SECRET SUMMER SANTO 2024~!

[SirSmUgly]

El Dandy and El Satanico vs. MS-1 and Masakre

I was excited to see El Dandy’s name pop up because he’s a fun TV worker in Nitro Era WCW and has nice punches. I expected some crisp brawling work, but this was mostly a low-impact brawl. There was some good stuff, like a nice head ramming into a post early on, but most of it was really mediocre, soft work to me. There were also spots I didn’t really understand, like the rope run at about 2:50. I can’t say that I didn’t like this match, though I did think the brawling mostly stunk, including from Dandy (which surprised me as I know his rep and have seen him have dope brawls). It was more like I didn’t understand this match; there were a series of spots that I know had meaning, or that made sense in the context of CMLL’s house style, but that I guess I don’t get because I don’t understand the house style.

The first fall is about four minutes in, but the offensive build to get there felt so Charmin soft that I’m not sure I bought the fall. It didn’t really escalate much for me in intensity from there, though there are a few nice top rope moves and a bit of obligabrawling. The heels could gnaw on as many foreheads as they wanted to, but it just wasn’t happening for me.

I continue not to understand lucha tags, which I am at pains to note does not mean that I am asserting that lucha tags are objectively bad. It’s just that I don’t get it, though I hope to someday because I like pro wrestling and would generally prefer to enjoy as much of it as possible.

[Matt D]

Ok week 3.

Matt D
@RazorbladeKiss87
---

@AxB
@The Natural
----
@SirSmUgly
@moribund
----
@HarryArchieGus
@Curt McGirt

Harry (et al), Moribund. I know you're both a bit behind for various reasons. No worries. Get your partner something if you can. Curt'll be fine at least because he'll just watch everyone else's pick too.

[RazorbladeKiss87]

On 7/31/2024 at 1:12 PM, Matt D said:

Hey guys, you know the drill. I am hoping we can roll the dice on Sunday, August 4. If you're interested, toss your name in the hat. 

Get matched up. Figure out what your opponent might want. Pick a match, ideally no longer than 20-25 mins. Get your match from them. Watch it during the week. Write a review (doesn't need to be long). Get matched up again. 

Let me know if you need to skip a week. It's more important you get your partner a match in timely fashion than you review your own match in timely fashion (but, you know, try).

All are welcome. Depending on the # of people interested we go 4 or 5 weeks. 

@HarryArchieGus is automatically entered and paired with me for Week 1 as part of a Wrestlemania IV Andre/Hogan scenario unless he tells me otherwise.

Respond below to sign up, ideally by Saturday!

I can't tag people so I'll quote you.

https://youtu.be/0LDOP8k5alA?si=IO1ECqzxUA0jM2yh

The Riddle Box Match from NWA Samhain. YouTube showed it to me, I was curious and now, just like in The Ring, I'm passing this cursed video on. 

[AxB]

28 minutes ago, Matt D said:

@The Natural

OK, Natural, here you go. From the 19th of February 2008, in Cannock, Staffordshire. We have Stoke on Trent's hero Xtreme Dean Allmark vs some guy in a mask called American Dragon:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afcuzx9sCt0 Part One

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rjc0vsfZvY Part Two

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyr1IEGlppo Part Three

[HarryArchieGus]

4 hours ago, Matt D said:

Ok week 3.

Matt D
@RazorbladeKiss87
---

@AxB
@The Natural
----
@SirSmUgly
@moribund
----
@HarryArchieGus
@Curt McGirt

Harry (et al), Moribund. I know you're both a bit behind for various reasons. No worries. Get your partner something if you can. Curt'll be fine at least because he'll just watch everyone else's pick too.

Making a late charge. I gotta get to Tito and Mach with a pen and a trusty pad. Curt, I'll be back with something/somewhere in yr wheelhouse.

[The Natural]

18 hours ago, Matt D said:

Ok week 3.

Matt D
@RazorbladeKiss87
---

@AxB
@The Natural
----
@SirSmUgly
@moribund
----
@HarryArchieGus
@Curt McGirt

Harry (et al), Moribund. I know you're both a bit behind for various reasons. No worries. Get your partner something if you can. Curt'll be fine at least because he'll just watch everyone else's pick too.

 

17 hours ago, AxB said:

OK, Natural, here you go. From the 19th of February 2008, in Cannock, Staffordshire. We have Stoke on Trent's hero Xtreme Dean Allmark vs some guy in a mask called American Dragon:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afcuzx9sCt0 Part One

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rjc0vsfZvY Part Two

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyr1IEGlppo Part Three

Cheers, AxB. A rarity in a Bryan Danielson match I haven't seen and I didn't know he started wearing a mask again in 2008. 

Anything you want/don't watch? Any sites you use/refuse? Always wanting to gift something good in return for doing the same for me. I hate disappointing people.

Edited August 19 by The Natural

[moribund]

On 8/14/2024 at 7:46 PM, moribund said:

@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

Replying to @Matt D regarding earlier stuff: Just in case @Curt McGirt missed my match for him from week 1 it's above - I know @HarryArchieGus spotted his as he mentioned it above.

I got the review of Curt's match done. HarryArchieGus, you can send me just about anything for week two (though I'm not really a fan of death matches, so I'd like to avoid those if I can). Same request for @SirSmUgly for this week.

Speaking of this week @SirSmUgly, here's a decent little confection (I thought) for you from the days of Crocket's studio with The Midnight Express putting their belts on the line against Ronnie Garvin & Barry Windham with bonus jawing from Jim Cornette to open:

 

[Matt D]

19 hours ago, RazorbladeKiss87 said:

I can't tag people so I'll quote you.

https://youtu.be/0LDOP8k5alA?si=IO1ECqzxUA0jM2yh

The Riddle Box Match from NWA Samhain. YouTube showed it to me, I was curious and now, just like in The Ring, I'm passing this cursed video on. 

Have you ever seen Dump vs Omori? 

it is one that we go back to now and again, but there is a reason for that.

[AxB]

3 hours ago, The Natural said:

 

Cheers, AxB. A rarity in a Bryan Danielson match I haven't seen and I didn't know he started wearing a mask again in 2008. 

Anything you want/don't watch? Any sites you use/refuse? Always wanting to gift something good in return for doing the same for me. I hate disappointing people.

Well, I don't have the WWE Network, but I have got a lot of their DVDs. Anything on YouTube or AEW Plus, I'll have access to. Give me something... early 90s. Anything from between 1990 and 1995.

[SirSmUgly]

13 hours ago, moribund said:

Replying to @Matt D regarding earlier stuff: Just in case @Curt McGirt missed my match for him from week 1 it's above - I know @HarryArchieGus spotted his as he mentioned it above.

I got the review of Curt's match done. HarryArchieGus, you can send me just about anything for week two (though I'm not really a fan of death matches, so I'd like to avoid those if I can). Same request for @SirSmUgly for this week.

Speaking of this week @SirSmUgly, here's a decent little confection (I thought) for you from the days of Crocket's studio with The Midnight Express putting their belts on the line against Ronnie Garvin & Barry Windham with bonus jawing from Jim Cornette to open:

 

I'll see your Midnights match and give you one that I dug when I saw it maybe a year ago. It's got Cornette's watch-along commentary synced over it, but I hope that doesn't bother you.

I gained an appreciation for Mr. Wrestling II as part of my Mid-South watch and tried to fill in the gaps between TV shows with as much of the house show stuff as I could find. Mr. Wrestling II and Magnum TA are my second-favorite short-term tag team (Brad Armstrong and Brickhouse Brown are my first, just in case you were wondering):

Mr. Wrestling II and Magnum TA vs. The Midnight Express: https://youtu.be/6oK6-SzZfO4?si=tJ4UwA3wRABEU5q4

[Matt D]

On 8/18/2024 at 5:12 PM, RazorbladeKiss87 said:

I can't tag people so I'll quote you.

https://youtu.be/0LDOP8k5alA?si=IO1ECqzxUA0jM2yh

The Riddle Box Match from NWA Samhain. YouTube showed it to me, I was curious and now, just like in The Ring, I'm passing this cursed video on. 

It's bizarre. So the premise here is that this is a long-running feud between Violent J and Vampiro. Violent J has two juggalo wrestlers with him. Vampiro has Mecha Wolf and Bestia with Jerry Only's kid as their manager. There are a ton of boxes around ringside and they're supposed to have weapons in them. You try to overlay pro wrestling tropes and structure on it, but you kind of have to counter that with avoiding the suspension of disbelief. The first box had slingshots and pingpongs which can only be used once properly and then the thing breaks (skill issue). Then there are dolls and fake lightsabers (plastic) and balloons (these cause a transition as it's a distraction) and rubber chickens (a big chant). you expect them to go silly and silly and silly and silly and then serious for the last few where the barbed wire bat or tire iron or flame thrower or anything would be coming,  and on one level you'd shrug a bit because it's so unlikely that they'd find those boxes last even if narratively it makes sense for that sort of escalation but you get ready to accept it.

And it sort of never comes. The second to last major box is a pumpkin/jack o lantern which La Rebellion (Bestia/Mecha Wolf) put over a clown's head so they can smash it with a double dropkick as the fans chant for the band. Then the last one is popcorn with a bag of thumbtacks included which get "eaten" forcibly. It's all kind of anticlimactic. The best weapon bit might have been Jerry Other pulling a snare drum out from under the ring so they could use it (not even in a box?). Then it ends like a normal lucha trios with the ring getting cleared (Vampiro pushing a couple of guys off the top) so it ends up with "just the captains" and Violent J can take out Vampiro's leg (hurt at the start of the match) and hit the Nail in the Coffin. In some ways it's almost endearing that they stayed with the goofy objects instead of the violent ones for so long, but mostly it's just baffling. You get the sense that this was a central feud for months and months and I guess if you're such a limited audience it's good to bring in the juggalos because any sort of supplementing will move the needle, but...

[HarryArchieGus]

On 8/19/2024 at 11:52 AM, moribund said:

Replying to @Matt D regarding earlier stuff: Just in case @Curt McGirt missed my match for him from week 1 it's above - I know @HarryArchieGus spotted his as he mentioned it above.

I got the review of Curt's match done. HarryArchieGus, you can send me just about anything for week two (though I'm not really a fan of death matches, so I'd like to avoid those if I can). Same request for @SirSmUgly for this week.

Speaking of this week @SirSmUgly, here's a decent little confection (I thought) for you from the days of Crocket's studio with The Midnight Express putting their belts on the line against Ronnie Garvin & Barry Windham with bonus jawing from Jim Cornette to open:

 

I've come to realize that choosing matches from the NET is not my strength. With more weekly TV Wrestling than I can handle I rarely dip into the YT etc archives. I did dip in for this January 2024 match. Don't be frightened by the running time - there's a skippable D'Amore rant at the end...

Will Ospreay vs Josh Alexander
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvEYzSDjUdU

[HarryArchieGus]

On 8/15/2024 at 9:08 PM, Curt McGirt said:

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. 

McGirtman, check out this Taylor-Keith battle from a Texas Indy. This match was discovered from a DEAN recommendation... 

Shane Taylor v Bryan Keith (match has lengthy pre and post sections - 8ish minutes in is the start)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1qeC7_GcqQ

Edited August 21 by HarryArchieGus

[Curt McGirt]

Smelly, sorry you didnt like the pick. Maybe I should have watched it anyway to avoid coming in cold, or a six man would've been better? Lucha that isn't high flying can still be an acquired taste though so it could be that too.

This week is gonna be tough for me for personal reasons, so my pick might be late. I'll get back to you on it depending on what the next couple days bring.

[SirSmUgly]

1 hour ago, Curt McGirt said:

Smelly, sorry you didnt like the pick. Maybe I should have watched it anyway to avoid coming in cold, or a six man would've been better? Lucha that isn't high flying can still be an acquired taste though so it could be that too.

I'll say what I always say when I don't connect with a pick: There's no reason to apologize. When I pop into a Secret Santo, it's to see stuff that I normally wouldn't go out of my way to watch. Watching a match, whether I vibe with it or not, helps me think more about my preferences and what I like and don't like about wrestling, as well as what I want to try and learn more about. And I will eventually watch more lucha tags from '80s EMLL/CMLL, so this pick was a success!

(Not to mention that I asked everyone to give me matches of types or from promotions that I don't typically like, so the odds that I wouldn't love most of the matches I received were pretty high.)

On 8/18/2024 at 2:12 PM, RazorbladeKiss87 said:

I can't tag people so I'll quote you.

https://youtu.be/0LDOP8k5alA?si=IO1ECqzxUA0jM2yh

The Riddle Box Match from NWA Samhain. YouTube showed it to me, I was curious and now, just like in The Ring, I'm passing this cursed video on. 

I watched this because I've been watching WCW '99 lately, and I wanted to see THREE-FOURTHS, no, wait, I don't really count Raven as part of the group so let me recalculate, TWO-THIRDS OF THE DEAD POOL EXPLODE.

Here's the thing about this match: For a comedy match, there's not nearly enough comedy, and for a hardcore match, there's not nearly enough hardcore. I would suggest that this should have been heavy on comedy leading into a dissonant final series of spots built around the hardcore part of the proceedings. I actually don't have an issue with the very last box being the only one with anything acutely dangerous in it - and hiding the thumbtacks in some wacky popcorn is somewhat clever - but I do have a lot of problems with all the other circus props and toys in the other boxes being used to pretty much zero comedic effect. The one clown dude in the Brothers of Funstruction couldn't even use the slingshot properly so we could get the comical visual effect of two guys pelting the heels with ping pong balls at rapid speed. 

If this match had more considerably funny, Looney Tunes-ish spots built around the props in all the other boxes, it would have actually worked much better, and I think the last spot being a thumbtack spot would have also hit harder just because after a bunch of comedic nonsense, Vampiro getting driven into a bunch of tacks would have been a more striking contrast. 

Edited August 21 by SirSmUgly

[RazorbladeKiss87]

I like the "not comedy enough for comedy, not hardcore enough for hardcore" description and I think that's what made it so painful for me to watch. I couldn't even get a "so bad it's good" pleasure from it. 

[HarryArchieGus]

On 8/14/2024 at 10:46 PM, moribund said:

@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

What a pair of pros!? Working, always working! Pretty incredible to see Champion Tito get a win over The Macho Man. Savage's later defeat of Tito and title win at the Boston Garden was amongst the most felt, most devastating moments in my wrestle-watch history. 

Panasonic gets the mat advert. I've been thinking lately about a Compact Disc by the Finnish electronic group Pan Sonic, formerly Panasonic, featuring legendary vocalist Alan Vega.

Randy Savage's fashion in this era is outstanding. Tights and knee pads - pink, green, blue, yellow. Always a yellow boot. The entrance attire was second to none. It's really no wonder why he always ran with the sexiest ladies. 

I was never ready for 'El Matador' and the post-Strike Force lean years. To me, 'Chico' Santana will always be that resilent sweaty mess from the Coliseum Video opening. And always either the Intercontinental Champion or a top contender as featured on those same Coliseum Video-tapes. 

Gorilla Monsoon plays the part of the ring announcer here. Monsoon had so many great sayings: 'conspicuous by his/her absence'.

Thanks for sharing this match. After viewing I found this excellent Savage promo (partially in Spanish):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opb3qs8lG_A

Edited August 21 by HarryArchieGus

[The Natural]

On 8/19/2024 at 8:03 PM, AxB said:

Well, I don't have the WWE Network, but I have got a lot of their DVDs. Anything on YouTube or AEW Plus, I'll have access to. Give me something... early 90s. Anything from between 1990 and 1995.

I'll get my thinking cap on and get a match out to you today. Cheers.

[The Natural]

On 8/19/2024 at 4:31 PM, The Natural said:

 

Cheers, AxB. A rarity in a Bryan Danielson match I haven't seen and I didn't know he started wearing a mask again in 2008. 

Anything you want/don't watch? Any sites you use/refuse? Always wanting to gift something good in return for doing the same for me. I hate disappointing people.

 

On 8/19/2024 at 8:03 PM, AxB said:

Well, I don't have the WWE Network, but I have got a lot of their DVDs. Anything on YouTube or AEW Plus, I'll have access to. Give me something... early 90s. Anything from between 1990 and 1995.

 

7 hours ago, The Natural said:

I'll get my thinking cap on and get a match out to you today. Cheers.

I give you Bret Hart vs. Mr Perfect, WWF King of the Ring 1993.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ekt-m1LNWIM&pp=ygUXYnJldCBoYXJ0IHZzIG1yIHBlcmZlY3Q%3D

With Matt D kindly picking Bret Hart vs. Bob Backlund the night before KOTR 1993 for me, I thought it'd be fitting to follow. Bret went 30 minutes with Bob Backlund and 46 minutes cumulative time vs. Razor Ramon/Mr Perfect/Bam Bam Bigelow in winning KOTR. Bret Hart vs. Mr Perfect is also an example to me of a match which is better than the more famous one. I've always felt this was better than SummerSlam 1991 like Bret Hart vs. British Bulldog from In Your House 5: Season's Beatings was better than SummerSlam 1992 and The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels Hell in a Cell at In Your House 18: Badd Blood to WrestleMania XXV/XXVI.

[moribund]

@SirSmUgly, @HarryArchieGus, I see the matches you sent me. I'm off tomorrow, so I'll get the watching and reviewing done by Friday night. Thanks in advance, they look cool.

[RazorbladeKiss87]

On 8/19/2024 at 1:03 PM, Matt D said:

Have you ever seen Dump vs Omori? 

it is one that we go back to now and again, but there is a reason for that.

My joshi viewing has been limited to whatever was on FMW shows. I tried AJW once but, in probably my most ignorant moment of wrestling fandom, it was "too loud and noisy" for me. Yes, a guy who owns multiple Merzbow albums had a problem with the noise levels. I've been working on rectifying this hole and this match adds to that resolve. 

Observations in place of an in-depth review because I couldn't take notes. This was extremely my shit. Dump is just an evil gang leader from a movie, terrorizing Omori with the help of her gang. I'm guessing that's by design as girl gang movies were popular in Japan not long before this. Every member looks cool as hell. If I was a young man in Japan at this time I'd have been both terrified and enamored with Bull. I love that everyone was catching shots, even the ref. He was by far the most forgiving referee this side of ECW. 

I especially liked that even after the wild opening sequence, the match still felt like a fight. They didn't just go from crazy brawl blood feud style to working a traditional match. The antics with the scissors were great and worthy of Memphis. The shots with the mic. The kendo stick duel. All of this wild stuff combined to make a great chaotic spectacle. I liked that Omori didn't suddenly hit smooth looking moves. Her Samoan Drop from the top was sloppy and violent and looked exactly like it should from someone who'd taken a beating and was tired.

All of this builds up to Dump just stabbing Omori in the arm like a true SICKO! I fucking love it! Things fall apart even more and Dump talks some shit, holding the mic sideways like she's O-Dog. Then she's whipping a chain, daring anyone to step to her. Just like that I have a wrestler added to my list to check out more of. 

Thank you for the match. That was wild and exciting and I loved it. 

[The Natural]

On 8/18/2024 at 9:56 PM, Matt D said:

Ok week 3.

Matt D
@RazorbladeKiss87
---

@AxB
@The Natural
----
@SirSmUgly
@moribund
----
@HarryArchieGus
@Curt McGirt

Harry (et al), Moribund. I know you're both a bit behind for various reasons. No worries. Get your partner something if you can. Curt'll be fine at least because he'll just watch everyone else's pick too.

 

On 8/18/2024 at 10:43 PM, AxB said:

OK, Natural, here you go. From the 19th of February 2008, in Cannock, Staffordshire. We have Stoke on Trent's hero Xtreme Dean Allmark vs some guy in a mask called American Dragon:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afcuzx9sCt0 Part One

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rjc0vsfZvY Part Two

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyr1IEGlppo Part Three

 

On 8/19/2024 at 4:31 PM, The Natural said:

 

Cheers, AxB. A rarity in a Bryan Danielson match I haven't seen and I didn't know he started wearing a mask again in 2008. 

Anything you want/don't watch? Any sites you use/refuse? Always wanting to gift something good in return for doing the same for me. I hate disappointing people.

American Dragon vs. Dean Allmark. 19th February 2008.

American Dragon's promo at the beginning put a Joker smile on my face. Dragon comes out waiving the USA flag but gets booed by the English. Dragon doesn't like that threatening to hit a kid, this country is a hellhole and sings the USA national anthem. Testament to Dragon's talents that he can play a believable dickhead even though he's so well loved and by all accounts is genuinely a great guy. Allmark comes out with the UK flag. Dragon tried to get a "Dragon" chant going to no avail. "Who are you chants?" directed at the GOAT. Not cool, my fellow Brits. Some good technical wrestling feeling each other out. Running hammerlock counter sends Bryan out of the ring. Need to see that spot used again. Dragon is then sent back outside the ring again. Legit LOL at Dragon attempting a 619 and deliberately getting entangled in the ropes, that was hilarious. Allmark hits his. We get the "I have till five!" routine that always gets me. Allmark wins with the moonsault. If I had to sum all this up in one word, "fun". Thank you, AxB.

Edited August 23 by The Natural

[Matt D]

10 hours ago, RazorbladeKiss87 said:

All of this builds up to Dump just stabbing Omori in the arm like a true SICKO! I fucking love it! Things fall apart even more and Dump talks some shit, holding the mic sideways like she's O-Dog. Then she's whipping a chain, daring anyone to step to her. Just like that I have a wrestler added to my list to check out more of. 

I had a hunch it might be down your alley.

My pal Elliott just put this list with links together if you can access it.

 

[SirSmUgly]

The Midnight Express vs. Barry Windham and Ronnie Garvin

I think the U.S. Tag Team Championships from 1987 to some point in 1989 produced a lot of bangers w/r/t feuds and matches. Actually, I also think the Eaton/Lane Midnights (my favorite iteration of the Midnights) had a lot of bangers w/r/t feuds and matches in that time frame, too. I’m not sure they were physically and mentally capable of having anything worse than a good match.  

I’m sure I’ve seen this before, especially because it’s now been over a decade (!!) since I watched through everything 1986 – 1989 JCP on YouTube (some decent soul went to work putting every Worldwide from this time period up as soon, bless them). I need to go back and watch it again on the Network proper at some point.

This match, as you’d expect, is good at a baseline. It annoyingly hides a transition by going to commercial break, which is a demerit against it. But crazy-ass Bobby Eaton takes a backdrop on the unpadded floor, which is a plus (though Eaton getting up from it quickly to help trap Garvin is sort of a minus).

They work a headlock as a hot tag tease that leads into a missed babyface tag; it is very well executed. Too many wrestlers aren’t good at working headlocks in general, and lots of missed tag spots feel contrived. Neither of those were problems in this match, and the missed tag had everyone in the perfect position that it seemed not only plausible that the ref (Teddy Long, so a good hand in his own right) would have missed it. The crowd sure responded to it. The Midnights had this deep bag of heel tag team tricks they could pull from, and they were masters of every one of those tricks. Stuff that I see other teams do that has little effect, or that I might roll my eyes at because it’s done with poor timing, positioning, or logic, the Midnights pull off every time with little effort.

One of the WCW/JCP tropes in longer tag matches that it takes a very good heel team to pull off properly is the double-FIP segment with multiple hot tags in which each babyface team member needs to go through hell and each babyface team member needs to have a fiery hot tag segment. This happens here, and let me credit the babyfaces for their roles, too. Garvin and Windham bring the fire when they’re the hot tag and they do a lot of nice selling and struggling from the underneath position when they’re playing FIP. By the time Garvin comes in on the second and final hot tag, it feels like this match is the perfect length and we’re at a crescendo.

The finish is wild, of course, because Cornette and his racket are involved. It looks like the babyfaces are cooked, but Barry Windham can’t monitor everything. While he’s handling Cornette, Lane is landing a chair to Ron Garvin’s back. Eaton covers Garvin while Lane tosses a downed Teddy Long back in the ring, and that’s the ballgame. I love a good finish where the wrestlers pile "end match" trope on top of "end match" trope so that you can’t figure out which of these tropes will actually signal the finish. In this one, it looked like the finish could have come after any one of the finishing run spots, and in fact when Cornette whiffed a racket shot and hit Stan Lane before the actual finish, I thought maybe that would be the signal that the match was over. I think this went over that baseline of "good" into "very good" territory, especially the busy finish. 

For my money, the Midnights are the best tag team ever. It’s probably one of the more boring, standard opinions that I have about wrestling, but man, they’re excellent. Eaton/Lane and Condrey/Lane both. They're the ideal tag team(s) in my mind. 

[AxB]

On 8/22/2024 at 5:19 PM, The Natural said:

 

 

I give you Bret Hart vs. Mr Perfect, WWF King of the Ring 1993.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ekt-m1LNWIM&pp=ygUXYnJldCBoYXJ0IHZzIG1yIHBlcmZlY3Q%3D

With Matt D kindly picking Bret Hart vs. Bob Backlund the night before KOTR 1993 for me, I thought it'd be fitting to follow. Bret went 30 minutes with Bob Backlund and 46 minutes cumulative time vs. Razor Ramon/Mr Perfect/Bam Bam Bigelow in winning KOTR. Bret Hart vs. Mr Perfect is also an example to me of a match which is better than the more famous one. I've always felt this was better than SummerSlam 1991 like Bret Hart vs. British Bulldog from In Your House 5: Season's Beatings was better than SummerSlam 1992 and The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels Hell in a Cell at In Your House 18: Badd Blood to WrestleMania XXV/XXVI.

The match is introduced by Matt Cardona for some reason. We've got Randy Savage, Bobby Heenan and Jim Ross on commentary. Neither guy takes any time to do any kind of elaborate entrance, it feels like they were itching o get in the ring and wrestle... which does make sense for a one night tournament, save your energy. They keep it tight and technical early, although Perfect almost does a Spinaroonie bumping off an armdrag. Perfect with a big chop in the corner, and they do a duelling Bodyslam-upkick sequence (only the upkicks are double foot dropkick type of dealies because MMA didn't really exist in 1993; A fact borne out mere seconds later when Perfect sells a side headlock takeover by tapping the mat with his hand). Headlock pushed off into the ropes, rebound into a Crucifix for two, and right back to the headlock. Crossbody for two, Bret is tossed out of the ring on the kickout but is back in in seconds via a slingshot Sunset Flip for another two, and back to the headlock. They're telling a story early on that Bret has a technical edge over Hennig. He's winning every exchange and getting all of the control time.

And so Perfect goes to the strikes, big knee to the belly, stomp to the belly, kick to the ribs, and a Dropkick to send Bret out to the floor. And this time, he's staying down, struggling to catch his breath. And then holding the ropes open to let Bret in, all sportsmanlike. Except he kicks him in the chest on the way in. Perfect laying in strikes on Bret, and a big kneelift gets him a two count. Bret bailing out to the floor, and this time Perfect follows him out to do more damage. This is giving a clear sense of escalation. Bret trying to climb back in, but Perfect bumps him out to the floor in a Foley-esque plunge to the concrete (well, Foley would have gone spine first, whereas Bret goes sideways into the apron and sort of lands shins down in a cooler of pepsis... this being 93, there was no table there to break (his fall)). Matt Cardona is adding 'humour' to the commentary from the future here for some reason.

This ring is mic'ed in a way that makes every bump and referee count sound like a gunshot. Missile Dropkick gets two, foot on the ropes, Hennig hooks that leg to re-cover and Bret kicks out. The crowd are going mental as Bret cuts PErfect off on the top rope and he drops guiche first onto the turnbuckle post. Superplex from Bret gets two. Kicks to the legs, and Perfect is clinging onto the ropes and taking half a backflip on every one of them... and Bret gets the Figure Four Leglock. I always thought of this as... we know now that Bret never rated Ric Flair as a wrestler, so the fact that as soon as Flair was out of the WWF, Bret started using the Figure Four as a mid match weardown hold was his way of burying Ric. Perfect fights his way back to offence with an opportunistic ground kick while Bret is working an inside toehold. Bret is selling exhaustion rather than damage here, and Perfect capitalises with a Sleeper. Cardona pops up in a videobox and says some words about it being cold or something, because WWE can never let a match stand on it's own merits. Bret escapes the Sleeper by doing a turnbuckle ram, but rather than do the "Piggyback and fall backwards into the buckles to crush them", he does the "Piggyback and collapse forwards into the buckles to smash their face" instead. Nobody seems to really do that except Bret, but then doing turnbuckle spots differently to everyone else is a Bret trademark, isn't it? 

HUGE European Uppercut by Bret! Beel throw by the hair and Perfect slides groin first into the ringpost, which Bret immediately follows up with a Reverse Atomic Drop, which reminds me that we never did get a Bret Hart vs Rick Rude match (outside of the Handsome Gentleman tournament on here ha ha). Side Russian Legsweep (which is NOT a fucking Neckbreaker Gorilla Monsoon), and Bret is going move to move here without attempting covers and racking up two counts; This is kind of an indication of a stylistic evolution that took place after this match did. Like the 2024 epic match handbook says that in your late match build to the finish, you cover a lot and rack up those close counts, back and forth. But here Bret is hitting his moves of doom all in a row to rack up damage. He does cover off of the middle rope elbow, for two, but his attempted Sharpshooter is blocked when Perfect goes after the fingers. 

Perfect tries to set up the Perfectplex, but Bret has it blocked and they work their way over to the ropes and hit the spot that Davey Richards loved more than he understood (the Vertical Suplex taking both guys over the top to the floor).

They don't dawdle on the outside, don't milk the countout for a last second skin of the teeth slide in. Again, not using the 2024 epic match handbook. But Perfect is selling the knee as he gets in first, Bret doing his wide open mouthed "I'm blown up, me" sell (even though he's not blown up). Small package by Perfect for two, reversed by Bret for THREE! Sudden pinfall out of somewhere! Perfect rolls out of the ring protesting that the pin was bogus. Then rolls back in to confront Bret, jawing in his face... and then offering him a handshake. That's a nice tough. He sells it like he's upset at the loss, and at himself for losing, but still respects his opponent. And then bloody Zack Ryder shows up to let us know that he's wearing Bret's KotR robe and crown, the bloody gloryhunting twat. You aren't worthy of them.

So this match was really good. Two great wrestlers, right at their peaks of... as their athleticism declines with age, their experience and knowledge increases. They're both right on that cusp here, they can still move like young men, but they have that veteran genius mind. They know not only what to do, but when and why to do it. Great match. Here's hoping it's not the best match I watch this weekend though. Well, here's hoping it's not even in the top five.