SECRET SUMMER SANTO 2024~!

[The Natural]

14 hours ago, Matt D said:

@The Natural have you seen the 93 Bret vs Backlund match from the night before KOTR from MSG. It’s a little long but it’s the best Bret match no one’s seen.

If you want something shorter let me know.

 

6 hours ago, The Natural said:

 

I genuinely had a feeling we'd be drawn this week, mate so smiled it came to pass and gifting me a Bret Hart match I've never seen. Thanks, Matt. Anything you want/don't watch? Any sites you use/refuse?

Bret Hart vs. Bob Backlund. WWF, 12th June 1993.

Dueling limbwork is a favourite part of mine when it comes to pro wrestling. Isn't often Bret Hart loses a headlock exchange. Bret Hart then has a control segment working over Bob Backlund's left arm a while. My favourite part of the match was Backlund selling his arm, grabbing it while working over Bret's legs. I appreciate long term sells like that. Bret, the great technician is able to roll through Backlund's leg submission and goes back to work on Bob's left arm from earlier with a hammerlock. Smiled at the patented Bob Backlund short arm scissor lift. Speaking of patented, the five moves of doom of Bret's but just the three here: Backbreaker, middle top elbow and Russian legsweep. Bret counters Backlund's pin attempt with his own and it gets the three in 30 minutes. Great match. Impressive how the next night Bret Hart won the 1993 King of the Ring beating Razor Ramon, Mr Perfect and Bam Bam Bigelow going 46 minutes cumulative time. Impressive cardio that. Cheers, Matt!

[The Natural]

2 hours ago, Matt D said:

I can find anything there is to find. (Probably). Paul’s Choice.

Good job I looked in the previous Secret Santo threads because I was going to give you a match I already have. As you kindly gave me an all time favourite in Bret Hart, I return the favour for you with your favourite, Christian Cage vs. Jeff Jarrett at TNA Against All Odds 2006:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AzlhmoTCe4A&pp=ygUbQ2hyaXN0aWFuIGNhZ2UgdnMgc2Ftb2Egam9l

2:29:29.

[Curt McGirt]

Smelly, give me the Sheik match too, I just finished the Sheik book so that'd be a treat... even if it's probably just six minutes of brawling. 

[SirSmUgly]

1 hour ago, Curt McGirt said:

Smelly, give me the Sheik match too, I just finished the Sheik book so that'd be a treat... even if it's probably just six minutes of brawling. 

Here you go, my friend. 

https://youtu.be/Bh3RGfRAuc8?si=RDZOfDLOMUE48SOp

[Curt McGirt]

SHEIK VS. BABA 

What did I say? 6:45. It is pretty much a quintessential Sheik match: threaten the crowd, throw shit around, attack with object, choke, and for Baba he sells and is vanquished via ring-out DQ. Then he beats up the young boys of course. He probably did the same thing for any over talent from Dick the Bruiser to Atsushi Onita. If you can get into the vibe, it's good; for me it could have stood to be even more chaotic and bloody, like the Real World Tag League matches he was involved in later. Two things that are neat is that instead of the pencil du jour he brings in what appears to be a six-inch nail to attack Baba with, and apparently they brought Eddie Creachman over to interfere too. It would be neat to see Sheik actually wrestle in his young days. (Side note: I wonder what Baba paid him, because when he went in for his career-ending FMW run, they paid him $10,000 per appearance.)

[SirSmUgly]

I'll say this much: I don't want to see Baba selling after having watched quite a bit of him over the past two or three months. That's when I'm the least interested in Baba. 

The tag match, if you watch it, will illustrate when I'm personally most interested in watching Baba. 

[Curt McGirt]

If I can say anything for Baba in that match, it's that his chops looked good. And of course I'm watching the tag.

Edited August 12 by Curt McGirt

[HarryArchieGus]

(Sorry for the tardy turnaround on the review)

Steamer v Race was sensational. I would've thought I'd seen these two go toe to toe before, but I'm not recalling where or when. First, I love Maple Leaf Gardens. It now serves as a multi-purpose facility here in Toronto. Under the spotlight that once lit these Feature Match-ups, mid-arena, I'd have to think that's now the potato chip aisle!?! Did Harley ever discuss the King gimmick in any interviews? Steamboat entering to 'Sirius' by the Alan Parsons Project was my introduction to that song. Pre-Bulls. Makes me want to hear it with the seamless transition to 'Eye in the Sky'. All while sliding up the sleeves of a polyester jacket. 

It's really wild seeing Maple Leaf Gardens shot toward the ramp. I like this fancam, but the ramp action omissions are unfortunate.

This match was... so... refreshing. Solid. Crisp. Tight. All action. Both so godamn smooth. Some of the greatetst movement in ring you could ever possibly see. Timeless.

Sure, the King era is a bit silly, but I like seeing Harley with fair hair. Great pace throughout. I need to see more of this combo. I'm wondering where else they worked? Oh man, Ricky's bump to the floor is incredible. I love that there's a table at ringside. And that nobody will suggest it be broken.

I love a simple Outside reverse Inside Suplex pin attempt. Race contemplates everything - what he's done, what he's about to do. He's so calculating and vicious. There are some brutal striking sequences throughout this battle. Ricky's multiple knees to the head - truly nasty. Who does a good belly flop bump in 2024? I like that the ref has to decide whether or not Harley ought to be disqualified for the flop bump/headbutt to the mid-section. You can really see the hard ass WWF ring when Race back suplexes Steamer.

The ref is made to look like an idiot as this goes along, so I guess it's always been a rampant thing.

Weird seeing Ricky deliver the same crotch to the post move that Idol/Rich would give Lawler that same year in Memphis. 

The Belly to Belly is a nice transition move. I love that this one ends with the ring announcer stating '1 minute til curfew'. This was fantastic. Thanks for sharing.

(Higest approval rating). 

Edited August 13 by HarryArchieGus

[Curt McGirt]

It's a good thing they didn't do a table spot considering what happened to Harley later.

[AxB]

On 8/4/2024 at 9:19 PM, RazorbladeKiss87 said:

If I'm being honest, the only style I'm not fond of is traditional British wrestling. I have access to the Network and just about any streaming site. How about you? Anything you're interested in or not interested in?

Can't tag, so I'll reply. Here is your week 2 match: From Liverpool, England... in 2019, the only time they ever faced each other:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92lydmGMuyk

Pentagon Junior vs The Bastard Pac

[moribund]

Hey all,

My most sincere apologies, I've been recovering from a bought of Covid (dodged it for over 4.5 years, but my number finally came up!) and in my brain-fog I completely forgot that I signed up!

I'm at work at the moment, but when I get home I will start getting caught up. Thanks in advance for having patience with me.

[Curt McGirt]

No problem! 

[The Natural]

34 minutes ago, moribund said:

Hey all,

My most sincere apologies, I've been recovering from a bought of Covid (dodged it for over 4.5 years, but my number finally came up!) and in my brain-fog I completely forgot that I signed up!

I'm at work at the moment, but when I get home I will start getting caught up. Thanks in advance for having patience with me.

Get well soon.

[RazorbladeKiss87]

8 hours ago, AxB said:

Can't tag, so I'll reply. Here is your week 2 match: From Liverpool, England... in 2019, the only time they ever faced each other:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92lydmGMuyk

Pentagon Junior vs The Bastard Pac

Will check out later today. I can't tag so here's your match. I feel like you're okay with death matches. One of my favorite pairings in the ring: Necro Butcher and Toby Kleine from KotDM 04. 

https://youtu.be/A9rDz_2IvrA?si=3v3EBx3wbDagVIbH

[moribund]

@Curt McGirt: Here's a belated match for you: Wahoo McDaniel & Tully Blanchard & a leather strap. I posted this once upon a time in the "It's Clubberin' Time" thread, which got me a like form the late, great DEAN~!!! (which I will treasure forever and think of whenever I confuse my co-workers by praising them with a 'million billion stars'), so I'm hoping you will enjoy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJagDBLUISU

 

@HarryArchieGus: Also belated, but here's some Macho chicanery from Puerto Rico, with Tito Santana as the world's most exasperated babyface.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiAuRwlytlE

[moribund]

On 8/4/2024 at 6:44 AM, Curt McGirt said:

And I have an immediate pick. A clipfest version of this match came up in my Facebook feed and I thought "damn this was good". Sure enough I took a look and somebody has put it up through FB which, I mean otherwise it would be flagged and taken down immediately, so kinda got lucky looking for it. Also, a DVDVR #100 Best Matches entrant!

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1858957324369967

Holy mackerel! That is some high-quality grappling in front of a hot crowd that is hungry for the native hero to emerge triumphant, and anyone who suffered through the worst of WCW / 2004 WWF will be shocked (Shocked! I tell you!) when the crowd gets what they want. It's all so godsdamn satisfying...

I've settled into a Pro & Con rather than play-by-play for my breakdowns & reactions, so let's see what there is to see...

Pros:

- Rick Rude is the most magnificent, arrogant, strutting peacock of a heel that a naturally charismatic babyface like Masa Chono (at this point in 1992) could hope to have sneer at him.

- I know it's recency bias talking, but both of these guys just drip physical charisma. I'm sure there are 'better' examples, like maybe Nick Bockwinkel & Terry Funk in the same ring would qualify in that regard, but when you have to pull out those two names off the top of your head to make a comparison it just goes to show how talented Rude and Chono are at this point in their careers.

- I'm quite sure other folks have thought of this, but I literally just realized with this match that Rick Rude's heel shenanigans, specifically his arrogance, demand that he be made to look like a fool as his comeuppance. That's why his sometimes ridiculous sells work so well, and it's in contrast (as I bring up his name again) to someone like Terry Funk, who's bully-heel act is payed off by his being revealed as a coward. I think maybe it stood out so much because it's actually a very small part of this particular match.

- I love this finishing stretch to this match where once it starts it is clear that the first man who strings three moves together will be the victor but they exquisitely tease who will actually manage the feat. Beautiful near falls, fantastic selling, great timing *chef's kiss*.

Cons:

- Yeah, the racial slur in Rude's entrance/pageant can fuck right the Hell off. He didn't need it, and it's just ugly.

- There's an obvious rest-hold chinlock, and I get why it happens when it does, but it looks so bad in contrast with all the other limb/mat work where there is constant movement and struggle. I mean, the other stuff is not always the absolute best but there is, at least, something going on whereas the chinlock is just a couple minutes of nothing.

- I honestly can't decide if I wish Madusa had been replaced by Sherri Martel or not. Probably not since the match was in Japan, but part of me kept thinking "Maybe if Sherri was there and the match was in Hawaii or something?" Just wishful thinking on my part.

Thanks @Curt McGirt, that was dope.

[Curt McGirt]

I'd definitely be cool with Sherri because Sherri > Madusa always (did I do that math right? That always fucked me up), but Madusa being in tears (IIRC) would be more effective than hard-ass Sherri Martel crying over Rick Rude.

Thanks for the review moribund! 

[Matt D]

On 8/12/2024 at 11:53 AM, The Natural said:

Good job I looked in the previous Secret Santo threads because I was going to give you a match I already have. As you kindly gave me an all time favourite in Bret Hart, I return the favour for you with your favourite, Christian Cage vs. Jeff Jarrett at TNA Against All Odds 2006:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AzlhmoTCe4A&pp=ygUbQ2hyaXN0aWFuIGNhZ2UgdnMgc2Ftb2Egam9l

2:29:29.

It's so interesting to go back and look at this era of TNA, just like it's so interesting to look at ECW or early 00s indies or even mid-80s AJPW. At some point, you tend to just see it all as negative. There are so many ref bumps and false finishes and bits of interference and stolen finishers and inversions, and you see it as a disease and an infection. But you have to stop and realize that to them it was a good thing, a benefit, a boon. They had conditioned the fans to go on this roller coaster where they knew things wouldn't end until six or seven different bits of bullshit happened and the bullshit was part of the ritual. And the Impact Zone fans just rode the wave. To me, it's using a lot of shortcuts and broken elements, gluing together disingenuous cheats and substitutes for actual drama and emotion and match layout. It's the same sort of excess you get from, let's say, late 90s AJPW headdrops, right? Or endless countering sprees we get now, but it was all based on fooling the fans and snatching the ball away from them and doing one more swerve and one more twist, instead of just doing one well-timed one. It's fascinating really, because this is earnestly and honestly and in good faith what these creative people thought that would be best for fans, matches, their company. You can see how they came to that conclusion but it's so backwards, so counter-intuitive, a tree that grew wrong and and in an unhealthy way but grew nonetheless. You could just see the logic. "Last month we had 3 twists and seven false finishes and two ref bumps, so now we need one more of each for this month." You can only imagine where that would take you.

So much of the match was very good up until that point, though. The crazy stuff they did (christian's reverse DDT on the apron, a top rope stroke, a dropkick into a chair) were all relatively subdued, just bigger versions of normal things. Christian as so honest and genuine ("He even promised Sting!") with the lifetime dream notion was a little offputting given who he is. It was probably much easier to take serious in 06. This was real shine/heat/comeback into hot finishing stretch stuff and that made the finishing bs better. Jarrett was driving but it was obvious Christian had some specific ideas on transitions and reversals (I bet the very last bit of the finishing stretch was his). Jarrett was really stretching on offense in ways he'd never do now. He hit a blue thunder bomb! There was one transition where he was going for a rana off the ropes, which Simply Irresistible Jeff might have done but you don't picture 06 heel Jeff doing. I think he was fitting the time but it's a little PWG Cena-ish instead of accentuating strengths, but then he was on top for 2.5 of the 4 years in TNA so far and that's a lot of weekly wrestling. It's interesting. I wonder how much Christian learned from Jarrett as he moved into becoming who he would be between this point and 08-09. Thanks for giving it to me.

 

[Curt McGirt]

BABA/DESTROYER VS. KOX/SLATER

Guess I'm in a philosophical mood tonight, but this makes me think about wrestling and comedy. Comedy, just like wrestling, can be subtle, or broad, or just plain ridiculous, but worked so artfully that when its at its best you can't decide which angle it's coming from, it just IS. I'm not saying this is some masterpiece but it brings the comparison to mind. Another thing it makes me think of is that if you can't appreciate comedy in wrestling, perhaps you shouldn't try and appreciate wrestling (or life, because not having a sense of humor as I've found is a path to nowhere). This is about as comedically broad as it gets. When you are a louder wrestler in the ring than Dick Beyer, you are something else, and Karl Kox is in this match. Every moment is him baying and grunting, yelling garbled shit, just being VOCAL, and it's awesome. Slater, the guy who typically tries to out-Terry-Funk Terry Funk in his selling, is mild in comparison. The story for most of it is Kox and Slater mauling the hand of Destroyer and man, it actually looks really good from the tight, close camera angles -- every twist and stomp is very realistic, which was probably necessary for the Japanese crowd, even if they were doing a comedy match. Then of course the tables get turned. There's not really a lot of focus on the face team, this is about the heel team yelling and selling after Destroyer opens with some foolishness. Baba does a funny run the ropes spot which ends in his neckbreaker drop which of course ends a fall, and that's about it. It isn't the young Baba facing Harley Race for the NWA title, it's already August years on the way to spit-takes with Rusher (which honestly, I haven't seen any of) which seems pretty fast to already be happening in the '70s, but it's still fun. Karl was according to Funk the idol of Dick Murdoch and I hope Karl was a nicer man than Dick was. His work (both of them though, really) shows a great sense of humor, and giving the world the Brainbuster deserves him his place in the honor role alone. 

[Curt McGirt]

I had another thought and that's if you took that match and added a laugh track to it in parts it might actually be better. 

[SirSmUgly]

4 hours ago, Curt McGirt said:

BABA/DESTROYER VS. KOX/SLATER

Guess I'm in a philosophical mood tonight, but this makes me think about wrestling and comedy. Comedy, just like wrestling, can be subtle, or broad, or just plain ridiculous, but worked so artfully that when its at its best you can't decide which angle it's coming from, it just IS. I'm not saying this is some masterpiece but it brings the comparison to mind. Another thing it makes me think of is that if you can't appreciate comedy in wrestling, perhaps you shouldn't try and appreciate wrestling (or life, because not having a sense of humor as I've found is a path to nowhere). This is about as comedically broad as it gets. When you are a louder wrestler in the ring than Dick Beyer, you are something else, and Karl Kox is in this match. Every moment is him baying and grunting, yelling garbled shit, just being VOCAL, and it's awesome. Slater, the guy who typically tries to out-Terry-Funk Terry Funk in his selling, is mild in comparison. The story for most of it is Kox and Slater mauling the hand of Destroyer and man, it actually looks really good from the tight, close camera angles -- every twist and stomp is very realistic, which was probably necessary for the Japanese crowd, even if they were doing a comedy match. Then of course the tables get turned. There's not really a lot of focus on the face team, this is about the heel team yelling and selling after Destroyer opens with some foolishness. Baba does a funny run the ropes spot which ends in his neckbreaker drop which of course ends a fall, and that's about it. It isn't the young Baba facing Harley Race for the NWA title, it's already August years on the way to spit-takes with Rusher (which honestly, I haven't seen any of) which seems pretty fast to already be happening in the '70s, but it's still fun. Karl was according to Funk the idol of Dick Murdoch and I hope Karl was a nicer man than Dick was. His work (both of them though, really) shows a great sense of humor, and giving the world the Brainbuster deserves him his place in the honor role alone. 

And this match is what I love the most about Baba. His best quality is being the straight man in the middle of a bunch of wacky nonsense. The way he keeps a straight face as he defeats every goofy trick the heels have for him is FANTASTIC. This match made me genuinely laugh multiple times, and Baba being a stoic Roadrunner to the Wile E. Coyote act that the heels put on was a massive part of that. 

[The Natural]

19 hours ago, Matt D said:

It's so interesting to go back and look at this era of TNA, just like it's so interesting to look at ECW or early 00s indies or even mid-80s AJPW. At some point, you tend to just see it all as negative. There are so many ref bumps and false finishes and bits of interference and stolen finishers and inversions, and you see it as a disease and an infection. But you have to stop and realize that to them it was a good thing, a benefit, a boon. They had conditioned the fans to go on this roller coaster where they knew things wouldn't end until six or seven different bits of bullshit happened and the bullshit was part of the ritual. And the Impact Zone fans just rode the wave. To me, it's using a lot of shortcuts and broken elements, gluing together disingenuous cheats and substitutes for actual drama and emotion and match layout. It's the same sort of excess you get from, let's say, late 90s AJPW headdrops, right? Or endless countering sprees we get now, but it was all based on fooling the fans and snatching the ball away from them and doing one more swerve and one more twist, instead of just doing one well-timed one. It's fascinating really, because this is earnestly and honestly and in good faith what these creative people thought that would be best for fans, matches, their company. You can see how they came to that conclusion but it's so backwards, so counter-intuitive, a tree that grew wrong and and in an unhealthy way but grew nonetheless. You could just see the logic. "Last month we had 3 twists and seven false finishes and two ref bumps, so now we need one more of each for this month." You can only imagine where that would take you.

So much of the match was very good up until that point, though. The crazy stuff they did (christian's reverse DDT on the apron, a top rope stroke, a dropkick into a chair) were all relatively subdued, just bigger versions of normal things. Christian as so honest and genuine ("He even promised Sting!") with the lifetime dream notion was a little offputting given who he is. It was probably much easier to take serious in 06. This was real shine/heat/comeback into hot finishing stretch stuff and that made the finishing bs better. Jarrett was driving but it was obvious Christian had some specific ideas on transitions and reversals (I bet the very last bit of the finishing stretch was his). Jarrett was really stretching on offense in ways he'd never do now. He hit a blue thunder bomb! There was one transition where he was going for a rana off the ropes, which Simply Irresistible Jeff might have done but you don't picture 06 heel Jeff doing. I think he was fitting the time but it's a little PWG Cena-ish instead of accentuating strengths, but then he was on top for 2.5 of the 4 years in TNA so far and that's a lot of weekly wrestling. It's interesting. I wonder how much Christian learned from Jarrett as he moved into becoming who he would be between this point and 08-09. Thanks for giving it to me.

 

Thank you for your review, mate. Wanted to give you this knowing you're a fan of Christian/Christian Cage. This was a feel good moment, Christian Cage winning his first world title, the NWA World Heavyweight Championship ending one of Jeff Jarrett's reign of terrors at TNA Against All Odds 2006 and how he was never pushed in the main event scene of WWF/E despite his talents. Interesting how Edge won his first world title the month before beating John Cena at WWE New Year Revolution 2006 for the WWE Championship.

Edited August 16 by The Natural

[The Natural]

19 hours ago, Matt D said:

It's so interesting to go back and look at this era of TNA, just like it's so interesting to look at ECW or early 00s indies or even mid-80s AJPW. At some point, you tend to just see it all as negative. There are so many ref bumps and false finishes and bits of interference and stolen finishers and inversions, and you see it as a disease and an infection. But you have to stop and realize that to them it was a good thing, a benefit, a boon. They had conditioned the fans to go on this roller coaster where they knew things wouldn't end until six or seven different bits of bullshit happened and the bullshit was part of the ritual. And the Impact Zone fans just rode the wave. To me, it's using a lot of shortcuts and broken elements, gluing together disingenuous cheats and substitutes for actual drama and emotion and match layout. It's the same sort of excess you get from, let's say, late 90s AJPW headdrops, right? Or endless countering sprees we get now, but it was all based on fooling the fans and snatching the ball away from them and doing one more swerve and one more twist, instead of just doing one well-timed one. It's fascinating really, because this is earnestly and honestly and in good faith what these creative people thought that would be best for fans, matches, their company. You can see how they came to that conclusion but it's so backwards, so counter-intuitive, a tree that grew wrong and and in an unhealthy way but grew nonetheless. You could just see the logic. "Last month we had 3 twists and seven false finishes and two ref bumps, so now we need one more of each for this month." You can only imagine where that would take you.

So much of the match was very good up until that point, though. The crazy stuff they did (christian's reverse DDT on the apron, a top rope stroke, a dropkick into a chair) were all relatively subdued, just bigger versions of normal things. Christian as so honest and genuine ("He even promised Sting!") with the lifetime dream notion was a little offputting given who he is. It was probably much easier to take serious in 06. This was real shine/heat/comeback into hot finishing stretch stuff and that made the finishing bs better. Jarrett was driving but it was obvious Christian had some specific ideas on transitions and reversals (I bet the very last bit of the finishing stretch was his). Jarrett was really stretching on offense in ways he'd never do now. He hit a blue thunder bomb! There was one transition where he was going for a rana off the ropes, which Simply Irresistible Jeff might have done but you don't picture 06 heel Jeff doing. I think he was fitting the time but it's a little PWG Cena-ish instead of accentuating strengths, but then he was on top for 2.5 of the 4 years in TNA so far and that's a lot of weekly wrestling. It's interesting. I wonder how much Christian learned from Jarrett as he moved into becoming who he would be between this point and 08-09. Thanks for giving it to me.

 

 

5 minutes ago, The Natural said:

Thank you for your review, mate. Wanted to give you this knowing you're a fan of Christian/Christian Cage. This was a feel good moment, Christian Cage winning his first world title, the NWA World Heavyweight Championship ending one of Jeff Jarrett's reign of terrors at TNA Against All Odds 2006 and how he was never pushed in the main event scene of WWF/E despite his talents. Interesting how Edge won his first world title the month before beating John Cena at WWE New Year Revolution 2006 for the WWE Championship.

I thought about giving Matt D Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin from WWF WrestleMania 13 to get his opinion on what I think is the greatest wrestling match in history. However I felt it was only right to give him a favourite in Christian/Christian Cage as he kindly did for me in Bret Hart. Cheers, mate.

[RazorbladeKiss87]

On 8/13/2024 at 3:25 AM, AxB said:

Can't tag, so I'll reply. Here is your week 2 match: From Liverpool, England... in 2019, the only time they ever faced each other:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92lydmGMuyk

Pentagon Junior vs The Bastard Pac

Seven minutes before any action started?? I guess that's not as bad as it could have been. Pentagon's shtick didn't bother me when he first started breaking out but then it got out of control. But I'm an RVD fan so what do I know? 

The match was enjoyable but never hit the sweet spot for me. Maybe some of that is being burnt out in the two guys. That Canadian Destroyer near the end was kinda scary. 

One thing I really enjoyed was the atmosphere. Gave me a PWG or ECW feel.

I'm going to apologize in advance to my partner next week. I just watched something after the Pentagon/PAC match that....well, I need to share my pain with the world. 

Edited August 16 by RazorbladeKiss87

[AxB]

On 8/13/2024 at 5:26 PM, RazorbladeKiss87 said:

 One of my favorite pairings in the ring: Necro Butcher and Toby Kleine from KotDM 04. 

https://youtu.be/A9rDz_2IvrA?si=3v3EBx3wbDagVIbH

This is not the match from a year before, with the famous VCR spot (I actually watched that one fairly recently). But it is one of those Round One tournament matches that wouldn't be out of place in the final.

Necro jumps Klein during the introductions, and before we've even heard Toby Klein's name, he's already had a computer monitor thrown at his head. And this is 2004, so it's a heavy cathode ray motherfucker, not these flimsy light ones they make nowadays. Big chop from Necro on the outside, and the commentators (Dave Prazak and CM Punk) discuss American Dragon splitting Austin Aries' face open with a European uppercut. We get our first light tube smashed over Necro's head and we're not even 90 seconds in... and it's amongst the chairs where the fans are supposed to be sitting. Followed shortly thereafter by a second tube broken over Necro's back, following which Klein de-shirts his opponent. Perhaps he should have done the second thing first... perhaps that won't make a difference in the long run. We shall see.

Necro takes over and is working this match with a level of stiffness that you would expect from Samoa Joe or somebody. Like, there's a safe way to throw a chair at a man's head, you aim for the flat bit to hit them, and Necro wings one of them edge-first right into Toby's temple. More loud chops back and forth. Big crayola bundle of tubes smashed over Necro Butcher's head. Water jug shots to the belly and the back toj follow, and then Necro takes over by punching Toby Klein more than Toby Klein is punching him (tm DEAN~!). Klein attempts a Vertical suplex onto the bleachers, Necro blocks, so instead Toby gives him a Powerbomb OFF the bleachers and onto the floor! That's a nasty sounding thud as they land. That gets our first HOLY SHIT chant.

After taking a moment to recover, they both enter the ring for the first time in the match. Klein immediately employs the old classic Rolling Pin embedded with thumbtacks, no doubt the resulting acupuncture will stimulate Necro's hair follicles and delay his onsetting baldness a little. CM Punk randomly gives a shout out to the BBC, and everyone watching in England. So cheers for that, 20 years later. They both fight back to their feet with hands free headbutts. Necro is bleeding heavily from the forehead, right arm and back, Klein's face and arm are bloody but he seems the fresher of the two just now. Running headbutt by Necro, but Klein makes the cover off of it. Vicious chops from Necro, but his attempt at a charging move in the corner sees him backdropped over the top rope, and he sort of misses the apron and falls to the floor (He may have been trying to avoid a big bundle of mini-tubes that were on the apron right there). Klein follows up by pouring salt on him. Now that's just cruel.

As the action lulls for a second (I think Necro got salt in his eyes) our commentary team discuss how the NWO was shitty. Klein cuts off Necro from getting back in the ring and attempts to take him back to the floor with a Sunset Flip Bomb, but Necro reverses into a Hurancanrana! "Well I'll be damned and Hornswoggled!" says Punk... two years before Hornswoggle debuted in WWE. There's an odd coincidence.

Necro throws something at Klein's face that I had assumed was a radiator, but it was actually a bundle of about 30 light tubes all taped together. hey brawl on the outside of a bit, before Necro heads up to the top rope and does a Cannonball plancha to the floor, with not great accuracy (he overshoots), and Klein does a total Miz catch. So Necro basically dives hip first into the floor from the top. And we get a sudden Raven Mack shoutout on commentary (well, they said Confederate Mack, but that was Raven's board name at the time). Klein with the VCR to the head! In a way that was far less horrifying than the way one had hit him a year before. And Necro procures the Asiatic Spike! Klein with a couple of overhead tube shots, but Necro won't let go, so he sandwiches the referee into the corner. Then he taps out, but there's no ref. Schoolboy from Klein for two. Punch exchange ended by a poke to the eyes. Another ref bump! Chair to the back... Death Valley Driver onto the upright chair and 1 2 3 it's over!! That finished pretty abruptly!

Yeah, so this match, it did play into the history of what they'd done before, and it was one of those... some Deathmatches happen because Deathmatch wrestlers want to test themselves against opponents they respect and admire, even against opponents hey dearly love. And then you have Deathmatches like these, that involve rivalries and personal grudges. It was hard hitting, it was violent, it was bloody, and both guys really exhibited a ton of toughness in there. But they also sold the damage, and built to spots, and controlled the audience by controlling the pace of the match. Yeah, it's really good. Anyone who says Deathmatch wrestlers aren't any good because they just hit each other with things... that's like saying technical wrestlers aren't any good, because they just do moves to each other, and put holds on and get out of them. There's an artistry to this stuff.