own corner. The heels find it hard to gain any traction, until Ladd breaks an Andre pin with a legdrop, and

the Samoans slam Andre. Things quickly break down and Andre is able to hit a 2^nd rope splash on Ladd for the win.

Mr Olympia vs Carlos Zapata

Olympia just works circles around Zapata, moving quickly and with pace. Loved the match winning sleeper, Olympia just hooks Zapata viciously around the neck and Zapata makes these amazing facials as he dozes off.

Ed Wiskowski vs Tommy Wright

Wiskowski is a fun beast here, dominating the bout after stomping Wright on the mat following a roll-up, and Wright is never able to fully recover. Wiskowski is nicely stiff, with fun little touches like holding Wright by the hair in order to punch him in the face. Love the splash to the back as Wright is sat up, and a backbreaker gets the easy win.

Dick Murdoch vs Bob Roop

This is really neat, loved the start with Murdoch anticipating a Roop cheapshot, and sidestepping, causing Roop to amusingly spin past him. Roop does a lot of work on Dick’s wrist, adding just enough little touches and bits of digit manipulation to keep it interesting. In places it verges on just holding Murdoch by the wrist, then Roop will just add a little something at the right time to mix it up. Murdoch fires back, but Paul Orndorff interferes on the outside, tripping Dick’s leg on the brainbuster attempt, causing Roop to fall on top for two. Murdoch leaps over a trip attempt when running the ropes, but Orndorff interferes to draw the DQ. Fun stuff.

The Wild Samoans vs Frank Monte & Jesse Barr

Ernie Ladd paid off the original opponents for Monte and Barr to let the Samoans replace them, and this is a massacre. Lots of stiff looking headbutts from the Samoans, both standing and diving, whilst an attempted crossbody by Barr is met with a stiff elbow to the face. Samoan Drop ends the beating.

Mike George vs Bob Orton Jr

Surprisingly brief – only four minutes long – but a lot of fun. Both men throw some meaty looking blows, and I loved the stiff looking elbows thrown by Orton. The end is pretty nifty, as George powers Orton into the turnbuckles and fluidly grabs him in a side Russian leg sweep for the win. Wish this was 3-4 times longer.

WWE True Giants - Disk One

As a fan of the Big Lads of pro-wrestling, this was a really great 3 disk collection put out last year. The documentary part was really fun, and then 2 disks were just made up of some really interesting looking matches. This is the first disk, with the other one hopefully coming up later this week.

Bruno Sammartino vs Ernie Ladd

Pretty enjoyable match for the most part, with Ladd working a load of fun cheating into the match. They establish before the bell rings that Ladd has a thumb weapon hidden on his person that you know will come into play at some point. Really liked Ladd’s sense of positioning, using his long legs to put his feet on the ropes when applying a bearhug to Bruno, and constantly circling whilst choking Bruno to prevent the referee seeing what he’s doing. Bruno makes a comeback, and Ladd bumps big for him, seesawing himself in the ropes. Ladd retrieves his weapon and uses it to take advantage again. Ladd hits some weak looking shoulderblocks, but his big legdrop looks as good as ever. Ladd misses a top rope splash, however, and that’s good enough for the pin for Sammartino.

Gorilla Monsoon vs Superstar Billy Graham

I can only assume they didn’t have many Monsoon matches in the archives, as this is pretty poor. Shame, as it starts off really well. Graham tries to knock Monsoon down, with Monsoon barely reacting. Suddenly, Monsoon explodes with his own shoulderblock to down Graham, quickly locks on a giant swing and then blasts Graham with a splash, with only the ropes saving Superstar. So great, it just came out of nowhere and suddenly Graham was nearly done. From then on, it’s all Superstar. He takes control with a low blow and applies two back-to-back bearhugs on Monsoon. He continues working the lower back, ramming Monsoon into the railings outside then hits a top rope kneedrop for the anticlimactic win (with Monsoon’s feet clearly in the ropes). Graham’s control was pretty dull and this went rapidly downhill after the fun opening.

Haystacks Calhoun vs Nikolai Volkoff

Very quick match. Some basic brawling to start, before Calhoun traps Volkoff in the corner and splashes him. Volkoff misses a knee charge and gets splashed for the win. Nothing to this.

Ernie Ladd vs Kerry von Erich

Bit scrappy this one, I’ve seen better from these two. There’s just too many moments where it feels like they aren’t on the same page, and have to slow it down to reset. That said, there were good things here too. Ladd is so good at using his size to immediately reach for the ropes when Von Erich puts any hold on him, and I love little things like shaking his own hand after a chop because he hit Kerry so hard. Kerry wears the Big Cat down by ramming his head into the turnbuckles, with Ladd slowly going down to a knee and getting rammed into the middle buckles. Ladd takes over with a foreign object, just as in the Bruno match, but there’s some fun turnabout as Kerry grabs the fist and causes Ladd to hit himself instead. These moments just make it more frustrating when things go off the rails again, before Kerry wins with a sloppy top rope sunset flip.

Ernie Ladd & the Wild Samoans vs Andre The Giant, Dusty Rhodes & Junkyard Dog

This is a really quick sprint, but it’s a load of fun. It’s not pretty, but they work a high tempo and keep the tags quick enough to maintain that pace. Loved the heels trying to isolate Andre in their corner, only for him to free himself, dragging Ladd and one of the Samoans with him as he gets to his own corner. The heels find it hard to gain any traction, until Ladd breaks an Andre pin with a legdrop, and the Samoans slam Andre. Things quickly break down and Andre is able to hit a 2^nd rope splash on Ladd for the win.

King Kong Bundy vs Dusty Rhodes

Two big boys colliding here. Dusty outpaces Bundy to start, peppering him with punches. Dusty gets huge reactions just by teasing the elbow. Bundy works a bearhug, which is fun as they pepper in fun comebacks for Dusty. Dusty elbows his way to freedom and peppers Bundy’s head with more elbows, busting him open. This cues up One Man Gang to enter and draw the DQ ending. Fun match

Hulk Hogan vs Big John Studd

This seems to be right at the start of Bobby Heenan’s WWF run, with Gene Okerlund and Monsoon basically introducing him to the audience with their commentary. Hogan is so great in this match, all fired up and ready to fight. He absolutely nails Studd with a running back elbow in the corner, which looks great. Studd takes over after blocking a slam, and he’s really not a fun offensive wrestler. Just methodical clubbing blows. Hogan bleeds nastily, with blood smearing the ring apron and his white trunks, and this seems to fire him up. Hogan’s angry attack is great, but they end up fighting outside the ring, with Heenan pushing Studd back in to beat the count at Hogan’s expense. This was the best Studd match I’ve seen, and that’s because Hogan brought the fire.

Kamala vs Andre The Giant

This is a cage match, and is exceptionally tedious. The start is fine, with Andre ramming Kamala into the cage causing Kamala to want to find a way out quickly. He does manage to overwhelm Andre and nail a splash, but tries for a pin due to not knowing the rules. We then endure a LOOOOOONG stretch of Kamala chopping and choking Andre, trying to escape, Andre grabbing his foot, repeat ad infinitum. This is finally broken by Andre grabbing Kamala and choking him out, slamming him and nailing a top rope buttdrop before escaping. This was terrible.

One Man Gang vs Shawn Michaels

Complete squash. Gang clubs Michaels to the floor, hits a big clothesline and powerslam in the ring and finishes with the 747

The British Bulldogs vs King Kong Bundy & Big John Studd

Same match as from the Bulldogs’ VHS I wrote about 5 years ago. Decent little match, with the Bulldogs using speed and superior double-teaming to control early on, but suffering as soon as Bundy isolates Davey Boy. Bundy is clearly better than Studd, with his offence looking far more painful and moving with more speed. Bit of a cheap ending as Dynamite Kid suddenly runs in, locking on a sleeper that looks like he’s pulling Studd’s head off, and we get a DQ win for the Bulldogs as Studd pushes the referee over. This was fine.

One Man Gang vs Ted DiBiase

Really liked DiBiase here, showed great babyface fire. Gang was the perfect foil, not only having good control and convincingly wearing DiBiase down, but also allowing for well timed openings on DiBiase’s comebacks. A missed elbow by Gang shakes the ring, and I loved how DiBiase keeps moving wherever possible. Gang misses the 747, and DiBiase tries a figure four. Gang’s leg strength sends Ted into the ropes, where he bumps heads with Skandor Akbar, the Gang’s manager. DiBiase is out, and Gang hits the 747 to the back, before hitting one from the second rope to confirm the pinfall victory. Really dug this.

Andre The Giant vs Randy Savage

This is for Savage’s WWF title. Some fun hullaballoo to start, with the ref sending Bobby Heenan to the back. Andre sneak attacks to start, hitting a big headbutt to send Savage to the floor. Even better, when Savage is on the apron, he hits a massive chop to bring Savage back into the ring. Loved Savage’s comeback where he just runs right by a big boot and hits a clothesline to tie Andre up in the ropes. Andre frees an arm and one chop is enough to stagger Savage, playing up Andre’s size advantage. Savage goes up and hits the double-axe handle, but misses the top rope elbow (with terrible camera work missing the whole thing). Andre goes to the floor and tries to grab Elizabeth, leading to a brawl and double count out. Disappointing ending. The post-match is pretty wild, with Andre grabbing the belt and roughing up the referee, demanding to be declared champion. Andre stands alone in the ring with the title to round out this disk.

WWF - Andre The Giant

I believe this is an old CHV release that they just directly ported to DVD, but it's nice to see they used full matches on this release, was expecting a whole bunch of clipping

Andre the Giant vs Moondog Rex

Quick little squash to show Andre’s physical dominance. Some fun little touches with Andre booting Rex up the arse as he tried to cower in the ropes, and I liked the raw power of Andre lifting Rex off the mat by the belt. Big boot and splash get the win.

Battle Royale

Real who’s who of names here….Hogan, Orndorff, Dick Murdoch, Mil Mascaras, Pat Patterson….and Salvatore Bellomo. Even the commentators don’t know who’s in there, as Gorilla Monsoon occasionally blurts out “Is that Alexis Smirnoff in there?” Fun spot sees Murdoch and Adrian Adonis try and take out Andre in the corner, only to get shrugged off with ease. Terrible camerawork means we almost miss Big John Studd getting eliminated by Hogan then dragging him out of the ring. Somehow, as we hit the final furlongs of the match, Smirnoff and Tiger Chun Lee are still in there, with Smirnoff making the final four. Alexis is soon dispatched, taking a massive bump over the top from an Andre atomic drop, before the Giant eliminates Murdoch and Adonis to win. This was fun.

Andre the Giant vs Black Gordman & Great Goliath

Handicap match, and pre-match Alfred Hayes highlights the empty front rows, as promoters were so worried about Andre throwing his opponents into the crowd, that they left those seats empty. Fans eat up all the size spots, laughing at Gordman trying to slam Andre and loving Andre placing Gordman on the top rope and slapping him. Goliath tries a go behind, but Andre rams his backside at him so hard, he flies out into the empty front row.  Just as the one-sided beating is wearing thin, Andre misses a corner charge and Gordman works him over with a concealed weapon. No matter, as Andre soon shows off his power, locking both men in a big body scissors and hitting a monkey flip on both men at the same time. Andre press slams Gordman onto Goliath and sits on the pair for the easy win.

Andre the Giant vs Johnny Rodz, Jack Evans & Joe Butcher Nova

Obviously not the Canadian high-flyer Jack Evans, though I’d love to see that. Andre repeats the body scissors/monkey flip spot from the previous handicap squash, so it was an obvious crowd pleaser. All three heels try a dogpile pin, which sees Andre power all three off. Nova and Rodz clash heads and Andre piles all three up and sits on them for the easy victory.

Andre the Giant vs Gorilla Monsoon

This is a boxing match from Puerto Rico, and is a lot of daft fun. None of this resembles a classic boxing match, with Monsoon punching Andre’s legs and hitting a spinning backfist of all things. Round 1 ends with Monsoon barely standing up, but he starts the second round in control until Andre hits a headbutt and a butt splash. Not strictly boxing moves. Andre hits three big roundhouses to the staggered Monsoon and stops him with an overhead punch for the KO in round 3. Stupid, but fun.

Andre The Giant & Jimmy Snuka vs The Wild Samoans

Man, Snuka is a pretty useless tag partner here. The first half of the match is just the Samoans destroying him whilst Andre watches on from the apron. To the point where now and then Andre will just get in the ring to hit a Samoan, probably through boredom. I did love Afa stopping Snuka getting a tag with a swift headbutt from the floor. Finally, Snuka tags in Andre to a MASSIVE pop, who blitzes the Samoans. Andre hits a big boot and Snuka hits a splash from Andre’s shoulders to pick up the win. The Samoans were fun on offence, so this was pretty decent.

Andre the Giant vs The Masked Superstar

Really enjoyed this. There’s a great visual early on where Superstar has a headlock on Andre, who just stands up with Superstar dangling from his neck. Andre dominates until Superstar hits a knee to the back and then wisely barrages Andre with blows until he falls to the floor. Superstar locks on a Cobra Clutch, but Andre escapes rather cheaply by trying to remove his opponents’ mask. Big boot and a butt splash seal the win.

Andre the Giant & SD Jones vs Ken Patera & Big John Studd

More angle than match, but what an angle. The heels isolate Jones early and work him over. Jones tags out, but is thrown over the top by Patera, hitting his head on the metal railings in the process. The heels swarm Andre, leading to the match getting thrown out, and they get scissors from Bobby Heenan to cut Andre’s hair. Hot angle to set up….

Andre the Giant vs Ken Patera

This is billed as the revenge match and is from MSG. Patera stalls to avoid the angry giant, but eventually gets caught by Andre, who throttles Patera. The faces Patera makes as he gets swung back and forth are hilarious. Patera gets very little offence, but ragdolls about all over the match for Andre, pretty impressive considering Patera is no small guy. He’s unable to escape the Giant, even outside the ring where he gets hurled into the railings. Heenan attacks Andre with brass knuckles, which briefly slows him down, and draws a DQ. Andre soon recovers and squashes both Heenan and Patera in the corner. Really fun, made better by Patera’s commitment to getting destroyed.

Andre the Giant vs Big John Studd

This is the Wrestlemania slam challenge. The DVD commentary is done by Michael Cole and Tazz, but my DVD started skipping here, so I went to the network version. Forgot how brief and one-sided this is. Andre chops Studd to start before a long bearhug sequence. Andre maintains control and easily slams Studd. Wasn’t much to it, but I don’t think anyone was hoping there would be

AJPW Wrestling Summit 1990

So, I am still ongoing in my quest to get into Puro. However, sometimes it's nice to have a helping hand, and this show is a prime example of that. This show is a cross-promotion with the WWF, so I get the added benefit of my childhood heroes accompanying me on the ride

Jumbo Tsuruta & King Haku vs Rick Martel & Mr Perfect
it's kinda fun to see Haku working as a face here. Perfect begins the match by bumping for the two big men, before Haku becomes face in peril following a missed flipping senton. Haku isn't the only one here who busts out some flashier moves: after dropping repeated elbows on Haku to keep him down, Martel lets him get up and hits a rana on him. Martel then hits a springboard splash for two. Martel goes to the well again by trying for a second rana, but Haku drops him face first on the turnbuckle. The heels keep Haku in danger with some submission holds, but Haku gets knees up on a Martel splash, and gets the hot tag from Tsuruta. The pop Tsuruta gets is immense. Haku and Tsuruta work the heels over, culminating in Tsuruta hitting a picture perfect belly-to-back suplex on Martel for the win. Well executed formula tag match, with the added bonus of seeing guys like Martel and Haku bust out moves you don't normally see from them

Genichiro Tenryu vs Randy Savage
Fun stuff to start as Savage tries all kinds of mindgames to put off Tenryu, who stands there with a totally unconcerned look on his face. Savage takes the opening flurry of chops like a man, crumpling into the corner, but quickly taking advantage as Sherri distracts Tenryu. Tenryu regains control by back bodydropping Savage WAY over the top rope to the floor, then meeting him with a flying shoulderblock from the apron. Another Sherri distraction allows Savage to dominate again, but inside Tenryu hits Savage with an enzuigiri (complete with awesome wobbly legged Savage selljob). Sherri really earns her money by again giving Savage the advantage and this time he makes the most of it, which allows him to hit the big elbow, which only gets two. Savage escapes a powerbomb attempt, but hurts his knee on a crossbody. This allows Tenryu to hit another enzuigiri (with another fantastic sell by Savage) and the powerbomb for the win. As enjoyable as you'd expect from these two, Savage really made Tenryu look immense here, taking his stuff like a man, and the crowd were really into both guys.

Ultimate Warrior vs Ted Dibiase
This is for the WWF title. It opens pretty much as you'd expect it would, Warrior countering everything Dibiase tries with raw power, until Dibiase avoids a flying shoulderblock, sending Warrior face first to the mat. Dibiase gets a little bit of offence in, including spiking Warrior on a piledriver, but Warrior suddenly hits a few clotheslines and a big splash for the win. Far too short and essentially just a showcase of two guys showing their best spots.

Demolition vs Giant Baba & Andre The Giant
Man, the Demos will have their work cut out making this one look good. And in fairness, Smash tries his best to make Baba's attack look threatening. Baba has this really odd way of selling that's curiously hypnotizing, as it doesn't even slightly resemble regular selling. Not saying it's good, just oddly watchable. Andre, despite being possibly more immobile than Baba, at least looks more imposing due to sheer girth. The Demos really try here, using quick tags when they have the advantage to keep control of the monsters, but their selling is what really hold the match together. Of course, it all breaks down into a brawl, allowing Andre to drop an elbow on Smash for the win.

Hulk Hogan vs Stan Hansen
It's really odd to see these two guys in the ring together, it feels like they should exist in entirely different universes. Even odder is watching the two big guys exchanging wristlocks and Hogan taking Hansen to the mat. Of course, this doesn't last and before long they're brawling outside, where Hogan busts Hansen open on the ringpost. Hogan then works over the cut viciously, wailing away at Hansen and even kicking him in the head until he falls out of the ring. Not what you'd expect from 90's red-and-yellow Hogan. Hogan slams Hansen through a table outside and puts him back in the ring to stamp his head again. When Hansen finally gets some offence in, in the form of a flying shoulderblock, the pop is huge. Hansen's payback on Hogan is pretty hellacious, hitting the Hulkster in the head with a chair (which he then throws at Earl Hebner!) and hitting a flying axehandle (of sorts) from the railings. Now with Hogan bleeding, Hansen goes after his cut, but a lariat attempt is countered by Hogan. Hansen avoids the legdrop, but Hogan nails him with a lariat for 3. Super, super enjoyable, Hogan looked like a monster out there.

WWF Fan Favourites

This is an VHS that the WWF released in late 89/early 90, with the premise being that each match is one requested by a fan. We get a clip before each match of an unenthusiastic fan saying that wrestler A vs wrestler B would be a classic match, before we cut to the action. Let's see what we get.

Brooklyn Brawler vs Koko B. Ware
I'm sorry, there is no way I buy anyone wanting to see this match. I am especially sure no-one wanted to see a match that was 80% Brawler offence. Koko at least brings some high energy (sorry) early on, busting out a pretty nice flying headscissors, but Brawler has nothing to offer on offence, bringing stomps, chokes and rope-burns to the party. At one point Koko fires back with a sunset flip, which wakens the crowd, but Brawler soon puts a stop to that nonsense by putting on a chinlock to silence. Even Tony Schiavone and Lord Alfred can't say anything positive for Brawler, with Lord Al commenting on his "ponderous" offence. Koko eventually comes back with a nice facebuster from the corner and a killer Ghostbuster to win, but it's too late to save this abortion.

Greg "The Hammer" Valentine vs Dusty Rhodes
An altogether more fun match. Both guys are experienced enough to know how to get a reaction from the crowd without putting too much into the match. In this case, both get the crowd into it via their selling. The Hammer sells Dusty's blows in a punch-drunk, groggy manner, while the Dream manages to incorporate a little dancing into his selling, showing his attempts to keep himself in the match. Both men are heavy hitter, and a punch exchange in the corner is particularly fun. Valentine is wearing his shinguard (called the Hartbreaker) to help with his figure four leglock, but it's Dusty who threatens one first, a nice holdover from his days feuding with Flair. Neither man actually gets to put it on, as the end comes from Ronnie Garvin coming out to prevent Jimmy Hart interfering, allowing Rhodes to roll-up a distracted Hammer for the win.

The Twin Towers vs The Hart Foundation
This should be good. The opening stage sets the scene, the Anvil trying a power battle with Boss Man, but failing to budge him on two shoulderblock attempts. Instead, he levels him with a dropkick, adapting his game. Akeem tries it with Bret, and, following a sitdown on a sunset flip attempt, starts to dominate the Hitman. The Twin Towers use their size advantage to control Bret and are plenty of fun to watch in the process, both being blessed with physical charisma and good speed for men of their size, highlighted by a sweet double avalanche in the corner. The Towers dominate Bret and the heat section is really well worked. They throw in 4 or 5 different hope spots before Bret finally gets the hot tag to a huge pop. The Anvil looks great on the hot tag, nailing Akeem with some solid shots, before resorting to using his relative speed for a double dropkick with Bret. It breaks down with all four men outside the ring (Bret even hits a pescado on Boss Man), but Akeem rolls in to beat the count and win. Afterwards, the Harts beat up Slick to regain their heat.

Mr Perfect vs Tito Santana
Two men who share real chemistry in this one. Because he's looked back on so fondly for his bumping ability, I sometimes forget how fluid Mr Perfect was on offence, and he looks really good here, aided by some consistent selling by Santana. Perfect dominates a lot of the offence in this match, but is soon bumping like a demon for Santana. Like with Perfect, I'd forgotten how good Tito was on offence, here showing real aggression as he pounds away at Perfect on the mat. Rick Martel comes out to run interference on Tito as I ponder back on the days when feuds were so well paced that they could afford to dedicate video space to it, safe in the knowledge the feud would be ongoing by the time the tape was released. Tito hits the flying forearm, but Martel puts Hennig's foot on the rope. He then distracts Tito on a figure four attempt, allowing Perfect the time to roll Santana up for the win. A bit short, but a fun bout.

Million Dollar Man vs Jimmy Snuka
The match begins with DiBiase trying to buy his way out of the match, which Schiavone takes great offence to, as it's a match the fans want to see. They shouldn't, because this really isn't very good. DiBiase does his best to bump hugely for Snuka in the opening stages, but Snuka really drags the match down by stopping...inbetween...every...move. DiBiase gets on offence, which is better simply because he doesn't take half an hour to do every move, though Snuka does take an odd bump over the top for a DiBiase clothesline, which looks awkward. The ending comes when Virgil distracts Snuka on the apron, but Snuka avoids a DiBiase attack from behind to roll him up for the win.

Hacksaw Jim Duggan & the Ultimate Warrior vs Andre The Giant & Ravishing Rick Rude
So much fun. Honestly, this is everything a throwaway tag match should be. We kick off with Warrior and Duggan doing each other's signature poses, which is cool, before we get into the action. Make no mistake, this isn't a "moves" match, but it is based around entertaining fans, which it does very well. An early spot sees Rude accidentally clothesline Andre into the ropes (and sells his arm afterwards too!) before getting used as a battering ram on the Giant by the faces. This is also one of the best uses of Andre I've seen from this era- here he's booked as a monster, gleefully stalking Duggan while he's injured. Andre taunts Warrior by doing his rope-shake pose, taunts Duggan by yelling "HOOO!!" while sitting on him and even copies Rude's hip swivel, all with a big grin plastered on his face. The ending is pretty predictable, Duggan belting Rude with the 2x4 while the ref is distracted, which leads to a Warrior splash for the win, but it's impossible to watch this and not be entertained. Good stuff.