PART 1
PART 2
Monday, September 1, 2008
Best of the TNA Title Matches - Disc #1
1) Ron "the Truth" Killings v. Jeff Jarrett- 3
2) Jeff Jarrett v. AJ Styles- 3
3) Jeff Jarrett v. AJ Styles v. Raven- 5
4) AJ Styles v. DLo Brown (Ladder Match)- 6
Red= Green- it's an old adage in this business, but it's not always true. Jarrett does a massive blade job for a match that certainly doesn't warrant it. Jarrett can't sell Truth's new age offense; they try and it doens't work, ex. being his front layout suplex Jarrett goes down on one knee like he's in ready position for a marathon. This is mostly just a brawl, one that after Truth kicks out of all of Jarrett's big moves, it goes into the crowd brawl section culminating in a backyard table spot, at best. This match goes way too long because it was dying on the vine since the bell rang and Vince Russo coming out dressed like the first ever KKK-luchadore doesn't do it any favors. Jarrett and Styles starts out quite nice, with Jarrett going airborn with a crazy suicide splash over the top rope, but it simmers down tremendously with AJ "dumbing" down his style and hitting a lot of punches. Both men posess great dropkicks and those were among the highlights here; lowlights include the Harris Boys, Sonny Siaki, Vader, Dusty Rhodes and Russo all interfering before it's over as well as several blown spots.
This 3 way had a good pace and everyone looked motivated here. Raven's offense looked crisp and he was in good shape- some pretty well timed 3 way spots were pushing this match towards recommendable status, then you had Shane Douglas pull Raven out of the ring and push him into a table propped up against a fire exit door which promptly opened- Duh! In a really painful looking spot, AJ exectued a springboard 450 splash only to meet Jarrett's knees in the midsection. Russo once again popped up and swerved Jarrett, his specialty and I really wish he would stop wearing cutoff shirts. This wasn't much of a ladder match, meaning not a lot of spots consisted of using it but these guys came to impress working some intricate spots outside with the guardrail before ladder was in play. AJ was being his usual stiff self including throwing the ladder at D'lo's face several times, making me cringe upon contact. Then, there was D'Lo setting up AJ on a table outside then setting up a ladder, climbing all the way to the top then diving off with a gigantic splash absolutely crushing Styles under his weight. A Sick, violent spot that should have been the end of this match. I kept thinking, "No way D'lo's attempting this, AJ going's to move, holy shit none of that happened and I just witnessed a murder!" Sonny Siaki rears his Rock-wannabe head again to no pop, and AJ goes over in a badly planned finish where D'Lo didn't break his table just bounced off of it like a 4-Square ball.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
ECW on TNN - Episodes #1 and #2
Ah yes … ECW on TNN, a show that has a lot of sentimental value for me as it was my regular exposure to ECW and a show that Tim, a Review the World webisode co-host, and I would watch religiously. As a matter of fact, we even made our own “best of” ECW on TNN tapes that I still have in my collection to this day. Just the other day, however, I came across a fine person online who was offering the entire run of the show for sale. I contacted him, worked out a deal, and low and behold, a few days later the complete run of ECW on TNN was waiting for me on my doorstep when I got home from work. There are two episodes per disc on this set so I’m going to dive right in.
ECW on TNN – 8/27/99
The debut episode was supposed to feature exclusive bouts but instead Paul Heyman decided to run the much hyped RVD/Jerry Lynn bout from the Hardcore Heaven 1999 pay-per-view and a bunch of other madness to fill the first show. Needless to say, this pissed off the TNN execs something awful and the relationship between ECW and TNN was off to a rocky start.
1) Rob Van Dam vs. Jerry Lynn (Hardcore Heaven 99) (clipped) – 6
2) Taz vs. Rhino – 3
3) Spike Dudley vs. Sal E. Graziano – 0
The RVD/Lynn match I mentioned in the intro is the most hyped and most famous match in their series with it also being the first match on the first ECW commerical “best of” tape released in 1999. I feel that it has been hyped to the point where you watch it today and you’ll be like “umm … okay … what’s so great?” The best match between them, in my opinion, was their match prior to this at Living Dangerously 99. Now, this match did have some great moments where Lynn gets smashed with a springboard sidekick and eats the floor, RVD recieves a sunset flip powerbomb through a table, and some nice counter-wrestling. The match itself is presented here in a somwhat clipped form where they’ve taken out about five minutes of the match due to time constraints. It’s definitely a match I would recommend viewing, just so you can see it and come to your own conclusions.
Next up, more video packages and then Taz vs. Rhino which, for the three minutes it ran, was one of the hardest hitting bouts presented on TNN. Rhino came in, powerbombed Taz, who then immediately got up and beat the shit out of Rhino for the remainder of the match. This is followed up by a Sabu video and the Spike/Sal match that went all of 30 seconds and can be categorized as a complete dud. Closing out the show, we get an Impact Players interview which is taken over by Cyrus, a Kid Rock ECW music video, and a Taz promo to end it.
ECW on TNN – 9/3/99
This is one of the most famous episodes of ECW due to the fact that a major, major name from their past returned and it was the Dudleys’ last night in the company. I’m sure by now you know what happened.
1) Taz vs. Tajiri – 4
2) The Dudley Boys vs. Balls Mahoney & Spike Dudley – 4
3) The Dudley Boys vs. Tommy Dreamer – Handicap Match – 2
The opening bout was fun. Taz was getting all his shit in and Tajiri was bumping well for it. I liked the finish because it was quick and the submission hold came from out of nowhere. Tajiri was pretty fresh into his “Japanese buzzsaw” character here. His trademark kicks were on target and Taz’s hard hitting but sometimes reptitive offense was crisp. Afterwards, we get the introduction of Joel Gertner to the co-host spot and a lame brawl between RVD and Jerry Lynn.
The Dudleys had a fine match with Balls and Spike which consisted of Spike taking two notably crazy bumps. The first was when he was tossed over the top rope by Balls to D-Von and Bubba and almost did a 360 in the air and landed on head. The second was when he was thrown really hard through the timekeeper’s table. One big peeve I had was with the production, when an interesting spot would happen, they would cut away from the bout and show a slow-mo replay. The Dudleys won after powerbombing Balls through a tack-covered table and hitting Spike with the 3-D move. Prior to the next match, we get a Lance Storm video set to Rob Zombie and some hype for Rollerjam.
The Dudleys came back out to cut a promo about going to the WWF and how ECW was just a shit-hole company. They called out Dreamer who, after receiving verbal tirades directed toward Beulah, Francine, and the company, hit the ring. The match featured a contrived see-saw ladder spot that had a nice finish to it but Bubba blatanly set it up in his pre-spot movements. The finish saw Raven run-in, hit a DDT on Bubba and score the pin.
Overall, watching these episodes was like going back in time. I couldn’t have enjoyed watching these more and I can’t wait to see what else I have in store for me in this set. The first episode was just there but if you really want to get a feel for ECW on TNN, start with the second episode and go from there.
ECW on TNN – 8/27/99
The debut episode was supposed to feature exclusive bouts but instead Paul Heyman decided to run the much hyped RVD/Jerry Lynn bout from the Hardcore Heaven 1999 pay-per-view and a bunch of other madness to fill the first show. Needless to say, this pissed off the TNN execs something awful and the relationship between ECW and TNN was off to a rocky start.
1) Rob Van Dam vs. Jerry Lynn (Hardcore Heaven 99) (clipped) – 6
2) Taz vs. Rhino – 3
3) Spike Dudley vs. Sal E. Graziano – 0
The RVD/Lynn match I mentioned in the intro is the most hyped and most famous match in their series with it also being the first match on the first ECW commerical “best of” tape released in 1999. I feel that it has been hyped to the point where you watch it today and you’ll be like “umm … okay … what’s so great?” The best match between them, in my opinion, was their match prior to this at Living Dangerously 99. Now, this match did have some great moments where Lynn gets smashed with a springboard sidekick and eats the floor, RVD recieves a sunset flip powerbomb through a table, and some nice counter-wrestling. The match itself is presented here in a somwhat clipped form where they’ve taken out about five minutes of the match due to time constraints. It’s definitely a match I would recommend viewing, just so you can see it and come to your own conclusions.
Next up, more video packages and then Taz vs. Rhino which, for the three minutes it ran, was one of the hardest hitting bouts presented on TNN. Rhino came in, powerbombed Taz, who then immediately got up and beat the shit out of Rhino for the remainder of the match. This is followed up by a Sabu video and the Spike/Sal match that went all of 30 seconds and can be categorized as a complete dud. Closing out the show, we get an Impact Players interview which is taken over by Cyrus, a Kid Rock ECW music video, and a Taz promo to end it.
ECW on TNN – 9/3/99
This is one of the most famous episodes of ECW due to the fact that a major, major name from their past returned and it was the Dudleys’ last night in the company. I’m sure by now you know what happened.
1) Taz vs. Tajiri – 4
2) The Dudley Boys vs. Balls Mahoney & Spike Dudley – 4
3) The Dudley Boys vs. Tommy Dreamer – Handicap Match – 2
The opening bout was fun. Taz was getting all his shit in and Tajiri was bumping well for it. I liked the finish because it was quick and the submission hold came from out of nowhere. Tajiri was pretty fresh into his “Japanese buzzsaw” character here. His trademark kicks were on target and Taz’s hard hitting but sometimes reptitive offense was crisp. Afterwards, we get the introduction of Joel Gertner to the co-host spot and a lame brawl between RVD and Jerry Lynn.
The Dudleys had a fine match with Balls and Spike which consisted of Spike taking two notably crazy bumps. The first was when he was tossed over the top rope by Balls to D-Von and Bubba and almost did a 360 in the air and landed on head. The second was when he was thrown really hard through the timekeeper’s table. One big peeve I had was with the production, when an interesting spot would happen, they would cut away from the bout and show a slow-mo replay. The Dudleys won after powerbombing Balls through a tack-covered table and hitting Spike with the 3-D move. Prior to the next match, we get a Lance Storm video set to Rob Zombie and some hype for Rollerjam.
The Dudleys came back out to cut a promo about going to the WWF and how ECW was just a shit-hole company. They called out Dreamer who, after receiving verbal tirades directed toward Beulah, Francine, and the company, hit the ring. The match featured a contrived see-saw ladder spot that had a nice finish to it but Bubba blatanly set it up in his pre-spot movements. The finish saw Raven run-in, hit a DDT on Bubba and score the pin.
Overall, watching these episodes was like going back in time. I couldn’t have enjoyed watching these more and I can’t wait to see what else I have in store for me in this set. The first episode was just there but if you really want to get a feel for ECW on TNN, start with the second episode and go from there.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Triple H The King of Kings - Disc #1
1. vs. John Crystal - (Raw 5/22/95) - 2
2. vs. Marc Mero - (Raw 10/21/96) - 3
3. vs. Mankind - (King of the Ring '97) - 6
4. vs. Owen Hart - (WrestleMania XIV) - 5
5. vs. Mankind - (Raw 9/23/99) - 4
6. vs. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin - No Holds Barred Match - (No Mercy '99) - 5
7. vs. Cactus Jack - Hell in the Cell Match - (No Way Out '00) - 7
8. Royal Rumble '02 highlights - N/A
Well, after seeing fellow writer Adam’s draft on this set lay untouched for over three weeks, I figured somebody should review it so I went out of my way to get it and now I’d like to share my thoughts. For this piece I’ll be focusing on the first disc, with a look at the second and concluding disc possibly coming in the near future. Triple H is a favorite target of many Internet writers. I left any biases behind when spinning this disc, trying instead to focus my concentrated energies on studying the man’s work and milieu of this collection.
The first match is Hunter’s Raw debut and quite forgettable, although I’m sure not for Crystal, who likely heard he was making his DVD debut and ran to Wal-Mart to procure himself a copy to show to his buddies at the auto shop. Hunter’s really milking the elitist snob character, which drags down the pace, but him winning with an RKO was an unexpected surprise. I noticed that the audio was tampered with, too; as occasionally the announcers’ voices would disappear randomly for brief periods. The match versus Mero wasn’t any good, either. Hunter, flat on his back, suspiciously put his arms up during a Mero slingshot leg drop which ruined the spot. The match ended with Mr. Perfect doing a heel turn, supposedly swerving the audience by hitting Mero with the Intercontinental title, although it was painfully obvious what was going to happen.
I reviewed Hunter and Mankind from King of the Ring ’97 before, but upon a second viewing, I knocked the score down a point. It’s the finals of the KOTR tournament, but feels kind of flat, even if Foley kills himself in a losing effort. Foley gets hurt a lot; his head gets violently stuck in-between the ropes, he does an elbow drop off the apron out into the entrance aisle landing on concrete, later gets knocked off the apron and falls backwards hitting the back of his skull on the metal guardrail, takes a Pedigree on an old, stiff table, gets kneed off the apron a second time, this time landing on a nearby crouching photographer, and lastly, gets hit by Chyna with a scepter that looks like something Teela would have carried in Eternia.
The match against Owen Hart is thrown in there but it didn’t do a lot for me. Don’t get me wrong, I love Owen, but this match feels more like their basic touring match, done repeatedly at house shows void of any spontaneity or risk-taking. Still, it’s solid for what it is, but not worthy of being sought out. The next match is another against Foley, this time from an episode of Raw, and wow does it ever suck dong! The Rock is on commentary, putting himself over at the expense of the match, then you’ve got slob Foley defending the biggest prize in wrestling wearing some dirty sneakers. It’s a big mess, but one bump worth mentioning his Mankind taking a nasty hiptoss from Chyna directly onto the steel ring steps.
The match with Austin was one I’d completely forgotten, and while a fun brawl, suffered the same symptoms of many main events from that era, a lack of substance and a emphasis on wild stories instead of hard-hitting action. It started with a brawl back towards the entrance area, with both guys slipping and falling on the polished wood court of the Cleveland Cavaliers. These guys would go on to have better matches, two of which are available on Austin’s recent DVD set. The Rock gets involved in the end, further damaging this one, but while not particularly good it’s still a pretty amusing watch.
The Hell in the Cell match is a fairly violent affair, intended originally to be Foley’s last match, which would have been a good sendoff as it was barbaric enough to capture his spirit. Foley hit a chair-assisted elbowdrop from the second buckle on Hunter out on the floor, which HHH sold by quivering like Ian Curtis of Joy Division fame. After breaking a section of the cage by hurtling the steel ring steps at it, Foley, for no discernable reason, charges full-force at it and bumps through it in a puzzling moment. The crowd erupts as they tease climbing the cage, and after being at SummerSlam ’08 live, seeing Edge versus Undertaker in a Hell in the Cell match, I know how the possibility of seeing high-risk stuff gets a crowd rocking. Foley gets a barbed wire board out from underneath the timekeeper’s table. Wait, what? That doesn’t make any sense. Why the fuck would that be there? So, I guess he hid it there hours before the show started? Or, what? Thankfully Lillian didn’t stub her toe unsuspectingly. Jack takes a pretty gnarly bump off the side of the cage onto the announcer’s table, landing roughly back first in a pretty disturbing visual. After getting back to his feet, Foley tries three times unsuccessfully to toss a steel chair from the floor up on top of the cage, where Hunter is shown standing erect with a dumb, startled expression on his face. They brawl on top of the cage, where ultimately Hunter backdrops Foley, which sees him fall through a section of the cage, plummeting to the ring below where he lands “breaking” the ring. My biggest gripe with this is the camerawork. When the spot initially happens, right before it does the cameraman does an extreme, unnatural zoom-out, which signaled to me that clearly something big of that nature was about to transpire. I remember watching it live and feeling like the excitement of the spot was ruined. It’s a shame this wasn’t Foley’s last match, as take for example, his outing with Carlito at Taboo Tuesday ’05 was completely embarrassing.
The last segment is Triple H’s work in the ’02 Royal Rumble. He’s entrant #22 and ends up winning, so we see the entirety of his performance. He’s in with Austin and they brawl, throw the next entrant out, brawl some more, repeat, etc. It was funny when Faarooq entered, as he’s in our HOF but superstars Austin and HHH aren’t. The highlight of this Rumble was Mr. Perfect, who made it to the final three before eventually being eliminated, and made for some entertaining moments. I couldn’t rate this match as the majority of it wasn’t shown—what I did see didn’t make me really want to go out of my way to relive that particular show anytime soon.
Overall, most of the stuff on this disc can be skipped, or peeped elsewhere. Hunter hosts the DVD, similar to the way the new Austin set is conducted, which I find a nice touch as it adds some much needed personality to these compilations. The only thing I’d say is really recommendable for your personal collection would be the Hell in the Cell bout with Cactus Jack; and if you really want it, I’d suggest just getting a copy of No Way Out ’00 so you can also see that tasty Viscera versus Mark Henry match, too.
2. vs. Marc Mero - (Raw 10/21/96) - 3
3. vs. Mankind - (King of the Ring '97) - 6
4. vs. Owen Hart - (WrestleMania XIV) - 5
5. vs. Mankind - (Raw 9/23/99) - 4
6. vs. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin - No Holds Barred Match - (No Mercy '99) - 5
7. vs. Cactus Jack - Hell in the Cell Match - (No Way Out '00) - 7
8. Royal Rumble '02 highlights - N/A
Well, after seeing fellow writer Adam’s draft on this set lay untouched for over three weeks, I figured somebody should review it so I went out of my way to get it and now I’d like to share my thoughts. For this piece I’ll be focusing on the first disc, with a look at the second and concluding disc possibly coming in the near future. Triple H is a favorite target of many Internet writers. I left any biases behind when spinning this disc, trying instead to focus my concentrated energies on studying the man’s work and milieu of this collection.
The first match is Hunter’s Raw debut and quite forgettable, although I’m sure not for Crystal, who likely heard he was making his DVD debut and ran to Wal-Mart to procure himself a copy to show to his buddies at the auto shop. Hunter’s really milking the elitist snob character, which drags down the pace, but him winning with an RKO was an unexpected surprise. I noticed that the audio was tampered with, too; as occasionally the announcers’ voices would disappear randomly for brief periods. The match versus Mero wasn’t any good, either. Hunter, flat on his back, suspiciously put his arms up during a Mero slingshot leg drop which ruined the spot. The match ended with Mr. Perfect doing a heel turn, supposedly swerving the audience by hitting Mero with the Intercontinental title, although it was painfully obvious what was going to happen.
I reviewed Hunter and Mankind from King of the Ring ’97 before, but upon a second viewing, I knocked the score down a point. It’s the finals of the KOTR tournament, but feels kind of flat, even if Foley kills himself in a losing effort. Foley gets hurt a lot; his head gets violently stuck in-between the ropes, he does an elbow drop off the apron out into the entrance aisle landing on concrete, later gets knocked off the apron and falls backwards hitting the back of his skull on the metal guardrail, takes a Pedigree on an old, stiff table, gets kneed off the apron a second time, this time landing on a nearby crouching photographer, and lastly, gets hit by Chyna with a scepter that looks like something Teela would have carried in Eternia.
The match against Owen Hart is thrown in there but it didn’t do a lot for me. Don’t get me wrong, I love Owen, but this match feels more like their basic touring match, done repeatedly at house shows void of any spontaneity or risk-taking. Still, it’s solid for what it is, but not worthy of being sought out. The next match is another against Foley, this time from an episode of Raw, and wow does it ever suck dong! The Rock is on commentary, putting himself over at the expense of the match, then you’ve got slob Foley defending the biggest prize in wrestling wearing some dirty sneakers. It’s a big mess, but one bump worth mentioning his Mankind taking a nasty hiptoss from Chyna directly onto the steel ring steps.
The match with Austin was one I’d completely forgotten, and while a fun brawl, suffered the same symptoms of many main events from that era, a lack of substance and a emphasis on wild stories instead of hard-hitting action. It started with a brawl back towards the entrance area, with both guys slipping and falling on the polished wood court of the Cleveland Cavaliers. These guys would go on to have better matches, two of which are available on Austin’s recent DVD set. The Rock gets involved in the end, further damaging this one, but while not particularly good it’s still a pretty amusing watch.
The Hell in the Cell match is a fairly violent affair, intended originally to be Foley’s last match, which would have been a good sendoff as it was barbaric enough to capture his spirit. Foley hit a chair-assisted elbowdrop from the second buckle on Hunter out on the floor, which HHH sold by quivering like Ian Curtis of Joy Division fame. After breaking a section of the cage by hurtling the steel ring steps at it, Foley, for no discernable reason, charges full-force at it and bumps through it in a puzzling moment. The crowd erupts as they tease climbing the cage, and after being at SummerSlam ’08 live, seeing Edge versus Undertaker in a Hell in the Cell match, I know how the possibility of seeing high-risk stuff gets a crowd rocking. Foley gets a barbed wire board out from underneath the timekeeper’s table. Wait, what? That doesn’t make any sense. Why the fuck would that be there? So, I guess he hid it there hours before the show started? Or, what? Thankfully Lillian didn’t stub her toe unsuspectingly. Jack takes a pretty gnarly bump off the side of the cage onto the announcer’s table, landing roughly back first in a pretty disturbing visual. After getting back to his feet, Foley tries three times unsuccessfully to toss a steel chair from the floor up on top of the cage, where Hunter is shown standing erect with a dumb, startled expression on his face. They brawl on top of the cage, where ultimately Hunter backdrops Foley, which sees him fall through a section of the cage, plummeting to the ring below where he lands “breaking” the ring. My biggest gripe with this is the camerawork. When the spot initially happens, right before it does the cameraman does an extreme, unnatural zoom-out, which signaled to me that clearly something big of that nature was about to transpire. I remember watching it live and feeling like the excitement of the spot was ruined. It’s a shame this wasn’t Foley’s last match, as take for example, his outing with Carlito at Taboo Tuesday ’05 was completely embarrassing.
The last segment is Triple H’s work in the ’02 Royal Rumble. He’s entrant #22 and ends up winning, so we see the entirety of his performance. He’s in with Austin and they brawl, throw the next entrant out, brawl some more, repeat, etc. It was funny when Faarooq entered, as he’s in our HOF but superstars Austin and HHH aren’t. The highlight of this Rumble was Mr. Perfect, who made it to the final three before eventually being eliminated, and made for some entertaining moments. I couldn’t rate this match as the majority of it wasn’t shown—what I did see didn’t make me really want to go out of my way to relive that particular show anytime soon.
Overall, most of the stuff on this disc can be skipped, or peeped elsewhere. Hunter hosts the DVD, similar to the way the new Austin set is conducted, which I find a nice touch as it adds some much needed personality to these compilations. The only thing I’d say is really recommendable for your personal collection would be the Hell in the Cell bout with Cactus Jack; and if you really want it, I’d suggest just getting a copy of No Way Out ’00 so you can also see that tasty Viscera versus Mark Henry match, too.
ECW December to Dismember- 12/03/06
1) the Hardys v. MNM- 5
2) Matt Striker v. Balls Mahoney- 4
3) Elijah Burke/ Sylvester Turkay v. FBI- 2
4) Tommy Dreamer v. Daivari- 1
5) Mike Knox/ Kelly Kelly v. Kevin Thorn/ Ariel- 1
6) Extreme Eliminaton Chamber featuring Rob Van Dam, Hardcore Holly, CM Punk, Test, Bobby Lashley & Big Show- 4
Bonus:
7) Bobby Lashley v. Big Show (12/05/06)- 3
The Good:
Old School tag team strategy employed by both teams in opener.....Melina's huge bump off the apron.....Double Swanton finish to tag match.....Balls' selling of his right arm....Striker's face on his own tights and the camera man that enjoyed getting right in the crack of his ass to watch the face smirk....coolest move of the night: Striker's roll through arm bar.....Elijah's ultra stylish hair beads.....Trinity's outfit which counting total material couldn't have come up to more than a dish towel....Thorn stiffing Knox's chest with some forearms.....Ariel's thong exposing her pale gothic ass......RVD and Punks' chemistry.....RVD taking a header into a steel chair right in the corner......Test's "elbow" which was really a hip splash from the top of one of the pods that crushed RVD's face
The Bad:
Mercury's stamnia, he clearly couldn't hang with the Hardys here.....The double Twist of Fate on MNM which had no twist.....Turkay's really unpolished work and the mistimed finish to his tag match......the crowd through the whole show- one of the deadest crowds imaginable......the really shitty finish to the Dreamer match.......Dreamer's punches.....his faux bumps for Khali during it......Daivari working a side headlock after only 3 minutes in.....Kelly Kelly working the majority of this mixed tag match........Knox's big "swerve" of leaving Kelly Kelly alone.....Sandman's spectacularly boring, repetitive entrance and cane spot......Test botching his big boot finish on Holly......Test locking Lashley in his pod who had to use the table inside the pod to break through the top of it, but not being able to break through it with his ridiculously huge arms then subsequently Test breaking open a pod by barely hitting it......Big Show, just everything, being so gassed within a few minutes......Lashley being so green that this match was dead as soon as RVD was eliminated......did I mention the crowd? which was a graveyard after the Hardys match.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
IWA Japan "Glass Graveyard"- 10/16/94
Brian and I got together on a lovely Sunday afternoon and decided to take in a little Japanese hardcore, an artform we fell in love with back in our high school days when we used to digest the shit daily along with a smorgasbord of every sandwhich on the White Castle menu.
1) Gran Apache v. Yoshihiro Tajiri- 3
This was an infant Tajiri, wearing clover green, and we surmised after his performance that this has to be one of his first, if not his first, professional match. He was just standing in front of Apache, ready to take whatever he gets hit with, like a good dojo boy. No facial expressions, no selling, just a beatup dummy with blood and breath. Apache had a lot of fun in schooling Tajiri, which translated well to the viewers at home. He would slap the back of his head and he has a dynamite left hook that he snapped off several times against the future boyfriend of Torrie Wilson. This was an extended squash but one that showed Apache's veteran presence therefore gaining several points.
2) Johnny Gomez v. Yoshiko Abe- 3
Gomez looked like a fresh faced young American style late 90's PA indy worker with a Johnny Swinger haircut. Abe was decked out in karate gi and didn't seem to know how to work. He came out with some small chops and thrusts and used a few leg kicks to get Gomez down. I was proved wrong very shortly when Abe took a superkick and sold it like a ton of bricks. There was another kick exchange where Gomez looked like an extra from Bloodsport where he did a jump back spin kick and completely missed while Abe was on guard. Gomez, somehow, wore Abe down and locked in a pretty well executed STF for the win in a surprising victory.
3) Gran Apache v. Takashi Okano- 4
This was very similar to the first match where Apache gets to work a young boy the only difference being that you could tell Okano had some experience because he tried a few submission attempts and worked some good sequences with Apache, including a hurricanrana reversal. Unfortunately, Okano still had that same stunned look on his face as if his dog had just found his stash of good porn and pissed all over it. He performed a dive at one point that can only be described as "failed." He lunged outside and smacked his own head on the ground while Apache went sliding knees first like an 80's guitar player doing a solo, into a row of wooden chairs, pushing them out of his way like bums on the subway. He still had that brutal, lightning quick left jab and utilized even more here. There were some good high flying sequences as well so this ranked higher than the Tajiri match.
4) Crash the Terminator v. Leatherface (Barb Wire Baseball Bat Scramble Bunkhouse DeathMatch) - 5
Crash is actually Hugh Morrus wearing a sleeveless white tee adorning his image and some Road Warriors- style facepaint. Leatherface makes his usualy crazy entrance and the gimmick is both guys have to start down the aisleways and once the bell rings, they sprint towards the ring to get the barb wire bat. Crash grabs it first and barely even scratches Leatherface's smock with it; it actually takes a few minutes for either man to lay a shot in with the bat, but once they do they start tearing flesh and God knows Crash had lots to spare. Leatherface can't properly sell anything almost through the whole fight because his flesh mask is loose and he dosen't want it to fall off- Damn those cheap strings in the back! They do a crowd brawl pretty well- the strikes weren't necessarily good but the scene they create is chaotic- scattering crazed fans left and right, bumping on their overpriced seats. Leatherface got the notion to take Crash outside the arena, probably into the waiting bed of a pickup truck driven by his cannibalistic uncle, but alas, he can't unlock the door! Crash must have heard that stalling engine outside and had the forethought to lock the door- that always stops Leatherface!!!! Wait a minute...isn't he the guy with the chainsaw? oh, well, he gave up after a minute or two and just stumble-bumbled back to the ring where they traded hefty moonsaults until the dreaded bat finally spelled the end for Crash and the fans are happy being scared by the chainsaw welding freak.
5) Brian Christopher/ The Dark Patriot v. Dick Slater/ Nobutaka Araya- 4
In a pre-match promo, Slater drunkenly calls his opponents, "Dark Christopher" for our amusement. "Too Sexy" has on some circa-1971 Memphis trunks and is the workhorse for his team. I'm a huge Global fan so seeing Darky again was kind of cool although he was never a great performer. He eats a shot from behind from Slater at one point and sells it like a loud car drove past and whoooshed his ears. Araya eats the damndest superkick from Lawler jr. in the middle of the match and if I liked collecting teeth (which I don't- that'd be a freaky habit) I'd have jumped in glee because he surely lost some. I wasn't really buying the story of Slater being the overprotective father figure to Araya, saving him from double teams, covering his body up with his own during a splash from the top, especially since Araya came on strong at the end and picked up the win. Besides a few minor technical errors, this was like a basic TV tag match with some extra time.
6) Shoji Nakamaki/ Hiroshi Ono v. The Headhunters (Barb Wire Board Glass Deathmatch)- 5
The Headhunters are notorious for not bumping or selling very much and they don't disappoint here. Nakamaki is an old deathmatch veteran who was doing it before it became cool or got popularized on American wrestling video games or Extreme video shows that play every day on the UPN network. He certainly does it up here, taking full fledged shots to the face of barb wire and selling an body splash and a mother-f'n sweet ass elbow from one of the Headhunters! I mean, that thing was good. There's some crowd brawling elements that don't go very far or prove to be real shitty as the appeal for the Headhunters is trying to make you believe they will take awesome bumps into the lethal barb wire but you know it won't happen. The glass comes into play only after the match is over, when they pick up Nakamaki, parachute style in your 6th grade gym class, and drop him directly onto the layers of sheets waiting for him in a huge metal bin. One of them severely slices him in the back as you see a nice huge red stain fermenting on the glass afterwards. For what it was, this was marginally entertaining and Nakamaki's gutsy performance make this almost worth seeking out....almost.
Overall, a fun show with a strange roster with a mixed bag of talent and garbage. Only 2 matches had death match elements in them and that was a good call so it felt fresh when those matches came up. I'll definitley be purchasing another IWA Japan show for a future review.
1) Gran Apache v. Yoshihiro Tajiri- 3
This was an infant Tajiri, wearing clover green, and we surmised after his performance that this has to be one of his first, if not his first, professional match. He was just standing in front of Apache, ready to take whatever he gets hit with, like a good dojo boy. No facial expressions, no selling, just a beatup dummy with blood and breath. Apache had a lot of fun in schooling Tajiri, which translated well to the viewers at home. He would slap the back of his head and he has a dynamite left hook that he snapped off several times against the future boyfriend of Torrie Wilson. This was an extended squash but one that showed Apache's veteran presence therefore gaining several points.
2) Johnny Gomez v. Yoshiko Abe- 3
Gomez looked like a fresh faced young American style late 90's PA indy worker with a Johnny Swinger haircut. Abe was decked out in karate gi and didn't seem to know how to work. He came out with some small chops and thrusts and used a few leg kicks to get Gomez down. I was proved wrong very shortly when Abe took a superkick and sold it like a ton of bricks. There was another kick exchange where Gomez looked like an extra from Bloodsport where he did a jump back spin kick and completely missed while Abe was on guard. Gomez, somehow, wore Abe down and locked in a pretty well executed STF for the win in a surprising victory.
3) Gran Apache v. Takashi Okano- 4
This was very similar to the first match where Apache gets to work a young boy the only difference being that you could tell Okano had some experience because he tried a few submission attempts and worked some good sequences with Apache, including a hurricanrana reversal. Unfortunately, Okano still had that same stunned look on his face as if his dog had just found his stash of good porn and pissed all over it. He performed a dive at one point that can only be described as "failed." He lunged outside and smacked his own head on the ground while Apache went sliding knees first like an 80's guitar player doing a solo, into a row of wooden chairs, pushing them out of his way like bums on the subway. He still had that brutal, lightning quick left jab and utilized even more here. There were some good high flying sequences as well so this ranked higher than the Tajiri match.
4) Crash the Terminator v. Leatherface (Barb Wire Baseball Bat Scramble Bunkhouse DeathMatch) - 5
Crash is actually Hugh Morrus wearing a sleeveless white tee adorning his image and some Road Warriors- style facepaint. Leatherface makes his usualy crazy entrance and the gimmick is both guys have to start down the aisleways and once the bell rings, they sprint towards the ring to get the barb wire bat. Crash grabs it first and barely even scratches Leatherface's smock with it; it actually takes a few minutes for either man to lay a shot in with the bat, but once they do they start tearing flesh and God knows Crash had lots to spare. Leatherface can't properly sell anything almost through the whole fight because his flesh mask is loose and he dosen't want it to fall off- Damn those cheap strings in the back! They do a crowd brawl pretty well- the strikes weren't necessarily good but the scene they create is chaotic- scattering crazed fans left and right, bumping on their overpriced seats. Leatherface got the notion to take Crash outside the arena, probably into the waiting bed of a pickup truck driven by his cannibalistic uncle, but alas, he can't unlock the door! Crash must have heard that stalling engine outside and had the forethought to lock the door- that always stops Leatherface!!!! Wait a minute...isn't he the guy with the chainsaw? oh, well, he gave up after a minute or two and just stumble-bumbled back to the ring where they traded hefty moonsaults until the dreaded bat finally spelled the end for Crash and the fans are happy being scared by the chainsaw welding freak.
5) Brian Christopher/ The Dark Patriot v. Dick Slater/ Nobutaka Araya- 4
In a pre-match promo, Slater drunkenly calls his opponents, "Dark Christopher" for our amusement. "Too Sexy" has on some circa-1971 Memphis trunks and is the workhorse for his team. I'm a huge Global fan so seeing Darky again was kind of cool although he was never a great performer. He eats a shot from behind from Slater at one point and sells it like a loud car drove past and whoooshed his ears. Araya eats the damndest superkick from Lawler jr. in the middle of the match and if I liked collecting teeth (which I don't- that'd be a freaky habit) I'd have jumped in glee because he surely lost some. I wasn't really buying the story of Slater being the overprotective father figure to Araya, saving him from double teams, covering his body up with his own during a splash from the top, especially since Araya came on strong at the end and picked up the win. Besides a few minor technical errors, this was like a basic TV tag match with some extra time.
6) Shoji Nakamaki/ Hiroshi Ono v. The Headhunters (Barb Wire Board Glass Deathmatch)- 5
The Headhunters are notorious for not bumping or selling very much and they don't disappoint here. Nakamaki is an old deathmatch veteran who was doing it before it became cool or got popularized on American wrestling video games or Extreme video shows that play every day on the UPN network. He certainly does it up here, taking full fledged shots to the face of barb wire and selling an body splash and a mother-f'n sweet ass elbow from one of the Headhunters! I mean, that thing was good. There's some crowd brawling elements that don't go very far or prove to be real shitty as the appeal for the Headhunters is trying to make you believe they will take awesome bumps into the lethal barb wire but you know it won't happen. The glass comes into play only after the match is over, when they pick up Nakamaki, parachute style in your 6th grade gym class, and drop him directly onto the layers of sheets waiting for him in a huge metal bin. One of them severely slices him in the back as you see a nice huge red stain fermenting on the glass afterwards. For what it was, this was marginally entertaining and Nakamaki's gutsy performance make this almost worth seeking out....almost.
Overall, a fun show with a strange roster with a mixed bag of talent and garbage. Only 2 matches had death match elements in them and that was a good call so it felt fresh when those matches came up. I'll definitley be purchasing another IWA Japan show for a future review.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
The Holy Trilogy- Austin v. Rock
A while back here on NHO, fellow reviewer Didge did a piece on Samoa Joe v. CM Punk and their 3 epic encounters in Ring of Honor; well, that gave me a great idea to do the same thing with two of the premier superstars of all time, Steve Austin & Dwayne "Rock" Johnson, epsecially since i was watching the Legacy of Stone Cold and the Rock: Most Electrifying Man sets simultaneously. So, without further due:
1) The Rock (c) v. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin- WWF Championship No DQ Match Wrestlemania XV- March 28, 1999, Philly, PA Score: 5
This match pretty much goes to the outside immediately and they take the brawl in 3 different directions around the arena, including going through a sea of people where they both could literally do nothing but wade through and try to grab at each other. Austin's punches had fire behind them but his selling was so strange- he kept flailing around like he was being swarmed by an angry nest of bees. Austin took a nice garbage bump in the aisleway where his legs hit a spotlight and then Rock tried to outdo him by running into the WM logo sign but it just looked stupid. Speaking of stupid, Austin breaks Rock through a table with a pointed elbow drop in possibly the weakest table break of all time. Poor JR- you could hear the Bell's Palsy giving him trouble but he put over the shitty elbow like a good company man anyways.
They both arrive back in ring after nearly 12 minutes of outside brawling and Rock hits a Rock Bottom for a great near fall. We get 3! ref bumps incl. Vinnie Mac knocking out Earl Hebner because he's such a tough man. Rock's sell of the Stunner is about the biggest over-reaction displayed in a long time- I mean he looks like he's in one of those kids bouncy moon rooms when he springs against the ropes like a 25 cents bouncy ball from a gumball machine. Vince interferes liberally (of course!) until Foley comes out as the 4th and final ref and disposes of him and counts the pin for Austin's Stunner and Stone Cold wins his 3rd WWE title. Neither man was giving any aftersell on anything but this was largely an overbooked brawl, gaining a nostalgia point for being a big match, but not their best work by far.
2) The Rock (c) v. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin- WWF Championship No DQ WrestleMania XVII- April 1, 2001- Houston, TX Score: 7
This match starts identically as their first Mania encounter into a brawl right as the bell rings, luckily this time they spend only a few seconds outside after Rock takes a huge, manly bump over the top rope. They are really pushing Austin's comeback here and his punches are fast and furious but Rock's offense is high impact and he's not holding back at all against the Rattlesnake. Austin is selling the cumulative damage well, in a groggy state like back at home, leaving a bar in Victoria after too many Coors Light, then goes home and watches his old matches against Hacksaw Duggan and decides to call him at 4 in the morning just to say "your beard itched in headlocks."
The crowd is epic- loud and raucous like you want a Mania crowd and they love Austin and are anti-Rock. Both men take the blade and neither starts out well but they both end up dripping blood like perspiration and it culminates in a sharpshooter spot where both men's heads squeeze like sponges from straining and the blood pours as Austin fights out of it and Rock struggles to keep the hold. It's a very dramatic moment and the height of the intensity in this match. Then, you have what I like to call the "JR Factor." Jim Ross is at the announce booth and is a God-born Austin mark and can't help it. His emotion comes through in big matches like this and I don't think an announcer and a performer ever had a better relationship as far as getting the message across that they care about the end result of his match and it shows. It really kicks this thing up a notch and keeps it from going down the drain with more McMahon interference.
Vinnie Mac rears his ugly head for the slow, eventual Austin heel turn. Rock and Austin both do a phenomenal job at their roles- Rock as the never say die champion, taking loads and loads of abuse to keep his belt, and Austin, the desperate man looking for career rejuvanation, who will do anything or align with anyone to win the title. The crowd hates the turn and they largely boo McMahon out of the building, not because he's such a great heel but because he was so burned out at this point to the viewing audience but he wouldn't stop interjecting himself in angles. The finish is a lot of chair shots but it's not so offensive because so much of this match works and the story is deep and the selling is all there. I think Austin's audible cue that he needed to go over clean was right on the money, as he says on the DVD, but leave it to Vince to think he's the one bringing in the audiences and every major storyline has to revolve around someone in his family.
3) "Stone Cold" Steve Austin v. The Rock WrestleMania XIX- March 30, 2003- Seattle, WA Score: 6
This was Austin's final professional match, as far as I know. You could see he was moving at a much slower pace than their previous 2 encounters and even though Rock had been in Hollywood for most of the past 2 years, he was right on and carried Austin through a recommendable encounter. Austin can still punch though and he was landing big shot after big shot while Rock was just handing his body over to Austin and taking bumps into guardrails and stairs like he was in a street fight. A funny moment on commentary comes after many minutes of Jerry Lawler berating JR saying Austin was jealous of Rock's success in film to which Ross retorts, "Austin's a wrestler, not an actor, a wrestler and damn proud of it."
Rock works Austin's knee for a good 7 minutes in the middle of this but Austin only limps once or twice afterwards on his comeback, negating that whole section. Both men trade finishing moves, like in their last WM encounter, but it's not as crisp this time around especially the sloppy Stunner and Austin's flimsy subsequent selling of it. Rock's punches are at their most expert level here and he snaps them off like he's setting off firecrackers on Austin's cheeks. Both men kick out of each other's finishers and the other shows frustration as well as it's ever been portrayed, either in a ring, on celluloid, or on the face of any man or woman who's toiled with trying to find the condoms in their dresser drawer while their partner waits impatiently. Austin finally goes down, after 3 Rock Bottoms and he actually sells the move better than anyone I've ever seen, seizing the back of his neck after the 2nd and clutching his ribs after the 3rd. There were a lot of good moments where Rock was playing heel big time, especially an extra long sequence where he wore Austin's ring jacket for comic relief.
I'd say the match at Mania 17 was their best, as far as this series is concerned and while there's always a certain amount of storyline cooked into any main event on the biggest show of the year, the work and psychology of that match also shone through as the finest. As a side note, I could heavily recommend seeing the Legacy of Stone Cold DVD set as it's a fun watch and has loads of great matches and Austin's candid comments throughout, as far as the Rock: The Most Electrifying Man set, that's a purchase only if you are a huge Rock fan, if just a casual viewer, there's only a handful of matches or promos on the set that are required viewing.
1) The Rock (c) v. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin- WWF Championship No DQ Match Wrestlemania XV- March 28, 1999, Philly, PA Score: 5
This match pretty much goes to the outside immediately and they take the brawl in 3 different directions around the arena, including going through a sea of people where they both could literally do nothing but wade through and try to grab at each other. Austin's punches had fire behind them but his selling was so strange- he kept flailing around like he was being swarmed by an angry nest of bees. Austin took a nice garbage bump in the aisleway where his legs hit a spotlight and then Rock tried to outdo him by running into the WM logo sign but it just looked stupid. Speaking of stupid, Austin breaks Rock through a table with a pointed elbow drop in possibly the weakest table break of all time. Poor JR- you could hear the Bell's Palsy giving him trouble but he put over the shitty elbow like a good company man anyways.
They both arrive back in ring after nearly 12 minutes of outside brawling and Rock hits a Rock Bottom for a great near fall. We get 3! ref bumps incl. Vinnie Mac knocking out Earl Hebner because he's such a tough man. Rock's sell of the Stunner is about the biggest over-reaction displayed in a long time- I mean he looks like he's in one of those kids bouncy moon rooms when he springs against the ropes like a 25 cents bouncy ball from a gumball machine. Vince interferes liberally (of course!) until Foley comes out as the 4th and final ref and disposes of him and counts the pin for Austin's Stunner and Stone Cold wins his 3rd WWE title. Neither man was giving any aftersell on anything but this was largely an overbooked brawl, gaining a nostalgia point for being a big match, but not their best work by far.
2) The Rock (c) v. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin- WWF Championship No DQ WrestleMania XVII- April 1, 2001- Houston, TX Score: 7
This match starts identically as their first Mania encounter into a brawl right as the bell rings, luckily this time they spend only a few seconds outside after Rock takes a huge, manly bump over the top rope. They are really pushing Austin's comeback here and his punches are fast and furious but Rock's offense is high impact and he's not holding back at all against the Rattlesnake. Austin is selling the cumulative damage well, in a groggy state like back at home, leaving a bar in Victoria after too many Coors Light, then goes home and watches his old matches against Hacksaw Duggan and decides to call him at 4 in the morning just to say "your beard itched in headlocks."
The crowd is epic- loud and raucous like you want a Mania crowd and they love Austin and are anti-Rock. Both men take the blade and neither starts out well but they both end up dripping blood like perspiration and it culminates in a sharpshooter spot where both men's heads squeeze like sponges from straining and the blood pours as Austin fights out of it and Rock struggles to keep the hold. It's a very dramatic moment and the height of the intensity in this match. Then, you have what I like to call the "JR Factor." Jim Ross is at the announce booth and is a God-born Austin mark and can't help it. His emotion comes through in big matches like this and I don't think an announcer and a performer ever had a better relationship as far as getting the message across that they care about the end result of his match and it shows. It really kicks this thing up a notch and keeps it from going down the drain with more McMahon interference.
Vinnie Mac rears his ugly head for the slow, eventual Austin heel turn. Rock and Austin both do a phenomenal job at their roles- Rock as the never say die champion, taking loads and loads of abuse to keep his belt, and Austin, the desperate man looking for career rejuvanation, who will do anything or align with anyone to win the title. The crowd hates the turn and they largely boo McMahon out of the building, not because he's such a great heel but because he was so burned out at this point to the viewing audience but he wouldn't stop interjecting himself in angles. The finish is a lot of chair shots but it's not so offensive because so much of this match works and the story is deep and the selling is all there. I think Austin's audible cue that he needed to go over clean was right on the money, as he says on the DVD, but leave it to Vince to think he's the one bringing in the audiences and every major storyline has to revolve around someone in his family.
3) "Stone Cold" Steve Austin v. The Rock WrestleMania XIX- March 30, 2003- Seattle, WA Score: 6
This was Austin's final professional match, as far as I know. You could see he was moving at a much slower pace than their previous 2 encounters and even though Rock had been in Hollywood for most of the past 2 years, he was right on and carried Austin through a recommendable encounter. Austin can still punch though and he was landing big shot after big shot while Rock was just handing his body over to Austin and taking bumps into guardrails and stairs like he was in a street fight. A funny moment on commentary comes after many minutes of Jerry Lawler berating JR saying Austin was jealous of Rock's success in film to which Ross retorts, "Austin's a wrestler, not an actor, a wrestler and damn proud of it."
Rock works Austin's knee for a good 7 minutes in the middle of this but Austin only limps once or twice afterwards on his comeback, negating that whole section. Both men trade finishing moves, like in their last WM encounter, but it's not as crisp this time around especially the sloppy Stunner and Austin's flimsy subsequent selling of it. Rock's punches are at their most expert level here and he snaps them off like he's setting off firecrackers on Austin's cheeks. Both men kick out of each other's finishers and the other shows frustration as well as it's ever been portrayed, either in a ring, on celluloid, or on the face of any man or woman who's toiled with trying to find the condoms in their dresser drawer while their partner waits impatiently. Austin finally goes down, after 3 Rock Bottoms and he actually sells the move better than anyone I've ever seen, seizing the back of his neck after the 2nd and clutching his ribs after the 3rd. There were a lot of good moments where Rock was playing heel big time, especially an extra long sequence where he wore Austin's ring jacket for comic relief.
I'd say the match at Mania 17 was their best, as far as this series is concerned and while there's always a certain amount of storyline cooked into any main event on the biggest show of the year, the work and psychology of that match also shone through as the finest. As a side note, I could heavily recommend seeing the Legacy of Stone Cold DVD set as it's a fun watch and has loads of great matches and Austin's candid comments throughout, as far as the Rock: The Most Electrifying Man set, that's a purchase only if you are a huge Rock fan, if just a casual viewer, there's only a handful of matches or promos on the set that are required viewing.
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