Views from the Hawke’s Nest: Wrestling’s Highest Flyers – Disc 3

Josh Matthews is still the host of this DVD.

 

Shawn Michaels is featured next.

WWF Summerslam
August 18, 1996

Shawn Michaels© vs. Vader (w/ Jim Cornette) [WWF Heavyweight Championship]
I recall disliking the booking of this match. I’m not sure what I’ll think of it now.

Shawn had a surprising amount of success early on and hit a Deadman Suicida. Shawn went for a slingshot hurricanrana, but Vader reversed it into a powerbomb to the floor. Vader then destroyed Shawn for a while. Shawn eventually made a comeback. He took both of them to the floor with a leaping crossbody. This match is so good at the moment, but it will soon become very bad. Vader dropped Shawn on the guardrail and then won via countout.

Jim Cornette wouldn’t let the match end. Cornette challenged Shawn to keep fighting. Shawn ignored the officials, and the match was restarted. Vader immediately took out Shawn with a lariat. Cornette hit Shawn with the racket. Shawn made a comeback. Cornette interfered and threw the racket to Vader. Shawn took the racket and destroyed Cornette and Vader with it. That got him disqualified though.

Cornette called out Shawn again for retaining the title in a silly way. The match was restarted again. Shawn made another comeback. SUPERKICK: 1…2…no? Vader apparently got his shoulder up, but I didn’t even notice. Ref bump derpa derp. Vader Bomb: 1…2…NO! Vader went for a moonsault, but Shawn rolled out of the way. Based on where Vader landed, he would have missed anyway. Shawn then hit the moonsault: 1…2…3

Vader seemed like such an epic failure in this match. First, he was stupid enough to win via countout in a title match. Then he got his ass kicked with a tennis racket. Then he lost clean. Three Vader fails in one match. On top of that, they had an incredibly awesome dynamic going on before the overbooking kicked in. A true mixed bag of a match if I ever saw one.
Match Rating: **1/2

 

Flash Funk was next. I’m surprised they market him as Funk instead of as Too Cold.

Cyberslam
February 17, 1996

2 Cold Scorpio(c) vs. Sabu [ECW Television Championship]
Sabu hit a very early double jump tope con HELLO into the crowd. Back in the ring, Scorpio hit a powerbomb to cut off Sabu. Sabu fought back and sent both men to the floor. Sabu was in control after that. Scorpio quickly came back though and got back control. Sabu got the camel clutch. I think I can stop recapping and just say they keep going back and forth. Finally, Scorpio established some sort of control over the match. Sabu came back after a tope suicida. Scorpio got back control by going after Sabu’s legs. Sabu came back with an Asai Moonsault. Sabu went for a triple jump tope con HELLO through a table, but he only took out the table. Scorpio avoided all damage. Sabu came back in the ring. Scorpio hit a MOONSAULT LEGDROP: 1…2…NO! They traded more big moves. The time limit was close to expiring so Sabu desperately tried to finish off Scorpio. He couldn’t do it though and the time ran out.

If nothing else, this was certainly a spectacle. There was some sloppiness, it felt overly spotty, and it could greatly benefitted from a more defined structure. However, it got over and was a lot of fun to watch. I cannot fault them too much when they achieved the basic goals of pro wrestling.
Match Rating: ***

 

Josh Matthews and Kofi Kingston did the sky-view deal with Kofi doing the Boom Drop off a ladder. Kofi was then featured next. I like Kofi, but his career has never come close to being above average unless you think surviving on the main roster for six or seven straight years is above average (which it might be).

WWE Smackdown
May 14, 2010

Kofi Kingston vs. Christian [WWE Intercontinental Championship]
Christian! When is he getting a DVD???

This match is for the vacant Intercontinental Championship. This is the finals of a tournament to crown a new champion. Christian hit a Silver King plancha as they went to a commercial. Christian was in control when we came back. Kofi came back after connecting on the pendulum kick. They went back and forth for a while. Kofi kicked out of the reverse DDT. Christian kicked out of the SOS. Christian called for the Killswitch. Kofi avoided it, rolled through a sunset flip and hit the Trouble in Paradise: 1…2…3!

Christian is the king of WWE television matches in the last five years. The dude just cannot have a bad one, and he makes all of his opponents look good. I could watch hours and hours Christian TV matches.
Match Rating: ***1/4

 

The next feature was on the dead light heavyweight division.

WWF No Way Out
February 15, 1998

Taka Michinoku© vs. Pantera [WWF Light Heavyweight Championship]
Brian Christopher came down to the ring before the match and joined his father and Jim Ross on commentary.

Pantera hit a very early tope con hilo. Taka came back with his double-jump plancha. Pantera came back and hit a tope suicida that drove Taka into a guardrail. Pantera worked Taka over that after this and went after the back. Pantera hit a tope con hilo. It was basically a running senton though, as Taka was lying down on the floor. Pantera went back to working Taka over. Taka avoided a moonsault and then made a comeback. Taka’s back was not in great shape, but he pulled off the Michinoku Driver: 1…2…3!

Brian Christopher went to jump Taka after the match. Jerry tried to hold him back. Taka hit them with a plancha and then had to run away through the crowd.

Rock-solid match. They did not have a ton of heat, but they did enough cool stuff with a sound structure (the work on Taka’s back) to keep be interested and entertained.
Match Rating: ***

 

Lita was featured next.

WWE Raw
December 6, 2004

Trish Stratus© vs. Lita [WWE Women’s Championship]
Trish was wearing a facemask. Neither woman could get an advantage early on. Lita hit a tope suicida. She was lucky not to break her neck on that one. Trish took off the facemask and hit Lita with it to get control. Lita came back after a superplex. They went back and forth. They did some good nearfalls. Lita avoided the Stratusfaction. Reverse Twist of Fate! Moonsault: 1…2…3!

I have not gone back and watched many matches with the “divas” from the past fifteen years, but I think it’s safe to say these two would still be my favorite female performers in that time period. They were over as characters, and they were totally deserving of main eventing this Raw. It was a good match. These two should have gotten more opportunities like this one. Watch this match here.
Match Rating: ***

 

Sabu was featured next. I would love for his match to be one of the John Cena matches. Cena and Sabu had the most random chemistry.

ECW Guilty as Charged
January 9, 2000

Rob Van Dam© vs. Sabu (w/ Bill Alfonso) [ECW World Television Championship]
Well, this could be a mess.

Sabu got control early on. He hit his triple jump plancha, but RVD came right back. They continued to go back and forth for a while. The crowd ate it up. Sabu appeared to have the match won at one point, but a ref bump prevented a pin being counted. They started going back and forth again. RVD gave Fonzy a Van Daminator. RVD blocked a triple jump moonsault with a chair and then hit the five star: 1…2…3

Sabu only wrestled six more matches in ECW.

This match was not for me in the slightest, but it was clearly successful enough to get some credit. ECW was really a product of its time. I get why it was so appealing overall, but some aspects of the company have never been my cup of tea.
Match Rating: **3/4

 

Jeff Hardy was next. He was one of my favorites when I was a kid, and his 2006-2009 run with the company is a personal favorite of mine. I will always have a soft spot for this man.

WWE Raw
January 7, 2008

Jeff Hardy vs. Umaga [Cage Match]
This was a part of Jeff’s first real push to the main event in the WWE. He was booked for a WWE Championship match against Randy Orton at the Royal Rumble PPV later this month. He defeated Triple H (clean, but not decisive) on the previous PPV. To say that I was hyped for the idea of Jeff being elevated at this point would be a massive understatement.

Jeff and Youmanga had tremendous chemistry, but this may be the only time they came close to having a great match. Randy Orton came to the ringside area to watch the match. They could have had so many more great matches together. Umaga dominated Jeff for a while. Jeff got some offense in, but Umaga had control. Umaga applied a NERVE HOLD. Umaga couldn’t finish Jeff, and Orton decided to throw Umaga lots of chairs to use. Umaga looked somewhat insulted, but he attacked Jeff with the chairs all the same. Jeff tried to fight back, but Umaga avoided the Twist of Fate. Jeff finally came back after avoiding the corner ass attack. Jeff went to leave the cage, but Orton slammed the door into Jeff’s head. Umaga called for the Spike, but Jeff reversed it into the Twist of Fate. Jeff climbed the cage, stared down Orton, and then hit Whisper in the Wind off the top of the cage on Umaga: 1…2…3!

Time for some TLDR story time! This match brings back so many memories for me, and it really reminds me of a time where I was so invested in something WWE was doing. Jeff Hardy was basically the equivalent of superhero to me as a child, and then to see him get a big push when I was eighteen really felt special. The stars were perfectly aligned. The diehard wrestling fan and childhood mark were both fully behind a wrestler that WWE was pushing strong and receiving incredible reactions on every show.

Jeff Hardy pinned Triple H on a PPV to earn this title match. It was not particularly decisive, but it was clean and just the fact that a number one contender match was happening on PPV made it seem important. Jeff then pinned Orton on television the next night in a tag match. He later worked a great Raw main event with Umaga and finished it with a ridiculous highspot off a cage. The next week, he did an even bigger highspot off the stage and through several tables on Orton. Jeff of course lost the PPV title match, and I was disappointed but it didn’t really matter. For one month, I was incredibly happy to be a WWE fan. That was a good time.

Almost needless to say, I love this match, and it actually caused an emotional reaction in me that caused the word vomit that you all just experienced.
Match Rating: ****1/4

 

Rey Mysterio was the last person featured.

Halloween Havoc
October, 1997

Eddie Guerrero(c) vs. Rey Mysterio, Jr. [Campeonato contra Máscara]
Guerrero’s WCW Cruiserweight Championship and Mysterio’s mask are on the line.

Mysterio was all over Eddie early, but Eddie managed to cut him off by dropping him on the floor. Eddie worked him over for a while. He tore at the mask. Rey hit a springboard moonsault DDT. He threatened to come back after that, but Eddie cut him right off. Rey avoided a baseball slide, hit a plancha, and then made a comeback. The comeback included a tope con hello turned into a hurricanrana. That is still one of the coolest things that I have ever seen in a wrestling match. Eddie fought back and reversed a springboard move into a backbreaker. Eddie went for Splash Mountain, but Rey reversed it into a hurricanrana: 1…2…3!

This was a great match featuring excellent character work by Eddie and some truly fantastic comeback spots by Mysterio. The in-ring chemistry between these two was as close to perfect as you can get. They did not create the epic emotional environment that you would expect, but they did enough for this to be easily considered a great match.
Match Rating: ****

Watch this match here.

 

Josh Matthews thanked us for watching the DVD.

 

Special Features

 

WCW World War 3
November 22, 1998

Juventud Guerrera© vs. Billy Kidman [WCW Cruiserweight Championship]
They were going back and forth a lot. Kidman hit a pescado. Juvi cut Kidman off with a diving hurricanrana to the floor. Juvi worked him over for a while. Juvi used a second ring to do a double springboard dropkick, but he fucked it up and Kidman was clearly hurt. Kidman fought back. Kidman headscissors Juvi into another ring. He then did a two ring springboard crossbody: 1…2…NO! Juvi then sent Kidman to the third ring. Juvi then hit a two ring Frankensteiner: 1…2…NO! JUVI DRIVER! Kidman avoided a 450 and then kicked out of a hurricanrana pin. Juvi then tried to powerbomb Kidman, BUT YOU CANNOT POWERBOMB BILLY KIDMAN! Wheelbarrow German from Kidman. Juvi avoided the Seven Year Itch. Rey then helped Kidman avoid a Frankensteiner. Seven Year Itch: 1…2…3!

It was a bit of a mess, but my soft spot for Billy Kidman knows virtually no limits.
Match Rating: ***

 

Check out free cruiserweight matches:

WWE

Rey Mysterio vs. Jamie Noble

Rey Mysterio vs. Chavo

Jeff Hardy & X-Pac vs. RVD & Billy Kidman

WCW

Rey Mysterio vs. Eddy Guerrero (THE Eddie/Rey match)

Rey Mysterio vs. Jushin Liger

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 Guerro vs. Dean Malenko

Eddy Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio

Ciclope, Juvi, & Super Calo vs. Konnan, La Parka, & Villano IV

ECW

Rey Mysterio vs. Psychosis

Eddy Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko

NJPW

Kota Ibushi vs. Ryusuke Taguchi

Mistico vs. Averno

Prince Devitt vs. Kenny Omega

Prince Devitt vs. Kota Ibushi

Davey Richards vs. Kota Ibushi

AJPW

Kaz Hayashi vs. Minoru

US Indies

CM Punk vs. AJ Styles

AJ Styles vs. Evan Bourne

John Morrison vs. Ricochet

El Generico vs. Davey Richards

Ricochet vs. Masato Yoshino

El Generico vs. Kota Ibushi vs. Jigsaw vs. Nick Jackson

El Generico vs. Jigsaw

 

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.

8.5

The final score: review Very Good

The 411

Despite not featuring a ton of "great" matches, I thought this set was great overall. There was just a ton of variety, and that made for a very pleasant viewing experience. The only odd thing about the set is that a number of matches would not really qualify as being a showcase for "high flying." I honestly do not care that much though.