Ryan's Dive into '95 - Part 42 (10/15 - 10/21)
The AJPW Pillars go Broadway, Shawn has a run-in with the troops, Buh Buh Ray makes his debut, Rey and Psicosis tear down the bingo hall, and MORE!
If you haven’t read it already, please check out my introductory article that explains what this series is all about. As a reminder, footage is sourced from the Goodhelmet 1995 Yearbook, unless otherwise stated.
How ya now?
It’s a much busier week at The Dive as we start off with a huge AJPW World Tag Team title match featuring the Four Pillars. Outside the ring, we get into Shawn Michaels’ infamous run-in with some surly servicemen. From ECW, we get another Wrestling Observer top ten match of the year from ECW and a fairly significant debut. We get some great action and angle work from Nitro. RAW was also there.
Well…
OCTOBER 15th
AJPW October Giant Series 1995, Night 12
AJPW World Tag Team Championship: Holy Demon Army (Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue) (c) vs. Super Generation Army (Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi) - This is the third Pillars tag match of the year. The one from January was a five-star classic, but the one from June 9th was one of the all-time greatest matches (and my personal pick for best tag match ever). This is the Holy Demon Army’s third title defense for this reign after capturing the straps from Misawa and Kobashi on the aforementioned June 9th show.
Misawa and Kawada kick things off, drawing a big “OOOHHH” from the crowd. Kawada hits some kicks to the leg, but Misawa lands an elbow and gets an EARLY release Tiger Suplex! That absolutely rocked Kawada as he’s having issues getting his bearings. The crowd wills him back into the ring so he can tag in Taue. Misawa hits some elbows and goes for another Tiger Suplex, but Taue grabs the ropes. A couple of big boots are dodged by Misawa, who tags in Kobashi. Kobashi hits a blistering chop to set the tone, but another one is blocked. They then charge at each other like a couple of meaty bighorn sheep.
They then engage in a mini sumo match that Taue gets the best of, as he should since he was a legit sumo wrestler before becoming a pro wrassler. Taue soon dumps Kobashi and follows with a tope suicida! Misawa looks to fake a dive onto Taue, but Kawada boots him in the face! Nodowa Otoshi is teased on the apron, but Misawa fights it off…until Kawada boots him in the head! NODOWA TO THE FLOOR ON MISAWA! Misawa is DONEZO after that one.
Back in, Kobashi and Taue exchange chops until Kobashi hits a lariat. Shortly after, Kobashi unloads the chops and boots in the corner as he’s pretty much having to go it alone at this point. Taue pulls Kobashi’s hair to break up a test of strength and tags in Kawada, who Kobashi aggressively goes after. Kawada drops Kobashi with a toehold and locks in a double wristlock. Kobashi valiantly reverses into one of his own, then Kawada tries reversing THAT to no avail.
Kawada eventually fights out and clubs Kobashi in the back of the head with a clothesline. Taue tags in and whips Kobashi into a Kawada lariat, then Kawada whips Kobashi into a Nodowa…but Kobashi armdrags out of it! Kawada nails a boot to the head, then Taue tries a Nodowa off the ropes…but Kobashi fights out. Kobashi comes off the top…but Taue catches him with a Nodowa! Misawa finally fights back to the apron…but Taue boots him off! DDT ON THE BARE FLOOR!
At the same time, Kawada takes out Kobashi on the other side of the floor with an unseen move (maybe a powerbomb?). Kobashi is rolled back in for a two-count, then Taue hits snake eyes as Misawa somehow makes it back to his feet on the outside. Kobashi gets a desperation chop, then collapses before Taue can hit him with a big boot. Awesome timing there. Kawada checks back in and leathers Kobashi with chops and a spinning hook kick, then boots Misawa off the apron! Kawada chops Kobashi again…but Kobashi fires up and we get an exchange of blows!
Kawada gets the better of that with brutal chops before tagging in Taue. Legdrop, BROTHER, gets two, then Taue locks in a dragon sleeper. Kobashi makes the ropes, so Taue tauntingly boots and slaps him. The Holy Demons continue to wear down Kobashi until Misawa rises again and elbows Kawada! They fight it out on the floor where Misawa whips Kawada into the railing, but Kawada rebounds with a lariat! In the same manner, Taue whips Kobashi into the guardrail on the other side, but Kobashi retaliates with HIS own lariat!
Back in, Taue tags back in and nails Kobashi with a lariat for two. Kneeling powerbomb from Taue gets two! Kawada re-enters the fray and goes for a cover, sensing that Kobashi is almost done for. Kobashi kicks out, so Kawada hits a nasty backdrop driver for another CLOSE near-fall!
Kawada goes for a chop, but Kobashi again collapses. Taue comes in and grabs a cover for two. Nodowa is blocked, and Kobashi tries fighting both opponents at once, but a kick to the head from Taue stops that. Taue pulls him in for a lariat and maintains WRIST CONTROL. After another clothesline, Kobashi tries unsuccessfully for a backdrop driver, but manages a falling clothesline to a charging Taue. He desperately tries to tag Misawa, but Kawada intercepts! Kobashi fights him off and it’s HOT TAG MISAWA! He goes crazy with elbows on both guys! Tiger Driver on Taue gets a close two!
A second Tiger Driver lands, but Kawada breaks up the pin! Kawada gets some kicks, but Misawa blocks one and nails an elbow to the leg! Misawa applies the crossface to Taue while Kobashi keeps Kawada at bay with a sleeper! Taue makes the ropes. Misawa applies it again and gets a close two out of it. Kobashi enters legally and runs Taue into the guardrail on the floor, then hops onto the guardrail and DDTs Taue off of it and onto the wood floor!
Back in, Taue fights off a powerbomb attempt but immediately eats an elbow from Misawa. Kobashi gets a powerbomb with a jackknife roll-up for two as we draw closer to the time limit! Kobashi signals for the moonsault, but Taue wisely rolls away. Kobashi hits a back kick and a Fameasser for two, then Misawa tags in and hits a frog splash for another two!
Taue fights off a Tiger Suplex, but ends up taking an elbow. Kawada charges back in the ring and knocks Kobashi off the apron, then goes after his arm. Kawada tags in and exchanges strikes with Misawa, including a VICIOUS Kawada kick to the eyeball. Misawa blocks the first ganmengiri, but another one hits its mark after Kawada absorbs an elbow.
Kawada hits a folding powerbomb for two, but a second one is thwarted by Kobashi. He tags back in and hits some chops and blocks a powerbomb attempt. Kawada immediately hits a big boot and lands a rolling armbar. Misawa breaks it up, but Taue boots his ass to the floor. Kawada soon gets a jujigatame, but Kobashi gets to the ropes! Taue re-enters and applies move #165 (arm-BAR), but Kobashi turns that into a roll-up for two. The HDA continues to assault the arm in brutal fashion, both inside the ring and outside. Taue hits a big boot for another near-fall, then it’s back to the arm.
Kawada hits a nasty knee off the second rope onto the arm, then Taue resumes the abuse until Kobashi fights him off with a lariat. HOT TAG MISAWA (again) as he dives off the top with a clothesline to Taue and knocks Kawada off the apron. Misawa pounds away at Taue until the latter goes to the eyes. Rebound below from Misawa is intercepted, and the HDA hit a DOOMSDAY NODOWA OTOSHI!
Misawa immediately rolls to the floor, but Kawada rolls him back in for a VERY close two. Misawa escapes a second apron Nodowa, but Taue boots him in the head. Taue comes back with a HUGE release German suplex and a Nodowa for two! Kawada tags back in and gets the Stretch Plum. Taue kicks Misawa while he’s in the hold, too! Kobashi chops Taue down, hurting his arm in the process, then fights to break the Stretch Plum, but Kawada boots him away. Misawa ranas out of a powerbomb and tags Kobashi back in.
Kawada kicks at the arm, but Kobashi catches it and attacks the leg. Dragonscrew legwhip causes much pain for Kawada. They then take turns kicking each other’s injured areas, which is awesome. Kobashi fights off both opponents with chops. Misawa elbow-suicidas Taue while Kobashi tries to suplex Kawada, but Kawada escapes and hits a BIG release German!
The four of them fight it out, with Misawa hitting a rolling elbow on Kawada and Kobashi nailing a moonsault…but Kawada kicks out! Misawa tags in and hits some release Germans on Kawada for a near-fall. The 60-minute mark is rapidly approaching! Taue tags in and eventually gets another Nodowa on Misawa for two, but Misawa ‘ranas out of a powerbomb and nails a running elbow for two! Misawa hits the Tiger Driver, but Taue kicks out! Tiger Suplex…and Taue again escapes the pin! Kobashi tags in and goes for another moonsault, but Taue again rolls away to safety. Kobashi hits a big powerbomb and a release German for another near-fall.
Misawa tags back in, and the Super Generation Army hits a double-team butterfly suplex for two. Misawa goes for a crossbody, but Taue catches him and stunguns him on the top rope! Kawada tags in and lariats Misawa down, then eventually hits HIS own release German on Misawa. Ganmengiri and another release German lands, but Kobashi breaks up the cover. Kobashi tags back in and takes a rolling solebutt from Kawada for two. Kawada goes to the armbar again, but they make it to the ropes. Taue hits a Nodowa to Kobashi on the blue mats on the floor, but Kobashi fights off an attempt on the wood floor. Back in, Kobashi hits a dragon suplex, but Taue breaks up the pin.
Time is running out as Kobashi hits an enzuigiri, but Kawada responds with a legsweep. Misawa tags in and goes after Kawada’s leg, so Taue tags back in. Misawa tees off on him with elbows for a two-count. TIGER SUPLEX ‘85 on Taue, but Taue kicks out! Tiger Driver attempt is fought off, but elbows are not. Taue kicks out of a pinfall attempt, and the bell rings! WE HAVE A DRAW!
****3/4 - This was another excellent installment in this legendary rivalry. I really dug the direction they went here with Misawa being taken out early and often, leaving Kobashi to go it alone for a long time. The Holy Demons going after Kobashi’s arm was a welcome change in story threads, and Kobashi’s selling was typically magnificent. When Kawada dropped the knees on the arm, you’d swear that Kobashi had his arm cut off by a lightsaber. Again, the selling and facial expressions of Kobashi and Kawada win the day.
However, I didn’t like it *quite* as much as the other two they had this year. It kind of felt like a generational 45-minute match stretched out to an hour. You can almost sense that they were running out of ideas at times, and things got slightly repetitive as a result. That said, this is still a fantastic match that is well worth dedicating an hour of your life to.
We’ll still have some more singles matches with the Pillars and one last tag match in December.
OCTOBER 16th
WWF Monday Night RAW
We start off our Monday coverage with a bit of hype for tonight's cage match between Bret Hart and Isaac Yankem, DDS. We get both guys cutting promos in the cage, with Yankem promising to provide Bret the “biggest set of braces” you’ll ever see.
Bret promises to be Yankem’s “personal hygienist”. Anyone who knows me knows I enjoy the odd pun now and then (to say the least), but the WWF’s been getting ridiculous with them. Interviews during mid-90s WWF are collections of occupational puns instead of guys trying to talk the people into the building.
We now get an introductory video package for Ahmed Johnson! Yeah! Back in the day, I loved me some Ahmed. Absolute meathead in all the best ways. Sure, he was sloppy and injury prone as all hell, but he was just so fun to watch.
Even though he's very hard to understand (something WWF War Zone players know all too well), at least they’re letting him be an actual human being that draws from a real-life backstory instead of slotting him into a lame gimmick. Ahmed also adds a bit of needed diversity to the babyface side of the roster.
Bill Watts, who was always a huge proponent of pushing strong Black babyfaces, probably took one look at the guy and was immediately champing at the bit to push him to the moon.
Dean Douglas vs. Joe Dorgan - Because Bill Watts was booking at the time this was taped, Douglas was fined $7,500 for his attack on Shawn Michaels last week.
Fun fact: Joe Dorgan is the future Johnny Swinger of WCW and ECW fame, and WWE non-fame as Johnny Parisi. He's still working Impact Wrestling/TNA as of December 2023!
Dean does some wrasslin’, but Dorgan shines with some dropkicks. Dean Douglas HA HA snuffs that comeback out and finishes with a fisherman's suplex for three.
1/4* - Basic-ass squash, but that’s not why the match is here.
This squash is entirely a backdrop for commentary to inform the fans of Shawn Michaels’ recent run-in with an ever-fluctuating number of Marines in Syracuse, New York on October 13th. I don’t think it’s been 100% confirmed to be Marines, but it seems to be some manner of military personnel. For simplicity, I’ll just stick with referring to them as Marines.
From what I read of multiple accounts and retellings (though it tends to change depending on who's telling the tale, and this may not be 100% accurate), Shawn, The British Bulldog, and The 1-2-3 Kid went to Club 37, a Syracuse watering hole not far from their hotel. Arriving just an hour before closing time, the grapplers decided to power-party, throwing back shots and somas at an inhuman rate. A thoroughly-fucked-up Michaels started hitting on a young lady at the bar, who just happened to be the ex-girlfriend of a Marine. The soldier, Douglas Griffith, wasn't happy with this and the attention the wrestlers were receiving from the bar patrons, and got in Michaels’ face.
Michaels ignored the Marine and continued to try to pick up the young lady, even asking her back to his hotel. The bouncer sensed trouble a-brewin’ and arranged transport for the wrestlers back to their hotel. Shawn, who was hardly conscious at this point, was dragged to the car by Davey Boy, Kid, and a few others. However, Griffith was waiting outside alongside some of his fellow Marines (some sources have it as three Marines; others have it at around six, but who knows at this point?). He taunted the wrestlers, calling them a “bunch of fakes”. Shawn feebly tried to take a swing at Griffith.
Griffith had all he can stands, HE CAN’T STANDS NO MORE, and responded by pulling Michaels out of the car. He slammed the car door against Shawn’s head like when Homer was trying to knock Barney out to prevent him from driving home drunk after touring the Duff Brewery. Griffith hurled Shawn against the car bumper and continued to kick him in the face while the inebriated Bulldog and Kid tried fruitlessly to get out of the car, thanks to the other soldiers keeping them at bay. After eventually escaping and, despite some resistance from the servicemen, Bulldog was finally able to pull Griffith off (while Kid threw fake kicks and collapsed). The bouncer called an ambulance to the hotel and arranged for the wrestlers to get a ride back to there so they can be taken to the hospital.
Shawn ended up with some nasty injuries, including a torn eyelid, lacerations, two black eyes, and having his earrings ripped out. Bulldog had some stitches in the back of his head but was otherwise fine, and Kid came out relatively unscathed. Because a subpoena of Shawn’s medical records would open up a cannery’s worth of worms for himself and The Fed, Vince McMahon successfully discouraged Michaels from filing a lawsuit.
A lot of people backstage were not pleased with what happened. Vince wasn’t happy about Shawn getting himself in this kind of predicament. He was especially irked that Shawn and Bulldog, who were on opposite sides of the babyface/heel divide, and in fact worked against each other earlier in the day at a house show, were seen palling around together. Kayfabe was apparently still kind of a big deal back in those days. The other Kliq members (Diesel and Razor Ramon, who were on a tour of Europe at the time) were upset that Kid and Bulldog weren’t able to better protect Shawn from the beating and gave them a proper earful. Shawn, Bulldog, and Kid should be thankful that Bill Watts wasn’t in power at that point as he would have given all three their walking papers for losing a fight to non-wrestlers.
The Fed opted to turn this into a storyline, upped the number of Marines to about 8-15 depending on the mood that day, and made Shawn a far more sympathetic figure. The Heartbreak Kid was framed as an innocent, not-drunk-and-drugged-out-of-his-gourd victim of an unprovoked assault by a pack of thugs.
Shawn phoned in during the Douglas squash and promised that despite getting clobbered by a Buster Call's worth of Marines, he'll be at In Your House on Sunday. However, he doesn't say if he'll wrestle or not.
We pick it up at the end of the earlier-discussed cage match with Bret Hart vs. Isaac Yankem, DDS. Jerry Lawler is suspended in a shark cage above the ring as punishment for earlier interference. He even has a nosebleed due to his fear of heights (in reality, he is able to make his nose bleed almost on command and did so while off-camera).
Bret hits a side slam and goes for the escape, but Yankem yanks him back into the ring and hits the DDS (his finisher, a DDT). Yankem slowly climbs, but Bret pulls him back in and crotches him. Yankem fights back and gets the key from Lawler! Yankem is NOT the master of unlocking as Bret interrupts him. Bret TOSSES THE KEY, makes his usual comeback, and escapes the cage for the win.
The full match is overly long, heatless, and dull with minimal effort from Bret. Lawler's shtick pretty much carried it.
The match was originally intended as a dark match for the live crowd and was never meant to make air, which would explain the difference in overall energy. It came at the end of a brutally-long taping session, so people were literally walking out during this so they can beat the traffic and get the hell home.
However, the WWF were short on content to complete this week’s episode, so they cobbled the show together with a bunch of pre-tapes and dark matches. Not exactly an ideal go-home show for a PPV.
WCW Monday Nitro
Eddy Guerrero vs. Chris Benoit - This is Benoit's WCW re-debut after a prior stint in 1993. After leaving ECW a few months ago, he had been working some dark matches with the WWF, including what were apparently 4+ star encounters with Bob Holly and Owen Hart. Benoit likely had an offer from Titan ready to go, but he seemed to go with Turner due to his commitments with New Japan with whom WCW had a working relationship.
Yes, the nameplate says “Eddie”, but I'll stick with “Eddy” for consistency. Until I forget and use “Eddie” anyway.
We start with a sweet athletic sequence that ends with Guerrero getting a wristlock takedown for two. Both guys exchange headscissors, with Guerrero dispatching Benoit and following with a pretty funny attempt at a tiger feint/619. Guerrero hits a flying crossbody to the floor, then both guys end up back-suplexing each other out of the ring. Benoit takes a nasty header into the post but ducks a clothesline, allowing Eddy to club the ringpost. Back in, Benoit hits a VICIOUS hammerlock back suplex and further punishes the arm.
Benoit hits a hammerlock Northern Lights Suplex, then follows with a snap suplex and a BRUTAL back elbow. Eddy armdrags out of a quebradora and hits a springboard tornado DDT for two! Benoit comes back with a hard short-arm clothesline, but Eddy reverses a hammerlock back suplex into a pinning combo…but his arm’s too hurt to keep the cover. Benoit LAYS in the chops and continues to torture the arm. Guerrero comes back with a flying hurricanarana off the ropes! Benoit gets his foot on the rope to break up the pin.
Savage Saito suplex from Eddy, followed by a sheer drop brainbuster. Eddy goes for a frog splash, but Benoit gets the knees up! Benoit hits a MASSIVE Wildbomb for two. Holy hell, he planted Eddy into the earth with that one. The commentators are losing their minds watching this stuff. Eddy reverses another attempt and goes for a forearm, hurting himself in the process. Dragon suplex from Benoit ends things.
***3/4 - This was an AMAZING TV match, especially for the time. They achieved a LOT in ~9 minutes. Again, it’s “Fuck Chris Benoit” around here, but I can’t deny that he made a stellar first impression in his WCW return, busting out innovative offense with precision and intensity. He laid his shit IN. Guerrero did a terrific job making Benoit look strong here, selling the arm very well and just letting Benoit cut loose on him. Nobody can take a Wildbomb like Eddy. Eddy also hit some great high-flying offense of his own. This completely blew away anything on RAW this week.
Hulk Hogan is here to tell you something, Hulkamani…oids? The EVIL in Hulkamania is real, BROTHER.
“Don Corleone” Hulk Hogan (his description, not mine) is here to defend the demandments, brother! Midlife Crisis Hulk (my description, not his) continues to mald, claiming to have slammed The Giant’s father, Andre The Giant, in front of 94,000 fans in Detroit. Jimmy Hart is worried about what Hogan will do to Kevin Sullivan and The Giant, but Hulk tells him to STAY OUT OF IT, BROTHER.
Hogan vows to smash The Giant’s monster truck into pieces, then press him over his head and bury him RIGHT NEXT TO HIS FATHER. Hulk “Christian Cage” Hogan asks Kevin Sullivan what he will do when the DARKNESS, THE EVIL OF HULKAMANIA GOUGES YOU!
OK, then.
Ric Flair & Sting vs. Arn Anderson & Brian Pillman - As you may remember, Sting finally gave into Ric’s courting attempts and decided to be his partner. This match is also booked for Halloween Havoc, so this is more of a preview of that bout.
Man, David Penzer’s “Flyyyyiiiiiin’ Briiiiiiiian” just doesn’t hit the same as Gary Michael Cappetta’s. Damn budget cuts.
Flair comes out to start the match by himself in a bid to prove to Sting that everything’s on the up-and-up. Flair starts out by chopping Pillman so hard that even referee Randy Anderson falls over, then fights off both guys in their corner as the fans go apeshit. Arn tags in as the crowd seems to REALLY want Sting. Flair lights Arn up with chops, then soon gets a figure four. Pillman dives into Flair…but Flair moves! He applies the figure four on Pillman, but Arn breaks it up. Flair even hits an axehandle off the top onto Arn, but a kick from Brian causes Flair to stagger into that lovely Arn spinebuster.
STING finally shows up and awaits the tag on the apron.
The baddies beat down Flair for a bit in their corner, but Ric comes back with some stiff chops. Pillman regains the upper hand but whiffs on a dropkick. It’s MOLTEN HOT TAG STING! Sting goes HAM on Anderson and Pillman, hitting multiple Stinger Splashes on both guys. The heels double-team Sting, but he makes a comeback, clotheslining Arn out and tossing Pillman testicles-first onto the ropes.
Anderson and Pillman stay on the outside and walk to the back, allowing the faces to win by countout.
*** - This was a really fun angle-heavy match that (for now) established Flair’s loyalty to Sting and effectively set the table for the upcoming Halloween Havoc showdown. He may be a garbage human, but the crowd LOVED Flair fending off the heels by himself. The fans also became absolutely unglued when Sting entered the fray.
Just to show that there’s no justice in the world, the WWF handily won the ratings battle this week with a 2.6 for their slapdash effort against Nitro’s 2.2 rating. The current tally is 3-1-2 in favor of Monday Night RAW.
OCTOBER 17th
ECW Hardcore TV
We kick off ECW this week with a music video for Beulah McGillicutty. It's the iconic (and controversial in its day) music video for Nirvana's “Heart Shaped Box” with clips of Beulah and her role in the Tommy Dreamer/Raven saga spliced in. Beulah lays the double-entendres on thick, referring to “Beulah’s Box”.
There’s a sequence where Beulah, Raven, and Dreamer are shown, one after the other, with their arms stretched out in a crucifix-like position. That’s a pretty nice bit of continuity with the Christ-like figure from the original music video. I’m kind of surprised they didn’t pop a clip of that fella in there.
Again, I love the idea of these music videos, but they need to chill with the shake and zoom effects when it comes to the wrestling clips. This one showed a bit more restraint than some of the others I’ve watched, but a few annoyances slipped in there.
We now check in with the Dudley Boys. Buh Buh Ray Dudley makes his first ECW appearance, introducing himself and stuttering along the way. Dudley Dudley, the only legitimate Dudley because both his parents were named “Dudley”, goes over how the various Dudleys were fathered by Big Daddy Dudley. Dances With Dudley (the product of Big Daddy’s fling with a Cherokee woman) rants until Big Dick Dudley grunts to cut him off, while Sign Guy Dudley (who was conceived in an insane asylum) holds up signs.
Dudley.
Big Daddy’s obsession with the film “Deliverance” (“a fine theatrical release” according to Buh Buh) apparently figures into Buh Buh Ray’s siring. They all laugh, with Sign Guy holding up a sign saying “Laughter”.
OK, this was actually pretty hilarious, and Buh Buh Ray’s fat stuttering hillbilly act would get supremely over with the ECW faithful. We also got some DUDLEY LORE from Dudley Dudley. The segment ended up carrying far more significance than you would initially think.
This whole deal kinda of reminds me of the 1935 Merrie Melodies short “I Haven’t Got a Hat”, in that the stuttering chunky guy making his debut (in the cartoon's case, Porky Pig) ended up getting over like gangbusters. Beans the Cat was intended to be the star of the short, but once they heard that stammering swine, people wanted more Porky. Nobody gave a single shit about poor Beans. Porky and Buh Buh Ray ended up becoming extremely popular characters for their respective brands.
Did this comparison make sense? Probably not, but I’ll take any excuse, no matter how flimsy, to talk about Looney Tunes.
2-out-of-3 Falls: Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Psicosis - It’s time for some EXTREME LUCHA LIBRE! This was taped on 7/10/95 as part of the South Philly Jam live event. This is another match that made the Wrestling Observer top ten matches of the year, so we’ll see how this holds up. Unlike the prior ECW encounter, this one is the traditional 2-out-of-3 falls.
Ring announcer Joel Gertner does the intros in Spanish in a nice touch.
PRIMERA CAIDA: Rey quickly dumps Psicosis and crossbodies him over the guardrail, then follows with a tope to take them both over the guardrail again! Back in, Rey snaps off a rapid Frankensteiner to quickly capture the first fall! I dig the Batman logo on Rey’s tights.
SEGUNDA CAIDA: Rey dodges a charging Psicosis and, after landing on his feet from a multi-rotational headscissors attempt, hits a spinning wheel kick and a huge hurricanrana off the top. Rey then follows with a hurricanrana off the apron onto the floor! Back in, Psicosis asks for a handshake, then grabs Rey’s wrist and hits an enzuigiri. Pseudo-Bronco Buster soon follows, as does a BIG powerbomb for two. The lights turn off at points. I didn’t know this was a dark match.
Anyways, Psicosis spinebusts Rey down and applies the scorpion deathlock, but soon relinquishes the hold. On the floor, Psicosis smashes a chair against Rey’s legs, slams him onto a table, then hits a slingshot legdrop back in. Psicosis goes for a charge, but Rey evades and hits a cartwheel ‘rana! Rey goes for a quebrada, but Psicosis catches him and drills him with a Tombstone piledriver for the second fall.
TERCERA CAIDA: Rey is still a bit out of ‘er and rolls to the outside for a reprieve, but Psicosis is all like “nah, bitch” and powerbombs him through a table at ringside! Psicosis hurls Rey over the guardrail, then he follows up with a HUGE tope several rows into the crowd! Good lord!
Back in, Psicosis dives at Rey in the corner, but Rey ducks, allowing Psicosis to fly to the floor. Rey follows with a HUGE springboard front-flip La Silla!
They’re kicking at each other on the floor! That’s a neat bit of storytelling, which puts it above what could be little more than a (spectacular) stunt show. Rey tosses a chair at Psicosis a couple of times, then wraps it around his head and runs him into the post twice! Back in, diving hurricanrana from Rey gets a VERY close two! Rey hits a NICE satellite headscissors, then lands a corner springboard senton onto the outside! Psicosis tosses Rey into the guardrail a couple of times, lays Rey onto a table, then hits a SENTON through the table!
Back in, Psicosis hits a powerbomb, whacks him with a chair, then hits a twisting senton ONTO the chair that is laying on Rey! That gets the third fall and the win!
****1/2 - This is still a ridiculously great match; one of the better ones Rey and Psicosis would have against each other. Rey again steals the show with some breathtaking offense while Psicosis is one of the greatest bases of all time. He provides a terrific platform for Rey to do some insane stunts, and he also contributes crazy stuff of his own. These guys were absolutely put on this planet to wrestle against each other.
One aspect that I loved is that they adjusted to their environment. They could have just done their usual match from AAA and called it a day, but they added some hardcore elements to make the bout more unique to the setting. Rey and Psicosis are nicely filling the match quality void left when Eddy Guerrero, Dean Malenko, and Chris Benoit departed for WCW.
It's time for the first Pulp Fiction promo! Basically, these are video packages that recap the various goings-on within ECW and feature rapid-fire promos. The videos are set to Dick Dale's version of “Misirlou”, which gained renewed popularity for its use in a certain Quentin Tarantino film. That film, of course, being “Four Rooms”.
We got The Sandman drinkin’ beers on the top of a cage!
Sandman and Woman cut a promo on Mikey Whipwreck next to a ladder! Steve Austin says that no one in ECW is on his level! KONNAN is coming to ECW! Lou Thesz hangs out with Taz at the Cauliflower Alley Club!
Bill Alfonso and Tod Gordon cut angry promos on each other! The ECW banner falls! “Flyboy” Rocco Rock and 2 Cold Scorpio fall off a cage and through a bunch of tables! Cactus Jack is a former WCW Tag Team Champion and wants to be remembered among the greats, like Ray Stevens & Pat Patterson, The Funks, The Original Midnight Express, and The American Males! Tommy Dreamer says stuff that nobody cares about!
I really like these promos. They’re a great way to get people up to speed on what’s happening, and “Misirlou” slaps. Cactus Jack asking to be remembered among The American Males with a straight face was hilarious.
OCTOBER 21st
USWA Championship Wrestling
We’re walking in Memphis this week with “Bullet” Bob Armstrong coming out to the commentary desk. Bob has FOUR conditions to end the war between the USWA and Smoky Mountain Wrestling:
He wants a fine that was levied against his son, “Jesse James Brian Armstrong”, lifted.
He wants Brian Christopher suspended for putting his hands on him last week.
Corey Maclin needs to APOLOGIZE for harsh comments made against his family.
Randy Hales has to tell Bob Armstrong that he is NOT a man and to quit the USWA.
Lance Russell takes exception to this as Bob quickly storms off.
We cut to Brian Christopher, wearing his best “Dangerous” Danny Davis tights to chat with Corey Maclin.
He addresses the recent attempts of Smoky Mountain Wrestling to take over the USWA, but Bob Armstrong comes out to check to see if he got fined yet (per the second condition).
Christopher says he hasn’t been fined, nor will he be, and threatens to clock Armstrong again. Jesse James and Steve Armstrong come out to support their dear old dad, so Doug Gilbert and Billy Jack Hanes come out to back up Too Sexy. It’s a six-way skirmish with the non-Armstrong contingent standing tall. Bob is chased into the ring, so Tracy Smothers comes in and attacks the faces with the Confederate flag. The Armstrongs come back and join the beatdown.
This was a pretty effective beatdown and Bullet Bob came off like a petulant dickhead, but the SMW/USWA feud is just running on fumes at this point.
Smoky Mountain Wrestling
Speaking of Tracy Smothers, Les Thatcher is hanging with Robert Gibson and The Thugs. Gibson, who is set to be the guest ref for an upcoming double-chain match between The Thugs and The Heavenly Bodies, assures everyone that justice will be done.
Tracy praises Gibson’s five reigns as NWA Tag Team Champions, but stresses that it was in the past and that we’re talking about TODAY! Gibson mouths a “wow” in the background while Smothers talks. Trouble in paradise?
Dirty White Boy vows revenge against Dr. Tom Prichard for talking shit about his family, threating to reach into Dr. Tom’s throat, pull his guts out, and shove them down Jim Cornette’s throat! HELL IS COMIN’ BOYS!
We cut to Buddy Landel’s impression of Tommy Rich from last week, then we see Tommy Rich wrestling against Flash Flanagan in what would normally be a squash match. Landel snatches Tommy’s vest, distracting Rich long enough to fall victim to a roll-up from Flanagan for the upset!
We now hear from Budro, who is still wearing the vest. He is looking for some help against Cornette’s Militia and explains how he had been repeatedly turned down due to his past actions. He rips on the legitimacy of Tommy Rich’s vest and plugs the upcoming hardcore matches around the horn. Buddy is no local yokel from the local K-Mart, he’s BUDDY LANDEL! He’s only just BEGUN to screw with Tommy Rich’s mind!
More fun promo work from Landel here. SMW is very much circling the drain at this point, but Landel is putting in some great babyface work near the end.
This week in KESSLER’S KORNER, we have Jim Cornette and The Heavenly Bodies. Cornette accuses The Thugs and Robert Gibson of COLLUSION and is going to bring in a brand new Drill Sergeant, SGT. ROCK!
Who is this Sgt. Rock? Cornette is very evasive about giving up his identity. Cornette plugs the upcoming chain match at Halloween Scream, then Dr. Tom Prichard rants about justice to take us home.
WCW Saturday Night
We hop aboard The Mothership this week with “Mean” Gene Okerlund, who is with Arn Anderson.
Mean Gene asks about the tag match from this week’s Nitro. The Enforcer says that Brian Pillman is nursing an injury, but asks Ric Flair and Sting to be ALL THE MAN they can be at Halloween Havoc. Arn teases the formation of a NEW Four Horsemen, the Horsemen of the ‘90s, but doesn’t elaborate further.
Hmmm…
This was a great week for actual wrestling with the AJPW tag, Rey/Psicosis, and the two Nitro matches. There was also some historical significance here, with the Shawn Michaels incident, Buh Buh Ray Dudley’s first appearance, and Arn teasing a new Four Horsemen.
NEXT TIME: We head up to Winnipeg for WWF In Your House 4: GREAT WHITE NORTH. Was it great? No.
Also, a couple of AJPW singles encounters, some FMW, and more!
Smell ya later!