CHIKARA The Renaissance Dawns 2002

Just before Christmas, I decided to invest in a CHIKARAtopia subscription, which at approx. £5 felt like a good investment. I wasn't sure where to begin with CHIKARA, so I've gone all the way back to the first event. Seems a logical starting point. There's fun retrospective commentary from Mike Quackenbush and Bryce Remsberg to go with the matches.

Mr Zero vs Dragonfly

Mr Zero isn’t wearing the mask he’d become better known for wearing, which Quackenbush explains on commentary: apparently Zero had ordered his mask, but it didn’t arrive in time, forcing him to improvise from a local costume shop. This is the first match for both guys, and it’s pretty decent considering. They work some basic, competent mat stuff to start, before Zero turns it up a bit with a big clothesline in the corner. Zero works in some of his character-based comedy early, reading the business pages with Dragonfly locked in a camel clutch, then taking frequent gulps of coffee. Zero takes a posting on the outside of the ring, and Dragonfly takes control with some beginners-level high flying. I did like him neck-snapping Zero over the top rope from a tornado DDT position, and he hit a nice tilt-a-whirl DDT. Zero comes back with a huge German suplex and a Michinoku Driver variation for the win.

Marshal Law & Lovebug vs Hallowicked & Ichabod Slayne

Law is that oddly American kind of fat where he has no noticeable neck. Law and Bug are the faces, and they dominate early with two successive stereo atomic drops. The heels soon get Lovebug as their face in peril, and work him over well. Lovebug is able to hit a cutter to break this momentum and tag in Law, who introduces himself with a big shoulderbreaker. The comeback is short lived for the faces, as he takes a big flat back bump to the floor from the apron off a neck snap, which looked nasty. The heels wisely focus on his back with a series of kicks. Law is now face in peril, and Hallowicked hits a Burning Hammer on his partner onto Law, which gets a 2. All four guys end up in the ring, and the faces hit a 2^nd rope Hart Attack on Slayne, which Lovebug smoothly transitions into a reverse crab for the tapout win. This was decent enough.

Kid Kruel vs Zane Madrox

Kruel became better known for his spell in WWE developmental as Mike Kruel, and you can see why they might pick him up – he’s in very good shape, yet surprisingly agile for his size. Madrox is an odd looking character, tall but with a vacant look on his face, and Quackenbush says that he just stopped turning up for shows he was booked on. Madrox hits a nice spinebuster and splash early, but does look a bit lost on occasion. Kruel takes control of the match, and works Madrox over nicely by focusing on the shoulder. Madrox is hyped up on commentary as being surprisingly powerful, which he proves with a gutwrench suplex followed by a double powerbomb. Madrox is on a decent run of offence, but stops to eats some crisps outside the ring. He offers some to Kruel, who swiftly locks in a cross-armbreaker for the tap victory. Odd ending to a good match.

Blind Rage vs Ultramantis

This is before Ultramantis added the “Black” to his name. Rage is apparently more experienced, and he takes control with a slick series of moves, which Ultramantis does well to keep up with. Rage hits three quick flip sentons for a 2 count. Loved him casually arguing with the ref to distract from him choking Ultramantis with his shin bone. Rage hits a big backbreaker and holds Ultramantis over his leg, which I always love. Quackenbush highlights how Ultramantis used to use a lot of butterfly moves, to go with his whole “insect” theme, which is quickly proven with a butterfly praying mantis bomb for 2. Rage comes back with a Niagra Driver and a Gory Bomb for the win. Really fun match, Rage in particular looked good.

Mike Quackenbush, Reckless Youth & Don Montoya vs Chris Hero, CM Punk & Colt Cabana

The main event noticeably features 6 guys with more experience than the rest of the card. This was so fast-paced and endlessly entertaining, with all six guys working seamlessly together. We get some initial matwork with Quack pairing off with Hero, Colt with Reckless and Punk with Montoya. I chuckled at Montoya being too heavy for Punk to try and take over with a fireman’s carry, and it’s followed by a spot where Punk uses Montoya as a surfboard, only for the much bigger Montoya to return the favour moments later. Quack takes a huge dive to the floor to signal that things are about to pick up. Punk works well as a sneaky heel, with eye pokes and quick escapes from the ring to evade Montoya, but when he gets caught, Don chops the shit out of him. The heels work a fun heat section on Montoya, who tries making a comeback by pulling Punk’s shorts down and hitting a big DDT. A fun 6-person submission spot follows as things start to break down and get out of control. Colt hits a nasty looking Colt 45 on Youth, but the pin is broken up at 2. Youth responds by hitting a tornado DDT from the apron to the floor, which must have hurt. A big tope by Montoya, which he’d teased earlier, wipes out Hero and Punk. Quack nails a reverse rana on Colt and Reckless finishes it off with a 2K2 Bomb for the win. Super fun spotfest, which the crowd ate up.

JCW Slam TV Episode 1

I'm 33. I've got a reasonable degree from a decent university. I'm pretty intelligent - I read War & Peace from beginning to end, even the boring final chapter about battle techniques. Yet somehow, I'm still partial to the Insane Clown Posse. I wouldn't sport the facepaint or drink terrible cheap pop drinks, but musically I regularly have an ICP album in my car for which I feel no shame. So when I saw a DVD set of Juggalo Championshit Wrestling episodes on Amazon for a reasonable price, I couldn't resist. There's four disks, with 8 episodes of wrestling leading up to the finale, dubbed "Westside Wars", so I'm going to make my way through these episodes in the coming months. There's a fun selection of guys I enjoy on the shows, including Tracy Smothers and the Necro Butcher, plus some goofy ICP commentary, so these should be fun at the very least.

NOSAWA vs “Holy” Trent Acid

Trent is working a sinister preacher gimmick here, complete with a slow walk to the ring that ICP quip they’ve clipped down from 45 minutes to only 17. Acid stalls pre-match and cuts a “cheap heat” (called by ICP) promo on the crowd, but he does take a hilarious bump when hit with a plastic bottle. The match had a 10 minute time limit, which was good as I’ve seen both guys struggle when working longer singles matches, but this ended up being a pretty fun bout. Loved NOSAWA halting his run as Acid tried a leapfrog, instead nailing Trent with a superkick as he lands. Acid heels it up for a baying audience, doing mock karate poses after kicking NOSAWA down and employing a series of chokes when in control. Acid takes a big bump over the ropes to the hard floor, but NOSAWA spends too long playing to the crowd after throwing him back in the ring, allowing Trent to hit a lovely tornado DDT, swinging NOSAWA down with real velocity. Trent tries setting up some chairs in the ring, but ends up getting superplexed through them for a two count. The end sees Acid use the referee as a shield, and knock NOSAWA out with his bible behind his back for the victory.

Zach Gowan vs 2 Tuff Tony

Gowen cut an awesome dickhead promo before this match, and is billed as “The Asshole” Zach Gowen. To back up this nickname, Gowen spends a while pre-match riling up the crowd. Tony reacts to this by pretending Gowen’s fake leg is a penis. Tony beats Gowen up to start, including a great Gowen goofy punchdrunk sell of his blows, but Zach trips him into the middle turnbuckle and starts to work him over. It sounds strange, but Gowen only having one leg makes his offense seem more painful. He uses his leg like a dart, hitting precise dropkicks right to the skull of Tony. Gowen taunts the crowd some more by dancing, then hits a one legged footstomp, which drives all his weight into Tony through his one leg. Tony breaks a nerve hold with some milky looking blows, but makes up for it with a thunderous lariat. A decent flipping legdrop to Gowen only gets a 2. Tony gets knees up as Gowen tries a moonsault, and hits a reverse piledriver, which looks nicely brutal. This should be enough for the pin, but Tony finishes him off with the Meteorite, which is basically a punch, only Tony sets his fist on fire first. Wonderfully goofy, and this was an enjoyable bout.

The Spectacular Legacy of the AWA

This review is basically the matches that come as bonus footage on the WWE's AWA set from about 10 years ago. The match listing looks pretty interesting, but sadly most of the matches are clipped to shit, with only the last three appearing in full. It's pretty disappointing, but the three full matches are all good-great, and there's some fun to be had within the clipped bouts

 

High Flyers vs Nick Bockwinkel & Ray Stevens

This was a fun match, worked at a pretty frantic pace throughout. Loved how vicious the heels were from the opening bell, which sets the theme for the match: Bockwinkel and Stevens would cheat at every opportunity they could.  The High Flyers have to rely on their pace to control things, and there is a lovely sequence where Stevens catches a Gagne dropkick and turns it into a giant swing, only for Gagne to use the momentum to flip Stevens over with his legs. The end sees Gagne lock in a sleeper, only for Bobby Heenan to distract the ref to allow Stevens and Bockwinkel to double-team Gagne. The ref gets so fed up with Heenan that he decks him, and the heels attack the ref and continue to destroy Gagne. It takes the intervention of Larry Hennig to end the onslaught.

Verne Gagne vs Baron von Raschke

This is clipped in places, but remains pretty easy to follow. Gagne was 48 here, but still was quite sprightly and moved quickly throughout. As a Fritz von Erich fan, I dug the tension of Raschke powering up from the mat to lock the Iron Claw on Gagne. I loved Raschke trying to hit Gagne, who ducked and dived to evade the blows and locked in a nice looking armbar. Gagne used his speed again to avoid more blows and lock in a sleeper. The end sees Raschke try a back suplex, only for Gagne to get his feet on the top rope and power backwards, landing on top for the pin. It was a slightly more awkward version of the Hart/Piper ending, but this was still fun.

Pat Patterson & Ray Stevens vs Billy Robinson & Frankie Hill

The story here saw Robinson stepping in as partner to Hill, whose partner hadn’t shown. Stevens and Patterson take control with a sneak attack, but Robinson takes over and slingshots Patterson into Stevens. A big backbreaker on Patterson sees him pick up the first fall.

Something that becomes apparent in the second fall is that Hill is pretty useless. Most of the time he’s in sees him on defence, always sacrificing the advantage. In contrast, Robinson looks terrific throughout here. He does some fun looking arm work, but it always manages to look vicious, like he’s doing real damage to the arm. Things like going for an Irish whip, but holding onto the arm to yank them back into the middle of the ring. He also holds Stevens in a front hammerlock which he then rams into the mat with a rolling armbar. Love it. Stevens and Patterson take some big bumps for him, as he’s always one step ahead of them. Stevens hits a top rope  knee drop to Robinson’s back while he’s got Patterson covered, earning a DQ and giving the match to Hill and Robinson. They brutalise Robinson post match, and I thought this was a lot of fun.

Verne Gagne & Mad Dog Vachon vs Jesse Ventura & Adrian Adonis

This is JIP. I liked Gagne showing a tougher side, going for eye rakes on the heels, but this match is a whole load of nothing, running barely 5 minutes of face offence before it dissolves into a brawl and gets thrown out

Verne Gagne vs Nick Bockwinkel

This was billed as Gagne’s last match, defending the heavyweight title. We’re again JIP with a ref bump. Gagne was looking significantly older than in the Vachon match and, while he was still moving around well, he looks too old to be a credible champion at this point. Bock hits a piledriver for two. Gagne locks in a sleeper, but Bockwinkel reverses it and looks to have the match won. Gagne tries to break free before eventually hitting a desperation back-suplex for the win. 5 mins aired, but it seemed fine.

High Flyer vs Jesse Ventura & Adrian Adonis

We’re heavily in JIP territory now, as this is another 5 min clip job. Ventura really took awkward bumps, too exaggerated for a guy his size. I dug Brunzell in this match, you can sense his hatred for the opposition with the aggression of his attacks. He can’t even resist when Ventura is stuck in the Flyers’ corner, choking him behind the referee’s back. I also liked Adonis when he got in, laying into Gagne with some nice clubbing blows, and hitting a decent looking bulldog. He also takes some nice bumps, flying into the turnbuckles on a failed second bulldog. Everything breaks down and a spike piledriver on Gagne is enough for the win. Would have liked to have seen more. 

Nick Bockwinkel vs Hulk Hogan

Another match clipped to the final five minutes. Again, what we saw was quite fun, and Hogan was ridiculously over. The countalong when he rams Bock into the turnbuckles 10 times is really loud. Hogan hits the big boot and legdrop, but Bobby Heenan hits him with a foreign object over the ref’s head as he goes for the cover. Hogan is cut open, but manages to grab the object when Heenan tries to throw it to Bockwinkel, and nails Bock for the win and title. A caption at the bottom informs that Hogan was stripped of the title a week later for using the foreign object.

Jesse Ventura vs Baron von Raschke

Not that I suspect this match will be much cop, but this feels like a waste of time due to how little of the match is shown. Of the 7 minutes run time, 2 mins is an interview with Ventura, 1.5 mins is the introductions, including Ventura taking off his earrings for 30 seconds, then we clip to a Ventura armbar for a minute. The Baron makes the comeback, claws Ventura to the outside and we get a double-countout. Dreadful.

Hulk Hogan vs Mr Saito

This is billed as a handicap match with Mr Hatori on the DVD, but this is clearly a singles match. We come in to find Hogan in control of Saito, before the interference of David Schultz leads to a ref bump. Hatori throws salt in Hogan’s eyes, and Schultz works him over with Saito for the DQ. Afterwards, Hogan beats both men up. Waste of time.

The Legion of Doom vs The Crusher, Larry Hennig & Curt Hennig

Our final JIP bout. The LOD consists of the Road Warriors and Paul Ellering. Larry Hennig makes the hot tag to Curt, but he soon gets worked over by the Warriors. Big back suplex by Hawk and some real strength by Animal to hold Hennig up for three backbreakers. Ellering is tagged in, but is the weak link of the team, as Hawk has to save him on a rollup before Henning is able to tag out. Crusher rolls over Ellering, Hennig throws both Warriors to the floor before hitting a move the camera misses for the win. Looked fun. 

The Midnight Rockers vs Doug Somers & Buddy Rose

This is a cage match, with pinfall and submission rules only. The Rockers totally dominate the heels for the first part of the match, busting both men open early on. I loved how they teamed up to whip Somers into the cage with real velocity. Rose smartly eye-rakes Jannetty as he gestures for a noggin-knocker, but the Rockers are so fired up that Marty is soon back in control. Jannetty starts picking up the heels on pins to inflict more punishment. It gets to the point where Somers is only able to get control on Michaels with a desperation headbutt to the groin, rising up from his knees. Even then Michaels looks fired up, and Rose has to repeatedly ram Michaels into the cage to wear him down. Michaels starts to bleed, so Rose focuses his attention on Shawn’s head with a DDT. Loved Rose and Somers focusing on Michaels’ cut, biting and punching at the head. Somers lifts Shawn from the mat on a pin, but this backfires as Michaels starts to fight him from the mat and is able to make the hot tag. Jannetty ends up fighting with Rose on top of the cage, and wins, sending Rose crashing to the mat. Jannetty follows this with a crossbody from the top onto Somers for the win. Really great match, a proper brutal, bloodsoaked war.

 

Curt Hennig vs Nick Bockwinkel

Man, this is a really great match with a really shaky finish. Bockwinkel is defending the AWA title here. Loved all the matwork at the start. It really felt like both guys were earning the holds they put on, and had some awesome little touches like Bock twice reversing a headlock to a headscissors, but Hennig tucking in his head the third time, leaving Bock stuck in the hold. Hennig misses a corner charge, and hurtles to the outside, hurting his arm. Bockwinkel focuses on this injury, and works the arm beautifully. I like how he constantly changes position when in holds, working the limb and making it harder for Hennig to reverse. He also lays into the injury with some nice meaty blows. Hennig attacks Bock’s knee to escape, and now this gives him a bodypart to focus on. I love how Bockwinkel sells the figure four, first by panicking when he realises Hennig is locking it in, then by biting his fingers to try and divert the pain when it is locked in. Similarly, I loved Hennig trying to grab Bock’s arm to prevent him making the ropes. Everything just feels so logical. Hennig starts to build momentum, getting close falls off a sunset flip, a rollup and a crossbody, but each time Bockwinkel is able to escape. Hennig hits the Axe to the head, but Bockwinkel makes the ropes. A piledriver is followed by a dropkick, but Bockwinkel is able to survive. Both go down, and a ringside Larry Zbyszko slips Hennig a roll of dimes. Really subtly too, before Henning hits Bockwinkel to win the title. Afterwards, however, there’s all manner of controversy as the title gets held up, pending a review of the video. A really unsatisfying ending to a terrific bout.

Jerry Lawler vs Kerry von Erich

This match, however, manages an even worse ending. This is a unification match for Lawler’s AWA and Kerry’s WCCW titles, and you can see throughout the backstage politics interfering in an otherwise fun match. Von Erich manages to cut his arm as he takes off his rope, so Lawler drops it over the top rope right away to at least give a reason for it to be bleeding. The early stages of this bout see Von Erich in control, with Lawler’s comebacks very short lived. Lawler is great at selling the shock of his missed punches, and I loved his smugness as a Von Erich splash is met with knees. It’s this smugness that makes Von Erich overwhelming him more effective, as Lawler realises he’s in big trouble. Von Erich even no sells a piledriver and, after an unaware Lawler has finished parading round, levels the King with a discus punch. When Lawler does get a pin attempt, Von Erich is healthy enough to press Lawler onto the ref. This is followed by Kerry hitting a piledriver with no ref to count, covering Lawler for 10-15 seconds, obviously to save face for Von Erich when he loses. Lawler has to resort to a foreign object in his tights to take control, busting Kerry open. He’s still too confident though, and Von Erich catch him with a claw to the midsection as he goes for the 2^nd rope fistdrop. Kerry moves the claw to the head, as the ref starts checking his bleeding, telegraphing the shitty finish. Kerry is firmly in control, but Lawler uses repeated hidden weapon shots to turn the tide before peppering him with blows, including some lovely showboating. Both go down from double blows, and Von Erich locks on the claw in the middle of the ring. It looks like he’s totally in control, so of course that’s the point where the ref stops the bout for Von Erich’s blood loss. Just the worst “protect the loser” ending that makes both men look bad, and the ref look like a total idiot. Having the “winner” passed out on the mat with the “loser” on his feet pissed off helped nobody. Aside from that, the match was really fun, with Lawler’s smug heel mannerisms really telling the story.

WWF Raw 24/01/1994

Lex Luger vs Austin Steele

Really dull squash, where Luger doesn’t do much to warm up the crowd. For example, why is buffed-up super-face Luger holding a side headlock on the mat on lumpy jobber Steele 2 minutes in? Steele gets in some basic looking offence before Luger finishes with a superplex.

Jeff Jarrett vs John Paul

Jarrett is proving himself to be a great squash worker on these old Raws. Loved his big dropkick here, and a nice heavy clothesline on Paul. Jarrett lets Paul get in a few flash pins throughout, but I love the fact that Jarrett will cheat even when in total control. What a heel. Dug seeing Jarrett bring out a slingshot suplex. The match ends with a fun little sequence of counters, and Jarrett wins with a roll-up and a handful of tights on a jobber squash. Great dickish work by Jarrett

 

Men On A Mission vs the Headshrinkers

This had been advertised prior to the Rumble as the Harts vs the Headshrinkers, so this is a real step down. Mo is really positioned as the weak link of the team, so you can see Vince plotting a Mabel push already. Mo even makes the mistake twice of trying to slam a Headshrinkers head, which doesn’t work. I liked a fun spot where, unbeknownst to Fatu, Mabel had tagged in and Samu refused to accept his tag. Fatu takes control on Mo with a pair of superkicks, so you can see where the Usos get their main offensive move from. A kick to the back makes Mo the face in peril, and the heat section is a little bland. Mo gets a few hope spots including a terrible small package. Mabel finally gets the hot tag, and I like that they paid off the “Headshrinkers no-sell head shots” story by having Mabel do a noggin-knocker with Afa and a Shrinker, with the payoff being that both heads were so strong that both felt pain. Things turn into a bit of a mess towards the end, before the Shrinkers finish Mo with the top rope splash. Not much to recommend here. 

Adam Bomb vs Tommy Angel

Interestingly, both Vince and JR talk up the bland looking Angel as a decent talent pre-match. Curiously, the commentators spend a lot of the match slamming manager Harvey Whippleman, stating that Bomb is wasting time and Harvey should order him to put Angel away. It’s odd, as Bomb is in complete control, bar a little flurry by Angel at the start. A flying clothesline and the Atom Smasher finish it.

Doink vs Joey Stallings

This is an odd state of affairs, as the recently sacked Matt Borne had been playing Doink as a talented mat wrestler and working all kinds of fun holds on guys. However, the replacement Doink (and I’m not sure which one it is here) is not as talented as Borne so, after an admittedly great overhead belly-to-belly, Doink hits some perfunctory armwork to try and maintain character. Problem is, he’s not as fluid or vicious as Borne was. Stallings gets to hit a nice side slam, before Doink folds him up with a side suplex (again, pretty good), and the Whoopee Cushion gets 3. 

Shawn Michaels vs Tyrone Knox

As good as Jeff Jarrett has looked on these old Raws, Michaels is proving to be a dull squash wrestler. He stooges too much for the stocky Knox here, then slowly works him over when he is on offence. This includes a chinlock that goes on for too long. Knox is allowed to no-sell a turnbuckle shot, but a superkick and piledriver win it for Michaels.

End of 2015 Round Up Post

As is now tradition, this is the round-up of the best stuff I reviewed last year. Thankfully, I've not seen enough shit this year to justify the return of the Bottom 5 again this year, so let's hope 2016 wont see me forced to bring it back. Also included is the top 5 matches I've seen live this year. I've pretty much stopped doing live reports, as they aren't as much fun to write and mean I don't just sit back and enjoy live shows, but these were the best 5 matches I saw in person this year. Enjoy!

Top 10 Blog Matches of the Year

 10. Yuko Miyamoto & Shinobu vs Konaka Pale One & DINASTY (666 07/03/2010)

Amidst all the wacky antics and baffling action in the 666 federation came this straight-up tag match that was a fine piece of work. Nice tag psychology, some snug exchanges and a fun ending sequence made this a pleasant surprise

9. Tom Zenk vs Brian Pillman (WCW Wrestlewar 1992)

Narrowly beating out the Pillman/Liger match from Superbrawl. Just felt this had more of a story running through it, the ex-tag partners who know each other well, one a bit stronger, the other a bit quicker. Part of the reason Wrestlewar is such a great PPV

8. 1-2-3 Kid & Marty Jannetty vs the Quebeccers (WWF Raw 10/01/1994)

There’s not been an abundance of gems on 1994 Raws, but this absolutely is one of them. Plays nicely on the expectations of the audience who know there can’t possibly be a title change so close to the Rumble…can there? Add to this some nice heel double teams and two great underdog faces, and the result is a terrific match.

7. Tyler Bate vs Jay Lethal (SWA Summer Blowout 2014)

His US debut in CHIKARA saw American audiences discover something we’ve known over here for a while: Tyler Bate is a bona fide star. Here he takes on a guy in Jay Lethal who I’ve liked over the years, but also disliked in many places, and they put on a great match. Lethal’s RoH TV title is on the line, so the result is never in doubt, but they make you believe it might be, and that’s great wrestling.

6. Rush vs Negro Casas (CMLL 16/08/2014)

Negro Casas really is the evergreen star of lucha. This was a hair-vs-hair, and though the first two falls were great, the final fall is so exciting and both guys really put their all into it.   

5. Jushin Liger vs Robbie Dynamite (All Star Wrestling 03/10/2014)

Dean Allmark’s YouTube account is a real blessing for fans of British wrestling, as he puts up all manner of fun All Star stuff. This came from a full show from last October he uploaded, and was a fine main event match. You’d forgive Liger for holding back a bit in a small Croydon town hall, but he throws back the years here. Dynamite isn’t just along for the ride, and both guys match up perfectly.

4. Bull Power vs Otto Wanz (Best of Reslo Vol 2)

A pre-Vader Leon White taking on another big bear of a man in Wanz, in late 80’s Austria. This was two behemoths going at it, almost felt like a Rocky match with Wanz taking an early pummelling, but slowly chiselling away at Power. Loved this.

3. Jerry Lawler vs Terry Funk (3PW Broadcast From Hell)

Even more odd than a 666 match making the list is an entry from my less-than-beloved 3PW. Here, two veteran campaigners put on the best match on a card full of ex-ECW stars and hot indy names by knowing the perfect way to get a reaction. WWE employee Lawler gleefully soaks up the hatred as he drills away at the beloved Funk, trolling the shit out of the audience and loving every minute. A masterclass in crowd work.

2. Mark Andrews vs Zack Sabre Jr (The Best of Mark Andrews: Fly Or Die Trying)

So my favourite UK indy Triple X Wrestling didn’t run any shows this year, but I was still able to relive some fond memories via this match that appeared on a great Andrews best of comp. This was top of my list for 2013, and I actually enjoyed it more the second time around. One of the best underdog faces in the UK vs the all-conquering technical wizard led to a really compelling match.

1. Sting, Nikita Koloff, Ricky Steamboat, Barry Windham & Dustin Rhodes vs Rick Rude, Steve Austin, Larry Zbyszko, Bobby Eaton & Arn Anderson (WCW Wrestlewar 1992)

It would have to be something special to keep one of my favourite live matches off the top of the list, but this is truly special. One of my favourite matches of all time, it’s a brutal, blood-soaked war, that manages to incorporate great story-telling, logical action, great spots and even some intricate little details into a fantastic match. The shortest 30 minutes in wrestling.

 Top 5 Live Matches of the Year

5. Mark Haskins vs DJZ (SWE, 27/2)

4. Mark Andrews & Pete Dunne vs Will Ospreay & Chris Sabin (SWE, 27/2)

3. Wild Boar vs Justin Hammer Sysum (Legacy, 6/6)

2. T-Bone vs El Ligero vs Chris Tyler (HOPE, 6/2)

1. Jack Jester vs Ryan Smile vs El Ligero vs Chris Tyler vs Joseph Conners vs LJ Heron (HOPE, 17/7)

HOPE Wrestling put on some of my favourite shows of the year in 2015, and were my favourite UK promotion of the year. This, on their 2^nd year anniversary show, was to crown the first HOPE wrestling champion, and really showed that they were right to wait. The crowd were rabid for this one, and the action was frantic, non-stop fun from start to finish.

WCW Wrestlewar 1992

The Fabulous Freebirds vs Taylor Made Man & Greg Valentine

This is a fun opener for the US tag titles that feels primarily designed to warm up the crowd. A good bulk of this match sees the Freebirds strutting and making the heel champions look like idiots. They even do some comic cheating, swapping over an armbar without tagging to the delight of the crowd. The heels aren’t able to get control until Taylor throws Garvin through the ropes for Valentine to work over on the floor. Even this is only temporary as Garvin soon reverses a suplex and gets knees up on a splash, before a clash of heads lets him make the hot tag. It breaks down and Hayes tries for the DDT, but Taylor hits him with the Fivearm for a two. The heels work heat on Hayes for a while, this time lasting a bit longer. Valentine locks in the figure four, which lasts less than 10 seconds before Garvin runs in to break it. Hot tag leads to Garvin running over both heels, and despite Valentine’s best attempts to stop it, Garvin hits the DDT on Taylor for the win.

Tracy Smothers vs Johnny B Badd
Smothers is still billed as “Young Pistol” Tracy at this point. Really fun undercard match, aided by just how into the character Badd is. Badd is still a bit green at this point, but his commitment to the role carries him through, whilst Smothers is able to carry him in ring. Smothers gets great height on a single-leg drop kick, which looks great. Smothers heels it up nicely, using the ropes to his advantage and striking Badd in the throat, before scoring with a lovely diving elbow. I also love how Smothers showboats after a leapfrog, just for a second, which results in him taking a knee to the face. Smothers misses a few wild swings (stooging nicely) and Badd nails the Kiss That Don’t Miss for the win. Enjoyed this a lot

Marcus Alexander Bagwell vs Scotty Flamingo

I appreciate the effort here of two guys trying to add some intensity to the match, as an even lock up soon leads to an exchange of slaps and punches. Bagwell looks a bit out of sorts during the match, not getting up easily for some back suplexes and looking a bit hesitant in places. This may be why Flamingo grounds him with a chinlock relatively early in the match. Bagwell hits a fisherman suplex too close to the ropes, which allows Flamingo to grab the ropes, and Scotty is able to reverse a Bagwell roll up to one of his own, with a handful of tights sealing the win.

Ron Simmons vs Mr Hughes

This is initially supposed to be a tag bout with Simmons teaming with Junkyard Dog and Hughes teaming with Cactus Jack. Instead, Jack assaults JYD from behind, and we end up with Simmons taking on Hughes in a singles bout. Watching a match like this, you can understand why Bill Watts wanted to make Simmons world champion. Simmons looks so good on offence, he’s powerful but with an explosiveness and quickness of movement that makes him exciting to watch. Hughes is another guy with good movement, but his offence never looks quite right, like it’s a little too hesitant. He wins brownie points here, though, for keeping his sunglasses on whilst wrestling. Simmons hits an impressive spinbuster and a knee chop for the victory.

Super Invader vs Todd Champion

Invader is Hercules with a pair of red tights over his head. He looks ridiculous and this squash match is very dull. I quite like Herc, but he hits a milky clothesline off the bat and the tone is set. Unconvincing karate strikes, chinlocks and chokes are the order of the day, and Champion is given very little in the way of hope spots. The crowd is utterly dead throughout. Even the transition to Champion’s comeback sucks, as Invader leaps off the top rope solely for the purpose of Champion getting his foot up. Thankfully, Champion only gets to his two piss-weak spinning elbows before Invader finishes him with a powerbomb. Dreadful.

Richard Morton vs Big Josh

This is a pretty fun deal, worked at a brisk pace by two guys who know their way around the ring. Josh’s offence looked really good here, absolutely loved his running forearm into the corner. I thought Morton trying to work the arm of Josh was a good, logical game plan, and he worked over it in interesting ways, not just resting in one hold. This really felt like two guys who knew they didn’t have much time, and were working an undercard bout, and just decided to have a good match. Loved Josh’s overhead belly-to-belly suplex, before the seated splash gave him the win.

Tom Zenk vs Brian Pillman

This is for Pillman’s lightheavyweight belt, and is face vs face. I liked how even the opening matwork was, establishing that the former partners knew each other well. It also subtly established that Pillman is slightly better on the mat and that Zenk is stronger. This strength allows him to force Pillman down with backslides and small cradles for flash pin attempts. Pillman starts working over Zenk’s leg, but misses a flip senton, hurting his previously injured back. This gives both guys a focus point for their comebacks. I loved the figure four sequence, which not only continued the work on Zenk’s leg, but also allowed both guys to show some aggression by slapping each other in the face. Zenk’s power advantage allows him to reverse the hold before catching a Pillman springboard into a powerslam. Zenk ploughs through Pillman with a top rope crossbody for two. Zenk plays possum by feigning being unable to stand, then lays out Pillman with a big boot as he comes off the top rope, only for Pillman to grab the rope on a pin attempt. Zenk misses a top rope dropkick and Pillman swiftly gets a jackknife cover for the win. Really great match

The Steiner Brothers vs Tatsumi Fujinami & Takayuki Iizuka

This match is a lot of fun, just four guys throwing it all out there. Scott sets the tone early by hitting both opponents with standing moonsault powerslams in the first few minutes, which is nuts. Iizuka is given a bit of a spotlight to shine and looks really good against Scott. Loved his flipping cannonball from the top right onto Steiner. There’s no real heat section in the match, so the momentum switches between both teams fairly regularly, but it doesn’t feel like straight up no-selling, more guys taking advantage of opportunities. Rick Steiner shows scary strength in catching Iizuka in midair, whilst sat on Fujinami’s shoulders for a Doomday Device. Fujinami has a smart gameplan and tries working over Rick’s leg, including a lovely leg stretch by diving from the second rope. The end of all this carnage comes with Rick hitting an insane overhead belly-to-belly on Iizuka from the top rope.

Sting, Nikita Koloff, Ricky Steamboat, Dustin Rhodes & Barry Windham vs Steve Austin, Rick Rude, Larry Zbyszko, Bobby Eaton & Arn Anderson

AKA Sting’s Squadron vs the Dangerous Alliance in a WarGames match. I love Paul E Dangerously action having some written plans on the outside, actually makes him look like a tactical manager. This is such a perfectly laid out match. The opening section with Windham and Austin is great, really establishing the hatred. Windham even knaws away at the forehead of Austin after cutting him open. The heels win the coin-toss, so the entry of Rick Rude leads to a big beatdown on Windham. As well as putting more heat on the heels, it means that the arrival of the next face gets a huge pop and allows them to run riot on the heels. It’s like a hot tag every few minutes. In contrast, each new heel feels like a “reducer” (to quote Ron Atkinson), coming in to cut dead the face momentum. For example, when Anderson comes in, he plants Windham with a DDT and lays out Steamboat with a spinebuster and the heels are right back in there. He doesn’t enter with an energised flurry like Rhodes or (especially) Steamboat, just goes in and does his business. It’s this contrast that cools things down ready for the next face to heat things up again, which is great. The only time this doesn’t happen is when Zbyszko comes in, and Rhodes is all over him the moment he gets in the cage, which works with the “Zbyszko is the Alliance weak link” storyline they were running. Madusa has to sneak Paul E’s cell phone into the ring to allow the Alliance to takeover ready for the next face. Just great storytelling.

Nikita Koloff’s entry allows for some more great storytelling, as there was a slight question about whether or not Sting could trust him and they eyeballed each other when Koloff got in. Koloff pushing Sting out of the way to sacrifice himself to an Alliance attack, then the two faces hugging when they’d gotten the advantage back gets a huge pop, and is such a well-written moment. This quickly leads to the end, which continues the Zbyszko storyline. The Alliance had undone one of the steel hooks holding the turnbuckles in place, and Zbyszko swung it, intending to hit Sting, who was being restrained by Eaton. Instead, Sting moved, causing the hook to crash into Eaton and allowing Sting to lock in an armbar to make Eaton give up. Just a spectacular mix of violence, story-telling, logical layout and action, it’s one of the greatest matches I’ve ever seen.

Rey Mysterio Jr: Before They Were Stars

Going into this DVD, I had pretty high expectations. Rey Jr is someone I've always been a big fan of, someone I'd rank amongst the 5 best wrestlers of all time. Thus a compilation of Rey's Mexico work sounded pretty appealing. I'm no expert on Lucha, but there's plenty I do like, so I thought this might be pretty fun. One thing I wasn't expecting was the terrible quality of the footage. It's mainly handheld footage, which I don't have an issue with on the whole, but it's pretty grainy in places and the camera has a habit of jumping all over the place. Worse, the sound is all overdubbed, so there's a constant disconnected cheering sound, with no noise for any bumps or moves. There's also terrible commentary from Manny Peoples and ex-XPW doofus Kriss Kloss, which is inane and often unbearable. But are the matches any good....?

Rey Mysterio Jr & El Torrero vs Jerry Estrada & Negro Azteca

We’re joined early in progress, with the rudos working over Rey in the ring. The ref is pretty lenient, it has to be said, as there is a liberal use of weaponry in the ring as they work over Rey’s leg with a chair. Rey sells the heck out of it too, limping and not even being able to run across the ring. We clip to Rey still getting worked over, with Torrero being useless as a partner. He doesn’t get involved, and when he does, he generally gets beaten up. The rudos lock in stereo submissions for what is clearly the first fall (both technicos are clearly gesturing to give up, the holds both get released suddenly and the rudos casually walk around the ring rather than keep attacking their opponents), but Kloss and Peoples don’t seem to notice this. Indeed, when Torrero hits a shitty rana on Estrada for the three count minutes later, both sell it as being the first fall in the match. We get MORE leg work on Mysterio, who shouldn’t even be able to walk at this stage, before he’s casually allowed to tag out to Torrero. Being useless, he gets worked over some more and thrown into the crowd, allowing the heels to keep working over Rey with weapons, until eventually the ref decides to disqualify the rudos. Seems pretty odd, given that they’d been doing the same thing all match, but I was just glad this was over.

Rey Mysterio Jr vs Juventud Guerrera

This promises to be a lot better. We get some basic matwork and roll up attempts in the early going, with Rey being just slightly ahead on points. Mysterio hits a lovely springboard into a headscissors, but makes the mistake of only trying for more high-flying moves and gets caught as Juvi reverses a rana into a powerbomb for the first fall. Rey doesn’t seem discouraged though, as he goes back to his slight speed advanatage early in the second fall, sending Juvi outside and hitting a huge flip dive. Rey leaps from the top rope to hit a Dragonrana for the equalising fall. Guerrera seems a little more focused now, as he nails Rey with a nasty looking brainbuster for a two count. We clip, sadly, and when we return Rey is back in control, nailing an Asai moonsault to the floor. Juvi misses a top rope splash, but is able to retain control. However, he makes the same mistake Rey did earlier, by trying the same move too often. Here, Juvi hits two tilt-a-whirl backbreakers, only for Mysterio to reverse the third into a pin for the winning fall. Pretty spotty stuff, but I liked the logic of the match-winning fall.

Rey Mysterio Jr & Octagon vs KGB & Pentagon

A little bit of internet research tells me that KGB is Tom Howard playing Russian. He’s much bigger than anyone else in the bout, and fair bosses the opening stages of the match. The rudos have another Russian wrestler outside the ring, and it’s fair to say he’s not shy about getting involved, possibly because he knows the ref will do nothing about it. KGB basically hurls Rey Jr about like a ragdoll, leaving Octagon and Pentagon in the ring. Pentagon seems to be trying to unmask Octagon, and this is seemingly enough to get Octagon to concede the first fall. Even Kloss and Peoples seem baffled. Second fall sees more of KGB’s impressive strength, as he continues to dominate Rey, and he survives aerial attacks from both technicos by catching them in midair. His strength doesn’t extend to his own teammate though, as some miscommunication sees Pentagon barrel him over, and Rey hits a quebrada on Pentagon for the fall. Has to be said that there are lots of outside the ring goings on, as a lady at ringside tries to help the technicos by stalking the rudo entourage with a chair, though she never actually uses it. The final fall sees a rather tepid sequence between Octagon and Pentagon, with one of the entourage just running into the ring in full sight of the ref to break up pinfalls. We clip to what look like the best parts of the match, as Rey and KGB work a really fluid looking big man/little man section, before Pentagon abruptly rolls up Octagon for the win.

Rey Mysterio Jr, Super Calo & Leon Negro vs Juventud Guerrera, Psychosis & Halloween

This match was a whole heap of fun, pretty much non-stop action. We get a fun opening sequence which ends with Rey hitting a big flip-dive on Juvi. Calo looks really good throughout here, looking really fluid on attack and never missing a beat before fighting the next person to enter the ring. The rudos take over as Psychosis hits a missile dropkick to the back of Rey’s neck. Loved a 450 legdrop Guerrera hits. The technicos take out Halloween and Juvi, leaving Negro alone with Psychosis, and Psy quickly finishes him off with a corkscrew moonsault.

Rey Mystero Jr vs Juventud Guerrera

This one seems to have a bit more hate behind it, as both guys spit at each other at the start. This kicks into a high gear pretty quickly as Rey sends Juvi to the floor with a huge bump, and follows him out with a springboard plancha. Juvi gets sent outside again, taking the Fuerza bump to the floor, and Rey again follows him with an Asai moonsault. Juvi is able to springboard in with a sloppy looking leg lariat and nails a Dragon suplex for the first fall. Juvi misses a corner charge to give Rey control of the second fall and Rey ranas Juvi out of the ring onto an accompanying Halloween. Rey hits a top rope rana and a gutwrench powerbomb to even the sides. Rey is in the ascendancy to start the third fall, but misses a corner charge of his own. Juvi misses a legdrop and we head outside the ring where Rey levels him with a chairshot. This is the opening for all chaos to reign. Halloween tries to hold Rey in place for a plancha, but unsurprisingly Rey moves to allow Juvi to barrel through his friend. This seems to be the cue for a whole plethora of run ins. The mass group of technicos hit dives to take out the rudos, but the rudos recover quicker and pile on Rey in the ring. Konnan comes out with a bat to take out the rudos and Rey levels Juvi with the bat and a superfluous quebrada for the win. Pretty good fun, even if the run in’s were over the top.

Rey Mysterio Jr, Super Calo & Leon Negro vs Los Hombres De Ex

Yep, that’s a team of X-Men themed wrestlers. This is face vs face, so this all seems a bit too much of an exhibition. Lots of co-operative looking sequences (though the Gambit/Calo bit looked pretty sloppy, all of which was on Gambit). There’s a bit where everyone goes in the ring and misses sentons before a huge dive series on the outside, which was pretty fun. This leaves both Gambit and Calo in the ring and both men get their shoulders counted down as Calo leans right back with a Mexican surfboard. While the two referees argue over who the winner is, a load of rudos including KGB come to the ring and beat everybody up. I didn’t love this, and it’s a pretty poor way to end the DVD.