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Classic Wrestling General Discussion & Review Thread

123K views 687 replies 140 participants last post by  Clique 
#1 · (Edited)
This is the place to discuss the careers of your favorite wrestlers, review classic matches, historic events, share videos, and more! So start discussing topics from the WWF, NWA/WCW, ECW, and the Territories.
 
#42 · (Edited)
Jerry Lawler: Best Wrestler of the 1980s

So its no secret to a few on here that I hold Jerry Lawler on a very high mantle when it comes to workers. The man may not have been the most nimble of athletes, and the vast majority of his matches feature very little apart from big bumps, the greatest punches ever seen inside a pro wrestling ring, a red hot crowd and in some cases plenty of Heel Lawler schtick. Ever since more of his footage from the Memphis era has been circulated online his reputation as being one of the best to ever step inside the squared circle (as well as being an all time great promo man, having bundles of charisma and being a well documented great draw) has sky-rocketed to the point where many consider him amongst the elite group of US wrestlers from this era, such as Ric Flair, Ricky Steamboat, Stan Hansen, Terry Funk, Bob Backlund, Sgt Slaughter, Tully Blanchard, Dick Murdoch, Barry Windham and Bill Dundee.

Anyways, here's a collection of reviews from some of his more documented matches that I assembled in the old WWE Match/Show Discussion thread. I'm barely active in this forum anymore but I may try and watch more Lawler and add to this thread if it proves popular and I don't become overwhelmed with job hunting now that I've completed university. They're spoilered for length purposes (I like to ramble), but if you can wade your way through some of them I'm sure we can generate some good discussion about Lawler as well as the Memphis territory as a whole, which produced some infamous feuds, angles and matchs over the course of the 1980s.

1. Jerry Lawler v Harley Race, NWA Championship, CWA Memphis 12/10/1977

Match that really doesn't get talked about amongst classic American wrestling but on first watch I'd say this match is right up there with many Flair broadways. Its incredibly physical and sluggish and definitely won't be to the tastes of your WORKRATE~ fans but if you love Jerry Lawler then I can see this being a favourite.

Match reminds me of Reed vs Flair Mid South in the opening stages as Lawler controls Race with a headlock spot and finds new ways to stop Race countering and its all very nice in building support for Lawler and making Race look like he's in for a rough night. Can't say Race does nearly as well in the role as a Dick Murdoch or Ric Flair would have done but he was perfectly fine in trying to work within the headlock and not simply rest for a few minutes.

Race is really strange in this match though. He's got some amazing headbutts which made me cringe at times and he works a few nice failed dropped headbutt spots before he finally connects with one that was a nice attempt at putting over the move. However he's pinballing in overdramatic bumping from the get go and whilst some of his bumps are really good a lot of them look really really stupid and sluggish and it really loses its effect compared to a guy like Murdoch leaving a lot of his bumps towards the end of the match which really puts over the match as a war. Lawler in comparison bumps really nicely for some kneedrops and headbutts but by the end of the match his bumping is much better in looking like he's out of breath and collapsing compared to Race.

Something I've noticed in Lawler matches as well is how he builds up simple spots really well. Here Race has 4 or 5 lovely headbutts to the midseection to stop Lawler's offence and when he goes for it again Lawler finally moves back and boots him in the face. Very simply worked and executed but something I dug a lot.

The ref is really a pile of dogshit for the most part and I loved one fan giving a 'the fuck was that' pose when he really messes up a false pinfall for Lawler. There was also one really awkward spot where Jerry was kneeling on Race's shoulders and the ref refused to count at all for an eternity which was strange as they didn't appear to be teasing that the ref was in anyway biased before this spot.

Still apart from some Race problems on his bumping as well as a part of the finishing run (wasn't as good in giving off the vibe that Lawler was about to win and truthfully came off more like Lawler would never have won on this night as opposed to Race scraping through a match he had no business winning) this is an excellent match in my book made by Lawler's amazing punches, a simple story early on built nicely to the finish with a good crowd and some lovely selling from Lawler between the opening bell and the finish.

****1/4

2. Jerry Lawler vs Bill Dundee, Southern Heavyweight Championship, No DQ, Loser Leaves Town, Memphis 30/12/1985 (my candidate for best US match of all time, let alone the 1980s).

Seen this match been pimped by the folks at DVDVR and other forums which have done a ballot/reviewed the Memphis set as an 80s MOTDC and something deserving to be praised alongsider Funk vs Flair, Flair vs Kerry Hawaii, Flair vs Windham, Flair (like seriously him again??) vs Steamboat, Murdoch vs Windham, Slaughter vs Sheik, Lawler vs Dundee 6/6/83, Slaughter & Kernodle vs Steamboat & Youngblood and you know what.....this match freaking comes as close as a match can to rivalling Flair vs Steamboat COTC and Flair vs Windham BOTB II as my 80s MOTD.

The pacing is perfect, the character clash between smug and cocky Bill 'Superstar' Dundee and hometown idol Jerry Lawler with only one good eye due to a prior sneak attack, the Mid South Coliseum is rocking, Dundee's wife is at ringside telling Lawler to fuck off and faces and heels are at ringside supporting their man. Its Clash of the freaking Titans and I'm still not doing the environment and setting justice.

Right from the get go Dundee puts in an incredible heel performance. Lawler does a sterling job pointing out to even the most retarded Memphis resident in the building sucking on moonshine that even Good Ol' King has his work cut out trying to win with ONE FUCKING EYE. Dundee throws some incredible punches, he corners Jerry and then casually strolls away like the biggest freaking prick in the universe and mockingly taunts Lawler to come to him. He ducks in and out, circles Lawler, strays away so he's out of Lawler's eyesight, he leans in offering his chin on a plate to Lawler and then ducks making Jerry look like a fool. Then he does it again and then has the cheek to punch Jerry whilst he's mocking him. FUCK BILL DUNDEE.

His assault is relentless. He punches Lawler repeatedly in his bandaged eye, tries to rip apart the bandages to gouge the eye and then boots Lawler square in the face after they tease Lawler making a comeback. The heat is incredible and Lawler is pulling out a Rocky esque performance. Even the WWE section would be cheering for the guy for christ sake. All of this heat control segment builds and builds with the occasional gorgeous headbutt thrown by Dundee which Lawler bumps for in oh so epic fashion before Lawler lands a right hand!!! Dundee spirals backwards and the crowd goes insane, the pacing has been delicious in building to that one shot from Lawler...but in an instant Dundee charges at Lawler and headbutts him with such force Dundee spirals out of the ring still selling the punch from Lawler. NOW I LOVE BILL DUNDEE.

Dundee girates to his wife that he has this in the bag, Lawler is scraping and trying to mount a comeback however possible and this crowd is demanding Dundee's ass be served on a platter. Eventually Dundee grows frustrated with Lawler's resilience and a commercial break sees them fighting on the outside and eventually into the stands. I lost my shit when Lawler follows Dundee who insists on leaving the arena and Lawler comes within striking distance of punching the bitch, 'he really wouldn't hit a woman would he? Even Memphis has its limits'....and sadly they do as Lawler ignores Dundee's wife and follows him instead (BOOOOOOOO). They fight into the stands and trade brutal punches before Dundee rocks Lawler with a combo and Lawler goes over the barrier to the concrete fall in one of the best bumps I have ever witnessed. Its fucking insane and probably inspired Foley to say 'you think that shit's cool I'll make an entire career making that look ordinary...GOD BLESS YOU MICK FOLEY).

Anyways Dundee drags the ref back to the ring determined to win by countout seeing as Lawler just fell 15 feet to friggin concrete. But then we get an insane moment as the camera pans back to the stands and LAWLER IS WALKING BACK!!!. Obvious 'lol wrestling logic' aside Lawler looks like freaking Godzilla about to crush Tokyo. His eye is bleeding profousely and HE IS PISSED. He gets back in the ring and all hell breaks loose. Punches and headbutts galore from both men, Lawler rocks Dundee with 4 insane punches and Dundee is bumping like Arn Anderson and Ric Flair combined, he's doing a 360 spin before collaping on his ass and its like even better than Lawler doing his Godzilla impression 30 seconds ago. Lawler also takes the time to eat a sickening ring post shot, it was disgusting even for this match but he will not be denied. He takes revenge on Dundee using Lawler's own fist drop from the second rope move and beats on Dundee unmercifully and rocks him with a few rights. Dundee retailiates and Lawler begs for more, the reaction is insane as Lawler looks deranged and wants more. Dundee gives it his all but Lawler pulls down the straps and BUSINESS IS ABOUT TO PICK UP.

More insane punches from Lawler as Dundee now looks to be moments from defeat, his confidence and swagger has diminished as a deranged man with an unhealty libido runs amok in a surprisingly clean Memphis ring, you get the feeling Lawler is that insane he'd defile Mrs Dundee in the ring post match. The crowd is itching for the piledriver......WHEN SOMEONE HANDS DUNDEE A FOREIGN OBJECT AND HE CLOCKS LAWLER OVER THE HEAD!!!!!

1........2.............................3!!!! Fucking Dundee has sent Lawler out of Memphis, the crowd is as silent as The Bukodan or the room after Mason Ryan someone passes another wellness test. Dundee celebrates with the belt like the biggest piece of shit ever. Its like if Apollo knocked Rocky out and then violated him with his own boxing glove. Dundee's just a grade A piece of horse shit and Lawler has been run out of town.

The match is sadly clipped by a few minutes and in the highlights we find out they clipped possibly the best piledriver Lawler has ever hit. I legit thought Dundee had died on impact. Jesus.

Yeah this was awesome, I'm tired so I'll just put you out of your wait:

*****


3. Jerry Lawler vs Dutch Mantell, Southern Heavyweight Championship,Memphis, NO DQ, 22/03/1982

Just a brilliant brilliant hate filled brawl between two all time great workers with great punches, epic bumping and marvellous pacing and subtle touches into their work. This match also features bar none the greatest transition spot in professional wrestling history.

Early goings on here is incredibly great. Lawler starts off like a house on fire exploding with punches and getting the better of Dutch, particularly in one awesome spot where Dutch ducks for a backdrop coming off of the ropes (aka the spot every wrestling fan hates for its stupidity) only for Lawler to jump back and boot Dutch square in the face. There's also a delicious exchange where Dutch goes to shake the hand of Lawler (this spot makes me believe there's a problem in the match order listing of their feud but enough of that for now) and Jerry just slaps the piss out of Dutch's mouth. Dutch is really great at the memphis bumping of Lawler's terrific punches and the whole opening has a real chaotic feeling of a bar fight where anything can happen.Dutch catching Lawler's boot only for Jerry to carefully regain his balance BEFORE hitting a freaking awesome enziguri was another nice spot that caught me completely off guard. Dutch also doing his best to try to avoid getting into it with Lawler because he's being dumped on his ass everytime was also a cool little running theme early on.

Now comes the greatest transition spot in history: Lawler throws a steel chair to Dutch's shoulder from the ring to the floor. Dutch picks up the chair, circles the ring before getting on the apron and lauching the chair across the freaking ring right into Lawler's left leg and knee. It looked freaking amazing for deadpoint accuracy and Lawler sold having his legs whipped from under him in an awesome manner. Dutch now senses blood and goes to town on Lawler with nice leg work and cheapshot punches and stomps to the body. He gives Jerry an amazing beating including numerous throws into the ring post (think it was the third one furthest away from the camera which Lawler seemed to fly into at an extremely dangerous pace), some beautiful punches to the face as well as a bodyslame on concrete, repeatedly smashing Lawler's face into the apron as well as my second favourite spot where Mantel just casually goes to the outside and brings in another chair and just straight up bounces it off of Jerry's skull :lmao :lmao and Lawler does this insanely great KO sell where his body hits the mat at a terrific pace and the impact is tremendous. Dutch taking the time to playfully slap Lawler in the side of the head on the floor as revenge for his slapping earlier was freaking immense and exactly the sort of 'subtle touch' I referred to earlier.

Lawler's manager next to Lance Russell is also terrific at giving this match a 'Rocky' vibe with him occasionally shouting words of encouragement to Lawler: "I've learned never to give up on Jerry Lawler", "come on Jerry, suck it up and FIGHT" which ties in beautifully to Lawler's bloody eyed comeback which includes some gorgeous punches even by Jerry Lawler's terrificly high standards and a lovely revenge spot with Dutch hitting the ring post (always love how Lawler employs the rule of threes spot in a lot of his matches).

The finishing run is also brilliant. Dutch grows incredibly frustrated at his inability to beat Lawler and hits a couple of beautiful top rope kneedrops (cliche by know but Lawler's almost deadweight sell on impact was a joy to watch) and a lovely splash which surprised me given the length of the ring Lawler was from Mantell. The finish itself though is an all time great finish in its significance and the execution and pacing to get to this finish was also a glorious touch by one participant:

Dutch runs into Lawler and Lawler's greater weight sends Dutch spiralling to the floor. As he gets to the apron Lawler nails him with a few punches and takes the time to soak up the audience reaction before each one and on the third punch Dutch boots Lawler and hits a flawless sunset flip over the ropes and pins Lawler to win the belt clean as a whistle. A freaking incredible and amazing finish not only in its execution and planning but also given its Jerry Lawler FFS

Can't wait to watch their next 2 matches including the famed Barbed Wire match. And Lawler continues to improve his standing as the potential GOAT US Worker and potentially GOAT worldwide.

****1/4


4. Jerry Lawler vs Dutch Mantell, Southern Heavyweight Championship, Loser Leaves Town, Memphis, 27/3/1982 (All time great bait and switch, Dutch's mid match promo is outstanding).

Not exactly sure whether this match is actually before the No DQ match between them from 22/3 as the guys over at DVDVR seemed to be confused in which match actually came first. Mantell cuts an insanely awesome promo which is entirely believable and puts over himself and Lawler as the two top dogs before making a bold challenge to Lawler to come out for a title match and make it Loser Leaves Town. Lance Russell essentially gives away that they're not going to actually do a Loser Leaves Town match on free TV between two of the top stars in the promotion but Lawler enters and wants a piece of Mantell and this is ON!!

The actual match itself goes around 7 mins at best. What we get is a condensed version of Lawler vs Mantell greatness. Jerry hits a couple of insanely awesome punches here, one under the chin that Mantell bumps emphatically for and an insane running punch along the floor that was worthy of dislodging some front teeth. Mantell does well by giving Lawler everything he has and they work a nice continuation from Dutch's pre match promo about wanting to prove himself as Lawler's superior and there's some great bumping and selling from both men. Its really an angle rather than an actual match but the match we get is great for 7 minutes and the execution of the entire angle is amazing.

Mantell gets bested by Lawler and just as Jerry pulls down the straps to signal a comeback Mantell wisely ducks out of the ring a couple of times when he realises his over enthusiasm and ego may well have backed him into a corner he can't escape from and which could see him booted out of Memphis. In what can only be described as an all time great promo and performance by Mantell, I'll provide a quick summary:

Mantell says to Lawler this whole match and stipulation is stupid and puts over the fact that both men were great friends before the southern heavyweight belt came between them. Lawler is hesitant at going out to the floor to meet with Dutch but after Dutch declares he won't finish the match Lawler reluctantly goes out to the floor
Dutch then declares that Lawler is the toughest SOB he's come across and that both men will end up killing themselves in this war because of their pride. He says that instead of doing this they should be focusing on the Midnight Express and Jimmy Hart and stopping them from taking over Memphis. The crowd pop for when Mantell suggests he and Lawler team up and stop this petty rivalry which has destroyed a frienship and take out the real bad men of Memphis is terrific and both men shake hands and you feel like a new dynasty has been born in Memphis and Lawler & Mantell will unite and dethrone the Midnight Express...............................



AND THEN DUTCH SUCKERPUNCHES LAWLER!!! He then beats the piss out of Jerry with a ring post shot, a steel chair to the face and numerous punches and kicks before hitting a piledriver in the ring. Lawler is a crumpled heap and Dutch is drawing terrific heat from this small Studio crowd. Russell is putting Mantell over as the most cowardly and deplorable human being alive and Dutch makes a point to claim 'his' southern heavyweight championship and sarcastically says Lawler may need some attention.

2 all time great promos from Dutch to go along with a nicely worked 7 minute match along with a terrific angle makes for terrific viewing. This is up there with Dibiase vs Flair from Mid South 6/11 as a segment instead of just a match and Dutch is amazing in getting a crowd to cheer him pre match, boo him during the match and immediately as he begins to offer a truce before having them cheering the thought of him teaming up with his old pal Jerry again. People rightfully talk about Eddie in 05 as a convincing heel and this work from Dutch is right up there. If I didn't already know they'd be having a barbed wire match in 2 days to conclude this feud I'd have believed every word of his as completely sincere.

****


5. Jerry Lawler vs Dutch Mantell, Southern Heavyweight Title, Memphis, Barbed Wire Match, 29/03/1982

Saw -Mystery- pimp this match as essential viewing and I couldn't agree more with him. On first watch I'd place this just ahead of their No DQ 22/3 match and the peak of the Lawler vs Mantell feud. The whole match feels like a Wrestlemania fight with both men laying in everything they have, in many ways the match isn't a case of beating your opponent but simply surviving whatever he throws at you.

They tease the barbed wire early on with both men jocking for position and hesitantly backing away from the ropes after a lock up. Lawler hits a nice takedown and slowly drags Mantell to the barbed wire with Dutch screaming frantically and kicking away at Lawler to escape for now. Dutch then attempts to inflict some revenge on Lawler but eventually settles into working over the legs and wearing Jerry down instead. Already I'm liking how they're putting over the damage the barbed wire can cause but not making it the most important factor in the match, instead of simply being a match full of 20 holy shit moments involving the wire they're keeping the crowd in suspense and teasing each spot where the barbed wire comes into play and as such each moment feels that much bigger and more of a game changer.

Dutch eventually utilises the barbed wire to open a nasty cut over Lawler's right eye which he works like a champ with some gorgeous punches and numerous other spots where he drives the wire into the exposed cut. Lawler's bumping during this spell is tremendous in collapsing full force into the mat as well as drunkenly staggering around whilst trying to not fall into the ropes. Eventually he catches Mantell with a sick boot to the nose and looks to be starting a famed Lawler comeback before Dutch lowblows him and then removes his strap as the ultimate insult to Lawler :lmao :lmao and the crowd suitably boos ferociously.

Dutch can't keep control for long though and a mixture of intense and gritty Lawler punches and eating the barbed wire has Dutch bleeding as well. The pacing and structure of the match is perfect for the environment they're in, its not a case of whoring out the barbed wire to create a standard gimmick match but more a trapped environment where both men are locked in 1 final battle with no escape. Lawler gradually begins to sell the wear and tear of the match not just in his bumping with some terrific 'gassed' flops to the mat after each punch but also by making his punches seem weaker and lacking in energy. Mantell himself takes the time to bump emphatically for some of Lawler's punches and combo's, including a lovely Flair esque flop after Lawler hits 3 gorgeous dancing left handed punches. All this builds to one tremendous spot where Lawler hits a gamechanging right hand which Dutch sells terrificly as a biable KO only for Lawler post impact to almost stagger to his right and collapse in a heap on the match. This match is an all out war, both participants are selling the wear and effect of the environment like absolute champs and not even a 3 minute clipping can take away from the drama.

The finish whilst horrifying in its simplicity to some is the perfect feud ender here. The entire match has built to both men bleeding and stumbling around with no breath and fight left in them and you get the feeling 1 move will be enough to score the decisive fall. There's a terrific failed bodyslam attempt which Lawler turns into a crossbody pin for an extremely close near fall before the finish. Both men can barely stand and as Dutch whips Lawler into the ropes with all his remaining strength, Lawler hits him mid air and collapses on top of a KO'd Dutch for the pin. Terrific in its simplicity and selling the match as a testament to Lawler's endurance. He hasn't won the match as much as he's survived the war and managed to keep Dutch down for those 3 crucial seconds.

****1/2.

6. Jerry Lawler vs Rick Martell, Memphis 12/10/1985

Really great match here which tied in to one of the most consistent running angles in Memphis, that being Lawler's quest to win a major world title. Lawler starts the match like a house on fire with multiple pin attempts and Martell despite being a face shows more of a heel persona right from the go by beating the mat after each pin and Lance Russell on commentary points out Martell may just be annoyed that a scrub like Lawler is toying with him like this. Obviously when you're a touring world champ facing Jerry Lawler in Memphis you can expect to be a de facto heel but I dug how Martell slowly grew into a more vicious heel we weren't conditioned to expect from his character, him using a closed fist punch to stop Lawler escaping from a leg submission was sold tremendously by Russell as something unheard of when describing Martell.

They do a spot I always love with a touring champ vs local where Lawler bests Martell in the punch exchanges and dumps him on his ass. When you tie in this brief exchange as well as Lawler dominating the rest of the opening minutes it really gets the crowd hot seeing the champ on the backfoot in each exchange, Flair was a big fan of that spot and Martell sold the frustration of losing out on the exchange yet again tremendously. He then gets annoyed with the 'Go Jerry Go' chants and I'm really digging his character work: he's playing a very Cena esque role from ONS 2006 and it translates well into his control segment.

He hacks the leg of Lawler and goes to town on it with nice kicks, stomps, leg locks and figure fours and really cranks in a lot of the holds. Its not as engaging as someone like Flair doing it but you can see he's trying to get as strong a reaction as he can and its not just being done to kill some time. Lawler sells the workover extremely well: punching the mat to get the crowd further behind him, trying to reach his leg to check there's still some feeling left in his muscle tissue etc. And then when he manages to make a brief comeback he's hopping on one leg and doing his best to work with an obvious limitation and I dug how Martell immediately seized brief control again because Lawler was handicapped to the point where he couldn't do much at all.

Lawler finally pulls down the straps and makes his massive comeback and whilst he certainly sells the leg less than before (which did disappoint me because Lawler is about as consistent a seller as I can recall) I do think some people may have oversold how much he ignored it. I mean most of his punches were in the corner where he moved very little and he still used the rope at times to hold his balance before walking around the ring to follow Martell, and before the first fistdrop you see him tweaking and feeling his knee. I'd love to make some Lawler bias and say because it was part of the Lawler World Title quest they were going for some angle where he fights through the pain to win, sadly though the match doesn't last long between his comeback and the finish. I really think that had it gone 10 minutes longer we may have seen Lawler sell the leg more and work a nice story of him trying to overcome the injury. Perhaps because of the finish they just decided to get as much offence in as they could before the match ended, but I definitely felt the lack of time between Lawler's comeback and the finish was a more obvious detraction from the potential of this match than some apparent lack of selling by Lawler.

Shenanigans in Lawler title matches are to be expected and tbf as dusty finishes go I enjoyed this one. Martell goes for the figure four again and gets kicked off by Lawler who loses his boot in the process whilst the ref is down, Martell still pissed from Jerry's refusal to quit uses the boot against Lawler but can't get a pin because the ref is down. As he comes round Lawler gives Martell a boot shot in return and the ref calls for the bell and DQ's Lawler. I thought it brought about the story of Martell becoming a more sneaky and apparent heel tremendously and worked as continuing the arc of Lawler still being eluded from World Title Glory.

Plenty of good shit here and with a longer period between Lawler's comeback and the finish I think the match would have benefitted tremendously, Lawler still sold the leg for me well enough to show he wasn't very mobile but I do think 5-10 more minutes could have seen him sell the leg more and work a better story of Martell's leg workover being too much for him and ensuring he would lose a Title match again. As it was despite there being some great Lawler selling and Martell workover as well as a nice pace and structure, the leg workover never really benefitted from a more drawn out finishing stretch which sadly lessened its impact.

***1/2


7. Jerry Lawler vs Koko Ware, Memphis Studio, 08/12/1979

Freaking awesome and a candidate for best sub 10 minute match ever. Last match I watched of Lawler was let down by his comeback being too short and some selling issues but this is HEEL LAWLER and there ain't nothing wrong when Lawler heels it up in a wrestling ring. He's sporting some fancy white jacket and I legit thought he was a KKK member, which given the pigmentation of young Koko was an awkward moment. What's amazing is you see just how beloved Lawler was as a face, and then compare his heel run and just how utterly despicable he was. This studio crowd wants his crown stuck up his fat arse and some black kid is sporting a gorgeous afro and stache: I mean that kid was probably getting laid the second he grew both.

Anyways Lawler looks like 'The Man' early on with a couple of takedowns with Jimmy Hart jumping up at ringside before Koko catches Lawler with a taste of his own medicine and almost immediately Lawler is up complaining of a hair pull and I'm in love with the match already. Lawler whiffs on a diving fist drop and his exaggerated sell of the hand is magnificent. They then work a nice spot where Koko slowly reversed a headlock with his strength into a headscissor choke before dragging Lawler face first across the mat who's legs are kicking with desperation to escape. Lawler busts out a nice escape before whiffing on an elbow drop and he is pissed and starts kicking the ropes and pulls down the strap to FIGHT. He thinks better of it though and confides in Hart for some advice before working another headlock. Immediately he points to his hair to signal the ref to break the hold and when the ref's back is turned Lawler yanks the hair to regain control. The ref asks him what happened and Lawler's reaction to the suggestion he could have cheated is glorious: he shakes his head like he's a friggin boy scout and above cowardly shit like that.

They work this spot a few more time with Koko trying to garner crowd support to alert the ref, all the while Lawler is freaking POSING when he catches the camera is focusing in on his good side. SOMEONE FUCKING KILL THIS MAN!!! There's also this lovely spot where Lawler manouevres himself away from the ref's eyesight and tries to separate the fingers of Koko whilst having an armbar locked in. Eventually Lawler's arrogance gets the better of him and after taunting Koko not to exchange fists he clocks a beauty of a punch from Koko and sells it like a King (no pun intended) by stumbling around and having this priceless facial expression of stunned disbelief. Koko then unloads in the corner with terrific punches and some spears in the corner and Lawler sells one like his eyes are about to pop out of his head...it has to be seen to be believed.

Koko's inexperience gets the better of him though and he misses another spear attempt and eats the post. Lawler hits a nice delayed suplex before hitting arguably his most devasting 2nd rope fistdrop I've ever seen. Seriously nothing looked 'hokey' about this one, looks like poor Koko won't be eating for a week with the force of the punch he takes.

Terrific heel schtick performance from the King here, just making every hold entertaining and engaging along with some classic heel bumping and selling. His crowd control and taunting is some of the best ever and the crowd dieing when the 3 count is made is a nice reaction for this prick not getting his arse handed to him. Oh yeah and it only goes 9 minutes.

***1/2


8. Jerry Lawler vs Terry Funk, NO DQ, Memphis 21/03/1981 (His #2 match of all time IMO)

Due to the extreme nature and coarse language this review should not be viewed by anyone. MOTHERFUCKING hell what an insane match, jesus christ are the punches fucking brutal, Terry Funk is batshit insane to the point where you wonder if his moma's pussy was doing cocaine pre birth. No man should be this fucking insane. Lawler wears white and whilst he lost all right to wear white when he fucked some girl behind a dingy back alley joint aged 9 he lets you know to expect some serious blood will be spilled over the next 13 minutes. Well shit son its pissing Lawler vs Funk, you expecting Tamura vs Volk Han or some shit like that???????

Jimmy Hart is a delight at ringside ladies and gentleman. He's freaking leaping in the air like a bloody gymnast, scurrying under the fucking ring when Lawler comes within spitting and pissing distance of him and even swings a fucking cane to break up a pinfall. He's crazy and animated and he's still not even a blip on the radar of whatever you use to measure Funk's level of insanity in this match (Matt Hardy + Charlie Sheen + Kerry Katona + Andre the Giant after 100 pissing bottles of beer doesn't even measure up for christ sake). Within the first 30 seconds he's already being chased by Lawler, ends up hanging himself in the ropes, hits the floor and swings so hard he falls into the rope on the floor and is swinging at what can only be an imaginary midget only people as coked up and living life to the fullest like Terry Funk can see. He stumbles back in the ring and trips over the freaking rope and tumbles to the mat and hits the outside again. Funk is CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAZY.

Lawler then bloodies Funk and oh my goodness is the selling to die for. He's punching him square in the face and Funk is jerking his body like he's gone cold turkey after being taken off whatever pissing meds he OD'd on to get in a state of insanity he's in here. Lawler's punches and Funk's stooging and drunken selling is a recipe that could cure any problem watching wrestling gives you, its glorious 100mph car crash nonsense and we haven't even clocked in at 4 mins for fuck sake. Funk rocks Lawler with a sick headbutt before biting at Lawler's eye, cutting him open in the first place before unloading with a barrage of insane punches and one motherfucking rediculous double axe handle slam right on the exposed cut. Lance Russell is telling the people in the back to put down the moonshine and observe this crazy Texan having a breakdown before our very eyes and meanwhile Funk is biting and spitting Lawler's blood out his mouth while Jimmy Hart bounces like TNA's cheques to undercard talent.

BUT WAIT!!! Lawler starts to work into a comeback, he's been bumping and selling the beating like a King (PUN FUCKING INTENDED) and is doing his darndest to cause this already hot and molten crowd of hillbillies to riot like its Woodstock. He starts to shake off them cobwebs and OH MY GOD the reaction when he pulls down the straps isn't even describable as a pop, its bloody magnificent and Lawler punches Funk with disgusting haymakers and Terry's throwing a whiffed punch at every opportunity, before stumbling forwards then backwards and doing a 360 turn around right down to the mat. CRAZY. This crowd is dieing right now and there's an awesome visual of some skanky middle aged Woman telling Lawler his punches suck and imitating how to do a better punch (its Lawler ya dumb bitch have a bit of class). How do you stop a loony Texan who lost his marbles, found another pair and then robbed them from a young kid after beating the shit out of him and then throwing them away because your're Terry Funk and you have no marbels??? Land square on his head from 6 feet is the correct answer and fuck did it look brutal.

Somewhere later Jimmy Hart gets his weasely ass back in the ring and eats a stiff as hell punch from Lawler and Funk senses the opportunity and drives the angled steel chair into the leg Lawler broke 1 year ago. FUCKING CONTINUITY AND CALLBACK SPOTS FTMFW. He works over the leg like a loony man with some form of reason and Lawler sells his ass off and if he gives up now this crowd will probably invade that ring before I swear again. FUCK no need, Lawler punches Terry square in the cheek and Terry wanders back to his corner and just deadweights on the ropes, bloody hell is he amazing here. Seriously this is what you point to when people scoff at these two being talked about as legit Greatest Of All Time workers.

Lawler turns the tables and beats the shit out of Terry with the chair, whilst still hobbling in the process (BECAUSE HE'S JERRY LAWLER AND SELLING IS SERIOUS BUSINESS) and looks to break Funk's leg with the chair. He beats the piss out of the leg and finally strolls back to the ring cool as ice whilst sporting a disgusting cut and the ref counts to 10 and this one is OVER.

Beautiful way to set up a rematch, the stooging, bumping and selling from both men is incredible. The crowd is as hot as any in history, the pacing is immaculate and perfect and Funk's drunken selling off of Lawler's haymakers is my new favourite spot in wrestling folklore. AND IT WAS ONLY 13 MINUTES!!!!!

****3/4


9. Jerry Lawler vs Dory Funk Jr 30/03/1981, Memphis

Okay, so Dory Funk may be one of my least favourite wrestlers ever. He's not necessarily as bad as someone like Davey or Angle who annoy me with selling, pacing, structure and general match layouts but he's mind numbingly boring and dull in matches and makes it incredibly hard for me to sit through his matches. I say this as someone who can happily sit through 60 minute matches from the 80s with the most memorable spot being a hip toss, he probably defines 'not what he does but how he does it'. Lawler on the other hand is someone who can do the bare minimum in terms of bumping and selling but do it in such a way that it gets over his opponent and engages the crowd, and when he dials it up and puts in his best performances you get a bonafide classic. So essentially I'm about to watch the clash between a guy who bores me to tears and a man who's made a life's work out of working standard matches but using intelligent touches and quirks to make the match much more engaging than it has any right to be.

This is 1 week after the EPIC NO DQ match vs Terry Funk and is a lead in to the Empty Arena match a week later. It's essentially worked like Lawler has faced some of the best of what Funk has to offer, but can he do the same with a different opponent in Dory who will stick to grappling (mind numbingly boring grappling to be exact) and won't be as willing to brawl with Lawler. Jimmy Hart is also suspended above the wing via wiring (reminiscent of HBK's Wrestlemania 12 entrance) and it makes for quite the visual.

Have to say I really did love this match, Dory is just full on methodical mode and trying to beat Lawler his way and not get caught up in Lawler's brawling. He hits a couple of lovely delayed headlock drops to the mat which looked really manly and wrenched in tightly on the neck of Lawler and I really dug Lawler despite not being schooled by Funk but certainly not as comfortable as he would be in a straight up fight clenching his fist to be the difference maker. Dory throws some gorgeous European Uppercuts in this which Lawler was selling like death by dropping to his knees and really wrenching his head back off of each shot, if Dory just did this every match I might not think he's utter shit. Funk also shows signs of being a killer like his brother albeit more calculated, he throws Lawler to the floor and Lawler's bump is pretty frightening considering he's hitting unprotected concrete. Dory smashes Lawler's head off of the table and once he gets back in the ring Lawler makes it his mission to turn this away from a wrestling match into a slugfest. Dory wisely gets out of the ring though everytime it appears Lawler is getting away from him and Lawler picking some form of timber and following Dory into the crowd was quite the impressive visual.

Dory though shows he can quite the prick whilst being more clever and subtle in bending the rules. Lawler starts punching him in the corner and just as the ref pulls Lawler away, Dory zooms in like a shark and knees Lawler in the ribs and Lawler hist the mat hard. They do the same spot again shortly thereafter and its really building a nice story of Dory's intelligence and methodical nature being a lot more than Lawler can handle as opposed to maniacal Terry who played right into Lawler's hands. The crowd gets noticeably pissed at Dory from here on out and after a rare mistake from Dory he starts to lose control and Lawler beats the shit out of him. Terrific spot where Lawler pulls down the straps to signal business is going to pick up and then just boots Dory in the bollocks, :lmao :lmao . Jimmy Hart then manages to interfere by throwing a chain to Dory which I dug in continuing this story of Lawler being out thought by 2 clever men who could best him through their brains and not their fists. They work a nice nearfall spot off of the chain shot before Lawler clocks Dory with his own chain (crowd reaction for this is something incredibly special) and from there they do a DQ finish after Dory punches the ref and we get a post match brawl between the two which I enjoyed in continuing this Lawler feud with the Funk brothers.

Really smartly worked match here with Lawler managing to make a typical Dory match more engaging and Dory himself was really great at selling Lawler's punches like his legs have lost all feeling and throwing some lovely uppercuts whilst also putting himself over as an intelligent Funk who could out manouevre Lawler whilst also being just as prickish as Terry. Lawler bumped and sold as well as he normally does and really nailed down the transition from 'wrestling' to brawling tremendously by demonstrating he was outmatched by Dory. The continuous theme of Dory and Jimmy being a lot more than Lawler could handle was also a running theme and the DQ finish despite lacking in execution was good in furthering Lawler's hate for the Funk family and setting up the Empty Arena match, especially with Dory being DQ'd for a punch to the referee but Lawler not being DQ'd for throwing Calhoun to the floor (Terry in the Empty Arena match is covinced Memphis is biased against him and Dory).

***3/4

10. Jerry Lawler vs Terry Funk,Memphis, Empty Arena Match, 06/04/1981 (One of the best angles of all time)

Oh sweet merciful Jesus was this incredible, I mean utterly incredible. I think Terry somehow heard my love for Lawler as a potential GOAT and made it his life's mission to make me love him more than Lawler...and freaking hell he really did as good a job as anyone could have to get me onto his bandwagon as the GOAT. Lance Russell and Funk make this, Lawler is brilliant himself but he plays second fiddle as the background to Funk's insanity.

Russell smoking and then immediately putting it out 'because we better start this' had me rolling already. They really put this over as not only something incredibly scary and dangerous, but also believable. Russell saying the 'match' is scheduled to start at 1pm and its only 12.50pm so we're shutting off the camera until they get here is something so subtle but convincing it makes you forget how goofy this whole thing could have come across as had TNA attempted it. 'If they arrive you'll see this....and if they don't no-one will ever see this', man alive is Russell amazing.

Funk then arrives into the arena AND OH MY GOODNESS HIS CHEMISTRY WITH RUSSELL IS EQUAL TO HIS CHEMISTRY WITH LAWLER. He's out of his mind talking about conspiracies and Lawler not having the refs on his jockstrap or the rats in the crowd cussing him. Russell is great in that JR role when he's doing an interview of carefully choosing his words because he senses Funk may just make him his bitch and bite his cock off if Lawler doesn't get here soon enough. Funk's checking under the ring to assure everyone Jimmy Hart ain't here and later to see if Lawler is hiding like a coward :lmao :lmao. He's off his fucking rocker. He then gets incredibly pissed that 1pm has passed and Lawler is nowhere to be seen, Russell stands up for Lawler and Memphis and comes across as this devoted man to the promotion trying to tell this Texan to have faith because Lawler runs from no-one. Funk then asks if Russell wants to throw down and get in the ring :lmao :lmao and Lance later telling him he's just the goddman guy Terry wanted to commentate this thing and will not get involved any other way is just hilarious. Funk saying 'he's nowhere to be found and now I guess I look like an idiot' was just delivered so precisely it makes me think Funk is the greatest talker in the history of our sport, just utterly engaging and believable as this deranged and psycotic loony.

Lawler arrives complete with Crown and Cape and Terry mocking him is just amazing, and I mean AMAZING...."Do you know how riiiidiculous you look, there's nobody here youuuuuuu jackass" :lmao :lmao :lmao. The trash talking from both is great with Funk asking if Lawler brought a gun in his crown and Jerry casually replying 'I don't need a gun for you Funk'. They're really putting this thing over as 2 men who you know will give it their all and right off the bat you sense someone is going to get seriously injured. Funk taunting Lawler as they circle each other before spitting at him to draw a lock up was terrific in building the tension whilst having some great comedy. You could just see this match being on some series finale of a popular show between the 2 main characters, Funk really could have been an actor for how amazing he is and believable he is as this man who just snaps into insanity.

He gets punched square in the jaw and shrieks at Lawler 'you son of a bitch' is just terrific and from there his voice his unspeakably high like his balls have been cut off (and I wouldn't put it past these 2). He piledrives Lawler on the concrete who sells it like death by constantly holding his neck and struggling to get to the floor and then bashes his head off of the table and Jerry looks dead. Funk screams hysterically for Russell to come over here and 'AAAAASSSSSSSSK HIIIIIIIIIIIM' if Lawler wants to quit and I was legit disturbed at just how great Terry was at conveying this intense hatred and contempt for another human being. He then breaks off a piece of exposed wood and turns it into a spike and sets about ripping Lawler's eye out and Lance's pleas for Terry to stop puts this over as maybe the end of the line for Jerry. The tension is just unspeakable and Lawler finally turns the tables by elbowing Funk who sells it like death before kicking Funk's elbow and driving the spike into Terry's eye AND MY GOD THE SHRIEK. Terry is absolutely screaming in agony and crying over his eye, 'MY GODDAMN EYE, LANCE I CAN'T SEE OUT OF IT'. I was honestly reminded of the infamous scene from Deliverance (you all know the one) with just how piercing and scary Terry's screams of agony where, if I was 10 I'd have legit thought he had lost his eye and the blood is disgusting in convincing you he really is blind.

Lawler's look of disgust in what he had to do to put this man down also really adds to what we just witnessed, I get that really this is more of an angle taking place in the ring but the sheer hatred and contempt both men have for the other as well as Lance being on commentary for it and adding to the drama makes me think its worthy of adding a star rating to it. This truly is up there in how to do a bloody end to a dramatic and iconic feud and Terry's selling of the eye after Lawler is out of the building by calling him out again when 30 seconds earlier he was begging for a doctor and crying for it to end really was just the icing on the cake. The pre match and post match stuff is just an incredible beginning and conclusion to this angle and the in ring stuff was fine for what we got, and made sense with it being treated as a fight and nothing more. This is the all time great performance IMO from Funk, no-one else could have done what he did in these 15 minutes, a true genius and talent.

****1/2


11. Jerry Lawler vs Randy Savage, AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship, Steel Cage, Memphis, 12/12/1983

Thought this was very good, but honestly felt they could have done so much more and had a better match. Savage despite being a bump freak and trying his darndest to work over Lawler and lay a beating on him just doesn't have the aura/ability that a Dundee/Funk or Mantell has when beating up Jerry Lawler. I mean Memphis as a whole was all about guys doing things that most wrestlers would have no problem doing....but just pacing it so much better and getting crowd reactions most guys today could only dream of. Savage was really good though trying to constantly break away whenever Lawler threatened to get on top: loved him going to the top of the cage for a break after Lawler unloaded some vicious punch combos in the corner. They also do one of the best double KO spots I've ever seen: Savage does a great airplane spin and both men sell the fuck out of it as a major manouevre and whilst they're spinning Lawler hits what feels like a real desperation punch that floors both men. Savage also bumped impressively and almost broke the cage on a couple of occasions with how fast he was bumping. He also worked a great opening to the match in trying to ground Lawler immediately after getting his ass kicked in the strike exchange and his constant use of a foreign object to halt Lawler's momentum as well as a killer headbutt to the bollocks after the ref stopped Lawler attempting a piledriver were great heel spots which got the crowd pissed.

Still it just didn't feel as epic or hate filled like the Dundee or Mantell matches and between Savage flubbing a double axe handle to the floor as well as randomly throwing out a missed top rope elbow which he barely sold afterwards I thought there was a bit of a structure problem. Savage really should have had an extended beatdown and I think Lawler's comeback would have worked much better after the double KO spot and both men staggering to their feet. The piledriver being an automatic DQ kind of took me out of the drama as well, hard to buy the match as being as brutal as they tried to display when you can be DQ'd for 1 move and the DQ finish itself whilst good in prlonging the feud and cutting off a great Lawler comeback and making his chase of Savage all the more dramatic just killed what could have been a great ending. A very good match but not without its faults that could have made the match all the more better, Lawler was his great self but some of Savage's offence and move selection felt extremely off for a man who supposedly was incredibly detailed in structuring his matches.

***1/2

12.Jerry Lawler vs Randy Savage, Kentucky, 09/04/1984

Yeah this was more like it and a better match than cage IMO. Savage rules it terrificly as the deranged loony who's convinced Lawler, the cameramen, the crowd and Lance Russell are all in some great conspiracy against him and its a much more impressive heel job by Savage that felt more along his niche than trying to work like a Dundee or Mantell heel in the Cage match. Right off the bat they do a rule of threes spot that I've come to adore in Jerry Lawler matches, here Savage yanks his hair twice in the corner and Lawler is absolutely disgusted that the ref isn't doing his job and on the third attempt yanks Savage's hair who promptly flips out at all this injustice and Jimmy Hart at ringside is terrific at belitting the ref for favouritism. They do a cool little spot where Savage after circling the ring and acting further demented has his hand grabbed by the ref and ends up eating a punch from Lawler and again he and Hart are going insane at the supposed shenanigans whilst Lance is trying not to lose his shit with Jimmy in particular. Savage's control segment is also terrific, he really beats the shit out of Jerry with headbutts, kicks and plenty of double axe handles and ring post shots. It also serves as a nice bit of desperation from Savage after losing the wrestling exchange with Lawler as well as the strike exchange: loved the headscissor spot where Lawler spikes Savage on his head and Jimmy Hart screams he used the hair. Lawler is also just insanely awesome selling wise throughout this: he's grasping his hand every time he misses a fist drop and feeling the fingers, he bumps like a madman including an insane flat back bump onto the concrete and there's a great 30 second stretch where his legs go wobbly as he eats some gorgeous punches from Savage and an elbow which he sells beautifully by limply shaking his leg.

The Lawler comeback is as great as always, he leaves it a lot later in the match and it comes off much more dramatic with him throwing literally everything he has left, it'll be said a 1000 times by me but the Jerry Lawler comeback will never be bettered by anyone, he just lands some incredible 'fuck you' haymakers and here he does another awesome trait of his by selling his exhaustion by making his last couple of punches noticebaly weaker and Lance picks up that he may have punched himself out. Saw a few people say the finish killed their enjoyment but I didn't have a problem with it on Lawler's end as much as I did the referee. Lawler eats a piledriver from Savage behind the ref's back but Savage spots his cornermen getting into it with the ref and turns his back on Lawler who crawls over and rolls him up but the refs are too slow in getting around to the pin and it comes off quite bad in the piledriver being blown off. Its not like Jerry gets up and flies over to Savage because he does sell it well by crawling over like its his last hope of winning, but had the refs been more alert it could have worked better as a flash roll up instead of an awkward 7 second pause before the 3 count. Still this had great character work from Savage and Hart, Lawler bumping and selling superbly and a better double KO spot than in the Cage. Great match all round.

****

13. Jerry Lawler vs Randy Savage, Memphis, NO DQ, Loser Leaves Town 03/06/1985

Awesome match right here and the best of their matches together, the coup de triumph if you will. Really smartly worked in the opening with Lawler's LLT experience allowing him to pick his spots and remain calm whilst Savage constantly stooges and stalls after each exchange and searches for the best way to secure the advantage. It was refreshing to see a LLT worked a lot more causally and building to a conclusion and both men really sold the magnitude of the match in how they approached the match, Lawler moreso considering he'd put his career on the line against Savage leaving town. I adored Savage trying to taunt Lawler and bait him into making a rash error only for Lawler to spit in the face of Savage and draw him back into the ring before unceremoniously dumping him on his ass again. Lawler even resorting to a low blow again called back to his LLT experience in there being no code of honour in such an environment and Savage really sold it well as a spot he didn't expect from Lawler. Savage also adds to his frustration by gloriously immitating the boxing spot where he covers his face and eyes to protect himself from Lawler's punches as well as trying to get inside Lawler's head, so simple yet so brilliant in building each sequence to mean a great deal in the context of the match. Sadly around 14 minutes of this is clipped which is a crying shame because it cuts out around 8 minutes into the match, which has consisted of Lawler outworking and outsmarting Savage and building to that transition spot. We return with both men colliding into one another and selling the wear and tear and whilst what we get before the clip and afterwards is supreme wrestling, the clip cutting out the transition to Savage's control segment really hurt the match's flow in building from Lawler controlling-Savage controlling-the finish.

Once we come back to the match, Savage opens up a nasty cut by drilling Lawler from the apron into the announce table and then proceeds to beautifully work over the cut with rights and lefts and gouging and biting. Its a tremendous beating consisting of 0% Lawler offence and his selling of the beating as well as the ref coming in every so often to check on the ever increasing cut over the right eye terrificly builds the drama and the crowd becomes noticeably more anxious and voiceferous for Lawler with every second that passes with him looking ever closer to defeat. The moment the ref calls for the bell due to Lawler being too hurt to continue is a really great moment with Jerry almost collapsing in agony and the crowd on the verge of rioting as Savage smugly strolls around the ring. Lawler crawling to ringside and begging the officials to let him lose his eye and go down fighting instead of losing his career on a whimper and the accompanying reaction is pro wrestling done right. I know a lot of people aren't big fans of matches ending soon after a match is restarted but Lawler being moments away from defeat really adds to the drama and makes a sudden death shoot-out all the more appropriate a finish and his comeback really ranks as an all time great one, even by Lawler standards. He musters up one last breath and pulls down the strapping and again times it to perfection in getting a thunderous reaction before unloading with the customery 'fuck you' haymakers and Savage bumping like a madman with no answer. The following piledriver is an ever so delicious finish when you consider Lawler being unable to hit the manouevre in both previous matches was a big handicap in Savage being able to hang with Lawler and handicapping Lawler.

4th best LLT IMO behind the 3 Lawler vs Dundee matches, which is no disrespect on this match.

****1/2

14.Jerry Lawler & Randy Savage vs King Kong Bundy & Rick Rude 10/09/1984

Awesome tag right here. The crowd is molten at the thought of Savage teaming up with Lawler and Savage is a total nutjob here. He's challenging Rude to a slugfest, trying to have a chair fight on the floor with Bundy, barking like a dog and getting Rude worked up and calling for the ref to put this guy on a leash. He's just a total loon randomly coming in to wreak some havoc and beat the shit out of Rude & Bundy. Speaking of Rude & Bundy they really make a terrific team here: Rude eats a great beating early on via Lawler's punches and Savage's bionic elbow and his punch drunk selling and bumping is as great as you come to expect from Rude especially off of the Savage airplane spin and then they do a great spot where Rude challenges Savage to a muscle display and then gets irate at being bested by Savage and driven out of the ring that he goes to the floor and cuts a brief promo on Savage and his mongrel fans. They continually come off second best in every exchange and it all culminates with them having Lawler in the corner only for him to smash their heads together and once they hit the floor they're daring anyone to hope over the barrier and fight them. There was also one terrific spot with Savage just randomly walking behind Rude and smashing his head off of the table: SAVAGE MAN. HE'S FREAKING NUTS.

Bundy then manages to overpower Lawler and starts a tremendous FIP spell, Lawler really bumps and sells the beating amazingly by jerking his body and spazzing out after every Bundy kneedrop and splash and Rude and Bundy are really great at working him over, toying with Savage to work a 2 on 1 beatdown and numerous cut off spots including 2 great teases for the hot tag where Lawler gets caught in mid air and launched into the corner and when he gets his head rammed off the turnbuckle and Savage just misses out on the tag as he gets to the apron. Rude meanwhile manages to hit an illegal pildriver behind the ref's back and his celebration afterwards is GLORIOUS. Total shithead and him shaking his head like a boy scout who cannot tell lies when Calhoun inquiries about said piledriver is more glorious heel schtick.

Finish is really good in setting up the rematch a week later, Lawler times his comeback to perfection and reels off some desperation haymakers to Bundy and you manage to see his facial expressions thanks to the superior video quality and the desperation and anger in his face really sells his comeback as an all or nothing offence sprint. He tags in Savage and we get some brawling between Savage/Rude and Lawler/Bundy which culminates in Savage drilling the ref to get some more of Rude and the ref throws the match out. Terrifc STF formula with a golden FIP segment and heel schtick from Rude in particular and a great booking of Bundy as a total monster. The spot where Bundy spits at Savage and they stare each other down really felt like a huge clash of the titans moment and Savage was pulling a psychotic facial expression even for him. They don't make matches like this no more.

****

15. Jerry Lawler & Randy Savage vs King Kong Bundy & Rick Rude, NO DQ, 17/09/1984

Sensational for a 9 minute match, insanely vicious and violent and filled with tremendous hate and impressive spots. Rude was the star of the match for me, bumped and sold a beating really well early on from Lawler before moving into a killer mode after being cut open and becoming a vicious shark and laying in a tremendous beating on Savage. Lawler and Bundy exchanges were very good and Lawler bumped around like a machine and threw some gorgeous punches particularly during his comeback before choking Rude with a chain and nailing the piledriver. Jimmy Hart choking Lawler whilst Bundy beat the crap out of him was a spot I enjoyed in continuing the Lawler vs Hart feud and demonstrating Hart in particular will always try and get his licks in no matter what the match. Bundy standing on top of a table with Lawler underneath was a hell of a spot and him & Rude acting like two of the most cocky shits in the process drew some monster heat. Could have done without Savage throwing the double axe handle every 30 seconds, mainly because the more I see of it the more I can't help but feel he hits it as well as Cena hits the 5 knuckle shuffle and because when he was throwing punches with Bundy and generally keeping it on his feet he was really great. Took a gorgeous bump as well over the top rope from Rude. They really built to the finish well I thought, firstly with Bundy splashing Calhoun to break up a pin he couldn't have stopped otherwise, Hart pulling the ref's hand away when he was about to count 3 for Lawler before amidst all the confusion Savage hits a bridging suplex but Rude manages to get his arm up as the ref counts Savage down for 3.

The faces celebrating only to realise what has happened was a glorious finish I thought and really drew some great heat at slimeball Rude cheating defeat. Not on the level of the match a week earlier but a damn fine effort for the time they got.

***1/2-***3/4

16. Jerry Lawler vs Jimmy Hart, NO DQ LumberJack match, Memphis, 29/06/1981 (The match he should have had with Michael Cole at Wrestlemania 27)

Probably the best wrestler vs manager pseudo squash match ever? Seeing Lawler and Hart be able to work this sort of match and then remember the debacle that was Lawler vs Cole at Wrestlemania 27 is a crying shame because Cole despite not being able to replicate the awesomeness of Jimmy Hart would have made a great punching bag for Lawler.

Match itself goes 8 minutes but is chop full of awesomeness. Really has the feel of Batman vs some local drug dealer who's shitting himself at the beating he's about to take and trying to find any opportunity to cheat his fate. Hart takes a bunch of awesome manager bumps off of Lawler punches and whilst scrambling to check his teeth are still in place manages to throw some powder into Lawler's eyes and begin a brief flurry of offence with some lovely punches that Lawler sells nicely and Hart to his credit is really good as this noob wrestler just trying to knock Lawler out whilst blinded and even unraps a chain which he chokes Lawler with and uses as a weapon with a couple of gorgeous punches that Lawler sells lovely by snapping his head backwards. Once Lawler manages to recover his sight there's a great pause as Hart now tries to run having accepted he's managed to somehow piss Lawler off even more and we get a fun 'babyface lumberjacks toy with Hart and throw him back into the ring' spot before Lawler obliterates Hart's leg which is a great callback spot to what began this blood feud when Hart dumped Lawler after he broke his left leg. Lawler locks in repeated spinning toe holds (Funk's legendary move and this match happening shortly after the Lawler vs Funk feud was another neat callback) until the ref calls for the bell and post match Lawler finishes Hart off once and for all by breaking his leg with the final spinning toe hold.

Great match to limit Hart's weaknesses as a guy who never wrestles and putting over his heel character by having him get enough offence in to make his eventual beating that much sweeter without dragging the match down. Hart really is a hell of a bumper as well to the man's credit.

***1/4

17. Jerry Lawler vs Ric Flair, NWA Title, Memphis 14/08/1982 (Whole angle including interviews in on Youtube, watch it to appreciate the true greatness of professional wrestling in its day).

Where to begin with this. Its the continuation of a long running story that defined Jerry Lawler: his quest to become World Champion. Flair arrives and conducts a pre match interview with Lance Russell and the Memphis promoter, he subtly insults Memphis by saying its surprised him with how much class its shown when he'd been 'misinformed' that it was nothing but a hicktown populated by ********. Flair really just oozes professional athlete who you can tell is trying to act this honourable and noble man when deep down he's nothing but a scuzball. They announce he'll wrestle on local TV as well as wrestle the Southern Heavyweight Champion at an undisclosed date in the future.

Lawler then arrives after Flair has signed the contract and immediately sets about continuing the feud with Jimmy Hart whilst revelling in the fact he's once again the Southern Heavyweight Champion. He waits around for Flair to arrive for his match against a young jobber and asks to shake the Champ's hand and wish him well on his first visit to Memphis. Flair subtly pokes fun at Lawler being a hometown guy and not a revered nationwide athlete by jokingly asking who Lawler is again like he's some teaboy who Flair doesn't have to remember. From here Lawler quitely puts over Flair's debut in Memphis being a major deal and that Flair would be wasted on a young rookie with little experience and plays to the crowd suggesting Flair and the studio needs to see the best around and that can only be Flair vs Lawler for the NWA Title with a 10 minute TV time limit. Flair puts over the belt as something you don't see being defended on Local TV but relents and says if Lawler wants to be embarassed then all he has to do is get in the ring. Flair even ducks out of the ring to offer Lawler one final chance to walk away and not have his reputation in the town be forever tarnished by being outwrestled by Flair. Just a superb angle with two compelling characters and seeing both men tease a fight spilling out due to their pride was a sight to behold.

The match itself is fairly basic but still real good in giving us a teaser of Flair vs Lawler whilst leaving room for them in the future to have a longer and more heated match. Lawler initially controls whilst Flair tries to outwrestle Lawler on the mat to no avail and it all builds to Flair snapping at Lawler when he doesn't back away from the ropes quick enough with Flair treating Lawler like he's some scrub who has no business being in a wrestling ring. They have Flair get visibly pissed at being outwrestled in the beginning and do a wonderful near fall tease with Lawler countering a suplex attempt into a picture perfect sleeper. Flair eventually gains control and spends the final 4 minutes of the time limit emphatically working over Lawler, holy crap at the head bump Lawler takes full force onto the concrete floor btw, with the workover culminating in a figure four that Lawler sells like death. The time limit expires and Flair screams in disgust that Lawler didn't quit, wrenches back on the hold telling Lawler to give up before ducking out of the ring and declaring he wants 5 more minutes and that they're now playing on Flair's terms. Again just a terrific story and angle in having Flair be disgusted that Lawler could survive 10 minutes with him, and when you factor in Lawler being notoriously more dangerous the longer a match goes the next few minutes are insanely dramatic.

Lawler begins his all time great comeback as per usual and rocks Flair with haymakers and slams galore and Flair scurries around like a man on the verge of defeat. He crawls to the floor and takes his belt and walks out with Lawler saying Flair quit and thus Lawler is now the champ. They come back from commercial and Flair returns with his belt saying since there was no contract for a world title match it wasn't an official defence and more an impromptu challenge and thus Lawler may have won the match but not the title. Flair then brings out Jimmy Hart and acts incensed that Lawler has not only survived the champ after making himself out to be a massive underdog but in the process has humiliated the champ on local TV and Flair makes a $10,000 cheque to Hart to be cashed upon Lawler being taken out of professional wrestling for good.

As with Memphis the superceding angle along with the ring work always helps with a rating and this match is a sensational TV angle featuring great promo work from both men, teasing Flair's shift from respectful touring champ with a hint of arrogance into full on rich scumbag heel insulting the town and its residents whilst making Lawler look legit in hanging with Flair and building what could have been a monumental Lawler vs Flair & Hart feud. Flair was amazing in the final segment as well with him creeping into a psychotic rant and then demanding Russell back away from him and not crowd him out whilst he placed the bounty on Lawler's head. His taunting to the crowd that their hero would soon be out of wrestling forever really makes me angry they never followed through with a prolonged feud between the two because it would have been the shit.

****1/4

18. Jerry Lawler vs Bam Bam Bigelow, Texas Death Match, Memphis, 07/09/1986

DesolationRow I believe said this was one of the most perfect demonstrations of a monster vs top babyface match and I can't find any room to disagree with him here. Just an all round great match with a hot crowd that got over Bigelow as a terrifying monster whilst keeping Lawler credible in getting just the right amount of offence for a guy of his stature without killing the story of Bigelow being an immoveable object. Take all of this with some terrific selling, pacing and structuring between falls and you have a tremendous match.

Opening 2 falls see Lawler get squashed with Bigelow just destroying him with punches and headbutts to the ribs that Lawler sells like death. He also bumps emphatically for all of Bigelow's offence and really puts him over as a monster who he'll struggle to defeat and instead works around trying to outsmart Bigelow after being promptly dealt with in the power exchanges. There's a great spot early on where Lawler has eaten a flurry of punches in the corner and after rolling to the floor goades Bigelow into punching the ring post and both men sell it amazingly: Lawler by almost collapsing and holding his head after the Bigelow offence and Bam Bam by constantly trying to get feeling back into the arm and eventually lowering his right arm and going into lock up exchanges with only the left hand allowing Lawler to hit some fierce snap punches which Bigelow sells as well as Lawler sells for Bam Bam, he'll snap back after a punch, collapse into the corner and at times just stagger drunkenly like he has no clue where he's at. The spot where Lawler then grabs his hand after punching Bigelow and putting over the power Bigelow's head possesses, which ties in with him using his head to win the opening 2 falls was a great payoff from the opening falls and some creative selling from Lawler which you don't come to expect these days.

They really do work a unique take on a LMS compared to the matches these days with 50 amazing spots. What I've come to love about these matches in Memphis is they often work it as a simple match of beating your opponent up to the point where he cannot answer a 10 count, Lawler's ribs take a tremendous beating from Bigelow's punches (seriously Bigelow is up as a great puncher) and really leans into a few and bumps dramatically like you think Bigelow will soon carve a hole in his stomach and each time he has to answer the 10 count he'll dramatically fall into the ropes so he's up but barely standing and looking ever more precarious as a sitting duck. His constant attempts to out fox and outmanouevre this monster ties in nicely with Bigelow's over confidence costing him the 3rd fall which Russell puts over as 30 seconds where Lawler can rest up and absorb the beating he's taken so far.

Bigelow slowly moving into a more vicious mode and working over Lawler's cut via biting and then working a sleeper was a nice payoff to Lawler's resilience being too much for Bigelow and forcing him to abandon the strategy of working the ribs and instead try and choke Lawler out. Again they take the time to develop this story so it comes off much better instead of being thrown out there for little reason other than to waste time or set up some contrived spot and Lawler trying a sleeper of his own really was timed as the last bit of offence he has left in him. His energy exhausts him and he eats a pin after Bigelow counters the sleeper and now Lawler looks dead and a certain loser...

Until he pulls down the straps!! The thing with Lawler's comebacks are how well he times them into the story of the match, here Bigelow has noticeably slowed down for a man his size now wrestling for just over 20 minutes and Lawler now has one final flurry of offence to try and put this monster down. He hits his usual gorgeous haymakers in this comeback which Bigelow bumps for emphatically and really adds to the drama of the match with Lawler looking like the most heroic guy in the world for coming back from this emphatic beating. His collapsed sell after hitting Bigelow with all his might was another subtle but brilliant touch in the match and the finish was great I thought: Bigelow with all his remaining strength launces Lawler into the ref and pins him despite Lawler having his feet on the ropes. Sharpe then comes in and accidentally hits Bigelow over the head with a chair during the 30 second rest period and when the ref comes to he begins the 10 count. Both men get counted down for 10 and Russell explains whoever gets to their feet first will be the winner: Lawler brilliantly staggers slowly onto his feet before propping himself off of the ropes to be ruled the winner: completing the story of him just managing to outlast Bigelow and overcome emphatic odds.

Great storytelling and drama in mixing a perfect balance between monster heel and heroic babyface, both men were dynamite on offence and in their bumping to get the other man over and the ongoing story of brains vs brawn was wonderfully developed via some clever spots. Really a great match to show what Bigelow could have been in wrestling.

****

19. Jerry Lawler & Dutch Mantell vs Bill Dundee & Buddy Landell, Memphis 10/03/1986

OMFG Dundee was spectacular in this, he put in an Eddie Guerrero 2005 esque character performance 19 years before Eddie mastered it. From the opening bell he's deranged and psychotic and trying to scare Russell before running immediately when he spots Lawler wanting to bloody his injured eye like Dundee did to Lawler in the infamous 30/12/85 LLT match between the pair. Dundee also does one of my favourite ever sells off of a punch from Lawler, he just deadweights himself and falls to the floor in such incredibly dramatic fashion like some punk on Knight Rider who's just realised he's hopelessly outmatched against Michael Knight. Why the random Knight Rider reference you ask? FUCK YOU that's why. Landell manages to top Dundee selling wise off of a wacky punch combo from Lawler and Mantell and his stumbling, punching air and twisting his head 180 degrees after each punch was just amazing. Dundee casually low blowing Lawler and then turning possessed at the sight of his own blood and consequently choking Lawler with the ringside rope as well as grabbbing the table to smash Lawler's head off of just looked so amazingly psychotic and really had you believing Dundee had lost his mind. Loved the comedy spot where the heels messed up and Dundee hit Landell with a chain. Finish was a bit weak but fit with how pissed off of Lawler and Mantell were and Dundee trying to stop the beatdown of a bloodied Landell before finally saying fuck this and walking out capped off a great psychotic/douchebag performance from Dundee.

****1/4

20. Jerry Lawler & Bam Bam Bigelow vs Austin Idol & Tommy Rich, Double Jeopardy Match, Memphis 16/03/1987

Insane and wild brawl here, the Double Jeopardy stipulation kind of made the match hard to follow as the feed kept switiching between both rings which whilst getting the best of both matchups just made you feel you were missing a lot more stuff whilst one matchup was being focused on. I did enjoy both teams trying to work within the stipulation and get into a 2 on 1 sitauation whilst only having a 60 second time limit before they had to go back to the other ring. Rich was amazing at bumping and eating all of Bigelow's offence like a champ, and the punch drunk selling off of Lawler's punches after he's been bloodied was incredible. Loved the low blow spot in the ropes to Idol from Lawler as a revenge spot for the attempted ring post shot to the nads that Bigelow interrupted. Idol and Rich were great with the exaggerated bumping off of Bigelow's headbutts as well as looking like total shitbags beating the crap out of the faces. The double jeopardy 60 second rule being broken causing a DQ was a good finish in setting up the post match beatdown of Lawler and Bigelow and the subsequent Bigelow rampage really set up the Texas Death Match the following week incredibly well.

***3/4

21. Jerry Lawler & Bam Bam Bigelow vs Austin Idol & Tommy Rich, Texas Death Match, Memphis 23/03/1987

Like the last match, intense and crazy brawl between four men who just do not like each other. Bigelow in particular is still pissed from last week and just runs round the ring with the steps looking to decapitate someone for their sins. Idol in particular is really great begging off Bigelow after a 2x4 has no effect on Bam Bam and like last week both heels bump incredibly well for all babyface offece. Rich in particular was great at constantly going back to a low blow everytime Bigelow started to get back up and look unstoppable. Idol & Lawler work well with Idol beating the crap out of Lawler for large spells only to fall victim to the Lawler comeback and subsequently gets tied up in the ropes and has to watch Rich get the crap kicked out of him for the win. Post match Bigelow is still looking for blood and even tries to beat the piss out of Jerry Calhoun. Poor Jerry.

***3/4


22. Jerry Lawler vs Austin Idol, Southern Heavyweight Championship, Steel Cage Hair vs Hair Match, Memphis, 27/04/1987

Incredible match which encompasses everything that is great about pro wrestling. A clear babyface vs heel dynamic, a nuclear crowd which turns up the dial incredibly during the finish and subtle build to the ultimate swerve which changed Memphis forever. Right from the bell they set the Rich interference incredibly well, from Russel mentioning in about the refund Idol is offering, Heyman thinking he’s going to be in the cage and then told to exit or have Idol forfeit and Idol & Heyman trying to get out/into the cage with no luck and reaffirming there is no way in or out of the cage..only for Rich to come from under the ring and beat the crap out of Lawler and have Idol get the crucial win and hand Lawler his first ever Hair vs Hair match defeat.

The action prior to the Rich interference was top notch, Idol wants no part of Lawler and unsuccessfully manages to try and get out of the locked door before he eats a great ass kicking early on from Lawler. Idol bumps like a champ and eats all the punch tremendously well including the drunken punch selling that I’ve come to adore in Lawler matches. He eventually manages to regain the momentum with a concealed steel chain which was a nice callback spot to their chain match where Lawler defeated Idol & the fact Idol takes a few seconds to grab his head and try and shake off the cobwebs from the early Lawler onslaught really impressed me as something not a lot of other workers would have thought necessary to do. From here on out Idol is great at working over the King and peppering him with elbows, punches, steel chair shots to the ribs and throwing him into the cage. His selling off of a missed kneedrop was tremendous and him struggling to get up the ropes afterwards was smart and brilliant selling which I adored. Lawler himself was amazing here as the fired up babyface, eating some tremendous bumps off of punches and one sick bump over the ropes to the concrete floor. His headbutt from the top rope and subsequent KO selling was amazing and something I haven’t seen done before and he even does the missed fistdrop sell that never fails to make me crack a smile.

Looooved Lawler’s flurry comeback and Idol bumping huge and the crowd sensing the end was nigh..only for Idol to throw Lawler into the referee to buy himself some time and for Heyman to throw powder in the eyes of Lawler. They work a couple of certain pinfalls for Lawler only for the crowd to boo ferociously at the referee being knocked out...the heat and then sudden silence as Rich then enters after the Lawler piledriver was chilling and from here on out you get a great babyface beatdown minus the one horribly done spike piledriver and you can only imagine how the locals must have felt seeing their hero die before their very eyes. That one fan scaling the cage only to be caught as well as the post match taunting was incredible to see, I don’t for one minute doubt they had to watch their backs afterwards as this crowd was PISSED.

****3/4

And that's all for now, there's a bunch of stuff I eventually plan to add to this but this should do for now.

As a treat I'll post the entire link to the Lawler/Flair studio match now:




 
#82 ·


Just found this match while perusing youtube. I remember reading Bret's book when it first was released and reading a small paragraph dedicated to this match. Bret said he came up with a good finish for this match and Vince liked it. But when he told Flair, Ric told Bret what they were going to do, despite the fact that Bret was the champion at this point. Bret cut him off and dressed him down in front of several wrestlers. Flair, in shock, turned beet-red, sat on a bench and said, "You're the champion." Ever since reading that, I wanted to see the match, but completely forgot about it. Here it is on Youtube. Some thoughts:

1/9/93 Boston Garden

This was easily Flair's best WWF performance. I think it was perhaps the most logical Iron Man match I've ever seen. The armwork done by Flair here before the first fall is incredible. He really works Bret's arm expertly, and Bret sells it like a champ. Bret's attempts at countering with the figure four throughout the first fall is a nice tease. Towards the end of that, I thought he was eventually going to get a fall out of the sequence. The reverse roll-up to give Hart the first fall was "excellently executed." :)

After the first fall, Flair immediately targets the leg. Flair once again goes to work on a body part with some brutal looking kicks, just punishing the legs of the Hitman trying to soften him up for the figure four. Flair does just that, while holding onto the rope and gains a fall. Flair and Hart then do the same spot again, and Flair wins another fall, to put him up 2-1. Good psychology there by Flair.

Flair up 2-1 with 5 minutes remaining. Lots of drama and the crowd is into it. Hart finally gets Flair to submit to the Sharpshooter with just a few minutes left, to tie it up at 2. Bobby Heenan passes Flair a pair of brass knuckles and Flair clocks Hart with them. Hart kicks out of a nearfall that I thought he wasn't going to kick out of. That looked phenomenal. Great nearfall.

Still tied up at 2, but at about the 60 minute mark, Flair goes for the figure four once again, only to get rolled up by the Hitman for the victory. ****1/2

Easily the best Hart/Flair match ever. The Bret title win and their WCW match in '98 don't hold a candle to this one. Only minor complaint I can conjure up is Bret eventually stops selling the arm as much later in the match, but this is an Iron Man match. Some of the stuff they do is going to be to waste time. But even still, they did a great job of making every hold mean something. A classic.
 
#272 · (Edited)
Flair vs Steamboat 1989 trilogy​

So I finally got round to watching these matches after all the praise they have gotten over the years as some of the best matches ever in pro wrestling and are deemed legendary. I'm going to be giving my thoughts and analysis of each match. They might not end up too long or formal as I'm pretty much just writing this off the cuff.

Ric Flair vs Ricky Steamboat Chi Rumble 2/20/1989​

Right off the bat with this match I immediately understood why this trilogy has gotten so much praise, this match was an absolute near clinic from a wrestling perspective. The story of this match was wonderful from the perspective of the match's layout and structure. With Flair coming in and thinking he could beat Steamboat with his usual routine but Steamboat throwing him off with unpredictable offense. This led to Flair becoming more and more offensive and eventually getting more desperate and aggressive. Steamboat was fantastic in the babyface role throwing Flair off his game providing many twists and turns in the match but Flair was even more brilliant in his transition throwing Steamboat the outside and into guard rail and in his control segment dominating him and Steamboat trying to come back into the match. Flair's desperation was shown even more in some of his offense in the second half of the match, particularly his desperation dives. The one off the top rope near the end of the match and the one where he and Steamboat fly over the top come into mind. The finish itself was brilliantly done with the ref bump. Both men get their opponents in pinning predicaments where they both could have won and then Steamboat comes off the top rope missing the cross body, a move that worked before. Eventually Flair goes for the second attempt of his figure four but instead of locking it in Steamboat surprises Flair by rolling him up in the inside cradle for the win. One of the most famous finishes in wrestling history. This was an amazing match and I would not argue with anyone who gave this a 5 star rating, however for me personally it fell just under that.

****1/2​

Ric Flair vs Ricky Steamboat Two Out of Three Falls - Clash of The Champions 4/2/1989​

This was another excellent excellent match from Steamboat and Flair whose in ring chemistry is truly evident by this point. The advantage of this match being 2 out of 3 falls was the way that this allowed Flair and Steamboat to change their strategies as the match went on which really added another element when it came to story telling. I loved Steamboat trying to psyche out Flair in the early minutes of the match by continually slapping him, going for a completely different approach to their first title match knowing that Flair would look out for Steamboat changing up his offense as he went a long. The final few minutes towards the first fall were simply wonderful with Steamboats comeback but in particular the finishing fall which played off wonderfully the finish of Chi Town. Steamboat again reversing the figure four into an inside cradle but Flair this time seeing it coming and reversing the pin to his advantage for the first fall.

Some of the best moments of this match were when both men were trying to pin each other to the mat which had some gripping moments. The one that will always stick out in my mind is the backslide which again was a play off to Chi Town. Flair once again knew it was coming and was trying to fight out of it. His struggle to get out of the hold was outstanding seeing the grimace on his face before finally Steamboat got Flair down for the near fall. Great work on the back and shoulders of Flair by Steamboat which set up beautifully for the surprise submission of the chicken wing on to Flair for the second fall. One of the highlights of the match and a twist I did not see coming with Flair submitting.

Flair instead of using the figure four for desperation was this time calculated in going after the legs after the opening was created for him, working on the legs constantly when the opening presented itself and going for the figure four several times. The third fall really was the blow off fall with both men trading back and forth even more so than the previous two, going after each others respective body parts that were targetted during the match. The finish itself was brilliantly executed, so much so that I didn't even know who won the match until it was announced. I thought Flair got it when they announced Steamboat so the execution of the third fall to set up Flair's gripe with it leading up to the final match was delivered to absolute perfection.

This match's best moments and sequences were better than Chi Town but overall I enjoyed this match less and it was weakest of the three for me and I did have some problems with it. The main problem with it for me personally was some of the control segments for me were not as interesting and pertinent to the match as they could have been and there were a few moments where the match stalled for periods of time. That is understandable for a near hour long match but this led the match for me to meander and drag at times and having to wait for something to spark my interest and for the match to pick up again. I also thought there were some missed opportunities such as when Flair injured his leg and Steamboat went after it. I felt as though Steamboat could worked on Flair's leg a lot longer than he did and teased the figure four a lot more instead of slapping it on straight away which would have created a huge moment. The prospect of a more believable tease to Flair tapping out to his own move would have been phenomenal. Instead it led to the not so fluid transition to Flair controlling the action before Steamboat working on the back.

Despite these issues, this was awesome.

****1/4​

Ric Flair vs Ricky Steamboat Wrestle War 5/7/1989

The blow off to this legendary trio is one of the best blow off matches to a feud I've ever seen. Maybe even the best. This was absolutely outstanding and I loved nearly every second of it. I think there was in total about 30 seconds of it that I switched off and that was one of Flair's control segments. The rest of it was 30+ mins of pure amazing wrestling. I absolutely love the whole psychology of this match with having the outside judges on the floor to give score counts on who was winning throughout 15 minute periods of the match. Now on its own in a professional wrestling environment, I would usually think this is a pretty cheesy and stupid idea considering the whole basis of winning is not on points but on beating your opponent outright. But this worked so well for a couple of reasons: firstly by having the judges on the outside, you knew there was going to be an outright winner in this blow off match one way or the other which meant the intrigue of who is going to finally come out on top in a feud that is built on pure competition is extended ten fold. Secondly, this added element had such a dramatic effect story telling wise on the feud and especially on the match itself. It meant that both men went into this match knowing they had no time to waste which meant right from the get go both men were trying to win going at it in a real fast pace for most of the match. Both men having their strategies and changing their strategies throughout which were executed with intent. It meant very little stalling and posturing and with the competitive nature of this feud and match, that is what put this match completely over the top for me.

The wrestling in this match much like in Chi Town was almost flawless. The first thing that I absolutely loved about this match was Steamboats switch on offense from trying to pin Flair through the side headlock takeover to using the arm drag to work on the shoulder of Flair. This played off the second fall of the last match at Clash of the Champions which Steamboat submitted Flair for the first time. Such smart working playing off that match and Steamboat's working over the shoulder was excellent. As was Flair's selling throughout the match. The pace of this match meant that the physical nature of this match was not only intense but for the duration of the match was much more prominent. Even during Flair's control segments there was very little posturing, working on the back of Steamboat with the suplexes and backbreakers and using the knee drops to the head of Steamboat on more than one occasion. Flair's desperation was also played off here brilliantly relating to their first match which made even more sense because Flair hadn't beaten Steamboat in this version of their feud yet in 1989. Throwing Steamboat over the top rope to save himself for example, and again cross bodying Steamboat over the top rope and trying to come off the top.

Another absolutely brilliant thing about this match was Steamboat's comeback after Flair's control segment which led to Steamboat getting injured on his leg. After a typically fast paced comeback from Steamboat, he goes to the top rope and again out of desperation Flair lunges himself on to the rope causing Steamboat to fall awkwardly injuring his leg on the outside. Fantastic consistent story telling in regards to Flair's desperation when on the back foot and which leads perfectly into the finishing stretch. Steamboat has his one strategy working on the shoulder which worked at the 2nd fall at Clash of the Champions and sticks with it. Flair (which shadows his story throughout the match) has several, he tries to outwrestle Steamboat, and then tries to outstrike him. Both don't work but eventually his persistence pays off, he creates the opening and works on the leg and even the figure four doesn't put Steamboat away. Finally Steamboat's leg buckles as he tries to slam Flair who rolls him over to win the title back.

This was a phenomenal match. technically, psychologically and in terms of story telling. With how the feud went and everything else that set in place, this was definitely my favourite of the trilogy and a definite classic.

*****​

Aftermath: I couldn't rate all three 5 stars like so many before me have but this was without a doubt truly worth watching and an amazing trilogy. Flair and Steamboat truly have some of the best in ring chemistry in pro wrestling history and I'm glad I finally got round to watching them at what was deemed their peak.

*** I'm probably going to watch some more past matches now and might post some more reviews ***
 
#2 · (Edited)
Re: Classic Wrestling Discussion: Review & Recommend Wrestlers/Matches/Shows


AWA World Heavyweight Championship Match
Nick Bockwinkel(c) vs. Curt Hennig
AWA Championship Wrestling from Las Vegas, NV 11/15/1986


“ARE YOU READY TO GO SIXTY MINUTES?”

The two very best wrestlers in the American Wrestling Association collide in a one fall match with a sixty minute time-limit for the Heavyweight Championship of the World. The challenger is second generation wrestler and son of Larry “The Axe” Hennig – Curt Hennig. The World’s Champion is the consummate professional and has wrestled and has defeated all that there is to defeat – Nick Bockwinkel.

Hennig has the youth and hunger to be a World Champion to his advantage because he has worked so hard for this moment. Bockwinkel is the “Man of 1000 Holds” and he has the experience and Championship advantage in this match. Hennig has to beat Bockwinkel via pin fall or a submission to win the title, Bockwinkel does not have to beat Hennig. He only has to secure his championship whether he pins Hennig, makes him submit or endures the time limit.

When I prepared to watch this match I knew it would run sixty minutes because well it said so on the program. What I wanted to find out was how were these two extraordinary wrestlers going to tell a story and keep me entertained for that amount of time? I’ve seen the “Flair Broadways” with Sting, Windham and Steamboat. I’ve experienced live on television Michaels/Hart, HHH/Rock and Angle/Lesnar and was impressed by them all. I can now add Hennig/Bockwinkel to that elite list of THE HOUR MATCHES.

The story in this match is actually broken down into three chapters:

1) A “catch-as-catch can” feeling out process that lasts for the first 15+ minutes. Bockwinkel tried to ground Hennig with a headlock which I must say the commentators explained expertly how a simple hold as this can be very excruciating when the aggressor of the move places the bone of his forearm into the skull of his opponent. Hennig countered out of the champion’s painful hold several times with arm drags and set him up in the armbar. These two are just getting warmed up!

I know there are many fans who do not like a slowly paced build in matches but I appreciate this structure so much as far as storytelling is concerned because it makes the finish that much more exciting.


2) Mat-based, almost amateur wrestling style, submission period. This period is 25-30 minutes of complete ground wrestling and I absolutely loved it! Hennig continued his attack on Bockwinkel’s left arm with knee drops straight into the targeted area.

My hats off to the psychology used by Bockwinkel with him missing a shoulder tackle and landing into the steel post to further damage his arm. Bockwinkel also shakes and stretches his hands on occasion to get feeling back into his arm which makes the wrestling so authentic.

Hennig then used a short-armed scissors which Bockwinkel fought for his life to get out of, even using the tights to try and get a cheap victory.

What was so intelligent about Bockwinkel resorting to that tactic was it allowed Henning to release the hold or be pinned and Bockwinkel was able to get a breather and rethink his strategy.

When the match proceeded, Hennig locked Bockwinkel back in the short-armed scissors but this time Bockwinkel wrestled his way out of the submission and caught Henning with a drop-toehold turned into a leg scissors submission. Now that is what I call a game play strategized in a few short moments and executed with brilliance!

For the next say 15 minutes, it’s all leg work delivered by Dr. Bockwinkel who just twists and stretches every joint and ligament of Hennig. I marked while Bockwinkel had Hennig in the leg scissors; he churned his ankle round and round applying more pressure to the hold which only causes more pain. We then get to see a wishbone leg stretch to Hennig and eventually the Indian Death Lock.

I like the fact that Bockwinkel is a damn fine wrestler who will wrestle you one on one until he realizes he may be getting out wrestled then he may put a foot on the rope for extra leverage. He is still a heel after all.

Let me just say both men sell the submission moves and worked over areas exceptionally well all throughout this match. Bockwinkel never forgets to grab his injured arm and Hennig noticeably limps to the very end of the match.


3) The final quarter of the match is when the intensity and the climatic end came to ahead. These men wrestled a pure wrestling match and it would continue that way but the match also manifested into “Ok, it’s almost over. Let’s now bring out the big moves!”

That’s right, Hennig and Bockwinkel straight up mat-wrestled for about 3/4 of the match and now they would use chops, kicks, punches, suplexes, Piledrivers and the Sleeper Hold! You could really feel the sense of urgency from the story they told was they would try to wrestle the respectable Champion’s mat game but now that time is closing in we will do anything to win.

Hennig then attacks Bockwinkel’s leg on a steel post but when he went for the spinning toehold, Bockwinkel shifted him headfirst into the steel post. Talk about pay back! In the final ten minutes we now have blood in the match and Henning has that famous “crimson mask.”

I’m pleased the booking of this match allowed Hennig to show his heart and his courage and I know the fans were insanely behind him at the time. Bockwinkel being the antagonist and vicious champion that he is only infuriated them more by slamming Henning’s cut opened head into the edge of the ring apron. The only flaw I’d like to point out was that we can clearly see both men when they are blading.

Bockwinkel brawls with Hennig until Curt catches the champion with “The Axe” which busts him open too. In the final minute of the match Hennig place Bockwinkel into the Figure Leg lock until the time expired! The match was officially a draw and Bockwinkel would retain his AWA World Heavyweight Championship!

The announcers put this match over so well saying, “I will never forget this for as long as I live! These two men not only gave all they have to give but "THEY GAVE ALL THERE IS TO GIVE TO THE SPORT OF PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING!”

This is an epic championship match and a favorite of mine. The pacing is absolutely perfect and has superb storytelling in this wrestling classic!

5 STAR MATCH

For those who appreciate selling, the long-term selling from both Bockwinkel (shoulder) and Hennig (leg) is precise. I also love how both men have their moments in this match where they shift the momentum in their favor by using the other man's attack. Bockwinkel worked over Hennig's leg and eventually Hennig slammed Bockwinkel's leg into the steel post and worked a hold on his leg. Early in the 1st half Hennig pushed Bockwinkel shoulder-first into the steel post and by the final moments of the match Bockwinkel pushed Hennig head-first into the post which split him open. That's great psychology. This is one of the best matches I've ever seen.​
 
#20 ·
Re: Classic Wrestling General Discussion: Review & Recommend Wrestlers/Matches/Shows

For Clique...

Ric Flair vs Ricky Steamboat: The Trilogy

Match 1: Chi Town Rumble: February 20th, 1989

We see Flair entering the ring with his manager Hiro Matsuda, amongst a plethora of women who proceed to kiss and give roses to Flair, while Steamboat previously entered with his wife and son. They are really playing up the whole "Womanizer vs Family Man" story here. The match begins and steamboat gets a very nice shoulder block on Flair, which leads us to believe that Steamboat has the strength and speed advantage over the champion. They begin to chop it out here, and MAN are those chops loud. Flair, of course bails because he has no idea what to do with Steamboats physical advantage. We get some beautiful mat wrestling by both men, until at one point Flair has Steamboat backed into a corner and we hear a smattering of "Steamboat sucks!" chants, which cause Steamboat to get EXTRA intense with some crazy chops and a beautiful headscissors takedown. A double chop gets a near pinfall.

This scares Flair, who bails out of the ring again. I love the psychology here, as once Flair realizes that he can be caught at any moment and lose the title, he decides to go all full blown HEEL mode, throwing Steamboat outside of the ring, raking the eyes, and various other Flair heel tactics. Flair takes the advantage until Steamboat counters back, which of course makes the crowd EXPLODE. More beautiful chops occur until Flair comes off the top rope in a crossbody, but Steamboat turns him over for the near three count. Flair locks the figure four out of nowhere, and holds it for quite sometime, but gets caught using the ropes as leverage. I love how that sequence sums up this match in a nutshell. Flair knows he must cheat to beat Steamboat, but he cannot cheat without getting caught, thereby compromising himself in a particular position.

Some absolutely wonderful chops and suplexes by both men here, as the workrate is off the charts. Both men are selling the wear of this match superbly, and wrestling at an ubelieveably fast pace, one that I don't think I've ever seen before. Top rope cross body gets three but the referee is down. Flair gets a rollup for three as well, but there is no referee to count. Steamboat is spent (being in semi-retirement for so long), and misses a top rope dive. I absolutely love this character driven end sequence, as Flair realizes that Steamboat is tired and loads up for the Figure Four. Steamboat counters this into a cradle for the three count and the victory. Wow, even better than I have remembered, this is probably the greatest paced match of all time. The build up paid off, the storytelling and psychology are amazing, and the workrate is some of the greatest of all time. What a matchup.

*****


Match 2: Clash of the Champions VI: April 2nd, 1989

After watching the Chi-Town Rumble and hearing how Cal said this was the best of the trilogy, I was interested in seeing how this match would pan out. This is a very different match than the Chi-Town Rumble encounter, as that matchup I believe was based more off fast paced emotion and hard hitting moves, whereas this encounter is slightly slower paced, but at 3 times the length, can you really blame them ? This match features maybe the greatest matwork of all time, as the first two falls consist of beautiful headlock takedowns, front facelocks, etc. The diversity of the holds are better in this match also, as Steamboat uses variations of the Boston Crab, standing double armed chicken-wing, and even Flair's own figure four.

The psychology in this match is top notch. before Steamboat locks in the figure four, he makes sure to deliver SIXTEEN elbows to flairs left leg before applying the hold. When Flair begins his work on Steamboats legs in the third fall, Steamboat has some excellent selling that complies with the story that these two men are trying to tell inside of the ring. The logic used in this match, and the throwback to the previous match is great, as at one instance Flair is going to run from turnbuckle to turnbuckle and deliver a cross body like he did in the last match, but Steamboat catches him with a stiff chop instead. That's another thing about this match, the chops are just as solid as the Chi-Town match. The build up in the first two falls to the final fall is tremendous, as I will actually go out and say that the final fall between these two might be the greatest twenty minutes of wrestling ever. MAYBE.

The way that Flair's leg work leads us to the improbable finish is awesome, as Steamboat goes for the chickenwing hold that made Flair tap out earlier, but his legs just won't allow him to do it, leading us to our non-clean finish that sets up the final match in the trilogy. The Psychology and storytelling are off the charts here. While not as flashy and loud as the Chi-Town Rumble encounter, what it gives us in terms of matwork and storytelling is even better. I didn't want this match to end, seriously, and at 56 minutes of pure greatness, you can't really ask for very much more out of a professional wrestling match. Even better than Chi-Town Rumble.

*****

Match 3: Wrestlewar: May 7th, 1989

Here we go, I've heard many individuals (including Triple H) claim that this is the greatest match of all time, lets see how it holds up. The build to this match was greater than any other match in the series, as everyone knew this was the final encounter. They take the womanizer vs family man story to a whole new level, as Flair has about FORTY women accompany him to the ring for his entrance. The first thing I notice about this match is it's pace, they're working at that insane Flair vs Steamboat pace that is unmatched by any two competitors in the industry. The beginning of the match gets the fans more involved than the previous match as well, when Flair and Steamboat duke it out in a chop battle. The chops still aren't as vicious as Chi-Town Rumble, but there are about 10 times more of them.

Now we get to my favorite part of the match; Steamboats arm work. In the previous match, Steamboat made Flair tap out to the standing chicken wing submission, and in this match, Steamboats offense is centered around working on the left arm of Flair to set up the chicken wing once again. I love how they throwback to the previous matches and add certain elements to it. For instance, just like the other two matches, Steamboat teases a dive outside of the ring onto Flair, but the referee stops him everytime. However, in this match when the referee goes to stop Steamboat, Steamboat pushes the referee out of the way and begins to get aggressive. The drama in this match is at a greater high than the other two matches because we know this is the last encounter, so that adds to the match.

Where this match isn't as good as the other two varies. For instance, this match has better psychology and matwork than Chi-Town Rumble, while it isn't paced as good and the crowd isn't as hot. When comparing it to the COTC battle, this match has better drama and better nearfalls, but the matwork and psychology of the Clash battle triumphs over it. At the end of the day though, that 's what makes the series to special; every match is near-perfection and tell the same story in different ways. This is more of a face-face encounter than the previous two, where Flair goes full heel mode. One last thing: Steamboat's selling and Flair's bumping are phenominal, and are some of the best in the entire series. Flair takes back the title in a nod to the Clash match, where Steamboat goes for a slam and his injured knee buckles. Amazing storytelling. Do I think this is the greatest match of all time ? No, as a matter of fact it's my least favorite of the trilogy, but that obviously dosen't make it the worst.

It's a work of art and ONE of the greatest matches of all time.

*****

and as a bonus...

Ric Flair vs Terry Funk: I Quit Match: Clash of the Champions IX

If Ric Flair vs Ricky Steamboat was an indication of what wrestling as an art form is supposed to be, than Ric Flair vs Terry Funk is an example of what wrestling violence is all about. Flair shows his versatility in this brutal match, that honestly reminds me of an older version of the WM XXVIII end of an era match between The Undertaker and Triple H. Not that the matches have anything in common, but what makes both matches so great are the SUPERB storytelling and intense violence. The story here is simple: Funk is insane, and broke Flair's neck, now Flair needs to do what seems impossible; make Terry Funk say I quit.

For 1989 standards, and even by today's standards, this match is stiff and brutal. The psychology complies with the storytelling PERFECTLY, as Funk beats down on Flairs neck and sets up for a piledriver, but before he pulls the trigger he asks Flair does he want to quit. The way Funk says "Remember your neck Ric ? You don't want me to hurt your neck again do you?" is storytelling and drama so compelling, but it's actually congruent with the storyline. What can I say about some of the spots in this match ? A piledriver on the floor, steel barricade shots, and one of the most brutal suplexes to the outside that I've ever seen puts the icing on the cake for this match.

For a long time in this match we believe that Funk might actually win this, because lets be honest; Did anyone visualize Funk actually saying I quit ? Funk takes some absolute brutal bumps in this match while protecting Flair very well, an all around fantastic job. Flair uses some leg work and after trying for a long time, actually manages to hook the figure four to make Funk quit. Better storytelling and drama than the Steamboat series, and incredibly violent, if the build was a little better it would get the full five stars from me, but nonetheless, this is probably my favorite Ric Flair match. Fantastic.

**** 3/4
 
#52 ·
First of all, I've got to say how much I'm loving this thread. Although I'm a huge fan of early WWF, I never really explored any of the other territories - I've still never seen much of the Memphis stuff, nd I'm only vaguely familiar with WCW, if I'm honest. So, its been pretty great looking through some of the older matches, stuff I'd never seen before, that I found myself really enjoying. Some great reviews, some strong recommendations and some brilliant matches.
 
#53 ·
#91 · (Edited)


Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart 60 Minute IronMan Match Nassau Coliseum- Long Island, NY 7/9/94

The match starts off with some of mid-90’s heel Owen Hart antics to get the crowd going. A good amount of stalling and complaining to the ref about getting his hair pulled (which never actually happened, of course). Owen gets himself some good heat. More hilarious Owen: Bret and Owen tied up and Owen complains about getting his hair pulled, so the ref breaks it up. Bret gets Owen in armbar, and of course, Owen pulls Bret’s hair and the ref doesn’t see it. Great heel psychology and typical Owen back then.

Lots of chain-wrestling involving the arm-bar and plenty of reversals and counters back and forth. Bret hiptosses Owen out of the ring and Owen begins to walk up the ramp to leave. Bret calls him a wuss, but it doesn’t seem to bother Owen as he continues to walk away. But he finally decides to full on sprint back to the ring right before 10. Awesome.

They get back in the ring, and Owen goes to work on Bret’s back. Little hope spot sees Bret hit the ropes and Owen hits Bret with his classic belly to belly suplex for a nearfall. One of Owen’s trademark moves that I loved. Thirty-six minutes in and Bret gains the first fall when Owen tries a sunset flip, but Bret sits down on Owen and gets the three count.

Owen gets back to work, but this time on the knee. Owen breaks out a couple dragon screw leg-whips on Bret. Owen puts Bret in the figure four, Bret gets to the ropes, but Owen moves him back to force Bret to submit. For the next fall, Owen jumps Bret at the end of the rest period and puts the figure-four on again, forcing Bret to submit. The younger Hart goes up 2-1 about 45 minutes through.

Before the match gets started back up, Owen unties the turnbuckle and throws it. Hebner goes to replace it, and Owen puts Bret back in the figure-four while the ref isn’t looking. The ref is finally back, and they start the fall with Hebner not even knowing that Owen did! Classic heel Owen. Despite this sequence, Bret would still win this fall with the sharpshooter about 54 minutes in. Tied up 2-2.

With just about five minutes left, they go full-speed ahead here. Bret piledrives Owen for a two count. DDT, another two count. Owen hits his trademark enzuigiri for a very, very close three count. Awesome finish with Owen hitting a Tombstone piledriver and headbutt off the top rope. Owen then goes for the Sharpshooter with ten seconds left! The bell rings and Owen claims victory! Unfortunately, Bret never taps out so the match ends in a draw.

Until of course, the match goes to sudden death. Very Wrestlemania 12-ish there…

Sudden Death: Owen jumps Bret from behind and puts him in a bow and arrow. Bret reverses it for a two count. After a mid-ring collision, Bret applies the sleeper. Owen hits Bret in the nuts while the ref isn’t looking. Owen puts Bret in the sharpshooter and it looks like he might tap. But finally, somehow Bret finds the strength to over-power Owen and reverses it and really cranks the shit out of Owen legs. Owen taps out and Bret wins 3 falls to 2.

Analysis: Phenomenal match. Loved seeing 1994 classic heel Owen Hart up to his old shenanigans in this match. They worked like a charm and he generated some real heat for the match. He was very close to the line of people getting frustrated at the stalling at the start, and knew exactly when to stop. Masterful. Attacking Bret during the rest period after distracting the ref by removing the turnbuckle was great psychology, too. Owen was such a great heel in 1994. These were the two best workers in the country in 1994. They worked at a strong pace and did a good job of mixing in some chain-wrestling, brawling, and getting their trademark stuff in. I strongly hope this one is on the Bret Unreleased Matches DVD next year. Call it ****1/4
 
#173 · (Edited)


WCW World Television Championship Match
Stunning Steve Austin (c) vs. Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat

WCW Saturday Night 08/01/1992

What an incredible match! Steamboat's rib injury sell is stupendous. Steamboat in this match was on defense the entire match even when he was on offense because it seemed every move was focused of Steamboat keeping Austin away from his injury with arm locks and flurries of strikes; while the rest of the match is Austin working over the injury with an excellent body scissors, knees and shots to the gut. The chemistry between these two is one of my favorites ever between two wrestlers. They had a perfect face veteran vs. young heel dynamic added to the storytelling & character roles in their matches. It may be cliché but their styles clashed so well together. Austin was flat out great in his ‘Stunning’ run in WCW, and Steamboat was Steamboat and that is one of the absolute best workers ever making this match and his opponent look like gold.
 
#241 · (Edited)
Figured that these would be better posted here. I'm actually writing the Austin one for the first time, but I'm putting quotes around it to make my post look more uniform, lol.









Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin at Survivor Series 1996





This is amazing, and would be remembered more if it weren't for their Wrestlemania classic.

Austin is awesome. I'm getting such a bigger appreciation for him as I get older. He has a cinematic quality to his heel work, that works so freakin' well with Bret's psychology & storytelling abilities. I've often felt like Bret matches look & feel and have the arc of movies sometimes, and Austin couldn't be a more fitting heel opponent for Bret's films.

I am also impressed with Austin as a wrestler. He has said that he was fearful, because he didn't know much about submission moves, but I never would have been able to tell watching this match. He does them with ease, and they look beautiful.

Bret continues his streak of impressing the hell out of me, with busting out moves and moments that you never knew he was capable of. I've always said that he was capable of flashy things and wow moments, but because he's such a crisp technician, and is known for that, people kind of notice it less with him.

But he is such a clever wrestler. I love the way he reverses one of Austin's moves into an almost Sharpshooter. This is again what separates him from the other greats. He can keep topping himself, so even something he's really known for, can have a different feel to it. It also highlights one of the things I say about him, which is that he has such an amazing flow when he's wrestling.

I freakin' love the exchange of punches twice. Working itself into a "we're right back to where we started, even though we're both f'n' knackered!" arc. It looked cinematic.

This match had all of the components. Just taking 1/4th of a star off, for the slow beginning. I don't really mind that, actually, but if Wrestlemania XIII is a five star match, then I guess I want to be thrifty here, lol. Even though this is much better wrestled.

**** 3/4


Bret Hart vs. Bob Backlund at Survivor Series 1994


What did you all think of Bret's Survivor Series 1994 match against Bob Backlund?:
http://www.wwe.com/videos/bret-hart...ubmission-match-survivor-series-1994-26038648


This is not the same one as the Wrestlemania match, which even Bret hated (I think he called it his worst match. He hated the concept, and said he knew the concept would make it the most boring thing ever).

This Survivor Series match that I'm talking about, is the Submission match, which involved Owen, Davey Boy Smith, & Bret's other family on the sidelines.

It's funny, because I just randomly remembered the match, because I remember really being involved in the drama as a kid. I found it riveting.

It's a bit slow for those who don't like a lot of mat wrestling, but I love the psychology, and I loved the maniacal Backlund, and the storyline behind it. Most importantly, Owen was fabulous during this.















Just another one of Bret's little under-appreciated gems.

Loved the whole buildup of the Cross-Face Chicken Wing over several months, and then how it ended up playing itself out in the match.

Vince was great on the mic. "Oh, no. THIS CAN'T BE!!"

I watched this again two nights ago, and it's funny, because I then came across a Bret interview last night, in which he said that this was one of his favorite matches! It's just weird that I totally happened across that comment.


Here's him discussing it, and it shows you what a ring general he is, and how much thought he puts into his matches, and the concepts, and execution and all of that:


fast forward to the 9:38 mark:



Also interesting how he talks about Vince having such a great wrestling mind, and being a genuine, huge, wrestling fan. That answers that thread that was started earlier, about whether Vince just cares about money solely, or does he genuinely love wrestling.


So as for the topic of this thread, I think that Bret was one of the best ring generals ever, if not the very best, and I think that's what separates him from the other elites.

He goes on to state that that's one of the reasons why he's such a big Punk & Cena fan. He said he's been around them, and they're the same way, as far as being very meticulous about directing, and making sure that things are cohesive. I don't think that they have the same great mind & vision that Bret does, but they have some of the same qualities, in terms of level of preparation, and taking it seriously.


Here's him complimenting Punk & Cena for these qualities, and he also compliments Daniel Bryan, saying that Bryan reminds him of his brother Owen. ff to the 5:30 mark:




Would have been a nice thing to post in the Bryan vs. Bret thread, if it weren't locked.


ETA: Here's Jim Ross talking about the Backlund/Bret match:
JR, I recently rewatched Bret Hart vs. Bob Backlund's 35 minute "towel match" during the '94 Survivor Series. Wow, what a match! Bret really took a 45-year-old Backlund to the top of his game, and what a great story the match told. You just don't see matches like this anymore. What did you think of this match?

Posted: Wed, 01/20/2010 - 5:05am in Wrestling


J.R.'s Answer:

It was excellent but I wasn't surprised as both men are great athletes in magnificent condition plus Backlund was a great amateur in college and his pro record speaks for itself. Obviously, you know I am a Hitman fan and his in ring work was always spot on. matches like this are few and far between due to the experience and talent level of both men having the same agenda...to perform in a great, physical wrestling match.
****, in large part due to the storyline & psychology, and all of the moving parts.

Looking back, I actually think that Vince based a lot of his Mr. McMahon character on the Mr. Backlund character, as far as mannerisms and everything.
Looking back, should Bret be called "Mr. Survivor Series"? lol. He had a really nice run of Survivor Series matches for a good while.

Ditto for Summerslam, now that I think about it! Demolition, Mr. Perfect, British Bulldog, Owen Hart cage match, 'Taker...

He even carried Jerry Lawler to a good match there. Omg, he had to face Isaac Yankem at Summerslam in 1995. LMAO. And people talk about being a draw!


Gonna watch Ultimate Warrior vs. Randy Savage soon, since people have a lot of good things to say about that match.
 
#3 ·
Re: Classic Wrestling Discussion: Review & Recommend Wrestlers/Matches/Shows

Clique, wanna keep repping you for the Bockwinkel love/classic section/other stuff, but I gotta spread that shit around.

I'm going to assume you've seen the AWA DVD released by WWE. I love the interview with Greg Gagne about talking to Curt prior to the contest and after.

"Did you learn something?"

"Yeah."
 
#17 ·
Re: Classic Wrestling General Discussion: Review & Recommend Wrestlers/Matches/Shows

Clique I really like your reviews :eek: if you have the time could you please do one on the 2/3 falls match between Eddie Guerrero and Dean Malenko from ECW? I read about it in Eddie's book before he passed away and he wrote that it was his favorite match of all time, and that it was so special atmosphere wise because the hostile ECW crowd was known to give the wrestlers heat and throw things at them if they knew a wrestler was leaving the cult/company and word got out that both of them were leaving for WCW. Besides the fact of them leaving, they got a standing ovation. Was it really "that good". If you're busy I totally understand but yeah, would love your thoughts on that match, hopefully without telling me the result cause i plan on seeing it for the first time.
 
#21 · (Edited)
Re: Classic Wrestling General Discussion: Review & Recommend Wrestlers/Matches/Shows

BruiserKC, I watched every minute of those clips. I enjoyed watching it very much. The match shouldn't have been a scientific affair as it was a personal issue that had to be FOUGHT inside the hellacious steel cage. I want to see brawling and goodness knows Lawler can throw some of the best punches in wrestling. Idol did give him some stiff shots himself, though. I agree with you on the Memphis crowd being roped in by this battle and by the end it did look like they were going to attack Idol, Rich, and Dangerously!


Clique I really like your reviews :eek: if you have the time could you please do one on the 2/3 falls match between Eddie Guerrero and Dean Malenko from ECW? I read about it in Eddie's book before he passed away and he wrote that it was his favorite match of all time, and that it was so special atmosphere wise because the hostile ECW crowd was known to give the wrestlers heat and throw things at them if they knew a wrestler was leaving the cult/company and word got out that both of them were leaving for WCW. Besides the fact of them leaving, they got a standing ovation. Was it really "that good". If you're busy I totally understand but yeah, would love your thoughts on that match, hopefully without telling me the result cause i plan on seeing it for the first time.

Thank you. I do plan on reviewing that match in the future and I recommend all of their matches in ECW and WCW to be viewed at least once.



ALL HAIL LAWLER AND FUNK. God, I so wish Lawler had spent some time with Crockett/WCW. Could have done so much more. Amazing to think how incredible his career is without really leaving Memphis until he joined WWF.
Oh, can you imagine the alliances he would form with Dusty, Magnum, and the Rock n' Roll Express to oppose the Horsemen? The tag team battles would create so much heat they'd set the entire territory on fire! Flair vs. Lawler in a more extensive program, on a bigger stage, feuding for the NWA World's Heavyweight Championship will forever be a dream. Thinking about heel Lawler vs. Steamboat just kills me. Lawler in JCP/WCW indeed would have been amazing.


EDIT - speaking of Lawler and the Horsemen:





For Clique...
:eek:


Here's another great match from two of the best to ever step foot on a wrestling canvas and create art:


Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat for the Vacant WCW World Heavyweight Championship - WCW Saturday Night 05/14/1994

Everything about this wrestling match is awesome as you would expect from these two greats. The chain and counter-wrestling on the mat is so smooth and the transitions are seemingly effortless.

I love how they have a series of slaps to the face because it came off from Flair's perspective "Would you just quit already! I'M THE MAN!" From Steamboat's perspective it is "I won't be intimidated, I'm coming at you none-stop full speed!" That's really the core of Flair vs. Steamboat in all those years and spectacular minutes inside the ring.

The match is close to 40 minutes long (there are commercial breaks of course), the pace is never slow. Every sequence and hold had meaning towards the ultra-simplistic finish. What is so brilliant about this simple finish is while it may seem 'out of nowhere' on first watch, it really ties the entire story of this match together and that is whichever man caught the right move at the right time would win the match.

It doesn't matter if Flair's a conniving heel and Steamboat's a face, by the end of the match both men remain equals no matter the winner. And you knew the next time they faced each other you still wouldn't know which way the tide would turn on the Flair/Steamboat ride. Flair/Steamboat wrestling chemistry is incomparable. If you love their 1989 trilogy then you must see this match.


 
#19 ·
Re: Classic Wrestling General Discussion: Review & Recommend Wrestlers/Matches/Shows

JERRY "THE KING" LAWLER VS. "THE UNIVERSAL HEARTTHROB" AUSTIN IDOL​
APRIL 27,1987---MID-SOUTH COLISEUM---MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE​
AWA SOUTHERN HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH---HAIR VS. HAIR IN A STEEL CAGE

Throughout his career, Jerry Lawler has had some solid matches, but I think this one was one of the greatest ever. It told a great story, roped the fans into it, in fact to the point there was a near riot. It wasn't a technical classic like a Flair vs. Steamboat, but it definitely brought the roof down in Memphis.

Over the years, Lawler and Austin Idol had been partners, friends, and also bitter enemies. In early 1987, Idol and Lawler went to battle over having a chance to wrestle AWA World champion Nick Bockwinkel, an honor usually reserved for the Southern heavyweight champion, which was Lawler at the time. Lawler was injured in an attack by Idol, Tommy Rich, and Paul E. Dangerously. Lawler actually injured his testicles when the trio pulled him into the ringpost. It gave people the chance to hear "testicle" on TV.

Idol would win the vacant Southern title in a tournament in February, 1987. Lawler returned and vowed revenge. In fact, the week before the big one, Lawler beat Idol on April 20 in Memphis to regain the title. So, it was all set to finish this feud in a huge way.

The following week, on April 27, Lawler put his Southern title on the line against Idol in an anything goes, steel cage match. Both wrestlers also put up their hair. In fact, Idol one-upped the whole thing by putting up $50,000 of his own money. He said that if he was to lose and have his head shaved, he would refund every single paying fan's money in the building.

The cage has the look of today's HIAC. I wouldn't be surprised if Vince got the idea from Lawler for this structure as Memphis used this structure quite a bit. It wasn't the most scientific match, but the intensity of the story put out by both men makes up for it. The fans are well-invested into this battle.




The final moments of the match definitely make this encounter off-the-chain. Idol piledrived referee Jerry Calhoun, which was legal. As Lawler seemed to be on the brink of getting the W, Tommy "Wildfire" Rich crawled out from under the ring and jumped Lawler. Both men proceed to spike-piledrive Lawler and get the win for Idol.



After the match, they tie Lawler to the barber's chair for the shaving of the King's head. Fans actually start getting unruly, and a handful of fans even get close to climbing the cage. The arena was on the verge of a full-scale riot and Memphis police had to call for reinforcements. That's how real they felt this shit was.

Overall, it was a well-told match. You won't see a lot of scientific wrestling, or a near 60 minute battle. But I would give the whole thing 4 out of 5 stars.
 
#23 ·
Re: Classic Wrestling General Discussion: Review & Recommend Wrestlers/Matches/Shows

Clique...I fucking love this section. It gives me a chance to go back in time and view what the product was once like. I don't compare what we see now to what we saw back then, it's two entirely separate deals.

K1ng of K1ngs...love seeing those matches on Youtube. Personally, I'd say the 2nd match which took place at the Clash of Champions was the best, although they will never admit that in Vince's organization as it happened on the same day as Wrestlemania V.
 
#24 ·
Re: Classic Wrestling General Discussion: Review & Recommend Wrestlers/Matches/Shows

Clique...I fucking love this section. It gives me a chance to go back in time and view what the product was once like. I don't compare what we see now to what we saw back then, it's two entirely separate deals.
I love the internet. Being able to go back and re-assess wrestlers with a different perspective is a great thing. I tell you what, I've really learned to appreciate guys like King Kong Bundy, who I slept on completely when I was a lot younger. Nick Bockwinkel is a big one too. I just completely slept on those guys.

But more than that, guys that I know are great, I can see a bigger selection of their work. Jumbo, Destroyer, Backlund, Terry Funk, etc.

Some guys are still pretty rough for me to find though. Rikidozan, Lou Thesz, Buddy Rogers, Strangler...

And it's always fun to watch guys back in their prime, like Lawler or André.

It's just not the same when I see all of that and watch all of that then turn on TV to hear Michael Cole announcing John Cena. :(
 
#25 · (Edited)
Re: Classic Wrestling General Discussion: Review & Recommend Wrestlers/Matches/Shows


Degeneration-X
DVD Review

The best description for one of the most popular factions in wrestling history is not said any better than on the back cover of this special DVD. It reads: “Crotch-chopping, brash, obnoxious, naked, rule-breaking, icon, showstopper, muscular, beautiful, blood-covered, pyro blasts, main events, obscenity-laced, declaring war, pissing everyone off, DX-rated home movies, legend killers, sweet chin music.”

That is what DX was all about in a nutshell of adjectives. In this one-disc DVD we get a raw look at this crazy group of guys and girl as they left a memorable mark to say the least on the business. WWE says the film is unrated and uncensored which probably was in 1998 when it was originally released on VHS but my copy is the 2006 re-mastered version and is obviously edited. Still we get the message – X-Pac & Road Dogg likes to get high and the gestures and innuendos from the group are still clear.


CHAPTERS

OBTAINING MICHAEL COLE’S SERVICES

Poor Michael Cole, he was one of the first victims of the DX hazing back in 1997. Triple H even bullies Cole into telling the history of the group throughout the program. Cole also mentions he isn’t the only commentator to get the DX treatment. DX was all about spitting in the face of authority or anyone really whether is was the WWF Commissioner Slaughter or Jim Ross.




THE BEGINNING OF DX


Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Chyna and Rick Rude were the founding members of the original DX and they pushed the envelope like no other during the Attitude Era. Steve Austin was the hottest thing going during the time but you can bet DX were the second hottest thing and that is a very impressive position to be in.

With DX, RAW had more of a party like atmosphere where a wrestling fan could express their selves fully because the members of DX surely did. DX said a lot of controversial things in their promos and often broke kayfabe disrespecting the old tradition in the business. But that’s what the time called for – to be rebellious and the group worked very successfully during the shift in power between WWE and WCW.


The next two chapters covered are TRIPLE H and CHYNA


Triple H was a part of the clique and always wanted to work with Shawn Michaels so the opportunity was available when their feuds intertwined with one another for them to make it happen. Chyna the bodyguard of Triple H had that intimidating presence and no non-sense persona that complimented HHH and Shawn’s craziness. Rude served the same purpose as well. I have to give Triple H credit, he took the ball and ran with a new DX when Shawn got injured and the great gained even more popularity in 1998.


DX UNCENSORED

What DX said and did in their segments was so racy and they’re lucky they didn’t get thrown off the air. The show was more adult oriented and I guess with the ratings they were getting there wasn’t any problem. The girls in the audience that would flash for DX also added to that freedom of expression I talked about earlier and anything goes when the Degenerates enter the building.


DX MAKE SOME NOISE


These guys were like freakin rock stars and the DX Band would come out on occasion to sing them to the ring. We get a lot of footage backed by rock music of DX telling everyone to “Suck It!” Very cool video montage of DX just raising hell!


SHAWN MICHAELS


Shawn would come to the ring in *stuffed* skin-tight biker shorts and give some of the most wild, profanity laced rants on the wrestlers and the crowd that you’d ever want to here. Then sometimes HBK had no problems showing his ass off to world-wide television. The Heart Break Kid would hump a floor or two in his day also. But Shawn was the epitome of Attitude onscreen and in real life.


DX & TYSON


So much press came from Tyson’s association with DX and their feud with Steve Austin on the Road to WrestleMania 14. Much like Shawn Michaels, Mike Tyson is a degenerate himself and it was cool seeing such a big celebrity and sports figure take part in wrestling. I know WCW did something similar with Dennis Rodman but the tension between Tyson and Austin was bigger than anyone could have imagine.


NEW AGE OUTLAWS


In their primes they were arguably one of the greatest tag teams of all time. They had been disrespecting wrestlers and crotch-chopping before they even got with the group. Their attitudes just made for the perfect fit. I will never forget the night they put Cactus Jack and Chainsaw Charlie in a dumpster and threw them off the stage! “Oh you didn’t know?”


DX INVADES WCW


I would say this is a significant moment in RAW history and could have been for WCW Nitro as well if Bischoff would have let them into the building. Could you imagine if DX would have appeared on Nitro what that would have done for their show? The ratings might have taken another shift back to WCW if it would have happened. But instead Bischoff locked the doors and the hilarious segment only played on WWE television where the highest ratings would stay until the end of the Monday Night Wars. DX took the fight to WCW and they backed down plain and simple.



EXTRAS



Shawn Michaels vs. Mankind
RAW 8/11/97


This match is important because it is the birth of D-X. At the beginning of RAW, Michaels left everyone speculating on who would be his “Insurance Policy.”

The chemistry between The Heart Break Kid and Mankind is just impeccable. The fact they are able to cut a non-stop, aggressive pace with a lot of stiff bumps is incredible. This match is just a taste of what we got in their classic at Mind Games a year earlier which still means this is awesome to watch.

Some of the best bumps are Mankind taking a backdrop onto announce table followed Shawn delivering an elbow drop off the ring apron! When Mankind got the upper hand on HBK, Triple H and Chyna who had been feuding with Mankind/Cactus Jack/Dude Love for months came to ringside.

Once Mankind applied the Mandible Claw on Shawn, RICK RUDE made his way down the ramp! The ravishing one is the “Insurance Policy!” Mankind gets his head bashed in by Rude with a steel chair and Shawn gives him Sweet Chin Music for the victory.

A new era is born. Shawn Michaels and Triple H would officially call themselves Degeneration-X a week later.


Shawn Michaels and Triple H vs. Mankind and The Undertaker
RAW 8/18/97


Shawn is so funny with his gyrating dances to the ring! But when Undertaker entered the building, all the dancing stopped. Jim Ross emphatically stated two times that “Undertaker is STILL THE MAN.” And I’m not going to argue with good old JR.

A lot of heat between these four men as Shawn cost Taker the title at SummerSlam and the extensive history between Helmsley and Mankind still has bad blood.

This is a hot tag team match that I wished lasted longer because the double team heel work from Shawn and Hunter is spot on. They give Mankind an excellent high-low clothesline/knee clip and hold him on their side of the ring for most of the match.

Once Taker finally gets tag in asses start getting kicked left, right, up and out of the ring! Rude makes another appearance which causes a distraction for Mankind and Taker. Shawn just says to hell with the match and dents a chair over Taker’s head which busts him wide open!

Taker being the monster that he is just sits up. Shawn decides to give him another shot to the head and Taker sits up again! D-X gets the fuck out of there after that. As I said, the match is very good but would like to have been longer best the action is top-notch as would be expected with these four superstars.


Triple H vs. Bret “Hitman” Hart
RAW 10/6/97


This feud between D-X and Hart Foundation was so intense and you could tell the personal animosity each group had for the other which was all real. It was also awesome that both factions were heels, except for The Harts in Canada.

Triple H got some very good offense on the WWE Champion. Hunter actually matched very well the Hitman. Hart being the ring general that he is steered this ship for most of the contest working over Hunter’s leg with intentions to set him up for the Sharpshooter.

Shawn Michaels came to the ring telling everyone to ‘Suck It’ and then he disrespectfully proceeded to stick the Canadian flag up his nose and hang himself from it. I bet millions in Canada wanted to hang HBK in their own special way after seeing this.

Bret eventually has the match won with Sharpshooter but a brawl between Owen, Jim and Rude breaks out. Bret gets punched by Chyna and then Sweet Chin Music by Shawn on the outside. Hart is counted out and HHH has defeated the WWF Champion!


"This is what I think of Bret and his fans."


Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H
European Championship Match
RAW 12/22/97




Michaels and HHH may have never owned any harder than in this EPIC match for the European gold. People actually thought a championship could come in between these two buddies, hah!

The epicness of this contest can only be reviewed play-by-play style (sorry to those who don’t like play-by-play reviews).


Michaels starts off stretching on the ring ropes to get warmed up. Not to be one-upped, Helmsley follows with a stretch on the ropes himself. What psychology shown in the first few moments in this main event.

Jim Cornette notes that he thinks HHH will win because Chyna is closer to him. But Chyna shows no bias or B.S. as she gives advice to both HBK and HHH.

Then they LOCK UP and Michaels immediately GOES DOWN! Triple H runs across the ring, bouncing off the ropes several times over Shawn’s prone body.

The finish sees Triple H give Shawn an ULTIMATE SPLASH for the 1 … 2 … 3! We have a NEW European Champion!!! What a match.

Both men are spent and very emotional. LOL at Cornette saying, “Shawn sure knows how to cry on cue. He cries every time he comes to this city.” And JR saying, “He’s lost his smile again!”

Commissioner Slaughter comes to the stage and gets some crotch chop taunts. D-X gets the best of the established authority yet again!


Shawn Michaels vs. Owen Hart
WWE Championship Match
RAW 12/29/97


This is only the second one-on-one match these two had in 1997. The first happened in late October on Raw for the Intercontinental and European Championships. Now the WWE Championship is on the line and it is more personal considering what happened with Bret at Survivor Series.

I like the start of the match with Owen jumping on Shawn before the bell even rings. Shawn then must suffer from a hard suplex on the steel ramp.

Owen and Shawn also have great chemistry together and you can bet their matches aren’t going to be slow anytime. It’s just non-stop action and Shawn tries to put Owen away with a Piledriver and then a DDT.

Owen looked to have the match won with a Sharpshooter but an injured Triple H at ringside hit him with a crutch for the disqualification. Michaels was such an ultimate heel at this time and this was just another level of heat gained by one of the best ever. This match closes out a legendary 1997.


Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker
Casket Match for the WWE Championship
Royal Rumble 1/18/98


The Heartbreak Kid and The Phenom are my two very favorite wrestlers of all time and it seems every time they have faced on PPV the match has been a memorable occasion and this encounter is no different.

This is certainly the greatest Casket Match of all time with HBK and Taker actually making this fight to put the other man's body in a box. The best spot is the jumping Tombstone from the ring apron into the casket!

The New Age Outlaws and Savio Vega and his crew jumped Taker similar to what happened to the Deadman in his Casket Match with Yokozuna years earlier. But Kane came out and cleaned house.

The program stops there and we don’t get to see the part where Kane swerves us and puts Taker in the casket and sets it on fire.


Triple H, The New Age Outlaws and Savio Vega vs.
Steve Austin, Owen Hart, Cactus Jack and Chainsaw Charlie
Anything Goes 8-Man Tag Team Match
No Way Out 2/15/98


Weapons and brawling make this unsanctioned match one hell of a fight from the get go. The crowd literally erupted when Austin entered the building. Cactus gets wrapped in barbed wire, multiple chair shots to the head are taken and Chainsaw Charlie is one crazy motherfunker!

After about 10 minutes of brawling they decide to have a tag team match and that’s when Charlie is isolated and beaten badly. The Outlaws Powerbomb him through two chairs which Charlie sells like he fell off a building.

He then gets dropped on his head from the ring apron straight to the floor with no protect whatsoever. After all the hardcore brutality is place on the hardcore tag team, they finally make somewhat of a comeback. Just enough to get the hot and I do mean hot tag to Austin.

Stone Cold whips everybody’s ass and finishes the match with a Stunner in quick, lethal fashion like a Rattlesnake. After the match Chyna taunts Austin until he Stunners her ass too!


Triple H vs. Owen Hart
European Championship Match
RAW 3/17/98


Match isn’t long or really a full match at all since Owen had an ankle injury. Triple H bullied “The King of Harts” into this impromptu championship match two weeks before their scheduled match at WrestleMania 14.

Owen pummels Triple H outside of the ring until the ref gets distracted and Chyna hits Owen’s injured ankle with a baseball bat. Triple H takes advantage with a version of an ankle lock and the ref stops the match. Triple H wins the title and more heat for DX!


So that’s the DVD. It is outrageous and contains loads of fun. If you want to get a good laugh and cool look at DX check it out.


TWO WORDS - SUCK IT!




Or maybe it's

BUY IT! (You know, the DVD)

 
#26 ·
Re: Classic Wrestling General Discussion: Review & Recommend Wrestlers/Matches/Shows

"NATURE BOY" RIC FLAIR VS. "THE ENFORCER" ARN ANDERSON
SEPTEMBER 17, 1995...ASHEVILLE CIVIC CENTER...ASHEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA

What took place at WCW's annual Fall Brawl was an event the wrestling world thought would never happen. For the better part of 10 years, Double A and the Nature Boy were as close as brothers, part of the most vicious gang in wrestling history and they had conquered the world together. Now, they would face each other in the ring. We talk about the matches we'd never thought we'd see (Rock vs. Hogan, Lesnar vs. Goldberg, etc). In 1995, Ric Flair vs. Arn Anderson was one that no one would have ever predicted would take place.

Flair and Anderson had tried to help Vader beat Hulk Hogan to regain the WCW World title. Eventually, it led to Vader turning on Arn and Ric and becoming face. On August 6, 1995, Vader defeated Anderson and Flair in a handicap match at Clash of the Champions from Daytona Beach, Florida. After the match, Flair blamed Double A for the loss and the two men started squabbling. Over the course of the next few weeks, Arn talked about how Flair's obsession with destroying Hogan had made him lose focus. Meanwhile, Flair said he'd be able to teach Arn a wrestling lesson.

Soon, the match would be set for Fall Brawl on September 17, 1995 in Asheville, North Carolina. However, shortly before the event, Double A was set to face Hacksaw Jim Duggan on WCW Pro in a taped fist match. In typical Horsemen fashion, Flair jumped Arn before the match, which never happened as the two men brawled all the way to the back.

Double A's promo right before the match shows why he is one of the most underrated on the mic, as well as one of the most underrated wrestlers of all-time.


This match has everything...ring psychology, drama, tension, just everything that makes a great match. You see it on the face of the combatants, as they have that feeling in the pit of their stomach that they don't want to face their best friend but think they have no choice. I thought what was a nice touch was showing some of the wrestlers at the time, like Eddie Guerrero, Alex Wright, and Brian Pillman (Flyin' Brian had something to say about the match as the night goes on) sitting at ringside watching. The fans also were fully invested in this battle, since both wrestlers got mixed reactions as you could tell the audience truly didn't know who to fully get behind. Overall, I give the match 5 out of 5 stars.

I won't give away the ending, I'll let whoever wants to watch see for themselves why it was a solid encounter.

 
#29 · (Edited)
Re: Classic Wrestling General Discussion: Review & Recommend Wrestlers/Matches/Shows



“The Shooter” Dean Malenko vs. Eddie Guerrero
2 out of 3 Falls Match
ECW 08/26/1995



Dean Malenko and Eddie Guerrero earned notoriety in the United States as singles performers their series of matches together that absolutely tore the house down at the ECW Arena for about half a year. As a result, WCW acquired their talents.

It was the norm when a talent would receive a contract with one of the big companies the fans would angrily shout at the talent, “You sold out!” However, Malenko and Guerrero received a reaction that was more like a love fest as oppose to contempt at their departure because the ECW appreciated this special breed of talent. Showered with “Please don’t go” chants from the ECW faithful Dean Malenko and Eddie Guerrero (visibility consumed with emotion) entered the ECW Arena for the final time to perform.

During this period in mainstream wrestling, these two exceptionally talented wrestlers presented wrestling styles not popular in the States. Malenko and Guerrero presented professional wrestling to this audience the way they mastered it in Japan and Mexico. A style of wrestling that featured fast paced, mat based submission wrestling mixed with hard-hitting, high flying moves applied with precise execution that built the intensity of the performance and the excitement of the audience minute by minute. The intensity of the emotion in that room was just incredible.

RESPECT - HONOR - ADMIRATION: Three elements this unforgettable farewell match entails. Malenko and Guerrero earned the respect of the ECW fans based on their ability to take wrestling to the extreme without picking up a weapon or shedding a drop of blood. These two 2nd generation wrestlers battled for months over the ECW World Television Championship and raised their level of competitiveness with each encounter. Both men badly want to defeat the other and hate has nothing to do with this extended rivalry. This is not a grudge match but a match about PRIDE and bringing the focus back to wrestling.

So many great wrestlers got their 1st opportunities to shine on American television in ECW, wrestlers that initially may not have had that same opportunity anywhere else. Paul Heyman afforded guys like Eddie Guerrero, Dean Malenko, Chris Benoit, Rey Mysterio, Chris Jericho, Taz, and others the time to showcase their talents and attention to gain that notoriety to open the door for bigger opportunities.

Dean is one of the best technical wrestlers ever and here he executes every hold with first-rate precision. Eddie is a natural in that ring with his smooth pacing of transitions and delivery of beautifully swift moves such as a springboard arm drag or an impaling tornado DDT; immaculate delivery here from both competitors. Eddie and Dean have unadulterated chemistry with each other. Eddie has said in his autobiography, “Once you know that you’ve got the wrestling chemistry down, you can add to it, intensify it with more drama, more emotion.” I also love how their contrast in characters compliments so well together. Malenko is so technically sound and is this cold as ice grappler – “The Shooter.” Eddie is full of fire and he displays that with the energy he brings to the match and in the fluidity of his explosive holds.

Eddie believed if the chemistry was right, two wrestlers can go out and tear the house down. When you have performers this good and know each other as well as Eddie and Dean did, they can work a frenetic, breakneck pace and know which direction they want to take the match almost instinctively. That is the kind of chemistry both men have said to have had with each other.

They did an impressive job with the structure of the match and the falls I thought. I enjoyed watching the counter wrestling holds and the submission transitions performed on the mat. The implementations of payback spots embellished the story of their competitive rivalry. If Guerrero hit Malenko with a Brainbuster, Malenko would hit him with one once he got the advantage back. If Malenko stomped on Guerrero’s face then Guerrero would answer with twisting the sole of his boot in the face of Malenko. Both men looked like formidable in the entire contest and with each fall. I liked how Eddie gained his fall through craftiness and Dean gained his on becoming more assertive when he saw that he was in risk of losing.

Finishing stretch is exactly what you would expect from these two featuring various pin attempts at an extremely high rate. The segment is very common (and a bit clichéd) in wrestling today, especially in the independent wrestling scene, but here it is fresh and the performers built towards it so well so that the finale could reach its climatic potential. They wrestled for over 20 minutes but it never felt that long. I actually would have like to have seen them go longer but I must say it is a great feeling to be amazed by a performance and left lingering for more …



Eddie and Dean wanted to leave a lasting memory for the ECW faithful and they certainly accomplished that with this superb wrestling showdown – a “Malenko/Guerrero classic.” The adulation from the fans, the ECW locker room, and Paul Heyman is a respectable moment in wrestling that is simply unforgettable. What a moment seeing Dean Malenko speak for the first time and share words with Eddie in this expressive farewell.
 
#30 ·
This next one holds a special place in my heart as my favorite match of all-time. I was about 16 years old at the time and it was when I really started to analyze the details of what makes a great match.

Shawn Michaels vs Razor Ramon - Wrestlemania X - Ladder Match for the IC Title​

I had seen ladder matches prior to this contest, having grown up watching Stampede Wrestling, but nothing I had ever seen in the world of professional wrestling could have prepared me for this. These two took a mediocre gimmick match and turned it into a combination ballet/spectacle/bar brawl.

The build and character work leading up to the match was new and innovative as 'the Bad Guy' had become a full-fledged babyface based solely off of Hall's incredible charisma. Since he first kicked Jannetty through the Barbershop window I had (and continue to) hated the prissy, preening prima donna in HBK, that said, there's not much I enjoy more than watching him get the living tar kicked out of him. I was stoked for this match and 'my guy' was the hero for once.

Holy shit. Before there was ever a 'holy shit' chant.



It changed everything. Spot after spot without giving up an inch in storytelling, matches would never be the same again, this was the new gold standard. I hate when interviews make like Scott didn't play his part ("HBK and a ladder") because despite being limited in-ring, Hall was a great hand who understood the cardinal rule that 'it's not what you do, but when/how/why you do it'. Michaels fans can always look back at this one as his break-out work. Both men deserve a tonne of credit for making history.

I've heard sentiment that the match doesn't hold up, but it's still my favorite and I watch it every couple years. While other ladder matches have come along and expanded on the work created that day, there will always be a 'first' and a wonderful sense of nostalgia that accompanies it.
 
#34 ·
I wouldn't be surprised if it was actually Sting who was supposed to control the match. He was returning and the NWO angle was huge with him not getting the chance to kill Hulk and take the title until Starrcade. I imagine the crowd would have roared through the whole thing. It's like the DiBiase/Duggan cage match where Ted had nowhere to escape and Duggan just pounded on him for twelve minutes. I think the major difference is that DiBiase/Duggan ended there; Sting/Hogan went on to 1998 so they probably didn't want to make the match look like a finale or something. They'd been getting the "We're Fucking WWF Up the Ass" ratings mainly because the Sting/Hogan feud was so awesomely built. It's a WCW thing to keep someting going for more money depsite it getting tiresome. Or stopping something awesome for no good reason (see: the Dangerous Alliance, the Hollywood Blondes, Vader v Dustin Rhodes....)

I've never heard Sting to be a drug user, though.
 
#43 · (Edited)
The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels
WWF Badd Blood (October 5, 1997)



THE STORY has arrived full circle . . .

In Hell these men must come face to face with their demons.

An unrelenting steel chair shot from special guest referee Shawn Michaels to Undertaker’s skull cost The Phenom the World Wrestling Federation Championship at the SummerSlam PPV two months prior to the brutal finality of this event. That was the spark that ignited this blood feud.

The chaotic brawl at the Ground Zero PPV was uncontrollable, too many outside parties involved, and that’s why these two men are confined to a cell to unleash a vicious onslaught on each other. For Michaels, the match is not just about winning but to survive. For Undertaker, this is his opportunity to make Michaels pay for what he has cost him and take pleasure in showing no mercy as he gains his vengeance. Taker vowed that “Shawn Michaels would pay the ultimate price.” The cell hovered over the ring like an ominous chain-linked cloud. They were trapped with no escape from pure hell. RECOMPENSE is at hand in Hell in a Cell, not only for the sins of the Heart Break Kid but ultimately for the Deadman as well. No one leaves Hell unscathed – including a camera man and the referee.

Taker did not run after Michaels because there was nowhere to go. Undertaker was like imminent death closing in on its victim Shawn Michaels --he can be slowed down but not stopped in this battle, and he is overwhelming. That is how I would describe Undertaker’s dominance in this match. Enclosed terror personified. Taker methodically, deliberately punished Michaels. Taker made it his mission to make the pain memorable.

Shawn indeed did get his ass handed to him a plenty in this hell, but the man is still the pugnacious and resilient Showstopper and he did not go down without a fight. The match is largely one-sided with Taker punishing Michaels as it should have been. Nevertheless, Michaels capitalized on opportunistic moments to gain the advantage and showcase his destructive nature. So the match not a complete squash. How fitting was it for Shawn it crack a steel chair (the same weapon that caused this hell in the first place) across the spine of Taker to set-up a momentary decisive advantage. Taker getting bashed in the spine with steel steps and especially the piledriver to the stairs was sickening.

Still in the face of so much adversity in this match Michaels took time to show off his arrogance because it the attitude he carries unapologetically. That’s why he assaulted the camera man without a care in the world for his welfare (really a reaction similar to a scared animal backed in a corner), and he will “tune up the band” to his destroyer if he must.

I LOVE that Undertaker sits up immediately after getting hit with Sweet Chin Music. It is a defining moment for Undertaker because he had entered another (possibly otherworldly) form and at that point he was like a terminator on a mission to end this nuisance once and for all. Undertaker WILL BE DAMNED before he allows Shawn Michaels to put him down again!



The cell is not only used as a thematic device to showcase no escape-no interference but the torturous chain-linked steel was creatively used as a weapon e.g. jumping elbow off the fence, suicide dive into steel, the grating of flesh, etc. The spot when Taker rammed Shawn headfirst into the cage like a javelin is as memorable a spot in HIAC to me as any.

Shawn’s blade job here is remarkable. His crimson mask is an amazing visual of brutality. The blood flowed from his skull just as Taker had promised. Shawn’s beating on top of the cell and his fateful descent off the top through the announce table signified his Hell was inescapable in or out of the cell. What a classic moment built up so well to the big execution too with Taker stepping on Shawn’s hands before crashing down. The spot is fantastic because the bump looks brutal even though it wasn’t too complicated or dangerous to perform. Shawn’s fall took this bloodletting to an immensely climatic level toward an unforgettable finish that brought the story full circle.

Everything was amplified when they re-entered the cell, particularly Taker’s punishment of Michaels with the super chokeslam and the ULTIMATE PAYBACK spot with the steel chair shot to the skull! A just comeuppance for Shawn Michaels who awakened the beast through his actions with a steel chair. However, Undertaker would also have to pay for his past transgressions and the beast he had awakened too. Indeed Undertaker would be damned before allowing Shawn Michaels to gain another one over him. Damned to hell by the resurrected demon - his brother Kane in the greatest debut of all time.

“THAT’S GOTTA BE KANE!”


Kane making his debut is the perfect ending to this saga. It is the perfect ending because Paul Bearer threatened and teased for months that Undertaker's mysterious brother would come back to destroy him, and it is finally here in Hell where Undertaker had to face his haunting demon. It could not have been more fitting.



Shawn Michaels crawled out of Hell, drenched in his own blood to slither his way to victory and became #1 Contender for the World Wrestling Championship. How appropriate a reward after everything he cost The Undertaker, and the suffering he had to endure to earn it. The storytelling is absolutely exceptional. The unstoppable and defiant were both devastated by the end of this hellacious war: The legendary story of Hell in a Cell. This match hit so many marks and featured so many elements from a storytelling standpoint that make it a true contender for greatest match of all time.
 
#46 · (Edited by Moderator)
Might as well post this here.

This is my first time trying to review a match in depth like this so I don’t think it will be that good, but I hope you enjoy the read anyway.

Harley Race vs. Jerry Lawler NWA World Heavyweight Title match from A Night of Champions 1977

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCZ7-0MlcfU

With Jerry Lawler being a commentator for as long as he has been, I think a lot of people forget just how good of a wrestler he is. Lawler controlled match with a series of headlock takeovers and scoop slams, as well as hitting his well known diving fist drop from the second rope onto Race, which he did twice in the first 25 minutes of this match, the second time Race got his foot onto the rope for the kick out.

Race managed to get a little rest when he throws Lawler out of the ring in the 25th minute, before Race himself fell out of the ring, when Lawler went to the outside to get Race, Race throw him into the ring post. Back in the ring Race tries to hit a suplex, which Lawler reverses. Lawler missed a headbutt before Race went for a Piledriver, which was once again revered by Lawler. Another scoop slam by Lawler followed by a pin where Race kicked out at 1. Lawler gets the head lock on Race,

Lawler knocked Race out of the ring again with a body block, Lawler hit his 3rd first drop of the match and once again Race gets his feet up on the ropes. Race puts Lawler down with a right hand followed by a knee drop into his head goes for the cover and Lawer kicks out at 2, before a back breaker followed by another kick out at 2 by Lawler.

Lawer hits a backdrop on race at the 30 minute mark before getting Race in a abdominal stretche. After Race gets out of the abdominal stretche he puts Lawler down with a body shot flowed buy a headbutt, Race misses a diving headbutt from the second rope. Lawler sends Race into the ropes and drops him with a big boot.

With both men down, Lawler hits Race with a number of right hands to the head, before putting him in a reeves face lock. Lets Race out and hits him with a knee to the head, and a few more right hands to put race down again.

Race throws Lawler out the ring again, and race goes after him drops a knee to the head on Lawler on the outside, before Lawler send Race into the table, Race gets back into the ring at the count of 9, Lawler goes right for the pin but Race kicks out at 2,

Race is bleeding at this point as Lawler send him down with 3 right hands to the head.

For the 3rd time in the match Race sends Lawler to the outside, where Lawler hits a scoop slam onto the floor, count of 9 race is back in the ring, Irish whip into the corner by Lawler sends race flying over the top rope onto the outside.

Back in the ring Lawler hits a standing suplex before going for a splash where race gets his knees up before dropping a knee into Lawlers head, Miss eblow drop by Lawler and both men are down,

Missed knee drop by Race and Lawler is back up and gets Race in a toehold, Irish wipe followed by another big boot.

Race hit a small package Lawer kicks out at 2 and puts Race into a sleeper hold. Race sends Lawler to the outside again, Lawler gets another sleeper on race but race gets out of this one, and Lawler locks in another right after.

Lawler hits the knew drop, goes for a pin and race gets his feet on the ropes. Lawler thinks he has the win but doesn’t see Races feet on the ropes.

Both men sends right hands back and froth, race back body drops Lawler before hitting a leg drop. Lawler kicks out at 2. One last fist drop by Lawler who goes for the pin and race kicks out again at 2. The time runs out on this match, it ends in a 60 minute Broadway.


This was an amazing match by Lawler and he unlucky not to walk away with the title, the time limit was the only thing that Saved Race in this match.

****3/4
 
#51 · (Edited)
Just been watching this



Theres some really good stuff in this video, some early Ricky Streamboat matches, some Jack Brisco and an André the Giant match that i haven't got to yet,

Match listing for this first set:-

Big John Studd vs BlackJack Mulligan

Big John Studd vs Ricky Steamboat

Stan Hanson vs Tash Togo

Tash Togo vs Hiro Matsuma=Judo Match

Johnny Walker vs Buddy Coke

Eddie,Mike Gram vs The Medics

Paul Jones vs Dick Murdock=Lights out

19 Man Battle Royal

Jim Brooks vs Tony Charles

Jack Brisco vs Bobby Shane=TV Title

Rick Flair,Harley Race,Masked SuperStar vs Wahoo McDaniels,Dick Murdoc,BlackJack Mulligan

Big John Studd vs Ricky Steamboat

Andrea the Gaint vs Masked SuperStar

Ricky Steamboat vs Ken Patera

Also for anyone who follows thenwachannel on youtube this was uploaded onto their backup page because the main page has two strikes so if theres anything on the main page you want to keep, better download it soon in case it all goes.
 
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