Pro Wrestling Chronicle

Match # 129: Raven/Perry Saturn vs. Chris Benoit/Dean Malenko (Nitro 5/17/99)

Raven and the dress wearing Saturn are babyfaces at this point. Benoit and Malenko are dastardly heels, and part of a forgotten Four Horseman incarnation of which I think I was the only big fan. The Horseman theme with the horse gallop at the beginning still gives me chills. If it wasn’t for Mongo that was a great materialization of the group. Enough about the Horseman.

Saturn works his butt off from the start, and the Horseman bump around for him. He hits a dive. Whoa! Raven and Saturn actually do a modified Total Elimination (The old Eliminators finisher in ECW that Saturn probably came up with), Raven doing a closeline instead of a kick. It looks awesome. And they get a near fall out of it – which also enhances the story. They have a few good tag team moves that send the heels to the outside, and get Benoit/Malenko a heckling chant. Benoit always worked hard, but Raven seems really motivated in there with him, and their exchanges have speed and emphasis. Raven looks muscularly the largest he ever was here, so he’s carrying weight too, making it all the more impressive. The faces stay one step ahead in the ring.

Perry Saturn’s suplexes, and granted he’s throwing around a smaller Malenko, are really great. I know after his injury in ’97 he used them more and got heat from his old friend, Taz, but Saturn was built to throw suplexes like that. It works in bursts, and gets the crowd going while moving the match along. Going further, Raven and Saturn were a really good tag team I’d totally forgotten about. They cut off the ring, each have great control segments, they have quick tags and share time well, and most important they have some solid double team moves for when they do tag.

The match is 70-30 Raven/Saturn until we hit a commercial break, and when we come back the Horseman are in control. Malenko and Benoit at this point had no real concept of connecting with an audience. They do work as if it’s a real sport, but the arena is empty. Raven has figured out how to curry favor with the faithful by this point, and Saturn gets it by proxy. The heels do know how to work on the leg though, and they capture Saturn while the crowd claps to inspire him. Raven gets the hot tag and manages to work in is drop toe hold into a chair spot (it’s “Raven’s Rules”). A minute of all four in the ring commences but it has the feel of guys hesitating in wait for contrived spots. The spacing isn’t there and Raven’s punches fall flat for me. This leads to Arn Anderson interfering (that looked like crap), and Saturn catching Malenko and hitting the Death Valley Driver for a good finish in roughly 13 minutes. Solid stuff that at times looked great, and other times looked plodding or awkward. Bonus: Bam Bam Bigelow challenges the tag champs (Raven/Saturn) as they walk back stage, calling them “turkeys” Terrific! 3 ¼ and 6.2/10.