Roddy Piper vs. Hulk Hogan 02/18/85

Where: New York, NY

Backstory:

The WWF's first Wrestlemania was a month away, and there was an MTV special called The War to Settle The Score. This was used to promote the Wrestlemania main event of Hulk Hogan & Mr. T vs. Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff. Cyndi Lauper was the catalyst of this feud as Piper's bunch continued to harass her and Hogan was the knight in shining armor to fight off this villian. This match is for Hogan's WWF Title.

In Ring Analysis:
Piper out first lead to the ring by his bagpipe band, Mr. Wonderful Paul Orndorff and Cowboy Bob Orton. He holds up the guitar that was used to strike Lauper's boyfriend and is wearing a Hulkamania t-shirt. He has this smirk on his face that makes the average person just think he's so in need of a beating.

Hogan comes out flanked by Cyndi Lauper, her boyfriend Rick Wolff, Captain Lou Albano, and Mr. T. He gets a huge reaction as the crowd was really into Hogan and wanted to see Piper get his. They start slugging it out as soon as Hogan rips his shirt off and the bell rings. Hogan gets a rake of the eyes which I never understood. Hogan is supposed to be this super babyface, but he isn't about cheating a little. I guess it's hard to break heel tendencies. The fans love him anyway so there is no backlash.

Piper makes a blind charge and takes Hogan down and both men slug it out on the mat. Hogan takes over and they stand up as Hogan hits Piper with right hands. Hogan hits a big scoop slam and then another. Hogan didn't have a huge moveset, but he had what was necessary to get through a match and not have the fans turn on him. He then hits a elbow drop and motions to the crowd.

Hogan stands Piper up and starts biting him. Once again, I don't get it. Why go through cheating when it's not even instigated? Hogan Irish whips Piper into the turnbuckle, but it's reversed, and Piper takes Hogan down with a clothesline in the corner. Piper goes for a pinfall but only gets 2. Piper then gives Hogan two running kicks to the head and gets another 2 count. Piper continues kicking to the head which is solid and uncheerable offense.

Piper then swings Hogan to the ropes and applies a sleeper hold. Hogan fights out and get Piper with a version of snake eyes on the turnbuckle. Piper up first and rakes the eyes of Hogan and then rubs his eyes on the top rope. That's cheating that makes sense because the heel is doing it.

Piper then distract the referee as Bob Orton then chokes Hogan over the top rope from the outside. Hogan fights up and pulls Orton up to the apron and rams his injured arm on the ringpost. Good spot since the crowd wants to see the cheater get what they deserve for interfering.

Back on Piper Hogan punches him out as Piper begs off. Hogan again rakes the eyes. Maybe it's not an illegal move, but it sure seems like playing dirty. Hogan then hits a big clothesline on Piper and an atomic drop. Hogan goes for another one, but Piper elbows Hogan into the referee knocking him out. Piper then holds Hogan down while Orndorff goes to the top and hits a flying knee on Hogan. Both men continue to stomp on Hogan, but Cyndi Lauper gets on the apron to argue. Piper and Orndorff both try to corner her, but Mr. T comes to her aid. The heels try to talk Mr. T. into the ring, and T obliges. Orndorff distracts him, and then Piper takes him down too. Both men begin stomping on Mr. T, but Hogan recovers and all four square off which gets a huge pop from the crowd. Before they could come to blows the heels run off and the faces are left in the ring. The police keep both keep both men from getting into the ring as the crowd is eating it up.


No Contest in Approximately 8 minutes. **

This match was a great way to whet the appetite of the fans for Wrestlemania as you could see that Piper and Hogan were about to have a great match before it got ended prematurely. They did a great job of giving people enough, but giving the fans minimal satisfaction on their way to making the fans need to pay for the payoff match.

I honestly don't understand Hogan's dirty tactics in the match, but like I said, at Hogan's level, he's not getting booed. Still it helps me remember why I kind of thought he was a phony as a kid sometimes.

Rey Mysterio vs. Matt Hardy 03/30/03

Where: Seattle, WA

Backstory: Rey Mysterio had just made his debut with the WWE in July of 2002 and had an extremely impressive showing with the heavyweights. I was pleasantly surprised because like a lot of other WCW cruiserweight alumni, I felt he wouldn't be able to have competitive and exciting matches in the WWE environment. After proving himself to be a marketable star he decided to set his sights on the WWE Cruiserweight title. He was matched up against the Cruiserweight champion Matt Hardy in the opening match of Wrestlemania XIX. Matt Hardy is in his "Version 1.0" phase of his career. Version 1.0 means that he's being himself and giving an honest character rather than the pretty boy tag wrestler. It was definitely different from any other character nickname in wrestling, but maybe a little too complex for the average fan. Shannon Moore is in Hardy's corner as "Mattitude Follower #1."

In Ring Analysis:

Hardy enters the ring second and Moore distracts Mysterio to let Hardy attack from behind. Rey is too quick and catches Hardy with a backdrop outside the ring. Mysterio comes out with a corkscrew plancha to the outside on Hardy and Moore. When a big exciting move like this is done right away, it either means that the guy doesn't know how to maximize his high spots and save them for meaningful moments, or the match isn't that long and the guy wants to get in his spots. Mysterio is a longstanding professional (started at 13), so this will be short.

Mysterio throws Hardy back in and gets a 2 count. Hardy whips Mysterio in the corner, but get met with a boot when he charges. Rey then gets a head scissor takedown from the second rope on Hardy. Hardy takes a breather on the apron, but Rey stays on top of him with a springboard and tries to powerbomb him to the outside, but Moore interferes and kick Mysterio in the gut. Hardy then drops Mysterio over the ringside barricade stomach first.

Hardy throws Rey back in and gets a 2 count. Hardy picks Mysterio up and gets a modified Side Effect for another nearfall. Hardy then chokes Mysterio on the ropes. As Hardy argues with the ref, Moore sneaks in and chokes him some more. Hardy goes to pancake Mysterio on the ropes, but Rey dodges. Rey has his Irish whip reversed, and Hardy takes advantage from a kick to the gut on a hurricanrana attempt. Hardy then goes for a Twist of Fate, but Mysterio gets a reverse victory roll for a nearfall on Hardy. Rey then has another Irish whip reversed and Hardy catches Rey with a Side Effect. By the way, as a general rule, the smaller guy always gets his Irish whip reversed because the bigger guy needs to look stronger, plus the smaller guy is probably a better runner and can do some better spots when he's on the move. You'd be shocked at how some of the older wrestlers can barely run anymore, but that's besides the point.

Hardy takes Mysterio down and applies a Surfboard to set up the comeback for Mysterio. Rey fights out, but Hardy pummels on Rey and gets him in the corner. Matt whips Rey into the ropes, and catches another boot as he charges him. Hardy then charges again and Mysterio dodges and Matt runs into the ringpost. Rey is the fastest guy in the company at this point, so it's good to show that it's hard to catch him when he creates distance.

Rey gets a springboard senton splash. He then does another springboard off the second rope into a crossbody block for two. Rey takes Hardy down with another leg scissor takedown. Rey runs the ropes again and gets a spinning DDT for a nearfall. He forces Hardy into a prone position on the second rope to set up the 619. Moore catches Mysterio by the leg which allows Hardy to hit the Twist of Fate. Mysterio kicks out of Hardy's finisher as Hardy acts shocked. I know it's important to sell that your finisher should never be kick out of, but it looks a little silly when it's not a devastating move, and its so overblown. Subtleness counts a lot in wrestling.

Hardy sets Mysterio up on the top rope for a Razor's Edge, but Mysterio reverses into a hurricanrana for another nearfall, but Shannon Moore puts Hardy's foot on the ropes. Rey has had enough and pulls Moore up to the apron, but dodges Matt Hardy who was trying to attack from behind. Hardy is set up for the 619, and this time Rey hits it. Rey goes for for the West Coast Pop, but after a series of maneuvers Hardy rolls Mysterio up and grabs the ropes for a three count.


Winner by Pinfall in 5:39: Matt Hardy **3/4

While it was anticlimactic for the babyface to lose his big title shot, the company was saving the big Rey win for Smackdown in his hometown of San Diego which I will review next week. There was no point in wasting it on a show that has so many other matches that will overshadow it.

Otherwise the action was good, but the match was very short, so you couldn't really build a ton of sympathy for Mysterio.

The Undertaker vs. Diesel 03/31/96

Where: Anaheim, CA

Backstory:
Diesel had lost the WWF Title to Bret Hart at Survivor Series '95 and had been out to regain his edge after becoming too fan friendly. He interfered in the championship match between Hart and the Undertaker at Royal Rumble '96, and Undertaker returned the favor during a rematch between Hart and Diesel at the following PPV. After feuding for the last 3 months, they settled their feud at Wrestlemania 12.

In Ring Analysis:

Diesel charges the Undertaker as he is taking off his entrance gearand the bell rings. Both men slug it out with Diesel getting the advantage. He whips him into the corner, but Taker catches him with a big boot and a clothesline. Taker then misses an elbow drop and Diesel clotheslines him outside the ring. The Undertaker, being a great athlete lands on his feet and pulls Diesel outside with him. He then uses a series of body punches to soften up Big Daddy Cool. Nash regains control, but Undertaker rams his head into the steel ringside steps.

Diesel rolls back in and attacks Undertaker as he follows. He throws the Undertaker into the ropes, but Taker hits him with a kick to the face. Then he tries a Tombstone which is reversed. Undertaker runs the ropes again and this time hits on a cross body block for a two count. Taker then puts Diesel in an arm bar and hits his signature rope walk strike. For a guy the Undertaker's size that a very impressive move. Taker then goes for another running cross body off the ropes, but Diesel ducks and the Undertaker is down. Diesel then tries to set up a move with Taker on the apron, but The Undertaker drops his neck over the top rope to recover. Undertaker continues to dominate by punching on Diesel until he falls out of the ring.

Taker follows him out and rams his back hard into the steel ringpost. He then tries to hit him with a chair but Diesel ducks and the Undertaker hits the ringpost instead. Diesel finally gives himself some breathing room by recovering to throw the Undertaker into the steel guardrail. Diesel then repays the favor and rams the Undertaker's back into the steel ringpost. Diesel then scares off the Undertaker's manager, Paul Bearer to establish that he's a jerk for picking on the weak. Then he goes int the ring and boasts which draws more booes. Undertaker tries to get back in the ring, but Diesel brings him in and hits a big boot to the face. Diesel then taunts the Undertaker and punches him down several times. He then hits a sidewalk slam for a near pinfall.

Diesel continues to steer the course of the match by hitting a snake eyes on the top turnbuckle then continuing to taunt the crowd. Diesel works him over in the corner and whips him into the turnbuckle. He charges but the Undertaker elbows him. Taker begins to fight back but both men simultaneously kick each other in the face. Both men are down and the Undertaker gets up at the count of 8. Diesel also gets up and puts the Undertaker in a bearhug. Taker fights out, but Diesel puts him in a side headlock. Taker reverses with a belly to back suplex and the ref counts them down again. The match is starting to drag a little bit with all of the non action the last two minutes.

Taker back up and hits an elbow drop. He then goes to the top and hits a flying clothesline on Diesel. He goes for a pinfall and only gets a two count. Taker whips Diesel into the ropes but Diesel gains the advantage and hits a Jackknife powerbomb. Diesel being supremely confident just taunts Taker and shows the crowd that he has him defeated. Diesel kicks at the Undertaker to taunt him, but Taker sits up out of nowhere. Diesel is originally taken aback but then pounds on Taker some more and hits another Jackknife. He is very cocky as he leans against the ropes and tells the crowd that he's so good. He then taunts the Undertaker some more before going for the pin. Before he gets down the Undertaker grabs Diesel by the throat. Diesel pounds him off, but the Undertaker grabs him by the throat again. Once again Diesel fights him off but before he can pin him the Undertaker again gets him by the throat. Taker gets back to his feet before Diesel fights him off and gets a belly to back suplex. Diesel does more taunting, but this time the Undertaker sits up and catches him off guard. Taker gets his Irish whipped reversed, but hits Diesel with a flying clothesline Taker seizes advantage and hits a big chokeslam for a nearfall. Undertaker motions for the Tombstone piledriver, and hits it for the clean pinfall.



Winner by pinfall in 16:46: The Undertaker ***

This match's main focus was that bragging and being cocky will be your downfall. Several times, Diesel had the match in hand, but showed off and acted like a jerk instead of staying focused. In the end, that's what finally let the Undertaker take advantage of the match and get the victory. While the match wasn't excellent it was a great big man matchup because the Undertaker is such an athlete he could be the "small" guy in the matchup and create movement ala Shawn Michaels. Diesel left the WWF for WCW two months after this match so it made sense to showcase the Undertaker as the dominant competitor in the end.

Undertaker vs. Diesel Coming Soon

I'll have Diesel vs. The Undertaker from Wrestlemania 12 updated either tonight or tomorrow. Finding out if Barack Obama can make history and become President is far too important to me right now.

On a side note. I did watch the three hour Raw last night. I know wrestling on the show isn't always a priority, but I would think the company would promote the Survivor Series more than skits that had little in the way or angle or character progression.