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  • 1 month later...

For the U.S. tag titles, with Cornette in a cage. Cornette tries to run and EATS A CLOTHESLINE from Randy Anderson. These guys are all over the place in the early stages, but this doesn't have much heat. I love how the MX wrestle this match, as they are completely lost at the beginning without Cornette! Bobby Eaton gives another great performance. I love the luchaesque sequence with Pillman followed by the neckbreaker on the floor to segue to Pillman as FIP. We get some really great neck work on Pillman too. Bobby Eaton's amazing top rope elbow drop and leg drop really wakes up the lethargic crowd. Pillman seems to be bleeding hardaway. Zenk's hot tag doesn't get them very far, as the MX quickly swing the momentum back in their favor, although Zenk does kick out of the rocket launcher. As excellent of a match as this was, the heat not being where it normally was for MX matches shows just how much Cornette added to the act.

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Ross' fat jokes about Cornette are getting tiresome, not to mention a bit hypocritical. What would Ross do if WCW had ever signed Ronnie P. Gossett?

 

Disappointing match in most aspects. There have been good, heated matches where Cornette was similarly incapacitated, but Pillman and Zenk are no Rock 'n Roll Express or Fantastics. Eaton is fantastic here, Lane and Pillman pretty good, and Zeaman is awful. Each babyface gets to kick out a heel finisher, I guess as a bone for doing a clean job, but it sort of makes Zenk going down to an enzuigiri & small package all the weirder. The storyline of the match pointed to Pillman doing the job.

 

Edit: Ross & Caudle don't pick up on it but the replay shows Lane loading the boot before the enzuigiri, which is a nice touch.

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

I thought the tag was excellent. The work the MX did working over Pillman's throat and neck was great. The MX double teams were really good. The crowd was pretty tame for the bout though. I never understood why the announcer's never mentioned the loaded boot in 1990 or 2012.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Ross talks about us going to backstage to Solie and Robocop. Can’t wait for that one. Cornette is locked in a ringside cage. Ross us talking about Pillman’s Bengal’s career so I take a drink to play it safe. Eaton is Mr. backbreaker. Pillman is pretty much his whole team. Zenk was carried by Martel and Pillman. Super quick tags by the Midnights. Alabama Jam! Pillman kicks out. Lane loads up his boot for the kick and Eaton scores the win with the roll up. Pretty clean victory overall.

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  • 5 weeks later...

Man, the thing I took away from this most of all is that Brian Pillman did a great job selling for the hot tag and getting the crowd fired up, and then Zeaman's work off the hot tag is so lethargic, the crowd is dead almost immediately. I've generally not minded Zenk much on the Yearbook, but his work here is subpar at best. But Pillman and Eaton are working for 4 men by themselves, so this is a really good match. I didn't even notice Lane loading up his boot at first and thought this was a Zenk burial since he lost to the MX clean with Cornette stuck in the cage, but since the announcers failed to point it out, it might as well have been a burial, even if that wasn't the intent.

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  • 1 month later...

Clearly not as as good as the excellent RnRs match earlier, but still a killer match. I might have to watch more Midnight matches to really affirm this assertion, but I think MX is like the Ric Flair version of a tag team with their ability to be totally outclassed in the first ten minutes only to look totally boss in the next ten minutes. I liked the shine just fine as there were plenty of good spots to establish that the MX were lost without James E. Also, noticed JR was using "scintillating" and "vintage" in 1990, but I guess Zenk's rights werent carcinogenic (the worst JR modifier) as they were pathetic. Pillman over the top -> neckbreaker on floor -> Pillman's standard bump to railing was such a good transition to a FIP segment. That Pillman bumps ranks as my favorite stock bump from anyone.

 

Slingshot. Backbreaker. Bobby Eaton is my hero and heroes are forever.

 

I thought it was weird they let the faces kick out of Alabama Jamma and the Rocket Launcher, but the explanation give above suffices in clearing that up for me. I missed the loaded boot too due to the shitty dailymotion quality (I know, I know, eventually I will buy this :D ) and couldnt really hear the crowd. This match will definitely has some rewatchability for me as I thought it was a very good match that just missed that second gear to really put it over the top.

 

Lastly, I know Stan Lane takes some flack for his kicks and understandably so, but is there anything else he does that gets on people's nerves because I actually think he is a really effective heel and brings a lot of personality to the team. I need to watch more Condrey, but I don't think the gap is as sizeable as people make it out to be.

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  • 8 months later...

If not for the AJ 5/26 six-man, this would be my match of the month. I really enjoyed some of the Lucha trios as well, but MX have been near perfect for the entire year.

 

On a secondary note, I get that Ross' "mixed doubles champion" line about Cornette is supposed to be some sort of gay joke, but I don't get it. In this incarnation he says his partner's name was "Jack." Um, what? Could someone explain this oft repeated Ross insult?

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  • 11 months later...

The match itself was very good, particularly Pillman as FIP, but it wasn't only the crowd that was dead. JR seemed not to give half a damn either, sleepwalking through spots that would normally have him, in Cornette's phraseology, "throwing babies in the air". It's as if he knew that Pillman and Zenk were losing the belts (which of course he did) and thus decided to save his energy for the important stuff, like Robocop. Caudle tried to make up for it, but if JR hadn't been able to tell us about Pillman's football career, I think he would have fallen asleep.

 

Also, I don't get why you're burying your second-best working tag team so far this year if you're WCW. The Steiners may be champions, but up to this point in the Yearbook, their biggest claim to fame has been stinking out the joint on Family Feud. It's Rock 'n' Roll and Pillman/Zenk (especially Pillman) who've been delivering the goods in the ring. Even if you wanted them to drop the US belts to put the MX back in the mix, they could have been tremendous challengers for Simmons and Reed.

 

This wasn't their last TV match as a team; they got one last chance at the MX on the syndicated version of Main Event three weeks later (weekend of June 9), with Zenk once again getting pinned by Lane, this time off of a Cornette distraction. Which markets even got that show? Was it just ones where TBS hadn't penetrated yet?

 

Great win for the MX, but a sad end for a team with tremendous potential.

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  • 1 year later...

Man, genius psychology by the MX early going, being confused and lacking structure leading to almost a heel in peril segment with Pillman and Eaton. As much as I hate to say it, my beloved Z Man brings this match down after his hot tag, just not enough fire there. Still really good, and what a 1990 for the MX that continues all the way through.

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  • 2 months later...

I really enjoyed this match. When they started in on Pillman's neck, I was really sucked in. Pllman with some great selling. I agree that Z-Man really did lack the fire he needed after getting the hot tag. His punches towards the end right before the finish looked really weak. That being said, MX were just genius as always in this match. It was interesting to read Marty's note above in contrast to hearing the love he has for Stan Lane now on podcasts. I agree, I don't think "the gap is as sizeable" either, and I also prefer Lane to Condrey. I'd say this was the match of the night.

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  • 7 months later...

Great match, Z-Man doesn't stink it up early. Pillman plays a great FIP and then...fuck you Z-Man. Maybe try a little after your hot tag? In answer to Sleeze, I enjoy Lane quite a bit. He just can't quite measure up to Bobby. I think he'll always be the lesser half of the team to a lot of people.

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  • GSR changed the title to [1990-05-19-NWA-Capital Combat] Midnight Express vs Brian Pillman & Tom Zenk
  • 3 years later...

The result was a good one with smart booking that had the Midnight Express win the US Tag Team Titles without the help of Jim Cornette, solidifying the Midnights as a force. This follows the same structure as the Samoan Swat Team vs Rich and Rotunda but the Midnight Express had a great arsenal of double team moves around Pillman’s neck and Pillman’s selling was great. Eaton and Pillman had great chemistry together with little flubs early on before quickly finding a groove and finding their footing, mixing solid technical wrestling with innovative high flying spots (for 90s NA Wrestling). Stan Lane was great at making himself the asshole too. He'd taunt Tom Zenk before running, he'd go to Cornette for advice despite the cage and he'd use his kicks to cheap shot the champs. Lane complimented Eaton really well I thought. The finish was another cheap shot with Lane kicking Pillman in the back of his head, allowing Eaton to pin him with a cradle. ***1/2
 

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