wrestling / Video Reviews
Tremendous Tirades: XWF: The Lost Episodes (Disc 3)
Loading...Knobs welcomes us by himself this time, as Hart is off “scouting talent.” Knobs puts over these set of tapings as the best yet. We can hope so.
We begin with highlights of “last week,” or yesterday for all of you. Tony and the King welcome us to the show. They hype the matches, especially Josh Matthews debut.
We kick off the show, again, with Mean Gene. He calls out Rena Mero to start the show as always. She has her big ass security guards with here. Gene says she couldn’t have been happy with Piper’s actions as of late. She doesn’t like to air the company’s dirty laundry. There will be some growing pains, but her and Piper will make the right decisions at the right time. She is completely happy. They have been flooded in the office with phone calls, and they plan to make the main event one that people want to see.
A Hacksaw promo airs.
A South Philly Posse promo airs.
Marty Jannetty vs. Drezden
Drezden attacks Marty as the bell rings. Chops by Drezden, off the ropes and a powerslam. Big backdrop to Marty now. Marty gets a roll up for 1. Superkick does nothing and Drezden with a big boot to Marty. Slam by Drezden, and then misses an elbow drop. Marty up top…leaps and Drezden catches him. Release belly to belly and then a powerbomb finishes Marty.
Winner: Drezden @ 1:23 via pin
In the back, Greg Valentine is pissed because he isn’t booked. Piper blows him off.
Horace Hogan vs. Josh Matthews
Josh has awesome shiny baggy pants!
Horace levels him as the bell rings. Boots to Josh now, and then a slam. Rights and chops to Josh, and then a corner splash. Elbow drop to Josh and Horace celebrates. He tosses Josh to the floor, follows and delivers chops. A slam on the floor and things look bad for Josh. Back in the ring and more boots by Horace. Off the ropes, Josh tries a sunset flip, but Horace gets a tree slam for 2 as he pulled him up. Boots by Horace again, small package by Josh and that’s all!
Winner: Josh Matthews @ 2:43 via pin
A Hal promo runs.
Shane Twins vs. South Philly Posse (Rocco and Johnny) w/Jasmine
Johnny is pretty big here, in the unhealthy way.
Rocco and Mike Shane to begin. Off the ropes and a press slam on Rocco. Mike nails Johnny and tags Todd. Double shoulder block gets 2. Powerslam by Todd gets 2. Boot by Todd, Johnny nails Todd as he hits the ropes and he tags in. Johnny works the leg of Todd now, but Todd gets the ropes. They exchange rights but Johnny keeps control. Tag to Rocco now, kicks by Johnny and Rocco up top…head butt to the knee of Todd. Rocco works the leg now, and then Johnny helps by ramming the leg off the apron. Kicks to the leg by Rocco and then another head butt to the leg. Tag to Johnny, off the ropes and a splash to the leg of Todd for 2. Rocco tags in, and a double back elbow to Todd. More kicks by Rocco, Todd battles back but eats a corner clothesline. Rocco chokes him out now and then clubs away on him. Jasmine chokes Todd now. Snap mare by Rocco, but misses a lionsault! Tag to Mike! Johnny in as well. Mike cleans house. Clotheslines to all! Double backdrop on Rocco! The Nasties are out and so is the LOD! In the mayhem Mike rolls up Rocco for the win.
Winners: Shane Twins @ 5:40 via pin
They all brawl and the LOD and Shane twins stand tall.
A Wall promo airs.
Mean Gene is back and he has a special guest. Jimmy Snuka with his son Jimmy Snuka Jr. Gene brings up their history and says it is a pleasure to have him here. Snuka says he has one thing to say, it’s great to be here with him one more time. He loves the people and thanks them. Piper is here! He welcomes Jimmy, and says there are two coconut heads in the ring! HAHA! He makes fun of him more and makes ethnic jokes. He then talks trash to the kid and Gene says he is out of line. Gene tells piper to suit up and solve things in the ring. Piper says the little guys always wants to make them fight. Piper says he already took care of Snuka and the boss won’t allow him to wrestle. Rena is out and says he DOES have her permission. She’s a Snuka fan and would love to see it! Piper says Snuka is lucky she’s here and his arm is sore. He has work to do, otherwise he’d kick his ass back to Fiji. Piper says he would be glad to wipe out both Snuka’s, but he has responsibilities. He has to make main events. The main event will be Curt Hennig and Ian Harrison vs. Buff Bagwell and Vampiro.
Knobs is back and business is about to heat up. He puts over Josh Mathews. Rena’s bodyguards were the Barbarian, Tugboat and 4×4 from the No Limit Soldiers. He then puts over some of the feuds developing and the Cruiserweight title match.
XWF Cruiserweight Title Match: A.J. Styles vs. Kid Kash ©
Lock up and some reversals to begin. Wristlock by AJ, reversals again and AJ with a take down. Arm bar by AJ, Kash reverses to one of his own. Lots of mat reversals, Kash up and gets an arm drag to AJ. AJ with arm drags and even more reversals and a cover by AJ for 2 and they stand off. Eye poke by Kash, chops to AJ. Off the ropes and a crisp arm drag by AJ. Then by Kash and they shove each other. Boots by AJ, chops then to Kash. In the corner and rights by AJ. AJ misses a spin kick but JAKCS Kash with a superkick for 2. Off the ropes and a sweet dropkick by AJ. Rear headlock by AJ now. Kash battles out to his feet, knees by AJ. Kash to the 2nd rope and a flying clothesline by Kash gets 2. Off the ropes, boot by Kash and a springboard cross body gets a close 2. Boot by Kash, MONEY MAKER to AJ and that’s all!
Winner: Kid Kash @ 5:16 via pin
The XWF chicks are meeting with Rena backstage.
Vapor w/Sonny Ono vs. Jimmy Snuka Jr. w/Superfly Jimmy Snuka
Snuka Jr. has an RVD look about him. Snuka Jr. rams Vapor to the corner repeatedly. Kicks to Vapor, more rights and an Irish whip and a gut buster to Vapor, which sends him to the floor. Back in and rights by Snuka Jr. Off the ropes and a back elbow by Vapor. Boots to Snuka Jr. now. Irish whip and Vapor misses a corner splash. Chops by Snuka Jr. Vapor picks him up, Samoan drop and a cover for 2. Off the ropes and a double thrust chop by Vapor. More kicks now, picks him up and another whip. Boot by Snuka Jr. Charges but eats a powerslam by Vapor for 2. Ono holds Snuka Jr. and Vapor almost hits him. Swinging neck breaker by Snuka Jr. gets 2. Snuka Jr. grabs Ono and pulls him in. Vapor attacks him and chokes him. Superfly stalks Ono and chops away at him. Vapor and Ono are tossed together. The Snuka’s ay them out and both go up top…STEREO SUPERFLY SPLASHES! 1…2…3!
Winner: Jimmy Snuka Jr. @ 4:24 via pin
Heenan introduces Hennig and Harrison.
Curt Hennig and Ian Harrison vs. Buff Bagwell and Vampiro
Vampiro and Curt to begin. They stall and Ian tags in. Ian tosses Vampiro around with ease. Knees by Ian and then clubbing shots. Vampiro battles back but Ian is too powerful. Tree slam by Ian and a tag to Curt. Running boot and then rights by Curt. Chops to Vampiro, Irish whip and a reversal. Tag to Buff and they double-team Curt with rights. Double back elbow to Curt. Buff in control and tosses Curt. Heenan towels off Curt and they talk strategy. Back in and a boot by Buff. Tag back to Vampiro and rights to Curt. Off the ropes and a wicked boot by Curt. Tag to Ian who just clubs away like a caveman at Vampiro. Irish whip and a clothesline turns Vampiro inside out. Press slam by Ian and Vampiro to the floor. Buff in and clotheslines Ian to the floor. Vampiro looks hurt off that press slam, which was sloppy. Curt and Ian charge the ring and they all brawl. Vampiro super kicks Ian to the floor and Curt manages a roll up on Buff and that is all.
Winners: Curt Hennig and Ian Harrison @ 4:30 via pin
Buff is pissed at Vampiro now. He shoves him and they brawl. A bunch of guys come down to separate them. DANIELS!
Extras!
Knobs is here to put over this match. He says this was one of the highlights of the XWF. He says these were two of the top stars in wrestling. He says the Hulkster got the itch to wrestle and wanted the match with Hennig.
Hulk Hogan vs. Curt Hennig w/Bobby “The Brain” Heenan
They lock up to begin and Hulk tosses Hennig away. He goes to the floor right away to talk to Heenan as the crowd is totally into Hogan. Back in and they lock up, side headlock by Hennig and he holds on tight. Hulk tosses him off the ropes and a shoulder block later and Hennig is down and to the floor again. Hulk steps on Heenan’s hand and Hennig is back in. Test of strength and Hulk gains easy control of Hennig. Hennig escapes and shops away at Hulk. Rams him in the corner, chops him and then rakes the eyes. Rights to Hulk and even more chops and Hulk to a knee. Hennig chokes him on the ropes now and Hulk is down. Clubbing shots by Hennig now, but Hulk battles back. Elbows to Hennig and he rams him 10-times in the corner, going down to the mat. Off the ropes and a clothesline by Hulk levels Hennig. Rights to Hennig, he climbs the corner and gets the mounted shots, and bites Hennig! Eye rake by Hulk, off the ropes and a boot and chop by Hennig. Boots to the head of Hulk, PERFECT PLEX! 1…2…NO! Hulk fires up and Hennig with rights. Hulk shake…YOU! Rights to Hennig now. Off the ropes…big boot. Leg drop and that is all.
Winner: Hulk Hogan @ 4:08 via pin
Special Interview: Up close & personal with Hulk Hogan.
Who was your favorite opponent?: Andre the Giant. It was a turning point in wrestling, as 94,000 people saw mw slam him. My favorite and greatest match ever.
How did you become involved in wrestling?: I got involved when I was small, and I was a huge fan. We went to the armory every Tuesday night. I trained with Matsuta and I loved it.
What was your favorite movie experience?: As far as all the work outside of wrestling, I loved Mr. Nanny because the kids loved it. We were tortured in 100-degree heat, but the kids were horrible and took their tool on me.
Tell us about Hogan Knows Best: It is finally done filming. It’s about the Hogan family. We are like the Osbourne’s, except I run a tight ship, but Linda is the real boss.
What do you think about Willie Nelson plugging you?: I thought it was cool and that we were onto something. Wrestling is part of American culture. I wanna play guitar with Willie someday!
What gets you excited about wrestling?: I have wrestled for over 20-years. Why do I go back? Well, when you are with the upper tier wrestlers, it is a challenge. Mental, physical and the crowd gets you so hyped.
Why did you get involved with the XWF?: I got involved because of Brian Knobs because he wanted to give an alternative. It was a great idea and brought in a ton of talent. I loved it, but had to move on.
Why do you think that the XWF didn’t make TV?: Well, it should have made it to TV. When I got involved some of the people wanted to put the money in, but at the end of the day you have to walk the walk, but nobody wanted to go into the financial part of it. Otherwise it would have been on TV.
Do you think that the XWF was on the right track to succeed?: I have been involved with a lot of organizations. They had the formula and should have been alive today. Fans should have several choices, they had the perfect format and production but it failed.
What got you to come into the XWF?: I got involved because it was so close to my home and because I believed in my friends.
Why did you want to wrestle Curt Hennig?: By that time I knew I wouldn’t be long term. At that time. Curt called him out and after a knee surgery I just did it.
What did you think of the XWF production?: I loved it. Universal was great to the XWF. Top notch in m opinion.
What are your fondest memories of Hennig and Hawk?: I think the fondest memories are in the dressing room. They never took things too seriously. Curt was a professional and winged it and entertained. He was so much fun. Hawk had fun, but was very intense. He was serious, but would be fun outside the ring. The locker room times were always the best.
The 411: Once again, not a lot of great wrestling. AJ vs. Kash was good, but short, but the change of pace was great. Overall though I just had this huge WCW feel that I couldn’t shake. The Hogan and Hennig match was a fun bonus, as was the rather candid Hogan interview.
Score: 4.0
The 411: This is the overall 411 on this set. XWF had good production and a decent plan. Unfortunately I don’t think that it ever came across. Too much time was given to people like Rena and Piper to feud on the mic, while they only had one champion crowned in the first episodes. It’s funny to see some TNA people there, because if this would have taken off the landscape of wrestling could be very different now. Overall I have to go thumbs down on the XWF. |
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| Final Score:  3.0   [ Bad ]  legend |
