Card

World Heavyweight Title

Ric Flair (C) vs Ricky Steamboat

World Tag Team Title

Rock N Roll Express (C) vs Road Warriors

Bob Backlund vs Jake Roberts

US Title

Lex Luger (C) vs Magnum TA

Barry Windham vs Paul Orndorff

Greg Valentine vs Junkyard Dog

3 Way Dance

Kofi Kingston vs Chris Candido vs Jerry Lynn

On second thought, I change my mind, I like HHH/Dusty a little more than Austin/Race. The roles for HHH/Dusty are more easily and clearly defined and I kind of think the match will be a little better, too.

i think Dibiase was amazing

Some matches I've seen with Kerry in Japan had excellent move-countermove action.

i can think of a pretty good pick for Burdz

I put my comments in underline format:

My plan was to get APA to go vs Road Warriors. Thought it would be such a great matchup

Dylan is skipped; darO is up.

The main event needs no analysis. It will be great. That said, of the main events posted on complete cards, I think I may list them HHH/Rhodes > Flair/Steamboat > Austin/Race. Those are very small margins, though, and I think I'm mostly intrigued by HHH/Rhodes just because we haven't seen it.

I kind of agree that the RnR Express is maybe not the ideal opponent for the Road Warriors, mostly because of the sheer size difference (and is it then really believable for the Express to go over? Much more on this when we get to the card with Hogan main eventing ...). But I'll hold out high hopes for this and I would certainly like to see it.

Backlund was always very meh for me, so I'm not hugely enthusiastic for the match with Jake, even though I love Jake. I do think heel Jake vs. face Backlund could be a fun feud.

I LOVE the Luger/Magnum pairing, even though I'm meh on Luger there's no denying that at his peak (very early 90s) he was a big star, and we all regularly comment on how big Magnum could have been without the accident, so, yeah, love it.

Windham/Orndorff should be very solid ... not super exciting but a nice 15-minute bout. JYD/Valentine is intriguing, like the matchup.

Don't care for the opener. Kingston and Candido, bleh.

And APA/Road Warriors would be awesome.

Super curious as to what you do with your champions. I have the ideas I would do, but of course not sure those are the best options.

I'd definitely strap the Road Warriors.

Other two, there's multiple things I think can be done well.

I'd probably go

My card (in order):

Rey Mysterio, Jr. v. El Santo

After a win in a big match over unnamed and now-buried lucha who has since left the company, Rey is asked by an in-ring interviewer if he is the best Mexican wrestler of all time. Before he can utter a word in response, El Santo comes out and has a staredown with Rey. The two exchange a few intense words that the microphone does not pick up before Santo turns around and leaves the ring. The announcers fill in the blanks about who El Santo is and what a megastar he is south of the border. (El Santo does not speak English, so this is as much as I can do to build the match.)

I put this match on my card first because it’s an up-tempo high-flying action match that should get the crowd going, especially since it features a worker in Rey Mysterio Jr. who is massively over. Santo doesn’t work as a rudo/heel but sort of gets treated as one by the crowd who is heavily pro-Mysterio. I put Rey over in the match.

Tag Titles: The Midnight Express (c) w/ (soon-to-be-drafted manager) v. The British Bulldogs

Again, this is Lane and Eaton and not some other edition of the Midnight Express. The build-up is simply a long-running quest for the tag team championships by the Bulldogs. They’ve taken out every other tag team in the company during a considerable winning streak, and while soon-to-be-drafted manager’s politicking has managed to keep the Bulldogs from getting a title shot, the Bulldogs have finally broken through to get their shot.

My initial inclination is toward having the Express retain dirty here after soon-to-be-drafted manager interference.

No Disqualification: Killer Kowalski v. Sid

As a storyline build: after Sid’s leg broke on a botch in a match with another company, Sid debuted in my company after extensive rehabilitation. In his first match back Killer Kowalski promptly and blatantly dives at the back of Sid’s leg and reinjures him, causing the referee to stop the match. Against doctor’s orders, a furious Sid insisted on a rematch with Kowalski ASAP. He doesn’t have clearance, but he is allowed to compete in this unsanctioned match.

So as to cover up for Sid’s total lack of wrestling ability, I’m making this a no DQ affair. Weapons are not only welcome…they’re allowed. YEEEEEEAAAAAHHHH. Foreign objects will be intertwined with the match, and Sid will get busted open (Kowalski might also). Kowalski will go right back at the leg in this match and weaken it. Plan right now would be for Sid to appear to be headed for the win, go for the powerbomb, and have his leg buckle and give out, enabling Kowalski to cover him for the win. Keeps Sid strong for fighting through the injury until his body simply gave out on him, gets additional good heat for Kowalski as a completely merciless and cruel monster heel. Win-win.

Antonio Inoki v. Owen Hart

Inoki has just joined the company, hailed as a master wrestler from Japan, and his first few squash matches have been high-impact and impressive. Owen has been on a roll of his own and is disrespectful and dismissive of the new Japanese superstar. This one isn’t inked as a grudge match with any serious underlying angle; it’s just a test of both rising superstars.

Owen gives Inoki a fair fight and gets to display a number of impressive offensive maneuvers (I really like working in spots like this), probably controlling the match’s offense by a 2:1 margin, but babyface Inoki certainly goes over here in the end. These two work well together, as they have similar offensive arsenals. Both sport a nice variety of suplexes, both execute nice enziguris, both do mat submission wrestling well.

Intercontinental Title: Chris Benoit (c) v. Antonio Cesaro

This is again not a personal grudge match, just an awesome up-and-comer trying to win the IC title.

I’m definitely having Cesaro do the UFO during the match. This will be a back and forth match that helps legitimize Cesaro, as Benoit will have several near-falls before finally locking in the Crippler Crossface. Cesaro will fight and refuse to submit to the crossface for nearly a full minute before finally tapping out. Benoit retains the title but the announcers praise the resiliency of Cesaro in the aftermath.

Gorgeous George v. Jimmy Snuka

The build to this is that George is disgusted with the savage-like Snuka to begin with, and it gets personal when Snuka interrupts George’s usual pre-match routine of perfuming the ring by attacking him. This was in a scheduled one-on-one match, but once he was attacked before the bell Gorgeous George simply rolled out and disgustedly waved his hands at Snuka and walked out of the arena to significant heat. George has talked up a storm in the run-up to the match, about how wrestling is a refined sport and how he shouldn’t even have to share a profession with a lowlife like Snuka. He assures everyone that while he won’t like getting his hands dirty, he’ll deal with it since nobody else is stepping up and taking out the trash.

I’ll take a page from Vince McMahon’s booking style here and have the heel go over 100% clean and then have Snuka cheap shot and attack him afterward for no good reason. (The good reason, though, is that I can’t have my heel burying Snuka in the match build-up, then winning clean, and having Snuka get no come-uppance at all. It also gets the crowd into a better mood as we head into our main event.)

World Title: Shawn Michaels (c) v. Bruno Sammartino

Unlike my other title matches, this one is very personal. Bruno Sammartino is disgusted with Shawn Michaels’ degenerate antics. He doesn’t approve of the obscenity, he doesn’t approve of Michaels’ lifestyle, and he thinks that it’s truly disgraceful for a disrespectful young punk like HBK to be the company’s world champion. Those who keep up with wrestling over the internet become aware that this build-up is all a shoot, and that Bruno and Shawn legitimately dislike each other, as Bruno really doesn’t like the obscene show that wrestling is becoming with someone like Shawn as its headliner.

Bruno enters to the pop of the night. He works Shawn Michaels’ back – a back that announcers make a point of mentioning that he has an injury history with – and while Michaels manages to valiantly fight out of Bruno’s bear hug, Sammartino is subsequently able to get HBK up on his shoulder in a backbreaker submission hold that finally forces an agonizing Michaels to tap out and give up the world title. Bruno celebrates the title win in a great feel-good moment at his wrestling home, Madison Square Garden, to end the show.

Don't have time to comment in-depth right now, but wanted to say the Midnight Express/British Bulldogs match might be my favorite on anyone's card. That match will kick some serious ass.

LKJ, you did it again. (Look at the Cesaro UFO link)

Guh. WTF is wrong with me today. Thanks for the heads up, I was still in the edit window.

Love the announce crew obviously. That's certainly a leg up on everyone. Intangibles grade: A+

I don't care about watching the first match at all, but it's alright to have on there I guess: Opener grade: C

Only way I'll care that much about Bret v. DiBiase is if you have an awesome angle that makes me want to see the payoff. What you've indicated so far will have me shrugging and going "okay, well hopefully it's good." Match #2 grade: B-

Christian v. Daniels could be awesome. Hard to imagine it won't at least be good. Match #3 grade: B+

Tag title match should be really good. Attitude-era gimmick matches probably play better with others than they do with me, but I still enjoy. Match #4 grade: B+

Booker T v. Blanchard falls in with Hitman v. DiBiase. Not that I think it will suck or anything, but you have to give me a good build-up angle or I will probably pay less attention when it's on. Match #5 grade: B-

Harley Race v. Steve Austin: should be great. I assume that just about anything you give these guys to work with for a build will be fine and they'll knock it out of the park. Main event grade: A

So yeah there's a bit of disinterest from me on certain matches, and except maybe with Slaughter-Muta those aren't matches that will really sell the card either (but it's definitely good that the one I'm giving the lowest personal interest grade to does have more business value than a number of matches). However, the high spots will be really high and I basically wouldn't want to miss any of the show since if nothing else Monsoon and Heenan will be calling the action the whole time. Except Heenan will apparently be ringside with Tully, so that hurts that match for me too.

Overall a good card, I'll see where it stacks up with others for me when I see everyone's finished product.

Obviously this will be a really fun opener. No real bust potential. Doesn't provide a ton of drawing power and is more of a smark/lucha fan special, but I'll sure enjoy it. Grade: B+

I'm too unfamiliar with Steen to grade this one. I do love Terry Funk though.

I'd really enjoy this one, I'm sure. Might even like it better than the opener, though that's close. Grade: B+

I dunno, I kind of wish you were going with heelbirds here against someone else. The feud isn't a bad one but this match kind of has me shrugging, especially given the context that Rhodes Scholars were just a temporary makeshift team. Grade: C+

I like it. I don't love it, but I like it. Grade: B

I like this one quite a bit, and it should really help sell your card. Grade: A-

I can only get so psyched up to watch Triple H for 60 minutes, but I do really like your main event anyway. I fully expect a good feud sold well by both guys and a good match to blow off the feud. Grade: A-

Ill post my detailed card and analysis of others tomorrow night

I take ricochet to go with pac

Obviously not just their own individual skill but their chemistry makes this another surefire classic. Grade: A

I dunno. I like the Road Warriors a decent bit but I don't quite revere them on the level that others do. And I do think that it's a potentially awkward matchup. Still, I'd be tuning in. Grade: B-

I like this match. Good potential, both are great at psychology and Backlund should be able to carry the action well enough (I'm assuming young face Backlund vs. heel Jake) that we'd see a good story and good match with good crowd heat. Grade: B+

I like this a lot. I think it's a good mesh with Luger, and super babyface Magnum clashing with despicable arrogant heel Luger sounds interesting to me. Grade: A-

Meh I don't know. I like Windham and I generally liked Orndorff, but this one just isn't going together in my mind as well as Luger-Magnum. I'd tune in but I wouldn't look forward to it. Grade: B-

I don't know if I have a ton of personal interest, but the feud worked reasonably well in the past...and where JYD mostly fails in the ring, he's still massively popular and that can carry a match a long way. Grade: B-

LOL Kofi. I'm genuinely taking a piss break, making a sandwich, or doing whatever else I do during matches on current PPVs that I have no interest in. Grade: F- (slightly fairer grade: C-)

The card as a whole does not grab me, and I might even tune in late (safely assuming that since I haven't missed Flair-Steamboat yet I won't have missed anything spectacular). That said, it's not bad. It's just that I'm only going to care about three matches max going into it. Two on the surface, and then I assume that Jake's promos alone will make me want to see the blowoff for Roberts-Backlund.

Obviously already tipped my hand in my writeup, but I'm taking Jim Cornette.

I do think that him managing the Midnight Express is pretty vital to optimizing the potential of that angle and match. Similar lawyer-like tactics to his antics in the Luger v. undrafted greatest big man of all time feud in keeping the Bulldogs away, and then really maximizing heat by helping screw the Bulldogs out of the tag titles in this match. I would book the Bulldogs to get the titles eventually, but I want to build it further and give it to them on the next big show after they have to go through more hell to earn another shot.

Of the three that have posted finalized cards that I've just reviewed, I like DWetzel's the best by a thin margin. I like it as the one that I'd personally want to watch the most overall, and by virtue of having peak Austin in the main event it's also going to do the best business of the three.

I'll take yankeys' card over Judy's for personal overall entertainment value. I can't really tell whether he outdraws Judy or not though. That's close.

This is such a dream match.