LANCE STORM KICKS BUTT!! and other stuff I saw or read this week!:)
Howdy!
I got a lot of little things that don't warrant their own post so I
figured I'd stick them all together so as to rise above their own
individual insignificance. I recently got a bunch of tapes I'm in the
process of watching so I figgered I would comment on some things I saw
and I would comment on stuff I've read on the web. Yes! I am that WILD!
-I watched the WAR Super Heavy Tagteam tournament from last December, and
it was the mixed bag of mixed bags! The absolute highlight was the
Japanese debut of Lance Storm. JIMINY CRICKETS! I'd only seen a couple
of SMW Thrillseekers matches with him in it and I wasn't prepared to be
blown away like I was. I'm sure that the fact that Chris Jericho was his
opponent had something to do with it but one can't detract from the
awesome display he pulled off. My favorite moves were the somersault
plancha and the Kyoko Inoue Blind Elbow after running up the turnbuckle.
Jericho also ruled, and he really facilitated a great debut for his
former partner. Somebody had better sign both of these guys quick
(though I read from Micasa that Jericho is to start for WCW next month.)
The other highlights were the Mochizuki/Tatsumi Kitahara vs Gedo/Jado
match, Fuyuki/Shinobu Kandori vs Tenryu/Ultimo Dragon and the Ultimo
Dragon/Tenryu vs Gedo/Jado matches. Kandori was particularly good
against Dragon, though she was pretty loose with him, it's not like he is
Hotta or anything. Mochizuki rules and I would like to see a match that
he actually wins in.:) I had never seen Kitahara before and he's about as
stiff as you'd ever want. Gedo is actually starting to grow on me, so
long as I don't have to see the little pants of Fuyuki ever again. The
lowlights were -get ready- El Gigante! and Typhoon! Guess what! They
both still really suck! El Gigante sucks more than he used to which is
pretty incredible in my book. All in all, the good stuff was good enough
to outweigh the bad stuff.
-I saw the Blizzard Yuki vs Chapparita Delfin match from March. Asari
still isn't good yet, but the Skyytwister press is one of the coolest
moves on earth and there is a choice one in this match. The mask was
weird enough but the baggy shorts were ultimate fashion faux pas. Sakie
Hasegawa makes my heart skip a beat when she enters my TV screen. WOTTA
BABE!:) It also had the beautiful Super Delfin vs La Pantera match. La
Pantera really tears it up in this one, and he proved to me that he would
be considered one of the greatest luchadores around today if his outfit
wasn't so hideous. Great match though.
Also on the tape was a Champ Forum BattleArts which looked like fourth
rate Pancrase or third rate UWFi. It did have one impressive shoot
wrestler in Axe Thunder Otsuka, who had a WHOLE lot of speed and hit real
hard.
-I watched the Rey Misterio Jr/Psicosis match from 3/1/96 and it was
memorable for the usual reasons and was set apart by the crazy chairshot
bonanza at the end. Chairshots are so much more effective when they are
an afterthought to spicing up an already technically sound. The undercard
was varied between somewhat okay and totally unwatchable. Halloween has
the best intro in all of AAA.
The Ultimo Dragon/Misterio rumor is back up and running, so I'm stoked I
guess. Of course, this match will take place in front of a batch of
redneck bikers, so who knows how it will turn out (my guess: ugly!).
With this, Malenko/Benoit and the Nakano match (if Madusa is willing
to work at all) will make it three WCW PPV in a row for me, a new
record!:)
I'm still waiting to see this Psicosis/Billy Kidman thing to see if I
must kill or just torture someone.:)
-I watched an eight hour Cactus Jack tape which absolutely ruled (God
bless Phil!) After watching all 600 spectacular interveiws, I would say
that Herb is just restating the same thing that Cactus Jack said during
the Dreamer feud when he criticizes ECW vampires. That period has to be
the alltime pinnacle of interveiws by anyone ever. I've noticed that
Mankind is starting to pick up steam in the interveiw department with the
Jake Roberts religious overtones angle. Hopefully, this will produce
something 1/10 as good as the great tangents that he went off on in his
stint with ECW. Hopefully, Vince will have sense to let him go to it
without sterilizing it to much.
-I made a tape this week that had my favorite non-Mexican Lucha Libre
match: Great Sasuke/Kendo/Shimoda vs Super Delfin/Gran Naniwa/Sakie
Hasegawa from last December. What a great mix of highspots and comedy
spots, lifted directly from their Mexican counterparts- add this to the
total charm and state-of-the art highspots that permeates all good
Michinoku Pro matches, whatcha get is a very special match, especially
the chemistry between Delfin, Naniwa, and Sakie. And who is this Kendo
and why isn't he internationally famous?
-I watched IWA 5 Death Matches this week and the Silver King matches
kicked the death matches asses so bad it was amazing. Silver King rules
the freaking world.
-In case anyone was wondering: the people who can wrestle in FMW are
Ooyo, Tanaka, Hayabusa, and the new, improved Gladiator. The rest kinda
suck.
Gotta go watch three months of GAEA and a batch of Great Sasuke, so I
gotta go!
Dean Rasmussen
