Found Footage Friday: FANCAM TAKADA~! STEVE WRIGHT~! TOMMY RICH~! STORM~! BABY CHILD KILLER~!

Steve Wright vs. Nobuhiko Takada NJPW 10/11/83

MD: I'm glad to see a new Takada handheld. I'm actively excited to see a new Steve Wright match. This was the first eight minutes of a really good French Catch match but I was missing the next twenty-five. It had all of the chain wrestling you'd want along those lines, including up and overs and complex twists into mares and headstands out of holds, just a bit more measured and a bit slower. It never escalated to the point of fisticuffs though. Takada had to fight for every tiny advantage he got and Wright just breezed through whatever he could throw his way with skill and aplomb. It made for a compelling exhibition, though you knew deep down that every minuscule victory Takada achieved, no matter how hard he fought for it, would be snatched away a few seconds later. While things didn't boil over, we got a few seconds of rope running at the end, and even a Takada armdrag. Unfortunately, it wasn't the start of anything but instead the end of everything, as Wright deftly floated through right into a pin. I wish we had gotten twenty Wright matches in the French collection

Nobuhiko Takada vs. Dynamite Chris NJPW 11/16/1987

MD: This is probably a me thing, but I had a hard time taking this one seriously, especially coming off the Wright match. Chris was very, very intense. Very intense. It wafted off him as he charged in to attack and threw his arms around in strikes, and tossed a headbutt. Takada would lock him in a hold. Chris would get out. More intensity would follow. There wasn't really any rhyme or reason to it, certainly no build. There was never a sense that it was doing any particular sort of damage or might lead him to a victory. He wasn't making a statement or a point. It felt like a simulation where Benoit's slider was set to high. I'd rather not extrapolate that. I don't really blame Takada for this one. What are you even going to do with this kid, right? I mean, I know what Steve Wright would have done...

Tommy Rich vs. James Storm USA Championship Wrestling 6/2/01

MD: There are a lot of similarities between 00s Tracy Smothers and Tommy Rich: both were best off when they started a match by getting heat on the mic. Both could lean on someone meanly and credibly after using a dirty tactic to take over. Both could throw their head back wildly as they were taking a babyface comeback. Rich maybe had a bit more weight behind his stuff because he had a bit more weight in general, but other than that, Smothers had quite a bit more fuel left in the tank. He was a few years younger and his hard living must not have been quite as hard as Tommy Rich's hard living. There was also a spark and a twinkle to him that Tommy couldn't quite match in his mid-40s. That doesn't mean that Tommy isn't entertaining here; he is, starting on the mic and running down the crowd, letting himself get outwrestled and eat early crow, sneaking in just a beautiful low blow headbutt with a bit of ref distraction to take over, beating Storm all over the ring, and then feeding with dramatic mannerisms in the place of motion. It's all good stuff. It's just not a whole lot of any of it. Still, you add it all up and you get a fun ten minutes from a guy who absolutely knew what he was doing and a young guy who was willing to be led. It's just that it would have been better if it was Tracy instead.

ER: I'm not so certain this would have been better had it been Smothers instead of Rich, even though the format is exactly the same. I thought this was a really impressive Tommy Rich performance, especially considering he wasn't working that often in his mid-40s. If I went to the Nashville Fairgrounds in 2001 and saw Tommy Rich was on the card, I don't think I ever would have guessed he would work a match as actively as he worked this one. I would have expected him getting on the mic to tell people to shut up, and beyond that I might not have expected a whole lot. And what he gave was a WHOLE lot more than that. Even if he hadn't, the mic work had a moment so great that it would have made this worth watching had Wildfire not gone in and worked like he was 10 years younger, and that was a woman in the front row with a toddler standing up and screaming and pointing at Rich with one arm, while holding this rigid and confused SMALL toddler under her other arm like she was holding a violin case. This tiny boy's body was straight and the woman was just holding him like a teen would tuck their skateboard under their arm, all because Tommy Rich was being an obnoxious fat guy in a leather vest. So, already a full rec. 

But the match was an awesome Tommy performance. I expected him to control the match and build to a Storm comeback, but I didn't expect him to take some big bumps to start the match, then control ACTIVELY for as long as he did. After going over big for some armdrags and a hiptoss, look at how excellently Tommy sold his arm after headbutting Storm in the balls. He has that left arm dead at his side, flexing that bicep (which has an extra great layer of cool heel bullshit since he's a guy who clearly does not lift), rolling his shoulder like a pitcher after an offday bullpen session. Tommy takes over for most of the rest of the match, and he doesn't do an ounce of resting. He's incredibly active, dropping knees into Storm, throwing suplexes (he does a cool deadlift back suplex and follows it up with a rolling kneedrop), and keeps fighting back against Storm's very green urge to bump every move earlier than he should have (buddy, just go with the flow on those DDTs and neckbreakers, just wait for your cue), really getting to show off a 45 year old fat man's offense toolbag. And in between it all he had this great fat body flex, purposely squishing up his torso and flexing with no effort, so that no single muscle accidentally showed through the flab. When Storm finally makes his comeback, Rich takes a big bump off some punches, then gets backed into the ropes for an Irish whip and simply yanks Storm over the top instead, drawing the DQ and not caring a lick. 

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Found Footage Friday: LAWLER~! KAMALA~! LAWLER AND KAMALA~?! SHOCK~! AWE~! SMOTHERS~! STORM~!

Tracy Smothers vs. James Storm NWA Worldwide 5/13/00

MD: This felt like a big moment for Storm, in his early 20s, clean-cut, wearing black trunks with STORM on them. Apparently the heels (including Chris Champion) had won a stip where they got to decide when and where they wrestled, so even though they'd been booked to face Storm, they were able to send Smothers (being another heel himself) out there.

For the most part, it was by the numbers, but they're numbers I'm pretty fond of. Smothers got on the mic and said that if they chant Tracy Sucks, he'd leave, which he was probably doing in 4th grade math class to taunt the teacher, but it always worked. It was pretty obvious Smothers was leading him around, including all but throwing himself into a headscissors takeover and a 'rana on the comeback (the sort of basing which not only meant taking offense, but overcompensating to make it work) and bumping headfirst on a wheelbarrow reversal into a bulldog. There were a million plucky, athletic, flying babyfaces in the early 00s, and Storm was definitely one of them, but between Smothers' showmanship and a few well placed and unlikely kickouts, they crowd were entirely with him. The finish had Smothers slip on a banana peel and Storm able to turn an attempt at cheating to his own advantage for the big upset win. Post match, he got destroyed by a bevy of heels, but ultimately, primarily thanks to Tracy, he came out of this looking like a real prospect.

Jerry Lawler vs. Kamala Memphis Wrestling Power Hour 5/17/03

MD: Turner had posted a bunch of 00s Memphis a month or two ago but most of those were things that were already out there. This might have been as well but it's not anything we've ever covered. There's a really great match from JAPW in January of 03 between these two. This though, was just great studio TV.

This was nominally set up to be a 2/3 falls (or TV time remaining) match and it's amazing how much they accomplished in so little time. The first fall, if a standalone match, might be one of the best two-minute studio matches ever. Kamala moved around the ring with a variety of strikes and smashes and Lawler propelled himself back after taking each one. Kamala had big energy and presence but Lawler made it work by picking a different part of the ring to retreat to each time. It literally kept things moving. The strap went down after about a minute of it and Lawler was able to fire off shots (including one amazing punch against the huge canvas of Kamala that the camera caught perfectly), staggering Kamala and finally driving him back with a dropkick into the corner, but not able to take him down. When Kamala pushed forawrd despite it, it was a shocking moment as the strap had already come down, but he quickly lost control when he was firing back on Lawler and hit the ref to draw the DQ. Lance was great here, both referencing Lawler's traditional slow starts in how Kamala was destroying him early and then, at the start of the second fall, noting how sprly Lawler had jumped up after the DQ, even despite the strap-dropping not paying off.

Between falls, they had a lady in from a radio show to talk to Corey and a backstage bit with Jimmy Hart trying to pay off Kamala (and Kamala eating the money). The second fall was brisk, with Lawler stepping on Kamala's toes to make an inroad but Hart's people rushing in to cause the DQ. Kamala took offense to this and came to Lawler's aid for a huge pop. This set up a tag match the next week just in the studio, and that almost felt like a shame because this angle should have been able to draw for real. That first fall was masterful. Best two minutes of wrestling you'll see this month.

Jerry Lawler/Kamala vs. Shock/Awe Memphis Wrestling Power Hour 5/24/03

MD: I had to see this play out. Even ten years earlier, it would have led to a big show at the Coliseum. That's not this. It's just another four minute TV match, unfortunately, but they were just building up Shock and Awe. One was Del Rios. The other was a pretty green British monster, the sort that could accidentally do a nice leg drop and an amazing kneeling body slam to Lawler and then immediately get out of the ring because he was blown up and that wasn't exactly sure where to put his body for the double noggin knocker with Jimmy Hart as the ref was throwing things out.

But you're watching this for Lawler and Kamala and they were both individually good but I wish they would have interacted a little more. There was a bit of subdued smugness for Lawler on the idea that no matter how much Shock and Awe might toss him around, he always had Kamala ready to tag in. Eventually, he missed a fist drop and got slammed around a bit more until Rios missed a quizzical flipping senton off the ropes and Lawler kind of waltzed over (respecting the fact he had only gotten beaten up for two minutes or so) for a not-so-hot tag and Hart hit the apron to set up the match getting thrown out. Honestly, if this had another couple of minutes tacked on to each section, there was probably something worthwhile here. As it was, it was fun but not the magical couple of minutes that the singles TV match was.

ER: I know it's just the format we chose for our personal type spacing aesthetics a decade and a half ago, but I really love how we have the match typed out as Shock slash Awe instead of Shock & Awe. It's like the funniest wrong way the local news could get their name. 

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Phil's Ongoing 2007 MOTY List

1. Nigel McGuinness v. Samoa Joe ROH 3/3
2. John Cena v. Umaga WWE 1/28
3. Nigel McGuinness v. Takeshi Morishima ROH 4/14
4. Chris Harris v. James Storm TNA 5/13
5. Jimmy Jacobs v. B.J. Whitmer ROH 3/4
6. Samoa Joe v. Takeshi Morishima ROH 2/16
7. Shawn Micheals v. John Cena WWE 4/23
8. Jimmy Jacobs v. B.J. Whitmer ROH 3/31
9. Solar 1/Mano Negra v. Negro Navarro/Black Terry Lucha Libre VIP 3/10
10. MNM v. Hardy Boyz WWE 1/28
11. Briscoes v. Ricky Marvin/Kontaro Suzuki NOAH 1/21
12. John Cena v. Great Khali 5/20
13. Finlay v. Undertaker 3/6 WWE
14. Briscoes v. Kevin Steen/El Generico ROH 4/14
15. Colt Cabana v. Jimmy Jacobs ROH 2/24
16. Takeshi Sasaki v. Yuki Miyamoto BJW 3/14
17. John Cena v. Shawn Michaels WWE 4/1
18. Shinjiro Ohtani/Takao Omori/Kazunari Murakami v. Kohei Sato/Hirotaka Yokoi/Yoshiro Takayama Zero 1 1/19
19. Matt Sydal v. The Man Gravity Forgo PAC ROH 3/4
20. Davey Richards/Roderick Strong v. Jack Evans/Delirious ROH 4/14
21. Mitsuhara Misawa v. Takuma Sano NOAH 4/28
22. Chris Benoit v. MVP 4/10
23. Nigel McGuiness v. Jimmy Rave ROH 3/4
24. Yuji Nagata v. Hiroshi Tanahashi NJ 4/13
25. Matt Hardy v. Ken Kennedy WWE 3/13


Previously on the list

Necro Butcher v. Toby Klien CZW 1/13
Chris Benoit v. Chavo Guerrero WWE 1/16
BJ Whitmer v. Jimmy Jacobs ROH 1/27
Samoa Joe v. Eddie Kingston FSM 3/17
Takeshi Morishima/Mohammed Yone v. Jun Akiyama/Takeshi Rikio NOAH 4/1
Undertaker v. Batista WWE 4/1

4. Chris Harris v. James Storm TNA 5/13

I have been watching TNA off and on from the beginning of the promotion and for the most part it has been a steaming cauldron of liquid shit. AMW have been some of the only exceptions, they are a pair of guys who started in a Prentice fed so they had plenty of opportunities to wrestle Well Dunn and Wolfie D and learn how to work. They were really great as a babyface tag team, although they weren't as good in Orlando as they were in Nashville, I had mixed feelings going into this match. I had some confidence in both guys, but it is Russo TNA, plus tag team explodes matches usually are disappointing. I liked Gibson v. Morton okay, but I can't really think of any matches that were great. Here is the exception that proved the rule, as this was spectacular. Sometimes Texas Death matches can be hurt by having too many falls, but here every fall felt like it should end the match. Plus unlike a lot of current feud brawls, this really felt like a fight, this was the best I have ever seen Harris's punches look for example. The catapult into the bottom of the table was crazy and the pools of blood were sick. I also really loved the finish with both guys throwing bottle shots at the same time and Harris hitting first. The quicker and straighter shots will land first, and getting hit while you are throwing a punch is exactly how you get KO'ed, plus the bottle and all.

8. Jimmy Jacobs v. B.J. Whitmer ROH 3/31

I was anticipating this match as much as any match I can remember, so I was bound to be a little disappointed. Jacobs was spectacular as usual, as he is really the only guy fucking with Cena for the first part of 2007. Much like the Cabana match this started out amazing, but seemed to fall a little flat. The Frye/Takayama spot with the spikes was one of my favorite spots in the history the promotion, just so awesome and violent. Jacobs creepy blood fetish stuff was super too, licking Whitmer's face, combing his hair with the barbed wire bat, stabbing himself with the spike, just gruesome. Plus those fucking tights with one crying eye and one bleeding eye were just off the chain, if it wouldn't effect my burial, I would get that as a tattoo. The senton from the top of the cage is a hell of a way to finish the feud and both guys looked completely destroyed. Still this match had some problems. Having Nick Diaz come from the back with weapons to slide into the cage was terrible. Both guys have seconds, they could certainly grab things from the bottom of the ring. You would think if Diaz was going to bring them anything it would be a one hitter so they wouldn't feel pain. This was also the first match of the series where Whitmer was all Whitmerish. He busted out his shitty suplex combinations, and there were parts of the match where it felt like they were doing a "hot indy wrestling 2.9 section," which is exactly the wrong thing for a match like this. Still in a year with a bunch of spectacular brawls this was right up there with them.

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