Robbie E vs Eric Young
This is for the TV title and is pretty much just played for comedy. Luckily, both characters are so enjoyably goofy that the comedy works, whilst both guys are good enough workers that the match ends up being pretty entertaining. They even manage to make a ridiculous early spot involving EY doing a headstand in the corner look logical. Robbie E takes control following a huge clothesline from Robbie T on the outside (I’d just like to add at this point how much I love the addition of Rob Terry as Robbie’s bouncer. The dynamic is great, Terry is definitely improving as a worker and they’d be my choice as next tag team champs. Plus the new cordon entrance is ace). Robbie being on offence allows us to run the whole gamut of brilliant facial expressions from the challenger, especially the look of demented glee when he thinks he’s going to get the pin on EY. Robbie may go a bit too long with the chinlocks, but they lead to a Young comeback that shows just what a good wrestler he actually is, first reversing a Robbie dive into a nice belly-to-belly suplex, then hitting a fantastic top rope elbow that puts CM Punk’s to shame. EY hits both Robbies with a dive from the top rope to the floor, but gets clotheslined to the leg by Big Robbie as he gets into the ring, leading to a nasty bump and the Robbie E cover for the win. Plenty of fun here.
Mexican America vs Ink Inc & Toxxin
The MA team consists of Hernandez, Anarquia and Sarita, with the rules stating that MA can lose the tag titles if any of them get pinned. You know how there has been news recently that TNA wanted Jesse Neal to go to OVW to develop his skills? This match shows why, because he is outright bad at points here. His strikes barely graze the Mexican boys, and he almost falls over Hernandez at one point. This is in direct contrast to Shannon Moore who works a pretty fun, smooth section with Anarquia, whose bumping and stooging here is terrific. MA have a pretty nice double team move where Hernandex holds up Neal outside the ring to allow Anarquia to dropkick him through the ropes to the floor. Sarita and Toxxin gets their moment in the sun, and both look pretty good out there, enough that you feel a one-on-one match would be worth a 5 minute spot on Impact. Anarquia comes in and even bumps around for Toxxin, who somehow manages to conspire with Neal to blow the moment where they reveal the tattoo they gave Anarquia a month ago. They’ve built this up for weeks, and now the audience STILL have no idea what is supposed to be on his back. Anarquia, bless him, sells it anyway, and Sarita nails Toxxin with a belt shot to win. Really poor match up, and you can lay 80% of that on Neal.
Austin Aries vs Kid Kash vs Jesse Sorenson
Last time I wrote about TNA, I talked about how Sorenson looked promising, but bland and green. Here, I thought he was terrific. He’d still benefit from developing a little character, but his work here was really good, looking believably competitive against two veterans, which is even more impressive considering this is essentially a two-on-one match. Kash especially takes great pleasure in chopping the shit out of him, to the extent that Sorenson is bleeding from the chest by the end. Sorenson makes the most of his hope spots, hitting a nice tope on both men early on, before getting overwhelmed by the numbers. It’s probably redundant to talk about how awesome Aries is, but he really is magnificent. I especially loved him leaving the hard work to Kash in the ring, chiming in with the occasional chop or boot to put Sorenson down again. Unfortunately, Kash keeps forgetting “the plan”, and the arguments give Jesse a chance to take over. He hits Michael McGillicutty’s swinging neckbreaker better than McGillicutty himself and really looks like he could pull off the upset. Kash hits him with the Money Maker, but Aries, sneaking round the ring, puts Jesse’s foot on the rope to break the count. Then, whilst Kash argues with the ref, Aries creeps in and rolls him up for three. All round good stuff, and a really well worked three way.
Rob Van Dam vs Christopher Daniels
This is No DQ, but Daniels cuts a good promo pre-match, making a gentleman’s agreement with “Bob” to make it a straight up wrestling match. Then RVD outwrestles him, which is exactly how the match should work, making the heel look like a fool. Daniels does get to take control, working RVD’s head and neck over, before hitting a Death Valley Driver for two. Daniels gets frustrated as RVD takes control again, and makes to walk out before Van Dam stops him. Daniels takes a nice bump, getting hiptossed onto the ramp, before RVD hits the barricade legdrop from the ramp. This is pretty much the first thing RVD does which mixes up his usual offence, as he’s been pretty much going through the motions to this point. Daniels breaks the gentleman’s agreement, using first Earl Hebner then a steel chair as a weapon, hitting a uranage on the chair for two. He goes to get a screwdriver from under the ring, but stupidly leaves RVD in the ring with a chair, leading to a Van Daminator and a 5 Star Frogsplash for the RVD win. Story was good, ring work was passable.
Crimson vs Matt Morgan
I bet Matt Morgan finds it frustrating that people ask him “if he could beat Crimson everywhere he goes” as Tenay nonsensically claims early on here. They try some of the typical Battle of the Giants spots early on – the duelling shoulderblocks, the test of strength – but nothing gets a reaction until Morgan hits a decent discus clothesline. This match is really plodding. A weak brawling section outside is terrible, and Morgan hits his corner elbow barrage like he’s terrified of cracking some eggs. Crimson did one thing that really impressed me, hitting Morgan with a Cobra Clutch legsweep, which he then rolls through with to wear Morgan out on the mat, but everything else is really poor. He even manages to blow his own finisher. An “epic” strike exchange starts off ok, but they they start throwing pathetically light blows at each other, before pushing the ref away for a wretched double DQ. That they continue brawling afterwards with the same blows that couldn’t burst a bubble is the dogshit icing on a terrible cake.
Scott Steiner & Bully Ray vs Abyss & Mr Anderson
The pre-match promo from Steiner and Ray is terrific, terrific stuff. The heel team is infinitely more fun than the faces, with Bully a magnificent shit-talking heel throughout the match. Seeing how Bully Ray has gotten himself into really good shape (dig his calf flexing on the entrance ramp!) really highlights how average Anderson’s physique is. The match as a whole is pretty average, but what is really entertaining is how into Steiner the fans are, and how much he tries to stop them. Every “We want Steiner” chant is met with either a “Shut up!” or the finger. Seriously, it’s amazing to watch. The heat section on Anderson goes on for age, which is wise to keep Abyss looking strong. Abyss works really well here as a hot tag wrestler, looking like a beast and rampaging through Steiner and Ray. The match end when Steiner gives the fans what they want with a Frankensteiner off the top on Anderson, but walks into a Black Hole Slam for the win. Forgettable tag, but the Steiner chants were hella fun.
Velvet Sky vs Gail Kim
This is for the Knockouts title. Velvet attacks to start, but Gail soon takes over with some vicious kicks. Gail hits an ace diving corner charge and maintains her advantage. Velvet is spirited in her comeback, but her offence looks really low-impact, to the extent you can’t imagine it would put Kim down. Sky hits a sitout Pedigree, but Karen Jarrett distracts the ref to allow Madison Rayne to sneak in and botch her finisher on Velvet for a two count. More Rayne interference allows Gail to hit Eat Defeat to win the title. This was passable.
Jeff Hardy vs Jeff Jarrett
This is more angle than match, but it’s a fun little deal. After months of chastising Hardy and refusing to give him another shot, Hardy beats Jarrett in seconds following a Twist of Fate. Following this, Jarrett finds himself forced to beg Hardy for another shot at him, which Hardy accepts. A slightly longer match follows, which Hardy wins again with a small package off a figure four attempt. Jarrett bludgeons Hardy with a chair after the match and drags him into the ring to demand Earl Hebner counts a pinfall on Hardy, only for Hardy to reverse the pinfall into a crucifix to win his third match of the night.
AJ Styles vs Bobby Roode
AJ comes into the match with a bum ankle, so that this match turns out as good as it does is a miracle. Roode is already bringing the stalling back into his act, which kinda makes sense with his desperation not to lose his world title. Taz and Tenay actually have a good exchange on commentary about how Roode is having to get used to wrestling singles after his lengthy tag run. Styles takes command early on, but Roode manages to take control after using Brian Hebner as a weapon, pushing him into Styles. AJ fires back, and sprints to the top turnbuckle for a suplex in a cool spot (even moreso with his ankle issues), but his attempt at getting the Styles Clash is reversed into a crossface by Roode, which looks really good. The battle for the Clash comes up again a little later in the match, where AJ realises he’s not going to be able to hook Roode into it properly, so instead changes it into a shortlift powerbomb, which is a nice touch of realism. Roode is really developing the heel mannerisms nicely, managing to low-blow both Styles AND Hebner at the same time, before begging off from Styles when he doesn’t manage to maintain control. Roode gets sent outside, but manages to avoid a suicide dive, where AJ lands with a sick thud. Back in, a Roode Fisherman suplex gets two, before Roode manages to reverse a third Clash attempt into a roll-up for the win, whilst grabbing a handful of tights. It sort of lacked something, but the story it told worked really well and AJ, bar the occasional grab of his leg, showed no real ill effects of his injury. The rematch next month should be terrific.
Friday, 9 December 2011
Sunday, 30 October 2011
The Triumph & Tragedy of World Class Championship Wrestling
This is the selection of matches that accompanies my favourite WWE-produced documentary. I'd never really seen an Texas wrestling before buying this last December (barring the Best of Kerry video I reviewed earlier this year, which I'd watched once back in 2001). However, I really found myself loving it, and especially the awesome brawling of the Von Erich boys.
Duke Keomuka vs Ricky Starr
This is from Texas Rasslin’ in the 60’s (at a guess), and is two out of three falls. It’s heavily matbased, and is certainly an acquired taste, but I sorta dug it. Really liked Starr’s escapes from Keomuka’s holds and it’s no surprise to learn he had a popular run in England. He seems like he’d have fitted in perfectly. Keomuka gets the first fall with a Japanese Sleeper, and the commentary, though dry, really does good work at explaining what is happening and why the ref is checking Starr’s arm. Starr gets the second fall after nailing Keomuka with five dropkicks. The third fall sees Starr finally target the bare feet of his opponent. But Keomuka goes back to the matwork, targeting Starr’s left arm. However, he misses a corner charge, allowing Starr to hit two flying mares for the win. Not for everyone, but a fun curiosity.
Fritz Von Erich vs King Kong Bundy
This is Fritz’s retirement match, but is still for Bundy’s American title. Bundy looks far less intimidating with hair, and Fritz is still a huge old fella, so this doesn’t look as one-sided as a champion-vs-retiring-vet match normally would look. The match is more of a fight than a wrestling match and, whilst you’d think that would favour Bundy, they tease the idea early that Fritz can get the claw on Bundy at any time he wants to. Fritz even locks a stomach claw on Bundy when escaping a pinfall. I also dug Fritz stamping on Bundy’s head from the apron after sending the big man outside. Bundy grabs a chair, but Fritz uses it and gets the win in his send-off bout. Good fun.
Ric Flair vs Kerry Von Erich
This is a steel cage match from Christmas Day for the NWA title. Michael Hayes is the special guest co-referee, with Terry Gordy guarding the door on the outside. Flair typically plays dirty early on, only for Hayes to physically interject himself. Kerry reverses a suplex into a sleeper in a nice little move, before beginning to brutalise Flair, ramming his head into the steel and causing him to bleed. Flair starts to focus on Von Erich’s right knee, which Bill Mercer tells us was injured in a previous match. Kerry fights back, but tries a knee drop like an idiot which misses. Flair locks in the figure four, which Kerry reverses then doesn’t sell. We then come to the beginning of the end, which is an awesome bit of in-match storytelling. Flair jumps off the top straight into a Von Erich Claw, but his foot grazes the bottom rope. Hayes calls for a rope break, but the other referee disagrees. Kerry keeps the claw locked in, and Hayes forcibly pulls him off, sowing the seeds for friction between them. Flair provokes Hayes so much that Hayes waffles him, but Kerry refuses to cover him and win the title unfairly. Hayes goes to leave, and Flair pushes Kerry into Hayes, sending Hayes to the floor. Enraged, Gordy slams the steel door onto Kerry’s head, igniting the Freebirds/Von Erich feud that Texas thrived on. Hayes counts a Flair cover on Kerry, which the other ref rejects because Kerry kicked out at 2. The match goes on without the Freebirds, with Kerry out on his feet. Kerry hits the discus punch to give the crowd one last pop, but he’s done. The ref checks him and calls the bell. Good match, but the angle at the end is fantastic.
Iceman King Parsons, David Von Erich & Kevin Von Erich vs the Fabulous Freebirds
The early doors give proof (as if proof were needed) that Kevin Von Erich is a terrific brawler. It also shows how great the Claw was as a hold, as the Von Erich’s could hit it at any time and the fans would buy it as a finish. Here, all Kevin has to do is threaten it and the Sportatorium pops. The Freebirds soon take control on David and a superbly worked heat section ensues. The crowds love of the Von Erich’s really helps here, but the timing on all the near tags is perfect. In one beautifully shot moment, we see David’s hand just centimetres away from tagging Kevin, only for the Freebirds to prevent it. There is also a great false tag, before David and Buddy clash heads which leads to the actual tag. Unsurprisingly, all Hell soon breaks loose, with all three guys in, and in the madness, Buddy catches Parsons with a cheapshot to the head, which gifts the Freebirds the victory.
The Fabulous Freebirds vs Fritz, Mike & Kevin Von Erich
This is from the first David Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions and sees Fritz come out of retirement for this Six Man Title match. The opening brawl is predictably intense, leading to the referee getting on the mic and stating this match will be fought on a 1-on-1 tag basis. This lasts for about a minute before people start getting in the ring again. Mike is correctly booked here as a fiery babyface, who lacks experience and gets caught out by the ‘Birds. That said, the Freebirds soon get a heat section on Kevin, who telegraphs a Claw attempt and gets blocked off by the ‘Birds. Fritz gets the hot tag and takes over on Roberts, which works as he’s the best Freebird for stooging and bumping for the aging Fritz. A melee ensues (shock!) and in the chaos, Kevin nails Buddy with a crossbody for three. Good match.
Iceman King Parsons vs Buddy Roberts
This is hair vs hair, with the Freebirds’ hair removal cream located at ringside. This isn’t a great match, and is pretty short, but there are some fun moments to keep it interesting, mainly Roberts stooging around for Parsons by getting tied up in the ropes, or missing three elbow drops in a row. Roberts gets the pin by rolling Parsons up and pulling so much tight that we need to censor Parsons’ arse. The ref starts to question Roberts, giving Parsons the break to attack and cover Buddy’s hair with the cream. A better angle than match.
Chris Adams & Sunshine vs Jimmy Garvin & Precious
Mixed tag rules apply here. I really liked the storytelling in this match, with Sunshine desperate to get her hands on Precious, whilst Garvin does everything he can to stop that happening. This means Garvin has to try and keep control of Adams to prevent him tagging out, which he does until Adams blasts him with a superkick and makes the tag to Sunshine. Sunshine brings Precious in forcefully and is all over her, until Precious escapes and tags in a still-woozy Garvin. Garvin manages to take control on Adams again, but Adams again tags in Sunshine. This time, however, Garvin stays in the ring and trips her, allowing Precious to take advantage. The girls give no impression that they’re wrestlers here, but do give the impression they really hate each other in their fight. In the confusion, Adams hits a sunset flip on Garvin to win.
The Great Kabuki vs Kamala
A pair of oddities, but a pair who put on an absolute stinker of a match. A Kamala bearhug seems to go on forever, killing off the usually passionate WCCW crowd. Even Bill Mercer can’t think of anything to say. Kabuki escapes, but Kamala applies a neverending nervehold. Their respective managers, Gary Hart and Skandor Akbar, start to fight so the ref calls the match off. Abysmal.
The Fantastics vs the Midnight Express
This is for the vacant tag team titles. Apparently Jim Cornette interfered in a previous match, causing the vacation, so he’s stuck with a huge man called Little John at ringside to prevent him interfering. Also, the match is held in two rings side-by-side, which means the match starts as two 1-on-1 matches. Seems a little wasteful when you’ve got two consummate tag-teams out there. Luckily, all four men soon end up in the same ring, making this more of a tornado tag situation. Eaton takes some nasty looking bumps to the wooden floor early on. He gets payback by attacking both Fantastics with a chair to take control. This is done in plain view of the ref, so obviously there are no disqualifications. Eaton really makes good use of the two rings, drapping Bobby Fulton on the ropes between rings to kick him in the stomach. Eaton whips Tommy Rogers into the ref in the corner and Little John, neglecting his only task in the match, goes to investigate, allowing Cornette to belt Fulton in the head for a Condrey roll up, which gets a three count. Moments later, Rogers rolls up Eaton for his own three count, but the MX pin was counted first. However, discussion between the two refs causes them to DQ the Express (despite the chairshots earlier being absolutely fine), giving the Fantastics the titles. Massively overbooked, but pretty fun in places. I still think a simple tag match would have yielded a better match.
Bruiser Brody & the Missing Link vs One Man Gang & Rick Rude
I was really looking forward to this, but it was largely disappointing. It just never really seemed to settle into a good groove, and the face team in particular never seemed to hit their strides, though i loved the dropkick Brody hit on OMG. Link’s offence in this match consists entirely of headbutts, thrown by grabbing his own hair. After less than 10 minutes of uneven action, Rude throws Link over the top rope and gets disqualified. Lame.
Chris Adams vs Kevin Von Erich
Reviewing the Best of Kerry tape a few months back really made me appreciate how good Kevin was, so I went into this with high hopes. My hopes were met. The early part is nicely worked, with the Claw threatened early, but we soon end up on the floor where the brawling begins. Kevin takes control in this environment and soon Adams gets slammed onto the commentary table, before getting back into the ring, bleeding. Adams grounds Von Erich with a chinlock, blood dripping down his face, and they build up the hope spots for Kevin nicely, before he gets cut off by Adams again. Things soon break down again, and Adams manages to drag the restraining rope from ringside into the ring, but gets beaten by Kevin before he can use it, and instead Kevin uses it to choke Adams, which draws the DQ win for the Gentleman. Really enjoyable stuff.
Abdullah The Butcher vs Bruiser Brody
This is a steel cage match. We’re told they did a worldwide search for a guest referee to control these two, so end up with....Fritz Von Erich, which makes me believe this search wasn’t as extensive as they suggested. This takes a while to get going, as Abby’s offence is a little dull, but things soon heat up with Brody in control, with Bruiser repeatedly kicking Abby in the head. Some of the offense looks surprisingly tame, but we do get a nice, heated slugfest with both guys on their knees. The Butcher manages to get a fork from Gary Hart at ringside, but Fritz spots him using it to stab Bruiser and floors Abby with some punches, allowing Brody to get the pin. Quite fun, though the ending certainly gives the impression that Fritz is the toughest man in the match, as he gifts Brody the win simply by punching Abdullah out. The post match brawl between Fritz and Abby/Hart is pretty cool.
Duke Keomuka vs Ricky Starr
This is from Texas Rasslin’ in the 60’s (at a guess), and is two out of three falls. It’s heavily matbased, and is certainly an acquired taste, but I sorta dug it. Really liked Starr’s escapes from Keomuka’s holds and it’s no surprise to learn he had a popular run in England. He seems like he’d have fitted in perfectly. Keomuka gets the first fall with a Japanese Sleeper, and the commentary, though dry, really does good work at explaining what is happening and why the ref is checking Starr’s arm. Starr gets the second fall after nailing Keomuka with five dropkicks. The third fall sees Starr finally target the bare feet of his opponent. But Keomuka goes back to the matwork, targeting Starr’s left arm. However, he misses a corner charge, allowing Starr to hit two flying mares for the win. Not for everyone, but a fun curiosity.
Fritz Von Erich vs King Kong Bundy
This is Fritz’s retirement match, but is still for Bundy’s American title. Bundy looks far less intimidating with hair, and Fritz is still a huge old fella, so this doesn’t look as one-sided as a champion-vs-retiring-vet match normally would look. The match is more of a fight than a wrestling match and, whilst you’d think that would favour Bundy, they tease the idea early that Fritz can get the claw on Bundy at any time he wants to. Fritz even locks a stomach claw on Bundy when escaping a pinfall. I also dug Fritz stamping on Bundy’s head from the apron after sending the big man outside. Bundy grabs a chair, but Fritz uses it and gets the win in his send-off bout. Good fun.
Ric Flair vs Kerry Von Erich
This is a steel cage match from Christmas Day for the NWA title. Michael Hayes is the special guest co-referee, with Terry Gordy guarding the door on the outside. Flair typically plays dirty early on, only for Hayes to physically interject himself. Kerry reverses a suplex into a sleeper in a nice little move, before beginning to brutalise Flair, ramming his head into the steel and causing him to bleed. Flair starts to focus on Von Erich’s right knee, which Bill Mercer tells us was injured in a previous match. Kerry fights back, but tries a knee drop like an idiot which misses. Flair locks in the figure four, which Kerry reverses then doesn’t sell. We then come to the beginning of the end, which is an awesome bit of in-match storytelling. Flair jumps off the top straight into a Von Erich Claw, but his foot grazes the bottom rope. Hayes calls for a rope break, but the other referee disagrees. Kerry keeps the claw locked in, and Hayes forcibly pulls him off, sowing the seeds for friction between them. Flair provokes Hayes so much that Hayes waffles him, but Kerry refuses to cover him and win the title unfairly. Hayes goes to leave, and Flair pushes Kerry into Hayes, sending Hayes to the floor. Enraged, Gordy slams the steel door onto Kerry’s head, igniting the Freebirds/Von Erich feud that Texas thrived on. Hayes counts a Flair cover on Kerry, which the other ref rejects because Kerry kicked out at 2. The match goes on without the Freebirds, with Kerry out on his feet. Kerry hits the discus punch to give the crowd one last pop, but he’s done. The ref checks him and calls the bell. Good match, but the angle at the end is fantastic.
Iceman King Parsons, David Von Erich & Kevin Von Erich vs the Fabulous Freebirds
The early doors give proof (as if proof were needed) that Kevin Von Erich is a terrific brawler. It also shows how great the Claw was as a hold, as the Von Erich’s could hit it at any time and the fans would buy it as a finish. Here, all Kevin has to do is threaten it and the Sportatorium pops. The Freebirds soon take control on David and a superbly worked heat section ensues. The crowds love of the Von Erich’s really helps here, but the timing on all the near tags is perfect. In one beautifully shot moment, we see David’s hand just centimetres away from tagging Kevin, only for the Freebirds to prevent it. There is also a great false tag, before David and Buddy clash heads which leads to the actual tag. Unsurprisingly, all Hell soon breaks loose, with all three guys in, and in the madness, Buddy catches Parsons with a cheapshot to the head, which gifts the Freebirds the victory.
The Fabulous Freebirds vs Fritz, Mike & Kevin Von Erich
This is from the first David Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions and sees Fritz come out of retirement for this Six Man Title match. The opening brawl is predictably intense, leading to the referee getting on the mic and stating this match will be fought on a 1-on-1 tag basis. This lasts for about a minute before people start getting in the ring again. Mike is correctly booked here as a fiery babyface, who lacks experience and gets caught out by the ‘Birds. That said, the Freebirds soon get a heat section on Kevin, who telegraphs a Claw attempt and gets blocked off by the ‘Birds. Fritz gets the hot tag and takes over on Roberts, which works as he’s the best Freebird for stooging and bumping for the aging Fritz. A melee ensues (shock!) and in the chaos, Kevin nails Buddy with a crossbody for three. Good match.
Iceman King Parsons vs Buddy Roberts
This is hair vs hair, with the Freebirds’ hair removal cream located at ringside. This isn’t a great match, and is pretty short, but there are some fun moments to keep it interesting, mainly Roberts stooging around for Parsons by getting tied up in the ropes, or missing three elbow drops in a row. Roberts gets the pin by rolling Parsons up and pulling so much tight that we need to censor Parsons’ arse. The ref starts to question Roberts, giving Parsons the break to attack and cover Buddy’s hair with the cream. A better angle than match.
Chris Adams & Sunshine vs Jimmy Garvin & Precious
Mixed tag rules apply here. I really liked the storytelling in this match, with Sunshine desperate to get her hands on Precious, whilst Garvin does everything he can to stop that happening. This means Garvin has to try and keep control of Adams to prevent him tagging out, which he does until Adams blasts him with a superkick and makes the tag to Sunshine. Sunshine brings Precious in forcefully and is all over her, until Precious escapes and tags in a still-woozy Garvin. Garvin manages to take control on Adams again, but Adams again tags in Sunshine. This time, however, Garvin stays in the ring and trips her, allowing Precious to take advantage. The girls give no impression that they’re wrestlers here, but do give the impression they really hate each other in their fight. In the confusion, Adams hits a sunset flip on Garvin to win.
The Great Kabuki vs Kamala
A pair of oddities, but a pair who put on an absolute stinker of a match. A Kamala bearhug seems to go on forever, killing off the usually passionate WCCW crowd. Even Bill Mercer can’t think of anything to say. Kabuki escapes, but Kamala applies a neverending nervehold. Their respective managers, Gary Hart and Skandor Akbar, start to fight so the ref calls the match off. Abysmal.
The Fantastics vs the Midnight Express
This is for the vacant tag team titles. Apparently Jim Cornette interfered in a previous match, causing the vacation, so he’s stuck with a huge man called Little John at ringside to prevent him interfering. Also, the match is held in two rings side-by-side, which means the match starts as two 1-on-1 matches. Seems a little wasteful when you’ve got two consummate tag-teams out there. Luckily, all four men soon end up in the same ring, making this more of a tornado tag situation. Eaton takes some nasty looking bumps to the wooden floor early on. He gets payback by attacking both Fantastics with a chair to take control. This is done in plain view of the ref, so obviously there are no disqualifications. Eaton really makes good use of the two rings, drapping Bobby Fulton on the ropes between rings to kick him in the stomach. Eaton whips Tommy Rogers into the ref in the corner and Little John, neglecting his only task in the match, goes to investigate, allowing Cornette to belt Fulton in the head for a Condrey roll up, which gets a three count. Moments later, Rogers rolls up Eaton for his own three count, but the MX pin was counted first. However, discussion between the two refs causes them to DQ the Express (despite the chairshots earlier being absolutely fine), giving the Fantastics the titles. Massively overbooked, but pretty fun in places. I still think a simple tag match would have yielded a better match.
Bruiser Brody & the Missing Link vs One Man Gang & Rick Rude
I was really looking forward to this, but it was largely disappointing. It just never really seemed to settle into a good groove, and the face team in particular never seemed to hit their strides, though i loved the dropkick Brody hit on OMG. Link’s offence in this match consists entirely of headbutts, thrown by grabbing his own hair. After less than 10 minutes of uneven action, Rude throws Link over the top rope and gets disqualified. Lame.
Chris Adams vs Kevin Von Erich
Reviewing the Best of Kerry tape a few months back really made me appreciate how good Kevin was, so I went into this with high hopes. My hopes were met. The early part is nicely worked, with the Claw threatened early, but we soon end up on the floor where the brawling begins. Kevin takes control in this environment and soon Adams gets slammed onto the commentary table, before getting back into the ring, bleeding. Adams grounds Von Erich with a chinlock, blood dripping down his face, and they build up the hope spots for Kevin nicely, before he gets cut off by Adams again. Things soon break down again, and Adams manages to drag the restraining rope from ringside into the ring, but gets beaten by Kevin before he can use it, and instead Kevin uses it to choke Adams, which draws the DQ win for the Gentleman. Really enjoyable stuff.
Abdullah The Butcher vs Bruiser Brody
This is a steel cage match. We’re told they did a worldwide search for a guest referee to control these two, so end up with....Fritz Von Erich, which makes me believe this search wasn’t as extensive as they suggested. This takes a while to get going, as Abby’s offence is a little dull, but things soon heat up with Brody in control, with Bruiser repeatedly kicking Abby in the head. Some of the offense looks surprisingly tame, but we do get a nice, heated slugfest with both guys on their knees. The Butcher manages to get a fork from Gary Hart at ringside, but Fritz spots him using it to stab Bruiser and floors Abby with some punches, allowing Brody to get the pin. Quite fun, though the ending certainly gives the impression that Fritz is the toughest man in the match, as he gifts Brody the win simply by punching Abdullah out. The post match brawl between Fritz and Abby/Hart is pretty cool.
Sunday, 23 October 2011
TNA No Surrender 2011
TNA PPV's are broadcast for free in the UK on Challenge TV. Sadly, with this one, Challenge appear to have dropped a bollock, as instead of the Sting/Angle/Anderson main, we get profiles on the UK Gladiators from 2009 (though Oblivion/Magnus cuts a great heel promo ;-D). We also miss most of the Aries/Kendrick title match, but the rest of the show aired in full. Here it is...
Kid Kash vs Jesse Sorensen
Kid Kash is terrific as a heel. He has this natural bad attitude and nasty aura that an audience can sense, which makes him perfect for this role, facing a young, slightly bland, babyface underdog. You get the impression this would go down far better in the early 90’s (and in front of a less shitty crowd, the Impact Zone really sucks) where the fans would be less cynical towards such a white meat face (though I really like Sorensen’s “signed football” gimmick, it’s a nice thing for the kids in the crowd). As it is, Kash really makes the match by being such a horrible cock, goading Sorensen into a test-of-strength only to kick him in the stomach, then hitting him with some nasty stiff kicks. They mess up a little in the middle, but don’t let it affect the rest of the match, which ends with Sorensen upsetting Kash with a reverse suplex slam for the win. Sorensen is still green (and I think will need a heel turn at some point to give him some life) but this was perfectly decent for an opener.
Bully Ray vs James Storm
This is a Bound For Glory series match, with the storyline being that Storm needs to win by submission to get the necessary points to top the leaderboard. Firstly though, Bully Ray takes Kid Kash’s heeling and cranks it up times 100. He stalls, leaves the ring, rips up a fans sign, stalls some more, yells at the ref, stalls, leaves the ring, stalls, then finally cheapshots Storm to get the advantage. Beautiful. Storm does a fine job of battling back from this, and focuses on the arm of Bully Ray, locking in a cross armbreaker before Ray makes the ropes. It’s a hold he keeps going back to, with the result being that the fans clearly think he might win by the 3rd or 4th attempt. Storm also keeps working the arm in-between armbreakers. Ray takes advantage again after spitting beer into Storm’s eyes, but yells that he’s going to pin Storm following “the Bubba Bomb, bitch”, only for Storm to lock in another cross armbreaker for another near tap. The finish is shitty, but also works for the story they wanted to tell: Storm tries to return the favour by spitting beer in Ray’s face, but catches the ref instead. Storm locks in an armbreaker on Ray, who taps and the bell goes, only for Storm to get DQ’d instead. Good match.
Winter vs Mickie James
Knockouts title match here. I really dig the Winter character, and the former Nikita plays it to the hilt, really convincing in a “cruel aristocrat” kinda way. She takes a nasty bump into the steps early doors, but is soon on offence, working over Mickie’s back in a way that suggests she’s torturing her opponent. Mickie not only looks awesome in her Wonder Woman outfit, but it’s clear to see she’s regained some of the fire she lost towards the end of her WWE run. She even hits a nice looking Thesz press off the apron to the floor in a pretty nutty bump. The match itself isn’t a classic, but good enough for modern US woman’s standards. I thought the ending was pretty good, as even though Winter hit Angelina Love with her poison blood, it didn’t mean she turned around like an idiot into a Mick Kick, instead turning round and spitting into Mickie’s face instead to pick up the win.
Mexican America vs The Pope & Devon
I may be alone in this belief, but Mexican America are starting to click for me. Hernandez and Anarquia are developing a nice bit of chemistry and Anarquia is pretty fun at stooging for babyface offence. There was a really nice bit here where Hernandez elevated Anarquia into the corner to hit a big splash on Devon, then knelt down to allow an interfering Sarita to use him as a platform to hit a dropkick on the former Reverend. As a match, it was a perfectly acceptable formula tag team match, and Devon’s huge spear out of the corner was terrific. I probably wont remember it in a months time, but it was perfectly fun, the Mexican’s winning with the Rude/Warrior finish from Wrestlemania V as Pope tries to suplex Anarquia into the ring.
Samoa Joe vs Matt Morgan
On paper, Matt Morgan should be far better than he is. He’s remarkably athletic for a big man, he’s good on the mic and comes across as a genuinely nice guy. He’s got good movement, seems to have a good idea of what he’s doing in the ring, yet somehow it just doesn’t feel right. I think it’s partly that you never get the impression any of his offence hurts, which is essential for a huge fella. Joe may have regressed massively since his 2005 peak, but he was still pretty good here at heeling it up, sneering at Morgan and flipping off the crowd, whilst still rushing from the ring to avoid the Carbon Footprint, putting it over as death. Joe’s suicide dive is still impressive, but there is a weird botch midway through where it looks like Joe is hitting a running hug on Morgan. I loved Joe hooking Morgan’s arm while he had to Kokina Clutch locked in, which prevented Morgan grabbling the rope, but didn’t love the way the ending made Joe look like an idiot, arguing with the ref to allow Morgan to recoup in the corner and nail the match winning Carbon Footprint.
Gunner vs Bobby Roode
I really think Gunner gets nowhere near enough love. He’s slowly been improving week after week to the point where I think he’s a really solid worker now. This match was really good. Roode worked over Gunner’s left arm early to soften him up for the Fujiwara armbar, but they got Gunner back on offence early enough to stop there being any chance of fan sympathy towards Gunner, as Roode gets driven down with a DDT. Gunner’s selling whilst on offence is absolutely top drawer, wincing in pain on every landing. There was even a point where he had Roode in a headscissors and shifted his body position so he wouldn’t be leaning on his left arm, which is awesome. I also loved the strike exchange where Roode answered Gunner’s punches by punching him on the bad arm. Roode picks up the win with a crossface, having failed to get the win with the armbar. Really cleverly worked match.
Austin Aries vs Brian Kendrick
Sadly, Challenge TV take over here, as we return from the adverts at the end of the match. We do get to see an awesome tiger suplex by Kendrick, and Aries winning the title with a brainbuster. I did love Aries getting the ref to hoist him on his shoulders in celebration post-match.
Bully Ray vs Bobby Roode
This is my main event on the show. Ray again heels it up superbly, stalling by leaving the ring JUST as Roode is going to make contact with him. Right at the start Ray tries to psyche Roode out with two large slaps to the chest, only for Roode to dig down deep and no-sell them, which Taz puts over nicely on commentary. They actually return to the chops during the match, which each time have the result of firing Roode up again, showing that Ray can’t break his spirit. Ray is such an unlikable prick that it gets both himself AND Roode over, an early crossface getting a big pop for Roode. Ray gets two following a Bubba Bomb, but misses a senton and Roode hits a snap spinebuster for the win in a good (for us in the UK) main event.
Kid Kash vs Jesse Sorensen
Kid Kash is terrific as a heel. He has this natural bad attitude and nasty aura that an audience can sense, which makes him perfect for this role, facing a young, slightly bland, babyface underdog. You get the impression this would go down far better in the early 90’s (and in front of a less shitty crowd, the Impact Zone really sucks) where the fans would be less cynical towards such a white meat face (though I really like Sorensen’s “signed football” gimmick, it’s a nice thing for the kids in the crowd). As it is, Kash really makes the match by being such a horrible cock, goading Sorensen into a test-of-strength only to kick him in the stomach, then hitting him with some nasty stiff kicks. They mess up a little in the middle, but don’t let it affect the rest of the match, which ends with Sorensen upsetting Kash with a reverse suplex slam for the win. Sorensen is still green (and I think will need a heel turn at some point to give him some life) but this was perfectly decent for an opener.
Bully Ray vs James Storm
This is a Bound For Glory series match, with the storyline being that Storm needs to win by submission to get the necessary points to top the leaderboard. Firstly though, Bully Ray takes Kid Kash’s heeling and cranks it up times 100. He stalls, leaves the ring, rips up a fans sign, stalls some more, yells at the ref, stalls, leaves the ring, stalls, then finally cheapshots Storm to get the advantage. Beautiful. Storm does a fine job of battling back from this, and focuses on the arm of Bully Ray, locking in a cross armbreaker before Ray makes the ropes. It’s a hold he keeps going back to, with the result being that the fans clearly think he might win by the 3rd or 4th attempt. Storm also keeps working the arm in-between armbreakers. Ray takes advantage again after spitting beer into Storm’s eyes, but yells that he’s going to pin Storm following “the Bubba Bomb, bitch”, only for Storm to lock in another cross armbreaker for another near tap. The finish is shitty, but also works for the story they wanted to tell: Storm tries to return the favour by spitting beer in Ray’s face, but catches the ref instead. Storm locks in an armbreaker on Ray, who taps and the bell goes, only for Storm to get DQ’d instead. Good match.
Winter vs Mickie James
Knockouts title match here. I really dig the Winter character, and the former Nikita plays it to the hilt, really convincing in a “cruel aristocrat” kinda way. She takes a nasty bump into the steps early doors, but is soon on offence, working over Mickie’s back in a way that suggests she’s torturing her opponent. Mickie not only looks awesome in her Wonder Woman outfit, but it’s clear to see she’s regained some of the fire she lost towards the end of her WWE run. She even hits a nice looking Thesz press off the apron to the floor in a pretty nutty bump. The match itself isn’t a classic, but good enough for modern US woman’s standards. I thought the ending was pretty good, as even though Winter hit Angelina Love with her poison blood, it didn’t mean she turned around like an idiot into a Mick Kick, instead turning round and spitting into Mickie’s face instead to pick up the win.
Mexican America vs The Pope & Devon
I may be alone in this belief, but Mexican America are starting to click for me. Hernandez and Anarquia are developing a nice bit of chemistry and Anarquia is pretty fun at stooging for babyface offence. There was a really nice bit here where Hernandez elevated Anarquia into the corner to hit a big splash on Devon, then knelt down to allow an interfering Sarita to use him as a platform to hit a dropkick on the former Reverend. As a match, it was a perfectly acceptable formula tag team match, and Devon’s huge spear out of the corner was terrific. I probably wont remember it in a months time, but it was perfectly fun, the Mexican’s winning with the Rude/Warrior finish from Wrestlemania V as Pope tries to suplex Anarquia into the ring.
Samoa Joe vs Matt Morgan
On paper, Matt Morgan should be far better than he is. He’s remarkably athletic for a big man, he’s good on the mic and comes across as a genuinely nice guy. He’s got good movement, seems to have a good idea of what he’s doing in the ring, yet somehow it just doesn’t feel right. I think it’s partly that you never get the impression any of his offence hurts, which is essential for a huge fella. Joe may have regressed massively since his 2005 peak, but he was still pretty good here at heeling it up, sneering at Morgan and flipping off the crowd, whilst still rushing from the ring to avoid the Carbon Footprint, putting it over as death. Joe’s suicide dive is still impressive, but there is a weird botch midway through where it looks like Joe is hitting a running hug on Morgan. I loved Joe hooking Morgan’s arm while he had to Kokina Clutch locked in, which prevented Morgan grabbling the rope, but didn’t love the way the ending made Joe look like an idiot, arguing with the ref to allow Morgan to recoup in the corner and nail the match winning Carbon Footprint.
Gunner vs Bobby Roode
I really think Gunner gets nowhere near enough love. He’s slowly been improving week after week to the point where I think he’s a really solid worker now. This match was really good. Roode worked over Gunner’s left arm early to soften him up for the Fujiwara armbar, but they got Gunner back on offence early enough to stop there being any chance of fan sympathy towards Gunner, as Roode gets driven down with a DDT. Gunner’s selling whilst on offence is absolutely top drawer, wincing in pain on every landing. There was even a point where he had Roode in a headscissors and shifted his body position so he wouldn’t be leaning on his left arm, which is awesome. I also loved the strike exchange where Roode answered Gunner’s punches by punching him on the bad arm. Roode picks up the win with a crossface, having failed to get the win with the armbar. Really cleverly worked match.
Austin Aries vs Brian Kendrick
Sadly, Challenge TV take over here, as we return from the adverts at the end of the match. We do get to see an awesome tiger suplex by Kendrick, and Aries winning the title with a brainbuster. I did love Aries getting the ref to hoist him on his shoulders in celebration post-match.
Bully Ray vs Bobby Roode
This is my main event on the show. Ray again heels it up superbly, stalling by leaving the ring JUST as Roode is going to make contact with him. Right at the start Ray tries to psyche Roode out with two large slaps to the chest, only for Roode to dig down deep and no-sell them, which Taz puts over nicely on commentary. They actually return to the chops during the match, which each time have the result of firing Roode up again, showing that Ray can’t break his spirit. Ray is such an unlikable prick that it gets both himself AND Roode over, an early crossface getting a big pop for Roode. Ray gets two following a Bubba Bomb, but misses a senton and Roode hits a snap spinebuster for the win in a good (for us in the UK) main event.
Saturday, 8 October 2011
IWA Japan King Of The Deathmatch 1995
Tiger Jeet Singh vs Mr Gannosuke
Odd to see how thin Gannosuke was before he bulked up in later years. This is also the most entertaining thing about this match, which is otherwise appalling. This is supposed to be a chain match, but Singh assaults Gannosuke with his sword before the match and embarks upon one of those dull brawls where Singh walks Gannosuke around and throws him into things and hitting him with the occasional chair. This drags on for minutes before Singh decides to choke Gannosuke with the chain. He lets go, then chokes Gannosuke on a barbed wire board for the submission win. Gannosuke’s post-match vomit is the only entertaining thing here.
Terry Funk vs Leatherface
I quite like the fact we get a pre-match promo from Leatherface, the psychotic killer from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre…being very polite and respectful towards Funk. It’s another chain match and the match is far better than the opener, but the way it’s laid out makes no sense. Within a minute of the bell ringing, Leatherface has hit a moonsault on Funk. 30 seconds later, he throws Funk from the ring onto a barbed wire board and, boom, the big spot of the match is gone. This is something to build towards, and it’s done in less than 90 seconds. That said, the rest of the match is still more enjoyable than the Jeet Singh debacle. There are some odd moments (Leatherface attacks Funk with a chainsaw, drawing no blood), but there is still fun to be had. Leatherface takes a nasty bump onto a table as Funk prevents a top rope splash by simply pulling him to the floor by the chain and both men climbing a chainlink fence to fight at the top is odd, but enjoyable. Back inside, Funk wraps his left hand with the chain and punches Leatherface out for the 3 count.
Cactus Jack vs Terry Gordy
The first match thus far that actually tries to build around the gimmick, in this case a big tray full of tacks in the middle of the ring. We actually get Gordy teasing putting Jack in the tacks, first with a hiptoss from the corner that narrowly misses, then with a bulldog attempt that Jack blocks. Jack blocks several more attempts to throw him in the tacks, but isn’t able to avoid getting thrown from the top rope to the floor in a nasty bump. Outside the ring, Gordy piledrives Jack through a table, then inside finally gets Jack onto the tacks, first stamping his face into the tray, then throwing him down with a nasty looking powerbomb. A 2nd on the mat gets a two. Jack rebounds by throwing a handful of tacks into Gordy’s face and hitting the double-arm DDT onto the tacks for the win.
Shoji Nakamaki vs Hiroshi Ono
Essentially, both are pretty ordinary looking guys in t-shirt and jeans. They seem a bit less ordinary moments later when they both no-sell being hit with a barbed wire bat. Nakamaki whacks Ono headfirst on a table and then proceeds to walk him around the stadium for a bit until they reach another ring. Ono rebounds with a few wrestling moves, nailing a side Russian legsweep and a shit uranage. A top rope clothesline gets two. Nakamaki ducks a clothesline and nails a big one of his own. He then casually walks Ono to another ring, before the two fight over the tray of tacks. Nakamaki tries a bulldog, but Ono blocks and hits to belly-to-back suplexes onto the tacks, leaving a circle of tacks sticking out of Nakamaki’s head. Ono tries a third, but Nakamaki lands on top of him then powerbombs him onto the tacks for a two. What we would now call a Skull Crushing Finale onto the tacks earns Nakamaki the win. Oddly entertaining.
Takashi Okano vs. Flying Kid Ichihara
This is for Ichihara’s WWA Light Heavyweight title. It’s also pretty heavily clipped, as I think the full match goes 13 minutes, whilst it barely goes 3 here. Not that I’m complaining, as this is pretty pedestrian. Not bad, just a touch bland, though Ichihara looks pretty smooth, hitting a nice moonsault press and dropping Okano on his head with a belly-to-back suplex. Okano doesn’t get much offence, making it even more surprising when he rolls through a rana for the win.
The Iceman vs. Kamikaze
You know when you see a local indy show, and a chubby guy is wearing a mask in an attempt to convince you he’s a highflier? Well that’s Iceman here, whose paunch is noticeable through his bodysuit, In fact, with his long hair sticking out, he looks like John Zandig filming a remake of the video for “I Found Out” by the Pigeon Detectives. He’s not very good either, whiffing an armdrag over the top early doors and hitting a clumsy pescado. This is another clipped match, but we get to see some decent offence from Kamikaze, who hits a nice tope. Iceman misses an appalling looking knee drop from the top, but bumbles his way into a reverse pin to win.
Terry Funk vs. Tiger Jeet Singh
Round two of the tournament, and guess who does the most bumping? This makes the first Jeet Singh match look like Savage/Steamboat in comparison. The entire first 5 or so minutes consists of Singh hitting Funk with his sword outside the ring, pausing for 5 seconds, then doing it again. They finally get back into the ring, only for Singh to knock Funk off the apron into...something, as the crack camera team entirely miss the bump. Another angle eventually shows Funk lying in a tray of glass, getting hit by Singh. Finally, Funk hits a head butt for his first bit of offence and goes for the spinning toehold, only to meet Cactus Jack interference. Jack goes to hit Funk with Singh’s sword, only for Funk to duck, causing Singh to take the blow and get pinned for 3. Utter shite.
Cactus Jack vs. Shoji Nakamaki
This is the other end of the bumping scale. In his first book, Foley points out that Nakamaki was known as the “Danger Man” since, although he couldn’t wrestle, he was willing to take a lot of abuse. The result is that we get two guys trying to out bump each other. It’s close, but I’d say Nakamaki takes the worst of it, taking the nastiest bump when Jack covers his prone body with a bed of nails, then hits an elbow from the ring apron to drive the nails into the Danger Man. Jack does a similar move elsewhere in the match, hanging Nakamaki on the second rope and placing a bed of barbed wire onto his opponent, before crashing into him with a flying knee. Jack takes a fair bit of abuse too and, whilst the match is frequently sloppy (Nakamaki can’t bump very well, so sandbags Jack on occasion), it is at least enjoyable. Jack wins with the double-arm DDT onto the barbed wire.
The Headhunters vs. El Texano & Silver King
King and Texano are defending the IWA tag titles here. The Mexican team fare pretty badly early doors, getting overpowered by the huge Headhunters. The Headhunters are pretty fun to watch as big, fat highfliers, crushing El Texano with a big splash/leg drop combo. Texano and King try to use their speed to take over, both hitting topes on one Hunter, only for the other to follow with the biggest tope of them all. There is a section of control by Texano and King, but this is really all about the size and power of the Headhunters, who pick up the win and the titles with a top rope power bomb.
Dan Severn vs. Tarzan Goto
This is for Severn’s NWA title. The main theme running through this match is that both guys have a preferred environment to fight in and, if they get their opponent there, they’ll win. Hence Goto slaps Severn and goes to the outside, trying to lure Severn to brawl outside, only for Severn to sit on the ring ropes and gesture for Goto to get in the ring for a beating. Goto actually does a decent job at getting Severn onto the mat, but Severn soon reverses and takes control. They roll outside, where Goto smashes a bottle to get a weapon, which Severn blocks with a chair. They continue to brawl, decimating rows of chairs, and Goto gets the upper hand, hurling chair after chair onto a prone Severn. Goto heads back into the ring and we get the awesome site of Severn emerging from a pile of chairs, eyes full of fury and hate, ready to fuck Goto up. Goto does manages to subdue him in the ring by using a chair, but Severn takes control and locks in a rear naked choke for the tapout win. Good match.
Cactus Jack vs. Terry Funk
The tournament final is a Barbed Wire Rope, Exploding Barbed Wire Boards & Exploding Ring Time Bomb Death Match, which essentially means the ring will blow up in ten minutes. Being the best two workers in the tournament, this is pretty darn good. I especially loved the way that Funk dragged a board into the middle of the ring at the start, essentially daring Jack to come at him. They also wisely build to the board explosions, with Funk teetering over a board for ages before finally getting knocked onto it for a big pop. I also like the way that, even though the explosives on a board have been used up, they both know that whacking their opponent with a board of barbed wire looks fucking painful, with Jack covering Funk with a board and dropping an elbow being particularly painful-looking. Tiger Jeet Singh makes an unwelcome return to save Jack from a spinning toehold. Jack hits the double-arm DDT for two and hits another as the ring announcer starts a ten second countdown for the explosion. Funk is left in the ring and....some fireworks go off at the edge of the ring, to a muted response from the crowd. Funk looks rightly baffled and so him and Jack go to war for the next 3 minutes, as Cactus brings in a ladder and nails an elbow off it for two. Funk manages to topple the ladder as Jack climbs for a second time, him directly onto the barbed wire ropes. This is Funk’s last bit of energy gone though, and Jack crawls over to him for a slightly anticlimactic three count.
Odd to see how thin Gannosuke was before he bulked up in later years. This is also the most entertaining thing about this match, which is otherwise appalling. This is supposed to be a chain match, but Singh assaults Gannosuke with his sword before the match and embarks upon one of those dull brawls where Singh walks Gannosuke around and throws him into things and hitting him with the occasional chair. This drags on for minutes before Singh decides to choke Gannosuke with the chain. He lets go, then chokes Gannosuke on a barbed wire board for the submission win. Gannosuke’s post-match vomit is the only entertaining thing here.
Terry Funk vs Leatherface
I quite like the fact we get a pre-match promo from Leatherface, the psychotic killer from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre…being very polite and respectful towards Funk. It’s another chain match and the match is far better than the opener, but the way it’s laid out makes no sense. Within a minute of the bell ringing, Leatherface has hit a moonsault on Funk. 30 seconds later, he throws Funk from the ring onto a barbed wire board and, boom, the big spot of the match is gone. This is something to build towards, and it’s done in less than 90 seconds. That said, the rest of the match is still more enjoyable than the Jeet Singh debacle. There are some odd moments (Leatherface attacks Funk with a chainsaw, drawing no blood), but there is still fun to be had. Leatherface takes a nasty bump onto a table as Funk prevents a top rope splash by simply pulling him to the floor by the chain and both men climbing a chainlink fence to fight at the top is odd, but enjoyable. Back inside, Funk wraps his left hand with the chain and punches Leatherface out for the 3 count.
Cactus Jack vs Terry Gordy
The first match thus far that actually tries to build around the gimmick, in this case a big tray full of tacks in the middle of the ring. We actually get Gordy teasing putting Jack in the tacks, first with a hiptoss from the corner that narrowly misses, then with a bulldog attempt that Jack blocks. Jack blocks several more attempts to throw him in the tacks, but isn’t able to avoid getting thrown from the top rope to the floor in a nasty bump. Outside the ring, Gordy piledrives Jack through a table, then inside finally gets Jack onto the tacks, first stamping his face into the tray, then throwing him down with a nasty looking powerbomb. A 2nd on the mat gets a two. Jack rebounds by throwing a handful of tacks into Gordy’s face and hitting the double-arm DDT onto the tacks for the win.
Shoji Nakamaki vs Hiroshi Ono
Essentially, both are pretty ordinary looking guys in t-shirt and jeans. They seem a bit less ordinary moments later when they both no-sell being hit with a barbed wire bat. Nakamaki whacks Ono headfirst on a table and then proceeds to walk him around the stadium for a bit until they reach another ring. Ono rebounds with a few wrestling moves, nailing a side Russian legsweep and a shit uranage. A top rope clothesline gets two. Nakamaki ducks a clothesline and nails a big one of his own. He then casually walks Ono to another ring, before the two fight over the tray of tacks. Nakamaki tries a bulldog, but Ono blocks and hits to belly-to-back suplexes onto the tacks, leaving a circle of tacks sticking out of Nakamaki’s head. Ono tries a third, but Nakamaki lands on top of him then powerbombs him onto the tacks for a two. What we would now call a Skull Crushing Finale onto the tacks earns Nakamaki the win. Oddly entertaining.
Takashi Okano vs. Flying Kid Ichihara
This is for Ichihara’s WWA Light Heavyweight title. It’s also pretty heavily clipped, as I think the full match goes 13 minutes, whilst it barely goes 3 here. Not that I’m complaining, as this is pretty pedestrian. Not bad, just a touch bland, though Ichihara looks pretty smooth, hitting a nice moonsault press and dropping Okano on his head with a belly-to-back suplex. Okano doesn’t get much offence, making it even more surprising when he rolls through a rana for the win.
The Iceman vs. Kamikaze
You know when you see a local indy show, and a chubby guy is wearing a mask in an attempt to convince you he’s a highflier? Well that’s Iceman here, whose paunch is noticeable through his bodysuit, In fact, with his long hair sticking out, he looks like John Zandig filming a remake of the video for “I Found Out” by the Pigeon Detectives. He’s not very good either, whiffing an armdrag over the top early doors and hitting a clumsy pescado. This is another clipped match, but we get to see some decent offence from Kamikaze, who hits a nice tope. Iceman misses an appalling looking knee drop from the top, but bumbles his way into a reverse pin to win.
Terry Funk vs. Tiger Jeet Singh
Round two of the tournament, and guess who does the most bumping? This makes the first Jeet Singh match look like Savage/Steamboat in comparison. The entire first 5 or so minutes consists of Singh hitting Funk with his sword outside the ring, pausing for 5 seconds, then doing it again. They finally get back into the ring, only for Singh to knock Funk off the apron into...something, as the crack camera team entirely miss the bump. Another angle eventually shows Funk lying in a tray of glass, getting hit by Singh. Finally, Funk hits a head butt for his first bit of offence and goes for the spinning toehold, only to meet Cactus Jack interference. Jack goes to hit Funk with Singh’s sword, only for Funk to duck, causing Singh to take the blow and get pinned for 3. Utter shite.
Cactus Jack vs. Shoji Nakamaki
This is the other end of the bumping scale. In his first book, Foley points out that Nakamaki was known as the “Danger Man” since, although he couldn’t wrestle, he was willing to take a lot of abuse. The result is that we get two guys trying to out bump each other. It’s close, but I’d say Nakamaki takes the worst of it, taking the nastiest bump when Jack covers his prone body with a bed of nails, then hits an elbow from the ring apron to drive the nails into the Danger Man. Jack does a similar move elsewhere in the match, hanging Nakamaki on the second rope and placing a bed of barbed wire onto his opponent, before crashing into him with a flying knee. Jack takes a fair bit of abuse too and, whilst the match is frequently sloppy (Nakamaki can’t bump very well, so sandbags Jack on occasion), it is at least enjoyable. Jack wins with the double-arm DDT onto the barbed wire.
The Headhunters vs. El Texano & Silver King
King and Texano are defending the IWA tag titles here. The Mexican team fare pretty badly early doors, getting overpowered by the huge Headhunters. The Headhunters are pretty fun to watch as big, fat highfliers, crushing El Texano with a big splash/leg drop combo. Texano and King try to use their speed to take over, both hitting topes on one Hunter, only for the other to follow with the biggest tope of them all. There is a section of control by Texano and King, but this is really all about the size and power of the Headhunters, who pick up the win and the titles with a top rope power bomb.
Dan Severn vs. Tarzan Goto
This is for Severn’s NWA title. The main theme running through this match is that both guys have a preferred environment to fight in and, if they get their opponent there, they’ll win. Hence Goto slaps Severn and goes to the outside, trying to lure Severn to brawl outside, only for Severn to sit on the ring ropes and gesture for Goto to get in the ring for a beating. Goto actually does a decent job at getting Severn onto the mat, but Severn soon reverses and takes control. They roll outside, where Goto smashes a bottle to get a weapon, which Severn blocks with a chair. They continue to brawl, decimating rows of chairs, and Goto gets the upper hand, hurling chair after chair onto a prone Severn. Goto heads back into the ring and we get the awesome site of Severn emerging from a pile of chairs, eyes full of fury and hate, ready to fuck Goto up. Goto does manages to subdue him in the ring by using a chair, but Severn takes control and locks in a rear naked choke for the tapout win. Good match.
Cactus Jack vs. Terry Funk
The tournament final is a Barbed Wire Rope, Exploding Barbed Wire Boards & Exploding Ring Time Bomb Death Match, which essentially means the ring will blow up in ten minutes. Being the best two workers in the tournament, this is pretty darn good. I especially loved the way that Funk dragged a board into the middle of the ring at the start, essentially daring Jack to come at him. They also wisely build to the board explosions, with Funk teetering over a board for ages before finally getting knocked onto it for a big pop. I also like the way that, even though the explosives on a board have been used up, they both know that whacking their opponent with a board of barbed wire looks fucking painful, with Jack covering Funk with a board and dropping an elbow being particularly painful-looking. Tiger Jeet Singh makes an unwelcome return to save Jack from a spinning toehold. Jack hits the double-arm DDT for two and hits another as the ring announcer starts a ten second countdown for the explosion. Funk is left in the ring and....some fireworks go off at the edge of the ring, to a muted response from the crowd. Funk looks rightly baffled and so him and Jack go to war for the next 3 minutes, as Cactus brings in a ladder and nails an elbow off it for two. Funk manages to topple the ladder as Jack climbs for a second time, him directly onto the barbed wire ropes. This is Funk’s last bit of energy gone though, and Jack crawls over to him for a slightly anticlimactic three count.
Sunday, 11 September 2011
A WCW Saturday Night pick'n'mix
Sometimes, I want nothing more than to watch some totally random wrestling. In those times, nothing satisfies more than WCW Saturday Night where up-and-comers would compete alongside guys long thought retired to create all manner of unusual match-up. Using the power of Youtube, here are 5 matches I decided to watch at random, with links attached.
Rick Cornell & Allen Funk vs Chuck Palumbo & Sonny Siaki
This is from early 2000, and all four are Powerplant guys. Cornell (later known as Reno) and Funk play heel here and look really impressive throughout the match. Funk is loaded with intensity, including a nice move where he just hurls Siaki like a dart, with Siaki landing face first, whilst Cornell has some impressive moves for a big guy, including a slingshot senton that looks like he rams his shoulders into Siaki’s chest. The faces aren’t quite so good, though Palumbo shows some impressive agility for a man his size, hitting a nice springboard dropkick to the outside on Cornell. Siaki mainly plays face-in-peril, so doesn’t show much apart from a decent Sky High powerbomb (which Cornell leaps about 4 feet in the air for). Ending sees the faces go over following a top rope Palumbo shoulderblock, but the heels make the match, would have been a decent addition to the tag ranks at the time.
Cornell/Funk vs Siaki/Palumbo
American Males vs High Voltage
True story: Everyday Is Like Tom Zenk was very nearly a feature on Scotty Riggs instead (albeit with a different name). I always thought he was very underrated and had a terrific match with Kanyon on Thunder in early 99 following the Flock split. Here he’s still a young tag wrestler, though the Males are portrayed her as relative veterans compared to High Voltage. Indeed, it’s so early in the Voltage career that Rage is still known as Ruckus. The Males dominate with their quickness and frequent tags until Bagwell hits knees trying to splash Ruckus. High Voltage were obviously green as Plymouth Argyle here, but they at least look like they’re trying, so kudos there. They only have control for a short period until Ruckus misses an elbow and the Males hit a double dropkick for the win
American Males vs High Voltage about 20 minutes in
Pat Tanaka vs Villano 4
How very WCW Saturday Night this pairing is. As a bonus, Dusty is on commentary and tells us straight away he used to date a girl called Villano 4. Tanaka is wearing some long trouser and a shirt and seems behind the pace, as Villano kinda wrestles around him, until Tanaka reverses a second rana attempt into a powerbomb. Villano soon fires back, hitting a nicer thrust kick than Tanaka does in the same match, before leaping to Tanaka’s shoulders and rolling Tanaka up for the win.
Tanaka vs Villano 4
Arn Anderson & Dustin Rhodes vs Bad Attitude
This is a warm-up match for Rhodes and Anderson before facing the Stud Stable at Clash of the Champions. Sadly, it only goes 4 minutes as this could have been great. Dustin takes control early doors and sends Bobby Eaton over the top rope with a huge boot to the face, allowing Arn to pick up the pieces and backbody drop Eaton on the floor. Double A shows his tag acumen by controlling Eaton in the ring and getting a quick tag, but Dustin soon becomes face-in-peril and Keirn and Eaton start working him over. Eaton gets two from a decent top-rope elbow, but misses a second and a Rhodes bulldog gets the win.
Anderson/Rhodes vs Bad Attitude
Lash LeRoux vs Scotty Riggs
More Riggs, by now working his narcissist gimmick. This is pretty much a squash and more of a showcase for the Riggs character. Riggs catches LeRoux trying to look in his mirror and goes on the offensive right away. Riggs has some nasty offence in this match, hitting some big elbows in the corner and a nice running knee in the corner. This is followed by a choice dropkick, which gets a two count (though mainly because Riggs only covers with one finger). LeRoux gets a bit of token offence, hitting a sloppy looking headscissors and a better looking Northern Lights slam. However, this is Riggs’ match and he gets the easy win with the fivearm.
Riggs vs LeRoux
Rick Cornell & Allen Funk vs Chuck Palumbo & Sonny Siaki
This is from early 2000, and all four are Powerplant guys. Cornell (later known as Reno) and Funk play heel here and look really impressive throughout the match. Funk is loaded with intensity, including a nice move where he just hurls Siaki like a dart, with Siaki landing face first, whilst Cornell has some impressive moves for a big guy, including a slingshot senton that looks like he rams his shoulders into Siaki’s chest. The faces aren’t quite so good, though Palumbo shows some impressive agility for a man his size, hitting a nice springboard dropkick to the outside on Cornell. Siaki mainly plays face-in-peril, so doesn’t show much apart from a decent Sky High powerbomb (which Cornell leaps about 4 feet in the air for). Ending sees the faces go over following a top rope Palumbo shoulderblock, but the heels make the match, would have been a decent addition to the tag ranks at the time.
Cornell/Funk vs Siaki/Palumbo
American Males vs High Voltage
True story: Everyday Is Like Tom Zenk was very nearly a feature on Scotty Riggs instead (albeit with a different name). I always thought he was very underrated and had a terrific match with Kanyon on Thunder in early 99 following the Flock split. Here he’s still a young tag wrestler, though the Males are portrayed her as relative veterans compared to High Voltage. Indeed, it’s so early in the Voltage career that Rage is still known as Ruckus. The Males dominate with their quickness and frequent tags until Bagwell hits knees trying to splash Ruckus. High Voltage were obviously green as Plymouth Argyle here, but they at least look like they’re trying, so kudos there. They only have control for a short period until Ruckus misses an elbow and the Males hit a double dropkick for the win
American Males vs High Voltage about 20 minutes in
Pat Tanaka vs Villano 4
How very WCW Saturday Night this pairing is. As a bonus, Dusty is on commentary and tells us straight away he used to date a girl called Villano 4. Tanaka is wearing some long trouser and a shirt and seems behind the pace, as Villano kinda wrestles around him, until Tanaka reverses a second rana attempt into a powerbomb. Villano soon fires back, hitting a nicer thrust kick than Tanaka does in the same match, before leaping to Tanaka’s shoulders and rolling Tanaka up for the win.
Tanaka vs Villano 4
Arn Anderson & Dustin Rhodes vs Bad Attitude
This is a warm-up match for Rhodes and Anderson before facing the Stud Stable at Clash of the Champions. Sadly, it only goes 4 minutes as this could have been great. Dustin takes control early doors and sends Bobby Eaton over the top rope with a huge boot to the face, allowing Arn to pick up the pieces and backbody drop Eaton on the floor. Double A shows his tag acumen by controlling Eaton in the ring and getting a quick tag, but Dustin soon becomes face-in-peril and Keirn and Eaton start working him over. Eaton gets two from a decent top-rope elbow, but misses a second and a Rhodes bulldog gets the win.
Anderson/Rhodes vs Bad Attitude
Lash LeRoux vs Scotty Riggs
More Riggs, by now working his narcissist gimmick. This is pretty much a squash and more of a showcase for the Riggs character. Riggs catches LeRoux trying to look in his mirror and goes on the offensive right away. Riggs has some nasty offence in this match, hitting some big elbows in the corner and a nice running knee in the corner. This is followed by a choice dropkick, which gets a two count (though mainly because Riggs only covers with one finger). LeRoux gets a bit of token offence, hitting a sloppy looking headscissors and a better looking Northern Lights slam. However, this is Riggs’ match and he gets the easy win with the fivearm.
Riggs vs LeRoux
Wednesday, 17 August 2011
NJPW 09/10/2000
Shinya Hashimoto vs Tatsumi Fujinami
I’ve never seen Fujinami wrestle before, but a little research shows he was about 46 here, in which case he was in fantastic shape. It also means I’ve got no point of reference for how good he is, but this match is pretty uninspiring. There’s fleeting moments of excitement, but a bit too much going through the motions. Both guys jockey for position to start, with both hesitant to attack and expose themselves, until Hash decides to unload with some strikes, which lasts until Fujinami catches his leg on a kick and takes him to the mat. Back up, and Fujinami tries some strikes of his own, but gets taken down by a Hashimoto legsweep. Hash follows with a big senton. Hash then hits an Indian Deathlock. This heat up again with another strike exchange, this time with Fujinami taking some kicks flush to the face. It takes four of them to put him down. Fujinami is dead weight and Hash struggles to get him to his feet. However, Fujinami blocks a Hash brainbuster, but falls prey to a DDT, before Hash locks in a keylock for the tapout. Really anticlimactic.
Jushin Liger vs Super Delfin
JIP, which is a shame as it’s a match I’d like to see in full. We join as Delfin hits a tornado DDT on Liger, and locks in a Delfin Clutch for two. Delfin hits Liger with a palmstrike and the Osaka Cutter, before locking in a camel clutch. Liger breaks free and hits a palmstrike for a one count. A second gets a two count. A third is followed by a Fisherman Buster for the Liger win. Really want more of this.
Takashi Iizuka vs Don Frye
JIP again, though we get a bit more of this match. We join with Frye holding a leglock on Iizuka, who makes the ropes. Frye then holds a keylock on, before Iizuka makes the ropes again. Frye tries a judo throw, but is caught in a rear naked choke in a nice little sequence. Frye makes the ropes, but Iizuka hits two exploders before locking in another rear naked choke. Frye manages to break it again and nails a big belly-to-back suplex. Frye breaks from a front facelock and locks in a rear naked choke of his own for the win.
Tatsuhito Takaiwa vs Koji Kanemoto
JIP, with Koji getting knees on a moonsault attempt, but it seems that Kanemoto has been working over Takaiwa’s legs, as it’s him selling the impact the most. KK goes after the injured legs, locking in a figure-four before hitting a Frankensteiner and transitioning straight into a anklelock. Takaiwa inflicts damage of his own, getting two after turning a top rope rana into a powerbomb, but Kanemoto goes back to the leg again. However, it’s all for naught, as Takaiwa powerbombs him (barely) into the corner and hits a DVD for the win. Seemed pretty good.
Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi
Our final JIP match sees the TenKoji team dominating Nakanishi. A Tenzan Driver is followed by a top rope headbutt for two. Kojima hits a Koji Cutter from second rope, but poses too long and gets nailed by 3 spears from Nakanishi. Nakanishi goes for the Argentine backbreaker, but Tenzan breaks and TenKoji hit a doubleteam powerbomb. Nakanishi goes for a claw on Kojima, who breaks free and instead nails a lariat for the win.
Steve Williams vs Scott Norton
This is a battle of the gaijins, AJPW vs NJPW. Both guys are positioned as evenly matched, as a battle of shoulderblocks and clotheslines yields no winner. However, Doc hits a dropkick to Norton’s arm and begins to focus his assault on the limb. I love the fact that Williams, just before he wraps Norton’s arm around the ringpost, finds time to dish out a pair of headbutts to Norton. In a nice sequence, Williams fights to lock a cross-armbreaker on Norton, who keeps trying to power out to a good reaction, before he manages to re-link his fingers. Norton hits a shoulderblock with his bad shoulder, which means that Doc can recover and hit a sort-of suicide dive. Williams continues to work the arm, but decides to go to the top rope and is caught by a top tope powerslam. Doc rallies back and tries a backdrop driver, but Norton falls on top for a two count. What I really like is the way both guys really have to struggle on their powermoves. It may result in the move not looking totally clean, but it adds to the realism and makes it feel like a proper fight: Doc shouldn’t be able to easily lift a guy as big as Scott Norton for a gutwrench powerbomb. When he does, it clearly takes a massive effort to get Norton up. Williams hits a backdrop driver on Norton, the effort of which keeps both men down. Doc hits a second, but Norton gets straight back to his feet. However, a third (where Norton lands on top of Doc, clearly winding him) gets the win. Fun heavyweight collision.
Masanobu Fuchi & Shiro Koshinaka vs Masa Chono & Mr T
Mr T is Tatsutoshi Goto under a mask. This is a battle of the veterans, and another AJPW vs NJPW clash. In line with this, Fuchi is more than happy to fight dirty, attacking the NJPW duo from the bell and standing on the face of Chono. Mr T comes in an offers some blows to Fuchi’s stomach, but Fuchi takes it to the mat and works over his legs, locking in an STF followed by an Indian Deathlock. However, as good as Fuchi is on the mat, he falls prey to the team of Chono and T, who hit him with a neato spike piledriver. Whilst Chono continues to beat up Fuchi, however, Koshinaka piledrives Goto on the ramp to the ring, which allows the heel team to make the most of their man advantage. Koshinaka hits a top rope butt-butt and a powerbomb for two. Mr T comes back and holds Koshinaka in place for Chono, but Chono is still on the mat and, when he does get up, his Yakuza kick attempt is ducked, hitting T in the face. This doesn’t hinder the face team for long, as they throw Fuchi from the ring and Goto nails Koshinaka with a lariat for the win. Watchable, but not amazing.
Toshiaki Kawada vs Kensuke Sasaki
This, on the other hand, is absolutely awesome. It’s our final AJPW vs NJPW encounter, with two company aces going head to head. Ergo, we’ve got a real big-match atmosphere. An opening strike exchange is pretty even, but ends with Kawada outside the ring regaining his bearings. Back in, Kawada tries taking control on the mat, but Sasaki breaks free and nails a big lariat. This prompts a chop exchange that ends with Sasaki on one knee, allowing Kawada to down him with an enzuigiri. Kawada takes this as a cue to just kick the shit out of Sasaki, constantly wearing him down. After taking a belly-to-back suplex, Sasaki starts to come back, blocking a powerbomb attempt and hitting two big lariats for a two count. Sasaki locks in a sharpshooter, which gets broken by Kawada making the ropes. Sasaki tries to lariat him down again, but his lariats have no effect on Kawada. This leads to both men exchanging lariats, which Sasaki eventually wins, only for Kawada to get straight back up and level him with a Yakuza kick! This is terrific. A double lariat puts both men down. Sasaki gets up, but tries another lariat and runs into an enzuigiri from Kawada, which hits him on the lariat arm! Kawada hits another three enzuigiri’s, but a fourth is blocked. Sasaki tries another lariat, but runs directly into another Kawada enzuigiri, which is enough to get the win in a colossal war. Just an fantastic match, with both guys getting to look near invincible as they trade bombs in an attempt to finally put the other away. Strongly recommended.
I’ve never seen Fujinami wrestle before, but a little research shows he was about 46 here, in which case he was in fantastic shape. It also means I’ve got no point of reference for how good he is, but this match is pretty uninspiring. There’s fleeting moments of excitement, but a bit too much going through the motions. Both guys jockey for position to start, with both hesitant to attack and expose themselves, until Hash decides to unload with some strikes, which lasts until Fujinami catches his leg on a kick and takes him to the mat. Back up, and Fujinami tries some strikes of his own, but gets taken down by a Hashimoto legsweep. Hash follows with a big senton. Hash then hits an Indian Deathlock. This heat up again with another strike exchange, this time with Fujinami taking some kicks flush to the face. It takes four of them to put him down. Fujinami is dead weight and Hash struggles to get him to his feet. However, Fujinami blocks a Hash brainbuster, but falls prey to a DDT, before Hash locks in a keylock for the tapout. Really anticlimactic.
Jushin Liger vs Super Delfin
JIP, which is a shame as it’s a match I’d like to see in full. We join as Delfin hits a tornado DDT on Liger, and locks in a Delfin Clutch for two. Delfin hits Liger with a palmstrike and the Osaka Cutter, before locking in a camel clutch. Liger breaks free and hits a palmstrike for a one count. A second gets a two count. A third is followed by a Fisherman Buster for the Liger win. Really want more of this.
Takashi Iizuka vs Don Frye
JIP again, though we get a bit more of this match. We join with Frye holding a leglock on Iizuka, who makes the ropes. Frye then holds a keylock on, before Iizuka makes the ropes again. Frye tries a judo throw, but is caught in a rear naked choke in a nice little sequence. Frye makes the ropes, but Iizuka hits two exploders before locking in another rear naked choke. Frye manages to break it again and nails a big belly-to-back suplex. Frye breaks from a front facelock and locks in a rear naked choke of his own for the win.
Tatsuhito Takaiwa vs Koji Kanemoto
JIP, with Koji getting knees on a moonsault attempt, but it seems that Kanemoto has been working over Takaiwa’s legs, as it’s him selling the impact the most. KK goes after the injured legs, locking in a figure-four before hitting a Frankensteiner and transitioning straight into a anklelock. Takaiwa inflicts damage of his own, getting two after turning a top rope rana into a powerbomb, but Kanemoto goes back to the leg again. However, it’s all for naught, as Takaiwa powerbombs him (barely) into the corner and hits a DVD for the win. Seemed pretty good.
Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi
Our final JIP match sees the TenKoji team dominating Nakanishi. A Tenzan Driver is followed by a top rope headbutt for two. Kojima hits a Koji Cutter from second rope, but poses too long and gets nailed by 3 spears from Nakanishi. Nakanishi goes for the Argentine backbreaker, but Tenzan breaks and TenKoji hit a doubleteam powerbomb. Nakanishi goes for a claw on Kojima, who breaks free and instead nails a lariat for the win.
Steve Williams vs Scott Norton
This is a battle of the gaijins, AJPW vs NJPW. Both guys are positioned as evenly matched, as a battle of shoulderblocks and clotheslines yields no winner. However, Doc hits a dropkick to Norton’s arm and begins to focus his assault on the limb. I love the fact that Williams, just before he wraps Norton’s arm around the ringpost, finds time to dish out a pair of headbutts to Norton. In a nice sequence, Williams fights to lock a cross-armbreaker on Norton, who keeps trying to power out to a good reaction, before he manages to re-link his fingers. Norton hits a shoulderblock with his bad shoulder, which means that Doc can recover and hit a sort-of suicide dive. Williams continues to work the arm, but decides to go to the top rope and is caught by a top tope powerslam. Doc rallies back and tries a backdrop driver, but Norton falls on top for a two count. What I really like is the way both guys really have to struggle on their powermoves. It may result in the move not looking totally clean, but it adds to the realism and makes it feel like a proper fight: Doc shouldn’t be able to easily lift a guy as big as Scott Norton for a gutwrench powerbomb. When he does, it clearly takes a massive effort to get Norton up. Williams hits a backdrop driver on Norton, the effort of which keeps both men down. Doc hits a second, but Norton gets straight back to his feet. However, a third (where Norton lands on top of Doc, clearly winding him) gets the win. Fun heavyweight collision.
Masanobu Fuchi & Shiro Koshinaka vs Masa Chono & Mr T
Mr T is Tatsutoshi Goto under a mask. This is a battle of the veterans, and another AJPW vs NJPW clash. In line with this, Fuchi is more than happy to fight dirty, attacking the NJPW duo from the bell and standing on the face of Chono. Mr T comes in an offers some blows to Fuchi’s stomach, but Fuchi takes it to the mat and works over his legs, locking in an STF followed by an Indian Deathlock. However, as good as Fuchi is on the mat, he falls prey to the team of Chono and T, who hit him with a neato spike piledriver. Whilst Chono continues to beat up Fuchi, however, Koshinaka piledrives Goto on the ramp to the ring, which allows the heel team to make the most of their man advantage. Koshinaka hits a top rope butt-butt and a powerbomb for two. Mr T comes back and holds Koshinaka in place for Chono, but Chono is still on the mat and, when he does get up, his Yakuza kick attempt is ducked, hitting T in the face. This doesn’t hinder the face team for long, as they throw Fuchi from the ring and Goto nails Koshinaka with a lariat for the win. Watchable, but not amazing.
Toshiaki Kawada vs Kensuke Sasaki
This, on the other hand, is absolutely awesome. It’s our final AJPW vs NJPW encounter, with two company aces going head to head. Ergo, we’ve got a real big-match atmosphere. An opening strike exchange is pretty even, but ends with Kawada outside the ring regaining his bearings. Back in, Kawada tries taking control on the mat, but Sasaki breaks free and nails a big lariat. This prompts a chop exchange that ends with Sasaki on one knee, allowing Kawada to down him with an enzuigiri. Kawada takes this as a cue to just kick the shit out of Sasaki, constantly wearing him down. After taking a belly-to-back suplex, Sasaki starts to come back, blocking a powerbomb attempt and hitting two big lariats for a two count. Sasaki locks in a sharpshooter, which gets broken by Kawada making the ropes. Sasaki tries to lariat him down again, but his lariats have no effect on Kawada. This leads to both men exchanging lariats, which Sasaki eventually wins, only for Kawada to get straight back up and level him with a Yakuza kick! This is terrific. A double lariat puts both men down. Sasaki gets up, but tries another lariat and runs into an enzuigiri from Kawada, which hits him on the lariat arm! Kawada hits another three enzuigiri’s, but a fourth is blocked. Sasaki tries another lariat, but runs directly into another Kawada enzuigiri, which is enough to get the win in a colossal war. Just an fantastic match, with both guys getting to look near invincible as they trade bombs in an attempt to finally put the other away. Strongly recommended.
Friday, 12 August 2011
MLW Reload 2002
Back when I was first getting into the indies, this was the first non-WWE/WCW/ECW tape I ever bought. I think the lure was getting to see so many different styles on one show. MLW flew in guys from Mexico and Japan for the show, and not just any old guys, but proper stars like La Parka, Shocker, the Far East Connection and Satoshi Kojima. Unfortunately the business model wasn't sound and they swiftly went out of business. However, the production values were top notch for an indy, plus we get the benefits of Joey Styles commentating.
Fuego Guerrero vs Super Crazy
Guerrero is Amazing Red under a hood, a fact outed by both Joey Styles and the crowd who chant “Red” at him. The opening moments see Guerrero staying one step ahead of Crazy, including a beautiful flying headscissors. Crazy uses his smarts to take control, using two different sunset flip reversals to out-do Guerrero, but again falls prey to the speed of Guerrero, who sends him out and hits a beautiful plancha. Back inside, Crazy is able to regain control and really starts to dominate. Crazy nails a springboard moonsault and a corkscrew elbow, before getting two on a cocky cover following a powerbomb. Guerrero manages to reverse a second try into a tornado DDT. They manage to blow the Code Red, but Red hits a swank looking enzuigiri. A spin kick sends Crazy outside, and Red follows with a spectacular corkscrew moonsault. Back in, a Red Star Press gets two, but Crazy avoids a senton and hits a powerbomb for the win. Excellent opener, Crazy gave Red a fair bit here and everything Red did looked really crisp.
La Parka vs Shocker
La Parka slaps Shocker across the face on a handshake, and they launch into a really nice sequence of counters and reversals, ending in the applause stance. Shocker sends Parka outside and feints a dive, but his cockiness backfires as Parka suckers him outside and kicks him as he re-enters the ring. Shocker then takes a 360 bump from a La Parka shoulderblock, but Parka soon outbumps him, first landing on his head on a backdrop, then flying over the top rope to the floor on a monkey flip. La Parka rallies back and nails a corkscrew moonsault, before hitting a senton for two. Shocker briefly fires back, avoiding a Parka chairshot by dropkicking it into Parka’s face, but his subsequent suicide dive sends him headfirst into a chairshot. Somehow, Shocker regroups and nails Parka with 3 sentons for 2. La Majistral gets 2. Shocker then tries a Bronco Buster, but gets greeted with a boot to the groin, and a Parka corkscrew bodypress gets the win.
Christopher Daniels, Ikuto Hidaka & Dick Togo vs The SAT & Quiet Storm
I will go on record now as stating this is the best SAT match I’ve ever seen. I’d also add this isn’t Daniels, Togo and Hidaka carrying them, more a case of the SAT and Storm bringing themselves up to their opponents level. The SAT work really tightly here, not blowing anything and, thanks to the match structure, not just turning this into a spotfest. All 6 guys take it in turns to work a sequence in the early stages, before the heels (ostensibly Hidaka, Togo and Daniels, though the fans love some Dick) throw their opponents out of the ring, where it all starts to break down. I’d forgotten that Quiet Storm is actually pretty good at working the gusty little tough guy role, levelling Daniels with a big clothesline. Togo comes in and lands face first on an SAT drop toehold. Daniels comes in, which leads to a somewhat convoluted submission hold involving the SAT, Daniels and Togo. Togo nails Joel with an awesome looking DDT to take over, and Joel is the face-in-peril. The heels work over Joel so effectively that the same fans who were chanting “Dick” earlier start up an SAT chant. Hidaka works over the knee of Joel, before Dick nails him with a big swanton. Dick then hits a big brainbuster for two. The heels work in a fun spot where they lure the faces in, distracting the ref, so they can take turns posing on the prone body of Joel Maximo. Joel eventually makes the hot tag and all the guys bust in, leading to a series of dives, culminating with a springboard corkscrew moonsault by Hidaka. Back in, Hell has still broken lose as Storm hits Hidaka with a Widow’s Peak for 2, Daniels gets two following a BME on Jose and the SAT hit the Spanish Fly on Togo (possibly injuring Togo’s ankle) for a broken up two count. We end up with just Storm and Daniels in the ring, with Daniels picking up the win following a Roll The Dice neckbreaker. Fantastic match.
Terry Funk vs Chris Candido
This very much is not a good match. Candido is wearing the Funk-esque trunks he wore at the end of his brief WCW run. Funk starts out stalling and frustrating Candido, but his movements look like he’s in slow motion. Tammy Sytch manages to give Candido an advantage by grabbing Funk’s leg on a break and they head outside for some unspeakably dull brawling. Candido tries to enliven things with some big bumps, first taking a suplex from the ring to the floor, then taking a nasty looking spill over the safety rails. He then tries to top this by taking a piledriver on the floor, which is concrete protected by some carpet. Funk doesn’t help him much, hitting something that looked halfway between a suplex and a brainbuster (called as a DDT by Styles) on the metal ramp. Candido brings a ladder into the ring, and Funk awkwardly falls over trying to pick it up. I know that the Funker was pretty old at the time, but this is not one of his better performances. They botch….something ladder related in the corner, earning some boos. Candido gets two from a diving headbutt, but misses one from the ladder, then takes an odd looking bump over the top from an Irish whip. Tammy gives Funk a low blow while the ref is distracted (though he seemed pretty cool about all the ladders in the ring), but Funk no-sells it and gives her a DDT, before treating her to a bloody bite on the backside. With Candido back in, Funk hits an awkward looking neckbreaker through some chairs. Candido tries a small package on a spinning toehold attempt, but Funk reverses to a small package of his own for the win. My notes end with the phrase “bag of wank”, which sums this match up perfectly.
Steve Corino vs Vampiro vs the Sandman
This is scheduled for a 1-on-1 match between the Canadians, before “Enter Sandman” summons the arrival of the Sandman. Vamp and Corino double-team Sandman from the start, with Vampiro hitting the Nail In The Coffin early doors, before getting attacked by Corino. We get a rather average brawl out of the ring, though Sandman and Corino take some nasty-looking bumps on the steel ramp from Vampiro. Vamp looks to be in the best shape of the three men, and hits both with some firm looking kicks. Sandman’s role seems to be pretty much just putting weapons in the ring as he contributes nothing else, leaving Vamp and Corino to have some decent exchanges. Vamp and Sandman fight outside, which allows Corino to set up a piece of the safety rails in the ring, balanced on four chairs. This kinda backfires as Sandman superplexes Corino onto the railing, but Vamp comes along and pins Sandman, who has managed to hurt himself in the process. However, to my shock, it turns out this is an elimination match, so we continue with Vamp and Corino. They look really good in the ring together, though Vamp has the advantage due to Corino still feeling the effects of the superplex. Corino hits the Old School Expulsion out of nowhere for two and hits a second rope cutter for the win. Bit of a mess and would really have been better without Sandman.
Sabu vs Taiyo Kea
Magnificently, Styles claims that Sabu is in the best shape of his career, then points out the bandages on Sabu’s shoulder in the same sentence. That said, Sabu looks really “on” here: his strikes look good and there’s not of his usual sloppiness on his highspots. Sabu misses a baseball slide and gets tossed into the safety rails, before Kea hits a pescado. Back inside, Kea locks in a sharpshooter, and I really dig the way he kicks Sabu in the back while flipping him over. Sabu manages to bail outside and avoids a second pescado, before throwing Kea into the crowd and hitting an insane chair-assisted dive. Sabu tries to set up a table, but takes too long and Kea throws him back in the ring. Kea goes to the top rope, but Sabu gets up to nail a sick looking top rope DDT. Sabu tries for the triple jump moonsault, but Kea droptoeholds him face-first onto the chair. Kea goes up top again, but gets caught by Sabu, who hits a perfect top rope rana, followed by a springboard legdrop for two. Sabu goes back to the table from earlier and puts Kea through it with a legdrop. Back in, the triple jump moonsault only gets two. Sabu runs the ropes, but gets caught with a Frankensteiner by Kea. An enzuigiri sends Sabu face first onto a chair. Kea gives Sabu two Hawaiian Crushes (TKO) then hits the Hawaii 5-0 for the win. Pretty good match, both guys seemed on, though it was a little spotty in places. I really liked the way that, rather than hit a finisher and risk Sabu kicking out, Kea decided to hit 3 in a row to ensure Sabu wasn’t going to escape.
Satoshi Kojima vs Jerry Lynn
This is for the vacant MLW title. I’d like to highlight that Kojima’s entrance attire is fucking awesome. This match is mainly Kojima dominating Lynn, but Lynn using his veteran wiles to escape from moves and hit counters. Kojima takes Lynn down early and locks in a STF, forcing Lynn to the ropes. Kojima starts to subtly heel it up, not breaking cleanly and pretending not to understand English. Kojima hits a flurry of strikes in the corner,, but misses an 2nd rope elbow. Lynn send Kojima to the corner and hits a flurry of his own. Kojima no-sells 3 Lynn clotheslines, but Lynn manages to reverse a slam into an inverted DDT for two, Lynn avoids a lariat and hits a German suplex, which he really has to fight for, for 2. Lynn then hits a tornado DDT for two. Kojima avoids a Lynn clothesline and hits him with a Sky High for two. Lynn comes back with a TKO for two, but Kojima blocks a cradle piledriver attempt and nits a Michinoku Driver for two. A huge Lariat gets the win, and the MLW title, for Kojima. I really like the way they’d put over the Lariat as a death finisher- Styles had talked earlier about Kojima being mentored by Stan Hansen, and the ref recoiled when Kojima hit it. Really fun match, and a more than adequate main event.
Fuego Guerrero vs Super Crazy
Guerrero is Amazing Red under a hood, a fact outed by both Joey Styles and the crowd who chant “Red” at him. The opening moments see Guerrero staying one step ahead of Crazy, including a beautiful flying headscissors. Crazy uses his smarts to take control, using two different sunset flip reversals to out-do Guerrero, but again falls prey to the speed of Guerrero, who sends him out and hits a beautiful plancha. Back inside, Crazy is able to regain control and really starts to dominate. Crazy nails a springboard moonsault and a corkscrew elbow, before getting two on a cocky cover following a powerbomb. Guerrero manages to reverse a second try into a tornado DDT. They manage to blow the Code Red, but Red hits a swank looking enzuigiri. A spin kick sends Crazy outside, and Red follows with a spectacular corkscrew moonsault. Back in, a Red Star Press gets two, but Crazy avoids a senton and hits a powerbomb for the win. Excellent opener, Crazy gave Red a fair bit here and everything Red did looked really crisp.
La Parka vs Shocker
La Parka slaps Shocker across the face on a handshake, and they launch into a really nice sequence of counters and reversals, ending in the applause stance. Shocker sends Parka outside and feints a dive, but his cockiness backfires as Parka suckers him outside and kicks him as he re-enters the ring. Shocker then takes a 360 bump from a La Parka shoulderblock, but Parka soon outbumps him, first landing on his head on a backdrop, then flying over the top rope to the floor on a monkey flip. La Parka rallies back and nails a corkscrew moonsault, before hitting a senton for two. Shocker briefly fires back, avoiding a Parka chairshot by dropkicking it into Parka’s face, but his subsequent suicide dive sends him headfirst into a chairshot. Somehow, Shocker regroups and nails Parka with 3 sentons for 2. La Majistral gets 2. Shocker then tries a Bronco Buster, but gets greeted with a boot to the groin, and a Parka corkscrew bodypress gets the win.
Christopher Daniels, Ikuto Hidaka & Dick Togo vs The SAT & Quiet Storm
I will go on record now as stating this is the best SAT match I’ve ever seen. I’d also add this isn’t Daniels, Togo and Hidaka carrying them, more a case of the SAT and Storm bringing themselves up to their opponents level. The SAT work really tightly here, not blowing anything and, thanks to the match structure, not just turning this into a spotfest. All 6 guys take it in turns to work a sequence in the early stages, before the heels (ostensibly Hidaka, Togo and Daniels, though the fans love some Dick) throw their opponents out of the ring, where it all starts to break down. I’d forgotten that Quiet Storm is actually pretty good at working the gusty little tough guy role, levelling Daniels with a big clothesline. Togo comes in and lands face first on an SAT drop toehold. Daniels comes in, which leads to a somewhat convoluted submission hold involving the SAT, Daniels and Togo. Togo nails Joel with an awesome looking DDT to take over, and Joel is the face-in-peril. The heels work over Joel so effectively that the same fans who were chanting “Dick” earlier start up an SAT chant. Hidaka works over the knee of Joel, before Dick nails him with a big swanton. Dick then hits a big brainbuster for two. The heels work in a fun spot where they lure the faces in, distracting the ref, so they can take turns posing on the prone body of Joel Maximo. Joel eventually makes the hot tag and all the guys bust in, leading to a series of dives, culminating with a springboard corkscrew moonsault by Hidaka. Back in, Hell has still broken lose as Storm hits Hidaka with a Widow’s Peak for 2, Daniels gets two following a BME on Jose and the SAT hit the Spanish Fly on Togo (possibly injuring Togo’s ankle) for a broken up two count. We end up with just Storm and Daniels in the ring, with Daniels picking up the win following a Roll The Dice neckbreaker. Fantastic match.
Terry Funk vs Chris Candido
This very much is not a good match. Candido is wearing the Funk-esque trunks he wore at the end of his brief WCW run. Funk starts out stalling and frustrating Candido, but his movements look like he’s in slow motion. Tammy Sytch manages to give Candido an advantage by grabbing Funk’s leg on a break and they head outside for some unspeakably dull brawling. Candido tries to enliven things with some big bumps, first taking a suplex from the ring to the floor, then taking a nasty looking spill over the safety rails. He then tries to top this by taking a piledriver on the floor, which is concrete protected by some carpet. Funk doesn’t help him much, hitting something that looked halfway between a suplex and a brainbuster (called as a DDT by Styles) on the metal ramp. Candido brings a ladder into the ring, and Funk awkwardly falls over trying to pick it up. I know that the Funker was pretty old at the time, but this is not one of his better performances. They botch….something ladder related in the corner, earning some boos. Candido gets two from a diving headbutt, but misses one from the ladder, then takes an odd looking bump over the top from an Irish whip. Tammy gives Funk a low blow while the ref is distracted (though he seemed pretty cool about all the ladders in the ring), but Funk no-sells it and gives her a DDT, before treating her to a bloody bite on the backside. With Candido back in, Funk hits an awkward looking neckbreaker through some chairs. Candido tries a small package on a spinning toehold attempt, but Funk reverses to a small package of his own for the win. My notes end with the phrase “bag of wank”, which sums this match up perfectly.
Steve Corino vs Vampiro vs the Sandman
This is scheduled for a 1-on-1 match between the Canadians, before “Enter Sandman” summons the arrival of the Sandman. Vamp and Corino double-team Sandman from the start, with Vampiro hitting the Nail In The Coffin early doors, before getting attacked by Corino. We get a rather average brawl out of the ring, though Sandman and Corino take some nasty-looking bumps on the steel ramp from Vampiro. Vamp looks to be in the best shape of the three men, and hits both with some firm looking kicks. Sandman’s role seems to be pretty much just putting weapons in the ring as he contributes nothing else, leaving Vamp and Corino to have some decent exchanges. Vamp and Sandman fight outside, which allows Corino to set up a piece of the safety rails in the ring, balanced on four chairs. This kinda backfires as Sandman superplexes Corino onto the railing, but Vamp comes along and pins Sandman, who has managed to hurt himself in the process. However, to my shock, it turns out this is an elimination match, so we continue with Vamp and Corino. They look really good in the ring together, though Vamp has the advantage due to Corino still feeling the effects of the superplex. Corino hits the Old School Expulsion out of nowhere for two and hits a second rope cutter for the win. Bit of a mess and would really have been better without Sandman.
Sabu vs Taiyo Kea
Magnificently, Styles claims that Sabu is in the best shape of his career, then points out the bandages on Sabu’s shoulder in the same sentence. That said, Sabu looks really “on” here: his strikes look good and there’s not of his usual sloppiness on his highspots. Sabu misses a baseball slide and gets tossed into the safety rails, before Kea hits a pescado. Back inside, Kea locks in a sharpshooter, and I really dig the way he kicks Sabu in the back while flipping him over. Sabu manages to bail outside and avoids a second pescado, before throwing Kea into the crowd and hitting an insane chair-assisted dive. Sabu tries to set up a table, but takes too long and Kea throws him back in the ring. Kea goes to the top rope, but Sabu gets up to nail a sick looking top rope DDT. Sabu tries for the triple jump moonsault, but Kea droptoeholds him face-first onto the chair. Kea goes up top again, but gets caught by Sabu, who hits a perfect top rope rana, followed by a springboard legdrop for two. Sabu goes back to the table from earlier and puts Kea through it with a legdrop. Back in, the triple jump moonsault only gets two. Sabu runs the ropes, but gets caught with a Frankensteiner by Kea. An enzuigiri sends Sabu face first onto a chair. Kea gives Sabu two Hawaiian Crushes (TKO) then hits the Hawaii 5-0 for the win. Pretty good match, both guys seemed on, though it was a little spotty in places. I really liked the way that, rather than hit a finisher and risk Sabu kicking out, Kea decided to hit 3 in a row to ensure Sabu wasn’t going to escape.
Satoshi Kojima vs Jerry Lynn
This is for the vacant MLW title. I’d like to highlight that Kojima’s entrance attire is fucking awesome. This match is mainly Kojima dominating Lynn, but Lynn using his veteran wiles to escape from moves and hit counters. Kojima takes Lynn down early and locks in a STF, forcing Lynn to the ropes. Kojima starts to subtly heel it up, not breaking cleanly and pretending not to understand English. Kojima hits a flurry of strikes in the corner,, but misses an 2nd rope elbow. Lynn send Kojima to the corner and hits a flurry of his own. Kojima no-sells 3 Lynn clotheslines, but Lynn manages to reverse a slam into an inverted DDT for two, Lynn avoids a lariat and hits a German suplex, which he really has to fight for, for 2. Lynn then hits a tornado DDT for two. Kojima avoids a Lynn clothesline and hits him with a Sky High for two. Lynn comes back with a TKO for two, but Kojima blocks a cradle piledriver attempt and nits a Michinoku Driver for two. A huge Lariat gets the win, and the MLW title, for Kojima. I really like the way they’d put over the Lariat as a death finisher- Styles had talked earlier about Kojima being mentored by Stan Hansen, and the ref recoiled when Kojima hit it. Really fun match, and a more than adequate main event.
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