The Name on the Marquee: The History of the Intercontinental Championship – Episode 2

-Okay, back to WWE Classics for another history lesson…By the way, hats off to our crack production crew for including a clip of Edge wearing the WCW United States belt in the opening sequence.

-Your host is Jack Korpela.

-Heads-up, the focus of this show is the Pedro Morales-Don Muraco feud, which pretty much means this is a recycled review from Coliseum Video. I could have skipped it entirely, but #1, I’m anal-retentive enough that I would have been bothered by posting a review for Episode One and then Episode Three, and #2, Coliseum Video clips and WWE Classics doesn’t, so maybe we’ll see something here that we didn’t see before.

PEDRO MORALES (Champion) vs. MAGNIFICENT MURACO
-This is the complete form of a match on the Coliseum Intercontinental tape. Lock-ups go nowhere and both men circle the ring. Coliseum wisely excised this and picked it up at a (copy-pasting starts here) backdrop by Morales, and a bodyslam sends Muraco scurrying out of the ring. He reluctantly re-enters and locks up. He backs Morales in the corner and takes advantage with punches and kicks. Muraco starts to go to the top, but Morales is ready and waiting, so Muraco backs off. Side headlock by Muraco and he slobbers all over Morales for good measure. Morales boots free and jams a thumb into the throat. Headlock by Muraco. Morales gets to his feet, but Muraco shoulderblocks and slams him. Muraco goes back to the headlock. Morales starts to break free, but a handful of hair gives the advantage back to Muraco. Muraco keeps the headlock clamped on as the fans are totally losing interest.

-Pedro pulls hair and gouges Muraco’s eyes to break the hold. Muraco recovers quickly but misses a charge and hits the post. Elbows by Morales and he rakes Muraco’s face. Fistfight decisively goes Morales’ way. Irish whip is sold with a Flair flip by Muraco. Backdrop by Morales, and a hard punch sends Muraco to the floor. Morales follows him and sends him into the post a few times before whipping him back into the ring. Slugfest on the apron ends with Muraco accidentally falling on top of the referee. Backbreaker by Morales and he follows with the Boston crab, and Vince McMahon is already declaring a victory for Morales even though #1, the referee is still out, and #2, Muraco is all but on top of the bottom rope. Morales goes to wake up the referee and Muraco takes advantage of the situation to grab something from the tights and punch Morales out with it for the win and the title. 1 for 1. Turned out we didn’t miss much with clipping, but it was already a good match.

TEXAS DEATH MATCH: MAGNIFICENT MURACO (Champion) vs. PEDRO MORALES
-Another complete form of a clipped match from Coliseum Video. Lock-up doesn’t last long and turns to a fistfight right away. Morales gets the upper hand and Muraco backs off. Another lock-up leads to more fists thrown, and again Morales is on the winning end. Muraco backs Morales into the corner and connects with a few high knees. Morales reverses an Irish whip, though, and Muraco goes to the apron and signals for a time-out. Vince McMahon notes that Morales is literally holding his ground. Muraco throws chops that connect with Morales head, then slingshots Morales onto the bottom rope. Kneedrop and another one by Muraco for two. Chops to the neck by Muraco and he tosses Morales to the floor. Out to the floor, Muraco drops Morales crotch-first onto the barricade, and a “Beach bum” chant erupts.

-Morales gets to his feet and Muraco stomps him for good measure, then rams Morales into the post. Chops to the back of the neck by Muraco, then a dropkick off the ropes that sends Morales out to the floor. Muraco goes to the floor and “rams a chair into what we suspect is Pedro Morales.” You know what, Vince? I’ll take that bet.

-Muraco tries to keep punishing him with a shot to the post, but another attempt is countered and Muraco goes into the post. Morales makes it back into the ring, and Muraco revives quickly and backdrops him, which is where Coliseum Video picks up. He stomps Morales and works the leg. He goes for a toehold, but Morales fights out and rakes the eyes. Morales fires elbows and fists into the stomach and Pedros up. More punches and an Irish whip/Flair flip. Muraco retreats to the floor and Morales goes after him and sends him into the barricade. Next stop: ring post. Another shot to the post, Muraco blades (and the camera weirdly seems to be making an effort to catch him doing it). Back in the ring, Morales punches Muraco down, then punches him so hard that Muraco gets tangled in the ropes. Morales bites him to take advantage. Muraco frees himself and gets in a perfectly legal low blow to even things up. Headbutt to the midsection by Muraco. He puts the boots to Morales and gets a two-count. Double shoulderblock and both men are out cold.

-Muraco recovers first and gets something from his tights, but Morales dodges it and headbutts Muraco in the stomach. Muraco drops the object, Morales picks it up and KOs him. Three-count is academic and Pedro gets the belt back. 2 for 2. Pretty good little brawl, and definitely more enjoyable in complete form.

-Can I ask Jack to please stop opening his segments by saying “Welcome back”? This is presented commercial-free; we didn’t go anywhere.

INTERCONTINENTAL TITLE: PEDRO MORALES (champion) vs. MAGNIFICENT MURACO
-Muraco attacks during the intros, but Pedro fires back with intensity. Morales shreds Muraco’s t-shirt and uses it to choke Muraco out and throw him across the ring. Muraco reverses an Irish whip but gets caught during his follow-through and is nearly pinned with a roll-up. They take it to the outside and Morales beats Muraco back into the ring, and when Muraco makes it up to the apron, Pedro rams him face-first into the post. Muraco sells it like a man by doing a Flair flop from the apron onto the unprotected floor. Nice. Back in the ring, Morales just continues to beat the hell out of him. For the second time in the match, however, Vince & Gorilla chastise him for pausing after every move he does and allowing Muraco a breather. Almost on cue, Muraco catches him with a low-blow. Vince wonders if it may have been a deliberate low-blow by Muraco. You know, Vince, I’m no expert here or anything, but, uh, YES. Muraco uses a remaining piece of his t-shirt and chokes Morales with it, but Morales gets him to break the hold by kicking him in the nuts. Psychology involving the testicles is still psychology. Morales misses a charge in the corner and injures his knee on the turnbuckle, and Muraco takes full advantage. Integrity preservation sees Morales kicking out of an attempted figure four and ramming Muraco shoulder-first into the post and punches away. He follows up with a backbreaker but stupidly does it on his bad knee and injures himself. He gets up in time for a Boston crab but can’t apply it properly because of the pressure on the knees involved, and he collapses just as Muraco crawls toward the ropes anyway. Morales tries to take advantage again, whipping Muraco into the ropes and catching him for an attempted slam, but he collapses due to the pain, and Muraco stays on top for the pin and the title. 3 for 3. Working a single body part as a guideline for all the spots in a match: Good. Working a single body part as a guideline for all the spots in a match and then paying it off with the finish: Better.

-Something with fresher content coming in the next review, promise. Here’s Game Show Utopia now.

The 411: Three really good matches here, but what bothers me about the Morales vs. Muraco feud (and really, about the Intercontinental Title series, I suppose) is that it's always presented out of context. I have no idea what their issue was, I have no idea why they hate each other so much, it's just kinda there. I'm reviewing a series that's already in the can so that's not likely to change, but as much as I like having the matches in their complete form, I would have also liked seeing something explaining why I'm watching it.

Final Score:  8.0   [ Very Good ]