2 Out of 3 Falls: Rey Mysterio, Dean Malenko, Ultimo Dragon

Hey yo,

What do you when all your friends have jobs and your brother has school? You, of course, call up your septuagenarian friend and have a grand ole time playing tennis and watching ’68 Tigers World Series Campaign (Mickey Lolich hit a homer in Game 2 and Holy Shit were Denny McLain and Bob Gibson absolute beasts!). Tigers Sweep! Lets Go Tigers! Yankees Suck!

So I am going to try to be most efficient in my analysis. This is because of three reasons:

• I don’t have time to write these 10-page long comparative analysis pieces
• You probably don’t have the time to read all that
• Match reviews already exist. There is no point in rehashing it. I want to focus more on analysis

From now, I will provide links to match reviews, which will also give the reader a general feel of the consensus on the match.

Seriously, where do all these girls play tennis??!?!??!!

This week’s 2 Out Of 3 Falls was inspired by a poster (named Loss, who watches a lot of friggin wrestling) at prowrestlingonly.com forums in the 1996 yearbook. In 1996, WCW made their big push against the WWF with the New World Order angle. In addition to a hot angle on top, WCW inject their mid-card with exciting, young international talent especially in their cruiserweight division. Up until 1996, American wrestling promotions featured most of their attention on heavyweights. In an effort to further differentiate their product, WCW made the call to develop and emphasize a cruiserweight division. This division comprised mostly of Mexican luchadores was totally fresh to American wrestling fans who grew to love their breath-taking dives and cool masks.   This week’s piece will look at the beginning of the cruiserweight division through the context of three major superstars of the formative period of the division: Dean Malenko,  Rey Mysterio, Ultimo Dragon (poor Psychosis, he always gets left out). The matches evaluated will  consist of Dean Malenko/Rey Mysterio GAB ’96, Rey Mysterio/Ultimo Dragon.

Iceman

Dean Malenko – “The Iceman” was a part of a dying breed of chain wrestlers with a very workmanlike approach to his wrestling. At his best, Malenko could deliver an interesting, grind-away counterpoint to the flashy style of his opponents such as Eddy Guerrero and Rey Mysterio. However, The “Man of 1000 Holds” often had a tendency to have self-indulgent, ego-masturbatory wankfests for matches. The best way to describe Malenko is that he is like a progressive rock band such as Rush. A very talented individual with lots of moves, but all these moves do not always tell a very interesting story. Originally, he was hailed by smart mark community as one of their darlings and a very underutilized talent. However, in recent years, it seems revisionist history has taken hold and labeled Dean Malenko as boring. By the end of this blog, we will be able to better evaluate if Malenko was a boring, self-indulgent arteest or a highly skilled artist.

Eddie vs Rey what a classic

Rey Mysterio – Between the years 1994-96, Mysterio has the case of being the greatest wrestler in North America. In 1994 and 1995, he was presenting incredible lucha classics against the likes of Psicosis and Juventud Guerrera in Mexico. Lucha is a style that I personally have found very inaccessible. However, even with my hardened heart towards lucha, I have found Rey’s work in Mexico to be interesting and entertaining. In late 1995, Rey and Psicosis took their show on the road to Japan and ECW, where they exposed foreign crowds to lucha libre for the first time to great success. One of my favorite matches of all time is the 2 Out of 3 Falls match between Mysterio/Psicosis in ECW. Thus it was just a matter of time before WCW gobbled up the King of Luchadores: Rey Mysterio to be a part of their new cruiserweight division. In June of 1996, Rey made his debut against the reigning cruiserweight champion Dean Malenko at Great American Bash. I think the comparative analysis of these three matches will allow people to see how well Rey adapted to American audiences and wrestle two very different opponents.

Ultimo Dragon – O Dragon! What a headache you can be, Mr. Asai. Personally, I am a fan of Ultimo Dragon and think when he is on that he is one of best junior heavyweights ever. However, Dragon is prone to fits of laziness or weird psychology. Dragon offers a great array of strikes and high-impact moves (suplexes, powerbombs etc), which are not the specialty of Malenko and Mysterio. Actually he is probably the most well-rounded wrestler offensively of the three as he can take it to the air or wrestle on the mat as well. However, Mysterio blows him away in selling and bumping, which makes hard for Dragon to make up that gap. That is where the Dragon can really hurt his matches. He will oft neglect to sell during latter part of the matches just so he can get all of his cool shit in. His matches can also have poor transitions due to his forgetfulness of earlier psychology and the employment of moves willy nilly. When the Dragon uses his arsenal in a logical fashion and is allowed to control the match, I believe that is when his matches are at their best.

From their July Nitro Match

WCW Cruiserweight Champion Dean Malenko vs Rey Mysterio Jr.
Great American Bash June 16, 1996 ( Scott Keith GAB '96 )

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, Benoit/Sullivan), but doesn’t rank that highly in the world. 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. 

Thats the fuckin J-Crown. Pretty Badass

J-Crown Champion Ultimo Dragon vs Rey Mysterio Jr.

World War III November 24, 1996 ( Scott Keith WWIII '96 )

[The J-Crown was a set of 8 cruiserweight/junior heavyweight titles from around the world including incidentally enough the WWF Light Heavyweight Title. That’s at the height of the Monday Night Wars the WWF Light Heavyweight Title. The J-Crown always looked impressive as Dragon would walk out with his 8 titles on TV. I actually just watched the two most famous matches from the J-Crown tournament. I highly recommend the semi-final between Shinjiro Ohtani (my choice for best wrestler in the world in 1996) and Ultimo Dragon. The final between Great Sasuke and Ultimo Dragon is a fun high-flying exhibition, but the semi-final is one of the best junior heavyweight matches ever.]

Rey Mysterio had become the centerpiece of WCW’s cruiserweight division, but had dropped the title back to Malenko at Halloween Havoc, the previous month. In this match, it is Rey’s job to cement Ultimo Dragon as the top heel of the cruiserweight division. This is the match where people rightfully so complain of Rey getting gobbled up by Dragon’s offense. Whereas, the Malenko match felt like a struggle where two men were trying to win a match with natural strategies, this match felt like an exhibition of Dragon’s spots. Don’t get me wrong, Dragon has some pretty nifty spots (he busts out the Giant Swing!!!), but never feels like he is trying to win. Instead, he is just trying to show-off all his cool moves. Here is a list of the cool moves:

• Spinning Argentine Backbreaker
• Giant Swing
• Slingshot Powerbomb
• His Intricate Outside the ring sequence
• Spinning Tombstone Piledriver
• Running Ligerbomb
• Brainbuster
• Surprisingly did not do the Asai Moonsault (named after him)

This is the type of story that always falls flat with me. It is simply because there is no story. There is not a struggle. It is just an exhibition. It is fun visually, but not emotionally. In addition, Dragon did really use anything to set up his moves. Usually, he uses a ground game to weaken his opponents before he works his shit in. Instead, it just felt like pick up Rey and do his spots.

Rey be assertive. Where were your hope spots? The match was dying because of the babyface was getting totaled out there. It looked like match I had against my stuffed bear yesterday erm I mean 15 years ago. I totally mean 15 years ago.

Dusty was cracking me up throughout the match, but this quote not only makes me laugh, but is accurate portrayal of the match “This is pants-down momma spankin you whuppin!”  Of course at the finish, Rey does make his comeback and hits his visually impressive spots like his somersault plancha. The finish was hot, but the how fuck would the finish not be hot when you have Dragon with his ZILLION moves and Rey flying around at a mile a minute. They had a perfect ending: Dragon is able to catch Rey Rey off the springboard and hit a fuckin Slingshot Powerbomb (BITCHIN~!) for the win.

I have watched this match a lot because I happen to love watching Ultimo Dragon’s offense, but it is not a very dramatic match and thus loses a lot of points in my book.

Spoiler Alert: Dragon wont sell the leg

WCW Cruiserweight Champion Dean Malenko vs J-Crown Champion Ultimo Dragon

Starrcade December 29, 1996 ( Scott Keith Starrcade '96 )

These wrestlers sure did a great job reinforcing each other’s worst behavior. It was a like a vicious feedback loop where the problems just got compounded as the match progressed. Malenko gave one of his tone-deaf performances where he was committed to wrestling HIS match rather than the match the fans wanted. Dragon was in full one-up manship mode and totally focused on getting his offense over rather than getting the match over. Together these two presented an incredibly disjointed performance. It was not horrible, just really weird and not the classic that I was expecting.

During the entrances, Malenko was surprisingly over with fans especially given he was playing a heel in October against Rey. Though, I think was more due to Dragon playing the evil foreigner archetype than Malenko tweaking his character. The problem with Malenko’s performance was that he would do a big move to pop the crowd and then immediately grab a hold in such a way to kill the excitement of the fans, who just wanted to see him let loose. Malenko clearly wanted to work a mat-based style in order to set up the exciting finishing stretch. Dragon can go on the mat with best of them. His matches with Liger and Ohtani prove that. However, Dragon did not seem to get the memo in this match. I think Dragon was under the impression that American crowds were dumb and they just wanted highspots. So he set out to deliver highspots rather working with Malenko. Ergo the transitions were non-existent and each segment felt artificial and in vacuum.

At the beginning of the match Malenko hit a back drop driver to a big pop only to slap on a chinlock and then have Dragon take over is a perfect example of bringing the crowd up only to let them down. This was another problem with the match it felt too back and forth with not real strong stretch to build heat. Dragon runs through his offense until another Malenko back drop driver wakes up the crowd. Surprisingly, Malenko is selling better than Dragon. In a weird moment, Mike Tenay, resident cruiserweight expert analyst says that Dragon should really be pronounced Dragone for some stupid reason. Dusty thinks this is hilarious and proceeds to call him Dragone the rest of the match. I love Dusty Rhodes and I don’t care who knows it.

The finish is definitely the best part of this match as they just say “Fuck the rest of the match, LETS FUCKIN GO!” Dragon busts out a powerbomb to kick things off and the reverse tombstone spot with Malenko executing is always a crowd-pleaser and a great false finish. Malenko hits a Tiger Driver for 2, which was a killer false finish with Dragon timing his kick-out for maximum effect. Dragon adds the Asai Moonsault and Malenko busts out the Texas Cloverleaf before Dragon is able to garner the victory with a Tiger Suplex.

The finish was fun in the same way a Michael Bay action movie is fun because it is just a bunch of big moves strung together. The body of the match was basically non-existent and did not factor into the finish at all. This match is a perfect case for the detractors of both men as Malenko delivered a rather tepid performance until the end and Dragon focused more getting himself over at the expense of the match.

I have NEVER seen such beautiful and ugly form at the same time!

 I do not if somebody got in Dragon’s ear in WCW or if it was his own perception how to work in America because it seems that he believed in a high-spot laden exhibition was the best way to excel in America. Ultimately, Dragon was phased out of WCW by late 1997, whereas an exciting performer like Rey, who worked hard to get the match over and himself became a two-time World Heavyweight Champion and one of the biggest stars in the WWE. For Dragon, I would check out the two J-Crown matches I mentioned early and his match against Jushin Liger in December of 1995 to illustrate how good Dragon can be.

Deano Machino would keep on plugging away in the WCW mid-card until early 2000 when he jumped to WWF and was totally lost in shuffle. However, Malenko now works successfully as a road agent for WWE. Malenko was a great chain wrestler, who sometimes worked matches that were more self-indulgent than anything else. His match against Rey Mysterio proves how his style can mesh incredibly well by building an anticipation to highspots of his opponents. I recommend his matches with Eddie Guerrero in ECW. I cant recommend his match against Benoit at Hog Wild ’96 in full conscience because I have only seen it once and I don’t remember it clearly.

Rey Mysterio became the breakout star of the cruiserweight division because of his ability to adapt his lucha style to the American style. Almost immediately, he understood the idea of playing a sympathetic babyface and timed his hope spots so well. I think sometimes he does let himself get dominated too much like against Dragon, but usually just the credible threat of his highspots is enough to keep the crowd invested. Rey Mysterio before his first knee injury in January 1998 is one of my favorite wrestlers in the world. If you want a good exposure to lucha, I recommend his 9/22/95 match against Psicosis and any of his matches against Juventud Guerrera in AAA. In addition, I would add his ECW matches against Psicosis and his Bash At The Beach ’96 match against Psicosis, which is my pick for match of the year from WCW and his match against Jushin "Thunder" Liger at Starrcade '96. Rounding Rey’s killer first run, everybody needs to see his match against Eddie Guerrero at Halloween Havoc ’97 as it is the pinnacle of the cruiserweight division and one of the top matches in the history of the WCW.

I have not done any tag team matches or matches from WWF/E so I definitely plan on doing something related to that. Until next time,

Yankees Suck! LETS GO TIGERS!!! WORLD SERIES, MUTHAFUCKAS~!       

2 Out of 3 Falls: Brian Pillman, Lex Luger, Ricky Steamboat

Hey yo,

I had thought I had seen it all in my 18 years of watching soap operas and then Bold and Beautiful busts out a Defenestration, shades of Prague circa 1618 to jump start the Thomas-Rick feud for CEO. Great, great ending to the weekend.

If we are real quiet, I bet we can hear the ocean between those cans!

I have half of the Mysterio, Malenko, and Dragon 2 Out Of 3 Falls written, but with the 15^th Anniversary of Brian Pillman’s passing, I thought it would be timely to cover one of the sharpest minds of the wrestling business. Pillman was a thinking man’s wrestler that maximized the most of his talents to deliver hotly contested wrestling matches. Due to compounding injuries and drug usage, Pillman reinvented himself as the “Loose Canon” a gimmick that blurred the lines between fact and fiction. The “Loose Canon” allowed Pillman to utilize that raspy voice (a result of numerous surgeries as a child to remove throat polyps) to its greatest effect whipping up WCW, ECW and WWF fans throughtout late 1995 until his death on October 5, 1997. While I love these promos and character, at this point in his career Pillman had largely been rendered immobile and his best years in the ring were left behind him. This has led Jim Ross, one of his biggest supporters, to declare that Brian Pillman died of a broken heart due to his failure to realize his dreams to become a main event player in the wrestling world. Since this is a blog that focuses more on in-ring work, not to say I don’t love a good promo and solid character work, I will be focusing on the years when Pillman is one of the greatest wrestlers in the world, but due to his size he was relegated to the mid-card. The mid-card is a very integral part of the wrestling show. Even though, the main event is what draws fans into arena, the fans aspect an entertaining show for three hours. When Pillman was on the card, the fans were ensured one helluva wrestling bout. My theory about Pillman is that his usage would have been maximized as a wrestling antihero. He was best as wrestling as a babyface, but better in the stick as a heel. Lets see if I can back this up by analyzing babyface contest against heel US Champion Lex Luger in 1989 and a heel performance with “Stunning” Steve Austin as the Hollywood Blonds against World Tag Champs Ricky Steam and Shane Douglas.

Best Sunglasses In The Biz

A quick word on the other contestants in the ring:

Lex Luger – I am a huge Luger mark and probably the biggest on the internet. The general consensus has finally arrived at the conclusion that I had, which is Luger from 88-91 was involved in some excellent bouts. They only make this conclusion stating that Luger could be carried by his opponent. I assert that Luger was one of the Best in the World in that timeframe. I hope to prove that in this blog and future blogs.

Ricky Steamboat – Is one of the best fundamental wrestler you will ever find, great at everything, but only truly spectacular at selling. His offense was solid and for the time you could say his aerial tactics were top shelf, but he was never going to give you crazy chain wrestling, a spotfest or a violent brawl. Instead, he would leverage his extraordinary selling to elicit sympathy from the audience building tension for his heated comeback. The central question about Steamboat is he the greatest babyface ever?

Steve Austin – You may have heard of this tough SOB’s name. Well before Austin became a beer-drinking, stunnering, foul-mouthed redneck, he was a blond, old-school heel from Hollywood. I think Austin always preferred being a heel and truly enjoyed the chickenshit and comedic aspect of being a heel. This is why he pushed for his 2001 heel turn because to him that was what true classic wrestling was. In this performance, he delivers an inspired heel performance 

Shane Douglas – The funny thing about Shane is that due to youthful appearance and long blond hair he was cast as a bouncing babyface both as Johnny Ace’s tag team partner and now as Steamboat’s tag partner. What is funny about that is Shane Douglas is one angry prick. From his ECW work, he found out just how fuckin angry he was. But even in these tags with Steamboat when he was supposed to be a smiling, happy-go-lucky babyface, you could tell it was forced because he was just an angry young man. I have a watched a lot of fuckin Shane Douglas over the past day, but this match against Blonds is probably the greatest performance of his career.

Sssssshhhh this was my sister's crush when she was 6. Ssssshhh I didnt say that. Lex Luger

NWA US Heavyweight Champion “The Total Package” Lex Luger vs Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat
Great American Bash 1989

Backstory: Steamboat lost the World Heavyweight Championship to Ric Flair at Wrestlewar 1989 (candidate for greatest match of all time). Terry Funk was looking to get a shot at Flair after being snubbed and then summarily piledriving Flair on a table. This was 1989 so that was some wild fuckin shit. First Funk had to beat Steamboat and this was built as the Main Event of June’s Clash of the Champions. So one day, Luger interrupts a Steamboat/Funk promo and cuts the promo of his life. As much, I love Luger, I always thought his promos sucked the big one due to dry mouth and lack of any rhythm. So after Funk/Steamboat, Luger comes out and destroys Steamboat with a chair to seal his heel turn and set up this match. Now the match is supposed to be No Disqualification with build being Steamboat getting his revenge during this match.

Steamboat has a ridiculous entrance as he is carried to the ring on a plank with the least terrifying looking komodo dragon all the while he looks terrified of falling. Luger’s entrance actually malfunctions as he is on a rotating disk that is supposed to show him doing bodybuilder poses. He tries to spin with his feet and when it wont give so he just turns around and flexes. It is funnier if you watch it, I pinky swear. So Luger marches to the ring and he will have none of the NO DQ stip. In fact, if Steamboat does not waive it, he is taking his ball and going home. This makes sense because in a No DQ match the champion loses his advantage and in essence the title is held-up. Steamboat just wanting to get his hands on the Total Package accepts Luger’s desired alterations.

First thing I LOVE about this match is that Steamboat leaves his usual armdrags and armbars at the door because HE IS PISSED~! The beginning they establish Luger is stronger and Steamboat is quicker with multiple quick pinfalls. Ross and Caudle work to establish Luger’s heel turn even mentioning that some fans continue to cheer for him even though he mocks them (heel fans in 1989, they never got laid). Steamboat brings the hate with chops, dropkicks and a back body drop. Luger takes a powder and Steamboat continues his onslaught with an atomic drop. In one of Luger’s favorite spots, Luger cuts Steamboat with a kneelift as the Dragon attempted to get back in the ring. Luger is using Steamboat’s intensity against him and is setting up opportunities to create an advantage for himself. He follows that up with a  wicked lariat on Steamboat. But Steamboat will not be denied as he drives Luger’s head into a table on the outside.

Back in Ross informs us that Luger said “A good big man would beat a good little man everytime”. Luger catches Steamboat as he comes off the top rope with a punch to the gut. This continues the theme of Luger being able to turn Steamboat’s reckless abandon against him. Luger immediately follows up with a backbreaker and a Gorrila Press slam, which gets an audible pop. This time Luger established a heat segment with his focus on the lower back. The first act of the match was all about Steamboat’s anger and intensity and Luger looking for a way to stifle him. This introduces three elements:

• set up for the Torture Rack
• Will Luger get cocky or will he attack purposefully now that he has grounded Steamboat
• This whole match the Dragon has been offense how will he react on defense
• Luger doin extra taunting in order to get a heel reaction

Funny spot as Luger bitches about the count, Steamboat rolls him up quickly and the ref fast counts him. Tommy Young is one cheeky bastard. Luger, in a fit of frustration, rattles off three big lariats. Steamboat does the out on his feet, swinging in their aimlessly, fall on his ass sell job. Got to love Steamboat! Luger connects with a powerslam for two and finally a “Luger Sucks” chants starts. Steamboat catches him with a cross-body to get two in a well-timed hope spot. After trading moves, Luger crashes and burns over the top off a missed lariat (a typical 1989 Luger spot). Steamboat proved resilient, which forced Luger to go for a big bomb. This allowed Steamboat to use his quickness to cause Luger to miss his big bomb. 

Greatest babyface ever? Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat

Luger falls on top of Steamboat on a bodyslam attempt for a 2 count putting over the fatigue at this point of this grueling contest. Luger eats a Flair press slam off the top and Steamboat gets a second wind a barrage of chops and dropkicks ensue. Steamboat connects with a top rope chop to get a 2 count. Now Steamboat is the one frustrated because he finally hit his big bomb and it only led to a two count. Luger grabs a chair (the same weapon he used on him a month ago), but as the ref blocks him from using it, Steamboat is able to catapult him into the corner with chair meeting Luger’s skull. Steamboat letting his anger get the best of him attacks Luger with chair thus getting DQ’d. Steamboat chases Luger to the back with the chair as that segment ends.

I fuckin love this match. Everything makes sense and it is so heated and action-packed. Steamboat does not work any holds and is out to punish Luger. He starts going for big bombs and Luger is able to finally stifle him. Luger works him over nicely and gets the crowd going. Luger gets frustrated and goes for a bomb and misses letting Steamboat back into the match. Then when Steambat hits his big move and cant get the win the drama kicks into overdrive because it feels as if it is only a matter of time before Steamboat wins. Only for Luger to feel the only way to save his title is the chair. Then Steamboat letting his emotions get the best of him use the chair to inflict more punishment on him. One of my personal favorite matches and all-time classic, definitely check this match out.

Flyin Brian with Extra Day-Glo

NWA US Heavyweight Champion “Total Package” Lex Luger vs “Flyin” Brian Pillman
Halloween Havoc 1989  

I do not know of any backstory to this match. Basically, I get the feeling that Pillman was a bright newcomer so they put him in there with one of the top heels and give him a shot at a major title and see how he does. This is one of the smartest worked matches I have ever seen. It is not like Steamboat/Luger, which has the ability to play off a feud. Instead all the drama in the match has to be generated between the ropes, which is not an easy task. Now factor in that both men debuted about three years before this and it is a very tough challenge. Both men delivered in spades with big time performances and getting very good crowd heat throughout.

The story does take a couple of viewings before you get a good grasp of it. It seems that not even announcers really understood what was going on as he often wondered why Luger was not going for power moves instead of his strike-oriented offense. All will be explained in the following paragraphs.

Instead of establishing the obvious Luger strength advantage, they put over Pillman’s tenacity by letting him stick with collar-elbow tie-up and get a playful slap out of that. Luger does not take to kindly to the insolence from the rookie (it was Pillman’s first year with company) and takes him to the woodshed. Then he gets cocky after all he is Lex Fuckin Luger. Pillman does not take kindly to that and just tackles him to the ground then follows it up with a chop, back body drop, dropkick, baseball slide and another chop. Luger is giving Pillman a lot here and making him look really good. Air Pillman misses and Luger bails; Pillman gives chase. Luger cuts Pillman off with a kneelift, hmmm where I have seen this before. Luger tries to set up for a power move to consolidate the advantage but Pillman evades him with a cross body block, which gets two. Pillman then grounds the more powerful Luger with an armdrag and wristlock.

This is the sequence I just fuckin love about this match. Pillman started off full of piss and vinegar, but that got him in trouble so now he is content with controlling the pace with an armbar. This frustrates Luger rather than really hurting him. Everytime, Luger tries to get something going on offense Pillman will use his quickness to get back into the armbar. They go back to this like three times, which really hammers home the point. Pillman does not how to put away Luger and Luger cant use his strikes to set up a control segment because of Pillman’s quickness. This only works because Luger consciously only uses strikes and no slams or suplexes during this portion. You really get a feeling that Pillman is out-wrestling Luger, but you are worried that he wont put him away. Perfect analogy is when an underdog has the slight lead on a favorite the whole game. You are in shock that they are hanging tough with the favorite and as the match progresses you are nervous if they can hold on. Just like in that scenario, when the favorite or Luger in this case starts to build momentum your stomach drops.

That’s when it happens. Pillman goes for the put away and crashes and burns on a splash attempt. Now Luger finally has the ability to put together an offensive sequence that makes Pillman only more sympathetic as he takes an ass-kicking from the much bigger Luger. Luger crushes him with a wicked clothesline from behind, steps on his throat and a delayed vertical suplex gets two as he releases all that frustration. As Pillman tries t build a comeback, Luger sends him crashing through the ropes onto the outside with a well-timed leverage move. Pillman gets a sunset flip for two when he gets back in and then Luger crashes and burns on his big lariat attempt as he hurdles over the rope to the floor. It is such a great spot because it looks visually impressive and Luger uses it late in matches to put over the fact his opponent is so resilient that he needs to go for a big move to end it, but cant connect. As they tussle on top, Pillman pushes Luger off the top and gets a sunset flip for 2. Pillman follows this up with a flying reverse elbow for 2. Now the place is rocking as Luger is begging off and Pillman is looking like a million bucks. Air Pillman (springboard clothesline) connects, but only gets two as Luger puts his foot on the ropes (protecting the finisher). Pillman misses a dropkick and Luger connects with a hotshot to escape with title.

Luger gave so much to Pillman throughout the match. In the beginning, he let Pillman look like his equal in the collar-elbow tieup. He sold for Pillman well during the hot shine segment. Then he let Pillman control a well-put together body of the match, which illustrated how Pillman’s quickness was besting Luger’s power. The heat segment put over Pillman’s resilience. Then finally the Pillman comeback really felt like Pillman was one move away from winning. The finish paid off how Pillman’s mistakes were his downfall and that Luger escaped with his title by hitting one lucky move off. Fabulous match and really shows how Luger was one of the best workers in the world in 1989 and that Pillman had a bright future ahead of him.   

Always the jokesters: The Hollywood Blonds

NWA/WCW World Tag Team Champions Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat & Shane Douglas vs The Hollywood Blonds (Brian Pillman & Steve Austin)
Clash of the Champions XXII

I watched three Pillman vs Steamboat/Douglas matches. Even though everyone says the Windham/Pillman and Blonds title change are the better matches. I have to disagree to me this is the best of the series. They pack more action in here and really build to heated finish. Yes the finishes of the other two matches are more satisfying, but the build is better in this match and the finish of this match is logical. Holistically, I prefer this match because of the real exciting shine section and a good employment of Blonds stock spots even if they had not started using the Towel yet.

From the outset, the announcers inform us that this title match will have a 30 minute time limit as opposed to a 60 minute time limit thus they expect a faster-paced match than normal. As if the wrestlers were hearing them, deliver an exciting, action-packed match. It was almost like the wrestlers were instructed to do that or something. Weird.

I love the agrression Austin displays and then how due to an early Pillman save and everything breaks down into a big melee with the faces sending the Blonds packing. It really lends to the big match atmosphere. Steamboat and Douglas are able to isolate Pillman’s arm and repeatedly come off the top onto the arm utilizing the quick tag. So early on it is established that Steamboat & Douglas are a smart tag team and consummate wrestlers. Pillman grabs a handful of hair and then feigns a knee injury off a criss cross to create an artificial timeout (THERE ARE NO TIMEOUTS IN WRESTLING!!! As every announcer ever has yelled). This establishes that Pillman and Austin are willing and capable of taking every shortcut to get ahead in this match. Douglas catches Pillman with a powerslam as he comes off for a springboard. This spot demonstrates that the babyfaces will be able to overcome the Blonds’ cheating because they are smarter and more talented. The babyfaces in all circumstances should always look better. Pillman tags out. Austin and Douglas do a surprisingly good and fluid chain sequence. It is not that long, but for 1993 it looks amazing. Douglas comes out on top with a double wristlock and is looking like a million bucks. He has been on top of his game all match. Austin uses the hair to escape, but Douglas cuts him off with the drop toe-hold (I love drop toe-holds), Steamboat is in and executes a hammerlock slam (I love that move too). This match has featured great psychology from the babyfaces. That is what is really lacking from the other two matches I mentioned. It felt like the early shine segment was meandering and aimless. In a really fun sequence, Steamboat press slams Douglas on top of Austin and when Pillman comes into save, Steamboat press slams him on Austin. That sequence had me smiling and the crowd rocking because the heels were really hamming it up. 

Pillman impersonating Ric Flair in the Famous Flair For The Old Skit

Austin is able to drop down and use a leverage move (grab the Dragon’s tights) to send Steamboat crashing into Pillman’s elbow (REMEMBER THIS) and then Austin is able to immediately capitalize with a belly-to-back suplex to kick off the face-in-peril segment. Pillman comes in and sucker punches Douglas, which causes the ref to be detained to calm down Douglas allowing for Pillman to throw Steamboat over the top rope (which should be a DQ in ’93 WCW). This has the crowd really hot as Pillman taunts the crowd as he grins like a Cheshire Cat. Austin follows this up with a bodyslam on the outside, but Douglas is there to break it up. Pillman brings Steamboat back in with a vertical suplex and really tries to press his advantage with multiple pinfalls. Steamboat uses a sunset flip as his hope spot but the ref is distracted by Austin in a good spot. Austin is in and hits a gutwrench suplex (one of my favorite suplexes). Austin suckerpunches Douglas to set up sending Steamboat into Pillman’s elbow again. However, they pay this off with Steamboat catching Pillman with an elbow instead and he take his wicked Pillman bump (“chin first” on the guard rail). I love how the Blonds attempted to use the move that gave them the advantage only for them to have this turned around on them making the babyfaces look that much smarter. However, Austin still cuts off Steamboat with a belly-back suplex and then with overhead body vice. I have to say while it is boring as a bearhug, it is at least more visually impressive. As the Blonds try to go for their coup de grace, Steamboat evades and Air Pillman strikes Austin. After a bit of struggle, Steamboat is able to tag in Douglas.

THE CROWD IS ROCKING!!! Katie Bar The Door, Shane Douglas is a HOUSE OF FIRE!!! He is just crushing everything in sight. Douglas hits the Belly To Belly on Pillman. Douglas had polished off Windham/Rhodes and Windham/Pillman with this exact move, but Austin is able to come off the top to make the save. Steamboat attacks Austin on the outside, but as the ref restrains Steamboat Austin grabs a title belt and whacks Douglas in the head as he had Pillman rolled up in the plain view of the ref. This is an auto DQ. Pillman DDTs Steamboat and Douglas blades off the belt shot. In one of my favorite visuals, Steamboat tries to cover Douglas with is own body while Pillman whips both of them with the gold belts.

This is more of a fun match than the previous Luger matches. It is like the Blonds/Douglas&Steamboat is a fun action blockbuster and the Luger matches are Oscar candidates. The Blonds match told such a simple storyline of how the babyfaces clearly outclassed the Blonds, but the Blonds were willing to cheat and thus the faces would have to overcome that obstacle. In addition, the match was wrestled at a wicked fast-paced with well-thought out spots. Every spot mattered and every spot led to a payoff. The best example is how Austin’s leverage move into the Pillman elbow got them the advantage, but when they go back to it Steamboat turns the tables on them and it leads to the Pillman bump. If you want a fun 16 minute sprint, I cant think of many better matches, you will have a smile on your face the entire time.

The Hollywood Blonds would pick up the tag team titles in March of 1993 only to drop the titles to the Horsemen team of Arn Anderson and Paul Roma in July of 1993 only for the Blonds to disband. The Blonds have gained legendary status on the internet as prime evidence that WCW's booking was rooted in keep the good 'ol boys club on top and that any other act that gets over is buried.  Thus the Blonds are looked on as a shining spot in an otherwise lackluster 1993 WCW and have gained that special mythos. They did have a badass catchphrase "This is your brush with greatness". Truth seems to be that the Blonds did not draw too well against Flair/Anderson and thus the decision was to resume Austin's singles push as he went onto capture the US Heavyweight Championship. In addition, the Blonds while having fun tag matches like this and against the Horsemen and Scorpio/Bagwell really failed to have that one true classic match. This being said the Blonds were a lot of fun and excelled as an old-school heel tag team that got under you skin.

Whether it was a heel or babyface, Brian Pillman always wanted to make sure the crowd was entertained and he made sure of that until his dying day. Rest In Peace, Brian Pillman.

The next blog will definitely highlight WCW’s crusierweight division as we look at Rey Mysterio, Dean Malenko and Ultimo Dragon.    






     

Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tetsuya Naito and the Heel-In-Peril: Half-Baked Wrestling Innovation

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The First Letter of Martin to Ke$ha

Hail Sleeze Queen:

Love is a state of being which by necessity must be governed by Truth. Truth without Love binds an individual to its cold fetters. Love without Truth is an aimless, carnal lust for vainglorious, selfish ambitions governed by envy. At the intersection of Love and Truth is Freedom.

You are Truth, my dear Ke$ha, its living embodiment. On June 21, 2012 Love triumphed. Now they attempt to subvert you in desperation; cast you in their false image. I would stand firm before you, with an unwavering tongue, to reaffirm that Truth is found in the utter, unconditional and passionate embrace of the human condition. Love Triumphed; Truth Remains; Freedom Will Reign In Perpetuity. 

Without Ke$ha I am nothing, with Ke$ha I shall not want.

In the Name of LeBron, Ke$ha, and Rasputin
GO HEAT!  

This epistle was written in response to the following link: http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/561575_10151198140255399_1741517680_n.jpg

My Future Ex-Wife is a TOTAL FUCKIN FOX!!!! *swoon* ogle ogle ogle ogle ogle

KISS & Motley Crue Concert: Why I am a Carny and Proud of It

Hey yo,

The first two offensive plays of Michigan Football I saw this season were an amazing run by Denard and then an interception. I think that sums up Michigan’s offense for the past 5 years now.

Im willing to bet $20 this throw ended up being an interception.

In true Carny fashion, my next blog will not as promised include Hulk Hogan. It will instead be a comparison between Rey Mysterio, Dean Malenko and Ultimo Dragon from WCW crusierweight division hey-day.  It is about time I learned the difference between a plancha and a tope. 

I attended the Motley Crue & KISS concert this past Sunday and I am glad to report that Carny bullshit is still alive and well. In a corporatized, watered-down world, Crue and KISS still fly their Carny Freak Flag High. (pun fully intended though apparently Gene Simmons is a life-long Straight Edger) I am not upset one iota.  As a total Carny mark, I am glad that there are still metal bands with gimmicks. Crue and KISS were just that good at this dying breed of art. The Treatment, a British sleeze band, opened them and sounded surprisingly really friggin good. There were a couple of songs I thought would have been hits in 1987 or so. Their closing song, “Shake The Mountain” gave Nate and me plenty of material for jokes through the night describing a girl’s ass as a mountain is hilarious to me at least. Motley Crue is the first band that I have seen for a second time live and I have to say they totally outdid themselves.

I had to have some hot babes...O wait that is Motley Crue. Damnit Conned again!!!! Damn you CRUE!!!!

The big difference seemed to be a much healthier Mick Mars, who plays some of the most low-down, nastiest guitar licks ever and live they seem just that much more filthy. Mars is one of the best live guitarists because he never plays the songs as an exact replica from the studio album. I have heard the studio album before a million times and I do not need to hear it again. Mars adds a lot more value to the experience by changing his tone and adding flares to his work. His guitar solos were a personal highlight as it felt like Eddie Van Halen meets New York Dolls just wicked buzzsaw guitars. Tommy Lee made his mark by not just bringing back his 360 Drumcoaster, but also playing a dubstep-flared drum solo that grooved like no other. That’s the exact thing, I have heralded about Crue, is their desire to always evolve with the times, but never lose the Crue sound and edge. Was Vince spotty and at times did he sound like a chipmunk? Sure, but that is part of the rawness and edge of the concert. I am a much bigger Crue fan than I am a KISS fan so I was worried that KISS just would not live up to the hype.

Boy, was I wrong. The best part of KISS was that they did every tried and true gimmick from the 70s in 2012. I can understand if you are my Dad’s age and had seen this repeatedly and it bores you. However as a fan in 2012, who is seeing KISS for the first time, I was so excited to see all the cool gimmicks live. Gene breathing fire during Firehouse, drooling blood and ascending to the heavens for God of Thunder, the ending of Black Diamond, all made it seemed like you were watching an authentic KISS show from 1976, it just happened to be in 2012. The most unintentionally hilarious part was Paul Stanley’s speaking voice, which sounds like Jewish Grandma from Brooklyn. Such quotes as “Good people! Good People of the Congregation I want to sing you with me!” and “I want everyone to get real crazy right now because I want to take a picture with all” were enhanced by the fact it sounded like somebody’s grandmother was in KISS.

Chief Purveyors of Carny Bullshit

The best part of the whole, combined shows was the carny attitude both bands maintain. I am not just talking the whole incredible production of dancers on stilts, a drumcoaster, fire-breathing, a shit ton of pyro, flames, raised platform, enough make-up to make most hookers feel underdress, I am talking about how the band carried itself and how they talked. When Paul Stanley said, “I just bought this song on iTunes, today. I am in the KISS army. I support the band” I loved it and not just because it sounded hilarious. It was absurdly disingenuous. You know he has been saying that from day one of the Tour, but he is still up there hocking the shit at you. It is terrific Carny BS. Or when Paul made sure to include Providence, RI or made sure he noted “To all you way in the back, I can hear you and feel you.” The cynical may think “Sheesh yeah right”, but deep down that Carny Bullshit has a semblance of truth because it does take all of us to sell-out and a packed arena makes him feel just as young as the fans who need the KISS show to feel young again. Without that packed arena, KISS is just like a bunch of other washed-up rock bands. So for Paul to say that to us is the verbal recognition of the truth that he does need everyone of us. It is one of the great mutualistic symbiotic relationships. KISS, Crue and the fans teleport each other to 1983 and a true escape of mortality can be achieved. That is Carny Bullshit transcends all Carny Bullshit because the Con becomes the mark for his own con. Wait, didn’t I pay $72 for this concert? O yeah, I am still the mark.

Every carny has to have his gimmick. Mine are just BIGGER!

I will never be able to fully describe it, but I like a slight bit of disingenuousness, I like gimmicks, I like larger than life, outrageous characters. Of my own generation, I have to say I am probably in the minority when it comes to these things. Part of it is that people want to relate to characters rather to aspire to be characters. Part of it, I have reasoned that it is most people simply do not like to be duped. Part of it is that they do not like the idea of their entertainment being smarter than they are. The ultimate reason that has rendered Carny Bullshit as a dying art is that people HATE disingenuousness. People want to be sitting with their metaphorical “dick in their hand” wondering is what I saw real or fake? Am I laughing with him or at him? Should I feel stupid or stupefied? However, once that question has been answered and the con exposed, most people turn violently on the con.  Why feel stupid when instead you can mock the Carny from your Pedestal of Enlighment? “You like that?!?!?!? Don’t you know it is fake!!!!” laughing all the way home in their moment of superiority. That is the key, they hate the slight disingenuousness of it being passed off as real. Me, that is what I love.

People think if you pay money to the con that you are the mark, you are gullible and that is a weakness. I rather evaluate the Carny on the merits of whether his gimmick entertains me rather than its validity.  So all you Carny haters, you can have your self-righteous smugness, instead I am going to keep my ear-to-ear smile. KISS and Motley Crue was the most fun I had at a concert because they delivered the one half of two most important human essentials: Circus.

As for the Bread, I have always been amazed by the amount of FAITH atheists have.

2 Out of 3 Falls: Ric Flair, Jumbo Tsuruta, Kerry Von Erich

Hey yo,

I like a Green Day song (O Love). I am starting to take stock in this Mayan Apocalypse.

Just as I have revolutionized the late night scene in Cambridge and Ann AhhhhBahhhhh, today I revolutionize the stagnant Wrestling Review paradigm with my BRAND NEW “2 Out Of 3 Falls” concept. For far too long wrestling reviews have been written as static pieces in a vacuum. Much like the episodic TV model wrestling follows, each blog will build on the foundation of the previous one. I intend this cumulative experience to be a living document that will re-evaluate its assessment of wrestlers, promotions and matches upon access to new information derived from watching matches and promos.  This truly dynamic approach will be undertaken by positing certain “universal truths” about wrestlers and testing if they hold up against the evidence. No more hear-say about the Flair Formula, Bob Backlund being boring, or Hulk Hogan can’t work. It is time for me to ascertain the truth for myself and I would love for you to come on the journey with me by watching the matches with me and asserting your own claims, but all opinions should be backed up with evidence.  Yeah, Martin, I know all the ladies in the club have been swooning as soon your describe this grandiose undertaking. Shut up, it is cool, goddamnit, my mother said so!

It has been dubbed “2 Out of 3 Falls” because I will begin by listing three wrestlers and the common assertions assumed about each wrestler. I will then set out to argue these assertions based on my primary source findings. These findings will be contained in my recap and analysis of the three matches, each pitting one against the other, I have selected. In the end, there will be some discussion over my ranking of each wrestler. However, the main focus will be returning to the original posit and a discussion of my findings. Since each blog will only contain 2 matches per wrestler, it will be hard to prove anything right away. To reiterate (Insert Moments ago WWE video package) this will be a dynamic document that will constantly re-evaluating its stance on wrestlers, promotions and matches. 

For example, I will be trying to answer the question: “What is the Ric Flair Formula and how closely did he adhere to it?”. Today, I will be writing about his matches with Jumbo Tsuruta and Kerry Von Erich and will analyze the question in the context of those matches. However, I have matches against Koko Ware and Butch Reed sitting on my hardrive (DREAM MATCHES~!; They are supposed to be very good, actually). I am sure when I watch these matches I will unearth new information that will force me to re-evaluate my earlier opinion. This dynamic re-evaluation is what will make this blog very unique and interesting. It will be a living document rather than many wrestling reviews that are written as static pieces done in a vacuum. Enough tooting of my own horn, but I sure do love it, this blowhard is finally ready to unveil the first line-up of “2 Out of 3 Falls”: “Nature Boy” Ric Flair, “Modern Day Warrior” Kerry Von Erich and Jumbo Tsuruta. To celebrate the inaugural 2 Out Of Three Falls, all the matches are 2 Out of 3 Falls matches. I don't sing it, I just bring it.

NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair

  

It was a testament to Flair’s ability in and out of the ring that he could venture to any territory in the world and draw as a credible main event act against a myriad of opponents including, but not limited to  the Von Erichs in Texas, Dusty and Windham in Florida, Jumbo and Tenryu in Japan, Brisco and Steamboat in Mid-Atlantic, DiBiasie and Reed in Mid-South, Lawler in Memphis, Sting and Luger in WCW. Ric Flair was the last of the touring National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Champions, a responsibility entrusted to a few men in history to draw large crowds no matter the region he entered. The National Wrestling Alliance was not a monolithic entity like today’s WWE rather it was comprised of promotions in United States, Canada, Mexico, Caribbean, Japan, and Australia. All these promotions recognized one World Heavyweight Champion, who they expected would come to their territory and pop a great attendance after building up a successful hometown challenger. In a very condensed form, this was the successful business model of pro wrestling in the 60s, 70s and early 80s. In the 80s, it was tasked to Ric Flair to execute this business model.    

The secret to Flair’s success purportedly was his well-crafted, universal formula that he could apply to any wrestler in any territory with a great deal of success. This formula exploited the lack of national TV exposure each territory received. As we will see in the upcoming match reviews, Flair had the challenging task of wrestling such diverse opponents as Jumbo Tsuruta in Japan and Kerry Von Erich in Texas. The assertion is that Flair was able to work in similar spots into his matches because he knew the people in Texas would not see his match in Japan and vice versa. Ric Flair was the last touring champion in wrestling history. In order to expedite his work, he developed basically a one-man match and all the other person had to do was execute the spots Flair told him to (creative license usually was allowed in the comeback/finish). I always thought it was a compliment that everyone said Ric Flair could wrestle a broom to a three star match, but it seems it may have been a subtle dig at the “Ric Flair Show”. My exploration over the next weeks or so is to see how strictly Flair adhered to any formula and what that formula is.

My own feelings going into this is that there is a loose formula he follows and some trademark spots, but it is wildly over-stated how closely he follows that formula. I have noticed in the past what Bret Hart has called “ Flair’s rampant non-psychology”, where Flair will shoehorn spots into a match that do really fit into the flow of the match. A good example of this is Rick Martel and Jerry “The King” Lawler doing press slam spots when they are clearly too short to do so. My hypothesis is that formula is the following:

Babyface Shine (Flair is repeatedly frustrated that face is getting the upper-hand on the mat) -> Flair in frustration starts to take short-cuts, but still cant get the upper-hand ->Transition to heat segment -> Heat segment (usually over the leg) -> Comeback (opponent dependent) -> Finish

ASIDE: If you asked me a couple months ago, who the greatest pro wrestler was of all-time. I would have said without reservation: Ric Flair. Now I have doubts, not because I have someone better (Nick Bockwinkel’s stock has gone way up in the past couple weeks) or that I think Flair is worse. It is just strange that I have anointed Flair the best when I have only watched his career from 1988-Now. Yet his peak was between 1981-1990. I was capturing just three years of his peak before. How can one make an affirmative statement of greatness based off post-peak years? It was clear to me that I was simply braying the wrestling axiom that ensnared so many wrestling minds: Ric Flair was the greatest because that’s what we are told to say. I aint no sheep, so it is time to put Flair to the test and evaluate his performance in as many scenarios as I can obtain. Also as a matter of opinion, I love formulas. It is beyond irritating when people trumpet experimentalism for the sake of experimentalism. If you are the Rolling Stones, more power to you, not many can pull off succeeding in a myriad of genres. If you are AC/DC, more power to you, not many can pull off that many hits playing basically the same song. Just give me what I like. When I say formula in a wrestling match, I am talking about the structure of his layout. I acknowledge that Flair is a versatile performer that could work a 10-mintue TV sprint, a technical Broadway masterpiece and a wild, bloody brawl. There is no doubt in my mind regarding that. My doubts stem from the accusations that formula merely plugged wrestlers interchangeably into spots. I do not like the idea that Lawler, Luger and Steamboat are interchangeable wrestlers.

Wrestling's Favorite Horseface (I kid, I kid)

Von Erich and Tsuruta could not be more different opponents. Kerry was cast in mold of Hogan and Luger with the body of Adonis, but who without a certain degree of structure could lose his way in a match. Plenty of people have sold Kerry short as a complete package wrestling citing he needed the hot Texas crowds to enhance his matches and his selling and bumping were sub-par. He was wildly popular in Texas, total freakin rock star package and it did not really matter what the fuck he did in the ring; it was probably going to get over. However, as a fan of wrestling (rather than a mark for Von Erich) Kerry definitely benefits from a set structure, which facilitates how and when he sells, his offensive psychology and his own pacing. Flair’s style affords him a means to elevate to a level of being an upper echelon performer. I seek to evaluate Kerry as a wrestler and see where and when he breaks down as a wrestler especially in matches from outside Japan. By watching him face Flair in Texas as a challenger and Tsuruta in Japan as the champion, I will be given a good comparative metric to evaluate how Kerry is as a worker in different environments and how he interacts in each. As the Von Erichs were the Rockstars of Texas, Tsuruta was the King of All-Japan Pro Wrestling. That is where the comparisons stop.   

Jumbo Tsuruta, AWA World Heavyweight Champion and All Japan Triple Crown Champion

Jumbo Tsuruta is the great unknown gem in this set of three. Before my exploration, I saw Jumbo as the veteran of the All-Japan Pro Wrestling Early 90s scene, who passed the torch to the vaunted Four Pillars of Heaven (Mitsuharu Misawa, Toshiaki Kawada, Kenta Kobashi and Akira Taue). Yes, he had some terrific classics against Misawa in the early 90s but much like Flair that was his post-prime work. So I set out to discover if Jumbo Tsuruta could stake his claim to be the greatest Japanese pro wrestler in history. Before this exploration, I would say that Kawada, Misawa and Liger are really in a league all their own, but that conclusion is derived from watching 90s puroresu (Japanese for pro wrestling). So much like Flair, I am hoping from watching 80s puroresu that I will gain a new appreciation for Jumbo Tsuruta and his identity as a performer. Ultimately my goal with Jumbo Tsuruta is determine how he ranks against his successors: the Four Pillars of Heaven.  

NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair vs Kerry Von Erich

August 18, 1982 Dallas, TX
2 Out Of Three Falls

Unlike the other two matches, I have viewed this match beforehand and I absolutely loved it upon first viewing. Each time, I discover new spots and elements that make it a better match. Such as during the abdominal stretch, Von Erich makes a point to exaggerate his gesture that he is looking to put on the Claw, which really whips the crowd into a frenzy. The crowd was nuclear for Kerry from the get-go and totally rabid at the prospect of him dethroning Ric Flair especially after defeating previous Champion Harley Race in a de facto No. 1 Contender’s match just months previous to this. Flair, as usual, is a cardio freak, but my favorite moment is how he slowly ramps up his heelishness. At first testing his strength and clearly being bested, he resorts to hair pulling to win an over the top wristlock. Another thing, I love is that when Kerry has Flair in a head scissors in the beginning, they do not just lie on the mat. Flair is very broadly attempting to escape the hold, but cant. This does two things, it puts over Kerry’s strength and most importantly, keeps the audience engaged. Flair does a lot of things really well, but he is exceptional at keeping the audience engaged even during perfunctory matwork.

The beginning is all about putting over Kerry’s strength. This is accomplished by holding multiple head-scissors, winning over the top wristlocks and a visually impressive arm wrench that Flair bumps wells, which the crowd pops loudly for.  Flair gets some offense in the corner, which is Flair’s domain. Besides Vader, I do not think there is a wrestler that is better in the corner than Flair. Flair takes over with a knee-lift and begins taking shortcuts like the aforementioned hair pull. Off a missed elbow, they do a well-executed tussle for the ab stretch I brought up earlier. I love how they made each other work for it with Kerry ultimately winning. An eye-rake (Flair shortcuts) breaks it up, but Kerry hits two pretty impressive dropkicks. Flair’s next shortcut is to hold the rope down as Kerry crashes to the floor, which leads to Flair’s big flurry of offensive: dropping Kerry across the top rope, knee drop and piledriver. Kerry catches Flair with back body drop, but Flair blocks the corner. Flair pushes the ref, but as Kerry winds up for the discus punch he catches the ref in the head. Kerry puts on the sleeper, BUT THERE IS NO REF, here he comes and now the bell is ringing. KERRY WINS THE FIRST FALL!!! Right!?!?! Right!?!?!?

THE CLAW~!

 The original referee disqualifies Kerry for the punch much to the dismay of the crowd and to relief of a visually exhausted and desperate Flair. I liked the finish to the first fall even if it was a clusterfuck because Kerry was clearly put over as more dominant than Flair. Flair’s escape with a DQ finish in the first fall allows for Kerry to once again be perceived as the underdog as he has the unenviable task to win two straight falls against The Man. Another great element is that all of Flair’s control segments were initiated by shortcuts thus always making Kerry look better in comparison.

The second fall rules all and by itself would probably be one of my favorite matches of all time. Flair is still coughing from the sleeper hold and begs off immediately. Kerry and the crowd smell blood. Kerry slaps on the sleeper, but Flair makes use of the Bret leverage move to send Kerry crashing to the floor. Flair capitalizes this by wrenching Kerry’s leg across the apron. NOW WE GO TO SCHOOL!!! Flair is absolutely crazed during this control segment as he clearly a desperate champ doing anything to take down the physically superior Kerry Von Erich. Flair hits the shinbreaker to a physically diminished Von Erich side-headlock. After Flair works over the leg, it is time for the Figure-4 Leglock whipping the crowd into frenzy. Just minutes ago, they thought their hero had the first fall in the bag and now it looks he is about to lose two straight falls. WAIT!!! Kerry had reversed the pressure and now Flair scrambles for the ropes. Flair tries to go back to the knee, but Keryr blocks with the vaunted Von Erich Claw. Flair blades like a champ off the claw and eventually is pinned. Flair’s control segment was fuckin awesome and Kerry sold his knee like champ. Then when it came to the hit finish everyone erupted when the claw was slapped on just when it seemed like Flair had this one in the bag.

Flair is drenched in sweat and blood and looking for a fight with the universal sign of “Put up your dukes”. A spirited two-minute intense brawl breaks out and the ref loses control of the match. At first, I was disappointed by the finish, but in retrospect it is a really good to put over the intense nature of the match and it would ultimately setup the Huge Christmas Day 1982 Cage match.

The basic idea of the Flair formula was executed, which is to make your opponent look like a million bucks and keep the audience engaged. However, Flair was not always a chickenshit heel as he vacillated among begging off, desperation and crazed. There was an urgency to each fall. Kerry felt like he NEEDED to win the first one and came out hot, but was robbed. Kerry NEEDED to win the second one or he lost, but by the same token Flair felt he NEEDED to win based off Kerry’s stellar performance in the first fall. Kerry played his part well and definitely added more than just his Texas star power. He sold well and worked hard to keep up with Flair and sell the importance of the match. I LOVE this match because there is never a dull moment and the match builds perfectly on itself until the wild brawl at the end.

NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair vs Jumbo Tsuruta
June 8, 1983 Tokyo, Japan
2 Out Of Three Falls

I have no idea why I did not think to look up more of Flair in Japan before this because this shit rocks. It was like finding wrestling nirvana. Flair in Japan is just BITCHIN~! I have only watched this match twice, but both times I was impressed by that pace they cut (SPOILER ALERT: 60 Minute Draw) and by the interesting, yet peculiar match progression. It struck me how both matches contained a desperation Flair control segment and I think that is an overlooked element of the Flair Formula. Not only does the formula make the opponent look good, but Flair busts out plenty of big moves for when he kicks into high-gear and tries to win the match at all costs.

The beginning match see Jumbo work over the back of Flair (most announcers would say here that Flair broke his back in a plane crash in 1975, which is true. However, the commentary is in Japanese so I don’t know if they added that bit in) which begins with most BEAUTIFULLY seamless hiptoss block into an abdominal stretch you will ever see. Another note is how well Jumbo sells Flair’s punches. In Japan, the no punching rule is taken very seriously and when one wrestler punches another wrestler they make sure to sell it like death and the crowd always Oooooos and Aaaahhhhs. First unusual Flair spot is that he POWERS out of a camel clutch. O so you think you’re Hogan now. Flair takes over in the corner and kind of botches a short arm scissor. I just watched Bockwinkel/Hennig work an awesome short arm scissor sequence and this one came off a bit lackluster. Flair transitions into a hammerlock as we reach the 15th minute mark.

Jumbo counters with a sweet drop toehold into a leg scissors and then immediately returns to the back with one his signature moves: the Boston Crab. After Flair makes the ropes, Jumbo hits an atomic drop (which pops the crowd thinking he would go for the back drop driver) and Flair’s butterfly suplex (have not watched enough Jumbo to know if that is a Jumbo move). I will say the atomic drop seemed out of place because from a storyline point of view he should have just hit his finisher that being said the atomic drop may be a Jumbo move. Flair uses Jumbo’s own momentum to send him crashing to the floor. Flair kicks out of a Jumbo sunset flip only to hit Jumbo with Jumbo’s own finisher: the back drop driver. They do a random arm stretch/standing surfboard sequence, which kind of harkens back to  Flair’s arm psychology and allows Flair to do a test of strength spot. Flair transitions into his own abdominal stretch where he actually grapevines his leg around Jumbo’s leg. GORILLA WOULD BE PUMPED!!!! Jumbo hiptosses out of it and gets a two off a cross-body block. A slugfest erupts while they are on their knees and Flair’s verbal selling becomes a real highlight. Another thing where I think Flair has no peer is verbal selling. Flair and Jumbo are chopping back and forth until Jumbo says “FUCK IT” and belts Flair with an enziguri. Flair ends up outside and goads Jumbo over only to catch his leg and wrench it across the apron. You will see this is a great tactic because the audience will think they are entering the Flair control segment only for their hero is pull it right out. Flair picks up a single leg only to get belted again with an enziguri. Jumbo wastes no time and MURDERS Flair with a high-knee and then polishes him off with his Back Drop Driver at the 30^th minute mark. If the match ended there, it would have been a great match with some weird Flair-ism spots, but still a great match. However, there is more, much, much more!

DANGEROUS~!

Flair is visibly rattled as they start the next fall and Jumbo immediately goes in for the kill with uncharacteristic stiff strikes. Up until that point, Jumbo had been using only wrestling holds and throws unless provoked. Flair goads him into the corner and takes over with a well-executed suplex and piledriver sequence. Then Flair enters the front face-lock control segment attempting to get pinfalls off of it. Flair hits a second piledriver and then drops Jumbo throat-first across the ropes (another unusual Flair spot as that is a strength spot). Flair hits a pair of standing elbow drops for a  2 count. Flair, frustrated throws him to the outside, but on the suplex attempt back in Flair is the one who ends up on the outside. The newly vicious Jumbo sends Flair head first into the post and consequently Flair blades off that. Jumbo gets a ten punch count in the corner  and Flair is putting over his exhaustion by whiffing on a couple of punches. A series of wick hot near-falls occur as Jumbo gets two off a high-knee and vertical suplex. Whoever said Japanese crowds are quiet and respectful have never listened to this raucous crowd as they cheered on their hero, Jumbo Tsuruta. Jumbo whips Flair into the corner and does his Flair Flip only this time he gets caught in the Tree of Woe. Jumbo pounces and Flair is in deep trouble. So what does the Dirtiest Player in the Game do, well he hits him below the belt of course. They do the Flair bridge into a backslide sequence, which was another hot false finish as that ends 45 minutes of the match.

Jumbo misses a move off the top as Flair connects with a punch to the gut, but Flair is too exhausted to capitalize, which allows Tsuruta to hit the missile dropkick on Flair, which gets two. Now Flair is up and bodyslams him only to be slammed off the top by Jumbo. Why, Flair, why?!!?!?  Huge Tsuruta chant rings out through the arena. Flair ducks out of the way of a Jumbo high-knee which sends him careening to the floor. Immediately, Flair FINALLY begins his leg work in earnest and the crowd grows worried. Flair grabs the first figure-4, but Jumbo reverses the pressure. Flair wraps Jumbo’s leg around the steel ring post then follows that up with a delayed vertical suplex, standing elbow drop and a trademark WOOOOO for two. Figure 4 another two more times, but Jumbo refuses to give in before the time limit draw.

 I thought for sure given the context of this match Jumbo would be the one with the hot string of near falls at the end before falling just short due to the time limit draw. This ending seemed more appropriate if Flair was the challenger as the fans would be rooting for Jumbo to hang on. Instead as the viewer, I felt like well whether Flair wins this fall or it goes to a draw it doesn’t really matter because Flair retains either way. The only thing you could root for as a Jumbo fan would be the fact that since Jumbo never lost a fall and indeed gained a fall on the champion that he would be due a rematch, but overall I think the ending hurt it. I think if you swap the final 15 minutes with the 30-45 minute portion the match becomes a ***** classic even with the bits of Flair non-psychology. As it stands it is incredible fun, well-worked, brisk one hour draw that had a shit ton of action. I think it is below the Flair vs Kerry match. However, Jumbo has another chance to top Flair as his match with Kerry Von Erich is next.

NWA World Heavyweight Champion Kerry Von Erich vs Jumbo Tsuruta
05/22/1984 Tokyo, Japan

2 Out Of Three Falls

Earlier in the month, Tsuruta dropped the AWA World Heavyweight Championship to Rick Martel. Therefore the Japanese crowd is extra hot to see their hero regain a World Heavyweight championship and there is some more credence to their cheers because of his AWA title victory over Nick Bockwinkel in February of 1984. Von Erich, FINALLY, dethroned the “Diriest Player In The Game” Ric Flair on May 6, 1984 at the David Von Erich Memorial down in Texas. Kerry went on tour immediately having great matches with arch-rivals Terry Gordy and Ric Flair. As was customary, Kerry ventured across the Pacific to defend against the top Japanese challenger: Jumbo Tsuruta.

Whoever made the up the fact about quiet Japanese crowds is dead wrong after watching these past two matches. The first fall is about respect with non-clean breaks teased. Both wrestlers sit the other on top the top turnbuckle as to say I am just toying with you. Besides a claw attempt, this is all Jumbo, who eventually finishes with his super hot combo of two high knees -> Enziguri -> Back Drop Driver to take the first fall.

A bloody Kerry takin a lickin from Jumbo Tsuruta

Jumbo starts the second fall much like the second fall against Flair with lots of stiff, hot strikes. Kerry actually blades off these punches and the Japanese crowd thinks another World Heavyweight Championship is coming home to them. Kerry has a pretty good dropkick that no one ever talks about and he is very much on the defensive. Jumbo follows up a big slap with a piledriver. However, it seems Jumbo has punched himself out. Kerry capitalizes on this opening with a discus punch followed by THE CLAW~! Jumbo bridges out of THE CLAW~! In an impressive feat of strength. However, he ultimately succumbs to the undeniable force of THE CLAW~!

There is a great visual during the respite between the second and third falls as Jumbo is being attended to by all the Japanese ringboys and the crowd is exhorts him. A bloody Kerry Von Erich is a man alone, isolated and visibly pissed that he is in a middle of this war with no help. It is just a great juxtaposition. Now it is Kerry’s turn to start hot, but the claw attempt is blocked only for Jumbo to take that claw hand and dismantle it. I mean if it was metal, Jumbo was throwing that hand into it. Von Erich connects with a punch, but is immediately sent back reeling in pain because of how brutally Jumbo has attacked it. Von Erich makes a comeback with a flurry of back suplex, an elbow, piledriver, but misses the Tenryu elbow drop from the top. Jumbo connects with the high-knee and employs his favorite hold: the Boston Crab. Kerry powers out of it and after a couple of roll-up exchanges they end up on the outside. Kerry puts the CLAW~! On, but Jumbo executes the Back Drop Driver on the floor only for the referee to count out both men. In a double countout, Kerry Von Erich retains the title, but hometown hero Jumbo Tsuruta gets the moral victory of being the last man standing.

I still do not feel like I have good grasp of what a Kerry Von Erich match looks like and what his offensive arsenal is. Everything seems to revolve around THE CLAW~! In addition, towards the end of the match he started to use his hand again to punch taking away from the whole hook of the match. It was a spirited, intense title match that I liked a lot mainly due to the well-executed hand psychology and Jumbo’s large repertoire of moves.

OVERALL ANALYSIS

1. Ric Flair – So I will say that picking a Jumbo match was not probably the best way to gauge a Flair Formula match because Japan is much different than Mid-Atlantic or Mid-South.  What it did prove is that under extreme circumstances Flair could and would adapt to different situations. He wrestled way “bigger” against Jumbo than any of his other opponents. He matched Jumbo bomb for bomb in an excellent one hour bomb-throwing contest. Against Kerry, Flair vacillated between showing ass for Kerry, being desperate and being violently crazy. He showed a range of emotions that were created by what was going on in the match in an organic fashion. It is truly one of the most superb Flair performances. I would say there is a Flair Formula, but it is no different than the verse-chorus-verse formula. It is what you do with that formula that matters. Nobody is going to get the Ramones confused with Judas Priest. Nobody would get Flair vs Jumbo and Flair vs Kerry Von Erich confused as they great variations on a tried and true formula.

2. Jumbo Tsuruta – I need to watch more Jumbo matches to really understand if he is more in the mold of working holds to target a certain body part (Kerry’s hand) or if he is a bomb thrower (Flair’s match). Jumbo reminds me very much of Kobashi with his very expressive face especially during Kerry’s match as opposed to the more stoic approach of Misawa. Of course, Kobashi was inspired by Jumbo, not the other way around. I just happen to be more familiar with Kobashi. There are very few people that cannot be upstaged by Ric Flair. Unfortunately for Jumbo, he was upstaged by Ric Flair. I do know this is that he was excellent in both these matches, which are two of the greatest matches of all time. I have watched his encounters against Bockwinkel and Martel, which will be reviewed at some point and are very good. I think the new question to ask about Jumbo is whether he is a bomb-thrower or a limb psychologist. 

3. Kerry Von Erich - There is no shame in taking third place behind Flair and Jumbo when both are candidates for the greatest of all time. It feels as if Kerry is a one trick pony that his matches revolve around the Claw. I think that is root cause of what will be a repetitive formula. Flair and Jumbo have enough tricks and gimmicks to ensure their matches are not the same. However, with just the CLAW, Kerry will be at a disadvantage to have unique matches. I do not have a good sense of what Kerry spots are. In the Flair match, he was clearly working Flair spots that were built around his Claw. The Jumbo match was built around his hand and the claw, which was really cool. I have watched a couple Kerry matches and have never seen this psychology employed before so it may be an isolated Jumbo employment.  He sold well in both his encounters besides the punches towards the end of the Jumbo match, which I thought took away from the hook of the match. As an 80s heavyweight babyface, I accept the fact he will not be bumping like a pinball for the heels and will let that slide.  The Japan match proved that Kerry could work really well in an environment outside of Texas. In addition, Kerry was athletic and demonstrated good psychology. I look forward to watching more Kerry Von Erich and evaluating him further.

The next 2 Out of 3 Falls will definitely include Hulk Hogan. If anybody who reads this happens to have an opinion they can say whether they want the pairing of Terry Funk & Stan Hansen or Harley Race & Bob Backlund they can let me know.