The "I've just watched ..." thread

[The King of Old School]

Has anyone been watching MLW Fusion?

Over the past few weeks I have caught up with all 26/27 or so episodes on yourtube and I have to say I really like it.

Bit of an NXT feel in that you don't know who might turn up each week, good simple storylines, the odd squash match and some good TV main events, plus Tony Schiavone on commentary.

I'd urge if anyone has the time to add some more Wrestling into there diet to give it a try.

[Bohan]

20 minutes ago, The King of Old School said:

Has anyone been watching MLW Fusion?

Over the past few weeks I have caught up with all 26/27 or so episodes on yourtube and I have to say I really like it.

Bit of an NXT feel in that you don't know who might turn up each week, good simple storylines, the odd squash match and some good TV main events, plus Tony Schiavone on commentary.

I'd urge if anyone has the time to add some more Wrestling into there diet to give it a try.

It's been a highlight of my wrestling viewing for the past few months.  It has a really old school vibe to it which I love.  I think I'm currently equally looking forward to attending Battle Riot II next April as I am Mania itself.

[air_raid]

Got home from a social thing three hours ago and having recently watched Shawns two big ppv matches of 2002 I thought I'd finish the story and endure the triple threat theatre, then I remembered I haven't really watched Armageddon 2002 in full in over ten years. Thoughts as I had them....

Jericho & Christian vs Dudley Boys vs Booker T & Goldust vs Lance Storm & Regal

JR taking about Regal and Lance having seven consecutive wins on Raw is a bit "real sport" and the kind of thing I'd expect Cole to come out with these days. Bubba looks in decent nick here and the pair of them not getting the tag belts back sooner upon reunion is nearly as weird to me as them NEVER getting them on their final run, to give the big rub to someone else. Regals pin of Bubba after a Storm flying legdrop would have been fine but there were two unnecessary and awkward reversals first and it looked shite, made even worse by King and JR changing their mind twice over whether it was 3 or not. Goldie immediately pinning Willy after his mid-match powerslam is the kind of crap pinfall you only ever get in eliminators. King seems to be cheering for Jericho and Christian at times and referring to Goldust as "the weak link" which is weird because watching Shawn's previous two ppv matches the other night I thought he was over playing heel commentator by now. Booker and Dust winning is great. Thinking about all the random teams both shows had for a couple of years I just remembered Rey and RVD were fun together until Rob got hurt.

Edge vs A-Train

Edge's Rob Zombie music is intact! I'm shocked and delighted until I remember he's wrestling a train. Sorry, A-Train. Look, "good in Japan" being a myth.... well, I saw him wrestle in Japan. As in, I was there. And I saw him have great matches, but then its pretty easy to have great matches with babyfaces like Tanahashi and 2011 Naito. They fuck up having A-Train look menacing before he gets as far as the ring by Cole reminding us "previously known as Albert." You're not taking him seriously now. As precious a commodity as Edge was on Heyman's Downers, he's not worth a clean pin over Tensai here, which is disappointing. They claim Edge had a torn MCL from the first attack a month earlier???? The FUCK he did.

Chris Benoit vs Eddy Guerrero

Eddy looks RIPPED TO BURSTING as he comes out for his match with Benoit which I forgot I was getting. Clips shown of a SD6 match I forgot, Angle v Benoit v Eddy v Edge top contenders. Crowd with the usual modest reaction for The Crippler, probably because he never really turned and him and Kurt have been tweeners for months depending on if they were wrestling Edge and Rey or Los Guerreros. The mat wrestling is good, everything is crisp... "boring" chant?? The hell? 

Eddy works the leg, Cole uses "no wasted motion" twice. Taz says "smashmouth style" of Eddy. Pretty meaningless waffle. N64 FIVE German comeback from Benoit and throat slit taunt brings them back to life.... snot rocket nearly turns them against him. Even before he went actual nuts, he was horrible at times. Eddy does his own three Germans (Three Amigos isnt a thing yet) and hits the Frog Splash but Benoit kicks out? Don't recall that happening often.

Chavo TWATS The Crippler with a tag belt behind the refs back. Lasso From El Paso (cloverleaf version) foiled by the ropes then Benoit WASTES Guerrero with the Wild Bomb as was. Nails the Swan Dive but when he gets close enough for the pin Eddy grabs the Lasso again. Reversal sequence leads to Eddy trying to crawl away but he ends up in the Crippler Crossface. Eddy tries to roll into a pin but only succeeds in rolling himself into the middle of the ring so promptly taps out to a decent pop. They weren't arsed in the middle but Benoit got them to care by the end, like he almost always did, somehow. Cut to back and Steph pulls a wholly unconvincing "I lurve that Chris Benoit." Ick.

Sexual Predator interlude

I completely forgot that part of the Dawn Marie/Al Wilson saga was Dawn using the threat of marrying her dad to rape Torrie by coercion. Of course being the mad world of WWE they both crack on with a cameraman there like it's normal. "I think we've seen enough" ... Al Wilson is the biggest heel on the show.

Kane vs Batista

2002 Kane, one of my guilty pleasures, against Batista with too much hair... probably isn't going to be as good as I think? Flair is with Dave here, he's also aligned with Hunter, but they're not a unit yet. Flair still has vintage Flair hair here, before it seemed to go old man wispy overnight. Naitch hits Kane with a few chops at ringside and gets strangled for his trouble. That's not fair to Flair. Bit of a struggle to get Kane up for a Batista Bomb draws loud boos.... I don't like this crowd. Low blow and a clothesline from the top would get Kane the win but Flair distracts. Spinebuster gets a respite for Dave but he walks into a chokeslam....  Flair distracts again. Kane brings him in for a bit of a beating.... that's not fair to Flair. Batista Bomb, 3 count. That was OK actually, would have been too short to be dull regardless. King loves it, he's definitely a heel here.

Victoria vs Trish Stratus vs Jacquelyn

Women's title has early Victoria who I loved. Highlights package reminds me they pinned her on TV within a month of winning the belt so good (or not) to see that's nothing new. Jackie is in that spot here where I'm a bit "Jacquelyn on the ppv in 2002? Really, still there?" Tatu is overdubbed for Vic, shame. Could have at least used her later theme though. They squeeze a lot in but the finish is DIRE - Vic hits Trish with the belt and steals the pin on Jackie but she'd only been felled by a limp clothesline. Victoria steals Trish's hat and walks off wearing it and cradling the belt to her face because, big spastic, she's a mentalist!

Big Show vs Kurt Angle (WWE title)

Kurt and Brock playing Super Best Friends is fun but even in 2002 Kurt reminding Lesnar what happened at Survivors via ACTUAL VCR is anachronistic even in 2002. Show v Angle makes me zone out a little because the spectre of Brock is too strong to make ne interested until he shows up. Crowd chants "USA" in support of Kurt as though Show is a communist monster from the 80s. Listening to excited and natural sounding Cole during this match makes me sad at what he became. Ref bump triggers huge WE WANT BROCK chant. Patience precious. Chair shot from Kurt, ref recovers enough to count 2. Ankle Lock but the ref is fucked again. A-Train run in I'd forgotten completely? Chokeslam.... HERE COMES THE PAIN. F5, Lesnar chases off Heyman, Angle pins and saves the WWE title from Big Sloth mediocrity. Kurt is back on top of the mountain at fucking last. It's popular.... for a couple of days at least.

Shawn Michaels vs Triple H (ACTUALLY Fight Forever)

I forgot completely that the triple threat theatre of Shawn v Hunter isnt like Austin v Hunter, its the wild overkill of the middle fall being a fucking cage match. Absolutely gutting watching this back that this was Shawns last title run for as good as he was for the next 7 years. After intros Hebner ejects Naitch and shoves him on his rear. THIS IS NOT FAIR TO FLAIR. Of course, this is a streetfight so there's fuck all Earl could do if Slick Ric came back out. With Batista if inclined. Hmm, this show needed an RNN update. Good bit of dustbin shenanigans, Shawn flips out of a backbreaker attempt and drops Triple H with a sidewalk slam through a chair, nice SummerSlam callback. Shawn goes for a superkick with the LEFT LEG FOR NO APPARENT REASON except that Hunter is going to catch it, counter and work that leg. That's really odd. Happily Triple H applies the Figure 4 with the left leg being kept straight, applying it correctly despite decades of his mentor doing it wrong. Monsoon called out Valentine at SummerSlam 91 for working the wrong leg, nearly every wrestler ever got it wrong. The Game got it right. 

MASSIVE bin lid to "scramble the brains" of HBK for 2 and now they're brawling up the aisle. Going balls out here lads. Shawn gets rammed into the metal of the Armageddon set and.... here's a barbed wire 2x4. Hunter fancies setting it on fire. Shawn cuts him off with a boot then whacks him with it. Absolutely fuck off with that. HHH is bleeding. Back in the ring the challenger rallies with a drop toehold onto the chair and a very nice DDT. Pedigree attempt thwarted by a low blow. Flying forearm, nip up from Shawn but cut off with a chopblock. Pedigree gets 3! That was enjoyable..... what do you mean they go again TWICE MORE?? What the fuck? That was mental for a first fall.

Cage lowers and almost immediately dropkick attempt from Shawn reversed into a slingshot and Michaels is bleeding now too. Usual mesh nonsense, Hunter tries to escape, Shawn follows him up. Ric is back out at last. Without Batista. Flair starts stacking up tables. Triple H gets crotched on the top rope, flying elbow from the champ. Flair unlocks the door and gets inside so Shawn beats him up and hits both enemies with a chair. This is not fair to Flair. Cheese grater job to a now bleeding Flair then a superkick too!! THIS IS NOT FAIR TO FLAIR!! Superkick to Hunter, lays him on the table, splash off the top of the cage through the table. Mad bastard.

Ladder match now even though they both look like they can't stand. Earl and Little Naitch get the belt hoisted... wouldn't it have made sense to do that before the match? No foreplay, Shawn immediately whips his buddy into propped up ladder in the corner then rams it into his face. Attempts a splash off the ladder and misses. Mad bastard. Pedigree from The Game and there's inexplicable unrest in the crowd. Hunter tries to climb but Shawn superkicks him off. JR says "resiliency" which isn't a word. Shawn gets to the top and Hunter tips him over and off through the four stacked tables in the bit we all remember (MAD BASTARD) climbs up and grabs the belt. Extremely truncated for a ladder match but a couple of big spots. Very quick fade to black.

So..... I remember this ppv as disappointing but that was eminently watchable. In fact it flew by until that main event. Wow, was that too much. Self-indulgent madness. Worst of all within the rules of the match Hunter, the heel, crushed the dreams of Shawn Michaels simply by outlasting and being tougher than him, utterly deflating. No wonder so much disdain built up for The Game during this period.

 

Edited October 27, 2018 by air_raid

[Accident Prone]

Back before the days of YouTube and reliable file-sharing, I bought this on DVD with my Christmas money after seeing pics of the HHH/HBK match in WWE magazine. I literally had to have my dad buy it (it was rated 18 and I was a mere 14 year old) just because I wanted to see that mad stacked table bump. Proper mentalist behaviour. 

Edited October 27, 2018 by Accident Prone

[air_raid]

1 hour ago, Accident Prone said:

 I literally had to have my dad buy it (it was rated 18 and I was a mere 14 year old) 

Ha. I was ID for the first time for buying WrestleMania 16. I wasn't carrying anything so my dad had to buy it. Ironically, this was my 18th birthday.

The most embarrassing part of the story is wasting money on that weak as piss Mania.

[WeeAl]

Our Davey Boy never could cut a half decent promo, could he?

[returner82]

Well, I don't know if this is a good one,  but he certainly seems pleased with it at the end...

 

[Accident Prone]

On 10/27/2018 at 11:48 AM, air_raid said:

Ha. I was ID for the first time for buying WrestleMania 16. I wasn't carrying anything so my dad had to buy it. Ironically, this was my 18th birthday.

The most embarrassing part of the story is wasting money on that weak as piss Mania.

Aye, I too wasn't too impressed with Armageddon at the time, especially being that I bought it at full price.

The first 18 rated show I was able to get away with buying was Heatwave '98, which is pretty good innings for a 12 year old. I had a harder time buying No Mercy '02, which again required my Dad buying it for me. Luckily the front cover was just Kane's mask so it could be passed off as a horror DVD and not a professional wrestling show. I'm sure all our parents thought we would just grow out of this wrestling phase.

[WeeAl]

Raw, the night after Royal Rumble 1997. It really was a fantastic episode. It really had that 'anything can happen' vibe to it, with the pace of the show never slowing down from show open to show close. Austin hits a home run on several promos, there's a hot crowd, and the main eventers are everywhere. Brilliant stuff. This is why we all loved 1997.

[Philjax]

On 10/19/2018 at 10:02 PM, Supremo said:

I’ve only seen the first match so far but the new Rev Pro show on Free Sports that started tonight looks really promising.

Someone has definitely put some cash into the production becasue it looks and sounds far better than the Strong Style Evolved shows they did earlier this year. No smudges on any camera lenses.

The crowd seem really well mic’d and they’ve flew Kevin Kelly in, which I’m a big fan of. They also did a neat little “Rules of Pro Wrestling,” segment at the start, similar to what you see at the start of MMA shows. It’s got a great look and feel. Like a late night boxing event.

Also, most important of all, they don’t cut the camera angle every three seconds. 

Honestly, I’m only one match in but this already feels like everything World of Sport could and perhaps should have been.

Yeah I really like the vibe of this show and will absolutely watch it every week. Pretty much agree with everything you said. Considering they will use almost entirely different talent for the most part to NXT UK, between the two shows you've got quite a lot of the UK pool covered.

 

[Otto Dem Wanz]

Watching the 94 Royal Rumble here, and if Vince McMahon says "[wrestler] has been/is eliminated" when someone is teetering on the ropes but is nowhere near actually about go out I'll fuckin scream. I seem to remember he did this loads in the next couple with Shawn Michaels as well.

[air_raid]

42 minutes ago, Otto Dem Wanz said:

Watching the 94 Royal Rumble here, and if Vince McMahon says "[wrestler] has been/is eliminated" when someone is teetering on the ropes but is nowhere near actually about go out I'll fuckin scream. I seem to remember he did this loads in the next couple with Shawn Michaels as well.

Vince was awful though, in general. Prematurity was his worst trait - "One, two, he GOT HIM - no he didnt!" and at Mania X he's insane in his conviction that Luger's winning the belt before Lex has even made it to the ring. I watched Rumble 94 not long ago and it's chocka with Vince's greatest hits - trying to push the narrative down our throats that the non-entrant is Bret and banging on about "I just wish Bret Hart was there" in the minutes til Bret DOES come out, in case we've missed the point, classic Vince lack of subtlety. Declaring Adam Bomb is winning the Rumble when he comes out at number 30 is even more ridiculous and another trope of Vince Rumble commentary, the nonsensical misdirection. Also plenty of talking about "two on one" about the ratio of heels to faces even though it's every man for himself and hoping the next entrant would be "some help" for the babyface, even though it's every man for himself, he loved that shit. He was tough to listen to for most of his tenure at the desk.

Less so when Ventura was talking down to him like he was a buffoon, obviously.

Edited October 28, 2018 by air_raid

[Otto Dem Wanz]

Faarooq vs Undertaker - WWF title - King of the Ring 1997

A surprisingly really entertaining match, Faarooq (sponsored by Umbro) and the Nation do a nice little job in stacking the odds against the Deadman. This is in the midst of Paul Bearer’s blackmailing period where he terrors the then champion with his knowledge a dark secret that of course turned out to be Kane, and the story is played up heavily on commentary.  Faarooq cuts a great little promo of his own before the bout including the brilliant line of “he shouldn’t be worried about Paul Bearer’s blackmail, he should be worried about this black male”. Taker is sympathetic as anything. Bearer’s bullying and Taker’s mad variation of Old School are highlights here as well. 

Stone Cold and Undertaker vs Mankind and Kane - Tag titles - Fully Loaded 1998

Suspense and heat are off the charts. Characters are well-defined and larger than life. Crowd is hot and goes beserk at the finish. Action is fast-paced. Peak 98 Attitude.  

[The Gaffer]

You think that Armageddon match was fight forever? Try Mt. Bad Blood for a self indulgent peak. Triple H and HBK wrestle in a Hell in a Cell for approximately four hours. The forced standing ovation at the end is hilariously subdued. 

I recall a Raw match between them towards the end of 2003 being really decent, though, purely because it was TV style between two huge guys with a heavily teased title switch. 

[WeeAl]

That Raw match was probably their best singles encounter other than Shawn's return at SummerSlam 02. I'm unsure on this bit, but could it have been their only singles match from that era without a gimmick stipulation as well? It was in San Antonio if I remember correctly as well. I have fond memories of that Raw match, much more than the HIAC and three stages of hell, that's for sure.