JvK reviews pimped matches from late 90s-10s

[goc]

That was probably my fault because I couldn't remember which one of them was supposed to be the really good one. I did remember that it was pretty much the only match off December to Dismember that got any praise.

[Bierschwale]

I'm a bigger fan of the DtD match than the one from the Rumble. I don't really remember MNM's selling as anything bad.

[Loss]

The thing that really stands out to me about how Eddy worked in his 2004-2005 babyface run is that it required some really quick thinking on his feet. Yes, I suppose he could have a general idea of what fun cheating spots he wanted to pull off, but to actually have the timing and psychology to pull them off in a way that works is something else entirely. On top of that, he also had to understand wrestling's norms pretty deeply to pull off something so creative. He added these wrinkles to his ringwork as his body was breaking down and it added a few years to his career. It often felt like Eddy was doing an oil painting in the land of guys using crayons. I'm not convinced there is a wrestler currently in WWE who is smart enough (read: quick thinking enough) or skilled enough to do what Eddy was doing at that stage of his career. It wasn't merely cheating, it was also the type of cheating he could do and ensure that he was still cheered -- the philosophy behind the babyfaces-pretend-to-tag-behind-the-ref's-back was expanded to define an entire character and working style. Yes, it was an audience predisposed to love him and that always helps, but it would have been a comedy gimmick or even Wrestlecrap in the wrong hands.

[El-P]

I don't recall that Hardys/MNM match in December ever being pimped.

 

I pimped it a few months ago during my WWECW watch.

[Mr. Lacelle]

I'd like to read a review of Cesaro vs John Cena from Raw in Feb. 2014. My favourite Cena match of all time.

[Bierschwale]

How about the Chris Harris-James Storm Texas death match? TNA's best ever match!

[goc]

How about the Chris Harris-James Storm Texas death match? TNA's best ever match!

As good as that match is and I think Parv would probably like it, I don't think it really fits this deal because neither of those guys is really a contender for GWE and definitely not for Parv's list.

[Bierschwale]

I missed that preface, so yeah, you're right. On just "Would this be a JerryvonKlassic or not?" terms, though, I really wanted to throw it in.

[MFoy]

I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on some of the Smackdown six stuff. Benoit/Angle from Unforgiven on 9/22/02 and the Observer MOTY, Benoit and Angle vs. Edge and Rey from No Mercy on 10/20/02 are two that come to mind. Actually, the Taker/Lesnar cell match from that same No Mercy show is another one I'd be curious to read about.

[Grimmas]

Actually, the Taker/Lesnar cell match from that same No Mercy show is another one I'd be curious to read about.

That match is so great.

[...TG]

Chris Benoit vs. William Regal (5/25/00)

 

I have never seen this match, Josh Matthews mentioned it on commentary. It's from the Brian Pillman Memorial Show 2000.

 

Regal almost works this World of Sport style to start with hand work and takeovers. Greco Roman Knuckle lock strength spot. Inziguri by Benoit. Action goes outside. Back in, multiple Germans. Regal with a belly to belly from the top! He's got colour in the same place on his forehead as the velocity match, it's almost like that match was a tribute to this one. Series of nearfalls.

 

Tombstone by Regal, reversed, Benoit misses the diving headbutt. Dragon suplex by Benoit. Crossface and Regal taps. Perhaps a bit too quickly.

 

Honestly, the Velocity match was so much better. Not nearly as much psychology here and I'm not sure that Regal is best suited working bombfest sprints trading suplexes with Benoit.

 

**1/2

 

I was at this live, and it was amazing. I think I've seen it once or twice since, and I don't know if I want to see it again. I'm happy with my memory of it. I'm not going to go all Meltzer and say no one should rewatch things, but there's no way it can live up to my memory of it. IIRC, Regal was just out of rehab and this was his first big match back. Or maybe he had just been let go for the final time from WCW? (Wikipedia is unclear.) In any event, he hadn't wrestled a serious match in quite a while, it's a crowd full of hardcores, so everyone in the building knows Regal's issues. I'm sure he wanted to show not just the crowd, but the wrestling world good he could be. So all that (and the natural inflation that any match involving Benoit during that time) got wrapped up in the match's rep. I'm surprised, and pleased, that it was mentioned on WWE commentary in 2005, even on a smaller show.

[Sidebottom]

Disagree with the Bret / Austin SS96 opinions. I remember watching it about a year ago and thinking it held up strongly. More importantly, upon my original viewing as a kid, I remember being on the edge of my seat. It was one of those deals where I REALLY didn't want the classless Austin to win as much as I wanted by beloved Bret to win. I remember being gripped by the action and elated at the outcome. That bit at the end of the match where Vince shake Bret's hand and congratulates him on a great match - that was probably the real feeling at the time.

[JerryvonKramer]

Ric Flair vs. Mick Foley (8/20/06)

 

Before the match, Foley is with Melina. They have having second thoughts, but after Melina questions him, Foley freaks out and is ready. 0/10. This is from Summerslam and is an I Quit match. JR and Lawler on commentary.

 

Foley ambushes to start and gets the mandible claw on with socko early. Gets on the mic, "say it!" No chance. Gets the barbed wire. Flair comes back. Low blow. Flair gets barbed wire socko and nails some chops with it. The barbed wire board comes out now, Foley rams Flair with it. And again. Elbow drop with the board! "Say it!" "Kiss my ..." Flair is a bloody mess already.

 

Thumb tacks all over the ring now by Foley. Bodyslam by Foley right onto the tacks. "You son of a bitch, you're going to suffer!" screams Foley. Barbie comes out, Foley mashes it in Flair's eyes until he hits a low blow for a reprieve. Flair's face is very red with blood. He gets on the mic now, "you quit or I'll kill you right here".

 

Foley takes a big bump to the outside and seems injured. Refs come to check on him as well as Melina. Match seems to be over. "Wait a minute, this isn't a lay down on your ass match, it's an I quit match, get your ass in here Foley!" Flair grabs him and rolls him into the ring.

 

Barbie to be face by Flair. Drives it like a post. Melina throws the towel in and says he quits. "She does not quit for him!" He goes to hit Melina but Foley says, "I quit! I quit!" What? Was this a shoot? What happened here? Did Foley get legit injured? Don't get that finish.

 

This was not a good match. Everything happened way too quickly. All of the different weapons and things came out too soon, and since Flair was the babyface in this deal I don't think Foley really had enough heat in the body of the match. Alright, barbed wire to the face, bodyslam on thumb tacks, both got to hurt, but they didn't build to that at all so it was all over in like five minutes. And then I dunno, what happened to Foley to make him so hurt? This one fell flat to me.

 

**

Cesaro vs. John Cena (2/17/14)

 

Cesaro was managed by Zeb Colter at this point. Ron Simmons was trending on Twitter, why? Cole and JBL on commentary. Oh, Lawler there too.

 

Headlock by Cesaro to start, headlock takeover by Cena. Hiptoss. Arm bar by Cesaro. Headlock takeover. Tiltawhirl backbreaker. European uppercut. Bit of king of the mountain.

 

Chinlock. Cena comes back with a backbreaker. After the a break we get a fall away slam into a pin attempt by Cesaro. Some more stuff, before Cena applies an STF and Cesaro counters and nails a gut wrench suplex. Uppercut. Cena gets Cesaro down for the five knuckle shuffle. Cool spot now as Cesaro launches Cena up in the air and uppercuts him on the way down. Tornado DDT by Cena. Big uppercut by Cesaro sends Cena flying off the top rope.

 

Superplex from the other side of the apron by Cesaro. Wow, that's a unique spot. Cover still gets two only. STF! Cena applying the hold. Swing time from Cesaro. Cover gets two only. This is awesome chant from the crowd. Big clothesline by Cena. AA and cover gets three.

 

Aside from a couple of cool spots, I thought this was pretty unremarkable. First ten minutes were just some mat exchanges, nothing to write home about, before bigger moves after the break. Cesaro has some impressive raw strength and a nice uppercut. But this didn't have a great flow for me. Cesaro had a long time on offense in order to go through the gears and show off his offensive arsenal -- perhaps my favourite thing in wrestling -- but that's not really how the heat stretches were worked. Cena was kind of in Backlund mode here: not staying down, constantly countering or trying to mount comebacks and that disrupted the flow of Cesaro getting real heat. And even within the scope of a fifteen minute TV match, we got into false-finish-vile territory near the end. So I wasn't much of a fan of the structure of this one. Cesaro looks alright to me, he's never looked like this really great worker when I've seen him. His frustration when he put Cena away didn't really register much, and if people wonder why he doesn't get pushed much, it's probably because Vince thinks he lacks charisma. He wouldn't be wrong on the evidence of this. Some solid work but nothing to light the world on fire.

 

***

 

Chris Harris vs. James Storm (5/13/07)

 

This is called slumming it. TNA seems a lot more Southern than I recall here. Crowd busts out a TNA chant. They brawl in the crowd to start. Commentators are Mike Tenay and Don West.

 

Harris does a crossbody from the top of the ring all the way to the other side of the railing. Pretty huge spot. Cover gets three. And Storm has a ten count to get to his feet. The Texas Death match has more variants than any other stip.

 

Storm smashes Harris in the face, and did he bust him open? Harris is bleeding and looks stunned. It was a pretty stiff chop to the face. Storm sets up a table in the middle of the retarded six-sided ring. Uppercut. Tries a hurricanrana from the top, but Harris blocks. Sunset flip. Harris tries a sharpshooter. Instead he catapults Storm into the bottom of the table. Ouch, nasty spot and Storm has a gusher himself now. Crimson flowing here.

 

Spinning powerbomb thing by Storm into the table. Again nasty looking. Cover gets three. Harris is up at nine, barely. Storm goes and gets another table, he's bleeding onto it. Sets it up outside. Back in and DDT by Storm. Grabs a trash can. Harris spears him onto that table. Tennessee Jackie Moore pushes Harris off Storm. Harris grabs a chair. Super kick by Storm! Cover gets, two only! First match in history for there to be two straight three counts before the first nearfall, ha ha!

 

Trash can lids battle now. Catatonic onto the trash can by Storm. Cover gets two! West explains the psychology of the nearfalls on commentary ... Pride won't let either drop a three count to the other's finisher. Gail Kim comes out to eject Moore. Both men have bottles, and Harris smashes Storm in the face with one. Glass powders out in his hand. Cover gets three and Storm can't get up by ten.

 

This is a heated and gritty southern brawl that feels like one. Both men felt like they wanted it, and both gave a lot and bled a lot. A couple of spots felt overly telegraphed and choreographed for me in such a blood feud type match. For example, when Storm set up that table outside which wasn't paid off for another minute or so. Why was he setting up a table instead of trying to ram a leg of it down Harris's throat? But I think this had enough other wild moments to overcome niggles like that. Overall, I thought it was very good.

 

****

 

Chris Benoit vs. Kurt Angle (9/22/02)

 

Rikishi stink faces both men in the hype: 0/10. I haven't enjoyed three previous matches involving these guys, see here: http://prowrestlingonly.com/index.php?/topic/21525-kurt-angle/?p=5660409

 

Benoit tries for the crossface early. Angle takes over. Backbreaker. Continues to focus on the midsection. Misses a shoulder barge and hits the post. Back suplex by Benoit, lands on the injured shoulder. So we have midsection vs. shoulder here.

 

Belly to belly by Angle. Two German suplexes by Benoit. Angle elbows out and does two of his own. Benoit elbows out. German! Angle breaks, German! Another one. A third. All in, eight Germans then. Angle goes for the Angleslam, Benoit reverses with a sick overhead back suplex thing. Goes to the top, Angle runs over to belly-to-belly him from the top. Ankle lock. Several countered tombstones culminates in a shoulder breaker by Benoit. Diving headbutt from the top to at same shoulder, Crossface! I like how Benoit is still focusing on the shoulder.

 

Angle gets in an ankle lock and manages to reverse the hold into that. Alternating cross faces and ankle locks now. Angle gets on the crossface, and Benoit gets in a sneaky flash pin using the ropes. Angle is pissed and Benoit has stolen the win.

 

This was a bombfest which was trying to tell a particular story: "anything you can do, I can do better". They were going for parity. Angle hits a German, Benoit hits a German. Angle does a move and gets it countered, Benoit does. Rinse repeat. Despite that, they also managed to work in some basic psychology, Benoit's injured midsection sort of got forgotten about, but Angle's injured shoulder played right through the match. "Go go go" would be one phrase for this one, and we did get to see some very well executed bombs, but it all felt a bit light and frothy. Match was like a firework, burned brightly for a while before fading away very quickly. I mean as I'm typing this, Eric Bishcoff has two lesbians with him and has brought out Stephanie and is promising a threesome. I've completely forgotten about Angle vs. Benoit. We don't get a real les-up. Bischoff sends them away and then I turned it off.

 

***

 

Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle vs. Edge and Rey Mysterio (10/20/02)

 

This is from No Mercy. Cole and Tazz. Steph was all over the TV in 2002 seemingly as SD GM. In the build, Angle and Benoit were not getting along when tagging as part of a tournament. This match was the final to crown the new tag champs. Intros take forever as all four men come out individually.

 

Rey and Angle to start. Angle dominates and throws Rey at Edge disrespectfully. Rey isn't having it, he says come on. Angle is toying with him in a reverse waist lock so Ret stamps on his foot. Hurricanrana. Payback slapping Angle on the back of the head (Kurt did the same earlier). Edge in. Benoit in. Some stuff. Stomach breaker by Edge. Backbreaker. Oklahoma roll. Dirty knee from the apron by Angle. Instant payback as Edge spears him off the apron the next time. Cheap shot by Angle. Neckbreaker by Benoit. Angle in. Stomps. Looks like Edge is our FIP, curious you'd expect it to by Rey.

 

Knee lift by Angle. Cover gets two. Body scissors and a chinlock by Angle. Belly to belly suplex. Benoit in. Some strikes. Three German suplexes. Goes to the top. Edge knocks him. Superplex! Both men top. Hot tag!

 

Hurricanrana. Drop toehold into the second turnbuckle. Kick to the face. Leg drop from the top across the throat when Benoit was hanging over second. But Benoit counters something into the crossface. Right in the centre. Edge breaks it. Drop kick by Rey. 619 countered by Benoit who goes to do a shoulder breaker, but Edge hits a missile drop kick for a hot near fall. Rey goes up top, Kurt over to belly to belly from the top. Benoit covers for a hot two. Very exciting sequence.

 

Angle in and they are attacking the kidney area of Rey. This is our second FIP sequence. Doubt heat people. Backbreaker. Suplex. Benoit in. This has been a great FIP sequence on Rey. Edge gets the tag and hits several moves, cover is broken. Spear by Edge on Benoit, Rey in with the rodeo. Angle is on the top, hurricanrana by ?Rey. Benoit tries a giving headbutt, ends up nailing Angle. Benoit trips Edge goes for another spear, and locks in the crossface. 619 by Rey on Benoit. Angle hits the Angleslam. Ankle lock on Edge. Insane chaos in this match. So many close saves and nearfalls. Ankle lock on Edge again by Angle. Countered! Edge with the ankle lock. Reversed! Edge taps.

 

Wow, finishing stretch went on forever, and I'm not a fan of ankle lock / crossface endless reversals, and we had huge huge finisher spam, but, but but but ... This was a really hot match with two fantastic FIP sequences showcasing Angle and Benoit's stellar offense in a structure that let it look great. I dug this a lot. Rey and Edge were perfectly fine in their roles too. Good performances from all four guys.

 

****1/2

 

Brock Lesnar vs. The Undertaker (10/20/02)

 

Same show, No Mercy, Taker's hand is officially broken after a vicious attack backstage by Brock. Hype video: 6/10.

 

All Taker to start. Heyman has a hideous ponytail at this time. Brock takes over, works the arm because of of course, Taker's hand is broken. Brock is busted open soon enough. Taker blasts him into the cage a number of times. Cheese grater action.

 

After some more of this, Taker manages to grab a hold of Heyman's tie and smashes him against, the cage, so he has colour too. Lesnar comes back. Heyman hands him a belt. Chair shot. They have Taker's broken hand tied with the belt. Brock smashes the hand with the chair so hard that the leather belt breaks in two. Taker comes back but his hand is really injured. That attack by Brock was mental.

 

He rips at the cast. Takes a boot to the face. Heyman has been screaming shit from the outside like a demented madman. Back in the ring and Lesnar rips the cast off. The broken hand is now exposed. Brock stamps on it. Bends it around the rope. Sits Taker on the top rope and then swings from the roof to kick him in the face. Brutal. Taker pushes him off. Taker walks across the top rope. Elbow drop from there. Cover gets two. Taker looks at his broken hand. Jaw breaker by Lesnar over the apron. Taker kicks him out of the ring. Plancha! Taker can't lift the stairs because of his hand. Brock can though and smashes him in the face with them. Oh man, he's pouring blood. A second sick shot, level of blood on Taker is insane. It's like sheet blood over his face. He comes back a bit nevertheless. Spinebuster by Brock. This juice job by Taker is something else. Clothesline with the broken hand. Stamps on Brock's hand for payback. And again. And again. Blood is literally just gushing out of Taker's face. F5? No, chokeslam! Cover gets two only!

 

Brock tries to go for the Last Ride, but Taker backdrops him. Hits a DDT. Cover gets two. Taker goes for the Last Ride. Brock comes back. Pummelling Taker now, but he manages to get in a Last Ride. Cover gets ... Is it three? No, Brock has a hand on the ropes! Taker tries a tombstone, countered. Cover gets three and the win for Lesnar.

 

Wow, this was a great match which had a lot of things: psychology built around the injured hand, real animosity, a truly sick juice job, some insane spots (chair shots on hand which broke the belt, stair shots), and a hot finishing stretch. Really fantastic. Like Orton vs. Foley, it just misses out on that full five because it's missing the true hatred / humiliation factor of my blood feud pantheon. But great stuff.

 

****3/4

 

John Cena vs. Justin Bradshaw Layfield (5/22/05)

 

Hype package here is built around neither guy being a quitter and so "I Quit" match. JBL says that to make another man say "I Quit" means to own his soul. Strong promos from both guys. 7/10. Cena was still quite rapper-y at this stage. JBL comes out in a limo. Commentators are Cole and Tazz again. Someone has misspelled "bourgeois" on a post called JBL a loser, a true wrestling sign right there folks. Cena comes out with a truck that Jack Burton out of Big Trouble in Little China might drive. He kicks the bull horns off JBL's limo while he walks past it. He is clearly over as babyface here and JBL strongly booed. Ah, the spinner belt. Lame. As. Fuck.

 

Cena with headlocks to start. Arm drag, now he works the arm. I swear Cena was watching Backlund videos. JBL comes back with clubbing blows. DDT. Covers. Ref reminds him there are no covers. Clothesline sends JBL to the outside. Out into the crowd, JBL on top. Neckbreaker on the concrete. Grabs a monitor. Gets in his face: "say it or your ass is mine". No cigar. Cena with a flurry, but goes shoulder first into the steps. JBL grabs a belt and whips Cena with it. Chokes Cena around the ring post. Cena pulls it off with real force though and JBL hurts his shoulder. He's still on top though and goes to the announce table. "Your rap career, your movie career, you stupid son of a bitch! Say goodbye to it now or quit!" "Kiss my ass!" Back drop through the table for JBL. But then Bradshaw grabs a chair and cracks Cena. JBL was a very good heel. Cen has been busted open with than chair shot. JBL has the steps. Crack on the skull. Disrespectful kicks to his head. Mic shot to the head. Cena is bleeding a lot here. Kicks and stomps by JBL. Clothesline from Hell! And a second one. Cena seems to be choking on his own blood. Third Clothesline from Hell!

 

Now JBL grabs Cena's chain thing. Chokes him out with it. He is totally covered in blood. Low blow by JBL as Cena makes his comeback. "I told you you would bleed, I don't lie, quit!" JBL smashes Cena with the mic. "I want my championship back now quit you punk ass bitch!" This seems to revivify Cena, side slam. Five knuckle shuffle. FU. JBL slithers out of the ring, gives Cena the finger and leaves. Cena goes after him. Slams his head on the bonnet of the limo. Slam onto the limo. JBL though gives him a neckbreaker on the hood of the limo to cut him off. Boot to the face. They are on the stage area now. JBL grabs a live electrical cable out of a TV and chokes Cena with it. He powers out of the cable and smashes JBL's head clean through the TV set! JBL is of course bleeding now too. Smashes him into the window of the limo now. Which smashes. Onto the roof of the limo. Suplex by Cena! JBL tries to sneak into the limo. Cena drags him out and whips him into the door. And again. Breaks it off. They go up a ramp now. Onto the truck. Cena smashes JBL into a gas canister. But he snaps off a DDT in desperation, on the truck.

 

He grabs some more wire no and chokes Cena more. Up onto the lighting rig. And he is trying to hang Cena. But he has the mic and smashes JBL down who falls onto the table. Cena must have lost two clear pints of blood. He grabs the smoke stack off the truck. An actual fucking chimney, this is nuts. JBL grabs the mic and quits, just scared for his life. Wow. Cena runs with the chimney and smashes him through the glass Judgement Day sign anyway.

 

Holy fucking shit, this match was nuts. Absolutely tremendous heel performance from JBL and an equally good babyface performance from Cena. This match was laid out and booked perfectly from start to finish. JBL was truly brutal and sick in the heat and pushed Cena to his total limits, the level of brutality and escalation of violence is something else. I thought this had absolutely everything: psychology is perfect. You have the mother of all heel beatdowns followed by the mother of all babyface comebacks. And JBL reverting to chickenshit heel mode towards the end was brilliant, of course he tries to escape, of course he quits before he can be hit with the massive steel fucking chimney. Phenomenal match and the best I've seen on these reviews so far. I believed the hatred and it did go beyond just wrestling and so, yes, it joins the pantheon.

 

*****

[Loss]

Do you have stuff from Jericho's feuds with The Rock, Michaels and Rey on tap? I just ask because I'm curious what you think of those. I'm really enjoying these reviews.

[WingedEagle]

I'm not enjoying these review b/c this mf'er has now given me motivation to rewatch a few matches when I'm supposed to be on a PWG & 80s Japan kick

[cowboy hats]

Yes, great stuff, Mr. Kramer

[donsem43]

Aside from a couple of cool spots, I thought this was pretty unremarkable. First ten minutes were just some mat exchanges, nothing to write home about, before bigger moves after the break. Cesaro has some impressive raw strength and a nice uppercut. But this didn't have a great flow for me. Cesaro had a long time on offense in order to go through the gears and show off his offensive arsenal -- perhaps my favourite thing in wrestling -- but that's not really how the heat stretches were worked. Cena was kind of in Backlund mode here: not staying down, constantly countering or trying to mount comebacks and that disrupted the flow of Cesaro getting real heat. And even within the scope of a fifteen minute TV match, we got into false-finish-vile territory near the end. So I wasn't much of a fan of the structure of this one. Cesaro looks alright to me, he's never looked like this really great worker when I've seen him. His frustration when he put Cena away didn't really register much, and if people wonder why he doesn't get pushed much, it's probably because Vince thinks he lacks charisma. He wouldn't be wrong on the evidence of this. Some solid work but nothing to light the world on fire.

 

Have you watched the first 2 matches vs. Sami Zayn in NXT. The first one especially since its worked as a near squash with him rolling through all of his offense in as nasty a fashion as possible. His work looks very Brock-like but he definitely lacks that aura that Brock has.

[Jingus]

Barbie to be face by Flair. Drives it like a post. Melina throws the towel in and says he quits. "She does not quit for him!" He goes to hit Melina but Foley says, "I quit! I quit!" What? Was this a shoot? What happened here? Did Foley get legit injured? Don't get that finish.

No, that was the planned finish. The idea was Foley, even as a heel, was too hardcore to ever say I Quit due to his own pain; but he had a not-so-secret crush on Melina, and was perfectly willing to lose the match in order to save her once she was in danger.

[PhilTLL]

No, that was the planned finish. The idea was Foley, even as a heel, was too hardcore to ever say I Quit due to his own pain; but he had a not-so-secret crush on Melina, and was perfectly willing to lose the match in order to save her once she was in danger.

Ah yes, a finish that will forever remind us of (married) Mick Foley's creepy, neckbeardy real-life crush on Melina.

[Sidebottom]

Do you have stuff from Jericho's feuds with The Rock, Michaels and Rey on tap? I just ask because I'm curious what you think of those. I'm really enjoying these reviews.

 

Oooo, Jericho / Rock from No Mercy 2001 I remember being fantastic... come on Jerry!

[Mr. Lacelle]

American Dragon vs Low Ki July 21 2001 with Ricky Steamboat as the special ref.

[Robert S]

Is this online somewhere? I couldn't find it when I was looking for it some time ago. I have it on VHS somewhere but I have not hooked up my VHS player in like 10 years and I fear that it won't work anymore.

[Grimmas]

I would love for Parv to watch some Kongo Kong or some Nigerian Nightmares!

[benjaminkicks]

 

Do you have stuff from Jericho's feuds with The Rock, Michaels and Rey on tap? I just ask because I'm curious what you think of those. I'm really enjoying these reviews.

 

Oooo, Jericho / Rock from No Mercy 2001 I remember being fantastic... come on Jerry!

Their match at Royal Rumble 2002 is also great. They had some good chemistry in the ring.

[JerryvonKramer]

Ciclon Ramirez vs. El Ferino (6/18/93)

No real sense of flow to this for me. One guy does some matwork, the other guy does some, then out of nowhere they are doing big throws and dives. Finish comes out of nowhere. Most entertaining part of the match is Casas at ringside. 13 minutes of my life I'm not getting back.

**

Rey Mysterio, Super Calo and Winners vs. Psicosis, Heavy Metal and Picudo (1/29/93)

Going to be fun trying to work out who is who here. Super Calo has to be the guy in the shades doing the back flips. Rey looks like a small child. Winners has to be the guy all in white with white mask / face paint. Going to say Heavy Metal is the one in the Testament t-shirt and Picudo is in the black t-shirt and Union Jack mask.

For some reason aspects of this reminded me of watching a random six man tag on WCW Saturday Night around this time, but not main eventers, more like the Mr Hugheses, Max Paynes or Shanghai Pierces of this world. Especially Winners and Heavy Metal, those guys have to be midcarders.

I don't know if these types of trios matches and psychology are completely antithetical but to me something like this makes the average Steiners match feel like a chess game. A lot of schtick and a lot of dives. So many dives. People diving everywhere, more or less whenever they felt like it. And then it just ended. I can't follow something like this. It bears no resemblance to anything I consider to be a proper match.

What I will say on the plus side, is that the heels really did feel like heels and Psicosis in particular stood out as a great agent provocateur. Rey was so tiny here, he looked vaguely ill, but I did like one spot where he kicked a guy's leg from under him. Looked cool. But generally this just felt like a bunch of stuff with no rhyme or reason.

**1/2

Man Cibernetico (11/26/99)

R. Bucanero. F. Gurrera. B. Panther. B. Warrior. U. Gurrero. Satanico. Zumbido. B. Salvaje. T. Rivera. E. Charles. T. Boi. Felino. Olimpico. Anitfaz. Santo. Casas.

So what's this? 8 vs 8 survivor series? Battle Royale? Looks like a battle royal. Oh no, after five minutes it seems more like a tag match. No a survivor series. Or something. People are definitely getting eliminated. Would be lovely to have a single clue what was going on. I don't care what anyone says, this right here is the most inaccessible style: more than shoot style or world of sport. So hard just to follow a basic thread of what is actually happening. Completely off-putting, and I'm someone who has watched 100s of hours of wrestling.

The pace was extremely frantic here. Lots and lots of dives and stuff happening. And chaos. And stuff happening. And dives. Negro Casas stood out to me again as looking great in almost everything he did, but I'd love to see him have like just a normal match against, I dunno, Arn Anderson or someone like that. This stuff is just so nuts. I don't know where I am with it. Satanico as a grizzled vet looked great here too, enjoyed the stiff strikes.

Do notions like psychology apply to lucha? Do any of the usual standards we apply to wrestling matches? Or is it more or less just sitting there dazzled by the bright lights of a fireworks display for twenty minutes before coming out of a coma wondering what the hell you've just seen? I felt like I enjoyed this, sort of, I mean I have no idea what really happened, or why, but there were a lot of colours and men jumping around, and over things, and onto other men. And then it ended.

***

Mr. Niebla vs. Dr. Wagner Jr. (9/397)

There's a guy in the crowd of this one who I have dubbed "The Mexican George Costanza", they almost land on him at one point and it is quite funny. Also, I'm just a bit relived to have it just be two wrestlers going one on one, so at least I have some hope of following, sudden finishes notwithstanding.

Wagner has really good character work. And I dug his offense a good bit, really solid heat sequence in the middle of this and he even found time to cut a promo. One lucha thing I really don't like however, is how the baby faces just go to the desperation plancha as their go-to hope spot. Makes very little sense to me, especially after a lengthy heat sequence, and here about ten minutes of punishment that Wagner dished out was more or less forgotten instantly by Niebla after he went for that plancha. It's like the standard rules for how to build a match just don't exist in lucha world, it's alright just to dive at any moment seemingly. Kinda annoyed me here too, because Wagner was building this match nicely, but Niebla blew his load and took this to fuck town way too early. Completely disrupted the flow.

Finishing stretch was exciting though, despite some timing issues and sloppiness, and I could 100% follow it, which is so often the problem I have with finishes in lucha. Sick sick finisher by Wagner, not sure what you'd call it, but it's like a running piledriver / tiger driver thing. This match is not without its issues, but it's probably the best of the ones I've seen in this batch in terms of basic psychology and storytelling, and making spots mean something. Wagner Jr is a guy I could really get behind, he looked fantastic here, and came across like the sort of classic heel ring general I've always liked. Mr. Niebla, not so much, but some signs of promise with this one. I wonder if Wanger ever had a match with Casas ... Might be where I'm headed next.

***1/2