Owen Hart v The 1-2-3 Kid (WWF 19/6/94)
--Really fun 4 minute sprint but nothing more than that. The opening dropkick looked like it came literallt out of nowhere since the lights were dimed for Waltman's entrance, probably my favourite dropkick. Had some okay stuff after that but half the match seemed like a small bunch of nothing (and half the match was 2 minutes). Owen countering the spinkick into a German was great, though. Finish came pretty much DURING that whole middle part. Wouldn't say this is ***1/2 like I thought it was before, or even close, but it was pretty cool.
Rey Misterio Jr v Jack Swagger (WWE 11/6/10)
--Wow what a great match. I wouldn't with anyone if they called Rey the best seller ever, he can make the most stupid obvious spot look legit and unpredictable. There were few times in this match where that happened, like Swagger *almost* countering Rey's swingy arm drag thing, and not doing it, and the old "make the heel run towards you so you'll pull down the rope for to fall out of the ring" trick. Match started off with Jack trying to cripple Rey in a headlock, which was great, and the 619 being hit early was cool too, it created a "that it? good booking, fuckheads" moment that got killed when Jack got his foot on the rope. Got weary when i saw Jack put Rey on the top rope, I was convinced it was gonna be some dumb spot, but they mad eit awesome. Rey went for headbutts, and Swagger sold it really well, falling on his feet instead of flying to the canvas like an overselling idiot. That set up probably the best top rope german I've ever seen, because, y'know, Swagger actually made it look like he *could* recover from what he got hit by. Best part in the match came after the commercial break, when Swagger had Rey wrppaed around the fucking ring post like a snake. Double 619 spot thingy was pretty nifty. Again, great match, maybe better than Rey/Punk 12/2. One thing that mostly annoys me about current WWE, though, is their fuckign camera amgles. They just HAVE to move the camera up and down whenever someone does a suplex or top rope jump. That's WHACK.
Bret Hart/Jim Neidhart v Shawn Michaels/Marty Jannetty (WWF 25/11/89)
--This really made me want to track down a Neidhart/Michaels match. A small portion of the match was Shawn bumping like a fuck for all of Neidhart's moves and I'd just love to see that for fifteen straight minutes. Loved how this whole match panned out though, there were pretty clear-cut sections of it that went from fast-paced/hot tag/cheating, etc. Favourite part in the match in the match happened near the beginning, where The Rockers were double teaming Bret with crazy tricks & hip locks & arm drags & shit, then Neidhart comes abruptly from the corner of the screen and wipes them both out with a clothesline. Greay visual. He got a good pop for that iirc, but HF eventually turned to the heels of the match (both teams were babyfaces) after they were both using illegal tactics and crowd mocking. They eventually got Michaels grounded in a hot tag too and they were laying it in to him pretty thick. Bret gave him the two most stiff uppercuts I've ever seen him give too, and the third was reversed into a backslide. Time limit running out was (N).
Showing posts with label 1989. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1989. Show all posts
Sunday, 11 September 2011
Wednesday, 13 July 2011
Terry Funk Will Call You All Sorts O' Derogatory Names And You Will Like It.
Ricky Steamboat v Terry Funk (NWA 14/6/89)
--Always loved this and this time was no different, except for the fact I got to go through Funk's interviews and squash matches beforehand. I love watching him whinge and complain about he's not on the top 10 NWA Title contender list and how Flair's a banana nosed horse toothed jackass who he had a dream that his sister ran over outside of a patio or something. He goes off at one point about how he'd go through Luger, Sting, Steamboat and his pig-nosed little kid and that of course gets Ricky out and as a result is this. Terrific match, and one that I find more "popcorn" than "classic" or something. Terry's only five or so weeks deep into his heel turn so he's still freshly looney and you have to love looney Terry Funk. His punches stand out for me the most and I'll always remember this one spot. Steamboat's sitting down in the ring and Funk presses on his shoulders; looks like if done wrong it could break both parties' neck but he doesn't fucking care because he's LOONEY TERRY FUNK and by the end of it if it comes down to plastering your head with a mic then he'll do it. Steamboat's performance is as usual but I'll give a shout-out to the spot where he carries Funk 360 degrees all the way around the outside of the ring for a press slam. Luger's heel turn at post-match and Steamboat begging to not being hit with a chair makes me want to give their Great American Bash match a shot again since I didn't love it. This though? This is every shade of excellent.
--Always loved this and this time was no different, except for the fact I got to go through Funk's interviews and squash matches beforehand. I love watching him whinge and complain about he's not on the top 10 NWA Title contender list and how Flair's a banana nosed horse toothed jackass who he had a dream that his sister ran over outside of a patio or something. He goes off at one point about how he'd go through Luger, Sting, Steamboat and his pig-nosed little kid and that of course gets Ricky out and as a result is this. Terrific match, and one that I find more "popcorn" than "classic" or something. Terry's only five or so weeks deep into his heel turn so he's still freshly looney and you have to love looney Terry Funk. His punches stand out for me the most and I'll always remember this one spot. Steamboat's sitting down in the ring and Funk presses on his shoulders; looks like if done wrong it could break both parties' neck but he doesn't fucking care because he's LOONEY TERRY FUNK and by the end of it if it comes down to plastering your head with a mic then he'll do it. Steamboat's performance is as usual but I'll give a shout-out to the spot where he carries Funk 360 degrees all the way around the outside of the ring for a press slam. Luger's heel turn at post-match and Steamboat begging to not being hit with a chair makes me want to give their Great American Bash match a shot again since I didn't love it. This though? This is every shade of excellent.
Monday, 20 June 2011
Whole lotta WCW
Lex Luger v Ricky Steamboat (NWA 23/7/89)
--Luger around this time is generally good to great, but here he was ....well, not that *bad*, just, kind of sloppy I guess. A little. Steamboat around this time is pretty much no short of Flair around this time so this had to be good either way, and it was. Always love when Steamboat starts off a match on fire, with high dropkicks, atomic drops, chops, the whole deal, maybe getting everyone thinking that the match might end early. Love it an equal amount when he gets cut off in his tracks by something like a Lex Luger knee to the face. The segment where Luger's control is where he gets a little sloppy but it isn't a Raja Lion deal or anything. Steamboat has those "I'm coming back" moments where he slips a chop in after Luger hits something, again, maybe getting the crowd to believe he's coming back, then Luger stops him. Lexy himself was a pretty great complimentary dominate-your-ass heel to Steamboat's fight-for-what's-right babyface, and Steamboat's drunken-punching here was nothing short of Arn Anderson or Terry Funk level drunken punching. Steamboat's comeback was how you'd expect. CHOP FROM THE TOP. Luger refused to stick the belt up if the match was no DQ so the rules were swapped around to a regular match and that was a bit of a head-scratcher since he decided to try to make it a no DQ by brining the chair in and stuff. Steamboat getting disqualified for using the chair justifies that, I guess.
Arn Anderson/Larry Zbyszko v Dustin Rhodes/Ricky Steamboat (WCW 19/11/91)
--Steamboat's return from WWF and it's a huge favourite of mine.Anderson boston Rhodes explodes everywhere eventually. Dustin being the guy to get the hot tag was a little "eh?" considering it was Steamboat's return, but Dustin's just SO good at being a face you just don't care. JR mentions he's 21 and I found that ridiculous, I can't think of too many 21 year olds I've seen in wrestling that were this good. In fact bar Rey Mysterio I can't think of any. Pop for the finishing Crossbody and stuff was insane.
Chris Benoit v 2 Cold Scropio (WCW 21/2/93)
--Thought this might not hold but I love the fact I was very wrong. Scorpio's a guy who's appreciated well for being a high-flying flippy guy but underappreciated for being an actual good worker. This is probably his best match, and the best Benoit match in theUS
Chris Benoit v Eddy Guerrero (WCW 16/10/95)
--Awesome for eight or something minutes, but I won't say it's a four star match or anything. Not complaining at all though, pre-ten minute matches almost don't get better. They fit the arm work with Eddy in there shockingly well with only five or something minutes remaining and Eddy sold it perfectly while they still managed to keep up the hurricanranas and dives they were doing before.
Chris Benoit v Kevin Sullivan (WCW 16/6/96)
--"Good", but I didn't think it was better than that. Sullivan was being a dick when pretty much refusing to sell borderline all of Benoit's offence while Benoit was doing bumps like the stair-throw and taking shit like toilet doors to the head. Suplex off of the table was a great finishing spot. Favourite part of the match might have been Dusty Rhodes' commentary
THERE'S A LAYDEH--THERE'S A LAYDEH IN THE MEYEN'S BAT'ROOM. WE GOTTA A WOMAN IN THE MEYEN'S JOHN HERE INBALTIMORE
Hulk Hogan v The Giant (WCW 10/8/96)
--Good enough, I guess. About as good as heel Hulk Hogan at 600 years old and Paul Wight in the first year of his career would get. Pretty slow, but I didn't want it any other way, they actually tried to outpower each other almost the whole thing (when Hogan wasn't doing some of the best stalling ever). There wasn't of this Hogan superman stuff either, he had to yank the gigiantic hair from the gigantic head of The Giant to even be in contention to win the Greco-Roman tie-ups. I loved when he pointed the refereee toward his head to show Wight was pulling his hair (when he wasn't), so the ref couldn't see HE was pulling Wight's hair. Nash and Hall's interference was done better than most mid-late 90s WCW run-ins as well. The Giant hulking up was something else.
--Luger around this time is generally good to great, but here he was ....well, not that *bad*, just, kind of sloppy I guess. A little. Steamboat around this time is pretty much no short of Flair around this time so this had to be good either way, and it was. Always love when Steamboat starts off a match on fire, with high dropkicks, atomic drops, chops, the whole deal, maybe getting everyone thinking that the match might end early. Love it an equal amount when he gets cut off in his tracks by something like a Lex Luger knee to the face. The segment where Luger's control is where he gets a little sloppy but it isn't a Raja Lion deal or anything. Steamboat has those "I'm coming back" moments where he slips a chop in after Luger hits something, again, maybe getting the crowd to believe he's coming back, then Luger stops him. Lexy himself was a pretty great complimentary dominate-your-ass heel to Steamboat's fight-for-what's-right babyface, and Steamboat's drunken-punching here was nothing short of Arn Anderson or Terry Funk level drunken punching. Steamboat's comeback was how you'd expect. CHOP FROM THE TOP. Luger refused to stick the belt up if the match was no DQ so the rules were swapped around to a regular match and that was a bit of a head-scratcher since he decided to try to make it a no DQ by brining the chair in and stuff. Steamboat getting disqualified for using the chair justifies that, I guess.
Arn Anderson/Larry Zbyszko v Dustin Rhodes/Ricky Steamboat (WCW 19/11/91)
--Steamboat's return from WWF and it's a huge favourite of mine.
Chris Benoit v 2 Cold Scropio (WCW 21/2/93)
--Thought this might not hold but I love the fact I was very wrong. Scorpio's a guy who's appreciated well for being a high-flying flippy guy but underappreciated for being an actual good worker. This is probably his best match, and the best Benoit match in the
Chris Benoit v Eddy Guerrero (WCW 16/10/95)
--Awesome for eight or something minutes, but I won't say it's a four star match or anything. Not complaining at all though, pre-ten minute matches almost don't get better. They fit the arm work with Eddy in there shockingly well with only five or something minutes remaining and Eddy sold it perfectly while they still managed to keep up the hurricanranas and dives they were doing before.
Chris Benoit v Kevin Sullivan (WCW 16/6/96)
--"Good", but I didn't think it was better than that. Sullivan was being a dick when pretty much refusing to sell borderline all of Benoit's offence while Benoit was doing bumps like the stair-throw and taking shit like toilet doors to the head. Suplex off of the table was a great finishing spot. Favourite part of the match might have been Dusty Rhodes' commentary
THERE'S A LAYDEH--THERE'S A LAYDEH IN THE MEYEN'S BAT'ROOM. WE GOTTA A WOMAN IN THE MEYEN'S JOHN HERE IN
Hulk Hogan v The Giant (WCW 10/8/96)
--Good enough, I guess. About as good as heel Hulk Hogan at 600 years old and Paul Wight in the first year of his career would get. Pretty slow, but I didn't want it any other way, they actually tried to outpower each other almost the whole thing (when Hogan wasn't doing some of the best stalling ever). There wasn't of this Hogan superman stuff either, he had to yank the gigiantic hair from the gigantic head of The Giant to even be in contention to win the Greco-Roman tie-ups. I loved when he pointed the refereee toward his head to show Wight was pulling his hair (when he wasn't), so the ref couldn't see HE was pulling Wight's hair. Nash and Hall's interference was done better than most mid-late 90s WCW run-ins as well. The Giant hulking up was something else.
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