Ryan's Dive into '95 - Part Nine (2/26-3/4)
Action Zone produces another hidden gem, a couple of new companies make their Dive debut, AJPW returns with another belter, and new champions are crowned.
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?
After last week's awesome showing, ECW will be absent this week. But fear not, loyal readers, as we have some All Japan for you. We also have CMLL and Michinoku Pro making their Dive debuts, a rare Action Zone match, and some real odd booking in Smoky Mountain. Also, SID!
Now, PITTER PATTER!
FEBRUARY 26th
WWF Action Zone - What better way to start off the week than with a Slim Jim commercial starring Big Daddy Cool Diesel! He terrorizes a pizzeria with the power of cylindrical meat.
Bret Hart & The British Bulldog vs. Owen Hart & Mr. Bob Backlund - Oh shit, a match! Bret and Davey Boy get a huge pop coming out, AS THEY SHOULD. Jim Ross is selling the HELL out of this match before the bell rings.
Owen and Davey Boy start off QUICK with a rapid-fire exchange that sees Owen tag out to Bob after some armdrags. Bob doesn't fare any better, getting slammed, hiptossed, and suplexed by Bulldog. Owen comes back in, but Bret comes in, causing Owen to try to bail. That doesn't work as Bret dominates Owen and Backlund, showing a lot of aggression in the process. Owen escapes a backbreaker with an eyerake, then tags out to Bob, who teases a chicken wing. Bret is all like NOPE, hitting an inverted atomic drop. SHARPSHOOTER, but Owen breaks it up as ACTION ZONE ROLLS ON…
…and we're back with Bret as the face in peril, getting THE BEATS from Owen and Bob. The heels go after Bret's leg for a while. Todd Pettengill has the unmitigated TEMERITY to refer to Diesel as “one of the most loved champions of all time”.
Crowd is mighty into Bret, trying to will him back into things. Owen gets a dragonscrew legwhip and a stretch muffler (nice!). Referee Earl Hebner misses a tag to Bulldog, and JR and Todd are fucking HEATED. We head to another commercial as THE TAPE MACHINES ARE ROLLING…
…and we're back with the heels still working over Bret's injured leg. Figure four from Owen, which Bret reverses a couple of times, only for Backlund to put a stop to it. Backlund comes in and continues punishing the leg, then tags back out to Owen. An attempted double-team goes awry for the heels, and it's MOLTEN HOT TAG DAVEY BOY! Bulldog dominates Owen with some power, then causes Owen to run into Bob. A small package gets a VERY close two! Bret puts Backlund in the Sharpshooter on the outside while Bulldog hits the running powerslam on Owen for three!
**** - Where the hell did THIS one come from? Action Zone gives us another hidden gem as this was a terrific formula tag match with great heat and a good pace for the most part. Owen busted out some cool offense during the match, Bulldog was in full “working with Harts” mode during his segments, and Bret sold his ass off. Backlund did OK, but his control portions weren't the most interesting. Owen wisely carried a lot of the load for his team. Owen was in the hunt for a tag partner to capture the tag titles with, and the couple of miscommunication spots during the match established that Bob was not the guy to do that.
SMW Sunday Bloody Sunday II - For the second handheld show of the series, we have the Sunday show of the big double-header weekend for Smoky Mountain. Not shown is Chris Candido losing a Loser Leaves Town Dog Collar match to Boo Bradley, marking the end of Candido's tenure in SMW. He would show up in the WWF later in the year. We'll see how THAT pans out.
We pick things up with Jerry “The King” Lawler running down the Knoxville crowd. A lot. That's the segment.
We now jump to the finish of the SMW Heavyweight Championship match between Bobby Blaze (c) vs. Buddy Landell…
*record scratch*
Loyal readers (both of you) were expecting this to be a match between Landel and either Lawler or Dirty White Boy, so what the fuck is up with Bobby Blaze? Well, guys, before the scheduled Lawler vs. DWB match, Landel attacked DWB and took him out of the match, so commissioner Bob Armstrong gives perennial undercarder and WCW Mayhem unlockable character Bobby Blaze the title match, with the winner defending against Landel immediately after. Blaze upsets Lawler for the title, and now we're caught up.
Landel hits a superplex on Blaze, but here comes Dirty White Boy looking for some of that revengeance! While that's happening, Landel slams Blaze through a ringside table. Blaze appears to be busted open as well.
Landel keeps pounding away at the cut, then gets the corporate-mandated chain out. However, DWB grabs the object, and Blaze rolls the distracted Landel up for the pin!
This whole deal was just weird. Why not just let Dirty White Boy and Landel feud for the title instead of belting up Blaze? People will tell me that Jim Cornette is this masterful booker, and while he does have some fun ideas here and there, putting your top title on someone who’s JTTS-level at best doesn’t exactly help things.
Backstage, we have Bobby Blaze and Dirty White Boy, both bandaged up. Bobby is surprised at the win, as are a lot of people. He dedicates his win to his new baby boy.
Buddy Landel is backstage and rants about a CONSPIRACY by everyone in SMW, just like the one in “Dallas in ‘61”. A couple of years off on that one, friend, but I get what you mean. He puts up his Mercedes Benz, his jewelry, his FIRST BORN, anything to get back in the ring with Bobby Blaze. He calls Blaze a PIECE OF SHIT and threatens to rip off his head and spit in his neck. Unhinged Buddy Landel is EASILY the best part of SMW, especially now that Chris Candido's gone.
Jim Cornette & The Heavenly Bodies vs. The Gangstas & D-Lo Brown - Jim is wearing his usual Wish.com Incredibles wrestling gear. Him and the Bodies as a face team is just weird, but they sure are over. As confirmed on recent SMW television, Bob Armstrong is the guest referee.
Jimmy Del Ray starts with New Jack, and a SUPERKICK gives the faces the advantage. They work over Jack for the early shine. Prichard hits his own spinkick and a kind-of gutwrench suplex. Jimmy comes in and superkicks Mustafa on the apron. Did I put on a Young Bucks match by mistake?
Jimmy throws New Jack into his corner, and D'Lo Brown enters the fray, only for him to get dominated by the Bodies and Jim. D'Lo counters a back body drop and tags in Mustafa, the muscle of the group. He clubbers away at Prichard for a bit but gets caught charging. New Jack comes in and gets hit with a double-team flapjack. Corny tags in and “punches” New Jack. Forearm misses, and Cornette is the “face” in peril for a while.
New Jack beats on Cornette in the corner, but Bullet Bob stops him from excessive punchings. This allows Cornette to score a low blow, and hot tag Prichard! He does the punchings until D’Lo distracts him, leading to the Gangstas working Dr. Tom over. Things quickly break down into more of a brawl outside the ring. D'Lo gets blasted by the tennis racket. Back in, New Jack goes for a flying headbutt, but misses! Hot tag Del Ray! Dropkicks abound as things quickly break down. Cornette somehow manages to find white powder in a wrestling arena in the 1990s and blinds D’Lo with it. New Jack pushes Armstrong, so Bullet Bob uncorks a right hand, knocking Jack out and allowing Prichard to get the pin!
**1/4 - I mean, this wasn't horrible or anything, but it was an odd blow-off considering the build. A lot of heat and animosity was built over the weeks and a special ref was added to the match, so you’d think we’d be getting this wild, crazy brawl, but no. They just went out and had a regular-ass tag match with the odd flurry of intensity. It came off as a bit of a mess overall, even though it had decent crowd heat.
After the match, the Gangstas beat the crap out of Bullet Bob until the Bodies make the save.
FEBRUARY 27th
WWF Monday Night RAW - Vince McMahon and Jim Cornette are joined by Lawrence Taylor from the WWF Studios™. After clips of the Rumble incident are shown, Vince asks if LT meant to disrespect Bam Bam, to which LT says that Bammer disrespected himself for losing to a “13 year-old”, but he was there for a good time. Bam Bam pushed like a sissy, but he's weighing his options with regard to his challenge. LT puts over Bammer's athleticism, but not as a person. Cornette throws it to Bam Bam himself!
He reputes the claims of the 1-2-3 Kid bring 13 years old and launches threats towards LT. Bigelow and LT agree to a summit at the Harley Davidson Cafe, a building I imagine many a great decision was made.
MARCH 3rd
Michinoku Pro - Welcome to the Dive, Michinoku Pro! I typically love the stuff these guys were putting out around this time. I recommend finding as much as this shit as you can, especially the multi-man tags.
UWF Super Welterweight Championship: Super Delfin (c) vs. SATO - We get stationary hardcam footage and no commentary for this one. SATO is the future Dick Togo, but much younger and a bit chubbier. He comes out looking like he skinned Mantaur for his entrance gear.
Delfin is one of the great masked juniors from around this time and should be getting more love. The bell rings and the crowd chants for Delfin. They work neat, fast-paced mat wrestling segments punctuated with lucha-style armdrags and escapes. Neither man is able to get a clear advantage until Super Delfin kicks SATO in the back.
Delfin takes over with some clubberin’ and kickerin’. SATO replies with headbutts and other strikes of his own. Bionic elbows from SATO, then palm strikes by Delfin. SATO throws Delfin from the corner, but it was hard to see what was initially happening because of the camera angle. HUGE monkey flip out of a knucklelock and a dropkick sends SATO bailing. Another rapid lucha sequence sees SATO get a quebradora, then Delfin rolls to the outside.
Delfin rolls back in and SATO works over the leg for a bit with legbars. SATO gets the Figure Four, but Delfin makes the ropes. SATO continues the assault on the leg for a good while until a missed charge sees SATO fly to the outside.
Delfin follows SATO to the outside and throws him abdomen first on the ring apron. CHOP BATTLE, but SATO dropkicks Delfin to the outside, then follows with a dive that goes out of frame. Back in, SATO escapes a tornado DDT and gets a lariat for two. NASTY powerbomb gets two. Powerslam gets another two. Top rope senton…MISSES! Kick sends SATO to the outside, then Delfin follows with a top rope dive! Back in, backdrop driver hold from Delfin gets two. Missile dropkick and DDT each net two-counts. Frankensteiner outta nowhere from SATO gets two! Another one is blocked by Delfin for two! TORNADO DDT and DELFIN CLUTCH gets TWO! Terry Boy (I'm assuming; it's kind of hard to tell with the camera and video quality, and I wasn’t able to find much information about this match online) jumps up onto the apron, and SATO rolls up a distracted Delfin for two. Behind the ref's back, Terry Boy socks Delfin, and a powerslam from SATO gets three and the title!
***1/4 - This definitely got very exciting near the end and the opening stretch had some fun exchanges, but the middle segment with the legwork didn't really amount to much, and there was a bit too much stalling between sequences. The stationary camera really didn't help as some of the cool stuff ended up out of frame, but you can't really blame the wrestlers for that. It isn’t the best these guys have done, but there’s still some fun to be had.
CMLL on Televisa - And welcome to the Dive, CMLL!
Campeone de Campeones Torneo Cibernetico: Ultimo Dragon, Corazon de Leon & Felino vs. El Dandy, Negro Casas & Bestia Salvaje - Well, look at some of THESE names. Ultimo Dragon, as you likely know, is awesome. El Dandy and Negro Casas are both high-level in-ring talents in their own right. I’m not super-familiar with Felino and Bestia, so I hope they’re showcased well here (Ron Howard: “They were not.”). This Corazon de Leon fella turns out to be some young kid named “Chris Jericho”. I wonder whatever happened to him.
For those who haven't seen a Torneo Cibernetico in lucha or CHIKARA, it's an elimination tag match where the teams have a pre-set “batting order” that the competitors have to enter and exit the match in. There is also only one winner, so even if multiple members of one team remain, they'd have to face each other to determine the winner. These matches usually have around 8 competitors or so, so seeing a trios version is fairly unusual. I'd like to see AEW take a crack at something like this. It would be a hell of a way to fill an episode of Rampage or a good chunk of Dynamite.
Casas hits Dragon with some dropkicks to start, then Ultimo hits a Saito suplex. Rapid series of corner clotheslines and a snap suplex from Ultimo as this one starts off HOT with some quick lucha sequences. Felino and Bestia come in, and a flying crucifix gets a two on Bestia. Monkey flip to the outside and a front flip senton to the outside follow. Felino beats the count, but Bestia doesn't, eliminating him. Well, that was quick. EL DANDY comes in and gets a figure four on Felino, who escapes. Missile dropkick and a slightly iffy majistral cradle sends the lucha kitty back to the showers, evening up the sides.
Dragon comes in and gets a double underhook suplex for two. Sitdown powerbomb gets another two. Ultimo gets a top-rope Frankensteiner and scorpion deathlock, but Dandy makes the ropes. Casas checks back in and eats a Saito suplex for two. They struggle over a backslide, then Casas grabs a figure four headscissors. Ultimo snaps off some ranas and a spinkick for two. Casas misses a handspring elbow, then Dragon misses an Asai moonsault, buggering up his leg. Dandy gets a legbar, but Dragon makes the ropes. Dandy reapplies it, another rope break. Dragon gets an enzugiri to escape a single leg crab but is cut off when he tries to tag out. Dragon tries to foolishly kick Casas, but collapses. Scorpion deathlock, and Ultimo finally gives it up!
Jericho finally enters the match as he has to go it alone against the rudos. Thrust kick, but Dandy rope breaks at two. Dandy with LAYING THE SMACK DOWN (floatover DDT for those who didn't have to make do with WWF War Zone back in the day) gets two. Jericho counters another one with a Northern Lights suplex for two. Dandy gets a Fujiwara armbar, but lets go. Sloppy bodyslam puts Jericho down, but diving headbutt misses! Jericho places Dandy on the top rope, but Dandy just kinda falls off and sells his nards.
Dandy attempts a victory roll, but Jericho sits down for three!
Now it's down to Jericho vs. Casas. Casas blasts Jericho with dropkicks. Flying forearm from Jericho gets two, but Casas gets a dragonscrew legwhip. Another is countered with an enzuigiri. LIONSAULT gets two. A Casas rana is countered with a powerbomb. Jericho misses a twisting splash but escapes a majistral at two. Overhead belly to belly from Jericho gets two. Jericho tries a couple of small packages for a pair of two counts. TIGER SUPLEX gets two! Jericho hits a facecrusher off the top for the three! Corazon de Leon is the SOLE SURVIVOR!
**1/4 - This is a tough one to rate. The closing sequence with Jericho and Caras was pretty fun. Jericho was fairly new to the lucha style and wasn't nearly as good as he would eventually become, but Caras led him well. Ultimo also had some fast, fun exchanges with Casas. However, the match was largely a mess with dodgy sequences and head-scratching formatting, and the knee work on Ultimo was a bit dull. The early eliminations of Bestia and Felino were certainly decisions, along with Jericho riding the apron until the match became two on one. Seriously, Jericho could have gone through 4-5 new nicknames and catchphrases by the time he entered the match. I like me some El Dandy, but he felt really off his game with several sloppy moments. Unfortunately, I had to doubt him here.
Post-match, Jericho is presented with the Campeone de Campeones trophy as “Enter Sandman” by Metallica plays.
MARCH 4th
AJPW Excite Series, Night 12 - We kick off a PACKED Saturday with some AJPW fun.
AJPW World Tag Team Championship: Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi (c) vs. Steve Williams & Johnny Ace - Hell fucking YES, Dr. Death is here! Johnny Ace is also present, I guess. Dude looks like Barry Windham and Super Dave Osborne had a shameful love baby, and he was a dogshit backstage executive and human in general, but he was actually a pretty decent worker at this point…hold on…
MUSIC BREAK!
Loud “MISAWA” chants as “Spartan X” plays the champs out.
Johnny Ace and Kobashi start us off, and they reach a stalemate after a couple of sequences. Misawa checks into the match, and Dr. Death WANTS SOME, but Ace is all like “Cleaner I got this”, but he does not. Dropkick from Misawa, and Williams is PISSED. Williams finally tags in, and they exchange elbows and slaps, with Misawa getting the best of that one. Ace comes in to try his hand, and THAT doesn't go well. Misawa with more elbows, but Steve comes back with PUNCHING, and that downs Misawa. Kobashi comes in and chops both opponents. Williams and Misawa have to be restrained by their respective partners as the crowd goes apeshit!
Ace lets Williams go, and he CLOBBERS Misawa! Kobashi tags in and goes at both guys with chops and is doing well! Ace checks back in and SLAPS Kobashi. GREAT DECISION, buddy. Kobashi chops the shit outta him in response. Ace runs through a chop and hits a dropkick, then a DDT. Williams comes back in and nails a brainbuster on Kobashi after knocking Misawa off the apron! Camel clutch sleeper, but Kobashi makes the ropes. Ace comes in and hits some corner lariats for two. The gaijin beat down on Kobashi for a while. BACKDROP DRIVER is teased, but Kobashi escapes and tags Misawa back in.
Williams hoists Misawa into an electric chair position and just fucking DROPS him. Williams is just a bit unhinged tonight. I love it! Elbows and punches are traded, then Dr. Death gets an armbar, working over Misawa's preferred elbowing arm. Back to Ace, who hits a corner kick and DDT for two. The burly foreigners continue to punish Misawa's arm.
This continues until Ace misses a charge and Misawa is able to tag Kobashi in. He punishes Ace and sends Doc careening off the apron. Boston crab on Ace, but Doc comes in and SMASHES Kobashi with a lariat. Misawa checks back in and works over Big Johnny. Powerbomb/crossbody combo from the champs and Doc is sent back into the guardrail! MOONSAULT attempts are halted by Ace, who nails a backdrop driver! Forearm/German suplex combo from the challengers gets two! Ace gets HIS OWN MOONSAULT for two!
Doc tags in, and SHIT GETS REAL! Lariat on Kobashi! Corner splash and overhead suplex gets two! Misawa comes in to intercept a backdrop driver, so Williams hits a STIFF shoulder block and catches Kobashi with a spinebuster for two! Good grief! Do NOT piss off Dr. Death. Williams hits an absolutely NASTY top rope belly-to-belly, but Misawa breaks up the pin. TIGER DRIVER on Williams! Ace comes back in and hits a full nelson slam for a close two! ACE CRUSHER obliterates Kobashi (great bump from Kenta), but Kobashi counters a gutwrench suplex and tags Misawa back in.
Rebound elbow from Misawa! Crossface from Misawa as Kobashi keeps Doc at bay…but Ace makes the ropes. Monkey flip attempt, but Doc comes in and annihilates Misawa with the MOTHER of all backdrop drivers! Doomsday Device, but Kobashi breaks the pin! Doc is neutralized with a short dropkick, and Misawa nails Ace with an elbow as he was jumping off the top! ELBOW PARTY, but Ace kicks out! DOUBLE TEAM TIGER DRIVER, but Williams breaks up the pin! Another short dropkick takes Doc out, and Kobashi hits the moonsault…for two! Lariat gets another two for Kobashi. Ace Crusher is countered with a Tiger suplex, but Doc again breaks up the pinfall!
Williams tries to drag Ace to their corner, but Misawa ousts him by going after the leg! Williams keeps kicking Misawa off, but Misawa won't relent! Massive powerbomb on Ace gets another two! Doc gets a PLANCHA on Misawa, but Kobashi gets a diving legdrop to the back of Ace’s head for the three!
***** - HOLY. SHIT. What a goddamn match. Unhinged, grumpy Dr. Death is an incredible thing to witness. Doc was BEAST here, just tearing ass whenever he was in there, and it led to a unique story where the champs isolated Ace for a good chunk of time and had to keep Williams at bay. This also had a ton of GREAT nearfalls, selling, and big, meaty moves. There was more than one instance where I jumped out of my seat because of what these guys did. Ace, to his credit, did well here, hitting some big moves and was game for getting his ass kicked. Kobashi and Misawa were, well, Kobashi and Misawa. Add another five to All Japan’s resume.
We pick things up near the end of Stan Hansen vs. Toshiaki Kawada (c) for the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship. Big Stan gets a dropkick (!), but Kawada comes back with a lariat. Top rope kneedrop gets two for Kawada. Hansen blocks some gamengiris, but hurts his arm in the process. Hansen lays out Kawada with a hell of a chop and takes his soul with a lariat! After recovering from his arm damage, Stan gets the pin and his fourth (and last) Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship!
WWF Superstars - The Saturday route on the Mac-son Park Express stops at the Heartbreak Hotel. This one is actually taking place in the ring and not on the interview stage. Before bringing out his guest, Shawn Michaels runs down his Top Ten reasons why he will be WWF Champion after WrestleMania. Who does he think he is, WatchMojo? Not much of interest is said, but we do get a Judge Ito reference to remind you that this shit is OLD.
The special guest this week is Shawn's new bodyguard, SID! On his way out, Sid shouts “Everybody asked the question: WHO OPENED THE GATES OF HELL AND LET THIS MAN OUT?!?”. Amazing!
He does his usual incredible Sid promo. SHAWN MICHAELS AND SYCHO SID WILL RULE THE WORLD!
USWA Championship Wrestling - We're walkin’ in Memphis and checking in with Tommy Rich who is with Dave Brown. He's sick of being the bad guy, despite smacking around Wolfie D's mother at a live show. Rich accuses Wolfie D's mama of hitting HIS mother with a hubcap. We're suddenly joined by Gorgeous George III (the legit great nephew of Gorgeous George and future The Maestro of late-era WCW) who nods in agreement with Rich.
PG-13 comes out and GETS THEM SOME until Big Daddy Cyrus attacks Wolfie D and produces a pair of scissors. Rich is all like “SCISSOR ME, DADDY CYRUS” and cuts off some of Wolfie D's hair!
JC Ice saves Wolfie D from further shearing.
Smoky Mountain Wrestling - We're back in Smoky Mountain as Good Ol’ JR is with The Gangstas. JR throws it to a video of the Gangstas in their old neighborhood interspersed with in-ring footage, while “New Jack Hustler” by Ice-T plays in the background. I think it was supposed to be presented as threatening, but it was really just Black people hanging out and giving The Gangstas a heroes welcome (they had won the tag championships when the video was filmed). New Jack bought a CONDO after winning the tag belts and says that he will BURY everyone in SMW with the “X” flag. Jim reminds us that THE COMMENTS OF NEW JACK ARE NOT THOSE OF SMOKY MOUNTAIN WRESTLING.
Jimothy Ross is now joined by “Nature Boy” Buddy Landel. Landel complains about having to get into a steel cage with Dirty White Boy at March Madness. He encourages DWB to give himself carbon monoxide poisoning to make things easier on himself than facing Landel in a cage, then calls him a “diesel-drivin’, pickle-lickin’, twelve sandwich-eatin’ four liter bottle of Pepsi” and threatens to stomp his head in.
Jim Ross plugs a fan poll on the SMW HOTLINE asking “should cage matches be allowed”. Imagine the loser energy it would take to spend actual money to call in and vote "No".
The Gangstas vs. The New Southern Boys - Holy crap, another SMW TV match? Will wonders never cease? Jim Cornette accompanies the faces to the ring.
It's a donnybrook to start, and some double dropkicks put the Gangstas out and knocks D'Lo Brown off the apron. Back in, the Gangstas double-team Smothers for a bit, but Scott Armstrong comes in with a cross body on both! More dropkickery sends the Gangstas bailing, then Corny hits New Jack with the tennis racket. Smothers endures some strikes from New Jack, then gets hit with a SLAPJACK (the weapon, not Shane Thorne). Tracy is busted open, and New Jack is now stabbing him with a sharp object! RUDE! They continue beating Smothers down until he gets a back suplex on Jack, but the tag is cut off. Belly to belly, and the beatdown continues until Mustafa misses a pump splash. HOT TAG SCOTT ARMSTRONG!
He takes on both Gangstas with punching! SUPERKICK to Mustafa! Armstrong picks up Mustafa for a slam, but D'Lo clubs his knee with the SLAPJACK, and Mustafa covers for three!
** - Not a bad TV match. Smothers did well as the face in peril, but there was a bit too much stalling and there wasn't much in the way of substance from the Gangstas, offense-wise.
Post-match, the Gangstas beat down the Southern Boys and Cornette, with particular focus on Scott’s leg. Bob Armstrong comes to the rescue, but he is taken out. The Gangstas drape their flag over Bob, but Smothers chases them out with the tennis racket.
After the ad break, Bullet Bob cuts a promo saying he was buried under a piece of cloth, but the Gangstas will be buried under six feet of dirt.
WCW Saturday Night - Our final stop for the week is The Mothership. We see Vader powerbomb The Patriot near the end of their match, but Hulk Hogan comes in WITH THE STRAP, BROTHER, and goes after Vader as the match is thrown out. Hogan is choking Vader out with the strap! Ric Flair tries to intervene but is pulled away by Jimmy Hart. The choking continues until The Nasty Boys and Jim Duggan come out to pull Hogan off of Vader.
Tony Schiavone comes out to speak with The Hulkster in the interview area. Hulk Hogan discussing getting his strap on, promising to whip Vader over and over at Uncensored in TWO WEEKS!
Wow, another wild week at The Dive. This was a tag-heavy week as five of the six full matches we had were tag team matches, or at least some variant of one. All Japan wins the week with another five star classic and Stan Hansen winning his final Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship, but the WWF put out a great tag match in their own right. Buddy Landel continues to be one of the great pleasant surprises I've had doing this series. Sid continues to be Sid, and Chris Jericho made his Dive debut in a really weird Torneo Cibernetico match. The Michinoko Pro match was pretty good, but I’m sure we’ll see better from them.
NEXT TIME: AAA and ECW return to The Dive! We get a match between the last two Royal Rumble competitors! We get a rematch of a crazy New Japan brawl we saw earlier this year! Plus, the usual Saturday fare!
Until next time, keep your feet on the ground, a song in your heart, and remember to SUBSCRIBE so that you'll get future reviews in your lovely email inbox.
See you again soon!