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!
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| 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:
---------------------------------------------------
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
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
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