Ryan's Dive into '95 - Part Nineteen (5/7 - 5/13)
We check out the WON Match of the Year for 1995. Also, a notable debut for ECW, more Malenko/Guerrero greatness, another dead-end WWF gimmick appears, 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?
We have a heavy agenda this week, including the contest that was voted Match of the Year by the readers of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Considering the all-timers we've seen so far and the ones that are yet to come, I'm really looking forward to that. Will I agree with that assessment, or at least be all wishy-washy about it? Read on to find out!
Beyond that, we have another chapter of the Eddy Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko rivalry, a big ECW tag match with the debut of one of the biggest heels ECW would have, and promos, vignettes, and music videos galore.
Well…
MAY 7th
AJW G*Top 2nd - Can’t think of a better way to start things with the big one. The WON award-winning Match of the Year for 1995!
WWWA World Championship: Manami Toyota (c) vs. Kyoko Inoue - This is Toyota's first defense of the WWWA World Championship after ending Aja Kong's historic reign…but first, STREAMERS!
Toyota starts off FAST with some dropkicks, then scales the buckles, but Inoue tosses her off the top to the floor! Back in, Inoue nails some clotheslines and locks in some super-bendy submissions, including a camel clutch and torture crab hold. Inoue hits a nasty torture rack into a backbreaker, then gets the camel clutch again.
Inoue transitions into a dragon sleeper, then continues to torture the back with slams and submissions until Toyota comes back with a rebound crossbody…but that flurry is short-lived as Inoue catches a dropkick and applies a Boston crab. After the hold is broken, Inoue goes for a rebound elbow, but Toyota counters with a dropkick! Toyota hits some more dropkicks and snags a royal octopus hold.
Toyota grabs a legbar and continues to work over Inoue's leg with various submissions. Inoue counters multiple rolling cradle attempts, but Toyota finally succeeds, getting a close two. Inoue catches Toyota on the ropes and hits an avalanche German suplex! Inoue goes for her top rope elbow drop, but Toyota kicks her to the floor and teases a springboard plancha. Toyota goes for a dropkick as Inoue is re-entering the ring, but Kyoko moves, sending Toyota crashing to the floor! Inoue hits a couple of lariats on the floor, including one into the crowd! Back in, Inoue's flying elbow lands (on the leg), but Toyota kicks out at two. Toyota knocks Inoue to the floor again and makes good on the springboard plancha this time.
Back in, Toyota hits a moonsault for two, then lands a Japanese Ocean Suplex (the double-hammerlock German) for two! Moments later, Inoue hits the top rope anklescissors that defeated Toyota before for two! Toyota scores a Manami Roll for two! Inoue quickly grabs the Boston crab to slow Toyota down, then gets a scorpion deathlock.
Inoue releases and reapplies the camel clutch, bending her like a paper straw after five minutes in a cup of A&W root beer, but Toyota will not give it up. Inoue dodges a rebound crossbody and locks in another submission, but Toyota makes the ropes. Toyota comes back with a dropkick, but a top rope splash meets a pair of Inoue-sized boots. Kyoko goes upstairs, but Toyota intercepts…but Inoue counters THAT with a front suplex followed by a missile dropkick for two.
Toyota gets two off a German, but misses a moonsault! Moments later, Toyota tries a Victory Star Drop, but Inoue lands on top of Manami! That looked brutal. Inoue clotheslines Toyota over the top and CRANKS on a Boston crab on the floor. Toyota tries to come back with an apron dropkick, but Inoue counters and hits a giant swing on the floor! Back in, Inoue hits a top rope elbow drop not once, not twice, but THRICE…for two!
Toyota mounts a comeback with THREE moonsaults (take THAT, Kyoko!) for an extremely close two! Toyota hits a couple of Germans for two-counts, but a Manami Roll is countered with a powerbomb! Toyota dumps Inoue and follows with a missile dropkick to the floor, then splashes Inoue on a table…which doesn't break! I AM THE TABLE!
Toyota pulls up the floor mats and piledrives Inoue onto the bare wooden floor…TWICE! Back in, Toyota DRILLS Kyoko in the back of the head with a missile dropkick!
Inoue BARELY kicks out, but Toyota follows up with two more missile dropkicks for another two. Moonsault to Inoue's back…gets two! Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex…but Inoue ekes out at two! Victory Star Press is thwarted, as is another Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex, then Inoue locks in a modified surfboard/camel clutch! Toyota makes the ropes, but Inoue locks it back on!
Crowd chants for Toyota, who again grabs the ropes to break. Toyota dodges a corner clothesline, but misses a moonsault press…and Inoue locks that hold back on! The smart thing about Inoue using those submissions is that she’s gotten wins with them before, so it’s a credible finish, but it also gives the ladies the chance to have a mild breather before going apeshit again. Toyota again finds sanctuary in the ropes, and Inoue has trouble hitting a powerbomb because her back is fucked, so she just takes Toyota's head off with a lariat instead. TOP ROPE POWERSLAM gets two! Manami Roll gets two! Top rope belly to belly from Inoue gets two! Inoue gets some short lariats for two, then hits Splash Mountain…but Toyota kicks out!
Another Splash Mountain is attempted, but both ladies crumble to the floor. Back in, SPINNING SPLASH MOUNTAIN…but Toyota bridges out! Rebound sunset flip from Toyota gets two! Another Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex gets two! Toyota dispatches Inoue to the floor, but Inoue suplexes Toyota to the floor from the apron! Back in, Inoue tries a rebound elbow, but Toyota kicks her to the outside and follows with a tope suicida!
Not satisfied, Toyota hits a flying kneedrop to the floor, THEN a no-hands springboard splash to the floor, AND a quebrada! Holy shit! Back in, Toyota hits a top rope butterfly suplex for two! Inoue comes back with some lariats, the last one turning Toyota inside out! Toyota kicks out at two, so Inoue follows with a powerbomb. Toyota defiantly bridges out! Toyota grabs a quick roll-up for two, then hits a top-rope German, then a brutal release German! Toyota hits some dropkicks but can't get the Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex, but settles for a German suplex for another two.
Top rope splash gets two as we draw closer to the time limit! Inoue hits a DDT off the second rope, then a DDT off the apron TO THE FLOOR! Good grief! Inoue gets a crucifix powerbomb for two! Toyota tries a top-rope sunset-flip powerbomb, but the time limit expires! WE HAVE A DRAW!
***** - Holy sweet jumpin’ goddamn motherfucking shitballs, that match was INSANE. It's astounding the level of athleticism it took to cut such a pace for a ridiculously long period of time. The early portion with the submissions were done to establish Kyoko’s gameplan and gave her an excuse to bend Toyota like a joshi paperclip. They knew when to slow things down with smart uses of recovery on the floor and submission holds, and when to kick it into another gear, then into ANOTHER gear on top of that. This also had great selling and INCREDIBLE near-falls. Because of the pacing and structure, it felt like the match could end at any time, especially after some of the insanity near the end. Hell, even the blown Victory Star Press kind of plays into the story. Could the match have ended if she actually landed it?
There was some great psychology here, too, with all kinds of little touches (Toyota hitting three moonsaults as a ‘fuck you’ to Inoue’s earlier trio of elbowdrops, for example), and Inoue attacking Toyota’s back in order to neutralize her more power-based offense. Toyota especially had to rely more on high flying moves as a result, and Kyoko ended up getting so worn down during the match that she wasn’t able to hit as much of HER power offense and had to lean on submissions down the stretch. And let us not forget the MOVEZ. There were TONS of them, lots of spots and sequences that I haven’t seen before or since. They were also cleverly spaced out so they didn’t feel gratuitous or excessive.
Now, is it the Match of the Year? So far, I would say “Yes”. It somehow beat the Misawa/Taue Champion Carnival match, which is a hell of a feat because I loved the shit out of that match. However, there is a VERY famous tag match in June that I am looking forward to revisiting. We'll see how this compares when I get to that match in the series. In the meantime, watch this goddamn match.
Post-match, the Code of Honor is upheld.
MAY 8th
WWF Monday Night RAW - We start off with an annoying gym couple looking into the living rooms of those watching Monday Night RAW, all of whom apparently have Zony TVs. I'm more of a Sorny guy, myself.
They make fun of the out-of-shapeness of RAW viewers (RUDE!) and their fellow WWF superstars, then brag about their own fitness and beauty.
Yes, it’s the debut of the former Chris Candido and Tammy Sytch as Skip and Sunny, The Bodydonnas.
I gotta say, Candido and Sytch did what they could with the roles and were good at being obnoxious heels. On the other hand, the fitness guru gimmick is one of those Vince favorites that may get some decent heat, but has a VERY hard ceiling. You can also tell that Sunny was going to be star of the duo.
Plus, while “Sunny” is a fine name, “Skip” is simply awful. Hell, even the team name, “Bodydonnas”, is super-lame. It’s like Vince wanted to make a combination of “Body” and “Primadonnas”, but doesn’t understand portmanteaus. After seeing him excel in Smoky Mountain, it’s a shame that THIS is the best that the Fed had for Candido, and it only gets worse for the poor guy.
We now get Bam Bam Bigelow recapping his 1995 so far. He babyfaces his feud with Lawrence Taylor, saying he's one of the greatest athletes in the world.
He is also gracious in his defeat against Diesel. Bam Bam pledges to take out the Million Dollar Corporation and says that his future will burn bigger and burn brighter than it ever burned before (Narrator: It did not).
MAY 9th
ECW Hardcore TV - In this series of promos and vignettes from Florida, we check in with Cactus Jack, who is preparing for an ECW Title match against The Sandman at a live event.
He puts over the importance of the upcoming scrap, then goes into a locker room where he is greeted by The Triple Threat. Shane Douglas says that there is NO reason Jack should be taking HIS title shot at HIS championship. He says that Jack will either BE A MAN HULK and give up his title shot, or he'll have to go over Douglas’ dead body.
Sandman canes Jack from behind to end the segment.
We now see The Public Enemy chilling in Florida drinking red wine like a couple of Facebook moms. Love Johnny Grunge's now-classic Florida Marlins jersey.
They mumble a bunch of nonsense I can hardly make out, but they toast to Cactus Jack.
Speaking of Cactus, we have a music video of recent highlights of his career set to The Cult's cover of “Born to Be Wild”. Sandman getting concussed is heavily featured here, along with Jack’s recent run-ins with Terry Funk and Shane Douglas.
We then get a video for Mikey Whipwreck, this time with clips of him inserted into the actual music video for “Connection” by Elastica. It’s a pretty good song, even if it was *too* closely inspired by Wire’s “Three Girl Rhumba”, resulting in a plagiarism suit that was later settled out of court.
In a stark contrast to his “Loser” video, this one mainly features Whipwreck hitting offensive maneuvers, mostly against Jason Knight and Stevie Richards.
Oh, wait, he also gets his ass kicked by the Triple Threat. That's the Mikey we know!
We now see Tommy Dreamer chilling at the EXTREME PARTY emanating from Killian's Rock Cafe in Ybor City, Florida.
Raven comes into attack, and it's a DONNYBROOK! Wrestlers fighting in a BAR? Unheard of! The other wrestlers pull them apart, and that's it.
Cactus Jack returns to the backstage area after his title match loss to Sandman in Florida. As Shane Douglas’ interference played a role in his defeat, Jack confronts the Triple Threat. Another pull-apart brawl ensues.
MAY 13th
WWF Superstars - Yo, forget Sex on the Beach. Here's BACKLUND ON THE BEACH!
Yes, it’s Bob Backlund on spring break! At least he's got adequate protection.
He goes around doing Bob Backlund things, quizzing bikini-clad passersby on the US presidents, protesting lewd contests, and asking the youngsters if their parents know where they are. A lot of big words are used throughout. OK, this was actually pretty funny.
We then kick it over to Ray Rougeau and Diesel…well, in theory, because we can't hear anything on account of audio issues.
Dok Hendrix on commentary (the former Michael P.S. Hayes) takes the opportunity to “translate”, heeling it up by making it sound like Diesel is scared of Sid and regrets taking the match for In Your House. IN YOUR HOUSE! THIS SUNDAY NIGHT!
USWA Championship Wrestling - We're walkin’ in Memphis this week with Brian Christopher, who is NOT HAPPY with Bill Dundee, who PUSHED HIM TO THE GROUND. Christopher runs down some Memphis legends and says Bill may have the age, but not the BRAINS to be a legend. Christopher says “BRAINS” a lot.
Christopher then asks Wolfie D to come out, who obliges. Christopher wants a tag match with the winners facing Owen Hart and Yokozuna for the WWF Tag Team Championship. The match? Brian Christopher and Wolfie D vs. Bill Dundee and a partner of his choosing, heavily implied to be JC Ice. Wolfie does not like that idea, but Christopher tries planting the seeds of dissension between PG-13.
JC Ice comes out, taking exception to Too Sexy's slander. Bill Dundee then comes out and claims that Christopher wanted to be Bill Dundee growing up, then accepts the challenge for the quasi-parejas increíbles match.
After everyone but Christopher trades barbs with each other, Dundee socks Wolfie D! Brian Christopher gets what he wants, simultaneous schisms between the Dundees and PG-13.
Smoky Mountain Wrestling - Another interview-o-rama this week, starting with The Gangstas. New Jack calls out human septic tank Jim Cornette for his “refund everyone's money if Terry Funk turns on Bob Armstrong” stipulation for the tag match at Volunteer Slam. Not much else of note is said, which is almost all you can ask for with a New Jack interview.
We then cut to The Thugz. Tracy Smothers goes for a high five, but Dirty White Boy leaves him hanging! They cut a promo ahead of their Ghetto Street Fight against The Gangstas at Charlotte Memories on May 20th.
Les Thatcher then redirects the interview to the upcoming Volunteer Slam match against PG-13. We see a music video for said Wolfie D and JC Ice, set to “Slam” by Onyx.
Hold on a minute…MUSIC BREAK!
Clips of PG-13 performing wrestling maneuvers are spliced into footage of JC Ice and Wolfie D walking around train tracks in their wrasslin’ gear.
We cut back to The Thugz, who threaten to beat their asses and take their USWA tag belts.
We catch up with a neckbrace-clad Ricky Morton. Despite his neckbracedness, he will face Al Snow 20 feet in the air in a Scaffold Match at Volunteer Slam.
To demonstrate what Snow is in for, Morton tosses a watermelon off of a ledge, Dwight Schrute-style.
We then cut to Al Snow, who does not like heights. He takes jabs at Ricky's illegitimate children and yeasty girlfriend, then promises to send Ricky Morton plummeting to the floor, breaking his neck again. Not a bad promo, but the insults feel like lamer versions of what Buddy Landel does.
WCW Saturday Night - We climb aboard The Mothership and hang out with Ric Flair, Vader, and Arn Anderson. Vader introduces themselves as the Big Three. I REALLY want to make a This is Us reference, but I can’t think of a good one to use here.
They direct threats towards Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage ahead of Slamboree.
Speaking of the Macho Man, we get a vignette of Randy Savage and his dad, Angelo Poffo. Angelo assures his son that Flair and Vader are no match for the Monstermaniacs. Savage leaves to hit the gym with the Hulkster, but when Savage walks off frame, Angelo expresses worry for his son.
ECW Enter Sandman - We close off a busy week with the newest ECW supercard.
Tommy Dreamer & Mikey Whipwreck vs. Raven & Stevie Richards - Stevie and Raven make their entrance, but Shane Douglas comes out and rants like he is often wont to do. The gist of it is that, after losing his ECW title, he got his lawyer on the horn with the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission and had a troubleshooting referee appointed to ENFORCE THE RULES! The referee? Bill Alfonso. He's gotta be the only guy to ref WCW, WWF, and ECW, right?
The crowd immediately chants for 911 as they want to see a chokeslammin’. Tod Gordon objects, but Fonzie threatens to shut down the company if he isn’t allowed to maintain law and order! I gotta say, having a referee installed by the state athletic commission to strictly enforces the rules in ECW of all places is a stroke of genius.
“Man in the Box” ushers in Mikey Whipwreck and Tommy Dreamer, who has what looks like ridiculous camel toe. No, I am not posting a picture of it.
Mikey and Stevie start things, with Stevie getting an early shoulderblock and some POSIN’. Dreamer tags in and tosses Richards…and Alfonso prevents Dreamer from going out after him! Fonzie is already generating MONSTER heat here. Richards gets a cheapshot to get a temporary advantage, but Dreamer comes back with a huge DDT that has Richards dead to rights. Instead of going for the cover, he wants RAVEN! Mikey splashes a prone Richards, but he kicks out. The faces hit a double-team legdrop, but Dreamer still wants Raven, who won't oblige.
Whipwreck comes in and hits a flying clothesline for two. Richards kicks Mikey to thwart a back body drop, and NOW Raven tags in. Raven works on top for a bit, but Mikey comes back with a roll-up and a FRANKENMIKEY! Raven is PISSED and tackles Mikey for some clubberin’. Mikey comes back with a second rope Frankenmikey, which pisses Raven off again, resulting in a hard clothesline. Stevie comes in for a powerbomb and a version of the cocky pin!
Mikey rolls him up for two, but the heels hit a double gourdbuster for two. Raven and Richards work Mikey over for a bit, including a BIG kneelift from Raven for two. Raven goes to slam Mikey off the ropes to the bare floor, but Dreamer catches him. Raven gets a swinging neckbreaker, but Mikey blocks a second one, then it's HOT TAG DREAMER! Mikey goes for a plancha, but Richard moves Raven out of the way, so Mikey goes splat on the floor…but Dreamer hits his own dive! Dreamer and Raven hit simultaneous DDTs on the floor, and it's finally time for the Dreamer/Raven confrontation we’ve been waiting all match for!
Dreamer gets some right hands…and Alfonso calls for the bell! Dreamer and Whipwreck were disqualified because Dreamer used a CLOSED FIST! HOLY SHIT, the crowd does NOT like that one. Post-match, Douglas tries to goad Dreamer into hitting Fonzie, knowing Fonzie could shut down ECW if that happens, but Cactus Jack comes out to confront Douglas. They get into a pull-apart brawl as the segment ends.
***1/2 - This actually worked really well as a formula tag match. It's a stark contrast to the brawl these guys would have had otherwise, and it shows that these guys can work a straight-up match if needed or desired. The DQ finish was a brilliant way to keep Dreamer from getting that elusive win over Raven and cementing the company's new heel at the same time. Say what you will about Paul Heyman's booking issues, but he was COOKING here.
ECW Television Championship - Eddy Guerrero (c) vs. Dean Malenko - MY BODY IS READY! Amateur and pro wrestling luminary Pete Senerchia joins Joey Styles on comms for this one. SHOOT NAME JONES OVAH HERE! He definitely sounds more subdued and serious here than he does now.
We get some of that SWEET mat wrestling to start, as expected with these two. Malenko works a leg grapevine to start, then we CLIP to Dean hitting a corner clothesline?!? Clipping THIS match? You MONSTERS! Guerrero gets a headscissors out of the corner. We then cut to Dean getting a dragon sleeper, but Eddy makes the ropes. Tiger bomb from Malenko gets two. Dean gets a vicious back suplex for another two, then he follows with a tombstone for another near-fall.
Tornado DDT attempt is thwarted by Malenko, then he counters a hurricanrana with a powerbomb! Guerrero counters a Boston crab with a roll-up, then we get a nifty reversal sequence that ends with a double clothesline. We clip AGAIN as both guys brawl on the outside, then Eddy hits a huge top rope plancha! Clipped again to Eddy NAILING a brainbuster. Frog Splash…hits knees! Dean goes upstairs, but Eddy intercepts and hits a superplex!
Again we clip, coming back to Guerrero getting a rope-walk Frankensteiner for two. Guerrero busted himself open in the back of the head on the way down, so he's got some color going. Dean goes for a Texas Cloverleaf, but Eddy Moxley grabs a cradle for two. Top rope Frankensteiner gets two! We clip to Eddy getting Splash Mountain for two! Malenko gets a rolling prawn hold for two…then we clip again to Guerrero getting a schoolboy roll-up for two! Guerrero gets a double-underhook Seatbelt-like pin for two, then we hit the figure four…but the time limit expires! WE HAVE A DRAW!
I can't fairly rate this one was we only had 12-13 minutes of a 30 minute match, but what I saw was FANTASTIC. If I were rating the clips alone, it would probably be in the low-to-high four snowflakes. Both guys had each other scouted, we had the usual state-of-the-art grappling, and the blood added some extra drama to things without being gratuitous. I just wish we got the whole thing (this was how it was in the original home video release, so it's not an issue with this comp).
As an aside, Taz was really good on commentary, adding some valuable insight into what the guys were doing and why it was being done. As much as Joey deserves credit for calling the vast majority of ECW matches solo, it's refreshing to hear a second voice here. It’s nice to hear Joey actually have someone to play off of.
Well, that was a crazy fun week. It goes without saying that I HEARTILY recommend Toyota vs. Inoue, but the stuff from Enter Sandman is absolutely worth a look. Fonzie getting MONSTER heat for being a referee that enforces law and order is a sight to behold, and the matches were good (even with the clipping).
NEXT TIME: We have some matches from the very first WWF In Your House PPV. Plus, plenty of action from Smoky Mountain's big shows, and the usual stuff!
Smell ya later!