Goodbye WCW: Bret Hart, Sting, DDP (WCW, 1999)

Hey yo Stud Muffins & Foxy Ladies,

I saw our Lord, Savior and Personal Redeemer this past Thursday at the Boston Garden as He demonstrated why he is the personification of Love and Mercy. I had my personal qualms with His return to Cleveland to a city that does not deserve a Man of His Magnificence after they showed their true colors as entitled, spoiled and petulant brats. What Bron Bron has shown time and time again is that he truly has an infinite capacity for Love and why I struggled with this decision. Wishing him the best, but at the same time not wishing Cleveland nothing but ill will in terms of sporting ventures, I tuned out of this basketball season. Then my Father told me that LeBron would be returning to Boston for the playoffs. I had never seen the Greatest Athlete of my Lifetime in a playoff game. It was very tempting and praying on it. I realized that LeBron was teaching us the greatest lesson in forgiveness and mercy. He no longer just embodied Love, he embodied Mercy and showed he is True Love manifested in a perfect individual. 

His Mercy Endures Forever.

For those here for just the pro wrestling, that probably made no sense, but in short LeBron James rules and everyone else drools. From a man I have nothing but love for to a man I have nothing but disdain for here is Chris Benoit. I end this WCW viewing project with a slew of Chris Benoit matches from 1999, the last time WCW was truly WCW. Benoit was at worst the second best wrestler in America in 1998-99, where I give DDP a slight edge over him. He finally had put all the pieces together. His brutal mechanical efficiency was now being showcased in strong match layouts and his selling was par excellence. He dragged one last good WCW match out of Ric Flair. In a clash of the two best wrestlers in America, DDP and Benoit put on the best Thunder match in history. That is not saying much, but I don't think anyone has ever thought about it, but now you know! I think his two best matches come later in the year against the World Champion Sting and the Owen Hart Tribute match with Bret Hart.

The Sting match was a discovery through the Pro Wrestling Only Yearbooks and it was tremendous a real hidden gem that no one really talks about. It was an old school championship bout with the upper midcarder pushing the champion to his breaking point, but coming up short due to nefarious tactics. For someone who had never worked heel in his career up until that point, Sting looked great at controlling the match and making it feel dramatic. Between this and the DDP match, Sting had quite the 1999!

The Owen Hart Tribute match, which was a beautiful gesture is of course stained by the Benoit murders, but stands as a great statement of what true pro wrestling is. It is hold and counterhold. It is two combatants trying to execute a strategy to win a contest. It is each opponent reacting to each other, the circumstances around them and moments within the match. In a few weeks, WCW would hand over the reigns to Vince Russo, who obliterate any semblance of pro wrestling of pro wrestling and replacing it with common trash and the wrestling taking a back seat to inane skits. In essence, this match was WCW saying goodbye to pro wrestling and thus a fitting match to end the viewing project.

Goodbye, WCW.     

Diamond Dallas Page vs Chris Benoit - WCW Thunder 5/27/99

Best match in Thunder history? I would hear arguments against, but going through PWO and the Smarkschoice poll I am not seeing anything that was close to this. Benoit and DDP are the best workers in WWF & WCW in 1998-99 (I have never watched ECW from this era). It is such a treat to watch them work and I am going to seek out the Road Wild 99 match. I really don't see how it can any else than good. It is amazing DDP is just as good as a heel as he was as a babyface. He makes Benoit look like a million bucks in this. Having watched a ton of Benoit in 99 now, the commentary team and the wrestlers were clearly working hard to make Benoit feel like a main event babyface. The angle here is that Flair, who is loony tunes, gave DDP/Bam Bam a tag title shot over his Horsemen buddies. This has now transitioned into a youth vs. veteran storyline. Has that ever really worked in America?

These two just make every move seem like the most important thing in the entire world when they are working. Everything is so urgent and heated. I loved Benoit's reversal of the usual discus clothesline with a Crossface. DDP, all shook up, heads for the hills and all of sudden you see Benoit fly into screen and wipe him out. I LOVE THIS MATCH! We are only two minutes into it. DDP always ups his game against Benoit and hits a wicked back elbow to turn the tide. I like how organic it felt like you thought he was going for the Irish Whip, but he stops short with a nasty back elbow. The ring can not handle this fight. Benoit just keeps coming so DDP hits a low blow in the corner and then drops him head first on the top turnbuckle. DDP works a great fucking short heat section. We are taking nasty gutbusters and wicked big boot when he has him hung out on the ropes. Benoit was selling like a champ here. You could really him sucking for air. DDP asks the ref to check for the time and he chokes him with tape. It is official DDP was a Wrestling God in 1999! That's the most awesome thing I have seen in months! Benoit mounts a comeback off a jawbreaker on a sleeper. German with a bridge for 2 and then another one with a bridge. I like the rolling Germans with a bridge after each a lot better! DDP lunges for the ropes on the third one and that trick knee acts up. Love it! DDP hits a nice spinning powerbomb for his nearfall. He signals for the Diamond Cutter, but Benoit gets a backslide. DDP looks for the Cutter again and CROSSFACE! Bam Bam Bigelow runs in for the DQ and Flair attacks Benoit for his insubordination for good measure.

Tack on a finish and this is a contender for best free TV WCW match of the late 90s. Incredibly heated stuff early on that made Benoit look huge loved the early Crossface and crazy dive. DDP worked an outstanding heat segment like the best short one I have seen in months. I loved the Benoit finish stretch. Really, really good shit. Watch this match! ****

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Chris Benoit vs Ric Flair - WCW Thunder 6/3/99

I have been singing the praises of DDP in recent months, but in the back of my head I have known there was one challenger to his "Best in America" throne in this time period and that is Chris Benoit. Where DDP faltered, Benoit managed to pull out a very good match from Flair and showcase him at his best since 1998. The match was set up the week before when Benoit decided to challenge Flair's ruling to give the Triad the tag title shot instead of Benoit & Malenko. Benoit and DDP rocked it last week and after Benoit looked poised to win Bam Bam & Flair put the boots to Benoit. What helps this most is that Benoit is a strong definitive face for heel Flair to play off. Benoit and Flair started off firing chopping each other. Benoit goes with the old standby of applying the figure-4 to Flair and continues to work the leg. Flair uses the eye poke to take advantage, but still sells the leg. Flair leverages Asya outside to interfere on his behalf. Benoit is at his bets here chopping through Flair's offense or rattling off a snap suplex. Flair's big push is the kneecrusher/figure-4 combo. Benoit reverses the pressure. The match, commentary and the arena make Benoit seem like a big deal and a babyface on the rise. Flair goes for the bridge/backslide spot which we have not seen from him in awhile. Benoit hits a clothesline and a diving headbutt. This time Flair's new buddy, DDP saves. Not as much heat as the DDP match and some disjointed moment, but the Benoit push continues. But if a push happens on Thunder, is it really happening? ***1/2

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WCW World Heavyweight Champion Sting vs Chris Benoit - WCW Nitro 9/20/99

Sting doing a kneelift cutoff was more surreal than seeing Sting in a WWE ring. After years upon years of Sting getting cutoff by heels, it was just so strange for him to finally do the kneelift. Then I was just as discombobulated when Sting's kneelift was reversed into a cradle, it was just so wrong. Overall, I loved this match, it felt super dramatic and Sting just has a huge presence in this match. The weird part of this match was that Sting worked the early portion as a babyface. He would hit these big spots and Benoit would have to bail on the outside to catch his breath. They were working this like a Clash of the Titans match for a Mania or a Dome it was really neat. Sting looked great in this match everything had purpose and an energy to it. The crowd reaction was definitely mixed for the Woos. It almost feels like they are doing an interesting evolution of the Sting character. Yes he did something rotten at Fall Brawl, but that is not going to change who he is in the ring, but it changes the crowd response. That would be some high-end booking if that was the plan. Benoit picks an ankle starts to go to work on the legs of the Stinger. Benoit gets in a nice bridging Deathlock, but he goes for the dropkick on the Tree of Woe one too many times and Stiing posts Benoit. AT this point, Sting does his mid-match turn and starts breaking down Benoit with really well-timed elbows and chinlocks. Benoit is just great at the chippy, upper midcarder with thee short bursts of energy, but Sting always has a cutoff. Sting hits a huge front suplex. They are building great drama on every nearfall. I am really blown away how food this is right now. The commentary is really putting over Benoit. Sting goes for out of control top rope splash and eats knees. Sting tries to recover quickly, but ends up eating turnbuckle on the Stinger Splash.  Benoit signals for the heatbutt and he hits it! WOAH! 1-2-NO! Double hot sequence right there! Benoit pours it on with rolling snap suplexes and now the Crossface, but too close to the ropes. Sting is disoriented and desperate shoves Benoit into the ref. Benoit looks powerbomb, but goes piledriver WOW! Count to 1000, but there is no ref and the crowd is counting along for Benoit. Benoit now with rolling Germans and again gets the visual fall, but Luge comes comes in and cracks a bat across his exposed abdominals. Benoit sells this like a champ and Sting retains. Here comes Flair who looks great throwing punches in the corner. DDP here to help heels as Hogan clears the ring. Tony hypes Hogan/Hart/Flair vs Sting/Luger/DDP. You know, as a WCW mark, I would have loved to see where this was going without Russo's interference. It may not be the most inspired or unique booking, but definitely piqued my interest.

I really liked this match and thought both Sting and Benoit looked king-size in this. Sting looked great as King of the Hill, which he has shown flashes of in his career, but this is unique as he is a heel in this match and he plays the finish so well. This was the perfect match for Benoit to be having at this point of his career taking a heel champion to the limit and within a year finally climbing that mountain if this was a normal company. Really strong TV match. ****

The Lord Said Let There Be Fight: Steven Regal, Fit Finlay, Sting (WCW, 1996)

Hey yo Stud Muffins & Foxy Ladies,

FINALLY! I am once again officially a full-time employee BABY! This time as a chemical engineer WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! Dreams do come true!

Buxom Lassie, now that's somebody I wanna stiff ;)

Steven Regal is one of the greatest mid-carders of all the times with his ability to deliver entertaining and unique matches on the undercard. He had a rare talent possessed only by a few of the greats such as Greg Valentine or a Vader where he would take his opponent out of his comfort zone and creating a unique environment for this wrestler. It is one thing to coerce a wrestler to wrestle your style this can lead to style clashes or plug and play. Regal was able to adapt his style to his opponent. Every Regal match is worth watching is because you get to see Sting, Psychosis and Larry Zybszko in truly unique matches. For example, my major malfunction with Ultimo Dragon was how he would unleash his amazingly deep offensive arsenal like an exhibition of fireworks rather than a contest to win a match. Regal was able to reign in Dragon and force him to use his offense in a compelling manner. Dragon did not change his game plan; he was still using his kicks and holds to set up the Tiger Suplex, but he had to earn the offense. Regal is so versatile at selling and bumping for a wide range of wrestlers like the bruisers (Finlay), luchadors (Psychosis) and main event talent (Sting).

For all his talent, Regal was underutilized by WCW, sure he had a great run as Television Champion, but in 1995 he was relegated to WCW's fledgling tag team with Bobby Eaton. On the surface, that sounds like the stuff dreams are made of, but unfortunately their opponents were Harlem Heat and Nasty Boys. But in early 1996, WCW was making a concerted effort to truly being an all-star promotion. They had the strongest main event talent of the 80s and 90s and they had brought in American talent that had been working overseas. Soon, they would bring in the luchadors. In addition, they brought in Fit Finlay as Regal's arch -nemesis. They brought a brutality and violence that has rarely been seen before or after in the US. It was BattlArts/FUTEN levels of violence with nasty strikes to each other face and bodies. They fought through each other's offense and earned every inch. Until Regal's nose is demolished by Finlay's stiff strike, which the perfect ending even if unintentional to such a tour de force.

Check out the best of Lord Steven Regal in 1996 and hopefully, it will inspire to watch even more Steven Regal in WCW and beyond.

Lord Steven Regal vs Fit Finlay - WCW Uncensored 1996

If you are real quiet and pay attention real close, you can actually hear Regal's nose explode at the end of the match. This was Ishikawa/Ikeda levels of brutality and uncomfortability. They were just beating the absolutely fucking shit out of each other. This would not look out of place at all on BattlArts card. This is why I loved WCW in 1996, it really felt like an all-star promotion with the best of every style on the card. Finlay set the tone early by whipping Regal with his jacket and just attacking him with vicious forearms, knees and headbutts. They were just fighting through each other's offense, which is one of my favorite style of matches. To me it is not my turn, your turn because you fucking earned your turn in this war. Whether it was stiff Finlay knee to the head to break out of an armbar or Regal nearly taking Finlay's head off with a dropkick. The only defense in this match was more offense and fight fire with fire. Unlike Ishikawa/Ikeda, they had a hard time keeping the heat up throughout the match and in the holds. They worked the palm strikes and knees in the holds well, but the holds in the match while gnarly did not have the drama of a BatBat match.  I loved that the chairs were attached together preventing Finlay from using the chairs at Uncensored. I always mark out when someone suplexes someone from the ring to the floor, which seems so dangerous. Dusty is hilarious totally missing Brain's point that they wrestled each other thinking he was thinking England and Ireland were the same thing, "Ireland is five miles from London. I don't think so." Apparently, this match was supposed to go 30 minutes and I think thankfully it did not. It was running out of steam and this was the perfect ending for the match. One guy hits another guy so hard that his nose is shattered and he is just a bloody mess. It was really the only proper way to end such a nasty fight.

As much as I love sheer brutality, I do like a bit more of a strategy and/or narrative to my matches. It really is another form of a spotfest, but better than what is commonly thought of as a spotfest. Because they are fighting through each other's offense, it never feels like an exhibition. Because they are hitting each other so hard, it always feels like they are trying to win. It does not have the same pitfalls as a standard spotfest, but it does lack hook from a character/angle perspective to make it truly excellent. Still, I think this is an undervalued match. It is well-known, but the usual rating seems a bit low to me. It does not reach the greatness of some of the BatBat/FUTEN stuff I saw in the past year, this is not far off. ****1/4

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Steven Regal vs Fit Finlay - WCW Saturday Night 4/13/96

Coming out of the violent Uncensored match where Regal's nose was demolished, Regal felt like the more sympathetic character and I feel like they played that up with him being more of a babyface here. He takes the match to Finlay early and it looks like he may trying to go for a nose for a nose with those nasty palm strikes. Finlay actually begs off before he gets a vicious elbow to the nose and he looks to keep grounded. He misses an elbow and Regal pounces with a double wristlock. It does not last long as Finlay gets a nasty thumb to eye and a wicked headbutt. Finlay looks to take Regal's arm off and beat him with it. The Blue Bloods come out to bail out Regal. I did not like the finish. Regal is a much better face than Finlay, but Finlay was over. I liked Regal as the fired up babyface and the finish just felt totally out of place. It even seemed the way Regal reacted that they may be teasing a face turn. Good set up for more matches. ***

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Steven Regal vs Fit Finlay - WCW Nitro 4/29/96 Parking Lot Brawl

Really cool, unique set up with these two bitter rivals surrounded by park cars. Finlay wastes no time putting his foot through a window. Finlay uses a tire and a bumper to fuck up Regal. I loved the build to the climax with all the teases of doing moves from the top of the car. You know we all wanted to see it. They delivered in spades and I will let the viewer see it for themselves because it is quite the exclamation point on a great undercard feud. Bischoff was trying to get this match over by calling for wide angles and saying this is too violent, but it just came off as more annoying. I wish we had Tony calling this match. That being Bischoff or whoever in WCW came up with this match was really smart. This is cutting edge shit that takes ECW puts a new twist on it and is applied to a feud that fit it well. It comes off as super fresh and really makes WCW seem must see. Great and entertaining match, but does not touch the sheer awesomeness of the Uncensored match. ***1/2

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Sting vs Lord Steven Regal - WCW Great American Bash 1996

One of those mildly hyped WCW matches that I have never had a chance to see, until now. I am a pretty big Regal fan because he reminds me of someone like a Valentine or a Vader that will force an opponent out of their comfort zone, but still adapt to the opponent. It is a rare talent and one not too often discussed. A little background on why Regal was getting a crack at the top when he was usually relegated to great mid-card actin. This is the PPV before Bash at the Beach and thus the entire company is in a holding pattern until the New World Order is formed. Sting needed a win and a match with Regal could serve to enhance Regal's star power. After the NWO, there did not seem to be plans for Regal and of course Regal was also battling personal demons. The set up was pretty simple as Regal showed Sting the back of his hand and Sting took offense. Tony mentions during the course of this bout that Sting's dark hair look is recent. I always prefered bleach blond and spiky, but it was a good way to freshen up Sting.

Sting actually showed some really good fire early, which has always been my problem with him. Yes, he has a ton of energy to spare, but rarely is it channeled into violence. Regal is able to come back with some technical wristlocks to subdue Sting, but Sting's energy and strength allow him to power out. Regal resets the match asking for a handshake and his facial expressions during this is priceless. Sting thrusts his Little Stinger in Lord Steven's direction. Tony calls that an Elvis move. Dusty says that is not an Elvis move that was a pelvis move! Too funny. We hit the test of strength and Sting maybe stronger, but Regal knows those little tricks that allow him to apply a cobra clutch. From there, it is all Regal and that is goal of this match to showcase Regal as a credible opponent for WCW's main eventers through his holds, vicious strikes and his cocky attitude. His little strut, which was supposed to mock Sting just struck me as a weird than as annoying or entertaining, a rare bit of character acting that Regal misfired on. Regal takes a good 80-90% of this match and wrestles a solid heat segment with vicious palm strikes to the head and interesting arm holds, but I think overall Malenko smoked him on this night. Sting's hope spots were well-timed and Regal had nice underhanded counters like an eyepoke for them. I actually kinda liked Sting powering up while in a knucklelock and Regal's selling was spot on. Sting hits his sugar high and explodes with clotheslines, but that is just a hope spot and we get a sweet butterfly suplex. The part of the match is that pisses me off more than anything else happens right here. Regal applies his Regal Stretch and then just gives it up. I can't stand when wrestlers just give up on submissions and YOUR BEST SUBMISSION that is ridiculous. The setup for the finish is great that Regal is mauling Sting in the corner and Sting won't go down so he shows him the back of the hand just like at the start of this angle and Sting wakes the fuck up for that.  Sting hits some really great monster punches. Sting eats knees on the Stinger Splash, but quickly applies the Scorpion Deathlock to get out of Baltimore with the victory.

Regal looked great in this match just by being able to hang with Sting. Sting had some real flashes of violence and intensity as opposed to his more FUN energy. I thought that was a very good match, but I don't they ever really flirted with great. Regal gets to show his stuff, Sting kicks a bit of ass, but needs the flash submission to defeat Regal and build momentum towards the clash with the Outsiders. Very good match to build Regal up, but sadly nothing ever came from it. ***1/2

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WCW TV Champion Steven Regal vs Psicosis - WCW Nitro 12/16/96

Penascola, Florida sure loved them some Psicosis and they can be on my team any day of the week. The entire camera side of the crowd was standing for the majority of this match start to finish and literally every Psicosis spot got a decent to huge pop. You really could not have asked for a better crowd. Psicosis sold phenomenally, but on offense was decent at best, if really ripped it up this had potential to be of the elite Nitro matches (I am talking top 5-ish). The crowd was clearly on Regal's case early with USA chants and they were even amped for the opening armwork. Look, I love Regal's intricate armwork and Psicosis with a lucha background had no difficulty keeping up. That is over with me, but I don't expect the crowd to really respond. This crowd was going apeshit over the littlest details, it was awesome. As soon as Psicosis slammed Regal down on the arm, you would expect fucking Hogan had just slammed Andre. I honestly think Psicosis was bewildered by the reaction. His tope was sick as always. I thought Regal's selling was incredible in this match. Honestly, this match featured some of the best selling I have seen in a long time. My major malfunction with the crowd so hot, they were basically begging fro Psicosis to do something, but he kept stalling and looked unsure of himself. Stuff like waiting for Regal to get up only to hit a dropkick. Look, I get you needed to sell, but we needed a babyface shine. The early Guillotine Legdrop got a massive reaction and was a great nearfall. I love Regal throwing Psicosis on the bad shoulder and then he just pounces with a gritty facelock and palm strikes to head. Regal was a beast in this match working the arm tenaciously, but selling fatigue and pain simultaneously. Psicosis gets one more nearfall by throwing Regal off the top rope, playing to the crowd and hitting a top rope splash for two. Psicosis looks to go for a victory roll, but Regal slams him face first and applies the Regal Stretch to break the hearts of every one in that Penascola crowd. Tighten Psicosis' offense and have reach the potential I know he has and this would be an all-time classic. As is, I still thought this was fabulous from a selling perspective especially. In addition, I thought the Psicosis nearfalls meant a lot especially due to the crowd and that Regal's offense and ability to capitalize on mistakes was great. The crowd definitely tips the balance for me. ***3/4

The Fall of WCW: Scott Steiner, Goldberg, Rey Mysterio ( WCW 1999-2001)

Hey yo Stud Muffins & Foxy Ladies,

This weekend, an old friend of mine paid a visit to God's Country & The Birthplace of America, Boston, and we got what is left of the old gang here and had a kickass time reliving memories and making new ones. As much as fun as it is to wax nostalgic, it is the just the best to add to our story with new fresh memories and to keep building upon that. It is a bit melodramatic for me to call a pro wrestling promotion, my friend, but in a lot of ways growing up, WCW was my best friend. I will always be able to relive memories and discover new gems, but I have been robbed of making new memories.

I would make memories with her over and over again!

I grew up painfully shy as a child, which will shock most people that know me now. I know what you all are thinking, now we can't get Martin to fucking shut up, but I pretty much did not have friends in elementary school. I was never bullied or anything like that just did not really talk or hang out with people. I was always amazed by these larger than life figures that could seemingly effortlessly could talk to 20,000 people on national TV. They were my friends and every Monday night, I would watch them as they would make me laugh, smile and angry usually all within two or three awesome hours. Because of parental regulations, I grew up a WCW fan because my mother thought the WWF did not treat women well (Dustin Rhodes/Terri Runnels fallout being the end of WWF for a year in my house), but I think I always liked WCW better. There was something endearing about its haphazard nature and still is to this day to me. Unfortunately, the egos and a lack of singular authority began to negatively impact TV and by the summer of 1999, I had to check out. Then I remember reading on wrestleline.com, that Vince Russo was coming to WCW in October of 1999. Russo was a head writer for the WWF at the time and it seemed like a massive coup for WCW to get what was at least part of the driving force of the Attitude Era. How much Russo contributed to WWF and was filtered/reigned in by Vince McMahon I cannot say, but it is safe to say that was not pure Russo. So, I started to watch Nitro again excited at what new changes would be had.

Even as a ten year old, I knew what I was watching was absolutely mortifying. To continue the friend analogy, it is like watching your friend lose his mind or maybe an elderly member of the family show signs of dementia. It was not WCW anymore. It was not even pro wrestling. It was trash. Sure, the voice of my childhood, Tony Schiavone was still there and hey even my favorite, La Parka was getting more television time, but he was made into a Skeletor comedy character, which is one of the more least offensive things done under the Russo watch. There was outright racism towards the Luchadors and Japanese wrestlers like Liger. There was personal insults towards Jim Ross. There was rampant misogyny. The matches were shorter. There was a ton of things happening, but at the same time nothing was happening. The worst part was the Powers That Be angle/character, which openly described pro wrestling as a work, spoke about wrestlers like Benoit being held down  and how certain wrestlers would not do the job. Remember folks, everything you just watched is a work, but THIS RIGHT HERE IS A SHOOT, BRUTHA! That was the Russo matra. I hated it. Before the year was up, I quit watching WCW. WCW quit on Vince Russo too as he was fired by the end of the year and Kevin Sullivan took over as head booker.

In April, WCW planned a major reset with Russo-Bischoff in charge with the idea being that Bischoff would filter Russo and somehow I got suckered into this bullshit. This time I lasted four months and even ordered New Blood Rising! In this regime, we had more racism, more misogyny, more the rest of the card this is a SHOOT! This was hallmarked by the announcers claiming during a triple threat match when Goldberg walked out on the match it was because he was being unprofessional and did not want to do the job. SO now Nash and Steiner had to improvise a finish. After New Blood Rising, I stopped watching WCW again and actually stopped watching wrestling all together in October 2000. This is important because this is why I really hate Vince Russo.

Is Vince Russo directly to blame for the sale of WCW? I don't think so. Would AOL-Time Warner been more amenable to keep WCW around if they had not lost $60 million in a year, probably. Still, Nitro was bringing in a 2.0 rating on Monday Night against direct competition from WWF and that is not horeshit. If the folks after the merger wanted wrestling on their station WCW would still be on TNT, it is that simple. Bischoff had a group together to purchase WCW, but without TV, it would have be useless in his opinion and you can't blame him. Russo contributed to the death of WCW, but ultimately it was the AOL-Time Warner merger that killed WCW dead. Why I especially despise Russo is not because he turned WCW into personal joke or has done seemingly irreparable harm to pro wrestling that WWE still has not recovered from, it is because I missed the death of my friend. I found about the sale of WCW to WWF in March of 2001, a little bit after Wrestlemania X-7 and by then it was too late. I did not get to see the last Monday Nitro live and that deeply upset me. At this point, I have let it go and I am not terribly bitter about it. Hell I have even enjoyed some of TNA and it generally liked their 2005-2007 period. I do not how much Russo influence there was, but it was a fun promotion at times. I am sad to this day that WCW does not exist and will often go back see something so WCW that I just wish it would come back. In this blog, the one of the most WCW things ever was debut a brand new championship, a week before your company is shutting down and of course that match is the best match in 18 months! He did not rob me of making new memories that was AOL-Time Warner. He robbed me of saying good-bye to my childhood friend.

On Riding Space Mountain, we always look for the sliver lining and fuck, even Russo could not manage to have at least a coupled decent matches under his watch. Here are some of the last great bouts from the dying days of World Championship Wrestling.

I will always be a WCW fan first & foremost and look forward to reliving those memories for the rest of my life because Russo, AOL-Time Warner or anyone else will never able to take those away.

Match Listing:

Chris Benoit vs Jeff Jarrett - WCW Starrcade 1999 Vacant US Championship Ladder Match

Violent ladder match sprint with a couple huge spots and a big time feel for the Benoit victory.

Scott Steiner vs Goldberg - WCW Fall Brawl 2000

Russo did his best to try to kill this Clash of the Titans classic, but these two worked their asses off.

Rey Mysterio Jr & Kidman vs Primetime & Kid Romeo 

WCW Greed WCW Cruiserweight Tag Team Championship

The last great WCW match is a well-structured, high octane tag team match featuring my man, Rey Rey!

WCW World Heavyweight Champion Scott Steiner vs Diamond Dallas Page - WCW Greed

Father Time finally caught up to DDP as he just did not have any gas left in the tank to put on one last classic DDP match. Disappointing. 

Chris Benoit vs Jeff Jarrett - WCW Starrcade 1999 Vacant US Championship Ladder Match

Benoit's neck is freaking massive here. Double J's normal size neck looks like a stack of dimes compared to the juiced up Crippler. Benoit and Jarrett put together a really strong and violent ladder match sprint in this one. Benoit unleashes a can of whoop-ass early and hits a superplex to incapacitate JJ long enough to get the ladder. I like a small victory like that in the shine to show how dominate Benoit was early. Jarret is able to recover with a baseball slide into the ladder and then dropping Benoit face first on the ladder opening up a nasty cut on Benoit's face. I liked Jarrett as a heel taking advantage of the situation to take a control. They work some struggle spots with Benoit kept coming at Jarrett, but since Jarrett was a bit fresher he could still control the match. One of the scarier spots was Jarrett was in the Tree of Woe, but in the ladder and tipped over the ladder like you would reverse the pressure on a figure-4. Jarrett could have severely fucked up his knee and the way Benoit's head bounced off the ropes he could have seriously injured, but that's where the freaking massive neck will save your life. The spot of the match would be an all-time great spot if Double J did not hesitate forever and made Benoit look like a fool. That being said it is better to be safe and really focus. He dropkicks the ladder, which goes flying and Benoit takes an awesome bump. It actually came off pretty safe compared to a lot of ladder bumps, but was a sweet visual. Another fun spot is Benoit doing a roll through under the ladder and then dropkicking it into Jarrett's face. Benoit hitting the diving headbutt off the ladder and then grabbing the title does seem excessive, but they needed that climatic spot and it is a good one. The crowd was fucking dead for the beginning of this, but they won them over and Benoit's victory does feel like a big deal by the end. Some really great spots mixed with a strong sense of urgency and struggle makes this a pretty easy call for me to say this is a great, but too spotty to be a true classic. ****

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Scott Steiner vs Goldberg - WCW Fall Brawl 2000

I couldn't believe the angle they ran before this where it was implied Goldberg put Midajah (Steiner's favorite freak) through a table and then I guess he smashed Steiner's face in with a lead pipe. Why the hell is the babyface attacking defenseless women? Fuck Russo! Steiner then puts Goldberg's girlfriend in the Steiner Recliner, but since that's shown on TV that means exposes it as a weak ass chinlock, Awful Russoian, misogynistic  booking aside, I am pretty pumped for this match and so is the Buffalo crowd. The Bills football team hates Steiner and is super pro-Goldberg. Steiner is wearing a face mask and Goldberg has his arm taped up, which is good continuity, but neither one really plays into the match so it is a wash. Steiner stiffs the fuck out of Goldberg and Goldberg know no other way to wrestle so this comes off a gargantuan match. I loved Steiner taking right to Goldberg with some wicked shots only for Goldberg to come out of the corner with a huge Press and then catch and slam. It was amazing watching these two behemoth throw each other around. Steiner puts up the best resistance he possibly can, but his standard power game is not getting it down when Goldberg can outmuscle him. This is exemplified when Steiner hoists him into the Tombstone, but Goldberg reverses into a Oklahoma Slam. However, the one time the pre-existing injuries play into the match is when Goldberg's arm starts to bother him (nice Goddamnit on one of the strikes) and then he misses the spear. Steiner is able to take advantage on the outside and bust him over as his favorite freak, Midajah strolls out with a lead pipe. Steiner throws Goldberg around and hits a couple push-ups. Go Blue! Little shit like Goldberg nasty back elbows to Steiner and Steiner rethinking his suplex to a Belly to Belly was what was making this match great. Midajah hands Steiner the pipe, but SPEAR! Goldberg goes for the Jackhammer and the match goes to Hell because here comes Satan himself. Russo hits Goldberg with an obviously gimmicked bat. They were having a great match why the fuck do we need Russo and fake as fuck weapons. If they presented the fake bat as a real bat and had Goldberg lose right there, I would have no problem it was the bullshit with Goldberg being able to continue. Goldberg powering out of the Steiner Recliner was fucking awesome as he literally threw Steiner half way cross the ring from his shoulders. Midajah and Russo play pinata with Goldberg on the top rope, fuck, they are killing this match. Goldberg looks like he is finally going to kill Russo so Steiner smokes him the pipe and puts in the Recliner. The fake weapons and Russo bullshit really ruined what was otherwise a really good match. I am a sucker for two big men throwing each other around. There were great highspots and plenty of struggle. Goldberg's spear and the Goldberg's powering out of the Recliner were awesome spots. They did not need the overbooking, alas that is the story of Russo booking. Still the best match of the Russo regime.  ****

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Rey Mysterio Jr & Kidman vs Primetime & Kid Romeo 

WCW Greed WCW Cruiserweight Tag Team Championship

It is so WCW to debut a brand new title on their last PPV! I was actually how shocked how much liked this. I have not seen Elix Skipper in forever and I have never seen a Kid Romeo match, but fuck I thought they were a fun little heel duo. I actually think Romeo would have been decent in TNA and maybe he was, but I missed it. WCW Greed felt really TNA-y, maybe it was inevitable if WCW continued we would have gotten the same shit as we did from TNA. Still, I think the weird endearing WCW booking would have carried on in a way TNA has never really captured. Onto the match, but this was actually a really good tag team match and I know tag team wrestling (listen to my podcast, Tag Teams Back Again, with Chief Jay Historian, Kelly Nelson on Place To Be Nation.com)! They did a great shine, worked a solid heat segment with nice hope spots and then had a hot finish stretch that went a bit too long. The shine was some really good shit from Kidman & Mysterio constantly keeping the action moving and keeping the crowd into it. I thought the highlights was Rey Mysterio guillotine leg drop and I love how Kidman holds Primetime there. I hate it as a single move like KENTA used it, but as a tag team move great spot and logical. I loved the hiptoss of Primetime onto Romeo from the stage and then the double dive onto them. Damn, they got me rocking right with them. The heel transition is Romeo hitting Kidman with a blind forearm while he was running the ropes. Love it! Kidman does a great job using stuff like Irish whip/clothesline combo to get early hope spots, but Primetime and Romeo know how to bend the rules. This is a really basic layout that was just modernized with some of the more high-flying moves, but everything was still sensible. The funniest fucking botch ever happens in this match as Primetime whiffs so bad on a forearm he falls down. I was rolling and then a fan gets on his case and he jaws with him, good shit.  Kidman hits a nice spinebuster/powerbomb-y thing from the top and Rey comes in. Holy Shit! Rey looked fucking awesome here. Words don't do it justice watch it. Kidman says two can play that game and he hits a beautiful springboard Shooting Star Press to the floor. WOW! It should have been over sooner rather than later, but it kept going with diminishing returns with lots of nearfalls and weak saves. Rey hitting two powerbombs seems a bit ridiculous to me and I am a powerbomb mark. The actual finish was pretty sweet with Romeo catching Rey Rey on the quebrada attempt and dropping down with the Northern Lights Bomb. Romeo & Primetime dance afterwards! I love this team! Well now I am sad WCW ended because we did not get more Primetime/Romeo goodness. They stuck with the tried and true formula sprinkled in some great spots, solid heel work and Rey Rey is such an elite wrestler that he adds that little sumthin sumthin to matches like this. Probably the best match of WCW's last 18 months. ****

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WCW World Heavyweight Champion Scott Steiner vs Diamond Dallas Page - WCW Greed

My main man, DDP, looks to give one last stellar performance on WCW's last ever PPV main event, but it just was not to be. DDP's magic of 1997-1999 has faded and it looks like Father Time has finally caught up to him. He was still one helluva promo as showcased in the pre-match hype video. Where he explains he is the last of the WCW standard-bearers and that no matter how brutal the attacks have been he still has the great equalizer, the Diamond Cutter. He could talk the talk, but he just couldn't walk the walk. The punches did not have the same zip and his step did not have the same pep. I love the Scotty Steiner character at this point as a totally despicable, vile human. I was hoping this would be a great Steiner match to add to his resume. It is too bad they did not turn Steiner earlier in his career. He was actually a pretty good bumper and stooge for babyfaces in addition to being violent. There were still some fun DDP spots early like his excellent flying clothesline, but then we descended into guardrail whips and obviously planted crutches and Paul London as a fan that Scotty Steiner badmouths. I actually liked the finish stretch though as DDP gave it one last burst of the old DDP. After the bearhug and suplexes, DDP had a great string on offense. I really liked the quick knee lift into a DDT. Steiner hit a nasty back elbow at on point. Shit is starting to heat up. Of course, we get some trademark DDP like the floatover DDT. He signals for the Diamond Cutter! BANG! I get why that went with Booker, but damn, the love I have built up for DDP, I really wish he was the last WCW champion and that was the finish. Instead, Rick Fucking Steiner pulls the ref out. I don't think I have ever seen Rick Steiner without his earguards. It is so weird. Anyways, they prolong the inevitable with some fun drama with weapons and submissions moves, but DDP passes out to the Steiner Recliner. Steiner puts out yet another WCW babyface legend. Steiner buries DDP in a Michigan flag! GO BLUE! I wish we were good at enough football when I went there to pull shit like that. It is a decent match, but really not worth seeing it besides for the novel value of being the last WCW PPV main event. Disappointing more than anything for me.

Best Matches World Championship Wrestling (WCW, 1992-1999)

Hey yo Stud Muffins & Foxy Ladies,

This will be a living blog post that details what I, Martin Boulevard (@superstarsleeze), believes are the best matches for World Championship Wrestling primarily focusing on 1995-1999, but a smattering of 92 & 93. As I finish 2000&2001 and then go back to the Turner Buyout, this list will be updated.

Matches will be grouped based on star rating level. Within a star rating level they will be list chronologically. Links to reviews will eventually be posted.

***** Matches

WCW World Heavyweight Champion Sting vs Vader - Great American Bash 1992

****3/4 Matches

Sting vs Vader - Starrcade 1992

WCW World Heavyweight Champion Vader vs Sting - SuperBrawl III Strap Match

WCW World Cruiserweight Champion Eddy Guerrero vs Rey Misterio Jr. 
Halloween Havoc 1997 Title vs. Mask

****1/2 Matches

Ric Flair vs Randy Savage - Great American Bash 1995

WCW World Cruiserweight Champion Dean Malenko vs Rey Misterio Jr. 
Great American Bash 1996

Rey Misterio Jr. vs Psicosis - Bash At The Beach 1996

WCW United States Champion Diamond Dallas Page vs Chris Benoit - SuperBrawl VIII

*Chris Benoit & Dean Malenko vs Eddy Guerrero & Chris Jericho - Brian Hildebrand Tribute*
*Technically not a WCW promoted match, but featured all WCW talent*

WCW World Heavyweight Champion Diamond Dallas Page vs Sting - WCW Nitro 4/26/99

Bret Hart vs Chris Benoit - WCW Nitro 10/4/99

Best Matches New Japan Pro Wrestling (2000-2009)

Hey yo Stud Muffins & Foxy Ladies,

This will be a living blog post that details what I, Martin Boulevard (@superstarsleeze), believes are the best matches for New Japan Pro Wrestling from 2000-2009. As I continue watching 2010 & beyond and 1999 back into the 1970s, this list will be updated.

Matches will be grouped based on star rating level. Within a star rating level they will be list chronologically. Links to reviews will eventually be posted.

***** Matches

Toshiaki Kawada & Masa Fuchi vs Yuji Nagata & Takashi Iizuka - NJ PPV 12/14/00

NJPW I-C Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Shinsuke Nakamura - 4/6/14

****3/4 Matches

IWGP Heavyweight Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Yuji Nagata- NJPW 4/13/07

IWGP Heavyweight Champion AJ Styles vs Minoru Suzuki - NJPW G-1 Climax 2014

****1/2 Matches

Hashimoto & Iizuka vs Ogawa & Murkami - Tokyo Dome 01/04/00

IWGP Heavyweight Champion Genichiro Tenryu vs Kensuke Sasaki - 01/04/00

IWGP Jr Hvywt Tag Champs Ohtani & Takaiwa vs Kanemoto & Minoru - NJPW  6/25/00

IWGP Champion Kensuke Sasaki vs Toshiaki Kawada - 10/00 Tokyo Dome Non-Title

IWGP Jr Heavyweight Champion Minoru Tanaka vs Takehiro Murahama - NJPW 4/20/01

IWGP Heavyweight Champion Yuji Nagata vs Kazunari Murakami - NJPW 12/12/02 

IWGP Heavyweight Champion Yuji Nagata vs Togi Makabe - NJPW 07/06/07

 Fujita Jr. Hayato vs Koji Kanemoto - NJPW Super J Cup 12/02/09

Katsuyori Shibata vs Tomoaki Honma - NJPW G-1 Climax 2014

Kazuchika Okada vs Shinsuke Nakamura - G-1 Climax Finals 2014

Best Matches All Japan Pro Wrestling (2000-2009)

Hey yo Stud Muffins & Foxy Ladies,

This will be a living blog post that details what I, Martin Boulevard (@superstarsleeze), believes are the best matches for All Japan Pro Wrestling from 2000-2009. As I continue watching 2010 and beyond and from 1999 back to the 1970s, this list will be updated.

Matches will be grouped based on star rating level. Within a star rating level they will be list chronologically. Links to reviews will eventually be posted.

***** Matches

Mitsuharu Misawa vs Jun Akiyama - Budokan 02/27/00

All Japan Triple Crown Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Yoshihiro Takayama - All Japan 05/26/00

All Japan Triple Crown Champion Genichiro Tenryu vs Keiji Mutoh - Budokan 6/8/01

****3/4 Matches

****1/2 Matches

Keiji Mutoh vs Toshiaki Kawada - Champions Carnival 04/01

Best Matches Pro Wrestling NOAH (2000-2009)

Hey yo Stud Muffins & Foxy Ladies,

This will be a living blog post that details what I, Martin Boulevard (@superstarsleeze), believes are the best matches for Pro Wrestling NOAH from 2000-2009. As I continue watching 2010 and beyond, this list will be updated.

Matches will be grouped based on star rating level. Within a star rating level they will be list chronologically. Links to reviews will eventually be posted.


***** Matches

GHC Heavyweight Champion Mitsuharu Misawa vs Kenta Kobashi - Budokan 03/01/03

GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Yoshihiro Takayama - Budokan 04/25/04

GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Yoshinari Ogawa – Budokan 11/01/03 

****3/4 Matches

Mitsuharu Misawa vs Yoshihiro Takayama - Vacant GHC Title 04/15/01

GHC Tag Team Champions Misawa & Ogawa vs KENTAFuji  Budokan 04/25/04

Kenta Kobashi & Akira Taue vs Genichiro Tenryu & Jun Akiyama - Budokan 9/18/05



****1/2 Matches

Kenta Kobashi vs Jun Akiyama - Budokan 12/23/00

GHC Heavyweight Champion Mitsuharu Misawa vs Akira Taue - Budokan 5/01

GHC Champion Mitsuharu Misawa vs Jun Akiyama - Budokan 07/27/01

GHC Heavyweight Champion Yoshinari Ogawa vs Yoshihiro Takayama - NOAH 9/7/02

GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Akira Taue - NOAH 09/10/04

Kenta Kobashi & Go Shiozaki vs Jun Akiyama & Genichiro Tenryu - Budokan 4/24/2005

GHC Jr. Heavyweight Champion KENTA vs. SUWA - Budokan 9/18/05 

Kenta Kobashi & Go Shiozaki vs Kensuke Sasaki/Katsuhiko Nakajima - NOAH 11/5/05

GHC Heavyweight Champion Akira Taue vs Jun Akiyama - Budokan 01/22/06

KENTA vs Bryan Danielson - NOAH 12/2/06

Kenta Kobashi & Yoshihiro Takayama vs Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama - 12/02/07

 GHC Jr. Heavyweight Champion KENTA vs Kotaro Suzuki - NOAH 1/25/09 

GHC Heavyweight Champion Takeshi Morishima vs Kensuke Sasaki - Budokan 9/6/08

A Mysterious King: Rey Misterio Jr., Dean Malenko, Psicosis (WCW, 1996)

Hey yo Stud Muffins & Foxy Ladies,

Calling all Tufts Students, Superstar Sleeze needs your help! Our Sleeze Queen, the Gutter-Glam Goddess and MY Future Ex-Wife, Ke$ha is playing at Tufts University. The curmudgeons over at Tufts are restricting access to Tufts undergraduates only. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! I am going on almost two years of withdrawal since the most spectacular live act in vivid color. So please help me see the greatest artist of our generation one more time!

Who do you want me to be so that you will sleep with me?

Speaking of revolutionary forces in the field of entertainment, has there been anybody as revolutionary and influential as Rey Misterio Jr. in the past two decades? He did not just break barriers for the Latino and smaller stature wrestler community he demolished them. He introduced lucha libre wrestling style and the traditions of lucha libre to a widescale American audience for the first time. Of course, his groundbreaking high-flying acrobatics took our breath away and have been imitated, but never quite duplicated. To be a pioneer of his magnitude, it is not enough just to be different and be good at your craft. You have to excel like few others in the history of your industry. A cool mask and some fancy moves will only take you so far as many luchadors or indy wrestlers will tell you. In order to be as influential and ground-breaking as Rey Misterio, you have to make people invest in you as a character. It is the richness of Rey Misterio's total understanding of professional wrestling that made him one of the greatest wrestlers in the history of this great industry. All of facets of Rey, I mentioned above, shaped pro wrestling into a totally different beast from pre-Rey to post-Rey, but it was something simple and a known commodity that allowed Rey to shine, break these barriers down and influence pro wrestling. It was his heart and the story of the underdog. Rey did not pioneer that. We have known that story since Biblical Times. Rey repackaged that story in the body of an undersized Mexican-American, who had no business being the absolute megastar he was in the United States of America based on previous history.  

World Championship Wrestling did not discover Rey Misterio obviously. He was a part of the infamous Tijuana circuit that produced the likes of Konnan and Psicosis. Eventually, he made his way to the upstart AAA promotion that was running counter to CMLL (oldest pro wrestling promotion in the world). His first American exposure was the When Worlds Collide PPV in 1994 where AAA presented a PPV on American PPV stations with English commentary. From there, he would travel to Japan and ECW wrestling showcase matches against his perpetual arch-nemesis, Psicosis. In June of 1996, the enigmatic Antonio Inoki held his World Wrestling Peace Festival in Los Angeles with American, Japanese and Mexican promotions participating. The match of the festival was the Rey Misterio Jr & Ultimo Dragon vs Psicosis & Heavy Metal tag team match. The match served as an showcase for Misterio's offensive talents and the story sold on WCW TV was the officials were impressed and booked him for the Great American Bash 1996 against Cruiserweight Champion Dean Malenko.

One contentious debate about the internet was WCW running contrary to the normal booking model of bringing Rey into your promotion. Standard practice was to pit him against rival Psicosis who as a big bumping heel could make Rey look like a million bucks. WCW being WCW never does anything the logical way instead put Rey against the dry Dean Malenko. While I agree with the critics that it was not the perfect match to WOW the fans and I do think they should have given Rey one or two big highspots early. The match was structured to demonstrate to the fans he was not all sizzle and no substance because he was able to show his heart. His verbal selling was on full display. Credit where credit is due Malenko worked an all-time great heat segment that had the fans totally invested in the underdog character even before they saw all his incredible moves. At the Bash at the Beach, Rey Misterio and Psicosis did their touring showcase match, which in my opinion is their best match outside of Mexico. Psicosis was an incredible talent that could go from a big bumping clown to the a sadistic prick at the drop of the hat. The Bash At The Beach showed both in top form. In the course of two months, Rey Misterio was a sensation and his victory over Dean Malenko the next night on Nitro to win the Cruiserweight Championship cemented that and resurrected the Cruiserweight division, which looked dead on arrival. Finally, Rey also was the best opponent in the career of Dean Malenko. Dean, who more often than not, was incredibly dry and mechanical was able to work incredible matches thanks to the selling and highspots of Rey Mysterio, which mixed perfectly with Dean Malenko's offensive stylings.

Rey Misterio's 1996 will go down as one of the all-time great years with incredible matches in ECW, WCW, WAR and AAA. As a fan, I am just glad I get to live in a world with Rey Misterio Jr.

Match Listing:

Rey Misterio Jr & Ultimo Dragon vs Psicosis & Heavy Metal 

 World Wrestling Peace Festival 1996

Really fun, crowd-pleasing exhibition of the technicos offense and the rudos bumping.

WCW Cruiserweight Champion Dean Malenko vs Rey Misterio Jr.

Great American Bash 1996 ****1/2

Classic heat segment with Malenko working the arm. Awesome Rey Verbal Selling. Great Finish Stretch.

Rey Misterio Jr. vs Psicosis – Bash At The Beach 1996 ****1/2

WOW! A perfect way to showcase the spots, but still within the framework of two archrivals struggling to win a match.

WCW World Cruiserweight Champion Dean Malenko vs Rey Misterio Jr. - WCW Nitro 7/8/96

Awesome shine! Weird finish. Great moment in Nitro history.

WCW Cruiserweight Champion Rey Misterio Jr. vs Dean Malenko 

WCW Halloween Havoc 1996 ****1/4

Awesome finish stretch. Malenko is hungry to win his title back and Mysterio thwarts with speed and daring.

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Rey Misterio Jr & Ultimo Dragon vs Psicosis & Heavy Metal 

 World Wrestling Peace Festival 1996

Wow, the rudos get even less in this than I remember. Don't get me wrong, this is an incredibly fun exhibition of the techinco's abilities and rudo's bumping and a total feel good match. When you are promoting Peace through wrestling I can't think of a better match as it features Rey and Dragon at their crowd pleasing best and Psicosis at his most selfless. Besides an early Psicosis guillotine, this was the Rey show with just breath-taking spot getting a bigger and bigger pop. Psicosis was a total pro taking all of Rey's ranas and insane dives. Dragon and Heavy Metal was perfect for what it was with Dragon showing off his kicks and quick movements. I loved Psicosis not being to catch Dragon in the corner with repeated strikes and then the crazy bump he took over the top turnbuckle. The dive train in this was awesome. You kinda miss Rey's somersault plancha, but then all of sudden you have a Psicosis crashing into your scene full force. I thought Dragon would go Asai, but he when with a somersault off the top so Rey could do a corkscrew Asai moonsault. To set that corkscrew Asai moonsault up, Psicosis takes my all time favorite bump the slide on your belly to the floor bump (usually a Rey Rey bump). Heavy Metal follows that up with another favorite bump of mine when technico kicks the rudo's feet from under him and he flies into the ropes/turnbuckles ass-first. A Tiger Suplex gives the technicos the victory to a big pop. One of those matches that will always bring you up when you're down, but without more offense from the heels it just feels like an exhibition. ***1/2

WCW Cruiserweight Champion Dean Malenko vs Rey Misterio Jr.

Great American Bash 1996 

This match simultaneously salvaged the fledging cruiserweight division and made it into a sensation over night. This match is the best exhibition of Malenko’s chain wrestling being entertaining and working well within the confines of the layout. Malenko knows he cannot let Rey create space between them or otherwise face the damage of Rey’s vaunted aerial attack. If he can ground Rey, he eliminates that threat. That is the crux of the match Rey trying to squirm away from Malenko and Malenko trying to wrangle Rey.

From the outset, Malenko is one who is able to strike first with a cool looking Greco-Roman knucklelock arm snapping-thingy. It looked sweet trust me. He works over that arm relentlessly and convincingly with a great variety of moves. It always feels like he is trying to gain a new advantage or add a different degree of pain to Rey’s arm to keep him off-balance. My favorite moment is a flying hammerlock into a kimura that just looks so fuckin sweet. The key in this control segment is that Rey still has hope spots. This was Rey’s debut and it was critical to have these hope spots especially when he did not get an opening shine or you run the risk of jobberizing him.

As the match progresses and Dean is still struggling to put Rey away, you come to see a recurring theme with Malenko he does show emotion. Dean is not more relatable wrestler or the best seller, but he is really good at selling frustration at the inability to put an opponent away. This combined with Rey’s resilience and sympathetic underdog selling creates a very powerful story for the audience that is rooting for the underdog in this debut match against the champion.

When Dean finally does lose control, Rey unleashes that arsenal of aerial maneuvers, which both wow the fans and does a good job displaying why Dean was working so hard to ground Rey. The finish is thrilling with Rey’s quick pinfall attempts and all his quick counters. However, he finally succumbs to a massive powerbomb by Dean, who puts his feet on the ropes for three. The finish is a satisfying climax to this cat and mouse game. Rey looks like a champ with hot finish and Dean is able to retain due to one big move.

Most of what I have read has been in favor of declaring this match a classic, but it feels that many feel the need to defend it against a vocal minority that believes Dean gobbled up Rey for too long. Now, if Dean just sat in an armbar for the entirety of his lengthy heat segment, I would agree. Dean was really active with a lot of gnarly submissions and high-impact blows into pinfalls. It truly felt like he was trying to win a match and I can appreciate that. I think where these critics have a point is that Dean should not have immediately entered into a heat segment. In their subsequent Nitro match in July, Rey has a really cool babyface shine to open it. In that match, it really sets up the idea of what Dean has to fear. If Dean can not ground him, Rey will have him going in circles and Dean really sells that frustration in that match well. In this match, you don’t really get the feeling that Dean has anything to worry about in the context of the match because Rey did not open with anything. The drama in the Great American Bash would have been greatly enhanced by allowing Rey to hit a couple big moves off the bat to demonstrate how he lethal he could be. Since I brought up the Nitro match, the big problem with that match is that Malenko’s heat segment really meanders and is not really as good as this one. The Great American Bash match is a better complete match.

In sum, I think if you tack the babyface shine segment from the Nitro match and splice it into the Great American Bash match you have a Match of the Year Candidate for 1996. As is, it is one of three best matches from 1996 in WCW (Mysterio/Psychosis), but just cant compete with the All Japan and othere matches of 1996. This heat segment definitively proves in my mind that Dean Malenko is not boring. Can he be boring? Yes and we will see that! But he definitely can be a fuckin fantastic offensive wrestler. I think Dean’s strong suit is as a heel. Malenko is one of the few American wrestlers to always be straddling the face/heel line. I think if the booking team just went full bore with Dean as a sadistic, ground-based heel he would have had more entertaining matches consistently. This match showed how effective he could be as a yin to Mysterio’s yang. Mysterio for his part continued his campaign to be best wrestler in North America. I agree that Mysterio should have worked the majority of the match from underneath. His selling endeared him to the fans, his hope spots were well-timed to keep the audience engaged, and the match was structured to give his aerial spots time to breathe and seem more important to the audience. In the Dragon match, he will not be so lucky. 

One thing I want to debunk is that at least initially the commentary team (sans the Brain) did a very good job trying to get over the cruiserweights. You could feel how excited Dusty was to watch them and how much he enjoyed their work. As time progressed, of course like with all things in the mid-card, the WCW commentary team would just ignore it and talk about the Hogan-related item of the night. ****1/2

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Rey Misterio Jr. vs Psicosis – Bash At The Beach 1996

Growing up, Psicosis was one of my favorite wrestlers just based on look alone. I would argue that he had even cooler costume than La Parka, but La Parka had the dance moves & chair so it was a close call. I was always disappointed that he was never featured at the same level of Rey Misterio or Juventud Guerrera. It turns out these childhood feelings have been validated by the fact that Psicosis is really fucking good. Both going back through the old footage and reading other people’s opinions that Psicosis is one of the best workers in the world in the mid-90s. Unfortunately, he was not able to sustain his greatness in the late 90s while his arch-nemesise, Rey Misterio Jr. really took off. Misterio and Psicosis have a history that dates back to Tijuana wrestling scene of the 90s. Psicosis was the clown, base and vicious heel to Rey Misterio’s undersized underdog with revolutionary high-flying. They were the perfect mix and they took their act on tour. From their home promotion of AAA (an upstart lucha libre promotion challenging CMLL think the American League or AFL), they travelled to Japan to wow the crowds there and then came to Philadelphia to the little promotion that could, ECW. In 1996, in an effort to further differentiate WCW from WWF, Eric Bischoff brought in a small army of luchadores to populate the fledging WCW cruiserweight division. So logically, the hottest match of 1995 was featured for the first time for a wide scale American audience when Rey Misterio and Psicosis locked up at Bash At The Beach 1996.

It would be so easy for Misterio and Psicosis to just hit a myriad of mind-numbing highspots to astonish and amaze a virgin audience, but what makes these two among the all-time greats is how they transition and build to those highspots for maximum sensory impact. For that reason, this match holds up as one of the best matches in the history of WCW and one of the best PPV openers in any company of all time. Psicosis is consummate heel in this match. He knows when to let Rey shine and when to get vicious to put that heat on Rey. It is a great selfless performance that makes Rey look one of the biggest stars of the world, but in doing so elevates himself and the match. It was surprising to me that first highspot went to Psicosis with a gorgeous suicide dive over the top rope. Unlike all the wussy dives through the ropes recently, this one really wipes Rey out. Psicosis is just great laying down a wicked beating on Rey. Rey is so great at verbal selling as Psicosis whips, chops and slams him. Psicosis nails him with a top rope guillotine leg drop. There is a definite sense of Psicosis attacking the neck and looking to take the wind out of the high-flying Misterio, which is a great strategy against the quick Rey Rey. Psicosis takes his first crazy, hellacious bump, which is a monkey flip on the apron that propels him into the post. WOW! Misterio hits a rana off the apron and then a springboard hurricanrana spikes Psicosis only gets two. The match never feels like an exhibition even the objective of the match is to showcase these crazy spots. The competitors still care about the win and loss. Psicosis does a great job selling his knee after a Rey dropkicks his knee. Trying to chop down the bigger man is not a bad strategy for Rey especially after getting his ass kicked for a good chunk there. Psicosis quashes the Misterio comeback with a droptoehold and locks on a nasty headscissors. I loved Rey’s screams. One of the best worked headscissors I have ever seen and a perfect use of it: a heel who needs to stop the bleeding and sap the energy from a babyface. Good stuff.  Psicosis is targeting the neck again as he sends him flying into the top rope. Rey powders to catch his breath, but Psicosis is right on him dropping him neck first on the railing. Then he hits a senton from the top rope to the floor. WOW! Psicosis’ offense is breath-taking and violent, perfect. Back in the ring, Psicosis applies a camel clutch and fishhooks him. Psicosis is just fucking killing it. Misterio is like Woah, woah I am pretty fucking good too so he busts out a cartwheel into a hurricanarana and a mind-blowing top rope hurricanarana onto Psicosis that was standing on the apron. Holy shit, I think all these spots would still blow the majority of WWE’s current audience’s mind in 2015. Psicosis takes one of my favorite bumps when he gets dropkicked in the back of the head, he slides belly first onto the floor. Misterio hits a twisting corkscrew Asai Moonsault and everybody loses their shit. You can tell how much Tenay loved calling that while Dusty and Bobby were just like What the Fuck. I think while Bobby would vacillate between not giving a shit and putting over the crusierweights, The Dream seemed to be really entertained by them and in his own way put them over at every chance. Psicosis is able to catch Rey with a powerbomb and it actually looks really good. Psicosis is looking for Splash Mountain and Rey hits a crazy rana to win the match. WOW!

I have seen this match a couple times before and I am always blown away by how good it is. Matches that revolve around showcasing spots usually don’t age that well, but this match was as character-driven as it was spot-driven. Not to mention, these spots were crazy awesome and hold up totally. To me a heel is selfless, big bumping and vicious. Psicosis just had that in spades. He took two crazy bumps and hit some amazing highspots. He was always vicious with how he attacked Misterio. Misterio is just an all time great. His verbal selling was off the charts and he was great as a ragdoll for Psicosis to throw around, but when it came to blow people’s minds. He never failed. That finish run is just one incredible highspot after the other all with the purpose of winning the match. Definitely a contender for best WCW match of 90s and a testament to the greatness of the Rey Misterio/Psicosis series. ****1/2

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WCW World Cruiserweight Champion Dean Malenko vs Rey Misterio Jr. - WCW Nitro 7/8/96

I have said it before and I will say it again if you put this shine on the Great American Bash match and you have an all-time classic. This shine is perfect for whetting the fan's appetites for how exciting Rey can be. It makes them invest more in the heat segment because they want to see the grand finale. From a strictly kayfabe perspective, it establishes what Malenko has to worry about. If he can't control him, Misterio is going to dictate the pace with armdrags, ranas and dropkicks and keep him off balance. Once Malenko grabs a a hold of him with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker he does not let go. He alternates between controlling holds (surfboard, camel clutch) to regain his energy & sap Rey's and nasty throws like the butterfly powerbomb and hanging him out to dry on the ropes. Once again, when Rey can create space he is deadly as he snaps off a rana to the floor and hits an Asai Moonsault, now granted this was not the smoothest exchange, but it was the right idea. I hated Dean picking Rey up towards the end when he had him after super gutbuster and again after another suplex. Did not fit Dean's characters and there was no storyline motivation. Rey winning with an out of nowhere hurricanarana was an awesome way to kick off the most important Nitro in history coming after the Hogan heel turn. It pops the crowd and gives them something feel good after Hogan just turned heel. Plus, Rey totally deserved it. The blown spots and Malenko pulling Rey up hurts this from being one of the all time great Nitro cruiserweight matches, but still very entertaining. ***1/2

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WCW Cruiserweight Champion Rey Misterio Jr. vs Dean Malenko 

WCW Halloween Havoc 1996

They are afforded to have an extended version of their Nitro sprint and they do not disappoint with an unheralded classic. They utilized the extra time wisely to have Rey sell more convincingly and really milk it before his spectacular comeback. Malenko worked a similar heat segment to the Nitro match vacillating between holds and high impact blows and throws. Where the time really came in handy was in the beginning and end. Before the match, Malenko was pissed that he came in with a two match losing streak to the champion and wanted his belt back. So in order to get into his head, he stole Rey's mask to get into his head. Right at the beginning, the usually reserved Malenko wasted no time jumpstarting the match with blows and throws. He even looked to hook up the Texas Cloverleaf early. Rey desperately escaped and seemed a bit overwhelmed. However, once he was able to create some space and use his quickness to keep Malenko off balance he had Malenko looking like a fool tripping on his face. Rey punctuates this great shine segment with a somersault plancha and regains the stolen mask. I love little victories inside a match. I also loved that Rey Rey had to earn that shine over an early Malenko onslaught. Probably, my favorite part of the match to be honest. Malenko catches Rey on a rana attempt and slams him. He works a solid heat segment making sure to pepper in highspots to keep the crowd involved while he worked holds to keep Rey grounded. The heat segment at Great American Bash was world class and it is hard to compare, but this is a step down. There either needed to be more direction or more Rey hope spots to take this to the next level. I thought the Great American Bash match also featured more Rey verbal selling. I really did like the instances of Rey crawling away from Malenko to the apron gets attacked and then tries to crawl to the other side. There was great Rey selling, but I don't think it was as showcased. They both head to the top and they simultaneously punch each off the top, which I was not a fan of that spot, but the finish run we get is just excellent. Rey hits a tremendous springbaord somersault plancha in the ring that Malenko takes beautifully and is a contender for best Rey spot of the year in a year loaded with them. After struggle between both to negotiate a pinfall, Misterio gets a two and follows up on Malenko with a corkscrew Asai Moonsault well there is another one for the highlight reel. Misterio gets the exact hurricanarana that won him the title, but Malenko kicks out. Tony exclaims that he had never seen someone kick out of that predicament. Ruh Roh! Undeterred, Misterio looks to hit the springboard version and rallies the crowd, but Malenko has a different idea with a POWERBOMB! That should have been the finish. Live by the sword, die by the sword is a favorite finish genre of mine so I am biased. Malenko is looking for his Super Gutbuster, but Misterio looks to counter with top rope Frankensteiner, but we end up with a SUPER GUTWRENCH POWERBOMB!

The shine of the Nitro match with the heat segment of the GAB match and the finish of this match and at the very least you have a contender for the greatest match in WCW history. This is just a tremendous series and this match features some of the most exciting moments in WCW Crusierweight history. Rey was just awesome in the beginning, his selling was great in the heat segment, but not as highlighted as before and the finish stretch was paced perfectly with escalation between spots. Malenko worked a strong heat segment that did a go a bit long without action towards the end, but more than made up for it by telling the great story of a man obsessed with the winning championship. He had Rey scouted. He kicked out of the rana that cost him the title and he crushed Rey on the springboard rana. Then when it came down to the end and it was anyone's ball game on the top rope, Malenko showed that he wanted it just that much more. ****1/4

The Juice Runs NITRO: Juventud Guerrera, Billy Kidman (WCW Cruiserweights 1998)

Hey yo Stud Muffins & Foxy Ladies,

Sing Hallelujah!  For the great weather has returned to God's Country, the Boston Metro Area and the smiles will be wider, the eyes bigger and the juice will flow down her leg like never before! 

THE JUICE IS LOOSE!

Speaking of the Juice, hot damn, but Juventud Guerrera was badass pro wrestler in WCW with some really tremendous high end offense. If Rey was the underdog that could sell his ass of and Psicosis was the big bumping clown, then Juventud was the stiff striking, bomb-throwing badass of the WCW luchadores. I have not watched any of his high end AAA work from the 90s, but it is definitely something I will be looking to check out sooner rather than later. In WCW, while his offense was superb was he was rarely put in positions to have really great matches. For instance, Rey Mysterio and Juvy never even had a PPV match. It really is such a shame because their Thunder match in 1998 was such a great TV match. Think about this, Rey Mysterio was just weeks away from going on the shelf for six months for a knee injury and even with that huge brace on his knee, they still managed to put together one of the best Thunder matches in history (not much competition, for the record DDP vs Benoit from May 1999 is my choice for best Thunder match). One of Juventud's most high profile matches happened shortly after as he faced the heat-seeking Chris Jericho at SuperBrawl VIII in a title vs mask match. Juventud became the first luchador to lose his mask in WCW, which did add to Jericho's heat quite a bit before Jericho really hit that next level in the Malenko feud. However, the match, which I saw a couple years ago is really nothing that special, which is really the lone issue with Jericho's amazing cruiserweight title reign in 1998. 

The Jericho title reign in 1998 is probably one of the most fondly remembered late 90s WCW characters for good reason. As a child, I hated that whiny, spoiled brat. In fact, the first time I ever swore was to declare that Jericho sucks and my mom was none too happy about that! The Jericho heel promos whether as a sore loser, attacking Malenko's family or as conspiracy victim are among the best work of his career and some of the best promos in wrestling history. What was missing from this time period were the great matches. Jericho just was never able to have that true classic needed to make this run one of the all-time best. While Malenko was his main adversary, Malenko never did get his final victory instead it was the man Jericho first wronged, the Youth Warrior. Juventud Guerrera that got the last laugh. Before Rey got the Giant Killer run, Juvy did a similar angle against the Flock's Big Man, the former YET-EH! Juvy was able to survive his dry humping tactics to win the match and as Juvy continued his feud against the Flock, he won the Cruiserweight Championship from Chris Jericho at Road Wild 1998 (a show my family purchased, I do not know why!).

Thus we enter the main meat of this blog, the unheralded but very fun Juvytud vs Kidman cruiserweight championship feud. Saturn had freed the the Flock from Raven's control at Fall Brawl 1998 with Kidman playing a crucial role in doing so. Following that hot angle, Kidman was super over and WCW capitalized on this with some rare good booking promptly putting him over Juvy for the title the next night on Nitro. That's how you keep someone hot. They would continue their feud over the course of the next weeks with Disco Inferno intervening at times. They had their best match on an episode of Nitro in November where Juventud's high-end offense was on full display and Billy Kidman exhibited his excellent counterwrestling ability. I was really impressed with Kidman in this run. He was laying in his offense and had no trouble keeping up with Juventud. I thought he timed his counters perfectly and he felt like he really had an answer for everything Juvy was throwing at him. The finish run is one of the best I have seen in late 90s WCW and really should be checked out. 

At the World War III match, Juventud had just joined Eddie Guerrero's LWO and seemed to be getting used to his newfound heeldom or was just having an off night. I thought Kidman more than picked up the slack with some really snug offense, great selling and some big bumps. Check that one out for Kidman's performance, might be the best of his career. However, Rey Mysterio was not a fan of Eddy's LWO tactics and came out to cost Juvy the match. This led to a triple threat match between the three for the cruiserweights at WCW's biggest show of the year, Starrcade. Normally, I hate multi-man matches, but they did a really great job in this match to include all three men at all times. That means creative spots for the three of them plus they utilized third man to constantly save that afforded a means to protect finishers, but still build drama. I really liked the finish a lot with Rey trying to break up a pin, but in fact allowing Kidman to win the match, reverse Eddy's interference and he could not doing anything about due to his knee. After the match, Eddy just cuts an absolutely scathing promo and calls Kidman out. Yes, please to more cruiserweight goodness. Eddy had a rough 1998 after amazing heel run in late 1997 working as the overzealous uncle of Chavo Guerrero Jr. In the LWO, it looked like Eddie was finding his stride all over again, before a horrible car accident almost cost him his life. Here at Starrcade 1998, Eddie showed why he is one of the greatest of all time mixing in awesome offense with incredible heeling. God, what I would give to have one heel that was half as good as Eddie at heeling. Then to top it, he wrestled half of the match in one workman's boot and a sock. Now he is just showing off. It was a great underdog match from Kidman with some fun extracurriculars from Juvy and Rey Rey. Would have loved to see what these guys could do with a fresh Kidman at the next PPV. 

While late 1998, did not feature the classics of 1996 and 1997, Juventud Guerrera and Kidman showed promise to be the new standard-bearers of the division and that could have delighted fans into next year, but it was not be. By May, WCW was fucked up by administration and booking standpoint that it was hard for anybody to get over or have a great match. It was not just WCW in disarray as Juvy was a known heavy partier and his personal demons pretty much ruined the rest of his career, a career showed all the promise to be Rey Mysterio's equal in USA or Mexico. But for us fans, we will always have his 1998 run to remember the hard-chopping, brainbuster-dropping Juventud Guerrera. 

SING HALLELUJAH!

WCW Crusierweight Champion Juventud Guerrera vs Rey Mysterio Jr - WCW Thunder 1/15/98

Juventud Guerrera, had just beaten Ultimo Dragon for the title, who had just beaten Eddie Guerrero for the title. It was hard to have a long reign with the Crusierweight Championship. Rewatching these crusierweight matches, I forgot how awesome Juventud was. I was always a big fan of Psychosis, La Parka, and Rey Mysterio, but my memories of Juventud were that he was good, but just not one of my favorites. He was been a total offensive dynamo. Rey Mysterio has great offense, but his bread and butter is his selling, just like Psychosis' is his bumping. Juventud may have the best offense from an asskicking perspective. Once he got control with a crazy catapult over the top rope (incredible Rey bump on a legitimately hurt knee), it did not look he was ever going to let up with chops, brainbuster, springboard legdrop and an incredible top rope suicide dive. Even when Rey gets a desperation monkey flip to send him into the post. He jumps keeps coming like the Creature from the Black Lagoon. I love that lucha spot where you get kicked in the back of the leg as your running and you run ass first into the top rope. I loved the heat strike exchange between the two. Damn, I forgot how hard the luchadores hit. Rey makes his comeback, which is sort-lived from a Juvy powerbomb. Juvy looks to polish him off with 450 Splash, but Rey moves and nabs the title on a hurricanrana. This match was perfect for what it needed to be. Rey was alreadye established as a star and in order to make Juventud still look a big shot, Juventud gets to kick ass for the majority of the match. Rey is able to sell and make Juvy look great. Then when it comes time to get the booking right for Jericho Rey makes a quick comeback to win. You get the Rey/Jericho match you want for Souled Out and Juventud still looks strong for a future title defense. ***1/2

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WCW Cruiserweright Champion Juventud Guerrera vs Kidman - WCW Nitro 9/14/98

Gotta commend the WCW booking team on this one, exactly how you build on a hot babyface turn. They parlay the heat of Kidman's face turn and give him a run with the cruiserweight title and it gets a lot of fanfare. The match itself is a good match, but to me this one is more about the evolution of the Kidman character from misguided junkie to cleaned-up babyface making the most of his second chance. The crowd responded in turn by cheering him throughout and popping huge for his victory. It was a little weird that Kidman took most of the offense when he really did not have enough offense to carry a match at this point and plus as a sympathetic, underdog character you think getting some heat on him would make sense. I really liked Juvy's offense in other matches and would have him to get a couple more memorable spots in. Overall, it was paced as an even back and forth bout with Kidman in charge for the most of it and did not really kick in until Kidman reversed some Juvy's aerial moves into some sick suplexes. The reverse suplex out of the Juvy Driver was a great nearfall. I thought the finish was good shit, but did not really much else to support it. Still a great victory for Kidman and strong booking by WCW. They mentioned Juvy had a match with Silver King the night before at Fall Brawl and that piqued my interest. Is it any good?  

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WCW Crusierweight Champion Billy Kidman vs Juventud Guerrera - WCW Nitro 11/16/98

Billy Kidman, intelligent counterwrestler, was not the style I was expecting, but it definitely well-received by me. Almost at every turn, Kidman had an answer for Juvy's high-octane and aggressive offense. His ability to transition defense into offense was a really neat stylistic touch. Early on, he was able to take Juvy's movement transfer into a spinebuster then later dropkicking him off the apron leading to him hitting a plancha. What made this match even more special was Juvy really taking the time to sell all of Kidman's big moves and his own. You really got a sense of how high-risk these moves were when Juvy was selling his ass after a hard springboard legdrop. That was the story of the match, Juvy was dictating the pace of the match, but he was going to live and die by his moves. If he landed them, he was in the driver's seat, but Kidman's patience and counterwrestling ability like the facebuster out of the powerbomb or wheelbarrow suplex to avoid the bulldog was stymieing Juvy Juice. Before I get to the finish, I really liked Juvy playing to the crowd with the chops and the ten count punches in the corner. It really feels like Juvy has matured as an American wrestler. Juventud finally nails his big move the Juvy Driver, BUT he pulls back to hard on the cover and Kidman slips out. Again, Juventud's overzealousness costs him. He looks frustrated but tries to follow up with a top rope Frankensteiner. Kidman hits a low blow (WOW was not expecting that) and hit a slam off the top. 1-2-NO! Woah! I totally bit on that false finish. Kidman looks to seal the deal with a Shooting Star Press, but Juvy blocks and hits the 450 for the win. I really liked the story of Kidman's counterwrestling versus Juventud's high-risk offense. Kidman stooping to a low blow was a cool touch. I wish that Juvy did not just pop out to knock Kidman off his perch, but that's a small quibble. **** 

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WCW Cruiserweight Champion Juventud Guerrera vs Billy Kidman - WCW World War III '98

Juvytud is LWO 4 life and gives a very uneven performance. I have really liked what I have seen so far from Juvy, but he is missing that classic and I was hoping this may be it, but between the botches and the boring stalling, it was not to be. On the other hand, Kidman gave the best performance I have ever seen from him. He was so crisp on offense and everything was hit with intensity. You could feel him fighting hard to regain the Cruiserweight Championship. I loved the opening strike exchange between Kidman's forearms and Juvy's chops. It felt like they were fighting through each other. Juvy throws a mean chop and you get plenty of them in this match. However, now that he is a heel, he does a lot of stalling and it is just not good stalling. Kidman, being an expert counterwrestler, was able to cut Juvy off with moves like the BK Bomb, the whip into the corner with a follow up lariat with great velocity and fabulous, snug dropkick to catch Juvy off the top. Juventud finally consolidates an advantage with a slightly botched rana off the apron not exactly the easiest move. I liked the Brainbuster, but then he hits the chinlock. Juvy has two awesome short dropkicks to keep Kidman at bay. Kidman does a really nice job modulating his selling. Juventud is not able to pull of the difficult double jump dropkick between the rings. Kidman for his money hits a nice cross body from one ring to the other and takes a wicked bump from one ring to the ring's ropes. They do a great reversal exchange between Juvy Driver and the Reverse Suplex. Juventud's nearfall is a hurricanarana, but when he can't negotiate the pinfall, it is back to stalling. He tries to powerbomb Kidman and Kidman follows that up with an excellent wheelbarrow suplex. Instead of Kidman getting the clean win, Rey blocks Kidman from taking a top rope Frankensteiner so Kidman hits the Shooting Star Press to regain the title. the Rey interference furthers the Rey/LWO issue and Kidman still got a big pop for his victory. Kidman crushed it on this night, but Juvy was still getting used to being a pure American heel and was having a bit of an off night. The Nitro match is their best match in my opinion, but definitely check this out for a strong Kidman performance. ***1/2 

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WCW Cruiserweight Champion Billy Kidman vs Juventud Guerrera vs Rey Mysterio 

WCW Starrcade 1998

But does he love the Juice back?

Juventud Guerrera LOVES Dave Penzer. How do I know this? On his way to the ring, he points to Dave and exclaims "I LOVE YOU!". I have many wants in this world, add partying with Juvy Juice to them. I really liked this triple threat when I almost always hate them, but they definitely went past their expiration point. The heat was just rapidly dissipating towards the end. They could have been gassed. Rey was wearing a huge brace and years of partying may have caught up to Juvytud. I was little worried for the next match with Kidman since he looked fatigued here, but who am I to doubt Kidman? For a little background, Juvy is LWO 4 Life, Kidman is a gringo with their belt and Rey is begrudgingly in the LWO, but undermines Uncle Eddy at every turn. 

Rey Rey & Kidman foreshadowing their team that would last until the end of WCW team up to take it to The Juice. Juvy is such a funny stooge. Rey hits the nastiest Bronco Buster ever on Juvy. However, when he accidentally forearms Kidman it is on. Juvy is in the background egging them on so they deck him again. Awesome! My favorite spot was probably Rey on Kidman's shoulders ducking a Juvy top rope crossbody and then Kidmamn slamming Rey on Juvy with Rey getting a two count before Kidman yanks him off. JUVY CHOPS WOOOOOOO!!! This match needed more badass Juvy offense. Juventud hits a monster springboard splash to the outside. Two things really separate this from a normal triple threat. First is that everything is organic and sensible.  All three men are almost always involved and there are a ton of saves and rhythm breaks. I loved how everyone was going for covers and they using the third man to make all these saves. It stayed true to the spirit of pro wrestling. There are no elaborate spots, it is just people trying to execute their own shit, but then a third man comes and fucks it up. The other is that there is actually a progression of selling by all three men rather than weird I sell for a stretch then I am fine, rinse, lather, repeat.

Tony has this badass line, "In essence every man is wrestling a handicap match." I have never thought about a triple threat match like that, but it is so true. I miss Tony! Mike Tenay, on the other hand, is such a putz as he totally falls for Bobby's "Bill is here" joke with an exasperated "BILL WHO?" I had a good laugh. 

The finish has all the makings of a hot one, but just felt flat the way it was executed. Everyone gets a chance to shine Rey (Top Rope Asai Moonsault, Springboard Rana), Juvy (Juvy Driver) and Kidman (Shooting Star Press to the outside). Eddy wanders down to ringside to ensure a Juvy win and flips the cradle position. Rey dropkicks Juvy, but instead of breaking it up Kidman ends up on top and Rey just does not have strength for another save. Eddy's reaction at ringside is priceless with a great NNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I really the liked the finish and this was a very fun match that is a departure from the usual triple threat bullshit. ****

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WCW Cruiserweight Champion Billy Kidman vs Eddy Guerrero - WCW Starrcade 1998

Eddy cuts a scathing promo berating Juventud and Rey for their loss to a "sissy boy" and that they are morons. Eddy says when you want something done you have to do it yourself and challenges Kidman. However, when Kidman is ready to accept challenge right there and then, Eddy begs off and Kidman calls him a sissy. Eddy was so fucking awesome! "Eddy sucks!" fills the arena. Juventud is in Eddy's leather jacket and is still totally LWO 4 Life, Love it! STOP THE PRESSES! EDDY POWERBOMBED KIDMAN! They work a killer heat segment with Kidman peppering in hope spots and Eddy just bringing the violence (chops) and dickishness (ab stretch with some help from Juvy, but Rey breaks it up twice). Eddy shoves Rey, but then shoves Juvy too, great dynamic. Juvy still holds Kidman for Eddy to punch now that is sickening unwavering loyalty. Kidman starts to really mount a comeback, which leads to an awkward exchange in the corner eventually Eddy gets his workman's boot (steel-toed of course) and wallops Kidman. Eddy tries to put his boot back on and thinks better of it and chucks it at Rey. Eddy then wrestles quarter of the match in one boot and a sock, so badass! Eddy dropkicks the knee in a sock! On a bridging toehold, Rey bops Juvy on the top of the head with the boot and then hits Eddy. Too funny. I notice towards the end of this there is no heat, but I can't figure out why. Eddy has been stellar. The finish much like the last one features some great symmetry between Juvy and Rey crotching their respective enemies. Shooting Star Press and Kidman pulls the improbable task of beating the three best cruiserweights in two straight matches on the same night, quite the feather in the cap. Kidman was fine in his role of selling and hope spots, but this was the Eddy show and we were just on the ride. He was spectacular in this. ***3/4