This is part 4 of the Big Bad WWE Encyclopedia Video Project, in which I attempt to watch a video of every single entry listed in the WWE Encyclopedia. In this edition, I get to see wrestlers such as Bertha Faye, the Bastian Booger, Battle Kat, and Beaver Cleavage in action. Lucky, lucky me. For more specifics about this project, then check out the link here. Not, onto the show.
P23- Barry Windham: Barry Windham vs. Arn Anderson
This match is from sometime in September of 1991, although I'm not sure of the exact date. Jim Ross mentions that these two used to be part of an elite organization, but refuses to state which organization that is. Windham gets right in Anderson's face, so Arn decides to slap him, and the fight is on. Windham with three right hands, and Anderson scurries out to the outside. Anderson tries a hammerlock, but Windham gets out of that with a back elbow. The video skips to later in the match, and Windham is working over Arn's leg to the point where Arn is limping. On the outside, Windham goes after Arn, but Arn gets the advantage and throws Windham into the steel post. Anderson, like a good Anderson does, works over Windham's arm now, yanking it into the ring post, and then stomping on his shoulder once they get back into the ring. Anderson continues the assault with an arm bar, and uses the ropes for leverage whenever the ref is out of position. After Windham declares that he will not give up, Anderson then tries to position Windham's shoulders on the mat, and gets a series of two counts before Windham finally gets out of it by kicking Arn in the face. Now up, Windham decides to kick at Arn's injured leg before whipping him into the ropes, only for Arn to rebound with a kick to Windham's bum shoulder. Arn with a hammer lock, but Windham gets back up and fires back at Anderson with a series of back elbows, then catches Arn with a sleeper hold after reversing an Irish whip. Both men fall face first to the mat, and neither me or Jim Ross is sure as to why. Back up, Windham is whipped into the ropes, and both men's heads bump into each other. Arn gets the advantage with a snapmare, then tries an attack from the second rope, only to take a pair of boots to the face. Windham tries a similar attack, and his clothesline connects. Cover, but Anderson's foot is on the ropes. A Windham powerslam also gets two, but Arn rakes the eyes and tries a piledriver. Windham is able to backdrop him, but Anderson holds on for a sunset flip and with the assistance of the ring ropes, holds Windham down long enough to get the three count. BUTWAITAMINUTE, Ron Simmons comes out and explains to the ref that Anderson was holding on to the ropes, so the match is restarted and amidst the confusion, Windham scores a quick rollup on Arn to get the three count. Good stuff here between two top-notch performers, though I wish it went longer. I'll still give it a 3 out of 5.
P23- Bart Gunn: Bart Gunn vs. Faarooq
The leader of the Nation of Domination takes on the future Mike Barton in this match from the January 20, 1997 edition of Monday Night Raw. Faarooq starts by knocking down Bart with a shoulderblock, then Gunn gets back up with a pair of armdrags sandwiched by a dropkick and takes Faarooq down. Gunn continues to work over Faarooq's arm as the show goes to commercial. Back from the break, Faarooq is now in control, and flattens Gunn with a spinebuster that gets a two count. Faarooq distracts the ref while PG-13 works over Gunn from ringside, then puts Gunn in a rear chinlock. Bart gets out of it and boots Faarooq in the head after an Irish whip, but then misses an elbow drop. Faarooq covers for a two count, then puts on the rear chinlock again. Faarooq gets tired of that and slams Gunn down, then goes to the top rope, only for Gunn to move out of the way of his flying attack and send Faarooq flying face first to the mat. Bart connects with a back elbow and a pair of clotheslines, then takes Faarooq down with a bulldog. Cover, but PG-13 puts Faarooq's leg on the bottom rope. Well, Bart's had enough of their antics, so he takes out both members, but gets knocked down by a flying axe handle from the apron by Faarooq. Crush comes over and rolls Bart back in, and Faarooq finishes the job with a Dominator to get the victory. Well, that wasn't very interesting at all. Not good and did nothing for anybody. I'll give it a 1 out of 5.
P23- Basham Brothers: Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero vs. Basham Brothers
The Bashams defend their World Tag Team Titles against the team of Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio in this match from No Way Out 2005. Eddie and Danny Basham start out, with Danny pointing to the S.O.D. on his tights, which stands for Sit on Down. Actually, it's referring to their positions as the Secretaries of Defense in JBL's Cabinet. Eddie, and the rest of us, are not in the very least impressed. The two do a sequence of holds which ends with Eddie putting an arm wringer on Danny and tagging in Mysterio who attacks the outstretched arm with a double axe handle. A quick leg drop after a snap mare gets a two count. Danny drives Mysterio into his corner and tags in Doug, and the two pound on Mysterio in their corner before Danny leaves. Danny chokes Rey with the tag rope while the ref is preoccupied with Doug, then Doug whips Rey in, which is a bad idea because Mysterio rebounds with a flying arm drag. Tag to Eddie, and he goes to work on Doug with some strikes before countering a backdrop attempt with a huracanrana. But Basham lands on his feet, and brawls with Guerrero before eventually tagging out to Danny, and the champs double team Guerrero in their corner. Danny applies a cross armed sleeper on Eddie, using Guerrero's own arms against him. Eddie is able to get out, and back suplexes Danny down. Doug gets in, and blocks Eddie's attempt to tag out by pulling him back towards the middle of the ring and elbow dropping him. He follows up with two more, which gets a two count. Doug whips Eddie into the corner, takes a boot to the face but quickly rebounds with a powerslam that gets a two count before Mysterio breaks it up. Doug tries a diving headbutt, but misses and Eddie tags out to Mysterio, who catches Doug with a seated senton and a twisting springboard body press to get a two count. Mysterio gets another two count after a bulldog, but Danny breaks it up. While the ref has his back turned, Danny switches with his brother, and flattens Mysterio with a clothesline. While Michael Cole slams the Bashams for cheating while making an excuse for Eddie's cheating because "its a family tradition" (how does he know that cheating isn't a Basham family tradition as well), the Bashams work over Rey in the corner with stomps.
Danny locks in a Full-Nelson on Mysterio, then takes him down and switches to a reverse bearhug. Back up, Danny continues to overpower the smaller Mysterio, and whips him hard against the corner. Danny jacks Guerrero in the jaw, and the ref has to hold back a fired up Guerrero while the Bashams double team Mysterio. A double hotshot gets a two count for Danny, and Mysterio tries to crawl under Danny's legs to get the tag, but Basham puts a stop to that by grabbing the ankle. Tag out to Doug, who lifts Rey onto the top rope, but Mysterio punches out of the predicament, then hits a beautiful moonsault press on Doug for a two count. But Rey still can't get the tag, and Danny gets the tag and puts Rey in a cravate hold before turning that into a rear chinlock. Mysterio tries to escape the Basham's clutches, but gets caught with a double team facebuster. Cover, but Eddie makes the save just in time. The Bashams go for another tag team, but Rey kicks away at both men, then uses his quickness to dodge them, and has them running around in circles, allowing Rey to get the hot tag to Guerrero. Guerrero takes on the Bashams with some dropkicks and clotheslines, then uses his trademark headscissors armdrag to take down both Bashams. That gets a two count on Danny, but Doug comes in and breaks it up, and the two get another two count after a double spinebuster. The Basham try a double suplex on Eddie, but Mysterio takes out Doug with a dive, and Eddie small packages Danny for a two count. Eddie goes to the outside and grabs one of the tag team titles, so Rey goes over to stop him while the Bashams pull off another switch with Doug now in the ring. Eddie thinks better and goes for the frog splash, but rolls through after Doug moves, then nearly gets the victory after a small package. Danny tosses the tag belt to Eddie, who then tosses it to Doug, which draws the referee's attention. While Doug proclaims his innocence and the ref takes the belt away, Rey tosses in the other belt to Eddie, who flattens Doug with it, and Mysterio takes care of Danny with a 619 on the ring post, allowing Eddie to cover Doug and gets the three count. Rather good match, not the greatest of all time but still very good. I'd give it a 3.25 out of 5.
P23- Bastion Booger: Bastion Booger vs. Tony Webb
In this match from the December 11, 1993 episode of WWF Superstars, the legendary Bastion Booger takes on the 260 pound Tony Webb. Webb offers Booger something to eat, it looked like an ice cream sandwich but I'm not exactly sure, but Booger refuses and whips Webb into the ropes. Webb tries a pair of shoulder blocks, but gets nowhere fast and then takes a clothesline to the mush. Booger does one of the worst dances in wrestling history, then throws Webb outside of the ring and follows. Booger with a big splash on Webb against the ring post. Back in, Booger with a power slam, then he repeats his dance before delivering a sitdown splash on Webb (with the camera focused on Booger's gargantuan butt the whole time) to get the victory. Afterwards, Booger reaches into a bag and eats a marshmallow. Well, that was disgusting. I'm giving this a 0.25 out of 5.
P24- Batista: Batista vs. Goldberg and Stone Cold
How can Batista possibly fight off the two most powerful bald men in wrestling history? This video is taken from the November 3, 2003 episode of Raw. Austin calls out Batista in the ring, and Batista doesn't waste much time getting there. The two men exchange punches, and Batista earns a knockdown, but Austin fires back and clotheslines Batista over the rope. Mark Henry comes in for no reason, except to take a Stone Cold Stunner. While Austin disposes of Henry, Batista comes back in and knocks Austin down with a big right hand. Batista goes to stomp a mudhole in Austin. Batista throws Austin into the ringpost, but WAITAMINUTE! Goldberg is coming, bad ankle in all with a steel chair in his hand, and Batista is waiting for him. Poor Mark Henry gets up just to take a chair to the head from Big Bill. Goldberg enters the ring, trades punches, then spears Batista on the rebound of an Irish whip. Goldberg then tries to Pillmanize Batista's ankle with a chair, but Ric Flair comes out, only to eat a spear. But it did allow Batista to escape, and he helps Ric to the back. Austin comes back to the ring to drink a few beers with Goldberg, but Goldberg refuses until he gets a match with Batista on the next episode. Well, Austin decides that that would be swell, so he makes the match and the two 'drink some damn beers', as Austin puts it. Well, it wasn't a match, but it was a fun angle featuring some big name guys, so I'll give it a 3 out of 5.
P25- Battle Kat: Battle Kat in Action
The masked alias of the late Brady Boone, Battle Kat wrestles Paul Diamond in this match from the November 18, 1990 edition of Wrestling Challenge. Battle Kat is decked out in a black cat mask and orange and purple tights. It is not the worst costume I've ever seen a masked wrestler wear, but I can see why Battle Kat didn't last too long. Kat enters the ring and does a couple of backflips to show off his acrobatic skills. Kat pounces towards Diamond and ties up to start the match. Kat shows off his superior skills with a headscissors takedown sandwiched between two armdrags, then comes off the second rope with a back elbow on Diamond. Diamond gets a slight advantage after a headbutt to the gut, but a Battle Kat leapfrog is followed by a superkick. Diamond gets back up, and the two do a rope-running sequence featuring a leapfrog from each men before Battle Kat does a weak looking Thesz Press leading with the knees, and somehow gets the three count even though he barely touched Diamond during the cover. Battle Kat backflips in celebration. Not much to say about this one, other than I can't see why Battle Kat wasn't given the strap at Wrestlemania VII. I'll give it a 0.6 out of 5.
P25- Battle Royal: Wrestlemania 21 Battle Royal
This is a 30 man battle royal featuring 15 stars from Raw and Smackdown, each men wearing the shirts of their show. The two shows square off, with Heidenreich and Hurricane leading the teams. Hurricane gives Heidenreich a Hurri-mask, so Heidenrecih becomes Hurrireich before decking the Hurricane. Now everybody starts to fight one another, and Oh Here Go Hell Come as it's very hard to keep track of what's going on. Hurricane's doing a ten punch move in the corner on Akio when Luther Reigns comes up, puts Hurricane on his shoulders, and dumps him over the top rope. William Regal and Tajiri try to toss Luther Reigns over the top, and eventually they get some more help and Reigns is out. Booker T knocks Viscera down with a big kick, and a number of Smackdown superstars hold Viscera down so Scotty 2 Hotty can deliver his big move, the worm. Chris Masters is apparently offended by this, as he goes into beast mode and eliminates Scotty, Funaki, Spike Dudley, and Billy Kidman in quick succession before Mark Jindrak comes over to duke it out. Charlie Haas gets thrown out by a number of Raw Superstars, and Masters puts the Masterlock on Nunzio and throws him under the ropes, meaning Nunzio is not out since he must go over the top. Raw has a big advantage now, but Heidenrich has had all he can take, so he rips the turnbuckle and then stomps on the mask Hurricane gave him earlier, then he clotheslines Val Venis over the top rope. Heidenreich then starts to go after his own teammate Booker T, but the Bashams talk him out of it, so Heidenreich settles for eliminating Simon Dean instead. Heidenreich's reign of terror continues as he eliminates Sylvan and then throws Rosey over onto the apron, but Rhyno gores Heidenreich in the back, which knocks Heidenreich into Rosey and Rosey out of the match. Rhyno gores Snistsky for some reason, then Hardcore Holly eliminates Rhyno. Tajiri puts one of the Bashams in a Tarantula while Booker T eliminates Conway and Regal eliminates both Bashams at the same time. Both teams regroup, and oh Here Go Hell Come again as they restart the fight with a wild brawl.
Holly hits an Alabama Slam on Regal, while Viscera backdrops Akio and poor Akio lands face first on the steps. Masters and Heidenreich continue their dominance by eliminating Holly and Regal respectively, and Tajiri stands up for his partner by misting Heidenreich. Paul London helps up Heidenreich, then enziguri kicks Masters as he held Booker T in the Masterlock. London goes to monkeyflip Tajiri, but gets placed on the top rope instead. A charging Heidenreich tries to save London, but Tajiri moves and Heidenreich inadvertently knee lifts London over the top rope and out of the ring. Heidenreich and Tajiri fight on the apron, and while Tajiri gets a kick to the head in, Heidenreich absorbs the blow and eliminates Tajiri, only to take a boot from his good friend Snitsky and get eliminated. Jindrak eliminates Snitsky with a monkey flip, and your final four are Jindrak, Viscera, Masters, and Booker T. While Jindrak knocks Viscera silly with a big left hand, Masters comes from behind and tosses Jindrak over the top. But WAITAMINUTE! Nunzio comes back in and climbs on Masters' back, only for Viscera to knock him off and Masters to press slam him over the top rope, meaning Booker T is alone with Raw's Masters and the 500 pound Viscera. Viscera flattens Booker T with a splash in the corner, and the two Raw superstars scoop up Booker and try to toss him over. However, Booker's not done yet, and he fights out of it. Atomic Drop to Masters by Booker, and he goes for the Harlem Sidekick but misses and gets hung up on the rope. Viscera charges, but Booker ducks just in time and Viscera can't stop himself from going over the top, leaving Booker and Masters in the ring. Masters tries for a Master lock, but Booker elbows his way out and then tries to catapult Masters out. That doesn't quite work as Masters holds on, but Booker then superkicks Masters out of the ring and wins the battle royal. Wasn't too bad of a battle royal, and Masters and even Heidenreich looked good in this type of environment, so I'll give it a 2.15 out of 5.
P26- Battman: Championship Wrestling from Georgia bonus footage
Well, I couldn't find a video of Battman in the ring, so I'll have to settle for watching the man behind the Battman gimmick, Tony Marino, compete as Devil Blue in this match against Terry Ellis from the February 23, 1985 edition of Championship Wrestling from Georgia. If you know of any video featuring Battman in the ring, well feel free to point it out to me. Devil Blue is wearing a blue mask, while Ellis is a doughy looking guy in red trunks. Devil Blue with an early advantage as he pounds Ellis down to the mat, and he follows up with a snapmare and a knee to the back. Blue with another snapmare, and he fish hooks Ellis while holding him in a chinlock. He repeats the process, only he decides to change it up a bit by using a head vice. Blue lets go, kneedrops Ellis, then puts him back in the head vice. Blue then tires of this, and starts raining blows all over Ellis, with forearms, stomps, knees, the works. Devil Blue puts on a Russian Sickle, but Ellis stays strong and gets up and out of the hold with some elbows. He then tries to slug it out with Blue, but a big right hand sends Ellis down, and Blue follows with a knee lift and an uppercut. Blue whips Ellis into the ropes, tries to put him in a cobra clutch, but they mess up the spot and it takes a while before Blue can get his grip and properly get the hold on him, and the hold wins the match for him. Well, this was quite boring, even for a squash match. I'll give it a 0.4 out of 5.
P26- The Beast: Cuban Assassin vs. The Beast
The Beast if Yvan Cormier, and he takes on the original Cuban Assassin in this match from Atlantic Grand Prix Wrestling in 1999. For some reason, the Beast comes out to Rock n Roll part 2 by Gary Glitter. At this point, the Beast is about 60 years old, so I'm not expecting a five star classic here. The bell rings, and Cuban gets a punch in out of a headlock before letting go. Tie-up, and the Beast wins that exchange with a right hand of his own. After a Beast shoulder block, the Cuban Assassin bails to the outside to regroup. Back in, Beast continues to frustrate Cuban with a takedown by the head and a drop toe hold. Beast scores with an arm wringer, and Cuban must bail again to regroup. So far, Cuban's really doing all the work here. Assassin gets back in, and Beast tries another arm wringer, but Cuban gets out of it with a punch, and knocks the Beast down after two more punches. Cuban continues to work over Beast with punches and nerve holds. The ref constantly checks Cuban's fist for a foreign object, but doesn't find anything. For the next few minutes, the match goes as follows, The Beast gets out of the predicament somehow, then Cuban punches the Beast down, and then goes back to work on the mat. Finally, the Beast gets up and uses a series of punches to knock Cuban down. Beast bashes Cuban's head into the turnbuckle, but takes a boot to the gut after whipping Cuban into another corner. Cuban then Irish whips Beast into the ropes, but the crafty veteran comes back and hits a swinging neckbreaker on the Cuban Assassin, which is enough to get the three count. After the match, the Cuban Assassin complains to the ref, but to no avail. I'll be nice and give it a 1 out of 5.
P26- Beaver Cleavage: Beaver Cleavage promo
This is so stupid that it hurts. For a short time in 1999, the former Headbanger Mosh portrayed a character known as Beaver Cleavage, decked out in a beanie, a jacket and bow tie, and some shorts as well. He was based off of the character in the 1950s show Leave it to Beaver, but it was just weird seeing a grown man in this getup. In this clip, the Beaver has just sat down to eat some breakfast, but his Shredded Wheat is dry. But never fear, because Beaver's 'mother' is here, and by mother I mean a stacked blond woman in her mid-20s, with some milk. She asks if "mother's hairy beaver wants some of mother's milk". Well then. This was about as witty as a Bill Cowher stand-up routine. Of all the bad ideas Vince Russo came up with over the years, this would have to be in the top five. Still, it did have a hot blonde, and because I am shallow, I'll give it a 0.5 out of 5.
P26- Bertha Faye: Alundra Blayze vs. Bertha Faye
The Monster Ripper herself, Bertha Faye defends her WWF Women's Title against Alundra Blayze in this match from the October 23, 1995 edition of Raw. Bertha starts off with a big shoulder block, then shows off her power advantage with a press slam. A bodyslam and a pair of legdrops follow, but Bertha can only get a one count after the second leg drop. Bertha follows up with a pair of chest bumps in the corner, but Alundra comes back out of the Irish whip with a sunset flip that gets a two count. Bertha's up quick with a clothesline, and Alundra tries another sunset flip, but Bertha is ready as she sits down on it and gets a two count. Bertha continues to womanhandle Blayze, constantly thrawting Blayze's attempts to regain the advantage with punches, slaps, and takedowns. The video cuts, and suddenly Alundra is in control, and she scores three straight running clotheslines. Cover, but only a one count, so Alundrea tries to powerbomb the much larger Bertha Faye. Well, that goes as one might expect, as Bertha backdrops Alundra to the mat. Bertha slams Alundra and takes forever to climb to the second rope, which gives Alundra enough time to handspring onto Blayze and huracanrana her down off the ropes. Bertha's manager Harvey Wippleman (a future women's champion in his own right, don't ask how) gets on the apron and holds Alundra. But Alundra moves, and Bertha runs into her manager, allowing Alundra to get behind her and give Bertha a German Suplex with a bridge that gets the three count, making Blayze the new Women's champion. Bertha is not happy about this at all, so she goes after Wippleman, who scurries back to the back as quickly as possible. Well, that wasn't too bad, if a little short, so I'll give it a 1.75 out of 5.
P27- Berzerker: Ultimate Warrior and the Undertaker vs. Berzerker and Papa Shango
What a titanic tag team match this is. I mean, who would of ever thought that The Berzerker and Papa Shango would form a tag team? This match took place on June 3, 1992. Undertaker and Warrior have a staredown, but are able to catch their charging opponents with big boots, and then clothesline them over the top rope. Berzerker and Undertaker square off and trade blows, with Undertaker getting the better of that exchange, trapping Berzerker in the corner and then choking him. Berzerker moves out of the way of a charging Undertaker and dropkicks Taker over the ropes, but 'Taker lands on his feet and drags Berzerker out for some brawling on the outside. Berzerker gets his head slammed into the steps, and both men soon after enter the ring, and the Warrior is tagged in. Warrior slams Berzerker and continues to keep him off balance with clotheslines and running shoulder blocks. Shango gets a knee into the back of a running Warrior, and now he gets tagged in and Berzerker and Shango double team Warrior. Shanog hammers on Warrior, then tags out to Berzerker who does a series of shoulderblocks to the gut of Warrior in the corner. Irish whip, Warrior ducks a clothesline only to take a big boot from Berzerker. Berzerker tries to do something with Shango in the corner, but Warrior blocks it and bashes his two opponents' heads into each other. Warrior tries to tag out, but Berzerker recovers quickly enough to stop that and tags in Shango. Shango and Berzerker work over Warrior in the corner, then Shango flattens Warrior with a diving shoulder block. Berzerker comes in, traps Warrior's arms in the ropes and kicks him a few times before charging at him, but Warrior is able to backdrop Berzerker over the ropes and out of the ring. Undertaker gets the tag, and he stuns Berzerker with a few Asiatic Thrusts before Choke slamming him. That brings in Shango, but Taker is ready as he kicks him in the gut, whips him into the ropes, and catches him with a diving clothesline. Now both Shango and Berzerker try to double team Undertaker, but that doesn't go well, as Taker holds them by the throats and Warrior clotheslines both men from behind. Warrior with a diving shoulder block on Berzerker, followed by a running splash, and that's enough to get the pinfall. Well, at least it was short. I'll give it a 1.1 out of 5.
P27- Beth Phoenix: Royal Rumble 2009 Melina vs. Beth Phoenix
The second Women's Title match in this post, Phoenix comes in as the champion to defend against a woman that Bret Hart once called the best wrestler in the world. Phoenix comes out with Santino Marella, so I'm pretty sure he'll get involved at some point. Tie-up to start, but Phoenix will have none of that and throws Melina down on her face. Melina tries a headlock, Phoenix powers out and then bearhugs Melina. Melina gets out and tries to take Phoenix down with a dropkick, but that doesn't work, and Phoenix shoulder blocks her instead. Phoenix attempts a side slam, but Melina spins her way out of it and surprises Phoenix with an armbar. After a few seconds of this, Phoenix gets tired of it and just stands up and throws Melina into the corner. Melina tries a victory roll, but Beth dumps her off and Melina lands oddly on her side. Melina crawls to the corner, and Phoenix then takes a page out of Umaga's playbook with a running hip bump, which only gets a one count. Phoenix puts Melina on her stomach and tries to push Melina's own foot into the back of her head, and she succeeds in this quest, making Melina kick herself in the back of the head a few times. Well, I've never seen that before. Back up, Melina delivers a couple of kicks to Phoenix, but gets sideslammed and has to kick out at two. Phoenix presses Melina over her head, but Melina escpaes, and then messes up the next move before a bit of improvisation ends with Melina give Phoenix a jawjacker. Melina hits a few punches, ducks a clothesline and Sunset flips Phoenix over for a two count. Melina follows up with a double knee lift to the back and a running facebuster to get another two count. Phoenix backs Melina into the corner, only to take a boot to the face, followed by a seated senton. Melina tries for some bottoms-up type maneuver, but Phoenix escapes, chops Melina, but Melina comes back with a Rey Mysterio like roll up to get the victory and the Women's Championship. Not too bad, so I'll give it a 2 out of 5.
P27- Beverly Brothers: Beverly Brothers vs. Hulk Hogan and Brutus Beefcake
The team of the Mega Maniacs face the men formerly and once again known as Mike Enos and Wayne Bloom, the Beverly Brothers, in this match from March 8, 1993. Beefcake and Blake Beverly start off, and Beefcake just has to strut before getting started. Actually, he does nothing and tags Hogan in. Tie-up to start, and Hogan wins that easily while Ross talks about Hogan losing weight in order to get quicker. Um, sure, whatever you say. Headlock by Hogan, Blake throws him off into the ropes only to take a shoulder block. Then Hogan and Beefcake decide to cheat so he thumbs Blake in the eye, and the duo does this a few times before Hogan gives Blake an atomic drop that sends him out of the ring. Beau comes in, and they repeat the sequence so both Beverlys regroup on the outside. Back in, Beefcake gets tagged in, only to take a knee to the gut and a scoop slam by Blake. Blake misses a couple of elbow drops, and Beefcake lands a few punches before tagging out to his protector Hogan, and the two do a Rockettes impression on Blake's poor face. Hogan continues to cheat with eye rakes and back rakes with a ten punch move in the corner mixed in there before tagging out. Double back elbow by the Maniacs, and Beefcake whips Blake again, but ducks and allows Blake to pound on his back and tag out to Beau. Beau connects with a double axe handle and some brawling tactics, then he gets the ref distracted, allowing Blake to choke Beefcake with the tag rope. Blake is tagged back in, snap mares Beefcake and goes for a diving headbutt, but misses. Beau is tagged in and goes to the top while Blake slams Beefcake down. He dives, but Beefcake gets a boot up. This allows Beefcake just enough time to get the hot tag to Hogan. Hogan hits three punches and a big boot on Beau, while Beefcake comes after Blake. With the ref distracted by Beefcake and Blake, Jimmy Hart tosses his megaphone to Hogan, who bashes Beau with it and gets the victory. Um, why exactly did Hogan have to cheat to beat the gosh darn Beverly Brothers? Post match, Hogan calls somebody a MFer, then the Maniacs pose for the crowd. This was dumb on many different levels. However, it's still better than Beaver Cleavage, so I'll give it a 0.8 out of 5.
Well, that's it for part 4 of the Big Bad WWE Encyclopedia Video Project. I'd like to give a shout out to the website http://www.thehistoryofwwe.com/, as it has a valuable source in helping me find out the exact dates when the videos I've been watching originally took place. Also, thanks to all of the uploaders of the various videos I've been watching. Well, if you have any thoughts about the 2BWE Video Project, or anything else at The Canon Review, than I'd be more than happy to read them, so feel free to leave a comment of send me an e-mail at KtheC2001@gmail.com.
Showing posts with label 2BWE. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2BWE. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
The 2BWE Video Project: Pages 19-22
In this installment of the Big Bad WWE Encyclopedia Video Project, I will watch a video of every entry found in the WWE Encyclopedia from pages 19-22. So get ready for some action featuring Avatar, Bam Neely, Baron Von Raschke, and the legendary B.B. For the guidelines of this project, see this post here. So away I go into some great and not so great pro wrestling action.
P19- Avatar: Avatar WWF Debut vs. Brian Walsh
This match took place on the October 23, 1995 edition of Monday Night Raw, and features the former and future Al Snow as Avatar. Avatar is a masked wrestler who puts his mask on only when he comes to the ring. Why he does that, I don't know. Avatar also has a costume that makes him look like one of those Karate Fighters figures from the 1990s. Tie up to start, and Avatar shows off his agility by going behind Walsh and taking him down with a leg drag. Walsh shows his agility by doing a kip-up to get back to his feet. Avatar does an arm-wringer, and the two men do a leapfrog sequence before Avatar kicks Walsh out of the ring in an awkward exchange. Avatar heads to the top rope, loses his balance, and then does a tope from the ring to the outside. Back in, Avatar attempts a moonsault, but misses as Walsh moves out of the way. Walsh with a pair of clotheslines, then he doesn't seem to know what to do next, so the two stand around for a few seconds before Walsh whips him into the corner, only to have Avatar come back with a clothesline of his own. Avatar hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker and a standing moonsault, before finishing Walsh off by standing on his chest and doing a frog splash from that position, getting the victory. His job done, Avatar takes the mask off again. Not the best debut a wrestler's ever had, as Avatar and Walsh had no chemistry what so ever in the ring. I'll give it a 1 out of 5.
P19- Backlash: WWE Backlash 03- The Rock vs. Goldberg
The main event of Backlash 2003 and Goldberg's WWE debut. Rock comes out to a huge ovation even though he's supposed to be the heel in this match. To be fair, Goldberg gets a nice reaction as well. Rock stalls for a while as the crowd chants his name quite loudly. Then Goldberg gets a chant from the fans as the two still have a staredown. Finally, they tie up, and Goldberg violently shoves the Rock down to the mat. Rock gets up, regroups, and suffers the same fate after a second tieup, this time getting shoved out of the ring. The Rock gets back in, and slaps Goldberg in the face. Goldberg smiles, then fires back at the Rock with punches and knees before clotheslining Rock out of the ring. Rock stalls outside the ring for a long time before coming back in and catching Goldberg with a jawbreaker on the top rope, and then knocking him down with a clothesline. Goldberg counters an Irish whip, and hits The Rock with his own finisher, the Rock Bottom. Instead of going for the cover, Goldberg sets Rock up for a spear, but the Rock moves out of the way and Goldberg ends up spearing the steel post and falling out of the ring. Rock gets Goldberg back into the ring and applies the Sharpshooter. After about a minute of being in the hold, Goldberg finally inches his way to the ropes, forcing The Rock to break the hold.
After letting go, the Rock shoves the ref out of the way and blatantly punches Goldberg in the family jewels. Rock sets up for the Rock Bottom, only to take a surprise spear from Goldberg, and now both men are down. Rock's up first, but Goldberg blocks a punch with one of his own, and then powerslams Rock down hard on the mat for a two count. Rock stops Goldberg with a back elbow, and after a pair of clotheslines fail to fell Goldberg, Rock uses a charging spinebuster to slam Goldberg and does a kip-up, much to the delight of the crowd. Rock Bottom on Goldberg, and Goldberg just barely gets the shoulder up as most of the fans boo his kick out. Probably not a good thing that the crowd has turned on Goldberg like this. After taking a clothesline, Rock is able to catch the weakened Goldberg, still holding his shoulder, with a spinebuster and sets him up for the People's elbow. It connects, and Goldberg once again barely escapes the three count. Both men take a while to get up, and when the Rock does, Goldberg uses the opportunity to catch the Rock off guard and spears him hard. Rock takes a while to get up, while Goldberg is waiting for him in the corner to catch him with another spear, and eventually, he does. A Jackhammer follows, and Goldberg gets the pinfall and wins his first WWE match. Of about 13 minutes of match time, 8 or 9 minutes were nothing but stalling, not only making for a boring match but exposing Goldberg as a guy who can't put together a 20 minute match as he had neither the moveset nor the stanima at this time to do that. So, while this match is between two of the biggest names in wrestling over the past 25 years, it's not very good or particularly memorable. I'd give it a 1.5 out of 5.
P19- Bad Blood: La Resistance vs. Rob Van Dam/Kane Badd Blood 2003
In this match, Rene Dupree and Sylvain Grenier of La Resistance challenge for RVD and Kane's World Tag Team Titles. There's trouble brewing between the champs, as last week on Raw, Kane did not show up to save RVD from a double team beatdown by La Resistance. The Coach is backstage interviewing La Resistance, who are not happy about being in Texas, the state which gave us George W. Bush. Well, I spent four months in Texas once and it wasn't too bad, but then again I'm not French. Rene Dupree dedicates their match to a real president, France's Jacques Chirac. I'm sure he's on the edge of his seat watching this match. The champs come out separately, which Jerry Lawler sees as a sign that the two are not on the same page. Well, we shall see. RVD and Dupree start, and after breaking a tie-up, Dupree entertains the masses with his French Tickler dance. But the crowd or RVD does not seem impressed with Dupree's dance, which is their loss, frankly. Another tie up follows, and RVD goes behind and gets a quick two count after a rollup. Van Dam nearly takes off Dupree's head with a spin kick, but Dupree backs up against the corner to keep his head and dodge the blow. A shoving match ensues, and RVD catches Dupree with a spinning heel kick after that, then continues to dominate Dupree with a twisting body press from the second rope that gets a two count. Another two count follows after an RVD small package, and then he throws Dupree in the corner to give him a couple of shoulder blocks. However, Grenier gets involved and gives RVD a Snake Eyes from the apron, allowing Dupree to DDT Van Dam. Cover, but Kane comes in to break it up. While the ref backs Kane up, La Resistance double teams RVD, and Grenier draws a two after an elbow drop. Dupree gets tagged back in, and the two keep RVD grounded with brawling tactics. Dupree tries to keep RVD away from his corner, and after a jumping side kick, RVD tags in the Big Red Machine Kane. Kane hits any Frenchman that moves, then catches Dupree trying to come off the tope with a choke lift powerbomb, then gets a two count after a side slam to Grenier. Kane then clotheslines Grenier from the top, but Dupree breaks up the cover. La Restistance finally slows down Kane and delivers what was supposed to be a double-team maneuver but really was just a neckbreaker from Dupree with Grenier holding him in place for a split-second, but Kane sits right back up, and knocks both Resistance members down with a clothesline. Tag to RVD, and he catches Dupree with a side kick from the top rope. RVD with a baseball slide to Grenier to the outside, then backdrops Dupree over the top rope. Kane gets back up and grabs both La Resistance members by the throat, but he's unaware that Van Dam is coming from the apron with a flipping tope, so he gets taken out by his own partner. Meanwhile, La Resistance is unharmed, and they roll RVD back in and take him out with their version of Chronic's High Times move to get the victory and become new Tag Team Champions. Jim Ross calls this a Texas sized upset. Well, I guess so. Match was ok, although it wasn't anything special or memorable. I'd give it a 1.89 out of 5.
P19- Bad News Brown: Hulk Hogan vs. Bad News Brown
One of the baddest men to ever step in the wrestling ring, Bad News Brown takes on Hulk Hogan in a match that took place in the Meadowlands on September 11, 1988. Hogan comes out looking like a buffoon with a red and yellow Trojan war helmet on. Bad News takes advantage early by peppering Hogan with punches before the bell rings, and continues to dominate Hogan with punches, stomps, and by using Hogan's own T-Shirt to choke him with. Brown misses a couple of elbow drops, though, and Hogan rises to his feet to the delight of the crowd. Bad News takes a few punches and goes to the outside of the ring, and Hogan follows to give Brown another punch. Brown gets on the apron, and Hogan sends him back in the ring the hard way by pulling the ropes, slinging Bad News down to the mat. Hogan continues his assault with brawling tactics, but a Bad News headbutt slows Hogan's momentum, but he regains it after a boot to the face from the corner, and then sends shivers down Brown's spine with an atomic drop. Hogan misses an elbow, and Bad News goes to work on Hogan with a series of punches to the midsection. Brown continues to dominate Hogan with a series of strikes, and then body slams Hogan down. Bad News tries to show up the Hulkster by beating him with a legdrop, but Hogan gets out at one. Brown doesn't seem to mind too much, as he takes down Hogan with a Russian legsweep. Hogan reverses a whip into the corner, but Bad News rebounds with a clothesline that takes Hogan off his feet. Bad News sets Hogan up for the Ghetto Blaster (jumping kick to the head), but Hogan ducks, and then Hulks up on Bad News. Hogan follows up with a knee lift and a clothesline in the corner on Brown, then whips Bad News into the corner. News charges, but Hogan ducks and Brown ends up taking out the referee with a clothesline. While Hogan checks on the ref, Brown takes the war helmet (or war bonnet as Superstar Billy Graham calls it on commentary, and btw, Graham is not very good at commentary). and smashes Hogan with it in the back. Brown puts on the helmet and charges at Hogan, but Hulk moves, takes the helmet off Brown and then headbutts him while wearing the helmet. A legdrop follows, and the ref recovers enough to count to three, giving Hogan the victory. Not a bad match, although the ending kind of sucked, so I'll give it a 2.1 out of 5.
P20- Balls Mahoney: Balls Mahoney and Kelly Kelly vs. Kenny Dykstra and Victoria
This mixed tag match was originally shown on the December 6, 2007 episode of ECW. Apparently, Balls and Kelly had a thing going on at that time, which is just strange to me on so many levels. They face Lenny Dykstra's illegitimate brother (not really) and his partner Victoria. Balls and Kenny start the match, and Dysktra gets the advantage earlier by punching his way out of a headlock then dropkicking Balls down to the mat for a two count. Balls goes for his series of punches, but Dykstra ducks the big haymaker and quickly tags out to Victoria, which means Kelly must come in due to the rules of the match. Victoria predictably gets the advantage early, but Kelly takes her opponent by surprise with a tilt-a-whirl headscissiors. A Kelly Kelly clothesline gets a one count, and Kelly goes to work on Victoria's arm. After letting go, Kelly shoves Victoria back, which does not please Dykstra, so Kelly slugs him to shut him up. Victoria is able to catch Kelly with a clothesline, and uses stomps and simple wrestling holds to keep Kelly at bay. Kelly finally escapes the evil Victoria's clutches and tags in her 'boyfriend' Balls. I'm sure Kelly's parents must have been thrilled to find out their daughter is dating a 350 pound miscreant named Balls, even if it is only a storyline. Anyway, Balls comes in and takes care of Dykstra, getting a two count after his patented uppercut. Kenny gets out of a bodyslam and tries to hold Balls for Victoria to slap around, but Mahoney moves, Kelly takes care of Victoria with a huracanrana, and Mahoney small packages Dysktra for the three count. Post match, the happy couple celebrates while Dykstra and Victoria walk back in a bad mood. Well, I guess it wasn't too bad, so I'll give it a 1.25 out of 5.
P20- Bam Bam Bigelow: Bam Bam Bigelow vs. New Jack
This match is from Wrestlepalooza 1998, ECW's first show in Atlanta, Georgia and a show that my friend Sonny Bone attended in person, just for the chance to see New Jack in action. Before the match, Taz comes down and beats up Shane Douglas, forcing security to take him out back and drive him off in a car. While Douglas is being taken to the back, Bam Bam waits and here comes New Jack with a trash can full of plunder. They waste no time, as Bam Bam pounds away on New Jack and stomps on him in the corner. Bam Bam tries to hit New Jack with a guitar, but misses, and takes a plastic sign to his noggin instead. Assaults with a crutch and a cookie sheet follow from New Jack, and he tops it off by putting a Godzilla action figure between Bigelow's legs and whacking the figure with a hockey stick. Only in ECW, I suppose. To the outside, where New Jack gets the worst of a headbutt to Bam Bam, and then takes a chair to the back. Two chair shots to the head follow, and New Jack is now bleeding. To the crowd they go, as Bigelow throws New Jack over the guardrail and then slingshots himself onto New Jack. Further into the crowd they go, and Bam Bam decides to throw a bunch of chairs on top of New Jack before throwing him against a wall. Bigelow sets New Jack up against a guardrail and tries to splash him, but New Jack moves, and Bigelow rams into the guardrail instead. New Jack then goes back into the crowd, climbing the steps towards the balcony. New Jack finds a guitar on the balcony, and instead of playing the crowd a tune, he decides to dive off the balcony and hit Bam Bam in the head with it instead. Well, it hit Bigelow more in the shoulder than the head, but still, the crowd seemed to enjoy it. Bigelow is up first, though, and carries New Jack to the ring on his shoulder. One Greetings from Ashbury Park later, and Bigelow is the winner of this match. This wasn't exactly too good of a match, as the whole thing was built around one spot and the spot didn't come off exactly as planned. I'll give it a 1.1 out of 5.
P20- Bam Neely: Ricky Ortiz and Evan Bourne vs. Chavo Guerrero and Bam Neely
First there's Kenny Dykstra, now there's Bam Neely. Who's next, Harry Bird? I have no idea who Neely is, as I wasn't watching any wrestling during his reign of terror. According to the WWE Encylopedia, he's a former border agent who is from the same home town as Rick Rude. This match is from the August 5, 2008 episode of ECW, and is a result of a two on one beatdown that Chavo and Neely administrated on Ortiz during the previous week. Ortiz starts things off strong with some punches and a back elbow to Neely that makes Neely regroup on the outside of the ring. Back in, Neely and Ortiz exchange arm wringers before Bourne is tagged in an makes an immediate impact with by jumping off the top rope and stomping Neely's outstretched arm. Chavo comes in, attempts a back suplex, but Bourne escapes and sends Chavo down with a huracanrana. Bourne comes back with a Fujiwara arm bar, but Chavo gets up with his arm still locked in by Bourne. Tag to Ortiz, and he takes Chavo off his feet with a diving shoulderblock from the second rope that draws a two count. As Matt Striker informs us that Ortiz is the only WWE superstar to ever play in the XFL, Neely grabs Ortiz by the hair, regaining the advantage for his team and allowing Chavo to tag Neely in. Neely takes care of Ortiz with a barrage of blows to the back and torso. After a clothesline in the corner draws a two count, Neely tags Chavo back in, and he gets a two count after a European uppercut. Chavo puts Ortiz in a chinlock, but after 45 seconds or so, Ortiz is able to get up and delivers a back suplex to Chavo. Chavo tags Neely, and Ortiz is just able to reach Bourne for the hot tag. Bourne knocks Neely off his feet with a series of kicks, then goes off the top to deliver a pair of knees to Neely's face. Cover, but Chavo is there to break the count. Bourne dropkicks Chavo out of the ring, then ducks a Neely clothesline and gives him a lighting fast rollup, which gets the three count. Post match, Neely goes after Bourne, but Evan is smart enough to escape. Not too bad of a match, all in all. I'd give it a 1.95 out of 5.
P21- Barbara Bush [B.B.]: Michael Cole Interviews Barbara Bush about Ivory
Yes my friends, there once was a WWE diva who shared the same name as the first lady. Too bad she wasn't around longer, or they could have found another woman, call her Betty Ford, and have the two form a tag team. Anyway, Barbara's gimmick was that she was one of the paramedics, and one day she was just doing her job helping get a piece of food free from Miss Kitty's throat after a gravy match when all of a sudden, Ivory attacked her, ripped her shirt off and threw her into the gravy. Yes, that does sound ridiculous. Well, four days later, on the November 29, 1999 edition of Raw, Barbara's humiliation continued as she had to be interviewed by Michael Cole. Apparently, EMTs get their own theme music now. BB states that she was embarrassed to have her shirt ripped off on national TV, so naturally she challenges Ivory to an evening gown match where the winner must rip the clothing off the opponent. Um, ok then. Ivory comes out, and uses BB's initials against her by calling her bird brain. She then accuses BB of trying to make friends with the perverts in the crowd, and to prove her point Ivory takes off her jacket to a rousing reaction from the same perverts she just belittled. Ivory then cheap shots BB and for the second time, rips her EMT shirt off, which perhaps would be a sign not to challenge Ivory to an evening gown match. Well, that was fun. In the spirit of this video, I'll give it a big 2 out of 5.
P21- Barbarian: Hercules vs. The Barbarian
This match is from the May 8, 1989 episode of Prime Time Wrestling. At this time, Barbarian is still part of the Powers of Pain and is being managed by Mr. Fuji. Hercules comes out with a chain, and Tony Schiavone is one of the announcers, and every time I hear Schiavone calling a WWF match, it's just weird to me since he was the voice of WCW for such a long time. Anyway, the two stare each other down to start, and the ref physically separates them. A tie-up follows, and the ref has to separate the two once again as neither man wants to give an inch in this contest. The same thing happens again after both men try to choke the other, and finally it is Hercules that gets an edge by putting on a side headlock. Barbarian counters with a bearhug, but Hercules breaks the hold by forcing Barbarian's arms apart by using his own forearms. The two exchange some kicks to the gut and punches, before Barbarian nearly makes a big mistake by missing a wild punch giving Hercules an opening to slap the Full Nelson on, but Barbarian is able to keep the hold from getting sinked in and gets to the ropes. Barbarian takes control with a back elbow, and knocks Hercules down with a big boot. Hercules fires back with shots that at first have no effect, but he's able to stagger the Barbarian before knocking him down with a clothesline. Both men get back up, and Barbarian overpowers his opponent with a power slam. He then goes for a big splash, but Hercules sees it coming and gets the knees up. Hercules is red hot now, staggering the Barbarian with a series of lefts before using a right to knock him down, and then keeping him off balance with clotheslines and knee lifts. Hercules puts Barbarian up in the torture rack, but Mr. Fuji hits him on the ass with his cane. Well, that annoys Hercules, so he comes after Fuji. As you probably can guess, Barbarian sneaks up from behind to attack Hercules. A whip into the ropes by Barbarian, but Hercules counters with a cross body block that sends both men tumbling over the top rope. Neither man can get back in the ring in time, so the match ends in a double countout. Post match, Fuji tries to hit Herc with his cane, but Herc's ready and takes the cane out of Fuji's hand, then goes after the Barbarian and cracks the cane over his back. Match wasn't too bad, although the ending could have been better. I'll give it a 2.25 out of 5.
P21- The Barber Shop: Ric Flair and Bobby Heenan on the Barber Shop
The Barber Shop was an interview segment hosted by Brutus 'The Barber' Beefcake. As far as interview segments go, it was no Carlito's Cabana. This segment is from the September 22, 1991 edition of Wrestling Challenge, and what a challenge it is. Heenan comes out first with Flair's NWA Championship, not happy with Barber's condescending tone in introducing Ric Flair, so he decides to do it himself and introduces the real Heavyweight Champion of the World, Ric Flair. Flair says he, and not Hulk Hogan, is the real World Heavyweight Champion, and also has a message for Roddy Piper, as he seeks revenge for Piper spitting on Flair's belt earlier. Flair finishes by stating that until Hogan beats him, then the Hulkster will only be second best. Good stuff here, despite the presence of Brutus Beefcake. I'd give it a 2.6 out of 5.
P21- Baron Mikel Scicluna: WWWF TV Peter Maivia and Chief Jay Strongbow vs. Baron Mikel Scicluna and Moose Monroe
This match is from the October 22, 1977 episode of WWWF Championship Wrestling, to the best of my knowledge. Scicluna, a man billed as being from the Isle of Malta, is actually a WWE Hall of Famer, and I don't think I've ever seen him wrestle until now. I will say that he does have a sweet cape. Maivia, the grandfather of the Rock, by the way, and Scicluna start off for their respective sides, and the High Chief (Maivia) starts out strong with a beal to Scicluna and a blow for Monroe on the apron. While Maivia waits on Scicluna to approach him, Scicluna seems to have placed something in his right hand, and decks Maivia with it, stunning him. Scicluna continues to work over Maivia with his right hand, until Maivia gets over to his corner after a big punch and Strongbow tags himself in. Scicluna does the same to Strongbow, then puts the object back in his tights. Maivia sees this as an opportunity, so he comes in and oh here go hell come as both men work over Scicluna. Maivia and Moose head to the outside to fight, while Strongbow fishes into Scicluna's tights and takes the offending object out. By which I mean the roll of coins Scicluna had, not his penis. Maivia is now all fired up, and works over Scicluna until he tags out to Monroe. Strongbow comes in and decides what's good for the goose is good for the gander, so he uses the object to give a power boost to his punches on Monroe, then promptly hands it to Maivia once the ref starts to suspect something. Maivia then comes in to deliver more of the same, and eventually Moose tags out while Strongbow comes back in and is given the object again behind the ref's back. More blows follow, Maivia gets tagged in and does a snap mare on Scicluna followed by an elbow drop. The two exchange blows and tag out at the same time. Moose pulls out a rope and chokes Strongbow with it before the ref takes it away, but is unable to follow up as Strongbow dodges a punches, crawls under Monroe's legs, and tags out to Maivia. Maivia decks Monroe once, then hits him with a cross body block to get the three count and the victory for his team. Post-match, the winning team hugs while the losers bicker, and we get a shot of a young Vince McMahon at ringside talking about the manager of the year contest. Match wasn't too bad for what it was, and the crowd was really behind Strongbow and Maivia. I'd give it a 1.85 out of 5.
P22- Baron Von Raschke: Baron Von Raschke Part 1
This video here is part of a three part interview with Von Rashcke by two people calling themselves the Primadonns. Von Raschke comes out acting like a crazy man plugging somebody named Terry Eason's CD, then sits down to talk about such topics as how he got started in the business (the Baron was an amateur wrestler all throughout high school and college, then got into pro wrestling after spending a year as a teacher), some of the toughest wrestlers he ever encountered, how he learned his infamous Iron Claw hold, and a joke about midgets. Some interesting observations from Von Rashcke, who in spite of his in ring persona, comes across as a level-headed guy. If you want, check out part 1 right here:
P22- Barry Horowitz: Blue Blazer vs. Barry Horowitz 1988
A pat on the back is due for Barry Horowitz as he takes on Owen Hart, a.k.a. the Blue Blazer, in this match from the September 17, 1988 edition of WWF Superstars. Horowitz is wearing suspenders, while the Blazer has a feathered helmet on his mask to presumably look more like a bird. Horowitz removes his suspenders, the Blazer removes his headgear, and the match starts. The Blue Blazer starts with an arm wringer, runs to the ropes, backflips off the ropes and arm drags Horowitz to the mat. Horowitz gets up and comes out Blazer with a shoulder block. He tries again, but Blazer does a leapfrog and follows up with an arm drag and hold. A bodyslam follows, and Blazer then gets a two count after a Northern Lights suplex. Horowitz catches the Blazer with a savate kick, and then exclaims that 'now we go to school'. Who does he think he is, Ric Flair? Going to school seems to include a hard whip into the turnbuckle, followed by a knee drop that gets a two count. Horowitz attempts another whip into the corner, but the Blazer catches himself and then takes Horowitz down with a flying body press from the second rope that gets a two count. A suplex from the Blue Blazer follows, and he continues his aerial assault with a dropkick from the top rope. A pair of body slams follow, and Blazer finishes off Horowitz with a moonsault from the top rope that gives him the victory. For a four minute match, this was rather good, and made me curious as to what these guys could do given more time. As it is, I'll give it a 2.35 out of 5.
P22- Barry O: British Bulldogs vs. Barry O and Bret Hart
Hmm, one of these things is not like the other. This match is from the July 13, 1985 episode of All Star Wrestling and features Randy Orton's uncle, Barry O, teaming up with Bret Hart against two men Hart knows very well, the British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith and the Dynamite Kid). Jimmy Hart is in the corner of Bret Hart and Barry O. Dynamite and Barry start, and Dynamite takes Barry down with a shoulder block. Dynamite then gets out of an arm hold with a back drop, but Barry comes back with a body slam. An elbow drop misses from Barry O, and Kid gives Barry an arm drag before tagging in Davey Boy. Davey also uses a shoulder block, and keeps Barry at bay with a dropkick and a pair of arm drags before tagging back out to Dynamite Kid. Dynamite gets a hold of Barry's arm, but O tags in Hart real quick and then catches the Kid coming off the ropes and holds him across his knee while Hart comes down with an elbow from the second rope. Hart brawls some with Dynamite, keeping the advantage with punches and hair pulls before tagging in Barry O. A big powerslam by Barry O gets a two count, as does a karate chop to the chest. Barry whips Dynamite to the ropes, but Dynamite leaps over Barry and tags out to Davey Boy. Smith hits a huge back body drop and follows with a powerslam, but Barry gets out at two. After some smashes into the turnbuckle, Smith tags in Dynamite, and he then picks Dynamite over his head and launches him onto Barry O to get the three count. But Hart's not done, as he attacks Davey Boy and throws him out of the ring before going after Dynamite. Hart gets a few shots in before Davey Boy comes back in to break it up. Not a bad match, although I do wonder why Barry O was in there instead of Niedhart. I guess they just wanted to do something different for a quick match. I'd give it a 2 out of 5.
Well, that's it for part 3 of the Big Bad WWE Encyclopedia Video Project. I'd like to give a shout out to the website http://www.thehistoryofwwe.com/, as it has a valuable source in helping me find out the exact dates when the videos I've been watching originally took place. Also, thanks to all of the uploaders of the various videos I've been watching. Well, if you have any thoughts about the 2BWE Video Project, or anything else at The Canon Review, than I'd be more than happy to read them, so feel free to leave a comment of send me an e-mail at KtheC2001@gmail.com.
P19- Avatar: Avatar WWF Debut vs. Brian Walsh
This match took place on the October 23, 1995 edition of Monday Night Raw, and features the former and future Al Snow as Avatar. Avatar is a masked wrestler who puts his mask on only when he comes to the ring. Why he does that, I don't know. Avatar also has a costume that makes him look like one of those Karate Fighters figures from the 1990s. Tie up to start, and Avatar shows off his agility by going behind Walsh and taking him down with a leg drag. Walsh shows his agility by doing a kip-up to get back to his feet. Avatar does an arm-wringer, and the two men do a leapfrog sequence before Avatar kicks Walsh out of the ring in an awkward exchange. Avatar heads to the top rope, loses his balance, and then does a tope from the ring to the outside. Back in, Avatar attempts a moonsault, but misses as Walsh moves out of the way. Walsh with a pair of clotheslines, then he doesn't seem to know what to do next, so the two stand around for a few seconds before Walsh whips him into the corner, only to have Avatar come back with a clothesline of his own. Avatar hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker and a standing moonsault, before finishing Walsh off by standing on his chest and doing a frog splash from that position, getting the victory. His job done, Avatar takes the mask off again. Not the best debut a wrestler's ever had, as Avatar and Walsh had no chemistry what so ever in the ring. I'll give it a 1 out of 5.
P19- Backlash: WWE Backlash 03- The Rock vs. Goldberg
The main event of Backlash 2003 and Goldberg's WWE debut. Rock comes out to a huge ovation even though he's supposed to be the heel in this match. To be fair, Goldberg gets a nice reaction as well. Rock stalls for a while as the crowd chants his name quite loudly. Then Goldberg gets a chant from the fans as the two still have a staredown. Finally, they tie up, and Goldberg violently shoves the Rock down to the mat. Rock gets up, regroups, and suffers the same fate after a second tieup, this time getting shoved out of the ring. The Rock gets back in, and slaps Goldberg in the face. Goldberg smiles, then fires back at the Rock with punches and knees before clotheslining Rock out of the ring. Rock stalls outside the ring for a long time before coming back in and catching Goldberg with a jawbreaker on the top rope, and then knocking him down with a clothesline. Goldberg counters an Irish whip, and hits The Rock with his own finisher, the Rock Bottom. Instead of going for the cover, Goldberg sets Rock up for a spear, but the Rock moves out of the way and Goldberg ends up spearing the steel post and falling out of the ring. Rock gets Goldberg back into the ring and applies the Sharpshooter. After about a minute of being in the hold, Goldberg finally inches his way to the ropes, forcing The Rock to break the hold.
After letting go, the Rock shoves the ref out of the way and blatantly punches Goldberg in the family jewels. Rock sets up for the Rock Bottom, only to take a surprise spear from Goldberg, and now both men are down. Rock's up first, but Goldberg blocks a punch with one of his own, and then powerslams Rock down hard on the mat for a two count. Rock stops Goldberg with a back elbow, and after a pair of clotheslines fail to fell Goldberg, Rock uses a charging spinebuster to slam Goldberg and does a kip-up, much to the delight of the crowd. Rock Bottom on Goldberg, and Goldberg just barely gets the shoulder up as most of the fans boo his kick out. Probably not a good thing that the crowd has turned on Goldberg like this. After taking a clothesline, Rock is able to catch the weakened Goldberg, still holding his shoulder, with a spinebuster and sets him up for the People's elbow. It connects, and Goldberg once again barely escapes the three count. Both men take a while to get up, and when the Rock does, Goldberg uses the opportunity to catch the Rock off guard and spears him hard. Rock takes a while to get up, while Goldberg is waiting for him in the corner to catch him with another spear, and eventually, he does. A Jackhammer follows, and Goldberg gets the pinfall and wins his first WWE match. Of about 13 minutes of match time, 8 or 9 minutes were nothing but stalling, not only making for a boring match but exposing Goldberg as a guy who can't put together a 20 minute match as he had neither the moveset nor the stanima at this time to do that. So, while this match is between two of the biggest names in wrestling over the past 25 years, it's not very good or particularly memorable. I'd give it a 1.5 out of 5.
P19- Bad Blood: La Resistance vs. Rob Van Dam/Kane Badd Blood 2003
In this match, Rene Dupree and Sylvain Grenier of La Resistance challenge for RVD and Kane's World Tag Team Titles. There's trouble brewing between the champs, as last week on Raw, Kane did not show up to save RVD from a double team beatdown by La Resistance. The Coach is backstage interviewing La Resistance, who are not happy about being in Texas, the state which gave us George W. Bush. Well, I spent four months in Texas once and it wasn't too bad, but then again I'm not French. Rene Dupree dedicates their match to a real president, France's Jacques Chirac. I'm sure he's on the edge of his seat watching this match. The champs come out separately, which Jerry Lawler sees as a sign that the two are not on the same page. Well, we shall see. RVD and Dupree start, and after breaking a tie-up, Dupree entertains the masses with his French Tickler dance. But the crowd or RVD does not seem impressed with Dupree's dance, which is their loss, frankly. Another tie up follows, and RVD goes behind and gets a quick two count after a rollup. Van Dam nearly takes off Dupree's head with a spin kick, but Dupree backs up against the corner to keep his head and dodge the blow. A shoving match ensues, and RVD catches Dupree with a spinning heel kick after that, then continues to dominate Dupree with a twisting body press from the second rope that gets a two count. Another two count follows after an RVD small package, and then he throws Dupree in the corner to give him a couple of shoulder blocks. However, Grenier gets involved and gives RVD a Snake Eyes from the apron, allowing Dupree to DDT Van Dam. Cover, but Kane comes in to break it up. While the ref backs Kane up, La Resistance double teams RVD, and Grenier draws a two after an elbow drop. Dupree gets tagged back in, and the two keep RVD grounded with brawling tactics. Dupree tries to keep RVD away from his corner, and after a jumping side kick, RVD tags in the Big Red Machine Kane. Kane hits any Frenchman that moves, then catches Dupree trying to come off the tope with a choke lift powerbomb, then gets a two count after a side slam to Grenier. Kane then clotheslines Grenier from the top, but Dupree breaks up the cover. La Restistance finally slows down Kane and delivers what was supposed to be a double-team maneuver but really was just a neckbreaker from Dupree with Grenier holding him in place for a split-second, but Kane sits right back up, and knocks both Resistance members down with a clothesline. Tag to RVD, and he catches Dupree with a side kick from the top rope. RVD with a baseball slide to Grenier to the outside, then backdrops Dupree over the top rope. Kane gets back up and grabs both La Resistance members by the throat, but he's unaware that Van Dam is coming from the apron with a flipping tope, so he gets taken out by his own partner. Meanwhile, La Resistance is unharmed, and they roll RVD back in and take him out with their version of Chronic's High Times move to get the victory and become new Tag Team Champions. Jim Ross calls this a Texas sized upset. Well, I guess so. Match was ok, although it wasn't anything special or memorable. I'd give it a 1.89 out of 5.
P19- Bad News Brown: Hulk Hogan vs. Bad News Brown
One of the baddest men to ever step in the wrestling ring, Bad News Brown takes on Hulk Hogan in a match that took place in the Meadowlands on September 11, 1988. Hogan comes out looking like a buffoon with a red and yellow Trojan war helmet on. Bad News takes advantage early by peppering Hogan with punches before the bell rings, and continues to dominate Hogan with punches, stomps, and by using Hogan's own T-Shirt to choke him with. Brown misses a couple of elbow drops, though, and Hogan rises to his feet to the delight of the crowd. Bad News takes a few punches and goes to the outside of the ring, and Hogan follows to give Brown another punch. Brown gets on the apron, and Hogan sends him back in the ring the hard way by pulling the ropes, slinging Bad News down to the mat. Hogan continues his assault with brawling tactics, but a Bad News headbutt slows Hogan's momentum, but he regains it after a boot to the face from the corner, and then sends shivers down Brown's spine with an atomic drop. Hogan misses an elbow, and Bad News goes to work on Hogan with a series of punches to the midsection. Brown continues to dominate Hogan with a series of strikes, and then body slams Hogan down. Bad News tries to show up the Hulkster by beating him with a legdrop, but Hogan gets out at one. Brown doesn't seem to mind too much, as he takes down Hogan with a Russian legsweep. Hogan reverses a whip into the corner, but Bad News rebounds with a clothesline that takes Hogan off his feet. Bad News sets Hogan up for the Ghetto Blaster (jumping kick to the head), but Hogan ducks, and then Hulks up on Bad News. Hogan follows up with a knee lift and a clothesline in the corner on Brown, then whips Bad News into the corner. News charges, but Hogan ducks and Brown ends up taking out the referee with a clothesline. While Hogan checks on the ref, Brown takes the war helmet (or war bonnet as Superstar Billy Graham calls it on commentary, and btw, Graham is not very good at commentary). and smashes Hogan with it in the back. Brown puts on the helmet and charges at Hogan, but Hulk moves, takes the helmet off Brown and then headbutts him while wearing the helmet. A legdrop follows, and the ref recovers enough to count to three, giving Hogan the victory. Not a bad match, although the ending kind of sucked, so I'll give it a 2.1 out of 5.
P20- Balls Mahoney: Balls Mahoney and Kelly Kelly vs. Kenny Dykstra and Victoria
This mixed tag match was originally shown on the December 6, 2007 episode of ECW. Apparently, Balls and Kelly had a thing going on at that time, which is just strange to me on so many levels. They face Lenny Dykstra's illegitimate brother (not really) and his partner Victoria. Balls and Kenny start the match, and Dysktra gets the advantage earlier by punching his way out of a headlock then dropkicking Balls down to the mat for a two count. Balls goes for his series of punches, but Dykstra ducks the big haymaker and quickly tags out to Victoria, which means Kelly must come in due to the rules of the match. Victoria predictably gets the advantage early, but Kelly takes her opponent by surprise with a tilt-a-whirl headscissiors. A Kelly Kelly clothesline gets a one count, and Kelly goes to work on Victoria's arm. After letting go, Kelly shoves Victoria back, which does not please Dykstra, so Kelly slugs him to shut him up. Victoria is able to catch Kelly with a clothesline, and uses stomps and simple wrestling holds to keep Kelly at bay. Kelly finally escapes the evil Victoria's clutches and tags in her 'boyfriend' Balls. I'm sure Kelly's parents must have been thrilled to find out their daughter is dating a 350 pound miscreant named Balls, even if it is only a storyline. Anyway, Balls comes in and takes care of Dykstra, getting a two count after his patented uppercut. Kenny gets out of a bodyslam and tries to hold Balls for Victoria to slap around, but Mahoney moves, Kelly takes care of Victoria with a huracanrana, and Mahoney small packages Dysktra for the three count. Post match, the happy couple celebrates while Dykstra and Victoria walk back in a bad mood. Well, I guess it wasn't too bad, so I'll give it a 1.25 out of 5.
P20- Bam Bam Bigelow: Bam Bam Bigelow vs. New Jack
This match is from Wrestlepalooza 1998, ECW's first show in Atlanta, Georgia and a show that my friend Sonny Bone attended in person, just for the chance to see New Jack in action. Before the match, Taz comes down and beats up Shane Douglas, forcing security to take him out back and drive him off in a car. While Douglas is being taken to the back, Bam Bam waits and here comes New Jack with a trash can full of plunder. They waste no time, as Bam Bam pounds away on New Jack and stomps on him in the corner. Bam Bam tries to hit New Jack with a guitar, but misses, and takes a plastic sign to his noggin instead. Assaults with a crutch and a cookie sheet follow from New Jack, and he tops it off by putting a Godzilla action figure between Bigelow's legs and whacking the figure with a hockey stick. Only in ECW, I suppose. To the outside, where New Jack gets the worst of a headbutt to Bam Bam, and then takes a chair to the back. Two chair shots to the head follow, and New Jack is now bleeding. To the crowd they go, as Bigelow throws New Jack over the guardrail and then slingshots himself onto New Jack. Further into the crowd they go, and Bam Bam decides to throw a bunch of chairs on top of New Jack before throwing him against a wall. Bigelow sets New Jack up against a guardrail and tries to splash him, but New Jack moves, and Bigelow rams into the guardrail instead. New Jack then goes back into the crowd, climbing the steps towards the balcony. New Jack finds a guitar on the balcony, and instead of playing the crowd a tune, he decides to dive off the balcony and hit Bam Bam in the head with it instead. Well, it hit Bigelow more in the shoulder than the head, but still, the crowd seemed to enjoy it. Bigelow is up first, though, and carries New Jack to the ring on his shoulder. One Greetings from Ashbury Park later, and Bigelow is the winner of this match. This wasn't exactly too good of a match, as the whole thing was built around one spot and the spot didn't come off exactly as planned. I'll give it a 1.1 out of 5.
P20- Bam Neely: Ricky Ortiz and Evan Bourne vs. Chavo Guerrero and Bam Neely
First there's Kenny Dykstra, now there's Bam Neely. Who's next, Harry Bird? I have no idea who Neely is, as I wasn't watching any wrestling during his reign of terror. According to the WWE Encylopedia, he's a former border agent who is from the same home town as Rick Rude. This match is from the August 5, 2008 episode of ECW, and is a result of a two on one beatdown that Chavo and Neely administrated on Ortiz during the previous week. Ortiz starts things off strong with some punches and a back elbow to Neely that makes Neely regroup on the outside of the ring. Back in, Neely and Ortiz exchange arm wringers before Bourne is tagged in an makes an immediate impact with by jumping off the top rope and stomping Neely's outstretched arm. Chavo comes in, attempts a back suplex, but Bourne escapes and sends Chavo down with a huracanrana. Bourne comes back with a Fujiwara arm bar, but Chavo gets up with his arm still locked in by Bourne. Tag to Ortiz, and he takes Chavo off his feet with a diving shoulderblock from the second rope that draws a two count. As Matt Striker informs us that Ortiz is the only WWE superstar to ever play in the XFL, Neely grabs Ortiz by the hair, regaining the advantage for his team and allowing Chavo to tag Neely in. Neely takes care of Ortiz with a barrage of blows to the back and torso. After a clothesline in the corner draws a two count, Neely tags Chavo back in, and he gets a two count after a European uppercut. Chavo puts Ortiz in a chinlock, but after 45 seconds or so, Ortiz is able to get up and delivers a back suplex to Chavo. Chavo tags Neely, and Ortiz is just able to reach Bourne for the hot tag. Bourne knocks Neely off his feet with a series of kicks, then goes off the top to deliver a pair of knees to Neely's face. Cover, but Chavo is there to break the count. Bourne dropkicks Chavo out of the ring, then ducks a Neely clothesline and gives him a lighting fast rollup, which gets the three count. Post match, Neely goes after Bourne, but Evan is smart enough to escape. Not too bad of a match, all in all. I'd give it a 1.95 out of 5.
P21- Barbara Bush [B.B.]: Michael Cole Interviews Barbara Bush about Ivory
Yes my friends, there once was a WWE diva who shared the same name as the first lady. Too bad she wasn't around longer, or they could have found another woman, call her Betty Ford, and have the two form a tag team. Anyway, Barbara's gimmick was that she was one of the paramedics, and one day she was just doing her job helping get a piece of food free from Miss Kitty's throat after a gravy match when all of a sudden, Ivory attacked her, ripped her shirt off and threw her into the gravy. Yes, that does sound ridiculous. Well, four days later, on the November 29, 1999 edition of Raw, Barbara's humiliation continued as she had to be interviewed by Michael Cole. Apparently, EMTs get their own theme music now. BB states that she was embarrassed to have her shirt ripped off on national TV, so naturally she challenges Ivory to an evening gown match where the winner must rip the clothing off the opponent. Um, ok then. Ivory comes out, and uses BB's initials against her by calling her bird brain. She then accuses BB of trying to make friends with the perverts in the crowd, and to prove her point Ivory takes off her jacket to a rousing reaction from the same perverts she just belittled. Ivory then cheap shots BB and for the second time, rips her EMT shirt off, which perhaps would be a sign not to challenge Ivory to an evening gown match. Well, that was fun. In the spirit of this video, I'll give it a big 2 out of 5.
P21- Barbarian: Hercules vs. The Barbarian
This match is from the May 8, 1989 episode of Prime Time Wrestling. At this time, Barbarian is still part of the Powers of Pain and is being managed by Mr. Fuji. Hercules comes out with a chain, and Tony Schiavone is one of the announcers, and every time I hear Schiavone calling a WWF match, it's just weird to me since he was the voice of WCW for such a long time. Anyway, the two stare each other down to start, and the ref physically separates them. A tie-up follows, and the ref has to separate the two once again as neither man wants to give an inch in this contest. The same thing happens again after both men try to choke the other, and finally it is Hercules that gets an edge by putting on a side headlock. Barbarian counters with a bearhug, but Hercules breaks the hold by forcing Barbarian's arms apart by using his own forearms. The two exchange some kicks to the gut and punches, before Barbarian nearly makes a big mistake by missing a wild punch giving Hercules an opening to slap the Full Nelson on, but Barbarian is able to keep the hold from getting sinked in and gets to the ropes. Barbarian takes control with a back elbow, and knocks Hercules down with a big boot. Hercules fires back with shots that at first have no effect, but he's able to stagger the Barbarian before knocking him down with a clothesline. Both men get back up, and Barbarian overpowers his opponent with a power slam. He then goes for a big splash, but Hercules sees it coming and gets the knees up. Hercules is red hot now, staggering the Barbarian with a series of lefts before using a right to knock him down, and then keeping him off balance with clotheslines and knee lifts. Hercules puts Barbarian up in the torture rack, but Mr. Fuji hits him on the ass with his cane. Well, that annoys Hercules, so he comes after Fuji. As you probably can guess, Barbarian sneaks up from behind to attack Hercules. A whip into the ropes by Barbarian, but Hercules counters with a cross body block that sends both men tumbling over the top rope. Neither man can get back in the ring in time, so the match ends in a double countout. Post match, Fuji tries to hit Herc with his cane, but Herc's ready and takes the cane out of Fuji's hand, then goes after the Barbarian and cracks the cane over his back. Match wasn't too bad, although the ending could have been better. I'll give it a 2.25 out of 5.
P21- The Barber Shop: Ric Flair and Bobby Heenan on the Barber Shop
The Barber Shop was an interview segment hosted by Brutus 'The Barber' Beefcake. As far as interview segments go, it was no Carlito's Cabana. This segment is from the September 22, 1991 edition of Wrestling Challenge, and what a challenge it is. Heenan comes out first with Flair's NWA Championship, not happy with Barber's condescending tone in introducing Ric Flair, so he decides to do it himself and introduces the real Heavyweight Champion of the World, Ric Flair. Flair says he, and not Hulk Hogan, is the real World Heavyweight Champion, and also has a message for Roddy Piper, as he seeks revenge for Piper spitting on Flair's belt earlier. Flair finishes by stating that until Hogan beats him, then the Hulkster will only be second best. Good stuff here, despite the presence of Brutus Beefcake. I'd give it a 2.6 out of 5.
P21- Baron Mikel Scicluna: WWWF TV Peter Maivia and Chief Jay Strongbow vs. Baron Mikel Scicluna and Moose Monroe
This match is from the October 22, 1977 episode of WWWF Championship Wrestling, to the best of my knowledge. Scicluna, a man billed as being from the Isle of Malta, is actually a WWE Hall of Famer, and I don't think I've ever seen him wrestle until now. I will say that he does have a sweet cape. Maivia, the grandfather of the Rock, by the way, and Scicluna start off for their respective sides, and the High Chief (Maivia) starts out strong with a beal to Scicluna and a blow for Monroe on the apron. While Maivia waits on Scicluna to approach him, Scicluna seems to have placed something in his right hand, and decks Maivia with it, stunning him. Scicluna continues to work over Maivia with his right hand, until Maivia gets over to his corner after a big punch and Strongbow tags himself in. Scicluna does the same to Strongbow, then puts the object back in his tights. Maivia sees this as an opportunity, so he comes in and oh here go hell come as both men work over Scicluna. Maivia and Moose head to the outside to fight, while Strongbow fishes into Scicluna's tights and takes the offending object out. By which I mean the roll of coins Scicluna had, not his penis. Maivia is now all fired up, and works over Scicluna until he tags out to Monroe. Strongbow comes in and decides what's good for the goose is good for the gander, so he uses the object to give a power boost to his punches on Monroe, then promptly hands it to Maivia once the ref starts to suspect something. Maivia then comes in to deliver more of the same, and eventually Moose tags out while Strongbow comes back in and is given the object again behind the ref's back. More blows follow, Maivia gets tagged in and does a snap mare on Scicluna followed by an elbow drop. The two exchange blows and tag out at the same time. Moose pulls out a rope and chokes Strongbow with it before the ref takes it away, but is unable to follow up as Strongbow dodges a punches, crawls under Monroe's legs, and tags out to Maivia. Maivia decks Monroe once, then hits him with a cross body block to get the three count and the victory for his team. Post-match, the winning team hugs while the losers bicker, and we get a shot of a young Vince McMahon at ringside talking about the manager of the year contest. Match wasn't too bad for what it was, and the crowd was really behind Strongbow and Maivia. I'd give it a 1.85 out of 5.
P22- Baron Von Raschke: Baron Von Raschke Part 1
This video here is part of a three part interview with Von Rashcke by two people calling themselves the Primadonns. Von Raschke comes out acting like a crazy man plugging somebody named Terry Eason's CD, then sits down to talk about such topics as how he got started in the business (the Baron was an amateur wrestler all throughout high school and college, then got into pro wrestling after spending a year as a teacher), some of the toughest wrestlers he ever encountered, how he learned his infamous Iron Claw hold, and a joke about midgets. Some interesting observations from Von Rashcke, who in spite of his in ring persona, comes across as a level-headed guy. If you want, check out part 1 right here:
P22- Barry Horowitz: Blue Blazer vs. Barry Horowitz 1988
A pat on the back is due for Barry Horowitz as he takes on Owen Hart, a.k.a. the Blue Blazer, in this match from the September 17, 1988 edition of WWF Superstars. Horowitz is wearing suspenders, while the Blazer has a feathered helmet on his mask to presumably look more like a bird. Horowitz removes his suspenders, the Blazer removes his headgear, and the match starts. The Blue Blazer starts with an arm wringer, runs to the ropes, backflips off the ropes and arm drags Horowitz to the mat. Horowitz gets up and comes out Blazer with a shoulder block. He tries again, but Blazer does a leapfrog and follows up with an arm drag and hold. A bodyslam follows, and Blazer then gets a two count after a Northern Lights suplex. Horowitz catches the Blazer with a savate kick, and then exclaims that 'now we go to school'. Who does he think he is, Ric Flair? Going to school seems to include a hard whip into the turnbuckle, followed by a knee drop that gets a two count. Horowitz attempts another whip into the corner, but the Blazer catches himself and then takes Horowitz down with a flying body press from the second rope that gets a two count. A suplex from the Blue Blazer follows, and he continues his aerial assault with a dropkick from the top rope. A pair of body slams follow, and Blazer finishes off Horowitz with a moonsault from the top rope that gives him the victory. For a four minute match, this was rather good, and made me curious as to what these guys could do given more time. As it is, I'll give it a 2.35 out of 5.
P22- Barry O: British Bulldogs vs. Barry O and Bret Hart
Hmm, one of these things is not like the other. This match is from the July 13, 1985 episode of All Star Wrestling and features Randy Orton's uncle, Barry O, teaming up with Bret Hart against two men Hart knows very well, the British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith and the Dynamite Kid). Jimmy Hart is in the corner of Bret Hart and Barry O. Dynamite and Barry start, and Dynamite takes Barry down with a shoulder block. Dynamite then gets out of an arm hold with a back drop, but Barry comes back with a body slam. An elbow drop misses from Barry O, and Kid gives Barry an arm drag before tagging in Davey Boy. Davey also uses a shoulder block, and keeps Barry at bay with a dropkick and a pair of arm drags before tagging back out to Dynamite Kid. Dynamite gets a hold of Barry's arm, but O tags in Hart real quick and then catches the Kid coming off the ropes and holds him across his knee while Hart comes down with an elbow from the second rope. Hart brawls some with Dynamite, keeping the advantage with punches and hair pulls before tagging in Barry O. A big powerslam by Barry O gets a two count, as does a karate chop to the chest. Barry whips Dynamite to the ropes, but Dynamite leaps over Barry and tags out to Davey Boy. Smith hits a huge back body drop and follows with a powerslam, but Barry gets out at two. After some smashes into the turnbuckle, Smith tags in Dynamite, and he then picks Dynamite over his head and launches him onto Barry O to get the three count. But Hart's not done, as he attacks Davey Boy and throws him out of the ring before going after Dynamite. Hart gets a few shots in before Davey Boy comes back in to break it up. Not a bad match, although I do wonder why Barry O was in there instead of Niedhart. I guess they just wanted to do something different for a quick match. I'd give it a 2 out of 5.
Well, that's it for part 3 of the Big Bad WWE Encyclopedia Video Project. I'd like to give a shout out to the website http://www.thehistoryofwwe.com/, as it has a valuable source in helping me find out the exact dates when the videos I've been watching originally took place. Also, thanks to all of the uploaders of the various videos I've been watching. Well, if you have any thoughts about the 2BWE Video Project, or anything else at The Canon Review, than I'd be more than happy to read them, so feel free to leave a comment of send me an e-mail at KtheC2001@gmail.com.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
The 2BWE Video Project: Pages 12-18
In the second part of the Big Bad WWE Encyclopedia Video Project (a.k.a. the 2BWE Video Project for short), I will take a look at such luminaries of the ring like Andre the Giant, Antonino Rocca, and Ashley Massaro. If you want to review the guidelines of the project, than you can view the original post right here. Well, on with the show.
P12- Andre the Giant: Ultimate Warrior vs. Andre the Giant
This was one of the many matches these two had for Warrior's Intercontinental Title back in 1989, and I believe is from the October 29, 1989 card at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. The match starts with Andre standing tall in the center of the ring while Warrior runs around like a crazed man. Warrior charges, but Andre's ready for it and uses his size advantage to drag Warrior over to the corner. Andre then spends the next minute or so choking Warrior in the corner, making sure to break the ref's five count each time before going back to choking. Warrior tries to escape with a couple of toe kicks, but Andre just backs him into another corner and starts the process all over again. Andre keeps control with chokeholds and punches until Warrior throws a few chops at him. That doesn't do anything, but then Warrior karate chops Andre in the trapezoids which has some effect on him, and Warrior goes to work by choking Andre in the corner. Warrior with a running clothesline that sends Andre into the ropes. Andre looks to be trapped, but is able to escape just before the Warrior tries another clothesline, and instead Warrior takes a big boot to the torso. Both men get back up slowly, and Warrior does an awkward single leg takedown before choking Andre again. After this point, Warrior just brawls with Andre on the ground until the Giant is able to gain his bearings and slam Warrior into the mat before getting up very slowly. After a nerve hold, Andre confers with his manager Bobby Heenan at ringside, which gives Warrior enough time to recover and body slam Andre down. Warrior goes for a big splash, but Andre puts his arm up to block him and knocks Warrior back. Back up, Andre traps the Warrior in a bear hug for two minutes until Warrior finally gets out and tomahawk chops Andre in the head. After Warrior stuns him, he runs around the ring for 10 seconds before launching into Andre with a clothesline that knocks the Giant outside of the ring. Andre slowly gets back in while the Warrior winds up his arm like Daryle Lamonica warming up to throw a deep pass. He tries to catch Andre with a clothesline, but instead Andre pulls the ref into his path, so the poor ref is flattened instead. Andre grabs the Warrior by the back of his head and headbutts him twice and follows with an elbow drop. He covers, but the ref is slow to get up and when he does, he disqualifies Andre for putting him in the Warrior's path. At first Andre believes he's won the title, but is dismayed to find out that he's been disqualified. After the match, the Warrior clotheslines Andre from behind and takes his belt back, spinning it around like a helicopter. Well, at this point Andre couldn't move very well, and the Warrior isn't very good at his job, so this match was a struggle to get through. I'd give it a 0.5 out of 5.
P13- Andre the Giant: Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant- WWF Title
Yes, Andre's profile takes up two whole pages in the WWE Encyclopedia, but that's all right. Anyway, this match is from the television special The Main Event on February 5, 1988, and is the most watched match to ever air on television, as the show got a 15.2 rating, which is a higher rating than any series that aired on television last year. So this match was kind of a big deal, as it was the rematch from the two men's legendary Wrestlemania III match. Andre comes out with Ted DiBiase and Virgil. But before the match, an interview is shown with Hulk Hogan, who says that he has invested his assets of taking vitamins and saying prayers wisely in a profit sharing plan with all of his Hulkamaniacs, and that he will slam the Giant down again tonight. Hogan comes out and tries to come after Andre with the title belt, but referee Dave Hebner holds him back. The bell rings, and Andre takes his time, standing tall in his corner while Hogan works the crowd. Finally, Andre moves, and turns to DiBiase on the apron for some last minute advice. That gives Hogan the opening he needs, as he attacks the Giant and takes care of both DiBiase and Virgil with a noggin-knocker. He then gives both DiBiase and Virgil big boots that send them flying out of the ring, then catches Andre with a few punches that stagger the big man. Hogan gives Andre everything he's got, but just can't manage to knock Andre down. Hogan manages to knock Virgil down after he gets on the apron, but all the punches, kicks, clotheslines, and eye rakes he uses on Andre still fails to bring him down. Hogan climbs to the top rope, but the Giant catches him and launches Hogan off for a hard body slam. Andre goes for a diving headbutt, but misses, and Hogan is now back up. Hogan covers, but Andre chokes him instead and lets go before the count of 5. Andre is now in control, using chokes, slams, stomps, and other strikes to keep Hogan at bay. Andre knocks himself down after a big boot, and knocks Hogan to the outside of the ring, where Virgil quickly scoops him up and back in. More chokes and strikes by Andre, but the power of Hulkamania arises, and Hogan gets out of the choke hold and starts firing away in a renewed attempt to knock Andre off his feet. He finally does it after a clothesline from the second rope, gives Andre the big legdrop, and covers, but the referee is distracted by Virgil. Hogan argues with the ref, but Andre grabs him from behind and headbutts him twice before delivering a sloppy looking suplex. Cover, but Hogan gets the shoulder up at two. However, the referee keeps counting, and we have controversy as Andre is awarded the match and the WWF Title. Hogan is in disbelief as Andre the Giant is awarded the title. Afterward, Andre is interviewed by Mean Gene Okerlund, where he says he (Andre) told us he would win the World Tag Team Championship. Whoops. He then surrenders the Title to Ted DiBiase as part of their agreement before the match, meaning that DiBiase has just bought the WWF Heavyweight Title. Say it ain't so. Hogan goes after them before the three men walk out of the ring, quite satisfied with what they have done. Meanwhile, another Dave Hebner comes out, and the two men start arguing. As it turns out, it was Dave's evil twin Earl Hebner that called the match, although at this point nobody knows which is which. One of the Hebner's slugs the other and kicks him out of the ring. He then pleads for mercy to Hogan, but the Hulkster is having none of it, so he gorilla presses him and throws the ref out of the ring over DiBiase and Virgil, knocking all three men to the floor. As it turns out, it was only the second most controversial call of Earl Hebner's career. Match wasn't too good from a pure wrestling standpoint, but the atmosphere was electric and the whole match had a big-fight feel to it, so overall I'd give it a 1.85 out of 5.
P14- Angelo "King Kong" Mosca: Angelo Mosca vs. Blackjack Mulligan
Angelo Mosca, the former CFL All-Pro defensive tackle turned wrestler, takes on Blackjack Mulligan in a brawl that took place in the Florida territory in 1983. The two men hate each other so much that their fight goes out of the ring and even out of the arena. Eventually, they pick up the fight in the back of a pickup truck. Mosca gets knocked out of truck onto the street, but gets up quickly and the two keep fighting on the street. The locker room empties to break the two up, but not before Mosca gets another shot in on Mulligan. Finally, after about 20 seconds, order is restored and all the wrestlers have successfully separated the two big men from ripping each other apart. The video quality wasn't too sharp, but all in all it wasn't too bad and a good way to advance a feud, as it wasn't every day that two wrestlers climbed into the bed of a pickup to duke it out. I'd give it a 2.2 out of 5.
P14- Angelo Mosca Jr.: Ivan Koloff vs. Angelo Mosca Jr., Mid Atlantic Heavyweight Title Match
Angelo Mosca Jr. was basically the Dale Berra to Angelo Sr's Yogi Berra. Then again, Mosca wasn't quite as good in his field as Yogi was at baseball, but you get the picture. I believe this match took place on January 25, 1984. Angelo Mosca Sr. is on commentary with Bob Caudle for this match, and Koloff is accompanied to ringside by his manager Gary Hart. Koloff backs Mosca up and Irish whips him, but Mosca ducks a clothesline and then nearly gets a three count after a Sunset Flip. Mosca continues his dominance with two dropkicks and a cross body block that also draws a two count, and the fans are really behind Mosca in this match. Koloff backs up and takes a breather, only to continue to take punishment from Mosca in the form of a hip toss and an arm bar. Mosca then starts rolling with Koloff still in the arm bar, which you don't see too much of these days. Ivan finally gets out of it after two knees to the face, and keeps Mosca off balance with strikes before getting a two count after a knee drop. Koloff, ever the veteran, is not fazed by this and simply puts Mosca in a front headlock. Mosca is able to escape, but Koloff then slows down Mosca with a punch and then throws him out of the ring. Mosca gets back in, and suddenly the video skips and the bell ring again, as the show took a 'TV timeout', in Bob Caudle's words, to make sure the conclusion is shown.
Back to action, Koloff snapmares Mosca and starts choking him, and follows that up by picking him up and throwing him hard against the ring ropes. Koloff then hits a backbreaker, and starts to concentrate his efforts on hurting Mosca's back by driving his knee into it, then by just grabbing hold of lower back and squeezing the muscles. Mosca eventually fights out and then tries to go for a Boston Crab. He can't so he does some weak looking catapult type move instead. Koloff goes to the eyes and gets back up, he tries a piledriver, but Mosca blocks it and then flattens Koloff with a back elbow. That gets a two count, so Mosca arm drags Koloff down, but after that he gets caught in a headscissors. Mosca flips out of it, then tries another hip toss but for some reason stops in mid move. I guess Koloff got an eye gouge in or something. Bearhug by the Russian Bear, and Mosca Sr. is starting to really get on my nerves from the commentary booth, as he keeps yelling "Go Ang" like every 20 seconds. Mosca cheats to win by using an eye gouge to get out of the hold, and the two kind of stagger around for a few seconds before Koloff somewhat back body drops Mosca out of a piledriver attempt. Mosca gets up and dropkicks Koloff, which gets a two count. Mosca then does a toe-hold, and follows that up with a basterdized version of the figure four, where it seems as if Koloff has to remind him to put his other leg over Koloff's foot to make the hold look better. Koloff gets to the ropes, but Mosca is undaunted and goes to work on the leg again. After Koloff gets out of the toe hold, Mosca covers, but to no avail as Ivan kicks out. Mosca slams Koloff and goes to the top rope, where he comes down on Koloff with a cross body block. Cover, and we have a new Mid-Atlantic Champion, as Angelo Mosca gets the three count and a hug from his father, who charges the ring after the bell has rung. Match started out strong, but started to peter out towards the middle, of Mosca's inexperience started to show. Still, I'd give it a 2.05 out of 5.
P14- Angelo Savoldi: Angelo Savoldi vs. Dr. Jerry Graham
I have no idea when this match took place, but I do know it took place in either the 1950s or 1960s and is from a show in Melbourne, Austrailia. The match starts with a rush as Savoldi charges Graham, and the two do a ring running spot which eventually slows down and stops. Graham shows off his high opinion of his intelligence by pointing to his head, and Savoldi responds by charging at Graham again, sending Graham scurrying to the apron. Graham tries a bearhug, but Savoldi slips out easy. Graham tries another hold, but Savoldi escapes again, and sends Graham flying out of the ring with a big right hand. Back in, Graham takes Savoldi by surprise with a spinning drop toe hold, and follows that up with a chinlock while he ties up Savoldi's legs with his own, in an STF type hold. Savoldi gets out of the hold by chomping down on his hand, which the crowd approves of. Savoldi gets a side headlock takedown for two, but Graham turns it around on him and starts choking him. While the ref grabs Graham to force him to stop, Jerry does, only to continue to choke Savoldi with his free hand behind his back, out of sight of the referee. Graham keeps punching and grabbing at Savoldi, which eventually ticks Savoldi off enough for Graham to back away into a corner. Savoldi has none of that, so he slugs Graham and throws him out of the corner with a beal. Savoldi stomps a mudhole in Graham and then throws him into another corner. The ref goes to pull Savoldi off, but that allows Graham to get a shot in and regain the advantage. Graham then tries to make friends with Angelo, but gets a right hand to the mush instead, so Graham goes to the ring apron to rethink things. The bell rings, signifying the end of round 1, so I guess this match will be done in five minute rounds.
Before round 2 begins, Jerry Graham goes to the announce table to express his displeasure at Savoldi and the fine people of Melbourne. Round 2 begins with Savoldi charging at Graham and hitting a few punches, only for Graham to turn the table and hit a wicked looking punch combo to the body. Savoldi is thrown hard into the corner and then falls down, allowing Graham an opportunity to choke him with his boot. Graham takes a while to get up to the top rope, but comes off quickly with a knee drop, and gets the first pinfall of the match. Well, I guess this is a two out of three falls match as well. Graham uses the break to once again dis the Australian people, wondering why the U.S. bothered to save them from the Japanese in World War II or something. The bell rings, and Graham manages to put Savoldi in a modified sleeper hold, and manages to hold onto to it for two solid minutes before biting Savoldi's cauliflower ear in the corner and letting go. While Graham is distracted by the ref, Savoldi uses the opening to fight fire with fire, and bite on Graham some. That infuriates the doctor, as he whips Savoldi into the corner, squashes him, and drops a knee on him. Graham goes up to the top again for another knee drop, but this time Salvodi moves. After a pair of running backdrops, Savoldi hits a running dropkick on Graham, covers, and gets the second fall of the match to even things up at one apiece. Both men go to the corner to recuperate, and after a minute, the bell rings to signal the next fall. Savoldi takes the advantage with an arm drag and twist, and goes to work on Graham with a spinning wrist hold. Graham wriggles out of it and grabs Savoldi with a headlock before whipping him into the ropes. After that, Graham rebounds with a shoulder block that knocks the smaller Savoldi down. But Savoldi is up quickly, and counters another attempted shoulderblock with an arm drag and twist of the arm. Graham retreats to a corner, only to get stomped on and pounded by Savoldi. After 30 seconds of this, Savoldi whips Graham into another corner and traps him by hooking each leg under a rope. Savoldi hits one charging shoulder block, but Graham gets the knee up on the second one and quickly covers, and that gets the three count and the third fall. After the match, Graham goes to announcer's table, and compliments Savoldi by saying he's the toughest Italian he's ever faced. Well, that was nice of him. Match was pretty decent, and a real interesting look at wrestling in the past. I'd give it a 3.1 out of 5.
P14- Antonio Inoki: Andre the Giant vs. Antonio Inoki 1983
What the hey? Another Andre the Giant video? Oh well. This video is a highlight reel of two wrestling legends in a New Japan match from May 6, 1983. Inoki starts off by trying to outrun the Giant, but gets caught with an overhand chop. Nevertheless, Inoki continues to run around the ring to tire his opponent, and then tries a shoulderblock, which does not go well for Inoki. Back up, Inoki kicks Andre low and then hits the enziguri to the head, and follows that up with a knee drop. The next clip starts with Andre with an ankle lock of sorts on Inoki. This continues for about 25 seconds until the next clip, which starts with Inoki fighting out of a bearhug with punches. He does, but Andre headbutts him with his massive truck tire sized head. Next, Andre takes down Inoki with a front facelock, but loses leverage on the hold and Inoki is able to sneak out and slip on a cross armbar. Andre gets back to his feet and throws Inoki out of the ring, then follows to deliver another headbutt. Next, Andre is choking Inoki in the crowd, and the bell rings, but both men go to the ring anyway. Andre shrugs off an Inoki dropkick, then whips Inoki to the ropes and hits him with the big boot on the rebound. Andre with a knife edge chop, and the ref raises Andre's hand in victory as Inoki must have been counted out. It was probably better that I didn't see the whole match, since it's more than likely worse than the action shown in this video. So, because of that, I'd give the video a 2.45 out of 5.
P15- APA (Acolyte Protection Agency): 1.28.02 - Trish and APA vs. Jazz and Billy and Chuck
This match from the January 28, 2002 edition of Monday Night Raw teams up then WWF Women's Champion Trish Stratus with the APA (Faarooq and Bradshaw) against Jazz and Billy (Gunn) and Chuck (Palumbo). The announcers inform us that in this match, women can legally fight men. Jerry Lawler shows his objectivity by booing Jazz as she comes out, while Billy and Chuck come out to the theme Billy used when he was known as "The One" Billy Gunn. I guess he was the one Billy Gunn because nobody else wanted to be Billy Gunn. Only kidding. Trish and Jazz start off, and after a tie up, Jazz slaps Trish in the face and knocks her down with a clothesline. After a shoulderblock, Trish is able to leapfrog Jazz, then catches her by surprise with a monkey flip before dropkicking Jazz out of the ring. However, Jazz proves she is the more aggressive of the two by dragging Trish out by the leg and slamming her face first into the apron. Back in, Jazz throws down Trish, then tries to suplex her, but Stratus is able to counter with a small package that gets two before Chuck breaks it up. Trish tries to slug Palumbo, but the punch is blocked and Chuck throws her back down. While Chuck celebrates, Bradshaw is tagged in, and he's mad, as Chuck takes a shoulderblock, a big boot, and a back elbow before retreating to his corner and tagging his partner in a suggestive manner. Bradshaw's not done, as he boots Billy off the ring apron. Bradshaw tries to powerbomb Chuck, but Billy breaks it up, and then catches Bradshaw with a dropkick. Tag to Chuck, and he's able to stifle Bradshaw with some punches and stomps. However, Bradshaw is able to reverse an Irish whip and back suplex Palumbo before tagging in Faarooq, and the two Acolytes shoulderblock Chuck, which draws a two count. Faarooq catches Chuck with a back elbow, but Chuck ducks (hey, that rhymes) a clothesline, then delivers a superkick straight to the mush. Well, it was supposed to be, but it was way off the mark and didn't come close to Faarooq's face. Even so, that gets a two count. Chuck runs into a spinebuster, than takes a diving headbutt. Billy comes in to break it up, and oh here go hell come as everybody's now in the ring except for Jazz, who is violently knocked off the apron by Trish. Trish and Chuck are left in the ring, and Trish fights off Chuck with some punches before attempting a huracanrana. Well, that's a bad idea, as Chuck powerbombs Trish and then covers her by barely holding her shoulders to the mat, as during this time he's supposed to be a 'nontraditional' male. Whatever the cover, it's good enough to get the three count. Afterward, Chuck has a look on his face as if he smelled a giant fart. This wasn't all that great, although Trish and Jazz weren't too bad. I'd give it a 1.44 out of 5.
P15- Argentina Apollo: "Arriba" Luis Martinez and Argentina Apollo vs. The Mongols
According to the WWE Encyclopedia, Apollo was a high-flying superstar who wrestled barefoot and teamed with Don McClarity to win the United States Tag Team Championship. This video is from Eddie Einhorn's IWA, a mid 1970s promotion that tried and failed to run against the NWA, and I have no idea what the exact date of this video is. Here, Apollo and his partner Luis Martinez are interviewed before a match with the Mongols, Geeto and Bolo. Apollo is not exactly Ric Flair on the mic, while Martinez is slightly better, but not great. Martinez states to the fans that all they've got to do is to "show that they're behind us, and let us give you all the action, action, and more action." Wow, that's a lot of action. The two partners also shake hands three times within thirty seconds. Also, Arriba is the victory cry, according to Martinez. Well, Arriba, then. To the match, where Martinez hip tosses one of the Mongols while the other one goes after Apollo. The Mongols go to work on Apollo with various strikes, while throwing Martinez out of the ring. The bigger Mongol (I don't know which one is which, and the announcers is too busy blubbering about nonsense to call the match) catches Apollo with a kitchen sink knee. The smaller Mongol, which I later find out is Geeto (while Bolo is the bigger one, and also would become Demoltion Ax), comes in and the two double team Apollo, but to little effect, as Apollo forces his way to his corner to tag Martinez. Oh here go hell come as all four men are in the ring. Martinez does an airplane spin to one, while Apollo has the other in an Argentinean Backbreaker. Sit down splash by Martinez, and the referee calls for the bell as Apollo has apparently submitted his opponent. The Mongols' manager, a big mountain of a man called George 'Crybaby' Cannon, comes in to complain about this decision, and in protest bounces the helmet he's wearing in the air and catches it at head level. What a bounce! For that, this video gets a 2 out of 5.
P15- Ariel: Ariel ECW Debut
In this video, the woman who would later come out with Kevin Thorn and be the only interesting part about Kevin Thorn makes her ECW debut, and by golly what a debut it is, as she reads tarot cards to recap the past instead of reading the future. Those tarot cards must be specific to ECW, as they apparently tell of Rob Van Dam and Sabu invading the previous night's Raw. But wait a minute, the next tarot card tells of the future, as ECW's Rob Van Dam and Kurt Angle will face off against the team that would later on be known as Rated-RKO, Edge and Randy Orton. I guess if Ariel had kept reading, she would have seen the debut of Marcus Cor Von and Test and Bobby Lashley attempting to wrestle for the ECW Title. Well, I guess it's not a bad way to recap previous events by having a busty girl read tarot cards, so for that I'll give this a 2.15 out of 5.
P15- Armageddon: Mr. Kennedy vs. Undertaker, Last Ride Match, Armageddon 2006
This is a Last Ride match, meaning that to win the match, you must put your opponent in the back of a hearse and drive the hearse out of the arena. Coming into this match, Kennedy has two victories over the Undertaker, albeit in controversial fashion. Kennedy does his own ring introduction, per usual, and the whole time there's this one guy in the crowd that yells "You Suck" every three seconds. It gets quite annoying after about the thirtieth time he says it. The Undertaker's entrance takes up a little more than four minutes of time, which is also not unusual. The bell rings, and Kennedy does all he can to avoid getting hit by Taker, eventually ducking out under the bottom rope. He gets back in, and gets punched in the mouth and kicked out of the ring for his efforts. To the outside, where Undertaker slams Kennedy head-first into the ring steps, then hip tosses him onto the Spanish announce table. Undertaker continues to beat on Kennedy before launching him off the table chest first into the ring apron. Back in, Taker continues his assault by punching and choking Mr. Kennedy, who seems a bit overmatched this time. That is, until Undertaker misses a knee lift in the corner, and goes flying out of the ring, allowing Kennedy an opportunity to stomp the proverbial mudhole in the Undertaker. Kennedy goes on the apron and launches himself towards a now standing Undertaker, but he gets caught and driven spine first into the post. Undertaker scoops Kennedy up on his shoulder and carries him towards the hearse, but Kennedy slips out and pushes Taker into the hearse, then follows with more strikes. Kennedy continues to strike and slam the Undertaker into the hearse, before opening the back door. He puts Undertaker in (while audibly calling the next spot) the back of the hearse, but Undertaker is able to get out with a boot to the face. Undertaker continues to assault Kennedy by firing punches and slamming his opponent into whatever happens to be there before rolling him back in the ring. Actually, he sets Kennedy up over the apron and delivers his patented leg drop on the apron. Undertaker continues to batter Kennedy, then sets him up on the top turnbuckle and delivers a superplex. Undertaker then throws Kennedy over the top rope, while the "You Suck" guys yells, "save some for me, Taker!" Yeah, like your fat ass would be able to do anything with a guy like Kennedy, why don't you do us all a favor and shut up already. I give you a 0 out of 10.
Anyway, Undertaker scoops up Kennedy again to carry to the hearse, but in a last-ditch effort, Kennedy puts a sleeperhold on the Undertaker, and it works as Kennedy is able to get Taker on the ground. After 30 seconds of this, Kennedy believes he has the Undertaker asleep, so he lets go of the hold and drags the Undertaker in the hearse. He slams the door, but Kennedy has to sit and take a breather while the 'You Suck' guy screams 'NOOOOOOOOOOOO' at the top of his voice. He eventually goes to drive it away, but the Undertaker is waiting for him in the drivers seat and commences his beating of Kennedy. They end up around the announce table, and while Undertaker clears the table of its monitors, Kennedy grabs a steel chair and uses it to repeatedly jab Undertaker in the ribs. Back in the ring, Kennedy smashes the Undertaker in the back with a chair, then gives Taker two shots in the head with the chair. But Taker sits back up, and Kennedy decides to head out of the ring with chair in hand. Apparantly, Kennedy has had enough, so he attempts to escape the Undertaker by climbing up the wall set up for the pay-per-view, with Undertaker quickly following. Both men are now on top of the mock castle, which looks about 10 feet high or so. I am quickly corrected as Michael Cole informs me they are some 15, 20 feet in the air as Undertaker pounds away on Kennedy. Undertaker goes for a choke slam off the structure, but Kennedy kicks him down low, then uses Undertaker's moment of weakness to throw him off the structure. Yes, Taker probably landed in a padded area, but it still looked dangerous, especially with the camera focused so that it looked like Taker was flying into your living room, so to speak. Kennedy climbs down and the referee tries to stop him from further beating on the Undertaker while a hush has fallen over both the crowd and the announce booth. Kennedy does open the hearse door and drag the Undertaker, who hasn't moved, towards the hearse. Kennedy gets the Undertaker in, and gets in the driver's seat, where a camera is mounted. All of a sudden, the Undertaker sits up with an evil look in his eyes. He drags Kennedy out of the hearse, then sets him up to deliver the world famous 'Undertaker rights and lefts' combo. Kennedy ducks a steel chair shot and a swing of a lead pipe that shatters the hearse window, but he can't duck the next shot, a steel chair directly to the head. Kennedy is now busted open. Undertaker puts Kennedy on the roof of the hearse, which can't be good. As it turns out, it isn't good as Kennedy is chokeslammed hard on the hearse roof. To make matters worse, Undertaker then Tombstones Kennedy on the hearse roof for good measure. Undertaker puts Kennedy out of his misery by stuffing him in the hearse and driving out for the victory. Good match, not great, but good, with a couple of cool spots and at one point it looked as if Kennedy would win, so it wasn't a total squash. I'd give it a 3.45 out of 5.
P16- Antonino Rocca: Antonino Rocca vs. Lou Kim
Rocca was a huge wrestling star back in the 1950s, considered an innovator of the ring with his aerial tactics and fast-paced, entertaining style. In this match from 1952, he takes on Lou Kim, who I don't know anything about, but he has sideburns and a fu manchu, so he's probably at least better than Jim Powers. Rocca bounces around the ring on his bare feet, as I guess that's his thing. After some feeling out, Kim locks a bearhug on Rocca, but must break the hold. Rocca confounds Kim by dropping to the mat and rolling around in the ring, with Kim unable to catch him. He then leaps on Kim's shoulder and puts him in a headlock with his legs, but Kim is able to get to the ropes and places Rocca on the corner. Kim rocks Rocca with a few overhand chops to the back and the head, and covers, but Rocca's legs are under the ropes. Kim with a full nelson, but Rocca flips over his back into the ropes, then dropkicks Kim to tie him up further. After Kim escapes, Rocca does another running dropkick, and a third one ties up Kim into the ropes again. Kim eventually gets out on the apron, but is counted out as he can't return to the ring before the count. Rocca leaps in celebration. This was quite a different match to those of today, but I wasn't crazy about it, so I'll give it a 1.65 out of 5.
P17- Antonino Rocca: The Kangaroos and Dr. Jerry Graham vs. Antonino Rocca, Ricky Starr, and Miguel Perez
This video is from sometimes in the 1950s and features the original Kangaroos (Al Costello and Roy Heffernan) team up with Dr. Jerry Graham to battle Rocca, the ballet dancer/wrestler Ricky Starr, and the father of a future Los Borica, Miguel Perez. We start with Starr doing cartwheels all over the ring while Costello chases after him and eventually Costello falls face first into the ropes, allowing Starr the opportunity to jump on his back two times. Rocca decides to enter the ring and do the same while Heffernan chases after Starr. The Kangaroos double team on Ricky Starr some, then Costello puts Starr in a full nelson, but Starr flips him over his back and takes Costello down with a series of dropkicks, and after the fourth one, Starr covers and gets the first fall for his team. Rocca starts the second fall for his team, and repeatedly kicks each of the Kangaroos with a front kick to the face. We cut to Perez pounding away on Heffernan, then going to the other corner and swinging at each of his opponents. Cut to Graham giving Rocca a pair of bodyslams, but catching Rocca's feet in his face after the second one. Rocca then dropkicks Graham a few times before somebody interferes, only for Rocca to dropkick him into Graham. Cover by Rocca, and the ref counts to three to give his team the victory. After the match, Starr tries to get after the interfering party, but is eventually pulled off of him. I wonder how good the whole match was? As for what I saw, it was kind of silly, to be honest, so I'll give it a 1.35 out of 5.
P18- Armando Estrada: ECW 6/10/2008 Armando Estrada vs. Finlay
The former general manager of ECW, Armando Estrada takes on Finaly in this match on the June 10, 2008 edition of ECW. Finaly comes out with his 'son' Hornswoggle, and guess what, Mike Adamle is on commentary with the man he once referred to as 'the Taz'. What did I do to deserve this honor? Estrada was just fired from his GM role last week, so now new GM Teddy Long is forcing Estrada to fight Finlay and win in order to earn a contract. Estrada shows some moxie by going after Finaly before the bell, and starts the match raining blows on Finlay. Armando whips Finlay into the corner and charges, only to take a boot to the head. Finlay seems a bit ticked, as he comes after Armando with a pair of clothesline, then gives Armando a bodyslam and a sitdown splash for his troubles. To make matters worse for Armando, Finlay delivers his finisher, the Celtic Cross, and it proves to be a true finisher as it gets the three count. Finlay and Hornswoggle celebrate a job well done, but here comes Teddy Long. Estrada is lucky that Teddy likes him, as the new GM gives Estrada another match to earn his contract, this one against Colin Delaney, the very same man Armando put in matches against men twice his size in order to earn a contract. Delaney comes out, and Finlay being the guy that he is, canes Estrada in the back of the leg with his shillelagh. Delaney DDTs Estrada upon entering the ring, and gets the three count in about six seconds. Long still feels charitable, so he gives Estrada one more chance with a match against Hornswoggle. But Estrada's still down, and Hornswoggle takes this opportunity to scurry up the turnbuckles and deliver the Tadpole Splash to get the quick victory. The three Irishmen dance in celebration of their various victories, but Delaney makes the mistake of placing Hornswoggle's hat on Finlay, which results in a shillelagh shot to the face. Well, that made me laugh, and it also made Finlay crack a smile. Back to celebrating for the Finlays, and the video ends. Poor Armando. I'll give a 2.5 out of 5 just because I like Finlay cracking fools with his shillelagh.
P18- Arnold Skaaland: Superfly Jimmy Snuka and Arnold Skaaland vs. Lou Albano and Don Muraco, MSG, 12/26/1983
This match took place the same night Skaaland's other client at the time, Bob Backlund, lost his WWF Heavyweight Title to the Iron Shiek after Skaaland threw in the towel while Backlund was in the camel clutch. So Skaaland had a big night on this night. Here the match starts off with the then 58 year-old donning the tights and squaring off against big Don Muraco. Skaaland takes Muraco by surprise with a pair of arm drags, but Muraco is able to regroup and puts a headlock on Skaaland. Skaaland whips Muraco out of the position, then ducks for Muraco to leap over him. Muraco puts on the breaks to taunt the fans, but walks into a Skaaland body slam, and then 'the Golden Boy' decks a charging Albano for good measure. Back up, Muraco whips Skaaland, who uses the opportunity to hit Albano again, then small packages Muraco for a two count. Tie up, but Skaaland ducks under and tags out to Snuka. Muraco headlocks Snuka, and then shoulderblocks him after an Irish whip, but Snuka gets the upper hand after a pair of leapfrogs and a karate chop to the throat, which sends Muraco bailing out of the ring. Back in, Snuka gets a one count after a flying headbutt, then puts Muraco in a chinlock. Snuka drags Muraco over to the other corner and forces the Magnificent one to tag in Albano, and 'The Guiding Light' squares off with his former charge. Snuka starts off with some strikes, but a low blow hunches Snuka over and allows Albano to punish Snuka with forearms. While Albano has the ref's attention, Muraco comes off the top rope and drives his knee into Snuka. After some more punches, Muraco is tagged in, and continues the punishment on Snuka with a pair of knee lifts. After a minute of Muraco dominating Snuka with strikes, Superfly sees an opening and fires at Muraco, eventually knocking him down with a headbutt. Snuka then karate chops Albano just because he can, but Muraco prevents any further punishment on Albano with a dropkick that knocks Snuka down. Albano's in, he delivers some of the worst strikes in the history of pro wrestling before tagging in Muraco again. Muraco hooks up Snuka in a full nelson and waits for Albano to strike Snuka, but Captain Lou takes forever and a day and Snuka ducks out the way so Muraco takes the force of the Captain's blow. Skaaland comes in and pounds away on Albano, while Snuka climbs to the top and flattens Muraco with a cross body block. Cover, and the ref counts three giving Snuka and Skaaland the victory. Snuka's not yet finished, and gives a double noggin knocker to Muraco and Albano before both men stagger out of the ring. Kind of a strange match, as a 58 year old manager was able to hold his own against Muraco and Albano got a lot of offense on Snuka. Not that good of a match either, but I guess the right team won. I'll give it a 1.25 out of 5.
P18- Ashley Massaro: Ashley Massaro on Raw
This video is from the March 12, 2007 editon of Raw. Ashley Massaro, the former contestant of Survivor:China and the second WWE Diva Search winner is talking about her signing of her Playboy cover at some store in New York. Not surprisingly, there's nothing but dudes in line. Then for some reason we get Todd Grisham interviewing Mick Foley. Mick is here to promote his book, The Hardcore Diaries (which I reviewed earlier). Mick plugs his book and his appearance of ECW when Ashley shows up to exchange her Playboy for Mick's book. Ron Simmons shows up, looks at the magazine, and says Damn. Later on, Ashley runs to the ring and spears Melina because I guess the two have an upcoming match. Well, at least this was short. 1.3 out of 5.
Well, that's all for now. Remember, if you have any thoughts about the matches reviewed above or about the 2BWE project itself, then feel free to leave a comment on this post. Also, if you have any ideas for future posts, then send me an e-mail at KtheC2001@gmail.com. Also, remember, Arriba is the victory cry.
P12- Andre the Giant: Ultimate Warrior vs. Andre the Giant
This was one of the many matches these two had for Warrior's Intercontinental Title back in 1989, and I believe is from the October 29, 1989 card at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. The match starts with Andre standing tall in the center of the ring while Warrior runs around like a crazed man. Warrior charges, but Andre's ready for it and uses his size advantage to drag Warrior over to the corner. Andre then spends the next minute or so choking Warrior in the corner, making sure to break the ref's five count each time before going back to choking. Warrior tries to escape with a couple of toe kicks, but Andre just backs him into another corner and starts the process all over again. Andre keeps control with chokeholds and punches until Warrior throws a few chops at him. That doesn't do anything, but then Warrior karate chops Andre in the trapezoids which has some effect on him, and Warrior goes to work by choking Andre in the corner. Warrior with a running clothesline that sends Andre into the ropes. Andre looks to be trapped, but is able to escape just before the Warrior tries another clothesline, and instead Warrior takes a big boot to the torso. Both men get back up slowly, and Warrior does an awkward single leg takedown before choking Andre again. After this point, Warrior just brawls with Andre on the ground until the Giant is able to gain his bearings and slam Warrior into the mat before getting up very slowly. After a nerve hold, Andre confers with his manager Bobby Heenan at ringside, which gives Warrior enough time to recover and body slam Andre down. Warrior goes for a big splash, but Andre puts his arm up to block him and knocks Warrior back. Back up, Andre traps the Warrior in a bear hug for two minutes until Warrior finally gets out and tomahawk chops Andre in the head. After Warrior stuns him, he runs around the ring for 10 seconds before launching into Andre with a clothesline that knocks the Giant outside of the ring. Andre slowly gets back in while the Warrior winds up his arm like Daryle Lamonica warming up to throw a deep pass. He tries to catch Andre with a clothesline, but instead Andre pulls the ref into his path, so the poor ref is flattened instead. Andre grabs the Warrior by the back of his head and headbutts him twice and follows with an elbow drop. He covers, but the ref is slow to get up and when he does, he disqualifies Andre for putting him in the Warrior's path. At first Andre believes he's won the title, but is dismayed to find out that he's been disqualified. After the match, the Warrior clotheslines Andre from behind and takes his belt back, spinning it around like a helicopter. Well, at this point Andre couldn't move very well, and the Warrior isn't very good at his job, so this match was a struggle to get through. I'd give it a 0.5 out of 5.
P13- Andre the Giant: Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant- WWF Title
Yes, Andre's profile takes up two whole pages in the WWE Encyclopedia, but that's all right. Anyway, this match is from the television special The Main Event on February 5, 1988, and is the most watched match to ever air on television, as the show got a 15.2 rating, which is a higher rating than any series that aired on television last year. So this match was kind of a big deal, as it was the rematch from the two men's legendary Wrestlemania III match. Andre comes out with Ted DiBiase and Virgil. But before the match, an interview is shown with Hulk Hogan, who says that he has invested his assets of taking vitamins and saying prayers wisely in a profit sharing plan with all of his Hulkamaniacs, and that he will slam the Giant down again tonight. Hogan comes out and tries to come after Andre with the title belt, but referee Dave Hebner holds him back. The bell rings, and Andre takes his time, standing tall in his corner while Hogan works the crowd. Finally, Andre moves, and turns to DiBiase on the apron for some last minute advice. That gives Hogan the opening he needs, as he attacks the Giant and takes care of both DiBiase and Virgil with a noggin-knocker. He then gives both DiBiase and Virgil big boots that send them flying out of the ring, then catches Andre with a few punches that stagger the big man. Hogan gives Andre everything he's got, but just can't manage to knock Andre down. Hogan manages to knock Virgil down after he gets on the apron, but all the punches, kicks, clotheslines, and eye rakes he uses on Andre still fails to bring him down. Hogan climbs to the top rope, but the Giant catches him and launches Hogan off for a hard body slam. Andre goes for a diving headbutt, but misses, and Hogan is now back up. Hogan covers, but Andre chokes him instead and lets go before the count of 5. Andre is now in control, using chokes, slams, stomps, and other strikes to keep Hogan at bay. Andre knocks himself down after a big boot, and knocks Hogan to the outside of the ring, where Virgil quickly scoops him up and back in. More chokes and strikes by Andre, but the power of Hulkamania arises, and Hogan gets out of the choke hold and starts firing away in a renewed attempt to knock Andre off his feet. He finally does it after a clothesline from the second rope, gives Andre the big legdrop, and covers, but the referee is distracted by Virgil. Hogan argues with the ref, but Andre grabs him from behind and headbutts him twice before delivering a sloppy looking suplex. Cover, but Hogan gets the shoulder up at two. However, the referee keeps counting, and we have controversy as Andre is awarded the match and the WWF Title. Hogan is in disbelief as Andre the Giant is awarded the title. Afterward, Andre is interviewed by Mean Gene Okerlund, where he says he (Andre) told us he would win the World Tag Team Championship. Whoops. He then surrenders the Title to Ted DiBiase as part of their agreement before the match, meaning that DiBiase has just bought the WWF Heavyweight Title. Say it ain't so. Hogan goes after them before the three men walk out of the ring, quite satisfied with what they have done. Meanwhile, another Dave Hebner comes out, and the two men start arguing. As it turns out, it was Dave's evil twin Earl Hebner that called the match, although at this point nobody knows which is which. One of the Hebner's slugs the other and kicks him out of the ring. He then pleads for mercy to Hogan, but the Hulkster is having none of it, so he gorilla presses him and throws the ref out of the ring over DiBiase and Virgil, knocking all three men to the floor. As it turns out, it was only the second most controversial call of Earl Hebner's career. Match wasn't too good from a pure wrestling standpoint, but the atmosphere was electric and the whole match had a big-fight feel to it, so overall I'd give it a 1.85 out of 5.
P14- Angelo "King Kong" Mosca: Angelo Mosca vs. Blackjack Mulligan
Angelo Mosca, the former CFL All-Pro defensive tackle turned wrestler, takes on Blackjack Mulligan in a brawl that took place in the Florida territory in 1983. The two men hate each other so much that their fight goes out of the ring and even out of the arena. Eventually, they pick up the fight in the back of a pickup truck. Mosca gets knocked out of truck onto the street, but gets up quickly and the two keep fighting on the street. The locker room empties to break the two up, but not before Mosca gets another shot in on Mulligan. Finally, after about 20 seconds, order is restored and all the wrestlers have successfully separated the two big men from ripping each other apart. The video quality wasn't too sharp, but all in all it wasn't too bad and a good way to advance a feud, as it wasn't every day that two wrestlers climbed into the bed of a pickup to duke it out. I'd give it a 2.2 out of 5.
P14- Angelo Mosca Jr.: Ivan Koloff vs. Angelo Mosca Jr., Mid Atlantic Heavyweight Title Match
Angelo Mosca Jr. was basically the Dale Berra to Angelo Sr's Yogi Berra. Then again, Mosca wasn't quite as good in his field as Yogi was at baseball, but you get the picture. I believe this match took place on January 25, 1984. Angelo Mosca Sr. is on commentary with Bob Caudle for this match, and Koloff is accompanied to ringside by his manager Gary Hart. Koloff backs Mosca up and Irish whips him, but Mosca ducks a clothesline and then nearly gets a three count after a Sunset Flip. Mosca continues his dominance with two dropkicks and a cross body block that also draws a two count, and the fans are really behind Mosca in this match. Koloff backs up and takes a breather, only to continue to take punishment from Mosca in the form of a hip toss and an arm bar. Mosca then starts rolling with Koloff still in the arm bar, which you don't see too much of these days. Ivan finally gets out of it after two knees to the face, and keeps Mosca off balance with strikes before getting a two count after a knee drop. Koloff, ever the veteran, is not fazed by this and simply puts Mosca in a front headlock. Mosca is able to escape, but Koloff then slows down Mosca with a punch and then throws him out of the ring. Mosca gets back in, and suddenly the video skips and the bell ring again, as the show took a 'TV timeout', in Bob Caudle's words, to make sure the conclusion is shown.
Back to action, Koloff snapmares Mosca and starts choking him, and follows that up by picking him up and throwing him hard against the ring ropes. Koloff then hits a backbreaker, and starts to concentrate his efforts on hurting Mosca's back by driving his knee into it, then by just grabbing hold of lower back and squeezing the muscles. Mosca eventually fights out and then tries to go for a Boston Crab. He can't so he does some weak looking catapult type move instead. Koloff goes to the eyes and gets back up, he tries a piledriver, but Mosca blocks it and then flattens Koloff with a back elbow. That gets a two count, so Mosca arm drags Koloff down, but after that he gets caught in a headscissors. Mosca flips out of it, then tries another hip toss but for some reason stops in mid move. I guess Koloff got an eye gouge in or something. Bearhug by the Russian Bear, and Mosca Sr. is starting to really get on my nerves from the commentary booth, as he keeps yelling "Go Ang" like every 20 seconds. Mosca cheats to win by using an eye gouge to get out of the hold, and the two kind of stagger around for a few seconds before Koloff somewhat back body drops Mosca out of a piledriver attempt. Mosca gets up and dropkicks Koloff, which gets a two count. Mosca then does a toe-hold, and follows that up with a basterdized version of the figure four, where it seems as if Koloff has to remind him to put his other leg over Koloff's foot to make the hold look better. Koloff gets to the ropes, but Mosca is undaunted and goes to work on the leg again. After Koloff gets out of the toe hold, Mosca covers, but to no avail as Ivan kicks out. Mosca slams Koloff and goes to the top rope, where he comes down on Koloff with a cross body block. Cover, and we have a new Mid-Atlantic Champion, as Angelo Mosca gets the three count and a hug from his father, who charges the ring after the bell has rung. Match started out strong, but started to peter out towards the middle, of Mosca's inexperience started to show. Still, I'd give it a 2.05 out of 5.
P14- Angelo Savoldi: Angelo Savoldi vs. Dr. Jerry Graham
I have no idea when this match took place, but I do know it took place in either the 1950s or 1960s and is from a show in Melbourne, Austrailia. The match starts with a rush as Savoldi charges Graham, and the two do a ring running spot which eventually slows down and stops. Graham shows off his high opinion of his intelligence by pointing to his head, and Savoldi responds by charging at Graham again, sending Graham scurrying to the apron. Graham tries a bearhug, but Savoldi slips out easy. Graham tries another hold, but Savoldi escapes again, and sends Graham flying out of the ring with a big right hand. Back in, Graham takes Savoldi by surprise with a spinning drop toe hold, and follows that up with a chinlock while he ties up Savoldi's legs with his own, in an STF type hold. Savoldi gets out of the hold by chomping down on his hand, which the crowd approves of. Savoldi gets a side headlock takedown for two, but Graham turns it around on him and starts choking him. While the ref grabs Graham to force him to stop, Jerry does, only to continue to choke Savoldi with his free hand behind his back, out of sight of the referee. Graham keeps punching and grabbing at Savoldi, which eventually ticks Savoldi off enough for Graham to back away into a corner. Savoldi has none of that, so he slugs Graham and throws him out of the corner with a beal. Savoldi stomps a mudhole in Graham and then throws him into another corner. The ref goes to pull Savoldi off, but that allows Graham to get a shot in and regain the advantage. Graham then tries to make friends with Angelo, but gets a right hand to the mush instead, so Graham goes to the ring apron to rethink things. The bell rings, signifying the end of round 1, so I guess this match will be done in five minute rounds.
Before round 2 begins, Jerry Graham goes to the announce table to express his displeasure at Savoldi and the fine people of Melbourne. Round 2 begins with Savoldi charging at Graham and hitting a few punches, only for Graham to turn the table and hit a wicked looking punch combo to the body. Savoldi is thrown hard into the corner and then falls down, allowing Graham an opportunity to choke him with his boot. Graham takes a while to get up to the top rope, but comes off quickly with a knee drop, and gets the first pinfall of the match. Well, I guess this is a two out of three falls match as well. Graham uses the break to once again dis the Australian people, wondering why the U.S. bothered to save them from the Japanese in World War II or something. The bell rings, and Graham manages to put Savoldi in a modified sleeper hold, and manages to hold onto to it for two solid minutes before biting Savoldi's cauliflower ear in the corner and letting go. While Graham is distracted by the ref, Savoldi uses the opening to fight fire with fire, and bite on Graham some. That infuriates the doctor, as he whips Savoldi into the corner, squashes him, and drops a knee on him. Graham goes up to the top again for another knee drop, but this time Salvodi moves. After a pair of running backdrops, Savoldi hits a running dropkick on Graham, covers, and gets the second fall of the match to even things up at one apiece. Both men go to the corner to recuperate, and after a minute, the bell rings to signal the next fall. Savoldi takes the advantage with an arm drag and twist, and goes to work on Graham with a spinning wrist hold. Graham wriggles out of it and grabs Savoldi with a headlock before whipping him into the ropes. After that, Graham rebounds with a shoulder block that knocks the smaller Savoldi down. But Savoldi is up quickly, and counters another attempted shoulderblock with an arm drag and twist of the arm. Graham retreats to a corner, only to get stomped on and pounded by Savoldi. After 30 seconds of this, Savoldi whips Graham into another corner and traps him by hooking each leg under a rope. Savoldi hits one charging shoulder block, but Graham gets the knee up on the second one and quickly covers, and that gets the three count and the third fall. After the match, Graham goes to announcer's table, and compliments Savoldi by saying he's the toughest Italian he's ever faced. Well, that was nice of him. Match was pretty decent, and a real interesting look at wrestling in the past. I'd give it a 3.1 out of 5.
P14- Antonio Inoki: Andre the Giant vs. Antonio Inoki 1983
What the hey? Another Andre the Giant video? Oh well. This video is a highlight reel of two wrestling legends in a New Japan match from May 6, 1983. Inoki starts off by trying to outrun the Giant, but gets caught with an overhand chop. Nevertheless, Inoki continues to run around the ring to tire his opponent, and then tries a shoulderblock, which does not go well for Inoki. Back up, Inoki kicks Andre low and then hits the enziguri to the head, and follows that up with a knee drop. The next clip starts with Andre with an ankle lock of sorts on Inoki. This continues for about 25 seconds until the next clip, which starts with Inoki fighting out of a bearhug with punches. He does, but Andre headbutts him with his massive truck tire sized head. Next, Andre takes down Inoki with a front facelock, but loses leverage on the hold and Inoki is able to sneak out and slip on a cross armbar. Andre gets back to his feet and throws Inoki out of the ring, then follows to deliver another headbutt. Next, Andre is choking Inoki in the crowd, and the bell rings, but both men go to the ring anyway. Andre shrugs off an Inoki dropkick, then whips Inoki to the ropes and hits him with the big boot on the rebound. Andre with a knife edge chop, and the ref raises Andre's hand in victory as Inoki must have been counted out. It was probably better that I didn't see the whole match, since it's more than likely worse than the action shown in this video. So, because of that, I'd give the video a 2.45 out of 5.
P15- APA (Acolyte Protection Agency): 1.28.02 - Trish and APA vs. Jazz and Billy and Chuck
This match from the January 28, 2002 edition of Monday Night Raw teams up then WWF Women's Champion Trish Stratus with the APA (Faarooq and Bradshaw) against Jazz and Billy (Gunn) and Chuck (Palumbo). The announcers inform us that in this match, women can legally fight men. Jerry Lawler shows his objectivity by booing Jazz as she comes out, while Billy and Chuck come out to the theme Billy used when he was known as "The One" Billy Gunn. I guess he was the one Billy Gunn because nobody else wanted to be Billy Gunn. Only kidding. Trish and Jazz start off, and after a tie up, Jazz slaps Trish in the face and knocks her down with a clothesline. After a shoulderblock, Trish is able to leapfrog Jazz, then catches her by surprise with a monkey flip before dropkicking Jazz out of the ring. However, Jazz proves she is the more aggressive of the two by dragging Trish out by the leg and slamming her face first into the apron. Back in, Jazz throws down Trish, then tries to suplex her, but Stratus is able to counter with a small package that gets two before Chuck breaks it up. Trish tries to slug Palumbo, but the punch is blocked and Chuck throws her back down. While Chuck celebrates, Bradshaw is tagged in, and he's mad, as Chuck takes a shoulderblock, a big boot, and a back elbow before retreating to his corner and tagging his partner in a suggestive manner. Bradshaw's not done, as he boots Billy off the ring apron. Bradshaw tries to powerbomb Chuck, but Billy breaks it up, and then catches Bradshaw with a dropkick. Tag to Chuck, and he's able to stifle Bradshaw with some punches and stomps. However, Bradshaw is able to reverse an Irish whip and back suplex Palumbo before tagging in Faarooq, and the two Acolytes shoulderblock Chuck, which draws a two count. Faarooq catches Chuck with a back elbow, but Chuck ducks (hey, that rhymes) a clothesline, then delivers a superkick straight to the mush. Well, it was supposed to be, but it was way off the mark and didn't come close to Faarooq's face. Even so, that gets a two count. Chuck runs into a spinebuster, than takes a diving headbutt. Billy comes in to break it up, and oh here go hell come as everybody's now in the ring except for Jazz, who is violently knocked off the apron by Trish. Trish and Chuck are left in the ring, and Trish fights off Chuck with some punches before attempting a huracanrana. Well, that's a bad idea, as Chuck powerbombs Trish and then covers her by barely holding her shoulders to the mat, as during this time he's supposed to be a 'nontraditional' male. Whatever the cover, it's good enough to get the three count. Afterward, Chuck has a look on his face as if he smelled a giant fart. This wasn't all that great, although Trish and Jazz weren't too bad. I'd give it a 1.44 out of 5.
P15- Argentina Apollo: "Arriba" Luis Martinez and Argentina Apollo vs. The Mongols
According to the WWE Encyclopedia, Apollo was a high-flying superstar who wrestled barefoot and teamed with Don McClarity to win the United States Tag Team Championship. This video is from Eddie Einhorn's IWA, a mid 1970s promotion that tried and failed to run against the NWA, and I have no idea what the exact date of this video is. Here, Apollo and his partner Luis Martinez are interviewed before a match with the Mongols, Geeto and Bolo. Apollo is not exactly Ric Flair on the mic, while Martinez is slightly better, but not great. Martinez states to the fans that all they've got to do is to "show that they're behind us, and let us give you all the action, action, and more action." Wow, that's a lot of action. The two partners also shake hands three times within thirty seconds. Also, Arriba is the victory cry, according to Martinez. Well, Arriba, then. To the match, where Martinez hip tosses one of the Mongols while the other one goes after Apollo. The Mongols go to work on Apollo with various strikes, while throwing Martinez out of the ring. The bigger Mongol (I don't know which one is which, and the announcers is too busy blubbering about nonsense to call the match) catches Apollo with a kitchen sink knee. The smaller Mongol, which I later find out is Geeto (while Bolo is the bigger one, and also would become Demoltion Ax), comes in and the two double team Apollo, but to little effect, as Apollo forces his way to his corner to tag Martinez. Oh here go hell come as all four men are in the ring. Martinez does an airplane spin to one, while Apollo has the other in an Argentinean Backbreaker. Sit down splash by Martinez, and the referee calls for the bell as Apollo has apparently submitted his opponent. The Mongols' manager, a big mountain of a man called George 'Crybaby' Cannon, comes in to complain about this decision, and in protest bounces the helmet he's wearing in the air and catches it at head level. What a bounce! For that, this video gets a 2 out of 5.
P15- Ariel: Ariel ECW Debut
In this video, the woman who would later come out with Kevin Thorn and be the only interesting part about Kevin Thorn makes her ECW debut, and by golly what a debut it is, as she reads tarot cards to recap the past instead of reading the future. Those tarot cards must be specific to ECW, as they apparently tell of Rob Van Dam and Sabu invading the previous night's Raw. But wait a minute, the next tarot card tells of the future, as ECW's Rob Van Dam and Kurt Angle will face off against the team that would later on be known as Rated-RKO, Edge and Randy Orton. I guess if Ariel had kept reading, she would have seen the debut of Marcus Cor Von and Test and Bobby Lashley attempting to wrestle for the ECW Title. Well, I guess it's not a bad way to recap previous events by having a busty girl read tarot cards, so for that I'll give this a 2.15 out of 5.
P15- Armageddon: Mr. Kennedy vs. Undertaker, Last Ride Match, Armageddon 2006
This is a Last Ride match, meaning that to win the match, you must put your opponent in the back of a hearse and drive the hearse out of the arena. Coming into this match, Kennedy has two victories over the Undertaker, albeit in controversial fashion. Kennedy does his own ring introduction, per usual, and the whole time there's this one guy in the crowd that yells "You Suck" every three seconds. It gets quite annoying after about the thirtieth time he says it. The Undertaker's entrance takes up a little more than four minutes of time, which is also not unusual. The bell rings, and Kennedy does all he can to avoid getting hit by Taker, eventually ducking out under the bottom rope. He gets back in, and gets punched in the mouth and kicked out of the ring for his efforts. To the outside, where Undertaker slams Kennedy head-first into the ring steps, then hip tosses him onto the Spanish announce table. Undertaker continues to beat on Kennedy before launching him off the table chest first into the ring apron. Back in, Taker continues his assault by punching and choking Mr. Kennedy, who seems a bit overmatched this time. That is, until Undertaker misses a knee lift in the corner, and goes flying out of the ring, allowing Kennedy an opportunity to stomp the proverbial mudhole in the Undertaker. Kennedy goes on the apron and launches himself towards a now standing Undertaker, but he gets caught and driven spine first into the post. Undertaker scoops Kennedy up on his shoulder and carries him towards the hearse, but Kennedy slips out and pushes Taker into the hearse, then follows with more strikes. Kennedy continues to strike and slam the Undertaker into the hearse, before opening the back door. He puts Undertaker in (while audibly calling the next spot) the back of the hearse, but Undertaker is able to get out with a boot to the face. Undertaker continues to assault Kennedy by firing punches and slamming his opponent into whatever happens to be there before rolling him back in the ring. Actually, he sets Kennedy up over the apron and delivers his patented leg drop on the apron. Undertaker continues to batter Kennedy, then sets him up on the top turnbuckle and delivers a superplex. Undertaker then throws Kennedy over the top rope, while the "You Suck" guys yells, "save some for me, Taker!" Yeah, like your fat ass would be able to do anything with a guy like Kennedy, why don't you do us all a favor and shut up already. I give you a 0 out of 10.
Anyway, Undertaker scoops up Kennedy again to carry to the hearse, but in a last-ditch effort, Kennedy puts a sleeperhold on the Undertaker, and it works as Kennedy is able to get Taker on the ground. After 30 seconds of this, Kennedy believes he has the Undertaker asleep, so he lets go of the hold and drags the Undertaker in the hearse. He slams the door, but Kennedy has to sit and take a breather while the 'You Suck' guy screams 'NOOOOOOOOOOOO' at the top of his voice. He eventually goes to drive it away, but the Undertaker is waiting for him in the drivers seat and commences his beating of Kennedy. They end up around the announce table, and while Undertaker clears the table of its monitors, Kennedy grabs a steel chair and uses it to repeatedly jab Undertaker in the ribs. Back in the ring, Kennedy smashes the Undertaker in the back with a chair, then gives Taker two shots in the head with the chair. But Taker sits back up, and Kennedy decides to head out of the ring with chair in hand. Apparantly, Kennedy has had enough, so he attempts to escape the Undertaker by climbing up the wall set up for the pay-per-view, with Undertaker quickly following. Both men are now on top of the mock castle, which looks about 10 feet high or so. I am quickly corrected as Michael Cole informs me they are some 15, 20 feet in the air as Undertaker pounds away on Kennedy. Undertaker goes for a choke slam off the structure, but Kennedy kicks him down low, then uses Undertaker's moment of weakness to throw him off the structure. Yes, Taker probably landed in a padded area, but it still looked dangerous, especially with the camera focused so that it looked like Taker was flying into your living room, so to speak. Kennedy climbs down and the referee tries to stop him from further beating on the Undertaker while a hush has fallen over both the crowd and the announce booth. Kennedy does open the hearse door and drag the Undertaker, who hasn't moved, towards the hearse. Kennedy gets the Undertaker in, and gets in the driver's seat, where a camera is mounted. All of a sudden, the Undertaker sits up with an evil look in his eyes. He drags Kennedy out of the hearse, then sets him up to deliver the world famous 'Undertaker rights and lefts' combo. Kennedy ducks a steel chair shot and a swing of a lead pipe that shatters the hearse window, but he can't duck the next shot, a steel chair directly to the head. Kennedy is now busted open. Undertaker puts Kennedy on the roof of the hearse, which can't be good. As it turns out, it isn't good as Kennedy is chokeslammed hard on the hearse roof. To make matters worse, Undertaker then Tombstones Kennedy on the hearse roof for good measure. Undertaker puts Kennedy out of his misery by stuffing him in the hearse and driving out for the victory. Good match, not great, but good, with a couple of cool spots and at one point it looked as if Kennedy would win, so it wasn't a total squash. I'd give it a 3.45 out of 5.
P16- Antonino Rocca: Antonino Rocca vs. Lou Kim
Rocca was a huge wrestling star back in the 1950s, considered an innovator of the ring with his aerial tactics and fast-paced, entertaining style. In this match from 1952, he takes on Lou Kim, who I don't know anything about, but he has sideburns and a fu manchu, so he's probably at least better than Jim Powers. Rocca bounces around the ring on his bare feet, as I guess that's his thing. After some feeling out, Kim locks a bearhug on Rocca, but must break the hold. Rocca confounds Kim by dropping to the mat and rolling around in the ring, with Kim unable to catch him. He then leaps on Kim's shoulder and puts him in a headlock with his legs, but Kim is able to get to the ropes and places Rocca on the corner. Kim rocks Rocca with a few overhand chops to the back and the head, and covers, but Rocca's legs are under the ropes. Kim with a full nelson, but Rocca flips over his back into the ropes, then dropkicks Kim to tie him up further. After Kim escapes, Rocca does another running dropkick, and a third one ties up Kim into the ropes again. Kim eventually gets out on the apron, but is counted out as he can't return to the ring before the count. Rocca leaps in celebration. This was quite a different match to those of today, but I wasn't crazy about it, so I'll give it a 1.65 out of 5.
P17- Antonino Rocca: The Kangaroos and Dr. Jerry Graham vs. Antonino Rocca, Ricky Starr, and Miguel Perez
This video is from sometimes in the 1950s and features the original Kangaroos (Al Costello and Roy Heffernan) team up with Dr. Jerry Graham to battle Rocca, the ballet dancer/wrestler Ricky Starr, and the father of a future Los Borica, Miguel Perez. We start with Starr doing cartwheels all over the ring while Costello chases after him and eventually Costello falls face first into the ropes, allowing Starr the opportunity to jump on his back two times. Rocca decides to enter the ring and do the same while Heffernan chases after Starr. The Kangaroos double team on Ricky Starr some, then Costello puts Starr in a full nelson, but Starr flips him over his back and takes Costello down with a series of dropkicks, and after the fourth one, Starr covers and gets the first fall for his team. Rocca starts the second fall for his team, and repeatedly kicks each of the Kangaroos with a front kick to the face. We cut to Perez pounding away on Heffernan, then going to the other corner and swinging at each of his opponents. Cut to Graham giving Rocca a pair of bodyslams, but catching Rocca's feet in his face after the second one. Rocca then dropkicks Graham a few times before somebody interferes, only for Rocca to dropkick him into Graham. Cover by Rocca, and the ref counts to three to give his team the victory. After the match, Starr tries to get after the interfering party, but is eventually pulled off of him. I wonder how good the whole match was? As for what I saw, it was kind of silly, to be honest, so I'll give it a 1.35 out of 5.
P18- Armando Estrada: ECW 6/10/2008 Armando Estrada vs. Finlay
The former general manager of ECW, Armando Estrada takes on Finaly in this match on the June 10, 2008 edition of ECW. Finaly comes out with his 'son' Hornswoggle, and guess what, Mike Adamle is on commentary with the man he once referred to as 'the Taz'. What did I do to deserve this honor? Estrada was just fired from his GM role last week, so now new GM Teddy Long is forcing Estrada to fight Finlay and win in order to earn a contract. Estrada shows some moxie by going after Finaly before the bell, and starts the match raining blows on Finlay. Armando whips Finlay into the corner and charges, only to take a boot to the head. Finlay seems a bit ticked, as he comes after Armando with a pair of clothesline, then gives Armando a bodyslam and a sitdown splash for his troubles. To make matters worse for Armando, Finlay delivers his finisher, the Celtic Cross, and it proves to be a true finisher as it gets the three count. Finlay and Hornswoggle celebrate a job well done, but here comes Teddy Long. Estrada is lucky that Teddy likes him, as the new GM gives Estrada another match to earn his contract, this one against Colin Delaney, the very same man Armando put in matches against men twice his size in order to earn a contract. Delaney comes out, and Finlay being the guy that he is, canes Estrada in the back of the leg with his shillelagh. Delaney DDTs Estrada upon entering the ring, and gets the three count in about six seconds. Long still feels charitable, so he gives Estrada one more chance with a match against Hornswoggle. But Estrada's still down, and Hornswoggle takes this opportunity to scurry up the turnbuckles and deliver the Tadpole Splash to get the quick victory. The three Irishmen dance in celebration of their various victories, but Delaney makes the mistake of placing Hornswoggle's hat on Finlay, which results in a shillelagh shot to the face. Well, that made me laugh, and it also made Finlay crack a smile. Back to celebrating for the Finlays, and the video ends. Poor Armando. I'll give a 2.5 out of 5 just because I like Finlay cracking fools with his shillelagh.
P18- Arnold Skaaland: Superfly Jimmy Snuka and Arnold Skaaland vs. Lou Albano and Don Muraco, MSG, 12/26/1983
This match took place the same night Skaaland's other client at the time, Bob Backlund, lost his WWF Heavyweight Title to the Iron Shiek after Skaaland threw in the towel while Backlund was in the camel clutch. So Skaaland had a big night on this night. Here the match starts off with the then 58 year-old donning the tights and squaring off against big Don Muraco. Skaaland takes Muraco by surprise with a pair of arm drags, but Muraco is able to regroup and puts a headlock on Skaaland. Skaaland whips Muraco out of the position, then ducks for Muraco to leap over him. Muraco puts on the breaks to taunt the fans, but walks into a Skaaland body slam, and then 'the Golden Boy' decks a charging Albano for good measure. Back up, Muraco whips Skaaland, who uses the opportunity to hit Albano again, then small packages Muraco for a two count. Tie up, but Skaaland ducks under and tags out to Snuka. Muraco headlocks Snuka, and then shoulderblocks him after an Irish whip, but Snuka gets the upper hand after a pair of leapfrogs and a karate chop to the throat, which sends Muraco bailing out of the ring. Back in, Snuka gets a one count after a flying headbutt, then puts Muraco in a chinlock. Snuka drags Muraco over to the other corner and forces the Magnificent one to tag in Albano, and 'The Guiding Light' squares off with his former charge. Snuka starts off with some strikes, but a low blow hunches Snuka over and allows Albano to punish Snuka with forearms. While Albano has the ref's attention, Muraco comes off the top rope and drives his knee into Snuka. After some more punches, Muraco is tagged in, and continues the punishment on Snuka with a pair of knee lifts. After a minute of Muraco dominating Snuka with strikes, Superfly sees an opening and fires at Muraco, eventually knocking him down with a headbutt. Snuka then karate chops Albano just because he can, but Muraco prevents any further punishment on Albano with a dropkick that knocks Snuka down. Albano's in, he delivers some of the worst strikes in the history of pro wrestling before tagging in Muraco again. Muraco hooks up Snuka in a full nelson and waits for Albano to strike Snuka, but Captain Lou takes forever and a day and Snuka ducks out the way so Muraco takes the force of the Captain's blow. Skaaland comes in and pounds away on Albano, while Snuka climbs to the top and flattens Muraco with a cross body block. Cover, and the ref counts three giving Snuka and Skaaland the victory. Snuka's not yet finished, and gives a double noggin knocker to Muraco and Albano before both men stagger out of the ring. Kind of a strange match, as a 58 year old manager was able to hold his own against Muraco and Albano got a lot of offense on Snuka. Not that good of a match either, but I guess the right team won. I'll give it a 1.25 out of 5.
P18- Ashley Massaro: Ashley Massaro on Raw
This video is from the March 12, 2007 editon of Raw. Ashley Massaro, the former contestant of Survivor:China and the second WWE Diva Search winner is talking about her signing of her Playboy cover at some store in New York. Not surprisingly, there's nothing but dudes in line. Then for some reason we get Todd Grisham interviewing Mick Foley. Mick is here to promote his book, The Hardcore Diaries (which I reviewed earlier). Mick plugs his book and his appearance of ECW when Ashley shows up to exchange her Playboy for Mick's book. Ron Simmons shows up, looks at the magazine, and says Damn. Later on, Ashley runs to the ring and spears Melina because I guess the two have an upcoming match. Well, at least this was short. 1.3 out of 5.
Well, that's all for now. Remember, if you have any thoughts about the matches reviewed above or about the 2BWE project itself, then feel free to leave a comment on this post. Also, if you have any ideas for future posts, then send me an e-mail at KtheC2001@gmail.com. Also, remember, Arriba is the victory cry.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)