El-P Posted April 3, 2011 Report Share Posted April 3, 2011 Has there ever been a good Stevie Ray singles match? I know he had plenty of good tag matches in Harlem Heat, but I can't think of a good singles match he had. There are limits to what I'm going to do for you guys. BUT, there are Rick Martel, Booker, Jericho, Hall, Jarrett, Steiner, DDP and Luger matches. Not a ton to work with. The Martel match is only remarkable because Martel was coming back from knee surgery after he blew it out against Booker (who also gave him a concussion earlier on), and Stevie Ray fucked up Martel's neck. Which led to Martel's retirement. Stevie Ray is easily one of the worst worker I've came across. Really good on the mic though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-P Posted April 3, 2011 Report Share Posted April 3, 2011 I'll never forget when WCW ran Stevie Ray vs. Vincent on PPV for leadership of the nWo Jobber Team. BURNED INTO MY MEMORY Oh, I can't wait to get into 1999 WCW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Death From Above Posted April 3, 2011 Report Share Posted April 3, 2011 Out of context of who's in the match I found the idea somewhat worthy of praise, in the sense that they actually had a storyline around every match on the PPV. Some of their big shows had incredibly random matches that just happened for no reason. Hell, about half of Starrcade '98 falls into that category. So at least in that sense I thought it wasn't a period that was a total waste in terms of what they were thinking. But some of the workers they were clinging onto and giving those storylines to was pretty ridiculous (never mind also in this case the refusal to let the nWo die) and emphasized an element of why WCW was WCW. The match itself sucked a dick of course. I don't know if it's really any worse than, say, a majority of Konnan's work from relatively the same period. Now there's a guy that was an absolute black hole for most of what I've seen him do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-P Posted April 4, 2011 Report Share Posted April 4, 2011 Out of context of who's in the match I found the idea somewhat worthy of praise, in the sense that they actually had a storyline around every match on the PPV. Some of their big shows had incredibly random matches that just happened for no reason. That's what made WCW so great to me. For no reason at all you could get Mike Enos or Mickey Whipreck on PPV. Or Silver King. I loved this WAResque randomness on WCW programs. And yes, Konnan was just terrible at every turn. Part of my top 5 worst wrestler of 1998 in WCW. In good company. He did had some watchable matches against a few mexican workers, but that's about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryvonKramer Posted April 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2011 Has Iron Mike Sharpe ever had a good match? How about Ricky Gibson (singles)? How about Tony Halme a.k.a. Ludvig Borga? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted April 4, 2011 Report Share Posted April 4, 2011 There was a Bret Hart match that was going well until Bret decided to just whack the heck out of him with a chair. Shitty, shitty Konnan punches though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryvonKramer Posted April 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2011 Another guy just popped into my head too: The Master from The Dungeon of Doom (King Curtis Iaukea). Was he actually a good wrestler in his day? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bix Posted April 4, 2011 Report Share Posted April 4, 2011 Not really any footage available. Just a drop of Florida film clips and those may be post-illness. He was such a great promo that it didn't matter if he was good in the ring or not. I dunno if he was though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomk Posted April 5, 2011 Report Share Posted April 5, 2011 I don't have anything against any of these guys necessarily, but I'm not sure what I would point to for them either: Henry Godwinn Mideon Cobra/nWo Sting Nathan Jones Shanghai Pierce and Tex slazenger were a ton of un in WCW and was dissapointed that none of their stuff v Cactus Jack made it to either 92 or 93 set as they were essentially 90s mobile heavyweights (your Kane/Mike Awesome FMW type) combined with actually having some southern tag psyche. Also think you would enjoy the HHH hog pen match. NWO Sting is fine in NJ. Nathan Jones has a bunch of this guy is being carried stuff in begining of his career. He was typical UPW guy in that he was monster gaijin who was better at eating bumps than at making his own offense look good (which makes you an awful monster gaijin) still thought Hashimoto did nice job working around him. And he was a guy who could fly around for Steiner (and because Jones is so big it looked real impressive). By end of his WWF run I thought he kind of had his shit together and enjoyed some of his new Legion of Doom tags and the Undertaker series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomk Posted April 5, 2011 Report Share Posted April 5, 2011 I suppose the question is: CAN you have a good match involving a guy with Kamala's moveset and general ability? The thing about Kimala is that for the 80s despite the gimmick ( and I don't really care about "play the role " arguments) he was a big moveset highspot guy. The second rope splash was a big highspot let alone the top rope version. Nevermind the big leg drop, second rope corner axe handle, second rope middle of ring axe handle, standing splash, his bionic style elbow, Ringo Mendoza spin kick, etc. I think his stuff with Andre is worth tracking down, I'd also go through Midsouth set looking for his matches (I think his series with Terry Taylor may have unfortunately not made the set). He is at his best when he is doing workrate sprint brawl. He can be deadly dull when he moves away from the big moveset matches and does his more technical match built around nerve holds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoe Posted April 6, 2011 Report Share Posted April 6, 2011 Kimala's stuff with Taylor is worth looking at. I remember Phil and I liking their matches together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kostka Posted April 6, 2011 Report Share Posted April 6, 2011 Nathan Jones was in LOD? Thought that was Heidenreich. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomk Posted April 6, 2011 Report Share Posted April 6, 2011 sorry got those guys confused. Yeah Nathan Jones was UPW guy who didn't actually get much better. But yeah the Australia PPVs and the Hashimoto matches are neat carry jobs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resident Evil Posted April 6, 2011 Report Share Posted April 6, 2011 Are you sober tomk? And yes, Andre did have a match I liked with Kamala. The one where I beleive Andre does the big butt splash off the top rope. It might've been in Ontario iirc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomk Posted April 6, 2011 Report Share Posted April 6, 2011 Sober. Less into intense musclemen than you. They start to blur together for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted April 6, 2011 Report Share Posted April 6, 2011 Ernest Miller was also involved in the super-fun Miller & Glacier vs. Wrath & Mortis tag from 1997. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S.L.L. Posted April 6, 2011 Report Share Posted April 6, 2011 Impression I got of Kamala in Texas is that he was great working tags and short singles bouts. Guy with a lot of nasty looking offense, shockingly agile for someone his size, and ate offense and bumped really well. But he had trouble filling the middle of longer singles matches. Like TomK said, he wasn't afraid to sink in the heart claw for a looooooong time if he had to, and while I have a higher tolerance for clawholds than most, I've no illusions about what was going on there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankensteiner Posted April 6, 2011 Report Share Posted April 6, 2011 Were the matches with Duggan any good? I know they did not make the Mid-South set (at least in singles) but I was thinking of seeking them out since '85-'86 Duggan is one of my favorites and you would think Duggan/Kamala in Mid-South would be a good match up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomk Posted April 6, 2011 Report Share Posted April 6, 2011 My memory is that they were not complete. Either something clipped out or joined in progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricR Posted April 6, 2011 Report Share Posted April 6, 2011 It seems like I'm always the guy who tries to run to Nathan Jones defense in all of these threads, and I think they always get ignored (or people just don't believe me). I really think he was starting to get how to be effective in the ring, and then just kinda quit a month later. http://www.filestube.com/80e9ea964c01f2980...es-11-6-03.html That's the 11/6/03 Smackdown match which I love. Jones/Matt Morgan/A-Train/Lesnar vs. Benoit/Angle. It's clear that it's not Jones being carried by guys, and he's even put in the position of having to work the first 2 minutes against Angle and Benoit. Yes, Angle bumps huge for him, but he shows great presence, throws an awesome shoulderblock and back elbow, bullies Benoit into the corner in a real cool way, takes a dropkick to the knee really nicely (dropping awkwardly down to one knee and then shaking his leg out afterwards). That's all he's in until the very end, where he misses a big boot in the corner, ends up crotched on the top rope, then takes an INSANE bump to the floor that's worth the price of admission. I don't think he had too many more matches before quitting (I think he had Angle and Benoit singles matches, and maybe Team Lesnar match at Survivor Series), but if his performance in this match is any indication, he was really starting to catch on before quitting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryvonKramer Posted June 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2011 I liked this thread so going to throw a few more out before I collapse: - Erik Watts - Ole Anderson [i know there's one on one of the Schneider comps] - Bill Eadie - Barry Darsow - That guy who was Nailz - Virgil [other than vs. DiBiase) [everyone no-sold this originally] - Steve Lombardi - Test - Bull Buchanan - Mabel / Viscera Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Waco Posted June 7, 2011 Report Share Posted June 7, 2011 Bill Eadie? Really? Eadie has had quite a few good matches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted June 7, 2011 Report Share Posted June 7, 2011 Ole Anderson has had many, many good matches. Tag matches against the Rock & Rolls at Starrcade and during the Bash tour, clipped footage of Andersons vs Flair/Valentine, the Magnum match from TBS, the elimination match from World Pro Weekly and tons more. Can't name any specific matches but Bill Eadie as Masked Superstar was pretty respected and probably has some good stuff. Barry Darsow was in some good matches, particularly an outstanding tag against the Rock & Rolls, who won the tag titles either in their NWA debut or one of their first matches. Virgil is said to have had a Terry Funk match on an indy that's even better than the DiBiase match. Test was pretty decent in 2001-2002. Had plenty of good TV matches and I really, really like Survivor Series against Edge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smkelly Posted June 7, 2011 Report Share Posted June 7, 2011 The WWE failed the Test. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryvonKramer Posted June 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2011 Ole Anderson has had many, many good matches. Tag matches against the Rock & Rolls at Starrcade and during the Bash tour, clipped footage of Andersons vs Flair/Valentine, the Magnum match from TBS, the elimination match from World Pro Weekly and tons more. Can't name any specific matches but Bill Eadie as Masked Superstar was pretty respected and probably has some good stuff. Barry Darsow was in some good matches, particularly an outstanding tag against the Rock & Rolls, who won the tag titles either in their NWA debut or one of their first matches. Virgil is said to have had a Terry Funk match on an indy that's even better than the DiBiase match. Test was pretty decent in 2001-2002. Had plenty of good TV matches and I really, really like Survivor Series against Edge. Loss, in every case looking for singles matches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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