Finally- I’ve found more Berzerker matches to watch! And against VIRGIL, no less!
Welcome back to more Dream Matches! I’ve got some wild stuff today- Virgil vs. The Berzerker in late 1992! A heel Glacier vs. Sick Boy in 1998 WCW Nitro! Repo Man continues his undercard heel run against JTTS legend Koko B. Ware in 1993! Poor “Squire” Dave Taylor has to face rookie Chase Tatum on a D-show! Then it’s ERIK WATTS vs. Silver King in 1998 WCW! Finally, it’s a pair of Wrath vs. Al Green squashes in the last months of ’98, and an all-time dream match caps us off- The Disciple versus LIGHTNING FOOT, Jerry Flynn!
THE BERZERKER vs. VIRGIL:
(WWF Prime Time, Dec. 28th 1992)
* This is way late in the Berzerker’s run, as he has no manager (having dropped Mr. Fuji). Virgil’s in white & black striped tights, and is the company’s resident JTTS. However, he seems to get a REALLY good reaction here, with fans noticeably jumping up and cheering. The size difference here is pretty profound- John Nord DWARFS him.
Virgil avoids a shoulder-charge in the corner, but races in himself and earns a boot- a slam gets two for the Berzerker, and he easily fends off Virgil’s punches, but misses a clothesline and Virgil clotheslines HIM down! Virgil scores an armbar, but Berzerker slugs him and gets that clothesline for two. Virgil gets dumped, but comes back with a sunset flip for two after a dramatic struggle, but a quick head-thrust to the gut floors him. Berzerker puts the boots to him, but Virgil catches a third one and takes him down, only to eat an eye-rake, slam and kneedrop. Virgil fights out of a long camel clutch and smashes Berzerker’s head into the mat and catches him with a big clothesline off the second rope for two! Berzerker’s dazed, and Virgil shoulderblocks him way over the top and to the floor! Virgil throws boxing-style jabs to wipe him off the apron, too, leading the Berzerker to GRAB THE SWORD and that’s the DQ at (6:03)! VIRGIL DEFEATS THE BERZERKER!!
Okay so that’s a bit of a shocker ending. Berzerker was on his way out, though, and was being actively jobbed out for going AWOL earlier in the year I believe. He doesn’t make it past Feb. 1993, while Virgil sticks it out a while longer in the “Koko B. Ware” role. Not that he got a particularly strong victory, but a dude this size having to resort to weaponry against him is a sign, at least. The match itself was actually pretty fast-paced save for that long camel clutch spot, with momentum shifting every 20 seconds or so, as Berzerker would miss something and Virgil would get some offense before things turned again- Virgil’s last flourish in the final minute was also quite good- he was kind of in the zone as far as being a JTTS went at this point, having some good-looking moves and good selling.
Rating: ** (not as bad as you’d think a filler Prime Time match between these two would be- kinetic and quick-moving)
For like a year WCW teased the debut of Glacier. Then he debuted and they got sick of him in a couple of months and screwed around with him ever since.
GLACIER vs. SICK BOY:
(WCW Nitro, May 11th, 1998)
* Glacier does a promo ahead of the match saying he’s going to attack anyone who “steals” the move he created, “The most awesome move in professional wrestling ever- the Cryonic Kick”. Tony & Mike immediately jump in on the Superkick being around LONG before Glacier started wrestling. Sick Boy comes down alone, to no fanfare, while Glacier still has the full regalia, smoke and “snowflakes”.
Sick Boy gets jumped as soon as he comes back in the ring after Glacier’s entrance, and either sells the corner beating REALLY WELL, or that high kick caught him in the head for real, as he kind of just shrinks back from it instead of selling “big” and stumbles around after. But he dodges two Glacier chops coming off the ropes and hits a slingshot elbow halfway across the ring. He misses a Stinger Splash in the corner and Glacier “hits” two side kicks to the back that look REALLY bad, as he’s too far away and Sick Boy’s selling is too delayed, and the ref is bumped off that. Glacier hits the Cryonic Kick for the win, but Nick Patrick’s out, so Perry Saturn runs in and hits HIS Superkick (and a beauty!), and puts Sick Boy on top… but Patrick only counts two! The bell rings because it was pretty close, but Glacier manages to get up first, and hits the Cryonic Kick again for the three (2:02). Very weird ending. And then Saturn runs in all p*ssed off an annihilates the guy with a belly-to-belly and Death Valley Driver. Fans barely react to ANY of this.
Match was short nonsense, but was fine- Glacier struggles with his kicks as, like a lot of martial artists in wrestling, he knows how to kick for real, but not how to PRETEND kick, so he wusses out on them way too much or clearly misses by a mile because he doesn’t wanna just haul off, so the technique tends to suck. Witness him throwing them from six feet away or holding his leg out and “thrusting” forwards for them. Sick Boy only hit two moves and then got saved… but lost anyway. Kinda marks him as a wimp for sure. I guess it kinda puts over Glacier a bit if he can win in spite of Saturn cheating.
Rating: * (just a handful of offense from either guy- Saturn had the best move in the match!)
THE REPO MAN vs. KOKO B. WARE:
(WWF Mania, Feb. 13th 1993)
* Wow, almost a year after the Superfly match I reviewed two weeks ago comes Repo Man still kicking around fighting lower-tier JTTS guys. Koko’s in High Energy at this point, making him even MORE disposable in singles matches. He’s got red parachute pants on this time. Repo’s now even flabbier, having completely lost any semblance of physique while he tumbled down the card. Shockingly, he’s only around 32 years old here!
They waste time circling each other and taunting for a minute until Repo scores some cheap shots, but Koko avoids him and gets a dropkick. Koko keeps evading him and doing the “Birdman” dance, sending Repo all over the place, and pushing him down with the worst shove ever. Koko holds onto an armbar, but does his standard Match-Costing Mistake, flying into the corner. Repo does a blatant choke & clothesline, but misses an elbow- Koko hits flying forearms and a dropkick, then a missile dropkick, but Repo rolls out of the ring. Koko smashes him into the apron, but Repo garrotes him over the top rope and drops a leg onto him while he’s draped over the bottom one, but holds on with a choke and gets DISQUALIFIED at (4:06). Holy goodness, what a terrible finish, haha. And such a lazily-wrestled match beforehand! All filler moves and not well-applied stuff (Lord Alfred even disses the missile kick, even as Monsoon is reveling in how Koko landed on his feet after it). Like, who are you even protecting here, and why?
Rating: 1/2* (pretty weak TV match- no energy or drive to it- and a bad finish)
“Squire” Dave Taylor- one of WCW’s more low-tier, forgotten acts on their massive undercard.
DAVE TAYLOR vs. CHASE TATUM:
(WCW Saturday Night, June 19th 1999)
* A weird one here, as Dave Taylor is still kicking in WCW, and Chase Tatum, circa the No-Limit Soldiers angle fading away, is here in D-bag sunglasses and camo jorts. Taylor’s in a pretty sharp, if jobbery, singlet- red with a blue starburst design. Ideally, you use a vet like Dave to train a rookie like Chase on D-shows like this.
The lock up to start, Chase shoving Taylor off, then reversing a full nelson with raw power and rolling into an anklelock at a hilariously slow pace. Taylor makes the ropes on that and a cross-armbreaker (why is Goldberg-sized Chase doing those moves?), but comes back with a boot & European uppercuts. Chase slugs out of a front facelock and hits a T-Bone suplex, but Taylor immediately pops up at “2” and controls with light submission stuff, keeping Chase down and using the ropes. Painful-looking ankle-twist sets up Taylor dodging Chase’s charge so the kid hits the post. European uppercut, boot & Taylor-Plex (floatover butterfly suplex) pin Chase at (3:47), but he kicks out at 3.1, lol. To be fair, Taylor hadn’t done much to justify that scoring a pin against such a big kid.
Weird mismatch of styles here, as CHASE is the one trying submissions at first, like he just saw UFC or Goldberg’s push and wants to try the same moves (I can just picture him before the match telling the submission specialized “Oh, can I try some of that cool stuff?!” and Dave being like “…. *sigh* FINE…”), but he’s too bulky and slow. Taylor was quick to reverse and make the ropes, then oddly comes back with STRIKES (on a dude Chase’s size?), then a simple corner charge sets up the finish. Prefacing the Taylor-Plex with more strikes seems funny- must be a British/Wigan stylistic difference because it comes off weird, tempo-wise.
Rating: 1/2* (just a mixed-up kinda bout. Some okay stuff but pretty jobber-y and Taylor wins handily)
ERIK WATTS vs. SILVER KING:
(WCW Saturday Night, Feb. 27th 1999)
* Poor Silver King now gets set out there to job to ERIK WATTS as 1999 WCW rolls on. Watts is dressed like a Hardy Boy at this point, which is hilarious. Silver King has his “Los Cowboys” gear on, complete with lasso.
Each guy gets a shot in the corner, but Watts uses his “Sh*tty Version of Test” offense to take over until King grabs him by the hair. Watts uses The International and then drapes his leg over SK’s head… lifting himself up into a HURRICANRANA of all things, then hits a weirdo chokeslam. SK comes back with a spinning DDT as Tenay & Hudson finally start actually talking about the match instead of other angles going on at the time. SK hits a chinlock & throws Watts around outside to fill time with this guy, then actually USES THE LASSO, hauling him down and hitting a cannonball off the apron! He’s actually allowed to choke away with the rope for a while until the ref makes him stop, then hits a leg lariat & DDT, but misses a springboard moonsault (using the middle rope first for added “bounce”)- Watts hits a flying cross-body, Buckle Bomb (yes, really) and a Flatliner (after teasing another BB) for the three at (5:27).
Total carry-job by the unfortunate Silver King, as Watts wasn’t as lost as he used to be, but still needed to be carried. King hit all this decent stuff and even used cheating on the outside to keep things interesting, but Watts just hit a short comeback at the very end to win. Though it’s funny how this MASSIVE guy is just being dominated by a fat luchadore for the whole thing until he dodges one move and hits his comeback.
Rating: ** (okay stuff from Silver King, and Watts didn’t embarrass himself when it was his turn)
Wrath’s WCW push continues! With multiple matches against a forgotten big guy!
WRATH vs. AL GREEN:
(WCW Saturday Night, Sept. 26th 1998)
* Wrath, in blue & black, is now set up against Al Green, the former Master Blaster, now in an ugly red & purple tie-dyed singlet. Wrath is in the midst of his big unbeaten streak since his return, with Tenay openly comparing him to Goldberg.
Wrath wins a lockup with knee shots, then hits a pump kick when Green tries to come back. Green goes into the railing and eats a flying clothesline for two, then a shoulderblock and the Meltdown (pumphandle slam) end it at (2:41). Hahah, what a squash- he sold NOTHING, just shrugging off all the muscular Green’s sh*t and ate him alive.
Rating: 1/4* (total squash)
WRATH vs. AL GREEN:
(WCW Saturday Night, Dec. 19th 1998)
* A couple months later, we get a rematch. Green’s gear is almost the same, but bisected with black on one half. Wrath’s in the same gear, and this is now after being beaten by Nash.
Green attacks Wrath as soon as he hits the ring, even flattening him with a clothesline, but Wrath springs right back to his feet and kicks Green’s ass. Shoulderblock sets up the Meltdown at (1:13). Oh jeez- even quicker than the first one!
Rating: DUD (Green had all his stuff no-sold and Wrath just killed him with only a couple moves)
The time Jerry Flynn swore into the camera, then openly reacted to catching himself doing it.
JERRY FLYNN vs. THE DISCIPLE:
(WCW Saturday Night, Feb. 27th 1999)
* Oh man, truly a main event anywhere in the country here, as the orphaned Disciple takes on Jerry Flynn, as WCW has officially given up so much that LIGHTNING FOOT is getting a TV push. Their run from 1999-2000 was a dark, DARK time for them, let me tell you…
Flynn wins a wristlock contest with a kick and lariat, but Disciple hits his own after a flurry of kicks in the corner. All the rest of his offense is just ’80s trash, with choking and a vertical suplex. Flynn comes back with a boot, chop and elbow, but Disciple is too good for mere karate to work and brawls to come back. This goes on FOREVER, complete with restholds, but Flynn eventually fires back with karate and hits a belly-to-belly, then an armdrag (did they forget the first move was supposed to lead to the finish?) and hits his Cross-Armbreaker finish for the submission at (4:37).
Somehow this felt like it was way too long despite only being four and a half minutes, which should tell you how bad Brutus Beefcake was on offense at this point. He was 42 years old here and still had muscles, but was just BEYOND finished as a performer, not even knowing how to draw heat or cheers anymore.
Rating: DUD (felt like an Iron Man match)