This is is for splitting, I think. That was a pain. But somehow a little fun.
Blue Panther/Negro Navarro v Solar/El Satanico (FMLL 5/3/11)
--Just awesome. Everyone here is well over 45 years old and they still work the mat better than 95% of wrestlers do in their peaks. Only goes two falls because of the demented finishes (which I won't bother touching on), but all up they get almost 30 minutes to work with and I adored every bit of it. There's a whole lot of arguing going on before the bell even starts and we open with Panther vs. Satanico which obv. leads to Navarro vs. Solar. There's only a certian amount of things those two can do after being filmed a billion times but I haven't gotten tired of it and I suspect I never will. There was one really awkwardly painful looking submission from Solar I don't recall ever seeing before though and it looked tremendous. They keep with the "both partners tag out simultaneously" trend through the whole thing, and, for whatever reason, it doesn't bother me a bit. Not here, not in WWE, not in WCW, not anywhere, and it really seems liek the kind of stupid thing that should bother my picky nerves. They swap things over come second fall and we get Solar vs. Panther, which, no joke, was the best part, like better than Navarro vs. Solar. They were moving stupidly fast for 50+ year olds and the counters and everyhing were executed better than any moves you'll see anywhere else. Satanico vs. Navarro was great as well obviously but Solar vs. Panther rocked my world sideways. I hate seeing Panther without his mask but he does some really good facial expressions. Like I said weirdly booked finish but just a great, great match and these four should be worshipped like giant island stone heads.
The Miz v Daniel Bryan (WWE 19/9/10)
--Up until this point only one match can make me say "I muted the commentary", and that was Danielson vs. Liger. Seriously Michael Cole's calling in life is NOT as a wrestling commantator and I have no idea what could make anyone think employing him for over ten years is a good idea. Anyway, very enjoyable match and one that made me see a new side of Mizanin. I thought Bryan was the stand-out guy, and me not thinking Bryan was the stand-out would have been unparalelled, but Mizzy was good here. The match itself was built very nicely, Bryan gets soem offence in before Mizzy goes for his arm, and he did that surprisingly well with the ropes and stuff used as well. His striking offense is pretty bad to me, but he was using a lot of ware-down moves instead fortunately. Bryan's ill-fated comeback was a good because it helped the crowd think he was winning right then and there, but surely enough Mizzy would drop his coconuts o the top rope and clothesline him to the floor, where Bryan could hold the area he was being targeted on in agony. Brayn getting thrown out so Miz's bitch toy could get attacks on Bryan only for Bryan to go back on the attack was great because it was semi-in the middle of his offence period anyway. Great suspense near the end with a small host of "Bryan'a gonna win this" roll-throughs and stuff. Not sure where I'd rank this on WWE match of 2010, I thought Punk/Rey, Punk/Swagger, Michaels/Taker, McIntyre/Christian were better, but this is nothing to complain about. ***3/8 level, I guess.
Showing posts with label WWE. Show all posts
Showing posts with label WWE. Show all posts
Sunday, 11 September 2011
Yes, Splitting Posts
Yuki Ishikawa v Daisuke Ikeda (Fu-Ten 24/4/05)
--They shake hands out of mutual respect and not five seconds go by before Ikeda’s laid out Ishikawa with a palm (could have been a fist). Gets an eight-count too which was great to start the match with and it really creates a theme of these two trying to outdo each other. These two had been in ring rivals for at least ten years before this and while I haven’t seen a lot of their matches or probably even their best ones, they’ve all been great. This was off the charts. Ishikawa to me is the superior mat worker of the two and Ikeda the better at smacking people around with kicks and different hand shots. Never mind that though, Ikeda can do mat and Ishikawa can do pummelling. This had both doing both, obviously. There was plenty of first-rate grappling here with a lot of stalemate moments where both guys would be waiting for the other to cave in and stay the hell down. By the end of it (fourteen minutes), both guys hair looked like they had been electrocuted and Ishikawa’s lip was split open. I was surprised to see it end in submission, actually.
Shinya Hashimoto v Masato Tanaka (Zero-ONE 2/3/02)
--This is apparently the match that made Z1 officials become so impressed with Tanaka that they hired him full-time. Can't say I blame them, he was great. He has some sort of inter-promotional Championship in his hands or something pre-match and just before the bell rings he drops it to his leg and kicks it towards Hashimoto. Hash is a respectful fella, and fan favourite (and creator of Zero-ONE) but he'll fuck you up bad. He rampages straight for Tanaka in a blind haze of strikes and kicks that'd make most wrestlers weep. Tanaka's waiting outside for a break and he's almost whinging like a baby while Hashimoto's standing there and looking at him like he dares him to kick that belt at him ever again. Tanaka gets some good offence in and I was surprised by how much I liked him, but Hash is one of my favourites on offence and he's really creative. One spot Tanaka's on the outside laying down and Hashimoto casually jumps from he apron ONTO HIM. Nearly hits his head on the guardrail as a result. He just will not relent with those kicks and chops either, I didn't really think I'd see anyone I could say rivals Vader in the shoot-while-not-wrestling-shoot-style department. Great bloody match and I'm not waiting too long to watch he 11/7/03 one.
Sheamus v John Morrison (WWE 19/12/10)
--I can pretty much revoke what I said about Sheamus not interesting me in any way, because most of what he did here was pretty freakin great. I wouldn't call this a classic, and I'd say it's far from it, but the idea of a "classic" seems to vary from every single person, and I'm not going to knock this much at all because it was really good. Thought Sheamus actually did really display his overpowering big motherfucker gimmick over little jumpy purty-boy Morrison who should have specialised in this sort of thing. Sheamus' work on his leg wasn't just good becuase "hey he's jumpy and this is a ladder match and John can't climb", it was good because he actually DID unique stuff that i thought he was missing. I really can't be bothered trying to remember much of what he did in particular, or trying to come up with names for them, but I got the sense that if somebody like Arn Anderson was in a ladder match he'd do a similar sequence of stuff. First 3/4 of the match was spent with hobbling Morrison trying to stop Sheamus from going up, and Sheamus being pissed and surpirsed at how Morrison can even stand, then plowing through him him with this and that. Morrison sold the leg really,m really well as well, and he sold it even at points where it wasn't even necessary (if it is and stuff. yayrasslinnerds) It was all done really well and Morrison's hope spots didn't seem goofy (like I usu. think they do). Loved the spot where they were both holding ladders on the opposite sides of the ring and ran at each yelling "YOU FUCKERRRRR". Well they didn't yell that, but it wa sin my head and I enjoyed it. Ladder matches are obviously going to have it's fair share of "the hell?" moments, and this wasn't too bad before the *big spot* of faling outside the ring. Honestly that looked pathetic with both guys just jumping. I tried to watch the replay to see if someone did a move or they both fell but I just saw Sheamus jump onto the ladder and Morrison jump after him. I don't think Sheamus should have really got up after that either but it set up Jerry Lawler's line of "what is this guy The Terminator?", so it makes up for it. Very good match.
Yoshiaki Fujiwara v Kengo Kimura (NJPW 7/12/75)
--Been going through the NJPW 80s set again, and skipping through Fujiwara caught my eye like a motherfucker. On a total kick of the guy and I'm gonna skip through the NJPW 80s, Other Japan 80s & PWFG sets and watch anything of him I can. In the meantime I'll search for otehr stuff of his I don't have, like this. Fujiwara's apparantly been in the game about three years here, and his selling is already phenomenal. This is a short match (unlikely- most was probably cut off), but it's a good display of 70s matwork, and I like that style a lot. Kimura's fine and good, busting out your usual stuff and trying to outdo Fujiwara the best he can, but Fujiwara's threw out some great stuff, notably having an armbar on Kimura, throwing him over in a firemen's carrier (while keeping hold of the arm), and dropping down to a leg-armbar. Thing. Like I said his selling is top notch; you don't get to see a lot of selling in his face since the footage is from '75 and a little blurry, but his bumps are spot on and if someone used the stuff Kimura used in a leigt fight I can totallly see someone actually being affected the way Fujiwara was selling. Not a great match at all (for the eight/nine minutes that was shown, it was probably a lot longer), but it's the sort of match I'd be thrilled to see on Raw sometime.
Yoshiaki Fujiwara v Kohei Sato (Zero-One 2/3/02)
--I was liking this until this Sato guy decided to blow off all of Fujiwara's signature stuff. They were having really good mat exchanges for nearly ten minutes, and then Fjiwara goes to the Fujiwara armbar, and without two seconds rolling by, Sato rolls through and treats it like it's nothing. That I wasn't ALL THAT fussed about, but it got a lot worse when Fujiwara was trying to headbutt the kid, and he goes and starts yelling like one of those annoying young Japanese wrestlers, displaying his "spirit" or some crap (like KENTA or Akiyama). Fujiwara later does that thing where he twists his legs around and kaes his opponent roll in front of him, and because he's old and shit it takes forever and he's panting like a motherfucker on the floor, so Sato gets back on offence again. Honestly, though, first half (more than half, probably) of the match was really good. Fujiwara was still good mat-wise and Sato could match him well. Felt kind of sorry for them because of the dead crowd, like, if this was RINGS with a hot atmosphere, there would have been people shitting their pants at the quick submissions pulled out of nowhere and stuff. Worth a watch, definitely.
--They shake hands out of mutual respect and not five seconds go by before Ikeda’s laid out Ishikawa with a palm (could have been a fist). Gets an eight-count too which was great to start the match with and it really creates a theme of these two trying to outdo each other. These two had been in ring rivals for at least ten years before this and while I haven’t seen a lot of their matches or probably even their best ones, they’ve all been great. This was off the charts. Ishikawa to me is the superior mat worker of the two and Ikeda the better at smacking people around with kicks and different hand shots. Never mind that though, Ikeda can do mat and Ishikawa can do pummelling. This had both doing both, obviously. There was plenty of first-rate grappling here with a lot of stalemate moments where both guys would be waiting for the other to cave in and stay the hell down. By the end of it (fourteen minutes), both guys hair looked like they had been electrocuted and Ishikawa’s lip was split open. I was surprised to see it end in submission, actually.
Shinya Hashimoto v Masato Tanaka (Zero-ONE 2/3/02)
--This is apparently the match that made Z1 officials become so impressed with Tanaka that they hired him full-time. Can't say I blame them, he was great. He has some sort of inter-promotional Championship in his hands or something pre-match and just before the bell rings he drops it to his leg and kicks it towards Hashimoto. Hash is a respectful fella, and fan favourite (and creator of Zero-ONE) but he'll fuck you up bad. He rampages straight for Tanaka in a blind haze of strikes and kicks that'd make most wrestlers weep. Tanaka's waiting outside for a break and he's almost whinging like a baby while Hashimoto's standing there and looking at him like he dares him to kick that belt at him ever again. Tanaka gets some good offence in and I was surprised by how much I liked him, but Hash is one of my favourites on offence and he's really creative. One spot Tanaka's on the outside laying down and Hashimoto casually jumps from he apron ONTO HIM. Nearly hits his head on the guardrail as a result. He just will not relent with those kicks and chops either, I didn't really think I'd see anyone I could say rivals Vader in the shoot-while-not-wrestling-shoot-style department. Great bloody match and I'm not waiting too long to watch he 11/7/03 one.
Sheamus v John Morrison (WWE 19/12/10)
--I can pretty much revoke what I said about Sheamus not interesting me in any way, because most of what he did here was pretty freakin great. I wouldn't call this a classic, and I'd say it's far from it, but the idea of a "classic" seems to vary from every single person, and I'm not going to knock this much at all because it was really good. Thought Sheamus actually did really display his overpowering big motherfucker gimmick over little jumpy purty-boy Morrison who should have specialised in this sort of thing. Sheamus' work on his leg wasn't just good becuase "hey he's jumpy and this is a ladder match and John can't climb", it was good because he actually DID unique stuff that i thought he was missing. I really can't be bothered trying to remember much of what he did in particular, or trying to come up with names for them, but I got the sense that if somebody like Arn Anderson was in a ladder match he'd do a similar sequence of stuff. First 3/4 of the match was spent with hobbling Morrison trying to stop Sheamus from going up, and Sheamus being pissed and surpirsed at how Morrison can even stand, then plowing through him him with this and that. Morrison sold the leg really,m really well as well, and he sold it even at points where it wasn't even necessary (if it is and stuff. yayrasslinnerds) It was all done really well and Morrison's hope spots didn't seem goofy (like I usu. think they do). Loved the spot where they were both holding ladders on the opposite sides of the ring and ran at each yelling "YOU FUCKERRRRR". Well they didn't yell that, but it wa sin my head and I enjoyed it. Ladder matches are obviously going to have it's fair share of "the hell?" moments, and this wasn't too bad before the *big spot* of faling outside the ring. Honestly that looked pathetic with both guys just jumping. I tried to watch the replay to see if someone did a move or they both fell but I just saw Sheamus jump onto the ladder and Morrison jump after him. I don't think Sheamus should have really got up after that either but it set up Jerry Lawler's line of "what is this guy The Terminator?", so it makes up for it. Very good match.
Yoshiaki Fujiwara v Kengo Kimura (NJPW 7/12/75)
--Been going through the NJPW 80s set again, and skipping through Fujiwara caught my eye like a motherfucker. On a total kick of the guy and I'm gonna skip through the NJPW 80s, Other Japan 80s & PWFG sets and watch anything of him I can. In the meantime I'll search for otehr stuff of his I don't have, like this. Fujiwara's apparantly been in the game about three years here, and his selling is already phenomenal. This is a short match (unlikely- most was probably cut off), but it's a good display of 70s matwork, and I like that style a lot. Kimura's fine and good, busting out your usual stuff and trying to outdo Fujiwara the best he can, but Fujiwara's threw out some great stuff, notably having an armbar on Kimura, throwing him over in a firemen's carrier (while keeping hold of the arm), and dropping down to a leg-armbar. Thing. Like I said his selling is top notch; you don't get to see a lot of selling in his face since the footage is from '75 and a little blurry, but his bumps are spot on and if someone used the stuff Kimura used in a leigt fight I can totallly see someone actually being affected the way Fujiwara was selling. Not a great match at all (for the eight/nine minutes that was shown, it was probably a lot longer), but it's the sort of match I'd be thrilled to see on Raw sometime.
Yoshiaki Fujiwara v Kohei Sato (Zero-One 2/3/02)
--I was liking this until this Sato guy decided to blow off all of Fujiwara's signature stuff. They were having really good mat exchanges for nearly ten minutes, and then Fjiwara goes to the Fujiwara armbar, and without two seconds rolling by, Sato rolls through and treats it like it's nothing. That I wasn't ALL THAT fussed about, but it got a lot worse when Fujiwara was trying to headbutt the kid, and he goes and starts yelling like one of those annoying young Japanese wrestlers, displaying his "spirit" or some crap (like KENTA or Akiyama). Fujiwara later does that thing where he twists his legs around and kaes his opponent roll in front of him, and because he's old and shit it takes forever and he's panting like a motherfucker on the floor, so Sato gets back on offence again. Honestly, though, first half (more than half, probably) of the match was really good. Fujiwara was still good mat-wise and Sato could match him well. Felt kind of sorry for them because of the dead crowd, like, if this was RINGS with a hot atmosphere, there would have been people shitting their pants at the quick submissions pulled out of nowhere and stuff. Worth a watch, definitely.
Just Splitting A Post In Two
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).
--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).
Tuesday, 19 July 2011
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.
--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.
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