Paid Members tom Posted January 1, 2012 Paid Members Share Posted January 1, 2012 As it says on the tin; this is the place to talk about things you feel are under rated. This thread was inspired by watching Brock Lesnar vs John Cena (Backlash 2003) and realising that it is indeed as enjoyable as I remember it being. I recall that it got a fair amount of criticism on here at the time, and it is seriously unwarranted; Lesnar is in top beast-like form, Cena is a lot of fun to watch, and the crowd is well up for it. Whilst we're on the subject of Lesnar, something else that doesn't get the credit it deserves is the Lesnar-Angle build-up to WrestleMania 19. It really was a brilliant built story with Lesnar being screwed out of the title by Heyman, Angle playing the role of hero to take the title from Show only to reveal it was part of a master plan, and Lesnar cementing himself as a legitimate star by winning the Rumble Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members air_raid Posted January 1, 2012 Paid Members Share Posted January 1, 2012 * Shawn Michaels VS Sid from Survivors 96 is a match I see get hardly any love on here, and was actually a very well paced, well-constructed match, and because there was nothing too challenging, it was all well-executed. Sid's methodical breakdown of Michaels is fine, and there are some very enjoyable moments built off Shawn's trademark stuff - where Sid annihilates Shawn off the skin-the-cat and when he nips up - which the pro-Sid MSG crowd lap up. All of Sid's biggest powerhouse spots are spread out throughtout the match, and all in all it's very satisfying piece of work. Â I also have a soft spot for the screams of little ones and the look on that lass in the front row desperate for Shawn to kick out post-powerbomb. She looks like her world has just ended. It's very neatly juxtaposed to Sid having an embrace with Vlad after his win, and a succession of manly fistbumps. Screaming girls and children devastated, MEN rejoice. Â * Mankind VS Kane, Hell In A Cell, Raw 1998 is a match that when discussing Hell In A Cell with my mates, most of whom have manged to forget it even happened. This was a fun, brutal battle with the WWF's biggest gimmick being tarted around on free telly just for fun, and it features a bump that I actually respected far more than either of the famed King of the Ring falls. Yes, there is no comparing the height or impact, but to me Foley allowing himself to be yanked backwards off the Cell and fall blindly through a table felt like it took so much more balls - to not see where you're falling and not fully be prepared for the moment of impact... no, I wouldn't have fancied that. The finish admittedly is weak but I forgive it. Â * Ken Shamrock VS Vader from Cold Day In Hell is a match that hardly ever gets mentioned that I really feel is a great one too. It's something a little bit different from most of the matches the WWF had presented to that point and there were several really powerful spots. After few months treading water it really got Vader back to the fore (temporarily) while at the same time establishing Shamrock as a lethal submission artist who could get one over on anyone. I may very well watch in again later. Â * In general, The Orient Express v2.0. Most casuals who have never seen Bad Company's AWA stuff largely just look back and think "oh, the Orient Express, they were rubbish." They may have been mere JTTS fodder at the time, but any of the matches Pat Tanaka and Paul "Kato" Diamond had with The Rockers were superb - in fact I consider their match from Rumble '91 the best opening match of all time - and they had a blinder with the New Foundation at Rumble 92. Have a watch of some old Orients matches, they were great. Â * Kurt Angle VS John Cena from No Way Out 2005 is a forgotten classic. After twelve months of wasting time wrestling for the United States title, Cena was finally thought ready for main events, and this final for the right to wrestle the champion at 'Mania was effectively his official on-screen promotion. It's a great match, and at the time suggested they had paced the push of babyface Cena perfectly. Looking back, I'm still not sure what went wrong. Â There are also several Stone Cold matches which while probably not truly "under rated" I feel are largely forgotten or overlooked due to the men involved having MUCH more famous matches with each other, but taken out of context are really great matches. Â Steve Austin VS Mankind (Raw, Nov 18th 1996) Steve Austin VS Bret Hart (Revenge Of The Taker) Steve Austin VS Undertaker (Cold Day In Hell) Steve Austin VS Shawn Michaels (King of the Ring 97) Â Austin was the fucking man, wasn't he? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Cum Doctor Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 Steve Austin vs. Mankind from Survivor Series 1998 doesn't get talked about NEARLY enough. It's absolute drama from start to finish and far and away the best match on the show. The match is already amazing and then the big swerve comes and sends it over the edge. I absolutely love it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Austin Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 Okay, first off....who thinks the Orient Express are rubbish. Show them to me and I'll Kato kick their Tanakas! Â I'd say the USWA/WWF feud is underrated but only because not many people saw it. On mainstream territory, the Unamerican tag matches with guys like the Dudleys were generally excellent but get little praise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdgarTheSlouch Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 * In general, The Orient Express v2.0. Most casuals who have never seen Bad Company's AWA stuff largely just look back and think "oh, the Orient Express, they were rubbish." They may have been mere JTTS fodder at the time, but any of the matches Pat Tanaka and Paul "Kato" Diamond had with The Rockers were superb - in fact I consider their match from Rumble '91 the best opening match of all time - and they had a blinder with the New Foundation at Rumble 92. Have a watch of some old Orients matches, they were great. -  Couldnt agree more fella Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Gordon_The_Gopher Posted January 1, 2012 Paid Members Share Posted January 1, 2012 Okay, first off....who thinks the Orient Express are rubbish. Show them to me and I'll Kato kick their Tanakas! Â This Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Screen Up Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 Austin was indeed the man, air raid. I think a lot of people overlook his in-ring body of work because of how brilliant his character was when he was at his peak. He, in my opinion, was the greatest all rounder wrestling has ever seen. Â His match with Angle at Summerslam was a thing of beauty. Â The first half of 2001 was a terrific period for the WWF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forrest Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 It's time for me to trot out... Â Austin/Benoit/Jericho - KOTR 2001 - It was overshadowed by the fact that there was an insane streak of 5-star matches happening on free TV that month (TLC III, Angle/Benoit Cage Match, Austin/Benoit) and Benoit's miraculous night at Judgement Day, but this is definitely top 3 Triple Threats for me. An astounding match from start to finish, the part where Austin is out after Booker's interference is amazing. Austin was shit-hot at this time, going batshit about keeping the title, and we all know Jericho and Benoit's title journey. It's one of those matches which really shows how important and prestigeous Championships can be. Â Carlito/Nitro/Benjamin - Vengeance 2006: Carlito's best match ever, with some insane spots. The powerbomb/superplex combo is jawdropping. Nitro and Benjamin pour their hearts into this one too. Â Hogan vs. Sting - Superbrawl '98 Simply put, this is what Starrcade should have been. Stupidly huge feel to the whole thing. This year's BFG x 1000. Â Intercontinental Championship circe 2009/2010: I've watched a lot of the 09/10 PPVs recently and the Intercontinental title matches are always a highlight. McIntyre, Kingston, Morrison, Ziggler and the rest were putting on great matches constantly. HIAC 09 and Fatal 4-Way are prime examples. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members air_raid Posted January 1, 2012 Paid Members Share Posted January 1, 2012 This  Post count +1. Pointless.  To answer the question about who thinks the Orients were rubbish, you know who I mean. Not wrestling nerds like us, but your mates that watched it when it was the big thing. Guys like the Orients and Tito Santana (for example) got beat every week, so they were rubbish. Tatanka, he was fucking brilliant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Screen Up Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 Come on, raid, you're better than that. I don't think anybody cares about post counts or how many CZW wrestlers people think have better mindsets than Vince McMahon. Â Unless that was sarcasm, or satarical wit, in which case I apologise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derrick-Bateman Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 Ground Zero 1997! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members tom Posted January 1, 2012 Author Paid Members Share Posted January 1, 2012 Seems the most logical place for this; what's the general view on Rock v Goldberg? I thought it was god awful at the time, but I've not watched it since, and thought maybe I'd been harsh on it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Cum Doctor Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 It's pretty dreadful. One of the worst matches The Rock ever had if you ask me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor Paul's Bin Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 TNA Pay Per View's 2005-2006 were done well. Great atmosphere in the impact zone and some brilliant talent. Also Lockdown 2009 and BFG 2009 were brilliant. Â Off the top of my head I loved the stuff with Booker T/Goldust in 2002-2003 was comedy gold. I got reminded of this when watching this weeks SmackDown. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members air_raid Posted January 1, 2012 Paid Members Share Posted January 1, 2012 Ground Zero 1997!  Does thee mean the PPV as a whole? If so, I'm inclined to agee. Michaels/Undertaker is a very spirited contest "ruined" if you like by a weak finish but nevertheless exciting, and said weak finish lead to one of the best rematches ever. The four-way tag team title match is also very enjoyable because it allows storyline advancement to the LOD inability to recapture the belts and to the Owen/Austin arc. Plus from a personal standpoint, I thought the Headbangers were fun. Goldust/Pillman is fun too and while obviously it's insignificant compared to the death of a husband and father, it remains a shame that Pillman's passing prevented us from learning how that whole story would have played out. I'd like to believe something other than the obvious Marlena heel turn.  Seems the most logical place for this; what's the general view on Rock v Goldberg? I thought it was god awful at the time, but I've not watched it since, and thought maybe I'd been harsh on it  From where I sit, you aren't being harsh. The general overview of Bill's time in WWE is that all the positives that were accented in WCW were subdued and weaknesses that were hidden were in fact underscored. In this match, like many he had, he was asked to sell for prolonged periods of time and portray his opponent as competitive, if not almost as his equal. Goldberg was allowed in WCW to be presented as an utter wrecking machine, even to the point where when wrestling premier stars such as Sting or Dallas Page, him looking vulnerable or on the cusp of defeat was so rare that it was an incredible sight and genuinely made you excited.  In WWE Goldberg was permitted to destroy almost no-one and expected to sell for nearly everyone. They had put Rock over Hogan and Austin on the previous two pay per views to portray him as strong for the Goldberg match - that was sufficient. He didn't need to control anywhere near as much of the match as he did, nor it take as much abuse to finish him. While they built Rock up specifically for the match and he was, of course, a big marquee name, he was at that point in his wrestling career the very definition of expendable. Goldy should have ploughed through him in about half the time it took, and his star would instantly have been made in WWE.  Only three times do I think they got the booking of Billy Boy correct - his debut appearance which consisted of little more than a spear, his incredibly satisfying termination of Rodney Mack's "White Boy Challenge", and his explosive contribution to SummerSlam 2003's Elimination Chamber. There, he was allowed to be every bit the killer that must have made WWE see dollar signs in him and yet were so tentative to present. After MURDERING Orton, Shawn and Jericho and then being swindled by Triple H at said show, our man was then fucked for good at Unforgiven, even in winning the World title, by being forced to contest a "normal" match with Triple H replete with selling and a prolonged heat section for his heel opponent, when what made him stand out to begin with was how truly NOT normal he and his matches were.  Limited shelf life he may have had in WWE, it would still have been more satisfying if they had played to his strengths, and they may have enjoyed a longer relationship with Bill and made a shade more cash off him, had they not been so narrow-minded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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