WWE High Flyers Disc 2
1) Ultimo Dragon vs. Chris Jericho (WCW Bash at the Beach ’97, 7/13/97) – A:6 J:7
A: Dragon really looked motivated here. His kicks were really stiff and his armdrags were really Steamboat-esque. Jericho hit really two hard powerbombs right in a row. They tried a really risky spot where both were on the top buckle and Jericho was supposed to dropkick Dragon. However, it looked like Dragon mistimed when he was supposed to jump and it just looked sloppy in execution. Jericho really was on top of his games here too. Everything looked crisp and his selling was good. Fast paced bout that was better than I remember it being.
J: Adam did a good job covering most of the highlights of the moves, but I want to talk about the chemistry between these two. They knew each other pretty well and it showed in spades. Both guys would commit to a high risk move even before the other guy was in place, that's how comfortable they were. And both men were stiff, kicking and fighting like a starving landlord (oxymoron for you) Both men had counters for counters all day. Dragon does some good body part selling too. Loved the play off the powerbomb attempt into a reversal that played into the fiinish. They actually pulled off so many great moves that worked, that dropkick spot Adam mentioned was just a french fry crumb on a grease stained Mcdonalds tray that Eric Bischoff deposited into his assistant's pants after lunch for fun.
2) The 1-2-3 Kid vs. Hakushi (WWF SummerSlam ’95, 8/27/95) – J:4 A:5
J: This was a nice change of pace. Two lest talked about names from the 90's that could perform. Both guys keep pace with the outside dives, and kicks, which speaking of Shinzaki busts Xpac's mouth open with a nasty kick that didn't even happen when he filmed that adult film after getting punched in the chin with Chyna's cock. Pace was all over the place, Jinsei seemed not all focused on everything, opening sequence would have been fine on a Superstars Sat morning broadcast but expected a little more from a ppv bout. Wonder what the Kliq had on the line as betting material for best match that night?
A: I enjoyed the bout myself. This was a standout match on a card that was full of “gems” such as Bob Holly vs. HHH and Diesel vs. Mabel. Hakushi was in control I’d estimate for 97-98% of the bout. Jessie covered everything for the most part. I liked Hakushi’s running dive to the outside. Fun little match but nothing to really recommend.
3) John Morrison vs. Tyson Kidd (WWE Superstars, 7/30/09) – A:6 J:6
A: Kidd got a really strong showing in, busting out a crazy neckbreaker about midway through the bout. Morrison got a really good corkscrew plancha in. Final few minutes were really good with high-risk moves from both and a really hard knee from Morrison. I liked Kidd’s vocal screaming that added to an otherwise dull headlock sequence. I’ve never been a fan of the “Starship Pain” move from Morrison as it looks, at least to me, like he can barely squeeze all the rotations in in the 1-second span or so that he’s in the air. Kidd was just bouncing up and down like a basketball during the initial part of Morrison’s comeback instead of selling what just happened to him. Other than those few little things, good showcase match for both guys.
J: Yeah Kidd's perpetual smile was puzzling but guess he was trying to give the suits in the back a reason to keep him around, god knows workrate isn't enough. The key here is Kidd is a great hand, but Morrison was on. I actually noticed him in Kidd's headlock and he looked like he couldn't get the right fluff in his pillow instead of having his neck wrenched. They spaced out the moves that got a pop, and the Hart Dynasty was well used while they were there. Kidd has a knack for getting underneath Morrison for all his high flying stuff which just makes it look 100 % better. Morrison looked like a Christina Aguilera back up dancer near the end, just making sure he was in the right spot for his cue but the ending worked. This ranks up there with his singles v. Edge and the Sheamus ladder match as Morrison's best, in my eyes.
4) Triangle Ladder Match: Edge & Christian vs. The Hardy Boyz vs. The Dudley Boyz (WWF WrestleMania 2000, 4/2/00) – J:6 A:6
J: I've covered this match before, possibly twice, and recently re-watched it with Matt and Jeff's commentary overdubbed, to which they said some interesting things, such as there is too much going on, not enough care is put into establishing story and pace, as they would these days. Matt also commented "Bubba's going to get in his stuff off, no matter what." I should mention Matt seemed completely inebriated during it. My thoughts stand the same, it's recommendable for historical signifigance, a multitude of great spots, namely Jeff and Christian's performances, as well as the crazy Swanton. If youcould care less about those, and have seen this before, look for some 90's El Samurai online and educate yourself about the finer points of the DDT.
A: Personally, after watching this again, I think this may be a tad bit over-rated. Yes, the highspots such as Jeff missing a 450 and crashing on a ladder, Bubba gaving Matt an ill powerbomb off the Spanish announce table, Matt taking a big bump through a table at the end, and the famous spot of Jeff diving off a giant ladder to but Bubba Ray through a table (which Bubba promptly sold like he was taking a quick snooze), were nice but in the end it felt more like a stunt show than a wrestling match. However, I do recommend this since it was the fore-runner to the awesome TLC match a year later between these two at ‘Mania 17.
5) Three Way Elimination Match: Super Crazy vs. Tajiri vs. Little Guido (ECW One Night Stand ’05, 6/12/05) – A:5 J:3
A: This felt a lot like a match that could’ve been found on an ECW TV show. As a matter of fact, I recall these three going at it on an episode of ECW on TNN in the spring of 2000. Anyway, everything that you would possibly expect from these three was presented. Crazy did a balcony moonsault onto the entire F.B.I. entourage and Tajiri dusted off the tarantula and the green mist. Guido was there primarily as a punching bag and to get the F.B.I. on the show. The match was a sprint, compressed down into about seven minutes. Fun for nostalgia and not really anything else.
J: Dear God, Mikey Whipwreck back on my TV, is this Dec 21st, 2012? Joey Styles had a knack for calling the ECW action though, he made a lot of stuff bearable. If you mean this match felt like a match that played on TNN back when ECdub was on the air by this being a rushed, hyperbole of spots made famous a decade go now prostituted by being included in a souless "best of" compliation of the good matches these 3 had years ago, you're damn right. That being said, Crazy's moonsault was a fun moment, not near as fun as watching Ricky Gervais lambast a room full of Hollywood prima donnas who can't take a joke but still fun. The whole first fall was a major cluster. Final fall with Tajiri and Crazy had some real awkward pauses in it, like doing vocals for a song on "Rock Band" you've never heard and didn't do a thing for me. I'll give this a 3 and that's being kind.
6) Brian Pillman vs. Alex Wright (WCW Great American Bash ’95, 6/18/95) – J:7 A:6
J: Totally unrelated, the guy that always wears the pink windbreaker was in the front row and he still had hair, he looked like Judge Doom; yikes. The opening 10 minutes was all on the mat, and people never remember Pillman was great on the mat, so I wasn't bored at all here. Timing was on with both guys and when Wright couldn't make a spot work, Pillman would. Not sure the story behind Brian's pants though, maybe he borrowed them from Cher's wardrobe. Loved Pillman's aggression, hit the first chop, then pulled him outside and ripped that Wonder Punk (Heenan's pet name for him) chest wide open. Liked Pillman going all Stu Hart-Dungeon on him in the later rounds. Pillman's uppercut dropkick and leap onto the ropes nuts first were both so fucking balls out i don't know how he had pants on. Finish was cool and was not what i expected, this is the surprise of the set so far.
A: What a pleasant surprise this turned out to be. Pillman’s intensity in certain spots was fantastic and the mat work was well done too. I really dug the strike exchange they had about mid-way through the bout. Wright suplexed Pillman to the outside and the capitalized on that with a dive. Pillman upped the ante with a dive of his own and then an attempted high-risk move off the second rope wihich conclued with him eating the railing. The two spots that Jessie mentioned with Pillman, especially the dropkick, were just so fucking awesome. The aerial stuff took a while to get going but once it did, it was really good.
7) The Great Muta vs. Sting (WCW Japan Supershow, 3/21/91) – A:6 J:5
A: Really dug the pace these guys set. They started out wild with Muta going for the moonsault early on and then Sting gorilla pressing Muta over the top rope and Sting doing a wild dive right afterwards. Rest of the match was them matching each other move for move. Selling was pretty much non-existent. Sting had the most memorable sell where he tried for a gorilla press then just flopped down as if his back gave out on him. Match stayed in the ring mostly, only spilling to the outside a handful of times. Green mist to finish Sting out of nowhere was a nice spot but Sting doing a post-match scorpion death lock felt out of place.
J: These two had such an awesome rivalry, would love to see both of their crippled asses duke it out right now, in 2011. About the opening sequence, fun opening but it didn't really set an established pace. Sting's dive was nuttier than trail mix but the gorilla press before it was weak sauce. Thought Sting's front facelock was just to kill time. There's nothing quite like watching Muta in his prime, his movement is some of the crispest I've ever seen. But I would disagree with no selling, Muta shows a lot of exhaustion and Sting's working the kinks out of his arm moments before dropping Muta from the gorilla slam. Having seen hours of their matches together, this would be in the bottom half, match didn't have a lot of focus, and the ending was a bad version of a not very good finish. And the attack aftewards? What the hell was this about? Just go grab some seaweed sushi from the back and call it a night.
8) Rob Van Dam vs. Jerry Lynn (WWF Sunday Night Heat, 8/5/01) – A:5 J:4
J: Oh Christ, Lynn's rocking a colored in moustache, what 9 to 5 job did he interview for that morning? Rob's strikes continue to be the equivalent of a 5 year old girls. Always had a soft spot for Lynn's counter legdrop in the ropes but his front somersault looked like he was falling into a swimming pool to avoid an angry bee. Lynn's German suplex was pure tits, not Brooklyn Decker level, but in the shallow end of them. Watching them squeeze all their trademark spots into their time allotted like trying to wear briefs again makes you wonder if they shouldn't have just shortened some of their long self-indulgent ECW spotfests? Nah, not if i keep seeing both guys do the mental equivalent of looking at their hands during their European Studies exam. Some nasty stuff went down though but this was all done in a vaccuum, in the end meaning as little as the $7 the dad in the front row wasted on popcorn that night.
A: If you really want to see a good RVD/Jerry Lynn match, check out their bout from Living Dangerously ’99 because everything from their series of matches in ECW was compressed here into a six-minute TV match. Lynn got in a couple good moves at the outset, the most notable being a running senton off the apron and a German suplex that almost broke RVD’s neck. RVD’s offense was crisp and Lynn busted out a couple good counters to that offense. Lynn lying like a corpse in position for the frog splash at the end, without exerting so much as a twitch, was pretty goofy looking to me.
Bonus Match:
* The Hardy Boyz vs. Funaki & Mens Teioh (WWF Sunday Night Heat, 9/27/98) –A:3 J:4
A: What a strange announce team for this match, Jim Cornette and Shane McMahon. Nothing but a giant sprint match here. Jeff tried to go for a springboard senton but crashed and burned on the outside. Funaki & Teioh didn’t get hardly any offense in and seved mostly as crash dummies for the Hardys. Tons of legal man issues made this a fun but sloppy showcase.
J:Again, doing a review with Adam has my fantasty booking chops salivating: Funaki v. Jeff 2011? Yes please. Fuck, Men's Teioh doing anything this year, even pumping gas on Youtube. Sprint (not the shitty phone service provider) it was, but I'll be damned if Kaientai didn't bump their asses off. Jeff's missed swanton, shit, that hurt my 30 year old out of shape ass sitting here watching it. I dug this though, more so than some of the ECW-redux stuff featured on this disc.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Best of IWA Deep South (Disc 2 of 2)
1) Mike Quackenbush vs. Hallowicked (3/3/07) – 4
There was something about this match that just didn’t work for me. I think it may have been the fact that it seemed like they were trying to do a Chikara style match in front of a southern crowd who could give two shits less about that type of stuff. I think another thing that I wasn’t buying was Hallowicked as the heel. His motions seemed off and it looked like he wasn’t completely sure of himself in the ring. Another thing that bugged me was Hallowicked’s overselling of a Quack elbow to the knee. Quack laid it in gingerly but Hallowicked sold it like he’d been shot with the supposed “Magic Bullet” that killed JFK. The crowd didn’t seem to get behind Quack’s comeback either. Come to think of it, they didn’t really pop until Quack got the submission win. Maybe they were just happy the match was over. I sure was.
2) Hallowicked vs. Ricochet (5/5/07) – 4
Ricochet did one of the most ridiculous things I think I’ve ever seen. He’s running the ropes at one point and then inexplicably goes through them as if he was going to dive. The thing was that Hallowicked was just standing in the ring during this whole process. Then he flips Hallowicked to the floor and does a running Fosbury Flop and nearly overshoots Hallowicked. I then sit on the couch thinking to myself about if what I just witness made any sense what-so-ever. Hallowicked’s offense wasn’t much and Ricochet just seemed to be doing flippy moves for the sake of doing flippy moves, much like Teddy Hart. The commentators were equally as terrible, with the color guy trying to give his opinion of the Spider-Man franchise in the middle of the match.
3) Insane Lane vs. Cabana Man Dan (5/5/07) – 5
I was not expecting much out of this match, especially when I saw that Insane Lane was wrestling in a regular match and not a deathmatch. I chuckled at the spot where Dan tried to monkey flip Lane but couldn’t do it and accidentally kicked him in the balls. Lane showed me here that he can actually do something other than a deathmatch, although he was terribly winded by the time the match was over. He actually hit a few nice moves, such as a face first DDT from the top rop and a very high release German suplex. Dan did the same schtick that I’ve seen him do in all of the other matches he’s had. I’ll give him credit though, he nailed a sick variation of his “Surfs Up” finisher on the floor. This was better than what I expected.
4) Ladders and Light Tubes Match: “Diehard” Dustin Lee vs. Danny Havoc (5/5/07) – 5
Big ladder spot in the first few minutes where Lee shoves some light tubes into Havoc’s shirt and does a double foot stomp off the top of a ladder. Lee just looks like a garbage wrestler, with long, stringy hair and a dirty looking goatee. Lee took a sick German suplex with a light tube on him. The big ladder spot at the end with Havoc giving Lee a death valley driver through a ladder and light tubes, took a while to set up but was executed nicely. Still not sure why Havoc insisted on doing a roll-up for the pin. That stuff just looks out of place in matches like this. Both guys took a couple wild bumps in between the big spots but nothing to really make me say “see this match”.
5) Tables, Ladders, and Chairs Match: Chrisjen Hayme vs. Cabana Man Dan (9/1/07) - 5
Hayme ate a nasty chair shot to the head early on while they were brawling outside. I’ve seen enough Cabana Man Dan matches on this DVD to last me a lifetime. Hayme had Dan on a table and tried a splash over the top rope which he overshot like hell and landed face first on the concrete. There was a spot where Hayme got shoved off the apron through a bunch of chairs that were set up and Eddie Kingston over-reacted like crazy on commentary. You could clearly see Hayme look back and see where he was going to fall. Big spot at the end was Dan executing a sunset flip through a table off the top of a ladder. The table was way too close and Dan broke it with his ass on the way down. Better than their previous match on this set but the big spots were just came across as sloppy.
6) Barbed Wire Madness Match: Tank vs. Insane Lane vs. Freakshow (9/1/07) – 2
This match could have easily been omitted from this set and no one would have cared. The vast majority of the match was them stumbling around punching and stabbing each other. They did the Necro spot where everyone sits in a chair and punches each other much to the delight of no one. The crowd was so quiet at one point that you could’ve heard a mouse fart. There were exactly two high spots in this match. First was Lane doing a flying knee with a chair from the second rope and the second was Tank rolling like a fat, bloody bowling ball through a barbed wire covered table. This match sucked.
7) Light Tube Madness Match: WHACKS vs. Viking vs. Drake Younger (12/1/07) – 6
Short match but completely insane. WHACKS is this tall, piereced, and tattooed dude who just by watching him you can tell that he has no formal training whatsoever. He just goes out there and does stuff balls out without even caring. He took two falls directly on his neck. The first being a botched double back drop given to him by Drake and Viking. The second being the wildest of the two and he was charging into a corner, jumped, and then crashed into a bunch of light tubes. Drake and Viking had some good exchanges too. The finish was nuts. Drake was laid out across two chairs with light tubes on top of him while WHACKS hung from the ceiling and delivered one of the damndest spots I’ve ever seen, a hanging senton which damn near ripped Drake’s ear off! I suggest you look this up.
8) Devon Moore vs. Michael Elgin (2/27/09) – 3
Not much here to speak about as this was a very bland match. Neither guy really kicked into high gear, especially with the fact the crowd was so quiet. From what I’ve seen of Elgin, I haven’t been too impressed. He did hit a nice brainbuster but his rolling German suplexes into a crossface sucked. Moore was just there to bump for him and honestly looked like the didn’t give a shit about the match. The production value also dropped considerably on this match, as the picture was grainy and the hard cam was zooming in and out with no reason.
9) Exorcist Death Match: Thumbtack Jack vs. Scotty Vortekz (9/26/09) – 5
This does not involve Father Merrin from the Exorcist films, but it does involve three crosses made of light tubes. Some pretty crazy shit happening here. Jack slammed Scotty through a light tube cross on the outside, to which Scotty later shoved Jack off the ring apron through the other one to return the favor. Scotty took a hellish superplex from the top rope and landed flat back on a ladder. Holy shit! Jack headbutted Scotty so hard it sounded like two bowling balls hitting each other after they come out of the ball return. Finish was a sloppy GTS variation from Jack. Both guys took a hell of a pounding and pulled off a pretty good match.
10) Ultraviolent Boards and Cinder Blocks Match: Nick Gage vs. Thumbtack Jack (9/26/09) – 5
This was just wild from the get-go. Started off with Gage talking shit to some dudes in the front row with Jack diving on top of him from the buckle. Things just got crazier from there. From them getting tangled up in barbed wire, to Jack taking a stomach first tack bump on cinder blocks, and to Gage getting needles jammed in his dome, this was nuts. Gage was literally almost crying at one point from the pain, which doesn’t really jive with his tough, loud-mouthed prick persona. They got limited with what they could do at the end because they were both tangled up in some barbed wire but Jack managed to get his finish off on top of a bunch of cinder blocks.
Bonus Matches:
* Jeff Jarrett vs. Sweet Daddy (11/7/03) – 2
Jarrett working the indies? What? The match starts off with a bunch of referees ejecting some hillbilly dude from ringside. Oh Christ, the ring announcer is doing the commentary over the PA system and yells “WOOO” every time Jarrett does a strut. This just screams low-grade. Sweet Daddy is completely expressionless, even when selling. Ref bump and a Harris brother interferes and Jarrett does the guitar shot. Fuck this and the Dusty finish that followed. Same Jarrett match that you would find every week on TNA pay-per-views during this time. The sad part about this is that the referee took the best bump of the whole match.
* Barbed Wire Match: Mike Sweat vs. Ian Rotten (11/6/04) – 1
Mike Sweat is known in certain circles as the creator of the now popular “Faux-Hawk” hair style. You know it, short hair on both sides of the head along with a mohawk strip in the middle. It’s probably even more ridiculous looking than a mullet, but Sweat sports it proudly here while getting his face busted and bloodied by Ian in numerous ways with numerous items such as barbed wire, chairs, and light tubes. This was 98% Ian on offense and by the end of it, Sweat looked like the victim of an alley mugging. I’m not sure where Mike Sweat is today but let’s hope it’s nowhere near a wrestling ring.
There was something about this match that just didn’t work for me. I think it may have been the fact that it seemed like they were trying to do a Chikara style match in front of a southern crowd who could give two shits less about that type of stuff. I think another thing that I wasn’t buying was Hallowicked as the heel. His motions seemed off and it looked like he wasn’t completely sure of himself in the ring. Another thing that bugged me was Hallowicked’s overselling of a Quack elbow to the knee. Quack laid it in gingerly but Hallowicked sold it like he’d been shot with the supposed “Magic Bullet” that killed JFK. The crowd didn’t seem to get behind Quack’s comeback either. Come to think of it, they didn’t really pop until Quack got the submission win. Maybe they were just happy the match was over. I sure was.
2) Hallowicked vs. Ricochet (5/5/07) – 4
Ricochet did one of the most ridiculous things I think I’ve ever seen. He’s running the ropes at one point and then inexplicably goes through them as if he was going to dive. The thing was that Hallowicked was just standing in the ring during this whole process. Then he flips Hallowicked to the floor and does a running Fosbury Flop and nearly overshoots Hallowicked. I then sit on the couch thinking to myself about if what I just witness made any sense what-so-ever. Hallowicked’s offense wasn’t much and Ricochet just seemed to be doing flippy moves for the sake of doing flippy moves, much like Teddy Hart. The commentators were equally as terrible, with the color guy trying to give his opinion of the Spider-Man franchise in the middle of the match.
3) Insane Lane vs. Cabana Man Dan (5/5/07) – 5
I was not expecting much out of this match, especially when I saw that Insane Lane was wrestling in a regular match and not a deathmatch. I chuckled at the spot where Dan tried to monkey flip Lane but couldn’t do it and accidentally kicked him in the balls. Lane showed me here that he can actually do something other than a deathmatch, although he was terribly winded by the time the match was over. He actually hit a few nice moves, such as a face first DDT from the top rop and a very high release German suplex. Dan did the same schtick that I’ve seen him do in all of the other matches he’s had. I’ll give him credit though, he nailed a sick variation of his “Surfs Up” finisher on the floor. This was better than what I expected.
4) Ladders and Light Tubes Match: “Diehard” Dustin Lee vs. Danny Havoc (5/5/07) – 5
Big ladder spot in the first few minutes where Lee shoves some light tubes into Havoc’s shirt and does a double foot stomp off the top of a ladder. Lee just looks like a garbage wrestler, with long, stringy hair and a dirty looking goatee. Lee took a sick German suplex with a light tube on him. The big ladder spot at the end with Havoc giving Lee a death valley driver through a ladder and light tubes, took a while to set up but was executed nicely. Still not sure why Havoc insisted on doing a roll-up for the pin. That stuff just looks out of place in matches like this. Both guys took a couple wild bumps in between the big spots but nothing to really make me say “see this match”.
5) Tables, Ladders, and Chairs Match: Chrisjen Hayme vs. Cabana Man Dan (9/1/07) - 5
Hayme ate a nasty chair shot to the head early on while they were brawling outside. I’ve seen enough Cabana Man Dan matches on this DVD to last me a lifetime. Hayme had Dan on a table and tried a splash over the top rope which he overshot like hell and landed face first on the concrete. There was a spot where Hayme got shoved off the apron through a bunch of chairs that were set up and Eddie Kingston over-reacted like crazy on commentary. You could clearly see Hayme look back and see where he was going to fall. Big spot at the end was Dan executing a sunset flip through a table off the top of a ladder. The table was way too close and Dan broke it with his ass on the way down. Better than their previous match on this set but the big spots were just came across as sloppy.
6) Barbed Wire Madness Match: Tank vs. Insane Lane vs. Freakshow (9/1/07) – 2
This match could have easily been omitted from this set and no one would have cared. The vast majority of the match was them stumbling around punching and stabbing each other. They did the Necro spot where everyone sits in a chair and punches each other much to the delight of no one. The crowd was so quiet at one point that you could’ve heard a mouse fart. There were exactly two high spots in this match. First was Lane doing a flying knee with a chair from the second rope and the second was Tank rolling like a fat, bloody bowling ball through a barbed wire covered table. This match sucked.
7) Light Tube Madness Match: WHACKS vs. Viking vs. Drake Younger (12/1/07) – 6
Short match but completely insane. WHACKS is this tall, piereced, and tattooed dude who just by watching him you can tell that he has no formal training whatsoever. He just goes out there and does stuff balls out without even caring. He took two falls directly on his neck. The first being a botched double back drop given to him by Drake and Viking. The second being the wildest of the two and he was charging into a corner, jumped, and then crashed into a bunch of light tubes. Drake and Viking had some good exchanges too. The finish was nuts. Drake was laid out across two chairs with light tubes on top of him while WHACKS hung from the ceiling and delivered one of the damndest spots I’ve ever seen, a hanging senton which damn near ripped Drake’s ear off! I suggest you look this up.
8) Devon Moore vs. Michael Elgin (2/27/09) – 3
Not much here to speak about as this was a very bland match. Neither guy really kicked into high gear, especially with the fact the crowd was so quiet. From what I’ve seen of Elgin, I haven’t been too impressed. He did hit a nice brainbuster but his rolling German suplexes into a crossface sucked. Moore was just there to bump for him and honestly looked like the didn’t give a shit about the match. The production value also dropped considerably on this match, as the picture was grainy and the hard cam was zooming in and out with no reason.
9) Exorcist Death Match: Thumbtack Jack vs. Scotty Vortekz (9/26/09) – 5
This does not involve Father Merrin from the Exorcist films, but it does involve three crosses made of light tubes. Some pretty crazy shit happening here. Jack slammed Scotty through a light tube cross on the outside, to which Scotty later shoved Jack off the ring apron through the other one to return the favor. Scotty took a hellish superplex from the top rope and landed flat back on a ladder. Holy shit! Jack headbutted Scotty so hard it sounded like two bowling balls hitting each other after they come out of the ball return. Finish was a sloppy GTS variation from Jack. Both guys took a hell of a pounding and pulled off a pretty good match.
10) Ultraviolent Boards and Cinder Blocks Match: Nick Gage vs. Thumbtack Jack (9/26/09) – 5
This was just wild from the get-go. Started off with Gage talking shit to some dudes in the front row with Jack diving on top of him from the buckle. Things just got crazier from there. From them getting tangled up in barbed wire, to Jack taking a stomach first tack bump on cinder blocks, and to Gage getting needles jammed in his dome, this was nuts. Gage was literally almost crying at one point from the pain, which doesn’t really jive with his tough, loud-mouthed prick persona. They got limited with what they could do at the end because they were both tangled up in some barbed wire but Jack managed to get his finish off on top of a bunch of cinder blocks.
Bonus Matches:
* Jeff Jarrett vs. Sweet Daddy (11/7/03) – 2
Jarrett working the indies? What? The match starts off with a bunch of referees ejecting some hillbilly dude from ringside. Oh Christ, the ring announcer is doing the commentary over the PA system and yells “WOOO” every time Jarrett does a strut. This just screams low-grade. Sweet Daddy is completely expressionless, even when selling. Ref bump and a Harris brother interferes and Jarrett does the guitar shot. Fuck this and the Dusty finish that followed. Same Jarrett match that you would find every week on TNA pay-per-views during this time. The sad part about this is that the referee took the best bump of the whole match.
* Barbed Wire Match: Mike Sweat vs. Ian Rotten (11/6/04) – 1
Mike Sweat is known in certain circles as the creator of the now popular “Faux-Hawk” hair style. You know it, short hair on both sides of the head along with a mohawk strip in the middle. It’s probably even more ridiculous looking than a mullet, but Sweat sports it proudly here while getting his face busted and bloodied by Ian in numerous ways with numerous items such as barbed wire, chairs, and light tubes. This was 98% Ian on offense and by the end of it, Sweat looked like the victim of an alley mugging. I’m not sure where Mike Sweat is today but let’s hope it’s nowhere near a wrestling ring.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
WWE Superstars 1/27/11
Tyler Reks vs. Trent Barretta - 3
Reks reminds me of a homeless Jamaican man that looks like he has impetigo. The sheer domination forced upon by Reks onto Barretta was pretty believable, as Trent is a great worker and can make a mouse look like Superman. The new guy on commentary made me laugh harder than I have in a while, claiming that Reks hunts WITH HIS BARE HANDS. I had to pause my DVR because I kept laughing so much. Barretta's short-lived comeback was nice, but Baretta had hardly any time to shine in this match as Reks was just on offense for 90% of the match.
Zack Rider & Primo Colon vs. Yoshi Tatsu & David Hart Smith - 5
Fun sprint tag. The two teams bring their own element to the match, but there is one key element that brings a smile to my face: youthfulness. All four of these guys are pretty young and are able to put on a fun mid-card match. DH brought a great element of power, and Tatsu brings a strong style element infused with agility. The heel team of Rider and Primo bring a brash sense of cockiness and more than hold their own in the ring. Tatsu's hot tag was one of the best ones I've seen in a while, which led to a fun finishing sprint featuring a nice Shining Wizard variation by Tatsu and a back stabber by Primo.
Tyson Kidd vs. R-Truth - 4
Kidd brought it to R-Truth, leading to the best R-Truth singles match this year. Normally bored to death with his cheesy offense, I found myself raising my eyebrows and nodding my head in approval of the way Truth was carrying himself. The stunner variation that Truth does looked great in this match chiefly due to the fact that Kidd sold it awesomely and it looked like it made a hell of a lot of contact. Kidd's fluidity in motion is great, which makes me feel like he is severely and criminally under-rated.
Reks reminds me of a homeless Jamaican man that looks like he has impetigo. The sheer domination forced upon by Reks onto Barretta was pretty believable, as Trent is a great worker and can make a mouse look like Superman. The new guy on commentary made me laugh harder than I have in a while, claiming that Reks hunts WITH HIS BARE HANDS. I had to pause my DVR because I kept laughing so much. Barretta's short-lived comeback was nice, but Baretta had hardly any time to shine in this match as Reks was just on offense for 90% of the match.
Zack Rider & Primo Colon vs. Yoshi Tatsu & David Hart Smith - 5
Fun sprint tag. The two teams bring their own element to the match, but there is one key element that brings a smile to my face: youthfulness. All four of these guys are pretty young and are able to put on a fun mid-card match. DH brought a great element of power, and Tatsu brings a strong style element infused with agility. The heel team of Rider and Primo bring a brash sense of cockiness and more than hold their own in the ring. Tatsu's hot tag was one of the best ones I've seen in a while, which led to a fun finishing sprint featuring a nice Shining Wizard variation by Tatsu and a back stabber by Primo.
Tyson Kidd vs. R-Truth - 4
Kidd brought it to R-Truth, leading to the best R-Truth singles match this year. Normally bored to death with his cheesy offense, I found myself raising my eyebrows and nodding my head in approval of the way Truth was carrying himself. The stunner variation that Truth does looked great in this match chiefly due to the fact that Kidd sold it awesomely and it looked like it made a hell of a lot of contact. Kidd's fluidity in motion is great, which makes me feel like he is severely and criminally under-rated.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Zack Ryder and Primo vs. Yoshi Tatsu and David Hart Smith - 5 (WWE Superstars 2/3/11)
A rematch from a week prior. Primo arm control work early which Tatsu quickly reverses and the two trade top position back-and-forth. Tatsu probably has the best armdrags of anyone in the company save for Steamboat. Smith and Ryder do their own jockeying for position segment which ended with Hart locking on a really nasty looking armbar. Something you don't see every day Primo suplexes Tatsu from inside the ring out to the floor. Primo's camel clutch a tad better than Sonjay Dutt's. Tatsu was trained by Nagata but lacks his mentor's amazing in-ring facials although they're getting better. Hot tag to DHS was not quite Fulton-level but his spinning vertical suplex was astonishing. Tatsu wipes Primo out with a crazy dive to the floor. Long Island Iced Z gets KO'd by a headkick from Tastu for the finish, which was great, as WWE doesn't do a lot of strike-related knockouts. I like both these teams.
WWE Wrestlemania 24
First off, Happy Birthday to my beautiful, awesome daughter.
Onto the show, it was in Orlando, Florida and the setup was one of the greatest I think they'd ever done for Mania. The outdoor stadiums are just awesome for a venue like this and I loved the jets flying overhead. John Legend performed the National Anthem and he did an awesome job. Now, onto what we do best, Never Hand Over
1) JBL v. Finlay (Belfast Brawl)- 4
To kick us off, a match stemming from one of the most atrocious storylines since Booker and Edge fought over shampoo some years before it. Anyways, know this was pimped like crazy on some elitest wrestling boards, but I still don't see the luster of it. Yes the match was stiff, almost like Bradshaw was given carte blanche to hurt whoever he wanted, without reprecussions. Finlay's suicide dive outside into the garbage can lid was brain liquefying, but made no sense; he had JBL on the ropes, so decided to dive outside on him? Pace was off too, but it was stiff, overall feeling much like a TV hardcore bout.
2) Money in the Bank Ladder Match: John Morrison v. Carlito v. Shelton Benjamin v. CM Punk v. Mr. Kennedy v. MVP v. Chris Jericho - 4
Wow, I thought this was a giant mess. Funny to look at the names involved and there's only 2 of them still with the company, the rest disillusioned by the "E." Morrison's moonsault outside with the ladder was crazy, but no one was there to take it, if you're going to do it, make it look good, but it didn't. From Shelton's front flip on the ladder, the erector set diarrhea, this felt more so than any other year like a pre-programmed stunt show. Jericho didn't look good here either, a lot of guys were just there to be a body. Matt Hardy's cameo popped the people huge which was a cool little moment. Punk and Jericho's ill fated finishing sequence was one of the worst ladder finishes since Michaels-Razor 2.
3) Chavo Guerrero v. Kane- 0
Could i have spent 9 seconds better? Yes, I believe i could. 1...2...3...4...5...6...7..8...9, yes I did. I just ate a Nutter Butter cookie.
4) Batista v. Umaga- 3
This is easily one of those matches when you look at the schedule and you think, this is probably the least desirable thing on this show. But, alas, after the opening sequence of kicks, where in Batista takes a huge flat back bump outside to exactly no pop (bet that hurt inside). Batista does actually sell the hell out of his back during Umaga's woefully long beatdown period. He was moving at the pace of Jimmy Valiant, circa 2011. Question: If Batista's so strong, how come Umaga has to jump into his arms like a girlfriend coming back from a long trip for his spinebuster? Did he actuall fall down doing his finisher? Okay, this was as disappointing as I imagined.
Dear god there's a video of Carlito fighting a seagull that has to be amongst the most mind numbing pieces of footage I've seen. Who found that funny?
5) Ric Flair v. Shawn Michaels- 6
Seeing this 3 years later after Flair has come out of retirement, it doesn't quite pack the emotional wallop it did at the time. That being said, this isn't a wasted effort. The opening part does feel like Flair is trying to keep up with a younger version of himself, and he's slower with his reflexes than ever, it's sort of sad. There's a nasty moonsault Shawn misses that he didn't sell; he reacted as a real person nearly breaking their ribs; defying logic he tries it again and I swear who started the trend of not catching guys on moonsaults? It looks terrible. But, watch the 3rd act closely; it makes the match. Flair seems to have found some sparks of his old self, the way he damages the knees, attacking it like a vicious animal, Shawn sells it with every single movement he makes, the suddeness of the superkick, each time he uses, the sour puss face he makes actually is useful here and as corny as the finish is, the setup for it is pitch perfect. See this match not to see Flair's final, as we all knew it wouldn't be, but to see a legend in his final hours and you can still see the flames of passion the greatest wrestler of all time still has.
6) Ashley Massaro & Maria v. Beth Phoenix & Melina (Lumberjack Match)- 3
Most Mania Diva matches are living, breathing train wrecks with plastic surgery; this one had something going for it, Beth & Melina are good hands, they bumped for the two rooks, and pulled out some cool offense, such as the assisted moonsault. There were a few mechanic problems, the lights went out at one point, but there was some humorous cameos by Snoop Doog, Santino and inexplicably Jerry Lawler but not bad.
7) Randy Orton v. John Cena v. HHH- 5
I'd totally forgotten about a huge marching band processional playing John Cena out, kind of a cool idea, much better than some of the past ones they've done. A plea: No more 3 ways at Mania for the belt! All 3 of these guys are amazing performers, in their own ways, but it felt like a race against the clock, the whole first 12 minutes or so is everyone just trying to get their shit off. Plus, Cena and Orton, who would top most people's lists for some of the best emoting sellers, were on autopilot while HHH McMahon was on top of his game. The 3rd act, again, pushed this into a higher score bracket the flash pin by a hurt champion is a nice change of pace but I guess I expected better from these 3.
8) Big Show v. Floyd Mayweather jr- 6
With celebrity matches or celebrity involvement, you can either get two things: complete and utter failure or it goes as planned and you get through it. Well Money Mayweather performed above and beyond his call of duty. I'd have to say this was one of the best celebrity matchups ever done. Big Show was great as the gigantic bully, contending with Money's whole group of guys, whom he dismantles like Godzilla burning down Tokyo. Trivia: One of Mayweather's "people" was Nexus flunkie Michael Tarver. The way this finished, because it could only end one way due to politics, absolutely worked and was a great cap off to this very much scripted but entertaining segment.
9) Edge v. Undertaker- 6
Is Micheal Cole and Coach really calling a Mania main event? Did Taker just do a Hector Garza-like armdrag from the top rope? Man questions raised their ugly heads while watching this, like did any of the fans burned from Taker's pyro get any compensation or were they bribed by the company with free Cena merch and a Layla hug photo? Okay onto the action: Really lame flying clothesline by Taker where basically did a flying hug. Plancha feels added on unnecessarily, Taker limping after wards, was it worth it? Big boot by Edge felt Hogan, nay, Brody-esque. Really funny spot where Taker gets his back dropped on the outside guardrail and falls backwards on his neck into a front row Mania chair and some high priced hussy's lap. Really strange watching Taker and Edge do spots like Edge and Christian would. Edge half crab looks like a grizzly with a full stomach resting over the remains of Timothy Treadwell. Final act is picking up as JR would say, should say because he would be knocking this out of the park instead of the call Coach made where he said "Edge is a great, great champion." Yep, you sold me buddy. Story was Edge knows how to counter all of Taker's classic shit because he's both a fan of Taker's whole WWE run and late 90's ECWA matches. Taker's knee is clearly hurt but him not selling it feels weird. That damn Tombstone reversal, we get it every Mania but this one was infintely better as there was no ref, so Charles Robinson had to burn rubber to make it in time for the near fall. Put his ass in a Hall of Fame, what an awesome ref, the face he makes after Edge kicks out is a Kodak moment. I loved the Hells Gate finish, fuck it go ahead and watch this sumbitch, there's a little bit of everything in it for most fans.
Onto the show, it was in Orlando, Florida and the setup was one of the greatest I think they'd ever done for Mania. The outdoor stadiums are just awesome for a venue like this and I loved the jets flying overhead. John Legend performed the National Anthem and he did an awesome job. Now, onto what we do best, Never Hand Over
1) JBL v. Finlay (Belfast Brawl)- 4
To kick us off, a match stemming from one of the most atrocious storylines since Booker and Edge fought over shampoo some years before it. Anyways, know this was pimped like crazy on some elitest wrestling boards, but I still don't see the luster of it. Yes the match was stiff, almost like Bradshaw was given carte blanche to hurt whoever he wanted, without reprecussions. Finlay's suicide dive outside into the garbage can lid was brain liquefying, but made no sense; he had JBL on the ropes, so decided to dive outside on him? Pace was off too, but it was stiff, overall feeling much like a TV hardcore bout.
2) Money in the Bank Ladder Match: John Morrison v. Carlito v. Shelton Benjamin v. CM Punk v. Mr. Kennedy v. MVP v. Chris Jericho - 4
Wow, I thought this was a giant mess. Funny to look at the names involved and there's only 2 of them still with the company, the rest disillusioned by the "E." Morrison's moonsault outside with the ladder was crazy, but no one was there to take it, if you're going to do it, make it look good, but it didn't. From Shelton's front flip on the ladder, the erector set diarrhea, this felt more so than any other year like a pre-programmed stunt show. Jericho didn't look good here either, a lot of guys were just there to be a body. Matt Hardy's cameo popped the people huge which was a cool little moment. Punk and Jericho's ill fated finishing sequence was one of the worst ladder finishes since Michaels-Razor 2.
3) Chavo Guerrero v. Kane- 0
Could i have spent 9 seconds better? Yes, I believe i could. 1...2...3...4...5...6...7..8...9, yes I did. I just ate a Nutter Butter cookie.
4) Batista v. Umaga- 3
This is easily one of those matches when you look at the schedule and you think, this is probably the least desirable thing on this show. But, alas, after the opening sequence of kicks, where in Batista takes a huge flat back bump outside to exactly no pop (bet that hurt inside). Batista does actually sell the hell out of his back during Umaga's woefully long beatdown period. He was moving at the pace of Jimmy Valiant, circa 2011. Question: If Batista's so strong, how come Umaga has to jump into his arms like a girlfriend coming back from a long trip for his spinebuster? Did he actuall fall down doing his finisher? Okay, this was as disappointing as I imagined.
Dear god there's a video of Carlito fighting a seagull that has to be amongst the most mind numbing pieces of footage I've seen. Who found that funny?
5) Ric Flair v. Shawn Michaels- 6
Seeing this 3 years later after Flair has come out of retirement, it doesn't quite pack the emotional wallop it did at the time. That being said, this isn't a wasted effort. The opening part does feel like Flair is trying to keep up with a younger version of himself, and he's slower with his reflexes than ever, it's sort of sad. There's a nasty moonsault Shawn misses that he didn't sell; he reacted as a real person nearly breaking their ribs; defying logic he tries it again and I swear who started the trend of not catching guys on moonsaults? It looks terrible. But, watch the 3rd act closely; it makes the match. Flair seems to have found some sparks of his old self, the way he damages the knees, attacking it like a vicious animal, Shawn sells it with every single movement he makes, the suddeness of the superkick, each time he uses, the sour puss face he makes actually is useful here and as corny as the finish is, the setup for it is pitch perfect. See this match not to see Flair's final, as we all knew it wouldn't be, but to see a legend in his final hours and you can still see the flames of passion the greatest wrestler of all time still has.
6) Ashley Massaro & Maria v. Beth Phoenix & Melina (Lumberjack Match)- 3
Most Mania Diva matches are living, breathing train wrecks with plastic surgery; this one had something going for it, Beth & Melina are good hands, they bumped for the two rooks, and pulled out some cool offense, such as the assisted moonsault. There were a few mechanic problems, the lights went out at one point, but there was some humorous cameos by Snoop Doog, Santino and inexplicably Jerry Lawler but not bad.
7) Randy Orton v. John Cena v. HHH- 5
I'd totally forgotten about a huge marching band processional playing John Cena out, kind of a cool idea, much better than some of the past ones they've done. A plea: No more 3 ways at Mania for the belt! All 3 of these guys are amazing performers, in their own ways, but it felt like a race against the clock, the whole first 12 minutes or so is everyone just trying to get their shit off. Plus, Cena and Orton, who would top most people's lists for some of the best emoting sellers, were on autopilot while HHH McMahon was on top of his game. The 3rd act, again, pushed this into a higher score bracket the flash pin by a hurt champion is a nice change of pace but I guess I expected better from these 3.
8) Big Show v. Floyd Mayweather jr- 6
With celebrity matches or celebrity involvement, you can either get two things: complete and utter failure or it goes as planned and you get through it. Well Money Mayweather performed above and beyond his call of duty. I'd have to say this was one of the best celebrity matchups ever done. Big Show was great as the gigantic bully, contending with Money's whole group of guys, whom he dismantles like Godzilla burning down Tokyo. Trivia: One of Mayweather's "people" was Nexus flunkie Michael Tarver. The way this finished, because it could only end one way due to politics, absolutely worked and was a great cap off to this very much scripted but entertaining segment.
9) Edge v. Undertaker- 6
Is Micheal Cole and Coach really calling a Mania main event? Did Taker just do a Hector Garza-like armdrag from the top rope? Man questions raised their ugly heads while watching this, like did any of the fans burned from Taker's pyro get any compensation or were they bribed by the company with free Cena merch and a Layla hug photo? Okay onto the action: Really lame flying clothesline by Taker where basically did a flying hug. Plancha feels added on unnecessarily, Taker limping after wards, was it worth it? Big boot by Edge felt Hogan, nay, Brody-esque. Really funny spot where Taker gets his back dropped on the outside guardrail and falls backwards on his neck into a front row Mania chair and some high priced hussy's lap. Really strange watching Taker and Edge do spots like Edge and Christian would. Edge half crab looks like a grizzly with a full stomach resting over the remains of Timothy Treadwell. Final act is picking up as JR would say, should say because he would be knocking this out of the park instead of the call Coach made where he said "Edge is a great, great champion." Yep, you sold me buddy. Story was Edge knows how to counter all of Taker's classic shit because he's both a fan of Taker's whole WWE run and late 90's ECWA matches. Taker's knee is clearly hurt but him not selling it feels weird. That damn Tombstone reversal, we get it every Mania but this one was infintely better as there was no ref, so Charles Robinson had to burn rubber to make it in time for the near fall. Put his ass in a Hall of Fame, what an awesome ref, the face he makes after Edge kicks out is a Kodak moment. I loved the Hells Gate finish, fuck it go ahead and watch this sumbitch, there's a little bit of everything in it for most fans.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Best of HWA 2004 (Disc 2 of 2)
1) Shark Boy vs. Chad Collyer – 4
Collyer was working as the heel here and controlling the middle part of the bout. We get a BPW reference three minutes into the match by the announcer. Wow. That tells you how dated this is, that fed isn’t even around anymore. Collyer hit a hard clothesline in the corner and a nice spinebuster. The camera work is pretty shoddy, especially from the hard cam. Shark Boy had a rather lukewarm comeback with minimal crowd reaction (how much reaction can you really get though from a flea market crowd?) and the announcers just sort of ho-hum about the whole thing. Decently worked match but didn’t have that extra boost it needed to get to the next level.
2) Matt Stryker & Cody Hawk vs. Tracy Smothers & Chase Stevens – 4
Smothers was great in this match, just punching the shit out of both Hawk and Stryker. He even hit a nice leg lariat. Stryker got in a really nasty lungblower early in the bout. I can’t say much for Stevens as it seemed like he was just there to collect a check and didn’t put forth much effort. Stryker had a really good comeback towards the end for the face team but it just turned into a mess of legal man issues, ref distractions, and a botched pinfall .. none of which gel together efficiently. Fun match for Smothers’ involvement but aside from that, not much to see here.
3) Matt Dillenger vs. Rory Fox – 4
I was pretty surprised by this match. Mind you, it’s not a must see match but it’s been one of the better bouts on this entire set thus far. Dillenger’s offense looked good to start off with but it slowly fizzled out after he took a crazy belt shot and started bleeding. Right before said belt shot, Fox took a really nasty spill over the top rope. The one problem I had was that Dillenger’s comeback never really materialized. Granted, he did get a few moves in here and there but it wasn’t really a full-fledged comeback. Also, I didn’t buy the fact that this was a grudge match yet he tried a shooting star press in the middle of the bout. That felt really out of place. Beyond those quibbles, the match went along pretty well.
4) Rory Fox vs. Tack – 2
This was joined in progress and clipped so again I can only rate on what was shown, which was only about five minutes worth of what was probably a 15-20 minute match. The ref bump spot was completely and utterly telegraphed so bad that Ray Charles could have seen it coming. Tack did a crazy dive off a support beam to take out all the members of the Black Militia who were pounding on him. Finish was interference from Nigel, Cody Hawk, and another guy to give Tack the upset win.
5) A.J. Sparx vs. Madison – 2
The clipping continues with this bout. I hope this isn’t a recurring trend. Anyway, Madison I’ve never seen before but seemed to be pretty competent in the ring. I used to think A.J. Sparx was a decent wrestler but now I’ve changed my mind. Her forearms are really shitty and her offense is pretty bad as well. Not to mention, she came out with Hellena Heavenly who was dressed in pink pajama pants and looked like she literally just rolled out of bed. Not much to report here except for the fact that this seemed like a poor girls version of a WWE divas bout.
6) Hoss vs. Nigel McGuinness – 3
Didn’t seem like these two clicked very well in the ring together. Hoss looked like a shorter and fatter version of Matt Morgan in this bout. This also felt dirty. I mean really, two guys wrestling in t-shirts in a flea market on the main event of an indy show? Can’t get much lower than that. All the time Hoss was selling, it looked to me like he was trying to remember his next sequence. Nigel had to pretty much carry Hoss through the match which is more than likely the reason it came off flat. Crowd didn’t seem into it either nor did they pop for Hoss winning the title. Eh, pass on this one.
7) No DQ Match: Shaun Osbourne & Benjamin Kimera vs. Lotus & Crazy J (Special ref: Brock Guffman) – 3
Christ, the audio is completely fucked on this. It keeps skipping and the picture keeps freezing. The building is lighted like shit, which is terrible for when the camera is shooting the crowds brawls that were continually happening in this bout. At points, I couldn’t even make out who was fighting or what they were doing because the match was such a clusterfuck. As is the norm in indy hardcore bouts, chairs, trash cans, and guardrails were used at various points. When Lotus and Crazy J did their flippy moves, it was very out of place. Did I mention that Crazy J screwed up two moves in less than five minutes? The finish was dog shit with Guffman fast counting Kimera to give Lotus & Crazy J the win after Kimera was given a top-rope neckbreaker from a dude who looked much like T.J. Dalton with a face protector on.
Collyer was working as the heel here and controlling the middle part of the bout. We get a BPW reference three minutes into the match by the announcer. Wow. That tells you how dated this is, that fed isn’t even around anymore. Collyer hit a hard clothesline in the corner and a nice spinebuster. The camera work is pretty shoddy, especially from the hard cam. Shark Boy had a rather lukewarm comeback with minimal crowd reaction (how much reaction can you really get though from a flea market crowd?) and the announcers just sort of ho-hum about the whole thing. Decently worked match but didn’t have that extra boost it needed to get to the next level.
2) Matt Stryker & Cody Hawk vs. Tracy Smothers & Chase Stevens – 4
Smothers was great in this match, just punching the shit out of both Hawk and Stryker. He even hit a nice leg lariat. Stryker got in a really nasty lungblower early in the bout. I can’t say much for Stevens as it seemed like he was just there to collect a check and didn’t put forth much effort. Stryker had a really good comeback towards the end for the face team but it just turned into a mess of legal man issues, ref distractions, and a botched pinfall .. none of which gel together efficiently. Fun match for Smothers’ involvement but aside from that, not much to see here.
3) Matt Dillenger vs. Rory Fox – 4
I was pretty surprised by this match. Mind you, it’s not a must see match but it’s been one of the better bouts on this entire set thus far. Dillenger’s offense looked good to start off with but it slowly fizzled out after he took a crazy belt shot and started bleeding. Right before said belt shot, Fox took a really nasty spill over the top rope. The one problem I had was that Dillenger’s comeback never really materialized. Granted, he did get a few moves in here and there but it wasn’t really a full-fledged comeback. Also, I didn’t buy the fact that this was a grudge match yet he tried a shooting star press in the middle of the bout. That felt really out of place. Beyond those quibbles, the match went along pretty well.
4) Rory Fox vs. Tack – 2
This was joined in progress and clipped so again I can only rate on what was shown, which was only about five minutes worth of what was probably a 15-20 minute match. The ref bump spot was completely and utterly telegraphed so bad that Ray Charles could have seen it coming. Tack did a crazy dive off a support beam to take out all the members of the Black Militia who were pounding on him. Finish was interference from Nigel, Cody Hawk, and another guy to give Tack the upset win.
5) A.J. Sparx vs. Madison – 2
The clipping continues with this bout. I hope this isn’t a recurring trend. Anyway, Madison I’ve never seen before but seemed to be pretty competent in the ring. I used to think A.J. Sparx was a decent wrestler but now I’ve changed my mind. Her forearms are really shitty and her offense is pretty bad as well. Not to mention, she came out with Hellena Heavenly who was dressed in pink pajama pants and looked like she literally just rolled out of bed. Not much to report here except for the fact that this seemed like a poor girls version of a WWE divas bout.
6) Hoss vs. Nigel McGuinness – 3
Didn’t seem like these two clicked very well in the ring together. Hoss looked like a shorter and fatter version of Matt Morgan in this bout. This also felt dirty. I mean really, two guys wrestling in t-shirts in a flea market on the main event of an indy show? Can’t get much lower than that. All the time Hoss was selling, it looked to me like he was trying to remember his next sequence. Nigel had to pretty much carry Hoss through the match which is more than likely the reason it came off flat. Crowd didn’t seem into it either nor did they pop for Hoss winning the title. Eh, pass on this one.
7) No DQ Match: Shaun Osbourne & Benjamin Kimera vs. Lotus & Crazy J (Special ref: Brock Guffman) – 3
Christ, the audio is completely fucked on this. It keeps skipping and the picture keeps freezing. The building is lighted like shit, which is terrible for when the camera is shooting the crowds brawls that were continually happening in this bout. At points, I couldn’t even make out who was fighting or what they were doing because the match was such a clusterfuck. As is the norm in indy hardcore bouts, chairs, trash cans, and guardrails were used at various points. When Lotus and Crazy J did their flippy moves, it was very out of place. Did I mention that Crazy J screwed up two moves in less than five minutes? The finish was dog shit with Guffman fast counting Kimera to give Lotus & Crazy J the win after Kimera was given a top-rope neckbreaker from a dude who looked much like T.J. Dalton with a face protector on.
Monday, January 31, 2011
CHIKARA Die Deutsch (The Germans) 11/21/10
CHIKARA - "The Germans" - November 21, 2010
Philadelphia, PA
The BDK continues their tear in CHIKARA. One month removed from the cibernetico in which Ultramantis Black attempted to destroy the BDK, the strength of the faction may be weakening, or is this just the beginning?
1.) Pinkie Sanchez vs. Soldier Ant - 5
Pinkie displays his prowess as a madman in the ring, vowing to tear the colony antenna from antenna by laying in shots on Soldier Ant. Pinkie moves about the ring like a straight jacket-bound lunatic looking for a thrill. Soldier Ant makes use of his in-ring abilities and stamina to create an environment that he controls. Pinkie hits a sick Burning Hammer variation, which he names Burning Snicklefritz. Ant, not to be outdone, uses his mat skill to overcome the deranged lunatic, making him tap to the CHIKARA Special submission. Pinkie's selling was on top display here, and as per usual, he gave 110% in the ring.
2.) Arik Cannon vs. Lince Dorado - 4
Lince seemed to be moving at half speed throughout the duration of the match. Everything looked carefully planned and recklessness didn't seem to be the main goal of either man. Cannon hit Dorado like the fist of an angry god with chops and a great lariat. Before, I've made quite apparent that I wasn't a fan of Cannon due to his lazy appearance; however, he holds his own quite well in the ring and rarely messes up. Speaking of which, Lince got really familiar with the mat after screwing up a quebrada.
3.) The Olsen Twins (Colin Delaney & Jimmy Olsen) vs. The UnStable (Vin Gerard & Stigma) - 3
I'd be lying to you if I said a lot happened here. Nothing noteworthy or ground-shaking took place in the match, but it served its purpose as a midcard match. Vin looks in better shape than he has in years, while Stigma still looks like he's been hitting up the cheese steaks. Delany has burst into his old character as the fun-loving, all around good guy with a mission to take out the UnStable. Olsen hits a great spike-rana on Vin before hitting a sick punch to the jaw of Stigma which was sold well. The ass-crack exposure by Vin was a nice touch in terms of a humiliation factor by the former UnStable member Delaney.
4.) Hallowicked vs. Tim Donst - 4
Donst continues his portrayal in the ring as a devious competitor who will do anything to break down CHIKARA's elite members, going to such lengths as spinning around Hallowicked's mask and using wrist tape to choke him. Hallowicked's offense never really took off, although he did hit his signature maneuver Go to Sleepy Hollow after hitting Donst with a running knee in the corner. This match served its purpose in that it showed the lengths Donst will go to to shake the core of CHIKARA from the ground up.
5.) Ultramantis Black vs. Ares - Falls Count Anywhere - 5
Ultramantis' best singles match this year occurred during this match. The two men battled around the arena and even outside, seeing both men taking bumps into walls, garage doors, and even a bicycle. Mantis' intensity was on a whole other level tonight, as he again attempts to take the legs out from under the BDK, no thanks to biased referee Derek Sabado. Mantis delivered a suplex onto the ring steps, much to the chagrin of Ares. Both men battled up into the Commentation Station which is precariously located atop the balcony of the arena, teasing a balcony fall. As the two men battled through the crowd, Mantis would be sure to go to impeccable lengths to destroy his opponent, delivery a back body drop off of the bleachers and onto some boxes that hold the chairs. Ares selling was some of the best I've seen out of him -- complete with back-clutching and grimaces after eating devastating maneuvers.
6.)Sara Del Rey & Daizee Haze vs. Icarus & Chuck Taylor vs. Mike Quackenbush & Jigsaw vs. The Osirian Portal - 6
There's a lot to say about this match. It started off slow and kept building and building from there. As time went on, the pace of the match would quicken until it got to an all out spring. Quack gave a shout-out to the recently departed Gran Naniwa, too, during the match which was cool. Crowd was pretty upset when the Portal got eliminated -- I guess they really wanted to see the Portal get the three points. Del Rey looked as good as ever and was stiff with her powerful shots. It was rather emotional when Quack got the pin, thus eliminating the female BDK counter parts and winning the match, earning a title shot against Claudio & Ares, furthering the question on everyone's minds: will this be the end of BDK? A great sprint match that wasn't rushed turned out to be a great match.
7.) Frightmare vs. Johnny Gargano - 5
Gargano still doesn't seem to be over with the Philly crowd, only being known to them simply as "The Guy from Cleveland." Gargano looked great in the match, selling big for Frightmare, making it look like he was eating offense from Vader. Frightmare couldn't seem to get the better of Gargano, as all of his arsenal wasn't enough to put away Gargano. A sweet Kneecalepsy from Frightmare on the ring apron was a great sight -- I'm glad to see him varying up his offense. Frightmare hits a sweet Kneecalepsy off the top rope which looked superb and Gargano sold liked death. A solid match.
8.) Eddie Kingston vs. Homicide - 5
This. This is what I've been waiting to see for a while. A dream match, in my opinion. Kingston brought to the table an element of respect for his fellow New Yorker, but still stiffed him a couple of times. Homicide looks to be a little more put together in this match than some of the other matches he's had on the indys since his departure from Orlando. Kingston hit a couple of backfists, one that connected with Homicide's eye. The back and forth during this match was laid out well, with both guys getting equal time on offense. Kingston hit a nice looking back drop driver on Homicide, landing right on his head. I would've liked to have seen Homicide step it up in terms of stiffness -- I guess he's still got that Orlando complex.
Match Average: 4.6
Recommendation Level: Recommended
Philadelphia, PA
The BDK continues their tear in CHIKARA. One month removed from the cibernetico in which Ultramantis Black attempted to destroy the BDK, the strength of the faction may be weakening, or is this just the beginning?
1.) Pinkie Sanchez vs. Soldier Ant - 5
Pinkie displays his prowess as a madman in the ring, vowing to tear the colony antenna from antenna by laying in shots on Soldier Ant. Pinkie moves about the ring like a straight jacket-bound lunatic looking for a thrill. Soldier Ant makes use of his in-ring abilities and stamina to create an environment that he controls. Pinkie hits a sick Burning Hammer variation, which he names Burning Snicklefritz. Ant, not to be outdone, uses his mat skill to overcome the deranged lunatic, making him tap to the CHIKARA Special submission. Pinkie's selling was on top display here, and as per usual, he gave 110% in the ring.
2.) Arik Cannon vs. Lince Dorado - 4
Lince seemed to be moving at half speed throughout the duration of the match. Everything looked carefully planned and recklessness didn't seem to be the main goal of either man. Cannon hit Dorado like the fist of an angry god with chops and a great lariat. Before, I've made quite apparent that I wasn't a fan of Cannon due to his lazy appearance; however, he holds his own quite well in the ring and rarely messes up. Speaking of which, Lince got really familiar with the mat after screwing up a quebrada.
3.) The Olsen Twins (Colin Delaney & Jimmy Olsen) vs. The UnStable (Vin Gerard & Stigma) - 3
I'd be lying to you if I said a lot happened here. Nothing noteworthy or ground-shaking took place in the match, but it served its purpose as a midcard match. Vin looks in better shape than he has in years, while Stigma still looks like he's been hitting up the cheese steaks. Delany has burst into his old character as the fun-loving, all around good guy with a mission to take out the UnStable. Olsen hits a great spike-rana on Vin before hitting a sick punch to the jaw of Stigma which was sold well. The ass-crack exposure by Vin was a nice touch in terms of a humiliation factor by the former UnStable member Delaney.
4.) Hallowicked vs. Tim Donst - 4
Donst continues his portrayal in the ring as a devious competitor who will do anything to break down CHIKARA's elite members, going to such lengths as spinning around Hallowicked's mask and using wrist tape to choke him. Hallowicked's offense never really took off, although he did hit his signature maneuver Go to Sleepy Hollow after hitting Donst with a running knee in the corner. This match served its purpose in that it showed the lengths Donst will go to to shake the core of CHIKARA from the ground up.
5.) Ultramantis Black vs. Ares - Falls Count Anywhere - 5
Ultramantis' best singles match this year occurred during this match. The two men battled around the arena and even outside, seeing both men taking bumps into walls, garage doors, and even a bicycle. Mantis' intensity was on a whole other level tonight, as he again attempts to take the legs out from under the BDK, no thanks to biased referee Derek Sabado. Mantis delivered a suplex onto the ring steps, much to the chagrin of Ares. Both men battled up into the Commentation Station which is precariously located atop the balcony of the arena, teasing a balcony fall. As the two men battled through the crowd, Mantis would be sure to go to impeccable lengths to destroy his opponent, delivery a back body drop off of the bleachers and onto some boxes that hold the chairs. Ares selling was some of the best I've seen out of him -- complete with back-clutching and grimaces after eating devastating maneuvers.
6.)Sara Del Rey & Daizee Haze vs. Icarus & Chuck Taylor vs. Mike Quackenbush & Jigsaw vs. The Osirian Portal - 6
There's a lot to say about this match. It started off slow and kept building and building from there. As time went on, the pace of the match would quicken until it got to an all out spring. Quack gave a shout-out to the recently departed Gran Naniwa, too, during the match which was cool. Crowd was pretty upset when the Portal got eliminated -- I guess they really wanted to see the Portal get the three points. Del Rey looked as good as ever and was stiff with her powerful shots. It was rather emotional when Quack got the pin, thus eliminating the female BDK counter parts and winning the match, earning a title shot against Claudio & Ares, furthering the question on everyone's minds: will this be the end of BDK? A great sprint match that wasn't rushed turned out to be a great match.
7.) Frightmare vs. Johnny Gargano - 5
Gargano still doesn't seem to be over with the Philly crowd, only being known to them simply as "The Guy from Cleveland." Gargano looked great in the match, selling big for Frightmare, making it look like he was eating offense from Vader. Frightmare couldn't seem to get the better of Gargano, as all of his arsenal wasn't enough to put away Gargano. A sweet Kneecalepsy from Frightmare on the ring apron was a great sight -- I'm glad to see him varying up his offense. Frightmare hits a sweet Kneecalepsy off the top rope which looked superb and Gargano sold liked death. A solid match.
8.) Eddie Kingston vs. Homicide - 5
This. This is what I've been waiting to see for a while. A dream match, in my opinion. Kingston brought to the table an element of respect for his fellow New Yorker, but still stiffed him a couple of times. Homicide looks to be a little more put together in this match than some of the other matches he's had on the indys since his departure from Orlando. Kingston hit a couple of backfists, one that connected with Homicide's eye. The back and forth during this match was laid out well, with both guys getting equal time on offense. Kingston hit a nice looking back drop driver on Homicide, landing right on his head. I would've liked to have seen Homicide step it up in terms of stiffness -- I guess he's still got that Orlando complex.
Match Average: 4.6
Recommendation Level: Recommended
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