How bout that weather?
Am I right?
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Match of the Day - Special guest referee 4-way ladder match... must be WCW
Bret Hart vs. Scott Hall vs. Goldberg vs. Sid Vicious - Texas Tornado Ladder Match for the WCW US Heavyweight Championship WCW Nitro (1999)
Today is the first time I have actually heard of this match. It's a four man ladder match featuring Razor Ramon - I mean Scott Hall, Bret Hart (who was in the first WWF ladder match - though Hall's ladder matches are more recognized as firsts), Sid Vicious, and Bill Goldberg. Oh yeah, and the special referee was Kevin Nash because fuck it this is WCW and there needs to be a special referee in a match where one person wins by climbing a ladder to retrieve a belt hanging high above the ring and that's it.
One must also put into account that WCW at this point was essentially the Kevin Nash/Scott Hall show and lacked a lot of substance. So, in a not so surprising turn of event, Nash knocks out Bret Hart who has the title in his grasp with a nightstick at the top of the ladder... Nash then miraculously catches the title as Hart drops to the mat which allows Scott Hall to climb the ladder and snag the title from Nash's hands.
There was also a bit with Rick Steiner and his heel run as he comes out to attack his former friend, Sid Vicious. WCW wasn't the Rick Steiner show though so his little spotlight and impact was overshadowed by what Nash and Hall were really up in this match. Steiner, who was the TV champ at the time would soon lose the title at Mayhem because he was too injured to compete. The title was then given to, yep you guessed it, Scott Hall.
Scott Hall eventually throws the TV Championship away a week later...
Literally though, he throws it into a trashcan on Nitro.
All in all, this is not one match you will be seeing on a ladder match compilation anytime soon (unless the next Ladder Match DVD runs out of good or legitimate ladder matches).
It is however a hell of a good look at what WCW was like in 1999.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Song of the Day - Hairspray Heart
Black Moth Super Rainbow - Hairspray Heart from Cobra Juicy (2012)
Speaking of Goldust's not so PG antics in Japan from the match of the day yesterday, here's the gold one playing 'The Pink One' in Black Moth Super Rainbow's new music video for "Hairspray Heart".
Yep, that's a pink Goldust doing unmentionable things to a mask in a Jacuzzi.
"Like a fuckin' diamond"
Last.fm
Speaking of Goldust's not so PG antics in Japan from the match of the day yesterday, here's the gold one playing 'The Pink One' in Black Moth Super Rainbow's new music video for "Hairspray Heart".
Yep, that's a pink Goldust doing unmentionable things to a mask in a Jacuzzi.
"Like a fuckin' diamond"
Last.fm
Match of the Day - Shane McMahon: which way did he go? Answer: Down part 1
Shane McMahon vs. Steve Blackman - Hardcore Championship match WWF Summerslam (2000)
This Hardcore Wednesday match has the claim to fame as that match were Shane McMahon, being the spot junky that he is, gets caned off the titantron via "The Lethal Weapon" Steve Blackman and his lethal kendo stick (it's really a singapore cane but whatever). A year later we saw the same drop at Backlash (McMahon vs. Big Show) but this time it was Shane-O-Mac jumping off the titantron rather than falling. The latter gets remembered a bit more while this match is really only remembered as that one match were Shane McMahon had the Hardcore title and the 24/7 rule was suspended so these two "marvelous athletes" could actually have a real (hardcore) match.
The contrast or Steve Blackman's use of weapons with his martial arts background and Shane McMahon's never-stay-down underdog attitude is also very fun to watch.
This Hardcore Wednesday match has the claim to fame as that match were Shane McMahon, being the spot junky that he is, gets caned off the titantron via "The Lethal Weapon" Steve Blackman and his lethal kendo stick (it's really a singapore cane but whatever). A year later we saw the same drop at Backlash (McMahon vs. Big Show) but this time it was Shane-O-Mac jumping off the titantron rather than falling. The latter gets remembered a bit more while this match is really only remembered as that one match were Shane McMahon had the Hardcore title and the 24/7 rule was suspended so these two "marvelous athletes" could actually have a real (hardcore) match.
The contrast or Steve Blackman's use of weapons with his martial arts background and Shane McMahon's never-stay-down underdog attitude is also very fun to watch.
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Song of the Day - Black Haze
DJ Bahler - Black Haze from The Midnight Society (2012)
Workaholics fans will appreciate this one: it's a mash-up by DJ Bahler that includes the wizard rap, "Potion Mixin'" by the boys of Workaholics.
Also includes: YACHT's "Afterlife" (The xx Remix)" and Arcade Fire's "Black Mirror".
...but the Workaholics' song is what really matters here.
Last.fm
Workaholics fans will appreciate this one: it's a mash-up by DJ Bahler that includes the wizard rap, "Potion Mixin'" by the boys of Workaholics.
Also includes: YACHT's "Afterlife" (The xx Remix)" and Arcade Fire's "Black Mirror".
...but the Workaholics' song is what really matters here.
Last.fm
Match of the Day - Muta/Tajiri vs Goldust/Hakushi
The Great Muta & Yoshihiro Tajiri vs. Goldustin & Jinsei Shinzaki - AJPW (2007)
Some really nice contrasting styles in this All Japan Pro Wrestling tag team match featuring Great Muta, Yoshihiro Tajiri, Goldust as Goldustin for copyright reasons, and Jinsei Shinzaki AKA Hakushi.
Speaking of styles, it appears that Goldust seemed to be a little more homoerotic, if you will, here in Japan than he would in the states. My guess is that those sort of old school sexual mind games that Goldust puts on his opponents are more acceptable there than in America. It's definitely not acceptable on a product like the G rated Saturday Morning Slam on The CW where Goldust will most likely end up wrestling on now that he's back in WWE after making his 3rd or 4th Royal Rumble return.
This match is all fun and games until Muta and Tajiri gang up on Dustin, giving him a double dosage of mist while Shinzaki was known out of the ring, followed up by a shining wizard for the win.
PS: I would have loved to see the oddball team of Goldust and Tajiri in WWE. I'm quite surprised now that they were never a tag team...
Some really nice contrasting styles in this All Japan Pro Wrestling tag team match featuring Great Muta, Yoshihiro Tajiri, Goldust as Goldustin for copyright reasons, and Jinsei Shinzaki AKA Hakushi.
Speaking of styles, it appears that Goldust seemed to be a little more homoerotic, if you will, here in Japan than he would in the states. My guess is that those sort of old school sexual mind games that Goldust puts on his opponents are more acceptable there than in America. It's definitely not acceptable on a product like the G rated Saturday Morning Slam on The CW where Goldust will most likely end up wrestling on now that he's back in WWE after making his 3rd or 4th Royal Rumble return.
This match is all fun and games until Muta and Tajiri gang up on Dustin, giving him a double dosage of mist while Shinzaki was known out of the ring, followed up by a shining wizard for the win.
PS: I would have loved to see the oddball team of Goldust and Tajiri in WWE. I'm quite surprised now that they were never a tag team...
Monday, January 28, 2013
Song of the Day - Avantcore
Busdriver - Avantcore from Fear of a Black Tangent (2005)
Just noticed today that Busdriver's "Avantcore" samples "Turtles Have Short Legs" by Can - a very 'avantcore' song in its own right.
Last.fm
Just noticed today that Busdriver's "Avantcore" samples "Turtles Have Short Legs" by Can - a very 'avantcore' song in its own right.
Last.fm
Match of the Day - Rocky's debut
In honor of The Rock's win last night at the Royal Rumble while he takes a short break from making Disney action adventure movies and shitty sequels to mediocre franchises, here's Rocky's debut way way back in the year 1996.
"Wildman" Marc Mero's Team (Mero, Rocky Maivia, Jake Roberts, and "The Stalker" Barry Windham) vs. Hunter Hearst Helmsely's Team (Helmsely, Goldust, Crush, and Jerry Lawler) - Survivor Series match - WWF Survivor Series (1996)
Shortly after Dwayne Johnson showed off his agility and awkward dropkicks at USWA, owned by Jerry Lawler at the time who happens to be in this match, the first 3rd generation superstar was ready to grace the squared-circle deep in the belly of Madison Square Garden where his father and father's father had previously made a name for themselves.
And since Rocky Johnson and Chief Peter Maivia had made a name for themselves, it was decided that Dwayne Johnson take the name of Rocky Johnson and mash it together with Peter Maivia to create - Rocky Maivia. Honestly though, it really didn't matter if he had named himself Peter Johnson at this point, he was a 3rd generation superstar; he was going to be used whether he could wrestle or not.
Whether or not he was going to eventually break out of the spotlight of his elders and become his own on star is another story for another day. Many people can argue when exactly Rocky Maivia became The Rock, the people's champ, but this match is no way near that time. This was the blue chipper era for Dwayne Johnson - long before he could ever image starring in Walking Tall remakes or Mummy spin-offs...
"Wildman" Marc Mero's Team (Mero, Rocky Maivia, Jake Roberts, and "The Stalker" Barry Windham) vs. Hunter Hearst Helmsely's Team (Helmsely, Goldust, Crush, and Jerry Lawler) - Survivor Series match - WWF Survivor Series (1996)
Shortly after Dwayne Johnson showed off his agility and awkward dropkicks at USWA, owned by Jerry Lawler at the time who happens to be in this match, the first 3rd generation superstar was ready to grace the squared-circle deep in the belly of Madison Square Garden where his father and father's father had previously made a name for themselves.
And since Rocky Johnson and Chief Peter Maivia had made a name for themselves, it was decided that Dwayne Johnson take the name of Rocky Johnson and mash it together with Peter Maivia to create - Rocky Maivia. Honestly though, it really didn't matter if he had named himself Peter Johnson at this point, he was a 3rd generation superstar; he was going to be used whether he could wrestle or not.
Whether or not he was going to eventually break out of the spotlight of his elders and become his own on star is another story for another day. Many people can argue when exactly Rocky Maivia became The Rock, the people's champ, but this match is no way near that time. This was the blue chipper era for Dwayne Johnson - long before he could ever image starring in Walking Tall remakes or Mummy spin-offs...
This match consists of a team made of heels captained by Marc "I don't know how to be anyone except Johnny B. Badd" Mero and his rival at the time, Hunter Hearst Helmsely and his team of stalkers, drunks, and Rocky Maivias. Along with Rocky in this match, there are three other 2nd generation wrestlers: Goldust, son of Dusty Rhodes, Barry Windham, son of Black Mulligan, and Jake Roberts, son of Grizzly Smith.
Side note:
Also at this time, Jake Roberts was having a small feud with Jerry Lawler in an angle where Robert's "Demons" were openly discussed and paralleled his real life battles with alcohol and cocaine (which they didn't mention of course). This sort of art imitating reality type situation was an early element of the Attitude Era and the more Jerry Springer/soap opera style of wrestling we say from the late 90's (onward basically). The "demons" angle where a wrestler legitimately has a problem and it is thrown into their onscreen character has also been used on Road Warrior Hawk and his much more exploited drug/alcohol problem in the heart of the Attitude Era as well as Scott Hall's drinking problems all throughout his WCW/NWO career. I want to say there was also a small bit where Rowdy Roddy Piper would just get drunk on the Smackdown Brand revamp of Piper's Pit every week, but maybe that was just me subtly wishing I had something to take to get through that Mr. America gimmick. Ayeyeye.
Anyways, here's Rocky Maivia's debut. He wins the match and no one really hates the guts of his gimmick yet.
Enjoy.
Friday, January 25, 2013
Song of the Day - Stairway to Hell
Iron Sword - Stairway to Hell from Demo (2012)
These guys put on a great performance tonight along with Eastern Spell (ME), The Proselyte (MA), and the ever wild and crazy WARANIMAL!
David Wooderson tellin' it is.
Jklol.
Last.fm
These guys put on a great performance tonight along with Eastern Spell (ME), The Proselyte (MA), and the ever wild and crazy WARANIMAL!
David Wooderson tellin' it is.
Jklol.
Last.fm
Match of the Day - First ever match at Royal Rumble
In honor of Royal Rumble weekend, the next couple of days will be Royal Rumble related:
Ricky Steamboat vs Rick Rude - WWF Royal Rumble (1988)
Part 1
Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat and "Ravishing" Rick Rude and their epic battle here has the distinctive honor of being the first match at the first Royal Rumble in 1988.
And by epic battle, I mean long of course...
Part 2
This match is probably remembered most as that match where Ricky Steamboat forgets to keep his arm up after the two previous arm drops to check if he had passed out from Rude's Camel Clutch-type submission hold or not. Some say it was the ref, Dave Hebner's fault for this seemingly botched count as well, but as it is clear that Steamboat was not unconscious and quickly raises his arm on the fourth try it sure looks as if Steamboat may have just forgotten which arm drop he was on.
Part 3
The match ends with Rick Rude shoving Dave Hebner in the way causing Hebner to receive Steamboat's flying crossbody which led to Rude's disqualification.
Directly after this match was the Dino Bravo segment where he "breaks" a world record by bench pressing 715 pounds thanks to Jesse Ventura. Yes, Jesse "The Body" Ventura.
Ricky Steamboat vs Rick Rude - WWF Royal Rumble (1988)
Part 1
Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat and "Ravishing" Rick Rude and their epic battle here has the distinctive honor of being the first match at the first Royal Rumble in 1988.
And by epic battle, I mean long of course...
Part 2
This match is probably remembered most as that match where Ricky Steamboat forgets to keep his arm up after the two previous arm drops to check if he had passed out from Rude's Camel Clutch-type submission hold or not. Some say it was the ref, Dave Hebner's fault for this seemingly botched count as well, but as it is clear that Steamboat was not unconscious and quickly raises his arm on the fourth try it sure looks as if Steamboat may have just forgotten which arm drop he was on.
Part 3
The match ends with Rick Rude shoving Dave Hebner in the way causing Hebner to receive Steamboat's flying crossbody which led to Rude's disqualification.
Directly after this match was the Dino Bravo segment where he "breaks" a world record by bench pressing 715 pounds thanks to Jesse Ventura. Yes, Jesse "The Body" Ventura.
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Song of the Day - Don, Aman
Slint - Don, Aman from Spiderland (1991)
Perfect for a cold night walk around a ghost town neighborhood.
Perfect for a cold night walk around a ghost town neighborhood.
Match of the Day - That time Owen Hart won the World Title
Owen hart vs. Bret Hart (c) - WWF Coliseum Video Exclusive Lumberjack Match (1994)
Remember when Owen Hart won the WWF World Heavyweight Title?
No? Well don't worry, I don't either. Not just because this was a Coliseum Video exclusive (usually matches that were taped only to be released on special video packages) but because he actually doesn't.
Turns out even though this match looks like it ends with Owen Hart getting the pinfall on his older brother, Bret thanks to Jim Neidhart hitting "The Hitman" in the back with his anvil-tough arm, the decision is soon called-off thanks to the interference and the match is restarted and officially ends with Bret retaining his coveted gold. However, you don't see that part of the match as most of the "Owen Hart wins the WWF Title" videos online have this important part of the match cut out.
It's a shame that Owen didn't ever win the title though. Maybe not so much this way, but it would have been a really nice change from super face champion to bitter heel shadow-of-his-brother-no-more champion. Maybe this would have led to an earlier Attitude Era? I doubt it though. If anything Bret would have just won the title back at Survivor Series (where Bob Backlund beat "The Hitman" via submission) of that year.
Anyways, here's Owen Hart versus Bret Hart, brother versus brother, in a Lumberjack match featuring the oddball characters of 1994 and the closest time Owen Hart ever got to becoming a World Champion.
Oh yeah, and this happened in Portland, Maine.
Remember when Owen Hart won the WWF World Heavyweight Title?
No? Well don't worry, I don't either. Not just because this was a Coliseum Video exclusive (usually matches that were taped only to be released on special video packages) but because he actually doesn't.
Turns out even though this match looks like it ends with Owen Hart getting the pinfall on his older brother, Bret thanks to Jim Neidhart hitting "The Hitman" in the back with his anvil-tough arm, the decision is soon called-off thanks to the interference and the match is restarted and officially ends with Bret retaining his coveted gold. However, you don't see that part of the match as most of the "Owen Hart wins the WWF Title" videos online have this important part of the match cut out.
It's a shame that Owen didn't ever win the title though. Maybe not so much this way, but it would have been a really nice change from super face champion to bitter heel shadow-of-his-brother-no-more champion. Maybe this would have led to an earlier Attitude Era? I doubt it though. If anything Bret would have just won the title back at Survivor Series (where Bob Backlund beat "The Hitman" via submission) of that year.
Anyways, here's Owen Hart versus Bret Hart, brother versus brother, in a Lumberjack match featuring the oddball characters of 1994 and the closest time Owen Hart ever got to becoming a World Champion.
Oh yeah, and this happened in Portland, Maine.
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Song of the Day - Winter
Match of the Day - Jeff Hardy vs. the imploding table
Hardcore Wednesday:
Jeff Hardy vs. Rob Van Dam - Hardcore Title match Smackdown! (2001)
Just four nights after their ladder match at Summerslam (this was back when Smackdown! was on Thursdays), Jeff Hardy and Rob Van Dam would once again face of for the Hardcore Title. This time around though it wasn't a ladder match, but Jeff Hardy being the uncontrollable showstopper that he is/was, decided that it would be in his best interest to incorporate the ladder for all the fans that didn't watch Summerslam that year. Unfortunately for Hardy, his swanton bomb spot off the ladder onto a table did not pay off for him like it has many, many, many times before. See instead of leading on RVD from the 20 foot ladder, RVD rolls off the ladder leaving Hardy to implode - and I'm serious when I say that so I'm going to say it again - implode(!) the table below with all of his weight and momentum.
Above is an abridged version of this match as the whole versions that are available online are much to grainy to watch. The version shown above best sums up this opening match on Smackdown! in September of 2001 though. Jeff Hardy explodes a table into little pieces with his body.
This is also the third Match of the Day in a row where the contest ends with no definitive hand raised, "you're the winner" outcome as Jeff Hardy was unable to come back from the drop he took onto the imploding table.
All in all, this isn't the best match between Jeff Hardy and Rob Van Dam, but it is one that is seemingly forgotten.
I'll never forget it though.
PS: If you'd like to check out the very grainy first half of this match, it is worth the watch as it features the old Smackdown! "Beautiful People" and the "this is not PG rated and has flashing lights program" warning. Good times!
Jeff Hardy vs. Rob Van Dam - Hardcore Title match Smackdown! (2001)
Just four nights after their ladder match at Summerslam (this was back when Smackdown! was on Thursdays), Jeff Hardy and Rob Van Dam would once again face of for the Hardcore Title. This time around though it wasn't a ladder match, but Jeff Hardy being the uncontrollable showstopper that he is/was, decided that it would be in his best interest to incorporate the ladder for all the fans that didn't watch Summerslam that year. Unfortunately for Hardy, his swanton bomb spot off the ladder onto a table did not pay off for him like it has many, many, many times before. See instead of leading on RVD from the 20 foot ladder, RVD rolls off the ladder leaving Hardy to implode - and I'm serious when I say that so I'm going to say it again - implode(!) the table below with all of his weight and momentum.
Above is an abridged version of this match as the whole versions that are available online are much to grainy to watch. The version shown above best sums up this opening match on Smackdown! in September of 2001 though. Jeff Hardy explodes a table into little pieces with his body.
This is also the third Match of the Day in a row where the contest ends with no definitive hand raised, "you're the winner" outcome as Jeff Hardy was unable to come back from the drop he took onto the imploding table.
All in all, this isn't the best match between Jeff Hardy and Rob Van Dam, but it is one that is seemingly forgotten.
I'll never forget it though.
PS: If you'd like to check out the very grainy first half of this match, it is worth the watch as it features the old Smackdown! "Beautiful People" and the "this is not PG rated and has flashing lights program" warning. Good times!
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Song of the Day - Bird Balloons
Lady Lamb the Beekeeper - Bird Balloons from Ripley Pine (2013)
Former Maine-native Aly Spaltro AKA Lady Lamb the Beekeeper has herself a new album coming out via her new label, Ba Da Bing Records. This is "Bird Balloons", the snazzy single which is sure to impress. Listen up:
The release date for Ripley Pine is February 19th.
Last.fm
Former Maine-native Aly Spaltro AKA Lady Lamb the Beekeeper has herself a new album coming out via her new label, Ba Da Bing Records. This is "Bird Balloons", the snazzy single which is sure to impress. Listen up:
The release date for Ripley Pine is February 19th.
Last.fm
Match of the Day - The New Breed put the spacelock on T
The New Breed vs. The Armstrongs (Brad & Bob) - NWA: Jim Crocket Promotions (1987)
A couple of days ago I introduced this blog to the glorious gimmick of Hector Guerrero as Lazor-Tron, the masked laser-tagger from outer space. But what I failed to mention was that Lazor-Tron may have actually been not only a real robot but a decepticon. Yes, decepticon - as in the evil robots from Transformers!
How do I know this? The New Breed told me.
The team of Sean Royal and Chris Champion AKA The New Breed were a due of young time traveling cool dudes from 2002; a 2002 from a parallel dimension where Dusty Rhodes was the president and the Rock 'n' Roll Express were being used for medical experiments. They were also probably the coolest forgotten heel tag team of the 80's.
h the recently passed-on Brad and Bob Armstrong. And while this match saw no official winners, you could certainly tell that The New Breed were way before their time - because they were - and really were the winners of this match which was stop due to the time limit.
Unfortunately, like a lot of things in life, The New Breed was short-lived, due in part by Sean Royal's car accident and Chris Champion's hand injury leading the team to lose their push and . Eventually Sean Royal would walk out of the wrestling business leaving Champion to work alone before becoming Yoshi Kwan (an Asian-themed wrestler). Champion was also one of the Ninja Turtles from USWA.
A little side note that I find kind of interesting but quite unfortunate is that Chris Champion would later have a stroke (due to drugs and what have you) which left him in real bad shape. This jut happened have taken place in 2002; the year The New Breed were from.
My theory is that this is why The New Breed time-traveled back to the mid to late 80's; to wrestle back at the prime of tag team wrestling as well as to somehow try to reverse terrible events that had transpired. They also had to go back in time in seek revenge on Lazer-Tron and "Boogie Woogie Man" Jimmy Valiant just because.
A couple of days ago I introduced this blog to the glorious gimmick of Hector Guerrero as Lazor-Tron, the masked laser-tagger from outer space. But what I failed to mention was that Lazor-Tron may have actually been not only a real robot but a decepticon. Yes, decepticon - as in the evil robots from Transformers!
How do I know this? The New Breed told me.
The team of Sean Royal and Chris Champion AKA The New Breed were a due of young time traveling cool dudes from 2002; a 2002 from a parallel dimension where Dusty Rhodes was the president and the Rock 'n' Roll Express were being used for medical experiments. They were also probably the coolest forgotten heel tag team of the 80's.
h the recently passed-on Brad and Bob Armstrong. And while this match saw no official winners, you could certainly tell that The New Breed were way before their time - because they were - and really were the winners of this match which was stop due to the time limit.
Unfortunately, like a lot of things in life, The New Breed was short-lived, due in part by Sean Royal's car accident and Chris Champion's hand injury leading the team to lose their push and . Eventually Sean Royal would walk out of the wrestling business leaving Champion to work alone before becoming Yoshi Kwan (an Asian-themed wrestler). Champion was also one of the Ninja Turtles from USWA.
A little side note that I find kind of interesting but quite unfortunate is that Chris Champion would later have a stroke (due to drugs and what have you) which left him in real bad shape. This jut happened have taken place in 2002; the year The New Breed were from.
My theory is that this is why The New Breed time-traveled back to the mid to late 80's; to wrestle back at the prime of tag team wrestling as well as to somehow try to reverse terrible events that had transpired. They also had to go back in time in seek revenge on Lazer-Tron and "Boogie Woogie Man" Jimmy Valiant just because.
Monday, January 21, 2013
Song of the Day - Martin Luther King Day
Times New Viking - Martin Luther King Day from Born Again Revisited (2009)
Happy MLK Day everybody!
Happy MLK Day everybody!
Match of the Day - The skinny Briscoe Brothers debut in TNA
The Briscoe Brothers (Jay & Mark) vs. The Hot Shots (Cassidy & Chase) - NWA:TNA (2002)
Here's a little Briscoe Brother action starring 18 year old Jay and Mark Briscoe (no relation to Jack or Gerald Brisco). It also stars Cassidy Riley (or O'Reilly at the time) and Chase Stevens who would go on to work for the TNA full time.
In it we see the very fragile looking Briscoes, who had already been wrestling 2 years (I'm guessing in the backyard or *cough cough* CZW), looking to make a name for themselves in what is said to be their first taste of national TV spotlight, that is, if you can even count NWA:TNA's PPV-broadcast-ed set-up very national TV-like at the time. I know I never heard anything about TNA back in 2002.
No, it wasn't until 2004 when TNA made it to FSN and used a very sports-like approach with the time-clock and all that that they really hit somewhat of a national TV spotlight, but The Briscoe Brothers were neither here nor there by that time. This is really only the first of maybe two other matches The Briscoes would have in TNA, and while I'm no talent scout I can guess by the size and age of this young team that they weren't ready for the major - err, semi-major - leagues just yet.
That's okay though, as dem boys did the best they could with what they had at this time and even took some of the nastiest (and loudest) chokeslams I've ever seen (and heard) via the hands of Malice (remember The Wall from WCW?) who runs in to ruin the match. After this Jay and Mark had another match against a team called Divine Storm and maybe one more before heading back to the indies where they would fine tune their craft as well as mold themselves into a much better, but still pretty ugly-looking, hard-working tag team.
Here's a little Briscoe Brother action starring 18 year old Jay and Mark Briscoe (no relation to Jack or Gerald Brisco). It also stars Cassidy Riley (or O'Reilly at the time) and Chase Stevens who would go on to work for the TNA full time.
In it we see the very fragile looking Briscoes, who had already been wrestling 2 years (I'm guessing in the backyard or *cough cough* CZW), looking to make a name for themselves in what is said to be their first taste of national TV spotlight, that is, if you can even count NWA:TNA's PPV-broadcast-ed set-up very national TV-like at the time. I know I never heard anything about TNA back in 2002.
No, it wasn't until 2004 when TNA made it to FSN and used a very sports-like approach with the time-clock and all that that they really hit somewhat of a national TV spotlight, but The Briscoe Brothers were neither here nor there by that time. This is really only the first of maybe two other matches The Briscoes would have in TNA, and while I'm no talent scout I can guess by the size and age of this young team that they weren't ready for the major - err, semi-major - leagues just yet.
That's okay though, as dem boys did the best they could with what they had at this time and even took some of the nastiest (and loudest) chokeslams I've ever seen (and heard) via the hands of Malice (remember The Wall from WCW?) who runs in to ruin the match. After this Jay and Mark had another match against a team called Divine Storm and maybe one more before heading back to the indies where they would fine tune their craft as well as mold themselves into a much better, but still pretty ugly-looking, hard-working tag team.
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Song of the Day - Rocket Number Nine
Sun Ra - Rocket Number Nine from Space is the Place (1973)
I watched a lot of Mystery Science Theater 3000 today.
I watched a lot of Mystery Science Theater 3000 today.
And nothing much else.
Match of the Day - The Big Bad Booty Daddy makes short work out of Harvard Chris
Scott Steiner vs. Christopher Nowinski - Raw (2003)
Long before WWE gave us Cody Rhodes and his crushed face gimmick and Jennifer Hudson's Harvard grad husband, WWE gave us Christopher Nowinski who, mind you, already had all of those things. Including Jennifer Hudson.
That's a lie of course.
But hey, it gives this match a little more life...
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Song of the Day - Aped
Tera Melos - Aped from Patagonian Rats (2010)
After almost two and a half years, I have finally accepted Tera Melo's new sound into my life.
Still, nothing beats the strictly instrumental math rock they were playing on 'Untitled' and 'Drugs To The Dear Youth'.
Oh well. At least I'll be able to enjoy their new album coming sooooooooooon..
Last.fm
After almost two and a half years, I have finally accepted Tera Melo's new sound into my life.
Still, nothing beats the strictly instrumental math rock they were playing on 'Untitled' and 'Drugs To The Dear Youth'.
Oh well. At least I'll be able to enjoy their new album coming sooooooooooon..
Last.fm
Match of the Day - just Booker takes on fat Ahmed Johnson for the letter T
Booker vs. Big T - WCW SuperBrawl X (2000)
The story behind this ill-advised match between Booker T and a larger-than-I-remembered Ahmed Johnson was that Stevie Ray, Booker's brother and long-time tag team partner, decided to turn his back on his own flesh and blood. Apparently Stevie Ray felt that Booker T wasn't the man that he used be and a bigger, fatter version of the Harlem Heat - Harlem Heat 2000 - had to be created.
Along with introducing his new tag team partner, Big T (Ahmed Johnson, now 300 pounds), Stevie Ray also introduced J. Biggs (Clarence Mason from the Nation of Domination) as Harlem Heat's new lawyer. Mr. Biggs then used his lawyer magic to get the T in Booker T removed since Big T was the only one aloud to use a single T in his name. Along with Booker's T, he also lost his entrance music and the rights to Harlem Heat.
Soon though, Booker T - now just "Booker" - got a chance to win it all back in the match above against Big T at the 10th Anniversary of SuperBrawl. And while Booker looked to be getting his T back in no time, all of a sudden the lights go out in the arena and when the lights kick back on, is this even bigger guy than Ahmed Johnson standing there on the apron . At first, it looks like it's Mabel - seeing as the lights went out for that big man a year or so before this in the WWF when he made his transformation into Viscera, but nope. Turns out it was just a really big guy no one had ever seen before.
Or had we?
The man we see become the third member of this huge new Harlem Heat revamp was also that ridiculously huge chested man (who was never used) in the No Limit Soldiers, another poor angle that WCW felt was necessary to cram down our throats.
The aftermath to this match is pretty awful as well; from what I know, Booker never got his T back and Harlem Heat with all their potential and beef to them never went anywhere (no shocker there). Booker later would join the Misfits in Action (MIA) as "GI Bro" just long enough for people to forget about Harlem Heat 2000 so he could return as Booker T again and get his long overdue push before WCW went bankrupt.
This angle and match wouldn't have been that bad by itself but then Mark Madden, the worst wrestling commentator of all time (Mike Adamle doesn't count since he knew nothing about wrestling), decides that he'll mention that he once lived in Harlem with Stevie Ray and Booker T along with the legendary black civil rights activist, Malcolm X who was assassinated in 1964. Yeah...
The story behind this ill-advised match between Booker T and a larger-than-I-remembered Ahmed Johnson was that Stevie Ray, Booker's brother and long-time tag team partner, decided to turn his back on his own flesh and blood. Apparently Stevie Ray felt that Booker T wasn't the man that he used be and a bigger, fatter version of the Harlem Heat - Harlem Heat 2000 - had to be created.
Along with introducing his new tag team partner, Big T (Ahmed Johnson, now 300 pounds), Stevie Ray also introduced J. Biggs (Clarence Mason from the Nation of Domination) as Harlem Heat's new lawyer. Mr. Biggs then used his lawyer magic to get the T in Booker T removed since Big T was the only one aloud to use a single T in his name. Along with Booker's T, he also lost his entrance music and the rights to Harlem Heat.
Soon though, Booker T - now just "Booker" - got a chance to win it all back in the match above against Big T at the 10th Anniversary of SuperBrawl. And while Booker looked to be getting his T back in no time, all of a sudden the lights go out in the arena and when the lights kick back on, is this even bigger guy than Ahmed Johnson standing there on the apron . At first, it looks like it's Mabel - seeing as the lights went out for that big man a year or so before this in the WWF when he made his transformation into Viscera, but nope. Turns out it was just a really big guy no one had ever seen before.
Or had we?
The man we see become the third member of this huge new Harlem Heat revamp was also that ridiculously huge chested man (who was never used) in the No Limit Soldiers, another poor angle that WCW felt was necessary to cram down our throats.
The aftermath to this match is pretty awful as well; from what I know, Booker never got his T back and Harlem Heat with all their potential and beef to them never went anywhere (no shocker there). Booker later would join the Misfits in Action (MIA) as "GI Bro" just long enough for people to forget about Harlem Heat 2000 so he could return as Booker T again and get his long overdue push before WCW went bankrupt.
This angle and match wouldn't have been that bad by itself but then Mark Madden, the worst wrestling commentator of all time (Mike Adamle doesn't count since he knew nothing about wrestling), decides that he'll mention that he once lived in Harlem with Stevie Ray and Booker T along with the legendary black civil rights activist, Malcolm X who was assassinated in 1964. Yeah...
Friday, January 18, 2013
Match of the Day - The Protector of the Children, Lazor-Tron!
Lazor-Tron vs. Tommy Angel - NWA: Jim Crockett Promotions (mid-80's)
Lazor-Tron (also spelled Lazortron or Lazer-Tron or Lazertron or Laser Tron) was a supreme laser-tag fighting machine from another planet (preferably one where laser-tag was much more of a way of life than a recreational activity) who would just so happen to beam himself down to Jim Crockett promotions in the mid-80's.
Of course, today we know that this masked Lazor-Tron was actually Hector Guerrero, Brother of Eddie, Mando, and Chavo Classic, in disguise. Back then though people didn't have a clue who Lazor-Tron was - but they loved him. Despite being a pretty terrible-looking gimmick, Lazor-Tron was actually a huge fan-favorite and crowd pleaser for the most part. Plus, Hector Guerrero was actually one hell of a wrestler; probably the only reason he survived as well as he did.
Unfortunately for Hector and his natural gift of wrestling, it always seemed like promotions just wanted to put a terrible gimmick on him like his Guerrero name wasn't enough. Gees, look at The Gobbledy Gooker... that giant turkey could of actually been a damn good competitor in the ring if Hector and his bird suit weren't canned just after his first night in WWF at the 1990 Survivor Series for having the worst gimmick in the history of worst gimmicks.
Poor Hector. It's okay though, he works for TNA now.
Ouch.
Overall reaction to the match: Oh yeah the match... well other than the fact that everything about this match is trying to put me to sleep and that we are supposed to believe that Lazor-Trons' finisher using his special space-technology arm pads to the chest renders his opponent unconscious, I think this is a fairly decent example of Hector doing the best he could with what he had.
PS: I have no idea what "the protector of the children" business that Tony Schiavone was talking about in the match... maybe when Lazor-Tron was not wrestling, he would play laser-tag with kids from rough neighbors in space! That's the kind of shit heroes are made out of right there...
PSS: Lazor-Tron would have kicked Max Moon's ass. End of story.
Lazor-Tron (also spelled Lazortron or Lazer-Tron or Lazertron or Laser Tron) was a supreme laser-tag fighting machine from another planet (preferably one where laser-tag was much more of a way of life than a recreational activity) who would just so happen to beam himself down to Jim Crockett promotions in the mid-80's.
Of course, today we know that this masked Lazor-Tron was actually Hector Guerrero, Brother of Eddie, Mando, and Chavo Classic, in disguise. Back then though people didn't have a clue who Lazor-Tron was - but they loved him. Despite being a pretty terrible-looking gimmick, Lazor-Tron was actually a huge fan-favorite and crowd pleaser for the most part. Plus, Hector Guerrero was actually one hell of a wrestler; probably the only reason he survived as well as he did.
Unfortunately for Hector and his natural gift of wrestling, it always seemed like promotions just wanted to put a terrible gimmick on him like his Guerrero name wasn't enough. Gees, look at The Gobbledy Gooker... that giant turkey could of actually been a damn good competitor in the ring if Hector and his bird suit weren't canned just after his first night in WWF at the 1990 Survivor Series for having the worst gimmick in the history of worst gimmicks.
Poor Hector. It's okay though, he works for TNA now.
Ouch.
Overall reaction to the match: Oh yeah the match... well other than the fact that everything about this match is trying to put me to sleep and that we are supposed to believe that Lazor-Trons' finisher using his special space-technology arm pads to the chest renders his opponent unconscious, I think this is a fairly decent example of Hector doing the best he could with what he had.
PS: I have no idea what "the protector of the children" business that Tony Schiavone was talking about in the match... maybe when Lazor-Tron was not wrestling, he would play laser-tag with kids from rough neighbors in space! That's the kind of shit heroes are made out of right there...
PSS: Lazor-Tron would have kicked Max Moon's ass. End of story.
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Song of the Day - Silicion
Lord Earth - Silicion from Napalm, Baby! (2012)
This number is from instrumental heavy metal heavyweights, Lord Earth. Lord Earth hails from my hometown of South Portland actually.
I'm not sure how I didn't hear about them until reading this short article in The Portland Phoenix today describing "Metal Mondays" as well as a sweeeeeet mention of Jesse Gertz AKA Glass Fingers and his new "sex music".
READ IT.
But now I know.
Last.fm
This number is from instrumental heavy metal heavyweights, Lord Earth. Lord Earth hails from my hometown of South Portland actually.
I'm not sure how I didn't hear about them until reading this short article in The Portland Phoenix today describing "Metal Mondays" as well as a sweeeeeet mention of Jesse Gertz AKA Glass Fingers and his new "sex music".
READ IT.
But now I know.
Last.fm
Match of the Day - Chikara's incredible 4-way dance
El Generico vs. Nick Jackson vs. Kota Ibushi vs. Jigsaw - Chikara King of Trios (2009)
Now to be honest, I haven't seen a lot of Chikara, a still relatively unknown independent promotion that has actually been around since 2002. I will say this though: I've only seen/heard good things about this company and from what I've seen, I've enjoyed. While similar to other promotions like Ring of Honor where they take pride in "professional" wrestling and the true art behind it, Chikara actually has a much sillier side, whereas ROH is pretty dead serious most of the time - the only weakness I've seen from that respective brand of pro wrestling. Chikara also incorporates colorful characters and luchadore style that comes with a sort of Japanese wrestling and cosplay feel to it which actually works and makes sense as the whole roster can still wrestle their way out of paper bags... Something most WWE superstars today surely can't do.
Anyways, this is probably one of Chikara's greatest matches. I'm not just saying that because people say that on Youtube either, I truthfully believe this to be hell of a must-see match for any fan of pro wrestling. Every character brings a great amount of agility and ring-saviness to this match and every second is a thrill to watch. Yes, a lot of it does look like a very choreographed dance number that these young athletes recite every night but hey, I don't care. It's damn entertaining and actually very talented. Can you do a moonsault off the top rope, land on your feet, and then do a standing moonsault right after?
Really?
Prove it.
This match comes from King of Trios 2009: Night two were all four individuals had wrestled in a group of three with respected teammates usually from a related aspect such as company i.e. Nick Jackson (one half of the Young Bucks) and El Generico whom both represented Pro Wrestling Guerrilla the night before as they were title holders of that company at the time. Also, Japanese wrestling sensation, Kota Ibushi (winner of this match) wrestled in a team comprised of DDT wrestlers, a Japanese promotion Ibushi currently works for and actually has had a number of intense matches with El Generico just like this one.
The only time this match got a little hairy was when El Generico went to give Ibushi the "Brainbuster" from the top rope and it actually looks like Generico loses a hold of Ibushi and he lands awkwardly on the turnbuckle. However, the commentators say that he kicked out of the Brainbuster on the way down so you could counter out to stick Generico with an amazing "super-reverse-rana".
Now to be honest, I haven't seen a lot of Chikara, a still relatively unknown independent promotion that has actually been around since 2002. I will say this though: I've only seen/heard good things about this company and from what I've seen, I've enjoyed. While similar to other promotions like Ring of Honor where they take pride in "professional" wrestling and the true art behind it, Chikara actually has a much sillier side, whereas ROH is pretty dead serious most of the time - the only weakness I've seen from that respective brand of pro wrestling. Chikara also incorporates colorful characters and luchadore style that comes with a sort of Japanese wrestling and cosplay feel to it which actually works and makes sense as the whole roster can still wrestle their way out of paper bags... Something most WWE superstars today surely can't do.
Anyways, this is probably one of Chikara's greatest matches. I'm not just saying that because people say that on Youtube either, I truthfully believe this to be hell of a must-see match for any fan of pro wrestling. Every character brings a great amount of agility and ring-saviness to this match and every second is a thrill to watch. Yes, a lot of it does look like a very choreographed dance number that these young athletes recite every night but hey, I don't care. It's damn entertaining and actually very talented. Can you do a moonsault off the top rope, land on your feet, and then do a standing moonsault right after?
Really?
Prove it.
This match comes from King of Trios 2009: Night two were all four individuals had wrestled in a group of three with respected teammates usually from a related aspect such as company i.e. Nick Jackson (one half of the Young Bucks) and El Generico whom both represented Pro Wrestling Guerrilla the night before as they were title holders of that company at the time. Also, Japanese wrestling sensation, Kota Ibushi (winner of this match) wrestled in a team comprised of DDT wrestlers, a Japanese promotion Ibushi currently works for and actually has had a number of intense matches with El Generico just like this one.
The only time this match got a little hairy was when El Generico went to give Ibushi the "Brainbuster" from the top rope and it actually looks like Generico loses a hold of Ibushi and he lands awkwardly on the turnbuckle. However, the commentators say that he kicked out of the Brainbuster on the way down so you could counter out to stick Generico with an amazing "super-reverse-rana".
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Song of the Day - Tobacco's Accidental Crash With The Girl From Sisela
Tobacco - Tobacco's Accidental Crash With The Girl From Sisela from Don't Deny Your Weakness (2000)
Here's a little find I uncovered the other night from the German Tobacco, not to be confused with Tom Fec's Black Moth Super Rainbow solo/side project of the same name.
I'd explain the song but there's a voice in the beginning that does it for me.
Here's a little find I uncovered the other night from the German Tobacco, not to be confused with Tom Fec's Black Moth Super Rainbow solo/side project of the same name.
I'd explain the song but there's a voice in the beginning that does it for me.
Match of the Day - The one where Mankind wrestles in a tux
Hardcore Wednesday:
Mankind (c) vs. Ken Shamrock - First ever Hardcore Title match Raw (1998)
In Mankind's first defense as the Hardcore Champion, a title awarded to him by Mr. McMahon, against Ken Shamrock the Intercontinental champ at the time, Mankind, believing he was now corporate material dons a new tuxedo for this fine occasion.
Of course, like Ken Shamrock who uses his own body as a weapon, Mankind uses much of his attire to attack Ken Shamrock in this anything goes, falls count anywhere match.
All in all, this is a good introduction to the hardcore title. While there wasn't a lot of weapons and gimmick-y hardcore stunts pulled (other than Mankind beating Shamrock with his own shoes), this match and it's hardcore-ness relies heavily on the fact that these two characters are hardcore themselves. Both were also deranged which helped a great deal as well.
Later down the line, Hardcore title defenses in WWF became a lot more of a quick and easy treat for the audience. Especially with the introduction of weapons and the 24/7 rule that was later adapted to the title, things got a little more easier for wrestlers who weren't naturally brutal or straight-up "hardcore" like Mankind and Ken Shamrock were. It is still always fun to watch all the interesting twists and spots wrestlers pulled when the 24/7 - or just the fact that they could go anywhere to win it - rule was around.
Good stuff.
Mankind (c) vs. Ken Shamrock - First ever Hardcore Title match Raw (1998)
In Mankind's first defense as the Hardcore Champion, a title awarded to him by Mr. McMahon, against Ken Shamrock the Intercontinental champ at the time, Mankind, believing he was now corporate material dons a new tuxedo for this fine occasion.
Of course, like Ken Shamrock who uses his own body as a weapon, Mankind uses much of his attire to attack Ken Shamrock in this anything goes, falls count anywhere match.
All in all, this is a good introduction to the hardcore title. While there wasn't a lot of weapons and gimmick-y hardcore stunts pulled (other than Mankind beating Shamrock with his own shoes), this match and it's hardcore-ness relies heavily on the fact that these two characters are hardcore themselves. Both were also deranged which helped a great deal as well.
Later down the line, Hardcore title defenses in WWF became a lot more of a quick and easy treat for the audience. Especially with the introduction of weapons and the 24/7 rule that was later adapted to the title, things got a little more easier for wrestlers who weren't naturally brutal or straight-up "hardcore" like Mankind and Ken Shamrock were. It is still always fun to watch all the interesting twists and spots wrestlers pulled when the 24/7 - or just the fact that they could go anywhere to win it - rule was around.
Good stuff.
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Match of the Day - Jericho steals Flair's Thunder
Chris Jericho vs. Ric Flair - WCW First Thunder (1998)
Much like a match I soon wish to share with you all (Hart/123Kid on RAW), this match features the well respected, crazy - yes crazy - but seasoned veteran and multi-time champion, Ric Flair taking on the young, brash, but highly gifted semi-rookie, Chris Jericho. And what's right about this situation rather than, say, the Lawler/Helms match in '06 is that Flair (along with Bret Hart) not only had a knack for putting younger talent over but also making it look as if he could actually be beaten by his opponents even with all the experience and big names/fights under his belt. Lawler all the while, didn't do so much for Gregory Helms and their small feud which just ends with The King of Memphis jumping off the top rope and seemingly squashing the young talent.
Another key difference to Jericho/Flair's situation and the Lawler/Helms is that Chris Jericho was bond for greatness and it should have come sooner with the resume that Jericho already had before WCW and right up until 1998 when he finally started to receive a push (in the form of bigger gold i.e. the TV title). I'm not saying that this match put Jericho over completely, no Jericho had to do that on his own, but this is just another one of those great new vs. old matches that actually works. Stuff like Kidman vs. Hulk Hogan where we are expected to root for the guy still trying to stay on the top of mountain even though he passed the torch onto another guy in 1990, just rattles my bones.
Anyways here's a match from the very first Thunder - WCW's Smackdown before Smackdown came along and stole their ratings. The original Thunder program had some sort of Legend of the Hidden Temple/aggro crag theme with a big rock-made titantron with flash-y lights and fog. At least, that's how I remember it...
Also enjoy the classic WCW commentating of this time.
Those were the days
Much like a match I soon wish to share with you all (Hart/123Kid on RAW), this match features the well respected, crazy - yes crazy - but seasoned veteran and multi-time champion, Ric Flair taking on the young, brash, but highly gifted semi-rookie, Chris Jericho. And what's right about this situation rather than, say, the Lawler/Helms match in '06 is that Flair (along with Bret Hart) not only had a knack for putting younger talent over but also making it look as if he could actually be beaten by his opponents even with all the experience and big names/fights under his belt. Lawler all the while, didn't do so much for Gregory Helms and their small feud which just ends with The King of Memphis jumping off the top rope and seemingly squashing the young talent.
Another key difference to Jericho/Flair's situation and the Lawler/Helms is that Chris Jericho was bond for greatness and it should have come sooner with the resume that Jericho already had before WCW and right up until 1998 when he finally started to receive a push (in the form of bigger gold i.e. the TV title). I'm not saying that this match put Jericho over completely, no Jericho had to do that on his own, but this is just another one of those great new vs. old matches that actually works. Stuff like Kidman vs. Hulk Hogan where we are expected to root for the guy still trying to stay on the top of mountain even though he passed the torch onto another guy in 1990, just rattles my bones.
Anyways here's a match from the very first Thunder - WCW's Smackdown before Smackdown came along and stole their ratings. The original Thunder program had some sort of Legend of the Hidden Temple/aggro crag theme with a big rock-made titantron with flash-y lights and fog. At least, that's how I remember it...
Also enjoy the classic WCW commentating of this time.
Those were the days
Monday, January 14, 2013
Song of the Day - Family Plot
Match of the Day - The Puerto Rican Ninja, Kwang!
Debut Monday:
Kwang vs. Ray Hudson - WWF Wrestling Challenge (1994)
In yet another attempt to package someone up as something they are not - as the WWF loved doing around this time - management decided to place Savio Vega under a "ninja" mask and send him off as a martial arts specialist, Asian wrestler. And while Vega did the best he could with the gimmick, including the green mist and having Harvey Wippleman in his corner, it just wasn't enough and he was soon phased out.
Phased out to become Savio Vega, Razor Ramon's friend of course.
Also, I'm aware that Savio Vega previously had a sort of "oriental" martial arts gimmick when he was TNT in WWC, but if you look at him there, were he actually got to speak his native language and show his face (just with facepaint on), it's a lot different than just being just dressed up as a ninja warrior with no character of his own.
Anyways, here's Kwang in his first match against a jobber named Ray Hudson according to Jim Ross.
Kwang vs. Ray Hudson - WWF Wrestling Challenge (1994)
In yet another attempt to package someone up as something they are not - as the WWF loved doing around this time - management decided to place Savio Vega under a "ninja" mask and send him off as a martial arts specialist, Asian wrestler. And while Vega did the best he could with the gimmick, including the green mist and having Harvey Wippleman in his corner, it just wasn't enough and he was soon phased out.
Phased out to become Savio Vega, Razor Ramon's friend of course.
Also, I'm aware that Savio Vega previously had a sort of "oriental" martial arts gimmick when he was TNT in WWC, but if you look at him there, were he actually got to speak his native language and show his face (just with facepaint on), it's a lot different than just being just dressed up as a ninja warrior with no character of his own.
Anyways, here's Kwang in his first match against a jobber named Ray Hudson according to Jim Ross.
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Song of the Day - When You Go Back to College
Paul Baribeau - When You Go Back to College from Paul Baribeau (2005)
Well winter vaca is all over for me... time to go back to college.
Know the feel?
Last.fm
Well winter vaca is all over for me... time to go back to college.
Know the feel?
Last.fm
Match of the Day - Vampiro get's hung-up while TNA explains how oxygen works
Vampiro vs. Raven - NWA:TNA (2003)
Blood Gallows of Retribution Hangman's Horror Dog Collar Match
Vampiro and Raven fight out in a Hangman's Horror Dog Collar match, because there's nothing like taking a good thing i.e. Greg Valentine and Roddy Piper's classic Dog Collar match, and choking the life out of it for the amusement of no one.
The object of this match, which had three names, one being "dream blood" which Professor Mike Tenay explains to us is the words smeared on Raven's chest and that's about it, is the first person to strangle their opponent with the dog collar over the top rope wins. So yeah, dream blood.
After chaining Vampiro up with two dog collars to smack Vampiro with a trash can and then delivering him with a terrible-looking DDT onto a table, Raven would get the victory as Vampiro was unable to continue from the dog collar choke-out.
What makes the match as bad as it was though really would have to be combination of the fans on-demand chanting "let's go Raven" as if this was some kind of fun pie eating contest or was running a 200 meter dash at a high school track meet, and Mike Tenay and Don West's constant teaching of science as they continually try to explain that without oxygen going to your brain or something - you are a goner.
Another cringe-worthy part that I actually enjoy that takes place after the match is when a young CM Punk runs in to try to help Raven against James Mitchell and his sinister fireballs which causes Raven to grab a mic and explain to Punk that "this is a personal matter" and he "must take care of it himself" - except instead of Raven saying this, it sounds just like classic Johnny Polo circa 1993.
I would love to see Raven play Johnny Polo again in Chikara for King of Trios in some classic blast-from-pasters team like Team WWF. I would see that.
For Sure.
Blood Gallows of Retribution Hangman's Horror Dog Collar Match
Vampiro and Raven fight out in a Hangman's Horror Dog Collar match, because there's nothing like taking a good thing i.e. Greg Valentine and Roddy Piper's classic Dog Collar match, and choking the life out of it for the amusement of no one.
The object of this match, which had three names, one being "dream blood" which Professor Mike Tenay explains to us is the words smeared on Raven's chest and that's about it, is the first person to strangle their opponent with the dog collar over the top rope wins. So yeah, dream blood.
After chaining Vampiro up with two dog collars to smack Vampiro with a trash can and then delivering him with a terrible-looking DDT onto a table, Raven would get the victory as Vampiro was unable to continue from the dog collar choke-out.
What makes the match as bad as it was though really would have to be combination of the fans on-demand chanting "let's go Raven" as if this was some kind of fun pie eating contest or was running a 200 meter dash at a high school track meet, and Mike Tenay and Don West's constant teaching of science as they continually try to explain that without oxygen going to your brain or something - you are a goner.
Another cringe-worthy part that I actually enjoy that takes place after the match is when a young CM Punk runs in to try to help Raven against James Mitchell and his sinister fireballs which causes Raven to grab a mic and explain to Punk that "this is a personal matter" and he "must take care of it himself" - except instead of Raven saying this, it sounds just like classic Johnny Polo circa 1993.
I would love to see Raven play Johnny Polo again in Chikara for King of Trios in some classic blast-from-pasters team like Team WWF. I would see that.
For Sure.
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Song of the Day - Spider Song
Match of the Day - Stone Cold takes on pre-Triple H and JR has some microphone troubles
Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Hunter Hearst Helmsley - WWF In Your House: Buried Alive (1996)
Long before Triple H hit Stone Cold with a car in an attempt to finally get the spotlight Stone Cold was robbing him of, Triple H was just Hunter Hearst Helmsley, a rich snob from Connecticut who was never going to get over as long as Stone Cold Steve Austin was around.
I don't know if this was ever true or not but rumor has it that Hunter was originally going to win the 1996 King of the Ring - but after losing to Jake Roberts in the first round, it was Stone Cold Steve Austin who would go on to win it all and begin his era with his famous Austin 3:16 speech. Triple H would go on to win the next years King of the Ring tournament but didn't really get over the way Austin did until he took over D-Generation X after another spotlight stealer, The Heart Break Kid Shawn Michaels lost his smile... I mean hurt his back or something... a few years later.
This is also at the height of Good ol' JR's "microphone difficulties" which eventually was worked into an angle where he blamed all the messy headphone activity he was getting at Vince McMahon as some sick joke. This then led to the short-lived JR heel-turn remembered mostly by the fact that he brought in Fake Razor Ramon and Diesel, but that a different story for a different day.
Here's the very first PPV match-up of HHH and Stone Cold Steve Austin.
Long before Triple H hit Stone Cold with a car in an attempt to finally get the spotlight Stone Cold was robbing him of, Triple H was just Hunter Hearst Helmsley, a rich snob from Connecticut who was never going to get over as long as Stone Cold Steve Austin was around.
I don't know if this was ever true or not but rumor has it that Hunter was originally going to win the 1996 King of the Ring - but after losing to Jake Roberts in the first round, it was Stone Cold Steve Austin who would go on to win it all and begin his era with his famous Austin 3:16 speech. Triple H would go on to win the next years King of the Ring tournament but didn't really get over the way Austin did until he took over D-Generation X after another spotlight stealer, The Heart Break Kid Shawn Michaels lost his smile... I mean hurt his back or something... a few years later.
This is also at the height of Good ol' JR's "microphone difficulties" which eventually was worked into an angle where he blamed all the messy headphone activity he was getting at Vince McMahon as some sick joke. This then led to the short-lived JR heel-turn remembered mostly by the fact that he brought in Fake Razor Ramon and Diesel, but that a different story for a different day.
Here's the very first PPV match-up of HHH and Stone Cold Steve Austin.
Friday, January 11, 2013
Match of the Day - Mysterio takes on Pscosis at Super J Cup 1995
Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Psicosis - Super J Cup (1995)
Today's match is probably the best example of a Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Psicosis match out of the hundreds, maybe thousands, that have taken place. It comes from the second Super J Cup hosted by Wrestle Association R as an exhibition match to show the Japanese crowd just what these two young athletes were capable of.
I definitely believe it's the best example of both the technical and high-flying wrestling skills these two could easily bring to the table when they faced each other as well as the fact that Rey and Psicosis brought their show to a very quiet and respectable crowd which put pressure on every single move and hold they would make.
As the match picks up and Rey and Psicosis start to really pull out some high risk maneuvers such as Psicosis's scary-looking suicide dive to the outside or Rey Mysterio's super-high top-rope asai moonsault, the crowd starts to show some true excitement towards this little match before the Super J Cup tournament (won by Jushin Liger). You can tell that the audience had not seen such lucha libre, fast-paced style wrestling before and were really eating it up.
After watching multiple Rey Myserio Jr./Psicosis duels they soon begin to look like a choreographer dance by two long time opponents. I'm not saying this good or bad but you can tell just by watching these two masked stars from Mexico go at it that they have had a lot of matches together and complement each other's styles like no one else. It probably also helps that both Rey Mysterio Jr. and Psicosis were trained by the same person... Rey's uncle and original bearer of the Rey Misterio name, Rey Misterio Sr.
Today's match is probably the best example of a Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Psicosis match out of the hundreds, maybe thousands, that have taken place. It comes from the second Super J Cup hosted by Wrestle Association R as an exhibition match to show the Japanese crowd just what these two young athletes were capable of.
I definitely believe it's the best example of both the technical and high-flying wrestling skills these two could easily bring to the table when they faced each other as well as the fact that Rey and Psicosis brought their show to a very quiet and respectable crowd which put pressure on every single move and hold they would make.
As the match picks up and Rey and Psicosis start to really pull out some high risk maneuvers such as Psicosis's scary-looking suicide dive to the outside or Rey Mysterio's super-high top-rope asai moonsault, the crowd starts to show some true excitement towards this little match before the Super J Cup tournament (won by Jushin Liger). You can tell that the audience had not seen such lucha libre, fast-paced style wrestling before and were really eating it up.
After watching multiple Rey Myserio Jr./Psicosis duels they soon begin to look like a choreographer dance by two long time opponents. I'm not saying this good or bad but you can tell just by watching these two masked stars from Mexico go at it that they have had a lot of matches together and complement each other's styles like no one else. It probably also helps that both Rey Mysterio Jr. and Psicosis were trained by the same person... Rey's uncle and original bearer of the Rey Misterio name, Rey Misterio Sr.
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Song of the Day - KJ Jammin
Snowing - KJ Jammin from I Could Do Whatever I Wanted If I Wanted (2011)
Count ya lucky stars, brah.
RIP Snowing (2008-2011)
Last.fm
Count ya lucky stars, brah.
RIP Snowing (2008-2011)
Last.fm
Match of the Day - The Snake vs. The Dragon!
Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat vs. Jake "The Snake" Roberts - WWF Saturday Night's Main Event (1986)
This classic between Ricky Steamboat and Jake Roberts, best known as the match Steamboat would reveal his own mascot, is the feud's so-called rubber match; a match that settled the score after Roberts had attacked Steamboat before their match on Saturday Night's Main Event a few months back (remember when feuds lasted longer than a few weeks?) in the incident where Roberts DDT'ed Steamboat on the floor (something that had never before been seen) and then Steamboat later getting a win over Roberts in a no DQ Snake Pit match on The Big Event.
While this grunge match saw Ricky Steamboat as the victor, Jake Roberts as the heel he was continued to attack Steamboat after the match. Roberts eventually looks to finish off Steamboat with his snake Damien but is taken aback as Steamboat pulls out his own secret weapon from a bag on his corner of the ring in the form of a komodo dragon! Jake the Snake then tucks his tail between his legs and flees the ring leaving Steamboat and his "dragon" to celebrate the end of this well played out feud.
Overall reaction to this match: Personally all I have to say about this match is that growing up I always thought that Steamboat's dragon was a crocodile. That being said, I actually have a little bit of fear of giant lizards like komodo dragons which is funny in an almost sad way because Mattel recently released a Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat action figure that comes packed with a playful looking green komodo dragon... putting a fear of mine pretty much to shame:
What a minute... that's definitely an alligator or crocodile of some kind!
Despite the package of this action figure mentioning Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat's memorable komodo dragon moment on SNME w/ Jake Roberts, I'm pretty sure that that is the alligator/crocodile (with the red thingy attached to it) from a different Jake Roberts/Ricky Steamboat confrontation.
Clearly I was not the only one to notice this as Tomopop, a "Collectible Toy Culture" review site also caught this lil' tidbit as well. Check it out!
I've still yet to find what what match that was were this alligator in question comes from and if it was ever taped but once I do I will most definitely share my finds right here on NFT's Song and Match of the day!
This classic between Ricky Steamboat and Jake Roberts, best known as the match Steamboat would reveal his own mascot, is the feud's so-called rubber match; a match that settled the score after Roberts had attacked Steamboat before their match on Saturday Night's Main Event a few months back (remember when feuds lasted longer than a few weeks?) in the incident where Roberts DDT'ed Steamboat on the floor (something that had never before been seen) and then Steamboat later getting a win over Roberts in a no DQ Snake Pit match on The Big Event.
While this grunge match saw Ricky Steamboat as the victor, Jake Roberts as the heel he was continued to attack Steamboat after the match. Roberts eventually looks to finish off Steamboat with his snake Damien but is taken aback as Steamboat pulls out his own secret weapon from a bag on his corner of the ring in the form of a komodo dragon! Jake the Snake then tucks his tail between his legs and flees the ring leaving Steamboat and his "dragon" to celebrate the end of this well played out feud.
Overall reaction to this match: Personally all I have to say about this match is that growing up I always thought that Steamboat's dragon was a crocodile. That being said, I actually have a little bit of fear of giant lizards like komodo dragons which is funny in an almost sad way because Mattel recently released a Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat action figure that comes packed with a playful looking green komodo dragon... putting a fear of mine pretty much to shame:
What a minute... that's definitely an alligator or crocodile of some kind!
Despite the package of this action figure mentioning Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat's memorable komodo dragon moment on SNME w/ Jake Roberts, I'm pretty sure that that is the alligator/crocodile (with the red thingy attached to it) from a different Jake Roberts/Ricky Steamboat confrontation.
Clearly I was not the only one to notice this as Tomopop, a "Collectible Toy Culture" review site also caught this lil' tidbit as well. Check it out!
I've still yet to find what what match that was were this alligator in question comes from and if it was ever taped but once I do I will most definitely share my finds right here on NFT's Song and Match of the day!
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Song of the Day - Skate Witches cover
Coma Cinema - Skate Witches (Teen Suicide cover) from Fork and Spoon's Free Love Free Download (2012)
This is Coma Cinema's sweet cover of Teen Suicide's somewhat-unbearable lo-fi track, "Skate Witches". The original does have a cool skater grrrl sample at the beginning of it... other than that though, Coma Cinema's version takes the cake!
This track comes from a free promotional mix by Fork and Spoon Records which also features a bunch of bands including Teen Suicide themselves and a bunch more I've never heard of. I highly recommend checking it out as I am doing right this very second.
Last.fm
This is Coma Cinema's sweet cover of Teen Suicide's somewhat-unbearable lo-fi track, "Skate Witches". The original does have a cool skater grrrl sample at the beginning of it... other than that though, Coma Cinema's version takes the cake!
This track comes from a free promotional mix by Fork and Spoon Records which also features a bunch of bands including Teen Suicide themselves and a bunch more I've never heard of. I highly recommend checking it out as I am doing right this very second.
Last.fm
Match of the Day - Megumi Kudo the former kindergarten teacher retires Combat Toyoda
Hardcore Wednesday:
Megumi Kudo vs. Combat Toyoda - No-Rope Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch - FMW (1996)
In what is said to be one of, if not, thee first female wrestling hardcore matches, Megumi Kudo (in the pink) takes on Combat Toyoda (the bigger one) in a deathmatch featuring exploding barbed wire rather than traditional ring ropes, and it's not a pretty sight.
For any of you at home who are unaware of this sort of "deathmatch"-type of match, it's essentially the most violent matches conceived, so take "Extreme Rules" and times the violence/weapons/bloodiness by 100%. This deathmatch in particular took place in Frontier Material-Arts Wrestling (FMW) founded by Atsushi Onita, the guy who brought the deathmatch-type hardcore-based wrestling to Japan after spending an early part of his career touring Memphis.
Japan always has a way of taking a good thing from America to the extreme whether it's hardcore-style wrestling, horror movies, reality shows, or music. So much so actually, that we go and copy them right back...
Unfortunately though, the copycats we make here in the states turn out to be The Hunger Games, Wipeout, and Combat Zone Wrestling.
Anyways, this brutal deathmatch has to be one of the most tastefully violent female wrestling matches I have seen. It has emotion, it makes sense, and it also features wrestlers - female wrestlers, I may add - that could actually wrestle. Combat Toyoda is by no means a "diva" and Kudo, who may look like a little pink power ranger, is one pretty face you didn't want to mess with... and this match proves it.
This match is also noted as Combat Toyoda's last match as she would retire right after this match. Kudo, the victor of this barbaric match believe it or not, would continue to fight in such matches until her retirement match in 1997 against Shark Tsuchiya in the longest titled match: a "No ropes 200V double hell double barbed wire barricade double landmine glass crush death match".
Also, Megumi Kudo was supposedly a kindergarten teacher before making her return to wrestling via FMW. I really don't know if this is true or not.
Megumi Kudo vs. Combat Toyoda - No-Rope Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch - FMW (1996)
In what is said to be one of, if not, thee first female wrestling hardcore matches, Megumi Kudo (in the pink) takes on Combat Toyoda (the bigger one) in a deathmatch featuring exploding barbed wire rather than traditional ring ropes, and it's not a pretty sight.
For any of you at home who are unaware of this sort of "deathmatch"-type of match, it's essentially the most violent matches conceived, so take "Extreme Rules" and times the violence/weapons/bloodiness by 100%. This deathmatch in particular took place in Frontier Material-Arts Wrestling (FMW) founded by Atsushi Onita, the guy who brought the deathmatch-type hardcore-based wrestling to Japan after spending an early part of his career touring Memphis.
Japan always has a way of taking a good thing from America to the extreme whether it's hardcore-style wrestling, horror movies, reality shows, or music. So much so actually, that we go and copy them right back...
Unfortunately though, the copycats we make here in the states turn out to be The Hunger Games, Wipeout, and Combat Zone Wrestling.
Anyways, this brutal deathmatch has to be one of the most tastefully violent female wrestling matches I have seen. It has emotion, it makes sense, and it also features wrestlers - female wrestlers, I may add - that could actually wrestle. Combat Toyoda is by no means a "diva" and Kudo, who may look like a little pink power ranger, is one pretty face you didn't want to mess with... and this match proves it.
This match is also noted as Combat Toyoda's last match as she would retire right after this match. Kudo, the victor of this barbaric match believe it or not, would continue to fight in such matches until her retirement match in 1997 against Shark Tsuchiya in the longest titled match: a "No ropes 200V double hell double barbed wire barricade double landmine glass crush death match".
Also, Megumi Kudo was supposedly a kindergarten teacher before making her return to wrestling via FMW. I really don't know if this is true or not.
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Song of the Day - Baby Boy
Match of the Day - Jerry Lawler pokes Terry Funker's eye out
Jerry "The King" Lawler vs. Terry Funk - CWA (Memphis Wrestling) (1981)
First of, Jerry Lawler is a lover of chickens.
This has to be up there as one of my favorite gimmick matches of all time. No fans, no refs, no police, no rules, no winner... just Jerry Lawler versus crazy-since-the-dawn-of-time, Terry Funk.
All Funk wanted was a match one-on-one with The King of Memphis to prove once and for all that Funk is a better man than Lawler (or that he's a yellow pig or something along those lines). So, the Funkster decides to invite Lawler to an empty arena match in the Mid-South Coliseum at 1 o'clock sharp, and while Lawler didn't seem too into it at the time, Lawler would eventually show up - crown and all.
The best part of this angle had to have been Terry Funk cussing-out The King as he was seemingly going to no-show on Funk's invitation. Terry even tries to count-out Lawler, but of course, Lawler had to pull through with Funk's challenge and make his appearance. After all, Jerry Lawer was the biggest name in Memphis at the time, he definitely could not have been seen as "yellow" or, even worse, as a coward!
One of my favorite lines from this match comes from Terry Funk when Jerry Lawler finally arrives and Funk, seeing that Lawler has brought his cape and crown, shouts, "Hey Lawler, come on up here. I'm gonna brake your crown. I'm gonna brake his crown, Lance...".
Unfortunately for Terry Funk however, Jerry Lawler ends up getting the best of him as Funk's plan of blinding The King with a spike made of wood backfires and Funk ends up with his eye poked out (Lawler kicked Funk's elbow with sent the spike right into his poor eye). This terrible turn of events - which Funk rightfully deserved - left the Funkster crying in pain as Lawler fled the scene unharmed with his reputation unscratched.
This is no Flair/Funk five star match, but it damn sure is a classic.
First of, Jerry Lawler is a lover of chickens.
This has to be up there as one of my favorite gimmick matches of all time. No fans, no refs, no police, no rules, no winner... just Jerry Lawler versus crazy-since-the-dawn-of-time, Terry Funk.
All Funk wanted was a match one-on-one with The King of Memphis to prove once and for all that Funk is a better man than Lawler (or that he's a yellow pig or something along those lines). So, the Funkster decides to invite Lawler to an empty arena match in the Mid-South Coliseum at 1 o'clock sharp, and while Lawler didn't seem too into it at the time, Lawler would eventually show up - crown and all.
The best part of this angle had to have been Terry Funk cussing-out The King as he was seemingly going to no-show on Funk's invitation. Terry even tries to count-out Lawler, but of course, Lawler had to pull through with Funk's challenge and make his appearance. After all, Jerry Lawer was the biggest name in Memphis at the time, he definitely could not have been seen as "yellow" or, even worse, as a coward!
One of my favorite lines from this match comes from Terry Funk when Jerry Lawler finally arrives and Funk, seeing that Lawler has brought his cape and crown, shouts, "Hey Lawler, come on up here. I'm gonna brake your crown. I'm gonna brake his crown, Lance...".
Unfortunately for Terry Funk however, Jerry Lawler ends up getting the best of him as Funk's plan of blinding The King with a spike made of wood backfires and Funk ends up with his eye poked out (Lawler kicked Funk's elbow with sent the spike right into his poor eye). This terrible turn of events - which Funk rightfully deserved - left the Funkster crying in pain as Lawler fled the scene unharmed with his reputation unscratched.
This is no Flair/Funk five star match, but it damn sure is a classic.
Monday, January 7, 2013
Match of the Day - After 400 years, Glacier finally arrives!
Debut Monday:
Glacier vs. The Gambler - WCW Pro (1996)
After weeks and weeks of mysterious "Blood Runs Cold" vignettes on WCW, Glacier - a half karate, half pro wrestling Sub-Zero - finally made his over-the-top debut on WCW Pro against the card-playing, bad-better, The Gambler.
Glacier's debut, set back a bit due to the introduction of the nWo, featured blue lights, a circle of light in the middle of the ring for him to pose in, snow, and even an extravagant back story featuring a 400-year-old helmet and many years of "Kung-fu-y". All-in-all, Glacier's real purpose in life was to cross-advertise with the Mortal Kombat TV series, MK: Konquest which aired right after Monday Nitro (a very prestigious honor) on TNT.
Soon after Glacier displayed his amazing martial arts background (the reason "Sugar Ray" Llyod was repackaged by Eric Bischoff) with a few arm-drags and a top rope super-kick, a move we didn't see again until Sid Vicious tried it years later, the cold and calculative Glacier would make his first appearance on Nitro versus Big Bubba Rogers (Big Boss Man) in a feud that began due to Glacier's long-anticipated debut. The feud was scrapped right after Glacier's win on Nitro however and Glacier didn't do too much until the "Blood Runs Cold" angle featuring other Mortal Kombat-looking wrestlers in '98.
Personally, I always thought Glacier came out with his million-dollar entrance, an entrance only rivaled by Goldust's at the time in the Federation, wrestled this one match and never appeared again because there wasn't any room for him when Big Kev and Scott Hall were running the show. Turns out Glacier was around until 1999 and then for one more run in 2001 with Norman Smiley as Ralphus's replacement or something.
Should have named him Iceberg.
I guess Glacier's gimmick was so big it couldn't just be canned right away... Like The Great Khali.
My God, that guy is still employed by the WWE...
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Song of the Day - Swimming the Channel vs. Driving the Chunnel
Botch - Swimming the Channel vs. Driving the Chunnel from We Are The Romans (1999)
It's not Aghamistam but it's mighty close...
It's not Aghamistam but it's mighty close...
Match of the Day - Fangin' and Bangin' in ECW 1995
Tommy Dreamer w/Luna Vachon vs. Vampire Warrior - ECW (1995)
Sometime after Luna Vachon's departure from WWF in 1994, crazy Luna surfaced on ECW as Tommy Dreamers' valet during his long-running with Raven (who also worked in WWF around the same time Luna was there). Things started to getreally semi-crazy though when the real life husband of Luna Vachon, David "(pre) Gangrel" Heath showed up and demanded to take Luna back from Dreamer. Heath, not yet know as that guy with the Seinfeld shirt that spat blood everywhere, appearing in ECW as Vampire Warrior would take the fight to "The Innovator of Violence" all over the ECW arena - providing Dreamer to grab weapons that fans brought to the show to use and so neither of them actually had to rassle.
Though Tommy Dreamer gets the win with the DDT off of a chair and Vampire Warrior seemingly doesn't get his wife back, this was not the last time Heath would be seen in ECW. As far as wrestling matches go for Heath in ECW, I have only seen one other match featuring Vampire Warrior... It was a match he tagged with Dudley Dudley (the only pure-Dudley in the family) against the team of The Steiner Brothers. I also want to say that this was not Vampire Warriors' debut match in ECW; his first match actually being against Hack Myers.
I also meant to throw in a "Dark Phantom" joke in there somewhere but lost steam.
Oh well... Here's Luna's husband at the time taking on Tommy Dreamer in classic ECW fashion.
Sometime after Luna Vachon's departure from WWF in 1994, crazy Luna surfaced on ECW as Tommy Dreamers' valet during his long-running with Raven (who also worked in WWF around the same time Luna was there). Things started to get
Though Tommy Dreamer gets the win with the DDT off of a chair and Vampire Warrior seemingly doesn't get his wife back, this was not the last time Heath would be seen in ECW. As far as wrestling matches go for Heath in ECW, I have only seen one other match featuring Vampire Warrior... It was a match he tagged with Dudley Dudley (the only pure-Dudley in the family) against the team of The Steiner Brothers. I also want to say that this was not Vampire Warriors' debut match in ECW; his first match actually being against Hack Myers.
I also meant to throw in a "Dark Phantom" joke in there somewhere but lost steam.
Oh well... Here's Luna's husband at the time taking on Tommy Dreamer in classic ECW fashion.
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Song of the Day - Cornerstone
Kowloon Walled City - Cornerstone from Container Ships (2012)
Good stuff from the sludge metal noisemakers, Kowloon Walled City and their new album, 'Container Ships' released last month.
Container Ships is free via Bandcamp!
Last.fm
Good stuff from the sludge metal noisemakers, Kowloon Walled City and their new album, 'Container Ships' released last month.
Container Ships is free via Bandcamp!
Last.fm
Match of the Day - Scott Hall/Zbyszko + Dusty Rhodes's heel turn
Scott Hall w/Louie Spicolli vs. Larry Zbyszko w/Dusty Rhodes - WCW/NWO Souled Out (1998)
While Scott Hall and Larry Zbyszko's many encounters can be noted all the back to when a very "green" Hall was trying to break out in the wrestling business in the 80's, this particular feud in WCW all began in 1997 when Zbyszko, a commentator at that time, was often on the butt-end of many nWo and Hall jokes and pranks including a segment on Nitro where Hall and his one-man entourage, Louie Spicolli stole Larry's golf clubs and broke them in the middle of the ring.
At first, Larry Zbyszko turned down the offer to face Hall at the end of 1997, but after being "nailed" by Hall and the nWo along with "Easy E" Eric Bischoff on countless occasions, Larry gave in and at Starrcade '97, Zbyszko took on Eric Bischoff in a match where if Bischoff won, he got control of Monday Nitro, but if Larry won, he could finally get his hands on Scott Hall in a match whenever he wanted. Zbyszko would eventually win his bout against Bischoff thanks to the special guest ref, Bret Hart, therefore setting up a match with Hall at Souled Out '98.
Despite Scott Hall often criticizing Larry Zbyszko for being a slow competitor, Larry took it to Hall pretty fast in their match together. It even looked like Larry had it won via submission until Louie "Rad Radford" Spicolli came in to try to help his buddy out (causing the DQ) - luckily for Larry though, Dusty Rhodes was at his side and came in to deliver Spicolli with three atomic elbows (Spicolli sold them like a champ). Rhodes looked to deliver another elbow, this time to Scott Hall, but Hall moved out of the way and Rhodes lit up Larry with the elbow instead. Rhodes didn't seem too upset about what he had done however as he removed his WCW cap and shirt to reveal .. dun dun dun... a black and white nWo shirt!
Thus heel Dusty Rhodes was born! WCW bite that!
Aftermath: Rumor has it that another Larry Zbyszko epic was in the works just after this match... this time against Scott Hall's goon, Louie Spicolli at Superbrawl. Unfortunately, Louie Spicolli passed away a little less than a month after Souled Out and the match never went on.
As for Rhodes and his new role as a heel, he would then manage Scott Hall and the returning Kevin Nash before leaving WCW for a short stint in ECW. Remember that?
While Scott Hall and Larry Zbyszko's many encounters can be noted all the back to when a very "green" Hall was trying to break out in the wrestling business in the 80's, this particular feud in WCW all began in 1997 when Zbyszko, a commentator at that time, was often on the butt-end of many nWo and Hall jokes and pranks including a segment on Nitro where Hall and his one-man entourage, Louie Spicolli stole Larry's golf clubs and broke them in the middle of the ring.
At first, Larry Zbyszko turned down the offer to face Hall at the end of 1997, but after being "nailed" by Hall and the nWo along with "Easy E" Eric Bischoff on countless occasions, Larry gave in and at Starrcade '97, Zbyszko took on Eric Bischoff in a match where if Bischoff won, he got control of Monday Nitro, but if Larry won, he could finally get his hands on Scott Hall in a match whenever he wanted. Zbyszko would eventually win his bout against Bischoff thanks to the special guest ref, Bret Hart, therefore setting up a match with Hall at Souled Out '98.
Despite Scott Hall often criticizing Larry Zbyszko for being a slow competitor, Larry took it to Hall pretty fast in their match together. It even looked like Larry had it won via submission until Louie "Rad Radford" Spicolli came in to try to help his buddy out (causing the DQ) - luckily for Larry though, Dusty Rhodes was at his side and came in to deliver Spicolli with three atomic elbows (Spicolli sold them like a champ). Rhodes looked to deliver another elbow, this time to Scott Hall, but Hall moved out of the way and Rhodes lit up Larry with the elbow instead. Rhodes didn't seem too upset about what he had done however as he removed his WCW cap and shirt to reveal .. dun dun dun... a black and white nWo shirt!
Thus heel Dusty Rhodes was born! WCW bite that!
Aftermath: Rumor has it that another Larry Zbyszko epic was in the works just after this match... this time against Scott Hall's goon, Louie Spicolli at Superbrawl. Unfortunately, Louie Spicolli passed away a little less than a month after Souled Out and the match never went on.
As for Rhodes and his new role as a heel, he would then manage Scott Hall and the returning Kevin Nash before leaving WCW for a short stint in ECW. Remember that?
Friday, January 4, 2013
Song of the Day - Spoon
Can - Spoon from Ege Bamyasi (1972) and remastered (2004)
Here's a bit of throwback... It's the Krautrock legends, Can and their German smash hit, "Spoon".
Here's a bit of throwback... It's the Krautrock legends, Can and their German smash hit, "Spoon".
While this album is hugely popular to cool cats today due to "Vitamin C" , Can actually got their big break in Germany with this closer track that was originally added as filler. According to the internets, "Spoon" reached top 10 on the German charts and sold over 300,000 copies.
Match of the Day - Rock 'n' Sock Connection are in grave danger!
The Rock & Mankind (c) vs. The Undertaker & The Big Show - WWF Smackdown! (1999)
In yet another interesting tag team confrontation, the ever-popular, Rock 'n' Sock Connection of The Rock and Mankind took on the ever-evil team of pony-tail era Big Show and The Undertaker in the very first tag team "Buried Alive" match. That's right! A tag team member buried alive match.
The first and only tag team Buried Alive match in WWF/E was unlike other specialty tag team matches like a tag team cage match or a tag team tables match in that only one man from either team needed to be buried AKA thrown in a rectangular hole and "completely" covered by dirt. This is contrary to the cage and table matches where both team members must escape the cage (usually, if they don't want to go for a dumb pinfall or something like that) or both team members must be put through a table for the win.
The result of the match comes out to be a shocking turn of events as super heel, Triple H hits The Big Show in the "back of the head", as Michael Cole puts it, with his signature sledgehammer but then buries Mankind by himself for the team of The Big Show and The Undertaker to win the match and Mankind and Rock's tag team titles. An Ambulance immediately appears at the dirt mound to pick up Mankind, but as Triple H goes to help the EMT's by opening the Ambulance doors for them - a real jerk, let the EMT's do their job - out pops the Texas Rattlesnake, Stone Cold Steve Austin! Austin then throws HHH in the back of the Ambulance and drives it out to the parking lot where Austin would then "commandeer" a semi and rams it into the Ambulance with HHH still inside...
Yeah, I know... all that on Smackdown!
This was back when SD! was essentially the blue version of Raw on Thursday nights.
Overall reaction: First, the bump that Mankind takes after being thrown from the stage to the grave looks super painful. Mick Foley was and forever will be known as the guy who could take the most punishment to his body and get right back up, but I honestly do not think that that poor man had to take so many falls to live up to the reputation he made for himself after Hell in the Cell #2. I mean we got it, Mick was unbreakable, but was repeatedly having him fall or thrown off of something really worth it at this point? Some may disagree. I however feel that Mick proved himself a worthy competitor even without the the scientific wrestling ability at this time in his career and didn't always need to be getting handcuffed and hit with a dozen chair shots or, in this case, taking a super hard bump for no reason. Yeah, no reason; the bump wasn't even necessary as the show was going to end with Triple H getting killed by Austin via vehicular manslaughter anyway.
Secondly, this is The Undertaker's first and only Buried Alive match where he is not buried alive. Undertaker, the only person who has wrestled in every one of this type of match in WWF/E (currently), was 1-1 coming into this match but thanks to HHH and only HHH, who wasn't even in this match to began with, buries Mankind for Taker's second win (believe it or not) and the only time Taker escaped un-buried.
Thirdly, no Buried Alive match has ever been won cleanly. What I mean by this is that almost every match out of the five Buried Alive matches that have taken place, an individual/individuals has interfered and buries the loser completely. In the first Buried Alive (officially won by The Undertaker but often forgotten), The Executioner played by masked Terry Gordy comes out to save Mankind from the grave and buries The Undertaker all the way to the top with the help of the heels (including HHH no less); in the second Buried Alive match, Taker vs. Austin, Austin gets help from Taker's baby brother, the Big Red Machine, Kane; in this Buried Alive match, Triple H buries Mankind (who was already buried in the first BA match) all by himself; in the 2003 Buried Alive match between Taker and Mr. McMahon, Kane (now unmasked kane) once again interferes and buries Undertaker whole with the crane digger; and in the last Buried Alive match at Bragging Rights 2010, Kane buries Undertaker for the third time with the crane thanks to the interference by NEXUS.
Just thought I'd spread a little history today, I guess.
In yet another interesting tag team confrontation, the ever-popular, Rock 'n' Sock Connection of The Rock and Mankind took on the ever-evil team of pony-tail era Big Show and The Undertaker in the very first tag team "Buried Alive" match. That's right! A tag team member buried alive match.
The first and only tag team Buried Alive match in WWF/E was unlike other specialty tag team matches like a tag team cage match or a tag team tables match in that only one man from either team needed to be buried AKA thrown in a rectangular hole and "completely" covered by dirt. This is contrary to the cage and table matches where both team members must escape the cage (usually, if they don't want to go for a dumb pinfall or something like that) or both team members must be put through a table for the win.
The result of the match comes out to be a shocking turn of events as super heel, Triple H hits The Big Show in the "back of the head", as Michael Cole puts it, with his signature sledgehammer but then buries Mankind by himself for the team of The Big Show and The Undertaker to win the match and Mankind and Rock's tag team titles. An Ambulance immediately appears at the dirt mound to pick up Mankind, but as Triple H goes to help the EMT's by opening the Ambulance doors for them - a real jerk, let the EMT's do their job - out pops the Texas Rattlesnake, Stone Cold Steve Austin! Austin then throws HHH in the back of the Ambulance and drives it out to the parking lot where Austin would then "commandeer" a semi and rams it into the Ambulance with HHH still inside...
Yeah, I know... all that on Smackdown!
This was back when SD! was essentially the blue version of Raw on Thursday nights.
Overall reaction: First, the bump that Mankind takes after being thrown from the stage to the grave looks super painful. Mick Foley was and forever will be known as the guy who could take the most punishment to his body and get right back up, but I honestly do not think that that poor man had to take so many falls to live up to the reputation he made for himself after Hell in the Cell #2. I mean we got it, Mick was unbreakable, but was repeatedly having him fall or thrown off of something really worth it at this point? Some may disagree. I however feel that Mick proved himself a worthy competitor even without the the scientific wrestling ability at this time in his career and didn't always need to be getting handcuffed and hit with a dozen chair shots or, in this case, taking a super hard bump for no reason. Yeah, no reason; the bump wasn't even necessary as the show was going to end with Triple H getting killed by Austin via vehicular manslaughter anyway.
Secondly, this is The Undertaker's first and only Buried Alive match where he is not buried alive. Undertaker, the only person who has wrestled in every one of this type of match in WWF/E (currently), was 1-1 coming into this match but thanks to HHH and only HHH, who wasn't even in this match to began with, buries Mankind for Taker's second win (believe it or not) and the only time Taker escaped un-buried.
Thirdly, no Buried Alive match has ever been won cleanly. What I mean by this is that almost every match out of the five Buried Alive matches that have taken place, an individual/individuals has interfered and buries the loser completely. In the first Buried Alive (officially won by The Undertaker but often forgotten), The Executioner played by masked Terry Gordy comes out to save Mankind from the grave and buries The Undertaker all the way to the top with the help of the heels (including HHH no less); in the second Buried Alive match, Taker vs. Austin, Austin gets help from Taker's baby brother, the Big Red Machine, Kane; in this Buried Alive match, Triple H buries Mankind (who was already buried in the first BA match) all by himself; in the 2003 Buried Alive match between Taker and Mr. McMahon, Kane (now unmasked kane) once again interferes and buries Undertaker whole with the crane digger; and in the last Buried Alive match at Bragging Rights 2010, Kane buries Undertaker for the third time with the crane thanks to the interference by NEXUS.
Just thought I'd spread a little history today, I guess.
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Song of the Day - Scissor remix
Liars - Scissor (remix by Pink Dollaz, Lance Whitaker & Transformation Surprise) from Sisterworld (Delux) (2010)
Today's track is a rap remix of the song "Scissor" from Liars 2010 release, Sisterworld. I don't listen to too much Liars but when I do, I enjoy 'em. I do remember spinning "Scissor" quite a lot in 2010 as well.
Today's track is a rap remix of the song "Scissor" from Liars 2010 release, Sisterworld. I don't listen to too much Liars but when I do, I enjoy 'em. I do remember spinning "Scissor" quite a lot in 2010 as well.
Liars also released a new album in 2012 called 'WIXIW'. It was aiight.
Match of the Day - "The Original Screwjob"
Wendi Richter (c) vs. The Spider - WWF Madison Square Garden (1985)
In what was scheduled to be a regular title defense by the Women's champ at the time, Wendi Richter against The Spider Lady at MSG turned out to be the very first (recorded at least) "Screwjob" in WWF history. As the story goes, Wendi Richter was unhappy about her pay at the time in the company and Vince McMahon, being the true villain he is I guess, decided he would just screw Richter out of her title that she had just won back from Leilani Kai at the first Wrestlemania in March of that year. You know, because that's easier than just paying a female the same as the boys.
The screwing was done by dressing the former champion of 28 years, Fabulous Moolah up as The masked Spider Lady (usually played by Glenn Dean according to Richter in her shoot interview in 2005) and having her win after a fast count by the referee that was "not in the script". Despite the blatant kick out, the bell is rung and The Spider is announced the winner.
Wendi Richter was so genially upset by the decision of the match that she continued to wrestle with The Spider Lady, removing her mask to reveal Fabulous Moolah and then proceeded to hit Moolah with the belt until she (Richter) walked out of the arena "wrestling gear and all". Richter would never return to the WWF or speak to Vince McMahon until she was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2010. I don't think she ever spoke to or reconciled with Fabulous Moolah again as Moolah passed on in November of 2007.
To cover up this incident, Fabulous Moolah told Mean Gene Okerlund in an interview on WWF TV that Wendi Richter was dodging her out of a title shot so she disguised herself as The Spider to get back what was rightfully hers.
Similar incidents where superstars have come back under masks to wrestle for one reason or another like Moolah include: The Miz as The Calgary Kid to defeat the returning Eugene in a contract on a pole match after he was fire for some reason due to John Cena on Raw one time... another incident would be when Edge & Christian brought back Los Conquistadores in their feud with The Hardy Boyz where Edge & Christian lost a championship match to The Hardyz and could no longer wrestle for titles again as long as The Hardyz were champs. So, E&C dressed up as Los Conquistadores and defeated The Hardyz at No Mercy for the titles. One of the doubles that played Los Conquistadores during scenes with E&C was played by Christopher Daniels who also dressed under a mask to return to action after being fired in TNA as Curryman.
The list just goes on and on - but the real story behind this match is definitely the undeserving screwjob that Wendi Richter received during her time in the WWF.
In what was scheduled to be a regular title defense by the Women's champ at the time, Wendi Richter against The Spider Lady at MSG turned out to be the very first (recorded at least) "Screwjob" in WWF history. As the story goes, Wendi Richter was unhappy about her pay at the time in the company and Vince McMahon, being the true villain he is I guess, decided he would just screw Richter out of her title that she had just won back from Leilani Kai at the first Wrestlemania in March of that year. You know, because that's easier than just paying a female the same as the boys.
The screwing was done by dressing the former champion of 28 years, Fabulous Moolah up as The masked Spider Lady (usually played by Glenn Dean according to Richter in her shoot interview in 2005) and having her win after a fast count by the referee that was "not in the script". Despite the blatant kick out, the bell is rung and The Spider is announced the winner.
Wendi Richter was so genially upset by the decision of the match that she continued to wrestle with The Spider Lady, removing her mask to reveal Fabulous Moolah and then proceeded to hit Moolah with the belt until she (Richter) walked out of the arena "wrestling gear and all". Richter would never return to the WWF or speak to Vince McMahon until she was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2010. I don't think she ever spoke to or reconciled with Fabulous Moolah again as Moolah passed on in November of 2007.
To cover up this incident, Fabulous Moolah told Mean Gene Okerlund in an interview on WWF TV that Wendi Richter was dodging her out of a title shot so she disguised herself as The Spider to get back what was rightfully hers.
Similar incidents where superstars have come back under masks to wrestle for one reason or another like Moolah include: The Miz as The Calgary Kid to defeat the returning Eugene in a contract on a pole match after he was fire for some reason due to John Cena on Raw one time... another incident would be when Edge & Christian brought back Los Conquistadores in their feud with The Hardy Boyz where Edge & Christian lost a championship match to The Hardyz and could no longer wrestle for titles again as long as The Hardyz were champs. So, E&C dressed up as Los Conquistadores and defeated The Hardyz at No Mercy for the titles. One of the doubles that played Los Conquistadores during scenes with E&C was played by Christopher Daniels who also dressed under a mask to return to action after being fired in TNA as Curryman.
The list just goes on and on - but the real story behind this match is definitely the undeserving screwjob that Wendi Richter received during her time in the WWF.
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Song of the Day - Cycles of Gehenna
Aesop Rock - Cycles of Gehenna from Skelethon (2012)
This track comes straight from by 'best of 2012' list (part 1) that I'm working on and will be posting tomorrow evening (if all goes according to plan).
This track comes straight from by 'best of 2012' list (part 1) that I'm working on and will be posting tomorrow evening (if all goes according to plan).
Match of the Day - Road Dogg gets his a-double-crooked-letter handed to him by Bradshaw
The new Age Outlaws (c) vs. The Acolytes - WWF Royal Rumble (2000)
Speaking of tag teams in 2000, here's two of the all time greatest tag teams, The New Age Outlaws and The Acolytes (soon to be starting their own protection agency as APA). With Road Dogg and Badd Ass Billy Gunn and their charismatic attitudes and The Acolytes with their brute strength, these two teams didn't need tables, ladders, and chairs to prove they were great. Dogg and Gunn did need the help of their friend X-Pac to win this match however.
This match is mostly memorable for the fact that Bradshaw, a competitor who didn't know his own strength, supposedly knocked out The Road Dogg not once but twice during this match. The New Age Outlaws would still retain the titles after the ref bump and interference by Pac, but just to watch Bradshaw and Faarooq manhandle James and Gunn like they were The Roadie and Rockabilly again, man, really made The Acolytes look tough.
Maybe I'm just bias because this was about the time I really started to get into the WWF but RR 2000 has to one of the most memorable Royal Rumbles in the history of Royal Rumbles. And that's tough for even me to say because I've seen every Royal Rumble until RR 2009.
This Royal Rumble as featured the debut of Tazz in WWF, The spot hungry Hardy Boyz taking on the wood hungry Dudley Boyz in the first-ever tag team tables match, the swimsuit contest where Mae Young flashes her "puppies", the forgettable Chris Jericho vs. Chyna feud moment when Hardcore Holly was also involved, The unforgettable return of Cactus Jack 2000 vs. Triple H in the street fight where Hunter gets a piece of plywood stuck in his leg, and the Royal Rumble match that The Rock wins and Taka Michinoku takes a hilariously painful looking bump.
Speaking of tag teams in 2000, here's two of the all time greatest tag teams, The New Age Outlaws and The Acolytes (soon to be starting their own protection agency as APA). With Road Dogg and Badd Ass Billy Gunn and their charismatic attitudes and The Acolytes with their brute strength, these two teams didn't need tables, ladders, and chairs to prove they were great. Dogg and Gunn did need the help of their friend X-Pac to win this match however.
This match is mostly memorable for the fact that Bradshaw, a competitor who didn't know his own strength, supposedly knocked out The Road Dogg not once but twice during this match. The New Age Outlaws would still retain the titles after the ref bump and interference by Pac, but just to watch Bradshaw and Faarooq manhandle James and Gunn like they were The Roadie and Rockabilly again, man, really made The Acolytes look tough.
Maybe I'm just bias because this was about the time I really started to get into the WWF but RR 2000 has to one of the most memorable Royal Rumbles in the history of Royal Rumbles. And that's tough for even me to say because I've seen every Royal Rumble until RR 2009.
This Royal Rumble as featured the debut of Tazz in WWF, The spot hungry Hardy Boyz taking on the wood hungry Dudley Boyz in the first-ever tag team tables match, the swimsuit contest where Mae Young flashes her "puppies", the forgettable Chris Jericho vs. Chyna feud moment when Hardcore Holly was also involved, The unforgettable return of Cactus Jack 2000 vs. Triple H in the street fight where Hunter gets a piece of plywood stuck in his leg, and the Royal Rumble match that The Rock wins and Taka Michinoku takes a hilariously painful looking bump.
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Match of the Day - TNA gives you more bang for your buck in 2010
The Motor City Machine Guys vs. Generation Me - TNA Final Resolution (2010)
From what it looks like here, TNA almost had a real X division and tag team division as they once did in the early days of NWA:TNA. Of course, they had to take a page out of WWF's tag team division circa 2000 with the TLC match to end a somewhat decent feud and display some sweet spots to get the job done.
2010 was TNA's biggest turning point (the literal sense of the word not the PPV) as Hulk Hogan took over along with Eric Bishoff who decided to get rid of the six-sided ring and kickstart the X division again. 2010 was also the year The Young Bucks were signed to a TNA contract and went by Generation Me or Gen. Me.
Shorting after upsetting The MCMG's to win their debut match, they would than again take on Shelley and Sabin in a match at Final Resolution. Along with the chance to capture the World Tag Team titles, The Young Bucks, now named Jeremy and Max Buck, also had the chance to show everyone that TNA had actually picked up a damn good tag team. A young team that resembled another brother group that once dominated the tag team division with aerial maneuvers and ladders, The Hardy Boys.
Oh yeah, did I mention that this was a "Full Metal Mayhem match" - TNA's version of the Tables, Ladders, and Chairs oh my! match but putting much more emphasis on things made of metal? Well it was...
Despite this match/feud actually being one of TNA's better moments at this time, Gen. Me didn't stick around for much too long after this match ended and their tag team days started to look numbered. These two talented brothers didn't want to put up with the terrible storylines they would have had to go through rather than just wrestling and keeping the good name (cough cough) of TNA's tag team division and X division alive.
Can't say I blame 'em.
From what it looks like here, TNA almost had a real X division and tag team division as they once did in the early days of NWA:TNA. Of course, they had to take a page out of WWF's tag team division circa 2000 with the TLC match to end a somewhat decent feud and display some sweet spots to get the job done.
2010 was TNA's biggest turning point (the literal sense of the word not the PPV) as Hulk Hogan took over along with Eric Bishoff who decided to get rid of the six-sided ring and kickstart the X division again. 2010 was also the year The Young Bucks were signed to a TNA contract and went by Generation Me or Gen. Me.
Shorting after upsetting The MCMG's to win their debut match, they would than again take on Shelley and Sabin in a match at Final Resolution. Along with the chance to capture the World Tag Team titles, The Young Bucks, now named Jeremy and Max Buck, also had the chance to show everyone that TNA had actually picked up a damn good tag team. A young team that resembled another brother group that once dominated the tag team division with aerial maneuvers and ladders, The Hardy Boys.
Oh yeah, did I mention that this was a "Full Metal Mayhem match" - TNA's version of the Tables, Ladders, and Chairs oh my! match but putting much more emphasis on things made of metal? Well it was...
Despite this match/feud actually being one of TNA's better moments at this time, Gen. Me didn't stick around for much too long after this match ended and their tag team days started to look numbered. These two talented brothers didn't want to put up with the terrible storylines they would have had to go through rather than just wrestling and keeping the good name (cough cough) of TNA's tag team division and X division alive.
Can't say I blame 'em.
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