WrestleMania! But Not This One, LOL! (Andre/Hogan OWNS!)

WWF WrestleMania VII

(1991/3/24)

Career Ending Match: “Macho King” Randy Savage vs. Ultimate Warrior

Minus two glaring in-ring flaws (the five elbow drops and the finish), this was pretty much a perfect piece of successful storytelling. The whole Savage/Sherri/Elizabeth saga was glorious, and the post-match with Randy and Miss getting back together was so neat. Those tears from the audience told the entire story, and damn it, I loved the whole thing. No matter how cold I might be. Both guys played their characters and sold the angle down to a T. Drama, suspense, bigger-than-life feeling, this classic match had it all.

****3/4

WWF WrestleMania VIII

(1992/4/5)

WWF Championship: “Macho Man” Randy Savage vs. Ric Flair ©

This shit gets better and better on every damn rewatch. Right now this is probably the best WM match ever, such a sumptuous epic filled with amazing and sky high dramatic wrestling. The brawling parts were excellent and beautifully dynamic, Flair controlling the opening phase was some superb pacing, Macho Man’s comebacks were fabulous and had the crowd going BONKERS for him, and so on and on… Then there’s Mr. Perfect, the biggest scumbag ever, with his constant interferences that only fired up the atmosphere each and every time. Flair bleeding was another story. Fucking hell, what a tremendous masterpiece, the finishing run was crazy exciting and then the finish itself with Savage rolling-up the Naitch for big victory while Miss Elizabeth was supporting him ringside was pretty much the icing on the cake after everything that happened, this match is the peak of WWF style of pro-wrestling storytelling.

*****

WWF WrestleMania VIII

(1992/4/5)

WWF Intercontinental Championship: Bret Hart vs. Roddy Piper ©

Yep, five stars, aaaall the way, baby. Perfection, this match is pure and crystal clear perfection, the story they told was incredibly captivating. Simple and effective, Roddy can’t hang with Bret in hold-for-hold department so he starts to brawl and gains a significant advantage, especially after busting Bret wide open. Excellent wrestling back-and-forth, the ref bump was well done and then the two moments that made this whole thing – Piper not hitting the Hitman with the bell, going for a clean win instead; Piper congratulating and hugging Bret after the match was over. One of the most underrated stories ever told, matches like this one remind you what pro-wrestling should be all about.

*****

WWF WrestleMania V

(1989/4/2)

WWF Championship: Hulk Hogan vs. “Macho Man” Randy Savage ©

Man, if only Hogan made a more creative final comeback, this would’ve been a top notch masterpiece. But unfortunately, after Macho Man’s fantastic workover and preparation, and after his beautifully executed flying elbow, all the Hulkster did was hulking-up and doing his punches/big boot/legdrop combo for the win. Bang, that’s it! Sheeeeit, it felt kind of cheap and all… Sure, the finish makes sense considering WWF’s cartoonish nature and that’s what Hogan’s character was/is all about, but c’mon man, put some color in there, this is WrestleMania after all. But hey, ****3/4 is still sure as hell pretty damn high, amirite? Excellent title match with superb storytelling that also involved Miss Elizabeth, all the ingredients from the feud were incorporated into the match very well, not to mention Savage’s phenomenal performance and grand mental games. Hogan was great himself, but Randy was the clear MAN of the match.

****3/4

WWE WrestleMania 22

(2006/4/2)

HARDCORE MATCH: Edge vs. Mick Foley

The ultimate Edge match, also one of the best Foley matches ever. Edge is the most overrated WWE guy of the decade, but sometimes he could pull it off big time in these hardcore slugfests. They just clicked perfectly in this match, they took a helluva beating and some sick bumps, they bled heavily, yes, this was a true hardcore match and it’s totally awesome it happened in front of a gigantic live crowd. Foley’s biggest Mania moment for sure, and I like to think the same about Edge, because I don’t really remember him having anything that would come close to touching this one. TLCs? Ladders? Nah… Taker? Damn fine match, but nah… Alberto? Jericho? Nah… This is THE shit for both dudes.

****3/4

WWF WrestleMania III

(1987/3/29)

WWF Intercontinental Championship: Ricky Steamboat vs. “Macho Man” Randy Savage ©

You know it, one of the most famous Mania matches ever, and rightfully so, because the match was beautifully paced with all the twists and turns, the flow was natural, organic, felt so smooth. All the reversals and counter-attacks hold up tremendously, the match was truly nifty. Not to mention the amazing big ass crowd, sheeeeit!

****3/4

WWF WrestleMania III

(1987/3/29)

WWF Championship: Andre the Giant vs. Hulk Hogan ©

Now, this is THE most underrated and underappreciated match of all time. And not just in WWF/E, mind you. Well, probably not with the casual audience, but rather with the Meltzer-influenced smarks and internet know-it-all thugs who mark out for cruiserweight jumpfests and reversal-heavy sprints. xD Those of us who realize pro-wrestling is all about storytelling, we enjoy this match tremendously, and I honestly think this is the Top 3 Mania match ever, with the other two being Savage/Flair and Bret/Owen.

This is arguably the greatest story ever told inside the North American squared circle, immovable object vs. irresistible force, the “525 pounds, 6 foot 5, 15 years undefeated, never being slammed” Andre against the reigning and defending Champion, the all-American superhero. And really, it translated into the match perfectly, this is basically a three act play: 1) Hogan tries to bodyslam Andre right away but fails, injures his back, Andre works over it, Hogan sells for him like a motherfucker, makes him look like a fucking BEAST; 2) Hogan makes a brief comeback before eating the big boot, Andre applies the bearhug (I love bearhugs and wrestlers who use them!) and there’s an incredible struggle in the middle of the ring, the crowd is BEGGING for a Hulk comeback, Hogan’s selling is all time great at this moment; 3) Hogan, carried by the electrifying gigantic crowd, makes a proper comeback, and after the brief back-and-forth sequence he clotheslines Andre to finally bring him down, which draws MASSIVE cheers, then he BODYSLAMS Andre (been done dozens of times before, yeah, I know it lol) in the most iconic Mania moment ever, leg drop, 1-2-3 and it’s over, the Hulkster retains the strap. It’s as simple as it gets, and that’s the beauty of it, that’s the beauty of Andre’s matches with right opponents who know how to sell for him, who know how to work within his obvious physical limitations. Wrestling has always been the game of mind anyway, not the game of athleticism. Athleticism is nice, but it’s just a bonus to your brain.

I love this masterpiece and I will defend its honor until my last breath.

*****

WWE WrestleMania 21

(2005/4/3)

Shawn Michaels vs. Kurt Angle

The story of two halfs, the first one with HBK insisting on side headlocks and owning Kurt in his own game was amazing, Kurt sold the growing frustration very well, the whole thing was organic, coherent and direct. The second half, however, turned into a fake epic that was all over the place, and it was inevitable considering this is Kurt Angle and Shawn Michaels after all, lol. All in all, though, the match is great, but not even close to being GOATworthy or anything like that.

****

80s' Lucha, Vol.2

Vol. 1

DVDVR Top Lucha Matches of the 80s – Disc 2:

CMLL 1984/1/20

Satanico vs. Atlantis

Young tecnico Atlantis is too damn quick for the surly bruiser Satanico, his flashy and gracious athleticism is top notch and he wins the primera in under 3 minutes, it was too easy sort of speak. Atlantis looks like one million dollars and even here, in a very young age, he’s the master of creating drama, suspense and big match feeling using nothing but most simple body talk and gestures, now that’s called true working. The segunda is pretty much the same until Satanico decides he’s had enough of it and switches to dirty fighting and cheap shots. The rest of the match is a brilliant struggle between two guys who are mean and malicious to each other, there’s blood, mask ripping, hair pulling and amazing selling by both. One mistake can be deadly and that’s exactly what leads to the finish.

So far this has been the best match on the set, simply incredible, easily five stars.

*****

CMLL 1984/1/27

NWA World Welterweight Championship: Mocho Cota vs. Americo Rocca ©

I don’t really know what to write here other than “this match had a bunch of swank hold-for-hold matwork and dusty finish”.

****

CMLL 1984/2/3

NWA World Welterweight Championship: Americo Rocca vs. Mocho Cota ©

See the description above, but this time I enjoyed it way less.

***

CMLL 1984/2/17

Egipcio & Faraon vs. Lizmark & Atlantis

Quality semi-chaotic tussle, Egipcio and Faraon were mental in the gnarly rudo roles and they made the perky tecnico duo look like gold. They worked the surly Texas dirty style, straight out of bar fights. You could see back then Atlantis had the “it” factor for greatness.

***3/4

CMLL 1984/2/24

Faraon, Herodes, Mocho Cota vs. Ringo Mendoza, Tony Salazar, Lizmark

Classic, old school brawl done in a vintage CMLL style, the rudo trio is practically a dream team of evil dirtbags, here they controlled the large portion of the match simply via isolations and 3-on-1 gang beatdowns, with the central match-up being Herodes vs. Salazar. Herodes made him bleed and just mauled him relentlessly, on and on, only for Salazar to get some revenge in the tercera. Loved the whole thing here, the rudo trio looked like a pack of rabid dogs going after chicken. For fuck’s sake, the tecnicos didn’t make a proper comeback until the 14^th min into the match, they were getting their asses kicked all the time.

****1/2

UWA 1984/2/26

Cadetes del Espacio (Solar, Ultraman, Super Astro) vs. Ola Lila (Sergio el Hermoso, Bello Greco, Rudy Reyna)

Another visually fun trio, but also another match with no clear direction or notable events to write about. The tecnico trio was outstanding, though, so there’s something.

***1/2

UWA 1984/2/26

Campeonato Mundial Peso Completo de UWA: Dos Caras vs. Enrique Vera ©

Meh…

**1/2

CMLL 1984/3/2

Herodes vs. Tony Salazar

Okay, Tony Salazar’s got to be a contender for the best puncher ever, at least judging from this small sample of two brawls on the disc. This is a continuation of the blood trio brawl from 2/24 and it’s just as awesome. Herodes is basically the Mexican version of Harley Race, a surly bulldog who will dig your eyes out and fuck the skull. Just a perfect big fat rudo with extremely violent tendencies, his job is to make tecnicos sympathetic, and damn it he’s so good at it, he’d probably make George W. Bush a likeable person. Naturally, both guys bled a bucket or two in the match, the selling was phenomenal with them barely standing on their feet near the end. Fantastic, nasty ass brawl.

****1/2

CMLL 1984/3/2

Campeonato National Medio: Jerry Estrada vs. Ultraman ©

Now this was a fun scientific match! One of those lucha title bouts where nothing really stands out other than some damn fine hold-for-hold matwork, but it’s so captivating you can’t take your eyes off it.

****

CMLL 1984/3/9

Ringo Mendoza, Hijo del Santo, Chamaco Valaguez vs. Jerry Estrada, Fuerza Guerrera, Talisman

Great Santo showcase, the young tecnico superhero was the centerpiece of the match, there was great heat with Fuerza and Talisman. Ringo served as a father figure for him, good story, good match.

***3/4

CMLL 1984/4/?

Campeonato Mundial Peso Welter de CMLL: Lizmark vs. Satanico ©

Great, clean title match, hold-for-hold and struggle on the mat everywhere. These two killed it in the ground based game.

****

Random New Japan

New Year Golden Series 1980

(1980/2/5)

WWF Junior Heavyweight Championship: Dynamite Kid vs. Tatsumi Fujinami ©

Very rough, very physically demanding match, absolutely flawless in execution, shit was tight and technically sound. Fujinami entered the match with a cut on his forehead and DK took advantage of it every time when on verge of losing the mat game. These two were so damn physically prepared and fit here, it felt like they could’ve wrestled for three hours straight. Great finish too.

****1/4

Champion Series 1985

(1985/6/11)

WWF Championship: Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Hulk Hogan ©

Oh look, it’s Vinnie Mac inside the ring, announcing this sports entertainment match! Sheeeeit, Hulk is much bigger than Fujinami (a former Junior after all), but the size and power advantage alone are not enough to defeat the tough No. 2 of New Japan, hence Hogan bringing it down to the mat and trying to hang with Fujinami in his own game. So cool seeing the Hulkster busting out various armbars and other pace-controlling holds. Fujinami was, naturally, working from beneath and his comebacks fired up the fans every time, but really, they were chanting for Hogan too, and quite loudly and heavily I must say. Too bad they kinda botched the lariat finish, but still, this was a great match overall and should serve as a rock solid counter argument against all the “Hogan shit wrestler” (whatever the fuck that means) cocksuckers.

****1/4

IWGP Champion Series 1987

(1987/5/18)

IWGP League 1987 – Block B: Masa Saito vs. Akira Maeda

Five minutes of crazy awesomeness. The key part of success was actually Super Strong Machine laying a horrific beatdown on Maeda just when he was about to enter the ring, shoving him into the ringpost few times and busting him wide open. It looked like a legit cut, not a bladejob. That turn of events suddenly gave Masa Saito a significant advantage, and he sure as hell took the chance, Maeda got his ass kicked properly here, I’ve never seen something like this before. One helluva brawl, short and sweet.

****

Fighting Spirit Series 1988

(1988/10/27)

Antonio Inoki vs. Crusher “Bam Bam” Bigelow

Most of this was messy as fuck.

**

G1 Climax 2008

(2008/8/15)

Masahiro Chono & Kurt Angle vs. Shinjiro Otani & AJ Styles

I have never bothered to check this one before, silly me because this was tons of fun. Everyone delivered, even Angle, even the veteran Chono, but the undisputed MVP was Shinjiro F’N Otani, my god, he owned everyone out there, especially the crowd. Angle and AJ had a fun rivalry that year, their match-up here was damn good, also Chono’s charisma and badassery were just all over the match, great stuff, super enjoyable.

****

G1 Climax 2008

(2008/8/16)

Hiroshi Tanahashi & AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Kurt Angle

Fun, vivid tag, but the one from the night before had Otani in it, and this one didn’t, that’s the key difference. Nakamura was painfully average here, Angle and AJ worked another round of their beef, and Tana and Angle were building towards their eventual one-on-one match. And holy shit, Angle actually beat a wrestler by using Olympic Slam, go figure!

***1/2

Resolution 2009

(2009/4/5)

IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Kurt Angle vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi ©

I have never actually seen this match before, despite it sleeping on my disk for three years now. Eh, waddaya gonna do… Good match, the opening stage with them rolling on the mat trying to outcatch each other and with two strong headlock sequences was the best, it was nice. The rest was good enough, simply a mixture of regular Angle & Tana matches, with obligatory signature spots such as suplexes, ankle lock reversals, HFFs, etc. Nothing out of order, just stuff good enough. What really made the whole thing for me was Tana’s fantastic post-match selling of the ankle lock damage, I fucking love when wrestlers do that.

***1/2

Masahiro Chono 25^th Anniversary

(2009/10/12)

IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Shinjiro Otani vs. Shinsuke Nakamura ©

Excellent title match and forgotten gem of modern New Japan, the veteran and Junior Heavyweight legend of the company comes back to fight the representative of some other, modern era, and he’s going all in. Superb work by Otani here, incredible crowd control by using his retro signature spots and also reminding everyone of the great late Shinya Hashimoto, he drew massive sympathies throughout the match, and the crowd bought into a chance of him winning the strap. Nakamura was good too, but damn, the challenger was just on a whole other level of swag.

****1/4

Best of the Super Jr. XIX

(2012/6/10)

BOSJ XIX - FINALE: Low-Ki vs. Ryusuke Taguchi

The opening phase with Low-Ki setting up his pace was awesome, as he was just chopping and kicking the shit out of Taguchi, stretching him on the mat, etc. Felt like a rookie punishment match. Eventually, Taguchi finds few ways to stay alive, mostly via smart reversals. However, Low-Ki is a vicious beast and we got an awesome ringside sequence that culminated in a great table spot reversal that fucked up Low-Ki’s midsection. He sold it great, favoring it all the way until the end. That proved to be the key for Taguchi’s victory, in the finishing run Low-Ki missed the phoenix splash and Taguchi was free to wrap it up with a series of moves, with the last two of them targeting Low-Ki’s hurt midsection. Excellent, tight match with a smart layout and simple structure.

****1/4