SUMMER SECRET SANTO 2023~!

[Curt McGirt]

We really need a separate thread where everyone has a list of their wants, likes, and dislikes. I took a glance at the Winter Santo thread but only like two of us listed any in that one and one of them was me, and I don't wanna go digging through the rest of them. 

Anyway! Since I see porksweats got Regal to start last time and was fine with it, he gets him again since some unfollowed Facebook account popped up in my feed pimping this the other day. I can't even watch it because I can't find out how to turn off my Ad Blocker and my usual method of pasting the address here so it lets me watch it on the inserted screen isn't working, so this is a blind drop for me. If you have the same problem or are worried about Russians or something there's a 10 minute version from Saturday Night that's on Youtube. 

Sting vs Steven Regal, WCW Great American Bash 1996 - video Dailymotion

EDIT: HA! I figured out how to turn off the Ad Blocker and it was the easiest fucking thing in the world. God I am computer illiterate sometimes. 

Edited August 5, 2023 by Curt McGirt

[Curt McGirt]

Side note: I have an idea for this Santo about shooting people matches from this: https://gweproject.freeforums.net/thread/2845/top-greatest-matches-2023-results?page=1&scrollTo=16919 I mean, you can't really go wrong, can you? 

[John E. Dynamite]

7 minutes ago, Curt McGirt said:

Side note: I have an idea for this Santo about shooting people matches from this: https://gweproject.freeforums.net/thread/2845/top-greatest-matches-2023-results?page=1&scrollTo=16919 I mean, you can't really go wrong, can you? 

11 minutes ago, Curt McGirt said:

We really need a separate thread where everyone has a list of their wants, likes, and dislikes.

I have seen the vast majority of that list. Nothing off of it, please, deep cuts preferred.

[Curt McGirt]

Yeeeaaaaaahhhh... you got a point. I've seen almost all of them too. If somebody can come up with the Dump vs. Yukari Omori match though, I really wanna see that. Maybe I'll just keep this in the back pocket for desperation picks. Like, there has to be people on here who haven't seen the RINGS matches. 

[Chaos]

I feel like my memory bank of fun or great matches has gone the way of an encrypted archive due to just engaging with stuff on a more casual level. As we do this, I hope I can make some fun picks. However, this one is pretty on the nose. I looked at where @SirSmUgly is on his WCW project, and I figured we'd pick something on the other side of the Monday Night Wars from the same time frame. I'm going with the first Austin vs Dude Love match for three reasons: 1) the Over the Edge Match is the more famous match (it'll give me an excuse to watch both for the first time in over a decade as well), 2) the finish to this match has always stuck out more in my head, 3) I became a pro wrestling fan over the summer of 1995. If I think of a year/period where my childhood fandom was at its peak, it would be 1998 because WCW was still fun in the undercard for a good chunk of the year, and WWF had not fully fallen off the deep end with bad Russo stuff and the overall poor quality of 1999. 

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7cq9kg

EDIT: Because Dailymotion embeds in the preview, but is blank after posting. 

 

Edited August 5, 2023 by Chaos

[The Natural]

1 hour ago, Matt D said:

Ok, Paul. There's always the question on whether to give people something they haven't seen or something they might really enjoy to see again, and I'm going to give you an option here.

For the thing to see again, we're bummed about there being no Nigel vs Danielson at All In, so here's the match of theirs (6th anniversary) that even I can really get behind for the character-driven work. It's around 30 though.

So here's another option, which is my favorite match from Worldwide ever (even though this says Power Hour so it probably aired on both):

Your call!

Hi, Matt.

Thank you. I've never seen Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness from the ROH 6th Anniversary Show or Hollywood Blondes vs. 2 Cold Scorpio/Marcus Alexander Bagwell on WCW Power Hour, 15th May 1993. As you kindly gave me two, I will watch both. By giving me two, you've helped as I was genuinely torn between two so you get two too.

The first, Daniel Bryan vs. John Cena at WWE SummerSlam 2013. I wanted to get your take on it as I rate this as not only Bryan's best match ever but Cena's best as well.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2oR_1WBmkHM&pp=ygUZZGFuaWVsIGJyeWFuIHZzIGpvaG4gY2VuYQ%3D%3D

The second, Christian vs. Jack Swagger from WWECW TV, 23rd February 2009. I picked this knowing how much you love Christian/Christian Cage and even ventured to Dailymotion for you.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8c0h4.

Paul xxx.

[porksweats]

1 hour ago, John E. Dynamite said:

I have seen the vast majority of that list. Nothing off of it, please, deep cuts preferred.

That's my one preference too folks, I want some real obscurity to my options.

1 hour ago, Curt McGirt said:

We really need a separate thread where everyone has a list of their wants, likes, and dislikes. I took a glance at the Winter Santo thread but only like two of us listed any in that one and one of them was me, and I don't wanna go digging through the rest of them. 

Anyway! Since I see porksweats got Regal to start last time and was fine with it, he gets him again since some unfollowed Facebook account popped up in my feed pimping this the other day. I can't even watch it because I can't find out how to turn off my Ad Blocker and my usual method of pasting the address here so it lets me watch it on the inserted screen isn't working, so this is a blind drop for me. If you have the same problem or are worried about Russians or something there's a 10 minute version from Saturday Night that's on Youtube. 

Sting vs Steven Regal, WCW Great American Bash 1996 - video Dailymotion

EDIT: HA! I figured out how to turn off the Ad Blocker and it was the easiest fucking thing in the world. God I am computer illiterate sometimes. 

 

I'll give this a watch and review real soon, sounds like a blast. Thank you Curt (Might watch both!)

[Zimbra]

3 hours ago, John E. Dynamite said:

I have seen the vast majority of that list. Nothing off of it, please, deep cuts preferred.

I got you, John E Five

Tenryu vs Yatsu SWS 10.29.91

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2kialm

[SirSmUgly]

On 7/31/2023 at 12:45 PM, Chaos said:

I'm in and will hopefully be able to offer something/consistently participate. Even with the stuff I have seen throughout my life. I have a ton of blind spots both recent and not so recent. My relationship to watching stuff is more casual over the last decade.  

Well, I wanted to give you Disco Inferno vs. Saturn on the 12/8/97 Nitro, but that's not easily findable online in full, and I don't know if you have Peacock/WWEN. 

On that note, here's a match that stood out to me above your typical young lions match in WCW: Title vs. mask, Chris Jericho vs. Juventud Guerrera. 

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3vei7t

Edited August 5, 2023 by SirSmUgly

[Chaos]

1 hour ago, SirSmUgly said:

Well, I wanted to give you Disco Inferno vs. Saturn on the 12/8/97 Nitro, but that's not easily findable online in full, and I don't know if you have Peacock/WWEN. 

On that note, here's a match that stood out to me above your typical young lions match in WCW: Title vs. mask, Chris Jericho vs. Juventud Guerrera. 

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3vei7t

I do have Peacock. I’ll give both a look. 

[Casey]

@Octopus once told me in private that he needs to watch more badass Nakano matches. And with him wanting matches that his partner in this is passionate about - I figure there’s no better place to start than with what I consider the best pro wrestling match to ever take place (sweet, sweet pro wrestling violence). Aja Kong and Bull Nakano make great tag partners when they do team up, but my god, they make even better enemies. They beat the absolute piss out of each other. As I said in that other thread - I can watch this match multiple times a month and it never gets old.

 

Nakano versus Kong

Steel Cage

11/14/90
 

 

[Curt McGirt]

5 hours ago, Zimbra said:

I got you, John E Five

Tenryu vs Yatsu SWS 10.29.91

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2kialm

EAR DISCHARGE~!

[Octopus]

Bull Nakano? More like Bull NakaYES! Thanks, @Casey!

I’m thinking CM Punk for you:

Giving you a choice between Chris Hero and Raven as opponents (the Hero one is an hour, so Raven is the shorter option). Both classic matches, I can find something else if you’ve seen these already.
If you’re not feeling Punky:

 

 

at exactly 19 minutes you get Demolition vs Andre & Haku, which aired January 1st, 1990 which fits your nothing before the 90’s criteria. 

 

[John E. Dynamite]

4 hours ago, Curt McGirt said:

EAR DISCHARGE~!

oh shit that one

it's been like 15 years, when I decided i'd be a high voter on Yatsu but ran out of stuff.

[SirSmUgly]

I just watched WM XIV and saw the Austin title win, so Chaos (sorry, still can't tag folks) gave me a timely match this week. I'll watch anything during this Santo (unless it involves bodily mutilation), but I am into re-assessing stuff that I've seen before, especially the stuff that I've seen before, but don't really remember. Like Chaos said, it's the Austin/Dude Over the Edge match that everyone remembers, not the Unforgiven one. Heck, I don't remember anything about this at all. 

I dig the general idea that Cactus was out here getting his ass beat, not winning titles for it, and no one cared, so his logic for becoming a heel as Dude Love made sense. Fuck it, why not sell out and be the hokey champ that Vince McMahon prefers? I bet Dude would deliver the line SUFFERIN' SUCCOTASH with pep and verve if Vince made him! It's not like he needs the fans' respect that the fans refuse to give him, anyway!

Stone Cold Steve Austin (c) vs. Dude Love, WWF In Your House: Unforgiven ('98)

• The video package at the beginning does a fantastic job of explaining this whole angle just in case you weren't watching post-WM for some reason. I do think that the only thing that's missing is more of Dude's reasoning for not being Cactus or a babyface anymore. Also, I was surprised that Vince was aware of modern movies enough to suggest that Austin's claim of a screwjob conspiracy against him was the result of seeing too many Oliver Stone movies. Huh, it's interesting when we find what happens to get through to him, pop culture-wise.

 

• Mick Foley's dancing is fucking AWFUL, which is great since he's a heel now. He comes out to the ring to almost complete silence. Aww. Poor Mickey Foley. No one sees him as a threat or wants him to be Dude Love/a heel. It's too bad because the reason he's cut this turn is pretty great and he should get more heat since he's also explicitly blaming the fans for this turn toward corporate dorkiness. Mick's out here cupping his hand to his ear like Hogan, trying desperately to get a heel reaction. Aww.

 

• Austin shows up, gets his pops, and gets jumped. Mick's probably doing some of the best work of his life here. Dude Love is the part of him who is tired of getting his ass beat all the time, so while he still has some of that Cactus violence in him, he's far more willing to bail out or run away when he starts eating a beating. It's the subtle character stuff that makes this work so well for me. It's just too bad for him that Austin's a clear level above him, so Austin rolls him early on while he tries to get away. He even sort of gives up and sprints toward the back after getting slaughtered. Well, it's a sprint for him, but a very slow jog for most people. Austin catches him, beats him up on a raised bandstand, and then MURDERS this crazy fuck Foley by beal tossing him a good five feet from the bandstand to concrete. JESUS, the SPLAT sound Foley made.

 

• Anyway, people are very excited about Austin, but I'm entranced with Foley and his work right now. This guy is barely held together physically and moves like a malnourished sixty-year-old man, but he can take a couple wild bumps and do great character work to more than make up for it. Dude finally dodges a splash on the ropes and gets a little offense in. Mick's not going to be too hardcore with the beatdown because he's dude, and he even locks on a resthold for a bit - the resthold allows Vince and his cronies Pat Patterson and Gerald Brisco to come to ringside. Vince teases that he's going to do Screwjob Redux by nodding and winking at the timekeeper. This is one of those things that is compelling at the time, but since I've lived through the diminishing returns of Screwjob teases, Screwjob discussion, and Screwjob mythologizing, it's less effective for me than it would have been twenty-five (!!!) years ago. 

 

• Austin makes a comeback, but gets backdropped into the aisle. Ross and Lawler bicker over Vince Jr. and their fealty to his whims while Vince shit-talks Austin in the aisle. That's a mistake since Austin immediately revives just to stalk him. Dude jumps Austin from behind and continues his assault. Back in the ring, Dude locks on an abdominal stretch and Vince frantically tries to get the timekeeper to call it, but Austin reverses before that can happen. Austin also reverses a vertical suplex outside the ring and dumps Foley right onto the steps in a spot that looks and sounds great, which a) causes Dude to say FUCK IT and try to escape and b) Austin to chase him down and beat the shit out him. 

 

• Still, Dude survives: He hits a swinging neckbreaker back in the ring to stuff an Austin duck down. Then, he loads up the Sweet Shin Music, but Austin catches his boot and Foley ends up discus clotheslining the ref after being spun around. After the bump, Dude escapes a Stunner attempt and locks on the Mandible Claw Love Handle. Dude gets a visual KO, but the ref is entirely out. Austin gets to his feet, backdrops Dude outside, and grabs a chair; Vince cuts him off and the chair hits Austin in the head. Dude uses the chair to charge Austin, but it gets smacked into Dude's face twice. Austin takes the chair, gives Vince an unprotected chair shot, and hits the Stunner on Dude, then counts his own pin? And I guess it's legal? So why didn't Dude just call his own submission four minutes ago? Or why didn't Vince call it for him? Gerry Brisco decides that Austin loses by DQ for hitting a WWF official with the chair, so that's the final finish, I guess. Ooooookay. 

 

• Everyone puts on the low voices of concern for five minutes post-match in which we watch Vince getting backboarded and carried out, which is also dumb. I don't think it's the greatest way to end a PPV that's showcasing your new hot world champ. 

 

• Well, that finish and aftermath was sorta dumb, and Foley is incredibly broken down physically, but 1) Austin being Austin, 2) Foley's character work, and 3) the "Will Vince screw Austin" intrigue carried this nicely. 

 

• On the other hand, it's clear why everyone remembers the OtE match and forgets this one. The OtE match is about a billion times better and maybe the Form of the Good for Attitude Era brawls with gaga finishes. This Unforgiven match was just the bridge between the Dude turn and that OtE match. 

Edited August 6, 2023 by SirSmUgly

[John E. Dynamite]

On 8/5/2023 at 1:37 PM, Zimbra said:

I got you, John E Five

Tenryu vs Yatsu SWS 10.29.91

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2kialm

I have been suffering through "those" board issues and wasn't initially able to skim through your post history for hints. All I got was page one of your most recent posts, and all I was able to glean was "alright he's on a Daddy Magic kick"

but THEN i had this crazy IDEA where I googled "dvdvr Zimbra" and found a link to the 14th page of your post history! (pretty sure these can be navigated by changing numbers in the url bar, btw)! And on Page 14 you were also talking about how you were on a Daddy Magic kick.

Shane Matthews (Matt Menard) vs. Jagged (Angelo Parker) - IWS Un F'n Sanctioned 2007 (3/24/07)
https://youtu.be/7I6rI1OWoL8?t=123

2.0 Ex-point-Plodes! So this is 2 or 3 years after IWS broke out amongst US indieheads after SexXxy Eddie's Tournament of Death blood fountain + those Steen & Generico kids got big in Philly, and 2.0 were already a more-or-less established CHIKARA act.. This is THE BIG SHOW of the year for IWS and this card is a good example of an emergent indie company trying to putting their best foot forward despite losing their top draws as full-timers (SteenErico is nowhere to be found) - they drew 1000 fans and booked Christian Cage for the co-main event and the vibe is a solid one. 2.0 getting the opening match slot is clearly a vote of confidence from the company, and they wrestle a pretty straightforward example of a hot, gimmick-free WCW or ECW-style opener. You really feel that they're auditioning the idea that they understand the fundamentals and are gunning for proper, televised careers, on a night that guarantees a bunch of indie indulgence and deathmatch insanity, 15 years before millions of people knew their names and they had a five-star match to place on their mantle. Here they are being entirely themselves, and maybe trying to convince Christian that they're worth telling somebody about.

Edited August 9, 2023 by John E. Dynamite

[Zimbra]

You did good, bro.  Looking forward to diving into that.

And for my future matches here's what I posted before:

A random selection of Stuff I Like: Battlarts, Tenryu punching people in the jaw, Michinoku Pro, cool matwork, surly fat guys, high-end flippy shit, Tamon Honda, early-2000s indy nonsense, Tajiri, Daniel Bryan, Big Boss Man, really prickish guys who do bootscrapes, John Tenta, and Volk Han.

My only real request would be no deathmatch stuff, or at least no ghoul shit (I liked Honma vs Yamakawa, I don't like gusset plates).  I haven't watched new stuff regularly in about 15 years so anything new will be a surprise to me.

My big blind spot is lucha so any of that is good.

[The Natural]

On 8/5/2023 at 3:11 PM, Matt D said:

Ok, Paul. There's always the question on whether to give people something they haven't seen or something they might really enjoy to see again, and I'm going to give you an option here.

For the thing to see again, we're bummed about there being no Nigel vs Danielson at All In, so here's the match of theirs (6th anniversary) that even I can really get behind for the character-driven work. It's around 30 though.

So here's another option, which is my favorite match from Worldwide ever (even though this says Power Hour so it probably aired on both):

Your call!

 

On 8/5/2023 at 4:42 PM, The Natural said:

Hi, Matt.

Thank you. I've never seen Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness from the ROH 6th Anniversary Show or Hollywood Blondes vs. 2 Cold Scorpio/Marcus Alexander Bagwell on WCW Power Hour, 15th May 1993. As you kindly gave me two, I will watch both. By giving me two, you've helped as I was genuinely torn between two so you get two too.

The first, Daniel Bryan vs. John Cena at WWE SummerSlam 2013. I wanted to get your take on it as I rate this as not only Bryan's best match ever but Cena's best as well.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2oR_1WBmkHM&pp=ygUZZGFuaWVsIGJyeWFuIHZzIGpvaG4gY2VuYQ%3D%3D

The second, Christian vs. Jack Swagger from WWECW TV, 23rd February 2009. I picked this knowing how much you love Christian/Christian Cage and even ventured to Dailymotion for you.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8c0h4.

Paul xxx.

Hi, Matt.

Just finished watching your picks today.

Nigel McGuinness vs. Bryan Danielson. ROH 6th Anniversary Show.

A rare Bryan Danielson match I haven't seen. Good opening exchange of holds feeling each other out. Chuckled at the USA chants. Didn't see the DQ out of nowhere with Nigel attacking the referee. A DQ is rare in ROH especially in the main event. Ugh at an Austin Aries apperance. I've always liked the London Dungeon and how wrestlers with a submission finish work on the body part before applying the move. Bret Hart was the master of that. More need to. We get the big somersault into the crowd by Danielson, always welcome that. Good transition to the straddled lariat as Danielson crotches the top rope and Nigel drags him across it for added measure. What a dick. Never seen Danielson use the Chaos Theory till now. Really liked Danielson working the body with punches. You don't get as much attacks to the torso. That was my favourite thing from the match. Man, I hate the headbutt exchanges both do and as someone who loves Bryan, I have to call him out on it. London Dungeon gets the win as McGuinness retains the ROH World Championship.

Steve Austin/Brian Pillman vs. 2 Cold Scorpio/Marcus Alexander Bagwell. WCW Power Hour/Worldwide, 15th May 1993.

What I liked most from this is the quick pace. Scorpio going for different pinning combinations from the off and how Pillman goes for repeated covers off a clothesline. The heels in the Hollywood Blondes cheating using the tag rope for choking and chucking Bagwell over the top rope which would normally result in a DQ. Austin's short clothesline coming from Bagwell trying to get the hot tag was nicely done. I liked how frantic what turns out to be the last minute of a time limit draw with both going for it too.

Thank you for these and on YouTube.

Paul xxx.

Edited August 9, 2023 by The Natural

[Curt McGirt]

Hey porksweats, got anything for me? 

[The Natural]

On 8/4/2023 at 1:58 PM, The Natural said:

 

Suits me. WWF was much more readily available in the UK on VHS and TV. My first WCW on VHS was most of the 1990 PPVs and TV, Monday Nitro. WWF on VHS were the WrestleManias and TV, 1993.

As for aversions, graphic deathmatches. I'm okay with matches that have some use of barbed wire/thumbtacks such as Triple H vs. Cactus Jack at WWF Royal Rumble 2000 but nothing like razor blade boards/strimmers please. Ironic as I can watch the Saw films fine.

No Davey Richards, Chris Benoit or Hulk f'n Hogan either.

Thank you.

[The Natural]

On 8/5/2023 at 3:16 PM, Curt McGirt said:

Anyway! Since I see porksweats got Regal to start last time and was fine with it, he gets him again since some unfollowed Facebook account popped up in my feed pimping this the other day. I can't even watch it because I can't find out how to turn off my Ad Blocker and my usual method of pasting the address here so it lets me watch it on the inserted screen isn't working, so this is a blind drop for me. If you have the same problem or are worried about Russians or something there's a 10 minute version from Saturday Night that's on Youtube. 

Sting vs Steven Regal, WCW Great American Bash 1996 - video Dailymotion

EDIT: HA! I figured out how to turn off the Ad Blocker and it was the easiest fucking thing in the world. God I am computer illiterate sometimes. 

I've never seen that match but remember Regal slapping the shit out of Sting in the build to it.

Edited August 9, 2023 by The Natural

[Matt D]

@The Natural gave me Cena vs Bryan and Christian vs Swagger from his ECW debut:

Cena vs Bryan:

I don't think I've seen this match since it first happened. It was funny. I went back into the SummerSlam 2013 thread to see if I said much about it and I really didn't. I made this quote, which is funny considering what I feel about this whole situation now (we couldn't know at the time that they were using Danielson solely to heat up Orton for the Cena title unification > Batista WM Victory > Brock win > Reigns ascension yet).

On 8/18/2013 at 11:20 PM, Matt D said:

Ah, the joys of DVDVR where at least most people can be sensible about the finish, tempered slightly, by what happened in Punk when HHH got involved in 2011, but overall, sensible. Bryan chasing is a thousand times better than Bryan being champ right now. 

The only other thing I said at the time was that I really loved the visual of the corner dropkick cut off/spider superplex/headbutt. I was really focused on Punk vs Brock more, I think.

And my big takeaway on the rewatch that it's a great match and a really great Cena performance, especially in the opening minutes. Cena had handpicked Danielson. He was wrestling against not just Danielson but also the crowd, his rep of not being able to wrestle, his hurt elbow. You could see it getting to him in a way that it usually didn't, could see him trying to wrestle early (though leaning on his strength), see the frustration when he knocked Danielson off the apron early with a clothesline, the regret that he had to escalate to punches first. He couldn't be complacent, he couldn't wrestle the match that he wanted, because Danielson was so dangerous and the second he let his guard down for a minute, Danielson was either trying to suplex him off the stairs to the floor or trying to wrench at that damaged arm. So he had to rush in again and again with his size advantage even if it made him a bully of sorts.

They went ten minutes after Cena finally hit the Attitude Adjustment and they did mess up a few spots, most of which being ok but the drop down into the STF off the top really looking nasty on Danielson's head/neck considering what we knew later on. If I was redoing this, I would have had Danielson work on the arm much longer. He was able to for a minute or two but that could have been a five minute stretch easily and could have cut down on the finishing stretch a bit. In general, it was striking to see Danielson at his height like this and ten years younger, he was moving with more electricity. Now he lets the moments come to him a bit more and I might prefer that on one level, but here he was just down Cena's throat and making Cena respond accordingly. Triple H did a very good job of staying out of the way (which made what happened post match all the more visceral). Overall, it's a great match and Danielson at his peak in many ways, but just an excellent Cena performance.

Christian vs Swagger

This was Christian's first match back in the WWE. I remember everyone thinking he'd help Edge against Jeff but that was the Matt Hardy turn instead and the switch part of the bait and switch was Christian ending up here as ECW Ace. Oddly, he made the suffering succotash line that killed Reigns dead work (even if it wouldn't fly today as you don't insult a guy's speech impediment). They were trying to serve a lot of masters here: debuting Christian and putting him over as a threat, showing Swagger as vulnerable champ but still dangerous, setting up the Finlay title match. Christian's real strength is in the week to week and he was stilling establishing himself and learning his opponents, so you wouldn't get the full benefit until the second or third match with Swagger, but everything was smooth and sharp and they worked very well together. Swagger was raw but Christian had spent the last few years as NWA champion and working some big names and did a great job working from underneath here and playing his savvy against Swagger's bullying skill and strength. He immediately felt like he belonged and he went a long way in reminding the fans that Swagger was a threat. This was just the start but it was instantly obvious what he was going to add to the division.

Thanks for these Paul. It was fun to revisit a couple of moments in time. I'm glad you liked what I gave you too.

[The Natural]

4 minutes ago, Matt D said:

@The Natural gave me Cena vs Bryan and Christian vs Swagger from his ECW debut:

Cena vs Bryan:

I don't think I've seen this match since it first happened. It was funny. I went back into the SummerSlam 2013 thread to see if I said much about it and I really didn't. I made this quote, which is funny considering what I feel about this whole situation now (we couldn't know at the time that they were using Danielson solely to heat up Orton for the Cena title unification > Batista WM Victory > Brock win > Reigns ascension yet).

The only other thing I said at the time was that I really loved the visual of the corner dropkick cut off/spider superplex/headbutt. I was really focused on Punk vs Brock more, I think.

And my big takeaway on the rewatch that it's a great match and a really great Cena performance, especially in the opening minutes. Cena had handpicked Danielson. He was wrestling against not just Danielson but also the crowd, his rep of not being able to wrestle, his hurt elbow. You could see it getting to him in a way that it usually didn't, could see him trying to wrestle early (though leaning on his strength), see the frustration when he knocked Danielson off the apron early with a clothesline, the regret that he had to escalate to punches first. He couldn't be complacent, he couldn't wrestle the match that he wanted, because Danielson was so dangerous and the second he let his guard down for a minute, Danielson was either trying to suplex him off the stairs to the floor or trying to wrench at that damaged arm. So he had to rush in again and again with his size advantage even if it made him a bully of sorts.

They went ten minutes after Cena finally hit the Attitude Adjustment and they did mess up a few spots, most of which being ok but the drop down into the STF off the top really looking nasty on Danielson's head/neck considering what we knew later on. If I was redoing this, I would have had Danielson work on the arm much longer. He was able to for a minute or two but that could have been a five minute stretch easily and could have cut down on the finishing stretch a bit. In general, it was striking to see Danielson at his height like this and ten years younger, he was moving with more electricity. Now he lets the moments come to him a bit more and I might prefer that on one level, but here he was just down Cena's throat and making Cena respond accordingly. Triple H did a very good job of staying out of the way (which made what happened post match all the more visceral). Overall, it's a great match and Danielson at his peak in many ways, but just an excellent Cena performance.

Christian vs Swagger

This was Christian's first match back in the WWE. I remember everyone thinking he'd help Edge against Jeff but that was the Matt Hardy turn instead and the switch part of the bait and switch was Christian ending up here as ECW Ace. Oddly, he made the suffering succotash line that killed Reigns dead work (even if it wouldn't fly today as you don't insult a guy's speech impediment). They were trying to serve a lot of masters here: debuting Christian and putting him over as a threat, showing Swagger as vulnerable champ but still dangerous, setting up the Finlay title match. Christian's real strength is in the week to week and he was stilling establishing himself and learning his opponents, so you wouldn't get the full benefit until the second or third match with Swagger, but everything was smooth and sharp and they worked very well together. Swagger was raw but Christian had spent the last few years as NWA champion and working some big names and did a great job working from underneath here and playing his savvy against Swagger's bullying skill and strength. He immediately felt like he belonged and he went a long way in reminding the fans that Swagger was a threat. This was just the start but it was instantly obvious what he was going to add to the division.

Thanks for these Paul. It was fun to revisit a couple of moments in time. I'm glad you liked what I gave you too.

Thank you, Matt. Good reading what you thought on my picks and I'm glad you liked them. Cheers!

[porksweats]

On 8/5/2023 at 9:50 AM, porksweats said:

Hey Curt! Looks like we're paired up!

 

Looking through your recent posts, you seemed to really like Aussie Open so I'm throwing this one that someone uploaded on Youtube from HOG (a promotion I normally care nothing about) of Aussie Open vs The Briscoes (RIP Jay)

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=331WYzCJ7Vc

 

Curt I gave you this one right after it started and you liked the post! I just wasn't able to tag. I've got what you sent me on queue for when I get home from work today to watch.

[The Natural]

5 minutes ago, porksweats said:

Curt I gave you this one right after it started and you liked the post! I just wasn't able to tag. I've got what you sent me on queue for when I get home from work today to watch.

Yeah, the tag system is very hit and miss so when it doesnt, I quote the person instead to hopefully trigger them a notification.

Edited August 9, 2023 by The Natural