Wednesday 28 February 2018

When I Get Out of This Hole I'm Going to Mid-South. There's a Girl Down There That'll Treat Me Fair

Dirty White Boys v Bill Dundee & Terry Daniels (5/11/85)

Assuming the date on this is correct, it's the second awesome match the Dirty White Boys had that day. Which is pretty cool. I thought both Denton and Anthony were pretty great in this and Anthony's scraggly blood-splatter tights are the best because they make him look like even more of a serial killer than usual, but this was the Bill Dundee show. Man was he amazing. The opening shine had a couple moments where Daniels would do something neat, but Dundee was mesmerising in how he'd drag the heels all over the place, cause them to run into each other, outright strike each other, then run into each other again as they argued about hitting each other. At one point Denton asked him for a handshake, and of course Dundee wasn't interested and the crowd knew what was up, but Denton was real apologetic. Maybe he's an okay guy after all. Eventually Dundee acquiesced and Denton took a swing at him like we all knew he would, but more importantly DUNDEE knew he would, caught it, and toyed around with him before cracking his jaw. He had the crowd in the palm of his hand, milked those early spots for all they were worth, and nobody draws a pop for their little jig like Billy Dundee. When the White Boys took over it was Dundee in FIP mode and that ruled, too. Maybe he was scoping out his target for after the show, but on three or four separate occasions he took a tumble to the floor and landed in front of the same woman who got more and more aggressive at the White Boys' thuggery. Daniels was mostly a passenger, but he was an athletic passenger and popped the crowd with what he did, so that was about all Dundee needed on the night.


Ric Flair v Terry Taylor (6/1/85)

There's something about Flair's black and white robe. My first exposure to him as a kid was when he showed up at Survivor Series with the big gold belt, Bobby Heenan raving about him being the REAL World Champ, pomp out the wazoo...and that incredible robe. As a four year old it was the definition of regality and I've been a mark for it ever since. Maybe the black and white brings out his inner bastard as well, because there was a five minute stretch of this where he was as surly as I've ever seen him. The first fifteen minutes were fairly standard Big Match Flair. He wasn't rampant with the cheapshotting and mostly played by the rules. He'd beg off once or twice, kind of flirt with being a dickhead, but for the most part he behaved himself. Taylor wasn't buying whatever Flair was selling and Flair kept finding himself being taken over or having his head squashed in a front facelock. The build wasn't anything new, but these two work it well together. Then Flair got chippy and it led to them absolutely lacing into each other. At the best of times he's pure hubris, but this wasn't hubris; he was pissed and wanted to fight. He's the world fucking champ and who is this wannabe? Taylor backs him into the corner, winds up for a left hand, the ref' stops him short...and Flair knees him in the balls. I've made comment about being burnt out on Flair plenty of times, but I could watch this Flair all day and it's disappointing we didn't get to see him do it more often. He really cleaned Taylor's clock for a spell there, chopping him to ribbons, dropping the knee across his forehead, stomping him in the corner, throwing nasty little body shots, blatantly choking him, popping him with an AMAZING right hand that Terry sold like it broke his face -- just a great little segment. I wish it lasted longer. The last fifteen minutes never went off the rails as such, but it became more of your standard Flair fare. Standard isn't necessarily a knock because standard Flair fare is still a very awesome thing to lots of people, but I can really go either way these days and I much preferred it when he was bullying Taylor. They seemed to maybe run out of ideas down the stretch as well, going to the backslide spot a few times and reaching a point of diminishing returns with the nearfalls. I lost count of the number of times Taylor grabbed a headlock to set up the next rope running sequence, but it built to a fever pitch and it's hard to come away thinking Taylor didn't look all the better for it. Still though, some of the brawling in that mid-match stretch was as potatoey and awesome as the best Flair/Garvin or Flair/Wahoo exchanges I've seen. I'd rather they filled more time with that.


Mid-South Project

Tuesday 27 February 2018

Michaels v Kennedy...happened more times than I thought!

Shawn Michaels v Mr Kennedy (WWE RAW, 12/31/07)

Kind of under the radar gem and maybe one of the better Michaels TV matches of his second run. I actually went looking for this because I was sure they had a match early on in 2008 and I remembered liking it a bunch at the time. I couldn't find any from that year (in the one google search I made) so I figured this was the match I watched and I'd been getting my dates confused all this time. Turns out they did actually have a match in 2008, on the third RAW of the year, so I'm guessing that's the match I liked and I haven't been living a lie all this time. I also guess they were sort of feuding around this point because they had a match at the Armageddon PPV that I have no recollection of whatsoever. I don't care much for Kennedy so I guess you can say it's faint praise, but this might be one of his best matches outright and I thought he was really good in it. Michaels worked over his leg early and I liked the sell of it, mostly in how he was super vocal. Michaels threw on a half crab variation where he sat across the hooked leg rather than doing the normal version of the hold that would target the back, which was a cool touch. He also yanked off Kennedy's knee pad during this section, and for someone I don't really think of as a "little things" guy he brought a bunch of neat touches. There was the aforementioned wrinkles with the leg work, the way he was dogged in fighting for a crossface, later on punching Kennedy in the knee to create some distance, it was good stuff. Most of Kennedy's run of offense consisted of back work as this is the 2000s and a Shawn Michaels match, but it was solid back work. The tackle to the floor that set it up was pretty gnarly (Michaels' bump was great) and he had a nice seated abdominal stretch where he was twisting the lower back at a mean angle. Shawn's comeback had some clutching at his spine like a pensioner with chronic sciatica tying his shoe laces and I know people hate that because he's a lame actor or whatever, but the hairline was on its way out and he was already cross-eyed so if nothing else I bought him as a pensioner with chronic sciatica tying his shoe laces (and, you know, I appreciate the selling whilst executing offence and such). Finish was surprising as well and I just enjoyed all of this a bunch. I'll check out that 2008 match soon. I haven't really watched any post-comeback Michaels in a long time, but I'm actually kind of interested in going back to see how a lot of it holds up. For a guy who was my favourite wrestler all the way through childhood and then for a minute after that, it's strange how little I've thought about him over the last eight years. 

Saturday 24 February 2018

Backlund v Patterson (part 1)

Bob Backlund v Pat Patterson (WWF, 7/30/79)

So the PWO crowd just got done running a greatest WWF/E wrestler ever poll on Facebook and this was mentioned as one of the Pat Patterson matches worth checking out. I figured it was a new discovery, but it's actually on Goodhelmet's Backlund comp and that's been kicking around for like a decade. I thought I'd watched everything on that set but I don't remember this at all. Either way it was excellent. Backlund is one of the better US mat workers of the era and his arm work here was really good. He might not be the same kind of hold-for-hold grappler as Bockwinkel and it's not Finlay level rugged, but if he's working a body part he tends to keep it interesting, working in and out of holds, continually engaging and never content to just slap something on and sit in it. He really yanked on Patterson's arm, cranking and twisting, digging the point of his own elbow into the elbow joint of Patterson, doing his big row boat spot where it looks like he's trying to full on tear a guy's arm out the socket. They come up for air, work in interesting teases of Patterson gaining the upper hand, but Backlund keeps taking him over and going back to the arm. Patterson sells all of this great and eventually takes over when Bob takes a spill outside, coming up selling the leg. The dueling limbwork section after this feels unique for the WWF and the fact it remains a theme right until the end is pretty cool. At one point Patterson is working a leg lock so Backlund just starts punching him in the arm to release it, then goes for a slam, but the leg buckles underneath him and Patterson is back on top. They went about it in simple ways, but they never let you forget about those injuries. I loved all of the stuff built around the ring post, too. Bob runs Patterson into it shoulder-first a few times (a couple times out of desperation), Patterson wraps Bob's leg around it, then later Backlund uses it to cut Patterson open (following an awesome face-first bump into the barricade). Towards the end they start hucking wild bar room punches at each other, and I love how Bob ducked a big right hand and hit the atomic drop only to crumple in a heap because of the bad leg. The finish is one of the better ones like it and can you imagine if there was a Jim Cornette in the WWF at the time to rile up these pro-Backlund crowds with shenanigans? Bob was as over in MSG as anybody I've ever seen anywhere and there probably would've been riots. I think my favourite thing about Backlund's title defences is that they're always littered with teases that lead to big payoffs and this was no different. I can't imagine the cage match (which I think IS a newer discovery) doesn't rule and there's another match sandwiched in between that you could probably bet doesn't suck. I'm a big Backlund fan and I feel like I should check out more Patterson so I'll definitely watch those other two matches soon.

Thursday 22 February 2018

How Many Deaths Will it Take 'Til Mr. Fuji Knows that Too Many People Have Died

Mr. Fuji v Chief Jay Strongbow (WWF, 6/30/73)

This was like 70% carny horse shit and 30% nipple cripple. It was very Memphis, like something you'd expect to see in the Mid-South Coliseum rather than Madison Square Garden. Fuji takes his time early on and does his pre-match ritual, throwing salt around while some old lady comes up to the apron and hurriedly sweeps it away (in case he tries to use some of the residue later?). Strongbow is unmoved, stern faced and statuesque in the corner. They do a criss-cross rope running sequence and Fuji keeps going out to the apron for powders, but he only ends up being humiliated every time when Strongbow headscissors him back in the ring. Fuji then teases the foreign object, reaching into his tights, shifting his body away from the ref', taking it out before quickly having to hide it again. When he eventually uses it the crowd react exactly how the wrestlers would want them to. Then Strongbow steals it, uses it himself and everyone just loses it for Fuji stooging around the ring throwing blind punches and falling on his face. At this point Fuji goes to the pectoral nerve hold and for a hold that basically consists of you grabbing your opponent's nipples this was worked about as well as you'd want. Strongbow teases his comebacks, comes closer and closer to escaping, but Fuji keeps finding ways to clamp nipple. Then he makes a mistake and gets slammed off the top as the crowd hoot and holler for Strongbow lacing into him with kneelifts. This was two guys who knew their audience to a tee, who knew their audience knew THEM to a tee, working the exact match that audience wanted to see. And for what it was I kind of loved it.


Mr. Fuji & Mr. Saito v Rick Martel & Tony Garea (WWF, 10/13/81)

The title change which led to the rematch from yesterday. I actually preferred the latter, but this had Fuji and Saito working on top some more so you got to see how they'd control things. It was more of the same basic stuff from yesterday, but they know how to work it and it led to Rick Martel coming in as a hot tag so you know that ruled. One thing that absolutely stands about it, though -- that finish. Salt being flung in someone's eyes has been about forever and it's not a terribly difficult spot to pull off if the people involved have half decent timing. This had an awesome twist to it, where Fuji turned and flung the salt just as Martel was coming off the top with a cross body to Saito. He hit the cross body, but he was too busy clawing at his eyes to grab a leg or anything, so Saito just rolled through and stole one. The devious one strikes again.

Wednesday 21 February 2018

The Incomparable Mr. Fuji

"Was he the guy who cut off Val Venis's willy?"
-My sister

He was not the guy who cut off Val Venis's willy, no, but maybe the devious Hawaiian inspired a generation of insidious wee Japanese managers who threw salt in eyes and carried around canes or samurai swords and who knows, if not for Mr. Fuji maybe the Big Valbowski would still be making X-rated flicks to this very day. I had no idea the WWE Network had a special Mr. Fuji mini-section, but they do and for all I know it could be a goldmine (I feel like pre-80s WWF is a pretty big blind spot for me in general). Was he incomparable? Apparently not. But maybe he ruled and Tojo Yamamoto's spot as my favourite mangy Japanese goblin US territory mainstay of the 80s is under serious threat.

Over the next few days I hope to have an answer. For you, for me, for us all...


Mr. Fuji & Mr. Saito v Tony Garea & Rick Martel (WWF, 10/19/81)

What a nifty little tag; the kind of match I could watch all day and not complain. Nobody did anything in this that will blow your socks off. They never reinvented the wheel. It was mostly Fuji and Saito on the back foot trying to find openings, but Garea and especially Martel did everything with such energy and zip that it just flew by. Martel was especially awesome and I don't know if there's ever been a babyface who could do house o' fire quite like him. I'm not talking about coming in off the hot tag as such, I just mean his general enthusiasm and how he always looks like he's ready to fight. On offense Fuji and Saito were mostly chops, a brief nerve hold for a second there and some apron-assisted cheating to rile the crowd up, but they were willing bumpers and gave the babyfaces plenty. They were also rocking a pair of awesome matching tights that looked like they'd been pillaged from the Japanese Olympic gymnastic squad. Fuji wasn't super spry or anything at this point in his in-ring career, but he got some nice height on a monkey flip and got slammed off the top rope in a spot I definitely wasn't expecting, so I guess that bodes well for some earlier stuff where he's closer to his physical prime. Match ended in a bit of a schmozz like you might've figured, but Martel's bump over the top rope was great and if I can get a hold of their title change from the same month I'll be all in on it.

Tuesday 20 February 2018

Tables! (but no ladders or chairs yet) Oh my!

Hardy Boyz v Dudley Boyz (Tables Match) (WWF Royal Rumble, 1/23/00)

I haven't revisited any of the other Hardyz/Dudleyz/Edge & Christian propfests in ages and I don't really intend to any time soon, but if I did I sort of figure I'd end up liking this more than just about all of them. By 2018 this ground's been retrodden a million times, escalated to bigger and crazier heights, so I don't think you'd say this felt fresh. It certainly played a part in getting the ball rolling, leading to the multi-team ladder matches and TLC and WeeLC and whatever else, but it's hard going back nearly twenty years after we've seen everything we've seen since and finding the big spots new and unique. Nature of the beast and all that. I thought it stood out in other ways, though. I mean, the big table spots still looked visually impressive and those spots were designed to be and came off as the highlights, but they held everything together with a sense of violence that they'd do away with as time went on. Later matches escalated the scope of the highspots. They went through tables from loftier heights and came up with new ways to get chucked off a ladder. The violence kind of took a backseat. In this, I bought that both teams hated each other. They usually communicated that hatred by absolutely blootering someone in the head with a chair. Bubba Dudley in particular took a couple chair shots that were just hellish, and I liked how he'd sell for the rest of the match like those chair shots turned him into a gibbering mess. He looked like a guy who'd had his bell rung way too many times and if it was a boxing contest the ref' would've stopped it long ago. Everyone was swinging for the fences, but his reactions were the best. I also liked how they worked in those near misses. A couple times someone would save their partner by flinging the table out the way just in the nick of time, then in probably my favourite part of the match D-Von Dudley manages to scoot out of dodge twice in quick succession to avoid being put through two separate tables (which both Hardyz wound up going through instead). Jeff was also at his nutso best here, running along barricades, flying into camera shot from nowhere, being ragdolled through plunder and hitting his note for the big finale (which still looks killer eighteen years later). Not something I'd call a great match, but for better or worse it's an influential one and something that held up better than I'd have expected.