Last Wrestling Match Watched 2.0

[Geese]

Will Ospreay vs. Josh Alexander. TNA episode 1-18-24. Josh goes for a go-behind and a waistlock. Ospreay counters with a go-behind of his own. Josh with a side headlock, but it doesn't last long as Ospreay pushes him against the ropes. Ospreay with a head scissors and turns it into a hurricanranna. Ospreay with a shooting star.

Ospreay tries a reverse knife edge, but Alexander grabs his wrist and puts him in a wristlock. They fight back-and-forth on the edge of the ring apron. Ospreay gets the upper-hand with a side crescent kick. Ospreay Tiger drives him through a table, placed at ringside. Alexander picks Ospreay up for a Fireman's Carry and climbs the top turnbuckle and performs a rolling Senton. Alexander stops a running Ospreay with a clothesline. Alexander with a Styles Clash which isn't enough to pin Osreay. He defeats Ospreay with the C4 Spike.

Hard hitting main event. Nice display of sportsmanship after it was over.

 

[Skyefire]

The 1996 Royal Rumble Match. Not the worst ever but not great. The highlights include the ever popular Shawn Michaels winning one for the Kliq. They do a great job with Shawn and Diesel being best friends but also fighting each other as Shawn tosses Diesel out from behind to win the match. Also Vader makes his WWF debut and is managed by Jim Cornette. Also managed by Cornette is Yokozuna and the two of them go at it and are fighting each other leaning against the ropes when Shawn comes and tosses both men out simultaneously. Vader goes berserk and gets back in the ring and throws everyone out (but the eliminations don't count since Vader was already gone). Triple H is the iron man entering at number one (after losing a match to Duke "The Dumpster" Drosse on the Free For All) and lasts over 45 minutes. Jerry Lawler also lasts a while after hiding under the ring for half of the match.

The bad parts include the surprise entrants. Dory Funk Jr, Doug Gilbert (who was competing in USWA and won a tournament for the right to be in the Royal Rumble), an unknown (at least to American fans) Japanese wrestler named Omori, and two guys known as the Squat Team. So, one of the 400 pound Squat Team members enters the Rumble, lasts about a minute before he's eliminated by Vader, then is on his way back when his identical twin brother comes out as the next entrant. The two men get in the ring and attack Vader before one is tossed out by Vader while the other is tossed out by Yoko. I checked and apparently this Squat Team competed in a dark match prior to Raw the next night where they lost to the team of Aldo Montoya and Avatar. How bad do you have to be to lose Aldo Montoya and Avatar? Other participants in the Rumble include Aldo Montoya, Marty Jannetty, Duke "The Dumpster", and Barry Horowitz. The commentators (along with the director) do a terrible job of keeping up with the eliminations. Superstars who's elimination go unnoticed are Henry Godwin, Owen Hart, and The Ringmaster. And yes, I know Austin was supposed to last longer and was not planned to be eliminated then but still they should show a replay or something.

 

[#Waddles]

Swerve vs. Hangman Paige - AEW Full Gear 2023.

 

[Geese]

(c) Sanada vs. Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP title. Wrestle Kingdom 18. Naito pushes Sanada up against the ropes. Naito gives him the usual clean break but then spits on his former LIJ partner. Sanada retaliates by kicking Naito in the gut and tossing Naito out of the ring. Sanada wants a high flying move but Naito walks away. Naito with a wristlock and three straight rapid short elbows to the back of Sanada's neck.

Naito hiptosses Sanada right on his knee, wears down him with a three-quarter Nelson. Naito irish whips him against the turnbuckle. Sanada responds with a dropkick to Naito's left knee. Naito wants his Destino. Sanada counters with an F-5. Naito with a German suplex and a spinebuster. Naito wants Destino. Sanada intentionally falls down down to stop Naito from performing the move. Sanada with a victory roll, only gets a two-count. Naito with a Valencia. He finally hits Sanada with Destino for the win.

 

[Dom's cellmate]

Batista vs HHH HIAC.

Wild this is close to a 20yr old match and that I was only 8 at the time.

 

[Geese]

(c)Shingo Takagi vs. Tama Tonga for the NEVER Openweight title. Wrestle Kingdom 18. Takagi gets the better of a brawl with a few right crosses and a reverse knife edge. Tonga runs to the ropes. Takagi follows him and clotheslines him against the ropes. Takagi with a side suplex. Tonga isn't hurt. Takagi stops a rushing Tonga with a standing reverse elbow, a right cross, and a clothesline.

He takes Tonga down with a quick shoulderblock, but Takagi misses a Senton. Takagi with a superplex but, upon crashing onto the mat, he's grabbing the back of his neck. He's just as hurt as Tonga is. Tonga tries a double underhook. After some struggling, Takagi grabs both of Tonga's legs for a double-leg takedown. Tonga with a Styles Clash. Tonga puts Takagi away with the DST.

The match was 13 minutes, 46 seconds. But, given what a back-and-forth battle it was, it felt longer.

 

[Deadd2009]

 

[Skyefire]

Non-Title Match
NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair vs Jack Briscoe
NWA Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling 8/21/82
This match is signed to be Ric Flair against some wrestler I didn't catch the name of, but he's black, which is significant because Flair makes his comment before the match of "Where I come from we don't wrestle guys like that, we employ them, and yes, WWE left that in there. While Flair is outside jawjacking, Wahoo McDaniel comes out and confronts Flair after they recently had a match that ended controversially and the NWA would not grant Wahoo a rematch. Flair, in an effort to avoid Wahoo, says he's got an opponent in the ring, but at this point it's now Jack Brisco in the ring. Flair's got to wrestle Brisco.,

The saying "This match could headline any arena in the country" is quite overused in the 70's and 80's but this match fits the bill. This is 10-minutes of old-school grappling at its finest. A lot of holds, a lot of joint manipulation, not a lot of flash in this match. At one point Flair applies to Figure-Four which Brisco reverses. Flair uses some dirty tactics including using the ropes to his advantage. The match ends with Brisco catching Flair in a back slide and pinning him. A rare TV loss for Flair back in the day.

I'm watching the entire show on Peacock. Flair vs Briscoe kicks off the show. Also on the card, Roddy Piper and "Boogie Woogie Man" Jimmy Valiant team up, Paul Jones (managed by Sir Oliver Humperdink) is in action, United States Champion Sgt. Slaughter (with some of Wahoo's feathers in his hat) vs Jake Roberts, and Wahoo McDaniel vs Gene Anderson (managed by Sir Oliver Humperdink). The show ends with a promo from Sir Oliver Humperdink and his House of Humpedink members Gene Anderson, Leroy Brown, and Ivan Koloff along with non-HOH member but friend, Sgt. Slaughter.

 

[Geese]

(c) Hiromu Takahashi vs. El Desperado for the Jr. Heavyweight title. Wrestle Kingdom 18. Desperado with a stiff elbow to the back of Takahashi's neck. Desperado tries a splash off the top, Takahashi rolls out of the way. Desperado is quick enough to land on both feet Takahashi is in control when they brawl outside of the ring. He dropkicks Desperado over the steel rails.

Takahashi tries a Samoan drop, but Desperado breaks free. Desperado tries a spinebuster. Takahashi fights it off with successive elbows to the back of his head. Desperado runs off the ropes but Takahashi counters with a German. Hiromu tries a victory roll off the top turnbuckle. Desperado counters with a super side-suplex! Desperado tries his pinche loco, but Hiromu counters with a victory roll. Desperado with a forearm shot, dazes Takahashi. Desperado executes his finisher pinche loco. One more pinche loco for good measure to defeat Takahashi.

 

[Buffy]

 

[Geese]

Will Ospreay vs. Kazuchika Okada. Battle in the Valley. They start with a stare-down. Okada ducks down for a lazy back bodydrop attempt which Ospreay easily counters with a kick to his chest. Ospreay clotheslines him over the top rope. Ospreay tries a flying cross body: Okada moves out of the way. Ospreay lands on both feet!

Okada sets Ospreay up for a suplex. Ospreay counters with a suplex of his own. Okada with a unique neckbreaker. He then wears Ospreay down with a money clip. Okada tries a Tombstone, but Ospreay lands on both feet and counters with a hook kick. Ospreay, after performing a textbook scoop slam on Okada, has hurt his lower back. Okada wants a Rainmaker, but Ospreay fights him off with several elbows to the back of his neck.

Ospreay adds insult to injury by performing Okada's own finisher on him. Okada with a Samoan drop and eventually connects with The Rainmaker for the win.

In the intro, there were highlights of the Okada-Ospreay rivalry. Okada had defeated Ospreay seven out of nine times. Since Okada was leaving NJPW, it looked like he was going to put Ospreay over in this match. Okada's win was a surprise.

 

[Geese]

Nic Nemeth vs. (c) David Finlay for the Global title. New Beginning in Sapporo. Finlay sneak attacks Nemeth. Finlay takes the fight outside as he Irish whips Nemeth against the steel barricades. Nemeth fights back by slamming Finlay's head against the ringpost. Finlay spears Nemeth through the steel guard rails.

Finlay snap suplexes Nemeth when they're in the ring. Nemeth runs off the ropes. Finlay counters with a sleeper. Nemeth with ten successive elbow drops on Finlay. Nemeth badly misses a Stinger splash on an exposed turnbuckle. Nemeth with a pair of big boots to Finlay's face. Nemeth wants a super-kick but he collapses. Finlay with an unusual vertical shoulder-breaker. Finlay tries another vertical, but Nemeth lamds on his feet and counters with a standing headbutt. Nemeth with a super-kick and his finisher Zig zag to become the new champ.

 

[Skyefire]

NWA World Television Championship
Mike Rotunda (c) vs Sting
World Championship Wrestling 4/1/89
I'm making my way through watching one wrestling show from every year of my life this year with an emphasis on shows I haven't watched before or aren't in my regular watchlist. I chose this edition of NWA's weekly Saturday Night show. In 1989, you did not see matches this good on weekly TV. These two put on quite a show with some great moves between the two. Rotunda is accompanied to the ring by the rest of Varsity Club, Dr. Death Steve Williams, Dan Spivey, and Kevin Sullivan. Sullivan always seemed like the odd man out the group even though he was the leader, the gimmick never seemed to fit him. To counter act the potential interference, Sting brought along Lex Luger and Ricky Steamboat. That doesn't stop Varsity Club, though as Dr. Death gets in the ring but is stopped by Luger and Steamboat distracting the referee allowing Sullivan to sneak around and attack Sting. The referee turns around to see Rotunda covering Sting, but Sting manages to get his foot on the bottom rope before the three. The finish comes with Sting rolling up Rotunda (he did not grab the tights as color commentator Michael PS Hayes suggested) and Sting wins his first title in the NWA and the first singles belt of his career.

The rest of the show was the final show taped at WTBS studios before moving to Center Stage, though the Sting vs Rotunda match was taped at CS the night after the rest of the show was taped. Which is not only evident by the different looking arena but the fact that the ring announcer introduces the match as the first match of the night. Most matches are squash matches including the relatively new the NWA Great Muta facing two guys in the Cruel Connection (two guys in neon green body suits and matching masks), the Road Warriors make quick work of two jobbers with an odd finisher where Hawk awkwardly hands the opponent to Animal who's on the middle rope and delivers a power slam from the ropes. Also Bob Orton, Shane Douglas, Jack Victory, and Samoan Swat Team all compete. The show also features interviews with NWA World Champion Ricky Steamboat and challenger Ric Flair ahead of their Best 2 of 3 Falls Match at Clash of Champions the next day.

 

[Jacob Fox]

NWA World Television Championship
Mike Rotunda (c) vs Sting
World Championship Wrestling 4/1/89
I'm making my way through watching one wrestling show from every year of my life this year with an emphasis on shows I haven't watched before or aren't in my regular watchlist. I chose this edition of NWA's weekly Saturday Night show. In 1989, you did not see matches this good on weekly TV. These two put on quite a show with some great moves between the two. Rotunda is accompanied to the ring by the rest of Varsity Club, Dr. Death Steve Williams, Dan Spivey, and Kevin Sullivan. Sullivan always seemed like the odd man out the group even though he was the leader, the gimmick never seemed to fit him. To counter act the potential interference, Sting brought along Lex Luger and Ricky Steamboat. That doesn't stop Varsity Club, though as Dr. Death gets in the ring but is stopped by Luger and Steamboat distracting the referee allowing Sullivan to sneak around and attack Sting. The referee turns around to see Rotunda covering Sting, but Sting manages to get his foot on the bottom rope before the three. The finish comes with Sting rolling up Rotunda (he did not grab the tights as color commentator Michael PS Hayes suggested) and Sting wins his first title in the NWA and the first singles belt of his career.

The rest of the show was the final show taped at WTBS studios before moving to Center Stage, though the Sting vs Rotunda match was taped at CS the night after the rest of the show was taped. Which is not only evident by the different looking arena but the fact that the ring announcer introduces the match as the first match of the night. Most matches are squash matches including the relatively new the NWA Great Muta facing two guys in the Cruel Connection (two guys in neon green body suits and matching masks), the Road Warriors make quick work of two jobbers with an odd finisher where Hawk awkwardly hands the opponent to Animal who's on the middle rope and delivers a power slam from the ropes. Also Bob Orton, Shane Douglas, Jack Victory, and Samoan Swat Team all compete. The show also features interviews with NWA World Champion Ricky Steamboat and challenger Ric Flair ahead of their Best 2 of 3 Falls Match at Clash of Champions the next day.

I would love to see that.

 

[Jacob Fox]

Hornswoggle vs the Great Khali at Survivor Series 2007. I wanted to see Finlay beat up Khali lol