NYWC Trust No One 2017

Milk Chocolate (Brandon Watts & Randy Summers) vs High Society (Blake Morris & King Mega)

This was a fun little tag match. I’ve enjoyed three of these guys previously, whilst being unconvinced by Mega, and for the most part this was good stuff. Mega still looks awkward taking offence, but he earns bonus points by how nice his falling slam is after catching a Watts crossbody. High Society work heat on Watts, loved the spot where Morris grabs Watts by the trunks and pulls him back into a big diving lariat to the back of the head. Morris does more shit-talking here than I’d seen previously, which was a nice addition to his presentation. Watts pulls out a few little touches here that were really nice, really struggling to escape as Morris held him in place for a Mega splash, and using the turnbuckle to elevate himself into a tornado DDT for the hot tag. A double pump kick by Milk Chocolate on Mega looks pretty weak, but the end of the match is well done, as Morris ducks a rolling elbow attempt by Summers, and he turns into a Mega chokeslam for the win.

Alex Reynolds vs Robbie E

On the other hand, this was a bit disappointing. Just too much clunky comedy which took away from the match. Reynolds does a really goofy sell after getting his head rammed into the buckles, where he keeps ramming his own head into the buckle, stumbles then falls face first. There’s a brief bit of actual Reynolds control that actually works nicely, like him standing on Robbie’s throat whilst doing an arrogant muscle pose. Robbie bits Reynolds’ arm to escape a crossface, before we get more clunking comedy as Robbie keeps rolling away from a Reynolds attempt at a top rope moonsault, whilst Reynolds keeps climbing different turnbuckles like a goof. To add to the terrible nature, when Reynolds does try the move, he half lands on Robbie’s back despite the fact he’s supposed to miss. Reynolds picks up the win with a crossface, where he knees Robbie in the head whilst holding it, but on the whole this wasn’t great.

The Big O vs Maxwell Jacob Friedman

This is for the Big O’s Fusion title. Friedman tries to cheapshot the Big O after claiming he wants out of the match, but it doesn’t go too well as O hits him with a big overhead throw, a pounce and a huge powerslam for the win.

Born & Bred (Jesse Vane & Anthony LaCerra) vs the Benson Brothers vs Private Party (Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen) vs J-Redd & G.I.T.

Four way match for Born & Bred’s tag titles. This only goes 8 minutes before being ruled a no contest, but this feels like a teaser trailer for 4 or 5 different tag matches you leave the bout wanting to see. J-Redd and G.I.T. feel like the weakest links, but all the other teams make the most of their chances to shine, and there’s some really fun spots in the match. Loved CJ Benson backdropping his partner into Born & Bred, loved Private Party’s manager holding up Brad Benson from the ring apron which allowed Quen to hit a brutal looking double stomp to the floor and CJ takes a huge bump as he dives to the outside, whacking his legs on the metal barricades. Born & Bred soon follow him out with a wicked looking stereo flip dive/top rope crossbody, which soon leads to a double countout. Really fun taster of the tag division.

Willow Nightingale vs Karen Q

Really getting to enjoy Nightingale now, this was the second solid performance I’ve seen from her and though she’s still a bit green in places, she’s obviously improving. This was worked as face vs face, and had a slight exhibition-y feel. Liked the early grappling where they exchange throws whilst still maintaining a lock-up, and when they do up the pace, the offence from both looks good. There’s great timing on a missed Nightingale senton followed by an impressive exploder suplex by Q. Really liked Q’s standing moonsault, really whipping herself over on the move, before Nightingale picks up the win with a vicious looking DVD. Dug this.

Stockade & Joe Gacy vs Aidan Baal & Bam Sullivan

This is for Stockade and Gacy’s Tier 1 tag titles. Stockade seems to be working face here, and looks to be having fun with it. It suits him, impressive for someone who came across as a career heel. The face team are two big, hairy guys and they look really good on offence, moving really well. There’s something quite endearing about two burly looking guys exchanging high fives whilst bulldogging their opponents. Gacy becomes face-in-peril after Sullivan grabs him by the waist as he’s running the ropes, and the heat section is pretty fun. I was particularly impressed by Baal, who doesn’t have a very impressive look, but has a great high takedown on Gacy and sells his comebacks nicely. Bam always struck me as the better Sullivan in the Hounds of Hatred, and I dug his rolling cannonball into the corner. Stockade is on fire as the hot tag, he’s really good at putting his weight behind his moves, so a flying clothesline looks devastating. Loved him hitting a double DVD on Sullivan and an interfering Mouse. Sadly, we get a terrible spot where the heel valet tries a crossbody on Stockade, gets caught and then reverses a powerbomb into a rana. Aside from the unlikely physics of this tiny woman being able to move the massive Stockade, it’s stupid because she’s a heel and shouldn’t be outpowering massive face wrestlers. The valet ends up giving Stockade a low blow for an underwhelming DQ finish, but the meat of this was really good

ECW Hardcore TV #27 12/10/1993

Abdullah The Butcher, Terry Funk & JT Smith vs Kevin Sullivan, Jimmy Snuka & Don Muraco

Joined-in-progress brawl, which at least manages to feel hatefilled during it’s brief running time. No hint of structure, just 6 guys mainly fighting outside the ring, which helps cover up for the advanced age of it’s participants. I like that they made it feel like JT was on the same level as the veterans, previously he’s felt like someone who could easily be beaten by any half-competent pro. Smith even gets the win after Snuka throws powder in Muraco’s face by accident, allowing JT to get a sloppy small package for the win. Not blaming JT for that, by the way, feels like it would be quite tricky to tuck the large belly of Muraco into a small ball.

Malia Hosaka vs Molly McShane

Hosaka has a sheen of professionalism here that keeps this match on the right tracks. McShane is willing, but definitely green and looks slightly lost in places. She barely gets enough height on a leapfrog and struggles to lift Malia on a gutwrench suplex. Love Hosaka hitting a spinning kick on a charging McShane and she hits a great top rope cannonball for the win.

Pat Tanaka & Paul Diamond vs The Bad Breed (Ian & Axl Rotten)

The Bad Breed feel very much like a cut-price Nasty Boys in this bout, maybe lacking the sloppy violence that the Nasties would bring to the match. Tanaka and Diamond both look great here. Tanaka hits a really quick flurry of violent kicks that looks terrific, and he gets really velocity on a flying chop from a standing position. Meanwhile, Diamond hits a great springboard bulldog on Ian from the corner. The Bad Breed briefly control Tanaka, and look fine in doing so. Ian’s top rope Bansai Drop was a nice move that I thought he was certain to miss. Diamond gets the hot tag and quickly dispatches Ian with a series of moves, culminating in a double superkick with Tanaka and a big back suplex. This was real good.

Rockin’ Rebel vs Don E Allen

Quick squash, with Allen getting a short flurry, but falling prey to a nice backbreaker and a leaping spinebuster by the Rebel.

Rockin’ Rebel vs Chris Michaels

Very odd, we get Michaels and Rebel randomly falling out after a post-match promo in the ring together, which feels like it should lead to a future match…then we get it this episode just after some backstage footage focused on Sabu. Disappointingly short, as I thought Michaels looks good here. He showed real fire as he unloads on Rebel in the corner, but a loaded punch by the Rebel gives him a quick win. 

WCCW 13/11/1982

The Fabulous Freebirds vs Frank Dusek & Killer Tim Brooks

Pretty decent match, liked how well these two teams matched up. There’s some little touches that indicate a bit of hate, like Brooks biting Hayes’ hand early on, which goes with the vicious brawling that occurs every time the two are in the ring together. The Freebirds are the more fluid team, loved some of their early quick tags and teamwork. Gordy is briefly isolated, but makes the tag after a big back suplex on Dusek, and the Freebirds win as Gordy holds Dusek in a fireman’s carry, leaving him prone to a Hayes elbow to the head.

The Great Kabuki vs The Samoan & Sal Olivares

Very similar to the Kabuki squash on the last episode, as he blitzes both opponents with thrust kicks. Like before, the Samoan is left alone when his partner falls to the Kabuki legbreaker, and he gets a brief run  before he falls through the ropes and takes the legbreaker for the submission.

Kerry von Erich vs The Destroyer II

Nice little Kerry showcase. They work a brief mat stint, before Kerry ups the pace. Pair of nice kneedrops give von Erich control and he finishes with the discus punch.

Bugsy McGraw vs Checkmate

There were bits of this I liked but the ending was very frustrating. McGraw strikes me as someone I wont like as much when he’s not facing Checkmate, but he works well in this type of match, as he sells the frustration of not being able to deal with the mat smarts of his opponent. Checkmate will roll into a ball, annoying McGraw and luring him in so that he can grab an arm or a leg. Checkmate can also look vicious, hitting some nice headbutts, and McGraw does get to drop a nice elbow when he finally unravels the knot of Checkmate. Unfortunately, the ending makes Checkmate look foolish, as he lures McGraw to the apron, but seemingly has no plan as he gets put in a bearhug for the double count out. Weak end, but I enjoyed the meat of this.

WWF Monday Night Raw 27/06/1994

Mabel vs Bam Bam Bigelow

Disappointingly, this is the sole competitive match on this episode, and it only goes a few minutes. What we do get is pretty fun, with two big agile guys colliding with some real impact. This is mainly angle though, as Luna runs distraction, but remains on the apron, so it’s no surprise that she gets sent flying when Bigelow accidentally runs into her. Bigelow goes out to check on her and gets counted out. Pretty blah.

IRS vs Rich Myers

IRS is truly a terrible squash worker. Less than a minute in and he locks in the abdominal stretch, then works basic holds on Myers before getting the win with an STF. Just really dull stuff.

The Headshrinkers vs The Executioners

In contrast, the Headshrinkers know exactly how to work a fun squash. They actually work a bit heelish, ripping at an Executioner’s face and picking him up on two counts. Still, the work is a lot of fun, with hard body slams, quick powerslams and a superkick by Samu that hits flush on the jaw of an Executioner. Samu hits a DDT from the corner that looks a bit clumsy, but the double team Stroke that wins it looks good.

Kwang vs Mike Moraldo

Kwang squashes always deliver the goods. Moraldo looks pretty decent, as he moves well enough that Kwang looks even more impressive when he hits a sudden flash move. They work an early quick tempo, with Moraldo getting a two from a crossbody, but as he gets up Kwang nails a big kick. A throat thrust looks vicious and the running leg lariat in the corner looks terrific. Really liked the ending as Moraldo ducks a big chop, but gets nailed with a huge kick as he gets up for the win. Really fun stuff.

Lex Luger vs Dave Thornberg

This was basically Luger vs a wrestling dummy, as he ploughs through his opponent in a straightforward manner. Luger’s huge clothesline looks great before the torture rack gets the win.

WWE Main Event 01/07/2014

Luke Harper & Erick Rowan vs Xavier Woods & R-Truth

Bit of a disappointment here, as not only is this an extended squash, but Woods and Truth look a bit off the pace here, awkward and hesitant in their movements. I did like the big boot to the face that Harper hit on Truth and Rowan’s match-winning sitout uranage on Woods was decent.

The Funkadactyls vs Nikki Bella & Alicia Fox

Another very short match, and this was mostly all angle. Nikki had lost a handicap match to the Funkadactyls on Raw (in the midst of her feud with Stephanie McMahon). Here, she’s been given Alicia as her tag partner, and we’re all just sat waiting for the moment that Fox turns on her. The bulk of this is Cameron “controlling” Nikki with a submission, before Nikki tries the hot tag…only for Fox to shockingly move out of the way and kick her in the head for the Cameron pinfall. Match was barely two minutes, thankfully.

Dolph Ziggler, Big E & Rob Van Dam vs Cesaro & Rybaxel

On the last Main Event, I waxed lyrical about how a six-man tag match is a pretty solid format, making it easier to hide the sins of the less capable performers in the match. Thus, it feels sad that just one episode later I’m pretty disappointed in this one. Cesaro is working an “injured eye” bit, complete with an eyepatch, so it makes it a bit more jarring when “babyface” shitbag Ziggler attacks his eye and rips off his eyepatch. What a cunt. There were a few bits I enjoyed here – Ryback blocking a Big E belly-to-belly with a few headbutts was nice, and the eventual overhead belly-to-belly by Big E was super impressive. But we get a lengthy RVD face-in-peril section that wasn’t very interesting. Ryback hits a snake eyes on him that has visible space between the turnbuckle and his head, and Cesaro works a long chinlock to the delight of no-one. Ryback at least commits fully to missing the top rope splash that leads to the hot tag. Ziggler runs through all his worst offence – the un-countalong corner punches, the back-slap DDT and the dreadful fameasser – before pinning Cesaro with a zig zag. Yeah, this was a bit of a shit episode.

ECW Hardcore TV #26 05/10/1993

The Public Enemy vs Silver Jet & Gino Caruso

JIP match, and we’re definitely in proper ECW territory now. The arena is better lit now, with the crowd in the dark and the ring illuminated. Looks a lot better than the crappy “ECW” banner from the first few episodes. This is a largely sluggish beatdown by the Enemy, bar a few nice little spots. Silver Jet looks terrible in his camo trousers and black t-shirt. He’d be the most bush-league looking guy in a 2003 CZW student battle royal. Rock hits a nice quebrada, Grunge hits a reverse DDT and Rock finishes the Jet with a Swanton, admittedly getting good distance on it.

Sabu vs Tazmaniac

I am sure this was revolutionary in 1993, and the fans eat it up, but viewed through 2017 eyes…this is shit. There’s very little structure, just a bunch of spots which are hit with varying levels of success. I did think Taz showed some smarts when, after the table Sabu placed him on falls apart, Taz just gets up and suplexes Sabu through the remains. I was less impressed when Sabu elbowed him in the face and Tazmaniac sold it by climbing to the second rope to eat a top rope Frankensteiner. Taz hits a huge suplex that almost drops Sabu on his head. The transitions here are woeful, momentum just switching arbitrarily. Sabu picks up the win with a sloppy moonsault. Really disliked this.

The Sandman vs The Metal Maniac

This wasn’t any better. Sandman hits a nice high waistlock takedown early, and that’s probably the best part of the match. Maniac barely gets Sandman off the ground with an unbelievably shit side suplex. Sandman hits a top rope clothesline to win. Awful.

Terry Funk vs Jimmy Snuka

This is a cage match for the TV title, billed as “Funk’s Last Stand”. There’s bits of this that are good, and bits that are very poor. Funk sells like a champion early, as Snuka whips him into the corners, making a simple move looks vicious. He’s also the first to eat a faceful of cage. For two veterans, they both manage to make piledrivers look utterly ineffectual. Funk sells one by getting up 10 seconds later to prevent Snuka escaping a cage, and Styles helpfully points out that Funk is hitting headbutts just moments after taking a piledriver. Funk soon hits his own ineffectual piledriver. They base a lot of this match around headbutts, which isn’t particularly interesting, though Snuka is at least sensible enough to base a lot of his offence around trying to hurt Funk’s neck. The end feels pretty anticlimactic, as Funk just gets to the top of the cage, manages to knock down Snuka then hangs from the top of the cage before dropping to the floor to win. Even with the advanced age of Snuka, you’d expect better from these two. My opening claim of “Some of this is very good” doesn’t seem accurate now.

WWF Prime Time Wrestling 19/05/1986

This episode features matches from Toroto’s Maple Leaf Gardens, with a cool ramp to the ring adding a bit to the matches.

Adrian Adonis vs Danny Spivey

The early parts of this are all about Adonis’ selling. Even at this stage of his career, he takes a 360 spin from a Spivey shoulderblock and then comically stumbles from the ring. Spivey really brings the early parts down with a loooong headlock sequence. Hart and Spivey conspire to blow a trip spot. I like that neither guy is afraid to bump on the hard entrance ramp, but there seem to be a few communication issues – Spivey’s running bearhug didn’t look like a move he was going for. The end sees Spivey slam Adonis from the top rope, but Adonis rolls through into a cradle for the win.

Tiger Chung Lee vs Don Kolov

Bizarrely, I’ve only heard of Kolov for the first time today thanks to the Santino Marella “Where are they now?” WWE video, where he has the “Don Kolov Arena” as part of his training academy. This does nothing to further his legacy, as this is a jobber vs jobber match with neither guy doing anything to suggest they deserved a better spot on the card. Both guys get booed due to their foreign-sounding names, though Kolov is supposed to be the face. This is really slow, though Kolov shows a little fire on his comeback. Chung Lee gets the win with the move of the match, a nice jumping tombstone.

Bret Hart vs Jim Brunzell

This is the first of two “Hart Foundation vs Killer Bees” matches on this card. Being in Canada, Bret gets a minor pop and Brunzell actually comes off as a bit heelish as he smacks Bret’s leg into the ringpost. Bret takes over after breaking a figure four attempt with an eye poke, before working over Brunzell with a headlock spot. Unlike Spivey, Hart can actually make this spot interesting, allowing Brunzell to come close to breaking it, before a hair pull sends him back down again. Brunzell fires back with a shitty weak clothesline before pummelling Bret with some close punches to the face. Bret fires back and crotches him on the top rope….for a DQ? Terrible ending to a fun match.

Jim Neidhart vs B Brian Blair

This is worked as strength vs speed, with Blair frustrating Neidhart with his movement. Like the Bret match, Neidhart decides to work a long chinlock section, though not as cleverly. Also like the Bret match, a Killer Bee works a bit heelish and actually gets booed as he grinds Neidhart’s eyes over the top rope. Neidhart goes for a shoulder charge and Blair evades it with a sunset flip for the win. This was fine.

There’s a “classic” midget match shown, but it’s clipped and it’s shit, so we’ll skip past it.

Scott McGee vs Johnny K-9

This starts poorly with McGee working the arm in an uniteresting way, but it soon picks up with good effort from both guys. This is a nice contrast from Chung Lee/Kolov, as two lower card guys try and win over the crowd with their work. Liked K-9’s diving headbutt and I dug the strange chokeslam/STO type move McGee hits. McGee throws a string of nice uppercuts and hits a German suplex to win. This was short, but I liked both guys more coming out of it than going in.

Hoss & Jimmy Jack Funk vs George Wells & Lanny Poffo

My happiness at seeing a Funks match promised is instantly dissipated by the presence of Jimmy Jack instead of Terry. The faces frustrate the Funk team early, until Jimmy Jack knees Wells in the back during a criss-cross. Nice teaming by the Funks – even when Wells breaks a sleeper with a jawbreaker on Jimmy Jack, he’s still able to reach for the tag with his arm hooked around Wells’ neck. Poffo gets the hot tag and shows some nice energy, but he’s soon face in peril. Dory makes the most of the entrance ramp, suplexing Poffo outside from the apron, dropping him on the ramp in a form of brainbuster. Wells gets the hot tag, and shows nice strength, catching a Jimmy Jack crossbody into a backbreaker. However, he misses a corner splash, flying headfirst into the turnbuckle, and Jimmy Jack hits a powerslam for the win. Pretty decent stuff, though it’d still have been preferable to see Terry instead of the fake Funk.