WWF World Heavyweight Title Match (Special Enforcer: Vince McMahon): Steve Austin (c) vs. Chris Benoit - WWF SmackDown 2001 - 31/05/2001
Austin was electric in this. He embodied the crazed madman in his offence and attitude. He pushed his weight around, cheated and bullied his way to victory. My favourite part of the match is where he recklessly throws Benoit hip first into the corner of the announce table before posing to boos. Benoit was on point as well with his excellent selling that milked sympathy from the crowd and when he went on offence, he looked like an absolute king. While watching this, I felt like Benoit definitely could've been the top face of 2001 if only injuries didn't stop his momentum dead. He was that good. This was magic. Outstanding work on the ribs, the face and heel divide was great and the finish made Benoit come off like Austin, almost, getting his hands on Vince, whacking him with a chair, while Austin looks like a crafty heel who took the opportunity when he came to him. My only gripe with the match is with Michael Cole’s commentary. He constantly repeats how Benoit being hurt is the same as the crowd being hurt. Once is fine, but anything after that is force feeding. ****1/2
Mask Vs. Hair Match: SUWA vs. Dragon Kid - Toryumon Japan Estacion Del Sol - Day 1 - 24/08/2000
I think the restart was brilliant. The crowd buys the false finish big time and everyone sells it well. SUWA sells the win like he broke the Undertaker’s streak and Dragon Kid’s seconds were going ballistic at the injustice (SUWA putting his legs on the ropes). The restart from then on was terrific. It captured the exact spirit and urgency that’s required in an apuestas match. SUWA was a bully which makes DK the perfect opposite. DK hits all the pinning moes and ranas that he could think of at hyper speed and precision in order to score the win and it paid off greatly. ****1/4
NWF Heavyweight Title Match: Antonio Inoki (c) vs. Kintaro Oki - NJPW Toukon Series 1974 - Day 30 10/10/1974
This was awesome. Inoki punches Oki in the face during the entrances and kicks off what was a real heated match. The match at first has a lot of lock ups and classic wrestling but soon Oki uses his hard head to ust open Inoki, which pisses Inoki off and we get a hot finish with a classic Inoki fired up spot. ****1/4
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