Gancarski Nov 7 1998, 3:00 am show options
Newsgroups: rec.sport.pro-wrestling.moderated
From: gancar...@aol.com2000 (Gancarski) - Find messages by this author
Date: 1998/11/07
Subject: WCWSN Workrate Report for 11/7/98
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Music I recommend that you procure: Belle and Sebastian's 'The Boy With The
Arab Strap'; the new UNKLE album; and 'Chicken Eye' by Deejay Punk Roc. I
recommend albums today because they're a much safer bet than this fairly
lackluster edition of WCWSN, which is -- ho,ho,ho -- not setting the standard.

What Worked

-- Rey Mysterio, Jr. continues paying back his Mexican brethren for letting him
be the sole lucha superstar for the last couple of years (remember those 16 4
minute matches Rey/Juvi matches on Nitro?) as he elevates Dandy with a nice,
back-n-forth 8 minute affair tonight. Dandy controls a large part of this
match, as Rey seems to be learning the nuances of US psychology. For the
record, I don't buy the RSPW.M crap that Rey is a shadow of his former self;
when you consider the inevitable ring rust and the allowances he's making to be
a mature performer, he's just changed. I liken Rey's evolution to that of Mark
Brunell from 1996 to this year, but choose your own comparison.

-- Juventud and Kaz have a nice, back-n-forth 8 minute affair tonight in which
Kaz really isn't elevated, especially when you consider the screwiness of the
finish -- the ref stopping a three count when Kaz's shoulders weren't up, then
starting and finishing another three count -- and the Sonny Onoo
materialization at ringside, which set up an obvious run in that didn't happen.
Obviously, I understand that signals were crossed, but the presentation
nevertheless left me cold. However, these two are so graceful to watch that
this match ultimately worked in spite of the botched angle/ finish execution.

-- Saturn tells Okerlund that they're both handsome men by way of explaining
why he wears his flamboyant vest. Besides being a damned good wrestler, Saturn
is also noted for his large collection of Erasure, Marc Almond, and PWL 12
inches, and for always picking up the check on Saturday Night "after work
parties" at Twilo.

What Didn't Work

--Jerry Flynn and Steve Armstrong are both very competent workers. Yes,
competent indeed. Flynn's kicks are always as stiff as really good cardboard,
and I'm not talking that flimsy crapola they use for Junior Mint boxes. And
Steve Armstrong is a real young lion, or young pistol even. All of which gets
me to wondering why it is the Virginia Cavaliers fold like underwear every year
after Halloween. Rumor has it they're renaming the Independence Bowl in George
Welsh's honor.

-- Lodi and Johnny Boone have this incredible match in which Johnny's entire
offense consisted of striking moves in rapid succession that inspired the
audience to count to ten in support of the match's de facto face. If you're a
betting man, take the Packers Monday night in Pittsburgh. The Steelers really
don't match up well, and even the suspect Packers secondary can handle
Pittsburgh's depleted receiver corps.

-- The newly pushed Glacier pulls the same old bullshit against Lenny Lane, who
surely deserves better than this crap. The Redskins' winning streak ends at
one, as the Arizona Cardinals continue their inexorable drive to 7-9.

-- Scott Hall squashes Mike Sullivan, who probably doesn't deserve better than
this crap. I remember how stars were made in the 80s NWA, how heels would not
just practice thirty of their favorite moves (cf Midnights vs anyone), but also
drag their opponent out of the ring and humiliate them at the announcer's
table. But those good times are gone, and Scott Hall wouldn't really have
recalled them anyway, immersed as he was in such money gimmicks as 'Gator'
Scott Hall, 'Big' Scott Hall, and '50% of American Starship' Scott Hall. My mom
thinks you should take the Bengals and the ten points tomorrow in Jacksonville;
I disagree, to put it mildly.

--The critics were right. Johnny Swinger takes Darsow's Putt-Putt challenge and
ends up on his back. This shit's gonna get old really, really quick. I was
wrong on Halloween night. Too much Jack Daniel's and Krispy Kreme, too many
broken dreams.

--Barry Horowitz does not win the IWGP belt 16 minutes into WCWSN against Scott
Norton, who seemed to be wrestling in time-lapse photography. Quite literally
the slowest squash I've ever seen. Since when is a match involving a world
champion second?

--Despite having a bow tie on the crotch of his trunks, Tokyo Magnum is a nice
little worker who actually elicits heat from the usually catatonic WCWSN crowd
and can usually work a decent match to boot. But 'K-Dawg is in the hizzouse,
suckin' on a fattie and givin' it to ya moms', in the words of Scott "Don't
Stop The Rock". Hudson. Competent execution of moves marred by a lack of flow,
although we at least got Chuck's typical armcentric psychology and a Konnan
powerbomb that somewhat resembled a Tiger Driver (if there's a more correct
name, please notify me).

-- Lex Luger reminds me of REM. In 1985 or so, I was a twelve year old alt.rock
mark sitting at home watching 120 Minutes. I saw the video for Fall On Me and
it touched me in this way I can't quite name; it seemed real to me in a way The
Beastie Boys, Benjamin Orr, and Cinderella simply didn't. Now it's 1998, and
REM is made to look obsolete 7 ways to Sunday by bands as disparate as Pulp,
Underworld, Chemical Brothers, and the Backstreet Boys. Lex Luger is in a
similar situation. What more can/will Lex Luger mean to the business that has
provided him with a good living over the last 13 years? He has no real angle,
no real "point" for wrestling. He just does. The Giant is a different matter, a
reasonably athletic 7 footer who could've been taught to do almost anything a
few years back when he materialized. Of course, he wasn't. He was allowed to
physically deteriorate. He was given no incentive to learn to wrestle beyond
the Big Oaf Rassler basics. Nobody said, 'Hey, Paul. You're morbidly obese. Why
don't you, like, train or something.' WCW had a commodity laden with potential
who's now putting over Goldberg in 100 second matches all over the nation. I
wish the Giant a ton of luck in Titan, where he'll be a natural adversary for
UT, Kane, and others. Well, the Giant and Luger had a match. There was a
run-in. It probably didn't make Dean's permanent tape.
Tony Gancarski