Since we're talking about benoit

[Guest Brian]

I bring you a review of the Pillman 2000 match from the DVDVR. Well, I've been meaning to watch this match again ever since WrestleMania, and I think I'm going to actually sit down and watch it and remind me how good these guys can be when they have less restraints. With the prime talk on Benoit; he's still basically in the prime of his career up to the neck injury as far as we know. Now, he's been handicapped by the style he works in but has put together enough gems to prove that he still has it. I'll be back later with my thoughts, plus why I think Regal and Benoit will never be like this again more in depth when I watch the damn tape. Well, I've got some gardening to do but enjoy and discuss.

 

@#@#@#@#@# PILLMAN MEMORIAL 2000: CHRIS BENOIT vs. STEVE REGAL

(ANTHONY GANCARSKI)

I went into this match having heard varying opinions about it, Some folks praised it mildly. Some folks put it between *** and ****, which, if you notice the huge gulf in folks' star ratings, means that there was nothing close to a definitive read of the match. But I'm here to tell you why, as of right now, this match should be a lock for US MOTY.

 

Before the bell, when the ref anachronistically checks the workers for foreign objects, you can hear a buzz and a crackle in the crowd. And why shouldn't there have been? The crowd had sat through some fair-to-middlin' indy stuff, a solid old-school match between Tim Horner and Tom Pritchard, and some forgettable stuff involving WCW workers. But Benoit and Regal had every chance to be the crown jewel of the Pillman tribute, and those in attendance knew it.

 

The wrestlers circled each other to start off, teasing a collar and elbow but Benoit fires off a stiff punch to Regal's cheek, They circle again, Regal with his fists balled in the least comic way you can imagine, both workers already deep into wrestling and  a world away from the worlds of gimmick and promos. C&E teased again, but Regal this time gets the shot in.

 

Why is this opening so important, so revolutionary? We all have expectations for old-school  style matches: collar and elbow lockup, rope running, chain wrestling, and then some signature spots, finish, commercial. In deviating from the established format, Benoit and Regal at once establish their debt to the great US matches of the past (Steamboat/Flair; Funk/Brisco; Rogers/O'Connor) but then go on to say that there can be something more. That there can be another chapter in the book without end that is worked professional wrestling.

 

The workers circle each other again. Finally the collar and elbow, a murderous lockup with both men scrambling for leverage until Benoit finally muscles Regal into a corner. As the ref works the break, Benoit keeps pushing and Regal tries his damnedest to get his opponent off of him. Regal fires with some short forearms and Benoit wobbles out of the corner a bit, giving Regal some space. Benoit concedes the break, but only after a parting jab to the cheek.

 

C&E teased, but Benoit grabs and wrings an arm. Regal somersaults to escape, but Benoit maintains the pressure. Regal attempts a side headlock, but Benoit bears down and twists Regal to the canvas, working the arm all the time, driving his knee into the shoulder. Regal kips up, but Benoit keeps a hold of the wrist, working the pressure points in the wrist and the carpals.

 

Regal with an armdrag to escape, but Benoit maintains advantage and works a hammerlock on the facedown, prone Englishman. Regal braces with his free arm to sell the leverage, and eventually regains his feet; Benoit, though, maintains the hammerlock. We are two minutes into this, and we've already established the fundamental psychology of the match: the aggressor Benoit, the putative favorite, attempting to mangle the arm of returning-to-grace Regal. Regal who could've fallen victim to the demons that have befallen so many workers before him, but who saw this match as his one last chance to be a legit, world-class, asskicking worker again.

 

How can you not fall in love with a match so rich in subtext? The last match so deep in meaning was Bret/Benoit, and it's fitting that the best wrestler in the world is also party to two of the most meaningful matches in our time.

 

Benoit still working the hammer. Regal twists out, and we're back to a standing wristlock. Regal twists out of that and scores a single-leg takedown, and wrings the wrist of a grounded Crippler. Benoit back to his feet, but Regal scores a judoesque armdrag, and presses Benoit's shoulders to the mat for a one count. To assist in the next cover, Regal jams his knee into the Canadian's collarbone. Another one count, and Benoit bridges. Regal with a knee thrust to the chest again, and you can hear the Rube Crew in the crowd grousing, and wondering if the Rock could beat up Big Show in real life.

 

Benoit kips up and the workers joust for leverage. Nothing here for the crowd to pop for yet, and you can tell Benoit and Regal don't care one bit. But this is far from the technically-sound work that Malenko has been accused of rendering in a vacuum; these workers know that the crowd will be rewarded if they just stick with the match. We're three minutes in.

 

Benoit takes Regal's knee out, and Regal is forced to the bridge position, as we get some more old-school mirroring. Regal with a kip up -- Benoit maintains his grasp on the Brit's wrists, even as Regal scores a kick to Benoit's thigh. Regal with a monkey flip; Benoit maintains his hold on Regal's wrists. Regal somersaults back, Benoit is up, and we're back to the double wristlock. Benoit lays in some headbutts, and we're back to Nitro episodes when the camera was pulled back and the action was sanitized for your protection. Not this time, though; the headbutts are as straight and lethal as a whiskey/Arsenic cocktail. Regal winces and attempts to maintain his feet; headbutt, kick, another kick. Regal grabs Benoit's foot, but Benoit comes back with an enziguiri that staggers Lord Steven. A dropkick knocks him to the canvas, and Regal goes outside to catch his breath.

 

Benoit attempts a baseball slide, but misses. Regal doesn't miss with a high kick to Benoit's chest, though. The workers scramble up to the apron; Benoit lays some shots in, grabs Regal's head, and drives him face-first into the side of the ring. Regal is sprawled out on his backside on the arena floor. Benoit presses his advantage outside for a bit, then rolls Regal back into the ring. Lateral press for two.

 

Benoit with a back-suplex; another two count follows. Then a couple kicks and punches, with Regal counters with a drop-toe hold into an STF. The finish is teased, but it's too early; Benoit is too strong and he scuttles to the ropes. Regal rewards Benoit with a couple of precise short kicks from a standing position, and then pulls him up for a standing dropkick.

 

Single leg takedown. Regal flips Benoit over like he's one of the Godfather's hos and works him through a couple of surfboard variations. A weakened Benoit breaks. Regal attempts to press his advantage, but Benoit dodges a punch and German suplexes his opponent.

 

Both men splayed out on the mat. We are seven minutes in.

 

Benoit pulls Regal to his feet and fires off some chops; Regal retorts with a headbutt and then four severe kicks to Benoit's torso. Crippler on his ass, and a Regal chant fires up as Regal sucks wind on the ropes.

 

Benoit pulled up by the Brit and they exchange shots, which Benoit gets the better of. Two German suplexes chained together; Regal fires out before the third, and we get some more slobberknockin'. Regal with a double-underhook; Benoit with a block, an escape, and then a release German suplex to end the sequence.

 

Benoit goes up top for the headbutt; Regal intercepts him on the turnbuckle and fires him off with a double-underhook gutwrench superplex. Regal with a lateral press for a quick two, and then some more presses, and some more near-falls. Regal powers Benoit up, attempts to whip him into the corner. Benoit reverses. Regal staggers out of the corner; the wrestlers collide and BUTT heads. Both are down for another referee's count.

 

Benoit rolls over onto Regal for a two count. Then he picks the Brit up, but Regal ducks behind and rolls Benoit up for two. Then an attempted backslide and a release suplex, each with their own near falls. Regal fires off some shots, and attempts a tombstone; Benoit reverses. Top rope headbutt misses, and both men are prone.

 

Both workers up at 8. They work a couple standing switches and then Benoit comes back with a released German suplex. Regal is dazed; Benoit capitalizes and locks on the Crippler Crossface. Regal taps out instantaneously.

 

After the match, Benoit needs a number of attempts to gain his feet. Regal, meanwhile, lies motionless on the mat. Benoit checks on him to make sure he's well, and -- amidst a deafening Regal chant -- Benoit helps Regal to his feet.

 

Final thoughts: people like to proclaim old-school rasslin dead, like PWCrotch.com's Jason Powell and a bunch of others. Many folks reading this very review don't get old-school wrestling, don't understand that for wrestling to have a future beyond that of bullshit spectacle, it has to be rooted in legit-seeming, life-and-death conflict. This match augurs well for the future of the art of wrestling; when the wrestling boom ends, when the spotfest heroes and the garbage practicioners are all crippled up somewhere, when there are 1500 people even at WWF shows, folks like Regal and Benoit make the statement that for there to be a new-school, it must be rooted in the old. For an artform to matter, it can't be rooted in a vacuum.

[Guest Brian]

I re-watched the match today twice. Haven't seen it in nearly a year, but it was still damn good and only thirty minutes. The chain wrestling with them mirroring each other is probably for me the most memorable part of the match. I was totally digging how different this was, and how stiff both men were. Headbutts, Chops, forearms, kicks, punches. Beautifully layed it. Just a super job with the psychology. US MOTY ****1/2

 

Now onto why these two will never be like this again. I'll start with Regal. Regal's conformed and toned down. He's at a point in his career, especially because of how good he is on the mic, that he really doesn't need to conform. He'll never get to work this stiff. You'll never see him bust out arm drags and kip up (LUCHA REGAL~!) or even some of the moves he uses (his kicks, the dropkick, even the pinning attempts b/c he's a heel) or the chain spots or the generally stiff strikes. Why? Because Regal likes to work realism into his matches, and he needs time. Without those two elements, you can't expect Regal to be Regal in four minute RAW matches. And he's not going to conform because he doesn't need to.

 

As for Benoit, he's probably in his prime right before he left the WWF from injury. But you couldn't tell. Benoit is totally getting killed by the parameters of the match he's being forced to work. Part of what makes Benoit the best male worker in the world is he's so versatile. He's pretty much been able to succeed in any style of wrestling he so chooses. But the thing is, he needs the room to work with and experiment with. Definately this man is top when he's given that, but when his moveset (like the tombstone and powerbomb, and now the headbutt) are unusable, things that specifically make him Benoit, and he's working against guys who are working a style and not able to work out of it; yeah he can carry them but it's not the same. The difference is when he gets strokes of beauty like vs. Eddie on RAW and Angle at WM. But those get cut short, and don't hold up as well to the Owen tribute and his match with Regal, and that is still short of some of the stuff he was doing earlier in his career. Maybe part of it is going to be the injuries, but Benoit will rarely get a chance to work like this again.

 

So maybe it's my grievance against the WWF style. It doesn't allow it's workers the options that make them great. And even those who get a shot at working out of the norm still have to conform to the punch-kick, missed clothesline-transition style. Like RVD. It's a sad story.

 

Bottom line is, if you haven't seen this match yet get it. Anyone else?

[Guest y2jailbait]

I have never seen the match, but the repercussions of it have been felt by many in the wrestling world. Regal got his job with this match and so many people who didnt even see the match were told by word of mouth (Which isnt done alot, mostly through tapes) that this match was simply amazing. Im still looking for the match, but i know when i see it unfourtunley it wont live up to my hopes, but thats not even a problem. That is because for about 2 years ive been wanting to see this masterpiece, this awe-aspiring work of art in a wrestling ring, and after reading review after review (And this one in this post is the best one ive read by the way) ive come to think that this match is be-all say-all of technical wrestling, so maybe ill be dissapointed, but my hopes are that it doesnt.

[Guest Brian]

What I would do is watch it first straightforwad, trying to forget everything taht you've heard about it. Rewind the whole tape and watch it as a whole show. Than after enough time has passed, pop the match out and watch it a third time and really watch it if you want to see it for what it is. It really was, the first time I watched it, a markout match because I had really only heard rumors about what these guys had done. Maybe a refresher course of some Finlay/Regal/Benoit stuff might help?

[Guest]

Just curious, where can I get a copy of this match?

[Guest Brian]

Check the HWA site and see if they sell it. Otherwise, you'll have to trade.

[Guest El Satanico]

What is the address of the HWA site? I've never been able to find it.

[Guest Brian]

www.hwaonline.com

[Guest]

Also, RFVideo sells "The Best of Brian Pillman, Marmoreal show" Tape 1 and 2. Not sure which one its on.

 

I've been meaning for a while to get them both.

[Guest]

Shit! After typing the last one, I went to the RF site and now I don't see the tapes..

 

Maybe they had to stop selling them or I saw them on some BS Tape Trader site. Fuck me! Sorry...