Jessie:
okay ECW: Tiffany on the Washington show as bland as ever, but loved Regal's lion like roar while destroying the furniture, Sheamus against Benjamin was slow and didn't really showcase either guy but a solid effort. Christian v. Tatsu was really good though, i think better than Jericho v. Kofi because the finish made sense, the near falls made sense and I loved how Christian prefaced the match by saying Tatsu will come close, but it's not his time, he told the whole story of the match and laid it out. One note of Christian: some of his moves (like that flipping sunset flip) don';t really work as just a move, it should be more of a counter move, but that's a small squabble.
Also saw some more FIP, Spanky v. Kozina was well worked and Kozina was sucking wind big time as Spanky was fine, and it was a very normal match for him, but no charisma during it at all. MVP/ Ring Crew v. Heartbreaks & Don Juan was entertaining, Banks fit well in the role of team leader and threw some nasty kicks, but also had some really showy indy offense that didn't make sense. That fat Heartbreaker Sean Davis is so totally 80's it makes my head spin but his partner is overshadowed because he looks just like a normal indy guy in pink tights. Love the Don Juan sleazy Mexican dude looking to bang any chick, it's very true to life there's a maintenance guy here at Financial identical to that guy. 3 way with Mamaluke, Fury & Rinauro was totally vanilla, Fury looked dumb trying to do London's Drop -Sault, Mamaluke had some fire and a nice array of suplexes, but his and Rinauro's submission work on the ground was so amateurish and boring. okay that's it for now.
Brian:
Sounds like you had a decent night of viewing, Jess. Too bad no Black Tiger got screened. I didn't get as much watched as I'd anticipated, had two papers to write consecutively, and re-watched the Rua vs. Machida fight from UFC 104 and got halfway through Land of the Lost. I also got some Chinese takeout--lemon chicken is the shit! Anyway, wrestling? I started Royal Rumble '90. They're in Orlando and Jesse Ventura is wearing a fucking ungodly ugly Mickey Mouse sweater and Mickey Ears. The crowd seemed super hot, though. The Fabulous Rougeaus vs. The Bushwhackers opened--now, if you recall, Adam bashed The Bushwhackers vehemently awhile ago, I quickly came to their defense, but I think most people just wrote it off as me being contentious as the dialogue went no further. Well, watch this match, and let's talk. Luke's face in peril segment is splendidly done, his selling, while unorthodox, is fucking fantastic. When did Jacques grow a beard? I don't remember that. Anyway, I loved all this. There's really great promos throughout the show, too; Mean Gene will be in the back interviews participants in the Royal Rumble and thus far the arguing Heenan Family interview has been the most rad. The next match is The Genius vs. Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake. This is also quite good. Please, tell me, is there a Beefcake compilation out there I can get? I thought his selling was really good, too; reminded me a lot of Hogan's, no surprise, as he sort of tries to power through the pain and shake it off, etc. Genius looked awesome selling an atomic drop by tucking into a ball and rolling around the ring. What I really liked is the aftermath. Perfect runs out and Genius holds Beefcake while Perfect works Brutus' ribs with a steel chair. Beefcake's selling is beyond epic here, just rolling around like he'd just ate a ton of rat poison, squirming uncontrollably and really putting the attack over. Up next is Valentine vs. Garvin in an "I Quit" match I believe and you don't need me to tell you how amazing that sounds on paper.
I also started FIP Unfinished Business. The opener was Heatbreak Express vs. Kahagis and Scott "Black Nature Boy" Andrews. This wasn't bad, but not real good, either. I liked the Express' selling, especially big Sean, wincing and babying as he waddled around. The biggest problem I had is that Kahagis needed to slow down. He brought some welcomed intensity to the match, laying in some pretty stiff strikes to Phil, but its not a sprint, slow down and take time to let things sink in. I'd planned on watching some more of Best of Necro Butcher in Japan but I had to tap out at 2:00AM due to class this morning. In the cafeteria now, only have three fights left on DREAM 11, may try to finish one in-between watching NBA highlights before my next class.
Jessie:
Maybe next time for BT....
okay i'll have to watch that because the Mania match where they wrestled Rougeaus was beyond awful:
"Extraordinarily sloppy match with no direction, in a lot of ways, capsulates most Mania matches. Many are brief, devoid of much action and unsatisfactory, like a frozen Hershey's candy bar, or jerking off to old Sable photos from 98 Raw magazines. Jimmy Hart pulls out his pre=requisite comedy spot and the match became a complete mess 2 minutes in. Luke took a cool bump into the corner in the highlight for me, as this one wound up with bad refing, legal man issues abound and a putrid double clothesline that was sold badly and executed even worse."
maybe that match had more time and care......i am a self professed Genuis follower so am intrigued to see that as well. That submission match sounds tits, to say the least.
Agreed on Big Sean, being 400 pounds with decent mike skills and some good facials, sets him apart in my eyes, something his partner is sorely lacking. Kahagas didn't do shit in the match I saw him against Steve Madison, who I was relishing in his really old school pace of building up to bigger moves, chinlock to a series of well placed kneedrops to back body drop and so forth.....What I was trying to figure out with Kahagas is what he was supposed to be? He was doing these karate thrusts against Madison, but his comeback near the end was total 90's power wrestling, and done sloppily at that.
Brian:
My professor just told a Dick the Bruiser story in class while I'm sitting here reading UFC news. The 12/12 show sounds phenomenal. Not only do we get Sanchez vs. Penn, but now, Guida vs. Florian? I'm sold. Maybe in my burgeoning old age I'm getting soft, but, I genuinely did enjoy the Bushwhackers match. I've also being watching differently lately, and in doing so, have found myself largely enjoying everything I've seen to varying degrees. After the first contact in a match, to the bell, everything is selling; used to, we'd point out a real colorful sell, i.e. D-Von wriggling on the mat, etc. but I'm now completely engaged watching as everything, including the absence of movement, is selling. Every reaction is a sell, or a performance, and what I often used to wrongly mislabel as not selling, is often times accurate selling. You can wince, grab a hurt area, get vocal, or even lay flat regaining your wits, etc. I don't think I can fully explore it verbally here, now, but its drastically changed the way I've watched this week but as a result I've enjoyed what I've seen exponentially more than I would have otherwise. Tonight I'm getting together with Adam and a guy we've befriended from the DVDVR board to watch some YAMATO.
Jessie:
Guida v. Florian? as Mike Myers i.e. washed up comedian, would say "Yes, please!"
I enjoy going over the finer points of performances in these emails and such, it's an element of the sport that's all but been forgotten by the many thousands upon thousands of current fans. It's basically the thing that deep down, if you eliminate the element of surprise, rooting for certain guys, getting togther with friends and all that stuff, that still draws us in. Watching a show at my house at night with no noise or anything getting to hone in on performances, match pace, facials everything is just as captivating as it ever was. BUT, sometimes I think, "Are we seeing things that the wrestlers themselves aren't even aware of?" which you could count in either 2 directions:
1) Most guys competing, the act of being "in character" as well as in tune with the match and performance, is so inherently instilled in them, they don't even realize it, or
2) We're seeing things they are not even thinking of, like if we see this really interesting facial, were they hurt, pissed, or what have you and we think it's this really interesting way to sell something, but if they were to watch the match themselves, they'd be like " i wasn't selling! I was fucking annoyed with my opponent's refusal to give up some heat for me," or something like that.
I say this stuff because sometimes when I think about like the DVDVR board, or the other blogs you send me, even our own, there's so much fine tooth combing over of all kinds of unique footage, it begs the question. Something I find funny, although it would be near impossible to know. In the meantime, all we can do is find ways to keep ourselves intrigued with the performances and such, and I think you've really grasped onto a unique way of looking at stuff, more so like in films, which I believe you've stated before
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Creepier by the Dozen #12
Halloween Havoc 2000
Jeff Jarrett vs. Sting - 0
(NOTE: This review is copied and pasted from my gigantic review of Halloween Havoc 2000 I did about two years ago when we first opened the blog. I would've gone back and reviewed it again but I realized that I pretty much covered this from top to bottom the first time. So enjoy!)
Sting comes in and beats the piss out of Jarrett. A fake 80’s Sting comes out and the real Sting bails to destroy him. A death drop on the stage diposes of the fake Sting and Jarrett runs up from behind to commence a crowd brawl. Another fake Sting comes through the crowd and attacks the real one. This one looks stupid and is disposed of the same way the other fake Sting was from the real Sting. Confused yet? I sure am. Jarrett takes a hiatus while Sting beats up the impostors. Sting goes back to whip up on Jarrett and a Wolfpac Sting comes out. Another death drop on the stage and a third one is sent packing. There must be something magical about doing a death drop on the stage. Jarrett finally gets some offense via the bat that Wolfpac Sting brought with him. Sting makes a comeback and then another fake Sting comes out from under the ring to pull the real Sting under the ring. One bad blade job later and this fourth fake Sting is disposed of over the top. Moments later, another Sting comes from the ceiling and his fucking wig falls off whilst getting destroyed. Real Sting puts shitty fake Sting through the table and damn near takes out Schiavone. Great, take out the one announcer who’s actually worth a damn. Sting comes back to beat up Jarrett some more and then gets taken out by a guitar shot from the Sting that came out from under the ring. Real Sting is pissed and death drops fake Sting and Jarrett wins after a guitar shot. THIS WAS ONE OF THE WORST MATCHES IN HISTORY!!!
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Creepier by the Dozen #11
Halloween Havoc 1999
Diamond Dallas Page vs. Ric Flair - Strap Match - 2
Looking through the Havoc ’99 card, this sounded like the most formidable match to review from that show. Well, I was wrong. Page was playing heel here, not sure why. Lame brawling down the aisleway into the stands. Even worse when they start fighting up the bleachers and such. The only people in the entire arena who are even remotely vocal are the people that are in the area of the brawl. Back to the ring area and Flair gets busted open taking a header into the guardrail. Then they do some pointless stuff on the announce table and get back in the ring. Remainder of the match is Flair and Page, looking old and worn, not doing a damn thing except sucking wind. Flair teases a win with the figure four but to no avail. Page hits a Diamond Cutter and the referee screws up the count. He counts two, stops, and then signals for the bell. What the fuck? Afterwards, Page gives the ref a Diamond Cutter, Kimberly steals David Flair’s crowbar, DDP whacks Ric in the nuts with it and give David a Diamond Cutter. Ric does a stretcher job only to be attacked by the Filthy Animals in the back. I have no idea what the hell is going on. Awful, just awful.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
The Wrestling Observer MMA Fight of the Year Collection
I noticed this on a bulk order about a half year ago, made by Keith _h (you're guess is as good as mine) so def. wanted to catch all of this. It ranges from 1996 to 2006. If you're not familiar with Wrestling Observer, it's run by Yahoo reporter and aging hipster Dave Meltzer, who not only covers pro wrestling but has a great affinity for MMA, so his yearly awards issue has included the grand sport in the last 10 years or so. This should be the cream of the crop of MMA, let's see:
1997
Maurice Smith v. Mark Coleman- 4
UFC Showdown- Heavyweight Title
Birmingham, AL July 27
This was fought under old school UFC rules of a 15 minute match time and then using 3 min. OT's if necessary. Coleman looked gigantic in the first 10 minutes, just outwrestling Smith and using tremendous power to hold him in place. Smith made a short comeback after a controversial kick but Coleman's exertion and carrying so much weight took it's toll and by the time the overtime periods came into effect, Coleman was spent and done. Smith was also hurting, suffering some arm damage, so basically he just shuffled in, took a shot and backed off. Coleman answered nothing that was thrown at him the last 8 minutes or so and gave up the fight and his title. UFC was a different creature at this time but both guys came off as out of shape by the time it was over.
1998
Jerry Bohlander v. Kevin Jackson- 5
UFC 16
New Orleans, LA March 13
This was a fun fight, also fought under the old style rules of one long period before Overtime's kicked in. Jackson was aggressive and coming off a 20 second knockout loss right before this. His striking looked superior and he was swinging with confidence. Bohlander on the ground was displaying some really fluid BJJ, transitioning from hold to hold but Jackson had a lot of strength in him. He controlled Bohlander successfully for quite a while on the ground, but doing literally no damage. They weren't so fast to stand up competitors at this point either, with Big John threatening to do it for like 6 minutes. Jackson wore himself down trying to keep Bohlander grounded and eventually got caught in a picture perfect armbar, that he never tapped to, Big John ended the fight of his own accord, telling Jackson "didn't want you to get your arm broke." Jackson was pissed with the result.
1999
Frank Shamrock v. Tito Ortiz - 6
UFC 22- Middleweight Title
Lake Charles, LA Sept 23
Big Time grudge match taking place here. Ortiz was a different man at this point, didn't say a whole lot just looked really focused on the task at hand. Right from the gate he connects with a right and catches Frank's kick sending him sprawling to the ground. He lets Frank up, and the crowd loves it. He controls the first round handily with two takedowns and constant work on the ground, although doesn't attempt any submissions or position advancement, just strikes. Tito 10-9. 2nd round is quite nearly a draw, Tito agains with takedowns and ground work but Frank fights out of a couple attempts and rocks Tito standing, as well as tries for a late front headlock. 9-9. 3rd round is more of the same, with Frank looking hurt, getting busted open and frustrated with Tito's dominant ground game. They trade a few shots standing here where Frank looks like he has a chance, but Ortiz fights a smart game and keeps him grounded, even standing in between rounds where Frank is sitting, sucking wind. Ortiz 10-9. 4th round is another close round but the fight ends here, Frank is more mobile, not content with trying his luck against Titos' dominant ground position, even though he does score a take down. Frank manuevers out of one and tries another choke, but as they fight for position, he gets back to his feet and swings on Tito, with several lethal blows to the back of his down opponent (obviously still legal at this point) to KO the Huntington Beach Bad Boy. Smart Fight by Tito and a fun comeback from Frank even though he was really beat up, just embarrassed by Tito's superior wrestling.
2000
Kazushi Sakuraba v. Royce Gracie- 4
PRIDE Grand Prix 2000
Saitama, Japan June 23
Where to begin with this epic? First off the ringside was littered with dignitaries galore, ranging from ancient MMA pioneer Helio Gracie, famed pro wrestler/ trainer Nobuhiko Takada, the MAN Antonio Inoki and Slowhand himself, Eric Clapton. That's not a typo. This fight was under Gracie's own special rules, since he's so important where there is no time limit or round limit all with 15 minute rounds and no break ups on the ground. The first round Gracie had Sakuraba through the ropes looking outside, as he tried to hang onto a kimura that Gracie finally did escape from while giving him a good pounding from behind (that didn't sound good), I meant with his fists (okay, i'll just stop there.) Gracie wins 1st. 2nd round was all stalling, literally. Gracie backed Sak into the corner and held him there for the whole round, except one flurry where he came out and boxed him quite successfully. Sak was patient and calm and keep the crowd entertained when he started pulling Gracie's gi over his head then tried to take his pants down. Gracie wins 2nd. 3rd round started with more of the same, but Sak got some distance between them and scored with some punches, although Gracie dropped to the ground every time he threw and some leg kicks. Sak wins 3rd. The announcers at this point, while impressed with Gracie showing more skills than known for (leg kicks, some boxing) dogged him for his "special rules", with Bas stating the point that if you can't beat a man within an hour, or two hours then you shouldn't be fighting. Sak fought the whole bout to Gracie's standards, never cheap shotting him while fixing his gi, never pushing the pace at all really. 4th round Sak scored with more standing punches, but was also transfixed in the corner for a good amount of time but he certainly did more damage than Gracie. Sak wins 4th. 5th round saw them immediately go to guard position on the ground, where Gracie was really busy setting up positions, but he never tried any submissions, Sak was content with fighting off Gracie's attempts, feeling confident after taking the master practicioner down earlier in the fight several times. Sak did stand up and try to swing or powerbomb him twice but Gracie clung to his legs like a leech. Sak wins 5th. Okay 6th and final round, again, down in the guard, Sak still trying to score from the top, while Gracie hung tightly to him. The ref did finally stand them up here, and Gracie looked terrible on his feet, stiff arms and legs, no head movement, hands down, but suprisingly kept aggressing towards Sak, who measured Gracie several times and jacked his jaw, prompting the legendary fighter to fall back to the ground and start leg kicking like Inoki did against Ali. Sak's brutal leg kicks started taking their toll and Gracie was limping, in addition to having a busted lip and eye. 6th round ends and after 90 minutes of combat, Gracie denotes to his corner he's done. This had some interesting tactical warfare in it, but definitley long in the tooth for even the most insatiable MMA fan. I felt it was a glowing example of Gracie's lack of evolving past one style, as Sak mostly toyed with him the whole fight, never once near trouble of being beaten. In the end, Gracie looked as passe as slap bracelets and Trolls by the time this one ended.
2001
Randy Couture v. Pedro Rizzo- 7
UFC 32 - UFC Heavyweight Title
Atlantic City, NJ May 4
This was a 5 round war and heavily competitive. Couture looked younger, but more like a meathead with terrible balding hair. 1st round was all Randy though, they tied up in the clinch right off the bat and traded blows but then Couture took over with a serious takedown and one severe beating, alternating fists as he bludgeoned Rizzo and made red plasma pour from his head. It was a near finish on two occasions. Couture 10-9. In the 2nd, Rizzo made a crazy comeback and just had Couture's number, stuffing all takedowns, outboxing him easily and nearly dropping him twice for a finish. Rizzo 10-9. 3rd round was slow, as at the end of the 2nd, both men looked absolutely spent. Couture pulled a takedown and mounted Rizzo doing little to no damage as Rizzo had no answer for Randy's ground attack. Couture 10-9. 4th round was a little more competitive, with both men slowly throwing hands, from fatigue, but Couture scored a slick behind the back wheelbarrow move and then mounted and worked Rizzo over. Couture 10-9. 5th and final round, both guys knew this was make or break and both seemed to be re-engergized, both throwing hands, with Rizzo outboxing Couture again and busting his nose open into a bloody faucet. Stuffing more takedowns and scoring a frenzy of punches in the last 10 seconds gave "the Rock" the round. Rizzo 10-9. A fast paced fight with two really capable fighters, loved the contrast of styles and heart both men showed. I wo'nt ruin the ending, all these scores i'm giving out are my own opinion and not the accurate scores from the judges.
2002
Don Frye v. Yoshihiro Takayama- 8
PRIDE 21
Tokyo, Japan June 23
Drop the bombs! You may have seen highlights of this fight on SportsCenter or other sports related lists for craziest fight of the century. The fight starts with both men grabbing the backs of each other's heads and just hauling off on each other, a good 20 to 30 times. It's one of the most intense scenes in combat history you'll see. Takayama comes out the worse, with a huge mouse under his eye, which the commentator notes "has become a rat and soon to be an elephant!" Frye strikes with confidence and backs Takayama in the corner, just pounding his face until it's a mushy bloody mess. Tak gets one takedown and scores with some knees before Frye asserts himself again and beats Tak's face raw. Docs check on his eye and actually let the guy continue, why I have no idea. Takayama screws up a takedown and Frye winds up on top and continues the vicious assault until the ref has seen enough. One of the undisputed kings of brutal fights of all MMA, well worth your while to find it.
2003
Wanderlei Silva v. Hidehiko Yoshida- 6
PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix
Tokyo, Japan March 29
The crowd was so amped for this and my first inclination was this was a huge underdog fight with Silva being Silva and Yoshida being a nobody that didn't have a chance. He takes Wandy down immediately, who fights in the ropes for a triangle choke but never quite gets it. They have to reposition and nothing happens so we get a standup. Now Wanderlei takes control and puts Yoshida on his back but he has no luck either, another reposition and Wandy lights Yoshida up some, but nowhere near level of his usual obliteration. 2nd round starts and I have to give the 1st to Yoshida for more control but I think the judges see his bloody mouth and give it to Wandy. 2nd round is Silva at his best throwing bombs, which Yoshida absorbs quite a few of them, throws some of his own but little to no effect. Wandy gets another take down and controls from the top but not able to do a lot but throw strikes, the crowd is incensed and pops huge every time Yoshida tries to escape, ending with the last few seconds where he switches momentum and ends up on top in half guard. The crowd made what would probably have been an otherwise boring fight into something dramatic and exciting.
2004
Quinton Jackson v. Wanderlei Silva- 7
PRIDE 28
Saitama, Japan Oct 31
Man this was a fun slugfest. Wanderlei was getting the better of the strike exchanges, he was just always in the pocket connecting with Rampage playing second fiddle, but a quick turnaround and heated exchange with Rampage scoring a knockdown, then set Rampage up really well for a side takedown. From there he was in the mount not doing much of anything except avoiding triangle attempts. He hit a few bodyblows while on top and effectively won the 1st round. 2nd round starts out with some tentativeness then explosion. Both guys didn't want to leave it in the ring and Wanderlei was throwing deadly strikes all over the place. Wandy's muy thai clinch was the nail in the coffin though and he bludgeoned Rampage's face until he was hanging over the ropes like a drunk teenager praying to the porcelain god at a frat party.
2005
Forrest Griffin v. Stephan Bonnar- 8
UFC Fight Night 1
Las Vegas, NV April 9
This was every bit the slugfest war that I remember it being. 1st round shows some hesitation from either guy to pull the trigger in first minute or so but then they come together like two horny rams wanting to mount the same sheep during mating season. Forrest stays on top in the first enough to win the round, scoring takedowns and keeping Bonnar where he wanted him, even though both men scored some significant punches. Forrest also excelled with his knees in the clinch. Forrest 10-9. 2nd round was as close as they come, with neither man scoring more than the other and both continually letting their fists fly. Big exchanges landed over and over again, Bonnar seemed to assert himself more here but his whole face got busted open from crazy punches Forrest was throwing. The striking got a bit reckless here and both men were worn out. 9-9. 3rd round was another nailbiter with both men extremely gassed but still throwing everything they could muster. Forrest attemtped some takedowns but was unsuccessful but kept scoring with those knees in the clinch. In the highlight of the round, Bonnar scored with a spinning hook kick that came all the way across the cage and blasted the side of Forrest's head. Bonnar 10-9. So I had this as a draw, but as Joe Rogan said, there were no losers here, just two winners.
2006
Diego Sanchez v. Karo Parisyan- 7
UFC Fight Night 4
Las Vegas, NV Aug 17
Another war that was as exciting in the 1st round as any fight you'll see. Diego comes in focused as always and breezes through a takedown that had Parisyan struggling to get up. But, get up he did, and scored not one, but two amazing judo throws that dunked Diego on his noggin. Karo controlled both short ground sections there. Parisyan 10-9. 2nd round is more of the same with Diego not wanting to go down but did fall victim to 2 more smaller takedowns but scored better on the feet. Some really impressive grappling up against the cage with both men fighting hard for position in a stalemate. Still, Parisyan scored more with his ground game, so again Karo 10-9. 3rd round Parisyan's gas tank was empty and was kind of just accepting Diego's short hard punches for most of the 5 minutes. A well developed bulge of blood and puss formed under his eye, Diego also got him down on the ground and pulverized him pretty well for a few minutes all the way up until the bell. Conceivably could be a 10-8 round here which would make this a draw, but I was pretty stunned by the judge's decision for Diego unanimous. This wasn't a travesty as much as Machida- Shogun but still quite surprising
1997
Maurice Smith v. Mark Coleman- 4
UFC Showdown- Heavyweight Title
Birmingham, AL July 27
This was fought under old school UFC rules of a 15 minute match time and then using 3 min. OT's if necessary. Coleman looked gigantic in the first 10 minutes, just outwrestling Smith and using tremendous power to hold him in place. Smith made a short comeback after a controversial kick but Coleman's exertion and carrying so much weight took it's toll and by the time the overtime periods came into effect, Coleman was spent and done. Smith was also hurting, suffering some arm damage, so basically he just shuffled in, took a shot and backed off. Coleman answered nothing that was thrown at him the last 8 minutes or so and gave up the fight and his title. UFC was a different creature at this time but both guys came off as out of shape by the time it was over.
1998
Jerry Bohlander v. Kevin Jackson- 5
UFC 16
New Orleans, LA March 13
This was a fun fight, also fought under the old style rules of one long period before Overtime's kicked in. Jackson was aggressive and coming off a 20 second knockout loss right before this. His striking looked superior and he was swinging with confidence. Bohlander on the ground was displaying some really fluid BJJ, transitioning from hold to hold but Jackson had a lot of strength in him. He controlled Bohlander successfully for quite a while on the ground, but doing literally no damage. They weren't so fast to stand up competitors at this point either, with Big John threatening to do it for like 6 minutes. Jackson wore himself down trying to keep Bohlander grounded and eventually got caught in a picture perfect armbar, that he never tapped to, Big John ended the fight of his own accord, telling Jackson "didn't want you to get your arm broke." Jackson was pissed with the result.
1999
Frank Shamrock v. Tito Ortiz - 6
UFC 22- Middleweight Title
Lake Charles, LA Sept 23
Big Time grudge match taking place here. Ortiz was a different man at this point, didn't say a whole lot just looked really focused on the task at hand. Right from the gate he connects with a right and catches Frank's kick sending him sprawling to the ground. He lets Frank up, and the crowd loves it. He controls the first round handily with two takedowns and constant work on the ground, although doesn't attempt any submissions or position advancement, just strikes. Tito 10-9. 2nd round is quite nearly a draw, Tito agains with takedowns and ground work but Frank fights out of a couple attempts and rocks Tito standing, as well as tries for a late front headlock. 9-9. 3rd round is more of the same, with Frank looking hurt, getting busted open and frustrated with Tito's dominant ground game. They trade a few shots standing here where Frank looks like he has a chance, but Ortiz fights a smart game and keeps him grounded, even standing in between rounds where Frank is sitting, sucking wind. Ortiz 10-9. 4th round is another close round but the fight ends here, Frank is more mobile, not content with trying his luck against Titos' dominant ground position, even though he does score a take down. Frank manuevers out of one and tries another choke, but as they fight for position, he gets back to his feet and swings on Tito, with several lethal blows to the back of his down opponent (obviously still legal at this point) to KO the Huntington Beach Bad Boy. Smart Fight by Tito and a fun comeback from Frank even though he was really beat up, just embarrassed by Tito's superior wrestling.
2000
Kazushi Sakuraba v. Royce Gracie- 4
PRIDE Grand Prix 2000
Saitama, Japan June 23
Where to begin with this epic? First off the ringside was littered with dignitaries galore, ranging from ancient MMA pioneer Helio Gracie, famed pro wrestler/ trainer Nobuhiko Takada, the MAN Antonio Inoki and Slowhand himself, Eric Clapton. That's not a typo. This fight was under Gracie's own special rules, since he's so important where there is no time limit or round limit all with 15 minute rounds and no break ups on the ground. The first round Gracie had Sakuraba through the ropes looking outside, as he tried to hang onto a kimura that Gracie finally did escape from while giving him a good pounding from behind (that didn't sound good), I meant with his fists (okay, i'll just stop there.) Gracie wins 1st. 2nd round was all stalling, literally. Gracie backed Sak into the corner and held him there for the whole round, except one flurry where he came out and boxed him quite successfully. Sak was patient and calm and keep the crowd entertained when he started pulling Gracie's gi over his head then tried to take his pants down. Gracie wins 2nd. 3rd round started with more of the same, but Sak got some distance between them and scored with some punches, although Gracie dropped to the ground every time he threw and some leg kicks. Sak wins 3rd. The announcers at this point, while impressed with Gracie showing more skills than known for (leg kicks, some boxing) dogged him for his "special rules", with Bas stating the point that if you can't beat a man within an hour, or two hours then you shouldn't be fighting. Sak fought the whole bout to Gracie's standards, never cheap shotting him while fixing his gi, never pushing the pace at all really. 4th round Sak scored with more standing punches, but was also transfixed in the corner for a good amount of time but he certainly did more damage than Gracie. Sak wins 4th. 5th round saw them immediately go to guard position on the ground, where Gracie was really busy setting up positions, but he never tried any submissions, Sak was content with fighting off Gracie's attempts, feeling confident after taking the master practicioner down earlier in the fight several times. Sak did stand up and try to swing or powerbomb him twice but Gracie clung to his legs like a leech. Sak wins 5th. Okay 6th and final round, again, down in the guard, Sak still trying to score from the top, while Gracie hung tightly to him. The ref did finally stand them up here, and Gracie looked terrible on his feet, stiff arms and legs, no head movement, hands down, but suprisingly kept aggressing towards Sak, who measured Gracie several times and jacked his jaw, prompting the legendary fighter to fall back to the ground and start leg kicking like Inoki did against Ali. Sak's brutal leg kicks started taking their toll and Gracie was limping, in addition to having a busted lip and eye. 6th round ends and after 90 minutes of combat, Gracie denotes to his corner he's done. This had some interesting tactical warfare in it, but definitley long in the tooth for even the most insatiable MMA fan. I felt it was a glowing example of Gracie's lack of evolving past one style, as Sak mostly toyed with him the whole fight, never once near trouble of being beaten. In the end, Gracie looked as passe as slap bracelets and Trolls by the time this one ended.
2001
Randy Couture v. Pedro Rizzo- 7
UFC 32 - UFC Heavyweight Title
Atlantic City, NJ May 4
This was a 5 round war and heavily competitive. Couture looked younger, but more like a meathead with terrible balding hair. 1st round was all Randy though, they tied up in the clinch right off the bat and traded blows but then Couture took over with a serious takedown and one severe beating, alternating fists as he bludgeoned Rizzo and made red plasma pour from his head. It was a near finish on two occasions. Couture 10-9. In the 2nd, Rizzo made a crazy comeback and just had Couture's number, stuffing all takedowns, outboxing him easily and nearly dropping him twice for a finish. Rizzo 10-9. 3rd round was slow, as at the end of the 2nd, both men looked absolutely spent. Couture pulled a takedown and mounted Rizzo doing little to no damage as Rizzo had no answer for Randy's ground attack. Couture 10-9. 4th round was a little more competitive, with both men slowly throwing hands, from fatigue, but Couture scored a slick behind the back wheelbarrow move and then mounted and worked Rizzo over. Couture 10-9. 5th and final round, both guys knew this was make or break and both seemed to be re-engergized, both throwing hands, with Rizzo outboxing Couture again and busting his nose open into a bloody faucet. Stuffing more takedowns and scoring a frenzy of punches in the last 10 seconds gave "the Rock" the round. Rizzo 10-9. A fast paced fight with two really capable fighters, loved the contrast of styles and heart both men showed. I wo'nt ruin the ending, all these scores i'm giving out are my own opinion and not the accurate scores from the judges.
2002
Don Frye v. Yoshihiro Takayama- 8
PRIDE 21
Tokyo, Japan June 23
Drop the bombs! You may have seen highlights of this fight on SportsCenter or other sports related lists for craziest fight of the century. The fight starts with both men grabbing the backs of each other's heads and just hauling off on each other, a good 20 to 30 times. It's one of the most intense scenes in combat history you'll see. Takayama comes out the worse, with a huge mouse under his eye, which the commentator notes "has become a rat and soon to be an elephant!" Frye strikes with confidence and backs Takayama in the corner, just pounding his face until it's a mushy bloody mess. Tak gets one takedown and scores with some knees before Frye asserts himself again and beats Tak's face raw. Docs check on his eye and actually let the guy continue, why I have no idea. Takayama screws up a takedown and Frye winds up on top and continues the vicious assault until the ref has seen enough. One of the undisputed kings of brutal fights of all MMA, well worth your while to find it.
2003
Wanderlei Silva v. Hidehiko Yoshida- 6
PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix
Tokyo, Japan March 29
The crowd was so amped for this and my first inclination was this was a huge underdog fight with Silva being Silva and Yoshida being a nobody that didn't have a chance. He takes Wandy down immediately, who fights in the ropes for a triangle choke but never quite gets it. They have to reposition and nothing happens so we get a standup. Now Wanderlei takes control and puts Yoshida on his back but he has no luck either, another reposition and Wandy lights Yoshida up some, but nowhere near level of his usual obliteration. 2nd round starts and I have to give the 1st to Yoshida for more control but I think the judges see his bloody mouth and give it to Wandy. 2nd round is Silva at his best throwing bombs, which Yoshida absorbs quite a few of them, throws some of his own but little to no effect. Wandy gets another take down and controls from the top but not able to do a lot but throw strikes, the crowd is incensed and pops huge every time Yoshida tries to escape, ending with the last few seconds where he switches momentum and ends up on top in half guard. The crowd made what would probably have been an otherwise boring fight into something dramatic and exciting.
2004
Quinton Jackson v. Wanderlei Silva- 7
PRIDE 28
Saitama, Japan Oct 31
Man this was a fun slugfest. Wanderlei was getting the better of the strike exchanges, he was just always in the pocket connecting with Rampage playing second fiddle, but a quick turnaround and heated exchange with Rampage scoring a knockdown, then set Rampage up really well for a side takedown. From there he was in the mount not doing much of anything except avoiding triangle attempts. He hit a few bodyblows while on top and effectively won the 1st round. 2nd round starts out with some tentativeness then explosion. Both guys didn't want to leave it in the ring and Wanderlei was throwing deadly strikes all over the place. Wandy's muy thai clinch was the nail in the coffin though and he bludgeoned Rampage's face until he was hanging over the ropes like a drunk teenager praying to the porcelain god at a frat party.
2005
Forrest Griffin v. Stephan Bonnar- 8
UFC Fight Night 1
Las Vegas, NV April 9
This was every bit the slugfest war that I remember it being. 1st round shows some hesitation from either guy to pull the trigger in first minute or so but then they come together like two horny rams wanting to mount the same sheep during mating season. Forrest stays on top in the first enough to win the round, scoring takedowns and keeping Bonnar where he wanted him, even though both men scored some significant punches. Forrest also excelled with his knees in the clinch. Forrest 10-9. 2nd round was as close as they come, with neither man scoring more than the other and both continually letting their fists fly. Big exchanges landed over and over again, Bonnar seemed to assert himself more here but his whole face got busted open from crazy punches Forrest was throwing. The striking got a bit reckless here and both men were worn out. 9-9. 3rd round was another nailbiter with both men extremely gassed but still throwing everything they could muster. Forrest attemtped some takedowns but was unsuccessful but kept scoring with those knees in the clinch. In the highlight of the round, Bonnar scored with a spinning hook kick that came all the way across the cage and blasted the side of Forrest's head. Bonnar 10-9. So I had this as a draw, but as Joe Rogan said, there were no losers here, just two winners.
2006
Diego Sanchez v. Karo Parisyan- 7
UFC Fight Night 4
Las Vegas, NV Aug 17
Another war that was as exciting in the 1st round as any fight you'll see. Diego comes in focused as always and breezes through a takedown that had Parisyan struggling to get up. But, get up he did, and scored not one, but two amazing judo throws that dunked Diego on his noggin. Karo controlled both short ground sections there. Parisyan 10-9. 2nd round is more of the same with Diego not wanting to go down but did fall victim to 2 more smaller takedowns but scored better on the feet. Some really impressive grappling up against the cage with both men fighting hard for position in a stalemate. Still, Parisyan scored more with his ground game, so again Karo 10-9. 3rd round Parisyan's gas tank was empty and was kind of just accepting Diego's short hard punches for most of the 5 minutes. A well developed bulge of blood and puss formed under his eye, Diego also got him down on the ground and pulverized him pretty well for a few minutes all the way up until the bell. Conceivably could be a 10-8 round here which would make this a draw, but I was pretty stunned by the judge's decision for Diego unanimous. This wasn't a travesty as much as Machida- Shogun but still quite surprising
Creepier by the Dozen #10
Halloween Havoc 1998
Chris Jericho vs. Raven - 6
I had to fire up the trusty ol’ VCR for this one. Raven did a pre-match promo about how he wasn’t going to wrestle and at the end sounded like a spoiled child. Once Jericho insulted Raven enough to lure him back to the ring, the fun started. Jericho took a crazy front layout suplex on the steps and Raven took and upside down bump into the railing. Crowd was really into the nearfalls, especially when Jericho kicked out of the Evenflow DDT. Jericho took a corner bump into an exposed turnbuckle. Not much selling here to speak of. Just guys bumping and the getting right back up. Kanyon interefered in the finish by climbing on the ring apron and colliding with Jericho when Raven reversed an Irish whip. The announcers kept asking questions about why Raven always tapped out immediately in submission holds. Don’t ask me. That played into the finish well because Raven tapped out to the Lion Tamer. Good 8-minute sprint to open up the show with and get the crowd into it.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Creepier by the Dozen #9
Halloween Havoc 1997
Diamond Dallas Page vs. Randy "Macho Man" Savage - Las Vegas Sudden Death Match - 6
Next to Hogan and Sting, this was the most heated rivalry in WCW in 1997. It stretched from March all the way up to this event, culminating in this match. Lots of brawling inside and outside of the ring to start but things really get good when Savage hit a double-axe handle from the top rope on Page who was on the floor. They brawled through the crowd, stopping in a mass of fans where some nimrod decided to take his shirt off to show off his flabby physique. I was Savage would’ve knocked him cold for doing something stupid like that. Eventually, they end up in front of the Halloween Havoc set where there is a mess of tombstones laying about. DDP throws Savage hard into the fake tombstones and slams him through a wooden box of somekind. I was led to believe that it was supposed to be a coffin. Dusty Rhodes in just hilarious on commentary. After Page broke a tray over Savage’s head, he remarked in a high-pitched squeal, “Brotha! He wobble-legged heeem whit dat waitress tray” (you’ll have to excuse me, I’m not that great at typing Dusty-speak). Back to the ring where a camera gets destroyed and the crowd gets all fired up. This was like a last man standing match where you had to answer a ten count to win. The teases where both men where trying to get to their feet were great and really had the crowd on the edge of their seat. Elizabeth interferes and breaks a tray over the referee’s head. She is then literally dragged by her hair backstage by Kimberly. Savage hit a nice top-rope elbow onto Page’s injured ribs. A low blow sent DDP to the outside where a Sting impostor came down and hit DDP with a bat to give Savage the win. Not as good as their match from the 1997 Great American Bash, but still worth a watch.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
TNA Bound for Glory 2009
1) Amazing Red vs. Homicide vs. Suicide vs. Daniels vs. Chris Sabin vs. Alex Shelley – Ultimate X Match – 5
2) Taylor Wilde & Sarita vs. Madison Rayne & Velvet Sky – 1
3) Kevin Nash vs. Eric Young vs. Hernandez – 3
4) Booker T & Scott Steiner vs. The British Invasion vs. Team 3-D vs. Beer Money – Full Metal Mayhem Match – 5
5) Awesome Kong vs. Tara vs. O.D.B. – 3
6) Samoa Joe vs. Bobby Lashley – Submission Match – 4
7) Abyss vs. Mick Foley – Monster’s Ball Match (Special ref: Dr. Stevie) – 5
8) Kurt Angle vs. Matt Morgan – 5
9) Sting vs. A.J. Styles – 4
Unlike last month’s TNA pay-per-view, I wasn’t too thrilled with this show. While it looked good on paper, the marquee matches didn’t really deliver on a number of issues that I will discuss later on. Right out of the gate we get the Ultimate X Match. This seemed pretty much like every other Ultimate X Match that there’s been, lots of jumpy and flippy spots without really and rhyme or reason to them. Red did deliver a hurracanrana to the outside but cracked his head against Suicide’s shin on the landing. Homicide also attempted a very dangerous Koji Cutter type move off the cables on Suicide which ended with Homicide taking an ass first bump and Suicide taking a face plant. Daniels looked the best out of all the participants. When he wasn’t participating in a spot, he was selling the moves in the corner or on the floor, unlike the others who seemed like they just laid on the mat not doing anything while a spot was happening. Did I mention the fact that Red had to call Daniels over for a spot at one point? Sabin and Shelley did their usual double team offense but ended up being an afterthough as the match progressed. End saw Daniels, Suicide, and Red climbing on the giant truss when Suicide and Daniels had a serious crash and burn while standing on the cables which left Red open to grab the title. The women’s tag match was beyond terrible. It started off fine but took a serious nosedive when Rayne tagged in and the first move she delivered was a shitty dropkick. Velvet was very vocal in the ring but the Beautiful People tandem is still suffering from the loss of Angelina Love. Sarita delivered a terrible tornado DDT and tagged out. Taylor came in, threw some forearms, and Sarita perched herself on the top rope and had to motion for Velvet to come over so she could do her spot. Sarita accidentally kicked Taylor in the face on the fin. Terrible, just terrible. Thus far, the women’s tag titles are an awful idea.
Eric Young still takes wild bumps, as evidenced in the first 90 seconds of the three way match with Nash and Hernandez. Hernandez bull rushed him and he took and crazy ass bump over the top rope and all the way to the foot of the ramp, which ended up cutting the back of his head open. Nash looked in pretty rough shape and was barely mobile but still managed to throw some decent punches. Hernandez took a wild dive over the top rope onto Young while Nash just stood in the ring and gazed on. Young dropped a really crisp elbow from the top and pulled Nash’s straps down to tease the powerbomb. Young double crossed Nash by using Hernandez’s head as a nut-busting battering ram and then pinning him. Nash really had no business being in the match to begin with but I suppose he just had to get that pay-per-view payday. Before the full metal mayhem match, Doug Williams was talking backstage to all the other teams during a brawl and mentioned that Team 3-D competed in a full metal mayhem match at WrestleMania. Wait, what? I don’t remember one of these at a ‘Mania. Oh, wait, I think it was a TLC match he was referencing. Anyway, Booker did a stretcher job early on after Beer Money gave him the DWI and Storm stuffed him on the follow-up. See you on Smackdown, Book! After that Steiner goes on a crazy suplex barrage just throwing people around the ring without any care. Damn, he even busted out a frankensteiner on poor Doug Williams. Team 3-D was doing their usual stuff … you know, the “WAZZZUP” headbutt and the standard table spots but took some wild chair shots from Steiner. Steiner blatantly set up a table spot that even Stevie Wonder could’ve seen. Beer Money hit a nice double suplex spot and then Storm his a sunset flip off a ladder. The ladders were way too short to reach the belts as the Brits had to have help from their accomplice Rob Terry to retrieve the belts that were hanging off the Ultimate X structure. It should be noted here that by this point it was halfway through the show and TNA was forced to cram five matches into the remaining 90 minutes.
The women’s three way match was going at a good clip until the totally random bullshit with Tara and MMA fighter Kim Couture. Basically, the showed a quick clip of the brawl and then showed Tara walking to the back while Kong and O.D.B. just stood in the ring completely clueless as to what was happening. Once Tara returned, Kong knocked the shit out of her with a punch to the temple and a stiff powerbomb. O.D.B. showed some strength and actually lifted Kong for a samoan drop. Raisha Saieed came out and slid a chair into Kong who slid it back. This continued until O.D.B. dropped Kong face first on the chair. Good match until the Tara/Couture junk and the fin with Raisha. Now getting into the so-called “feature” bouts, where, because the show was running so late, each one of them was handcuffed by the time restraints that were mentioned above. Joe and Lashley meshed really well, even though the crowd was the complete opposite of what TNA tried to present. I’m not really sure as to why this was changed to a submission match the week before the show. I guess to coincide with the TNA vs. MMA theme they were trying to promote with the match. Joe had to wait on an elbow suicida since Lashley’s timing was way off as Joe was ready to bound off the far ropes. The match ended rather abruptly with the referee calling the match without even checking Joe, who was locked in a submission hold. Decent match and Joe seemed motivated in front of his hometown crowd. Lashley didn’t look too bad either.
Ton of issues with the monster’s ball. First, why do the giant bump through the stage during the first 90 seconds? Shouldn’t you work up to that spot? Next, Mike Tenay didn’t know the stipulations of the match on commentary because when Foley poured the thumbtacks out Tenay thought they were banned from the match. Taz had to correct him by saying that only Abyss was banned from using the tacks. Daffney ran down and there was a stupid tazer spot that failed because the tazer didn’t go off at the exact second Foley put it on Abyss. Taz quipped from ringside about the tazer being a pair of clippers. Huh? That doesn’t make any sense. Stevie takes a ref bump and a second ref runs down. Major screw-up here where Abyss was supposed to kick out but didn’t so the ref counted three and he kicked out anyway. Foley was taking barbed wire bumps that he really shouldn’t take anymore. The interference from Daffney continued until she was tossed off the top rop through a barbed wire board in a very sick bump. The finish was trademark Russo as Stevie took a tack bump courtesy of Abyss, who then dragged him over and made the count himself with Stevie’s hand. I enjoyed this match because of the chaotic nature and the barbed wire bumps but this wasn’t either man’s best match. Foley should stick to doing bad comedy on interviews and writing children’s books. Abyss should never speak again. And to think, this whole match was because Abyss messed up Foley’s prized cartoon drawing of him and Borash. That’s almost as dumb as Edge and Booker fighting over who got a shampoo commercial deal at WrestleMania 18.
Last two bouts were decent but nowhere really enough to recommend seeing. Angle and Morgan had a really good match with Angle bumping all around to make Morgan look good. Despite how much TNA has been pushing Morgan, I’m still note sold on him. He’s just a generic looking big dude with generic moveset. Plus, why is he called “the blueprint”? Is somebody building something based off of how he looks? Angle attempted a throw off the top but it ended up being all Morgan on the bump. These two worked really well together, much like Joe and Lashley, but didn’t take the match up to the recommendable level, even though it was the best match on the show. Crowd was totally pro-Angle, even though he was built up as the heel on television. Angle hit a really bad frogsplash off the top. Cool victory roll for Angle to take surprise win. Again, this was constrained by time because once this ended, there were only twenty minutes left in the show. Sting and A.J. had a main event feel during the ring intros but once the match got going, it lost its luster. Both guys hit their usual offense with A.J. taking a hard corner bump on a whip. Sting dented the guardrail when he went chest first into it. A.J.’s selling of the scorpion death lock was one of the best things of the whole match. His facials and vocals alone in the hold were great. Finish was very flat with a pele kick and a springboard splash? Wait, isn’t A.J.’s finished the springboard 450? If so, why wouldn’t he do it on TNA’s biggest show of the year? Overall, TNA promoted this as the biggest show in company history. Yes, you read that right … company history! Looking at it from that aspect, it failed miserably. Not too much memorable stuff from this year’s editiion, so you’d be safe to take a pass on this.
2) Taylor Wilde & Sarita vs. Madison Rayne & Velvet Sky – 1
3) Kevin Nash vs. Eric Young vs. Hernandez – 3
4) Booker T & Scott Steiner vs. The British Invasion vs. Team 3-D vs. Beer Money – Full Metal Mayhem Match – 5
5) Awesome Kong vs. Tara vs. O.D.B. – 3
6) Samoa Joe vs. Bobby Lashley – Submission Match – 4
7) Abyss vs. Mick Foley – Monster’s Ball Match (Special ref: Dr. Stevie) – 5
8) Kurt Angle vs. Matt Morgan – 5
9) Sting vs. A.J. Styles – 4
Unlike last month’s TNA pay-per-view, I wasn’t too thrilled with this show. While it looked good on paper, the marquee matches didn’t really deliver on a number of issues that I will discuss later on. Right out of the gate we get the Ultimate X Match. This seemed pretty much like every other Ultimate X Match that there’s been, lots of jumpy and flippy spots without really and rhyme or reason to them. Red did deliver a hurracanrana to the outside but cracked his head against Suicide’s shin on the landing. Homicide also attempted a very dangerous Koji Cutter type move off the cables on Suicide which ended with Homicide taking an ass first bump and Suicide taking a face plant. Daniels looked the best out of all the participants. When he wasn’t participating in a spot, he was selling the moves in the corner or on the floor, unlike the others who seemed like they just laid on the mat not doing anything while a spot was happening. Did I mention the fact that Red had to call Daniels over for a spot at one point? Sabin and Shelley did their usual double team offense but ended up being an afterthough as the match progressed. End saw Daniels, Suicide, and Red climbing on the giant truss when Suicide and Daniels had a serious crash and burn while standing on the cables which left Red open to grab the title. The women’s tag match was beyond terrible. It started off fine but took a serious nosedive when Rayne tagged in and the first move she delivered was a shitty dropkick. Velvet was very vocal in the ring but the Beautiful People tandem is still suffering from the loss of Angelina Love. Sarita delivered a terrible tornado DDT and tagged out. Taylor came in, threw some forearms, and Sarita perched herself on the top rope and had to motion for Velvet to come over so she could do her spot. Sarita accidentally kicked Taylor in the face on the fin. Terrible, just terrible. Thus far, the women’s tag titles are an awful idea.
Eric Young still takes wild bumps, as evidenced in the first 90 seconds of the three way match with Nash and Hernandez. Hernandez bull rushed him and he took and crazy ass bump over the top rope and all the way to the foot of the ramp, which ended up cutting the back of his head open. Nash looked in pretty rough shape and was barely mobile but still managed to throw some decent punches. Hernandez took a wild dive over the top rope onto Young while Nash just stood in the ring and gazed on. Young dropped a really crisp elbow from the top and pulled Nash’s straps down to tease the powerbomb. Young double crossed Nash by using Hernandez’s head as a nut-busting battering ram and then pinning him. Nash really had no business being in the match to begin with but I suppose he just had to get that pay-per-view payday. Before the full metal mayhem match, Doug Williams was talking backstage to all the other teams during a brawl and mentioned that Team 3-D competed in a full metal mayhem match at WrestleMania. Wait, what? I don’t remember one of these at a ‘Mania. Oh, wait, I think it was a TLC match he was referencing. Anyway, Booker did a stretcher job early on after Beer Money gave him the DWI and Storm stuffed him on the follow-up. See you on Smackdown, Book! After that Steiner goes on a crazy suplex barrage just throwing people around the ring without any care. Damn, he even busted out a frankensteiner on poor Doug Williams. Team 3-D was doing their usual stuff … you know, the “WAZZZUP” headbutt and the standard table spots but took some wild chair shots from Steiner. Steiner blatantly set up a table spot that even Stevie Wonder could’ve seen. Beer Money hit a nice double suplex spot and then Storm his a sunset flip off a ladder. The ladders were way too short to reach the belts as the Brits had to have help from their accomplice Rob Terry to retrieve the belts that were hanging off the Ultimate X structure. It should be noted here that by this point it was halfway through the show and TNA was forced to cram five matches into the remaining 90 minutes.
The women’s three way match was going at a good clip until the totally random bullshit with Tara and MMA fighter Kim Couture. Basically, the showed a quick clip of the brawl and then showed Tara walking to the back while Kong and O.D.B. just stood in the ring completely clueless as to what was happening. Once Tara returned, Kong knocked the shit out of her with a punch to the temple and a stiff powerbomb. O.D.B. showed some strength and actually lifted Kong for a samoan drop. Raisha Saieed came out and slid a chair into Kong who slid it back. This continued until O.D.B. dropped Kong face first on the chair. Good match until the Tara/Couture junk and the fin with Raisha. Now getting into the so-called “feature” bouts, where, because the show was running so late, each one of them was handcuffed by the time restraints that were mentioned above. Joe and Lashley meshed really well, even though the crowd was the complete opposite of what TNA tried to present. I’m not really sure as to why this was changed to a submission match the week before the show. I guess to coincide with the TNA vs. MMA theme they were trying to promote with the match. Joe had to wait on an elbow suicida since Lashley’s timing was way off as Joe was ready to bound off the far ropes. The match ended rather abruptly with the referee calling the match without even checking Joe, who was locked in a submission hold. Decent match and Joe seemed motivated in front of his hometown crowd. Lashley didn’t look too bad either.
Ton of issues with the monster’s ball. First, why do the giant bump through the stage during the first 90 seconds? Shouldn’t you work up to that spot? Next, Mike Tenay didn’t know the stipulations of the match on commentary because when Foley poured the thumbtacks out Tenay thought they were banned from the match. Taz had to correct him by saying that only Abyss was banned from using the tacks. Daffney ran down and there was a stupid tazer spot that failed because the tazer didn’t go off at the exact second Foley put it on Abyss. Taz quipped from ringside about the tazer being a pair of clippers. Huh? That doesn’t make any sense. Stevie takes a ref bump and a second ref runs down. Major screw-up here where Abyss was supposed to kick out but didn’t so the ref counted three and he kicked out anyway. Foley was taking barbed wire bumps that he really shouldn’t take anymore. The interference from Daffney continued until she was tossed off the top rop through a barbed wire board in a very sick bump. The finish was trademark Russo as Stevie took a tack bump courtesy of Abyss, who then dragged him over and made the count himself with Stevie’s hand. I enjoyed this match because of the chaotic nature and the barbed wire bumps but this wasn’t either man’s best match. Foley should stick to doing bad comedy on interviews and writing children’s books. Abyss should never speak again. And to think, this whole match was because Abyss messed up Foley’s prized cartoon drawing of him and Borash. That’s almost as dumb as Edge and Booker fighting over who got a shampoo commercial deal at WrestleMania 18.
Last two bouts were decent but nowhere really enough to recommend seeing. Angle and Morgan had a really good match with Angle bumping all around to make Morgan look good. Despite how much TNA has been pushing Morgan, I’m still note sold on him. He’s just a generic looking big dude with generic moveset. Plus, why is he called “the blueprint”? Is somebody building something based off of how he looks? Angle attempted a throw off the top but it ended up being all Morgan on the bump. These two worked really well together, much like Joe and Lashley, but didn’t take the match up to the recommendable level, even though it was the best match on the show. Crowd was totally pro-Angle, even though he was built up as the heel on television. Angle hit a really bad frogsplash off the top. Cool victory roll for Angle to take surprise win. Again, this was constrained by time because once this ended, there were only twenty minutes left in the show. Sting and A.J. had a main event feel during the ring intros but once the match got going, it lost its luster. Both guys hit their usual offense with A.J. taking a hard corner bump on a whip. Sting dented the guardrail when he went chest first into it. A.J.’s selling of the scorpion death lock was one of the best things of the whole match. His facials and vocals alone in the hold were great. Finish was very flat with a pele kick and a springboard splash? Wait, isn’t A.J.’s finished the springboard 450? If so, why wouldn’t he do it on TNA’s biggest show of the year? Overall, TNA promoted this as the biggest show in company history. Yes, you read that right … company history! Looking at it from that aspect, it failed miserably. Not too much memorable stuff from this year’s editiion, so you’d be safe to take a pass on this.
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