wrestling / Video Reviews
Views from the Hawke’s Nest: Wrestling’s Highest Flyers – Disc 2
Loading...Josh Matthews is still the host of this DVD.
Chris Jericho was the next subject. Matthews acknowledges that Jericho is not known as much for his high flying. I’ve never really considered him a high flyer.
WCW Bash at the Beach
1997
Chris Jericho(c) vs. Ultimate Dragon [WCW Cruiserweight Championship]
The fact that this isn’t actually being wrestled on a beach really bums me out.
Jericho was dominating Dragon for a while. He went for a plancha, but Dragon blocked it with a dropkick. Dragon connected on an Asai Moonsault. They traded pinning combos until they both spilled to the floor. Jericho went for the Lionsault, but Dragon blocked it with a dropkick. Jericho avoided the dragon sleeper. Dragon reversed a Tiger Driver attempt, but Jericho rolled through: 1…2…3!
You can see how Jericho had the potential to serve as a great base for smaller/flippier guys here, but this was not on the level of his future WWE matches with Rey Mysterio. I think this match would have been more fun if Dragon was the one to get the majority of the offense.
Match Rating: ***1/4
The 1-2-3 Kid was featured next. If WWE got access to Waltman’s entire career, they could actually produce a pretty great set.
WWF Summerslam
August 27, 1995
The 1-2-3 Kid vs. Hakushi
They did a couple of cool sequences, and Hakushi got control after a somewhat botched tilt-a-whirl backbreaker attempt. Hakushi worked Kid over for a while. He hit a Sasuke Special. Kid avoided a diving headbutt in the ring and then made a big comeback. He got a nearfall with a splash. He went for a spinning heel kick, but Hakushi reversed it into a one-armed powerbomb: 1…2…3!
This was a very good time. Hakushi looked awesome on offense, and it’s a shame he did not have a longer run with the company. I need to watch more of Waltman from his first run in the WWF. I missed a lot of good stuff.
Match Rating: ***1/2
Josh Matthews and John Morrison did another sky cam feature. Morrison did it with Starship Pain. Morrison said it was named after a poem he wrote. These sky cam bits were good ideas…that did not turn out to be all that interesting.
In a big coincidence, John Morrison was the next chapter. In a lot of ways, Morrison had a very good WWE run, but he certainly could have been more when you consider his talent.
WWE Superstars
July 30, 2009
John Morrison vs. Tyson Kidd (w/ Natalya & David Hart Smith)
When Morrison came out, I was thinking of all the good matches he had with the second Smackdown Six in 2009. Then Tyson Kidd came out, and I got really sad.
Kidd cut off Morrison with an apron neckbreaker. He worked Morrison over and targeted the neck. Morrison made a comeback after a back suplex. Smith and Natalya prevented Morrison from doing a dive. The ref threw them out. Morrison wiped out Kidd with a corkscrew pescado. Kidd came back after avoiding Moonlight Drive. Morrison came back with the running knee and then Starship Pain: 1…2…3
This was a solid match. Kidd has always been mechanically solid, but I’ve given up on him ever developing a character or in-ring style that gets me excited to watch one of his matches.
Match Rating: **3/4
The next feature was on “Tag Teams.” The Youngbloods, The Fantastics, The Killer Bees, MnM, The Rockers, Edge & Christian, and The Hardys.
Wrestlemania
April 2, 2000
Edge & Christian vs. The Hardy Boyz (Jeff & Matt Hardy) vs. The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray & D’Von Dudley)© [Ladder Match for the WWF Tag Team Titles]
Obviously, this is a great match and a natural selection for this comp. I just wished that the other teams mentioned were featured instead because I’ve seen less of their stuff.
Jeff hit Bubba with a Whisper in the Wind. Bubba came back with a Bubba bomb. Jeff went for a 450 on Bubba, but he landed on the ladder. OUCH. Christian hit Matt and Bubba with a plancha from a ladder in the ring to the floor. Edge speared Jeff off a ladder. Bubba gave Christian an Ace Crusher off a ladder. D’Von ate a double superplex from E&C off a ladder. Everyone ended up on a ladder. All the ladders fell down. Ouch. 3D to Edge. The Dudleys made a raised platform out of a table and two ladders. D’Von went to splash Jeff through a table, but Jeff got out of the way. Bubba powerbombed Matt through a table. Bubba set up a table on the floor next to a ladder. Jeff ended up doing a swanton through Bubba and the ladder. Matt and Christian ended up on the raised platform. Edge pushed Matt off and through a ladder. Edge & Christian grabbed the belts!
Fantastic match. WWE’s track record with group ladder matches that go for 15+ minutes speaks for itself at this point. This match was obviously a huge influence on these types of matches. These three teams would do this match even better at the following Summerslam and the following Wrestlemania.
Match Rating: ****1/4
The next feature was on Super Crazy. It’s…crazy…that he’s still having good matches in 2014.
ECW One Night Stand
June 12, 2005
Super Crazy vs. Little Guido (w/ Tracy Smothers, Big Guido, JT Smith, & Tony Mamaluke) vs. Tajiri (w/ Mikey Whipwreck & The Sinister Minister)
The action was fast and furious. The action spilled into the crowd. Crazy hit a moonsault onto everyone from the balcony. He executed it like it was nothing. The FBI interfered. Tajiri sprayed Guido with the mist. Smothers ate a kick from Tajiri. Whippersnapper to Guido from Whipwreck: 1…2…3!
Crazy and Tajiri then squared off for the match. Crazy went for the trio of moonsaults, but Whipwreck blocked the third one. Crazy avoided the buzzsaw kick and then hit the top-ripe moonsault: 1…2…3!
Such a fun sprint. They made every moment count, and it was the perfect combination of great action and nostalgia.
Match Rating: ***1/2
The next feature was on Brian Pillman. I really need to watch more Pillman.
WCW Great American Bash
June 18, 1995
Flyin’ Brian vs. Alex Wright
They did very little flyin’ in the opening minutes of the match. They were doing a respectable babyface vs. babyface match. They traded a fair amount of holds. Pillman got his knees up on a splash attempt and then went after Wright’s midsection. Wright hit a snap suplex to the floor. Wright hit a dive but Pillman came right back with a tope suicida. Back in the ring, they went for a dropkick at the same time. Wright hit the diving crossbody: 1…2…NO! Pillman was selling his leg like it had given out. He was just playing possum though so he could bait Wright into another diving crossbody attempt. Pillman blocked that, but Wright then crotched him. Pillman went for a crucifix pin, but Wright sat down: 1…2…3!!!
This match turned out to be way cooler than I would have guessed after the opening minutes. They pulled off some nifty sequences that seemed ahead of their time, and both progressively got less and less friendly in order to win the match. This was a real gem.
Match Rating: ***1/2
The next feature was on The Great Muta. He did a cool moonsault back in the day, but I really don’t think of him as a high flyer.
WCW Japan Supershow
Mach 21, 1991
The Great Muta vs. Sting
Muta wiped out Sting with a pescado early on. Sting came back by military pressing Muta to the floor and then hit his plancha. Muta went after the eyes, but Sting came right back with his facebuster. Muta avoided the Stinger Splash. Sting blocked the moonsault. Sting avoided another moonsault. Muta avoided the diving elbow. They traded pinning combos. Sting applied the Scorpion Deathlock, but Muta got to the ropes. Sting went for the Stinger Splash again, but Muta sprayed him with mist and hit a crossbody: 1…2…3
This match was fairly underwhelming overall after a hot start. The match felt clunky and never came together in a satisfying way. These guys have been involved in better matches for sure.
Match Rating: **1/2
The next feature was on Rob Van Dam. I feel like I need to take another look at a lot of RVD matches to see how I feel about them now.
WWF Sunday Night Heat
August 5, 2001
Rob Van Dam© vs. Jerry Lynn [WWF Hardcore Championship]
I’m genuinely surprised they didn’t put one of the matches from their ECW feud on the set.
Lynn had the advantage early on. The action spilled into the crowd. Lynn hit RVD with a chair, but RVD came right back. They did the Eddy/Dean pinfall trading sequence. Lynn hit a very high-angle German for a nearfall. RVD got fed up and kicked Lynn in the balls. Split-legged moonsault onto a chair. Lynn actually apparently reversed that by pushing the chair slightly up when RVD connected. RVD sent Lynn onto a chair and then hit the five-star: 1…2…3
I enjoyed this quite a bit. It was basically just a more condensed version of their ECW matches, and I don’t think the time-crunch really hurt them at all. Some could easily argue that it forced them to tighten up everything and not waste so much time.
Match Rating: ***
Special Features
WWF Sunday Night Heat
September 27, 1998
The Hardy Boyz (Jeff & Matt Hardy) vs. Kai En Tai (Teioh & Funaki)
The Hardys were positioned as jobbers.
Matt wiped out Teioh with a pescado early on. Jeff then got worked over for a while. Jeff eventually tagged out, and the match broke down. Jeff went for an assisted tope con hilo, but he came up completely empty and landed on his back. Ouch. Teioh accidentally hit Funaki with their flag. Matt and Jeff then hit a guillotine legdrop/Superfly Splash combo: 1…2…3
This was a fine showcase match. The match didn’t really get over much though. Jeff’s bump looked stupid as all hell.
Match Rating: **1/4
Check out free cruiserweight matches:
WWE
Jeff Hardy & X-Pac vs. RVD & Billy Kidman
WCW
Rey Mysterio vs. Eddy Guerrero (THE Eddie/Rey match)
Juvi, Super Calo, & Hector Garza vs. La Parka, Ciclope, & Damien
Blitzkrieg vs. Juventud Guerrera
AJ Styles & Air Paris vs. Jung Dragons
Blitzkrieg & Kaz Hayashi vs. Silver King & Juventud Guerrera
Eddy Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio
Ciclope, Juvi, & Super Calo vs. Konnan, La Parka, & Villano IV
ECW
Eddy Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko
NJPW
Kota Ibushi vs. Ryusuke Taguchi
Davey Richards vs. Kota Ibushi
AJPW
US Indies
El Generico vs. Davey Richards
El Generico vs. Kota Ibushi vs. Jigsaw vs. Nick Jackson
Thanks everybody for reading! You can send feedback to my Twitter or to my email address: [email protected]. Also, feel free to check out my own wrestling website, FreeProWrestling.com. Also, check out my Best of Chikara blog and an archive of all my 411 video reviews.
