On Brand Segunda Caida: More 2002 Big Boss Man

Big Boss Man vs. DDP WWF Smackdown 1/17/02

ER: This era Boss Man really the master at taking 80% (or more) of a match and still letting his opponent plausibly beat him. Boss Man and DDP doesn't have to be an 80/20 match, but I liked how Boss Man turned it into one by using two different attacks out of the ref's view. Early in the match while the ref is trying to break them up, Boss Man punches DDP in the orbital bone to take initial control; late in the match he gets backed into a corner by DDP, and when Teddy Long leans in to tell DDP to break the hold, Boss Man uppercuts him right in the balls. All of Boss Man's offense looked great, like his big spinebuster, his awesome hot shot on the turnbuckle (after punching DDP's balls), and the punch exchanges between the two were fire! Boss Man's punches were the best in 2002 WWF (and that was when they had a roster of cool punchers in all weight classes) and DDP trades back and forth really well with him. At one point DDP just punches Boss Man in the chest to stun him, and that's the kind of thing you don't see anymore unless it's part of an overcomplicated combo. Much of DDP's offense comes from strong reversals or dodges of Boss Man, like a sleeper turned into a nasty jawbreaker, and it makes a lot of sense to make those kind of openings. Boss Man doesn't lay out for the Diamondcutter, taking it more like a Stunner, but the way he took it really made it look like a lot more snap was being done to his neck. Taking the flat stomach bump looks cooler, but I liked the painful way he took this one.

Big Boss Man vs. Shawn Stasiak WWF Metal 1/19/02

ER: Right out the chute this project is getting Shawn Stasiak's name in print for the first time on Segunda Caida. If nothing else, we'll always have that at least. Boss Man is wearing the riot squad gear (would have been awesome if he came back in Big Bubba attire for this run), but there's some confusion around the face/heel dynamics. Boss Man got a good reaction coming out, possibly because the aesthetics of his gimmick play much better in the south (this was in Texas). However, Stasiak was the de facto babyface here, meaning fans were put in a position to cheer Stasiak over Boss Man, which is tough because I cannot imagine many people cheering Stasiak over anybody. They do some things that feel like they would be expressly forbidden in modern WWE, namely Boss Man getting into it with a ringside fan (that guy who wears the same gas station shirt who was profiled on Confidential). It felt like the same way a guy would get heat on a southern indy show, and it just makes me nostalgic for seeing southern wrestling played to an 8,000 strong crowd. Stasiak even gets to go out and side with gas station guy and it feels like the crowd is suddenly far more invested in this. Could you see any wrestler today ever acknowledging or trying to start something with that one fan who sits front row with his mom every show? Boss Man was still really fast, and a lot of this was built around his speed, whether he was bailing quickly out of the ring or unable to slow a charge due to his size/speed combo, and some of his fast bumps were impressive. His offense is made up almost entirely of punches, which is perfectly fine because he still has a great uppercut and overhand right. I wish this one was not so driven by Stasiak offense, as he just wasn't very good and always landed too rigid on nearly everything he did. His crossbody looked like an ironing board being thrown at Boss Man and his leaping back elbow looked like he bounced off Boss Man instead of knocking Boss Man down. This was the last of the Shawn Stasiak I will be reviewing.