Fit Finlay

The “Two-Colored Mullet” look is really, uh, something.

Welcome back to more Dream Matches! And this time, I get to torture you all with the illustrious Cobra/Sgt. Craig Pittman feud! But first! A very odd one-off (considering they shared a company for years), as it’s “Macho Man” Randy Savage vs. the future Fit Finlay- back when he was the mullet-wearing Belfast Bruiser! This was back when Macho Man was still a regular wrestler on Monday Nitro and not just doing promos and beatdowns.

Also a co-headliner of sorts as the Road Warriors take on the Powers of Pain in 1988, shortly before the Warriors’ non-union Mexican equivalents bail for the WWF! And then it’s the WWF Jobber hell-zone that is Skinner vs. “Pump It Up!” Jim Powers in 1992!

But yeah, this is also the time I take a look at Sgt. Craig Pittman, who interested me a bit from the Kurasawa match I reviewed weeks ago. And turns out he sucked! Really bad! Come see HOW bad as he gets to fill tons of TV time on the D-shows with the “CIA Agent” Cobra, aka Jeff “nWo Sting” Farmer!

“THE MACHO MAN” RANDY SAVAGE vs. THE BELFAST BRUISER:
(WCW Nitro, March 25th 1996)
* Yes, it’s MACHO MAN vs. FIT FINLAY! But it’s jobber-ish Bruiser with a brown mullet/buzzcut combo and a hideous mustache in addition to his goofy Mad Max one-shoulderpad leather jacket. They put over him using European uppercuts & smashing up Steven Regal’s face and OH MY GOD Heenan namedrops that it made Steven Regal’s face “look worse than Princess Di’s car that she smashed up” which is a reference that now reads COMPLETELY different (it was some other car accident, don’t worry!). Bruiser’s in a black singlet with “Ireland” across the front. Macho Man’s in white tights and is on the roids big-time.

“Plucky Babyface Eddie Guerrero” is kind of a forgotten era for the guy. Also a reminder of the time WCW tossed the U.S. Title on a lot of pretty new acts in the company.

It’s time for more Dream Matches! With more of a big WCW focus again, but I throw in a WWF tag match from the weird early days where “Cool Dad” Michael Hayes was managing the Hardy Boyz, and they were in a throwaway match with Funaki & Papi Chulo (the future Essa Rios)! But our main event of the evening is Lord Steven Regal doing another one of his technical clinics against a new hire named Eddie Guerrero!

Also come see CIMA up against Perry Saturn, when the former was still a rookie trainee in WCW! A weird “Late WCW is more like Early TNA” match as Psychosis fights Shark Boy in 2000! And another shocker- PG-13 made WCW TV in 2000! They take on the much-maligned 3 Count! Then come see Bobby Eaton’s time on the WCW job squad continue as he’s set up against Fit Finlay in a match of the short, stocky veterans. And finally, a TRUE main event and the kind of match I was born to review- SCOTT PUTSKI vs. MEAN MIKE OF DISORDERLY CONDUCT! Smell the ratings!

LORD STEVEN REGAL (w/ Jeeves) vs. EDDIE GUERRERO:
(WCW Nitro, Jan. 9th 1996)
* Regal takes on the relative newcomer Eddie, here a a dorky babyface with a white & red singlet, a HUGE mullet, and a pretty generic persona. However, he was getting pretty great reactions at this point- I believe I read that a focus group test actually showed he was one of their more popular wrestlers, which led to some emphasis on TV. This was the “WCW Special” of just throwing two good workers out there with 8 minutes of TV time and seeing what happens.

This week: Another FAT MAN STAND-OFF, as it’s Cousin vs. Cousin! At least I think that’s how they’re related.

Welcome to another set of Dream Matches! Last week’s Wrestling Summit review was kind of a big show, so I needed a few smaller matches and easier-to-find ones to do this week, but I think I found some neat stuff- mostly revolving around Yokozuna’s WWF career, plus some other random guys. So this week, you will see an early Yokozuna squash against Koko B. Ware, then a scrap against his cousin Fatu in his role as The Sultan! And ending with one of his last WWF singles matches, as he takes on God-Tier Main Eventer Shawn Michaels!

Hoo boy, and if you’re a mark for Alex “The Pug” Porteau, are YOU gonna be happy- watch as the Pug takes on Salvatore Sincere and Fit Finlay on separate occasions! Can you believe

YOKOZUNA (w/ Mr. Fuji) vs. KOKO B. WARE:
(WWF RAW, Jan. 11th 1993)
* The dreaded “Rob Bartlett” era continues, as he declares “that is one big-butted Oriental, Vince!” then quips “He’s got an ass like an amphitheater!” How did THAT one make it to air? Koko’s in the AMAZING High Energy parachute pants (neon yellow, baby!), while Yoko’s in the cool old gear- the white with red. No Frankie- Vince suggests “Maybe Yokozuna had a little SNACK before he came out here”.

Found this on Pinterest. It’s glorious.

Time for more Dream Matches- this time centered by an SNME match between Demolition & The Rockers! Also, a REMATCH to the classic Jim Powers/Bobby Walker vs. Renegade/Joe Gomez match I showed you last week… PLUS the legendary explosion of that very same Renegade/Gomez team! And then not one, but TWO High Voltage solo matches, as Rage & Kaos face Fit Finlay & Perry Saturn, respectively! And then we cap things off with a Papa Shango vs. Typhoon match, long after either man was relevant! I couldn’t have booked a better match myself!

DEMOLITION (Smash & Crush, w/ Ax) vs. THE ROCKERS (Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty):
(Saturday Night’s Main Event, July 27 1990)
* This is the prelude to SummerSlam, with the Demos now as heels. The Rockers are in bright yellow, and gaining credibility at this point.

“After twenty years, ECW is over.”

NXT UK
Date: August 20, 2020
Host: Andy Shepard

We’re back to something a lot more interesting than Greatest Hits here as we have Superstar Picks. In other words, it’s time to crack open the WWE video vault and see what we can find involving UK wrestlers. This is what they have been needing to do for a long time now as they are long past the point of good stuff for Greatest Hits from NXT UK. Let’s get to it.

The penultimate episode, time to put on the blindfold and light the cigarette.

Just a few stops to go before we park the ECW On Syfy bus in the depot so let’s pop into Memphis, TN for the hell of it.

We’re in Cincinnati, Ohio (Japanese crowd: “Ohio!”) and we’re five days away from Royal Rumble 2010 and the last ECW title on a WWE PPV.

After a dramatic recap of last week’s ECW Homecoming we get the announcement of Christian vs. William Regal so this show still has a pulse.

I needed a week off due to all the horrible shite going on in wrestling but don’t worry, I’m sure the death rattle of ECW on Sci-Fi will cheer me up. Tonight, it’s finally The Homecoming Finale and we get a dramatic video package to pretend this hasn’t been boring crowds senseless these past few weeks.

It’s the first episode of 2010 and let’s ignore that giant moon heading ever closer to the brand and focus on CM Punk vs. Mark Henry instead.

We’re in IZOD Centre in New Jersey and in the spirit of ECW ’98, the champion is here to guest commentate until his contract gets sorted out. Christian is thrilled to sit next to Josh Mathews and Bryant Gumbel (I don’t understand that reference but it’s the only thing of interest he says all night.)

We’re in Orlando, Florida to continue the road to ECW Homecoming (while the brand continues down the road to the knacker’s yard).

We’re in Laredo, Texas and Alleged GM Tiffany has invited former champ Kane to show up, as if WWE would consider bringing an old star to the C-Brand to boost ratings in 2020.

We’re in Houston, Texas and Josh Mathews is starting the show so you’d better bring some rope to tie yourself to your chair in case you fall off with excitement.

We’re getting near TLC and nearer to death so why not have new talent debut?

We’re a few days removed from Survivor Series, a show that had very little ECW interaction as the other brands wonder how many more hints they need to give to the C-Brand. We’re in Bridgeport, Connecticut and The Abraham Washington Show is tonight so let’s get this over with.

The show starts off with CM Punk anticlimactically returning, a trope he’d perfect over the next ten years. He’s full-on anti-Jeff Hardy at this point so the crowd aren’t happy to hear him bragging about being the first ever Triple Crown Straight Edge champion. I wonder if he ever called himself Major Threat?

It’s Veteran’s Day and somehow WWE is able to put on a wrestling show while patting itself on the back.