Mando

Re: fun under the radar Austin stuff Steve Austin vs. "The Stalker" Barry Windham - WWF Superstars 12/15/96

I tried to write about the 9/4/08 episode of iMPACT randomly last night/this morning. Man wrestling is weird.

I cry during films but rarely if ever during wrestling. But Nakamura's entrance at NXT Brooklyn II with the live violin caught me unexpectedly in an emotional way.

Dirty Heels (Austin Aries and Bobby Roode) vs. The Young Bucks - House of Hardcore VIII This was the evening’s main event following a bloody Tommy Dreamer and Eric Young brawl. On a sidetone I really dig HoH. It has came closest to capturing the ECW zeitgeist and milieu. Dirty Heels’ t-shirts look like they were designed using Mario Paint. Aries was always known his unbelievable speed and snap but as he’s aged he’s needed to rely more on craftiness. Both teams trade some perfunctory arm work to start. Not sure why you’d target the Bucks’ arms when their offense is mostly Superkicks and springboards. You could call the Heels by the names Moe and Curly cause they’re Stooging. Has anyone ever definitively answered who’s the best Jackson: Matt, Nick, or Malachi? I’ve sometimes wondered is Roode a really measured worker or a habitually lazy one? Aries leans into some Matt forearms before going for a double-leg to stop the flurry like he’s trying to secure a spot in the TUF house so he can share a bunk with Julian Lane. “Let me bang bro!” Aries’ wobbly selling is camp. I get Dreamer booking this on top wanting to tip his hat to the current era but this has felt like a fairly safe touring match that’s awfully self-contained. The Dreamer/Young deal with two mystery run-ins and blood felt way more appropriate as a finale (especially with Rey Mysterio shocking the crowd). Ref apparently letting this become a Tornado Tag as all four guys go at it in the ring. You’ve seen all of the Bucks’ Superkick tricks but I’ve got to point one out here as Matt nailed Aries who was flying in mid-air attempting an accelerated corner dropkick. Meltzer Driver ends Aries. This was uniform and fairly pedestrian stuff. Post-match all four guys jerking each other off mid-ring felt especially deprecatory (like “yeah we’re four buddies that just but on a laissez-faire show for you”) then they started fanboy-ing out as Sandman’s music hit and the show faded to black.

I really enjoyed the show. Started it late last night and finished it today before work. On paper Beth Phoenix was the only inductee I wasn't thrilled about but she won me over (and nice to hear a Simon Dean name drop). Angle was hilarious. The "Sexy Kurt" song had me legit cracking up especially when he brought up Marty Jannetty and they cut to Michaels' reaction cutting up. I just saw Ricky Morton work a match in an old Ponderosa Steakhouse in near freezing temperatures a couple years ago -- it's amazing he's still at it. I actually liked Steamboat's stuff on Rude, it was less mythologizing and more from a worker's perspective, which felt rare and neat, the cage match story was gold. Didn't have much excitement leading up to this year's HoF and wasn't super eager to start a four-hour program but I really had a good time overall.

Just wanted to say thanks for the show! Last few years it's always this run up to WrestleMania where I get a bit burnt out as a fan but this show has lifted my spirits and been a real treat so far. Never forget "Blood Runs Cold".

Chris Jericho vs. Paul London - WWE Raw #790 7/14/08 Slotted in a relatively dead spot in a really odd episode of Raw (which saw new champ CM Punk buried not once but twice, and Cryme Tyme main event) this match was fuel for the ongoing "Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels and Jericho program that was really heating up. I was in the audience in Indianapolis a month later when Jericho "accidentally" punched Michaels' wife Rebecca in the face. London was a trainee of Michaels' and idolized him making him a perfect target for antagonism and anger from Jericho. What made this stand out was a rare look at Jericho as aggressor. It was almost as if he was stepping into the role of one of his career best opponents Chris Benoit. He marches London back into the corner to start and just start attacking amid the referee's pleas to separate. And Jericho was getting legit heat. At one point outside the ring you could actually see some drunken stepfathers swiping at him from across the barrier! Not to speak ill of the dead but Jericho was seconded by his stooge Lance Cade who was useless at ringside playing the muscle but felt as out of place as Uwe Boll at the Oscar's. After punishing Paul a bit Jericho made him tap like he was Harold "Stumpy" Cromer. Post-match HBK came out on the ramp and looking old and as leathery as the jerky he surely makes from all the elk and deer he murders in the name of sport. Delicious postscript to this is a month later at a house show Paul London broke Cade's nose as a receipt for getting busted open by a botched move. All's fair in love and WarGames.

Catching up on the show this morning (drove north to Columbus for a concert last night) and just wanted to chime in with love for Neville vs. Gallagher. Awesome stuff! Probably my WWE match of the year thus far. Well-paced, unpredictable, and absolutely physical. I jumped off the couch a couple times.

Congrats on a hell of a run.

I thought the show was moderately good. I’d say thumbs in the middle for me. Which generally wouldn’t be notable but slightly more disappointing with them leveraging it on-air as the second biggest show of the year. In the Rumble I was pulling for surprises entrances for Kurt Angle (which would have been a big pop, especially if they’d held off on his HoF announcement), Shinsuke Nakamura (made nil by injury angle the night prior), and a few more 205 Live guys, wasn’t holding out hope for a HoHo Lun or anything, but guys with recognizable entrances and personalities like Kendrick or Perkins, that wouldn’t have felt out of place. Kevin Owens as champ is thudingly dull to me. I love the Orton/Cena series of high-profile matches but doesn’t seem like the direction they’ll go for WrestleMania — I suspect Elimination Chamber will shake things up considerably.

Nope. Alicia Fox was treading that way quietly for a few weeks before entering her current role as Noam Darr's unhinged valet.

Anderson and Gallows finally getting the tag straps was pretty good. Crowd woke up late around the time of the ref bump off the Brogue Kick and the Sharpshooter near-finish. Still feels weird having “major” title changes on pre-shows but this was uniformly strong.

Awesome!

One last thought on the first episode: not sure how easily it is to find, but if you could get your hands on the TV from HWA out of Cincinnati especially in 2001 I think it'd be a great addition. Your discussion of Steve Bradley made me think about it. I'd forgotten how good he was (and it is a shame he never got called up properly). HWA was my neighborhood indie and when WCW folded HWA was a WWE developmental territory. They sent a lot of the guys they weren't bringing to TV there, sent people that were rehabbing or getting back into ring shape, etc. Some of the guys that were featured I saw weekly and were on the TV: Mysterio, Guerrero, Batista, Charlie Haas, Umaga, Kaz Hayashi, Dave Taylor, Johnny the Bull, Mike Sanders, Shannon Moore, Elix Skipper, Val Venis, Lance Cade, Nigel McGuinness, Mark Jindrak, EZ Money, Lash LeRoux, etc. A real quick Internet search shows it is available at least in some capacity.

Wow. I was at Souled Out 2000 in Cincinnati. Surprised to hear the love for Sid vs. Benoit. Not because I disagree but due to my memory of it beingy foggy and haven't heard it ever discussed with any zeal. I'll definitely need to revisit it. My memories of being there live are mostly of my friends and I laughing at the poor undercard like the "Catch-as-Catch Can" match, Oklahoma vs. Medusa for the Crusierweight title, etc. I randomly put on the first SmackDown of 2000 the other day on the Network. I haven't gotten to the Rikishi vs. Triple H match you guys discussed, but one thing I did notice was how good Jericho looked. I wonder how he'll fare over the years during your project. I feel like he's regarded most strongly for his WCW and to a lesser degree present day character work -- but in-ring in a throwaway tag with the Holly's I was impressed by his speed, physicality, and athleticism.