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Post by JerryvonKramer on Dec 11, 2009 19:38:35 GMT -5
Oh. My. God. I've just finished watching this show and I'm almost speechless! Simply one of the best PPVs I've ever seen from start to finish. Right now, still got adreline pumping so my thoughts might veer into the hyperbolic, but I'm saying this is a Top 5 of ALL TIME show. It's almost Great American Bash '89 or Wrestlemania 17 standard!
Ok, the opener is a nothing match but from there it's just amazing.
Pillman/ Regal is about a ***3/4. Some great scientific stuff from Regal and more wrestling moves and fewer holds than his typical matches of this era. Pillman sells like a god too, as you'd expect.
Then the Chicago Street Fight, which the rematch between the Nasties and Cactus/ Max Payne after their classic from Superbrawl. A pretty hardcore match for 1994, some sick bumps and one AWESOME spot where Foley suplexes a table onto one of the Nasties. Y'know, I've always hated the Nasty Boys, but I've got a new found respect for them after seeing this and the last match. I'm giving this one **** for sheer entertainment. I'm not sure, but it seemed like Cactus was legit injured at the end. Brutal.
Then the unexpected pleasure of Muta/ Austin -- let's face it, I know he's still wrestling as Stunning Steve here, but that's a dream match. Muta was WAY WAY over with the Chicago crowd and it seemed like Heenan on commentary had never seen him before was marking out at ringside. Very solid match let down by a weak finish. Again a ***3/4
Now Sting/ Rude for the Big Gold -- can this get any better? Race is out at the start to issue Vader's challenge to the winner. Great chemistry between these two, Sting is so over with the crowd the roof seems like it's going to come off. Really good match with a candidate for "worst run in ever" from Race and Vader at the finish. I'll say a ***1/2
After the match Jesse Ventura reports from the heel locker room and shit is going down. Rude and Vader at each other's throats. Brilliant stuff.
Now the most unexpected thing I've ever seen on a card. Introducing first with Col. Rob Parker "Bunkhouse Bucckkkk" ... wait who? LAME! And his opponent ... "Dustin Rhodes". Ah man, and this show was going so well ... might fast forward this.
I seriously couldn't believe how good this match was. People rave about Sgt. Slaughter vs. Iron Sheik boot camp match, I reckon this one is better. I was really really into it. I'm going to stick my neck out and risk ridicule from the other wrestlecrappers but ****1/2 in my book. As a flat-out brawl this match had everything. Blood, brutality, belts and cowboy boots. Candidate for "most surprisingly great match you'll ever see".
Next up, Bossman/ Vader - better than you'd think considering Bossman is in there. Back and forth all the way, with neither man wanting to budge and Vader bringing his typical visciousness to each and every shot. I'm saying ***1/2. Got to be one of Bossman's better matches.
Interesting end to the match, after Vader gives Bossman a Vaderbomb and a moonsault for the win, Race tries handcuff Bossman leading to Bossman beating on Race with his nighstick. Post-match: Bockwinkle strips The Boss not only of his nightstick and handcuffs but of the name "The Boss too. I never knew that happened. I'm assuming this is where he became "the Guardian Angel".
I feel like I've seen a terrific show and there's still one match left ...
Flair vs. Steamboat for the world title. Oh my lord, how good is this? I'd put it alongside the famous '89 trilogy. Michael Buffer and Schiavone between them do a great job of recounting their rivalry and friendship over the years, even going back to Steamboat beating Flair for the TV title in the late 70s and for the US title in the early 80s. Everything is perfect here: Steamboat beat Flair for the World Title in '89 in Chicago, can he do it in '94?
It's a classic. And I marked out more for the finish than I care to admit.
Everything is perfect about this show. The booking, the mix of matches and overall balance of the card, the crowd. I'm buzzing here! It's not every night you watch a wrestling show that good.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Dec 11, 2009 19:43:42 GMT -5
Whatever happened to Bunkhouse Buck?
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Post by strykerdarksilence on Dec 11, 2009 20:19:06 GMT -5
Buck was Jimmy Golden who is one of the Fuller family. He was 44 at that point, so a vet then. He went back to indies in 99, I think did some UWSA shows. Not sure if he's still active. His son works indies though.
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Post by BitterAF on Dec 11, 2009 20:31:40 GMT -5
This is one of the few WCW tapes that I actually own. I haven't watched it in probably 10+ years. When I go home fro Xmas break I'll have to dig it up and rewatch it.
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Post by teknoteam2000 on Dec 11, 2009 20:37:36 GMT -5
I always saw it as WCW's answer to WM 8 in that it was a perfect mix of rising young stars and the last of some of the old ones.
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Post by Kash Flagg on Dec 11, 2009 20:37:47 GMT -5
golden still does the occasional indy date from time to time. Good solid worker.
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"Hollywood" Cactus Matt
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
You couldn't ask for a better custom title!
How do you spell "Goddess"? C-H-R-I-S-T-Y!
Posts: 15,300
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Post by "Hollywood" Cactus Matt on Dec 11, 2009 20:47:37 GMT -5
Next up, Bossman/ Vader - better than you'd think considering Bossman is in there. I've always thought Ray Traylor was solid in the ring; one of the better "big men," IMO.
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Post by Kash Flagg on Dec 11, 2009 21:21:02 GMT -5
Traylor was a jobber in JCP when he got singled out by Dusty for being able to easily take Tully Blanchard's slingshot suplex. He was taken off tv for a while and then came in as Big Bubba Rogers and the rest is history.
Bossman was a hell of a talent.
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Post by indymadman on Dec 12, 2009 1:11:27 GMT -5
This is a top 5 ppv of mine too... I love it. Muta's WCW run was awesome.... well, minus teaming up with Vampiro...
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Post by lmoney215 on Dec 13, 2009 1:20:46 GMT -5
This was one of the best WCW PPVs before the hogan era came in. I thought Steamboat was going to be Flair. Muta was awesome. The Street Fight was the beginning of the great Cactus Jack tag team street fights of 1994. I wondered what would have happened if Hogan didn't come in and change the booking.
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dsriggs
Samurai Cop
PHOTOBUCKET!!!!!!!!
Posts: 2,223
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Post by dsriggs on Dec 13, 2009 2:26:53 GMT -5
And then Hogan came in...
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Post by Threadkiller [Classic] on Dec 13, 2009 4:22:05 GMT -5
And then Hogan came in... Seriously. WCW was on an absolutely AMAZING run until Hogan came in. Then it went down the crapper and we got the endless burials of Ric Flair, Steve Austin jobbing the US title in under 30 seconds to Jim Duggan, and Brutus Beefcake in the main event of their biggest show of the year for the world title. There's a reason I was strictly a WWE guy in the mid-90s. As bad as it got, it never got to infuriating levels like WCW did.
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Post by strykerdarksilence on Dec 13, 2009 4:32:08 GMT -5
I can't be alone in preferring Austin's ring work and character in 92-94 WCW to his WWE work. He did still have some stunning matches in WWE with Bret, but the Stunning Steve era stands up much better to my mind.
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Post by Ryushinku on Dec 13, 2009 7:49:54 GMT -5
There was talk here two or three months ago about Sting-DDP for the title on an episode of Nitro in April 1999. I said I couldn't think of any other WCW title matches from then to the end of the company in March 2001 that were better, then decided to count backwards to see what was better before.
It was a bit of a shock to realise that, IMO, I had to go all the way back to this Spring Stampede '94 Flair-Steamboat match. It gets less attention than their others but it's still a wonderful match.
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Post by hmbnimbus on Dec 13, 2009 10:56:52 GMT -5
I can't be alone in preferring Austin's ring work and character in 92-94 WCW to his WWE work. He did still have some stunning matches in WWE with Bret, but the Stunning Steve era stands up much better to my mind. Agreed, he was a better "wrestler" in his WCW run.
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Post by simplydurhamcalling on Dec 13, 2009 11:03:42 GMT -5
I think the neck injury really put a halt to Austin having regularly good-great matches though he did still have some excellent matches after it.
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Post by JerryvonKramer on Dec 13, 2009 11:04:26 GMT -5
I am with you also Stryker. As for WCW getting rubbish after Hogan came in, I wish you guys could have been here when we had THIS argument about 6 months ago: officialfan.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=wrestling&action=display&thread=211997I remember arguing until I was blue in the face that Hogan was THE REASON WCW turned to wrestlecrap in 95. I can't remember who was on the righteous side with me for that one but Spring Stampede 94 is just another example that backs it up. The superb NWA/ WCW product that had been building for over a decade died the day Hogan rolled into town.
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Post by teknoteam2000 on Dec 13, 2009 13:05:23 GMT -5
What about the very non-wrestlecrap cruiserweight division? I can say it's a lot better than the early 90's light heavyweight division they had.
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mrjl
Fry's dog Seymour
Posts: 20,319
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Post by mrjl on Dec 13, 2009 13:45:17 GMT -5
I am with you also Stryker. As for WCW getting rubbish after Hogan came in, I wish you guys could have been here when we had THIS argument about 6 months ago: officialfan.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=wrestling&action=display&thread=211997I remember arguing until I was blue in the face that Hogan was THE REASON WCW turned to wrestlecrap in 95. I can't remember who was on the righteous side with me for that one but Spring Stampede 94 is just another example that backs it up. The superb NWA/ WCW product that had been building for over a decade died the day Hogan rolled into town. might've been me. I actually wonder what WCW would have had if instead of trying to out WWF the WWF they'd gotten their new guys and said "Hulkster, brother, Quake, I want you two to pretend you're in Japan. Hacksaw, Bossman, this is UWF 1987. Macho, pretend you're in Memphis."
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H-Fist
Hank Scorpio
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Post by H-Fist on Dec 13, 2009 13:47:48 GMT -5
I am halfway through watching it for the first time since I rented the VHS in 1994 as a 10-year-old. I won't read much of the thread because I don't want spoilers. Seriously. I don't remember, but I don't want to know. So far, yes it is great.
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