Hot ass latino ring girls, Memphis loving Japanese heels and Benoitcito it can't be REAL IN MEMPHIS - ISSUE 3....................Can it?

This issue of RIM originally had a piece written by Dave Maynard which was plagiarized from the Air Raid Crash site.
It was subsequently removed as soon as we found out and apologise where made.

Fuck!!! - Turns out that another review in this issue "Super J Cup 2000" by KDI was also ripped off from another site; Justin Baisden's, Rolling Germans. Many apologies to Justin and a big fuck you to Dave Maynard and KDI the lazy cunts.

Black Tiger, Katsushi Takamura & Masada Vs Ultimo Guerrero, Black "King of the Tope" Warrior & Negro Casas by Schumacher

This starts of with all six men in the ring at once with the Japanese contingent showing some early dominance and also showing some unexpected cockiness. The match gets going quite quickly as Black Warrior hits IMO the best tope in the business to Black Tiger and the Japanese duo are put away early by Casas and Guerrero for the first fall. Guerrero's reverse suplex of the top on Takamura for the imminent pin fall, was brutal yet beautiful looking in this bizarrely short fall.
There are however positives to these short falls, as we don't have to wait all that long to see the hot ass Latino ring girls. (NWA-TNA take note: instead of the skanks you have dancing in the cages between matches, these are the kind of women men want to see.)
Despite the early blow Black Tiger isn't phased as he dances around the ring with an arrogant strut while his partner Masada receives an affectionate hug from their manager to perk him up…1…2...3…awwwww!
The Japanese have really turned it up character wise compared to their usual stoic work and I have my slight suspicions that old Memphis tapes may have been the requisite viewing on the flight over.
Some slight communication problems in the next fall led to some spots being slowed down and Takamura broke out such a poor looking tope that you could audibly hear the crowd groan. However there where some nice touches, such as Tiger hitting the DVD on Casas and a doctor coming into check on him after the inevitable pinfall and yes you may have guessed - more hot ring girls… Ai Ai Ai!
Once again the rudo chieftain, Black Tiger tries to rally his troops for the third fall and this was much better. Highlights included some good near falls for Black Tiger on Ultimo Guerrero with a sweet face plant out of a powerbomb, ala - Billy Kidman and a nice spin kick on Casas which look even more impressive in the replays. The finish came with Casas hitting a drop kick to the knee and then using the La Majistral on Tiger for the win.
All in all a fairly decent match with some good spots and some that where fairly goofy, such as a no selling clothesline section by Takamura and Ultimo which thankfully was quickly abandoned. Masada for me was the more impressive of the two Japanese and looked the more comfortable in this environment and in expressing his persona. Worth watching!

Markus, Violencia & Zumbido Vs Olimpico, Mr Niebla & Safari

We are joined right at the start of the first caida, so no ring introductions or funky Mexican entrance music, but thankfully we get some nice chain wrestling between Niebla and Zumbido. The heels dominate this portion of the match and they take the early first fall with a Zumbido top rope 'rana and then a Violencia frog splash on Mr Niebla. Zumbido gets the passionate Mexican fans against him with some chunky rudo dancing and posing as we are shown a fan in the crowd dressed up as an ape.Weird!
You will come to find out if you read my reviews regularly that I am as much a fan of the wrestling attire and pageantry in Mexico, almost as much as the matches and I just have to say that Olimpico's sports some dapper tights. However the rudo team is not without their own idiosyncrasies, as Violencia and Zumbido are all about the phunk and Markus is the odd man out in that he is your ageing fat rudo. He is the total antithesis of his partners and it works so well.
In this 2nd fall a nice cradle roll up from a DDT position on Zumbido by Johnny "Hot Pants" gets the duke as Violencia suffers what looked like a legit wrist injury catching Niebla on a backwards plancha.
In the third fall, it's all about the Tenzan look a like Zumbido as he hits a superb tope on Olympio and carries the match by the scruff of the neck. Markus takes a superb "Memphis Heel" style backdrop and is rolled up to give the technico's the win in this fine little encounter. A little short but a great TV match in which Zumbido came of really well in my eyes.

Wataru Inoue, Katsuyoshi Shibita & Giant Singh Vs Dr Wagner Jr, Shocker & Giant Silva

Once again the Japanese wrestlers are showing incredible charisma, even on their entrance to the ring they are jaw jacking with fans and pissing the proud Mexican people off, you've got to love their spirited enthusiasm.
Shocker is Mexico's Wahoo McDaniel with techno music in his entrance here, sporting a native American style costume complete with huge head dress and of course accompanied by two similarly attired babes - the lucky git.
Unfortunately before this match begins, I know that it's not all it could be as the two Giants' are involved. Imagine just a plain tag match without those two, that would sure be something. It's a pity that they are so awful as Singh is one impressive looking dude, huge, chiselled and odd looking he could draw some money as a monster heel.
Inoue and Shocker start the match and straight away the terrible trio signal their intentions by tripping up Shocker, Inoue is heeling it up with some weird stomp dance and the crowd is hot. Shibita comes in and rakes Shockers eyes along the ropes. My Memphis tape on the plane theory is starting to look more and more believable as Shocker takes a good old face in peril beating at the hands of Eaton and Condry, sorry Shibita and Inoue. Finally the Shock makes the tag and in comes the Doc and he is the "house of fire" hitting an awesome dragon screw on Shibita, that leads us up to the eventual nail in the coffin.
And that "nail" my friends is the big man brawl, and I can't understand for the life of me how two huge monstrous guys can throw such puny, weak looking strikes. Silva can barely run the ropes here and he takes the most pansy ass chokeslam I have ever seen, only coming of the ground about an inch. Somewhere in the middle of this Wagner hits a Michinoku Driver for the win and my faith in the Mexican fans is somewhat diminished when I hear the chants of "Silva, Silva".
I feel sorry for Shibita, Inoue, Wagner and Shocker here, it can't be fun watching all your hard work getting flushed down the toilet.
Anyway trying to ignore the negatives, all was good before the big guys came in and the experience of Inoue and Shibita compared to the previous NJPW juniors really shone through here, as they looked far more at home in this different environment than the others.

La Parka Vs El Hijo Del Santo

We are joined in progress here as some righteous brawling on the outside is going on, Santo hits Parka with a DDT on the outside and my favourite aspect of Lucha takes place - mask ripping! Santo throws Parka back in side and gives him a hard boot to his head, signalling the type of brutal, brawl we are in for. Tarzan Boy trips Parka from the outside, but the Son of the Saint doesn't need his help and sends him to the back, hell Santo is a Mexican legend, he is a mans man, he can take this "Skeletor" wannabe all by himself. Santo hits a diving top rope tope and then applies the camel clutch to take first caida. No breathing time for poor Parka as Santo starts punching and kicking him about the head and takes him back on a sight seeing tour of the floor and crowd. Parka takes some king sized bumps here, getting smashed into chairs, off the ring posts while Santo reveals the animal within and starts biting him in the head. I don't think I have ever seen Santo so violent.
After a miscued plancha, Parka gets to give Santo a taste of his own medicine as the tide turns and Santo hits a gusher. This is some serious plasma here, as blood is gushing out of every orifice of his mask and when Santo is placed in a tree of woe………………..Shit!
An awesome spot for the bloodthirsty is when Parka rams Santo's head repeatedly into a chair and each time the chair gets more and more bloody. Artistic genius at its best. Parka runs through some nice moves, including a sweet tapia before getting the fall with the top rope 'rana. Again no rest for the wicked as the action picks up instantly with the action going back and forth until both men are crotched on the top rope in a fabulous spot.
Here it gets weird and I would appreciate any feedback as to the back-story on the Real in Memphis forum, as one of the ref's rolls Santo on top of Parka for the two count. Then in a ref bump spot, Santo kicks Parka square in the nuts and the Santo favouring ref counts three. But alas the other ref gets up and awards the match to Parka, much to the displeasure of Santo and a beatdown occurs on Parka by Santo, Tarzan Boy and Ultimo Guerrero. Weird finish and I would love to know the back-story to this angle. Anyway that aside it done nothing to detract from the match as this was complete and utter uninhibited violence, I loved it to bits and I'm sure you will too. You have to get this!

Tarzan Boy, Ultimo Guerrero & Rey Bucanero Vs Shocker, Satanico & Mascara Magica

This match starts with the rudo team attacking the technico's on their way to the ring, displeasing me as I didn't get to hear as much of Shockers music as I am normally accustomed to. The rudo team dominates the entire first caida, giving each man a 3 on 1 ass kicking and hitting some cool moves including a total elimination style leg sweep on Mascara. The rudo's take the first fall with Rey and Ultimo applying a double armbreaker to Shocker while Tarzan stands on his back posing, in a mini homage to Kaientai.
The second fall begins with more of the same as the Rudo's continue their domination much to the displeasure of all the little shocker-maniacs in the crowd. Not to worry however, as the good guys soon take control and prove that crime doesn't pay, when Satanico pins Guerrero with a backslide and Mascara applies a cross armbreaker to Rey Bucanero that ties things up at one fall a piece.
The third caida gets under way and here is where the match kicks in to gear as the technico's are all pumped and fired up, while the dastardly rudo's draw heat by going all "Larry Zybysko" on us. The technico's won't have any of this though, as damn it the fans paid to see action and that's what they will give them. Satanico breaks out the coolest snap jabs seen since Jake Roberts' hey-day, while Shocker goes all New Japan on us hitting over head suplexes and shit. Meanwhile the super improved Mascara, applies a hammerlock to Tarzan Boy and lifts him into the aeroplane spin for the victory.
Whoo hoo, the fans go home happy, I go home happy and Shocker nails a hot ass ring girl. This rules.

Blue Panther, Masada, Katsushi Takamura & Juventud Guerrera Vs Atlantis, Negro Casas, Safari & Mascara Magica

Before we get started I have a question. What the heck is up with Blue Panther's entrance music? Any wrestler this cool deserves better than some accordion piece by the local Tijuana busker. I'm also sure that Juventud Guerrera wasn't to happy coming out to this, how are you supposed to reach that euphoric high listening to this.
Anyway this match was quite hard to call on paper, due to the fact that each man would pair of with an opponent and their was a hell of a lot of action going on through out. While this might not sound that great here, it really worked well and gave the match a really intense feel, with both teams dominating at several points in the match. Even Juventud Guerrera, who is not afraid to mail it in, had a sprightliness about him that I haven't seen in a while. Masada continued to impress me showing great facials and looking like he wanted to be involved at all times, and I thought it was cool for him to get the eventual win when he kicked Atlantis in the nuts and rolled him up. Way to endear yourself to the locals mates. Anyhow, really good match and a lot of fun.

Shocker, Mr Niebla, Lizmark Jr & Black Warrior Vs Katsushi Takamura, Masada, Fuerza Guerrera & Black Tiger

Unlike the previous match, the rudo's have a total badass entrance here; dark rock music and hot babes will always turn the common man against you. I must make comment about the hot blonde that accompanied Black Tiger here. Yowza! - I'm not usually a fan of blondes but damn this girl is hot. Shocker "100% Guapo" has died his hair red here and he and his valet are handing stuff out to the crowd, must be candy. Yummy!
Anyway the match kicks off with the rudo's putting a beat down on the technico's in typical badass fashion. They get their asses handed back to them however when Masada gets caught unaware by Lizmark Jr and is set up for a Black Warrior top rope leg drop for the pin and Lizmark then hits his spinning rock bottom on Black Tiger.
One - Nil to Mexico!
Before the next caidia begins, Shocker has Fuerza Guerrera cowering behind security guards and Black Tiger and Warrior are brawling in the aisle and the crowd is going bananas. The 2nd caida begins and Fuerza is all fired up here, shouting at the crowd and slapping people while Shocker and Masada pose to the crowd to see who gets the best response. Fuerza continues to get the crowd rallied up by blocking Lizmark trying to run the ropes with him, by dragging his feet across the ground behind him in a classic spot. The technico's think they have it in the bag as they get everyone except Tiger in a submission or pinning predicament, however Masada feigns a low blow, claming Shocker done the damage to his testes and the rudo's are awarded the fall. Fuerza is incensed at Masada's actions and wants to beat him up - Oh wait their hugging now and all is right with the world. The third caida is upon us and here the action is fast and furious. Mr Niebla pins Fuerza and Black Tiger pins Mr Niebla and the referee's are arguing over quick counts as it seems one of the referee's is favouring the rudo's. The finish comes when Shocker accidentally bumps the bad referee and Masada continues his dastardly ways and kicks him in the balls for the win. The technico's claim biased refereeing and the fans are wagging their fingers in full support, I think they may have a case.
I loved the hell out of this, Masada has wormed his way into my heart as I have always been a sucker for dastardly heel tactics and Fuerza Guerrera is all types of good. This my friends is professional wrestling at its best!

Shocker, Negro Casas & Dr Wagner Jr Vs Tarzan Boy, Masada & Katsushi Takamura

In this match Shocker comes out in a boxer robe and starts shadow boxing in the ring proving that he is the Rocky Balboa of EMLL. Anyway Dr Wagner wants to start the match with Tarzan Boy (who has got the whole US Indies boy band gimmick look going on) but Tarzan would rather fight his fellow pretty boy Shocker. The rudo's get right up to their usual antics by double and triple teaming Shocker, but unfortunately that shit ain't going to fly when Dr Wagner is around.
Wagner states his intentions early by making it his quest to kick Masada's ass, he isn't just doing it for himself, he is doing it for the people of Mexico.
Sadly, this proves to be the technico's downfall in the first caidia as while Wagner is busy chasing Masada round the ring, his partners fall victim to a top rope drop kick and a camel clutch respectively. He does get his own back however by kicking Masada right in the ass, to a huge pop. Masada is way over as a heel. The faces dominate the 2nd caidia and they even try the no sell clothesline spot that Takamura tried with Ultimo Guerrero in his first match, this time much more respectably with the far bigger and stronger Dr Wagner.After much back and forth action Wagner finally gets his chance with Masada, and he kills him, he hits him with a Wagner Bomb, a lariat and his Michinoku Driver, however when he attempts the cover the whole Japanese contingent appears at ringside to distract him. Unfortunately for the proud people of Mexico, Takamura sneaks up behind the Doc and nails him with a German Suplex with a bridge for the pin.
Much after match mayhem ensues as the Japanese are pelted with crap by the crowd and the other technico's come down from the back save their compadres from a humongous beating. Strong match, good storylines and muchos crowd heat. What more could you want.

Dr Wagner Vs Osamu Nishimura

It seems Osamu Nishimura fell asleep during plane trip during the Memphis tapes as he is his usual stoic self, but what the heck that's why he is so good. It was a good idea to send Masada out to second him because Masada has heat, as soon as he comes out the fans are all over him. The match stars with some nice patient matwork and reversals, which you can get right behind if you know its going to lead to something. I love the way Nishimura balls his fist during his normal stance; it gives him the impression of being a total bad ass. As soon as the Doc gets the advantage, Masada makes his presence felt by pulling apart the hold Wagner was trying to apply and he looks really pleased with himself. Nishimura takes over and runs the Doc through a series of submissions, targeting the Doc's leg, sickle holds, bow and arrows and figure fours are applied to no avail as the Doc is showing some fight. However an error allows Nishimura to apply a sleeper and when the time is right he goes up top and hits a nice top rope drop kick and then goes for the tombstone. This time Shocker breaks it up and Wagner hits a drop kick to the knee of Nishimura, he goes for the Michinoku Driver, surely Nishimura must reverse it? No, he hits it 1, 2, he must kick out…3. What the heck?
What the hell was the point of this match, this could have been something. I was getting in to it and expecting the match to build to a climax, never have I been so disappointed. A completely pointless match, even the after match beatdown couldn't save this. Stupid booking.

Blue Panther, Masada & Katsushi Takamura Vs Shocker, Satanico and Mascara Magica
Strange start to this mach as Shocker comes out accompanied with Shocker-cito and there is a table in the middle of the ring. Turns out the table is for some kind of contact signing (Someone want to clue me in on the RIM forum) and Shocker-cito is sent to the back with a kick in the ass from Shocker Snr. Even here Masada causes commotion, taking his time to sign the contract and telling he technico's to give him space to sign his name. Straight away the heels begin their attack and they single out poor Mascara Magica to be the victim of the inevitable table and then proceed to bust him open with the table remains. Blue Panther starts chewing on Mascara's bloodied head like it's a prime sirloin steak and in true heel fashion he spits his blood mist style into the air. As you can guess Masada spies this and there's no doubt that he wants a piece of that tasty sirloin. During the carnage Masada goes for his trusty ball shot but the official sees it and the rudo's are disqualified and the first fall is awarded to Shocker and Co. Mascara goes nuts in the 2nd Caidia; taking the table piece he was previously bloodied with and breaks it over Takamura's head. Satanico goes after Panthers mask as the Technico's go on the rampage. Shocker takes the victory for the good guys with a top rope elbow drop on Masada and I am sure this signifies the end of the Japan Vs Mexico angle. The Technico's clear the ring of the rudo's and once again all is right in CMLL as a disgruntled Masada stumbles of to the back full of ire and indignation. Nice match and a nice blow to a cool fued, both of the Japanese guys got better with each match in Mexico and hears hoping that they make an impact back in NJPW.

El Hijo Del Santo, Mr Niebla & Negro Casas Vs Tarzan Boy, Ultimo Guerrero & Rey Bucanero

A classic lucha 6-man tag here and this is the sort of match that inspired promotions like Toryumon and Michinoku Pro to be what they are today. Lots of quick in and outs by each team, double-teams, triple teams you know the score here. The rudo team pulls out some brilliant, innovative triple team moves on Santo. Not to be out done, Mr Niebla uses that zany submission finisher of his whilst Santo delivers his usual sweet array of topes and uses one of the sweetest arm drags I have seen in a long time. Great creative finish to, as Negro Casas is disqualified for unmasking Ultimo Guerrero, however the replays show that Guerrero unmasked himself. Super Cool! This certainly isn't the best match of this style, but it's a whole lot of fun and a lovely conclusion to the end of this tape.

In Closing - This was a great tape, whilst it may not contain what would be considered an all time classic match, it highlights a great few months for CMLL, at a time when it may be the best promotion in the world. I'm sure it's a tape that I'll certainly watch again and what it definitely has done is make me want to see more Masada and more Takamura. Go get the tape!

Tarzan Boy ©, Rey Bucanero and Ultimo Guerrero vs Shocker ©, Satanico and Magica (12/3/2002) by Overbooked

Well, a time comes in every man's life where he wakes up and realises it's about time he got into that lucha libre stuff. There may be fears of confusing multi-fall rules, a bunch of masked guys that he won't be able to tell apart and it being "different." That man will have to move on from going "Ooooh, that looks like it hurt" when watching wrestling to something deeper, more profound. That, and ring girls in really short shorts. That last thought usually leads a man to lucha. Despite what they tell you.

Anyway, I'd got hold of When Worlds Collide, as the tape is pretty much mandatory viewing, isn't it? I'd got the first EMLL PPV and thought it had its moments. But I hadn't been ready for commitment. But, hey, I'm getting older, I thought, it's time I bit the bullet. So, I ordered the March/April Lucha TV tape. It arrived far sooner than I expected, was I being rushed into this? What the heck, I put the tape in the machine and…wow.

Seriously, this match should be seen by anyone looking to get into the wonderful world of lucha. I know, I know, I'm a novice and I'm sure there are thousands of better matches and better stories told, but this match sure did it for me. Beyond recognising a few names I had no idea of any of the backstories behind this match, yet the match was so well put together I was able to follow the plot and be totally absorbed by the unfolding story and the developing characters. Barthes was right; this pro wrestling stuff is fricking Greek drama.

The Infernales come out to Queen's "We Will Rock You" and I hate them already, because let's face it Queen provided music for people who don't like music. Terrible, terrible band. So before it becomes compulsory to cheer on Shocker and co I'm doing it already.

And the plot thickens.

Magica, the young upstart of his team was clearly an easily led youth and was once an Infernale. In fact, his tights and his attitude to start suggests he still may be an Infernale at heart. But that soon ends when he is lured by the Infernales into a three-on-one mugging. Magica has seen the light, that the Infernales are good-for-nothing punks. But does he have the courage to face his teammates turned tormentors?

It's a good job Magica has mentors in Shocker and Satanico. They're experienced, they know what's what and they know Magica must face his demons, for the good of the match, and for the good of Magica himself. Magica needs to prove himself, to go through this rite of passage, and he's got the one weapon the Infernales will never have…Babyface Fire!

But that's not enough, especially with the heel triple-team brilliance of the Infernales. It's a good job Magica has Shocker and Satanico to lead the way, and to lead by example, and to put a rocket up him. Man, this wrestling stuff is deep!

So, why the Infernales stall in the face of Magica's babyface fire, it's up to Satanico, the best grumpy old man this side of Tenryu, and Shocker, the captain worried about his young charge, to take on the dastardly Infernales.

And finally, it's time. Magica must face the Infernales, confront his past, and define his future. Does he succeed? It appears not. It looks like he's not ready to take on the Infernales and accomplish his goal. Has he failed his team? Is all lost for Magica? It appears so…but then he learns from his failure, he grows and he shows he can take on the Infernales.

This match has such a wonderful story, that I've done no justice to, as I didn't want to spoil its twists and turns for those who haven't seen it. Maybe I'm crazy for loving this match so much, I don't know. I'm not even a big fan of overt storytelling in a match, but this match justifies the story, doesn't let it overwhelm over aspects of the match and appears natural. There is psychology beyond the predictable 'work over the injured arm' fare some people rave about. The 'work' doesn't draw attention to itself; this is a match to get lost in, not to analyse to death. So, maybe I shouldn't have written so much about it and make it sound all pretentious. Oh well.

One more thing, though. This match has the Best Low Blow Ever.

What more could you want?

Part One: Triple H v Cactus Jack - Street Fight for the WWF Title - Royal Rumble 2000 (23/1/00)

Having recently regained the WWF Title from The Big Show on the first Raw of 2000, Triple H was starting to get on a roll. His "Game" persona had been established for several months, and his position of dominance as the centrepiece of the McMahon-Helmsley Era was in no doubt. However, there were still many doubts in the minds of fans as to whether Triple H really could be considered as a legitimate Main Eventer. He had headlined No Mercy '99 against the proven draw of Steve Austin, and that year's Survivor Series with the added star power of both Rock and Austin (although Austin took admittedly took no part in the match). His Title run had been aborted twice in the space of a couple of months as the WWF flip-flopped their opinion as to whether Hunter could cut it. His first title reign was ended by the indignity of putting over Vince McMahon for the title, and his second reign was cut short by the mid-card Big Show at the Survivor Series. Basically put, Triple H was a three time WWF Champion with next to no credibility. With Austin out due to injury and The Rock being needed to provide some star power in a rather bland Rumble match, Triple H was forced to build a program with someone else, and this time… if he failed, he'd have no one to blame but himself. The program with Mick Foley had been brewing on the back burner for a while, and was finally kicked into high gear with the metamorphosis of fun-loving Mankind into the sadistic Cactus Jack in one of the most memorable angles ever filmed on WWF TV. All roads led to Madison Square Garden on January 23rd for the moment of truth in a brutal street fight for the WWF Title.

As Triple H enters, he gets a quick kiss from Stephanie, and she leaves. That was a very smart booking move. Since this match was supposed to put over Triple H's legitimacy, the last thing he needed was to have his 'wife' interfering or taking the spotlight away from him.

The match started, as many classics do, with a stare down, before Cactus starts off fast by laying in the right hands in the corner. There was a real air of 'event' in the arena for this match. You have to remember that since Triple H wasn't being taken seriously at this point in time by either the casual or hardcore fans, a title change was more than possible. Add to that the definite air of tension between the ex 'Rock & Sock Connection' partners over Rock's apparent trashing of Foley's first book, and a Cactus Jack v The Rock match was a definite possibility to headline WrestleMania.

Meanwhile, the action soon finds its way onto the floor as Triple H's head gets rammed into the ring bell on the timekeeper's table. Triple H's response? He lifts the bell, rears back and whacks Cactus square across the head with it. Triple H grabs a chair and literally cracks it across Foley's cranium. On commentary, Jim Ross ominously makes mention of the previous year's WWF Title match when Foley took a number of unprotected head shots with a steel chair…

Cactus gets the chair from Triple H and ends up legdropping it across the face of "The Game" before they go to the outside, brawl through the fans and end up in the alleyway that makes up the Rumble entrance set. In the first truly memorable moment of the match, Cactus suplexes 'The Game' onto a stack of two wooden pallets. It wasn't so much memorable for the move, per se, but rather for the unintended effect. A shard of wood punctured Triple H's calf, just between his boot and kneepad, resulting in severe blood loss for the Champion. There was worse to come…

The mauling of Triple H continues as Jack brings out a barbed wire 2x4 which (as expected) gets used on him rather than his opponent. When Cactus makes his comeback via the Double Arm DDT, he retrieves his weapon from under the Spanish Announcer's table… looking more than a little different to when it went in there. If course, it was at this point that the switch was made from the real barbed wire that was just used by Triple H on Cactus Jack to the rubber barbed wire that Cactus would now use on Triple H. Now, with all due respect to Cactus Jack's hardcore heritage, why did he bother to even have a real barbed wire 2x4 in the match at all? I mean, if there's a legitimate need for the barbed wire to be rubberised (for the upcoming face shots), then why not just use that all the way through? Making a switch was far more noticeable than just working with the rubber stuff all the way through. Anyway… Cactus goes to work with the 'barbed wire' and Triple H soon hits a gusher which, given a couple of minutes to spread, has got to rank high on the Muta scale. The fans totally buy a near fall when Cactus rams Tripper's face into the barbed wire.

Going to the outside again and following an attempt at a Cactus Jack piledriver on the announce table, Triple H turns the momentum by hiptossing and then whipping Cactus into the steel steps, each time targeting the knee. Then, the match really kicks into high gear as Triple H finds a pair of handcuffs at ringside. The fans (and the announcers) react, remembering the events of the aforementioned Royal Rumble 99 match with The Rock. Desperately, Cactus fights back at this point to stop the handcuffs being applied, but it is all for naught. Cactus, hands bound behind his back, still manages to fight back, drop toeholding Triple H into the steps and biting at his ear. But, it seems that a no-armed man is about as much use as a one legged man in an ass-kicking contest and Triple H prepares to unleash a Rock-esque beating with the steel chair. Cactus lures Triple H back up the alleyway set, and (of all people) The Rock makes a brief run-in with his own chair to the head of the champion.

Cactus is let out of the handcuffs by a policeman, and the crowd are truly ready to see Cactus righteously kick Triple H's ass and take his title, and Mrs Foley's baby boy responds to that by successfully delivering the Foleydriver (my own preferred term for Foley's version of the Piledriver where Mick pulls on his opponent's waistband rather than actually lifting him up with a waistlock) on the table, which doesn't break. Ow. Moving back into the ring, Cactus brings out a huge bag of thumbtacks which he scatters over one corner of the ring. Triple H teases falling into the tacks, but backdrops Cactus right into the middle of them before delivering a Pedigree for a TWO count! Stephanie (who has returned to ringside) and Triple H cannot believe it as the fans break into a loud chant of "Foley, Foley" but they cannot help their man who takes a second, brutal, climactic pedigree right into the tacks for the three, as Jim Ross sums up the match perfectly: "I haven't witnessed a championship match, anywhere, at any time, in 25 years like we have just witnessed here tonight"

I love this match as it not only delivered extreme violence, drama and near falls… but it also proved that psychology isn't just about working on an arm for 20 minutes in order to set up an armbar finisher. This was brutal psychology, working in moments from Foley's previous dramatic and dangerous matches from King of the Ring '98 and Royal Rumble '99. Once again in a WWF Title match at the Royal Rumble PPV, Mick Foley found himself handcuffed and at the mercy of a vicious heel with a steel chair. Unlike the '99 match, however, Foley was not helpless this time… first fighting back by himself, and then ironically even having some backup in the form of his '99 arch-nemesis The Rock. Although he escaped the handcuffs spot that finished him in the '99 match, he once again fell foul of the Thumbtacks which eventually killed him off in the '98 Hell in the Cell match.

This is also a rare example of a MEGA hyped WWF match actually living up to all expectations… delivering everything that the preceding weeks' angles and promos had been promising… and a hell of a lot more too. Everything went right in the match. Foley was able to conjure up the old 'Hardcore Legend' again, after months of sub par performances and bad comedy skits. Triple H was able to establish himself as a legitimate superstar with (by far) his greatest performance to that date. He was able to take everything the "King of the Death Matches" could throw at him, and not only survive… but finish strongly. Even on commentary, Jim Ross' early mention of the previous year's WWF Title match perfectly set the scene in preparing the viewers for something similar this year.

The match couldn't have been any better. The psychology was flawless. The result of the match was right, but both men came out of the match looking a million dollars. Cactus Jack was the man who was finally able to take 'The Game' to school, as it were, following the McMahon-Helmsley Regime's weeks and weeks of dominance on Raw. The fact that Cactus was allowed to kick out of the previously invincible Pedigree finisher on the first attempt says a lot about the respect Triple H had for him.

This is as close to perfection as the WWF have ever come in the 'brawling main event' style that is so often employed in the federation (and so often criticised by fans as cheap and/or boring). Only the drama and emotion of Austin v Hart at WrestleMania 13 comes close for sheer visceral thrills and excitement. I can (and have) watched this match time and time again, and been able to appreciate something different about it every time. Execution, selling, build, psychology, drama… it's all here. Triple H himself commented on the match as part of the "Mick Foley: Hard Knocks and Cheap Pops" DVD, explaining: "It wasn't just thumbtacks for the sake of thumbtacks, or barbed wire for the sake of barbed wire. We still told you a story, we still took you on an incredible ride… but we did it in the most violent possible way; and y'know, that is one of my proudest moments in this business"

I prefer not to actually rate matches in the old "Star Ratings" system, but this is one of those cases where there wouldn't even be a question. 5 out of 5. The match started the WWF's year with a bang, and started off a series of (in my opinion) absolutely stellar performances for Triple H. Next up for him would be Mick Foley once again, with the stakes even higher… inside the confines of the Hell In The Cell. But that's a story for next time…

home

Links of possible interest:

Virtual PA Services
Many companies can benefit from an inbound call handling service and other virtual pa type services.

New and Start Up Businesses
Website aimed at helping new start companies on how to start a business.