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Banish Belated Backlash Boredom by Reviewing Random Riots


Onyx2

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On 5/8/2018 at 3:56 PM, HarmonicGenerator said:

I got

JOSE LOTHARIO AL MADRIL VS MAGIC DRAGON CHECKMATE | watch
#43 | WCCW | 1982-10-15

 

which I can’t say I’ve seen before. I’m a blank slate!

Things I know about this beforehand: Nothing. I’m guessing Jose Lothario is going to be the same guy who hung around with Shawn Michaels in 1996, but that’s it.

This is a tag match. Al Madril has the best look of the four, but The Checkmate is announced as being from the Isle Of Man, so I’m torn as to who to support. Jose Lothario looks almost as old in 1982 as he did in 1996.

Madril’s got a lovely arm drag on him. He and Checkmate do some nice technical stuff. Lothario is called a young man but it must be Tenta Syndrome because he looks about 50.

Magic Dragon is almost definitely a white guy but he’s got an ‘Oriental Martial Arts’ gimmick. World Class’s Kendo? He and Madril do a nice chop exchange.

I wonder what happened to the other guys in this match, none of whom I’ve seen before. I assume none of them made it to the WWF, or I’d have heard of them? 

Jose does a top rope stomp that Finn Balor would be proud of (maybe) for a two count. Dragon does a couple of backflips, a superkick, and then a second rope somersault senton, none of which I was expecting. He’s like a masked Old Buck or something!

The match ends up going to a 15 minute draw. Quite nice seeing a match featuring four wrestlers who I’m totally unfamiliar with. What’s next? 

 

KING TONGA VS MAGNIFICENT MURACO | watch
PRIME TIME WRESTLING 80 | PRIME TIME WRESTLING | 1986-09-15

 

Keeping it 80s. Quite happy with this!

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Didn't Les Thornton end up helping out in OVW with Cornette?

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8 hours ago, jazzygeofferz said:

Didn't Les Thornton end up helping out in OVW with Cornette?

I think that was Les Thatcher, wasn't it? He ran HWA, another WWE developmental territory at the same time Corney was running OVW.

1 hour ago, MungoChutney said:

Was Thornton also the guy who teamed with Foley for the infamous tag match against the Bulldogs?

Yes, that was him.

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So the next match I'm going to review is Gladiator 1 vs Tim Horner from NWA World Championship Wrestling from February 6th 1988.

No entrances for either lads here. Tim is one half of The Lightning Express. Gladiator 1 doesn't look much of a Gladiator in his all blue get up, complete with cheap blue mask that you would see on an XBox Gamertag. 

A collar and elbow tie up begins things, which Horner transends into a schoolboy. Gladiator not being knackered yet, kicks out straight away, and feeds up. Gladiator takes Tim's head for a side headlock, before they both trade hammerlocks. 

After a third lock up, Gladiator takes Horner to the corner (hey that rhymes!) and starts kneeing him in the gut. He shoots Tim to the opposite turnbuckle, but Horner reverses. He attempts a back elbow, but Gladiator ducks. "Haha, I ducked the clothesline. I'm a clever man" Gladiator must have thought in his mind as he pointed towards his brain, but he is met with a great dropkick. 

ANOTHER LOCK UP, and this time, Tim does a couple full armdrag and twists, before a proper armdrag, amd and just slows it down a little. Commentators talk about how much The Sheepherders need to have a bath or something. 

Tim attempts a sunset flip, but is met with a fist. Gladiator shoots Horner to the ropes, attempts a back body drop but is met with a foot to the chest, and Gladiator takes a awful bump. 

After a body slam, Horner does a snapmare and attempts a pinfall. Predictably, Gladiator kicks out after one. Horner rolls Gladiator up, but the man in all blue has his foot on the ropes. Then ANOTHER FUCKING LOCK UP as Gladiator gives Horner a couple of digs in the corner, then shoots him to the opposite corner, but is reversed and Horner hits a big back body drop.

At this point I want this to just end now. But no. Another armdrag by Horner, then an armbar. Just like a minute ago. I have no idea who the face or heel is at this point. Horner works the arm. 

After Gladiator fights out, he attempts a knee drop but mosses, which Horner capitalises by putting him in another armbar.

Jim Ross says there will be a bench press challenge with The Road Warriors coming up. Sounds good. 

Horner hits Gladiator with an atomic drop, before doing ANOTHER ARMDRAG TO ARMBAR SPOT. I curse the randomizer as Tim looks like fhe doesn't give a mad fuck. He works the arm which feels like a full minute before Gladiator fights out. 

Gladiator shoulder tackles Horner. If you're a pro wrestling trainee, you probably would think "Okay, he's going to sleep, leap, hiptoss" Oh but not Tim Horner, who after Gladiator runs to the ropes, hits ANOTHER ARMDRAG ARMBAR. Shockingly, Gladiator fights out of it. 

Gladiator gives Horner a couple of shots to the ropes, but Horner turns the tide, shoots him to the ropes, but Gladiator reverses. Gladiator sleeps him, but Horner stops running and beats him with a roll up. 

A bog standard TV match where it was all too repetitive. Yeah, I'd avoid watching this. 

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On 5/12/2018 at 3:10 PM, HarmonicGenerator said:

KING TONGA VS MAGNIFICENT MURACO | watch
PRIME TIME WRESTLING 80 | PRIME TIME WRESTLING | 1986-09-15

 

This match is from a stadium show in Canada, with a huge crowd. It looks impressive. Very well lit as well.

Also, this match is HISTORIC. This is Haku's first match, technically. Gorilla Monsoon explains in the pre-tape that King Tonga, as he'd been called up to this point, has requested from now on to be referred to as Haku. So there you go.

Mr Fuji is in Muraco's corner. 

Takes them ages to get going, but Haku gets the upper hand when they eventually lock up. Muraco goes back to stalling. He fears Haku, as we all should. The referee has a half-perm half-mullet going on. Muraco tries to exchange strikes so Haku dropkicks him square in the face. Muraco gets one back by smacking Haku's face into his forearm with a clothesline. They're not playing around as Haku works on the arm.

He continues to work on the arm for a not inconsiderable amount of time, until Fuji trips him. Interesting to see Haku essentially playing the 'young upstart' role in the match.

Muraco has the upper hand, but we cut back to Monsoon and Bobby Heenan in the studio. "Nobody wants to lose in a crowd of 70, let alone 70,000" says Monsoon. Even in an off-hand comment like that, he makes even a nothing match feel like it means something. Nobody wants to lose. These days, nobody cares if they lose, or so it feels. LISTEN TO MONSOON.

Back in the match, Muraco hits a Russian Leg Sweep and is drooling substantially. He's doing a rest hold that looks like it'd be a good shoulder massage, but mostly he's dribbling all over the place. It's foul and would not have made the cut in the HD era.

Some time later, Haku fights back and the spit goes flying. Muraco's soon back in control and works over the leg. He puts on a Figure Four for a bit and then climbs to the top rope slower than anyone ever has before. Haku throws him off then chops him so hard he has to sell it, which up to this point he hasn't really been doing. Haku then goes to the top and hits a cross body, goes for the pin ... and ...

IT'S A TIME LIMIT DRAW.

What are the odds that, of all the matches on the WWE Network, I'd get TWO TIME LIMIT DRAWS IN A ROW? Ha!

The audience couldn't give less of a shit about that result.

Should you watch this match? If you're a Haku completist, maybe. But to be honest you can doze off for long stretches and not miss anything. And it was a DRAW! Two draws in a row!

 

 

What's next?

THE ROCK, FAAROOQ VS KEN SHAMROCK, STEVE BLACKMAN | watch
EPISODE 253 | RAW REPLAYS | 1998-03-30

Lovely stuff! There's no way a Raw match from 1998's going to a time limit draw. Is there?

 

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On 5/10/2018 at 3:23 PM, Onyx2 said:

 

On 5/10/2018 at 3:23 PM, Onyx2 said:

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This was probably the heyday of current NXT. Still got the best music, talent is top drawer and they will play Wembley at the end of the year.

Sami is champ (I suspect just so Kevin Steen can debut, quickly befriend and betray him) and Neville is challenging. For a 15 minute match there is excellent storytelling, with moves parried and redeployed in a true test of the better man. It's fast paced but never gratuitous,as despite both men being capable of high flying flippy flops know how to scale up to the right moves.

An excellent match where I definitely believed Neville was taking the title at several points - i know he is champ at some point but couldn't recall when. If you need a time filler you'd do much worse than this tidy little number.

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Isn't that the match that led to RVD telling Taz to "pick a hand"? 

Don't think I've ever seen that match but I'd be interested to hear if there's anything obvious in the match that stands out which would've led to Robbie V going all slap happy. 

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7 hours ago, boytoy said:

Try watching:
SABU AND ROB VAN DAM AND TAZ VS THE TRIPLE THREAT | watch
ECW NOVEMBER TO REMEMBER 1998 | NOVEMBER TO REMEMBER | 1998-10-31

I will report back later

Firstly to get this out of the way I loved ECW so will probably be more forgiving than most. This was not the most memorable feud as I was never a big Douglas fan but it was interesting to watch. This match was booked solely to get to somewhere else.

Starts with promos, Sabu has his shoulder taped and RVD says he is the whole F'N show and will carry three people tonight. Taz does a grainy black and white backstage promo saying that although he hates Sabu he just wants to get his hands on Douglas and that he is coming for his World Title. TAG TEAMS THAT DON'T GET ALONG

Ringwalks next, music dubbed out of course, and out come Shane Douglas, Bam Bam Bigelow, Chris Candido and Francine. The 16 year old version of me marked out for Francine and she looks gloriously trashy here (I have a thing about east coast broads like her). Douglas says there is no new triple threat only them and calls Taz a bitch and a pussy. Shane gives the kind of heel promo we don't see much of anymore and notably swears A LOT. Douglas does ring introductions for all four of them. Candido's body looks insane. Sabu and RVD are next but get ambushed on the ramp by the Dudleys. The Triple Threat has previously cost them the tag titles to the Dudleys so Sabu and RVD returned the compliment earlier on by costing the Dudleys the titles to Tanaka and Mahoney. Lights go out and here comes Taz! Suplexes to everyone (can't believe nobody has recycled that gimmick!) including a savage super tazplex to Bubba Ray before the heels get the upper hand. 

The most notable thing about this is how different it is to the modern WWE six man tag I have become so used t. It is less structured and feels like everyone just wants a piece of everyone else. It totally breaks down and doesn't even resemble a tag match until about half way. There is stuff going on in the ring and outside and it is quite chaotic. This suits Sabu who botches early and often, notably a chair assisted springboard crossbody to the outside...he slips off the rope but lands back on the chair before jumping straight back to the top rope for a second go. RVD goes over the top rope to the outside next. Candido then hits a piledriver on Sabu which is one of those things that I have become so used to not seeing that it looks like the most brutal move ever. RVD botches a powerbomb reversal spot with Bam Bam but just does the RVD taunt to cover up. He was ace at that. Taz gets put through a table by Candido which happens off camera which kind of sums the sloppiness of the match up.

Douglas tags in and is jawing with Taz who is on the apron the whole time.  Kind of looks like a tag match eventually and leads to Taz finally getting his hands on Douglas. He locks in the tazmission but Sabu hits a top rope arabian facebuster to both Taz and Douglas and pins Douglas for the three count. Taz is livid about Sabu stealing his win and Fonzy and RVD try to calm things down to little to no avail. Taz storms off.

The match on the whole was pretty average but this was more about build than blowoff. It is a good example of the way Heyman would carefully manage feuds between the top guys to give you just enough to want to see more. In my opinion this builds very nicely to Guilty as Charged at the start of 99 as the fans were desperate to see The Franchise get his comeuppance, I might give that a watch soon.

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On 5/13/2018 at 10:22 PM, HarmonicGenerator said:

THE ROCK, FAAROOQ VS KEN SHAMROCK, STEVE BLACKMAN | watch
EPISODE 253 | RAW REPLAYS | 1998-03-30

 

Finally got a bit of time free to watch this. Come on, 15 minute draw!

The Rock and Faarooq are accompanied by D'Lo Brown, Kama (if he's still Kama at this point) and Mark Henry. Rock is Intercontinental Champion - Shamrock had beaten him with the Anklelock the previous night (WrestleMania XIV?) but the decision was reversed.

I always quite enjoy Rock and Shamrock's feud when I go back to the first few months of 1998. Means I get to hear Shamrock's music as well which is always good. I'm still certain if he'd been around these days he'd have been full blown main event. His physique is inhuman at this point in time.

After much stalling, Faarooq and Shamrock start off. Faarooq hits a nice slam, Shamrock hits a nice kick, Blackman has distractingly red boots. Ken gets a little shot on Rocky on the apron which the crowd enjoy. Faarooq crawls over to his corner and Rock avoids the tag... oooh. Rock's off, he's had enough. Shamrock hits a fairly naff belly to belly and pins Faarooq.

So, not a 15 minute draw this time then. Worth watching? Not especially, unless you want to track the full evolution of The Rock into the superstar he became - Faarooq calls Rock back out and they have a pull apart, then the Nation turns on Faarooq and he gets a Rock Bottom.

 

What's next?

 

Well... what the generator gave me was Bret Hart vs. Mr. McMahon from WrestleMania 26. But I'll be fucked if I'm ever watching that willingly again, so I had another go...

MARC MERO VS THE GOON | watch
EPISODE 169 | RAW REPLAYS | 1996-07-22

Yep, I'd rather Mero vs. The Goon than Bret vs. Vince.

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On 5/14/2018 at 11:14 PM, boytoy said:

Firstly to get this out of the way I loved ECW so will probably be more forgiving than most. This was not the most memorable feud as I was never a big Douglas fan but it was interesting to watch. This match was booked solely to get to somewhere else.

Starts with promos, Sabu has his shoulder taped and RVD says he is the whole F'N show and will carry three people tonight. Taz does a grainy black and white backstage promo saying that although he hates Sabu he just wants to get his hands on Douglas and that he is coming for his World Title. TAG TEAMS THAT DON'T GET ALONG

Ringwalks next, music dubbed out of course, and out come Shane Douglas, Bam Bam Bigelow, Chris Candido and Francine. The 16 year old version of me marked out for Francine and she looks gloriously trashy here (I have a thing about east coast broads like her). Douglas says there is no new triple threat only them and calls Taz a bitch and a pussy. Shane gives the kind of heel promo we don't see much of anymore and notably swears A LOT. Douglas does ring introductions for all four of them. Candido's body looks insane. Sabu and RVD are next but get ambushed on the ramp by the Dudleys. The Triple Threat has previously cost them the tag titles to the Dudleys so Sabu and RVD returned the compliment earlier on by costing the Dudleys the titles to Tanaka and Mahoney. Lights go out and here comes Taz! Suplexes to everyone (can't believe nobody has recycled that gimmick!) including a savage super tazplex to Bubba Ray before the heels get the upper hand. 

The most notable thing about this is how different it is to the modern WWE six man tag I have become so used t. It is less structured and feels like everyone just wants a piece of everyone else. It totally breaks down and doesn't even resemble a tag match until about half way. There is stuff going on in the ring and outside and it is quite chaotic. This suits Sabu who botches early and often, notably a chair assisted springboard crossbody to the outside...he slips off the rope but lands back on the chair before jumping straight back to the top rope for a second go. RVD goes over the top rope to the outside next. Candido then hits a piledriver on Sabu which is one of those things that I have become so used to not seeing that it looks like the most brutal move ever. RVD botches a powerbomb reversal spot with Bam Bam but just does the RVD taunt to cover up. He was ace at that. Taz gets put through a table by Candido which happens off camera which kind of sums the sloppiness of the match up.

Douglas tags in and is jawing with Taz who is on the apron the whole time.  Kind of looks like a tag match eventually and leads to Taz finally getting his hands on Douglas. He locks in the tazmission but Sabu hits a top rope arabian facebuster to both Taz and Douglas and pins Douglas for the three count. Taz is livid about Sabu stealing his win and Fonzy and RVD try to calm things down to little to no avail. Taz storms off.

The match on the whole was pretty average but this was more about build than blowoff. It is a good example of the way Heyman would carefully manage feuds between the top guys to give you just enough to want to see more. In my opinion this builds very nicely to Guilty as Charged at the start of 99 as the fans were desperate to see The Franchise get his comeuppance, I might give that a watch soon.

November To Remember 98 will always be remembered as the show in which Jake Roberts comes out wearing a Wigan Rugby League jersey. It’s the biggest bit of exposure that Norweb ever got

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Just spotted this thread, rolled a couple of times and got 2016 Smackdown matches both times, Miz v Styles (possibly the one where Miz got his tooth knocked out) and a random women's tag, probably pretty fresh in the memory and not all that interesting to look back on, however the third match bought something I can't refuse;

Try watching:
Finish of Maria Kanellis vs Kurt Angle | watch
Raw 653 | Raw Replays | 2005-11-28

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