Friday, September 14, 2012

Jessie's Last Stand

(Hey readers/fans!  Blog co-founder and longtime bud Jessie is taking an indefinite hiatus from our blog.  He's had a few drafts that have remained untouched for awhile but I think even in incomplete form they make for good reads so I wanted to share what he was working on toward the end of his run here on NHO.  We wish you the best in your future endeavors.)

NJPW G1 Climax 2010

Okay, my hiatus is over, hopefully.  I hadn't found much worthy to write about lately but after receiving a few G1 discs from a few years ago it was like getting facebook requested by an old friend.  I don't know dates or tournament signifigance so bear with me and just read

1) Satoshi Kojima v. Yujiro - This match felt like it peaked about 6 minutes in with Yujiro hitting all his cherry shit and taking a weak ass Koji Cutter.  Where could they go from here?  Probably to a highlights appointment as both men had some blonde sheen but that's besides the point.  Match ended a couple mins too late, jury adjourned  (3)

2) Togi Makabe v. Toru Yano - Former partners match, seems like almost every time that angles been played it's never lived up to hype i.e. Rock & Roll express feud from '91; didn't exactly light the world on fire.  Yano's attempt at a stun gun on the top rope looked like an infant trying to lift a bag of concrete.  Both guys came into this cockstrong, like Earthworm Jim but faltering.  You know how all great heat spots from the 80's have died a bloody death in wrestling: RIP the exposed turnbuckle as a instant knock out, we have it here and it's brutal to watch.  They start picking it up with a couple good near falls, a clothesline into a chair that SUCKED HARD, but a nice surprise finish makes me smile; but damn it i'm still mad at them for killing the open turnbuckle.  Jerks   (3)

WWE Best of Raw/ Smackdown 2011

Weekly TV has become less and less of a priority for me over the last couple years, now to the point where we don't even have cable; so when i saw this set released on streaming Netflix, I decided what a great tool for me to catch up on the most pimped stuff; matches will get ratings and other segmens a thumbs up or down

Disc 1

1) The Miz v. John Morrison  WWE Title Match Falls Count Anywhere (Raw, Jan 3)- 4

This had all the tropes of a back and forth title match but manufactured pre-written match segments don't fly with me when we've seen Hart-Hart, Savage-Dibiase, all those old classic title matches where guys can produce a long story full of nuance.  They are pimping Johnny Boy's Ladder match against Sheamus at the Dec ppv; and it was a hell of a fight.  This was not that.  His leap off the "W" even though he didn't fall drunkenly, didn't have the same impact as when Sabu lost his balance off the "R" in 97.  Riley is a nuisance better left un talked about and gets taken out in a sort of Jeff Hardy mock way.  Morrison can have good matches but he just doesn't come off as being a champion.  Miz at least somewhat carries himself in that manner and is giving off all the facials and emotions you'd want in that situation.  Decent table spot though leading to the end, everything else just felt like empty stage movements leading towards the finish.

2) Dolph Ziggler v. Kofi Kingston  WWE IC Title Match (Smackdown, Jan 7)- 5

I wasn't a fan at all of their long never ending series from 2010, but i enjoyed this one.  They pulled off a number of spots where just a wrong move one way or the other and this would have been a complete disaster.  Dolph really was showing his watchres here and seemed to be potentially greater than Kofi by a long shot at this juncture.  The whole sleeper thing seemed far fetched, with STriker mentioning Dolph has won numerous matches with it.  I liked all the Steamboat flourishes too, the chops and the crossbody which looked even cooler in slow mo.

3) Rey Mysterio v. Alberto Del Rio  2/3 Falls Match  (Smackdown, Jan 7)- 6

   1st Fall was quicker than Santino rubbing one out on his "Cobra" but was a nice setup for the rest of the match.  Alberto's style of mixing Lucha libre and MMA is so freaking refreshing, he keeps it simple and it always seems to work.  Loved the nod to Negro Casas with Rey catching the 2nd fall with a magistral.  3rd fall went long and the pace was slow but measured well and everything had meaning, with a perfectly designed finish to keep both men strong.  Good stuff

4) Natalya v. Melina    Divas Championship (Raw Jan 24) - 3

  Melina gave Nattie sex eyes when the match started; or was it for the buff ref?  Melina put on a crazy looking crab submission that i'm sure she's tried a variation with Morrison in the bedroom but Nattie completely ignoring it kind of delfated that whole scenario.  Some awkward strikes from Nattie but the finish was smart.

5) Daniel Bryan v. The Miz    (Raw Feb 14)- 6

  God, hearing Alex Riley spouting out "Must See Champion" rhetoric while Cole tries to put over Miz as a combo of HHH, Michaels and The Crusher is all AIDS for my ears.  Miz still can't punch or bump over the top rope?  That's not must see, that's must forget.  Bryan's knee off the apron is pretty damn sweet, like Tollhouse Soft Batch cookies.  Funny if people that put this DVD together notice how much air time Riley's getting and how forgotten he is now.  Miz must have been watching some of those old jimmy Rave ROH matches taking all these nasty  bumps for Bryan.  You can see him leading this match from each and every cue because Miz doesn't have matches like this.  Miz's finisher looks as strong as Tom Cruise's last plastic surgery.

WWF Monday Night Raw 1993 Main Events

hey NHO fans, a while back me and Adam seperately reviewed AWA 1989 and Saturday Night 2000 main events as a pre cursor to this project. Basically this will be a massive co review where we go back and relive the full Raw 93 season and give our thoughts on the last feature match of each ep. hope you enjoy, sure we will.

01/11 The Undertaker v. Damian DeMento J: 3

Jess: DeMento starts this off firing off some nice Larry Holmes haymakers to Taker's jaw piece. There's some awkwardness in trying to pull off a few moves but DeMento's a fun beat up dummy, he takes a clothesline and slaps the mat, pissed his creepy self can't manifest some answer to Taker's offense. ending is just out of nowhere which hurts my final thoughts.

01/18 El Matador v. Ric Flair J: 4

Jess: I don't know of anything mroe fun than watching a spry and young Flair bump, besides maybe playing Skeeball while intoxicated. The match had a nice build up to, but both men could have done that in their sleep. super hot crowd too, the molten level brawl with Flair and Perfect was just nuts and really amped everyone up.

01/25 Mr. Perfect v. Ric Flair (Loser Leaves match) J:7

Jess: This was a damn exciting match. Unfortunately, rewatching this, nearly 20 years later, you can't recreate the excitement and tension during a loser leaves match but the announcers did a great job of conveying it. This had some real length to it and Flair still was put over huge in the match itself as well as Perfect who may have never had a better signular performance than this in WWF. Def. seek this out

02/01 Doink the Clown v. Typhoon J: 2

Jess: So, it's fun watching a clown perform amateur moves on huge clutz, but it only takes you so far. The finish was as weak as Bartlett's ringside attempts at comedy.

02/15 Ted Dibiase v. Brutus Beefcake J: 1

Jess: This was just a posturing angle. Beefcake strutted more than he bumped and that doesn't cut it with me. Dibiase did take a nice bump to the floor about 5 mins in but Beefcake outsmarting him and his growing beer belly (or should I say Caviar belly in his case) just further insulted my intelligence.

02/22 Crush v. Terry Taylor J:2

Jess: Well this week the real main event was Undertaker v. Skinner but they went off the air as Taker was being choked by a plasticine bader foot? I'm not sure. Taylor was kind of fun here, hit a nice spinning neckbreaker and I enjoyed his silent push as this great wrestler as Crush was coming down the ring. His tilt a whirl backbreaker worked but the head crunch is really hard to buy, and I've had 12 shots of tequila.

03/01 Steiner Brothers v. Duane Gill/ Barry Hardy J:3

Jess: God I missed these old Steiner destructions, they absolutely slaughtered these two and I loved the big smiles on the jobbers faces before this started; nothing but frowns afterwards

03/08 Mr. Perfect v. Rick "Model" Martel J:5

Jess: I loved,loved,loved the slam/ kip up section to kick this off. Martel was just oozing charisma in his sea captains outfit earlier blasting Bartlett for looking like a moyle. Both guys selling was really on and Perfect here in early '93 found a real rhythm with offense. Cool thing you could see is both guys giving up control to the other and the match had a real breezy pace due to that. Real good stuff.

03/15 Nasty Boys v. The Headshrinkers J:6

Jess: Just read these two names and you know exactly what you get. The Nastys, now face, seemed a little soft. Shrinkers were doleing out plenty of rough shots, liked the savate kick later on. Pitch perfect pace, everything falling right in line Double countout finish but in this case, a positive, as they ended with chair shots and people covered in mustard which is always a party for my eyes.

03/22 Doink the Clown v. Kamala J:2

Jess: It had probably been 15 years since anyone saw Kamala get stretched like this, if even then. And it's fun. Doink doesn't care about gimmicks at all, he just goes in and wraps people up and it's so much fun. And I loved the empty present but there was really no substance to this at all.

03/29 The Undertaker v. Bam Bam Bigelow J:4

Jess: Drop toe hold spot off bat and Bammer is selling it great. Even thought Taker has to move super slowly, because, you know he's a demon zombie, I think, but he manages to add these little touches, these flourishes to show some stuff off, like the aggressive claw hold. Bam Bam goes through his stuff but Taker just bumps mechanically to it. Finish surprisingly preserved Bam Bam even though he wasn't on the Mania 9 card.

04/05 Jerry Lawler v. Jim Powers J:2

Jess: Lawler had a good schtick going on for some crazy heat and finally had to step in for his debut. And who did he face? Former Young Stallion and known pushed superstar Jim Powers! He did hit a flying clothesline and seemed to bounce off the mat like a Flubber with all those perky muscles. Lawler stalled but didn't waste any time finishing this off

04/12 Friar Ferguson v. Chris Duffy J: 1

Jess: Bless this wine Friar, but please try not to fart on it. I didn't think anyone on TV was uglier than Rob Bartlett, but dear god, Ferguson was frightning. Duffy was all game for this though, maybe he was getting some kind of hazar pay, I esp. like his bump out of the ring. This did drag though and went way too long.

04/19 Bam Bam Bigelow v. Phil Apollo J: 2

Jess: Apollo looks like one of Tony Soprano's dumb cousins with a spaghetti obsession. Neck Crank comes on about 1 min. in and it actually looks like it hurts. At that point, Savage comments "Is it my imagination or does the competition here keep getting better and better and better and bettttterrrrr?" I mean damn, a suplex from Bam Bam was stiff! Doink comes out with an umbrella and takes a super creepy closeup, just stone faced as Bartlett asks "Is he just schizophrenic or what?" All the announcers feel for Apollo, and the good Friar stands over him building his first proram; bet that won sold some tix.

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