The Quantum Vault

This is 100% up my alley

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AAA Lucha Libre: Comienza la Conquista Tour, Mexicali, Mid-January 2019
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Another stop on the Comienza la Conquista tour, with the OGTs each working separately with fellow rudos, another Stardom crossover match, and two big matches at the end of the show setting up important matchups for the megacard event the tour is leading into.

Match 1: Golden Magic vs. Drago
Drago defeated Golden Magic with a rollup at 14:39 [One Thumb Up]
A serviceable opener for the show, with Magic setting the pace and Drago landing the bigger moves when he did land. It seemed very much even going down the stretch when Drago caught Magic with a counter rollup.

Match 2: Puma King, La Parka II, Mr. Iguana, Nino Hamburguesa vs. Sammy Guevara, Villano III Jr, Australian Suicide and Super Fly
Team Puma defeated Team Guevara when Parka used an inside cradle on Guevara at 30:54 [One Thumb Up]
Puma King carried his team early in the match before the rudos isolated him on the outside, doing such a number that he was pretty much a non factor for the rest of the match. From there, Nino was the main technico, but it was La Parka who earned the win by catching Sammy Guevara in an inside cradle after it seemed that Super Fly was going to pin him multiple times. A solid eight man tag in conclusion.

Match 3: Joe Lider and Aerostar vs. Nicho el Millonario and Crazy Boy
Aerostar defeated Nicho with a rollup at 17:17 [One Thumb Up]
I wanted to give this match two thumbs up. If I didn't care about my integrity, I would have. This was as entertaining as it gets, total Lucha Extrema with light tubes, barbed wire bats, destroyers on the floor, dives off the top to the outside from Aerostar(and a hilarious botched running dive that left Aerostar faceplanting on the ramp), but in the end, Aerostar redeemed himself by rolling up Nicho, in Nicho's own corner while Crazy Boy just stood there. This was not a great match, but was it fun? Absolutely.

Match 4: STARS(Mayu Iwatani, Tam Nakano, Arisa Hoshiki and Starlight Kid)(Stardom) vs. Lady Shani, Faby Apache, Taya Valkrie and Keyra
Team Shani defeated Team STARS when Taya pinned Starlight Kid with a jackknife pin at 19:54 [One Thumb Down]
On paper, this could have been great. In execution, it wasn't bad, but it also didn't come close to what I hoped for. Taya and Shani dominated for the AAA ladies in terms of ring time, and played their role well. STARS tagged out quickly, perhaps too much so, in that we never got more than a few seconds of Mayu vs Shani, and Starlight didn't get to shine as well as she could have in a less cluttered match. Not a bad match, but undoubtedly a disappointing one that was over all too fast.

Match 5: Rey Mysterio Jr.(WWE) vs. El Hijo del Fantasma with Rey Escorpion, La Mascara and La Hiedra
Mysterio defeated Fantasma with the 619 at 16:55 [One Thumb Up]
Now this was more like it. The Mercs at ringside didn't seem to be too involved for the first ten minutes of the match, aside from feeding a stack of chairs into the ring while Fantasma and Mysterio wrestled a fairly standard match. Things picked up down the stretch, though, and every time Mysterio tried to pin his opponent, Hiedra got the attention of Hijo del Tirantes(Big surprise, right? Not that I blame him, though...), but even with a near fall off a powerbomb, it was not Fantasma's night, and a 619 finished him off without interference. A little more from Fantasma and this could have easily been two thumbs.

Match 6: Cain Velasquez, Psycho Clown and Murder Clown vs. Josh Barnett(Impact), Killer Kross and Averno with Scarlett Bordeaux
Team Barnett defeated team Velasquez when Barnett used a double wristlock on Velasquez at 32:38 [One Thumb Up]
I'm mainly giving this one thumb up for the bulk of the match dominated by Hoss(Murder) Clown and Killer Kross. If this version of AAA has any booking sense, that's going on the Comienza megacard as a singles match. Anyhow, aside from these two beasts battling, the rest of the match was decent if anything, but also a bit frustrating in that Cain and Barnett barely interacted, aside from the end, where Cain had just busted open Averno with some ground and pound, with Barnett tagging in, and taking advantage of the chaos to lock in his signature double wristlock. Could this be a preview of their future matchup? We'll see, or so I hope.

Match 7: Los Lucha Bros(Rey Fenix and Pentagon Jr.) and Hijo del Vikingo vs. Blue Demon Jr, Dr. Wagner Jr and Chessman
Team Lucha Bros defeated Team Demon Jr. when Vikingo pinned Chessman with the Imploding 450 at 36:48 [Two Thumbs Up]
This was everything one could have asked out of the main event, every matchup got the time of day here, lots of fast paced action, Penta bled thanks to Wagner, and the biggest story of this match is that the single most popular man in this match wasn't the Megacampeon Fenix, but the Latin American champ, Vikingo. And the match only seemed to support the fan perception, with Vike putting on a real display of his skills leading up to his pinfall over Chessman. Demon looked strong in defeat, and I know I'm looking forward to his title match with Fenix...but now I have to ask, is Vikingo getting a chance sooner than later?

After the main event, Fenix and Vikingo both held up their belts, and it seemed like Vike's eyes did linger a long while on the Megacampeon belt. Vikingo is clearly headed for big things in this timeline. All in all, this show was an improvement on the last one, if only because the lowest points didn't go as low, and the latter half of the card was solid to very good. Still, I think this is far from what the Barreras can offer, and I'm hoping they keep the upward trajectory going.

Overall Impression - [One Thumb Up]

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AAA Lucha Libre: Comienza la Conquista Tour, Guadalajara, Late January 2019
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Only a few shows away from the tour concluding event, this event has largely set up most of the major matchups for Comienza la Conquista, with a massive surprise in the main event and a number of matches down the stretch forcing some unlikely alliances.

Match 1: Australian Suicide, Vanilla Vargas, Villano III Jr. and Lady Maravilla vs. Nino Hamburguesa, Big Mami, Laredo Kid and Faby Apache
Team Nino defeated Team Aussie when Nino Hamburguesa used a folding powerbomb on Vanilla Vargas at 26:17 [One Thumb Up]
A little bit of a disjointed bout, but it moved fast enough to forgive that. Nino was taking nothing from either Maravilla or Vargas, and Australian Suicide was landing Canadian Destroyers at will. Eventually, it would be a counter powerbomb from Nino, thwarting a rana attempt from Vanilla to take the win. Lady Maravilla attempted to flirt with him after the match, but was driven off by Big Mami.

Match 2: Takumi Iroha(Marvelous) vs. Keyra
Iroha defeated Keyra with a Rear Naked Choke at 15:44 [One Thumb Up]
Takumi Iroha looked one step ahead of Keyra for the bulk of this match, her stunningly diverse arsenal showcased through the duration. Gaining close calls with her sharp kicks, a triangle choke, a swanton bomb and her signature Running Three powerbomb delivered into the ropes, it only seemed to be a matter of time until a takedown into a rear naked choke finished things off. One sided as this might have been, it was a spectacular showing, regardless.

Match 3: Joe Lider, Pagano and Nicho el Millonario vs. Crazy Boy, Chessman and Dave the Clown
45 Minute Time Limit Draw [Two Thumbs Up]
No blood, no winners, and yet, this match was violent, action packed and persistently held my attention, which should count for something, considering the fact that it ran for a full 45 minutes. For some reason, Nicho was back on the technico side, I'm not asking questions. Both teams fought frequently on the outside, with light tubes broken, barbed wire bats, chairs and boards crashing down on heads, with powerbombs and DDTs a plenty on the unforgiving floor. Eventually, Joe Lider KOed Chessman on the outside with a Lider Storm Driver, but his team could not finish off Crazy Boy and Dave the Clown as the time ran out. Crazy Boy and Lider continued the brawl anyway, when Averno and Super Fly hit the ring, with the other two OGTs avenging their fallen teammate, by beating the holy mess out of a depleted Lider, Pagano and Nicho until all three members of Poder del Norte arrived, carrying chairs. Lider and Nicho bailed as the three beat down Averno and Super Fly, and with Pagano being too stubborn to get out of the way, he also took a chair to the head. Carta Brava Jr. called out the OGTs and challenged them to a trios match at Comienza, stating that they're the last team in their way towards getting their titles back from Jintes del Aire. Rudo vs Rudo, but interesting anyway, so I'm looking forward to that.

Match 4: Rey Mysterio(WWE) vs. La Mascara with La Hiedra and Rey Escorpion
Mysterio defeated La Mascara with a Counter Powerbomb at 18:25 [One Thumb Up]
Briskly paced match with Escorpion and Hiedra offering their two cents to Piero on a frequent basis, and Hiedra also depositing a chair in the ring. And yet, Rey Mysterio never let up, fighting through a Campana and countering a rana with a powerbomb to take the win before the Mercs at ringside could interfere once again. And yet, before they could ambush Mysterio, the legend slipped back out of the ring, taking a microphone at ringside, and called out Rey Escorpion for a match at Comienza with no Mercenarios at ringside, a battle of the kings. Escorpion accepted, and this should be a highlight of the event.

Match 5: Blue Demon Jr. and Josh Barnett vs. Pentagon Jr. and Cain Velasquez
Demon Jr. defeated Velasquez with a tilt a whirl backbreaker at 22:57 [One Thumb Up]
The team of Demon Jr. and Barnett was a nightmare to behold, if it wasn't Demon's rough tactics, it was Barnett's merciless catch style keeping both opponents on their back foot, with Barnett busting Pentagon open early, and Demon opening Cain up later with an illegal object. Cain, to his credit, fought back with impressive fortitude, and stuck to his gameplan, looking for multiple flash pins late in the match, but was caught with a backbreaker in the wrong corner. Following the match, Velasquez addressed the crowd, stating that while he's enduring some painful losses as he tries to transition over to a true Lucha mentality, he's going to keep working on it, and that Barnett's not going to know what happened when he faces him one on one.

Match 6: Rey Fenix, Hijo del Vikingo and La Parka II vs. Los Ingobernables(Rush, LA Park and Bestia del Ring)
Team Fenix defeated Los Ingobernables when Vikingo used an Imploding 450 Splash on Rush at 18:25 [One Thumb Up]
Before the match, a video was shown from earlier in the day, with Parka addressing Fenix and Vikingo, and telling them that he would serve as their mediator for the team. Vikingo said he would fight with honor alongside his future opponent, and Fenix told him that he was looking forward to getting a scouting report, first hand.

The match itself was almost a borderline two thumbs just to see Vikingo step things up into another gear, utterly obliterating the Ingobernables, nearly single handedly taking on the whole faction. Parka and Fenix seemed more than anything to serve as cameos in Vike's match, and it should be noted that LA Park was the first skeleton man to dance in the match, and that as roughly as the Ingobernables were treated, they looked sharp in their coordinated yellow and black attires. Afterwards, Fenix and Vikingo faced off, with Fenix nearly dismissing Vikingo's offered handshake until Parka ensured that he followed through.

Match 7: Psycho Clown and Bill Goldberg(WWE) vs. El Hijo del Fantasma, Rey Escorpion, Texano Jr. and Taurus
Team Psycho defeated Los Mercenarios when Goldberg knocked out Fantasma with a Jackhammer at 31:33 [One Thumb Up]
Before any match review can start here, this one has to be explained. Originally, it was going to be the Psycho Circus and Wagner Jr. against the Mercs. Instead, the Mercs ambushed Murder, Monsther and Wagner over the course of the show. Psycho Clown still confirmed to Konnan that he was going to fight in the main event, even if he had to do so by himself, but he wasn't worried about that, stating that he always had friends wherever he went. When it came time for the match, Psycho headed to the ring, with Los Mercenarios on the verge of attacking. Instead, though, Psycho pointed to the entrance, and the roof nearly came off the arena when Goldberg's music hit. The Mercs were temporarily in disarray as Bill Goldberg came down to the ring, joining Psycho Clown for a surreal two on four handicap match.

This was a two on four handicap match. And yet, it seemed that the real handicap was in favor of Psycho and Goldberg, who ran roughshod over the Mercs for most of the thirty minutes, other than a few portions where the rudos managed to isolate Psycho Clown for a team beatdown. Even so, it almost seemed like the fulfillment of an inevitable moment when Goldberg spiked Fantasma on his head with a brainbuster style Jackhammer, forcing the conclusion of the bout. Afterwards, Psycho chased Texano and Escorpion around with his belt and whipped both a fallen Fantasma and referee Hijo del Tirantes with it. Goldberg cut a short promo: "Taurus...you're next!"

All in all, the best show yet by a decent margin from the Barretts. Not one thumb down anywhere on the card, and the Lider-Crazy Boy time limit draw was the most fun I've had viewing a brawl in some time. The stories seem to be more and more integrated into the product, and everything's tightened up, the crossovers not dragging things down as much and the booking's really hitting on all cylinders for the big Comienza de Conquista event in early February. There's still room for improvement, as there were no true all time classics here, but the show was consistent enough that I can't complain at all.

Overall Impression - [One Thumb Up]

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AAA Lucha Libre: Comienza la Conquista, Mexico City, Early February 2019
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This is it, the event everything up to this point was building to. We get a fancy production package right off the bat, with a brief introduction from Erik Barrera, and then it's off to the races.

Match 1: Psycho Clown, Dr. Wagner Jr, La Parka II and Mamba vs. LA Park, Pentagon Jr, Killer Kross and Sammy Guevara
Team Park defeated Team Psycho when Guevara used a shooting star press on La Parka at 16:00 [One Thumb Up]
Think of this as the supercharged version of the usual AAA multiman opener, and you'll get a sense of the ridiculous pace that everyone was going at in this one. Killer Kross was the true standout here, and ripped into everyone on Psycho Clown's team, although a missle dropkick from LA Park was also impressive. From what I could tell, there must have been some sort of feud building between Mamba and Guevara leading into the match, and it was the self-proclaimed "Spanish God" who beat Parka with a SSP. This was a close call between a thumb up and a thumb down, but I can't complain about a sixteen minute eight person tag opener that moves this fast, even if a large portion of the participants didn't really get much in.

Match 2: Josh Barnett with Killer Kross and Scarlett Bordeaux vs. Cain Velasquez with Minoru Suzuki(NJPW)
Velasquez defeated Barnett with a kimura lock at 16:14 [Two Thumbs Up]
Minoru Suzuki returned to AAA to Cain Velasquez's corner, while Killer Kross remained around(without changing gear) with Scarlett Bordeaux to Josh Barnett's corner. Taking loss after loss in tag situations during this feud, Velasquez finally managed to earn a win over Barnett, but it took an impressive effort to do so, with a top rope diving rana, leaping cutters, spin kicks and some serious ground and pound, along with a number of timely counters for Velasquez to overcome his foe, culminating in a kimura lock that resulted in a massive cheer from the audience. Barnett didn't roll over easy, with a huge powerbomb, big suplexes and his usual ground skills on display, and both men should have been proud with this.

Match 3: Trios #1 Contender Bout: Poder del Norte(Carta Brava Jr, Mocho Cota Jr. and Tito Santana) vs. Los OGTs(Chessman, Averno and Super Fly)
OGTs defeated Poder del Norte when Super Fly used a moonsault press on Brava Jr. at 41:46 [One Thumb Up]
PDN were in control for much of this match, their persistent weapon shots and endless fast twitch teamwork seemingly always keeping two of their members in the ring at any given time. Chessman anchored the OGTs for most of the match, hitting an impressive doomsday style missile dropkick at one point, but Super Fly would be the one to save the day for the OGTs, hitting a frog splash at the midway point and a moonsault to finish Brava Jr. This was a good match, even if it went about five minutes too long.

Following the contest, the OGTs stomped out the fallen Poder members, repeatedly hitting them with chairs. Myzteziz Jr and Golden Magic hit the ring to make the save on their rivals, but could not get past the chairs, and had their masks ripped off for their trouble. Looks like we're already getting set up for the title shot on the next tour, as the OGT's not only defeated PDN, but also beat down two thirds of Jintes del Aire to make a statement.

Match 4: Landmine Deathmatch: Joe Lider vs. Crazy Boy
Lider defeated Crazy Boy by knockout when he used a Lider Storm Driver at 8:06 [One Thumb Up]
I had mixed feelings on only giving this one thumb up. On one hand, it was under ten minutes, there was little wrestling to be seen and it was somewhat one sided. On the other, this was one of the more violent matches you'll see in a while, with Lider throwing Crazy Boy into the barbed wire repeatedly at the start, hitting a dreaded tombstone within a minute, tossing him out onto the explosives before two minutes passed and repeating the toss again before Crazy Boy got back in, hitting a cutter, and throwing Lider out of the ring. With both men bleeding all over the place, Lider swung away with weapons, hit another tombstone and then crushed his opponent with the Lider Storm Driver. Not a match for a wrestling purist, but certainly enjoyable for fans of this sort of thing.

Match 5: Lady Shani, Faby Apache, Keyra and La Hiedra vs. Stardom All-Stars(Mayu Iwatani, Hana Kimura, Momo Wantanabe and Kagetsu)(Stardom)
Stardom All Stars defeated Team AAA when Kimura used a running big boot on Faby at 24:35 [One Thumb Up]
Another one that I would have given two thumbs to if I was only going by my general feelings towards the match. This was finally the proper crossover showcase for the Stardom talent that I wanted on the tour shows. Everyone in this match had their moments to shine, and did so, and Stardom ref Daichi Murayama earned his trip to Mexico City here with the pace of this one. Kagetsu hit three diving stomps in a row on Faby, Momo and Mayu impressed with their suplexes, Shani was her usual superb self, Keyra brought some energy, and Hana was able to take the win with a vicious boot to the face. All in all, just a little more drama, and this could have reached a full two thumbs, but for what it was, I couldn't complain, not one bit.

Match 6: Taurus with La Mascara and La Hiedra vs. Bill Goldberg(WWE)
Goldberg defeated Taurus by knockout with a (brainbuster style) Jackhammer at 13:58 [One Thumb Up]
The crowd was absolutely into this one, with a sizable contingent cheering for Taurus, and he gave them a lot to work with in the first half of the match, utterly battering Goldberg with a variety of moves. When big Bill finally did kick things into gear, Mascara and Hiedra did their part, distracting the easily distractable Hijo del Tirantes from multiple pin attempts, sliding chairs in the ring and making a general nuisance of themselves.(Not that I was annoyed with Hiedra's presence.) Finally, fed up with the antics, Goldberg dropped Taurus right on his head with an ugly Jackhammer and knocked him out, to the delight of some of the fans. Taurus may have lost, but he certainly got a proper match out of Goldberg, and managed to make this a more entertaining match than it had any right to be.

Match 7: Battle of the Kings: Rey Escorpion with Texano Jr. vs. Rey Mysterio Jr.(WWE)
Mysterio defeated Escorpion with an avalanche huracanrana at 12:22 [Two Thumbs Down]
What a disappointment. Mysterio utterly obliterated Escorpion in such a one sided manner that I actively felt sorry for him. A destroyer, a 619, multiple diving leg drops, even Texano saving Escorpion from a flash rollup wouldn't make any difference as Mysterio just put him away with an avalanche rana. You know it's bad when I give these two the dreaded two thumbs down. You know it's even worse when Mysterio squashes a legit foe worse than Goldberg did in the previous match.

Afterwards, Mysterio got on the microphone and challenged the winner of the main event to defend the Megacampeon against him, saying that he feels the best he's felt in a decade and is ready for at least one more time with the top prize in the business, which the Mega belt now has become.

Match 8: Mercenario vs Ingobernable: El Hijo del Fantasma with Rey Escorpion, Texano Jr. and La Hiedra vs. Rush with Tetsuya Naito, Andrade "Cien" Almas and Zelina Vega
Fantasma defeated Rush with the Thrill of the Hunt at 20:59 [Two Thumbs Up]
Yes, you read that right. As Rush made his entrance, he paused at the entryway, as Naito and Almas each walked out on either side, both wearing snazzy suits, with Zelina Vega slipping between them. The crowd went nuts, as one might expect, with the surprise additions to his corner.(And I for one did not mind Vega replacing Bestia del Ring at ringside.)

The match itself...if I could give this three thumbs up, I would. But I'm not Meltzer, so I don't change my criteria after the fact. As it is, this was by far the best match the Barerra era AAA has yet produced. Fantasma took the fight to Rush from the start, but after a while, it was clear that the leader of the Ingobernables would not go away easily, and started fighting back with his usual power moves. A tombstone went overlooked, but before he could make the pin, the Mercs made a timely distraction. Again and again, Rush went for the win, and Fantasma kicked out, with the Mercs spiritedly ensuring that Tirantes did not count to three. Finally, after kicking out of the Rush Driver, Fantasma hit the Thrill of the Hunt, his Samoan Driver, and netted a three count to a thunderous cheer that likely resounded through Mexico City.

With all the Mercs, save Taurus jumping in the ring, Fantasma thanked his teammates for their support, thanked the crowd for their loud cheers, although warning the people that "cheering us is not going to change us at all," and went on for a bit until Rush stepped back into the ring, with LA Park, Bestia, Kross, Barnett and Bordeaux at ringside, joining Almas, Naito and Vega. Rush told Fantasma that "the Mercenarios will either step back or be destroyed," and dropped the microphone before walking away with what now looks like a full international coalition of Los Ingobernables. Pretty sure that's not the end of that.

Match 9: AAA Megacampeon Championship Bout: Rey Fenix(C) vs. Blue Demon Jr. vs. El Hijo del Vikingo
Demon Jr. eliminated Vikingo with a rollup at 12:25, Fenix defeated Demon Jr. with a rollup at 17:29 [One Thumb Up]
This was a bit of a disjointed match, with Demon Jr. seeming very much out of place in the early going, until Fenix whipped him into the ropes, and charged in with a dropkick that sent him tumbling over. Demon got back in with a chair and picked up the pace well enough to keep up with his opponents from there on. Vikingo was the first out, after taking a beating from Fenix and then attempting an avalanche move on Demon Jr, only for the wily veteran to pin him with a sunset flip rollup off the top. From there, Demon Jr. took the fight to Fenix, no selling a cutter and working him over with his classical brawling, but for some reason, felt the need to go for a high risk attack, and in a mirror situation of his elimination of Vikingo, was himself eliminated with a sunset flip rollup from the top, by Fenix. Not a great main event, but really, nothing was going to live up to Fantasma-Rush, and this was brisk enough that I'm ok with that.

Mysterio again walked out at the end, pointing to the belt, while Fenix held it high and the show came to a close.

Did Comienza live up to the expectations? Yes, in many ways. It came dreadfully close to having a thumb knocked off for the horrific Mysterio-Escorpion match, but if you ignore that, just about every built up feud paid off splendidly, with one of the best matches I've ever seen in the Fantasma-Rush match, with the drama off the charts, and even playing off the previous Merceniaro losses and the Ingobernable debuts. The Lider-Crazy Boy feud was a highlight on every tour show it featured on, and was again one here, Barnett-Cain was tremendous, Goldberg-Taurus was fun, and everything else ranged from really good to competently entertaining. As far as things go, I'd call this a near absolute success.

Overall Impression - [Two Thumbs Up]

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NWA-WWF: WWF Superstars, New York City, Early January, 1988
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And here I finally get a new promotion, a new dimension or whatever the hell it is. The WWF in 1988, but this WWF is still part of the National Wrestling Alliance as a super territory, and Hulk Hogan has had the NWA title for three years or so, with all the other territories sending in their top guys to try to take it from him now. This is apparently a WWF Superstars show from the era, so expect jobber matches and generally lesser matchups with some hidden gems, or at least, that's what I'm expecting.

Match 1: Rick Rude vs. Local Competitor
Rude defeated the Competitor with the Rude Awakening at 7:08 [One Thumb Up]
A simple, easy win for the Ravishing one, aside from a few arm wringers, he took next to no offence and didn't need all that much to dispatch his foe, with an early military press slam and some hard punches serving as the only prelude he needed for the Awakening. This got a thumb up for making Rude look like a star, and for not wasting my time with any nonsense. Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby the Brain are in the booth, so at least that part of the show is going to be guaranteed to be worthwhile.

Match 2: Tito Santana vs. Buzz Sawyer
Sawyer defeated Santana with a Mad Dog Powerslam at 18:46 [Two Thumbs Up]
Not what you'd expect from an undercard match on a WWF TV show, a bloody wild brawl that took off on afterburners and only ramped up from there. Santana outwrestled Sawyer early on, leading to the wild man biting him open, which was answered by a Santana back body drop over the ropes. Sawyer would later return the favor with a press slam over the ropes on the other side of the ring, and in the mean time, the two traded big moves, Santana hitting a running forearm, only for Sawyer to pop up and hit his belly to belly, which Santana would kick out of again, but eventually, the blood loss would take its toll, allowing Sawyer to hit the Mad Dog front powerslam for the win. Great stuff, all the more so, as surprising as it was to me.

Match 3: The Funk Bros.(Terry Funk and Dory Funk Jr.) vs. Local Competitors
The Funk Bros. defeated the Competitors when Terry Funk used a Spinning Toe Hold on a Competitor at 26:34 [Two Thumbs Down]
I really hate giving Terry and Dory the dreaded two thumbs down, and I suspect that this would have looked different with commercial breaks splitting it up, but this really sucked. Neither Funk went for a Spinning Toe Hold until about ten minutes in. They gave way too much offence to the locals. Remember what I said about Rude handling his match? This was the opposite, it dragged on, way too long, made two genuinely great wrestlers look like chumps and the only good thing was the finish, with Dory applauding as Terry locked in the STH. Next time, give the Funks a legit pair of foes, or put someone like the Road Warriors in there with the jobbers.

After the Funk Bros. match, a promo played with several shadowy figures standing against a backdrop of static fuzz. I got some serious Max Headroom vibes from this. Anyway, the two identified themselves as the Violence Club and in a distorted voice stated that "Flair! Savage! Warrior! Inoki! Don't stand in our way! We're a runaway freight train, and we're headed right for Hulk Hogan and the NWA Heavyweight Title! We're the Violence Club and we're going to wreck your lives because that's what we do for fun!" Mean Gene then apologized to the fans, after the WWF "regained control of the broadcast."

Match 4: Canek vs. Mr. Perfect
Canek defeated Perfect with a Press Slam at 25:53 [One Thumb Up]
Less than a minute less than the Funk Bros's match, and yet, this felt like it was half as long. Canek and Perfect traded moves and exchanged sequences that looked a decade ahead of their time and put on a tremendous, athletic performance. Canek hit his press backbreaker in the ropes, Perfect hit the Perfectplex in the ropes, Perfect escaped a torture rack and retaliated with what seemed like a hundred dropkicks and back to back somersault neck whips, this was only a notch away from two thumbs, if there were only a few more near falls or rope breaks leading into the finish, with Canek planting Perfect with a run counter press slam. Even so, I can't complain too much when you get something this good.

Match 5: Randy Savage with Hulk Hogan, Ultimate Warrior and Miss Elizabeth vs. Arn Anderson with Ric Flair, Tully Blanchard and Ole Anderson
Savage defeated Anderson by knockout due to a Diving Elbow Drop at 10:03 [One Thumb Up]
Short match, but a good one anyway, as Savage pummeled Anderson early on with knockdown punches, opening a wound. The Horsemen stacked their corner with chairs after that, and Arn went to work on Savage's arm with hammerlocks, knees to the shoulder and other various techniques, looking to take away the Diving Elbow. The Macho Man, though, was not deterred and hit it anyway, putting Anderson down for the count as Joey Marella called for the bell. The Horsemen immediately jumped into the ring, picking up their chairs and swarming Savage. However, with Hogan and Warrior at ringside, that didn't last long, and having collected Arn, the remaining three backtracked up the entrance ramp, shouting various threats and promises to Hogan, with Flair repeating "I'll take that belt! That belt is mine!"

And with that the show came to a close. Not a terrible experience, from the moment Buzz Sawyer ripped Tito Santana's forehead open, I realized that "we're not in Kansas anymore," and the NWA territory version of the WWF from this timeline is a different animal, more wild and unpredictable. The Horsemen-Mega Powers feud seems to be ramping up, but what I really want to see is what the deal is with the Violence Club, if the Powers can get past Flair and the Horsemen, it's obvious that they're the major threat on the horizon. The Funk Bros. match did drag things down, but everything else was either really good or fast enough not to drag anything down.

Overall Impression - [One Thumb Up]

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NWA-WWF: WWF Saturday Night's Main Event, Boston, Mid January, 1988
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Here we are closing in on the Rumble, with a stacked card on SNME, the continuation of the Horsemen-Mega Powers feud, a Road Warriors showing and almost certainly, another Violence Party promo.

Match #1: Law and Order(Big Bossman and The Mountie) vs. Local Competitors
Law and Order defeated the Competitors when Bossman knocked out a Competitor with the Bossman Slam at 17:22 [One Thumb Down]
A pedestrian match that didn't really do much for me, with Law and Order working well enough together, but it was a run of the mill jobber match, that thankfully didn't drag on too long, but also wasn't fast enough to be really fun. A mild thumb down, but since I don't do neutral, it's a thumb down.

Match #2: Sgt. Slaughter vs. Jerry Lawler
Slaughter defeated Lawler with a Cobra Clutch at 20:29 [One Thumb Up]
The Sarge and the King have apparently been engaged in a bloody feud in Memphis, where the two fought in a series of no holds barred Boot Camp Matches, trading the CWA Heavyweight title several times over. This match didn't have any belt on the line, but was still plenty intense, both men laying it in with their punches. They repeatedly fought on the outside, and eventually, Slaughter was able to catch the King with a Cobra Clutch for the win. A good solid brawl, but I'm guessing their CWA stuff was what you'd really want to see.

Match #3: Harley Race vs. Mil Mascaras
Mascaras defeated Race with a Running Cross Chop at 23:53 [Two Thumbs Up]
You wanted the good stuff? This is the good stuff. Mil Mascaras, from what I could tell, has been a top potential contender for Hogan's WWF Heavyweight title, and has been on a strong run in the Fed for the last few years. Harley Race, though, nearly put an end to that in short order, blasting Mascaras from the opening bell and landing an impressive series of his best moves early on. From there, it turned into an outright fight, a back and forth struggle for momentum with more near falls than I could keep track of, culminating in Mascaras finally putting Race down with a series of cross chops. The route it took to get to that point was a journey I thoroughly enjoyed and would recommend to any wrestling fan. This was a timeless match that would thrill an audience in almost any era, and an easy two thumbs to say the least. Even if the rest of this show is horrid, this one match will be enough to make up for that.

From here, we once again have the feed "hijacked" as the Violence Party addressed the WWF audience, the speaker now saying that the Party might just run roughshod over the Rumble. This time, once it finished, we cut back to a response from Hulk Hogan who looked especially serious, stating "I don't know who you think you are, but let me tell you something, the Hulkster doesn't need to hide his face in the shadows, the Hulkster doesn't need to play all these games, I'm right here, and I promise all the Hulkamaniacs out there that the moment you show your faces out here in the World Wrestling Federation, there's no force on Earth that's gonna stop me from making you pay for all these cowardly threats!"

Match #4: The Road Warriors(Hawk and Animal) vs. The Natural Disasters(Earthquake and Typhoon)
The Road Warriors defeated the Disasters when Animal used a Front Powerslam on Typhoon at 26:43 [One Thumb Up]
An out of control brawl more than a match, with the Road Warriors utterly dismantling the Disasters on the outside for long stretches. The Natural Disasters only managed some half hearted token offence in response, before Animal finished off Typhoon. This was a great showing for the Road Warriors, who are looking to defend their WWF Tag Team titles at the Rumble against Jumbo Tsuruta and Giant Baba. Not a great match otehrwise, but plenty watchable if you want to see a rare instance of the Natural Disasters on the wrong side of the power game.

A preview of the Rumble played before the main event, with a brief line given from a wide range of the entries. A few standout lines:
-Dynamite Kid: I may be the first entry, but that's not going to stop me from being the last man standing!
-Anotnio Inoki: <I can defeat all martial arts, there is not a style that I cannot defeat and that is why I will win this Royal Rumble!>
-Sting: I don't know about you, but I know I have all the energy, all the attitude, all the ability to outlast anyone who enters into the Royal Rumble!
-Roddy Piper: Is there anyone who's as unpredictable, as impossible to plan for as I am? Well, if there is, I haven't met that man yet!
-Hacksaw Jim Duggan: Line 'em all up, and I'll throw 'em all out! Hoooooooooooooo!
-Junkyard Dog: It's not just the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog, and the JYD has enough fight to be the baddest dog in the yard!
-Andre the Giant: Nobody beats the Giant in a Royale! Nobody!
-Ted DiBiase: Everyone has his price and soon, you'll find that the Million Dollar Man will always get what he wants...even if it takes a grave expendature to do so, hahahaha!

Match #5: The Ultimate Warrior, Macho Man Randy Savage and Brutus Beefcake with Hulk Hogan vs. Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard and Ole Anderson with Ric Flair
The Horsemen defeated the Powers when Ole Anderson used a prone armlock on Beefcake at 28:29 [One Thumb Up]
This was a chaotic battle, with the Ultimate Warrior dominating long stretches, but the Horsemen were able to capitalize on isolating Brutus Beefcake at several points, leading to an armlock submission from Ole Anderson. In the post match confusion, Arn Anderson dragged Beefcake out of the ring, and repeatedly bashed his shoulder against the ringpost before Hogan made the save, vowing his revenge as the show went off the air. Other than the slow paced, uneventful opener, this was a very enjoyable episode of SNME, with some solid story stuff moving along, and the Race-Mascaras match was worth the price of admission on its own. By now, the NWA-WWF has raised expectations to the level that I think my criteria for a two thumb show is going to be quite tough going forward. Simply an enjoyable, exciting wrestling program, with little nonsense, an unparalleled roster and some intriguing storylines to boot. Can't ask for much more.

Overall Impression - [One Thumb Up]

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NWA-WWF: WWF Royal Rumble, New York City, Early February, 1988
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For months, the Vault went silent. No new shows, and I couldn't change the channel from the NWA-WWF '88 section. I checked every day, but got nothing, zilch, zero, nada, goose egg. I was stuck trying to catch up on the pro wrestling scene of our own time and place, as well as digging through the internet for some better stuff if only to keep my interest in reviewing alive. I found that I still loved wrestling, but when you get a window into a whole other world, going back to the same old stuff was just going through the motions. But then, a few days back, I felt what could only be described as an alarm clock going off in the back of my brain. I knew I had to rush over to the Vault. And when it opened up, there it was. The Royal Rumble. The big event my whole NWA-WWF experience had been leading up to.

Match #1: Tiger Mask vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara
Tiger Mask defeated Fujiwara with a corkscrew high kick at 17:09 [One Thumb Up]
A strong opening match, with Fujiwara mainly focusing on slowing his speedy foe down with attacks to the leg and hard headbutts. Tiger Mask answered with kicks, and a few tombstones, including one that led to a big diving headbutt, but was mostly playing defense until he managed to connect with a big screw kick to take the win. I was hoping for something slightly more revolutionary and memorable from these two, but as it was, this was hardly unenjoyable.

Match #2: The Midnight Express(Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane with James E. Cornette) vs. Law and Order(Big Boss Man and The Mountie)
The Express defeated Law and Order when Bobby Eaton used the Alabama Jam on the Mountie at 23:52 [One Thumb Up]
Another good solid match, this one played out almost exactly as one would have expected, with Law and Order looking individually superior to either of their opponents, but the Express were more fluid in their teamwork and more intelligent in their ring positioning, letting Beautiful Bobby drop the leg off the top rope to put the Mountie down for a three count. This is the sort of match that keeps a good card moving along, even if you wouldn't recommend the whole thing on its basis.

Match #3: Macho Man Randy Savage, The Ultimate Warrior and Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake with Miss Elizabeth vs. Arn Anderson, Ole Anderson and Tully Blanchard
The Mega Powers defeated the Horsemen when the Ultimate Warrior used the Warrior Splash on Ole Anderson at 12:17 [One Thumb Up]
A frantic melee of a match where tags came at a mile a minute and nobody much seemed interested in anything resembling a straight up wrestling confrontation. The Mega Powers were on the warpath, and the Warrior was especially keyed in, as Ole Anderson found out, all too quickly. Fun while it lasted, but not quite two thumbs worth of fun.

It was at this point that we received what may well be the last preview for the Violence Party. Same Max Headroom setup, but one of the three silhouette figures simply kicked the camera before we went back to the Rumble.

Match #4: WWF Intercontinental Title Bout: Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat(C) vs. Jake "The Snake" Roberts
Roberts defeated Steamboat by knockout when he used the DDT at 15:42 [Two Thumbs Up]
Now we're talking. A thrilling battle, with Steamboat's technique and agility against the rough tactics of Roberts. The momentum constantly shifted back and forth and both men were at their very best. Steamboat kicked out of two DDTs, and was fighting his way back into the match when a third one sent him to dreamsville. The Snake brought Damien out and laid him out over the Dragon as he held up the Intercontiental title, with Gorilla Monsoon expressing his disdain rather memorably in the commentary booth.

Match #5: WWF World Tag Team Title Bout: The Road Warriors(Road Warrior Hawk and Road Warrior Animal)(C) vs. Team AJPW(Giant Baba and Jumbo Tsuruta)
Team AJPW defeated the Road Warriors when Jumbo Tsuruta used a belly to belly suplex on Road Warrior Hawk at 36:29 [Two Thumbs Up]
An awesome match to say the least. If Steamboat vs. Roberts was a great match, this was an exceptional one. The Road Warriors beat the tar out of Tsuruta for much of the early going. They also gave it to Baba, but he didn't quite draw as much of their ire. As things went on, the AJPW duo slowly worked their way back into things, with Baba taking the lead, hitting the bulk of his signature offence, but the Warriors were still mostly in control until a late burst of offence from Jumbo culminating in a belly to belly that earned him a three count over Hawk and the WWF Tag Titles for his team. Tag matches don't get much better than this.

Match #6: WWF World Heavyweight Title Bout: Hulk Hogan(C) vs. Ric Flair
Hogan defeated Flair with the Atomic Leg Drop at 20:09 [One Thumb Up]
Call me biased, this had every element of a match I'd slap a two thumb rating on, it had back and forth action, tenacity, a good build, false finishes, everything. Everything, but the result I was looking for. And because Hulk Hogan did what Hogan does in the end, hulking up and dropping the leg, even if Flair kicked out of two leg drops previously, even if Flair threatened the Figure Four at every step, and while this would have objectively earned the rating, this is my rating, and my feeling about these things, so I dropped a thumb. Don't like it? Screw you. Flair should have won, plain and simple. Taking that disinterested step back, this was as good of a conclusion to the Flair-Hogan feud as you were going to get with Hogan winning, and Flair still looked like a legit threat in the end. But the defiant side of me still wants to raise a middle finger to the NWA-WWF for going with the safe route here.


Match #7: The Royal Rumble
1. Dynamite Kid, 2. Antonio Inoki, 3. Sting, 4. Terry Funk, 5. Jim Duggan, 6. Earthquake, 7. Mil Mascaras, 8. Junkyard Dog 9. Dick Murdoch 10. Buzz Sawyer 11. Tito Santana 12. Bobby Heenan 13. Dusty Rhodes 14. Dos Caras 15. Jimmy Snuka 16. Andy Kaufman 17. Canek 18. Harley Race 19. Magnum T.A. 20. King Kong Bundy 21. Genichiro Tenryu 22. Mr. Perfect 23. Akira Maeda 24. Andre the Giant 25. Rick Rude 26. Iron Sheik 27. Ted DiBiase 28. Sgt. Slaughter 29. The Undertaker 30. Roddy Piper

An extended recap of the Rumble is below, I tried to take basic notes throughout, and I know it's a big jumble, but that's the only way you really cover one of these things, live. Couldn't get a time on the end result, either, for what that's worth.

First out was Inoki, tossed out by a crowd of people. Dynamite and Sting were shortly after. Funk was practically chucked up the ramp by Earthquake. Long extended sequence with Mascaras-JYD-Duggan-Quake before the other three tossed Quake. Mascaras was sent packing by Duggan, and did not dive out on his own accord. Long battle between JYD and Hacksaw before Dick Murdoch showed up and would eventually throw the Dog out. Tito chucked Duggan right as Heenan made his appearance. Crowd was fired up for Dusty Rhodes when he walked down and it should be mentioned that he was wearing the polka dots. Rhodes sends Sawyer packing and is throwing Bionic Elbows around like candy. Santana gets Murdoch eliminated, he's having a good showing even if he has trouble cornering Heenan. So much so that Heenan runs Santana into Rhodes and Dusty eliminates him. Dusty also throws Dos Caras out.

Down to Dusty and Heenan and the Weasel lasts long enough for Jimmy Snuka to show up. Now we get Andy Kaufmann, doubling the squirrly quotient in the ring. Things get crowded again here until Snuka gets thrown out by, guess who, Dusty Rhodes. Magnum TA gets a massive pop from the crowd as he shows up, King Kong Bundy, not so much. Andy Kaufmann is the one to eliminate Heenan, and sadly, the Son of a Plumber is finished by Bundy. Shortly after Harley Race sends Kaufmann out, to the delight of many. Magnum and Canek have a heated exchange, which Race interrupts by tossing the luchador out. Doesn't take much longer for Bundy to eject Race. Down to Magnum and Bundy until Tenryu hits the ring, with a chair nonetheless. He batters both guys outright and lets Magnum throw Bundy out, with the crowd loving it. Mr. Perfect looks good, but leaves quick. Andre the Giant is here, and there's a sense that things just got serious. Akira Maeda cracks Magnum TA in the head with a huge head kick and knocks him out, eliminating him and setting up something in the future. The Giant eliminates a bunch of people, Tenryu, Maeda and a bloodied Rick Rude who was in the midst of a brawl with the Iron Sheik.

DiBiase is here, and seems deviously pleased with *something*. Sgt. Slaughter is one of the last entries, just a few left. No sign of the Violence Party. And then the lights go out, and we hear what to the NWA-WWF crowd is an unfamiliar gong. The Undertaker has made his debut! Paul Bearer waves him down to the ring, and things are coming down to the wire. Roddy Piper shows up at number 30 with a formidable array of foes left in the ring. Of course he's wearing the Hot Rod! shirt and the kilt. DiBiase is gone right afterwards, thanks to the Rowdy one. The Giant throws the Iron Sheik out, and Slaughter, too. Sadly, Piper is next to go, thanks to Andre. Final two left in the ring, Taker and the Giant.

And this is where things get interesting.

As the last two competitors slowly(and I mean slowly) circle around, about to face off, the camera feed is cut out to total static. While nothing can be seen in the fuzz, a voice shouts out "Let's kick this party off!" And then we see what we've been building up to for all this time. A major commotion takes place at the ringside area, as a hefty bull rope swings around driving people out of the way. As people jump aside, four individuals make their way down, kicking over the barricade in the process. Stan Hansen. Bruiser Brody. Abdullah the Butcher. The friggin' original Shieik(looking ancient, but no less dangerous). Yes, I think our Violence Party has arrived. Taker and the Giant give each other a look, ominously nod in unison and are instantly jumped by the four wildmen. Both are cut open by the vicious invaders and though they don't go out without striking a few blows of their own, the Violence Party is simply too much for the duo, and the Undertaker tumbles to the outside, landing on his feet, but as he does so, Joey Marella calls for the bell, as Andre the Giant is the official winner of the 1988 NWA-WWF Royal Rumble.

The Violence Party tries to continue to beat Andre down, but now the Mega Powers run down to the ring, Hogan, Savage and Warrior running the quartet off as they help Andre up to his feet. And yet, the Giant shoves them aside, casting a glare at Hogan in particular. The two share a few words, and it seems that the show's about to come to a close, when the Violence Party attacks again, Abdullah and Sheik dragging Warrior and Savage out of the ring, and Brody whips Hogan around, throwing him right into a huge lariat from Hansen. Andre simply stands and watches, before he turns around, and rolls out of the ring. Hansen grabs the camera shouting "I told you Hogan! I told you nothing's gonna be the same around here! You don't make it to Wrestlemania, because the Party and I are going to finish you off for good before that ever happens, Heeeeeeeeeeeee!"

Andre the Giant defeats 29 other men to win the Royal Rumble [Two Thumbs Up]

What can I say, it was a spectacle of spectacles. Dusty Rhodes and Magnum TA had great runs during the duration, and the major angle that's been playing out all along finally takes a major turn. Andre vs. Hogan at Wrestlemania, I think I've heard that one worked out before. But Hansen and the Violence Party may well throw a big monkey wrench into things, and that'll be utterly transfixing to witness. I get the feeling that they may well make the nWo look like the Spirit Squad before it's all said and done. Overall, this show satisfyed me. Sure, other than the Rumble itself, I'd rather watch the Royal Prelude again. But the undercard was perfectly competent, and had some fine matches. But everyone knows that the real litmus test for a Royal Rumble PPV is the Rumble itself. Run an underwhelming Rumble and the PPV is ill remembered. Put utter slop on the card, but have the big thirty deliver, and you have a great event overall. And this one certainly did, so the event as a whole gets two big thumbs up, with Steamboat-Savage, Road Warriors-Baba/Jumbo and yes, Hogan-Flair elevating the card as a whole to a must watch. The Royal Prelude may have been better in a match for match comparison, but the Royal Rumble was a perfect example of an event meeting a set of nearly impossible expectations and still crushing it out of the park.

Overall Impression - [Two Thumbs Up]