QUESTION MARK AND THE MYSTERIONS- WHAT THE HELL IS ON THIS TAPE #1

Video tapes are a dead media at this point. But back in the day of wrestling tape nerds you could divide wrestling tape nerds into two basic groups. The real division isn’t between U.S. and Japanese tape fans, not between indy and territorial fans. Nope the real split is between guys who meticulously catalog their tapes (knowing every match they have) and those who have absolutely no idea what’s on half their tapes at this point. Tom is a proud member of the second group. Nothing is more fun than throwing in a random tape that is either unmarked or incorrectly marked and finding out what’s on it.


Original Midnight Express v. Jerry Lawler + Bill Dundee 10/30/87 -Taped marked as 1980-81 Memphis

PAS: This is for the AWA tag belts and is a match which on paper looks really awesome, but especially in the 80’s on paper matches were often pretty disappointing. This however was even better then it looked on paper. Lawler and Dundee are a great tag team, we all know what great individual wrestlers they are, and how well they match up against each other, but they also have great face tag team shtick. Their opening babyface in control section was just full of great stuff. I especially loved the variations on the partner blocks the Irish whip into the corner, also this was a punch marks dream match with both Lawler and Dundee breaking out tons of different combos. I especially loved the running left hook by Dundee. OMX were a lot fun in this too, especially Randy Rose who looked Eaton great in this, he takes a huge high backdrop, and has a bunch of fun offense. Slim Paul E. with his sport coat with rolled up sleeves throws in the phone and the OMX win the belts. I liked this more then any of the Rose/Somers v. Midnight Rockers matches and this was fucking with the high end Rock and Rolls v. Midnights matches.

TKG: Man this was fun. A lot of faces do stuff effectively, heels try same spots only to have the backfire. If you’ve seen the Memphis doc on youtube, you may remember the Hector Guerrero vs. Lawler spot where Hector puts Lawler across top rope and then kicks at him…Lawler tries same spot and Hector gets out of way. Lawler does same spot with Rose but with Lawler working face this time out. Lawler is caught with knee in corner and ends up face in peril eating a punch with a big bump to floor and then taking body slam on the floor running powerslam from Rose, etc. Dundee is all over the place as guy on apron…running after Heyman on the floor. Holding back heel from making tag while waiting for Lawler’s attempt to make hot tag etc. But really this match is about the early face in control section with the two faces just laying in punches and clotheslines..with Randy Rose just running head first into the fists and lariats. Dundee does a top rope knee drop with refs back turned. I don’t know what the top rope rule was at the time but ref turns around and really can’t figure out what’s going on as Lawler and Dundee switch off going for two counts on Rose before ref can figure out who is the legal man. I don’t know if it was a stunt granny but there is also a nun in the front row who punches at the air with every face punch and gets absolutely irate at all the heel cheating. I have no idea why I haven’t heard this match pimped before.

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ECW ON SCI-FI WORKRATE REPORT 8/15/06

This show actually felt kind of ECWish in its shittiness. While most of these shows have been shitty in a WWE way, this was really Heyman booked crap.

WHAT WORKED

PAS: The first part of Foley’s mikework was okay, better then most of his WWE mike work, but kind of a poor version of his intense ECW stuff. The jokey stuff was a sorry imitation of the jokey stuff. I want to see Foley opening Christmas presents or riding rollercoasters.

PAS: I kind of enjoyed large parts of the main event ladder match, it was a total ugly train wreck, but that is real ECW ugly train wreck wrestling. Pair of guys doing things they can’t pull off and hurting themselves. Sabu matches are always best when they were 2/3rds hit 1/3rd miss. That even was kind of shitty ECW booking, although it was really shitty ECW booking.

WHAT DIDN’T WORK

PAS: Heyman as heel commissioner not letting Kurt Angle wrestle for health reasons is really stupid. I mean Angle is months away from death, keeping him from popping his head off in a ladder match shouldn’t be a heel move.

PAS: Rebooking Punk v. Credible two weeks after that match kind of got over and running it into the ground is ECW shit to the tee. I wonder if we are going to get to see a two out of three falls Punk v. Credible or a 30 minute iron-man Punk v. Credible. I have no idea how in fuck they are booking a straight edge wrestler as a face in ECW, but they really blew an opportunity running in D.C. I imagine for a couple of grand donated to Positive Force you could have had Ian MacKaye come down to the ring and lecture the audience about respecting women and not throwing things. That would be heel heat. Shit if you are going to have Punk work as a fake shooter you might as well form the MACKAYE CLUB.

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