Ryan's Dive into '95 - Part 25 (6/18 - 6/24)
Lots of lucha action, Renegade wins a belt, Flair and Savage have a dandy brawl, 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 lucha-leaning week at The Dive. We get some more AAA Triplemania action this week, including a couple of interesting atomicos matches and an apuestas main event. We also get a CMLL Heavyweight title match to round out the long look at lucha. Also, WCW Great American Bash was a show that happened, so we’ll take a look at some of the goings-on there. We also have some UWFi worked shooty, some SMW stuff, and more!
Well…
JUNE 18th
UWFi The UWF Spirits - This week is going to be a bit frontloaded with both this week's major events happening on Sunday. Before we get to them, though, we have another lovely worked shoot.
Yoji Anjo vs. Naoki Sano - Anjo was a veteran of the worked shoot style and a Nobuhiko Takada mentee. He also, on behalf of Takada and UWFi, flew to Santa Monica, California and challenged Rickson Gracie to a fight at the Gracie dojo in December 1994 and ended up getting thoroughly rinsed. This incident, and Takada’s non-response, diminished the UWFi's then-badass reputation. That whole story is nuts. I haven't seen much of Naoki Sano other than his famously awesome match against Jushin Liger and his appearance in the 2000 Super J-Cup.
Code of Honor is observed, and Anjo comes in HOT with some kicks and corner punches and knees, but Sano comes back by throwing Anjo down and laying in some kicks. Anjo goes for a headlock, then rolls into an attempted jujigatame, but Sano rolls through and they keep countering-wrestling in very impressive fashion. Anjo counters Sano's counters until Sano grabs a half-crab. Anjo enzuigiri misses, and Sano transitions to a heel hold, but Anjo grabs a side facelock and rains down some palmstrikes.
Sano comes back with a Boston Crab, forcing Anjo to break via the ropes. Both guys are now down to 14 points as a rope break each eats up one point from the initial 15 point pool each of the competitors start with. Anjo works a cross-armbreaker, forcing Sano to use a rope break. Back up, Anjo works a headlock, but Sano drives him to the corner and NAILS a dropkick, knocking Anjo down. Anjo is still a bit loopy, but makes it back up, down to 11 points.
Anjo gets a backdrop kick and lays on some knees, then grabs a jujigatame, forcing another rope break. Anjo, being a dickhead heel, takes his time breaking the hold. Sano tries for a triangle choke, but they're too close to the ropes, forcing the ref to stand them back up. They again trade holds on the mat and roll into the ropes, so the ref breaks it up. Anjo goes for kickings and knees, then grabs a leglock, forcing Sano to sacrifice another point to break the ropes. The score is now 12-11 Sano.
Anjo snags a back suplex and works the arm, but Sano procures an STF! Anjo fights out and tries for another armbar, but Sano escapes. Sano soon grabs a choke, but Sano hits him with a release Northern Lights suplex! Sano misses a spinning back kick, and Anjo capitalizes with a chokehold, forcing another rope break. Anjo soon grabs another armbar, resulting in another rope break. We're square at 10 points each now. However, Sano fires back with some kicks, capping it off with the spinning back kick to knock Anjo on his ass!
Anjo makes it back up, but Sano gets a nasty release German! Anjo again survives and tries to take Sano down, but Sano gets a judo throw and applies the jujigatame for the immediate tap!
**** - That was more great Shooter McGavin from this time period. This was full of slick, creative mat wrestling and counterholds, with some stiff striking and suplexes thrown in. Anjo showed his toughness, but as soon as Sano hit those kicks, you knew the end was coming.
AAA Triplemania III-B - We have a trio of matches from the second night of the third Triplemania.
Octagoncito, Mascarita Sagrada, Torerito & Super Munequito vs. Espectrito, Espectrito II, La Parkita & Fuercita Guerrera - I haven't seen too many all-mini atomicos matches, so this should be interesting. Mini wrestlers in Mexico are either competitors with dwarfism, or guys who aren't, but are really short. A lot of these guys would show up in the WWF under various repackagings during their brief relationship with AAA. La Parkita and Espectrito II were twins, and Espectrito I was their older brother. Unfortunately, the twins were killed by female sex workers during a “drug and rob” incident in 2009.
Unlike most lucha matches, this is a one-fall encourter. It's an eight-way donnybrook to start, both inside and outside the ring, with the rudos clearing the ring.
Munequito does duck a couple of attempted chops, causing the rudos to strike each other until La Parkita kicks his ass. Torerito and Parkita have a delightfully fun sequence that ends with Torerito dropkicking a dancing Parkita out of the ring. Sagrada and Espectrito also have themselves a great sequence ending with a satellite headscissors from Sagrada!
The rudos take back over, quadruple-teaming Octagoncito until Munequito breaks it up and goes at it with Espectrito II. Things go poorly for the tecnicos, as Munequito and Torerito each get ganged up on by the rudos. After some back and forth, Espectrito II misses a dropkick on Octagoncito, resulting in a huge bump to the floor! La Parkita and Espectrito also take major floor bumps, then Munequito goes HAM on Espectrito II with a series of ridiculous armdrags.
Octagoncito then lights Guerrera up with HIS own series of rapid-fire armdrags! However, Espectrito catches a flying Octagoncito with a big powerbomb, then locks on a octopus/chicken wing combo, but Sagrada breaks it up with a springboard ‘rana. He then follows up with a springboard plancha.
Octagoncito then NAILS Guerrera with a tope suicida, then Torerito hits a plancha on La Parkita. Munequito goes for a pin on Espectrito II, but Espectrito I breaks it up. Moments later, Munequito catches Espectrito I in a victory roll for the pin!
***3/4 - For anyone watching this that has only seen the more comedy-centric minis matches that are typical in the rest of North America, this would be pretty jarring. This was great stuff all-round; wall-to-wall action for 10 minutes with all kinds of terrific sequences and crazy spots with remarkably good execution. Sagrada and Octagoncito especially stood out here with their amazing athleticism.
La Parka, Octagon, Rey Misterio Jr. & El Hijo del Santo vs. Pentagon, Blue Panther, Psicosis & Fuerza Guerrera - Holy HELL, that is a lineup.
PRIMERA CAIDA: Octagon goes after Pentagon, who scampers away to his corner. We start proper with Rey and Blue Panther, as Rey flies around the ring and dispatches Panther after some flippy armdrags. Santo and Psicosis go at it now, with Santo getting his own series of armdrags, then a dropkick to send Psicosis to the floor. La Parka then runs wild, keeping everyone at bay and disorienting the heels by dancing up a storm! He saunters to his corner and dodges a charging Pentagon.
Santo hits a senton onto Pentagon, and everybody comes in and goes for flash pins. Psicosis goes for an avalanche electric chair drop, but Santo (in theory) reverses into a powerbomb for the pin. Octagon then gets the grounded octopus hold on Fuerza for the submission and the first fall!
SEGUNDA CAIDA: Pentagon, ever the coward, again runs away from Octagon. We do finally get the Clash of the Polygons, with Octagon getting the best of Pentagon with some acrobatics and a quebradora. Penta naturally scurries to his corner and tags in Psicosis. La Parka tags in and they have a sweet little sequence that includes a fallaway slam and a belly-to-belly from La Parka. Psicosis MOCKS THE DANCE, then dodges a La Parka senton. Psicosis goes to attack La Parka from the apron, but Skeletor armdrags Psicosis to the bare concrete floor in a SICK bump!
Parka teases a dive, but DANCES in the opponent's corner. Octagon and Fuerza come in, with Fuerza offering a handshake. DON'T FALL FOR IT, OCTAGON! As Octagon ponders that decision, Guerrera attacks. Octagon regains the advantage, but Fuerza cries fowl! Nobody’s buying it, so we get Penta and Rey going at it. Rey dodges a charging Penta and follows up with a dropkick off the apron to the floor! Octagon wants to get his hands on Pentagon, who begs off.
Meanwhile, in the ring, the rudo quartet attempts to team up on Santo, but he makes a rapid comeback with a double-headscissor takeover and a leapfrog dropkick before teasing a dive. La Parka and Pentagon are now legal, with La Parka getting the best of that one. Guerrera and Misterio come in, with Fuerza flapjacking Rey, then hitting a big powerbomb. Amongst the chaos in the ring, Penta kicks Octagon in the dick (THAT’S MY PURSE! I DON’T KNOW YOU!) and Psicosis tosses Santo into the crowd. Penta covers Octagon to pick up the second fall as the brawling outside continues.
Before the third fall officially kicks off, Psicosis fucking BRAINS Hijo del Santo with a chair! Santo’s mask is also in serious disrepair.
TERCERA CAIDA: Penta abuses Octagon on the outside as the other rudos continue to attack Santo. Psicosis posts Santo a couple of times while Blue Panther incapacitates Rey and La Parka. Back in, the rudos continue their dominance, fending off the tecnicos and singling out Santo. Fuerza knees Rey in the penis!
After more heat, Santo makes his comeback with a double facecrusher, and the other babyfaces come alive as the fans go apeshit! Santo, looking absolutely demented with his mask torn up, wraps a chair around Psicosis’ head and throws him into the post!
Rey ‘ranas Penta out of the ring and follows with a flipping La Silla! Octagon then gets La Silla from the apron onto Fuerza! La Parka and Psicosis battle on the top rope, with Psicosis falling to the mat and Parka hitting the floor. Psicosis then fucking javelins himself to the floor onto La Parka!
Santo gets a rolling cradle on Blue Panther for three, then Rey Rey hits an anklescissor roll-up on Penta for the three and the win!
****1/2 - These are some of the best lucha workers of the era (and some are all-timers), and this did NOT disappoint. Like the earlier Mini-Estrellas match, this was worked at a terrific pace with lots of big spots, sick bumps, dives, and nuclear crowd heat. Tons of great story threads all over the place, too, mostly playing into the established rivalries. The rudos were absolute shitheads, and the tecnicos looked truly heroic in victory as a result. Go out of your way to watch this one.
Mask vs. Mask: Winners vs. Marabunta - We now arrive at the main event, a good old-fashioned apuestas match. These two had a scuffle after last week's Rey Jr. vs. Juvi match, with Marabunta going after the mask of Winners.
PRIMERA CAIDA: Marabunta gets the early advantage, beating Winners’ horribly-attired ass (seriously, that is some of my least favorite gear in lucha) around the ring, both inside and outside of it. This continues for a while until Marabunta locks in a grapevine/cravat combo for the submission and the first fall.
SEGUNDA CAIDA: Marabunta and his second (Mr. Condor? If I'm wrong, please let me know) attack Winners during the rest period, but Super Calo (Winners’ second) fights them off. Marabunta continues the abuse by ringposting Winners and hitting a flying knee off the apron. Back in, Winners attempts to return fire, but that comeback is quickly snuffed out. Winners does manage a comeback with a quebradora, then dodges a charging Marabunta to send him into the post. Winners hits some flying stuff and nails another quebradora, but the rudo ref casually strolls over and counts very slowly, allowing Marabunta to kick out. Winners grabs a La Majistral cradle, but the ref again takes his sweet ass time making the count. However, despite the count being more delayed than Duke Nukem Forever, Marabunta stays down, giving Winners the second fall!
TERCERA CAIDA: Winners tears at Marabunta's mask and even takes a swipe at the ref. Marabunta is now BUSTED OPEN! He goes for a bow and arrow, but Winners counters into a pin attempt for two. Marabunta comes back with a huge plancha, but Winners gets a top rope armdrag for another super slow pin count. Winners misses a senton, but Marabunta misses a top rope double-stomp! Winners grabs a pendulum-like submission, but Marabunta shifts his weight, and they trade pin attempts until Marabunta gets a bottom rope to the neck
Winners follows with a plancha as Marabunta is wearing a literal crimson mask. Marabunta later goes for the submission that won the first fall, but Winners survives. Winners gets his own submission, but Mr. Condor breaks it up behind the ref's back! Winners gets another dubious two off of a sunset flip. Marabunta gets a roll-up, but Winners kicks out despite a much faster pin count. Winners gets a hurricanrana for a close two, then Marabunta hits a sit-out powerbomb for two. Winners’ gear is a mess from Marabunta's blood.
Marabunta gets a mouse trap for another close two, then hits a spinebuster for another near-fall. They nail each other with simultaneous flying headbutts. Winners grabs a spinning quasi-Gory special, then locks in a Royal Octopus Hold for the submission!
After the match, Marabunta unmasks to reveal Paul Rudd Marcos Ayala. Respect is shown between him and Winners, but the seconds continue to go at each other.
**** - This didn't exactly have the best execution or the most impactful work (even for this era of lucha), but it was absolutely carried by the drama, the heat, the storytelling, and the booking. Between losing the first fall so decisively, the interference from Mr. Condor, and the rudo referee, they set the table for a hell of a comeback story for Winners. Marabunta did well as the ant-agonist (Get it?!? Because “Marabunta” is a term used for a soldier ant and the name translates to “Ant Plague”?) and bled all over the place for our amusement.
Despite keeping his mask here, Winners would actually lose his mask less than two weeks later at Triplemania III-C against his second and regular tag partner, Super Calo.
Of note, the second night of Triplemania III saw the in-ring debut of 15-year old Perro Aguayo Jr., who lost to Juventud Guerrera in an “Olympic Rules” match.
WCW The Great American Bash - After a three-year hiatus, WCW brings The Bash back for its 9th installment.
We pick things up near the end of Arn Anderson (c) vs. Renegade for the WCW Television Championship. Wish.com Warrior charges into a spinebuster, but ends up kicking out. Moments later, Renegade hits a top rope splash for the win and the title.
As Renegade celebrates, the camera focuses on a then-unknown Paul Wight. Bobby Heenan says that he “looks like someone”, which was likely their way of foreshadowing the idiotic “son of Andre the Giant” backstory they had for him.
I'd say the match and the result was a disaster, but that would be doing it a kindness. Arn did his absolute best, with Dave Meltzer remarking that he had the best performance ever seen in a negative star match. To say that Renegade wasn't exactly gifted with anything beyond a physique is a ludicrous understatement. I don’t want to keep shitting on the poor guy, but he should not have been positioned within dreaming distance of any kind of championship.
Ric Flair vs. “Macho Man” Randy Savage - The main event of The GAB is a grudge match, and one that has been built quite well, with Flair making Savage's life miserable and even beating the shit out of his father, Angelo Poffo. Understandably, Savage has been champing at the bit to get his hands on the Nature Boy and is rather unhinged. Savage cuts a promo pre-match, vowing to avenge his pa on Father’s Day!
Savage brings the aforementioned Angelo Poffo to the ring with him. We start off fast with Savage beating the turd out of Flair, hitting an axehandle to the floor in the process. Flair gouges the eyes, but walks into a back bodydrop on the floor mats. Flair comes back by posting Savage. Flair beats away at Savage at ringside as the illegitimate son of Ernest P. Worrell tries to get in his face.
Back in, Flair continues to exert his will on the Macho Man until Savage takes over with punchings. Flair begs off, but that doesn't exactly work. Savage resumes the crud-out-of-beating on the floor, then tosses Flair off the top rope back in the ring. Savage tosses Flair again, who goes after Poffo! Savage tries to intervene and gets his leg clipped as a result.
Flair then expectedly focuses on the leg, dropping Savage knee-first on the guardrail! Any comeback attempts are snuffed out by Flair attacking the leg. However, Savage manages to put Flair on the apron, then punches and kicks him from his grounded position!
Back in, Flair applies the Figure Four BREE WOO, grabbing the ropes as he is often wont to do. After a bit, Savage reverses the hold, then keeps attacking Flair. Flair again goes to the leg, then actually manages to fly off the top rope…but misses anyway! Savage and Flair trade punches, with Savage coming out on top. Flair takes his turnbuckle bump and scales the ropes for an axehandle, but Savage intercepts with a fist to the guts. Savage is bleeding hardaway, but does land the big elbow…but Savage PULLS HIM UP!
Savage grabs the ring bell, but the ref takes it away. Flair rolls out and Savage goes for an axehandle…but eats all of the guardrail instead! Flair beats him down on the floor and goes after Angelo…who chokes him with his cane to a HUGE pop!
Flair elbows him off, but grabs the cane. Savage goes into the ring and Flair blasts him with the cane and covers for the three!
***3/4 - Nothing fancy here, but it was a great brawl; intense and heated as you would want it to be and lasting the right amount of time. You can absolutely sense Savage wanting to put Flair in the grave, and that ended up being his downfall here. His selling was great here, especially when he was trying to fight Flair from the ground. Flair was cunning, resourceful, and dirty. Despite their differences in philosophy (Flair was not exactly keen on Savage’s intensive pre-planning of matches), they usually delivered the goods together.
Other stuff that happened at The Great ‘MURICAN Bash:
WCW Main Event:
Harlem Heat defeated The Fantastics. The Rock N’ Roll Express were originally set to oppose The Heat, but they apparently couldn't agree on a dollar amount or to do the job, so WCW brought in another 80's babyface tag team to do the honors instead.
Sgt. Craig “Pitbull” Pittman defeated a 20-year old Scott D'Amore, who was erroneously billed as “Chris Kanyon”.
The Stud Stable (Dick Slater and Bunkhouse Buck) beat Frankie Lancaster and Barry Houston.
Of note, Hulk Hogan saved Nick Bockwinkel and Eric Bischoff from an attack by Vader, leading to an irate Vader calling Hogan out for a match on the pape. Of course, this doesn't happen. Seems like kind of a scummy way to try to bilk more buys out of your loyal fans, but that's wrasslin’ for ya.
Main card:
Alex Wright pinned “Flyin’” Brian Pillman after reversing a crucifix in a rather good match.
Evad Sullivan beat Diamond Dallas Page in an arm-wrestling match to win a date with the Diamond Doll. Yes, this was a thing that happened.
“Hacksaw” Jim Duggan defeated Sgt. Craig “Pitbull” Pittman via disqualification after Mr. Worldwide refused to release his Code Red armbar despite Duggan making the ropes. Duggan substituted for Marcus Bagwell as the future Buff Daddy was sidelined because his body rejected his infamous calf implants. It sounds hilarious, sure, but that bit of cosmetic enhancement almost resulted in his legs getting amputated. Yikes.
Harlem Heat defeated Buckhouse Buck & Dick Slater via small package.
The Nasty Boys retained the WCW Tag Team Championship over the Blue Bloods (boo!).
Sting pinned Meng in the ring in the tournament final for the vacant US Title.
JUNE 23rd
CMLL Super Viernes - We have no RAW or ECW this week, so we jump right to Friday in the ol’ timeline.
CMLL World Heavyweight Championship: Silver King (c) vs. Apolo Dantes - I'm not super familiar with Dantes, but he's a second-generation wrestler. He was trained by his dad, his uncle, and Diablo Velasco, who also trained Gory Guerrero, Mil Mascaras, Perro Aguayo, and others. That's a hell of a portfolio. Silver King had some fame in WCW and was a hell of a worker in his day. It'll be weird to watch a Silver King match without Mike Tenay advising us not to be deceived by his stocky physique. He's also rocking the long hair at this point.
PRIMERA CAIDA: Dantes tries to start off hot, but King UNLOADS a chop and uses his stocky physique and deceptive agility to his advantage. Dantes controls with an armbar for a bit as King fishooks the mouth. Moments later, Silver King goes for a moonsault, but lands on his feet after Dantes gets up and blasts him with a superkick. Nice! Standing moonsault gets two, then King follows with a missile dropkick and a HUGE Ligerbomb for three and the first fall! Silver King RULES.
SEGUNDA CAIDA: A bit more of a tentative start until Dantes takes control by working over the leg. King reverses into his own legbar until both guys roll into the ropes, and even THEN they're still legbarring each other on the apron.
They splat onto the floor, but they both still hold on to their leglocks like Ross and Monica fighting over the football. They eventually break it up and hop back into the ring where they exchange armholds, with Dantes gaining the advantage with a nasty hammerlock. Dantes transitions to some headscissors variants, then a headlock, but King hits a sick back suplex, folding Dantes up like an accordion. King lands a beauty of a spinning heel kick, but Dantes dodges a dropkick. King fires back with a hurricanrana…but Dantes reverses it for the pin and the second fall!
TERCERA CAIDA: Dantes lands a dropkick at the jump, then works over King's leg briefly. Dantes hits a powerbomb for two, and a crossbody for another near-fall. Springboard dropkick from Dantes, but King narrowly escapes the pin, then Dantes follows with a big springboard plancha that lands both guys in the first row. Back in, King gets a desperation cradle for two, then reverses a victory roll for another very close count. Silver King rallies back with some clotheslines, but Dantes catches one and hits a Northern Lights suplex for the win and the title!
***1/4 - This isn't going to make you forget about Rey vs. Juvi anytime soon, but watching Silver King work is always a treat because he's so smooth and has great execution with his highspots. He would have went viral if the internet was as much of a thing as it is today. Dante also had some fun stuff here, especially that impressive springboard plancha. The persistent leglocks during the second fall were great. This was generally well-worked overall, but felt a bit aimless at points, and the ending felt like it came out of nowhere. Still, very solid.
JUNE 24th
Smoky Mountain Wrestling - We pick things up at the end of Brad Armstrong vs. Buddy Landel. Armstrong dodges Jim Cornette's tennis racket and hits his trademark floatover Russian legsweep for the win. It turns out that Bradley is the mysterious Armstrong Avenger alluded to last week.
Landel goes to attack Brad, but Brad ducks, causing Landel to clock Cornette instead! Good! Les Thatcher interviews Brad after the match. Brad cuts the whitest of white-meat babyface promos.
We now get MARK CURTIS promo time! Boo-yah! He calls out USWA Vice President Randy Hales for lying and physically attacking him. He asked Bob Armstrong to set up a match between the two for Summer Blast. The Animaniacs shirt is fucking incredible.
We now cut to Mr. Bean Randy Hales for his retort. He brags about beating Curtis’ brains out, then accepts the challenge. You see, Hales explains that he is an expert in karate and has been a bodybuilder ALL HIS LIFE. He sheds his coat and tie, but thankfully stops after that.
This week on CONFRONTATION WITH LES THATCHER, we have the Rock N’ Roll Express.
Ricky Morton has the tape recorder of mystery with him, and he threatens to play it for the fans…but Commissioner “Bullet” Bob Armstrong comes out with Al Snow and Unabomb. As Morton admitted that the player belongs to Al Snow, Bob demands that Morton give it back. Morton does capitulate, much to Snow's merriment. Snow brags that the Rock N’ Rolls won't get another title match, but Bullet Bob wants to make a title match between the teams.
Snow threatens to appeal and litigate the matter. Morton dangles a carrot in front of Snow, putting the Rock N’ Roll Express’ SMW careers on the line. The Dynamic Duo agrees to the terms, and Bullet Bob makes it official for Summer Blast ‘95.
We now cut to Cornette's Militia as Private Prick whines about Brad Armstrong and his stolen tennis racket.
Cornette then introduces a new member of the Militia…Tommy “Wildfire” Rich! We then throw it to Mr. Wildfire himself, who cuts a fired-up promo on the top SMW babyfaces.
Back to the Militia, Buddy Landel addresses Brad Armstrong. He threatens to kick Armstrong's teeth down his throat, then questions the paternity of the Armstrong brothers. Brad is lucky that Buddy had a 200-degree fever, otherwise the result of the earlier match would have been different!
Armstrong vs. Landel is a go for Summer Blast.
WCW Saturday Night - We end another week on The Mothership as “Mean” Gene Okerlund catches up with Hulk Hogan and Jimmy Hart. Hogan is preparing for a cage match with Vader at Bash at the Beach.
Hogan claims that Vader grew up with a silver spoon in his mouth (?), then shouts threats at Vader as “American Made” plays in the background. Gene predicts 60-70,000 strong on the beach for the show. Hogan then threatens to throw Vader into the Pacific Ocean after the match. Rude!
So, yeah, I’d say that the Triplemania matches are all worth a look, especially the star-studded atomicos, but Flair vs. Savage was also great stuff. Honestly, though, nothing here was outright bad, so you can't go wrong with anything here this week.
NEXT TIME: We get a New Japan juniors match, an AJPW 6-man tag, another Manami Toyota vs. Aja Kong match, FMW action, ECW Hardcore Heaven…
…and WWF King of the Ring 1995. Be still, my fat fucking heart.
Smell ya later!