Wrestling 20 Years Ago Blog

AAA When Worlds Collide PPV Review

11/30/2014

Eddy Guerrero would team with "Love Machine" Art Barr. Tragically, Barr would pass away just weeks later.

Listen to the November 1994 podcast reviewing ECW and the AAA When Worlds Collide show. AAA show review starts about 43 minutes in.

Subscribe to the podcast via: iTunes | Spotify | Google | Youtube

With the power of a national wrestling promotion, complete with high-end production, behind them; AAA, in association with IWC, had an opportunity to open thousands of eyes to their lucha libre output. It showcased established stars and future mega stars to a new audience with what was undoubtedly their most stacked card to date.

Prior to the event, there was great excitement for the show which included standard South American gimmick matches including minis and mask-versus-hair, combined with a steel cage main event which would enclose a battle between the past and the future.

The American commentary team of Mike Tenay and Chris Cruise were on hand to guide the debuting audience and heighten the experience for the more seasoned fans. Fans of the North American product would get the opportunity to see established names show a different side to their game as well as getting a chance to scout those who could soon grace their shores on a more regular basis.

Grab a Corona, get your nachos, it's ¡LUCHA LIBRE!

Mascarita Sagrada & Octagóncito defeated Espectrito & Jerrito Estrada

Very good minis match showing the difference between North & South American promotions in styles. All wrestlers mini versions of AAA stars. Good aerial ability shown, lightning-paced. Mascarita shines throughout, nailing an Asaai moonsault before hitting Espectrico with a lovely springboard moonsault for the win at eight & a half minutes.

Fuerza Guerrera, Madonna's Boyfriend & Psicosis df Rey Mysterio, Jr, Heavy Metal & Latin Lover

Psicosis, Mysterio Jr & Heavy Metal were the standouts in this cruiserweight tag match. Great technical and high-flying styles and all are three technicos under 25 years old. The Rudos make up Los Gringos Locos, a Mexican IV Horsemen. Mysterio Jr gets a lot of time early on, Psicosis, the Mexican Jushin Liger, quickens the pace further as Mysterio Jr is launched into the crowd. Heavy Metal runs the ropes, kicks off horizontally & flips over Psicosis. Fuerza Guerrera gets the tag and taps out Heavy Metal for the win.

Pegasus Kid (Chris Benoit), 2 Cold Scorpio & Tito Santana df Jerry Estrada, La Parka & Blue Panther

Interesting mix between Lucha and American styles. Terrific story-telling throughout match with descension in Team AAA particularly between La Parka and Estrada with Blue Panther acting as peace-maker. Pegasus Kid & Scorpio looked strong, Santana disappointing. La Parka (Skeletor on steroids) starts with 2 Cold then Pegasus Kid in a somewhat European style, Kid hits a flying toupè to the outside. La Parka argues over the pin before Estrada fights with his team-mate on the outside. Back in the ring, Pegasus Kid gets the pin over Blue Panther with a top-rope leg-drop.

Octagón & El Hijo del Santo df La Pareja del Terror (American Love Machine Art Barr & Eddy Guerrero) - Masks vs Hair, 2/3 Falls

Match of the night. Great rivalry throughout the year. Clear step up in technical ability early on with Guerrero shining. Early pin as Eddy hits a hurricaranna on del Santo who sits atop Barr's shoulders. As per Lucha rules, both team members must be pinned/submitted. Guerrero hits Octagón with a superplex as Art Barr nails a frog splash with pin to settle the first fall at 2-0. Double suicide dive to the outside from the technicos on the rudo's. Barr gets the first pinfall before del Santo levels the fall at 1-1. Del Santo gets two near falls on Eddy. Guerrero goes to the outside and as the referee is distracted, Art Barr hits a banned spinning tombstone piledriver on Octagón. Blue Panther runs in to get a piledriver of his own on Love Machine and del Santo gets the pin for the second fall. After both piledrivers, Guerrero and del Santo face off one-on-one. Del Santo gets the deciding pin after reversing Eddy's full nelson and picks up the win for the technico's. After the match, Eddy & Art lose their mullets as the crowd cheer on the winners. Great build on banned piledriver at end. Falls 0-2, 2-1, 2-1.

Perro Aguayo df Konnan - Steel Cage
Disappointing main event, but not without drama. Slow start with Aguayo going for three pinfall attempts in escape-only match. Konnan big potential for US National promotions as defines the term 'big hoss'. Good lead in story with separation of previous tag team partners. Aguayo bleeds rapidly after early cage shots. Konnan low blows Perro to stop an escape attempt, Aguayo responds with a back body drop almost beheading Konnan. Eddy Guerrero & Madonna's Boyfriend Louie Spicolli run in to throw Konnan brass knuckles before being headed off by the technico Dynamite Brothers. Aguayo regains command to escape the cage and take the win.

Overall, a really solid show for AAA and hopefully the beginning of a new product for the US audience. If you can get a hold of the tape, highly recommended. PS - Don't mess with Eddy Guerrero.

Match of the night, Hair vs Mask 2/3 Falls
Overall rating 7/10

By Del Muir

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Survivor Series 1994 Review

11/30/2014

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Yokozuna and Undertaker faced off for the second time in 1994 in a Casket Match in the main event.

Listen to our November 1994 WWF podcast, reviewing Survivor Series 1994

Subscribe to the podcast via: iTunes | Spotify | Google | Youtube

It's not a show that will live that long in the memory, but I seem to be in the minority that thought Survivor Series 1994 was a pretty good show, dare I say I probably enjoyed it more as a three hour PPV than Wrestlemania X, even. There was nothing exceptional on this show, but the build of Diesel culminated in a very strong angle at the beginning of the show, and everything - even the Lawler/Doink comedy match was good or better for the rest of the night.

The Teamsters (Diesel, Shawn Michaels, Jeff Jarrett, Owen Hart and Jim Neidhart) vs The Bad Guys (Razor Ramon, 123 Kid, British Bulldog, Fatu and Sione).

I had this pegged as the best match of the evening. Took a while to get going with nobody getting an elimination within the early stages, but this built a great platform to allow Diesel to standout when he eventually got into the match. Those quick fire eliminations accelarated the match at a great lick with the Diesel Shawn breakdown building. While The Teamsters all getting counted out at the end, leaving Razor as the sole survivor, was perhaps a contrived finish, the story with Shawn and Diesel was great here. This, I thought, was how you build a star.

READ ABOUT THE RISE OF DIESEL IN THE WWF

The Royal Family (Jerry “The King” Lawler, Sleazy, Queasy and Cheesy) vs Clowns 'R Us (Doink The Clown, Dink, Wink and Pink)

I really wanted to hate this match, I really did. But there really was some decent comedy here, by WWF standards for sure. The midgets interacted really well with Lawler and Doink, and I genuinely laughed when Lawler climbed on top of Queasy and got dropped face first. While this was Survivor Series, this match got pretty old as soon as Doink was eliminated. I'd also say this match was poorly placed, likely should've been in between the two main events.

Bret Hart (with The British Bulldog) vs Bob Backlund (with Owen Hart) for the WWF Title

The stipulation, while adding to the story, really took away from the match. It rendered much of the match unimportant as impact moves couldn't be capitalised upon The wrestling was decent, but no better, as Bret and Backlund's styles seemed to clash throughout. Match turned when Bulldog knocked himself out running after Owen and hitting the ring steps. Owen dialed up the drama, begging his mother to throw in the towel as Bret was locked in the Cross Face Chicken Wing... forever. Quite the logic that Owen was acting as a heel trying to end the match, despite the fact that Bret was out for the count in the ring, Owen basically saved his career. That being said, excellent drama if a little prolonged. Backlund wins when Bret's mother Helen throws in the towel.

Guts and Glory (Lex Luger, Adam Bomb, Mabel and The Smoking Gunns) vs The Million Dollar Team (King Kong Bundy, Bam Bam Bigelow, Tatanka and The Heavenly Bodies)

Probably the least eventful match on the show, but this was by no means a bad match. The aim was to get over Bundy as a big threat – leading to match with Undertaker down the line – they did that. Luger looked good in his 1 on 3 spot, The Smoking Gunns looked very good when they got the license to show off some good tag team moves. Bam Bam does a great moonsault. This match was fine, whether getting behind Bundy is a great move I don't know, but they certainly managed that here.

READ: JUST WHERE DID IT GO WRONG FOR LEX LUGER IN THE WWF

The Undertaker (with Paul Bearer) vs Yokozuna (with Jim Cornette & Mr Fuji) in a casket match with Chuck Norris at the Special Guest Enforcer

This match was very good, particularly if you're a big a fan of Yokozuna as I am. They both worked hard and there were some really nice moves, including a particularly devastating rock bottom from Yokozuna. Undertaker needed his win back in the casket match from the Royal Rumble, and he got that here. Chuck Norris was involved in the match about as much as you would want him to be, although his spin kick to Jarrett wasn't anything to write home about.

All in all I thought this was a very good show. Forgetting the comedy match, Diesel, Razor, Backlund, Bundy and Undertaker all came out of this show looking stronger than they did going in. Job done.

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The Rise Of Diesel In The WWF

11/26/2014

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Tipped for big things from early on in his WWF run, Diesel would win the WWF Title in November of 1994

Listen to our November 1994 podcast, reviewing Diesel's breakout match at Survivor Series and his ten second title win over Bob Backlund.

Subscribe to the podcast via: iTunes | Spotify | Google | Youtube

As the next year of the podcast rolls on, we will get to why Diesel's run as WWF Champion didn't take off quite how the company had hoped in 1995, but in this current moment, viewing the time in the immediate aftermath of Diesel first defeating Bob Backlund for the title at a Madison Square Garden house show in under ten seconds, it's hard to say up to that stage the WWF had done much wrong.

Diesel joined the company mid 1993 following a run in WCW as Vinnie Vegas. He was immediately paired with Shawn Michaels, as his bodyguard, in a pairing that would continue up until the split that occurred three days before Diesel's title reign began at Survivor Series, including a reign as WWF Tag Team Champions.

Diesel's push in 1994 was a strange one. Not that they did a bad job of it, I don't believe they did, more that they seemed to do such an inconsistent job of it. Diesel's breakout moment actually came in January at the Royal Rumble, where he would eliminate seven wrestlers as he totally dominated the first half of the match, a performance so strong it would even generate Diesel chants from the crowd, Shawn Michaels was involved in his elimination, although this didn't accelarate the break-up of the pair.

Turn to Wrestlemania, Diesel's big push after his big Royal Rumble showing was to be in Shawn Michaels' corner for his Mania ladder match with Razor Ramon. The match was one for the ages, but Diesel was ejected from the match early on. It was probably more a sign of the times than it was a sign of them having a major reason for not following up on things, things seemed to ebb and flow a lot more. That being said, drawing a modern day comparison with Roman Reigns (who had a great Royal Rumble performance too), he was limited to a three minute match at Wrestlemania this year anyway.

READ OUR REVIEW OF WWF SURVIVOR SERIES 1994

Diesel's partnership with Michaels was a valuable one in 1994, as they both helped each other out a lot. Michaels took some time out of regular in ring action after Mania, but the pairing with Diesel gave him a regular role on TV and a new role as a mouthpiece. Diesel was getting over as a crowd favourite, consistently one of the more popular acts at live events, as a foil for Michaels. The pairing worked wonderfully.

It was April that Diesel would win his first singles gold, winning the Intercontinental Title off Razor Ramon at a time when the secondary title meant a lot. it was a somewhat bizarre move, given that Razor won the title about five weeks before in that Mania war with Michaels, and that the match (and Diesel's status as number one contender) received little fanfare.

Not for the last time in 1994, Diesel would then be thrust into a WWF Title match with relatively little explanation. While the WWF had all but given up on Lex Luger and Yokozuna (the two men who competed in the first WWF Title match at Mania X), it was somewhat perplexing that Bret Hart's first title defence didn't come against Yokozuna at least - Bret promised him a rematch!

But instead King of the Ring would feature Bret vs Diesel, the WWF Champion vs the WWF Intercontinental Champion (for Bret's title only). The perfect match to honour and headline the new WWF "New Generation" tag... well expect the match appeared in the middle of the card to make way for Jerry Lawler vs Roddy Piper in the main event.

Still though, last on the show or not, Bret and Diesel put on what by Diesel standards can be considered an excellent match lasting over 20 minutes. It's testimony, too, to the company's thoughts of Diesel at the time that the match would end with Diesel on the cusp of victory, hitting his Jacknife Powerbomb on Hart before Jim Neidhart interfered, allowing the company to switch direction towards Bret vs his brother Owen at Summerslam. But for Diesel at this stage the question was all about when, rather than if, he would win the title. In 20 years ago mode this is the kind of thing that still might've taken a year or 18 months, but Diesel's reign as champion would have its day.

READ MORE: Comparing Diesel with Roman Reigns

Diesel would have two bizarre and possibly unique traits in 1994. Firstly, he would hold the tag team, Intercontinental and WWF Title in 1994 without winning any of the titles on Raw on pay per view (his Intercontinental Title win was on Superstars, a show with a fair amount of equity and relevance at this stage), but the other two title victories were both on house shows. The second, probably as good an illustration as any that they were behind the idea of pushing him without always having a plan, was that Diesel won his next belt before he lost the one he had.

This trend would start at Summerslam, well, the day before it. Diesel and Michaels won the tag titles off the Headshrinkers at a house show the night before. Diesel was now the WWF Tag Team and Intercontinental Champion at the same time; what better way to continue the his push than have him hold ALL the titles... except Diesel lost the Intercontinental Title in a pretty decent match with Razor Ramon helped in spades by the presence at ringside of not only Michaels but of “Sweetness” Walter Payton in Razor's corner. The slow burn split of Michaels and Diesel continued here with Michaels clocking Diesel with the sweet chin music as Razor ducked.

August became November, as it could in this era of the WWF, without much of note happening with Diesel in between, but he was at least lined up for a match at Survivor Series, on “The Teamsters” along with Michaels, Jim Neidhart, Owen Hart and Jeff Jarrett against “The Bad Guys” of Razor Ramon, The British Bulldog, The 123 Kid and The Headshrinkers.

While his team lost, thanks to an improbably 5 man count out as the heels had a 5 on 1 advantage over Ramon, Diesel was the star of the match. Ten minutes even steven action preceeded Diesel tagging in and immeadietly eliminating Fatu, The 123 Kid and Sione in under 90 seconds. Diesel looked like a bonafide star here, and his breakup with Michaels accelarated here, as Michaels refused to tag himself in only until Razor had been levelled by a Jacknife (Bulldog had been counted out at this stage).

Once again, Michaels would strike Diesel with the sweet chin music while Razor ducked. This caused a team wide argument that would see the entire team storm off (the count out). Michaels would leg it, briefly saying he was “through” with him before jumping in a speeding car. They had done a great job that night of making Diesel look like a brute. How would they follow up with it? A big babyface turn? A Royal Rumble victory?

Try winning the WWF Title three days later at a house show at Madison Square Garden. Not for the first time, Diesel would find himself in a title match that perhaps he hadn't fully earned (logically, Razor, being the sole survivor would be a more viable candidate). Replacing the “injured” Bret Hart, Diesel was placed in a WWF Title match that was no count out, no DQ and no submission – which, when you think about it, seems a trifle unfair for the current Champion. The match was brief. The bell rang, Diesel kicked Backlund, powerbombed him and got the three count to a big pop in the building.

So far, the WWF had barely put a foot wrong with Diesel... I might revisit this article in twelve months time!

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