Yeah, it's a little late, but it's not like these kind of threads see much action anyway...

RVD and Sabu vs. The Eliminators- November to Remember '96

Sure, this isn't a good match in terms of psychology and telling a story, but shitty time limit draw ending aside, this was really fun. RVD and Sabu keep the blown spots to a minimum, and the Elims bring their awesome (yet contrived as hell) double teams that I still mark out for. Yes, this is a spot match, but if you can deal with that and just put it aside, you might have some fun watching this. Better than any of the other stuff these guys would do involving tables and ladders by a long shot.

***

I saw Abraham Lincoln wrestling a Bear... just kidding. I will watch something later probably.

Just watched the Eddie and RVD ladder match from RAW 2002. Good TV match.

The alternate commentary with RVD is hilarious.

Because I enjoy torturing myself...

The Undertaker vs. Giant Gonzalez

From Wrestlemania IX. Words cannot describe how horrible this was. Big, dumb, 7'7" ape with no wrestling or talking abilities vs. a Deadman who no sells everything and moves at the pace of a crippled snail = TRAIN WRECK.

Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio, SmackDown! (6/1/05)
I watched SmackDown! Just for this as it was supposedly a great match. I thought wow ‘’great’’ it would be better than their SmackDown! Match last year in Boston. I thought since it was the opener they may be given twenty minutes to build something and have a great pay off at the end. I’m not disappointed with the match. It is a good television match, though I wouldn’t regard it as anything special.

The opening stages were full of great stuff that only these two would be capable of doing well on their roster. They manage to establish the aggressor and the bigger man in Eddie, and the highflying individual in Rey. They went for three tie/lock ups with each sequence’s outcome ending with Rey getting the best out of Eddie because he used his small frame and speed advantage. In two of them, (tie ups) Rey would use his size to his advantage and execute a move such as a springboard leg scissors from the bottom rope. On the third one, Eddie decided to try and match up for speed, but was trounced upon. The transition from Rey beating Eddie to Eddie working on Rey’s arm happens when Eddie decides to go back to using his size advantage and ended up countering a Rey Roll Up Pin attempt and planted him face down on the mat. Seriously, I haven’t seen a beginning in the WWE in a long time that started out as well as this did. Ironically, the best opening to matches lately have been in Rey’s matches against bigger opponents. Matches that come in mind are the 26/8 with Angle, and the 18/3 with Eddie.

Eddie’s work on Rey’s arm wasn’t anything with substantial meaning; rather it was used as a means to keep Rey close to him and to ground him, preventing him from using his highflying expertise. Eddie used a hammerlock to put Rey down on the mat like he did in their previous matches. He even did the bridge which was a nice added touch, however what I preferred in this one was that he didn’t do that other submission where he grabbed Rey on his back and stretched the arm like they had done previously. That looked devastating, but the set up was poor thus making the spot look ‘’fake’’, and you want to keep stuff as realistic as possible. This segment was kept rather short yet focused. It also had a tree of woe spot that lead to Rey taking lead in the match, but the significance was how it went about. Eddie’s talking to the referee allowed Rey to recover, and when Eddie went for the dropkick and missed, it made for a logical move to the next step in the match.

The WWE decide to cut to a break (I hate when they do that), so we don’t get to see how good the things what they were doing, but they came back to Rey working on Eddie’s right arm. At first, I believed Rey used it as a means to allow his arm to recover from the work Eddie did to it, as Rey had previously jumped from the top rope and sold his arm like he was in pain, and when he had Eddie in a hold, he was still shaking of the wear and tear. Nevertheless, it is also a sign that Rey wanted to get revenge or at least do a one up man ship with Eddie. Later on in the match, Eddie went for a Sleeper hold, and Rey countered into a sleeper of his own. He could have done any other move but he chose a sleeper. I think that they were trying to do a sort of one up man ship theme. Although its brief, you can see it is there.

Another good thing about the sleeper hold is that Rey was able to counter Eddie’s attempt, and ground Eddie with ease with it. Without damaging the power advantage Eddie had, in order for Rey to ground Eddie something would have needed to happen for Eddie to go down to his smaller opponent. We had that in a spinning DDT that Rey delivered to Eddie just before the counter of the sleeper.

There are even more signs of power vs. speed, but you get the gist of it now.

My only complaints are that they again botched stuff, and one made for a weird situation. I believe Eddie had Rey is his arms and Rey was trying to spin into what looked like a head scissors, however he slipped and fell. Eddie had to roll Rey up, but it was pretty evident that they weren’t going for that. Rey in the match had also done a springboard Moonsault off the top, but he nearly missed Eddie. Apart from that though, the execution on a whole was generally good.

I suppose some may think that the ending hampered the match but I don’t think so. I still find Eddie’s antics funny and it did play off what they did last week. Also if you notice, Rey gives Eddie more trouble in this match than he did in there March match so there weren’t know need for Eddie to cheat.

**3/4

Eddie vs. Brock Title match from Eddie's DVD.

God, I didn't remember this being so good. After rewatching this last night, I'm thinking this is the best WWE match since Vince bought the competition. If you're not getting the love for it, watch it again. Seriously, that is what pro-wrestling is supposed to be like. Early on the crowd was chanting Goldberg. They wanted him to come out. Keep that in mind.

The match plays out very realistically. Let's face it, toe to toe Eddie wouldn't stand a chance with Brock, but the way this plays out works perfectly. Eddie outsmarts and outquicks Brock all through the match, constantly taking out his knees. Not necessarily working towards a finish, but if you've seen much MMA, you know that it will counter power quite effectively. Still, every time Brock gets his hands on Eddie he pounds him. Eddie refuses to quit, and this is pointed out by Brock yelling "just die Eddie". Great stuff.

Now comes the part that most would say takes away from the match: the run in and the ref bump. I disagree, it actually helped this particular match. First, the ref bump was done to perfection. It didn't looked contrived, it was out of nowhere. Ref's in the wrong spot, bam, takes a hit. Well played by all parties. When Goldberg runs in, the crowd pops, and he spears Brock and leaves. Many would say this weakens Eddie, but think about it, Brock kicked out of the pin attempt directly after the spear. And remember what the crowd was chanting early in the match?Now what are they chanting? "Eddie, Eddie". You see, this is the one time I can remember where all those little cliched moments actually worked together to produce the desired results:
1. An over champ
2. An elevated title
3. No heat lost for the challenger
4. Another match built up by this match. (Brock vs. Goldberg) Unfortunately, that didn't turn out like this.

This match is as close to ***** as anything WWE has done in at least 5 years. I'd give it ****1/2. Man, I miss Brock, and I didn't even enjoy him when he was around.

Just made myself a Hogan 2002-2003 Compilation over the past week, so here we go... (yes, I know, I made the list a la John McAdam)

- New World Order teaser videos, promoting the returns of Hollywood Hogan, Kevin Nash, and Scott Hall. Included in one is the infamous Finger Poke of Doom. For thos ewoh don't know, WCW was pimping Hogan vs. Nash for quite a while, and decided to blow it off on the 1-4-99 episode of Nitro (going up against Foley winning the World Title, taped the previous week). Long story short, Hogan won with a fingerpoke in a match they revealed was rigged. Funny how Schiavone said this was the most important thing in wrestling... because it's what was the second nail in WCW's coffin.
- From No Way Out 2002, the New World Order returns. The crowd is obviously not going to boo Hogan, but he plays it as a heel anyway. Hall and Nash get decent reactions (positive), but are soon drowned out with stupid "What!?!" chants. Damn you, Austin!
- (WWF Undisputed Title) CHRIS JERICHO © vs. STEVE AUSTIN (jip) - Joins in as the referee is bumped. The nWo quickly run in and take out Austin (who puts up a decent fight), helping Jericho retain the title. Afterwards, the nWo give Austin the old spray paint job.
- Highlights from the 2/18/02 RAW. Hogan and The Rock have a confrontation in the ring, setting up a match between wrestling's Past and wrestling's Present (Rock is no future, sorry). Crowd has duel chants of "Hogan" and "Rocky" as the two go face to face. Rocky gives Hogan a Rock Bottom, setting him up for an nWo beatdown. Afterwards, Rock is placed in an ambulance, where Hogan actually rams into it with a semi quite a few times. Cheesy... but memorable lines include "I'm gonna lay the smackdown on his crippled ass" are repeated ad nasuem.
- New World Order promo from 2/25/02 RAW. The Threesome of Evil send threats towards Austin, while Hall fiddles around with a wheelbarrel filled with "Cement Bricks" that crumble in your hands.
- THE ROCK vs. HOLLYWOOD HOGAN - Words can't describe the electricity from this match. The crowd is almost 100% Pro-Hogan until mid-match when the crowd is completely shifted to Hogans side and crap all over The Rock. The Rock puts down Hogan, but he Hulks Up as the crowd fucking explodes. The Rock ends up kicking out of Hogans leg drop, and finishes him off with the Peoples Elbow (and it missed). Hall & Nash turn on Hogan, but the Rock saves and he and Hogan pose to the crowd. AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME. Hulkamania is alive again. *** (WM X-8)
- From the 3/18/02 RAW. Hogan turns face with a little persuasion by The Rock (ripping up the nWo shirt really was kinda lame), setting up a match later in the show against Hall and Nash. Long promo (roughly 25 minutes!), but all 4 men are good at them as long as one of them isn't allowed too much time at once.
- HULK HOGAN & THE ROCK vs. KEVIN NASH & SCOTT HALL - Hogan had turned face earlier in the show because, quite obviously, the crowd refuses to boo the guy. Hogan debuts the Voodoo Child theme song in the WWF and the match is decent, but a bit too short with a lame finish. (3/18/02 RAW)
- Highlights from 3/21/02 Smackdown. Hall and Nash are destroying the Rock, so Hogan comes to make the save. During the action, X-Pac returns and busts Hogan open with a chair shot (which he blocks quite obviously).
- HULK HOGAN & THE ROCK vs. KEVIN NASH, SCOTT HALL, X-PAC - X-Pac had returned the previous Smackdown by attacking Hogan with a chair. Heels cheat until Kane runs in and cleans house. Kane would suffer some kind of injury to his bicep that would keep him out of action until the night after Summerslam. (3/25/02 RAW)
- "Feud" recap from Backlash for Hogan and Hunter, despite neither being heels and thus making it pointless. Nothing in terms of build up besides "Accidental attacks".
- (WWF Undisputed Title) TRIPLE H © vs. HULK HOGAN - Hulkamania is Reborn as Hunter does the job to Hogan, who wins his first WWF Title Match since April 4th, 1993 and his 6th WWF Title overall. Decent match, although Triple H now hates Hogan for his nostalgia run.
(Backlash 2K2)
- From the 4/22/02 RAW. Hogan gives a celebration speech after winning the title at Backlash the previous night. Also throughout the show, Raw Rewind airs clips of Hogan winning his World Titles thoughout his career (WWF only of course).
- (WWE Undisputed Title) HULK HOGAN © vs. RIC FLAIR - No Disqualifications Match. Pretty cool to see this match on National TV for the first time in a singles match in the WWF. Good match considering the age of the participants with a lame finish. (5/13/02 RAW)
- Also from the 5/13/02 RAW, Hogan is on his motorcycle wearing a pretty thick jacket, when the Undertaker attacks him from behind, and in the comical moment of 2002, ties Hogan to the back of his motorcycle and drags him around at 5 mph, then crashing Hogan into a pile of boxes and "lead" piping. Too... funny...
- From the 5/16/02 Smackdown. Hogan is still selling injuries from the previous attack on RAW. Hogan gets a lengthy standing ovation (around the 10 minute mark) and beats Vince McMahon some more heading into Judgment Day.
- (WWE Undisupted Title) HULK HOGAN © vs. THE UNDERTAKER - Boring match but not complete garbage... OK, I'm lying. Undertaker wins the title thanks to Vince McMahons interference. (JDay 2K2)
- From the 5/23/02 Smackdown, Hulk Hogan gives a "retirement" speech, but backs out at the last minute and decides to beat the pants off of Vince McMahon instead.
- 20 MAN BATTLE ROYALE (Participants: Hulk Hogan, Triple H, Kurt Angle, Lance Storm, Test, Chris Jericho, Billy Kidman, Reverend D'Von, Ron Simmons, Christian, Big Valbowski, Randy Orton, The Godfather, Mark Henry, Hardcore Holly, others) - Decent Battle Royale that has Hogan and Hunter winning when they both tumble over the top rope first. (6/6/02 SD)
- HULK HOGAN vs. TRIPLE H - #1 Contenders Match for King of the Ring. Hogan returns the job in a pretty boring match. Thankfully it was short. (6/6/02 SD)
- (WWE Tag Team Titles) CHUCK & BILLY © vs. HULK HOGAN & EDGE - Hogan comes to the ring to Real American as his theme music. Hogan wins his first and only Tag Title in his career when he and Edge hit stereo leg drops on Chuck Palumbo. Great moment. (7/4/02 SD)
- HULK HOGAN, EDGE, RIKISHI vs. TEST, LANCE STORM, CHRISTIAN - Decent match as Hogan cleans house en route to a victory. (7/18/02 SD)
- From the 8/1/02 Smackdown, Hogan and Angle have an in-ring confrontation, which leads into Stephanie McMahon making a match for later in the show. Later in the show, both men have confrontations with Brock Lesnar in the locker room, which really drags on with Brocks huffing and puffing.
- HULK HOGAN vs. KURT ANGLE - Winner faces Brock Lesnar the next week on Smackdown. Possibly one of Hogans best match in 2002 as Angle carries him to a good match before getting Disqualified for using a steel chair. (8/1/02 SD)
- From the 8/8/02 Smackdown. Hogan and Brock have a confrontation in the locker room, as Hogan challenges Brock to put his #1 Contenders Status on the line in their upcoming match for Summerslam. Brock agrees, which forces Heyman to have a heart attack, telling Brock he's playing right into Hogans hand. I still say a Hogan/Rock Rematch at Summerslam would've been an awesome idea.
- HULK HOGAN vs. BROCK LESNAR - #1 Contenders Match for Summerslam. Hogans final WWE appearence until the night after Royal Rumble as he does the clean job to Brock and is left a bloody mess. (8/8/02 SD)
- Video Package For Hogan/Rock II. Rock had recently turned heel and started insulting Hogan and taking the credit for Hulkamania being born again. Of course, no one should've expect the second match to be as good as the first.
- HULK HOGAN vs. THE ROCK - The rematch everyone wanted, but didn't really deliver. Rocky is Ultra-Heel here and has the kickass "Hollywood Mix" theme music. Sylvain Grenier is the crooked referee who helps Rock win again. Decent match overall, but not close to the level of Wrestlemania X-8. This triggered the McMahon vs. Hogan feud for Wrestlemania XIX. (NWO)
- Wrestlemania XIX Video Package for the Hogan/McMahon feud. Pretty length. Highlights of the Contract Signing with one of few Mean Gene Okerlund appearences on SD sees McMahon brutally attack Hogan and forces him to sign the contract with his own blood.
- HULK HOGAN vs. VINCE MCMAHON - Hogan must win or he retires. Pretty cool match, with Vince doing a leg drop off a ladder through a table! Piper returns (sporting a massive gut) and nails Hogan with a lead pipe. Evil referee Sylvain Grenier comes out for the pin, but Hogan hulks up, cleans house and pins Vince with 3 leg drops. He and Shane then have a minor confrontation before Hogan leaves the ring. *** (WM XIX)
- Recap from the 4/10/03 Smackdown. Hogan is told to sit out the rest of his contract by McMahon, only a week after Wrestlemania. Hogans final appearence... or so we are suppose to think. We aren't that stupid though! Pretty lengthy for a video package.
- Piper's Pit from the 5/1/03 Smackdown. Mr. America makes his long awaited Debut, and looks quite familiar. Gee, since I give it away anyway, I wonder who it is? The plus: He comes out to Real American. The bad: Everything else. Just picture Dusty Rhodes' Midnight Rider gimmick, or Jimmy Valiant's Charlie Brown gimmick, or the Yellow Dog, and you get the point.
- MR. AMERICA (Hulk Hogan) vs. RODDY PIPER - Not bad and pretty short, so no complaints from me on this one. (JDay 2K3)
- MR. AMERICA (Hulk Hogan) vs. SEAN O'HAIRE - Decent match except for the lame ending where Mr. America is counted-out when he tries to prevent Vince McMahon from having Zach Gowen arrested. (5/22/03 SD)
- HULK HOGAN, KURT ANGLE, BROCK LESNAR vs. BIG SHOW, CHARLIE HAAS, SHELTON BENJAMIN - Hogan's first and only match in MSG on TV since 1992. Another good, entertaining match. The Big Show pins Hogan thanks to a helpful distraction from Vince McMahon. This would end up being Hulk Hogans final WWE Match to this date. ***1/4 (6/26/03 MSG)

Still in the middle of tape one of an AJPW 1990-1992 comp on the Misawa/Jumbo feud. it's good, I just can't seem to make much headway. Tonight, I'm gonna hit some beers and the bong, and watch a bunch of it.

In search of listing my NWA-TNA PPV's, I skimmed through the 2/5/03 (Week #30) PPV, which is the "Russo/SEX Declare War" angle, with 15 minutes of brawling to close the show.

Match #1: Jorge Estrada vs. Glen Gilberti - Definitely a pass on this one. Estrada was nothing special, and Gilberti hasn't had many good matches in TNA. Estrada is apparently raped of his Flying Elvis attire.

Match #2: Sonny Siaki (X-Division Champ) vs. Amazing Red - Siaki belongs in the X-Division as much as Erik Watts does. Pretty bland with random "highspots" by the Over-rated Red.

Match #3: Tenacious Z (Zach Gowen) vs. B.G. James - Very weird watching this match now. First viewing had me marking out for Gowen, but now it's too uncomfortable looking.

Match #4: Ron Killings vs. Jerry Lynn vs. Mike Sanders vs. David Flair - Four Corners Elimination Match. Really weird booking sees the SEX guys job to Lynn, then having Killings win not-so-clean. Did the tension between Lynn/Killings ever go anywhere?

Match #5: Desire vs. Trinity - Not too good, although the dead crowd makes it that way. Just too long.

Match #6: Triple X (Low-Ki & Elix Skipper; Tag Team Champs) vs. The New Church (Slash & Brian Lee) - Watching now, but I think I remember this being a good match. Damn Slash was pretty entertaining and Brian Lee didn't suck.

Just watched Tony Atlas vs. Hulk Hogan from the March 1981 MSG Show. Quick match (only around 7:00), and nothing really great, but cool to see Atlas press slam Hogan over his head. Also, I think it was Hogans last WWF pinfall loss until February 1988.

Been watching a ton of Benoit vs Jericho lately. Sometimes complete matches and sometimes just bits and pieces. Here's what I thought.


Benoit vs Jericho Fall Brawl 9/15/96 WCW -- I caught the last few minutes of this one and enjoyed it a lot. Jericho's comeback was especially well done well over the course of time with a bunch of cool counters. This match wasn't so much about reaching 5 stars as it was roleplaying. It did what it was supposed to do perfectly. Benoit dominates at the beginning (if memory serves correct) because he's on a much higher plane than Jericho. Jericho shows fighting spirit for a "lesser" fighter and makes his comeback until he makes a mistake early in his comeback and Benoit immediatly pounces on that for a victory. It wasn't about doing 5 million kickouts after Jericho's comeback. It was about Benoit showing his dominance over Jericho.

Benoit vs Jericho 11/2/96 WCWSN -- Saw a bit of this one. Remember it as being good but not great and kinda short. Benoit's taped up from kayfabe injuries in this one.

Benoit vs Jericho 12/30/96 -- Nitro -- I loved this one. Jerico still the signifigant underdog compared to Benoit nails him with a dropkick from the top rope to the floor and lands on his feet. Having cauight Benoit off guard he keeps up the onslaught until Benoit catches a breather by hanging Jericho up on the ropes after countering his leapfrog in a very good spot that was not only a sweet counter but showed the desperation Benoit was in. When Benoit gets a chance he shows his frustration by nailing Jericho with punches for upstaging him. Jericho in the end makes a mistake and Benoit once again like in the Fall Brawl match capatilises on it.
Short match but nice storytelling filled with cool looking offence, counters and intensity.


Benoit vs Jericho 1/22/98 Thunder -- Pretty good match overall. Jericho is now the cowardly heel so this match is different than the previous ones. Some cool stuff in this one with a well thought out comeback by Benoit. Benoit does the beatdown in the corner which I always love.

Benoit vs Jericho 4/29/98 Pillman Tribute

This was very good with the late mid and ending section of the match being the definite highlight.

Benoit vs Jericho Backlash -- I loved this match. I could watch it a million times over. This is the closest yet that Jericho's been on Benoit's level kayfabe wise. I actually might like this now more than Summerslam. Very intense, cardiovascular/muscular draining match which is what I love to see in my wrestling. It didn't really follow the typical WWE formula either. Great stuff.

Benoti vs Jericho 5/4/00 Smackdown

Only saw 1/2 of this since that's all I have on tape. This is the bloody match where Jericho busts open Benoit's eye. Not too long but a great match where Benoit goes back to his Stampede roots and hits a sunset flip off of the top rope only to be countered by Jericho. Nice countering in this one and there were some real cool spots like Benoit hoisting Jericho up on his traps, Jerich0 countering the aforementioned move with a small package.

Benoit vs Jericho 5/8/00 Raw

Good match but a couple of steps down from the Smackdown match. Hurt somewhat by the gimmickry around it.

Benoit vs Jericho Submission Match

This was very good but not great. Like Backlash it was full of intensity which I loved and it did have some real nice countering such as Benoit countering Jericho's Walls Of Jericho when he was caught up in the ropes and Jericho countering Benoit's offence by kicking at his weak knee. I think it needed some extra time and perhaps more concentration on Jericho getting annihalted since he was the face. Benoit's the heel but he's the one who until the very end is the one in the most trouble and therefore the most sympathetic. He comes off as being the face in this for a good portion of the match. Still a very good match.


Benoit vs Jericho 5/28/00 Edmonton Handheld -- Good match overall but not up to their ususal standards.


Benoit vs Jericho 2/3 falls Summerslam -- Loved this one though I may have actually changed my mind and like Backlash better now. This match is too short for 2/3 falls and the ending is both good and bad but the work inbetween I love. The fighting at the beginning, the crossface spot at the end of the first fall, how the armwork came into play during the awesome dragon suplex sequence, Jericho hitting nice credible offecne despite having a bad shoulder and the ending I like. Jericho has Benoit on the run so Benoit in an innovative spot that I say was inspired from a Johnny Smith match in Stampede has to use the ropes in an act of desperation. The coolest thing about the ending was how Jericho's shoulder prevents him from kicking out.


Benoit vs Jericho 1/4/01 Smackdown -- Really Short but lots of fun

Benoit vs Jericho from Toronto -- Good match but I"m not quite sure what to think of it. The beginning and the ending was cool as anything though with Benoit and Jericho reminding me somewhat of the Benoit vs Regal match from New Japan

Benoit/Jericho vs Edge/Christian Raw -- This was shortly before the big title match against HHH and Austin. Okay match.

Benoit/Jericho vs HHH/Austin Raw -- Very good match where emotion is its strongest strength.

Benoit/Jericho vs Edge/Christian Smackdown Title match -- I was fastforwarding through this when I realised, "Hey, this looks pretty good" so I decided to check it out. What a difference when compared to their Raw match as this is signigantly better. Very good match that I would reccomend anyone checking out. I didn't think it'd be this good coming in. Everything is done well here.


I don't know what my favourite match of Benoit and Jericho is but I would say Fall Brawl, Nitro from 12/30/96, Backlash, the bloody Smackdown match, Summerslam, the ladder match and probably the J Cup (haven't seen in a long time) are their best overall work together.

I'm going out on a hunch here... I bet your favorite wrestler is Benoit? :D (no shame in that)

Yup, I love intensity in my matches.

Some of my other Favourites are:


Benoit
Mayumi Ozaki
Dynamite Kid
Manami Toyota
Kenta Kobashi
Cobra
Johnny Smith
Bret Hart
Yoshida
Hokuto
Megumi Kudo
Ravishing Rick Rude
Owen Hart
Lyger
Takada