Kevin Nash & Hollywood Hogan vs. Rowdy Roddy Piper & The Giant - Baseball Bat on a Pole match - WCW Spring Stampede (1998)
It's the first day of Spring and that can only mean one thing: A Spring Stampede match is in order for today.
This match here is from Spring Stampede 1998, the year I started collecting WCW action figures apparently because every wrestler in this match looks exactly like the plastic form of themselves I had when I was growing up.
Despite the rules of the match, a tag team pole match where anyone who pulled down the baseball bat could use it anyway they wanted, Vince Russo was not working for WCW at this time. Even with the painfully bad "bat switch" towards the end of this match, I must remind everyone, Vince Russo was not working for WCW yet.
If you don't know who Vince Russo is, look up the San Francisco 49ers match, or the Viagra on a pole match, or the leather jacket on a pole match, or the Judy Bagwell on a pole match. The man loved his object(s) on a pole matches. Except for the last one there on the list, the Judy Bagwell one, she couldn't fit on a pole so they used a forklift instead.
The Smoking Guns vs. Yokozuna & Owen Hart vs. Savio Vega & Razor Ramon vs. Sid & 1-2-3 Kid - The Raw Bowl - Monday Night Raw (1996)
Here's a match with just as many rules and regulations as the big game tonight. All that is missing is a Bronco Buster and Sid wearing a number 22!? jersey.
The rules to this match are actually pretty simple; it's just a tag team elimination match were if one member of the team gets pinned/submitted, that team is out of the game... err, match. Also, any wrestler can tag in any other wrestler whether it be their teammate or not - a stipulation that saw Owen Hart tag in Bart Gunn's own tag team partner, Billy, etc. Throw in Earl Hebner with a whistle and a yellow flag, cover the green canvas with yard lines, give the teams one time out, and voilà, you got the first and only, Raw Bowl.
The 30-man Royal Rumble Match for the WWF Championship - Royal Rumble (1992)
Considered by some as the greatest Royal Rumble match, the 1992 30-man battle royal was unique in that it was not just for a chance to take on the WWF Champion down the line, but a chance to immediately win the championship upon survival. It might sound easy enough, but with 29 other men, some of which never getting this opportunity again, it made for quite an all or nothing situation.
Watch this colorful spectacle before tuning in to the Royal Rumble tonight or watch this instead, either way watch this for one of the greatest Royal Rumble moments of all time. Enjoy!
Buff Bagwell vs. "Positively" Kanyon - Judy Bagwell on a pole match - New Blood Rising (2000)
...But it's Judy Bagwell on a forklift.
When I think of mothers in wrestling, since it's Mother's Day here in the states, two particular incidents come to my mind. The first mother/wrestler gimmick would have to be Shelton Benjamin and the short period of time when his mother showed up on Raw to help him win some matches including one for the intercontinental title, and the other is Buff Bagwell and his mother, Judy.
Judy Bagwell first came on the scene in WCW when she was revealed to be the mystery partner of tag team champion, Rick Steiner one night on Nitro in 1998. Judy would return in 2000 via Buff Bagwell's feud with "Positively" Chris Kanyon (a DDP rip-off) which eventually culminated into this match... the Judy Bagwell on a pole match. A match that turned out to be "the foul mouth" Judy Bagwell strapped to a forklift match because, for some odd reason, Kanyon could not find such a pole that could hold Mrs. Bagwell anywhere in Canada.
Why did Buff Bagwell's mom even need to be put on a pole during this match in the first place? Answer: WCW 2000.
Judy Bagwell has actually been known to get involved in Buff Bagwell's work so much that rumor has it she got her son fired from the WWF after continually calling in to WWF headquarters complaining that Buff was getting mistreated and needed time off to heal from his injuries sustained at the hands of the APA.
Whether or not the accusations of Buff getting future endeavored by WWF are true, it is well documented how much his mother loved him. Happy Mother's Day, Judy!
It has come to my attention today that New Jack has retired from wrestling. I guess there's one less liability to worry about.
Rather than posting his retirement match (against Necro Butcher at this years' PWS Super Card), I've decided to just post this match instead for no reason other than I didn't want to post his notorious scaffold match with Vic Grimes yet or any match where he tries to stab his opponent to death.
That's New Jack's thing. Stabbing people to death.
New Jack vs. Sandman - Finals for the Hard 10 championship - NWA:TNA (2003)
Back in '03, TNA decided to add a little hardcore to their menu. So what better way to do this then by making a tournament revolving around a few ECW alumni mixed in with some guys who wrestled a couple times for ECW (Devon Storm, Vampire Warrior, Wolfie D) along with Mike Sanders and Sonny Siaki from WCW's Power Plant. But here's the catch - because this is TNA remember: there's got to be a catch on top of a catch - there was a point system.
A hardcore point system!
Apparently the way to win a match in this tournament was to get 10 points by using the weapons that were strategically placed around the ringside area and held by fans. The weapons that the competitors brought to the ring themselves did not count, however. Also, using a table was 5 big ones alone. So basically this tournament was just an excuse to see wrestlers get hit with random objects for five minutes like WWF's hardcore division circa 2000.
But it had a hardcore point system!
New Jack and Sandman, the two people hardcore enough to make it to the finals, battled it out in a back and forth struggle for points using the weapons they could find just laying around. Towards the end of the match, everyone loses count of the points and New Jack and Sandman make their way to the nearest balcony for New Jack to fall off of.. I mean get pushed off of.
Classic New Jack.
All that's missing is "Natural Born Killaz" being played on repeat throughout the duration of the match.
Matt Striker as Strikebu vs. Damian Adams - 3PW (2004)
Before Matt Striker was everyone's favorite former-teacher-turned-wrestler-turned announcer/commentator, Striker had a case of missing identity in Blue Meanies short-lived promotion, Pro-Pain Pro Wrestling or 3PW (since the latter doesn't sound like some kind of Hank Hill wet dream promotion). Each match Striker would come out to the ring as a different wrestler - and thus, the shenanigans ensued.
On this particular night in South Philadelphia, Striker dressed up as an all-to-familiar suicidal, homicidal, genocidal maniac to the former ECW arena, Sabu. Striker, err, Strikebu, had it all: the baggy pants, the lights-out entrance, the triple jump moonsault botch. Strikebu even had his whistle blowing manager, Bob Al-Eckos (played by Rob Eckos AKA Robbie E)!
The impersonations don't stop there... Striker would also imitate Rick Rude, Goldberg (as Strikeberg), and even Hakushi, through the course of the match. Unfortunately for Striker, his imitations did not pay off as well as he had hoped and ended up losing the match to Damian Adams after Strikebu's attempted "from parts-unknown" face-buster onto a slanted table went awry.
I always wished that Striker would bring this missing identity gimmick with him to the WWE. Instead he played the teacher gimmick as he really was a high school teacher in New York before making it into the business full-time. Of course, he was fired for taking too many days off to go wrestle because he didn't know the difference between a sick day and a personal day.
"We always do it better in the dark" - Jake Roberts
Jake "The Snake" Roberts vs. "The Model" Rick Martel - Blindfold match - WrestleMania VII (1991)
Many consider this little gimmick match at the All-American/Undertaker streak debut WrestleMania to be a pretty crappy match. Yes, it does feature two athletes who could wrestle the hell out of each other with bags over their heads, but that's looking at the whole scheme of things out of context. Without the knowledge of the feud these two had between each other in 1991 and the back story, a back story literally built months in advance, one should not assume this match was picked from a raw roulette wheel in the back featuring two guys Vinny Mac forgot to put on the card that year.
Okay then... the back story:
Some time after "The Model" Rick Martel introduced his very own line of cologne - properly named: "Arrogance", which was kept in a large atomizer, Martel began using it arrogantly on his opponents by spraying it into their eyes. One night during The Brother Love show with special guest, Jake Roberts, Martel sneaked up behind Roberts while he was dropping a stunning promo about love or something and sprayed his pet snake, Damien with the perfume. Before Roberts could retaliate he was sprayed directly into his eyes, blinding him! Eventually Roberts appeared to be healed, but only to reveal that he had snake eyes! Dun dun dun. Roberts and Martel would feud with one another all throughout 1991, including facing off at Survivor Series with their own respective teams (Robert's team was called The Vapors and Martel's team was called The Visionaries, a rib on Roberts and his blindness). Eventually, the two would settle their differences once and for all at the WM in a match right up Roberts alley. Seeing as Roberts now had an extra sense because he was some sort of blind snake metaphor, it was only fitting that he challenge Martel in a blindfold match where The Model would have to experience the darkness that Roberts was living in for months.
Now don't get me wrong, this is a silly match for WrestleMania. If you look at the events leading up to this match, however, it really does make sense. Hell, I think it would have been even more interesting if the whole arena was pitch black so everyone could see what it was like to be blind. Image that: a blindfold lights out match. Genius!
Triple H vs. Mankind - Boiler Room match - Smackdown! (1999)
Flip back over to WWF in 2000 and you would see a lot of Triple H. This was at the height of HHH's push as himself and meant he was in the spotlight a lot. Some say it could be due to the lack of Stone Cold at times and others could say it was due to him banging Mr. McMahon's daughter, Steph, never the less, late 1999-2000 was all HHH.
On one Thursday night Smackdown! (remember those) in late 1999 though, There was a lot more Triple H than the normal Triple H show... See, Triple H that night would actually be in 5 matches! If he couldn't win 3 out of 5 of them that night HHH would not get his title shot he had won Yep, this was just his third bout here taking on his soon-to-be foe, Mankind in Mankind's specialty match, a Boiler Room Brawl.
A Boiler Room Brawl is when two competitors fight inside the confines of the arena's un-padded boiler room with the winner being the first person out of the room.
Triple H gets his second win of that night after escaping the boiler room unharmed thanks to someone pushing Mankind off of a high place for another Mankind super bump. I believe it was later relieved to be Chyna but I honestly do not remember when and how it was relieved...
"Stunning" Steve Austin vs. Johnny B. Badd - Tuxedo Match - WCW Worldwide (1994)
Part of Dust Rhodes's "Dream Match" during "May Mayhem". Sort of like an early Raw Roulette concept where wrestlers pick a gimmick match out of a hat to wrestle in that night. The object of a tuxedo match, if you haven't witnessed one before, is: the first person to strip their opponent of their tux wins.
"Ever seen a guy in an otter suit?" - Bobby Heenan
WWF Bunkhouse Battle Royal - WWF Boston Garden House Show (1987)
Here's a perfect send-off for theme week, it's a mid/late-80's come as you are, wear what you want Bunkhouse Battle Royal.
This battle royal features many great and/or forgotten 80's superstars in their street clothes including: Don Muraco, Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart (first to be eliminated), Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake, Jimmy Jack Funk, Danny Spivey, Mr. Fuji (in a suit), Greg "The Hammer" Valentine, Hillbilly Jim, Dick Slater, Scotty Mcghee (gets carried out via stretcher), Sika, The Islanders, "Cowboy" Bob Orton, Corporal Kirschner, King Kong Bundy, Pre-I.R.S. Mike Rotundo, The Duke of Dorchester (not to be confused with Duke the Dumpster), some guy dressed up as a knight, and Blackjack Mulligan (the winner).
Blackjack Mulligan comes up with the win after help from The Duke who hits King Kong Bundy with a chair allowing Mulligan time to take off his cowboy boot and clock Bundy over his big noggin before being pushed out of the ring.
The Rock vs. Mankind - Empty Arena Match for the WWF World Championship - Halftime Heat (1999)
Here's a little something-something for all the halftime lovers out there. Yay, football!
Not satisfied with Beyonce's breathtaking performance tonight? Watch this classic featuring Mankind taking on Th Rock for his World title in a very special Heat that was aired during the halftime of the 1999 Super Bowl on USA.
