Pro Wrestling Chronicle

Part two as we get matches thirty thru fifteen on our ballot worked out.

Ric Flair vs. Randy Savage (Nitro 2/19/96)

Flair comes out with two dead broads on his arm. Bizarre. Paul and I both thought Liz was way hotter in WCW. Just a touch sluttier with implants. We also wonder if Flair slept with Woman or Liz, but think he probably didn’t have the opportunity. We figure we would have heard of Macho or Benoit coming after him if that was the case. Why was Mongo ever on the mic, we wonder aloud. He’s hurting the early part of this match. Paul remarks a few minutes in that this is a bit boring. It’s a slower pace. Not horrible, but put up against the last few matches in order it has trouble keeping pace. It’s too much punch/kick, and Paul’s right. I think I may have over rated it. Paul thinks Flair’s working his spots, but the chemistry is off tonight. Macho does bring the movement, in my opinion. Interesting parallel, as this is Macho working Flair’s knee early, backwards from the formula begun at Wrestlemania 8 years before. They eventually cosmically right that. Bischoff is annoying me calling this trying to add excitement when there already is some. He’s over doing it. Match ends in a boring schmozz, indicative of WCW at the time. Booty Man, Task Master, AA, and Hogan come out; while Paul and I tune out. This takes last place so far.

Raven vs. Chris Benoit (Nitro 3/16/98)

Paul likes Benoit’s mullet. High praise. He finds it “dignified yet extreme” and compliments the match. This is the one where Benoit just stiffs the shit out of Raven for the body of the match. Curious how a storyline like this will hold up with Paul. Paul thinks Zybisco talks like an ice cream salesman talking to a kid. It’s pointed out to me that one of Raven’s legs is longer than the other, evidenced by the padding on the bottom of a boot. Not much is said about this match while it’s going on. It’s an acquired taste. Benoit’s crotch patch is red this time instead of black. Raven comes back after a beating and wins. Great match, given what the match was trying to accomplish, but Paul and I aren’t huge fans of the style.

Order so far:
30. Ric Flair vs. Randy Savage (Nitro 2/19/96)
29. Chris Benoit vs. Curt Hennig (Nitro 10/6/97)
28. Raven vs. Chris Benoit (Nitro 3/16/98)
27. DDP vs. Goldberg (Nitro 4/19/99)
26. Eddie Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko (Nitro 11/17/97)
25. Goldberg vs. Raven (Nitro 4/20/98)
24. Juventud Guerrera vs. Billy Kidman (Nitro 5/25/98)

Chris Benoit vs. Booker T (Nitro 6/8/98)

Heard an interesting theory about Benoit recently that goes like this: Benoit was a machine of a worker who didn’t have many matches under three stars. He was almost always solid in form, technique, and style. But he rarely had matches over four to four and a fourth stars (if going by snowflakes) because of the robotic nature of his work. There was a disconnect there (and I’m not trying to make reference to his unfortunate final days. That’s kinda the way I felt about watching portions of his famed series with Booker T on this set, so it will be interesting to see how Paul feels about this match.

Paul comments that this series was an excellent way to get over a second to third tier belt. They do a lot of little things right here. Selling, counter wrestling, and positioning. Booker T is a case for why the WWE main event style is too stagnant for some people. Allowing a different style would have suited Booker better, and did early with matches versus Kurt Angle. The match is full of good reversals. That might be its strong point, along with how much the crowd was plugged into this one. Paul and I both loved the finish.

Chris Benoit vs. Fit Finlay (Nitro 6/15/98)

By the midway point Paul thinks it’s a great match, but he’s not completely sucked in. They’re doing everything right, so he thinks it might be him. I think it’s great wrestling too, but it’s systematic. We’re both glad they had the three hours to give matches like this time, because it’s the type where you think it’s awesome in the last five minutes. I’m finally into it by the seven-eight minute mark. This is so solid that by sheer effort I’m in. Paul popped for the flash submission finish, which is what sucked him in at the end. The intensity of both guys in selling the submission was what pro wrestling is all about—making you suspend disbelief enough to feel as though these two men are out to hurt each other. It almost seemed like it didn’t hold our interest as much as Benoit-Booker, but in the end it won us over more. It was all in the last few minutes, like I figured. Geek out moment!

The Road Warriors vs. The Steiner Brothers (Nitro 3/11/96)

Right away Paul is pissed at Bischoff’s lame fake surprised commentary. I don’t blame him. I’m a big mark for the Road Warrior’s entrance theme music. It’s not the one you’re thinking of. We get into a discussion about Scott Steiner’s physique and possible drug use changes. It’s fascinating, I assure you. Scott Steiner of all people is getting credit for his selling in this match, so you know the entire draw to this is about the big power moves they throw at each other. Paul makes note of the fact these guys are nearly 300 pounds, tossing each other around with ease, and no one is gassed visibly half way through. We again pop for Heenan’s great one liners, culminating in a hilarious comment about Rick Steiners “ear muffs”. Heenan sure got one over on the man who patterns himself after a house pet and a mythological nuisance. The match does lose some seam near the end, but they did a lot of cool stuff for big men. Finish is cheap for such a good athletic contest, but what are you gonna do. Paul was pleasantly surprised since the Steiner haven’t been good since probably this match, and the LOD never sold. Post-match, Scott Steiner gives one of his marbly-mouthed, non-sensical promo’s, proving once and for all John’s theory—Scott Steiner is autistic.

Ric Flair vs. Eddie Guerrero (Nitro 5/20/96)

Eddie’s physique is totally different. We make comments. Paul makes mention of the fact Flair always showed ass (the ref shove spot HHH later stole) and gave his lower slotted opponents a chance to shine. That’s essentially the theme of the entire match here, and it’s a good story to tell. Flair continually cheats to win here, which is ironic given it’s a pre-WCW heel run Eddie in there with him. Paul comments on something that kills me about sets like this: commercial breaks where you miss parts of the story kill great matches like this. The match began to lose us toward the end, which is more of a commentary on our viewing habits than the work of the guys in the ring. We do feel as though this match would be phenomenal in a different setting: perhaps an 80’s heel champ Flair going up against the young upstart challenger in Guerrero, but since this is not the case it’s difficult for us to see this as anything more than a decent TV match. It’s getting bumped back in the pack towards the late twenties slots.

Rey Mysterio Jr./Juventud Guerrera vs. La Parka/Psicosis (Nitro 12/15/97)

I’m curious to see how Paul reacts to our first straight up Lucha match. Amazingly, here they are: Paul enjoyed the match for what it was, but has a hard time taking Lucha as seriously as he would take some of the other matches on this list. Lucha’s emphasis on spot after spot is a good way to hype up the crowd and display the athleticism of the performers, but is a different art form than what is presented in this list. Paul cautiously liked it.

Steve Regal vs. Psicosis (Nitro 12/16/96)

Not a lot to say about this one – in a good way. We both really liked the little things Regal did. It escalated well, and the selling was there at the end where you believed the accumulated damage was that of a war between these guys. A totally forgotten, but great match. Regal was the star and made lemonade where the few lemons were in this one. A great melding of styles and a definitive finish. On the level of the Benoit-Finlay match we liked, but given slightly less time to build.

Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Billy Kidman (Nitro 3/15/99)

Paul’s mind is a bit fried today, so small thoughts. Rey had great facials. Looked like they were fighting for something important, which is nice. He was glad Rey finally got the pin because of all the big moves he did. We’ll see where we slot this.

Bret Hart vs. Booker T (Nitro 2/22/99)

We both comment on Bret’s presence as a heel doing the little things. He should have been a heel so much earlier in his career. We both grew up on Flair so we mark out for heel Bret going out of the ring to reassess the situation. I like the tactical chess game of this match. It’s something the small guys couldn’t pull off because they couldn’t keep the audience, but the main eventers could. Booker T was a good explosive babyface, but Bret is the glue in this match. Tough day for Paul on words (he’s tired), but he says he likes the match. It’s a Bret Hart style match, so it’s nothing to super exciting, but a lot of good little things. Paul is not a fan of Bret’s figure four in this match – “he just lays there”. Good match, says Paul, with a good build, but he did not like the finish. Bret was an under rated heel. He thinks maybe he just wanted Bret to win.

Juventud Guerrera vs. Billy Kidman (Nitro 10/26/98)

We wonder why wrestlers dump water all over their heads. To keep cool? Paul is surprised by how stiff these guys work with each other. Good match, but Paul doesn’t feel it’s as good as the first one we watched. Just a few splitting hairs missed spots. It was more concise.

30. Ric Flair vs. Randy Savage (Nitro 2/19/96)
29. Chris Benoit vs. Curt Hennig (Nitro 10/6/97)
28. Ric Flair vs. Eddie Guerrero (Nitro 5/20/96)
27. Rey Mysterio Jr./Juventud Guerrera vs. La Parka/Psicosis (Nitro 12/15/97)
26. Raven vs. Chris Benoit (Nitro 3/16/98)
25. The Road Warriors vs. The Steiner Brothers (Nitro 3/11/96)
24. DDP vs. Goldberg (Nitro 4/19/99)
23. Eddie Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko (Nitro 11/17/97)
22. Goldberg vs. Raven (Nitro 4/20/98)
21. Chris Benoit vs. Booker T (Nitro 6/8/98)
20. Chris Benoit vs. Fit Finlay (Nitro 6/15/98)
19. Juventud Guerrera vs. Billy Kidman (Nitro 10/26/98)
18. Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Billy Kidman (Nitro 3/15/99)
17. Steve Regal vs. Psicosis (Nitro 12/16/96)
16. Bret Hart vs. Booker T (Nitro 2/22/99)
15. Juventud Guerrera vs. Billy Kidman (Nitro 5/25/98)