Chairshot Classics

Chairshot Classics: WCW WrestleWar ’91

Published

5 years ago

July 18, 2018

For the first time, WCW holds a pay-per-view fully on their own, as they continue their slow split with the National Wrestling Alliance. This event is not under the NWA banner any longer, but brings back the WarGames for the continued fallout from Starrcade. ‘The Nature Boy’ is also the new World Champion again, ending Sting’s reign roughly a month and a half prior. Sting has now fielded his squad to even the odds with The Four Horsemen, but can his patchwork team match the cohesion of Ric Flair’s men?

Match #1 for the WCW World Six-Man Tag Team Championships: WCW World Six-Man Tag Team Champions Junkyard Dog, Ricky Morton & ‘Wildfire’ Tommy Rich vs. The State Patrol (Lt. James Earl Wright & Sgt. Buddy Lee Parker) & Big Cat
Cat and JYD start the action. The two big men exchange rights and JYD catches his jaw. JYD ducks a clothesline and hits one of his own. He headbutts Big Cat who quickly tags in Wright. Side headlock and a tag to Morton. Wright sends Morton, but Ricky avoids contact and sends him down with a hiptoss and an armdrag. More arm drags from the RnR man. Tag is made to Rich and they double clothesline Wright. Wristlock into an armbar on Wright. He fights out of the hold and sends Rich to the ropes.

Wildfire reverses the offense and scoop slams him. Wright moves away from an elbow but Rich doesn’t pull the trigger. An arm drag into a wristlock by Rich, Wright breaks it up with a poke to the eyes. He slams Rich and tags in Parker. Parker misses an elbow and is sent over with an arm drag and gets caught in an arm bar. Shoulder blocks to the midsection from Parker who sends Rich to the ropes. Shoulder tackles by Rich, who then reverses a hiptoss into one of his own. Another arm drag by Rich. Tag is made to Morton and Parker powers him into the corner. Morton reverses an Irish whip and delivers an inverted atomic drop. Wright rushes the ring and has the same fate. Arm drag by Morton and he pulls his opponent up, tagging in JYD. Snapmare and a stomp by the big man. A headbutt from JYD and Big Cat is tagged back in.

JYD looks for a test of strength, Big Cat has the early advantage but JYD reverses it with a back heel trip. They exchange head butts and Big Cat drops an elbow for two. Parker is tagged back in, he strikes JYD with no effect. JYD fights back and tags in Morton. They run the ropes and Morton is hit in the mid section. Wright is tagged in and the Patrol double teams Morton. More double team work by State Patrol after another quick tag. Big Cat is tagged in. Drop toe hold/elbow combo from the partners. Lateral press but Morton kicks out. Morton is sent and gets a dropkick by the big man. Cat headbutts him to the ground and kicks him into the corner. He slams Morton down but Ricky moves from the big elbow. Parker is tagged in and he exchanges rights with Morton. Powerslam in midair from Parker but Morton kicks out.

Another quick tag and a bulldog/elbow combo from the Patrol. Yet another quick tag and Morton is reeling from double team work. Big Cat is in. Morton tries a cross body but is caught with a back breaker. Big Cat gets some heat on his opponents and with the ref’s back turned, Morton is triple teamed. Parker is tagged in and applies a reverse chinlock. Irish whip, but Morton moves and Parker hits the turnbuckle. Wright is tagged in, but Morton somersaults over and tags in big JYD. He goes right to work and hits Parker with the Big Thump. Cat breaks up the pin attempt as all participants rush the ring. JYD gets up and knocks Cat out of the ring and Morton jumps on the laid out Parker and picks up a three count.
Winners and STILL WCW Six-Man Tag Team Champions: JYD, Morton & Rich (Morton/Thump)

EA’s Take: Well, I guess you don’t have to be the legal man to pick up the win. I’ve seen he idea of a 6-Man Title in WWE being tossed around by some on social media and I can’t even begin to imagine how much of an abortion that would be. Nevertheless, this one was just a way to just cluster mid-card guys together and the championships don’t even last a calendar year in WCW. It just doesn’t have the appeal and excitement you’d think outside of Mexico. I’ve never seen the need for it.

In The Arena: Tony Schiavone is standing by with Terry Taylor and Alexandra York. York explains that thanks to Taylor’s in-ring success, the York Foundation is flourishing. They have been using computers to scientifically determine their opponent’s weakness. York predicts Taylor will win in less than 15 minutes and 28 seconds, Taylor predicts pain.

Match #2: Brad Armstrong vs. ‘Beautiful’ Bobby Eaton
Eaton blindsides Armstrong right off the bat. Armstrong fights back and they run the ropes. Headscissor, dropkick and an arm drag by Armstrong. He hangs on for an armbar. Back to a vertical base, wristlock by Armstrong. It’s broken in the corner and Eaton slaps Armstrong across the face. A reversed Irish whip, and Armstrong monkey flips Eaton and goes right back to the arm bar. He keeps the pressure on the arm. Back to their feet and Eaton breaks it with a knee before dumping Armstrong to the floor. He gives chase and Randy Anderson starts the count. Armstrong drives Eaton into the rail and ring post. Both men back to the ring and Armstrong returns to the arm.

He holds a wrist lock before transitioning back to the armbar. Eaton gets over to the ropes to break it. Tempers flare and they shove one another, Eaton cowers back to the ropes again. Eaton calls for a test of strength and Amrstrong obliges. Kick to the mid section by Eaton and Armstrong drops to his knees. Back to a vertical base for Armstrong. He disorients Eaton by climbing up over his shoulders, running up the turnbuckle and turning around with a flying cross body and a two count. Arm drag/Armbar combo once again for Armstrong. Back to their feet and to the corner, Eaton hits a cheap right. Eaton slingshots Armstrong over the ropes but it’s reversed.

Armstrong with a right to the abdomen and goes back to work on the wrist and arm. Eaton reverses a waist lock and hits a huge clothesline. Eaton is slow to cover and only gets two. He sends Armstrong and lifts him for a back breaker. He leans in but Armstrong kicks out again. Scoop slam by Eaton followed with an elbow, he can still only get two. Reverse chinlock by Eaton. Armstrong hits elbows but Eaton stops the breakup with a knee to the face. Slingshot backbreaker by Beautiful Bobby. He goes for the pin and Armstrong kicks out.

Eaton applies a modified Camel Clutch. The crowd gets behind Armstrong who works to his feet. Shots to the midsection, but Eaton counters the attempt with an elbow and he kicks Armstrong out to the floor. Bobby hotshots him across the railing and heads back to the ring. Armstrong is slow to return but he beats the count. An abdominal stretch is applied by Eaton who uses the ropes for leverage. Randy Anderson crawls in between Armstrong’s legs to catch Eaton cheating and breaks it up.

The two exchange blows, Irish whip but Armstong moves and Eaton goes legs first into the turnbuckle. Drop kick followed by a side Russian leg sweep by Brad but Eaton is too close to the ropes to get the pin. Irish whip by Armstrong but Eaton reverses with a neck breaker. Eaton heads to the top rope and he lands a flying leg drop which earns him the win.
Winner: ‘Beautiful’ Bobby Eaton (Alabama Jam)

EA’s Take: Cornette and Lane have both departed the company at this point. I miss The Midnight Express, but I’m happy to see Eaton putting on great singles matches. Unfortunately for him, we’d find out there was a reason why he was always in a tag team as he can’t really talk well or change his look with the times. The Armstrong family has to be one of the most underrated families in wrestling. When I started watching WCW religiously in the mid 90’s, Brad was doing a lot of jobs, but there’s no doubt the guy could work. It’s just too bad he was never able to show his personality on-camera, then later gets saddled with a gimmick blatantly ripping off his own brother.

Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!

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Attitude Of Aggression #277- The Big Four Project Chapter 4: Summer Slam ’88 & Survivor Series ’88

Published

4 weeks ago

March 2, 2023

David Ungar

Attitude Of Aggression #277- The Big Four Project Chapter 4: Summer Slam ’88 & Survivor Series ’88

The Attitude Of Aggression returns for Chapter 4 of The Big Four Project, a chronological analysis, review, and discussion about WWE’s Big Four PPVs/ Premium Live Events. On this Episode, Dave is again joined by the one and only PC Tunney to discuss two more huge events in pro wrestling history, the inaugural Summer Slam and Survivor Series’88. However, the guys are also joined by the debuting DJ of The Mindless Wrestling Podcast to join in the festivities. Summer Slam ’88 was a key event in the story of the rise, and eventual fall, of The Mega Powers. But it also saw a different kind of explosion as The Ultimate Warrior burst upon the scene like few had before him with an iconic dethroning of The Honky Tonk Man. The fellas look at how the events of that night in MSG nearly 35 years ago redefined an industry. From there, Dave & DJ recap the second Survivor Series. While not as unique or good as the first Survivor Series, there were still many key moments that took place that night. The Mega Powers would be the sole survivors of their match that night,,,,but they would not survive as a united force for much longer. What changed that night in Richfield, Ohio so long ago? We have the whole story for you here on Chapter 4 of The Big Four Project!

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Chairshot Classics

Chairshot Classics: What I Watched #16 – ECW Guilty As Charged 1999

Breaking up the 2018 time travel with a much deeper dive! Harry goes back to some prime ECW with Guilty As Charged 1999!

Published

7 months ago

September 2, 2022

Harry Broadhurst

Greetings, salutations and welcome back. Harry here once again with another edition of ‘What I Watched’. As the calendar year turns to 1999 on my watch-through of all things ‘big three’ wrestling, I covered Starrcade 1998 in an earlier edition of WIW. I figured since this is probably the last year where all three major companies are relevant (at least at the start), it could be fun to compare and contrast how I feel about the respective PPVs when compared to some of the independent wrestling I’ve been covering recently. Or even going back to the PROGRESS or Impact Wrestling shows that I’ve covered before. I am fully aware there are going to be some bad shows in 1999. But there is also a lot to talk about in a drastically changing industry. Let’s do this, shall we?

ECW is in flux as talent losses haven’t yet gotten to what they would become but names like Sandman, Mikey Whipwreck, Bam Bam Bigelow and others are no longer with the company. To make matters worse, the ECW-FMW relationship is falling apart now as well as a Chris Candido and Sunny (sorry, Tammy Lynn Sytch) no-show of a scheduled FMW appearance. Paul Heyman himself is the first person we see telling us the card is going to change…how much does it change? The WayBack Machine takes us to January 10th, 1999 in Kissimmee, FL as it’s time for ECW to be Guilty as Charged!

What I Watched #16

ECW Guilty as Charged 1999

1/10/1999

Millenium Theatre in Kissimmee, FL

Runtime: 2:40:30 (Peacock)

Commentary By: Joey Styles (PBP)

THE RESULTS

Match 1: Axl Rotten/Ballz Mahoney win 3 team tag elimination match, eliminating Little Guido/Tracy Smothers @ 10:44 (Danny Doring/Roadkill eliminated @ 8:15)
Match 2: Yoshihiro Tajiri pins Super Crazy, dragon suplex @ 11:37
Match 3: Psycho Sid Vicious pins John Kronus, powerbomb @ 1:31
Match 4: Bubba Ray and D’Von Dudley def. New Jack/Spike Dudley, both Dudleyz pin Spike @ 10:05
Match 5: ECW TV Title- Rob Van Dam pins Lance Storm, bridged German suplex @ 17:46
Match 6: Justin Credible pins Tommy Dreamer, That’s Incredible on ladder @ 18:44
Match 7: ECW Heavyweight Title- Taz defeats Shane Douglas © by KO, Tazmission @ 22:15

THE BREAKDOWN

Three Team Tag Elimination Match
Started as a straight up 2 vs. 2, but within the first two minutes, Ballz and Axl (Axl making his return to the company after the passing of his grandmother) join the frey and it becomes your traditional ECW three team brawl. Nothing really stands out here but the overall work is good enough for what the match is supposed to be. The elimination of Doring and Roadkill is well done, as a FBI double-team fishermanbuster looks really cool and gets a decisive win for what was to be the original match. They do give the win to Axl and Ballz here, which I get given the fact they are a popular act, but I personally think that Guido and Tracy were a better team during the time frame. (**½)

Super Crazy vs. Tajiri

Yes, it’s the feud that never ends. But this is where it begins. Both men were relative newcomers to the American wrestling scene with both having had limited exposure on WWF TV (both were in the Light Heavyweight title tournament). This is a good match but not a great match and honestly, I think timing is the issue here. Eleven minutes may seem like a lot but knowing what these two would be capable of down the road once there is more of a fan and time investment into their matches, it ends up being a good starting point but probably not the blow away match that ECW was expecting to deliver here. (***)

John Kronus vs. Mystery Opponent

So, ECW fans are notorious for their belief that the “big oaf” style of the WWF and WCW wouldn’t work in ECW. Obviously, they are wrong. Guys like Big Dick Dudley and 911 became massive fan favorites due to their look, not anything they could do in a wrestling ring. You can add another name to that list, as Psycho Sid makes his ECW debut here (following an introduction by the ‘Judge’ Jeff Jones) and absolutely kicks Kronus’ ass in less than two minutes. Sid was never anything special in the ring but he is one of the more charismatic big men in wrestling history so the cult-like following is easy to understand. Too short to rate, but fun for what it was. (X)

Dudleyz vs. New Jack/Spike Dudley

Sixteen year old Harry getting into ECW was a huge Joel Gertner fan. Thirty seven year old Harry going back and watching these shows is an even bigger fan of Joel Gertner. Granted, his shtick is incredibly juvenile but sometimes, you just want to laugh…

The match is your standard ECW garbage brawl. Most New Jack matches definitely have a similarity to them that does not hold up well for re-watching. I will openly admit to being a Spike Dudley mark and he does well taking an ass whooping from Bubba Ray. The Dudleyz definitely have their moments in ECW (the best is still to come in my opinion) but this isn’t one of their best performances. I will give props to New Jack for taking 3D on the ramp, even if it doesn’t come across the cleanest. About what you’d expect, but nothing more. (**)

Rob Van Dam vs. Masato Tanaka was the originally scheduled match and I think it could have been fun. However, Tanaka apparently has visa issues which prevent him from being able to get into the US for the show and thus ECW has to pivot quickly. I do have to give credit to Lance Storm for his pre-match promo here. For someone who is not known as one of the better talkers in wrestling history, he does a really good job explaining the situation with the 3 way that was supposed to happen (Storm vs. Spike vs. Jerry Lynn (cracked pelvis)) and then calling out Rob Van Dam since his opponent wasn’t there either. Storm has a really good closing line for the promo too: “I’m not the ‘Whole F’n Show’, but I am the best damn part of it’. That is one of the lines that sticks with you and you remember it.

The match itself is very good but not great. It is better than anything else on the show, so perhaps I’m rating it on a slight curve for that. Van Dam’s selling is sporadic but to be fair, Van Dam’s selling is always sporadic. The biggest thing for me is that despite that, they still keep an impressive pace and the match is by and large clean. There is a super weak chair shot by Storm (which the crowd gives him a good ration of shit over), but they do manage to turn that crowd around for the finishing sequence. A little surprised by the choice of finish, but I imagine that has something to do with telling the idea that Storm got caught and wasn’t soundly defeated like most of Van Dam’s prior opponents had been. (***½)

Stairway to Hell- Justin Credible vs. Tommy Dreamer

The problem for Credible in ECW is that Paul wanted you to believe that Justin was this huge deal but truthfully, the booking never actually treated him as such. Yeah, he won…A LOT…but more often than not, it was almost treated as an afterthought. He very rarely won the big matches on his own and while I get that as a heel, you want to give him that sense of dickishness, as a wrestling fan eventually you have to make it look like the dude could stand up on his own. Dreamer has long been a favorite of mine, even if he has overstayed his welcome in the ring on occasion. You know going in that win or lose, Tommy will bust his ass to give you as good a match as he is capable of.

As for this match, it never reaches that next level that you expect a gimmicked semi main event of a PPV to reach. It’s not actively bad or anything (in fact, probably up there for Credible’s best match in ECW to date) but with the stipulation and the gaga around it, it feels like there was so much more it could have been. The finish comes off really flat as well as it renders the whole point of the stipulation useless and only serves to put more heat on Credible by way of Funk. (**½)

So, I’ll be a little nicer to this match then some other reviewers I’ve seen for a couple reasons. It completely accomplishes the goal that Heyman set out for it. Taz comes out of the match looking like a world beater. Douglas comes out of the match as the face of the company who “went out on his shield” as the old phrase goes. Sabu looks like a lunatic and a viable threat to take the title at any time he damn well pleases. Candido comes off as a huge dick and sticks the final knife in Douglas’ back for the end scene. So the story telling is magnificent.

The match itself? At least a good five to seven minutes too long for that story. I get wanting that epic storytelling to fold out but when you guys are down and low on ideas, it might not be the worst idea to take it home. The other issue is that by trying to serve so many masters, Heyman causes the main event to end up being epically overbooked. Granted, that is an ECW trademark but for what was to be the crowning moment for Taz, I don’t think the 73rd Airborne needed to be a part of it. Sabu could have just as easily returned post match to set up a run with Taz. Or Candido could have turned on Douglas post match to give him a direction going forward since Taz would be occupied with Sabu. I’m not saying it completely takes away the moment but it does make it mean less than it could or should have in the overall scheme of things. (**)

THE FINAL REACTION

Best Match/Moment: Rob Van Dam vs. Lance Storm, although I do think their match at the first ECW PPV ‘Barely Legal’ (which I imagine I’ll eventually do) is better
Worst Match/Moment: The main event. What could have been an awesome moment for the ‘Human Suplex Machine’ and the biggest ass kicker in the company is ruined with a boring crowd brawl (to the home viewer) and a couple of run-ins that either end up actively taking away from it.
Overall Show Score: 5.5/10
MVP: Joey Styles is the best thing about this show with his one man performance. There is a reason he was such a major influence on what I did as an announcer.

THE SIGNOFF

It’s not a bad show. It’s just not a particulary good one either. And while ECW would put out worse, it only barely outdoes Starrcade 98 to avoid the worst show of the return thus far.

So, where do we go from here? January of 1999 had no chill. The very next Sunday would see the first WCW outing of 1999, called Souled Out. The Sunday after that would be the 1999 edition of the Royal Rumble. I’m going to hit both of those but as a fair warning, I’ll probably try to mix an Independent show from 2018 in the middle of them. Hope to see you guys at Souled Out. And feel free to check out my archives by clicking on my name at the top of this review. Thanks for reading, everyone.

Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!