[1991-12-27-WCW-East Rutherford, NJ] Jushin Liger vs Brian Pillman

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

Two days after Liger won the title at the Omni, he defended it in the Meadowlands. I always thought this match was at least as good as Superbrawl II, maybe better. Unlike quite a few Japanese stars who work the U.S., Liger didn't tone down his style. If anything, he increased the number of highspots in an attempt to get over. WCW really had a great house show lineup around this time.

[Kevin Ridge]

They wrestled like they were on PPV/TV. Liger was holding nothing back. Throwing out all types of high risk moves. Really good match that the crowd enjoyed and was very positive to it. Would have enjoyed seeing this one live in person.

[PeteF3]

I never got why WCW could never spring for Liger's real entrance music. Surely New Japan would have gone along with that.

 

Holy shit, I thought this SMOKED SuperBrawl II, and I like that match just fine. This had a viciousness to it that the PPV match didn't have, with Liger heeling it up on the floor and Pillman paying him back (and turning heel in the process himself--it really seemed that Liger won over the people chanting "LIGER SUCKS" and "USA.") Lots of hot near-falls as this was worked almost completely Japan-style, but with more highspots in the beginning rather than the typical token NJPW junior matwork. This was not remotely "house-showy" as both guys went balls to the wall. This is right up there with Submit or Surrender and WarGames as the best WCW matches of the year.

[Childs]

I haven't watched the SuperBrawl match recently enough to make a good comparison. But this was an excellent showcase for Liger, who couldn't have asked for a better U.S. opponent than Pillman. I always have trouble getting past the Jersey smark commentary. I suppose that's small-minded of me.

[Zenjo]

I always have trouble getting past the Jersey smark commentary. I suppose that's small-minded of me.

You're not the only one. It's not often I find myself wishing to hear the voice of Tony Schiavone. I might have to try this with the sound off.

[soup23]

Great match here mixing in highflying, wrestling, and some frustrating intensity with slaps and variances of the cranking of holds. The camera work in this one was good too. Liger really looks great in WCW and that is a testament to the year Pillman had this year that they compliment each other so well.

[garretta]

I decided to watch this one a bit differently. Knowing that this was going to have fan commentary, I decided to put myself "live" at the Meadowlands right next to them and answer the question, "How would I have felt having to listen to their comments live while trying to enjoy the match?"

 

The answer is, in one word, horrible.

 

Don't get me wrong: I could still see Liger and Pillman busting their asses out there, particularly Liger, who has overcome Dusty's pathetic attempts to cast him as the sneaky coward Jap. He and Pillman went at it move for move and spot for spot, and if anyone in Atlanta had cared much about the junior division and truly promoted it, this could have been one of the most talked about feuds in WCW history.

 

I'd had experience with what Childs calls "Jersey smark" commentary on the WarGames handheld from July, and it wasn't too bad. The people doing it that night decided to play it straight for the most part, and the jokes and insider references they made at least pertained to the match and the workers involved in it. That wasn't the case here. From what I could gather, the guy operating the camera was a Liger mark, hated Pillman, and wanted Liger to heel on Pillman. More than that, he wanted to see the Shooting Star Press, and called for it every chance he got.

 

There were some "ooohs" for the high flying, but for the most part, he and his "color commentator" discussed an upcoming Tokyo Dome show, what I think was their friend's backyard fed, and Hulk Hogan, of all people. Any action on the floor was serenaded with a loud "Get back in the ring!", and he spent a lot of time complaining about possible non-finishes. He was definitely an Observer reader, as he brought up Meltzer and his star ratings from time to time. It seemed to me that this group was in it for the spots, not the top-to-bottom match. When Liger and Pillman flew, or when one of them used rougher than usual tactics on the other, the group's collective ears perked up. Otherwise, this was a textbook case of "Excuse us for wrestling while you're talking". They even mocked Cappetta for calling it a classic contest as he announced Liger the winner. (To be somewhat fair, they were mocking Gary, not the match itself.)

 

Obviously I couldn't have stopped these guys from doing their thing, but I would have made a mental note not to buy tickets next to them the next time I came to the matches. This is the type of fan that gave rise to the modern spot monkey; since more and more people like this came to the matches with the death of kayfabe, the boys got the idea into their heads that highspots were the only thing the paying customers would respond to, and it was either kill yourself in the ring or die at the box office. Bye-bye storytelling, bye-bye psychology, bye-bye older fans.

 

It's kind of a shame for these guys that they felt so above it all here, because this was one hell of a match to say the least. One consolation for us Yearbook watchers is that we have SuperBrawl III, all professionally shot and commentated, if we want to see Liger and Pillman go at it again, this time with our undivided attention. These jokers probably gabbed all through that match, too.

[Tim Cooke]

The guy who taped this was Steve Friedlander. He was a HUGE tape trader back in the day and still has one of, if not the biggest, tape collections in the world. No idea who his friend was but you are right, they were both snarky and I can easily see that distracting from the match.

[Superstar Sleeze]

WCW World Light Heavyweight Champion Jushin Thunder Liger vs Brian Pillman - WCW 12/27/91

 

To say this is better than SuperBrawl II match seems a bit ridiculous to me, but I thought this was definitely a very good match dripping with effort. You can see the beginning of the post-modern style already in the finish run of this match with lots of bombs and no real transitions. This would not look out of place on RAW at all right now. The beginning was fine. It established them both as equals in terms of aerial assaults. I think Pillman had slight edge because of his headscissors takedowns which were effective in keeping Liger off balance. The best stretch of the match started about third of the way in. Liger took a tumble to the outside. Pillman having a little fun at his expense holds the middle rope open for him. Liger takes exception to this and beats the holy hell out of him. Some great shots to the steel and table. Instead the ring, Liger busts out some really cool moves like a somersault legdrop. I really liked the Pillman dropkick to Liger when he was perched on top. Thought that would have been a great transition back to Pillman instead it was just a hope spot. However, this exposed on a bigger issue on horizon. Things like Pillman taking his trademark chin bump out to railing then hitting Air Pillman or Pillman hitting a spinwheel kick then eating a LigerBomb. It was just spot-spot-spot. They were registering, but they were not selling. There was no consequence to the moves. They were just kicking ass. There was some neat symmetry stuff like Liger misses his spinwheel kick before Pillman hit his or knocking head when both went for leapfrogs. The finish is Liger takes a front suplex from the top but still rolls through a crossbody to retain the title. It was a fun spotfest down the stretch, but I thought the transitions were weak and they were just throwing spots out. For a house show match that's awesome and I would have lost my mind live in the moment, but does not hold up that well. SuperBrawl II is hands down better. ***3/4

[JKWebb]

garretta was spot on. Those guys that wouldn't stop talking wanted a "5 star plus match," but wanted Liger to hit the shooting star press within 3 minutes or they were going to "deduct half a star." I agree with everything you said garretta, their mindset just kind of stressed me out. I don't know why I let it get on my nerves, and I'll just mute it next time. Anyways... I thought they worked this with great intensity and I would have had so much fun at this live (if I weren't by those guys). I'm on the same page as Sleeze with the match itself. This was really really good. That sounds a little more serious than it was... I was also just kind of laughing wondering what some of the other folks around here were thinking listening to those two...

[dawho5]

The smark commentary threw me off some. Both of these guys went balls to the wall and threw ridiculous highspots out there in ways that wouldn't be seen until the likes of Rey, Juvi and Kidman in the late 90s. They did bring some really intense actual wrestling and smart spots into the mix as well, which I liked. I agree with Sleeze that they seemed to forget selling as the match went on and focused more on throwing big bombs. I also thought the early going they got into the pattern of quick action -> work a hold and plan the next sequence -> repeat a little too much for my tastes.