This was the very first HUSTLE show, an attempt to launch a Sports Entertainment style company in Japan. The line-up of this show, including Dusty Rhodes, Goldberg and Mil Mascaras, sounded so wonderfully random I couldn't resist
Low Ki vs MIKAMI vs Jun Kasai vs King Adamo
Interesting choice of opener, with three junior heavyweights and one large savage. Within 20 seconds of the match starting, MIKAMI hits a dive on Adamo, which is totally missed by the cameras. The match soon settles into a vague structure of generally only having two guys in the ring at any one time, working a nice series of high-flying spots. Despite primarily being involved in comedy elements here, Adamo shows he can go, with a nice Stinger splash in the corner and a general willingness to let the smaller men look good. MIKAMI was the only guy I'd not seen before and he was impressive, hitting a nice looking Swanton from a ladder and taking a huge bump to the floor from the top rope following a Low Ki kick to the head. It ends following a Ki Krusher on Kasai to give Low Ki the win in a fun opener.
Zebra Man vs Ikuto Hidaka
Zebra Man seems to be a spin off from a movie, though I don't know who is under the mask. This is essentially a competitive squash to let the larger Zebra Man look good, with Hidaka getting in flashes of swanky offence and trying to weaken the bigger guy with kicks to the head. Zebra Man looks decent and hit some nice offence, with a wheelbarrow facebuster looking particularly devastating. The end result is never in any doubt, Zebra Man winning following a torture rack into a powerbomb for the three.
Satoshi Kojima & Kaz Hayashi vs El Solar & Dos Caras Jr
Jr is the wrestler now known as Alberto Del Rio, but you, you already know that (I'm so sorry, couldn't resist). Neither team really works heel in this match, which makes it feel a little disjointed, but the in-ring action is still pretty solid. Solar works an early mat exchange with Hayashi, before Caras Jr tags in. Jr lands on his feet on a missed moonsault attempt, but walks right into a sharp looking Hayashi superkick. It feels odd at first to equate Jr to Del Rio, until he hits that familiar step-up enzuigiri on Kojima, and suddenly it falls into place. A series of dives ends with a tope from Kaz. Back in the ring, Solar goes back to the mat with Hayashi, locking in a Mexican surfboard, which he rolls around the ring for added effect, before tying Kaz up in another submission hold. Dos Jr hits a nice press slam into a German suplex for 2 on Hayashi, but Kojima getting tagged in changes the complection of the match, as he can't be pushed around as easily, forcing the Mexican team to wear him down with a series of well-executed double team moves. Hayashi interjects to help his partner, allowing Kojima to hit the Koji Cutter and the lariat on El Solar for the win.
Shinjiro Otani & Mastato Tanaka vs The Predator & Kevin Randleman
With two American's with MMA experience (Randleman being a former UFC champion) in the ring with the hard-hitting Emblem team, it'll comes as no surprise to learn this is a pretty stiff encounter, as neither team is afraid to lay in the moves. The overall effect of this is that it feels like the two teams are trying to just wear the opposition out. Randleman is pretty surprising here: not only has he great presence and in-ring charisma, he also is quite impressive in the ring, albeit lacking a bit of polish. During the match he hits a nice springboard moonsault and a decent rana. Tanaka and Otani are predictably good working together, whilst the real difference maker in the match is the Predator, who dominates proceedings so much that you wonder why the WWE made him into the infinitely less interesting Sylvester Terkay. His size and power mean that Otani and Tanaka can take control when they use their speed, but when the Predator catches them, they're in trouble. This is their downfall: after not tagging out, Tanaka gets levelled by the Predator and a monster top rope kneedrop looks like it caves his face in. One huge musclebuster later and the Predator picks up the win. Good, hard-hitting action.
Giant Silva vs Kohei Sato & Katsuhisa Fujii
Handicap squash match. Not much to report here, Silva isn't very good and Sato is far too good to be wasted in this manner. Silva wins after chokeslams to both men.
Shinya Hashimoto vs Vader
Vader pretends to be about to throw his mask into the crowd, but drops it to the mat instead for some easy heat. Things are pretty even to start, until Vader starts badmouthing Hash before levelling him and nailing a splash for two. Hashimoto has one shoulder heavily taped, which Vader works on to remove his striking threat, though this just means that Hash starts to kick the crap out of him instead. Hashimoto gets a cross-armbreaker before both guys head to the outside. Vader misses a chairshot which allows Hash to hit a DDT on the floor for a (heavily booed) countout win. Too short to be any good, but I quite enjoyed the strike exchanges while they lasted. I suspect, not being a puro expert, that these two will have had many better matches when both (especially Vader) were younger and fitter.
Steve Corino, Tom Howard & Dusty Rhodes vs Mil Mascaras, Dos Caras & Sicodelico Jr
Mascaras has a reputation for working his own style of match and not being overly willing to take bumps. This match will do nothing to damage that reputation, as Corino finds himself working for two during their exchanges, stooging like a madman for the older masked man. In fact Corino is a heat machine throughout, tagging himself in to steal the spotlight when the audience anticipate some Rhodes/Mascaras action and yelling the names of other wrestlers on the show before stealing their signature moves, with both Hashimoto's DDT and Ogawa's STO getting used. On the luchador team, both Caras and Sicodelico equip themselves well, Sicodelico looking especially good with an attempted spinning elbow, while Caras also looks good against Howard (who, in fairness, does everything in his power to make Caras look good). Mascaras, meanwhile, seems content to hit Corino with flying forearms, before hitting Corino with a top rope crossbody for three. It's not unfair to say the best parts of this match were the bits without Mascaras. His partners both looked good and, while Big Dust was used sparingly, Corino and Howard worked hard to give the match some heat. The only real complaint is teasing Dusty vs Mascaras and not delivering, but it was perfectly watchable nonetheless
Mark Coleman vs Toshiaki Kawada
Sadly, this is one of those wrestling/MMA hybrid matches that are mainly worked on the mat, without being terribly interestlng. There are some good bits, including Coleman powering Kawada up from the mat to counter a choke attempt, but this is a whole lot of nothing. It's also very short, Kawada getting an anklelock about 5 minutes in, which prompts the referee to call for the bell, without Coleman winning in an ending that benefits noone.
Bill Goldberg vs Naoya Ogawa
I recall not liking Ogawa in the Zero-One match I reviewed back in September, so my hopes weren't high for this. However, I really quite enjoyed this, largely due to the performance of Goldberg. For a guy who wasn't required to sell much in his WCW days, he made Ogawa look immense here. Ogawa at one point locks in a leglock for several minutes, and what keeps it interesting is the selljob from Goldberg, punching the mat to try and block out the pain and slapping Ogawa to get him to break the hold. It's a shame then that the ending is so disappointing. The ref gets bumped during an Ogawa sleeper, meaning no-one counts following a Goldberg spear. Ogawa hits an STO, then another, which gives me flashbacks to that wretched Tom Howard match where Ogawa hit seven STO's in a row. Thankfully, Giant Silva intervenes, hitting Ogawa, allowing Goldberg to nail another spear and the Jackhammer for the win. Screwiness aside, this was a fine main event.
Wednesday, 27 April 2011
Wednesday, 13 April 2011
CZW Uncivilized 2003
Back in 2003, I was all about CZW. It was the first indy I watched constantly and, despite it's many obvious flaws, I loved it. Many of my favourite indy names were CZW guys and I thought it'd be fun to revisit a show I think I only watched once before.
Jude vs Jon Dahmer
Teacher vs student match here, with Dahmer the head of the CZW academy and Jude but a few matches into his career. As such, it's far from special. Jude has to rely on the more experienced Dahmer to structure the match, and he doesn't do a great job. The match kinda ends up feeling like some moves done at random. That said, there are some positives: Dahmer hits a sick looking German suplex that looks like it kills Jude, and the rookie looks pretty promising here. It's a shame looking at this 8 years later as Jude has some real fire when on offence, and his snap suplex is really good. He hits a pump-handle Emerald Frosion, which gets 2 when it should be a stonewall finisher, before outside interference from fellow rookies Niles Young and Cory Kastle lead to Dahmer hitting the Move of 1000 Maniacs (Gansobomb) for 3.
Before the next match, we get some antics involving Rockin' Rebel and John Zandig to set up the main event: Rebel and Greg Matthews vs Heartbreaker (!?!) and TATANKA! What an odd match.
Adam Flash & Ian Knoxx vs Derek Frazier & Hurricane Kid vs Chris Stylz & Z-Barr
This is an elimination match, though the team of Frazier and Kid are pretty superfluous due to Kid's uber-jobber status. The team of Flash and Knoxx decimate them to start, including a nice doubleteam where Flash elevated Kid up in the air for Knoxx to lariat on the way down. Knoxx really had the look and ability to be pretty big in wrestling before injuries took him out and he looks really good throughout this match. Barr gets tagged in the match and instantly takes Frazier down with a side headlock. And then another one. Then gets on the mic and says he'll hold the headlock as long as he wants. Easy, easy heat. Frazier, who has one of the least imposing looks of any wrestler I've ever seen, actually looks pretty good on offence, nailing a crisp Dragon whip on Barr, and also bumps huge for an overhead belly to belly. The Kid gets tagged in and instantly gets caught with the Barr Driller for 3. Knoxx and Stylz, former tag partners, finally go face-to-face for the first time and it's not really as heat filled as you'd imagine as they circle for position, but their sequence in the ring is really smooth and looks really good.Stylz hits a nice Northern Light suplex for 2. Knoxx regains the advantage with a sweet looking fallaway slam from the second rope before Flash hits a top rope legdrop for the win. This got pretty good after the first elimination and would have been much better as a straight up tag. Stylz would leave CZW shortly after this, which is disappointing as both him and Knoxx looked really good here.
Tai Smiley vs GQ
Tai Smiley is wearing a yellow bodysuit with a smiley face on, and seems to be working a retard gimmick, so don't expect a mat classic. They work through an elementary wrestling exchange before GQ gets on the mic to talk some smack. He then pretends to take off Smiley's nose. The comedy is dying on it's arse, so fortunately GQ is wise enough to go on the attack, hitting Smiley with a vicious belly-to-back suplex and giving him a backbreaker on a steel chair. Annoyingly, every time the crowd are starting to get back into the match, we get some more comedy which pisses them off. A shame, because GQ looks pretty good here in what is, essentially, a squash. He locks in a killer cloverleaf-looking hold and nails a nifty DDT for the win. More wrestling, less bad comedy needed here.
Mike Mayhem Vs Livewyre vs Grim Reefer
I really thought this would suck, but actually I pretty much enjoyed this. Firstly, all the participants brought something to the dance: Reefer was pretty sloppy, but won my heart over early on by hitting two dangerous dives to the floor in the first 2 minutes. Livewyre is far bigger than the other and came to the ring making generic "I'm going to break you" gestures. He's also crucially better known as Mikey from the Spirit Squad and during the match he busted out some cool stuff, including a swank half Nelson suplex and a massive spear that nearly broke Mayhem in half. As for Mayhem, he was less flashy, but actually had a semblance of character which tied the whole thing together and he was arguably less spotty than the others. The oddest thing is seeing a future WWE tag champion, who was the smallest in his stable, get booked like a monster in CZW, but he looked really good here. Reefer wins with a walking Swanton from the middle of the ring to end an enjoyable match.
Stefan Perez vs Nick Berk
This is Perez's CZW debut and he's challenging Berk to a submissions match. Remember this, it's important. Perez takes control in the early going and tries a pinfall. The ref doesn't count, presumably reminding Perez that HE WANTED A SUBMISSION MATCH. Perez then hits the Three Amigos (with Berk actually getting up before him) which ends with a Fisherman Suplex. Still no pins allowed Stefan. Garguilo and House mock him for this, especially as he made the damn challenge. Berk applies actual submission holds to Perez, but Perez keeps making the ropes and hits a nice top rope Blockbuster. He then tries to springboard into the ring, but gets caught and put into the Texas C2K2 for the tapout win for Berk. Perez looked like a moron here and never returned to CZW.
Ric Blade vs B-Boy
Never been a big fan of Ric Blade, but I always dug B-Boy, so it'll be interesting to see who influences the match more. They start out with an exchange of strikes, which is a poor choice as Blade's strikes suck while B-Boy is pretty hard hitting, yet they act as if both guys are inflicting the same damage. We then have to take a break as it looks like Blade pulled a muscle in his leg during the opening stages. It's all made better when Blade flips into the ring, only to get suplexed into the corner by B-Boy. Blade continues to throws kicks at B-Boy so poor that I actually feel bad for B-Boy having to sell them, though it seems B-Boy is content to drop Blade on his head with a neat Dragon suplex. Johnny Kashmere comes out to distract Blade which allows B-Boy to hit a Shining Wizard into a baseball bat onto Blade for the win. Too much shitty Blade offence makes this a pass, though bonus points to B-Boy for selling the knee that crashed into the bat.
Ruckus vs Sonjay Dutt
This is a Junior Heavyweight title match. Chris Cash comes to ringside before the match starts and somehow becomes special referee. The problem with this is you know there will be some kind of screwy finish which could ruin the match. In this case, the problems arise even earlier as Cash refuses to count for either man, at which point you wonder why either man continues fighting. Cash continues in this vein, blocking Ruckus' attempt at the Razzle-Dazzle and pretending to trip into the ropes to knock both men from the top at various points and for some reason neither man assaults him. It's a shame this distracts from what is quite a fun pair of performances from Ruckus and Dutt. As far as early 00's CZW Junior Heavyweights go, both are smooth, unlikely to blow spots and, while maybe over-flippy, they've got a good chemistry which shines through amongst the poor booking. The ending is predictably disappointing- as both men fight on the top rope, Cash nails them both with a ladder to send them both through a ringside table for a double-countout. A shame.
Tatanka & Heartbreaker vs Rockin' Rebel & Greg Matthews
At the time, I was convinced that Greg Matthews had the look and the promise for a big future in wrestling. Shows how much I know. Before the match even starts, Zandig and the Wifebeater beat the tar out of Rebel & Matthews, taking all the heat away from special guest Tatanka. In the ring, they work through a basic, but decent match, as Tatanka dominates both Rebel's Army members before they take control. Nothing fancy, which is sensible due to Matthews' rookie status and Rebel's limitations. Things get less interesting when Heartbreaker eventually gets in, with one of his first moves being an overly fussy (and pointless) springboard kneedrop. He spends most of the match selling, which is probably wise because he manages to hit a shockingly bad spinebuster on Matthews. The end comes when a nameless man runs in the ring, allowing Rebel to hit Heartbreaker with a loaded fist for Matthews to cover him. The in-ring work was fine, especially the Tatanka bits, but the booking was poor. As well as pre-match, Zandig and Wifebeater beat up the Rebel's Army members as soon any time the left the ring, including several shots with weapons, which makes the losers look even worse.
The Backseat Boyz vs The H8 Club
This is for the CZW Tag titles. The story here is that new Backseats manager Dewey Donovan used to manage the H8 Club, so they should have the advantage. It doesn't show in the early stages, as Nick Gage and Nate Hatred decimate the Backseats, who bump like pinballs for the monsters, including a double 360 sell of a Hatred clothesline. A baseball bat shot to Hatred's midsection allows Acid and Kashmere to take over on Gage, which includes a double eyepoke on Gage to cause him to blindly swing for Kashmere, only to get beaten down. Gage gives the smaller wrestlers a lot of offence and bumps well enough that this all looks convincing. The BB's start to work in the Dream Sequence, only for Acid to get folded in two by a clothesline from the returning Hatred, which gives the H8 Club a chance to dominate on the floor. A Donovan distraction allows the Messiah to attack Hatred on the outside and Gage stupidly goes after Donovan, leaving his partner to eat a T-Gimmick from the Backseats, which is enough to win them the title. Really fun power vs speed match and both teams were able to play up their strengths.
The Messiah vs Sick Nick Mondo
Mondo asked for a title match earlier in the night, which Messiah granted. The early stages of the match really don't click- Mondo's strikes look off and he barely catches the Messiah on a plancha. After about 5 minutes, things suddenly click, and they work a nice little sequence of moves and reversals that includes a decent Lionsault from the Messiah. He then hits a double jump splash on Mondo through a ringside table. I always dug the Messiah, even after CZW foolishly turned him heel following his emotional title win after getting his thumb chopped off during an assault at his home. Back inside, they fight over powerbombing the other through a table, which Messiah eventually wins for two. There is one hokey spot where Messiah manages to staple Mondo's hand to his back, but the rest is good stuff, with both guys pulling out all the stops to get the win. The Messiah has control when Big Mac Smack comes to the ring and gives Mondo a bucket of thumbtacks. Mondo downs the Messiah and pours the tacks over him, before hitting a springboard legdrop for two. On the surface a stupid move, but one consistent with the Sick Nick character. An M Bison from the top (a double footed stomp) onto the tacks gets the win for Mondo. A post-match brawl ensues and it's announced that Mondo has won Messiah's Iron Man title, not the World title. A silly end to a good match
Jude vs Jon Dahmer
Teacher vs student match here, with Dahmer the head of the CZW academy and Jude but a few matches into his career. As such, it's far from special. Jude has to rely on the more experienced Dahmer to structure the match, and he doesn't do a great job. The match kinda ends up feeling like some moves done at random. That said, there are some positives: Dahmer hits a sick looking German suplex that looks like it kills Jude, and the rookie looks pretty promising here. It's a shame looking at this 8 years later as Jude has some real fire when on offence, and his snap suplex is really good. He hits a pump-handle Emerald Frosion, which gets 2 when it should be a stonewall finisher, before outside interference from fellow rookies Niles Young and Cory Kastle lead to Dahmer hitting the Move of 1000 Maniacs (Gansobomb) for 3.
Before the next match, we get some antics involving Rockin' Rebel and John Zandig to set up the main event: Rebel and Greg Matthews vs Heartbreaker (!?!) and TATANKA! What an odd match.
Adam Flash & Ian Knoxx vs Derek Frazier & Hurricane Kid vs Chris Stylz & Z-Barr
This is an elimination match, though the team of Frazier and Kid are pretty superfluous due to Kid's uber-jobber status. The team of Flash and Knoxx decimate them to start, including a nice doubleteam where Flash elevated Kid up in the air for Knoxx to lariat on the way down. Knoxx really had the look and ability to be pretty big in wrestling before injuries took him out and he looks really good throughout this match. Barr gets tagged in the match and instantly takes Frazier down with a side headlock. And then another one. Then gets on the mic and says he'll hold the headlock as long as he wants. Easy, easy heat. Frazier, who has one of the least imposing looks of any wrestler I've ever seen, actually looks pretty good on offence, nailing a crisp Dragon whip on Barr, and also bumps huge for an overhead belly to belly. The Kid gets tagged in and instantly gets caught with the Barr Driller for 3. Knoxx and Stylz, former tag partners, finally go face-to-face for the first time and it's not really as heat filled as you'd imagine as they circle for position, but their sequence in the ring is really smooth and looks really good.Stylz hits a nice Northern Light suplex for 2. Knoxx regains the advantage with a sweet looking fallaway slam from the second rope before Flash hits a top rope legdrop for the win. This got pretty good after the first elimination and would have been much better as a straight up tag. Stylz would leave CZW shortly after this, which is disappointing as both him and Knoxx looked really good here.
Tai Smiley vs GQ
Tai Smiley is wearing a yellow bodysuit with a smiley face on, and seems to be working a retard gimmick, so don't expect a mat classic. They work through an elementary wrestling exchange before GQ gets on the mic to talk some smack. He then pretends to take off Smiley's nose. The comedy is dying on it's arse, so fortunately GQ is wise enough to go on the attack, hitting Smiley with a vicious belly-to-back suplex and giving him a backbreaker on a steel chair. Annoyingly, every time the crowd are starting to get back into the match, we get some more comedy which pisses them off. A shame, because GQ looks pretty good here in what is, essentially, a squash. He locks in a killer cloverleaf-looking hold and nails a nifty DDT for the win. More wrestling, less bad comedy needed here.
Mike Mayhem Vs Livewyre vs Grim Reefer
I really thought this would suck, but actually I pretty much enjoyed this. Firstly, all the participants brought something to the dance: Reefer was pretty sloppy, but won my heart over early on by hitting two dangerous dives to the floor in the first 2 minutes. Livewyre is far bigger than the other and came to the ring making generic "I'm going to break you" gestures. He's also crucially better known as Mikey from the Spirit Squad and during the match he busted out some cool stuff, including a swank half Nelson suplex and a massive spear that nearly broke Mayhem in half. As for Mayhem, he was less flashy, but actually had a semblance of character which tied the whole thing together and he was arguably less spotty than the others. The oddest thing is seeing a future WWE tag champion, who was the smallest in his stable, get booked like a monster in CZW, but he looked really good here. Reefer wins with a walking Swanton from the middle of the ring to end an enjoyable match.
Stefan Perez vs Nick Berk
This is Perez's CZW debut and he's challenging Berk to a submissions match. Remember this, it's important. Perez takes control in the early going and tries a pinfall. The ref doesn't count, presumably reminding Perez that HE WANTED A SUBMISSION MATCH. Perez then hits the Three Amigos (with Berk actually getting up before him) which ends with a Fisherman Suplex. Still no pins allowed Stefan. Garguilo and House mock him for this, especially as he made the damn challenge. Berk applies actual submission holds to Perez, but Perez keeps making the ropes and hits a nice top rope Blockbuster. He then tries to springboard into the ring, but gets caught and put into the Texas C2K2 for the tapout win for Berk. Perez looked like a moron here and never returned to CZW.
Ric Blade vs B-Boy
Never been a big fan of Ric Blade, but I always dug B-Boy, so it'll be interesting to see who influences the match more. They start out with an exchange of strikes, which is a poor choice as Blade's strikes suck while B-Boy is pretty hard hitting, yet they act as if both guys are inflicting the same damage. We then have to take a break as it looks like Blade pulled a muscle in his leg during the opening stages. It's all made better when Blade flips into the ring, only to get suplexed into the corner by B-Boy. Blade continues to throws kicks at B-Boy so poor that I actually feel bad for B-Boy having to sell them, though it seems B-Boy is content to drop Blade on his head with a neat Dragon suplex. Johnny Kashmere comes out to distract Blade which allows B-Boy to hit a Shining Wizard into a baseball bat onto Blade for the win. Too much shitty Blade offence makes this a pass, though bonus points to B-Boy for selling the knee that crashed into the bat.
Ruckus vs Sonjay Dutt
This is a Junior Heavyweight title match. Chris Cash comes to ringside before the match starts and somehow becomes special referee. The problem with this is you know there will be some kind of screwy finish which could ruin the match. In this case, the problems arise even earlier as Cash refuses to count for either man, at which point you wonder why either man continues fighting. Cash continues in this vein, blocking Ruckus' attempt at the Razzle-Dazzle and pretending to trip into the ropes to knock both men from the top at various points and for some reason neither man assaults him. It's a shame this distracts from what is quite a fun pair of performances from Ruckus and Dutt. As far as early 00's CZW Junior Heavyweights go, both are smooth, unlikely to blow spots and, while maybe over-flippy, they've got a good chemistry which shines through amongst the poor booking. The ending is predictably disappointing- as both men fight on the top rope, Cash nails them both with a ladder to send them both through a ringside table for a double-countout. A shame.
Tatanka & Heartbreaker vs Rockin' Rebel & Greg Matthews
At the time, I was convinced that Greg Matthews had the look and the promise for a big future in wrestling. Shows how much I know. Before the match even starts, Zandig and the Wifebeater beat the tar out of Rebel & Matthews, taking all the heat away from special guest Tatanka. In the ring, they work through a basic, but decent match, as Tatanka dominates both Rebel's Army members before they take control. Nothing fancy, which is sensible due to Matthews' rookie status and Rebel's limitations. Things get less interesting when Heartbreaker eventually gets in, with one of his first moves being an overly fussy (and pointless) springboard kneedrop. He spends most of the match selling, which is probably wise because he manages to hit a shockingly bad spinebuster on Matthews. The end comes when a nameless man runs in the ring, allowing Rebel to hit Heartbreaker with a loaded fist for Matthews to cover him. The in-ring work was fine, especially the Tatanka bits, but the booking was poor. As well as pre-match, Zandig and Wifebeater beat up the Rebel's Army members as soon any time the left the ring, including several shots with weapons, which makes the losers look even worse.
The Backseat Boyz vs The H8 Club
This is for the CZW Tag titles. The story here is that new Backseats manager Dewey Donovan used to manage the H8 Club, so they should have the advantage. It doesn't show in the early stages, as Nick Gage and Nate Hatred decimate the Backseats, who bump like pinballs for the monsters, including a double 360 sell of a Hatred clothesline. A baseball bat shot to Hatred's midsection allows Acid and Kashmere to take over on Gage, which includes a double eyepoke on Gage to cause him to blindly swing for Kashmere, only to get beaten down. Gage gives the smaller wrestlers a lot of offence and bumps well enough that this all looks convincing. The BB's start to work in the Dream Sequence, only for Acid to get folded in two by a clothesline from the returning Hatred, which gives the H8 Club a chance to dominate on the floor. A Donovan distraction allows the Messiah to attack Hatred on the outside and Gage stupidly goes after Donovan, leaving his partner to eat a T-Gimmick from the Backseats, which is enough to win them the title. Really fun power vs speed match and both teams were able to play up their strengths.
The Messiah vs Sick Nick Mondo
Mondo asked for a title match earlier in the night, which Messiah granted. The early stages of the match really don't click- Mondo's strikes look off and he barely catches the Messiah on a plancha. After about 5 minutes, things suddenly click, and they work a nice little sequence of moves and reversals that includes a decent Lionsault from the Messiah. He then hits a double jump splash on Mondo through a ringside table. I always dug the Messiah, even after CZW foolishly turned him heel following his emotional title win after getting his thumb chopped off during an assault at his home. Back inside, they fight over powerbombing the other through a table, which Messiah eventually wins for two. There is one hokey spot where Messiah manages to staple Mondo's hand to his back, but the rest is good stuff, with both guys pulling out all the stops to get the win. The Messiah has control when Big Mac Smack comes to the ring and gives Mondo a bucket of thumbtacks. Mondo downs the Messiah and pours the tacks over him, before hitting a springboard legdrop for two. On the surface a stupid move, but one consistent with the Sick Nick character. An M Bison from the top (a double footed stomp) onto the tacks gets the win for Mondo. A post-match brawl ensues and it's announced that Mondo has won Messiah's Iron Man title, not the World title. A silly end to a good match
Friday, 1 April 2011
TNA Webmatches (Episodes 10-12)
Here's another batch of TNA's youtube webmatches
Robert Roode vs Eric Young
We kick off with two guys who know each other very well. They work in a nice comedy spot early, where Roode climbs the turnbuckles to get more leverage on a lock up, only for EY to move and Roode to fall on his face. Due to their history, it comes as no surprise that they work well together, with both being pretty snug with their punches. The ending sequence is also very fast-paced and fluid, ending with a fisherman suplex for the Roode win. Decent, if short, match
Hernandez vs Kiyoshi
No Limit and Sheik Abdul Bashir come out with Kiyoshi, while Homicide comes out with Hernandez. Kiyoshi foolishly tries powerspots early on, but gets caught by a crap overhead suplex where Kiyoshi doesn't go over very cleanly. On the whole, though, Hernandez still looks good overpowering Kiyoshi. Kiyoshi dominates more when he uses his speed to keep Hernandez down, but lets the big man get back to his feet and gets overpowered once more. A great plancha by Hernandez leads to the Border Toss for 3 in a watchable bout.
Eric Young vs Danny Bonaduce
I'm barely aware of who Bonaduce is, as he's not really known over here in Blighty. All I know is that he's a man who gets angry on reality TV shows. As if to show off his fearsome rage, he attacks a planted fan by biting his hand. I assume EY was chosen for this match as a result of being a reliable hand in the ring. Bonaduce threatens EY with nunchucks in the ring to a chorus of boos. EY is very much the face here. In the match, Bonaduce doesn't really have too much offence to comment on (bar a Swanton, which looked passable), but he really takes some big bumps for Young, including getting thrown into cage, then suplexed against the mesh. EY hits a huge powerbomb, as Bonaduce continues to take impressive bumps. There is a botch on the winning EY small package but on the whole, it's a perfectly acceptable celebrity match. Bonaduce attacks EY with the nunchucks after the match, but Rhino runs in and nails him with a big Gore during the save.
Robert Roode vs Eric Young
We kick off with two guys who know each other very well. They work in a nice comedy spot early, where Roode climbs the turnbuckles to get more leverage on a lock up, only for EY to move and Roode to fall on his face. Due to their history, it comes as no surprise that they work well together, with both being pretty snug with their punches. The ending sequence is also very fast-paced and fluid, ending with a fisherman suplex for the Roode win. Decent, if short, match
Hernandez vs Kiyoshi
No Limit and Sheik Abdul Bashir come out with Kiyoshi, while Homicide comes out with Hernandez. Kiyoshi foolishly tries powerspots early on, but gets caught by a crap overhead suplex where Kiyoshi doesn't go over very cleanly. On the whole, though, Hernandez still looks good overpowering Kiyoshi. Kiyoshi dominates more when he uses his speed to keep Hernandez down, but lets the big man get back to his feet and gets overpowered once more. A great plancha by Hernandez leads to the Border Toss for 3 in a watchable bout.
Eric Young vs Danny Bonaduce
I'm barely aware of who Bonaduce is, as he's not really known over here in Blighty. All I know is that he's a man who gets angry on reality TV shows. As if to show off his fearsome rage, he attacks a planted fan by biting his hand. I assume EY was chosen for this match as a result of being a reliable hand in the ring. Bonaduce threatens EY with nunchucks in the ring to a chorus of boos. EY is very much the face here. In the match, Bonaduce doesn't really have too much offence to comment on (bar a Swanton, which looked passable), but he really takes some big bumps for Young, including getting thrown into cage, then suplexed against the mesh. EY hits a huge powerbomb, as Bonaduce continues to take impressive bumps. There is a botch on the winning EY small package but on the whole, it's a perfectly acceptable celebrity match. Bonaduce attacks EY with the nunchucks after the match, but Rhino runs in and nails him with a big Gore during the save.
Friday, 18 March 2011
AJPW Wrestling Summit 1990
So, I am still ongoing in my quest to get into Puro. However, sometimes it's nice to have a helping hand, and this show is a prime example of that. This show is a cross-promotion with the WWF, so I get the added benefit of my childhood heroes accompanying me on the ride
Jumbo Tsuruta & King Haku vs Rick Martel & Mr Perfect
it's kinda fun to see Haku working as a face here. Perfect begins the match by bumping for the two big men, before Haku becomes face in peril following a missed flipping senton. Haku isn't the only one here who busts out some flashier moves: after dropping repeated elbows on Haku to keep him down, Martel lets him get up and hits a rana on him. Martel then hits a springboard splash for two. Martel goes to the well again by trying for a second rana, but Haku drops him face first on the turnbuckle. The heels keep Haku in danger with some submission holds, but Haku gets knees up on a Martel splash, and gets the hot tag from Tsuruta. The pop Tsuruta gets is immense. Haku and Tsuruta work the heels over, culminating in Tsuruta hitting a picture perfect belly-to-back suplex on Martel for the win. Well executed formula tag match, with the added bonus of seeing guys like Martel and Haku bust out moves you don't normally see from them
Genichiro Tenryu vs Randy Savage
Fun stuff to start as Savage tries all kinds of mindgames to put off Tenryu, who stands there with a totally unconcerned look on his face. Savage takes the opening flurry of chops like a man, crumpling into the corner, but quickly taking advantage as Sherri distracts Tenryu. Tenryu regains control by back bodydropping Savage WAY over the top rope to the floor, then meeting him with a flying shoulderblock from the apron. Another Sherri distraction allows Savage to dominate again, but inside Tenryu hits Savage with an enzuigiri (complete with awesome wobbly legged Savage selljob). Sherri really earns her money by again giving Savage the advantage and this time he makes the most of it, which allows him to hit the big elbow, which only gets two. Savage escapes a powerbomb attempt, but hurts his knee on a crossbody. This allows Tenryu to hit another enzuigiri (with another fantastic sell by Savage) and the powerbomb for the win. As enjoyable as you'd expect from these two, Savage really made Tenryu look immense here, taking his stuff like a man, and the crowd were really into both guys.
Ultimate Warrior vs Ted Dibiase
This is for the WWF title. It opens pretty much as you'd expect it would, Warrior countering everything Dibiase tries with raw power, until Dibiase avoids a flying shoulderblock, sending Warrior face first to the mat. Dibiase gets a little bit of offence in, including spiking Warrior on a piledriver, but Warrior suddenly hits a few clotheslines and a big splash for the win. Far too short and essentially just a showcase of two guys showing their best spots.
Demolition vs Giant Baba & Andre The Giant
Man, the Demos will have their work cut out making this one look good. And in fairness, Smash tries his best to make Baba's attack look threatening. Baba has this really odd way of selling that's curiously hypnotizing, as it doesn't even slightly resemble regular selling. Not saying it's good, just oddly watchable. Andre, despite being possibly more immobile than Baba, at least looks more imposing due to sheer girth. The Demos really try here, using quick tags when they have the advantage to keep control of the monsters, but their selling is what really hold the match together. Of course, it all breaks down into a brawl, allowing Andre to drop an elbow on Smash for the win.
Hulk Hogan vs Stan Hansen
It's really odd to see these two guys in the ring together, it feels like they should exist in entirely different universes. Even odder is watching the two big guys exchanging wristlocks and Hogan taking Hansen to the mat. Of course, this doesn't last and before long they're brawling outside, where Hogan busts Hansen open on the ringpost. Hogan then works over the cut viciously, wailing away at Hansen and even kicking him in the head until he falls out of the ring. Not what you'd expect from 90's red-and-yellow Hogan. Hogan slams Hansen through a table outside and puts him back in the ring to stamp his head again. When Hansen finally gets some offence in, in the form of a flying shoulderblock, the pop is huge. Hansen's payback on Hogan is pretty hellacious, hitting the Hulkster in the head with a chair (which he then throws at Earl Hebner!) and hitting a flying axehandle (of sorts) from the railings. Now with Hogan bleeding, Hansen goes after his cut, but a lariat attempt is countered by Hogan. Hansen avoids the legdrop, but Hogan nails him with a lariat for 3. Super, super enjoyable, Hogan looked like a monster out there.
Jumbo Tsuruta & King Haku vs Rick Martel & Mr Perfect
it's kinda fun to see Haku working as a face here. Perfect begins the match by bumping for the two big men, before Haku becomes face in peril following a missed flipping senton. Haku isn't the only one here who busts out some flashier moves: after dropping repeated elbows on Haku to keep him down, Martel lets him get up and hits a rana on him. Martel then hits a springboard splash for two. Martel goes to the well again by trying for a second rana, but Haku drops him face first on the turnbuckle. The heels keep Haku in danger with some submission holds, but Haku gets knees up on a Martel splash, and gets the hot tag from Tsuruta. The pop Tsuruta gets is immense. Haku and Tsuruta work the heels over, culminating in Tsuruta hitting a picture perfect belly-to-back suplex on Martel for the win. Well executed formula tag match, with the added bonus of seeing guys like Martel and Haku bust out moves you don't normally see from them
Genichiro Tenryu vs Randy Savage
Fun stuff to start as Savage tries all kinds of mindgames to put off Tenryu, who stands there with a totally unconcerned look on his face. Savage takes the opening flurry of chops like a man, crumpling into the corner, but quickly taking advantage as Sherri distracts Tenryu. Tenryu regains control by back bodydropping Savage WAY over the top rope to the floor, then meeting him with a flying shoulderblock from the apron. Another Sherri distraction allows Savage to dominate again, but inside Tenryu hits Savage with an enzuigiri (complete with awesome wobbly legged Savage selljob). Sherri really earns her money by again giving Savage the advantage and this time he makes the most of it, which allows him to hit the big elbow, which only gets two. Savage escapes a powerbomb attempt, but hurts his knee on a crossbody. This allows Tenryu to hit another enzuigiri (with another fantastic sell by Savage) and the powerbomb for the win. As enjoyable as you'd expect from these two, Savage really made Tenryu look immense here, taking his stuff like a man, and the crowd were really into both guys.
Ultimate Warrior vs Ted Dibiase
This is for the WWF title. It opens pretty much as you'd expect it would, Warrior countering everything Dibiase tries with raw power, until Dibiase avoids a flying shoulderblock, sending Warrior face first to the mat. Dibiase gets a little bit of offence in, including spiking Warrior on a piledriver, but Warrior suddenly hits a few clotheslines and a big splash for the win. Far too short and essentially just a showcase of two guys showing their best spots.
Demolition vs Giant Baba & Andre The Giant
Man, the Demos will have their work cut out making this one look good. And in fairness, Smash tries his best to make Baba's attack look threatening. Baba has this really odd way of selling that's curiously hypnotizing, as it doesn't even slightly resemble regular selling. Not saying it's good, just oddly watchable. Andre, despite being possibly more immobile than Baba, at least looks more imposing due to sheer girth. The Demos really try here, using quick tags when they have the advantage to keep control of the monsters, but their selling is what really hold the match together. Of course, it all breaks down into a brawl, allowing Andre to drop an elbow on Smash for the win.
Hulk Hogan vs Stan Hansen
It's really odd to see these two guys in the ring together, it feels like they should exist in entirely different universes. Even odder is watching the two big guys exchanging wristlocks and Hogan taking Hansen to the mat. Of course, this doesn't last and before long they're brawling outside, where Hogan busts Hansen open on the ringpost. Hogan then works over the cut viciously, wailing away at Hansen and even kicking him in the head until he falls out of the ring. Not what you'd expect from 90's red-and-yellow Hogan. Hogan slams Hansen through a table outside and puts him back in the ring to stamp his head again. When Hansen finally gets some offence in, in the form of a flying shoulderblock, the pop is huge. Hansen's payback on Hogan is pretty hellacious, hitting the Hulkster in the head with a chair (which he then throws at Earl Hebner!) and hitting a flying axehandle (of sorts) from the railings. Now with Hogan bleeding, Hansen goes after his cut, but a lariat attempt is countered by Hogan. Hansen avoids the legdrop, but Hogan nails him with a lariat for 3. Super, super enjoyable, Hogan looked like a monster out there.
Thursday, 3 March 2011
WWF The British Bulldogs
This is a VHS release from the mid 80's designed to showcase then tag champs the British Bulldogs. Aside from some less-than-fascinating footage of Davey Boy Smith and the Dynamite Kid working out, the content is almost all match footage, which should be good. Which SHOULD be good. Unfortunately, whoever selected the matches really wanted the Bulldogs to look like crap.
The British Bulldogs vs Iron Sheik & Nikolai Volkoff
This is from late 85, at a time when Beefcake and Valentine currently held the tag-titles. Sheik and Volkoff don't really give the Bulldogs much offence here, but what little we get is pretty spectacular. Sheik's offence looks particularly milky here, while Volkoff at least looks committed with his clubbing blows, and he has a nice way of cowering off on the moments when the Bulldogs are on offence. Dynamite Kid soon becomes the face-in-peril, where Volkoff has one particularly impressive spot when he holds Kid off the ground in a choke with one hand, high over his head. The Bulldogs finally get a bit of offence when Sheik hits Volkoff by accident and Davey Boy gets two on a running powerslam on Sheik. However, Sheik is soon back on offence, leading to the camel clutch, which Kid breaks. Volkoff goes for a slam on Smith, but Dynamite gets a missile dropkick, which leads to Davey Boy landing on top for the win. Not a particularly good showcase for the Bulldogs here.
Dynamite Kid vs Bret Hart
Man, this gets good straight away, with the opening sequence so good that they go to a replay of it within two minutes of the match starting. Kid then hits Bret with a beautiful snap suplex before we get some clipping. On return, the two men are still trying to outwrestle each other to gain superiority. Bret finally takes control, including slamming Kid onto the concrete floor outside. Bret keeps control over Kid, but Kid manages to absorb the offence and keep hitting flash pins on Bret for two counts. Hart soon gets frustrated by this and chokes Kid before tying him in the ropes, but Dynamite avoids a crossbody, leaving Hart caught up in the ropes. Kid absolutely folds Bret in two with a back suplex and starts to work over the Hitman. It's great just how fluid Dynamite is here, everything looks perfect, including how smoothly he goes from offensive maneuvers to pinfalls. Bret takes control and throws Kid outside, which somehow warrants a replay. When we comes back, Kid has rolled up Bret for the win. Really fun match which they manage to almost run with shitty production errors. Anvil attacks Dynamite after the match, only for Davey Boy to make the save, This leads to...
Davey Boy Smith vs Jim Neidhart
The battle of the powerhouses. Davey Boy tries to take the Anvil down by running off the ropes, but this ends in a stalemate, so instead Davey downs the Anvil with a single-leg takedown. This pretty much sums up the match- Neidhart uses his strength to take control, but Davey Boy comes back by using his superior speed and matskills. Sadly, the match only goes a few minutes, before the Anvil drops Smith facefirst on the top turnbuckle from an attempted avalanche, and picks up the win. A bit pointless.
The British Bulldogs & Capt Lou Albano vs Greg Valentine, Brutus Beefcake & Johnny Valiant
As a WrestleMania 2 preview, the two teams meet with their managers in a 6-man tag. The first thing this match does is remind me that, as badass as Greg Valentine was, he was more than happy to stooge around to make his opponents look good. Here he flops around on missed elbows and bounces for atomic drops that make the Bulldogs look even better. However, Valentine is also happy to match both Bulldogs blow for blow, which makes the decision to have the Hammer do most of the work for his team a sensible one. There are moments when the match threatens to become a bit of a mess - the first Bulldog hot-tag is an anti-climatic moment that the fans barely notice following a brawl between all six men - but things just about keep together. Beefcake possibly spends less time in the ring here than Valiant, but he does hit a nice vertical suplex for two. The Hammer then hits an odd piledriver on Kid that ends up almost like a tombstone for two. Hot tag is made to Davey Boy, and it's Valiant who ends up bumping like a pinball for him, getting huge air on a back bodydrop and getting caught with a big running powerslam for two. All six men end up in the ring, but Valentine and Valiant get taken out, and Beefcake is rolled up for three. Beefcake must be pretty low on the pecking order that he took the fall instead of his manager.
The British Bulldogs vs The Dream Team
Sadly it's only the last two minutes of the WrestleMania 2 match. This does mean I still got to enjoy Davey Boy holding up Valentine one-handed for the running powerslam and Beefcake slamming Smith on a hammerlock in an insane bump, before the Bulldogs win the tag titles following a clashing of heads between Dynamite and Valentine
The British Bulldogs vs The Moondogs
Fun little match here. The opening shows the Bulldogs matching strength with the Moondogs, before taking control on Spot with some dropkicks. Clip to the Moondogs dominating Davey Boy. The match takes on a pretty solid formula tag match from this point, with the Moondogs keeping Davey Boy down and cutting the ring in half. Rex hits a big splash for two before Spot and Smith clash heads. Davey Boy tags Kid, but only on a false tag, allowing the Moondogs to keep control. A second-rope splash from Rex hits Davey's knees and Davey Boy then suplexes Spot to get the hot tag to Dynamite. Kid is like a whirling dervish as he dominates both Moondogs, before Rex throws him out of the ring. In a cool finish, Rex and Davey Boy brawl in the ring, allowing Kid to fly over them from the top rope onto Spot for the win. Plenty of fun and the best the Bulldogs have looked as a team thus far, might well have been even better without clipping.
Davey Boy Smith vs Greg Valentine
We kick off with even more Valentine stooging, this time taking a Flair flop off some Davey offence. Awesomely, DBS locks in a Sharpshooter on Valentine, though Monsoon and Hayes on commentary don't think the move can work as it doesn't allow you to sit all the way back. Funny how things change. Davey keeps control with more matwork. Clip to some Valentine control before DBS hits the running powerslam for 2. Valentine shows his experience advantage by luring smith to the floor before ambushing him on his way back into the ring. Valentine gets the figure four, but Davey Boy powers his way to the ropes. Valentine comes off the second rope with a blow to DBS' head, which is enough for the win. A bit short, you get the impression that all the clipped matches would be pretty good if shown in full
Dynamite Kid vs Brutus Beefcake
Short and sweet. We start with the two exchanging wristlocks, which goes as well as you'd expect for Beefcake. Beefcake uses his size advantage to get control and looks alright, especially a nice stalled suplex. Beefcake throws Kid outside and tries to suplex him in from the apron, but Kid escapes and rolls him up for the win. About 5 minutes of match tops, but everything looked good.
The British Bulldogs vs King Kong Bundy & Big John Studd
So far on this Bulldogs showcase, we've seen them win a 6 man via roll-up, get beaten down for most of the Sheik/Volkoff match, Davey Boy lose two singles matches and Dynamite win his two singles matches via roll-up. Is it likely they'll be allowed to look good in the last match? The early signs are promising: they use their comparative speed and skill as double-teams to control Studd in the early stages, but soon, when going one-on-one with Studd, Davey Boy becomes face-in-peril, as the two monsters dominate. In fairness, Studd and Bundy pull off their roles expertly, looking like beasts and clubbing away at Smith. Soon, however, Dynamite runs in and puts Studd in a sleeper. Bundy runs in and, in the ensuing melee, Studd pushes over the ref to give the Bulldogs a cheap win by DQ. Just to compound making the Bulldogs look like shit, the final shot of their showcase video has the screen freeze on a shoving match between Studd and Bundy. Rule Britannia indeed!
The British Bulldogs vs Iron Sheik & Nikolai Volkoff
This is from late 85, at a time when Beefcake and Valentine currently held the tag-titles. Sheik and Volkoff don't really give the Bulldogs much offence here, but what little we get is pretty spectacular. Sheik's offence looks particularly milky here, while Volkoff at least looks committed with his clubbing blows, and he has a nice way of cowering off on the moments when the Bulldogs are on offence. Dynamite Kid soon becomes the face-in-peril, where Volkoff has one particularly impressive spot when he holds Kid off the ground in a choke with one hand, high over his head. The Bulldogs finally get a bit of offence when Sheik hits Volkoff by accident and Davey Boy gets two on a running powerslam on Sheik. However, Sheik is soon back on offence, leading to the camel clutch, which Kid breaks. Volkoff goes for a slam on Smith, but Dynamite gets a missile dropkick, which leads to Davey Boy landing on top for the win. Not a particularly good showcase for the Bulldogs here.
Dynamite Kid vs Bret Hart
Man, this gets good straight away, with the opening sequence so good that they go to a replay of it within two minutes of the match starting. Kid then hits Bret with a beautiful snap suplex before we get some clipping. On return, the two men are still trying to outwrestle each other to gain superiority. Bret finally takes control, including slamming Kid onto the concrete floor outside. Bret keeps control over Kid, but Kid manages to absorb the offence and keep hitting flash pins on Bret for two counts. Hart soon gets frustrated by this and chokes Kid before tying him in the ropes, but Dynamite avoids a crossbody, leaving Hart caught up in the ropes. Kid absolutely folds Bret in two with a back suplex and starts to work over the Hitman. It's great just how fluid Dynamite is here, everything looks perfect, including how smoothly he goes from offensive maneuvers to pinfalls. Bret takes control and throws Kid outside, which somehow warrants a replay. When we comes back, Kid has rolled up Bret for the win. Really fun match which they manage to almost run with shitty production errors. Anvil attacks Dynamite after the match, only for Davey Boy to make the save, This leads to...
Davey Boy Smith vs Jim Neidhart
The battle of the powerhouses. Davey Boy tries to take the Anvil down by running off the ropes, but this ends in a stalemate, so instead Davey downs the Anvil with a single-leg takedown. This pretty much sums up the match- Neidhart uses his strength to take control, but Davey Boy comes back by using his superior speed and matskills. Sadly, the match only goes a few minutes, before the Anvil drops Smith facefirst on the top turnbuckle from an attempted avalanche, and picks up the win. A bit pointless.
The British Bulldogs & Capt Lou Albano vs Greg Valentine, Brutus Beefcake & Johnny Valiant
As a WrestleMania 2 preview, the two teams meet with their managers in a 6-man tag. The first thing this match does is remind me that, as badass as Greg Valentine was, he was more than happy to stooge around to make his opponents look good. Here he flops around on missed elbows and bounces for atomic drops that make the Bulldogs look even better. However, Valentine is also happy to match both Bulldogs blow for blow, which makes the decision to have the Hammer do most of the work for his team a sensible one. There are moments when the match threatens to become a bit of a mess - the first Bulldog hot-tag is an anti-climatic moment that the fans barely notice following a brawl between all six men - but things just about keep together. Beefcake possibly spends less time in the ring here than Valiant, but he does hit a nice vertical suplex for two. The Hammer then hits an odd piledriver on Kid that ends up almost like a tombstone for two. Hot tag is made to Davey Boy, and it's Valiant who ends up bumping like a pinball for him, getting huge air on a back bodydrop and getting caught with a big running powerslam for two. All six men end up in the ring, but Valentine and Valiant get taken out, and Beefcake is rolled up for three. Beefcake must be pretty low on the pecking order that he took the fall instead of his manager.
The British Bulldogs vs The Dream Team
Sadly it's only the last two minutes of the WrestleMania 2 match. This does mean I still got to enjoy Davey Boy holding up Valentine one-handed for the running powerslam and Beefcake slamming Smith on a hammerlock in an insane bump, before the Bulldogs win the tag titles following a clashing of heads between Dynamite and Valentine
The British Bulldogs vs The Moondogs
Fun little match here. The opening shows the Bulldogs matching strength with the Moondogs, before taking control on Spot with some dropkicks. Clip to the Moondogs dominating Davey Boy. The match takes on a pretty solid formula tag match from this point, with the Moondogs keeping Davey Boy down and cutting the ring in half. Rex hits a big splash for two before Spot and Smith clash heads. Davey Boy tags Kid, but only on a false tag, allowing the Moondogs to keep control. A second-rope splash from Rex hits Davey's knees and Davey Boy then suplexes Spot to get the hot tag to Dynamite. Kid is like a whirling dervish as he dominates both Moondogs, before Rex throws him out of the ring. In a cool finish, Rex and Davey Boy brawl in the ring, allowing Kid to fly over them from the top rope onto Spot for the win. Plenty of fun and the best the Bulldogs have looked as a team thus far, might well have been even better without clipping.
Davey Boy Smith vs Greg Valentine
We kick off with even more Valentine stooging, this time taking a Flair flop off some Davey offence. Awesomely, DBS locks in a Sharpshooter on Valentine, though Monsoon and Hayes on commentary don't think the move can work as it doesn't allow you to sit all the way back. Funny how things change. Davey keeps control with more matwork. Clip to some Valentine control before DBS hits the running powerslam for 2. Valentine shows his experience advantage by luring smith to the floor before ambushing him on his way back into the ring. Valentine gets the figure four, but Davey Boy powers his way to the ropes. Valentine comes off the second rope with a blow to DBS' head, which is enough for the win. A bit short, you get the impression that all the clipped matches would be pretty good if shown in full
Dynamite Kid vs Brutus Beefcake
Short and sweet. We start with the two exchanging wristlocks, which goes as well as you'd expect for Beefcake. Beefcake uses his size advantage to get control and looks alright, especially a nice stalled suplex. Beefcake throws Kid outside and tries to suplex him in from the apron, but Kid escapes and rolls him up for the win. About 5 minutes of match tops, but everything looked good.
The British Bulldogs vs King Kong Bundy & Big John Studd
So far on this Bulldogs showcase, we've seen them win a 6 man via roll-up, get beaten down for most of the Sheik/Volkoff match, Davey Boy lose two singles matches and Dynamite win his two singles matches via roll-up. Is it likely they'll be allowed to look good in the last match? The early signs are promising: they use their comparative speed and skill as double-teams to control Studd in the early stages, but soon, when going one-on-one with Studd, Davey Boy becomes face-in-peril, as the two monsters dominate. In fairness, Studd and Bundy pull off their roles expertly, looking like beasts and clubbing away at Smith. Soon, however, Dynamite runs in and puts Studd in a sleeper. Bundy runs in and, in the ensuing melee, Studd pushes over the ref to give the Bulldogs a cheap win by DQ. Just to compound making the Bulldogs look like shit, the final shot of their showcase video has the screen freeze on a shoving match between Studd and Bundy. Rule Britannia indeed!
Thursday, 10 February 2011
NJPW 09/01/09
Continuing my voyage through the NJPW TV year of 2009. Sadly, the final match on this show, an elimination match pitting Kanemoto, Kojima, Tenzan, Nagata and Nakanishi vs the GBH stable, doesn't seem to want to work for me, but the rest of the show went as follows...
Masato Tanaka vs Mitsuhide Hirasawa
Pretty enjoyable match with a simple-to-follow story: Hirasawa is the young NJPW rookie wanting to beat the outsider veteran (representing Zero-One). Hirasawa is all fighting spirit to start with as he wails on Tanaka in the corner, even having to be dragged off by the referee, but he soon falls prey to Tanaka, who takes him outside to inflict some damage. A chairshot to the knee as it's propped against the ringpost gives Tanaka a focal point and he begins to go to work on the leg of Hirasawa, cutting off any attempts to fightback by kicking him in the knee. Tanaka tries a frogsplash, but only gets knees to the stomach (which Hirasawa sells as well). Hirasawa gets a modicum of offence in the form of an exploder and a German suplex for two, but spends the rest of the match on defence. He gets to kick out of a brainbuster and a lariat, but a forearm smash gets the win for Tanaka. Good enough.
Tiger Mask vs Nobuo Yoshihari
Essentially a squash match. Yoshihari enjoys some basic offence to start, but gets knocked for six by a Tiger Mask kick to the head which sends him outside for a 14 count. Back in, a slap from TM almost knocks him clean out. Yoshihari gets a comeback with a flurry of punches and a bridging suplex for 2, before TM makes him tapout to a chicken wing. Short, inoffensive, but largely pointless.
Hirooki Goto vs Yujiro
Decent big man vs little man match, though Goto used to be a Jr heavyweight himself so he could keep up with the smaller Yujiro. The match is pretty close in the early stages, with Yujiro clotheslining Goto out of the ring at one point. Inside, Goto overpowers Yujiro, and hits him with a tough lookling toprope elbow for two. Yujiro has to rely on speed and agility to get an advantage, slipping out of a suplex attempt, before nailing Goto with Sliding D and a Catatonic for two. Yujiro manages to keep in the fight during some pretty even exchanges with Goto, even hitting a nice lariat for two, before being beheaded by a Goto lariat. Shouten gets the win for Goto. Reasonably competitive, considering the size difference, and Yujiro looked good on offence.
Shinsuke Nakamura vs Kazuchika Okada
Okada looks really up for this one, getting in Nakamura's face before the bell even rings. As is an ongoing theme with this show, a younger, smaller guy goes up against a more established wrestler, but Okada gets to look better here than most against a former IWGP champion. Nakamura looks dominant during the early stages, but Okada gets a nice burst of offence, including a backdrop suplex where he pulls Nakamura from the ropes, but he soon gets caught in a sleeper for the tapout Nakamura win. Short, but it achieved what it aimed to do.
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Tetsuya Naito
Another match with a young gun taking on a more established star, though this one goes longer than any of the others, which really helps Naito look good. He hangs well with Tanahashi at the start, and even gets to show-off after ejecting Tanahashi from the ring. Tanahashi begins to work over the leg of Naito, but get caught with a huge slap whilst posing that levels him. Naito goes on the offensive, but remembers to sell his leg while doing so. The two exchange Dragon Sleepers with each other in a nice spot and Naito gets another chance to look good by getting nearfalls after a moonsault and after a series of rollups, but his momentum is stopped by Tanahashi going back to the leg and getting the tapout following a Texas Cloverleaf. Really fun match, with Naito getting a ton of offence.
Kantaro Hoshino vs Gedo
Hoshino is a rather older gentleman than Gedo, so this is a streetfight to hide his weaknesses. Doesn't make this match any less dull though. Hoshino gets in a flurry of offence to start, including a top rope plancha, but Gedo soon takes control as they brawl through the crowd and the backstage area. The rest of the match is approximately 10 minutes of Gedo ramming Hoshino into things then covering him for two counts. Eventually, they get back to the ring, where Gedo hits only rope on a chairshot, knocking himself for six and leaving himself prone to a low kick and a punch for the Hoshino win. I understand why they booked the match this way due to Hoshino's limitations, but it doesn't make the match any more fun to watch.
Masato Tanaka vs Mitsuhide Hirasawa
Pretty enjoyable match with a simple-to-follow story: Hirasawa is the young NJPW rookie wanting to beat the outsider veteran (representing Zero-One). Hirasawa is all fighting spirit to start with as he wails on Tanaka in the corner, even having to be dragged off by the referee, but he soon falls prey to Tanaka, who takes him outside to inflict some damage. A chairshot to the knee as it's propped against the ringpost gives Tanaka a focal point and he begins to go to work on the leg of Hirasawa, cutting off any attempts to fightback by kicking him in the knee. Tanaka tries a frogsplash, but only gets knees to the stomach (which Hirasawa sells as well). Hirasawa gets a modicum of offence in the form of an exploder and a German suplex for two, but spends the rest of the match on defence. He gets to kick out of a brainbuster and a lariat, but a forearm smash gets the win for Tanaka. Good enough.
Tiger Mask vs Nobuo Yoshihari
Essentially a squash match. Yoshihari enjoys some basic offence to start, but gets knocked for six by a Tiger Mask kick to the head which sends him outside for a 14 count. Back in, a slap from TM almost knocks him clean out. Yoshihari gets a comeback with a flurry of punches and a bridging suplex for 2, before TM makes him tapout to a chicken wing. Short, inoffensive, but largely pointless.
Hirooki Goto vs Yujiro
Decent big man vs little man match, though Goto used to be a Jr heavyweight himself so he could keep up with the smaller Yujiro. The match is pretty close in the early stages, with Yujiro clotheslining Goto out of the ring at one point. Inside, Goto overpowers Yujiro, and hits him with a tough lookling toprope elbow for two. Yujiro has to rely on speed and agility to get an advantage, slipping out of a suplex attempt, before nailing Goto with Sliding D and a Catatonic for two. Yujiro manages to keep in the fight during some pretty even exchanges with Goto, even hitting a nice lariat for two, before being beheaded by a Goto lariat. Shouten gets the win for Goto. Reasonably competitive, considering the size difference, and Yujiro looked good on offence.
Shinsuke Nakamura vs Kazuchika Okada
Okada looks really up for this one, getting in Nakamura's face before the bell even rings. As is an ongoing theme with this show, a younger, smaller guy goes up against a more established wrestler, but Okada gets to look better here than most against a former IWGP champion. Nakamura looks dominant during the early stages, but Okada gets a nice burst of offence, including a backdrop suplex where he pulls Nakamura from the ropes, but he soon gets caught in a sleeper for the tapout Nakamura win. Short, but it achieved what it aimed to do.
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Tetsuya Naito
Another match with a young gun taking on a more established star, though this one goes longer than any of the others, which really helps Naito look good. He hangs well with Tanahashi at the start, and even gets to show-off after ejecting Tanahashi from the ring. Tanahashi begins to work over the leg of Naito, but get caught with a huge slap whilst posing that levels him. Naito goes on the offensive, but remembers to sell his leg while doing so. The two exchange Dragon Sleepers with each other in a nice spot and Naito gets another chance to look good by getting nearfalls after a moonsault and after a series of rollups, but his momentum is stopped by Tanahashi going back to the leg and getting the tapout following a Texas Cloverleaf. Really fun match, with Naito getting a ton of offence.
Kantaro Hoshino vs Gedo
Hoshino is a rather older gentleman than Gedo, so this is a streetfight to hide his weaknesses. Doesn't make this match any less dull though. Hoshino gets in a flurry of offence to start, including a top rope plancha, but Gedo soon takes control as they brawl through the crowd and the backstage area. The rest of the match is approximately 10 minutes of Gedo ramming Hoshino into things then covering him for two counts. Eventually, they get back to the ring, where Gedo hits only rope on a chairshot, knocking himself for six and leaving himself prone to a low kick and a punch for the Hoshino win. I understand why they booked the match this way due to Hoshino's limitations, but it doesn't make the match any more fun to watch.
Sunday, 6 February 2011
WWF Fan Favourites
This is an VHS that the WWF released in late 89/early 90, with the premise being that each match is one requested by a fan. We get a clip before each match of an unenthusiastic fan saying that wrestler A vs wrestler B would be a classic match, before we cut to the action. Let's see what we get.
Brooklyn Brawler vs Koko B. Ware
I'm sorry, there is no way I buy anyone wanting to see this match. I am especially sure no-one wanted to see a match that was 80% Brawler offence. Koko at least brings some high energy (sorry) early on, busting out a pretty nice flying headscissors, but Brawler has nothing to offer on offence, bringing stomps, chokes and rope-burns to the party. At one point Koko fires back with a sunset flip, which wakens the crowd, but Brawler soon puts a stop to that nonsense by putting on a chinlock to silence. Even Tony Schiavone and Lord Alfred can't say anything positive for Brawler, with Lord Al commenting on his "ponderous" offence. Koko eventually comes back with a nice facebuster from the corner and a killer Ghostbuster to win, but it's too late to save this abortion.
Greg "The Hammer" Valentine vs Dusty Rhodes
An altogether more fun match. Both guys are experienced enough to know how to get a reaction from the crowd without putting too much into the match. In this case, both get the crowd into it via their selling. The Hammer sells Dusty's blows in a punch-drunk, groggy manner, while the Dream manages to incorporate a little dancing into his selling, showing his attempts to keep himself in the match. Both men are heavy hitter, and a punch exchange in the corner is particularly fun. Valentine is wearing his shinguard (called the Hartbreaker) to help with his figure four leglock, but it's Dusty who threatens one first, a nice holdover from his days feuding with Flair. Neither man actually gets to put it on, as the end comes from Ronnie Garvin coming out to prevent Jimmy Hart interfering, allowing Rhodes to roll-up a distracted Hammer for the win.
The Twin Towers vs The Hart Foundation
This should be good. The opening stage sets the scene, the Anvil trying a power battle with Boss Man, but failing to budge him on two shoulderblock attempts. Instead, he levels him with a dropkick, adapting his game. Akeem tries it with Bret, and, following a sitdown on a sunset flip attempt, starts to dominate the Hitman. The Twin Towers use their size advantage to control Bret and are plenty of fun to watch in the process, both being blessed with physical charisma and good speed for men of their size, highlighted by a sweet double avalanche in the corner. The Towers dominate Bret and the heat section is really well worked. They throw in 4 or 5 different hope spots before Bret finally gets the hot tag to a huge pop. The Anvil looks great on the hot tag, nailing Akeem with some solid shots, before resorting to using his relative speed for a double dropkick with Bret. It breaks down with all four men outside the ring (Bret even hits a pescado on Boss Man), but Akeem rolls in to beat the count and win. Afterwards, the Harts beat up Slick to regain their heat.
Mr Perfect vs Tito Santana
Two men who share real chemistry in this one. Because he's looked back on so fondly for his bumping ability, I sometimes forget how fluid Mr Perfect was on offence, and he looks really good here, aided by some consistent selling by Santana. Perfect dominates a lot of the offence in this match, but is soon bumping like a demon for Santana. Like with Perfect, I'd forgotten how good Tito was on offence, here showing real aggression as he pounds away at Perfect on the mat. Rick Martel comes out to run interference on Tito as I ponder back on the days when feuds were so well paced that they could afford to dedicate video space to it, safe in the knowledge the feud would be ongoing by the time the tape was released. Tito hits the flying forearm, but Martel puts Hennig's foot on the rope. He then distracts Tito on a figure four attempt, allowing Perfect the time to roll Santana up for the win. A bit short, but a fun bout.
Million Dollar Man vs Jimmy Snuka
The match begins with DiBiase trying to buy his way out of the match, which Schiavone takes great offence to, as it's a match the fans want to see. They shouldn't, because this really isn't very good. DiBiase does his best to bump hugely for Snuka in the opening stages, but Snuka really drags the match down by stopping...inbetween...every...move. DiBiase gets on offence, which is better simply because he doesn't take half an hour to do every move, though Snuka does take an odd bump over the top for a DiBiase clothesline, which looks awkward. The ending comes when Virgil distracts Snuka on the apron, but Snuka avoids a DiBiase attack from behind to roll him up for the win.
Hacksaw Jim Duggan & the Ultimate Warrior vs Andre The Giant & Ravishing Rick Rude
So much fun. Honestly, this is everything a throwaway tag match should be. We kick off with Warrior and Duggan doing each other's signature poses, which is cool, before we get into the action. Make no mistake, this isn't a "moves" match, but it is based around entertaining fans, which it does very well. An early spot sees Rude accidentally clothesline Andre into the ropes (and sells his arm afterwards too!) before getting used as a battering ram on the Giant by the faces. This is also one of the best uses of Andre I've seen from this era- here he's booked as a monster, gleefully stalking Duggan while he's injured. Andre taunts Warrior by doing his rope-shake pose, taunts Duggan by yelling "HOOO!!" while sitting on him and even copies Rude's hip swivel, all with a big grin plastered on his face. The ending is pretty predictable, Duggan belting Rude with the 2x4 while the ref is distracted, which leads to a Warrior splash for the win, but it's impossible to watch this and not be entertained. Good stuff.
Brooklyn Brawler vs Koko B. Ware
I'm sorry, there is no way I buy anyone wanting to see this match. I am especially sure no-one wanted to see a match that was 80% Brawler offence. Koko at least brings some high energy (sorry) early on, busting out a pretty nice flying headscissors, but Brawler has nothing to offer on offence, bringing stomps, chokes and rope-burns to the party. At one point Koko fires back with a sunset flip, which wakens the crowd, but Brawler soon puts a stop to that nonsense by putting on a chinlock to silence. Even Tony Schiavone and Lord Alfred can't say anything positive for Brawler, with Lord Al commenting on his "ponderous" offence. Koko eventually comes back with a nice facebuster from the corner and a killer Ghostbuster to win, but it's too late to save this abortion.
Greg "The Hammer" Valentine vs Dusty Rhodes
An altogether more fun match. Both guys are experienced enough to know how to get a reaction from the crowd without putting too much into the match. In this case, both get the crowd into it via their selling. The Hammer sells Dusty's blows in a punch-drunk, groggy manner, while the Dream manages to incorporate a little dancing into his selling, showing his attempts to keep himself in the match. Both men are heavy hitter, and a punch exchange in the corner is particularly fun. Valentine is wearing his shinguard (called the Hartbreaker) to help with his figure four leglock, but it's Dusty who threatens one first, a nice holdover from his days feuding with Flair. Neither man actually gets to put it on, as the end comes from Ronnie Garvin coming out to prevent Jimmy Hart interfering, allowing Rhodes to roll-up a distracted Hammer for the win.
The Twin Towers vs The Hart Foundation
This should be good. The opening stage sets the scene, the Anvil trying a power battle with Boss Man, but failing to budge him on two shoulderblock attempts. Instead, he levels him with a dropkick, adapting his game. Akeem tries it with Bret, and, following a sitdown on a sunset flip attempt, starts to dominate the Hitman. The Twin Towers use their size advantage to control Bret and are plenty of fun to watch in the process, both being blessed with physical charisma and good speed for men of their size, highlighted by a sweet double avalanche in the corner. The Towers dominate Bret and the heat section is really well worked. They throw in 4 or 5 different hope spots before Bret finally gets the hot tag to a huge pop. The Anvil looks great on the hot tag, nailing Akeem with some solid shots, before resorting to using his relative speed for a double dropkick with Bret. It breaks down with all four men outside the ring (Bret even hits a pescado on Boss Man), but Akeem rolls in to beat the count and win. Afterwards, the Harts beat up Slick to regain their heat.
Mr Perfect vs Tito Santana
Two men who share real chemistry in this one. Because he's looked back on so fondly for his bumping ability, I sometimes forget how fluid Mr Perfect was on offence, and he looks really good here, aided by some consistent selling by Santana. Perfect dominates a lot of the offence in this match, but is soon bumping like a demon for Santana. Like with Perfect, I'd forgotten how good Tito was on offence, here showing real aggression as he pounds away at Perfect on the mat. Rick Martel comes out to run interference on Tito as I ponder back on the days when feuds were so well paced that they could afford to dedicate video space to it, safe in the knowledge the feud would be ongoing by the time the tape was released. Tito hits the flying forearm, but Martel puts Hennig's foot on the rope. He then distracts Tito on a figure four attempt, allowing Perfect the time to roll Santana up for the win. A bit short, but a fun bout.
Million Dollar Man vs Jimmy Snuka
The match begins with DiBiase trying to buy his way out of the match, which Schiavone takes great offence to, as it's a match the fans want to see. They shouldn't, because this really isn't very good. DiBiase does his best to bump hugely for Snuka in the opening stages, but Snuka really drags the match down by stopping...inbetween...every...move. DiBiase gets on offence, which is better simply because he doesn't take half an hour to do every move, though Snuka does take an odd bump over the top for a DiBiase clothesline, which looks awkward. The ending comes when Virgil distracts Snuka on the apron, but Snuka avoids a DiBiase attack from behind to roll him up for the win.
Hacksaw Jim Duggan & the Ultimate Warrior vs Andre The Giant & Ravishing Rick Rude
So much fun. Honestly, this is everything a throwaway tag match should be. We kick off with Warrior and Duggan doing each other's signature poses, which is cool, before we get into the action. Make no mistake, this isn't a "moves" match, but it is based around entertaining fans, which it does very well. An early spot sees Rude accidentally clothesline Andre into the ropes (and sells his arm afterwards too!) before getting used as a battering ram on the Giant by the faces. This is also one of the best uses of Andre I've seen from this era- here he's booked as a monster, gleefully stalking Duggan while he's injured. Andre taunts Warrior by doing his rope-shake pose, taunts Duggan by yelling "HOOO!!" while sitting on him and even copies Rude's hip swivel, all with a big grin plastered on his face. The ending is pretty predictable, Duggan belting Rude with the 2x4 while the ref is distracted, which leads to a Warrior splash for the win, but it's impossible to watch this and not be entertained. Good stuff.
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