Easily, the best 2 out of 3 falls match was Ricky Steamboat vs. Ric Flair back during a Clash of the Champions in 1989. It was a solid hour of back and forth wrestling with drama and psychology that's unmatched by any other match in America, in my opinion. I was 9 years old when I saw that match and I actually taped it at the time. Of course, being 9, you can't actually organize your VHS tapes, and I somehow accidentally taped over that match! Damn it! I can't honestly think of any other 2 out of 3 falls matches, except for the No Way Out match between Austin and Triple H, which I rated "Match of the Year" for 2001, I believe. I remember watching No Way Out 2001 on a big screen projector screen, as some frat or church organization invited anybody from the university to watch it for only $5.
My mind is blank on 2 out of 3 falls matches for some reason. I know WCW had plenty of them throughout their day, at least if my memory serves me right? Hell if I know, cause the quarter is winding down and this is the time of the year where my mind turns into Jell-o before I start my Christmas break at Thanksgiving. Man, I never thought I'd ever anticipate Thanksgiving so much.
There has been quite a lack of news lately around the internet. Why? Well, what is exactly newsworthy anymore? Big talent to come in? Scott Steiner was one of the last "gems" to finally get signed by the WWE. Backstage stuff? Seems like the WWE is keeping a tighter lid on things lately. Injuries? Nothing that's not covered in the Ross Report. With one federation on national television (WWE) and the other one being a fed that hardly anybody truly cares about (NWA-TNA), things seems extremely slow lately. I expect things to pick up once Steiner does start working WWE shows, given the usual backstage jealousy that occurs or if Steiner throws any temper tantrums.
Before I go any further, I'd like to say that I did a feature with The Balrog's Lair which is somewhat like ESPN's Pardon the Interruption. It's called Pardon the Ring, and you can find it somewhere on their main page. I had a good debate with the Lair's Adam, which we went over stuff like the Survivor Series, RAW/Smackdown talent, and much more, including some good arguing at times. My edition of Pardon the Ring is currently up right now, so Click Here to check out the Balrog's Lair.
I caught Hulk Hogan's 10-10-220 commercial. It's a cheap laugh, especially considering that you have a professional wrestler and an Alien Life Form (Alf) together in one space. Hogan, while not wearing the red and yellow (he wore a black shirt with red bandana), shaved the beard off for the commercial so that he just has the trademark Hulkster mustache. It's a good commercial, and it runs often on ESPN if you want to check that out.
Speaking of ESPN, they had a special on Sportscenter about back up quarterbacks coming in and doing well in place of the original starter in this year's NFL season. When Tommy Maddox's name came up, they quickly panned to old footage of Vince McMahon shouting "This is the XFL" for the opening day. They showed Maddox holding up the XFL trophy as well. They say that the XFL contributed nothing to the NFL. It may not have, but it's certainly lit the fire under Tommy Maddox, who after many years in the NFL, just never could get it done. The XFL lit his competitive fire and the Steelers quickly signed him last year. Now, he's the starter for the Steelers, replacing the pathetic Kordell Stewart, and the Steelers have no problems putting points on the board. I'm really glad to see that and it couldn't happen to a more deserving football player.
And I'm not a big Steelers fan, either. Time to review Smackdown, the best damn WWE show on television! (Tough Enough 3 to be reviewed on Tuesday)
The Beautiful People! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
Poor choice of openers with Kidman/Torrie Wilson vs. Nidia/Jamie Noble. At least 2 of my more favorite ladies are wrestling, and both are looking extremely hot tonight. I wonder how many people actually know that Kidman and Torrie are married in real life? The WWE has yet to really explain why Torrie and Kidman tag up so often. This match as a lot of crowd heat, surprisingly. Well, the ladies are hot, and Noble does decent with his gimmick, I suppose. Nice move over the knee by Kidman. I've always thought Kidman was a solid wrestler, but in terms of personality, he lacks something in that department. Nice shooting star press to finish it. Not bad. I've seen much worse in terms of mixed tag matches. Crowd was heavily into this, making my opinion of "poor choice of openers" statement looking really bad right now.
John Cena reminds me of Vanilla Ice when he tries to rap. Oh no, it's Rikishi. His rapping is going to MAKE A DIFFERENCE!!!!
Backstage, Stephanie watches herself kissing Eric Bischoff from last week. The Guerreros interrupt her hormones from exploding. Funny segment. The Guerreros crack me up when they are together. Eddie's mullet looks SCARY in a ponytail.
Sega brought back Shinobi? Wow.....
Rikishi vs. John Cena is up next. Kinda entertaining, with Cena going crazy. He tried to punch Rikishi's ass, but it hurt his hand. Buns of steel for Rikishi? Uh oh, Ticket Scroller for this match... Cena's hitting some good offence here after punching Rikishi's ass. Nobody hits a better Samoan drop than Rikishi. I wonder if there's a bonus for a paycheck if you take the Stinkface. Rikishi can't use his Piledriver finisher anymore? Damn, that sucks very much. Rikishi won using a chokeslam (!!!) and then did the Bonzai drop. Probably the best Rikishi match in a while.
Shannon Moore has some good facial expressions as he's talking to Matt Hardy.
Wow, all of the WWE women are looking incredible tonight. Mr. Wilson and Dawn Marie are backstage, and I fear the worst for this segment. Mr. Wilson comes out and he's getting KILLED with "What?" chants. Hey, they don't like the segment, they'll treat it as such. WHAT? WHAT? WHAT? WHAT? I'd cheer the same to be honest with you. This is a WRESTLING show and this stuff hardly contributes to any WRESTLING, given that Torrie has already beat Dawn Marie on several occasions. Best line of the night came from Michael Cole: "I didn't think we'd get worse than Billy and Chuck". Cole, you da man! Mr. Wilson says he'll kill himself if she turns him down. So sad... The fans are screaming like they are at the Price is Right. You know, with that prize (Dawn Marie), I'd cheer Mr. Wilson for scoring a hot chick at his age.
Big Show vs. Matt Hardy is up next. First it was Jeff, now it's Matt. Big Show should keep the T-shirt. AVOID ANY TANK TOPS! The more you hide, the better. Man, I know some people who mark out when they read Matt's entrance with the special mentions, like this week, it says he hates cold weather and that he scored 1330 on his SAT's. Different Hardy, same result. Wow, Matt really cut the Big Show's nose after biting him
IT'S SHOWTIME! Chris Benoit/Kurt Angle vs. Rey Mysterio/Edge, best 2 out of 3 falls match was up next. I've been looking foward to this since I read it late Tuesday night. Can they beat their No Mercy performance? Rey's intro rules all. Funny sequence to start which had Angle chasing Mysterio in the ring and Angle falling through the ropes. I like how the referee made Angle grab onto the tag rope as Benoit came in. Angle with a snap suplex? Nice teamwork, early on, by Benoit/Angle. Impaler DDT off the get? Edge can't cover, but can make the tag. Mysterio is so fun to watch in the ring since his WWE debut. Wow, excellent tag moves by Mysterio/Edge, and the Powerbomb move won the first fall. That was probably the best 4 minutes of wrestling you can find.
Second fall begins, and Rey is now the "face in peril". DEVASTATING bulldog off the top from Rey on Benoit. Lots of fast action between these teams. Edge taps out for the 2nd fall. Man, these are some quick falls going on, meaning that the 3rd fall is going to be a battle, at least I hope so. Commercial break to make sure that the 3rd fall has some nice television time.
3rd fall stars, and the champions have the advantage early on because they damn near killed both Edge/Mysterio during the 2nd fall. Angle and Mysterio work very well together. Edge is starting to deliver some nasty chops lately. Benoit is letting Edge have it here. This action is non-stop! The only problem I have with Mysterio is him bringing back the Bronco Buster. Wow, what agility with Mysterio flipping over Angle and landing on the top rope, standing up. Mysterio gets the roll up victory eventually on Angle, but was apparently on the ropes, thus creating controversy. Imagine if the WWE did Guerreros vs. Edge/Mysterio vs. Benoit/Angle at Survivor Series? That would be so God-like!
Oh wait, the match is restarted! YES!!!! Could it get any better than this? The wrestlers are selling being tired here, which should deliver a dramatic finish. Nasty snap mare and then a dropkick to the face on Mysterio. Poor guy. DEVASTATING chop by Benoit, and then a gutwrench on Mysterio. Rey-Rey is taking a whoopin'! Nice reversals and DDT by Mysterio on Angle. Nice hot tag by Edge, and then a nice move around the corner by Mysterio. Spear to Angle, Benoit accidentally hits Angle with the top rope headbutt, and Angle eventually gets pinned. Wow, wow, wow! That right there is the TELEVISION MATCH OF THE YEAR, I'm declaring it now. All 4 wrestlers are rule the WWE right now and there's nobody, aside from the Guerreros, putting on great matches consistently like those 4. Nobody, period.
Super Tuesday looks pretty good....
I fear a Paul Heyman turn at Survivor Series, where the Big Show will have himself a new manager...
I prefer the older Jakks figures compared to the new ones.
Our main event was Eddie Guerrero vs. Brock Lesnar. I don't see how any match could follow that tag match. Eh, I was out of it after the tag match. I don't think that Lesnar has yet to unleash what a good WRESTLER he can be. He wrestles like a power wrestler, which at his size, it's understandable. The Big Show attacked Lesnar after his match and press him off the stage, just like the Undertaker. Ugh.
LAST WORD: The 2 out of 3 falls match says it all, while the rest was, well, there. With that being said, this show gets a [ B ] based off of one match, weighting the show to get a decent grade.
Check out Willygoat Xtreme Wrestling and the Valley Wrestling Federation. Two great backyard feds.
WRESTLEPALOOZA.com - Audio Show, Columns, News, and more!
KOLTERSHOCK!!! - A site that you shouldn't view with small children present!
X-Entertainment.com - One of the most entertaining pages on the net!
@See you next Tuesday!
Take Care, and Thanks for Reading.