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Yeah that brief period when he returned in 1996 before joining the Nation was some awesome stuff. Definitely had potential. Him murdering Jake Roberts with that heart punch was fun. 

I'll also stand by him being the worst mic guy consistently employed by a big promotion and given mic time. He looked scary, big and a legit threat, yet the minute you hear "LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING PUNK" it just sounded like he was reading off a cue card written for him well before they ever embraced the concept.

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On 8/24/2022 at 9:22 PM, SirSmellingtonofCascadia said:

Fall Brawl 1996 notes:

  • Chavo/DDP was fun, as expected. I probably need to revisit my opinion of Chavo, who did young fiery babyface and hardened vet so well, who was versatile enough to work face or heel, and who even *whispers* looked like he might get that incredibly dumb Kerwin White gimmick over before Eddy passed and they nixed it. Meanwhile, Page uses his size and his cool offense to great effect, and Chavo countered a few of Page's usual power moves, which is understandable since they'd wrestled already and Guerrero is put over as a young student of the game on commentary. It's enough that DDP gets a little desperate and does stuff you don't normally see from him, like a diving clothesline from the top rope that gets a massive pop

I maintain that Chavo's only sin is not being as good as his uncle which is really unfair to him seeing as Eddy was pretty much all time top 5

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You know what would have been awesome around this time?

Instead of Flair getting his release, he sticks around, beats Perfect in the Loser Leaves Town match with the assistance of his old friend, Tully Blanchard.

Around this time, the Perfect Stranger debuts, clearly Hennig under a mask.

They call in the help of another former associate, Lex Luger to take him out. Flair, Luger and Blanchard beat him down entering the building and take his mask off only to discover its...

Belky from the soon to be cancelled Perfect Strangers.

No idea who you get in the role of Arn Anderson for the WWF Horsemen. Martel or Dibiase maybe. 

Bret, Hennig and the Steiners vs the Horsemen all over 1993.

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6 minutes ago, GuerrillaMonsoon said:

You know what would have been awesome around this time?

Instead of Flair getting his release, he sticks around, beats Perfect in the Loser Leaves Town match with the assistance of his old friend, Tully Blanchard.

Around this time, the Perfect Stranger debuts, clearly Hennig under a mask.

They call in the help of another former associate, Lex Luger to take him out. Flair, Luger and Blanchard beat him down entering the building and take his mask off only to discover its...

Belky from the soon to be cancelled Perfect Strangers.

No idea who you get in the role of Arn Anderson for the WWF Horsemen. Martel or Dibiase maybe. 

Bret, Hennig and the Steiners vs the Horsemen all over 1993.

You could push up the Owen turn to fill in, he's free post High Energy breakup at the start of the year.

Terry Taylor's there somehow someway as well.

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I read some old negative reviews here about Monday Night War vol 2, pointing out the negative things we always point out. Revisionist history, bias before the point is even made, etc.

But was that dvd set not even fun watching Eric Bischoff try to damage control and keep 20 year old lies straight? 

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9 minutes ago, Pedro said:

Classic Content for Sept will drop Monday. It's 7 episodes of WWF Old School from 1988. Likely a mix of MSG and Philly Spectrum/Los Angeles shows. 

Someone ask Richard Land if there's anything we could possibly be missing from 88. I assume this is going to be all stuff we have but with a slightly better VQ.

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Halloween Havoc 1996 notes:

  • Dean Malenko/Rey Misterio Jr. is a wonderful opener, though you don't need me to tell you that. They work in some nice wrinkles and counters that are clearly based on each wrestler knowing the other a bit better based on past matchups. That's one of my favorite pro wrestling tropes and it isn't used consistently enough. The transition into the second Malenko control segment is a good example because Malenko has been headscissored out of the position that he's in about a billion times before, but this time, he sees it coming and uses Misterio's momentum to hit a side slam instead. They also got me on a 2.9 sequence at the end that was really well-worked. The actual finish was amazing - both guys countered each others' killer moves (the top-rope gutbuster for Malenko, the top-rope rana for Misterio), and Malenko improvised a top-rope powerbomb that he'd never used before to get the win and the gold. Awesome, awesome match. 

 

  • The crowd is initially hot for DDP/Eddy, and it's good to see. Then, after the initial brawling, they start working holds. Things quiet down. They needed more brawling and bombs early because I think they got over the blood nature of this feud successfully. Working headlocks, even with both guys working for counters and struggles, probably wasn't the right way to go. You've got two guys with explosive offense and a heel in DDP who is a fantastic stooge. Then again, what do I sound like telling a top-10 pro wrestler ever and a guy who'd go somewhere on my top-100 list how to work their match? I will say again that it's clever how Nick Patrick's favoring of DDP in a string of matches over the past few weeks ends up mattering narratively; I can't remember if it's stated outright or merely implied, but Hall and Nash leaned on him to be favorable to DDP to try and sway him to join the nWo when the time came. DDP almost fucks it up by pushing Patrick, but he makes up with him by shaking hands. It's a quality spot.

 

  • DDP's offense is so good that it's turning him face. He probably needed to tone it down a shade because he's such a good scumbag, but then he hits a nice lariat or gutbuster or pancake, and the crowd is like "that guy is nice." I also dig his in-ring vocalizing. I feel like DDP doesn't get enough flowers. Eddy does, as he should, and his selling and bumping during DDP's control segment really puts across how dangerous DDP's offense is. It's so dangerous, in fact, that we don't get a late reversal-fest and DDP doesn't have to finagle it onto Eddy. He just escalates his endgame offense until all that's left is to hit a Diamond Cutter for three. 

 

  • Someone wins a monster truck. Randy Savage does the drawing himself. He does a drumroll and is really locked into being the best promotional person ever for a guy who has been traumatized by his ex-wife trying to reconcile with him these last few weeks. He flirts with the winner in an attempt to get a ride in her newly-won truck. Savage is the BEST, and you all know this, but yeah. He's so great. What a showman. 

 

  • You know who's not a showman? Dean Malenko. He cuts a victory promo that is the downer to the Macho Man's upper. 

 

  • The Giant is more over as a face than Jeff Jarrett. Having Flair come out to support Jarrett at ringside was a canny move to try and cut this reaction off, but it didn't quite work. It doesn't help that the Giant looks awesome in launching Jarrett a couple times, including on an impressive-looking beal. I just think Jarrett past the age of like 22 is a natural heel (though again, Single Dad Jarrett is low-key one of the most sympathetic faces ever). Flair yelling at Jarrett to get up and beat the Giant's ass is pretty great, though. Jarrett works his ass off bumping and selling and throwing some very high dropkicks to the Giant's face on his comebacks. There's a fuck finish, but it's fine. I actually think it sets up future Jarrett and Flair matches for The Giant nicely. Jarrett/Giant should be the final matchup for the now-vacated U.S. Championship if the booking gets right.

 

  • Ted DiBiase cutting interviews with nWo members in the crowd, standing under an nWo banner, is a great visual. I love that this stairwell with the nWo banner is not only an interview location, but that the nWo enters coming down the stairs. 

 

  • Syxx/Jericho is as good as you might imagine. The early exchanges are worked at Smackdown: Know Your Role-type speed and look great, but Syxx actually works like a mean heel too, whipping Jericho into the rail and mudhole stomping. He's not out here to the the most athletic athlete ever as a heel. We get a bunch of shots of the Dungeon of Doom in the crowd; the Dungeon shouldn't still exist. They are pointless in late-1996 WCW. Kevin Sullivan being on TV in October of 1996 is absurd. Anyway, I totally dig Syxx's heel control segment, and when he relinquishes control to Jericho, it's with a wild corner bump off a whiff. Dusty uses the term slobberknocker on commentary. The only issue with this match is Nick Patrick slow-counting all Jericho's pin attempts so that Syxx can kick out, but efficiently making the count on a Syxx spin kick. Syxx got hammered right in the face at some point and is bleeding in his mouth. Great match that deserved better than a shitty heel ref angle at the end. 

 

  • Luger cuts this wonderful, dumb fiery babyface promo in which he uses gardening metaphors effectively. PUT THE BIG GOLD ON HIM ALREADY

 

  • His match with Arn Anderson is interesting. Arn just wants to beat Luger up, but Luger specifically wants to destroy Arn with the Torture Rack, so he targets Arn's back. It's fascinating because usually, these strategies would be reversed based on the face-heel alignment. Arn ends up attacking Luger's back solely out of prudence once Luger eats an Arn spinebuster and sells his own back injury. Eventually, Luger destroys Arn's back with a chair on a ref bump, but that's cool since Arn did the same to Luger on a Nitro a couple weeks before this one. Luger gets a submission off the Torture Rack, but Luger takes a little extra time to let Arn go, to the delight of the Dungeon of Doom and most of the rest of the crowd. Good stuff. 

 

  • I love WCW-ass WCW matchups. They're part of what makes WCW a special thing. Faces of Fear vs. Mongo and Benoit is one such matchup. Meng and Mongo have a shoulder block war! Barbarian and Benoit beat the shit out of each other! Jimmy Hart, Woman, and Debra are the best seconds a pro wrestler could ever ask for! Man, when pro wrestling is good it's good. I wish we could get Meng and Mongo as a tag team and also in a buddy cop movie where they uncover corruption in the force and then beat up a bunch of rogue cops and then somehow both win dual mayorship of the city and led it into a new age of prosperity. 

 

  • Anyway, Mongo's successful Halliburton shenanigans and a Benoit headbutt put paid to Meng. The Dungeon jump out of the crowd and beat up the Horsemen. Benoit fights valiantly, but falls to the numbers game. Arn, Flair, and Jarrett are nowhere to be seen after Arn's stretcher job from the last match. It's a good segment in a vacuum, but Sullivan/Benoit/Nancy is a weak angle. In the alternate universe where Pillman re-signs with WCW and doesn't roll his vehicle, we'd have a much better situation because Pillman would have been good enough to carry a decent feud with Sullivan. 

 

  • Hall and Nash get Diesel and Razor chants against Harlem Heat. Boy, the crowd wants them to be tag champs so badly. As we start this match, Tony notes that Savage was way more chipper than normal recently during the monster truck drawing and is hopeful that it means that Savage is focused. I'm so glad someone said something about Savage's mood being incongruent with how he'd been acting the past few weeks! I liked this match because it observes three C's of wrestling that, when applied together, I am very into: clubbering, cheating, and cocky taunting. Sherri slaps Hall, who kisses her in response, and it gets a massive RAZOR chant and Tony saying "Well, she asked for it," and I am overwhelmed with the very good, the bad, the pro wrestling-ness of it all. Stevie Ray gets a hot tag that wins the crowd over once he throws Hall at Nash. The crowd's into the Harlem Hangover, too, but Parker getting unnecessarily involved and giving his cane up to Nash for what ends up being a tainted Outsider victory is great, too, and pays off Harlem Heat not wanting Parker to join the management team. This was - you're not going to believe I think this - a fantastic match. 

 

  • Hogan's got his ridiculous hairpiece in and says YO YO YO, so I guess he gets that he sucks and that he needs to lean into his corniness. He shills a bunch of bad movies that he's in before his match with Savage. At least now he's a heel who steals other people's catchphrases instead of a face. 

 

  • I should probably appreciate a stalling cowardly heel act more than I do. Maybe it depends on the stalling cowardly heel. I mean, Hogan is acting like a dorky, out-of-touch coward, as he should. Maybe I just never want to see this guy again? Maybe watching his putrid WCW face run (the first one) was too much for me? I don't know. The crowd is hot for it! The flaw is in me, I think. You know what's not flawed? Savage shilling for Slim Jim on his tights. His Halloween-themed tights. Liz comes down to the ring wearing a dress that is well-cut, so that's also something! I guess my lusting over Elizabeth's lovely bust is a sinful feeling that needs to be repaid with celestial punishment because not five minutes after she comes down, Hogan hangs a full moon when Savage pulls his tights down. I deserved it for going fully Smellynetico. Anyway, the crowd is hot, but I do not like this match or any of the bullshit Liz-involved shenanigans therein. I guess Steve Austin saw Nick Patrick refuse to count three and decided to knock out and make the ref count three himself if it ever came to that, so at least that's something. 

 

  • OH NO, RODDY PIPER ? FUCK

 

  • FUUUUUUUUUUCK

 

  • This show made me want to play some WCW/nWo Revenge, so I think I will. 

 

 

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Canadian WWF House Shows from 88 dropped on the network today. I know some of you aren't into deep new footage and care about the actual cards and you can go here to find them: http://thehistoryofwwe.com/88.htm

Below however, is what wasn't on Prime Time and is probably rarer. I won't be able to cross reference things until later. Then there's a question on what are actually on these shows vs the listings we have on historyofwwe. But it's a lot to parse through. 

Spoiler

Copps March 13, 1988

  • International Wrestling Challenge: Brutus Beefcake defeated Greg Valentine (w/ Jimmy Hart) via disqualification at 9:03 when Valentine used Hart's megaphone as a weapon as Beefcake had Hart in a bearhug
  • Don Muraco & George Steele defeated Butch Reed & the One Man Gang at 17:52 when Muraco pinned Reed after Reed & Gang failed a double clothesline on Muraco when Steele pulled Gang out of the ring and Reed ran into the ropes


MLG April 24, 1988

  • Jacques & Raymond Rougeau defeated B. Brian Blair & Jim Brunzell when Jacques pinned Brunzell at 16:03 after Raymond punched Brunzell in the face as Brunzell attempted a powerslam (I might have actually seen this recently so I need to check more.)
  • Andre the Giant defeated Jim Duggan (sub. for Bam Bam Bigelow) via count-out at 9:17 when Andre hit Duggan with his own 2X4 on the floor; Bobby Heenan accompanied Andre to the ring for the bout, but was sent back to the locker room by the referee early in the bout; Gorilla Monsoon did solo commentary for the bout
  • The Islanders & Bobby Heenan defeated Davey Boy Smith, the Dynamite Kid, & Koko B. Ware at 14:42 when Tama pinned Koko after Heenan, who was chased from ringside earlier in the bout by Koko, returned and knocked Koko off the top using a foreign object; Billy Red Lyons did commentary for the bout, subbing for Heenan
  • WWF IC Champion the Honkytonk Man (w/ Peggy Sue - Jimmy Hart in disguise) defeated Brutus Beefcake via count-out at 7:50 when Peggy Sue grabbed the challenger by the hair, preventing him from re-entering the ring; after the bout, Beefcake chased Peggy Sue into the ring and rammed her into Honky's head before disrobing her to reveal it was Hart; Gorilla Monsoon did solo commentary for the bout

MLG July 24, 1988

  • The Powers of Pain defeated Nikolai Volkoff & Boris Zhukov when the Barbarian pinned Zhukov with a clothesline off the top
  • King Haku pinned SD Jones (sub. for the Junkyard Dog) at 8:20 with a side kick to the head
  • Greg Valentine pinned Don Muraco after hitting him with his shinguard as Muraco tried to revive the referee, who was knocked down moments earlier as Muraco attempted the tombstone
  • WWF World Champion Randy Savage defeated Ted Dibiase via disqualification after Virgil interfered

MLG September 18, 1988

  • Mr. Perfect pinned Jim Brunzell with the Perfect Plex; after the bout, Billy Red Lyons conducted an in-ring interview with Perfect
  • International Wrestling Challenge: The Big Bossman pinned Jim Powers at 4:11 with the sidewalk slam
  • Ted Dibiase pinned Koko B. Ware
  • The Powers of Pain defeated Nikolai Volkoff & Boris Zhukov when Barbarian pinned Zhukov with a diving headbutt off the top following a running powerslam from Warlord
  • Brutus Beefcake defeated Ron Bass via disqualification
  • Jake Roberts pinned Rick Rude
  • Hulk Hogan pinned King Haku

MLG October 9, 1988

  • Bret Hart & Jim Neidhart defeated Jacques & Raymond Rougeau when Bret pinned Jacques; Brother Love was the guest referee for the bout
  • B. Brian Blair pinned Iron Mike Sharpe
  • The Blue Blazer pinned Steve Lombardi with a splash off the top
  • International Wrestling Challenge: King Haku pinned Hillbilly Jim at 6:16 with a diving headbutt following a side kick to the face
  • Bad News Brown pinned Koko B. Ware
  • WWF IC Champion the Ultimate Warrior defeated the Honkytonk Man via disqualification
  • International Wrestling Challenge: Dino Bravo (w/ Frenchy Martin) defeated WWF World Champion Randy Savage (w/ Miss Elizabeth) via count-out at 9:20 after Savage attended to Elizabeth on the floor after Bravo shoved her

MLG November 6, 1988

  • Dino Bravo defeated Jim Duggan
  • B. Brian Blair defeated Iron Mike Sharpe
  • International Wrestling Challenge: The Blue Blazer pinned Danny Davis at 5:44 with a splash off the top
  • WWF Tag Team Champions Demolition defeated Davey Boy Smith & the Dynamite Kid when Smash pinned Dynamite after Ax hit a double axe handle from the middle turnbuckle
  • WWF IC Champion the Ultimate Warrior pinned the Honkytonk Man (w/ Jimmy Hart) in a no DQ match after throwing Jimmy on top of Honky
  • International Wrestling Challenge: Hulk Hogan defeated the Big Bossman (w/ Slick) via count-out at 8:35 after handcuffing Bossman to the top rope and clotheslining him over the top after Bossman attempted to handcuff Hogan

 

Edited by Matt D
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Let me go through some of that. I'm not Richard Land or anything but...

  • We have a few iterations of the Heenan trios including the Mania one but obviously we all want to see it again. They didn't post the May show, but Heenan wrestled Koko one on one there (we have that) 
  • Powers of Pain vs Bolsheviks is probably terrible but I'm always fascinated by babyface Powers of Pain in WWF. We can compare/contrast the two matches...
  • We have a few iterations of that Perfect vs Brunzell match. 
  • I'd be curious how long Koko vs Dibiase was. Most of what we have from them is sub ten minutes.
  • Past the SNME match, we do have a LA Hogan vs Haku but I'm still glad to see another.
  • Obviously we have a lot of Andre vs Duggan and Jake vs Rude and Randy vs Ted, etc., but I haven't seen any of those for a while. 
  • Likewise Harts vs Rougeaus but I'm not sure how many had Brother Love as ref?
  • We might get a couple of new Bockwinkel announced matches in there too. 
Edited by Matt D
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What grade of coke was Vince shoving up his nose to think that Rocco was a great addition to the Legion of Doom? Specifically, the sketch on 6/27/92 where they find Rocco in the rubble of their childhood home is a death knell for the Road Warriors being even remotely cool as far as the WWF goes. Contrast that with Scott Hall being the coolest scumbag ever in the Razor sketch, but he probably came up with most of that shit himself. There's nothing more dangerous in early '90s WWF for a lot of these dudes than not taking control of your own character development. 

OK, this is quite the episode. Vince compares Ted Turner and Jane Fonda to Kim Chee and Kamala; then Kamala does a sweet leapfrog and thrust kick that I didn't think he had in his bag at all. Wrestling is weird. 

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On 9/22/2022 at 8:09 PM, Matt D said:

Guys, I heard the best Monsoon call today:

“Hillbilly’s biggest problem in this match is making mistakes.”

Then he goes... “That’s Hillbilly’s big fault. That’s been his big fault in his career: Making mistakes.”

Wow. Those comments are somehow both completely meaningless and horribly damning at the same time.

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World War 3 1996 notes:

  • Tony drops that insider lingo about Bischoff: "he made his turn...or did what he did." No need to correct yourself, Tony, we already had I RESPECT YOU, BOOKERMAN.

 

  • Ultimo Dragon and Rey Misterio Jr. (the latter of whom is wearing the awesome Spidey-Suit) is a really fun opener. Dragon does some cool shit in his offensive control segment, and the crowd appreciates it. Special shout-out goes to the airplane spin backbreaker and the powerbomb/Stun Gun combo. They're also delighted by the Giant Swing spot because Dragon sells dizziness after tossing Rey. No one reacts for the sick fisherman buster Dragon hits but me, though. They have a 2.9 run that ends when Misterio's springboard rana that he's using as a finish gets reversed into a sitout powerbomb that finally gets three. This was awesome. 

 

  • I question the booking of Teddy Long as Chris Jericho's manager for his match against Nick Patrick. Teddy Long's been doing nothing but managing jobbers to losses for the last three or four months. The crowd is into this at the start, though. I accept that the there is a difference between the WCW crowd's interest in Nick Patrick breaking bad and my interest in it. I am roundly in the minority. They do calm down pretty quickly. I guess there are only so many arm drags and kicks that Jericho can do before the crowd is ready for the fuckery and the finish. I think this match, while not long, could have stood to be even shorter. Jericho wins relatively easily to a somewhat muted pop. Was Nick Patrick's arm under the ropes? Let's hope this isn't a continuation of the angle. At least the commentators don't say anything about it on replay.

 

  • Jeff Jarrett continues what might be his most enjoyable (to me) run of in-ring work ever with his match against the Giant. It's a solid big man/(relatively) little man match to follow up on their match at Havoc. We cut away to Sting walking around in the catwalk, which is too bad because it takes the focus off Jarrett getting murked and doing some excellent bumping and selling. But Sting is awesome, so I'll accept it. The Giant has his working boots on, too, and takes a sweet bump to the floor. What's hilarious, though, is that EVERYONE IN THE ARENA is focused on Sting, losing their fucking MINDS about Sting, and only Pee-Wee Anderson is unaware that Sting is stalking to the ring at molasses speed. He is TOTALLY focused on the Giant spilled out at ringside while Sting walks the catwalk, comes down the stairs with an escort, slowly enters the ring, Scorpion Death Drops Jarrett, paces around a bit, and then slowly leaves. What the fuck? It's a hilarious visual. In terms of "refs be acting dumb," this might be the pinnacle of that trope. Oh man, it was so stupid that it genuinely enhanced this match. Five Stinger Splashes. Anyway, the Giant beats the count and wins with a chokeslam. 

 

  • Tony's on fire tonight. As Eric Bischoff, Ted DiBiase, and Virgil Vincent saunter down the aisle to meet Roddy Piper in the ring for Hogan/Piper contract signing, Schiavone says "I never thought I'd see Eric and Vince walk down the aisle together." It got a genuine laugh from me and, while it didn't make this shitty segment worth it, I appreciated it. Piper is all like YOU'RE GAY BISCHOFF, YOU TOTAL GAY GUY, YOU and references the New Kids on the Block in 1996 and yells a bunch of shit and it's fucking AWFUL. This guy fucking SUCKS. Terrible, terrible, terrible. He's also stupid enough not to make the match a WCW World Heavyweight Championship match even though he gets the contract he wrote signed as-is. Oh man, this was some truly shitty TV PPV. If I'd paid to watch this garbage, I'd be heated. Hogan comes out and shows everyone Piper's hip replacement scar. It comes off poorly. Then there's a one-sided brawl since it's Piper versus the entire nWo. I am dreading Starrcade's main event. 

 

  • "O Canada" is one of the best national anthems, fun to sing, and so the Amazing French Canadians butchering the hell out of it is a legit heat-getter for me. This is a solid match they have with Harlem Heat because the AFCs have awesome offense and so their control segments are always fun. Booker is also a good FIP because he'll over-elaborate on bumps. The crowd is quiet as hell, though. I guess they're coming down from the black hole of a segment before this match. The AFCs hit a Boston Crab/top-rope legdrop combo that deserved more love, dammit! They wake up a bit for Stevie's hot tag, but only a bit. A ref bump leads to a ridiculous assisted cannonball attempt from the AFCs that includes stairs and a table. It whiffs, PCO eats a Harlem Hangover, and Sherri gets to beat up Rob Parker, which the crowd is solidly into and so am I. TAKE THAT, YOU CAD. Dusty rightly warns Sherri against a potential wardrobe malfunction considering what she wore to this impromptu match. Is there anything a southern wrestling crowd loves more than a woman kicking the shit out of a man in the wrestling ring? I include myself in this even though I wasn't born in the south myself. I can't wait for Miss Jackie to beat the shit out of Disco or to help Kevin Sullivan out by fucking up his jobber opponents. 

 

  • Dusty calls it the "cruiser heavyweight title" during the Dean Malenko/Psicosis match. Classic Dusty. This is a very mat-based match that loses the crowd almost entirely, and I just don't see the struggle in the matwork to make it compelling at all, either. The match just never makes it out of first gear. It's a surprisingly poor effort for these fellas. Malenko wins with a rollup and bridge to mild applause.

 

  • I love the start of the triangle tag match: Hall and Nash come out first, are dumped from the ring by the Nasty Boys when they come out, and then are beaten up around ringside when the Faces of Fear come out. I wish this had just been a tornado tag (which is a common wish of mine in these triangle tags, so sorry for being repetitive). Then, as the Nastys and FoF attack each other, the Outsiders just chill and watch the chaos. It's a safe bet since they know that their opponents are dumb enough to tag them in rather than having the insight to lock them out of the match. Then again, Nash ends up blind tagging Meng anyway, so they always had things under control. Anyway, this match just got me hyped for the eventual Faces of Fear/Outsiders two-on-two match, is what it did. The crowd wants wild brawling and wakes up when it happens. I am in agreement with the crowd on this point. Anyway, Meng and Knobbs are dumb enough to tag Hall and Nash in. Tony's smart enough to call this out, at least. Anyway, this ends up causing fuckery that leads to Hall using Jimmy Hart's megaphone on Knobbs's head. A Jackknife Powerbomb later, and the Outsiders retain. Great, let's get the Nastys out of the way and put some good tag teams in here against Hall and Nash going forward. 

 

  • It's battle royal time! Before it starts, we get an update on the Benoit/Sullivan feud (a Dungeon-led bathroom attack on Benoit at a Baltimore house show pushes the feud forward, though man did they milk the "fight in a bathroom" stuff a bit much for my tastes). Anyway, random notes:

 

  • DDP smokes a cigar on his way to the ring. What a guy. 

 

  • It's a Bunkhouse Buck appearance!

 

  • Wait, I thought Lex and Arn were wrestling at this PPV? I realize now that they did not. Maybe I misunderstood and they're wrestling at Starrcade. 

 

  • Jimmy Graffiti leveled-up his ring attire. 

 

  • The pop for Hacksaw is dispiriting. 

 

  • Chris Benoit looks fucked up, man, fuuuuuuuuuck. At least some of that is makeup, I hope. The Horsemen and Dungeon jump on each other outside the ring before the match even starts. They fight into the stands and never actually enter the battle royal proper. 

 

  • I love that while WCW continues its petty feuding with one another, the nWo is just chilling in the corner of one ring watching everyone else get beat the fuck up. They only stray from the corner to pick off individuals who wander into the wrong neighborhood. I mean, they are SO MUCH SMARTER than WCW. They are the Doink to WCW's Crush

 

  • Poor Lee Marshall got knocked down. He looks legit hurt, but I didn't see what happened. I Googled quickly and it looks like the Faces of Fear legit fucked him up for some reason? What the fuck? Very uncool if it's legit. Why would they do that? 

 

  • I love the idea of this match, but the split screen makes it aesthetically tough to watch at home until it gets knocked down to ten guys all in one ring. 

 

  • I am very excited about this Giant/Roadblock showdown. It delivers, too!

 

  • Everyone ganging up on Ron Studd is awesome. I'm a huge fan of the "ganging up on the big dude" spot in battle royals. Of course, everyone is dumb enough to forget the rules of the match and try to gang pin him, but still. 

 

  • Bagwell eliminates Riggs; the American Males consider exploding. 

 

  • They keep the split-screen even when everyone is in the same ring for some unknown reason. VINTAGE CRAIG LEATHERS.

 

  • We finally get WCW to face off with the nWo..when WCW is down to six dudes. Total Kona Crush move, WCW. 

 

  • The Giant's elimination of Rey Misterio Jr. is one of the most amazing things I've ever seen in a wrestling ring. He tosses him with about the same amount of care as he did when he slammed a restrained Misterio laying on a backboard into the ringpost, but at least Misterio could protect himself this time. 

 

  • Luger taking on four nWo guys is perfect booking. Luger nearly racking the Giant gets a massive pop. His twin eliminations of Hall and Syxx are great. On the other hand, choosing to rack Nash when the Giant is still in the ring is a poor decision that is befitting of Luger's inability to get the job done when it matters in big spots.

 

  • The Giant wins, which I'm pretty sure facilitates his exit from the nWo in a few months. When is the WW3 winner's title shot normally cashed in? Slamboree? I'm thinking the Giant's nWo stint doesn't last until that PPV. 

 

  • The first half of the show and the last ten men part of the battle royal were generally quite good. Everything else was fine. Good show and worth stopping to watch. Now back to Nitro!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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2 hours ago, SirSmellingtonofCascadia said:

World War 3 1996 notes

 

  • Wait, I thought Lex and Arn were wrestling at this PPV? I realize now that they did not. Maybe I misunderstood and they're wrestling at Starrcade. 

 

Actually it was one PPV earlier, at Halloween Havoc.

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25 minutes ago, Gorman said:

Actually it was one PPV earlier, at Halloween Havoc.

Yes, they did, but Arn was doing inset promos on a return match after the Havoc match that Lex won. I thought it'd be here, but maybe it's at Starrcade instead. 

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I knew that Arn's neck was going to force him into retirement soon enough, but I had it in my head that he'd make it well into '97 before that happened. I had my timeline all messed up. 

Edited by SirSmellingtonofCascadia
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  • 3 weeks later...

for all of you wondering, the October classic content that will be dropping next week is going to be ugh 10 episodes of 1996 WWF Superstars.  Not a fan of this but the sooner they upload these the better I guess. Then we can get more of the good stuff. 

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Sami on Broken Skull Sessions was on of my favorite ones. It never gets old seeing Austin geek over the modern Era guys. He and Sami just geeking out over the mechanics of his matches was nice. The could've went on for hours and hours . It went by so quick.

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Notes on the 2/8/1986 Boston Garden Show on the Network (under Old School)

Lanny Poffo vs Paul Christy: a fun time between guys who worked together for awhile pre-WWF. Nice Lanny move from the ring over the top rope to the floor similar to Macho Man's axehandle. Nice finishing sequence. Lanny had one foot on the top turnbuckle and one on the middle for his moonsault

Sivi Afi vs Barry O: Afi's now from Samoa instead of Fiji. Monsoon says Barry O like a white guy saying "Barrio". Not a whole lot going on in this match. Jesse did PBP for a few seconds. Afi gets a crossbody instead of a full splash. Barry O's O taunt is hilariously dumb. More dudes with O last names should do that taunt.

George Steele vs Tiger Chung Lee: George Steele showing his athleticism by bending a kendo stick in half. Most of the usual Animal stuff. But he hit Tiger Chung with Tiger's sandles ("shower shoes" in Gorilla's terminology). Animal is actually more of a garbage match type worker than one might remember. Or he is for a guy whose idea of a bump involves occasionally falling down to the mat. Tiger Chung Lee was working matches in the WWF until January 1988, which is more confounding than Tiger Chung Lee/Tiger Toguchi working a match in Japan less than 5 months ago. 

Hillbilly Jim vs Big John Studd: The only interesting part of this match is that Hillbilly Jim did a cartwheel.

Randy Savage vs Tito Santana: This match is on no shortage of tapes that I watched in 1998 and it rules. Memorable finish that was teased a time of two before it was pulled off. I forget if they just retroactively attached this to the "Danny Davis is evil" highlight reel or if it was part of the plan all along. Kinda weird to see the heel doing the rollover out of the Figure Four after so many matches where the face does that (but faces would just reverse the pressure a little before breaking the hold)

The Hart Foundation vs The Killer Bees: This match is scheduled exactly for a 45 minute time limit for some reason. No wonder the WWF just decided to get rid of time limits. Jesse puts these teams in the Top 6. Not top 5. Top 6. A bunch of cops run through the crowd to something on the left of the ring. Got a Stu Hart namedrop in 1986. Noted AWA drug supplier Dr. Jim Brunzell was the face in peril. Got a lot of heels moving in and out without tagging in this match and that factored into the finish.

Ricky Steamboat vs Don Muraco: Muraco wearing a sleak white judo jacket for this match. Fuji is the one manager who is at this card (Heenan and Jimmy Hart are at the Spectrum, which was being run on the same night and also being televised on PRISM, this was a busy Saturday night in the WWF). This match fulfilled a dream of Muraco's to work wearing a jacket with his stomach exposed. We have blood in this match (kinda!), and you thought it was starting off slowly. We had a sleeper spot in Foundation/Bees and a belt choking spot in this match. Not sure I ever saw a bellringer-with-the-legs counter to the Tombstone Piledriver once the Tombstone became established. Fun finishing sequence.

Bruno Sammartino vs Roddy Piper: This is also a quote notable match. Roddy of course milks Super Bowl 20 to it's full extent prematch. We got blood quickly in this one, as God intended for a good cage match. Roddy got his moneys worth in blood and it's on the mat and on Bruno's chest. Roddy probably gained some weight between the late 70s and 1986 but he sizes up well next to Bruno here for someone that was 'too small' for New York while he was in LA. The matchup isn't even in the "we're the same height, you're just fat, Ole" sense either. Half of Piper's ass hangs out for awhile. This was the best match ever featuring an old Italian man fighting off a street thug. An era of Bruno which was similar to a Charles Bronson movie.

 

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6 hours ago, Cobra Commander said:

Notes on the 2/8/1986 Boston Garden Show on the Network (under Old School)

Lanny Poffo vs Paul Christy: a fun time between guys who worked together for awhile pre-WWF. Nice Lanny move from the ring over the top rope to the floor similar to Macho Man's axehandle. Nice finishing sequence. Lanny had one foot on the top turnbuckle and one on the middle for his moonsault

Sivi Afi vs Barry O: Afi's now from Samoa instead of Fiji. Monsoon says Barry O like a white guy saying "Barrio". Not a whole lot going on in this match. Jesse did PBP for a few seconds. Afi gets a crossbody instead of a full splash. Barry O's O taunt is hilariously dumb. More dudes with O last names should do that taunt.

George Steele vs Tiger Chung Lee: George Steele showing his athleticism by bending a kendo stick in half. Most of the usual Animal stuff. But he hit Tiger Chung with Tiger's sandles ("shower shoes" in Gorilla's terminology). Animal is actually more of a garbage match type worker than one might remember. Or he is for a guy whose idea of a bump involves occasionally falling down to the mat. Tiger Chung Lee was working matches in the WWF until January 1988, which is more confounding than Tiger Chung Lee/Tiger Toguchi working a match in Japan less than 5 months ago. 

Hillbilly Jim vs Big John Studd: The only interesting part of this match is that Hillbilly Jim did a cartwheel.

Randy Savage vs Tito Santana: This match is on no shortage of tapes that I watched in 1998 and it rules. Memorable finish that was teased a time of two before it was pulled off. I forget if they just retroactively attached this to the "Danny Davis is evil" highlight reel or if it was part of the plan all along. Kinda weird to see the heel doing the rollover out of the Figure Four after so many matches where the face does that (but faces would just reverse the pressure a little before breaking the hold)

The Hart Foundation vs The Killer Bees: This match is scheduled exactly for a 45 minute time limit for some reason. No wonder the WWF just decided to get rid of time limits. Jesse puts these teams in the Top 6. Not top 5. Top 6. A bunch of cops run through the crowd to something on the left of the ring. Got a Stu Hart namedrop in 1986. Noted AWA drug supplier Dr. Jim Brunzell was the face in peril. Got a lot of heels moving in and out without tagging in this match and that factored into the finish.

Ricky Steamboat vs Don Muraco: Muraco wearing a sleak white judo jacket for this match. Fuji is the one manager who is at this card (Heenan and Jimmy Hart are at the Spectrum, which was being run on the same night and also being televised on PRISM, this was a busy Saturday night in the WWF). This match fulfilled a dream of Muraco's to work wearing a jacket with his stomach exposed. We have blood in this match (kinda!), and you thought it was starting off slowly. We had a sleeper spot in Foundation/Bees and a belt choking spot in this match. Not sure I ever saw a bellringer-with-the-legs counter to the Tombstone Piledriver once the Tombstone became established. Fun finishing sequence.

Bruno Sammartino vs Roddy Piper: This is also a quote notable match. Roddy of course milks Super Bowl 20 to it's full extent prematch. We got blood quickly in this one, as God intended for a good cage match. Roddy got his moneys worth in blood and it's on the mat and on Bruno's chest. Roddy probably gained some weight between the late 70s and 1986 but he sizes up well next to Bruno here for someone that was 'too small' for New York while he was in LA. The matchup isn't even in the "we're the same height, you're just fat, Ole" sense either. Half of Piper's ass hangs out for awhile. This was the best match ever featuring an old Italian man fighting off a street thug. An era of Bruno which was similar to a Charles Bronson movie.

 

Amazing - I just started watching this show yesterday, too!

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