Die Hard: Diamond Dallas Page, Goldberg, Booker T (WCW, 1998)

Hey yo Stud Muffins & Foxy Ladies,

March Madness is upon us and all I know is that the Kentucky Wildcats are sporting a semi-pro team, but it only takes a second to take your eye off the prize to cost them their whole season. That being said, I will be going all in the Wildcats BABY! Tweet me @SuperstarSleeze for March Madness pool instructions.

FEEL THE BANG!

March Madness is upon us and it is only fitting as we enter the period where WCW was in total booking disarray. The year 1997 was interesting in that it is probably the greatest year in WCW history if you look at it comprehensively from all the different facets of wrestling being match quality, booking and financial. Besides one obvious match ( Eddie Guerrero vs Rey Mysterio Halloween Havc 1997), it does not have a consensus over the year's greatest match so I have been wading through it more thoroughly for that reason and because I enjoy the year as a whole. So I have skipped ahead to 1998. I start covering the main event matches and booking  of 1998 WCW in a previous blog series, which did not get finished. I know shocking. :( I will be skipping discussing that and focus on the mid-card.

The WCW midcard is a tale of two halves. The first half was dominated by Chris Benoit and Diamond Dallas Page and the second half saw a resurgence of the crusierweights around Juventud Guerrera, Billy Kidman, Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio Jr.. Chris Benoit is always a difficult subject. My personal take on the matter of evaluating his career and his matches is to treat him like any other wrestler, but to never glorify him beyond that. So I will analyze his work, but I will never advertise him in the title of the blog or make him seem to be a hero of any kind. For the first half of 1998, he was just in the zone in terms of being no-nonsense asskicker and the fans absolutely were behind him 100%. He was over huge against Raven and DDP. Fans are going to gravitate towards badasses and Benoit's relentless, tenacious, always moving forward attack appealed to men who like a vicious streak in their wrestlers.

 I disagree with any who says Benoit was booked poorly during this time period by WCW. The reason we are stuck with so many heatless wrestlers is because of the start-stop pushes. Straight up, there just was not room in the main event for Benoit at this time. Just like there was not room in the main event for Bret Hart in 1989 when he worked predominantly singles and it was teased he would be elevated. Vince was a genius for biding his time with Bret and waiting until 1991 to get the ball rolling. WCW had done a great job showcasing Benoit early against Guerrero & Malenko, making him a Horseman (huge distinction) and giving him a blood feud with Kevin Sullivan. The rest of his contemporaries traded belts and were treated as great competitors. Benoit had this gnarly and vicious side that made him perfect for a personal grudge feud which helped differentiate him from your Jerichos and Malenkos. He was the MVP of the 97 Wargames and worked a hot midcard feud with Raven & his Flock to end the year and move into 1998. In early 98, they started to elevate him into the title pictures, working with a huge star on the rise, DDP and another hot midcard act, Booker T. The problem was the follow-up or lack thereof. Benoit just disappears after June and resurfaces for the Horsemen reunion in September, but it is not really utilized again until early 1999 with Dean Malenko. That's when the booking of Benoit begins to show its cracks.

The Real People's Champion

As for Diamond Dallas Page, he is the only wrestler that is consistently booked well throughout 1998. I would argue he is booked even better than Goldberg and Hollywood Hogan. By the end of 1998 is a huge main event star that is wicked over and is a big asset in being able to have quality main event matches. I will cover this when I finish my look at WCW's main event scene of 1998. I just want to get over how crazy awesome 1998 was for DDP. In watching the footage again, I have been become a huge fan of DDP. Every performance drips with effort and it feels like a huge fight. I love his blue collar, die hard character. It is so relatable. He was the 90s version of Dusty Rhodes and I know from listening to his shoot interviews that would be a big compliment for him. Really watch these matches that I recommend because he is criminally underrated.

After a hot stretch in 1997, the match quality in the crusierweight division cooled off, but the interest level may have been at all time high during the awesome Chris Jericho/Dean Malenko. However, with the elevation of Jericho to the TV title and Malenko becoming a Horseman. The Crusierweight division found itself under the guidance of new blood, Billy Kidman and Juventud Guerrera. Having watched a lot of Juvy in the past couple days, he has been on fire and I had forgotten how good he is. Whereas Rey's bread and butter was the sell, Juventud brought the badass offense. He has a wicked chop and his dives looked like they would wipe you up. These two would be joined by two of the greatest wrestlers of all time, Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero and for a couple months in late 1998 the crusierweight division was on fire.

As far as how these matches stack up in terms of being the best WCW match of the 90s, 1998 does surprising well. It offers a strong contender in terms of the knock-down, Katie Bar the Door donnybrook for the US Championship, Benoit and DDP had. DDP and Goldberg comes in just a tick below it and is probably the best WCW PPV main event between 1996-2001. Benoit vs. Raven and Benoit vs. Booker T were both great matches, but I do not consider them contenders for the honor of being the best WCW match of the 90s. Finally, there is a match on here that I loved, but technically is not a WCW-sanctioned bout, but features all WCW-contracted wrestlers and is in honor of a WCW official. So it is being included and it is a definite contender for the best WCW match of the decade as the Four Corners of WCW (Benoit, Malenko, Guerrero, Jericho) just rock Knoxville with an old school classic tag team match that features all-time great  heel performances from Guerrero and Jericho. Overall, 1998 adds two more matches to list as it grows now to five matches all at that ****1/2 level. WCW in 1998 was interesting, the booking was disarray, but the match quality was still there.

Match Listing:

Chris Benoit vs Raven - Souled Out 1998 ***3/4
http://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2014/11/wcw-souled-out-1998.html
Benoit in full unrelenting badass mode. Raven is a sick sado-masochist. Needs more Raven heeling.

Bret Hart vs Ric Flair - Souled Out 1998 ****
http://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2014/11/wcw-souled-out-1998.html
Bret looks great in his WCW debut selling knee well & great offensive execution. Flair keeps pace with his deep bag of tricks. Strong debut for Hart, but there was no follow up. Last great WCW Flair match?

WCW US Champion Diamond Dallas Page vs Chris Benoit - SuperBrawl VIII ****1/2

Full steam ahead, no looking back FIGHT! Neither man gives an inch. One of the Best WCW matches ever!

WCW US Champion Diamond Dallas Page vs Chris Benoit vs Raven - WCW Uncensored 1998 

Balls to the wall action and still retains credibility. DDP is so over. Great finish. Best WCW Raven match.

WCW TV Champion Fit Finlay vs Chris Benoit - WCW Slamboree 1998 ****
 Everything you think it would be a brutal, violent, stiff bout. Benoit's PPV hot streak continues. 

Chris Benoit vs Booker T - Great American Bash 1998 ****
Maybe the best Booker performance of his career. On fire, timing his hope spots perfectly and laying his shit in. Surprisingly, it was Benoit who I felt was meandering

WCW World Champion Goldberg vs Diamond Dallas Page - Halloween Havoc 1998 ****1/4
HUGE FIGHT FEEL! DDP rules and every performance drips with effort. It is Die Hard vs Da Man!

WCW US Champion Bret Hart vs Diamond Dallas Page - Nitro 10/26/98 ***3/4 
Awesome never say die face against cunning heel. Great heat and sympathy to an satisfying climax

WCW Crusierweight Champion Billy Kidman vs Juventud Guerrera - WCW Nitro 11/16/98
Kidman's counterwrestling vs Juventud's asskicking offense. Badass finish stretch!

Chris Benoit & Dean Malenko vs Eddy Guerrero & Chris Jericho - 
Brian Hildebrand Tribute ****1/2 
Classic tag team match. Eddie & Jericho give all time great heel performance and Benoit is tremendous as the face in peril and asskicker.

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

Why is this not considered one of the best WCW matches of all time? I was impressed by the work and fight of both men in this tremendous hard-fought contest. Every little move from a standard Irish Whip to the final Diamond Cutter felt like an incredible struggle to execute. Each man was coming at the other like they were at the Battle of Stalingrad and there was no retreat. They were cutting each other with nasty strikes and knee lifts. It truly felt like both men were incredibly invested in winning this championship and they were going fight and claw for the victory on this night. All in all, they still kept this very much a babyface vs. babyface match. You had the rough and tumble blue collar street fighter against the polished, gnarly Canadian fighting machine. I liked DDP trying to impose his size and rough house tactics early only for Benoit to hang him out to dry and then try for the Crossface early. Page smartly bails and gets back in, he knows he is in for a fight against Benoit is just throwing crazy strikes to keep him at bay and now he looks for the Diamond Cutter and Benoit powders. I love the mirror spots. DDP IS JAAAAACCCCKKKEDD! They brawl back in the ring. Fuck, I love this. Benoit dropkicks the knee and looks to sap Page's energy by leaning on him with a Cobra Clutch-like hold. I like this use of the move. We know DDP is a ball of crazy energy that is his offensive strategy he is impulsive if you sap that then he should be easy pickings. I loved little shit like Benoit eating jawbreaker, but then coming right at Page with chops and kicks. Babyfaces always move forward. DDP pulling himself up by the ropes and throwing Benoit into the corner is one of my favorite spots of DDP matches. Benoit fights like hell on an Irish Whip attempt and snaps off a suplex. This is pro wrestling. Benoit is all about the sleeper and Page dumps him over the top rope and Benoit is still coming! Page crotches him and superplex to finally level the playing field. They work really awesome, well-built nearfall sequence that was rare at this time and would be over huge now. Benoit shoving DDP off of the Diamond Cutter attempt and Dallas immediately climbing the top rope and flying three quarters of the way across the ring to wipe out Benoit like an out of control torpedo epitomizes how wild this match was. It is just dripping with urgency. Benoit gets a Crossface, but DDP is too close to the ropes and his rolling Germans serve as his super hot nearfall. DDP signals for the Diamond Cutter, Benoit looks for the Backslide and BANG!

What a damn fight! Neither man gave an inch and they went toe to toe for the entire bout. They sustained heated fight for a good 15 minutes and it just never let up. The finish sequence was damn near perfect (ok ok there was a shitty DDT in there somewhere). I love matches where everything is contested, both wrestlers are invested in the outcome of the match and every action is urgent and consequential. This match had it in spades. As much as I love DDP/Goldberg, this is my WCW match of the year. ****1/2  

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WCW United States Champion Diamond Dallas Page vs Chris Benoit vs Raven 

 WCW Uncensored 1998

Call me crazy, but I really enjoyed this clusterfuck. It was non-stop action, but much like the cruiserweight triangle match at Starrcade they always incorporated all three guys in logical ways. I liked this a bit better than the cruiserweight match because of the three distinct characters involved and how they built drama going into the finish stretch. You have the asskicker Benoit, the sado-masochist Raven and the never say die DDP and the match really felt really character driven. They do a triple lock up, which is contrived, but I liked the intensity of the lock up and they establish early it is every man for himself when they each deck each other. The lock up spills to the outside and they throw DDP into the stairs ribs, those pesky, never healing ribs, first. DDP sells this and we get some Benoit and Raven, but it is a normal amount of selling as opposed to the egregious amount you normally see in this time of match. I loved DDP avoiding baseball slide only to have Raven take it and then hitting a nice slingshot cross body. Raven was actually really good in this too by wildly just on top of people. It really felt very chaotic with people just shoving each other when they weren't looking. I think this Raven's best match in WCW as opposed to the asskicking he took at Souled Out. Raven directs traffic and forges an alliance with Benoit to take out the champion by sending him through the Uncensored sign. DDP is fucking out and looks done for. Raven suplexes table onto Benoit. I am such a mark for throwing objects and I loved that spot, but Raven gets overzealous and goes flying into the table. Benoit plays it smart and he carries Raven back to the ring to increase the distance between him and DDP. Kudos to Tenay for picking up on this. Benoit hits the drop toehold onto the chair, which always looks nasty and Raven's eye starts to swell pretty immediately. DDP slide on his side back to the ring in just awesome dramatic fashion. I love DDP! It is time to rip-off ECW wholesale, but hey what has not been seen by this audience is new now. They do the triple sleeper spot. It turns out NOAH ripped off this match for the triple German. DDP is fucking over it is awesome. The dude totally deserved to main event five PPVs in a row in 1998 and his reign in 1999. Anyone who says otherwise has either not watched the footage or is blind! Raven tells Benoit lets take out the champ again and here is the Use My Sign from Lodi, but it is a Stop SIgn! AWESOME! DDP is laid out on the table and Benoit attacks Raven. Raven fucked up that one. Benoit looks to superplex Raven through DDP in the table, which would have a HOLY SHIT spot for the ages. But DDP sends Benoit flying off and hits a nasty Diamond Cutter where the table does not break and Raven goes chest first into the edge. Wrestlers not being as athletic made these types of spots look brutal as hell. Great fucking finish! Benoit looked like an asskicker, but just did not pull the trigger early enough. DDP may have never-healing ribs, but his spirit just won't die. There is a never dull moment and never a moment where the match loses credibility. It was a chaotic war between three men. Another feather in the caps of Benoit & DDP! ****

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WCW TV Champion Fit Finlay vs Chris Benoit - WCW Slamboree 1998

The Wocestah crowd was rabid for the Wolverine on this night with a big Benoit chant early after a chop and even chanting Finaly Sucks! Hell they popped for an early hiptoss cover by Benoit. That's what happens when wrestling treated as real by the fans and the wrestlers. They care that their favorite wins not how he wins or if it is at the expense of making someone look bad. It is Benoit and Finlay. You know it  is going to be a war and this one was awesome. It totally built on their badass Nitro '97 sprint with them having more time to draw things out. Benoit looks strong in the early going controlling with chops, but as he gets up from a Finlay submission he is blasted with a wicked clothesline. For the rest of the match, Finlay is going to town on the neck and head of Benoit. Benoit does a great job selling this clothesline rolling out of the ring in such a way that he makes a thud when hits the floor. Finlay follows up with a bodyslam on the floor and another clothesline. Benoit comes roaring out of the corner with chops, Finaly stymies him with an eyepoke/chinlock combination. Perfect use of the chinlock to control the match and lean on your opponent sapping him of his energy. Finlay peppering in wicked elbows to Benoit's neck and kicks to his back. Finaly goes for the chair on the outside, but Benoit grans a hold of it to hit Finlay in the back to a big pop. I love chair shot in stiff midcard matches it is  a great change of pace. Benoit goes for his dive to the outside, but Finlay uses the chair to block it. Jesus, Benoit! Finaly is working double time on the neck, but runs into the corner full steam ahead. Two Rolling Germans land, but on the third Finlay runs Benoit throat first into the ropes. DAMN! A violent counter that makes total sense in the match. Really should have led to the Tombstone finish in my opinion. Benoit counters an attempted clothesline with the Crossface, but too close to the ropes. Snap suplex and he signals for the diving headbutt and the crowd just explodes. Huge boos for Booker T sauntering out as payback for Benoit doing it to him and costing him Television championship. Finlay blasts him in the back of the head with wicked dropkick. Benoit just crumbles to the floor and deadweights Finlay. FInaly finally rolls him back in and Benoit gets a desperation inside cradle, but nothing happening. Finaly ends his misery witha Tombstone! Awesome, brutal match with Finlay wrestling  a perfect strategy to control the explosive Benoit with stiff shots and chinlocks. Benoit is just relentless and always knows when to come out at you with his stiff offense. I can't see how these two could ever have a bad match. I would put this above the Raven match since Finlay contributed more, but behind the DDP match, which I think told a better story and had even more urgency. ****

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Chris Benoit vs Booker T - WCW Great American Bash 1998 Match #7

Technically, this is match #8 of seven to determine the number one contender to the Television Championship (my childhood memories were foggy and I thought they were in the midst of the Best of Seven series for the TV Title when one of them lost the title to Finlay randomly and thus threw a monkey wrench into the works. Turns out, it was a number one contendership series the whole time). On the previous episode of Thunder, Bret Hart tried to help out former Dungeon graduate, Benoit by blasting Booker with a chair. Benoit does not want to win that way and goes so far to tell the referee. That kind of sportsmanship is actually pretty refreshing rather than playing morally conflicted interminably. JoJo Dillon scrubs the record clean and says the Great American Bash match is for the kit and kaboddle. Really strong midcard WCW booking, which is shocking because the WCW main event scene is a total clusterfuck at this point.

The argument can be made Benoit's lack of attack on Booker's knee stems from his sportsmanship. He was above exploiting an injury and respected Booker too much. Now clearly the reason is because the Finlay match later was going to be based around the knee, which makes sense since Finlay is the real heel. It would have been helpful if the commentary told this story rather blithering on about the injured knee. Even trying to apply this logic to the match, Benoit's offensive strategy just seemed off. His execution was as crisp as ever, but it was meandering like he did not know what he wanted to do next. He uses the dragon screw leg whip to take control, but after that it is an assortment of chops, suplexes and chinlocks. It was a weird use of the chinlock because it is not like Booker established himself as a runaway locomotive early on. It really feels like his offense is not setting anything up. Tenay did a good job claiming this was to set up the Crossface, but I wasn't feeling it. Benoit does go for the Crossface when Booker starts to mount a comeback, but Booker falls towards the ropes. In fact, I thought Booker outperformed Benoit. He was timing his hope spots really well and he brought a lot of fire from underneath. I really liked his crash and burn off the reverse cross body as he was going for a home run. Again when Booker is able to get a head of steam, he is looking for that missile dropkick. His offense is setting up for a big bomb. Benoit is always great at selling his big high-risk moves like the superplex (milks it for an 8 count before the cover) and swandive headbutt (writhes in pain before the cover). Loved Benoit have scouted Booker's weird sunset flip thingy in the corner, by stopping short letting him do it and then CHOP! Booker nails a couple Harlem Sidekicks, which finally dazes Benoit enough to hit his missile dropkick.

This maybe my favorite Booker performance of his career. He was laying his shit in well and his timing and move selection were just spot on. His instincts were just clicking. He built perfectly to that missile dropkick and Benoit really was able to sell how his big bombs had taken a lot out of him. It was a war of attrition and Booker outlasted Benoit in this battle. Match was dragged down by an unusually meandering Benoit in the early going. The finish stretch and Booker's performance make this one of the best WCW matches of 1998. ****

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WCW World Heavyweight Champion Goldberg vs Diamond Dallas Page 

WCW Halloween Havoc 1998

I saw this originally when WCW was compelled to repeat the entire main event on Nitro because they went over on the PPV, which is part of the reason the match is so famous. I honestly had forgotten everything about the match so besides knowing who won this was totally fresh. The other reason this match is famous because it is really good in time period where WCW main event were usually dogshit. Guess what this match is not just really good, it is excellent. I actually think this match is underrated given the ratings I have seen around the net. It is a testament to both Goldberg's aura and DDP's ring generalship at this time. With a doubt, DDP is the WCW MVP of 1998 and his entire 1998 is proof at his amazing grasp on pro wrestling psychology.

The World Heavyweight Champion versus the People's Champion, the Unstoppable Force versus the Blue Collar Hero, the Rookie Phenomenon versus the Hard Working Late Bloomer, just the characters naturally make for a great story going into the match. DDP is wrestling manifestation of John McClane and he is taking on the fucking Terminator in Goldberg. Who does not want to see that? This is the type of match that shows why pro wrestling is the greatest form of entertainment to ever exist in human history.

Page is JAAAAACCCCKKKKKED TO THE MOON for this one and he comes at Goldberg repeatedly who shrugs him off with powerful shoves. DDP will not be detered and they spill out in a heated moment. Goldberg is treated like a super athlete here: unstoppable power, impervious to pain and cat-like quickness. When DDP tries a single leg pick up, Goldberg does a backflip and DDP does it again to get a one count. That is the story of DDP the dude just does not know when to quit. He is going to try and try and try. I love it! Goldberg's stunned selling, but always moving to get up and moving forward is so perfect for his character. I love the urgency of every DDP movement knowing he is in there with a monster. He has his one big weapon, the Diamond Cutter, he tries it early and gets send flying to the outside. DDP tries to contain Goldberg with a front facelock, but Goldberg explodes out of it. Goldberg with a huge thrust kick sends DDP into the corner. Goldberg goes for the spear and eats the ringpost. OH SHIT! It only makes sense the person who can do the most damage to Goldberg is Goldberg. DDP signals for the Diamond Cutter and BOOM! SPEAR! THE PLACE COMES UNGLUED! I LOST MY SHIT! Goldberg's shoulder is fucked. Can he get him up for the Jackhammer? DIAMOND CUTTER! PIN HIM, DALLAS! PIN THAT MAN! GET UP! GET UP! PIN HIM! 1-2-NOOOOOO!!!!!! DDP tries to stay on him, but Goldberg reverses a suplex attempt into a Jackhammer. Holy shit, that was electric.

I have become the biggest retroactive DDP fan. His Die Hard, blue collar attitude is just so badass. You can't help but cheer for the dude. Honestly, lost myself in that Diamond Cutter. I really thought to myself can DDP pull this out before I came back to reality. Pitch perfect layout that accentuated both men's characters. Pro wrestling matches should be driven by wins and losses, but how it gets done should be unique to the participants involved. These two men are the only people who could have this match because it uniquely fit them. That is the hallmark of excellent pro wrestling psychology. ****1/4

BANG!

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WCW US Champion Bret Hart vs Diamond Dallas Page - WCW Nitro 10/26/98

One night after he took Goldberg to the limit, DDP gets a title shot against Bret Hart. I love that booking. DDP is red-hot at this point, but he is coming off a loss.How do you capitalize on that heat? Have him beat Bret Hart and take the US title! Excellent booking! Bret Hart has a rep of taking people out like Booker T at Bash At The Beach and Sting at Halloween Havoc so how do you capitalize on that well, have him look to take out DDP. Only problem is DDP Dies Hard.

Bret Hart gets put in a match against DDP and has his best match of the year since the Flair match, coincidence, I think not. DDP was the best American main event wrestler at this point. The early part of the match with DDP just taking it to Bret Hart at his own game everything just drips with effort. You know Bret Hart is the more polished of the two, but DDP has the heart and the passion to close the gap between him and Hart. Bret Hart is getting countered at every turn and this already hotter than the Sting and Luger matches, which were good. Hart uses the hotshot to take control. What takes this match to the next level for Hart is DDP's selling. At first, DDP still has enough energy to pull himself up by the ropes and unload with punches. I love that spot! Hart keeps cutting him off, but you get the feeling you just cant keep Page down. Like when Bret drops an elbow on a DDP that is trying to get up on all fours. I loved that visual along with DDP clawing towards Bret as he only know one direction. DDP should be ranked higher as one of the all-time great babyfaces because his desperation selling and never say die attitude is what being a babyface is all about. Hart is on his heel A-game using his feet on the ropes and a foreign object. Hell he even busts out a superplex. Bret Hart has to resort to a low blow that wipes out DDP and the ref. Hart goes to swing with the foreign object, but DDP ducks and BANG! DIAMOND CUTTER! 1-2-3! DDP wins the US Title, but Bret Hart attacks him after the match pinpointing his knee with the chair and then applying the Sharpshooter as the fans chant for Goldberg who comes as we go off the air.

DDP was just the ultimate blue collar, hard working, never say die babyface and he delivered a great performance. Finally Bret has a babyface that can really generate that sympathy and make his heel character stand out. DDP added a lot to the standard Bret Hart match based on his character and is a very entertaining match, probably the best Nitro main event of the year. ***3/4

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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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Chris Benoit & Dean Malenko vs Eddie Guerrero & Chris Jericho 

 Brian Hildebrand Tribute Show 11/29/98

HOLY SHIT, THIS WAS ALL TYPES OF AWESOME! WCW's Four Corners finally get the opportunity to knock it out of the park and they don't waste one moment. Eddie and Jericho remind me why I absolutely love pro wrestling. They are just so damn entertaining, but you want to boo them every step of the way and Benoit & Malenko are here to kick ass because Jericho and Eddie went out their way to mock Hildebrand at the beginning of the match. Jericho and Eddie blend cowardly, vicious and arrogance in one appetizing package delivering an all-time great heel tag team performance. All the classic Jericho & Eddie spots are here: Eddie covering Jericho's ears so he can't hear "Jericho Sucks!", scurrying to the corner to hold onto your partner's leg, Eddie calling for timeout. That is just a few it was literally awesome heel spot after another. The heels try as they might to fight fire with fire are just overwhelmed by the badassery of The Horsemen. Even Malenko is teeing off on Jericho and making this a heated bout. This is the exact environment that Benoit excels in. Jericho and Eddie try to meet him head on and just get destroyed. In a hilarious moment as Malenko is countering a Jericho surfboard and the people are chanting "Jericho Sucks!", he yells "SHUT UP YOU BUNCH OF NIMRODS!" Sounds like a man that has a tenuous grasp at best on this match. Jericho once again tries to meet Benoit head on and a wicked chopfest ensues. Jericho does what any intelligent coward would do, pokes him in the eyes and forcefully drops him throat first across the top rope. OW!

Jericho and Eddie just flip the switch from cowards to arrogant prick heels like that. Eddie is telling fans to kiss his ass while he drops Benoit with a brainbuster. Jericho is covering Benoit with one foot after a double suplex. Eddie flies over the top onto Benoit throat as it laid exposed on the apron being held in place by Jericho. Then Benoit's neck is snapped into the bottom rope. Benoit is great at selling and you can hear him gasping for breath on this fancam. Benoit finally hits a suplex to break up a sleeper, but goes up top to consolidate the advantage, but Eddie is able to hit a superplex and Jericho detains Malenko. I have loved the struggle of the entire match but here you can just see Benoit fight with every last breath to break free as Eddie and Jericho do everything they can to somehow contain this raging fireball. Some of the exchanges between Benoit and these two are just incredibly fierce. Eventually Benoit waylays them both off the apron. Building to a Malenko hot tag is suspect at best and it is for the best it does not last long. Jericho rolls through a roll up to apply the Liontamer, but Malenko makes the ropes. Jericho throws a temper tantrum, but Eddie snaps him out of it. SUPERPLEX/FROGSPLASH Combo!!!! BITCHIN! Benoit bowls Eddie off of Malenko. Benoit hits his Swandive Headbutt, but Jericho pulls out the ref. Benoit shoots Eddie into a Malenko powerbomb into a Cloverleaf and Benoit has Jericho trapped in the Crippler Crossface, but there is no ref. WAIT! Brian Hildebrand leaps into the ring and Eddie & Jericho both tap out as Hildebrand gives us a classic call for the bell. Then because it is 1998 and your wardrobe determines your allegiance he reveals a Four Horsemen shirt to a nice pop.


Jericho & Guerrero give a master class in how you can blend old school heeling with modern offense. It is all about flipping that switch from cowards to pricks. It was just awesome watching them have all that time to work. It has been said a million zillion times and even by Jericho himself, they were a totally missed opportunity as a tag team.   Benoit did a great job in his face in peril selling early and then realizing he needed to fight his way out of there going right into asskicker mode. Even Malenko did well in this crowd-pleasing, asskicking match. This would be my WCW Match of the Year if it took place in WCW and it is right there with Austin/Dude Love for US Match of 1998. Love, love this style and these four crushed it in honor of Brian Hildebrand! ****1/2

Rest in Peace, Brian Hildebrand

2 Out of 3 Falls: Hulk Hogan, Vader, Big Bossman

Hey yo Gyspy Queens and Studmuffins Du Jour,

If voting is so American, why doesn’t it comes with a slice of pie? Poontang Please!

I'll settle for a Firecracker. Ouch. Dont Bite! :)

My sincerest congratulations go out to President Barack Obama. I may be the only American who feels this way, but I think both candidates would have been capable presidents and therefore I would be pleased either way even though I never thought Obama’s victory was in doubt. The most politically relevant news to me of course is that Linda McMahon, wife of Vince McMahon, lost again. This means we get an extended skit of VinnyMac “sticking it” to the Dems. WAHOO?

Of course on these most American days, I could not help, but think that the most fitting wrestler to chronicle would of course be Iron Sheik!!! IRAN NUMBAH ONE! USSR NUMBAH ONE! AMERICA HOCK-PTOOEY!!! Ruh Roh, Sheiky Baby thinks I look like B. Brain Blair. Sheiky Baby take that hostility to the bedroom and far away from me! Instead of getting humbled in the ass, I think will brave some Hulk Hogan matches they cant be worst than his lack of bumping in his own sex tape. He was not selling a gosh darn thing for her and let he expected me to pop for the Hulk Up? Hulk please, you need to work me up first!

THE ULTIMATE HULK-GASM

On a more serious note, the Hulkster does get a sort of bum rap in the ring from “smart” fans. Hogan is an excellent showman that knows how to whip a crowd into frenzy and elicit that pop. When you go back and watch the matches you really see just how over Hogan was with the masses. That is what I have always been most curious about Hogan is how person I think is not especially good in the ring is able to make up for his lack of technical acumen with such effusive charisma. It is probably something you cannot evaluate or ascertain in any concrete way, but it is an interesting sociological study. This being said Hogan has had his share of great matches and is not always the stiff, boring wrestlers he is accused of being by “smart” fans. The big issue with my enjoyment of Hogan matches is his lack of bumping and the cartoony nature of them. I love cartoony, ridiculous matches (see Midnight Express), but usually these matches will add real drama to their matches and often with Hogan it just continues with his schtick. From the a mechanical perspective, Hogan’s offense, selling and the vaunted Hulk-Up are all perfectly acceptable in wrestler, none of those facets will set your world on fire (ok, the Hulk Up can be pretty damn awesome at times). It is the bumping that stops Hogan matches from becoming really fun. The best Hogan matches are the ones against Hennig, Savage, and Flair because they will bump like maniacs for Hogan and are especially bumping for two men. In the other Hogan matches, I wish Hogan would take one big bump just really get into “Oh shit” mode. Of course, the first match I pick features the biggest bump in Hogan’s career, which may seem to render my argument moot, but it is just an isolated incident.

The Man of Law & Order from Cobb County, Georgia

Big Bossman is a wrestler that I do not ever think reached his full potential. His breed of wrestler has all but died off in the wrestling, much to my chagrin. He was a bumping, 300+ lb big man that was agile and looked like a tough muthafucka.  I am surprised he has not had more great matches as the two I am reviewing today are pretty much the two that I think are great. I have not seen his All Japan run in 1993 and that may have some hidden gems as Dr. Death’s tag partner. Overall, I was bit disappointed going back through Bossman’s career.

WHOS DA MAN!

VADER FEELS NO PAIN!!!! Vader is my favorite wrestler behind Flair and Savage and is the greatest big man wrestler ever. Period. Full-Stop. Don’t pass Go, Don’t Collect $200, Sit your ass down and just watch the brutality unfold. I am kinda pissed Vader is sort of playing second fiddle to Hogan in this blog, but Vader will have plenty of chances to shine in subsequent blogs. Vader matches are the ones I love to show marks that think wrestling is not painful because he has the stiffest fuckin strikes in America. When he just starts mauling you in the corner with those bear paws it can get almost uncomfortable. In one match against equally stiff Stan Hansen, Hansen bashes Vader so hard in the face that his eye pops out, but because Vader is ALL MAN~! He pops it back in and wrestles for another 10-15 minutes. Vader is not a man to eat you alive. Vader loves to take crazy bumps for his opponents and really put them over as world beaters with his amazing agility. This is a 400+ lb man that can hit a moonsault for Christ’s Sake. I love Vader’s character. He is a rough and tumble, big, ugly bully. There is nothing fancy about him, no redeeming qualities, just readily hateable and that is what I love about a good heel.

Matches

Hulk Hogan vs Big Bossman – Steel Cage Match

March 18, 1989 Madison Square Garden

Interesting note about this match is they actually had two steel cage matches in the same night, one at MSG and one at the Boston Gardens (two, 15 minute steel cage matches and 4 hour travel in between that is pretty ridiculous). That is just an incredible example of the schedule McMahon expected out of his wrestlers as he was looking to solidify his position as the national promotion of America. Bossman was managed by everyone’s favorit Jive Soul Brutha, Slick and tag partners with Akeem The African Dream. Bossman and Akeem had been the tag team feuding with the MegaPowers (Hogan & Savage) when the MEGA-POWERS EXPLODED~! Wrestlemania V was not for a couple more weeks so in order to keep Hogan busy until his GARGUTAN showdown with Savage they ran a Bossman/Hogan cage match series around the horn.

This match is a one trick pony, but what a trick it is. The Superplex from the top of the cage. 

Tony Schiavone is on commentary here during his cup of coffee with the WWF in 1989 and is an upgrade over the usual hosts of schmucks at this point. The crowd is pumped to see Hogan and Hogan seems to be feeling it tonight. Hogan rips his shirt off and then promptly chokes Bossman out with it and biels him around with it. Hulk Hogan, True American Hero to the Masses, Everybody!!! My favorite Hogan face shine spot is when he irish whips a heel into the corner and follows right up with a reverse elbow. It is one Hogan’s best looking spots. The transition to Bossman heel offense is weak as he just stops Hogan from escaping and does an eye-rake (Hogan had eye-raked him by that point anyways). The reason for Hogan’s heel offense as a babyface can be explained is that how AWA babyfaces acted and Hogan’s first face run was in the AWA.

The matches looks to heat up as Hogan and Bossman tussle from a top of the turnbuckles in surprisingly heated fashion and then Hogan actually takes a back bump off the top turnbuckle. Bossman, of course takes too long to capitalize on this and Hogan is able to recover and stop him from exiting, This leads to the iconic spot of the match and why the match is famous: Hogan superplexes Bossman off the top of the cage. It is one helluva spot and very smartly milk it for all it is worth with Tony losing his shit on commentary.

The finish sequence is pretty exciting. Bossman hits his Bossman slam on Hogan and gets a chain from Slick choking him out with it. They do the double ram into the cage and then Hogan gets the chain and goes to town with it. Hogan is so great at making you want to see him hit Bossman with the chain. Bossman does a good bladejob. After the signature legdrop, the Slickster stops Hogan from leaving so Hogan dispatches of him and handcuffs the Bossman with his OWN handcuffs. OH THE HUMANITY~!

Then it becomes a race between if Hogan can make it over the cage vs. Bossman gets uncuffed and going out the door. Hogan wins and goes over to the unconscious ref (Slick took him out I believe) and raises his own hand, which gets a chuckles out of me. Hogan forces Slick to eat steel. Heels powder, Hogan poses, crowd goes wild.

The Superplex spot is great and the finish stretch is the usual big Hogan fun. Great match! ****

There is nothing more American than giving. Missy is a giver.

Vader vs The Boss
Spring Stampede April 17, 1994 Chicago, Illinois

We transport over to WCW for the rest of column. Spring Stampede is one of the best pay per views of all time with just a BITCHIN card from top to bottom. This match is a great bomb-throwing fests from these two big muthafuckas and one of my favorite matches of all time. The backstory is that Superbrawl IV, The Boss was the special enforcer in Vader’s challenge to regain the WCW World Heavyweight Championship from Ric Flair. Somehow, Vader got fucked over by The Boss and we end up with this match. I aint complaining.

The Boss does not wait for Vader to hit the ring and takes the fight to him on the elevated ramp. Harley Race, seven-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion and Vader’s manager, hold Boss only for Boss to wrangle himself free and Race eats a Vader flying body attack. Race is already a better bumper than Hulkster. Sorry could not resist. Boss has a brief shine segment that establishes his striking game, but you don’t want to get into a slugfest with fuckin Vader. Vader eats him a live with some of his signature strikes. In an impressive visual, Vader runs down the ramps and jumps over the top rope only to eat The Boss’ knees. Boss takes it to the outside and Vader eats his usual gut-first railing bump only with much more gusto than usual as he tumbles over onto the assuredly frightened fans. It would be rubber pants time if I saw an out of control Vader hurdling towards me. Boss picks up Vader and drops him across the railing. Vader is making the Boss look like a million bucks! Boss again tries to trade strikes with Vader, only to almost get killed on a back body drop over the top rope. Seriously, the Boss saved his own life by catching the rope before crashing onto the floor out of control in a scary spot. Vader is bleeding from his bad eye in what I believe has to be the hardway because there was no spot that warranted a bladejob just a function of how hard they hitting each other.

What time is it? ITS TIME! ITS TIME! ITS VADER TIME~! Vader suplexes the Boss back in and a Vader splash gets two. Then Vader does his usual mauling in the corner with his bearpaw strikes. Boss grabs a belly-to-back suplex in a nice hope spot to keep the fans from thinking it was over. Vader takes his usual slam off the second rope, which was the finish to his Starrcade 1992 match against Sting, but that and a super DDT was not enough here for the Boss to win. Boss’s comeback is ended by Vader slamming Boss off the second rope. Vaderbomb only gets two so Vader decides to squash the muthafucka with a VADERSAULT~! For the win!

One of the best 10 minute super heavyweight sprints you will ever see. Everything was so hard-hitting, impressive and literally no down time. The story was simple but effective. Two big dudes that were just going to beat the piss out of each other until only one was standing and they executed that with great spots. The key to this match was just how unselfish each competitor was bumping for each other and selling each other’s strikes so well. I just love two big uglies going to town on each other.

BONUS MATCH: WCW US Champion Hacksaw Jim Duggan vs Vader
Starrcade December 27, 1994

Writing an American-themed wrestling blog without some Hacksaw love is like not dancing like a stripper to Pour  Some Sugar On Me. NOT POSSIBLE! For those who do not know Jim Duggan, picture your uncle, add about 50-100 lbs of body weight, have him grow out his hair and beard. Then have your uncle grab a 2x4, give a thumbs up and yell “HOOOOOOOOOOO U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!” that is Hacksaw Duggan in a nutshell. Or you can just look at this picture:

HHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Now wrestling fans most likely knew this about Duggan, but did you know that Jim Duggan was actually once a really good wrestler in Bill Watts’ Mid-South territory feuding with the likes of Ted DiBiase. You did? Well sit down, shut up and stop showing me up on my blog. Hogan had left the WWF for Ted Turner’s WCW and brought along his friends. Thus Duggan won the US Heavyweight Title off some no-name vanilla midget named Steve Austin. I wonder what happened to that guy. I am probably the 1000^th person to make that joke. I hope get a slice of pie as my prize! Anyways, Vader as the resident monster of WCW was being built up for the monster-slayer Hogan and so while Hogan gave his crony Brutus Beefcake a run in the main event. Vader got to play with Duggan in what turned out to be the best Post-Mid-South Duggan match by quite a bit.

As with the Boss match, the match begins on the aisleway as Duggan takes it right to the Mastodon. Duggan throws Vader into railing and Vader if flying all over the place as he makes Duggan look like a million bucks. The crowd chants “ U-S-A!” since Vader is from the very evil, very foreign place of Colorado. As an east coaster, a flyover state probably deserves that rep.  Well there goes my audience in middle America. Good thing I have a burgeoning readership in Russia and Japan. That’s right Im Big In Japan. Maybe the White Castle of Fear is not in America? During this shine, Vader takes his gut first bump into the railing and plenty of wicked lariats (some real stiff shots by Duggan). After about eight minutes of Duggan love, Vader hits a wicked, MONSTAH eye-poke? I LOVE Vader. He has all this raw power and strength, but instead chooses to use an eye-poke as his transition, such a great heel. Duggan tries to stave off the Vader rally, but misses a Tenryu style elbow (second rope back facing elbow drop) to finally put Vader in command. You know Duggan is feeling it when he decides to come off the second rope. Tony is losing his shit over this.

Vader hits the axe-bomber, which sends Duggan careerning into the guardrail from the apron (very nice bump from Duggan). Bobby the Brain unloads one of his funniest lines with: “For Duggan to take a shower is a high-risk maneuver.” I lol’d. Vader smartly attacks the ribs with vicious body punches and tries to polish him off with his powerslam/Vaderbomb combo but Hacksaw is able to get his foot on the ropes. One of my favorite spots is the “Vader Body Attack” where he basically just chest bumps his opponent into oblivion it works so well to cut off comebacks like it was used here.   

Vadersault misses and the fans erupt in “U-S-A” to exhort their fallen leader, Hacksaw Duggan. Duggan gets down into the three-point stance and hits his lariat finisher, but it is not enough. Vader takes his usual slam off the top, but there is NO REF!!! The ref is being detained by Harley Race on the apron, which distracts Hacksaw. The finish is Vader Irish whips Hacksaw into Harley holding the 2x4 into this weird variation of the Glam Slam. It is looked impressive as Vader basically muscled Duggan up, but then couldn’t hold him so he just dropped him on his face. I don’t know what it was supposed to be, but it looked vicious. Vader is the NEW US HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION!

I liked the Boss match a little bit more because it felt more like a struggle between two big dudes throwing bombs. This match was structured in the classical sense with a shine -> heat -> comeback -> finish, which I love and it is the formula for a reason it just was not as fun as Vader/Boss, but this match still was really good and a lot of fun. In 1992-94, Vader comes off as a contender for the greatest wrestler in the world including the All Japan guys as he was taking these average workers and putting on great matches. It is almost completely predicated on how willing he is to make these look good even as he is going to beat them, which make the matches so much more interesting unlike a Hogan who at times could steamroll his opponents and really only put himself over. After all this, I am pretty pumped for the big showdown: Vader vs Hulk Hogan!

I wonder if Vader invited Hogan to the White Castle of Fear before the match?

WCW World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan vs WCW US Heavyweight Vader
Superbrawl V  February 19, 1995 Baltimore, MD

Not much of a story to this one, except it was one of the big dream matches since Hogan had arrived in WCW and really logical. Hogan had made his star by wrestling these big monsters and vanquishing them (Studd, Bundy, Andre, Earthquake). However, there is no more versatile big man than Vader, who combined the size of those men with an explosive quickness. Also, Hogan’s star was on the wane as his 10 year old character had grown stale and passé especially in the South, which expected a higher level of wrestling than the cartoon stuff that Hogan liked to shovel. This led to this weird dynamic of Hogan getting pretty brutally booed the entire match against monster heel, Vader.

Tony lets us know that Ric Flair is indeed here in the front row. Hogan had “retired” Flair in October of 1994. They begin by both men are of equal strength. Hogan unleashes some pretty wicked slaps and his whip/elbow combo. Vader just screams “NO PAIN! NO PAIN!  NO PAIN!” I was totally marking out during this segment. I just wanted Vader to maul Hogan. In a cool twist, Hogan realizes the power game is ineffective and actually attempts to wrestle Vader. WHAT!!??! He even busts out a flying cross arm-breaker (juji-gatame for MMA fans). Vader breaks that up by stepping on Hogan’s face like a boss. Hogan is betwixt and between. Vader mauling in the corner is combined with a wicked short-arm clothesline.

Hogan powders and Vader eats his railing bump and nearly wipes out Flair. Well, I think Hogan may have found something that worked. Hogan works some chops in the corner, the 10 punch count and then a rebound lariat to a small pop. Hogan uses some of his heel tactics: boot on throat and eye-rake, but he goes for the bodyslam attempt too early as Vader drops on top of him. Vader runs through some strikes and then connects with the powerslam/Vaderbomb combo for two. The Vadersault misses and Hogan in desperation whips Vader back into the rail and blasts him with the best Hogan chair shot I have ever witnessed. VADER FEELS NO PAIN! Vader chokeslams the fuck outta Hogan. I don’t think Hogan intended to take that wicked of a bump. The Hulk-Up comes off a vertical suplex. Vader KICKS OUT of the LEGDROP at ONE!!!! HOLY SHIT!

A Vader body attack wipes out the ref and Vader hits the powerbomb and he counts a visual three along with Flair, but there is no ref. Hogan makes his comeback and clears him outta the ring only for Flair to attack. Finally the ref calls for the DQ. Savage and Sting make the save against Flair & Vader.

There is a lot to love about this match up until the finish. I loved the beginning story with Hogan trying to wrestle Vader and then using his own dirty tactics out of desperation because Vader was such a monster. Vader comes across as this unconquerable monster with the no-selling at the beginning, the killer offense and of course kicking out of the vaunted leg drop at one. A lot is made about how, Hogan no sold a Vaderbomb previous to this match and how it killed Vader’s drawing power. I can only say he definitely tried to make up for it in this match because Vader looked awesome here. All of the traditional Hogan transition are ineffective against Vader and they only way for Hogan to sustain offense is through Vader mistakes and illegal tactics like chairshots really makes Vader seem like an unstoppable force. The finish is pretty unsatisfying. A Vader victory and subsequent matches against Sting and Savage would have drawn well while Hogan questions if he still has it would have been an interesting wrinkle to the Hogan character. I like the Boss match better because of the efficiency of spots and the better finish, but this one was remarkably good and one of the Top 5 Best Hogan matches I have ever seen.

Evaluation

Hogan is displayed in two lights here: the standard Hogan popcorn formula against Bossman, which popped the masses in the 80s, but doesn’t feel timeless and Hogan working as a more classical underdog against a Goliath. This would not continue as the subsequent Hogan/Vader rematches were panned, but for one night Hogan structured an interesting match. Bossman is a story of untapped potential as he had all the tools to be a great big man, but was only realized on one night against Vader. Vader comes off great in all these matches as a dominant heel that is ok with the babyfaces getting their offense in to keep the crowd invested. Vader is a wrestler I can never get enough of and even his mediocre stuff seems like so much fun to me. His style is most readily adaptable of any wrestler because of how naturally the "David vs Goliath" or two big uglies barfight fits into any context.

 I am going to try to do a quick turnaround and get an All Japan blog out this weekend and hopefully will have a pattern of doing a non-All Japan one in the beginning of the week and an All Japan one during the weekend. 

Macho Madness: Icon Vs Icon

Hey yo bromigoes and bromigas,

Shockingly, I am actually executing my vision for writing a second column for the Macho Madness retrospective. From the little feedback I received from some top wrestling newsletters/websites, I need to tighten up my reviewing style. It is no secret I can be a bit bombastic (just a bit?) and will hope to be lucid and concise in the following review.


First I would be remiss, not to mention that my boy, Bron Bron led his team to victory today over the Indiana Pacers and that a victory for the Heat is a victory for Love. For more on the Miami Heat, check out my blog: The First Letter of Martin to the Haters and the Hypocrites, which will be a concurrent series to this one. So I will not belabor their win and shall move right along to the Main Event.

My favorite wrestler of all time is Randy “Macho Man” Savage and has been since I can remember. In April of 1998, when I was just 8 years old I remember begging my parents to buy the Spring Stampede PPV because my hero, Savage would be challenging the Stinger for the World Heavyweight Championship. This may come as a shock to some people, who have met me in the past couple years, but I was a terribly shy child. I am forever indebted to wrestling because it helped me become very comfortable in my own skin and gain a ton of self-confidence. It was a such big deal to me at the time that I remember announcing it to the entire class during one of those stupid “share something important from your life” activities. I don’t really remember the reaction to be honest. However, the Macho Man inspired something in me that I would have never otherwise done. I talked in front of the entire class full of enthusiasm about something I loved and quite frankly I didn’t give a fuck what people thought. While I would refine my public speaking skills, it all began there because of the Macho Man.

My second favorite wrestler has closed the gap in the recent years and that is none other than the ridiculously over the top “Nature Boy” Ric Flair. Whether it is Flair telling a fan that his “Shoes cost more than his house”, wrestling a 60 minute match or just his trademark “Woooooo”, Ric Flair is the personification of pro wrestling and is the single greatest pro wrestler of all time.  I have not gave this much thought, but I can confidently state that the Savage-Flair saga in both WWF and WCW is one of my top 5 favorite feuds of all-time. Today we look at the second half of their feud in WCW (late 1995-1996) with matches from Starrcade, Nitro and Superbrawl.

Arn Anderson, Ric Flair, Brian Pillman 1995 Four Horsemen (Chris Benoit not shown)

Here we will see Savage change his strategy from wrestling the powerful Luger to the wily Flair. Flair matches are hallmarked by Flair’s strategy, the backstory and the consequent questions:

• ·         He will cheat like a muthafucka. He is dubbed the Dirtiest Player In The Game for a reason. Flair has set himself up with a stable of allies called the Four Horsemen with sole purpose of gaining and maintaining Flair’s championship reigns.
• 
  
• ·         He makes them into track meets. They are long matches, where he will make his opponents expend a ton of energy.
• 
  
• ·         Finally he will work over the knee mercilessly to set up his patented Figure 4-Leglock
• 
  
• ·         Now Savage is a ball of fuckin energy, but that makes him prone to making mistakes and walking into Flair’s cheap traps. Flair will have to counter the fact that Savage hates his guts for trying to sleep with his wife and beating up his father. However, these are all a part of Flair’s psychological warfare against Savage to get Savage to be over-aggressive and make those mistakes.
• 
  
• ·          Can Savage keep his emotions in check? Who has the best cardiovascular conditioning? Can Savage counteract the incessant cheating from Flair and his cronies? Who will make the fatal mistake?

Backstory: Starrcade is traditionally considered WCW’s Wrestlemania (Starrcade actually pre-dated Wreatlemania by 2 years). However, with Hogan out filming a movie, WCW went with some interesting booking choices. They set up a best of seven series against New Japan Pro Wrestling. In the main event, Randy Savage would defend the World Championship against the winner of the triple threat between Ric Flair vs Sting vs Lex Luger. We have established why Savage hates Flair and Luger. He is suspicious of Sting because it is Savage and he is a paranoid fucker. Sting is trusting of Luger even though Luger is a prick (we have all been there). Sting hates Flair because he tricked him into being his partner and then proceeded to beat the ever-loving shit out of him with Arn Anderson and the Horseman. Flair and Luger have hated each other since 1988, so yeah, nobody likes anybody.

Sting

 

Bonus Review:

“Nature Boy” Ric Flair vs “The Franchise” Sting vs “Total Package” Lex Luger
Starrcade 1995

Ric Flair is a bleach blonde, millionaire playboy type character. When Flair is on during his promos, it is the most spellbinding experience in the world. Sting is a colorful, exuberant California bleach blonder surfing/bodybuilding. Sting represents all that is good and innocent about wrestling. Seriously, there is not a bad bone in his body. Lex Luger is built like a shithouse and is a shrewd, cowardly, arrogant bully. I have not seen this match in ages and should be tons of fun.

This is not conducted as a modern triple threat match would be. Rather, two men in the ring with tags to the third man, which does offer an interesting dynamic as opposed to the free-for-all nature of the modern triple threat. Luger is without Jimmy Hart and Dusty Rhodes is on commentary. YES! YES! YES! Flair is only an 11-time world champion at this point, later bookkeeping would put him at about 20-time world champion. Flair is pumped tonight and is jaw-jacking with everyone.

Flair and Sting to start and Flair immediately does the Best Hits of Flair showboating. Dusty does a good job describing that these three guys were the foundation of WCW and then immediately puts himself in that class. I love big Dust. Sting gets the advantage quickly and goes for his Scorpion Deathlock. You see, Sting and Luger have already wrestled in the WCW/NJPW series so they will want to get the match over early. Flair immediately powders out and shows his hand that will be willing to drag this out as he hits an early hammerlock.  Dusty is bringing it on commentary pointing out that Flair is a 60-minute man so his strategy will be to make this a track meet. One of Flair’s wicked chops and a bit strutting wakes up the Stinger and now it is time for the over-confident Flair to beg off.  Sting connects with a gorilla press slam and then 10 punches in the corner. Flair takes a walk again and this is Flair’s domain. Sting no-sells a whip into guardrail and Flair’s offense, but a missed dropkick gets Flair back in on offense and plenty of strutting follows. Dusty goes on a HILARIOUS rant about playing possum and the Brain declares “You have never heard of playing possum. Get him out of here.” Back outside and Flair is destroying the Stinger with a variety of  strikes and throws. Flair is trying valiantly to gain a pinfall. Luger like a fuckin moron just stands on the outside. What a dumbass. This is the Flair show and I love it. Off the delayed suplex, Sting decides to no-sell and that ends with Flair taking a press slam and a superplex.  The superplex takes a lot of Sting, but Luger NOW makes the move to break it up. Sting gets all sassy and Luger is all like Dude, chill, I just want to win. Flair high-knees Sting into Luger, which accidentally brings the fresh Luger into the match

Flair-Luger now follows their formula from 1988, which I love. Luger flexes; Flair begs off; crowd goes wild. Luger carries Flair like a sack of potato back into the ring, but as the ref tries to get a clean break in the corner, Flair stuns Luger. However, Luger no-sells Flair offense and hits a gorilla press slam for 4^th press slam for Flair, which leads to our first Flair Flop. After Flair kicks out, we get out first Flair eye-poke, which leads to a chop block to Luger’s knee. NOW WE GO TO SCHOOL!  Luger is under-rated seller when motivated. His vocal selling could use some work. The crowd comes alive with disdain as Flair hits Luger with a steel chair across the knee shades of Starrcade 1988. Nobody, but nobody works a knee or a crowd into a frenzy like Flair. When you can just pick up someone’s foot and the make a crowd go crazy, you know that you are a fuckin good at what you do. Figure-4 is on and Flair does some old-school cheating by grabbing the ropes for additional leverage. Luger powers up and reverses the pressure, which causes pain to Flair now, but to is easy to break the hold at that point. Luger suplexes Flair into the ring, but Luger hesitates on the crowd due to his bad knee. In a crowd-pleasing spot, Luger press slams Flair off the top and Luger no-sells Flair’s offense, which leads Flair to the desperate move of tagging in Sting.

“Put down the popcorn, Grandma” – The Brain as we are about to see the most interesting pairing of the three. Sting vs Lex Luger, the best friends go at in the squared circle. Dusty decrees that respect has just left town, but the Brain declares that Sting is a softie drawing their ire of his colleagues. Collar and elbow tie-up leads to a clean break in the corner by both men. Now it is time for the test of strength but Luger being the prick he is kicks Sting in the gut. This is so weird. This is such a Luger dynamic. It is like he does a mid-match turn. He wrestled babyface against Flair, but is now calling for a timeout like a cowardly heel. Good power match between the two with great energy from the Stinger. Luger is still selling the knee, good for him and now stands on his friend’s throat and the announcers are incredulous. Sting gets a pinfall attempt off a flying cross-body, but gets caught with knees to gut off a Vaderbomb attempt by Sting. Sting is looking for the Scoprion Deathlock as Luger catches him with a blatant low-blow. Tony wonders how this will affect this friendship and Dusty thinks that friendship is garbage. This portion of the match is too discontinuous. No real flow, just disconnected power move spots. The only real story is Luger’s heelish antics. As Luger gets Sting in the rack, the ref is bumped giving Flair a chance to clip Luger’s knee and toss them both over the top. The count is on and just as Sting was about to make it back in Luger holds Sting back. Oooooooooooooooo drama!

Will I ever review a match with a clean finish? Flair by virtue of a countout will be facing the Macho Man later tonight for the World Title. Discontinuous match, which was really three separate matches. The Flair portions rocked, Luger-Sting was weird. I give it ***.

WCW World Heavyweight Champion “Macho Man” Randy Savage vs “Nature Boy” Ric Flair
Starrcade 1995

The Brain goes a brilliant rant to put over his man, The Man, Ric Flair and punctuates with a Flair-esque WOOOOO!!!! Savage is rockin the doo-rag rather than the Technicolor hat and takes the mic just to say OOOOOHHHH YYEAAAAHHHHH! Michael Buffer does the intro’s in a bid by WCW to gain credibility. Savage’s arm is taped up and Flair is now being managed by the “Snake in the Grass” as Dusty affectionately calls Jimmy Hart.

Lock up to start and Savage goes for a backslide quickly. This should be quick because both men have already wrestled. Savage peppers Flair by jabs. Mr. Wonderful in a neck brace is out to watch because the Horseman piledrove on the cement in an angle that went nowhere.  Flair attempts the Figure-4 but Savage kicks him off. A Flair Flip leads to Savage attempting a double axe-handle to the floor. Flair takes over on the floor, which is his domain. He sends Savage into the post bad arm first showing his excellent psychology.  Even Jimmy Hart gets his kicks in and the commentators are confused why Hart is managing Flair.

Back in the ring, Flair uses the ropes to assist his hammerlock, Flair is so smooth and so good. Savage’s selling builds sympathy so effectively. This is such good match chemistry that always leads to the viewer rooting for Flair to get his comeuppance. Apparently, Tenzan, Savage’s opponent earlier in the night, already worked on the arm.  Flair halts a bit of Savage momentum with a short-lived sleeper. Savage almost gets a pinfall off a wicked right hook. Savage goes up top for the double axe-handle, but gets caught. Hart throws the mega-phone to Flair, but Savage snags it and busts Flair open. This leads to a Savage big elbow. HORSEMEN TIME!!!

Savage is able to throw Pillman into Benoit, but Double A whacks Savage with brass knucks. Anderson drapes Flair over Savage as Flair wins the title for the 12^th time breaking his own record. Pillman is doing his brilliant Loose Canon gimmick. Good match, but too short to be a true classic. However, Savage vs Flair is like ice cream it is always damn good. ***

Now for the return match

WCW World Heavyweight Champion “Nature Boy” Ric Flair vs Randy “Macho Man” Savage

January 22, 1996 Monday Nitro

WAHOO!!! Finally a match off the Macho Madness WWE DVD. Hooray! For crystal-clear audiovisual quality. This is from the beginning of the Monday Night War as Bischoff is trying to prove to the fans that Nitro is the superior show by giving them superior matches and must-see TV. What is more must-see than World Heavyweight Title Match between two of the biggest icons EVAH~! Well you will see.

Savage begins with the mind-games by bringing about a bunch of beautiful women and announces that he is steaming hot. Hogan, ever the hog of lime-light, does some brown-nosing before Hogan challenges for the title that Savage has not even won. Hogan, by the way, had a shot at the belt two weeks ago. Give me a break, Hogan. Woman, a former valet of Flair, is out with Savage.. OOOOOOOOOO DRAMA!!!! Yes they decided to name a character, Woman I may be a proud fan, but I still recognize how fuckin stupid wrestling can be.

Bischoff announces the return of Miss Elizabeth (Savage’s ex-wife and long-time valet) tomorrow night as Savage’s valet. Flair is  out with Jimmy Hart. I am going with Savage’s entourage, BABY! Flair agrees with me and immediately goes out to flirt with Woman.  Flair ends up like I do on most weekend nights with a sore, red left cheek. Savage jumps him, but Flair escapes to the ring. Savage does not give Flair a clean break in the corner because he is a badass. Flair takes over with a reverse elbow out of the corner and then peppers him with chops and punches. Hart gets some shots in on Savage out on the floor. Savage takes a great bump by doing a front-flip over the guard-rail. Savage escapes with a back-body drop only to take the Pillman bump onto the guardrail off a failed attempt at a double axe-handle. Back from commercial, Savage has recovered and gives Flair ten punches in the corner leading to a whip into a corner and a Flair Flip. We get a Flair Flop out of sheer exhaustion and Savage goes for one of his favorite spots the backslide. Flair hits the shinbreaker leading to uS GOING TO SCHOOL!  The Dirtiest Payer In The Game gets caught using the ropes for additional leverage on the Figure-4, which leads to the hold being broken. Flair and the ref get into a shoving match in a spot that always pops the crowd.

Savage crawls towards Flair because he is INSANE! Flair hits a running knee-drop, but he goes to the top leading to Savage press slamming off the top. Savage connects with a series of double-axe-handles. Savage is distracted by Hart as Double A comes down to interfere on Savage’s behalf., Anderson mistakenly hammers Flair with knucks. Hogan is out to detain Anderson and Savage hits the big elbow. SAVAGE WINS HIS SECOND WCW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP!

What can be bigger than a title match on live, free TV, why a title change of course. That is how Nitro was winning the ratings war with must-see TV by having big, marquee matches on free TV. Better match than Starrcade because they were more well-rested and the match had way more spark to it for it.   ***1/2

Because Flair lost the title, he was due a champion’s return match, which was set-up at the next PPV in February of 1996 at Superbrawl in a Steel Cage. This time Savage would have the Lovely Elizabeth in his corner and Flair having reunited with Woman after she turned on Savage probably by hitting him in the eye with her high-heel shoe.

WCW World Heavyweight Champion “Macho Man” Randy Savage vs “Nature Boy” Ric Flair in a Steel Cage Match

Superbrawl VI


WAHOO!!! Found a high-quality version of this on youtube instead of my shitty downloaded version. Flair is looking awfully confident as a challenger in his fabulous purple, sequined robe. This may be my favorite robe of Flair ever. Woman is of course in matching purple. Tony reasons that his confidence stems from the fact that the Steel Cage is Flair’s domain. Savage is rocking Michigan colors going Maize and Blue because he is FUCKIN MACHO~! Elizabeth is looking foxy in a matching blue dress with a high-slit up the left leg. (RIP)

 “Being from Beverly Hills, I never took a woman to the chicken coop and I hired someone to fight for me” –Bobby The Brain retorting to Dusty about his high school days.

Flair does some stalling by offering Elizabeth the chance to “Kiss a real man” on the mic. Savage answers for Liz with “Ohhhhhhh Noooooo”, good exchange. Tony starts creepily fantasizing about the women of WCW leave it for the shower, Tony. Finally Savage lets Flair in the cage and it is a fight in the corner with jabs and chops.  Early on, Flair already hits his knee out of the corner and Flair sends Savage in the corner. Flair decks the ref. Why? Because he is RIC MUTHAFUCKIN FLAIR!!!!

Savage goes for his backslide, but no ref. Savage with a back-body drop and a couple clotheslines to take control of this match leading to some excellent verbal selling by the master, Ric Flair.  Savage tries to send Flair into the cage, but Flair desperately pushes Savage into the cage. This takes he steam out of the Savage Crazy Train. Savage sells fatigue better than anyone else. Savage has a burst of energy and Flair clobbers him with a reverse elbow. Flair rams the back of Savage’s head into cage in a show of brutality. Savage catches Flair off the top with a press slam, what a shocker. Savage slaps the Figure 4 on Flair to embarrass him as much as to hurt him.  Great evidence of the cerebral strategy that Savage employs. Flair gets to the rope, but it is a cage match, so it doesn’t fuckin matter., boo hoo, Flair. Savage lets go only pummel Flair with strikes as he goes for the first fall of the match.

HOLY SHIT! Savage goes to the top of the cage only to get a punch into the gut as he jumped off the 10-foot high cage for a double axe-handle. A vertical suplex gets Flair two as Brain smugly mocks Savage and thinks it is academic that Flair will his 13^th world title. Flair sends Savage head first into the cage and Savage looks well-done. Dusty attempts to say Modus Operandi, but he is from West Texas, use your imagination to figure out how well that turned out.

Flair slaps on the Figure 4 and now Savage gets the ropes, but the ref decides he will break the hold. Has there ever been a case of worse biased officiating? BE FAIR TO FLAIR!!! Woman is shrieking at ringside to encourage Flair. This leads Brain to say “I have never let a woman yell at me” I found that humorous. Flair tries another Figure 4, but Savage reveres with an inside cradle, but Flair has the presence of mind to kick out. Savage finally sends Flair into cage to firmaly take command.

Now Savage rakes Flair’s face into the cage to the delight of the blood-thirsty fans.  I don’t know what is more annoying. Woman shrieking or Tony saying ewwy as Savage is raking Flair’s face. Flair is busted open and is taking some serious punishment from the cage. Flair reverses with an atomic drop, but cant  take advantage as he is exhausted as does a Flair Flop. As Flair attempts to escape over the cage, Savage pulls down Flair’s draw exposing his bare ass drawing laughs from the crowd and the Brain to say, “This maybe Tamps, but it is a Moon over Miami, right now” O Brain! As Flair breaks free, he “accidentally” crotches himself on the top rope with his ass hanging out. Brain announces “We still have a lot more Flair to see”. I have actually seen that exact spot done in 2005 on a WWE house show and bare Flair ass is not a pretty sight, but always gets a reaction.



Flair stalks the Macho Man with a crazed look as crimson blood soaks his hair and drips down his face. Flair is so pissed that he does what all pissed people do, choke his enemy. Flair looking to leave again, leads to some more Flair ribald humor with his ass hanging out. Both men are exhausted and collapse from the incredible pace they have cut. Savage sends Flair back into the cage, head-first and works over that open-wound. WCW, being a bunch of chumps, goes for the WIDE-ANGLE LENS OF DISCOMFORT because of the amount of blood on Flair’s face. Woman looks to throw a unknown white powder into Macho Man’s eyes. If that shit was cocaine, she better watch out that shit is like spinach for the Macho Man.

O FUCK NO! Elizabeth has handed her high-heeled shoe to Flair and he spikes him in the face for his 13^th World Title. This was truly a shocking turn of events because this was before all the late 90’s non-sensical turns just for the sake of having a turn for shock value. Elizabeth was a quiet, almost meek woman that did not have a bad bone in her body. Nobody, but nobody expected a heel turn. The motivation behind this was apparently Elizabeth had divorced Elizabeth and she was taking Savage’s fortune to be with a REAL MAN, Ric Flair. Hogan comes out to “tend” to Savage and gets a nice “Hogan Sucks!” chant. Ladies and gentlemen, you're number one babyface! He was controversial before Cena made controversial, "cool".

To the victor goes the spoils: Woman, Ric Flair, Miss Elizabeth

The match was one of the best of their series with each other. It was a well-structured cage match that plays to both men’s strengths and had a little color (both blood and comedy). With these two well-conditioned performers, you know they will cut a tremendous pace. The story was clear Flair was going to attack with precision on the knee and cheat if he had to. Savage wanted to overwhelm Flair with high-risk moves when that backfired he was fighting on guts and using the cage as his ally. Overall, I am giving it ****. Killer match, DIG IT!



These two would feud for the rest of the summer with no big blow-off because the entire company was basically re-set with the nWo storyling beginning.

I have not decided on tomorrow’s offering, but it will assuredly be MACHO~!