Vintage Video Thread

[klunderbunker]

13 years ago, WCW had another one of their, ahem, great ideas in the form of a goliath known as Loch Ness. Standing just under 7'0 tall and weighing just under 700lbs, this guys sucked, like, REALLY sucked. WCW yet again manages to ruin a suprise by having his name pop up before his 'debut". This is kind of a match but it falls into a DQ soon thereafter.


This right here is a great example of what WCW was doing wrong at the time. There was already a similar and better monster in the form of the Giant aka Big Show, so why did they need this guy? It was a waste of a salary and a roster spot as well as just a waste of time. He lasted about 3 months, eventually getting a tv title shot somehow which he lost. He was gone after that April. Ummm, enjoy?

 

[klunderbunker]

Ok so raise your hand if you thought Against All Odds sucked. Ok now put your hands down so I can see the wall back there again. While it did indeed suck, it doesn't mean that the series sucked. Today we begin two back to back Against All Odds shows with the first one being from 3 years ago. This was during Joe's absolute dominance of absolutely everything, including the X Division. Right here we have him facing perhaps his two greatest rivals in a rematch from the absolute classic they had at Unbreakable.

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This match, while not as great as their match from September of the previous year, is still eight kinds of awesome. This is what TNA was supposed to be about: guys going out there and giving everything they have to entertain the fans and damn if they didn't do just that right here. This shows what the X Division could do when given the chance, and it's a damn fine match.

 

[klunderbunker]

Now, we've seen Joe vs. Daniels vs. Styles and Joe came out on top. That of course leaves one question: who was second best? One year beforehand we found out as the Phenomenal One took on the Fallen Angel in a thirty minute Iron Man Match.

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This match shows that Iron Man matches can work if kept down to a lower time limit. The hour long matches just don't work that well as it takes too long to set something up and the workers have to stall for way too long. In a thirty minute match, you can have a twenty minute back and forth affair or even a domination, with ten full minutes for someone to make a comeback, leading to the finish. Keeps stall time down to maybe a fourth of what it would be in a sixty minute match. Well done TNA. Good match. Enjoy guys.

 

[klunderbunker]

It's a double shot today as we link up with the WWE forums to showcase the match where The Big Show Paul Wight debuted, a cage match between Steve Austin and Vince McMahon from St. Valentine's Day Massacre. A total beating of McMahon that was important only for the finish with the arrival of the Show.



This match isn't important for the beatdown that Vince gets. While it's fun to see the Boss get his ass handed to him, it's ultimately the arrival of the big man that signals WWE landing a huge blow to WCW as it steals away one of the young guys for a change. This marked the beginning of the exodus of the WCW core to the WWF, eventually leading to guys like Jericho, Guerrero, Benoit and others to come back to the WWF, resulting in the balance of power shifting in the Monday Night Wars. WWF had already made up a lot of ground by improving their own product, but this was their first move that struck a blow against WCW. While it doesn't look like a lot on the surface, the ramifications here are huge. Take a look.

 

[klunderbunker]

We're going to follow up on that cage match with the match from the next night on Raw. With Austin winning the cage match and becoming the number 1 contender for the title, that means he needs a champion to face right? Well at the time, Mankind was the WWF Champion. I don't ever recall Mankind vs. Austin for the belt at Mania, but I do recall Austin vs. Rock. Therefore, on this night, 10 years ago, the Rock challenges Mankind of the WWF title in a ladder match!


Now this match has a few important aspects to it. To begin with, it sets the stage for the first ever one on one world title match between Austin and the Rock. With Rock as top heel and Austin as top face, the war was on and it started oin that night. Big Show makes his Raw debut and with his blonde hair flowing, sets up his Mania match with Mankind, to an extent. The wars were on and WCW was sitting back on pins and needles, praying that they could stay afloat.

Note: for once I had two great options, but i picked this over Eddie Guerrero and Brock Lesnar for the belt. That's been seen way too much.

 

[klunderbunker]

For February 16th, there really wasn't much to choose from. I did however stumble upon this match. In another entry from the what were tehy thinking files of WCW, we have Booker T, a man that had shot his way up the WCW roster and had captured the Television title, defending against......Rick Martel? Yes, the Rick Martel that had played the Model. However, in this match, he's a guy in a leather ring jacket with black tights named Rick Martel. That's it. Perhaps the most generic wrestler imaginable.

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While WCW was still firmly in control of the Monday Night Wars, WWF had a foothold at this point with Austin's rise to the World Title reaching its apex. This is a classic example of what were tehy thinking? Why Rick Martel? he hadn't done anything of note in about 6 years at this point and was completely random for this story. It's not like he was over huge or anything. He was a name from the past that was relatively obscure. Just makes me scratch my head.

 

[klunderbunker]

Backed up a few days because of school, but back to work again.

On February 17, 2008, John Cena and Randy Orton continued their rivalry, as Cena uses the title shot he earned by winning the Royal Rumble a month early, as he challenges Orton for the WWE title at No Way Out.

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This match always seemed to be hotshotted to me. Why do this match at No Way Out? It set up the triple threat at Wrestlemania, which I never thought that much of for the most part. This is the Austin/Rock of this era. Why waste it on a show like this, especially with this ending? I don't get it.

 

[klunderbunker]

It was one of the last WCW PPVs, and based on what I'm seeing, that's a good thing. This was around the time when WCW simply didn't give a damn about anything anymore and the booking showed that. Scott Steiner was just beating everyone up with no challenger in sight, so they put him in the ring with Kevin Nash in a 2/3 falls retirement vs. belt match for the title. Anyone else see a train wreck coming?

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This match is nothing short of a clusterfuck of a fight. It involves weapons to attempt to make it passable, but the company knew it was dead. There's no thought to this match, no real backstory and no need for these stipulations. WCW was over and the booking ideas just came from nowhere. That's what made this time fun. It was so messed up that it was great.

 

[It's...Baylariat!]

For all of those international enthusiasts out there in our audience, (and IC), I present you with one of the most brutal matches in the history of wrestling anywhere anytime. These two monsters have a legendary rivalry that has rarely been topped in any country at any time. I present to you, Stan "the Lariat" Hansen vs. Big Van Vader!

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While it's rare in Puroesu for two big men, especially Americans to have a big rivalry for a title, these two did it and did it as well as anyone. These matches weren't about wrestling. They were about brawling. There was another match where they spilled out into traffic and caused a jam, resulting in them being banned from wrestling each other anywhere in the country. Think about that for a minute before you watch this epic war.

Another gem from the Japanese collection...Stan Hansen v/s Hulk Hogan

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I only remembered Stan Hansen from his WCW days in the late 80's/early 90's. The Luger/Hansen matches were awesome. The 'Lariat' scared the hell out of seven-year-old me back in the day. I found this gem recently. I love how it showcases how Hogan CAN wrestle, and how entertaining and stiff Hansen is. And watch the ending of the match. It's two giants in the wrestling world (YES, Hansen was an ICON in Japan) do battle a few weeks removed from Hogan losing to the Warrior at WM 5. LARIATO!

 

[It's...Baylariat!]

Lex Luger versus Stan "the Lariat" Hansen for the US Title Halloween Havoc 1990

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I just have to post this match. Luger was as stiff as they get in the ring. So was Hansen. This match was on a STACKED Halloween Havoc card that also featured Anderson/Flair v/s Doom, Sting v/s Sid, and the Nasty Boys v/s the Steiner Bros. This was Luger's first loss in nearly a year. It was fitting he would eat one of the stiffest finishers in the business. Enjoy.