Ryan's Dive into '95 - Part 35 (8/27 - 9/2)
SummerSlam and AJW dominate the week as we inch closer to the Monday Night Wars.
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?
We are only one week away from the debut of a certain weekly WCW television show that completely changes the business for good. For this week, though, we have SO MUCH great wrestling. We get the best WWF match of the year courtesy of SummerSlam, AJW dominates this week with three huge matches, and we get a killer match from FMW.
Well…
AUGUST 27th
WWF SummerSlam - It’s the biggest party of the summer! Here’s what happened on the undercard:
Hakushi pinned The 1-2-3 Kid after countering a spinning heel kick with a powerbomb. This was a really fun opener; another late addition to the card that helped elevate the overall match quality.
Hunter Hearst-Helmsley pinned Bob “Spark Plug” Holly after a Pedigree in Triple H’s first ever WWF PPV match. The match itself was meh, but not terrible.
The Smoking Gunns defeated Jacob & Eli Blu after a Sidewinder in a match that certainly existed.
Barry Horowitz pinned Skip after a distraction from Hakushi, who himself had been recently pinned by Barry after bungled interference from the Bodydonnas. The match itself was actually quite good. Funny how that happens when you give two rock-solid workers a great underdog narrative and 10+ minutes to do their thing.
Bertha Faye pinned Alundra Blayze (c) with a powerbomb to win the WWF Women’s Championship. The match was total dumpster juice.
The Undertaker beat Kama in a Casket match. It wasn’t awful or anything, but was egregiously long at 16+ minutes.
Bret “The Hitman” Hart defeated Isaac Yankem, D.D.S. via DQ after interference from Jerry “The King” Lawler. The baddies choked Bret out with TV cable after the match. Generational carry job from Bret here as this turned out to be pretty decent.
WWF Intercontinental Championship, Ladder Match: Shawn Michaels (c) vs. Razor Ramon - As has been previously established, this was originally going to be Shawn Michaels vs. Sycho Sid for the belt. However, The Fed wanted to avoid another critical spanking after King of the Ring and opted to switch things up, thus giving the fans a rematch of the much-ballyhooed WrestleMania X ladder match.
Both guys are babyfaces heading into this and each receive huge pops coming out.
Both guys work a very fast-paced opening with finisher teases and counters until Shawn takes a big bump over the corner and to the floor. Razor goes for the ladder, but Shawn cuts him off. Shawn soon takes another nasty bump, this time a vertical suplex to the floor! Holy hell, the ladder hasn’t even been introduced and Shawn’s already bumping like he’s trying to end his career and collect a sweet Lloyds of London payout. Back in the ring, they again dodge each others’ finishers and end up clotheslining each other down. Razor soon gets a Sack of Shit from the second rope.
For those who may ask why I refer to Scott Hall’s fallaway slam by that name, Carlos Colon took the move one time and remarked to Hall, “you threw me like a sack of shit”. It wasn’t an official name or anything, but it’s always how Razor referred to the move.
Razor retrieves the ladder as we cut to Sid watching on the monitor. He'll face the winner for the belt on the September 11th episode of RAW. Reminds me of that tragedy.
Shawn goes to baseball-slide the ladder into Razor, but Ramon wisely dodges and socks Michaels. They take turns climbing and stopping each other, with one attempt resulting in Razor pulling Shawn’s trunks down, giving the Pittsburgh faithful some bare cheeks. Shawn pulls up his trousers and resumes the climb, but Razor knocks the ladder over. Shawn's knee got caught in it, which looked BRUTAL.
Razor then viciously works over the knee, expertly using the ladder at times. Razor slams and clips Shawn's leg with the ladder until Shawn drives Razor into a ladder wedged into the turnbuckle, exacerbating Razor's prior rib injury. Razor quickly comes back with a kneebreaker on the ladder, then continues the abuse of the leg with assistance from the ring apron and stairs. Shawn tries to fight back, but Razor gets an Indian Deathlock.
Moments later, Razor coldly dumps the ladder onto Shawn's leg. Razor sets up the ladder and ascends, but Shawn barely climbs the ropes and axehandles him off. Shawn desperately rams Razor into the ladder, then soon back-suplexes a climbing Razor. Shawn props the ladder up in the corner and whips Razor into it a couple times. Shawn then climbs the ladder and moonsaults off of it onto a standing Razor! He then goes for a splash off the ladder…but unlike WrestleMania X, Razor moves this time!
Razor repositions the ladder and both guys scale the rungs. They slug it out until both guys fall off and onto the top rope. Shawn tries to ram the ladder into Razor, but Ramon dodges, allowing Shawn to spill to the floor. Razor pulls out the standby ladder (back in the day when multiple ladders in these matches was a novelty), then catches a climbing Shawn with the Razor's Edge.
Each guy positions a ladder and climbs, but Shawn superkicks Razor off of his ladder! Shawn jumps for the belt but can’t quite snatch it, thus falling to the canvas. They improvise with Razor attempting another Edge and Michaels backdropping him out. Shawn fails another attempt at grasping the belt, so he loses his shit as he is often wont to do and finally grabs the title after the third attempt! Shawn retains!
Post-match, Razor takes the belt and looks to slug Shawn, but ends up handing it to him instead. The Code of Honor is upheld.
****3/4 - And that’s your WWF match of the year, and the North American match of the year so far. The match centered around building drama and Razor destroying Shawn's leg. Shawn did great work overall with his selling, and Razor did an excellent job playing the defacto heel and absolutely dismantling the knee. Plus, while it didn't have a lot of the crazier bumps and highspots that WrestleMania X contained, it had some great bumps of its own from Michaels, and the callbacks to prior spots were well done. This was a top-level WWF match from a psychology standpoint, allowing it to age more gracefully than WrestleMania X’s match.
There were a couple of iffy spots here and there, and the ending didn’t go as planned to say the least. Beyond that, though, it's an incredible effort. Shawn may have been a garbage human, but when he’s ON, his in-ring stuff is almost untouchable.
We now take it to Dean Douglas’ satellite classroom. He teaches us about the word “bad”. He rips on Razor losing the ladder match, saying that you got to see why Razor Ramon HA HA is called “The Bad Guy”.
Razor comes in, calls Douglas a bookworm, and threatens to paste him. Douglas calls for no violence in the classroom, then tries to assault Razor as he's walking away…but Ramon blocks and smacks him down instead!
And that’s pretty much how Shane’s WWF run would go.
We now cut to the finish of Diesel (c) vs. King Mabel for the WWF Championship. We get a replay of Mabel hitting a fucking nasty sitdown splash on Diesel's back, dumping all 568-ish pounds on his opponent. That led to legit lower back and abdominal injuries for Big D. Really, how could it not?
The ref was bumped, so Sir Mo and Mabel both attack Diesel until Lex Luger runs in to make the save…and is immediately tossed by Diesel! Even after getting completely bitched out, Luger still fights off Mo as Mabel hits a belly-to-belly for a close two. Mabel climbs to the second rope, but misses a splash!
Diesel hits a clothesline off the second rope and gets the pin to retain. Add another crappy PPV main event to Big Sexy’s growing resume, though I feel like a lot of the blame for this one would go to his opponent. Between injuring Diesel here and breaking Undertaker's orbital bone weeks later, Mabel Jax wasn't going to be much longer as a player in the main event scene.
According to a shoot interview, Diesel told Mabel not to do the sit-down splash during the match, but Mabel was all like:
Nash was furious at Mabel and chewed him out backstage in front of everyone after the match. Vince McMahon was about ready to cut Mabel loose right then and there for injuring his champion, but Nash didn’t want him fired.
Overall, the change-up of the card seemed to work from a critical standpoint as it was the most well-received WWF PPV by the Wrestling Observer readership at the time. Honestly, it’s a pretty fun show as a whole despite some clunkers. Definitely one of the better offerings from The Fed this year.
The show garnered approximately 205,000 buys, the most since WrestleMania XI. It’s still not a good number, down 95,000 from SummerSlam 1994. It will only get worse before the plug is pulled on the Diesel experiment.
AUGUST 30th
AJW WWWA Champions Night Osaka Queen's Holy Night - As the name suggests, this is a “Night of Champions”-style card where all of the major titles are on the line.
WWWA World Championship: Aja Kong (c) vs. Dynamite Kansai - The aces of AJW and JWP respectively, these two have some history. They’ve faced off three previous times one-on-one, with Kong winning each encounter. Kansai is chasing that elusive singles win against the champ as Kong make her first defense since winning the title back from Manami Toyota on June 27th.
This entrance gear on Kansai is insane.
Kong jumps Kansai before the bell, runs her into the buckle, then Mountain Bombs her off the top for a two-count! Kong kicks the shit out of Kansai, but Dynamite comes back with a legsweep that catches Kong's shin, then grabs a super-aggressive headlock. Kong escapes and continues beating the crud out of Kansai until Kansai comes back with chops…that Aja powers through! They trade slaps and headbutts until Kong gets the upper hand.
Kansai comes back with kicks to the leg, then applies a scorpion deathlock. Kansai transitions to an STF, but Kong breaks via the ropes. Kong also uses the ropes to break a camel clutch, so Kansai kicks her RIGHT IN THE GODDAMN FACE. Kong naturally takes a while to get up, then walks into a backdrop driver for two! Kong escapes a rear naked choke by getting to the ropes, then gets kicked for her troubles. Kong fights back with a furious series of headbutts and big kicks, one to the head knocking Kansai on her ass. Kong then stomps on the head for fun.
Kong lands another couple of vicious kick to the head. Kansai gets back up JUST before ten. Vertical suplex and a BIG ASS piledriver gets more two-counts. Kansai tries a corner kick, but Kong dodges and attempts a second rope splash…which misses! A second attempt moments later lands and gets two. Kansai blocks a suplex and ducks a uraken, but doesn't dodge a kick to the back of the head. Kansai struggles to her feet and stumbles into a backdrop driver for two! Top rope elbow from Kong gets another near-fall! Kong goes for a uraken, but Kansai ducks and hits a legsweep!
Kansai blasts Kong with a kick to the back of the head, but Kong gets up before ten. Kansai runs right into a uraken, but somehow rises to her feet at 9! They fight on the ropes, ending with Kansai kicking Kong in the face! Kong barely gets up, then is caught with a Splash Mountain Bomb…for two! Kansai positions Kong on the ropes for another, but Kong fights it off and hits another backfist. Kansai fights back and starts kicking some shoulder.
Kong bails and gets one of the ringside attendants to pop her shoulder back in! Good lord. The arm gets taped up, but Kansai attacks the hell out of it when Kong re-enters the ring! Kansai can't get the Splash Mountain, but does keep kicking Kong to fend off the uraken. Kansai keeps trying but can't quite get the Splash Mountain, so she improvises and hits the DIE HARD KANSAI (a top rope Splash Mountain) for three and the title!
****1/2 - This match was, as the kids say on Twitter these days, “beast”. Just give me two surly wrestlers beating the absolute piss out of each other, and I'm a happy guy. This was insanely good with both women showing up to kick and suplex each other until one came away the winner. Kansai FINALLY gets the big singles win over Kong that she's been looking for. Dynamite Kansai finishes the story, unlike that FRAUD Cody Rhodes.
The only real issue I have is that if they were going to give Kansai her big moment, maybe they shouldn't have had Manami Toyota win the title earlier in the year. It felt in retrospect like a needless change that ended a long title reign, especially since Kong ended up winning it back so quickly.
WWWA World Tag Team Championship: Kyoko Inoue & Takako Inoue (c) vs. Manami Toyota & Sakie Hasegawa - Toyota and Hasegawa again square off against Double Inoue in what has been one hell of a rivalry, producing ridiculously great quality each and every time out. This is, as per usual with these tag title matches, two out of three falls.
FIRST FALL: Toyota and Hasegawa start fast on Kyoko, but a double splash misses. Kyoko goes to work on Sakie, then Takako comes in with a couple of tombstone piledrivers (with knees to the head for added disrespect) for two-counts! The Inoues continue to castigate Hasegawa with Kyoko hitting a second-rope DDT, but Hasegawa fights back with chops…only to eat a lariat. Get used to Kyoko lariating Hasegawa. Hasegawa absorbs more abuse until she manages a tag to Toyota! Rolling cradle for Takako! A lengthy one, too! That gets a very close two.
Toyota sets Takako up for a piledriver, knees her in the head while holding her up, much in the way Takako did Sakie when she was hitting the tombstones, then plants her for two! Toyota dropkicks Takako into putty until one is dodged. Tombstone time again, with Toyota kicking out at two. Kyoko checks back in and soon catches a missile dropkick attempt with a giant swing!
The Inoues torture Toyota with all manner of nasty submissions for a bit, then Kyoko hits a SICK torture rack into a backbreaker that basically folds Toyota in half. Think Homer falling back-first on top of the fire hydrant.
Kyoko applies more submissions as an excuse to bend Toyota around in many unnatural positions until Manami scores with a rebound crossbody on both Inoues! Hasegawa tags in, but her and Toyota both take a rebound elbow from Kyoko. Another lariat from Kyoko to Hasegawa! Another lariat is dodged and Sakie comes back with a spinning back kick for two. She hits a few brutal uranages, but Kyoko kicks out at two. Takako comes in to interrupt another one, then FLIPS OFF THE CROWD as the Inoues set up a double-team.
Sakie dodges as Manami hits both with a missile dropkick, then follows with a hands-free springboard senton to the floor! Back in, a Toyota moonsault misses, and she is caught with an avalanche powerslam by Kyoko! Toyota bridges up from the pin! Moments later, Toyota and Hasegawa hit a double splash on Kyoko for two! Seconds later, Toyota hits a sunset flip powerbomb on Kyoko for the pin and the first fall!
SECOND FALL: Kyoko escapes an immediate attempt at a Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex and hits a German suplex. Hasegawa comes in and gets swiftly wrecked with a lariat and a Niagara Driver for the three and the second fall!
THIRD FALL: Kyoto clotheslines Hasegawa into a fine paste, but only gets a two-count. Takako comes in and lands a series of back suplexes, but Sakie again perseveres. Takako further punishes Hasegawa and goes for a pin, but Sakie bridges up this time! Yet another vicious lariat from Kyoko gets two, but Hasegawa catches another one with a uranage, but can't quite tag out. Takako tags in, but ends up eating a spinning back kick! HOT TAG TOYOTA!
She springboards in with a dropkick and adds a second for good measure. A couple of German suplexes (with assistance from Hasegawa for one of them) each get two-counts.
Manami Roll nets a VERY close two! Hasegawa checks back in and her and Toyota double-team Takako for a bit until she snaps and hauls off on Toyota! Takako dodges a high kick and chokeslams Sakie, but Toyota knocks her to the floor. Hasegawa looks to capitalize, but Kyoko Germans her off the ropes! Takako wastes Toyota on the floor and Regalplexes Hasegawa for two.
High-angle German gets another near-fall, as does a double-team Razor's Edge! Knee trembler off the top from Takako gets another super-close two! Hasegawa lands another back kick on Takako and tags in Toyota for a splash…which hits boots! Toyota soon dispatches Takako and hits a missile dropkick to the floor on both Inoues!
Back in, a straightjacket German gets an incredibly close two for Toyota! Seconds later, Takako lands a top rope chokeslam, then a couple of standard chokeslams, but Toyota keeps kicking out! Kyoko charges in with a lariat for two, but ends up getting dropkick Doomsday Device’d for two. Toyota hits a moonsault…for two! Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex! Kyoko kicks out!
Missile dropkick is followed by a moonsault attempt, but Takako intercepts and hits another chokeslam off the ropes. Kyoko clobbers Sakie with a lariat as everyone is down! Kyoko powers up and hits the Niagara Driver on Toyota for two! Toyota counters another one with a rollup for two, but Kyoko suplexes Toyota off the ropes and hit a double DDT off the ropes…but Toyota kicks out! Kyoko with a high angle powerbomb, but Toyota again kicks out! A Niagara Driver-chokeslam combo finally finishes off Toyota! Double Inoue retains!
****3/4 - This matchup just never misses. This was more fast-paced work from everyone involved, and I dug the story of Hasegawa continually getting bossed by Double Inoue, especially Kyoko comically hitting her with absurd amounts of lariats. Hasegawa survived the onslaught, giving her team a fighting chance and showing her toughness. Toyota owning Takako whenever they were in there together was tremendous, too. However, as tough as Toyota and Hasegawa were, Double Inoue were just too polished and cohesive as a team to overcome.
The action was INSANE here, especially that epic third fall. It almost verges on too much with the super moves and near-falls, but doesn't quite get to that point of excess for me. I liked the January match better, but this is still an incredible watch.
AUGUST 31st
FMW Super Dynamism '95, Night 8 - Another week, another round robin tournament in Japan. This time, it’s the Grand Slam tournament to crown a new FMW Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Champion. After Atsushi Onita vacated the title due to retirement/acting/politics/fulfilling his lifelong dream of becoming a monorail conductor, Hayabusa won it on 6/27 after defeating Hisakatsu Oya. However, he immediately vacated it as he wanted to beat The Gladiator and the members of the W*ING Alliance to truly earn it. In reality, though, he relinquished it due to injury. The field is as follows:
The Gladiator
Hayabusa
Hisakatsu Oya
Katsutoshi Niiyama
Masato Tanaka (who is somehow STILL working the same style nearly 30 years later!)
Mitsuhiro Matsunaga
Super Leather (a post-IWA Japan firing Corporal Kirchner reprising a version of the Leatherface persona)
W*ING Kanemura
Hayabusa [4] vs. Hisakatsu Oya [0] - This is a rematch from June 27th, which, while flawed, I liked quite a bit.
The Code of Honor is upheld, and we get some quality arm-centric mat graps for the first little bit with each guy enjoying a brief advantage. Hayabusa legdrops the arm to end the first mat session. Oya trips Hayabusa and works a mount, but ‘Busa gets a triangle choke and hangs on for a while until it’s broken up via the ropes. That seemed to take a lot out of Oya as he looks rather dazed.
However, Oya instinctively snaps Hayabusa up in a Saito suplex! Oya gets his shit together and goes on the offensive, paying particular mind to Hayabusa's arm. Oya abuses the hell out of the arm with many a hold during the heat segment. Oya applies his own triangle hold to incapacitate Hayabusa, then does a COCKY PIN. That display of unmitigated brutality gets two.
Oya punishes the arm further with a Fujiwara armbar, among other attacks. Running dropkick to the arm gets a near-fall, but Hayabusa comes back with a spinning ganmengiri (think Kofi Kingston's Trouble in Paradise). Hayabusa back-kicks Oya out of the ring and follows with a somersault plancha, then a slingshot hilo followed by a standing moonsault back in the ring for two! That was all done so smoothly. Shooting Star Press (that thankfully goes better than the one from the Gladiator match) gets two! However, Oya stops the momentum with another dropkick to the arm, then it's jujigatame time!
Hayabusa makes the ropes to break, but Oya continues to press his attack with more holds and kicks to the shoulder as we pass the 20 minute mark. Clothesline gets two. I love the detail of Oya holding down the bad arm during the cover. Two further lariats (one to the back of the head) each net near-falls. A DDT and a swinging neckbreaker get another two, but Hayabusa catches a charging Oya with a Fujiwara armbar! That is broken up via the ropes. Hayabusa snatches a Frankensteiner for two! Hayabusa gets a top rope Frankensteiner for a close two! Hayabusa gets a thrust kick to send Oya out, then follows up with a springboard moonsault! Back in, slingshot clothesline and a German suplex result in a two.
We're five minutes away from the time limit as Hayabusa hits a fisherman's buster for another two-count. Phoenix Splash…misses! Oya fires up and hits a falling clothesline for two! Hayabusa counters a swinging neckbreaker with a backslide for two…but Oya catches him with a Fujiwara armbar! Hayabusa seeks asylum in the ropes. Inverted tiger suplexes net a pair of two-counts, then Oya hits a Saito suplex for another CLOSE fall. Crowd is frenzied as we draw closer to 30 minutes. Hayabusa gets a powerbomb for two! Another powerbomb, but Oya kicks out! They clothesline each other down, then Oya gets another Saito suplex for two! The time limit is reached! We have a draw!
****1/2 - This was AWESOME; much better than the June 27th match. The big difference was the choice to work the arm instead of the leg. Oya attacked that thing relentlessly with a variety of maneuvers and holds to keep it interesting for such a long match, and Hayabusa’s selling of it was consistent. He was still able to hit his beautiful high-flying stuff, but his more power-based moves weren't hit with the same “oomph” because of the injury. This is the second great ‘limb work’ match of the week. The near-falls at the end were very exciting, too.
Post-match, the fans crowd the ring and chant for Hayabusa. The Code of Honor is adhered to. Sportsmanship!
This is the one and only match we will see from this tournament. The Gladiator defeated Hayabusa in the finals on September 26 to claim the FMW Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship.
SEPTEMBER 2nd
AJW Destiny - Well, this show certainly had fewer words in the name than the other one. Closing out this week’s AJW coverage is another match that made the top ten in Match of the Year voting per the readers of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Manami Toyota vs. Akira Hokuto - Two of the all-time greatest female wrestlers here. Actually, take ‘female’ out of that. Two of the all-time greats, full stop. No titles on the line here. Just respect. This is THE DESTINY CLIMAX!
Hokuto comes out in this insane black wedding dress and veil. It’s like something Pyramid Head’s wife would wear for her impending nuptuals.
Toyota arrives in an epic white coat.
No time for big-time ring intros as Toyota charges right away and gets dumped! Hokuto follows up with a somersault senton to the floor WHILE WEARING THE WEDDING GOWN. Awesome! Back in, we get a handshake…
But that was a RUSE as Hokuto pulls Toyota into a backdrop driver as the bell rings! Toyota comes back with a missile dropkick and goes for a springboard plancha, but Hokuto interrupts with a lariat! Toyota knocks Hokuto off the ropes and hits a missile dropkick to the floor! Hokuto gathers herself and re-enters. She gains the advantage with a Northern Lights Suplex and a straightjacket hold.
Toyota escapes further submissions and they end up slapping the absolute shit out of each other until Hokuto grabs a scorpion deathlock. She transitions to an STF/armbar combo, then a brutal camel clutch. Hokuto then starts PULLING TOYOTA'S HAIR. Holy hell.
Toyota comes back with a rebound crossbody and a VICIOUS dropkick right in the mush! Toyota then proceeds to kick the crud out of Hokuto. Butterfly suplex gets two, then Toyota mounts Hokuto and pays her back for some of the earlier slaps and hairpulling! Toyota gets a nasty hairmare and starts stomping the crap out of Hokuto.
Hokuto ducks a clothesline and absolutely nails a release German, then an inverted brainbuster! Hokuto secures another scorpion deathlock, but Toyota makes the ropes…but Hokuto pulls the arm away and bars it!
Hokuto then REALLY cranks back on the hold, but Toyota finally makes the ropes. Toyota comes back seconds later with a rolling cradle for two. Moonsault from Toyota gets two! Toyota escapes a powerbomb attempt with a ‘rana for two! Manami Roll is countered with a powerbomb for two, then Hokuto gets a poison rana for two! Japanese Ocean Suplex from Toyota gets two! Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex is countered with a gutwrench powerbomb for two! Fisherman's buster…but Toyota bridges up! Toyota busts out the Stranglehold Gamma (swiped from her husband-to-be, Kensuke Sasaki), but Toyota makes the ropes!
Moments later, Hokuto heads up and tries a missile dropkick…but misses! Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex is countered with a victory roll, but Toyota BARELY escapes the pin. Toyota tries another moonsault, but eats knees! Seconds later, Toyota finally hits the JOCS…but Hokuto kicks out!
Desperate times call for desperate measures as Toyota puts Hokuto on a table, then splashes her onto it! The table is all like…
…and doesn't break! Toyota follows up with a springboard somersault plancha, but Hokuto moves! Toyota makes a brutal splat on the blue mats. Hokuto powerbombs Toyota onto the table! Still doesn't break. Those tables are harder than two-player Battletoads on NES. Hokuto powerbombs Toyota onto the table again! Still doesn't break! Hokuto sentons Toyota as she is laying on the table. Say it with me, kids: still doesn't break.
Both ladies eventually make it back into the ring where Toyota fucking plants Hokuto with a Northern Lights Bomb! Yeah, finisher theft! Toyota then drops her with ANOTHER ONE for the three!
***** - Holy shit, this week is nothing but absolute bangers. This told a simple yet engrossing story: two of the greatest of all time throwing everything they had at each other until one emerged victorious. It started off SUPER-HOT, slowed down in the middle with the holds (but the striking kept things lively), and ended with absolute insanity with the table spots and the finisher theft. It likely wasn't planned to go down the way it did, but it added to the fun.
(EDITOR’S NOTE: I initially had this at ****3/4, but upon further reflection and examination, I can’t help but give it the full monty, even with the minor imperfections. It’s an all-time classic.)
Post-match, Toyota is paraded around the ring by the young lionesses as Hokuto lays motionless on the mat until she is carried out. This ended up being one of the last truly “great” matches for Hokuto.
USWA Championship Wrestling - We’re walkin’ in Memphis this week with the former Roadie, now known as Jesse James Armstrong (after a few name changes). Lance Russell brings up last week's issues with Bob Armstrong, and Jesse defends his dear old dad. He says that Bob should have gotten a legend’s welcome and questions the authority of Randy Hales. Not much to this one.
Smoky Mountain Wrestling - We kick it off with a Hall of Fame Induction (possibly the Kingsport Hall of Fame, but I'm not sure). This is from Fire on the Mountain and is hosted by Chip Kessler. The main inductee is Ron Wright, but Sam Bass and Whitey Caldwell are also inducted. Each of those two are represented by their widows.
This was actually discussed briefly when I covered that show in Part 32. As mentioned then, Dirty White Boy uses his “dream match” for a one-on-one encounter with former manager Wright. DWB lays down immediately after the bell rings, allowing Wright to get the three. Probably the best Dirty White Boy singles match I've ever seen.
This was a pretty nice moment, in all honesty.
We now cut to Jim Cornette & The Heavenly Bodies backstage after Fire on the Mountain.
Corny rants about The Thugs and how badly they beat the crap out of the Bodies, especially a bloody Jimmy Del Ray. The Bodies cannot be beat! He calls The Thugs trailer park trash and wants them charged with attempted murder. The Thugs run in with weapons and attack the Bodies! They go after Tom Prichard's leg until some babyfaces (including a Speedo-clad Robert Gibson) have to pull them off.
This was oddly heelish from the Thugs here, but it works given how much the Bodies pissed them off (the Bodies only retained via DQ after Cornette’s interference).
WCW Saturday Night - We have interview-o-rama this week on The Mothership! First, Mean Gene interviews Ric Flair. Gene asks Flair about his impending match with Arn Anderson at Fall Brawl.
Flair says they are blood, kin, family, but familiarity breeds contempt. Flair implies jealousy in Arn's heart. Flair is ASHAMED to call Arn “family”. In two weeks, two men will WALK THAT AISLE, not side by side, but from different doors. Fantastic stuff from Flair to further sell the showdown with Anderson.
We now catch up with Eric Bischoff, Steve “Mongo” McMichael (fuck yes!) and Sting at Planet Hollywood. Sting talks about his upcoming match with Ric Flair on Monday Nitro coming up THIS MONDAY.
Sting is HYPED for Nitro! So am I; that's gonna be a fun review.
Sting has exited, and now Hulk Hogan joins Mongo and Bisch.
Hogan's got a title defense against Big Bubba Rogers on Nitro. Hogan puts over the PASTAMANIA PUMP he has on for Nitro, BROTHER. He warns his Hulkamaniacs and his PASTAMANIACS that he may have to call on Maniac Mongo's services if things get hairy with Bubba.
And that is the final promotional push for Monday Nitro's big debut, LIVE from the Mall of America!
Well, this was one hell of a week from an in-ring standpoint. Seriously, five full matches reviewed, and the lowest grades given were ****1/2! Give all of them a watch!
NEXT TIME: It’s the BIG ONE as WCW Monday Nitro debuts and will dominate the coverage. Plus, another Joshi encounter, some ECW coverage, and vignettes and promos galore.
Smell ya later!