wrestling / Video Reviews
Dark Pegasus Video Review: Raw: The Beginning (Disc Four)
February 17, 2011 | Posted by
8
The 411 Rating
Community Grade
Your Grade
Loading...
| Raw: The Beginning by J.D. Dunn Twitter.com/jddunn411 Facebook.com/jddunn411 Owen Hart and Jim Neidhart accost Bret prior to the match. Handshake to start because both guys are babyfaces at this point. Kid armdrags Bret to start. They exchange armbars. Kid grabs a hammerlock. Bret tries to snapmare out of it, but Kid rolls through. Kid takes a hard reverse elbow. Kid leapfrogs Bret and reverse monkeyflips him. Kid nails a reverse giri and sends Bret over the top with a spin kick. We come back from commercial to the Kid holding an armbar. Bret tries to armdrag him, but Kid rolls through and maintains. Bret shoots him off the ropes and buries a knee into Kid’s stomach. He follows it up with a scoop slam and a legdrop. Bret backs him into the corner and delivers a series of stiff uppercuts. Bret just methodically begins to pick the Kid apart. Bret delivers a swinging neckbreaker. Kid takes the backfirst “Bret Bump” off a corner whip. He comes back with a flying crossbody for a surprise two. Kid with a sunset flip for two. Bret wears him down with a chinlock and gets two off an elbowdrop. Bret DDTs him for two. Bret goes to the second rope, but Kid gets his boot up. Bret misses a clothesline, and the Kid spin kicks him. Kid kicks away at him in the corner and delivers a SICK running dropkick. Kid powerbombs him and hits a legdrop for two. He clotheslines Bret out and SKIES off the top with a cannonball. Bret seems to avoid it and rolls back in. Kid tries another cannonball senton, but Bret moves out of the way! Bret goes for the Sharpshooter, but Kid reaches the ropes. Bret sets the Kid up top, but the Kid shifts his weight on the way down and lands on top! ONE, TWO, THR-NO! Kid tries that running dropkick again, but Bret ducks out of the way. Bret delivers a bulldog and goes up. Kid slams Bret off and goes up too. He jumps off, but Bret catches him and counters to the Sharpshooter for the submission at 17:30. Spectacular Raw MOTYC. Ross and Savage give the match a standing ovation. This is the match that took Kid from gimmicky underdog to legitimate player. ****1/2 Luger shocks Jim Ross by not coming out with Ted Dibiase. At the time, Tatanka was swearing up and down that Lex sold out to Dibiase, which, in retrospect, might have been a cool storyline. Lex, disillusioned with months of getting screwed as a nice guy, turns on Bret Hart and sells out to someone who can elevate him to the title. Neither man can gain a strength advantage. Diesel finally just pushes Luger out of the ring. Luger sunset flips back in for two. Shawn talks some strategy with Big Daddy Cool. Diesel pounds away in the corner, but Luger comes back with a powerslam for two. Luger sends Diesel out with a punch. Diesel trips up Luger and pulls him out. Back in the ring, Luger goes for a backdrop, but Diesel counters to a Jackknife attempt. Luger backdrops him over but falls out of the ring on a wild charge. Michaels takes a cheapshot at Luger as we see Dibiase pulling a Sting up in the rafters. Creepy. We come back to Diesel holding a chinlock. Luger fights out but gets caught in the sleeper. Okay, that’s a bit too much stalling. They had built up so much good will too. Luger counters to a backdrop and DDTs Diesel down. ONE, TWO, T–NO! A flying clothesline gets two for Luger. Luger accidentally whips Diesel into the referee and scoops the champ up into the Torture Rack. There’s no ref, so Shawn sneaks in and superkicks Luger in the back of the head. The ref recovers. ONE, TWO…TH-NO! Luger and Diesel slug it out until Razor Ramon runs down and chases Shawn around the ring. They all end up in the ring for the DQ at 14:03. Razor’s help backfires as he takes a pounding until Luger chases the heels off. Obviously, this was before both guys started dogging it. This is where they earned the right to dog it in 1997. ***1/4 I’m not sure what to think. I mean, Nikolai seemed happy living under socialism during the 1980s. Christ, he sang about it constantly… when he wasn’t getting his ass kicked for it. But then he went capitalist, lost all his money and became miserable. So much so that he had to sell his soul and dignity to the ultimate capitalist, Ted Dibiase. Then you have Lex Luger, the embodiment of America, who refused to embrace capitalism by accepting the Million Dollar Man’s generous offer. Vince McMahon was secretly sending pro-socialist messages to the masses through his wrestling stories! It’s all there people! MOUNTAIN DEW AND CHEETOS! Anyway, the story here is that Dibiase will pay $10,000 if Tatanka can beat Volkoff. You had to know that something was up because Dibiase isn’t stupid enough to make that bet. They slug it out with emphasis on the slug, and Tatanka wins with the small package at 6:13. This was better than it had any right to be, actually. *3/4 The story here, and there actually is one, is that Luna couldn’t defeat Blayze, so she brought Nakano in to destroy her. That she does, overpowering Blayze at every turn and powerbombing the crap out of her. Alundra gets in several flash pin attempts, but Bull is too powerful. Bull misses a legdrop but kicks out of a rollup. Bull goes up but gets dropkicked to the floor. Flying bodypress! Bull whips her into the post, though. Bull charges and gets backdropped, but Alundra’s not paying attention. Both women get counted out at 5:25. This was just a nibble of what they were capable of. **1/4 Oddly enough, neither guy was Intercontinental Champion at this point. Diesel was the champ here. Shawn takes a quick powder after a Flair Flip. Razor won’t let him in, so he goes to the eyes. Shawn finally stems the tide with a neckbreaker. Razor catches him with a Fallaway Slam. Savage drops about a half dozen inside jokes regarding the trial. Diesel lends a hand from the floor – actually two hands because he strangles Ramon with the middle rope. Razor makes him pay by slingshotting Shawn onto Diesel. We take a break and come back to Razor dominating. He catches Shawn in a bearhug for a bit. Shawn fights out of it and tosses Razor. Diesel takes a cheapshot at him in retaliation, and we take another break since there’s a guy on the outside. Convenient how that happens at regular intervals. Shawn grabs a sleeper, but Razor powers up and drops him for two. Backdrop attempt, but Razor punts Shawn into one of those Hennigesque bumps. Razor wins a slugfest and sends Shawn into the Shawn Flip. Razor rolls through a bodypress but eats a superkick for two. Razor blocks the Razor’s Edge and goes for his own, but Diesel distracts him from the apron. Shawn swings the belt at Razor but misses, of course. Razor tries to Irish Whip him, but Shawn reverses, sending Razor into Diesel’s boot. That leads to a schoolboy rollup at 18:00. After the match, the heels soften Razor up for Summerslam. A few too many consecutive restholds in the middle, but outside of that, it was the usual good work from these two. ***1/4 These two tore it up in a four-minute match at King of the Ring. Hopefully, this is their chance to extend that. They get off to a hot start as Owen charges right into a leg whip. Kid messes up a majestral cradle and winds up in an armbar. Owen stomps on the arm in a move you don’t often see anymore. It looks sick too. Owen actually KIPS UP during that Flair-Steamboat bridge. Shawnkiller enzuigiri gets two. Kid tries a hiptoss but can’t get it, so he does the backflip thing and tries again. DOUBLE KIP UP! That’s exactly how Savage says it. Randy’s freaking out. DOUBLE KIP UP! WHOA! TR-TRIPLE KIP UP! WHOOOOAAAAA! OH MY GOD! WHAT DOES IT MEAN?!!! Kid hits a sliding dropkick that knocks Owen into Anvil. That sets up a springboard crossbody. We take a break, and come back to Owen countering a suplex that drops Kid to the floor. Owen follows with a pescado and rams Kid’s back into the post a few times. Savage: This is Clean and Present Danger! Back in, Owen drops an elbow to Kid’s back. A double-kneedrop misses, and Owen messes up his knees. Kid kicks away at them and goes after the legs. Good stuff! This time, the Owenzuigiri misses, and Kid puts him in a half-crab. Owen is about to submit, so the Anvil hops in and nails Kid for the DQ at 9:57. Owen puts Kid in the Sharpshooter to show him what real pain is like. What a forgotten gem this is. These two had great chemistry – the execution (outside of that early rollup), the psychology and the pacing were all fantastic. **** Kwang is another in a long line of non-Asian Asian martial arts experts. In this case, it’s future Boricua Savio Vega. He even does the green mist and the orange mist. I’m not sure what the orange mist’s effects are, but they sure aren’t winning matches. Taker dominates, still in zombie mode. Kwang breaks up the chokeslam with the green mist, but the Taker spits his own green mist at Kwang. Huh. The chokeslam finishes Kwang at 4:37. The was Purpletaker, so of course, it sucked. * Yoko attacks at the bell, but Razor staggers him with clotheslines. Yoko takes forever to get back in the ring after Ramon knocks him out, so Vince plugs The Action Zone. I kinda want an Action Zone DVD set. Yoko catches Ramon with a bodyslam and a legdrop to take over. Vince diplomatically describes Yokozuna’s molasses offense as “picking over” Ramon. Ramon comes back with a bulldog. Savage’s dropping of NFL tidbits his distracting and annoying. Someone shoves a casket down to ringside right as Ramon knocks Yoko to the floor. Doritos Presents: Convenient or Contrivance? You make the call! Yoko backs up into it and does the feel-around-without-looking-behind-you thing in true Scooby Doo fashion. JENKIES! It’s the Undertaker’s c-c-c-c-casket! Yoko runs off, giving Ramon the countout victory at 9:27. The fans were keyed up for Ramon’s comeback late in the match, but the first seven minutes were deadly boring. * The camera lingers a little too long on one of the ring attendants. Hmm. Jarrett starts with a nice armdrag and gloats. He takes Bulldog down and walks on him. That can’t be a good idea. Bulldog blocks a hiptoss and tosses Jarrett out of the ring. Bulldog no-sells a shoulderblock and steamrolls Jarrett with one of his own. Vince references Sputnik. Way to stay current, Vince. They exchange headlocks and headscissors. Jarrett gets frustrated and loses a shoving match. DBS delivers a hanging vertical suplex, so Jarrett bails. Back in, Jarrett charges into a boot. DBS rams his head into the turnbuckle and goes up. Jarrett counters to a superplex for two. A knee to the gut gets two for Jarrett. Bulldog misses a charge in the corner. Jarrett gets a double ax-handle, and we get some clumsy clipping. Back from commercial, both men collide for a double KO. Bulldog recovers with a small package for two. Jarrett grabs a sleeper. Bulldog powers up and backs Jarrett into the corner. Jarrett bulldogs the Bulldog for two. DBS with a crucifix for two. A Perfectplex gets two more as Shawn buries the move. Bulldog elbows out of a chinlock and atomic drops Jarrett. BAAAAAAACK BODYDROP! Bulldog clotheslines Jarrett a few times. Jarrett says, “To hell with this,” and leaves. Bulldog press slams Jarrett back into the ring, but someone has hold of his ankle from under the ring, and he can’t get back in the ring in time. DBS gets counted out at 11:55. Why that little scamp ring attendant caused Bulldog to get counted out! Turns out that ring attendant was Brian Armstrong, aka Jesse Jammes, aka the Road Dogg, but here known as the Roadie. **3/4 These guys are only entertaining when they’re psychotic. Unfortunately, only Backlund is crazy at this point. Dink distracts Backlund long enough for Doink to attack from behind. Long stalling session to start as Michaels makes masturbation jokes about Jocelyn Elders. Backlund takes Doink down, but Doink is in the ropes. Doink takes Backlund down into a bridge for two. Lots of amateur stuff follows until Backlund grabs a headlock. Backlund comes up with Doink’s face paint all over his back. Doink bridges into a backslide for two. Doink just rips him down with a belly-to-belly (actually more of a Greco-Roman throw). Backlund forces Doink to the ropes and cheapshots him. Backlund starts working Doink’s arm to set up the Chickenwing. Clipped to Backlund with a wakigatame. Doink squirms out, but Backlund kicks at the arm and goes back to the armbar. Nice psychology. Doink slams out of it and small packages him for two. Backlund tries to snap Doink’s arm in half across his knee. This match is just too bizarre. You have Backlund working a very good 1970’s-style psychological match where he softens the man up through an intense series of moves targeting a specific part of the body…but he’s doing it to a clown — and the clown has a little midget clown cheering him on. Doing comes back with a flying crossbody out of nowhere for two. A small package gets two. Backslide gets two. Doink slams him down but misses an elbow on the injured arm. Backlund goes for the chickenwing, but Doink slips out of it. Backlund slips out of a bodyslam and reapplies the CFCW for the submission at 12:11. Most people would probably find this boring, but I have a soft spot for 1970’s-style wrestling. *** I liked this fight better when it involved Madeleine Stowe. I know you don’t get it. Not a bad start when Bulldog is kicking ass, but Tatanka pounds him down and grabs a chinlock. Dibiase looks bored out of his mind. Davey makes a comeback, but Dibiase yanks down the ropes, spilling Davey to the floor. Lex Luger comes out to chase Dibiase, which brings out Bam Bam Bigelow. It turns into a double DQ at 6:41. Lame. It would lead, of course, to a tag team match… which ended in a double-countout. WWF: NEW GENERATION! *1/2 This might be the widest gap of win/loss success in the history of wrestling. It’s probably not, but I can’t think of anything that tops it. The funny thing is Shawn is freaked out when the lights go out, and at the time no one, and I mean NO ONE would have thought he could stand toe-to-toe with the Undertaker in any serious contest. Brawler charges… right into a boot. All Undertaker after that. Tombstone finishes at 3:09. The very definition of a squash match. 1/4* |
The 411: The talent structure in late 1994 and early 1995 was not so much bad but ghettoized. Bret, Owen, and Davey Boy had great matches with one another. Shawn, Kid, Razor and Diesel had great matches with one another. Everyone else (Jarrett) was left to pick up the scraps. What really hurt, and you start to see that on this disc, is guys used in the wrong role. For an example, check out the WrestleMania main event between Shawn and Diesel and then the Good Friends, Better Enemies match where the roles were reversed. Anyway, this set is about as much as you can ask, absent an actual multi-disc set that includes separate episodes. Thumbs up. |
|
| Final Score: 8.0 [ Very Good ] legend |
More Trending Stories
- Hulk Hogan Weighs In On How Wrestling Business Has Changed In Terms Of Making Stars
- Vince McMahon Recalls Donahue Appearance in Mr. McMahon: ‘I Enjoy Confrontation’
- Rob Van Dam Recalls Rip Rogers Bullying Him During a Match
- Eric Bischoff On AEW’s Lack Of Build For Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness
