Guest Report post Posted April 2, 2002 Here is a review for this tape I bought a few weeks back. Thing is, I don't know any dates for the matches, nor what star ratings they have been assigned by various people, so I was hoping if any of you guys could help me out. You should be able to recognise the matches from my reviews (unless I really am that bad)! I've assigned the matches star ratings based on what I've seen. Most have have been left as a general range though as I'm not that comfortable rating a match I don't know any history to. Any info on the hostroy to these matches would be cool. -------------- Misawa v Taue: Taue goes for an early german suplex but Misawa blocks and armdrags Taue to the mat. Misawa nicely counters a wristlock with an athletic flip. Misawa works the arm with some elbows and hits a dropkick. Misawa goes back to the wristlock but Taue powers out with a scoop slam. Taue hits a dropkick and proceeds to kick away at Misawa. Misawa takes Taue to the mat and applies an Armbar but Taue makes it to the ropes. Taue slaps away at Misawa and the two exchange blows. Taue lifts Misawa up and drops him throat first into the ropes drawing a chorus of boos. Taue throws Misawa out and whips him into the railings twice. Back in the ring and Taue applies an Abdominal Stretch followed with a Half Crab but Misawa rolls through to break the hold. Samoan Drop gets two for Taue. Taue drops Misawa over the ropes again to more boos. Taue sure seems to be a dickish heel here! Misawa floats over a suplex attempt but gets caught with a big boot and DDT for two. Misawa comes back with a Dropkick sending Taue out. Misawa does his fake diving attack (handspring over the top rope to the apron) and hits a jumping elbow from the apron. Taue recovers quickly though and plants Misawa with a Backdrop Suplex and Powerbomb on the outside. Taue rolls Misawa back in and goes for the cover but Misawa gets a foot on the ropes. Taue gets a Powerbomb for 2 ½. Misawa looks pretty dead. Taue goes for a Chokeslam but Misawa counters with an Armdrag. Taue drops Misawa into the ropes once again - OK we get the point! Misawa retaliates angrily with some rapid fire elbows. He goes for the Tiger Driver but gets back body dropped. Taue gets a Neckbreaker Drop for two. Taue goes for a powerbomb but Misawa counters with a Rana for two. Misawa hits a Running Elbow followed with a Diving Spinning Lariat and Frogsplash for two. Misawa applies his trademark rear headlock where he shoves his forearm into opponents face. He gets a couple of near falls out of this. Misawa gets a German Suplex for two. Goes for Tiger Suplex but Taue wisely grabs the ropes. Scoop Slam for Misawa but his top rope diving elbow is blocked and Taue hits a Chokeslam. Another Chokeslam gets 2 ¾ for Taue. Normal suplex and a gay looking Missile Dropkick gets 2 ½. Misawa regains the initiative with an Enzigiri and it’s all Misawa from here on. German Suplex gets 2 9/10. Tiger Driver gets 2 9/10. A second Tiger Driver finishes it off (22:33). Good match! ***3/4 to ****1/4 Misawa v Hansen: Hansen attacks before the bell sounds and they brawl in and out of the ring, with Hansen seemingly coming off worse. Back in the ring, the bell sounds and Hansen decks Misawa with a couple of uppercuts and chokes him on the ropes drawing boos. Crossbody gets two for Misawa. Scoop Slam and modified Camel Clutch for Misawa. An Enzigiri sends Hansen out. Back in and Hansen gets a weird Bulldog/Facebuster before going for a powerbomb - Misawa counters with a back body drop. Misawa kicks Hansen out, but Hansen drags Misawa with him and works the right arm on the outside. Hansen grabs a monitor for some guy and smashes it into Misawa’s arm. Back in the ring Hansen continues to work the arm. Hansen applies a Fujiwara Armbar but Misawa makes it to the ropes. Hansen continues to work on the arm occasionally going for covers. A sloppy looking Samoan Drop gets a one count. Hansen kicks away at the arm and applies an Armbar while leaning out of the ring. Cool spot! A DDT gets two. Hansen looks a for a powerbomb but Misawa keeps hold of the ropes. Hansen gets a Reverse Elbow but Misawa responds with elbows of his own and a spinning heel kick. Hansen blocks Misawa’s diving spinning lariat but misses an elbow drop . Misawa goes up but eats elbow on the way down and Hansen gets a Powerbomb for two. Hansen goes for the western lariat but Misawa kicks him out of the ring. Misawa misses a diving elbow from the apron. Hansen tries to suplex Misawa on the concrete but Misawa blocks and delivers the suplex himself. Back in the ring Misawa uses another suplex and applies his rear headlock. They seem to mess up an irish whip spot so Misawa just twats him with an elbow and goes back to the headlock. Top rope elbow gets two for Misawa (after a slight delay selling the arm). Hansen goes on the attack and calls for the western lariat but Misawa ducks and applies a Sleeper. Hansen fights out with a Backdrop Suplex and there’s a double KO situation. Crowd seems to be behind Hansen. Misawa recovers first and gets a top rope Crossbody for a nearfall. Hansen goes a for a big boot but Misawa blocks and delivers a thunderous Rolling Elbow which knocks Hansen out. The pinfall is elementary (26:15). Solid match ***1/4 to ***3/4 Misawa v Kawada: Huge heat for this match! Tentative start with both guys basically just testing each other out. Kawada tries an early armdrag but Misawa ends in the ropes so it goes nowhere. Kawada shakes off an elbow and viciously kicks Misawa in the chest. Misawa goes down in pain. Kawada gets a shoulder barge but Misawa immediately responds with a Dropkick sending Kawada to the outside. Misawa lays into Kawada on the apron and sends him crashing back first into the railings. Back in, Kawada gets a Dropkick and a couple of Arm Breakers on the right arm. He applies a short arm scissors on Misawa’s hurt arm. Soon he manoeuvres Misawa into a standard Armbar. Misawa rolls to the ropes but soon Kawada has him in a Fujiwara Armbar. Kawada kicks away at Misawa in the corner but Misawa responds with some rapid fire kicks of his own including a Dropkick. Misawa charges into a Powerslam for two. Running clothesline also gets two for Kawada. Kawada goes for his Powerbomb but has to float over an attempted back body drop from Misawa before clubbing him upside the head with a right hand. Kawada gets a Suplex and kneedrop for two. Kawada goes for a powerbomb but Misawa blocks. Ooh, face off! They exchange blows with Misawa coming out on top with a spinning heel kick. Misawa goes up top so Kawada just walks to the opposite corner! OK. They trade elbows with Kawada getting decked. Frogsplash gets two, so does a second. Misawa applies a rear headlock but Kawada reaches the ropes. Misawa gets a Tiger Driver for two. He goes for a Tiger Suplex but Kawada grabs hold of the ropes. Kawada with a dropkick and Gamengiri for two. Stretch Plum! Misawa fights to his feet and tumbles out of the ring taking Kawada with him. Kawada dropkicks Misawa off the apron to the railing. Back and Kawada gets a Powerbomb for a near fall. German Suplex also gets two. Another Powerbomb gets two. Misawa comes back with a Rolling Elbow and Tiger Suplex for near fall. Rolling Elbow gets 2 ¾. Kawada pulls a Dangerous Backdrop out of nowhere, double KO. Misawa recovers first and hits and elbow but Kawada retaliates with a Gamengiri. Again Misawa recovers first and hits a disturbing Release German Suplex. Not satisfied, he scrapes Kawada up and delivers a second. When this only gets two he picks him up again for a third! Kawada is taking an ass beating here folks. A Tiger Suplex puts Kawada out of his misery at (25:56). Excellent match, **** to ****1/2. Misawa v William’s William’s is in blue trunks here. Bit of a machismo start as they exchange icy stares and blows. William’s takes the initiative with a drop toe hold and side headlock. Huge Shoulder Barge from William’s sends Misawa flying backwards bumping hard on his shoulders. Reminds me of how Dynamite Kid would do ridiculously big bumps off a seemingly innocuous move. Snapmare and elbowdrop get two for William’s. Another shoulder barge flattens Misawa. They exchange blows with William’s getting the better of it. William’s with a Chinlock, albeit a vicious looking one. Misawa reaches the ropes. Misawa floats over a suplex attempt and dropkicks William’s out of the ring and follows up with a Suicide Headbutt right over the top rope! Not sure I’ve seen that one before?! Back in, Misawa gets his spinning diving lariat for a one count. William’s runs Misawa to the corner and unleashes the chops. Splash in the opposite corner followed by a DDT gets two. William’s with a Suplex but Misawa has his foot in the ropes. They exchange manly slaps before Misawa floors William’s with an elbow strike. William’s retaliates with stomps drawing boos from the crowd. William’s charges into an elbow and a Gutwrench Suplex gets two for Misawa. Misawa applies his forearm headlock submission hold but William’s makes the ropes. William’s lifts Misawa up and throws him into the turnbuckle, much to the chagrin of the crowd. Running fireman’s carry into the corner followed with a shoulder charge and dropkick (!). William’s goes for another fireman’s carry but Misawa falls on top of him getting a two count. Misawa charges into a Powerslam which gets two for William’s. William’s goes for a backdrop driver but Misawa wisely grabs the ropes. William’s Drop-kicks Misawa out of the ring and follows this up with a Suicide Elbow through the ropes!! Go Steve! Top rope Shoulder Tackle gets two. Doctorbomb gets 2 ½. William’s goes for the Backdrop Driver again but Misawa counters mid air and falls on top for a two count. Misawa fires off a Gamengiri (!) which is no sold by William’s. Misawa goes to the elbows instead which prove more successful. Frog Splash gets two. William’s comes back with a running lariat for 2 ½. Backdrop Driver gets 2 ½!! Misawa ducks a running lariat and hits an elbow followed with the Tiger Driver for 2 99/100. Phew, that was close! Misawa goes for another tiger driver, William’s back body drops him and Powerslams him for 2 ½. Back up and Misawa decks William’s with two Rolling Elbows. William’s gets back up only to be destroyed with a Running Elbow. Man that looked vicious. The Tiger Driver finishes at (23:03). Good match! **** to ****1/4 Misawa v Hansen: Hansen wrenches the arm to start but Misawa fires back with elbows. Hansen lifts Misawa up on top but gets elbowed off the 2nd rope and tumbles out of the ring. Back in, Hansen takes control with various chops and kicks. Facebuster into Chinlock. On his feet, Misawa is able to elbow Hansen down and apply an Eastern Stretch. Hansen makes it to the ropes and then uses a single leg takedown and leg lock. Misawa manages to grab an Armbar though so it is Hansen who is suing for peace. Misawa drops some knees onto the left arm and wrenches at it. Fujiwara armbar applied. This is less than thrilling stuff Misawa kicks away in the corner and applies another Armbar but Hansen is in the ropes. Hansen bails for a breather. Back in and Hansen gets a slow motion Famasser for two. He throws Misawa out and hits a diving Shoulder Block from the apron! Go Stan! Back in and Hansen applies a Camel Clutch forcing Misawa to crawl to the ropes. Nice spinning heel kick by Misawa but Hansen replies with a shoulder tackle for two. Misawa suddenly goes all Tiger Mask II with the kicks and an elbow gets a near fall. Spinning diving lariat gets two. Scoop slam and Frog Splash gets another near fall. Misawa goes up top again but misses a missile dropkick and Hansen takes advantage with a half crab. They mess a spot up so Misawa just Dropkicks Hansen out the ring and goes for a slingshot crossbody to the outside but he obviously missed because he ends up getting Powerbombed on the concrete. Hansen tosses him back in the ring and goes for the cover, but only gets two. Hansen lands a second rope splash for a near fall. Hansen charges Misawa in the corner but Misawa jumps up and gets a Sunset Flip for the controversial three count in (22:10). It looked like Hansen kicked out but the ref counted three. The crowd boo. Solid, if slightly boring match with a bad finish. *** Misawa v William’s: William’s is in red trunks here. William’s reverses an early front headlock with a drop toe hold. He slaps Misawa round the face but gets slapped back harder and elbowed for good measure. William’s nods out of respect. Misawa with the Diving Spinning Lariat and Sleeper hold. William’s fights out with an armdrag but Misawa is quick to re-apply the hold with body scissors. William’s has to get to the ropes to break the hold. Dropkick and Elbow Drop s both get near falls for William’s. William’s applies a modified surfboard but Misawa struggles to his feet and counters with some elbows and a rolling double footed mule kick. Powerslam gets two for William’s. William’s looks for a tiger suplex (?) but Misawa grabs the ropes. Drop-kick from Misawa and a baseball slide sends William’s outside. Misawa follows up with a suicide elbow dive through the ropes.. Back in the ring, Misawa nails William’s from the top rope with an elbow smash. This gets a two count. Misawa looks for a tiger driver, gets back body dropped and then charges into a Spinebuster for a near fall. Cool Belly to Belly Suplex/Slam gets two for William’s. William’s throws Misawa out and rams him into the ringpost twice. Back in he goes for a cover but only gets two. William’s applies a modified half crab but Misawa is able to reach the ropes. William’s goes for his turnbuckle powerslams but drops Misawa on the second one, so has to settle for a powerslam off an Irish-Whip instead. It gets two. Full Crab applied but again Misawa makes the ropes. William’s tries to guerrilla slam Misawa into the turnbuckle, but Misawa breaks his fall and responds with an elbow strike. William’s is first to recover however and hits a Stinger splash in the corner. William’s goes for a backdrop driver but Misawa grabs the ropes and rolls out. William’s though surprises him (and me!) with a suicide diving elbow! William’s goes up top and delivers a flying shoulder tackle followed with a Doctorbomb for 2 ½. He goes for the backdrop driver again but Misawa counters with a side russian legsweep. William’s goes for the backdrop driver yet again but this time Misawa counters with an armdrag and applies his trademark headlock. Two elbow strikes floor William’s and get 2 ½. A Tiger Driver gets 2 ½. A Frogsplash gets another near fall. A Senton Splash followed with a Frogsplash gets yet another near fall. William’s ducks an elbow and finally crucifies Misawa with the Backdrop Driver! Misawa does the coolest thing by slowly sitting up and collapsing out of the ring. Misawa looks dead on the outside and loads of people are checking on him. William’s goes out after him and throws him back in but Misawa kicks out at 2 ½. William’s looks gutted. Misawa tries to fight back but he’s basically fucked and it isn’t long before William’s hits a second Backdrop Driver. And it’s a gross one, folding Misawa in two. The pinfall is elementary (27:37). Awesome match, my favourite on the tape. I loved the way that Misawa could never recover from the first devastating Backdrop Driver. ****1/2 to ****3/4 ------------- Any advice on how to improve my reviweing style would be welcome. Thanks! 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Guest HopeSpot Report post Posted April 2, 2002 Those were some of the most elementary match reviews I've ever read. Don't just state move after move after move and throw stars at it, actually talk about what made the match great (psychology, back story, ect.) and what you liked/disliked about it. Scott Keith can get away with dumbass reviews like that because 95% of his readers are WWF fans who don't know wrestling from shit. For an example of a writing style that's humorous, infomative, and doesn't bore the fuck out of you read some of Dean Ramussen's work at DVDVR. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Jubuki Report post Posted April 2, 2002 I know for sure the Misawa/Doc where Doc wins is the 7/28/94 match. I also know for sure the Misawa/Kawada is the 7/29/93 match. The others I'm less sure of, but the times can be giveaways. And.....the Misawa/Taue is the 2/28/93...the first Misawa/Doc is 9/3/93...the Hansen with the sunset flip finish is 10/23/93...and the other Hansen match is probably 5/21/93. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest RavishingRickRudo Report post Posted April 2, 2002 I gotta agree with hopespot on this one, I find that when reviewing a match, it is better to focus on the *how* and the *why* rather than the *who*, *what*, and *where*. Talk about the story of the match, how it effects you, point out things that you find really good and talk about why they are good. Talk about the Bad. I dont mind play by play, but think of how someone like Roger Ebert reviews films. He doesnt have to give the ending to tell you whether or not the flick was good. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
