Split.Split.Split.

Ric Flair v Hulk Hogan (WCW 17/7/94)
--Wow what a great match. Really, great match. It wasn't anything in terms of "icon vs. icon epic", not that I'm one to be suckered in to that anyway, but everything came out great and then culminated full circle with Hogan winning the belt. Flair had some great ones in 94 (I love vs. Steamboat Spring Stampede), but this wasn't a carry job at all, I thought. Hogan was taking a lot of Flair's moves well and bumping a bit more than he would even a few years before this. He had aorund three tries at Hulking Up before getting it successfully done, like Flair was wise to his power up and stopped him every chance he got. Sherri (Flair's manager) was excellent, she did a top rope dive after she pulled the ref into the barricade and knocked him cold. Tried again later on and missed, and it really felt like something out of 87 WWF. Mr. T takes here away nevertheless in WCW Nitro style fashion but what can you do? Hogan finally getting the Hulk Up done was a no-sell fest obviously but fuck you he's Hulk Hogan.

Chris Jericho v Eddy Guerrero (WCW 14/9/97)
-Always thought this was really great and at worst a top 5 for Jericho's whole career; haven't change my opinion. Jericho can get some crap for his WCW run and rightfully so, he was a bit green and kind "slop" like, but I really thought he brought it well here. Guerrero was obviously better, but Jericho was keeping him down with holds a decent part of the match, making sure all his high-flying stuff couldn't come into play. Eddy would best him on the anyway, but when he'd hit a headlock or twisted armlock or something, Eddy'd have a hard time breaking it out it, if ever breaking out of it. Once Eddy did get on a small high-flying binge it they kept the spotty stuff under control, as well, not that I really expected it to be overdone with Davey Richards stuff, but that's some of the criticism I can see for Jericho around this time. Guerrero is one of the best in the world here though so he was having great stuff all over the place. Back work on Jericho was worth mentioning as well and Jericho sold it. Great, great match.

Eddy Guerrero v Rey Misterio Jr. (WCW 26/10/97)
--"Everything just clicked" in an understatement for how in-sync these two were. Thought this might go down, and it probably did just that leeetle bit, but I still think it's a classic and a match of the year contender in a year with an inordinate amount of high-end stuff. Opening seconds were even awesome with Rey ducking Guerrero's swinging arm after some berrating and going to work on him immediately. Eddy's get-back-in-control move was sweeping Rey's leg when he was on the apron, where Rey DIDN'T decide to land and instead chose to do an insane bump to the outside. Loved Eddy's control segments as well, they didn't last too long, but he got the most out of every move (stole that from Heenan ) and made it look as vicious and damaging as he could. Twirling backbreaker was intense in particular and Rey sold it like he was giving brith. Once Rey got on the offense for a while, the crowd went, kind of, "deadish", where they needed something after a hurricanrana to give them a big pop. So, Eddy got the control back so he could demolish Rey with a powerbomb only for Rey to come back so the crowd would have something to pop for. GENIUS! Finish was as good as a lucha move in the US is going to get.

Ricky Morton/Robert Gibson v Tom Pritchard/Stan Lane (WCW 21/2/93)
--RnR were a older wee-bit sloppier version of themselves in 1984, and I loved it. If this WAS 84 in Mid-South or somewhere, the crowd would've been an all-time hot one, and even though here they were just satisfyingly loud, it didn't matter at all because I still got that mid-80s vibe. For however many minutes they were giving their "routine" (can't exactly call it a "routine" since they mix up spots and don't do the same thing every match), it was all good fun. They would Irish Whip Lane into the turnbuckle a few times until Pritchard tried to jump onto the turnbuckle to block it, then sent Lane into the opposing corner and gave Tom a good ol' kick in the gut. Then Morton would allow himself to be cornered into their side of the ring so he could have punches at both of them, and when Pritchard fired at him, he ducked and Tom hit Lane on the apron. OH THE FUN. Cornette throwing mild tantrums on the outside adds to any match he's managing in so this was real easy to sit through, and he takes a shoulder block you just NEED to see. Cornette's of course the son of a bitch that costs RnR the control of the match, and Morton may be the greatest FIP of all time so it's pretty great little part of the match. He knows when the ref's back is turned the crowd will pop when he hit s a sunset flip that isn't being counted, he knows how to get sympathy from anything that breathes, and he knows Kevin Nash is a worthless piece of shit. Hot tag is something a little different along the way but interesting nonetheless. BOBBY EATON interferes and RnR continue to kick arse and win. It's pretty great that this happened the same night as the great Scorpio/Benoit match and the Sting/Vader strap match which I think is seriously the best US match of 1993. DUBYU-THSEE-DUBYA'S WHEYER DEM BIG BOYS PLEH, DADDEH

I Think We Should Split Up

La Parka/Psicosis/Villano IV v Juventud Guerrera/Hector Garza/Lizmark Jr. (WCW 13/7/97)
--Thought this might be nothing more than a pile of moves (which admittedly I probably wouldn't have had a problem with), but I thought the little sub-stories involved were good. Started with Psicosis trying to get the upperhand on Lizmark but being foiled every time, and that kind of thing only lasted like 90 seconds, but it's kind of thing I can get into for that short time. Garza comes in to get Psicosis and Villano gets in and just cleans everyone and starts punishing Garza. Didn't think that would last long since I expected a whole lotta tecnico domination, and I was right. I could tell they going to win and control most of the match, but if knowing who wins is going to bother me in a match I wouldn't enjoy 75% of the stuff I watch. Just enjoyin' the ride. A fair bit of this felt a little choreographed, but I kind of got the impression if it was a Mexican crowd with Mexican commentary and shitty VQ I wouldn't have criticized it, so I won't. And actaully i thought some of the "you know this is coming" shit was really good. I knew Psicosis was going to miss that bump (love his bumps, btw), I knew Sonny Onno was going to accidentaly hit La Parka, I knew everyone was going to miss the top rope splashes after the second person, but it's all great. Didn't like the spinning top rope-to-the-outside-jump-on-everybody spot though, reminds me of Money in the Bank ladder stuff. Thought the rudos might have actually had a chance at winning after Villano V came out, which was a nice cherry on a tasty lil' sundae. Won't be surprised if this is somewhere from 90-100, and at the same time I won't be at all upset if it fell off completely. honestly when it comes to lucha in WCW I can be a guy who says sarcastically "lucha libre is short matches on Nitro", but this isn't actually at all far off from what AAA would be doing, and about as good an example of lucha libre in the US that I can think of.

Eddy Guerrero v Chris Benoit (WCW 20/10/97)
--I love how Guerrero comes to ring all mopy and curve-mouthed only to be yelling his fucking head off at his opponent when the match goes on. Thought Eddy himself was fantastic here, I mean there's onyl so much you can do in the amount of time they had, but they nailed it and Eddy was the star. It's awesome how he's been eating everything Benoit's got and after actually get into offense he taunts the crowd to make it look like Benoit's recovery was because of wasted time on Guerrero's part instead of Benoit being superman. I really, really doubt Benoit would have put himself off a superman, or anything similar, but in under six minutes to work with there's only so much offense a shitcocky heel shoudl get in whether he's reatining or not. Love how Benoit's chops played a role throughout, like in getting Eddy from the apron to the barricade so he can dive on him. Finish made Guerrero look like a dickhead who could've won without giving Benoit more punishment but he does anyway because he's Cruiserweight Champion and you piece a shit will count his shoulders down. What was the longest match these two had in WCW?

Steve Austin/Brian Pillman v Dos Hombre #1/Dos Hombre #2 (WCW 23/5/93)
--Okay Cage match that I've never really loved. Dos Hombres are apparantly Ricky Steamboat and Shane Douglas, but one of them is injured or something so they put the both of them in masks so the crowd couldn't tell, or something, I'm not sure. Either way it was stupid and I'm calling them both Hombres. So, basic face > heel formula to begin, Austin was the best guy in the match by far I thought, taking bumps intot he cage and yelling offensive slurs all over the place. Hombre #1 "Steamboat" was all right, and Pillman & Hombre #2 just felt kind of "there". There was a spot where Austin had his leg hooked on the top of the cage and Hombre #1 goes for a crossbody and Austin drops (as if he's supposed to avoid it, and drops too late or something so they both fall on each in a big messy heap. Dumb spot anyway. By the offence on Hombre #1, I knew it wasn't Steamboat and he was the one replaced by some guy with the same eyes as him or whatever. Then Steamboat's replacement climbs to the top of the cage to do a crossbody on both Blondes, takes off his mask, and, it IS Steamboat. Shit. So he hits this gigantic crossbody, the refs counts Austin or Pillman or both down for two, and WCW moron on the outside decides it's three and dings the bell. Blah blah blah Austin gets the pin on the guy who's still masked. *******1/2

Steve Austin v Brian Pillman (WCW 10/11/93)
--this was more like it. Nine minutes of two former partners beating and cheating each other to a piss (well Austin was cheating anyway). Crowd weren;t that great but they created a good reaction when Austin would grab the ropes only for the ref to slightly see it, so the ref tells him off and Austin goes "yeah, yeah I got it" "OKAY", and he's got that Texan I-permanently-have-a-carrot-stuck-in-my-throat voice that made him famous. Obviously he grabs the ropes again. First half of the match was the two guys crushing each others backs and stuff on the outside and Pillman trying to manually remove all of Austin's teeth with his fists, and it was awesome. Finish is one of the most bizarre things I've ever seen.

Chris Benoit v Booker T (WCW 14/6/98)
--Booker had a bothered leg that Benoit ignored the whole umpteen minutes of the match. The announcers chalk it down to a few things, Benoit going for the upper body so Booker would be weak as a whole, or Benoit targeting that to hit the crossface. WEll, I don't think he even did hit the crossface. Pretty confusing that I thought Booker might have been better than Benoit here. Benoit wasn;t terrible or anything and maybe he was told NOT to go for the leg b/c Booker was facing Finlay later on and maybe Fit had to go for it, but it kind of bugged me that he didn't even HINT at touching. I won't say this was a bad match at all though, it was pretty damn good. I liked the sub-match story (if that's what you can call it) of Booker wanting to hit his Missile Dropkick and Benoit preventing it at all costs. Benoit using a Full Nelson Suplex was awesome and they played off their previous match with this one being the 8th of the best of 7 series b/c they were tied. They had some count-out stuff, or something. Won't nominate or vote this, even if Benoit did go for the leg (did I mention he didn't?).

Bret Hart v Chris Benoit (WCW 4/10/99)
--At the moment I think I'll have this in my bottom ten and I'm glad it held up okay, but it felt like a bit of a weirdly structered match. What i'm about to write is going to make it sound like I disliked it, which I definitely didn't, but, well, just read on. First batch of minutes were great, I thought, it was a good "technician vs. technician" portion that didn't have any crap that would've been unfitting in a tribute match. I don't necessarily think Hart in his peak is as close to a "technician" as even Benoit was in 2006, but you got to look a little kayfabe to appreciate some things. After the techy stuff was where the match kind of, well I don't want to say took a turn for the worst, but it's where I was a little confused at how it was built. It was basically a match where they each took turns in offence and I liked what they were doing quite a bit, but the shifts of offence were pretty weoird, like the attacks came out of nothing. I'm not being a guy who's sitting with a pad and paper to ananlyse this either, I just noticed that t was a little off. Hart's first segment was perfect, though, target the back to get ready for the Sharpshooter, brilliant. After that though it;d be like Benoit getting in control, Hart getting in control, Benoit getting in control, with no "body" I guess. Then Hart finally goes to lock the Shooter in and it's reversed into a Crossface, which I thought was a little silly considering Benoti went for the Crossface later and Hart turned it into the Shooter. I really thought it should've been done the other way around, with Benoit being on offence, trying to hit the Crossface, and Hart reversing it to make the back-work come 360. When it's said and done this will probably be in my 97 spot or something.

These Are All WWE Matches. Insert Crappy Title.

Bob Backlund v Hussein Arab (WWF 4/6/79)
--This is really damn good, and not even one of the better Backlund matches there is. I'm not even saying that as a gimmicky poster or anything, either. He's one of the best ever at mixing mat wrestling with pure fun, and Sheik's no slouch at it too. Match goes thirty minutes and I loved it all, even the pre-match stuff with Lou Albano when McMahon threw what looked like coffee straight in this damn face. The match itself had a bit of a mix of everything, I've always loved how Backlund can make the most simple common move look so deadly and entertaining. He has the best Full Nelson reversal ever. Sheik's actually growing on me more and more not just as a fun pleasure to watch, but a legitimately GREAT match worker. Him countering a rope jump with a (spiked) boot to the face was a highlight. Match was mostly mat stuff, though, but then they get tired of it and batter each other with chairs (not sure what the rules were back, no one was DQ'ed), and the crowd was sucking it up like hell. No way Sheiky could have resisted BOB'S ATOMIC DROP, and he got his dues. GO BACKLUND.

The Undertaker v The Big Show (WWE 23/2/03)
--Nothing of a must-see, but as far as WWE style slugests go this is a pleasant watch. Very rough-housian with heavy punches, forearms, BS' backwork, headbutts. Not really ultra-stiff but satisfying enough to make you believe that shit really hurt. Taker even bladed. A-Train interference was a bit of a pain but it set up a cool UT dive on him & PAUL E. DANGEROUSLY. Definitely don't regret watching, need to check CS08 real soon.

Owen Hart v Davey Boy Smith (WWF 3/3/97)
--If you asked me last year I would've said this was a top twenty matches I've ever watched or something. Now? About top 250, but I still really liked it. Started off with some bizarre twisty rolly thingys that I can only explain as being each guy trying to say "I'm a better mat worker than you are, partner". They were cool on the eye and stuff but I don;t love them like I used you. I find it really funny that a while ago I used to worship the armbar-rolly thingys, and now my favourite part was by far when they were hinting that they might cheat each other out of the match. Totally different things. Also loved how Davey would do some athletic taunt and Owen would duplicate it to get in his head. Both guys were pulling tights, putting feet on ropes, etc. and I though it was all great. I've heard some were bothered or whatever that all that tension didn't explode into a fist outburst or something but I though it didn;t warrant it anyway since they were tag Champions together. Not surprised this wasn;t the mind-blowing "scientific technical clinic" or whatever I used to think this was, but I'd be ltying if I said I didn;t really like it. Like, I wouldn't be against watching this again tomorrow, for example.

HHH v Edge v Chris Benoit (WWE 29/11/04)
--the result of this was bloody stupid given HHH was the Champion and lost the title only to win it back at NYR, but the match itself is a blast, glad it was recommended to me. This is the type of 3-way match I mean when i said "good spotfests", no dull moments and everything was really fun, like an attitude era match or something. Opened up with Unter taking it easy while Benoit and Edge beat each other up, he was jokingly clapping and giving those little "ow" facial expressions and it was awesome. It's a given all WWE three-ways will have two guys in the ring while one's on the outside, and a lot of the times it'll be done in a stupid way like getting throwed over the top rope and landing on their feet and "collapsing" or something. This was done greatly though, there was only like one that wasn't that convincing, but it was coincidentally my favourite one, because Benoit got Edge and Suplex'ed him on Helmsley fucking HEAD. Batista and Flair coming out made for another good "take-ou-on-guy" moment when they bashed Benoit, too, and Orton's (acting GM) involvement added a little bit to the match cos of his HHH feud. Not sure if they even had any matches after this in 04, but... yeh. Benoit used the sharpshooter a couple of times, likely in reference to Backlash 04, and i thought that was really cool. Again, they should've learned from Taker/Angle 02 that this type of finish doesn't go down too well, but Vince loves those "who won?" moments. Still doesn;t explain HHH bringing in a chair after the referee got knocked down in a no DQ match, though. Anyway, great match.