fishbaugh

Lots of fun flying around and bumping in the first fall, including a great Hamrick bump to the floor. Really fun stuff in the third with Egipcio acting like he is being fouled and the de-masking of Lizmark for the finish. I see that some people are saying it is too short to be really great, and I agree, but it is still a very fun match I'd definitely watch again.

This never grabbed my attention the way the first meeting did -- the thing that stood out the most in the opening section was how huge that ref's bow tie was. Now Cota is a great dick to start the match, but the matwork is a lot slower than the previous match and that is probably why it didn't hold me. Did love the Alabama slam into the victory roll to end the first fall, but Cota sneaking in a double pinfall to keep the belt was a little too cute for me. Felt like a bottom half match at the very best.

I'm pretty biased when it comes to matwork style matches -- either it connects with me immediately, or I tune them out and move on. This one grabbed from the jump as it had really fast paced matwork for the first fall. Loved all of the cranking mat holds in the second, with a little nastiness from Coto for good measure. Coto really works the shoulder/arm during the third, and the drop kick leading to the dive spot was fantastic. Coto throwing every move he knows trying to close it out ramped this up even more, and even the kind of silly ref bump leading to the pin with Rocco's legs under the ropes finish didn't bring this down too much. Really good top third of the set match.

As I'm watching this one I'm trying to figure out if we have double juice and then the color comes back on the video exactly at that moment and it is just such a striking visual. Add that to the great stuff between the second and third falls with Satanico slamming Atlantis' head into the ground and smacking him around and I have this in my top 5 so far.

Highlight of the first fall was the great Santo arm drags and the nifty hooks and pin attempts by Atlantis, and Lobo tossing Santo over the top to end the second fall was insane -- and then the swanton by Lobo on Atlantis on the outside was even more insane! Dives in the third are just massive and a great way to end the match. Sitting at #3 for me at this point in the set.

Despite this being the fourth set I've taken part in, it is the first I've actually completed a ballot for and I'm glad I did. The entire process was a blast, and I really loved having those wrestling party podcasts to listen to during my re-watch to motivate me to finalize my ballot. Looking through the detailed stats that Chris put together is so much fun -- the Blackwell vs. Robinson match from 12/3/81 that someone had as #7 and someone else had as #150. That wide range of opinion is fantastic and part of what makes this entire process great.

This suffered from the placement on the disc -- it can't stand up to the previous two matches (from what I like out of my wrestling) and probably will lead to a lower ranking because of that. Will put it on the re-watch pile.

Total sucker for matches that feel out of control, so this will finish high on my ballot. Hard to pick my favorite part of the match, though the garbage hitting MS-1 was great, as was the technicos running around the ring kicking the rudos from the apron during the third fall. LOVED the finish, as Satanico realizes that this is never going to turn back in their favor and just nut shots Chicana for the DQ.

The thing that sets wrestling apart from other forms of sport/entertainment is the immediate payoff you feel when the heel gets what is coming to him. In sports, Belichick wins Super Bowls and is never fully made to suffer for his sins, and Brady gets to go home and fuck his supermodel wife on his mountain of cash. No matter how many times Eli bests them, the Patriots will never really get what is coming to them. You can feel good for a minute, but then you are hit with the reality that it is just 1 game and they'll be back next season to break passing records and marriages. But wrestling can provide that immediate sense of comeuppance, if not outright justice. Magnum made Tully out to be a bitch for the world to see, and every time he steps in the ring you know Tully will back down if forced to. When MS-1 jumps Chicana before the bell and old ladies are weeping for MS-1 to lay off, we have set the stage for who needs to fall, and how he needs to fall. The entire third fall I kept thinking to myself that MS-1 has to submit, as a 3-count would be so anti-climactic. It was the best possible end to the best possible match and is up in my top 5 all-time matches. I honestly had to stop writing my review because I was beginning to compare this match to classic movies and literature, and that is just ridiculous! All I really want to say is that this is as good as pro wrestling gets, and if there is a match on this set that is better than this I can't wait to see it.

This match really highlighted my problem with Kevin -- he doesn't really sell long-term worth a damn. His reactions to any given move are usually good, but as soon as that initial reaction is over, it is as if he just stepped in the ring. So I found it shocking that he submitted in the second fall, even though he gave no visual cue that he had. The third fall had a great bump to the outside on the slam by Morgan, and I loved Kevin's reaction to the missed cross body by Ano, but this match was nothing special. Hanging at the bottom of the first disc, and definitely feels like a bottom 20 match overall.

If you haven't finished your ballot and need a way to power through, these shows are great. I had finished my viewing, but was having a terrible time doing my rankings, and when these were released it gave me an excuse to re-watch and actually turn in a ballot for once. During my original viewing I was laughing at the kid at all of the Vegas shows, so when you guys dubbed him "little Matt D" I was rolling! Hope you plan on doing these for the lucha set too, as I have always been a guy who likes to watch wrestling with the boys more than on my own, and this helps to capture a little of that feeling.

When compared against the previous Canek match, this felt like an actual struggle and I really enjoyed it. The first fall was a real feeling out process, with Canek and Fujinami trying to gauge the skills and speed of the other. The finish came somewhat out of nowhere, but I did like how Canek just had to throw 'bows in order to take Fujinami down, as even with his size advantage he couldn't best him on the mat. Second fall was super quick but I liked that Fujinami struck back with some bombs of his own. I'm not sure if there was some kind of back story to this match that would lead to bad blood, but in the third fall Canek just says "fuck this guy" and trips Fujinami, chokes him out, and once he locks on the figure four he won't let go even when they fall out of the ring to the floor! I actually loved the finish as it is as if Fujinami realizes Canek ain't having any of it and tried to pull the ref in front of his dive. Really left me wanting to see a rematch that had a clean finish, as all of the pieces were put into place for a great match. As it is, I think this is a solid middle of the ballot match.

Both of those matches are really dependent on how you view the progression of the falls -- I thought that the Centurion/Hamada match progressed logically and escalated in the third fall into something really good, but found this match to be disjointed and kind of sloppy. I'll revisit it during my final rankings and see if I take something else from a second viewing.

Guess I should mark this down as a rewatch, as I thought this was easily the worst match so far. Canek looked bored at times, and what others see as a struggle I thought looked like two guys who couldn't get on the same page. I did like the beginning of the third fall with Corleone working over Canek's back, but as soon as he shifted back to offense, it was as if Canek was just starting the first fall with the way he ignored the damage. Didn't like this one at all, but if everyone else is enjoying it I should at least give it a second chance.

This is the first match on the set that really grabbed my attention. People above have said that the first two falls were slow, and I agree, but I felt like they built on each other in a really cool way. The first fall really felt like Centurion Negro making sure to keep Hamada slowed down, and I thought had a really interesting finish. The second fall led to Hamada picking up the pace and taking it to Negro, with a really sick looking backdrop finish that looked like Hamada had to deadlift Negro to get him up. The third fall was fantastic with callbacks to the first 2 falls (Negro trying that hold-on german and Hamada with another backdrop) and then the dives complete with filthy mud covering their backs. Hamada's miss on his dive looked brutal and I really thought would lead to the finish, which left me a little underwhelmed at the actual finish (felt tacked on instead of logical). That is the only thing that will keep this from a top 25-level placement for me.

Ass-based offense is a favorite of mine, and as odessasteps mentioned, this had a similar vibe to that midget match on the AWA set with the comedy spots, sitting on the heels, and butt-focused comedy bumps. Where the AWA midget match had an all-time great atomic drop, this had nothing that stood out and went on too long for a comedy match. Maybe they just wanted to get their money's worth out of Andre? Fun match but I can't see it break out of the bottom 25.

I've always loved the kick to the balls DQ over some sort of chicken shit finish (walking away, taking out the ref on purpose, etc) as it is the perfect way to get across that the face has totally outclassed the heel. But it has to be followed up with some cheap shots, as it really sells the idea that the heel knows he has been outclassed, feels like he has lost face, and needs to get a few kicks in to feel better about himself. However, a cool dick kick finish can't make a middle of the road match great, and I see this finishing around the middle of my ballot.

Glad to see someone else so high on the Hansen vs. Slaughter 2/23 match -- I really liked it and was honestly surprised when I had 9 matches above it.

That was some misleading numbering on my part -- Regal vs. Buck is the clear 150! Just put them in reverse order for some reason, so I checked my ballot to make sure. Martel vs. Brad is not my favorite, but it was hardly bad. Regal vs. Buck was 2 minutes of boring work drawn out to 20+ minutes and I'm still mad I sat through it.

Re-posting my top 25 and bottom 5 for posterity -- sucks my comments from the old board went away as I only kept minor notes in my actual ballot! TOP 25 1. Buddy Rose & Doug Somers vs. Midnight Rockers (8/30/86) 2. Nick Bockwinkel vs. Wahoo McDaniel (8/28/83) 3. Nick Bockwinkel vs. Curt Hennig (11/21/86) 4. Da Crusher & Greg Gagne vs. Crusher Blackwell & Sheik Adnan Kaissey (Cage Match) (3/25/84) 5. Stan Hansen vs. Crusher Blackwell (6/28/86) 6. Buddy Rose & Doug Somers vs. Midnight Rockers (Cage Match) (12/25/86) 7. Ken Patera, Jesse Ventura& Bobby Heenan vs. Hulk Hogan & High Flyers (3/13/83) 8. Buddy Rose & Doug Somers vs. Midnight Rockers (Cage Match) (1/17/87) 9. Stan Hansen vs. Leon White (3/13/86) 10. Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Rick Martel (9/29/85) 11. Stan Hansen vs. Sgt. Slaughter (2/23/86) 12. Nick Bockwinkel vs. Rick Martel (9/20/84) 13. Stan Hansen vs. Curt Hennig (5/31/86) 14. Nick Bockwinkel vs. Curt Hennig (5/2/87) 15. Stan Hansen vs. Nick Bockwinkel (4/20/86) 16. King Tonga, Masked Superstar, & Sheik Adnan Kaissey vs. Crusher Blackwell & Sgt. Slaughter (Cage Match) (4/21/85) 17. Jerry Lawler vs. Curt Hennig (7/16/88) 18. Buddy Rose & Doug Somers vs. Midnight Rockers (1/27/87) 19. Ric Flair vs. Magnum TA (9/28/85) 20. Wahoo McDaniel vs. Manny Fernandez (10/15/88) 21. Nick Bockwinkel vs. Curt Hennig (3/7/87) 22. Crusher Blackwell & Sheik Adnan Kaissey vs. Baron Von Raschke & Mad Dog Vachon (Taped Fist Match) (3/13/83) 23. Jerry Blackwell & Sheik Adnan Al-Kaissie vs. High Flyers (Cage Match) (4/18/82) 24. Manny Fernandez, Teijho Khan & Soldat Ustinov vs. Robert Gibson & The Top Guns (6/12/88) 25. Crusher Blackwell vs. Masked Superstar (3/7/85) BOTTOM 5 150. Steve Regal vs. Buck Zumhofe (11/28/1985) 149. Adrian Adonis vs. Hulk Hogan (10/17/1982) 148. Rick Martel vs. Brad Rheingans (9/9/1984) 147. Jerry Blackwell vs. Billy Robinson (12/3/1981) 146. Nick Bockwinkel vs. Billy Robinson (12/25/1981) 145. Sherri Martel vs. Debbie the Killer Tomato (7/26/1986)