Sunday, 31 October 2010
Great News About The Drop Kick Radio Wrestling Show
It has been going live every Thursday for a while now but from Sunday November 7th 2011 it will fill the void left by the Ministry of Slam show, yes, DKR will be LIVE on a Sunday night for the forseeable future. These guys (Martyn & Jeremy) who run this show put a helluva lot of work into it so please give it a listen every sunday over at http://dropkickradio.com where you can also join the chat room when the show is on the air. Go to the site now for archives of previous shows to see what to expect.
Saturday, 30 October 2010
WWE Highest Flyers - Disc 2 DVD Review By Shaun Nichols
Chris Jericho vs. Ultimo Dragon ****
1-2-3 Kid vs. Hakushi ***1/2
John Morrison vs. Tyson Kidd ***1/4
Edge & Christian vs. Dudley Boys vs. Hardy Boys ****1/2
Super Crazy vs. Tajiri vs. Little Guido ***1/4
Brian Pillman vs. Alex Wright ***3/4
Great Muta vs. Sting ***
Rob Van Dam vs. Jerry Lynn ***1/4
Extras
Hardy Boys vs. Kaientai **
Disc 2 starts with Chris Jericho defending the WCW Cruiserweight title at Bash at the Beach 1997, this is your typical babyface vs babyface match with Dragon especially being in excellent form. Jericho keeps himself in the match with a number of springboard moves. Mike Tenay on commentary discusses Jericho's previous matches with Dragon for the WAR promotion a few years earlier. Match really does pick up in the last few minutes and the fans react pretty big when Jericho successfully retains.
Moving over to the WWF and a look at the 1-2-3 Kid and then his match at Summerslam 1995 against Hakushi, I was a big fan of Hakushi when he signed with the WWF in 1994 and although he was never allowed to do his full repertoire due to infringing on other wrestlers gimmicks most noticably his awesome rope walking spot which made Undertaker look like an amateur. So I'm thrilled to see a rare Hakushi match on a WWE compilation. Match is unlike anything else in the promotion at this time because they were definitely behind the times when it came to high flying fast paced action. Hakushi wins after catching the Kid with a powerbomb after the Kid was using a springboard.
Next comes John Morrison and shockingly a second Superstars match on this compilation, this is from July 2009 so Tyson is playing heel with the rest of the Hart Dynasty running interference for him. This again is pretty standard fare and seems like a missed opprtunity to find a better match for Morrison who athletically is very gifted though this match also indicates that he's not particularly over with the fans.
Moving onto to the tag teams we get a decent video highlighting among others the Rock 'n' Roll Express, the Killer Bees and the Rockers. The match we get to showcase tag team wrestling is the ladder match from Wrestlemania 16. This is chock full of frankly insane dives, carefully orchestrated ladder and table spots that builds and builds to more dangerous spots. What's really interesting to note is that Edge is rarely involved in the major highspots of the match. Jeff Hardy and Bubba Dudley are easily the craziest people involved. With Hardy writing himself in history with his ridiculous senton off a very high ladder onto Dudley who was laid on a table. Fans live went mad for this and I really enjoyed it for what it is a slice of car crash wrestling. Which took ladder matches to the next stage in regards to what reckless moves the fans would see.
Up next is the insane luchadore Super Crazy and the match is the three way from ECW One Night Stand in 2005, we also see the full range of FBI members including JT Smith while the Sinister Minister and Mikey Whipwreck are supporting Tajiri. Loads of stiff kicks and reversals until Crazy lands the first big move with a moonsault from the balcony with all members of the FBI acting as his safety net. While this is going on Mikey hits Guido with a Whippersnapper and Tajiri gets the pin. Crazy back in the ring secures victory with another moonsault. Fans really liked this and I think this is partly down to nostalgia of seeing everyone including as I said Smith who hadn't been a part of ECW since the mid 1990's.
Brian Pillman's match with Alex Wright is very strange, a lot of it is very good. Some parts are horrible including Pillman's attempt at a crossbow which Wright equalised using a dreadful attempt at a surfboard. Bobby Heenan helps tremendously on commentary basically burying not only both wrestlers, his co-commentator Tony Schiavone and the fans in attendance. Wright wins when he blocks a Pillman sunset flip for the surprise pinfall.
Shock of the compilation is next when NJPW's Great Muta is next to be featured. The match against Sting comes from the WCW Japan Supershow in March 1991. Within the first 30 seconds we get Muta's patented handspring elbow and an attempted moonsault. Muta though is gimmick over the wrestler though he's still entertaining to watch. Sting goes someway in matching him in the ring as well. Unfortunately we get a cheap finish when Muta uses the dreaded mist and then a crossbody for the win. Sting immediately attacks him afterwards to get his heat back.
When you think of RVD vs. Jerry Lynn, which match are you thinking of? Either of the two ECW PPV matches? No, before there was WWE Superstars there was Sunday Night Heat and this is where we go to from August 2001 in a pretty decent ten minute match. I can't lie they should have picked a different RVD match although at least this doesn't have the legendary RVD posing or Bill Alfonso and his whistle. Match features everything you would expect including the impressive five star frog splash from RVD for the win.
This discs extra is a 4 minute TV match from Sunday Night Heat on the pre-game show of Breakdown 1998 PPV, this is about as good as you can get for a match with such a short time frame and it's always really fun to see Men's Teoih wrestling.
The second disc is also very entertaining with the standout match being the ladder match from Wrestlemania 16 but there is nothing on this disc that could be considered even average. Match choices could always be better, with Disc 2's RVD match being the one that should have been replaced with something else. If they wanted RVD vs. Lynn there were far better options available. Disc 3 features among others Shawn Michaels, Jeff Hardy, Taka Michinoku and saving the best until last Rey Mysterio.
=
1-2-3 Kid vs. Hakushi ***1/2
John Morrison vs. Tyson Kidd ***1/4
Edge & Christian vs. Dudley Boys vs. Hardy Boys ****1/2
Super Crazy vs. Tajiri vs. Little Guido ***1/4
Brian Pillman vs. Alex Wright ***3/4
Great Muta vs. Sting ***
Rob Van Dam vs. Jerry Lynn ***1/4
Extras
Hardy Boys vs. Kaientai **
Disc 2 starts with Chris Jericho defending the WCW Cruiserweight title at Bash at the Beach 1997, this is your typical babyface vs babyface match with Dragon especially being in excellent form. Jericho keeps himself in the match with a number of springboard moves. Mike Tenay on commentary discusses Jericho's previous matches with Dragon for the WAR promotion a few years earlier. Match really does pick up in the last few minutes and the fans react pretty big when Jericho successfully retains.
Moving over to the WWF and a look at the 1-2-3 Kid and then his match at Summerslam 1995 against Hakushi, I was a big fan of Hakushi when he signed with the WWF in 1994 and although he was never allowed to do his full repertoire due to infringing on other wrestlers gimmicks most noticably his awesome rope walking spot which made Undertaker look like an amateur. So I'm thrilled to see a rare Hakushi match on a WWE compilation. Match is unlike anything else in the promotion at this time because they were definitely behind the times when it came to high flying fast paced action. Hakushi wins after catching the Kid with a powerbomb after the Kid was using a springboard.
Next comes John Morrison and shockingly a second Superstars match on this compilation, this is from July 2009 so Tyson is playing heel with the rest of the Hart Dynasty running interference for him. This again is pretty standard fare and seems like a missed opprtunity to find a better match for Morrison who athletically is very gifted though this match also indicates that he's not particularly over with the fans.
Moving onto to the tag teams we get a decent video highlighting among others the Rock 'n' Roll Express, the Killer Bees and the Rockers. The match we get to showcase tag team wrestling is the ladder match from Wrestlemania 16. This is chock full of frankly insane dives, carefully orchestrated ladder and table spots that builds and builds to more dangerous spots. What's really interesting to note is that Edge is rarely involved in the major highspots of the match. Jeff Hardy and Bubba Dudley are easily the craziest people involved. With Hardy writing himself in history with his ridiculous senton off a very high ladder onto Dudley who was laid on a table. Fans live went mad for this and I really enjoyed it for what it is a slice of car crash wrestling. Which took ladder matches to the next stage in regards to what reckless moves the fans would see.
Up next is the insane luchadore Super Crazy and the match is the three way from ECW One Night Stand in 2005, we also see the full range of FBI members including JT Smith while the Sinister Minister and Mikey Whipwreck are supporting Tajiri. Loads of stiff kicks and reversals until Crazy lands the first big move with a moonsault from the balcony with all members of the FBI acting as his safety net. While this is going on Mikey hits Guido with a Whippersnapper and Tajiri gets the pin. Crazy back in the ring secures victory with another moonsault. Fans really liked this and I think this is partly down to nostalgia of seeing everyone including as I said Smith who hadn't been a part of ECW since the mid 1990's.
Brian Pillman's match with Alex Wright is very strange, a lot of it is very good. Some parts are horrible including Pillman's attempt at a crossbow which Wright equalised using a dreadful attempt at a surfboard. Bobby Heenan helps tremendously on commentary basically burying not only both wrestlers, his co-commentator Tony Schiavone and the fans in attendance. Wright wins when he blocks a Pillman sunset flip for the surprise pinfall.
Shock of the compilation is next when NJPW's Great Muta is next to be featured. The match against Sting comes from the WCW Japan Supershow in March 1991. Within the first 30 seconds we get Muta's patented handspring elbow and an attempted moonsault. Muta though is gimmick over the wrestler though he's still entertaining to watch. Sting goes someway in matching him in the ring as well. Unfortunately we get a cheap finish when Muta uses the dreaded mist and then a crossbody for the win. Sting immediately attacks him afterwards to get his heat back.
When you think of RVD vs. Jerry Lynn, which match are you thinking of? Either of the two ECW PPV matches? No, before there was WWE Superstars there was Sunday Night Heat and this is where we go to from August 2001 in a pretty decent ten minute match. I can't lie they should have picked a different RVD match although at least this doesn't have the legendary RVD posing or Bill Alfonso and his whistle. Match features everything you would expect including the impressive five star frog splash from RVD for the win.
This discs extra is a 4 minute TV match from Sunday Night Heat on the pre-game show of Breakdown 1998 PPV, this is about as good as you can get for a match with such a short time frame and it's always really fun to see Men's Teoih wrestling.
The second disc is also very entertaining with the standout match being the ladder match from Wrestlemania 16 but there is nothing on this disc that could be considered even average. Match choices could always be better, with Disc 2's RVD match being the one that should have been replaced with something else. If they wanted RVD vs. Lynn there were far better options available. Disc 3 features among others Shawn Michaels, Jeff Hardy, Taka Michinoku and saving the best until last Rey Mysterio.
=
Monday, 25 October 2010
N£O Takes A Look At Ziggler vs. Daniel Bryan From Bragging Rights
NEO'S JOY OF AN OUTSTANDING BRAGGING RIGHTS 1ST MATCH - 25/10/2010
Bragging rights kicked off, with 23 minutes of pure wrestling genius.
Daniel Bryan versus Dolph Ziggler was class 'A' wrestling, both of these men left it all in the ring, and Ziggler took so many good shots from Bryan it was almost difficult to watch or understand at what point they were ever going to end this great competition.
This was quite amazing, I have been watching wrestling for over 30 years and I have to say that after watching this match FIVE times over, it is one of the best matches I have seen in a long, long time. Bryan was electric..... And Ziggler was just as good...
WWE sold the buried alive match in a long promo, but we were later to find out that this wasn't actually the main event it was destined to be Randy Orton versus Wade Barrett. The night kicked off with Vicky Guerrero saying as she usually does, "Excuse me!!!" to the usual boos and hisses.
Dolph, looking ripped and strangely 'perfect' physically as he normally does (and slightly over tanned in this writer's opinion) was looking like he meant business and Bryan came down to that stupid music which just does not suit him in this opinion of this writer as I have said before. Then there was a lock-up and we were treated to 10 min of back and forth action up which one point Bryan jumped over Guerrero and flew through the air off the side of the ring and hit Ziggler with a flying knee that really looked like that it would sting of in the morning and also brilliantly Ziggler kicked out quite a few times at the start of the match, then rolled out of the ring to let us all know that he was actually intimidated by Bryan, who acknowledged the crowd support...
Danielson actually got loads of crowd pops on many occasions, in fact we were also treated to "Let's Go Bryan!!" chants which rang through the arena very loudly.
Vicky screamed from ringside throughout the whole match and some of the commentary that King and Michael Cole gave while she was doing it was actually quite funny and for once,Matt Striker was getting on with King and it was all quite hilarious which added a good side to this outstanding competition, and quite a few of the kicks that Bryan delivered to Ziggler looked absolutely eye watering and I am very, very impressed with the way Ziggler carried on throughout this match - his conditioning is amazing,
That flying knee I just can't get over - I must have watched it at least 10 times in slow motion.......
The crowd reactions to some of these amazing athletes's moves just made for an exciting start to Bragging Rights.
Both of these athletes, came up with moves that we haven't seen in WWE before or for a long time..... Dolph Ziggler, using his amateur wrestling background skills, showed off a few simple moves like firemen's carries that were very impressive indeed and quick as you like!!!
Bryan however, had the most of the going and flew across the ring a few times with great style and finesse. This one spot was interesting to say the least.... Bryan went to back suplex Ziggler off the top rope after cleverly evading a supeplex himself, but Ziggler turned it into a splash mid-air and both athletes fell to the mat from at least 12 or 13 foot in the air... Ziggler went for the cover, but Bryan then twisted his hips and turned into a cover of hids own for 2 3/4 count. This was typical of the whole contest, and we were also treated to lots of different submissions, close pinfall combinations, high impact kicks, excitement, jaw breaking shocks and high-speed action that never seem to end!
A great showing by both competitors, and I guarantee that the booking team and the writers of the McMahons will put these two in the ring together even though they are on different shows.
WE HAVE TO SEE THEM AT IT AGAIN!!!!! A definite contender for match of the year....
For wrestling's Last Hope this is N£O signing out - 25/10/2010
Bragging rights kicked off, with 23 minutes of pure wrestling genius.
Daniel Bryan versus Dolph Ziggler was class 'A' wrestling, both of these men left it all in the ring, and Ziggler took so many good shots from Bryan it was almost difficult to watch or understand at what point they were ever going to end this great competition.
This was quite amazing, I have been watching wrestling for over 30 years and I have to say that after watching this match FIVE times over, it is one of the best matches I have seen in a long, long time. Bryan was electric..... And Ziggler was just as good...
WWE sold the buried alive match in a long promo, but we were later to find out that this wasn't actually the main event it was destined to be Randy Orton versus Wade Barrett. The night kicked off with Vicky Guerrero saying as she usually does, "Excuse me!!!" to the usual boos and hisses.
Dolph, looking ripped and strangely 'perfect' physically as he normally does (and slightly over tanned in this writer's opinion) was looking like he meant business and Bryan came down to that stupid music which just does not suit him in this opinion of this writer as I have said before. Then there was a lock-up and we were treated to 10 min of back and forth action up which one point Bryan jumped over Guerrero and flew through the air off the side of the ring and hit Ziggler with a flying knee that really looked like that it would sting of in the morning and also brilliantly Ziggler kicked out quite a few times at the start of the match, then rolled out of the ring to let us all know that he was actually intimidated by Bryan, who acknowledged the crowd support...
Danielson actually got loads of crowd pops on many occasions, in fact we were also treated to "Let's Go Bryan!!" chants which rang through the arena very loudly.
Vicky screamed from ringside throughout the whole match and some of the commentary that King and Michael Cole gave while she was doing it was actually quite funny and for once,Matt Striker was getting on with King and it was all quite hilarious which added a good side to this outstanding competition, and quite a few of the kicks that Bryan delivered to Ziggler looked absolutely eye watering and I am very, very impressed with the way Ziggler carried on throughout this match - his conditioning is amazing,
That flying knee I just can't get over - I must have watched it at least 10 times in slow motion.......
The crowd reactions to some of these amazing athletes's moves just made for an exciting start to Bragging Rights.
Both of these athletes, came up with moves that we haven't seen in WWE before or for a long time..... Dolph Ziggler, using his amateur wrestling background skills, showed off a few simple moves like firemen's carries that were very impressive indeed and quick as you like!!!
Bryan however, had the most of the going and flew across the ring a few times with great style and finesse. This one spot was interesting to say the least.... Bryan went to back suplex Ziggler off the top rope after cleverly evading a supeplex himself, but Ziggler turned it into a splash mid-air and both athletes fell to the mat from at least 12 or 13 foot in the air... Ziggler went for the cover, but Bryan then twisted his hips and turned into a cover of hids own for 2 3/4 count. This was typical of the whole contest, and we were also treated to lots of different submissions, close pinfall combinations, high impact kicks, excitement, jaw breaking shocks and high-speed action that never seem to end!
A great showing by both competitors, and I guarantee that the booking team and the writers of the McMahons will put these two in the ring together even though they are on different shows.
WE HAVE TO SEE THEM AT IT AGAIN!!!!! A definite contender for match of the year....
For wrestling's Last Hope this is N£O signing out - 25/10/2010
WWE Highest Flyers - Disc 1 Review By Shaun Nichols
Ricky Steamboat vs. Brian Pillman ***1/4
Evan Bourne vs. Zack Ryder **1/4
Jimmy Snuka vs. Samu **
Juventud Guerrera, Hector Garza & Lizmark Jr vs. Psychosis, La Parka & Villiano IV ***3/4
Shelton Benjamin vs. Shawn Michaels ****
Ultimo Dragon vs. Rey Mysterio ***3/4
Eddie Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko ****1/4
Extras
Ultimo Dragon vs. Psychosis ***1/4
Chavo Guerrero vs. Jamie Noble *3/4
This is the first of three discs and this release is hosted by Josh Matthews who indicates that this is some kind of unofficial countdown of the best high flyers. Before the disc starts you get the usual trailers which were the Jericho dvd which is excellent, details of a new Cena dvd which looks pretty good if you're a fan and finally the Big Show's film Knucklehead which looks horrendous.
We start with a quick package on Steamboat and then onto his Halloween Havoc 1992 match against Pillman, Pillman had recently turned heel but it was before he joined up with Steve Austin to form the Hollywood Blonds. Match was very well worked and told a very simple and straight forward story. That being that Steamboat was able to outwrestle Pillman, until much to Brian's amusement he had to resort to cheating to take control. What we didn't get is any high flying, surely that would be the point? Steamboat wins coming off the top and pinning Pillman with a sunset flip. Come on guys we could have got the legendary crossbody finish. Also interesting is that Jesse Ventura's commentary was removed so we had Jim Ross going solo.
Next wrestler highlighted is Evan Bourne, the quick 60 second packages are very well done. Shockingly we get a match from Superstars (the WWE C show) against Zack Ryder which was fine for what it was but again very little in high flying. What is clear is that WWE fans really like Bourne as a talent and you have to wonder why the WWE have so far refused to use him to the best of his ability. In the only high flying move of the match Bourne gets the win with the 450. He also demonstrates the move in a skycam segment which sounds interesting but really isn't.
Back to the time machine and we head to 1984 and onto Jimmy Snuka. His match against Samu (called Somoan #3 in this) was very basic especially when Samu was on offence. Come the big comeback, our commentators Gorilla Monsoon & Pat Patterson go crazy putting over Snuka and to be fair the fans react big as well. Again we don't get the finish you would expect as Snuka gets the win with a crossbody and not the Superfly splash as I was expecting.
A fantastic package showcasing WCW Cruiserweights is next, followed by a Lucha Libre 6 man tag from WCW Bash at the Beach 1997. Some fans and the unique WCW commentary team, Mike Tenay apart don't really know what to make of this. Psychology isn't a factor at all and the match follows the usual Mexican formula of the technicos outsmarting the rudos who make a fine job of bumping into one another in a form that the Three Stooges would have enjoyed. We did get a lot of crazy dives and the match is very fast paced and also very enjoyable. The rudos come unstuck when they substitute Villiano V for Villaino IV when Hector Garza hits a standing moonsault for the win.
It's the Shelton Benjamin package next and then we see the match that should have made him a big star which was his match against Shawn Michaels in the Goldrush tournament from Raw in May 2005. Like many Shawn Michaels's matches this told a very clear story which was that in the early stages HBK was being out-wrestled and out-thought by his younger opponent. This works to such an extent that the fans really get into this match and start buying the close falls and teased finishes. Then to top off this really good matches we get arguably the greatest finish to a match seen on Raw. Benjamin attacks with a springboard only for HBK to nail him absolutely perfectly with his superkick for the win. An excellent match.
In the spotlight next is Ultimo Dragon and his J-Crown title defence against Rey Mysterio from World War 3 in 1996. I always enjoy watching Dragon wrestle but never understood why apart from the fact he was Japanese that he was lumbered with Sonny Onoo as his manager. He wrestles such a clean babyface style it doesn't work having a heel manager in his corner. This tells the story of Dragon using his superior mat wrestling to control Mysterio for long periods of time which keeps the crowd a little bit quiet. From the ten minute mark we start to see Rey's big comebacks which are slick reversals and great dives. However it's not enough to stop the champion retaining his titles.
The last wrestler featured on Disc 1 is Eddie Guerrero and of all the matches they could have featured they chose a mat wrestling classic from ECW in 1995 when Guerrero and Malenko were battling over the TV title with Eddie defending in Dean's hometown of Tampa. Fans were surprisingly quiet for a lot of this and I was surprised to see a fan sitting opposite the hard camera wearing a builders hard yellow hat for absolutely no reason. This was a superb wrestling encounter but again you don't really see much high flying, you get the odd dropkick, headscissor takedown and Eddie hits a frog splash for a close two count. There's a good spot where both wrestlers end up on the floor and a fan this being ECW offers Eddie a chair to use which Eddie reacts angrily to, I found this really funny. Malenko gets the win with a roll up after a series of reversals. Eddie takes this well and presents Dean with the TV title before he suckers him a short arm clothesline to keep the feud going. Really good stuff.
Each disc gets extras and Disc 1 we get to enjoy a solid Ultimo Dragon match against Psychosis from Uncensored 1997 which no doubt one match of the night because Uncensored PPV's always tended to be awful. We also see a six minute match featuring Chavo beating Jamie Noble with the frog splash from a Smackdown taping in the UK from 2008 in a typical TV match. There was a funny sign saying that Wenger needs Batista, as what I'm not sure of. There is also a 90 second feature called Flight Turbulence where you see wrestlers taking big bumps such as Brock nearly breaking his neck at Wrestlemania after screwing up a 450, Undertaker falling into a pile of tables, Kurt Angle's classic moonsault miss in the cage against Benoit and the Foley dive off the HITC and onto the commentators table. It finishes with the message that we should not try this at home.
Disc one certainly presents a strange selection of matches and the first three I felt were missed opportunities, the worst of which was the match choice for Evan Bourne which beggars belief. Surely they could have chosen his PPV match against Jericho this year would have been far better. Some matches like Guerrero-Malenko I'm really pleased that they featured but would not describe it as anything remotely built as a high flying wrestling match. However it is still a very entertaining disc overall and I'm looking forward to watching the other two discs which I will also review shortly.
Evan Bourne vs. Zack Ryder **1/4
Jimmy Snuka vs. Samu **
Juventud Guerrera, Hector Garza & Lizmark Jr vs. Psychosis, La Parka & Villiano IV ***3/4
Shelton Benjamin vs. Shawn Michaels ****
Ultimo Dragon vs. Rey Mysterio ***3/4
Eddie Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko ****1/4
Extras
Ultimo Dragon vs. Psychosis ***1/4
Chavo Guerrero vs. Jamie Noble *3/4
This is the first of three discs and this release is hosted by Josh Matthews who indicates that this is some kind of unofficial countdown of the best high flyers. Before the disc starts you get the usual trailers which were the Jericho dvd which is excellent, details of a new Cena dvd which looks pretty good if you're a fan and finally the Big Show's film Knucklehead which looks horrendous.
We start with a quick package on Steamboat and then onto his Halloween Havoc 1992 match against Pillman, Pillman had recently turned heel but it was before he joined up with Steve Austin to form the Hollywood Blonds. Match was very well worked and told a very simple and straight forward story. That being that Steamboat was able to outwrestle Pillman, until much to Brian's amusement he had to resort to cheating to take control. What we didn't get is any high flying, surely that would be the point? Steamboat wins coming off the top and pinning Pillman with a sunset flip. Come on guys we could have got the legendary crossbody finish. Also interesting is that Jesse Ventura's commentary was removed so we had Jim Ross going solo.
Next wrestler highlighted is Evan Bourne, the quick 60 second packages are very well done. Shockingly we get a match from Superstars (the WWE C show) against Zack Ryder which was fine for what it was but again very little in high flying. What is clear is that WWE fans really like Bourne as a talent and you have to wonder why the WWE have so far refused to use him to the best of his ability. In the only high flying move of the match Bourne gets the win with the 450. He also demonstrates the move in a skycam segment which sounds interesting but really isn't.
Back to the time machine and we head to 1984 and onto Jimmy Snuka. His match against Samu (called Somoan #3 in this) was very basic especially when Samu was on offence. Come the big comeback, our commentators Gorilla Monsoon & Pat Patterson go crazy putting over Snuka and to be fair the fans react big as well. Again we don't get the finish you would expect as Snuka gets the win with a crossbody and not the Superfly splash as I was expecting.
A fantastic package showcasing WCW Cruiserweights is next, followed by a Lucha Libre 6 man tag from WCW Bash at the Beach 1997. Some fans and the unique WCW commentary team, Mike Tenay apart don't really know what to make of this. Psychology isn't a factor at all and the match follows the usual Mexican formula of the technicos outsmarting the rudos who make a fine job of bumping into one another in a form that the Three Stooges would have enjoyed. We did get a lot of crazy dives and the match is very fast paced and also very enjoyable. The rudos come unstuck when they substitute Villiano V for Villaino IV when Hector Garza hits a standing moonsault for the win.
It's the Shelton Benjamin package next and then we see the match that should have made him a big star which was his match against Shawn Michaels in the Goldrush tournament from Raw in May 2005. Like many Shawn Michaels's matches this told a very clear story which was that in the early stages HBK was being out-wrestled and out-thought by his younger opponent. This works to such an extent that the fans really get into this match and start buying the close falls and teased finishes. Then to top off this really good matches we get arguably the greatest finish to a match seen on Raw. Benjamin attacks with a springboard only for HBK to nail him absolutely perfectly with his superkick for the win. An excellent match.
In the spotlight next is Ultimo Dragon and his J-Crown title defence against Rey Mysterio from World War 3 in 1996. I always enjoy watching Dragon wrestle but never understood why apart from the fact he was Japanese that he was lumbered with Sonny Onoo as his manager. He wrestles such a clean babyface style it doesn't work having a heel manager in his corner. This tells the story of Dragon using his superior mat wrestling to control Mysterio for long periods of time which keeps the crowd a little bit quiet. From the ten minute mark we start to see Rey's big comebacks which are slick reversals and great dives. However it's not enough to stop the champion retaining his titles.
The last wrestler featured on Disc 1 is Eddie Guerrero and of all the matches they could have featured they chose a mat wrestling classic from ECW in 1995 when Guerrero and Malenko were battling over the TV title with Eddie defending in Dean's hometown of Tampa. Fans were surprisingly quiet for a lot of this and I was surprised to see a fan sitting opposite the hard camera wearing a builders hard yellow hat for absolutely no reason. This was a superb wrestling encounter but again you don't really see much high flying, you get the odd dropkick, headscissor takedown and Eddie hits a frog splash for a close two count. There's a good spot where both wrestlers end up on the floor and a fan this being ECW offers Eddie a chair to use which Eddie reacts angrily to, I found this really funny. Malenko gets the win with a roll up after a series of reversals. Eddie takes this well and presents Dean with the TV title before he suckers him a short arm clothesline to keep the feud going. Really good stuff.
Each disc gets extras and Disc 1 we get to enjoy a solid Ultimo Dragon match against Psychosis from Uncensored 1997 which no doubt one match of the night because Uncensored PPV's always tended to be awful. We also see a six minute match featuring Chavo beating Jamie Noble with the frog splash from a Smackdown taping in the UK from 2008 in a typical TV match. There was a funny sign saying that Wenger needs Batista, as what I'm not sure of. There is also a 90 second feature called Flight Turbulence where you see wrestlers taking big bumps such as Brock nearly breaking his neck at Wrestlemania after screwing up a 450, Undertaker falling into a pile of tables, Kurt Angle's classic moonsault miss in the cage against Benoit and the Foley dive off the HITC and onto the commentators table. It finishes with the message that we should not try this at home.
Disc one certainly presents a strange selection of matches and the first three I felt were missed opportunities, the worst of which was the match choice for Evan Bourne which beggars belief. Surely they could have chosen his PPV match against Jericho this year would have been far better. Some matches like Guerrero-Malenko I'm really pleased that they featured but would not describe it as anything remotely built as a high flying wrestling match. However it is still a very entertaining disc overall and I'm looking forward to watching the other two discs which I will also review shortly.
Tuesday, 19 October 2010
Quick RAW Review For 18/10/10 By N£O
Hello wrestling fans Neo here, again.
Wanted to give you my thoughts and views on Monday night RAW.
The first surprising thing about the Calgary RAW, was usually especially at pay-per-view events the crowd in Canada can be very hostile towards....well everyone.
But I found the new excitement in the Canadian crowd was quite refreshing, as they seem to be behind all the stars who usually get booed in Canada.
We started off with Cole surprisingly having to take a back seat as a Babyface sort of commentator because Theodore Long was coming down to take charge of RAW and proceeded to remove the laptop which gets the e-mails from the general manager.
Big show and then the Smack Down roster from the Bragging Rights team proceeded to come down and take charge of our RAW ring.
As the WWE website report details it, Theodore Long was leading the charge, but really he was just following script, although this was good stuff and I was already hooked.
Obviously, I knew that this was going to happen, leading up to Bragging Rights and with the sale of the Smack Down vs Raw game on the horizon, we wouldn't expect anything less.
But this was a good RAW, in fact In the Words of Mike Mizano this was an Awesome Raw.
Soon after I watched the show, I checked the American forums, and they described this as the invasion, I wouldn't describe it quite as an invasion but it certainly was a takeover.
There was blue everywhere, and the usual plants in the audience with the signs were quite obvious by the way that the production team cut to them almost on cue.
Then Cole, as usual started coming in his pants because that Miz came out to challenge the 7 foot monstor SD Captain, although we found out later he got slightly more than he bargained for.......
RAW's team is eclectic mix of heels / superheroes / Babyface's and super Babyface's and the surprising introduction (and I must admit this writer did not see this coming) Ezekiel Jackson's return who looks pretty impressive not so much in the ring, but physically certainly looks like he could be one of Vince's big dominating superstars!
Big Show then challenged his opposite number (Miz) to a match later on at the end of the show which you just knew was gonna turn into an all-out brawl but Teddy Long had a surprise up his sleeve for us and it was an enjoyable one.
With bragging rights not that far away the whole thing - in fact the whole broadcast was a Blue versus Red showdown and I really don't mind this because I am a big fan of the Smack Down vs RAW console series games, and enjoy them thoroughly with my five-year-old son who has created his own character on 2010 for the Xbox and takes great pride in doing his 619 that he is added to it on my character Daddy Taker!
The show was all about blue versus red so we were subjected to maybe an hour of time fillers, which was still entertaining.
They have now lined Daniel Bryan up seemingly, with the Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler in a match that now has been announced for Bragging Rights officially. Again, repeating myself as I have done about four or five times in this article, obviously the blue versus red matchup is classic for the Bragging Rights pay per view that we are becoming accustomed to, but the added incentive for us is that Daniel Bryan, a very talented and hard-working athlete is being pitched against one of the WWE poster childs and throw Vicky Guerrero into the mix and I'm looking forward to this one very, very, very much. Having watched Bryan live on many occasions in the UK and ROH I would love to see this man go all the way as he is a thoroughly nice guy who has been nothing but informative and nice to me at fan based signing visits I have met him on.
Although, I find it hard to believe that the WWE will let the US champion beat the Intercontinental Champion at a pay-per-view.
Finally after lots of different comedy skits throughout the show, and promos where we see Wade Barrett embarrassing Cena in front of a laughing and joking Nexus team we got the mini main event before the end of the show where Orton and Cena were pitted against Harris and McGillicutty. I am undecided on McGillicutty not because of his heritage, far from it - but because I just don't think he has the charisma or the skill to live up to his family name albeit that he hasn't actually got his family name.... Which is strange?
Husky Harris however is a prospect I am looking forward to seeing developed, if he gets the chance. I like the monica that he is a tank with a Ferrari engine, and I think he has some skills for a big fat kind of Samoan Joe type character which I think behind-the-scenes they are hoping to create maybe down the line....
Anyway Orton and Cena really did make quick work of the two 'rookies', and the actual ending where the Attitude Adjustment and the RKO were delivered was quite entertaining and got a big pops from the crowd.
The only point of interest apart from the well timed choreographed action was the ending after the match when Barrett was clearly upset with Cena and instructed all of his fellow Nexus team members to attack Orton which they did eventually after Orton tried to fight back as his character always would do.
The pack of jackals overpowered Orton and beat him right down and then Barrett strangely ordered Cena to deliver the 'AA' to Orton, (and remember
Cena will be in the corner of Barrett for their championship match at Bragging Rights) but then decided to stop and in some symbolic way then transferred Orton's lifeless carcus to the shoulders of Barrett and Barrett delivered Wasteland which didn't look that impressive and let's be honest Wasteland is about as impressive finishing move as attitude adjustment isn't!!!
Don't really want to tell you about Gold Dust beating Zach Ryder while Ted Dibiase looked on and tried to get his $$$ belt back, although I am slightly happy that finally The Gold One is getting a little bit of recognition from the commentary team as Michael Cole seemed genuinely excited that Dusty Rhodes' son was getting a mini push, although I think the reason he is getting the mini push, is because HE IS Dusty Rhodes' son.
Onto the main event, even before the Miz versus the giant captain versus Capt match could get into action, Teddy Long again stamped his authority by telling us that it was now going to be, (as all the rest of the rosters from both shows were at ringside in a lumberjack position) we should have a battle royale which the Calgary crowd seemed to love and so did I.
The battle royale lasted longer than I thought it would and for a while no-one was eliminated, but one by one the stars who really don't matter in this big face off @ Bragging Rights went out bit by bit, even mysterio, who arguably is one of the biggest pulling stars in the WWE went out well before the end... Edge got ankle locked by Swagger outside the ring and took himself out of camera shot through good 2 min while Big Show and Edge eliminated the Awesome team captain and Sheamus with a couple of good timed spears and clotheslines.
Yes folks, smack down won the battle royale leading up to bragging rights and now holds a 2 nil lead over smack down in the Bragging Rights buildup as they did win last year's pay-per-view.
Who will win on Sunday night/Monday morning...????? This writer cannot wait to find out!
For WRESTLING'S LAST HOPE this is N£O reporting.......peace out - 19/10/2010
Wanted to give you my thoughts and views on Monday night RAW.
The first surprising thing about the Calgary RAW, was usually especially at pay-per-view events the crowd in Canada can be very hostile towards....well everyone.
But I found the new excitement in the Canadian crowd was quite refreshing, as they seem to be behind all the stars who usually get booed in Canada.
We started off with Cole surprisingly having to take a back seat as a Babyface sort of commentator because Theodore Long was coming down to take charge of RAW and proceeded to remove the laptop which gets the e-mails from the general manager.
Big show and then the Smack Down roster from the Bragging Rights team proceeded to come down and take charge of our RAW ring.
As the WWE website report details it, Theodore Long was leading the charge, but really he was just following script, although this was good stuff and I was already hooked.
Obviously, I knew that this was going to happen, leading up to Bragging Rights and with the sale of the Smack Down vs Raw game on the horizon, we wouldn't expect anything less.
But this was a good RAW, in fact In the Words of Mike Mizano this was an Awesome Raw.
Soon after I watched the show, I checked the American forums, and they described this as the invasion, I wouldn't describe it quite as an invasion but it certainly was a takeover.
There was blue everywhere, and the usual plants in the audience with the signs were quite obvious by the way that the production team cut to them almost on cue.
Then Cole, as usual started coming in his pants because that Miz came out to challenge the 7 foot monstor SD Captain, although we found out later he got slightly more than he bargained for.......
RAW's team is eclectic mix of heels / superheroes / Babyface's and super Babyface's and the surprising introduction (and I must admit this writer did not see this coming) Ezekiel Jackson's return who looks pretty impressive not so much in the ring, but physically certainly looks like he could be one of Vince's big dominating superstars!
Big Show then challenged his opposite number (Miz) to a match later on at the end of the show which you just knew was gonna turn into an all-out brawl but Teddy Long had a surprise up his sleeve for us and it was an enjoyable one.
With bragging rights not that far away the whole thing - in fact the whole broadcast was a Blue versus Red showdown and I really don't mind this because I am a big fan of the Smack Down vs RAW console series games, and enjoy them thoroughly with my five-year-old son who has created his own character on 2010 for the Xbox and takes great pride in doing his 619 that he is added to it on my character Daddy Taker!
The show was all about blue versus red so we were subjected to maybe an hour of time fillers, which was still entertaining.
They have now lined Daniel Bryan up seemingly, with the Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler in a match that now has been announced for Bragging Rights officially. Again, repeating myself as I have done about four or five times in this article, obviously the blue versus red matchup is classic for the Bragging Rights pay per view that we are becoming accustomed to, but the added incentive for us is that Daniel Bryan, a very talented and hard-working athlete is being pitched against one of the WWE poster childs and throw Vicky Guerrero into the mix and I'm looking forward to this one very, very, very much. Having watched Bryan live on many occasions in the UK and ROH I would love to see this man go all the way as he is a thoroughly nice guy who has been nothing but informative and nice to me at fan based signing visits I have met him on.
Although, I find it hard to believe that the WWE will let the US champion beat the Intercontinental Champion at a pay-per-view.
Finally after lots of different comedy skits throughout the show, and promos where we see Wade Barrett embarrassing Cena in front of a laughing and joking Nexus team we got the mini main event before the end of the show where Orton and Cena were pitted against Harris and McGillicutty. I am undecided on McGillicutty not because of his heritage, far from it - but because I just don't think he has the charisma or the skill to live up to his family name albeit that he hasn't actually got his family name.... Which is strange?
Husky Harris however is a prospect I am looking forward to seeing developed, if he gets the chance. I like the monica that he is a tank with a Ferrari engine, and I think he has some skills for a big fat kind of Samoan Joe type character which I think behind-the-scenes they are hoping to create maybe down the line....
Anyway Orton and Cena really did make quick work of the two 'rookies', and the actual ending where the Attitude Adjustment and the RKO were delivered was quite entertaining and got a big pops from the crowd.
The only point of interest apart from the well timed choreographed action was the ending after the match when Barrett was clearly upset with Cena and instructed all of his fellow Nexus team members to attack Orton which they did eventually after Orton tried to fight back as his character always would do.
The pack of jackals overpowered Orton and beat him right down and then Barrett strangely ordered Cena to deliver the 'AA' to Orton, (and remember
Cena will be in the corner of Barrett for their championship match at Bragging Rights) but then decided to stop and in some symbolic way then transferred Orton's lifeless carcus to the shoulders of Barrett and Barrett delivered Wasteland which didn't look that impressive and let's be honest Wasteland is about as impressive finishing move as attitude adjustment isn't!!!
Don't really want to tell you about Gold Dust beating Zach Ryder while Ted Dibiase looked on and tried to get his $$$ belt back, although I am slightly happy that finally The Gold One is getting a little bit of recognition from the commentary team as Michael Cole seemed genuinely excited that Dusty Rhodes' son was getting a mini push, although I think the reason he is getting the mini push, is because HE IS Dusty Rhodes' son.
Onto the main event, even before the Miz versus the giant captain versus Capt match could get into action, Teddy Long again stamped his authority by telling us that it was now going to be, (as all the rest of the rosters from both shows were at ringside in a lumberjack position) we should have a battle royale which the Calgary crowd seemed to love and so did I.
The battle royale lasted longer than I thought it would and for a while no-one was eliminated, but one by one the stars who really don't matter in this big face off @ Bragging Rights went out bit by bit, even mysterio, who arguably is one of the biggest pulling stars in the WWE went out well before the end... Edge got ankle locked by Swagger outside the ring and took himself out of camera shot through good 2 min while Big Show and Edge eliminated the Awesome team captain and Sheamus with a couple of good timed spears and clotheslines.
Yes folks, smack down won the battle royale leading up to bragging rights and now holds a 2 nil lead over smack down in the Bragging Rights buildup as they did win last year's pay-per-view.
Who will win on Sunday night/Monday morning...????? This writer cannot wait to find out!
For WRESTLING'S LAST HOPE this is N£O reporting.......peace out - 19/10/2010
Friday, 15 October 2010
Shows You Should See By Shaun Nichols
Shows You Should See: PWG Guerrre Sans Frontieres 4/9/2009
The Cutler Brothers (Brandon & Dustin Cutler) & Charles Mercury vs. Los Luchas (Phoenix Star & Zokre) & Malachi Jackson vs. Johnny Goodtime, Shane Haste & Jermome "LTP" Robinson **3/4
Candice LeRae vs. Christina Von Eerie *1/4
Human Tornado vs. Scott Lost **1/2
Karl Anderson vs. Roderick Strong ***1/4
Naruki Doi vs. Joey Ryan ***
El Generico vs. Shingo Takagi ****1/4
Brian Kendrick & The Young Bucks vs. CIMA & Motor City Machine Guns ****
Chris Hero vs Bryan Danielson ****1/2
This show as been described as the 2009 Indy show of the year, and whether that is accuarate or not is surely up for for debate but what you can't argue with is that this is a really great show. Unlike a lot of independent shows PWG are fully aware of the issues of setting up a card and appreciate that that a card should build upwards.
The card starts with with a 3 way tag match which allows a number of their local wrestlers to feature on this show, there isn't a great deal of psychology in this match but what there is a number of big moves, one after the other. And while you can criticise that they did too much what they did do is set the card up in the best way possible. Fans really did love this move and it was a very entertaining way to kick off one of the best shows of 2009.
Next we have the debut of Christina Van Eeerie in PWG, who is still there by the way. I've seen a number of reports about this match from people that really liked this, fans at the show seemed perfectly happy with this as well by the well. I however have been a fan of AJW in the 1990's and have seen the greatest womens wrestling matches that have ever been seen. As a result I can call this as it was, it wasn't horrendous but had nothing to recommend it. LaRae wins in the end.
Matches continue quick and fast, PWG DVD's don't show the ring entrances which means things flow as well as they can. Scott Last also didn't wait for the ring introductions before attacking Tornado. As long established PWG stars the fans really enjoyed this and so did I for the short time it featured. This was booked as a typical 8 minute match and that's exactly what they delivered.
The first match that was given over 10 minutes was ROH's Roderick Strong against the equally stiff Karl Anderson, for those not aware of Karl Anderson and what he can bring to the table, the easy comparison is to Strong's ROH feud with Erick Stevens. Full of stiff kicks, forearms and chops the match did successfully build to its conclusion and was completely different from anything we had seen so far.
The first Dragon Gate star of the evening was Naruki Doi battling the 'Sleazy One' and while it was an absolutely fine encounter, as a big Doi fan I did expect more from this match. Fans were very appreciative from what they saw but the matches that were yet to come would surely illustrate what was to follow.
What didn't disappoint any wrestling fans was Shingo facing the greatest babyface of the independent scene: El Generico, fans were sad when they saw Shingo without his mullet. This was quickly forgotten especially when Generico dived from the ringside area through the ropes to the other side of the ring and Shingo caught him and dumped him. Generico is so awesome as the babyface that you can't help feel for him that the fans were struggling with their desire to cheer Shingo. This saw numerous big moves and ridiculous close falls until Shingo finally put Generico with a second Made in Japan (Last Falconry)
Speaking of dream matches was the semi main event and a welcome return for CIMA & Machine Guns, throughout the early minutes of this the babyfaces dominated every stage of the encounter. Rather than switching to an extended period of having the heels get the heat on one of their opponents, they decided to trade the advantage one way and then the other. The finale saw all six man hitting all manner of big moves and making the save to the extent that I thought I was watching classic NJPW from the late 1990's.
The main event delivers on a completely different level, the challenger Danielson is wrestling in his last PWG match before he left for the WWE, the champion Hero has held the title over 12 months. Fans completely fell in love with this match. Story is worked that the champ Hero is trying to prove that he rather than Danielson is the best in the world. Chris Hero is that good the fans are doing duelling chants saying that Hero sucks followed by Let's go Hero chants. You'll also see the largest number of elbows thrown by Hero than probably in other match. Fans end up trying to distract the ref when Danielson looks like he will be counted out. The main event goes a very enjoyable 40 minutes plus to end one of the best indy shows you could see in 2009 or any other year.
PWG realised that they should build this card up, by the time we see Doi vs. Ryan we have only just got past the one hour mark. They realise that they have three fantastic matches to end the show and that they want want those matches to be the important matches of the show. I've often wrote about shows struggling with pacing the show and as a result the show doesn't come off as well as it should have done PWG completely avoids this. All three matches deliver great matches, they are also delivered in three completely different ways and as a result all three matches come away as memorable in their own right. In short this is one show that you should go out of your way to see.
The Cutler Brothers (Brandon & Dustin Cutler) & Charles Mercury vs. Los Luchas (Phoenix Star & Zokre) & Malachi Jackson vs. Johnny Goodtime, Shane Haste & Jermome "LTP" Robinson **3/4
Candice LeRae vs. Christina Von Eerie *1/4
Human Tornado vs. Scott Lost **1/2
Karl Anderson vs. Roderick Strong ***1/4
Naruki Doi vs. Joey Ryan ***
El Generico vs. Shingo Takagi ****1/4
Brian Kendrick & The Young Bucks vs. CIMA & Motor City Machine Guns ****
Chris Hero vs Bryan Danielson ****1/2
This show as been described as the 2009 Indy show of the year, and whether that is accuarate or not is surely up for for debate but what you can't argue with is that this is a really great show. Unlike a lot of independent shows PWG are fully aware of the issues of setting up a card and appreciate that that a card should build upwards.
The card starts with with a 3 way tag match which allows a number of their local wrestlers to feature on this show, there isn't a great deal of psychology in this match but what there is a number of big moves, one after the other. And while you can criticise that they did too much what they did do is set the card up in the best way possible. Fans really did love this move and it was a very entertaining way to kick off one of the best shows of 2009.
Next we have the debut of Christina Van Eeerie in PWG, who is still there by the way. I've seen a number of reports about this match from people that really liked this, fans at the show seemed perfectly happy with this as well by the well. I however have been a fan of AJW in the 1990's and have seen the greatest womens wrestling matches that have ever been seen. As a result I can call this as it was, it wasn't horrendous but had nothing to recommend it. LaRae wins in the end.
Matches continue quick and fast, PWG DVD's don't show the ring entrances which means things flow as well as they can. Scott Last also didn't wait for the ring introductions before attacking Tornado. As long established PWG stars the fans really enjoyed this and so did I for the short time it featured. This was booked as a typical 8 minute match and that's exactly what they delivered.
The first match that was given over 10 minutes was ROH's Roderick Strong against the equally stiff Karl Anderson, for those not aware of Karl Anderson and what he can bring to the table, the easy comparison is to Strong's ROH feud with Erick Stevens. Full of stiff kicks, forearms and chops the match did successfully build to its conclusion and was completely different from anything we had seen so far.
The first Dragon Gate star of the evening was Naruki Doi battling the 'Sleazy One' and while it was an absolutely fine encounter, as a big Doi fan I did expect more from this match. Fans were very appreciative from what they saw but the matches that were yet to come would surely illustrate what was to follow.
What didn't disappoint any wrestling fans was Shingo facing the greatest babyface of the independent scene: El Generico, fans were sad when they saw Shingo without his mullet. This was quickly forgotten especially when Generico dived from the ringside area through the ropes to the other side of the ring and Shingo caught him and dumped him. Generico is so awesome as the babyface that you can't help feel for him that the fans were struggling with their desire to cheer Shingo. This saw numerous big moves and ridiculous close falls until Shingo finally put Generico with a second Made in Japan (Last Falconry)
Speaking of dream matches was the semi main event and a welcome return for CIMA & Machine Guns, throughout the early minutes of this the babyfaces dominated every stage of the encounter. Rather than switching to an extended period of having the heels get the heat on one of their opponents, they decided to trade the advantage one way and then the other. The finale saw all six man hitting all manner of big moves and making the save to the extent that I thought I was watching classic NJPW from the late 1990's.
The main event delivers on a completely different level, the challenger Danielson is wrestling in his last PWG match before he left for the WWE, the champion Hero has held the title over 12 months. Fans completely fell in love with this match. Story is worked that the champ Hero is trying to prove that he rather than Danielson is the best in the world. Chris Hero is that good the fans are doing duelling chants saying that Hero sucks followed by Let's go Hero chants. You'll also see the largest number of elbows thrown by Hero than probably in other match. Fans end up trying to distract the ref when Danielson looks like he will be counted out. The main event goes a very enjoyable 40 minutes plus to end one of the best indy shows you could see in 2009 or any other year.
PWG realised that they should build this card up, by the time we see Doi vs. Ryan we have only just got past the one hour mark. They realise that they have three fantastic matches to end the show and that they want want those matches to be the important matches of the show. I've often wrote about shows struggling with pacing the show and as a result the show doesn't come off as well as it should have done PWG completely avoids this. All three matches deliver great matches, they are also delivered in three completely different ways and as a result all three matches come away as memorable in their own right. In short this is one show that you should go out of your way to see.
Bound For Confusion.... Captain Obvious looks at TNA's latest PPV offering
After Bound For Glory, many of the TNA fans were left asking one simple question......"What the hell?"
After weeks and weeks of being promised the arrival of "THEY", fans were hoping for something that would be groundbreaking and change the landscape of wrestling. Could it be a group of new performers or the return of someone old? What was this group going to do that could hopefully spark a new excitement in the company and hopefully propel them more towards the number one spot and help slow this painful downward spiral they have been on since the arrival of the Hogan-Bischoff regime. Instead we were granted the "privilege" of seeing the next installment of a wannabe NWO style group.
TNA has more talent on their roster than any other professional wrestling company in the world. They have a great blend of in-ring workers and guys who can cut promos. They have the best collection of female wrestlers in the world also. Yet, time after time, we as fans are let down with the fake promises of something different and innovative. We don't want the same old recycled storyline of 1996 and the redesigns of groups that are better left to memories of days gone by. We want to see some of the younger stars get a chance to shine on their own accord and not be left to swallow the crumbs of the guys who should have been off screen years ago.
If you want to see what TNA should be all about, then just go back and watch the very first match at BFG. The Motor City Machine Guns and Generation Me showed a glimpse of what tag team wrestling should be all about. They had a solid storyline leading into the show. The did great mic work leading up to it further selling the storyline. Then they went out and put on an amazing match to finalize the angle. They were innovative with their moves and that alone was almost worth the entire PPV price. The rest of the show was solid with old and young performers alike putting on solid matches. Even EV2.0 (the worst stable name since The Oddities) even worked a solid match despite their age limitations.
Then came the main debacle; the triple threat match between Jeff Hardy, Kurt Angle, and Mr. Anderson. Why this match had to be the debut of "They" still baffles me. Hardy and Angle had done back to back great matches and adding in the ever improving Mr. Anderson would have been a great match. But what we got was the mind numbingly slow return of Hollywood Hogan and crew in tow. Then we had Jeff Hardy turn his back on his legions of tween age fans and attacked Angle and Anderson. The only upside to this is with Bischoff and Hogan as the mouthpieces for this group, I won't have to listen to Jeff cut a promo for a while.
The confusion now comes due to the fact that we already have one heel stable with faction that TNA has spent the better part of 6 months building up. Now, are they relegated to mid-card status to make way for "They" (OK, "They" is officially the worst faction name ever). Do guys like AJ Styles and Matt Morgan get pushed back again for The Double Jeffs. Or do we see another rehashed storyline and watch these groups merge into one giant conglomerate reminiscent of the NWO when it had like 400 people in it. And who do we have to stand up to this Wal-Mart heel group. DO we get the return of rafter hiding Sting? Does Mr. Anderson become the savior of TNA? Does EV 2.0 pull out another series of matches when most of them are so broken down they are duct taped and glued together just to make it through a show? Or is now the time to make Samoa Joe the franchise of this company and put him on a one man crusade to vanquish the evil that is "They"? Only time will tell, but for TNA, time may be running out.
"Captain Obvious" Sam Dent
You can find the Captain on facebook at Facebook.com/TheCaptainObvious and be sure to check out his wrestling company New Era Wrestling at wheelhouseradio.activeboard.com
After weeks and weeks of being promised the arrival of "THEY", fans were hoping for something that would be groundbreaking and change the landscape of wrestling. Could it be a group of new performers or the return of someone old? What was this group going to do that could hopefully spark a new excitement in the company and hopefully propel them more towards the number one spot and help slow this painful downward spiral they have been on since the arrival of the Hogan-Bischoff regime. Instead we were granted the "privilege" of seeing the next installment of a wannabe NWO style group.
TNA has more talent on their roster than any other professional wrestling company in the world. They have a great blend of in-ring workers and guys who can cut promos. They have the best collection of female wrestlers in the world also. Yet, time after time, we as fans are let down with the fake promises of something different and innovative. We don't want the same old recycled storyline of 1996 and the redesigns of groups that are better left to memories of days gone by. We want to see some of the younger stars get a chance to shine on their own accord and not be left to swallow the crumbs of the guys who should have been off screen years ago.
If you want to see what TNA should be all about, then just go back and watch the very first match at BFG. The Motor City Machine Guns and Generation Me showed a glimpse of what tag team wrestling should be all about. They had a solid storyline leading into the show. The did great mic work leading up to it further selling the storyline. Then they went out and put on an amazing match to finalize the angle. They were innovative with their moves and that alone was almost worth the entire PPV price. The rest of the show was solid with old and young performers alike putting on solid matches. Even EV2.0 (the worst stable name since The Oddities) even worked a solid match despite their age limitations.
Then came the main debacle; the triple threat match between Jeff Hardy, Kurt Angle, and Mr. Anderson. Why this match had to be the debut of "They" still baffles me. Hardy and Angle had done back to back great matches and adding in the ever improving Mr. Anderson would have been a great match. But what we got was the mind numbingly slow return of Hollywood Hogan and crew in tow. Then we had Jeff Hardy turn his back on his legions of tween age fans and attacked Angle and Anderson. The only upside to this is with Bischoff and Hogan as the mouthpieces for this group, I won't have to listen to Jeff cut a promo for a while.
The confusion now comes due to the fact that we already have one heel stable with faction that TNA has spent the better part of 6 months building up. Now, are they relegated to mid-card status to make way for "They" (OK, "They" is officially the worst faction name ever). Do guys like AJ Styles and Matt Morgan get pushed back again for The Double Jeffs. Or do we see another rehashed storyline and watch these groups merge into one giant conglomerate reminiscent of the NWO when it had like 400 people in it. And who do we have to stand up to this Wal-Mart heel group. DO we get the return of rafter hiding Sting? Does Mr. Anderson become the savior of TNA? Does EV 2.0 pull out another series of matches when most of them are so broken down they are duct taped and glued together just to make it through a show? Or is now the time to make Samoa Joe the franchise of this company and put him on a one man crusade to vanquish the evil that is "They"? Only time will tell, but for TNA, time may be running out.
"Captain Obvious" Sam Dent
You can find the Captain on facebook at Facebook.com/TheCaptainObvious and be sure to check out his wrestling company New Era Wrestling at wheelhouseradio.activeboard.com
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