Jump to content
DVDVR Message Board

[WWE NETWORK] What Are You Watching?

RIPPA

By RIPPA
in WWE PROGRAMMING

 Share

Recommended Posts

Hollywood Cibernetico

Hollywood Cibernetico

Posted
Posted
Pancake 51 And Napalm: A Deliciously Moist Review of WrestleMania Diva Matches (Part I)
 
In this two part series I will share with you the storied history of The WWE Divas involvement in the biggest show of the year: WrestleMania. The term 'Diva' wasn't officially used by WWE until the late 90's, however, WWE has refered to women of the past as 'Divas' and I will continue the WWE tradition in both parts of this peachy special series.


WrestleMania I
Wendi Richter vs. Leilani Kai
6:12
 
Cyndi Lauper has so much charisma! She is the only one in the ring who looks larger-than-life and really looks like she wants to be there. It is also apparent she is having the time of her life.It's become 'cool', in some sectors of the internet, to bash every single celebrity that steps into a ring (regardless of their actual contribution to stuffing instead of potatoes), and that's really unfortunate. As far as celebrity involvement in pro wrestling is concerned, I rank Lauper pretty high on my list mainly for the enthusiasm shown here. She doesn't come off as someone who is looking for a payday, more exposure, or looking to expand her brand. She comes off as a fan. Her involvement is enjoyable.
 
Richter's opponent looks beyond ridiculous in her ring gear. Both appear to be wearing bathing suits and look like two ladies you'd see at a Tuesday afternoon synchronized swimming class held at the YMCA. It amazing that the only style some of The Divas emulate in the 21st century is that of the celebrity and not the wrestlers. 80's fashion and music have held up better than any decade in terms of day-to-day relevance. The first few seconds of the match isn't bad. The crowd is into it and Richter comes off like a beast. Kai pounds on the mat repeatedly due to a hammerlock and the ref doesn't call for the bell? Not sure why. I guess this goes into the Ortiz/Couture 'Tapped But Didn't Really Tap' wing of The Speculative Submission Museum.
 
A quick flash of what's to come in AJPW followed quickly by a sneak peek of all future Divas matches: a botched gut-wrench suplex attempt by Kai that causes both women to fall awkwardly. This is soon followed by Richter pushing the ref and not being disqualified. Benevolent sexism at its finest, but then again ending the CO-MAIN EVENT OF WRESTLEMANIA 1 in a DQ might have gone over as well as a...well...a Divas match. A Hulk Hogan circa 2013 Big Boot to the chest and Kai is back in charge! Richter no-sells and is shortly back on offense. The ending of the match has Kai going to the top rope for a cross body only for it to be reversed by one of the sloppiest roll-throughs I've seen in my life. It looks like Richter almost broke her neck trying to get on top of Kai.

Richter wins and the crowd pops and so do I as it means I get to continue along The Road to WM 30 and relive all the 'great' Divas matches from Mania. The match is pioneering as it set the standard of two things:
 
1. Showcasing the fact that if you are a woman and cannot work a lick, then you too can get a WrestleMania payday!
 
2. Divas being in the co-main event of the biggest show of the year. It happened at the first Mania and its become somewhat of a Mania tradition. Divas  are usually placed pretty high on the card and in no less than 3 different occasions served as the co- main event of the evening.

THE ECHO THROUGH THE ANNALS OF TIME: Cyndi Lauper! The first Divas match to happen at Mania.
 
WrestleMania II
Fabulous Moolah vs. Velvet McIntrye
1:25
 
Ray Charles made me feel proud to be an American (and not in a Lee Greenwood type of way). I always get goosebumps hearing his rendition. But there is nothing more American than ladies wrestling...and we are off! Moolah starts off with 3 hair-mares and Velvet soon finds herself mounting a comeback and building up steam. Velvet misses her Money Shot and Moolah quickly goes for what looks like a shoot pin and wins the match, thus continuing the tradition of head-scratching Diva matches at Mania.
 

After this terrible encounter, the WWE doesn't run another Divas match until WrestleMania X. This match is historic as its Moolah's first and last Mania match (the same can be said for Velvet). I've never seen a good Moolah match. What a shitty way to go out.

 

THE ECHO THROUGH THE ANNALS OF TIME: This event is noted for having Moolah's first and last WrestleMania match. In addition this is the shortest Divas match in WrestleMania history.
 

WrestleMania X
Alundra Blaze vs. Leilani Kai
3:20
 
This is the first Mania match where one of the women in the ring looks somewhat competent. Speaking of looks, Alundra Blaze has a million dollar body and a 10 cent face. Kai doesn't looks much better this time around in terms of both looks and ring skill. McMahon isn't even sure if she was at the first Mania, shows how much of an impression she made at Mania I.Alundra was way ahead of her time. If she had people to work with that were anywhere near as semi-competent as her (and with the 'Diva' look), I feel early 90's WWF would have tons of hidden gems as far as Diva matches go.
 

The match start off with a sweeping low kick and both women are quickly back to their feet. Alundra does some nice moves and Kai does her best not to stink up the joint as bad as she did at the first one. The end of the 5 minute encounter came when Alundra hit a crisp Chris Benoit-like German suplex. Lou Albano, Moolah, and Mae Young were all pissed at the result. Not me though, because that means I can keep on trucking on this deliciously moist journey.

 

THE ECHO THROUGH THE ANNALS OF TIME: Alundra Blaze providing the first glimpse of The WWE  in-ring 'Diva' style.

 

WrestleMania VX
Sable vs. Tori
4:51
 
Sable comes out to the loudest pop in Diva Mania history. Her act is so tacky and cheesy, but it worked at the time. Sable looks old here but then again she is not my type...she's not inflatable.Tori's ring gear is fucking amazing and she looks like a female verison of Xmen's Sabertooth. Both women here look like stars and its clear Sable, even with her limited skills, really had no one she could draw money with as the crowd gives zero shits about Tori. This match is the cap-off of the first "Diva obsessed fan" angle WWE would run with their Diva champions. Trish and her stalker Mickie James would have a match at a later Mania.
 
The match starts off with Tori trying to get in the ring and Sable keeping her at bay. Once Tori is in the ring Sable begins chopping Tori down with some of the weakest rec center karate level kicks that make Trish Stratus' terrible cardio-kickboxing kicks come off as lethal. Sable didn't have to pace herself. She wasn't asked to do broadway, but she could have given at least a tiny shit and not half ass the kicks. Tori manages to pull Sable outside of the ring and smashes Sable's head into the side of the ring and then into the barricade. Sable is doing great character work (or maybe I'm giving her too much credit) as she un-bashfully covers her face as if playing peek-a-boo in order to avoid the damage to the million dollar ticket.
 
Tori is soon whipped into the barricade by Sable and Sable follows up with a half-assed knee to the gut. Sable over-shoots a cross body block from the ring apron and the commentators mark out. The move was  sloppy and dangerous. Michael Cole notes how much Sable has improved. Tori has some great clotheslines and for the first time since the bell rang it seems as though there is passion and fire in the ring. This positive moment is destroyed once sable gets back on offense. Sable having no clue as to what to do in the ring, forces Tori to lay on-the-mat for an unnatural amount of time as Sable sets up the spot. Raising bridge into a clumsy trip-up. There is a roll up, but only a 2 count! The heat is on and Sable begins throwing kicks with some power (still no technique) and Tori is able to move out the way. Tori bounces off the ropes, goes for a cross body block, Sable ducks, and Tori hits the ref.
 
The ref, for some reason, holds his nuts and rolls out-of-the-ring. Sables goes for the Sable Bomb and Tori slips out. I am not sure if this was a botch on Sable's part (I wouldn't be surprised and my money is leaning toward that) or if Tori fucked up and was suppose to roll through it and land on her feet (or turn it into a face crusher). Nicole Bass! Despite never being hit there, the ref is STILL holding his nuts. Sable Bomb followed by more cheesy 'grinding'. I remember Tori being somewhat of a good worker and I have a feeling that someone in the back told her to NOT upstage Sable in anyway and this made her nervous and she turned in a bad performance because of it. I'm not trying to pretend Sable is Manami Toyota, but FUCK!
 
THE ECHO THROUGH THE ANNALS OF TIME: Sable's grind, Tori's suit, and the debut of the impending WWE discrimination lawsuit.

WrestleMania 2000
Terri Runnels vs. The Kat
2:25
 
I'm glad to see Moolah and Mae Young doing what they do best...entertain. Both of those women sucked in the ring, but when left to entertain, they were the best going during The Attitude era and even the few appearances they made during The Ruthless Aggression era and The PG Era. Mae Young is in the corner of The Kat and The Fabolous Moolah is in the corner of Terri Runnels.This is the first Mania match where the is no title on the line and the presentation isn't even attempting to be serious. This is entertainment. The Kat is dressed like Lady Gaga and Terri is dressed like a miraculously still employed-post Marlena Terri Runnels. Val is COCKED, LOCKED, AND READY TO UNLOAD as the match start off with a push and quickly turns into a cat fight.

For some reason both Terri and The Kat are wearing platform shoes. The encounter might have started off as a dance-off in the brain of Vinny Mac, but someone must have called an audible that night and now here we are.Mae Young has the best distraction in Diva Mania history as she shoves Val's hand down her shirt.This is bad for several reasons, but most importantly because this distraction (remember Val is the ref) causes him to miss The Kat tossing out Terri Runnels. Terri gets tossed out again by The Kat and again Val doesn't see it as he is forced to lock lips with Mae Young. The crowd is eating this up and Mae Young is kissing Val like he is her long lost lover returning from The War.
 
Terri rolls into the ring, Val turns around to see her and calls for the bell. Mae Young isn't too happy and attacks Moolah from behind and follows it up with a Bronco Buster. COME HERE YOU LITTLE HUSSIE! The Kat begins to tear away at the very thin garb of Terri Runnels and just like her husband years before, Terri is ushered out of Mania in her underwear.
 

THE ECHO THROUGH THE ANNALS OF TIME:  Moolah wearing Little Richard's WrestleMania X red suit, Val Venis' ridiculous referee towel, WCW 2000 level of shit not making sense while a million different things happened, and Mae Young being THE MOST OVER PERSON IN THE RING!

 

Part II will continue with the epic WrestleMania XVII encounter between "The 9th Wonder of the World" Chyna and WWE Divas Champion Ivory.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
EN090

EN090

Posted
Posted

Been watching some WCW Pay Per View's from 1995. Never got to see any of these before as I was just started becoming a fan around this time and watched mostly WWF. But one act that really stands out is the Blue Bloods. Regal and Eaton were just comedy gold, especially their interactions with the Nasty Boys.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
notoriusvig

notoriusvig

Posted
Posted

Watched the latest episode of RAW 1993, or parts of it.  I wanted to see Backlund fight Horowitz (not Adam, but Barry), and I got Randy Savage going nuts on Crush.  This felt like a giant fight and this is the kind of thing I wish Bryan had done to HHH back in August after SS.  It's simple logic that after having been destroyed by Crush that Savage would want to kick his ass, and he did.  He didn't come out smiling or spray painting Crush's neon car.  No, he just attacked him like a man.  He even threw Vince out of the way.  Savage was intense and Crush looked like a guy doing an act though.  Also, the Backlund match was completely ignored after a commercial break.  The fans got to choose who Pierre/CPO would fight, and I vote Lex Luger, for some reason.  Although, I wouldn't mind seeing him in a match with the Kid.  We'll see in a day or two.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Domino_Not_Deuce

Domino_Not_Deuce

Posted
Posted

There was a really fun Ryback/Dolph match on Superstars last night with Ryback looking better than I'd seen him in a while. I still think he rushes too much from spot to spot but everything he did looked really good and Dolph was there to bump like a crazy person. Axel was good at ringside too, covering his ears when the crowd was chanting for him. A fun little C-show match.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Petey

Petey

Posted
Posted

Watched the latest episode of RAW 1993, or parts of it.  I wanted to see Backlund fight Horowitz (not Adam, but Barry), and I got Randy Savage going nuts on Crush.  This felt like a giant fight and this is the kind of thing I wish Bryan had done to HHH back in August after SS.  It's simple logic that after having been destroyed by Crush that Savage would want to kick his ass, and he did.  He didn't come out smiling or spray painting Crush's neon car.  No, he just attacked him like a man.  He even threw Vince out of the way.  Savage was intense and Crush looked like a guy doing an act though.  Also, the Backlund match was completely ignored after a commercial break.  The fans got to choose who Pierre/CPO would fight, and I vote Lex Luger, for some reason.  Although, I wouldn't mind seeing him in a match with the Kid.  We'll see in a day or two.

Pretty sure that voting period ended before your vote was counted, FYI.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
SirSmUgly

SirSmUgly

Posted
Posted

Going through early '90s WCW pay-per-views in order. It is REALLY easy to say with the benefit of hindsight, but Steve Austin looks like a complete star, a no-doubter as a guy who would at least be a long-term main eventer and World Champ. Dustin looks great, too, but I don't know if he seems an obvious main event guy in the future. Pillman is the only other guy that is at that same level of coming off like someone who should be World Champ by 1995 or so. 

 

I enjoyed Battlebowl '93 very much. Austin is sort of the star of this show, and I loved the randomness of Austin and Flair against Scorp and Maxx Payne. I will say that one downside of this PPV is that we didn't get a Scorp/Bagwell tag match. They had two good matches against the Nastys in October, one on PPV at Havoc '93 and one on Saturday night, and that seems like it would be a bad combination. Every time they come on screen, I'm paying attention.

 

It's a shame WCW in 1993 wasn't more successful because watching these shows alongside 1993 WWF, which I'm going through by watching all the RAWs and PPVs. WCW just smokes WWF at this point. They have so many compelling wrestlers that I can't wait to see between Rude, Pillman, Scorp, Bagwell, Austin, Dustin, Booker, etc. Over in the WWF, Savage is being misused, they turned Bourne face before ditching him, and Luger is being wasted in his face role. I enjoy Bret, Shawn, Razor, Kid, and Jannetty, but there really isn't much comparison to what WCW is churning out. I know this is probably a common thought about the 1993 for both these companies, but it's really striking watching them side-by-side with clear eyes for the first time in twenty years. 

 

One more note: Flair has been pretty crappy to watch for me at this point. I didn't like either Rude match he had this year, and Rick Rude is my second-favorite wrestler ever. His stuff is just so paint-by-numbers to me. However, his Vader match is coming up, and that is great because it's not the same Flair match; instead, it's Flair trying not to get killed in there. It's nice to see him do something different from the norm and remind you that he's a great wrestler that can do different things and be awesome at them, kinda like HHH having his "Of course I can be compelling, I wouldn't have made it all the way to the top of WWE if I couldn't" match against Bryan at WM 30 or like seeing Val Kilmer do a pitch-perfect Mark Twain and realizing that the dude was a legit A-list actor at one point for a reason. 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
cwoy2j

cwoy2j

Posted
Posted

To me, the weirdest blade job is Macho blading Flair at Starrcade 95.  He basically did a Mass Transit job on Flair. I have no clue why Savage bladed Flair instead of Flair just doing it himself. I mean it's not like Flair had never bladed before in his life.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
 Share
Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...