Chairshot Classics

Chairshot Classics: WCW Spring Stampede 1994 – Let The Stampede Begin!

Published

4 years ago

November 28, 2018

Backstage: Jesse Ventura is joined in the locker room by ‘The Natural’ Dustin Rhodes. They show a video of Buck attacking Rhodes on WCW Saturday Night. Rhodes says there’s a big difference between a T in Tennessee and a T in Texas, and he plans to teach Buck a lesson.

Match #5 for the WCW International World Heavyweight Championship: Sting vs. WCW World International Heavyweight Champion ‘Ravishing’ Rick Rude
Rude starts in with his trademarked derobing introduction, but he’s interrupted by the appearance of Harley Race in the ring. He wants a microphone, he’s here on behalf of Vader. No matter the outcome of the match, his client wants a shot at the winner. Race tries to take a cheap shot at Sting but his punch is blocked, he’s whipped to the corner up and over the top rope. Rude hasn’t even removed his robe yet but he tries to take advantage of the distraction and charge at the challenger. Sting ducks his clothesline and we’re officially underway. To the ropes and Sting delivers a back body drop before clotheslining the champ out to the floor.

Vertical suplex on the floor and Rude is rolled back in the ring, Rude begs for time. Sting’s not having it and he lays in rights. Irish whip and Sting lets out a “Woooo”. He throws Rude into the buckle and hits a belly to back suplex, Rude kicks out. Sting rakes the back and grabs a front facelock on the mat. Slowly up to vertical and Sting issues a scoop slam and a high elevation elbow drop. The crowd loves it so he does it again. The crowd is hot so why not a third? Lateral press and Rude kicks out. Sting returns to the front facelock, Rude climbs up to his feet and tries some body shots. Rude lifts Sting but he hangs on. He lifts him again, this time dropping him groin first on the top rope and he clotheslines him to the floor. The champ follows and drives Sting’s head into the apron.

He delivers another shot on the entrance ramp and shoots Sting back inside. Sting is dazed and Rude lays in some forearms to the kidneys before a belly to back suplex. Rude sits on Sting’s back for a reverse chin lock. He knocks Sting down to the mat and poses to a sea of boos. He returns to the chin lock, Sting powers his way up to his knees but Rude spoils his fun by jumping on his back. Rude drops an elbow and Sting kicks out at two. Right back to the chin lock for Rude, Sting climbs up and lifts Rude on his shoulders. Sting looks to drop him but Rude turns it into a roll up, Sting reverses and neither get 3.

Rude lays in forearms, sends Sting to the ropes, the champ gets a boot to the midsection but he sends Sting again quickly and grabs a sleeper hold. Sting falls down to the mat as the referee watches closely. He drop checks the arm and Rude breaks the hold before checking a third time. Rude wants to beat him down some more and lays in some rights. Sting is woken up by the shots and he looks possessed, telling Rude to lay it in some more. Sting flexes like a mad man, Rude tries to run but he’s caught from behind. Sting lifts Rude for an atomic drop, and then an inverted one. A series of clotheslines by Stinger before sending Rude for a back drop. Rude tries reversing an Irish whip but Sting holds his ground, he whips the champ to the corner but he collides with Randy Anderson.

Sting delivers a Stinger Splash to Rude with the ref squished between him and the turnbuckle. Sting locks in the Scorpion Deathlock and he tries to get the down ref’s attention. Harley Race comes rushing back to the ring and Sting lays his shoulder into the former World Champion’s gut. Sting pounds on Race, so here comes Big Van Vader. Sting is taking on all comers and he throws Race and Vader’s heads together, knocking them both out to the floor. Rude uses the opportunity to take Sting out at the knee from behind. Rude is sluggish but knees Sting in the face. He sets up for the Rude Awakening, spinning Sting around. Race has come back into the ring holding a chair.

He takes a swing, Sting moves and clocks Rude on the back of the head. Sting stomps Race back out to the floor, covers the unconscious Rude and we have a new champion.
Winner and NEW WCW International World Heavyweight Champion: Sting (Outside Interference)

EA’s Take: Welp, the time has finally come and we’ve reached the last time we will be seeing ‘The Ravishing One’, as he will suffer a career-ending neck injury in a match against Sting at New Japan’s Wrestling Dontaku just a few weeks later and I am bummed that I’m finished covering his work in this series. On the bright side, a great final hurrah here as he gives one more great performance with Sting, who is still clearly “the man” in WCW.

Match #6 – Bunkhouse Match: ‘The Natural’ Dustin Rhodes vs. Bunkhouse Buck w/Col. Robert Parker
Rhodes is introduced 2nd and he comes running right down to the ring and leaps from the entrance ramp into the ring with a big splash. The Natural lays in some rights and kicks the midsection. To the ropes and Rhodes hits a big clothesline. A right knocks Buck to the apron, Rhodes brings him back with a vertical suplex. He tries a pin and Buck kicks out. To the ropes and Rhodes stays in control with a back drop. A right knocks Buck to the floor, Dustin chases him and they brawl on the floor, exchanging rights. Bionic elbow by Rhodes and he drops an elbow into Buck’s groin. Dustin rolls him back into the ring, pokes the eyes and knocks him down with a right.

To the ropes they go, Rhodes goes for a cross body, Buck moves and Rhodes rolls hard onto the floor. Parker takes a brief opportunity to choke him with his handkerchief, Buck moves in with a weapon and snaps it across Rhodes’ back. He follows it with a shot to the forehead. Rhodes climbs onto the entrance ramp and Buck turns him inside out with a clothesline. Rhodes is split open and Buck chokes him with his suspenders. Rhodes is rolled back into the ring, he tries a desperation right but can’t find his opponent. Scoop slam and some stomps by Bunkhouse Buck. Rhodes is dragged to the apron and his leg is wrapped around the ring post.

Dustin fights back and kicks Buck away. Rhodes goes to his pocket, it’s a bag of powder and he hits Buck in the eyes with it. He’s still up first and he whips Rhodes with his belt over and over again. Parker tells him to just give up. Buck sets him up in the corner and lays in rights before stomping the rib cage with his big cowboy boots. Buck charges in with another big boot, Dustin moves. Rhodes sets him across the top turnbuckle and punts him over and over again. Big bionic elbow across the head of Buck and Dustin grabs the belt. He wraps it around his fist and lays it on Buck. Rhodes grabs his cowboy boot and heads to the middle rope, dropping the heel across Buck’s face.

Rhodes sets Buck over the top rope, rips open his t-shirt and whips him with the belt. Another Bionic elbow and he clotheslines Buck out to the floor. Buck digs into his pocket and rolls back in the ring. He misses with a right and Rhodes scores with an atomic drop. Rhodes sets up on the middle turnbuckle and lays in the elbows as the crowd counts along. Irish whip followed by a quick clothesline. He grabs Buck for a Bulldog and lands it. He goes for the pin but Parker is up on the apron. Rhodes suplexes the Colonel into the ring and whips him with the belt.

Buck is up on his feet, he tries a schoolboy but Rhodes kicks out. Rhodes pounds away with rights and Buck kicks out. Buck reverses the Irish whip but runs into Rhodes’ boot. The ref backs Rhodes away from the ropes allowing Parker to give Buck brass knuckles. He clonks The Natural and knocks him out allowing him to pick up the W.
Winner: Bunkhouse Buck (Foreign Object)

EA’s Take: Fun fact about Bunkhouse Buck – in 2010, he appeared on WWE programming as “Jack Swagger Sr”. I know it was a screwed finish to protect the babyface, I know Jimmy Golden was a successful southern territory guy and I know that this feud continues, but something feels a bit sour about bringing in this mid-40’s guy who is relatively unknown to most casual fans around the rest of country and putting him over one your best, still very young stars. Goldust (especially during the Attitude Era) is one of the most memorable characters in wrestling history and an obvious Hall of Famer, but at only 25 years old in 1994, there is little doubt in my mind that The Natural could have been built into a WCW World Heavyweight Champion someday. He had the size, the skill, the popularity with the fans, the heritage, legitimate runs with secondary titles at a young age, all he needed was the right future push. But hey, with good ol’ Hulk Hogan walking through the door soon, I guess all of those bets were off anyway, right?

Backstage: Jesse Ventura is trying to get a word with ‘Ravishing’ Rick Rude in the locker room, but the former champion is raging. Ventura is confused about the interference in the match. Rude says he didn’t ask for help and didn’t need any help. Big Van Vader and Harley Race appear and Rude chews them out for costing him the match and the title. A shoving match ensues and the other wrestlers have to separate them.

Match #7: Big Van Vader w/Harley Race vs. The Boss
The Boss wastes no time and meets Vader on the ramp, and shots are fired. Race tries holds Boss in place, Vader charges and Boss moves causing a collision of allies. Boss clotheslines Vader into the ring and the bell rings. Boss sends Vader for the ride and lifts a big boot. A straight right knocks Vader back outside. Body shots from Boss but Vader fights back. Standing clothesline by the former World Champion. Vader lifts Boss and throws him back in the ring. He backs up and dives over the top rope for a big splash but Boss gets his knees up. Boss stomps away and drops an elbow. Straight rights and a clothesline throws Vader to the floor.

He whips Vader into the railing and he flips up and over, into the seats. Boss hot shots Vader across the steel and intimidates Race before holding the ring. Vader joins him, Boss sends him for an Irish whip and a big splash. Boss scoop slams the big man to a big ovation from the crowd. Vader is up and shows life with right forearms. Headbutt by The Boss and they hit the ropes, big back body drop to the Boss out to the floor. Race takes some cheap shots and Vader appears to have some hard way blood. Vader with a vertical suplex from the apron. Vader lands a big splash but Boss kicks out at two. In the corner, Vader throws some strikes, but Boss fights back.

Belly to back suplex by The Boss and they’re both slow to get up. Vader sends Boss to the ropes, Boss ducks a clothesline and scores with one of his own. Running clothesline by Vader and he heads for the 2nd rope not realizing Boss stood up. He throws the big man down on his shoulder. He seats Vader on the top turnbuckle and calls for a superplex, ultimately landing more of a DDT, Vader kicks out at two. Boss heads for the top rope and hits a splash, he hooks the leg but Vader grabs the ropes. Boss goes back to the top rope, leaps but Vader catches him with a power slam.

He sets Boss up for the 2nd rope splash and lands it but Boss manages to kick out. Vader is frustrated and he’s going for it again – instead deciding to go all the way up top. He lands a moonsault and that’s enough to keep Boss down.
Winner: Big Van Vader (Moonsault)

After The Bell: Race grabs the nightstick and the handcuffs. He attempts to handcuff Boss to the ropes but the tide turns. Race is beaten down with the nightstick until WCW Commissioner Nick Bockwinkel rushes into the ring to break it up.
EA’s Take: That running splash from the ramp was ambitious for the big Vader, but he definitely caught his feet on the top rope and could have been seriously hurt. The back body drop to Boss out to the floor looked like it could have been a miscommunication and if Ray didn’t grab that top rope, it could have been mighty ugly.

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

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Chairshot Classics: WWE Roadblock – End Of The Line (2016)

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Classic SummerSlam

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

Published

3 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!