The show opening with Joey Styles reminded me a lot of the hype for ECW PPVs, with Paul Heyman babbling out as much as he can, as quick as he can, but I imagine Joey speaking slower, and it went much longer. I like it for a PPV opening. It sets a big fight feel for the main event, establishing that the main event is, in fact, the main event. Kind of like how when you order a boxing PPV, you see a bunch of fights, but only one truly matters.
As the cameras cut to the announce table, I could only wonder if Joey's suit was cheap.
I'm really disappointed you didn't use the Spanish commentators as a place to slip in jokes that only a few people understand. Putting in goofy ass jokes in the foreign commentaries is one of my favorite things to do with WCWA.
When Joey asked Paul which variant of the Midnight Express the Backseats remind him of, I'm REALLY disappointed you didn't have him gleefully say Randy Rose & Dennis Condrey. Afterall, he was their manager in the NWA and AWA.. Know your history
As Joey & Paul were running down the card, I thought the Backseat Boys vs. Hooliganz would be the ideal opener and it didn't disappoint. It was a great fast paced chaotic opener and a great way to open the show. I like that nothing was truly solved. The blow off will make for a nice TV match down the road or possibly at the next PPV in 3 years.
Nice promos from The Second City Saints and an interesting segment with Shane McMahon.
And I'm up to Masato Tanaka & Rhino when I resume tomorrow.
I feel like Tanaka & Rhino would have been better suited to just be a stiff strong style brawl than an outright hardcore match. Some whips into the guardrail and ring posts, and just generally really stiff wrestling. I'd describe what I expected as an early 90s W*ING style brawl, but you'd have no idea what I'm talking about. I feel like the style of match they had, with really brutal chair shots, breaking tables, etc. would have been much better suited higher up the card, because it'll be hard for anything to top it, on a violence level. As a mark for hardcore psychology, I don't like the ladder being used. Why would a ladder be brought into play? Neither man is going to be climbing the ladder to jump off it, so it's essentially just a big battery ram. Necro Butcher had never done anything with ladders until the filming of The Wrestler, because while he's a brawler, he's not a high flyer at all, so he never messed with ladders. I feel like the same thing the ladder was used for could have been accomplished with a section of guardrail or possibly the ring steps.
The music video prior to Cage & Styles gives it a big fight feel. The long segment with the Impact Players and the music video between the Tanaka & Rhino and Cage & Styles matches was a good touch, to bring the crowd back down. I don't like that the match started with a brawl. With what Tanaka and Rhino just did, it'd be almost impossible for Cage & Styles to pop the crowd with brawling. It's progressive violence. I also don't like the use of the chairs in the finish. Had Tanaka & Rhino killed each other AFTER this match, the use of chairs wouldn't have looked so weak, but it just seemed to dampen this high speed match. Tanaka and Rhino had just finished killing each other with all sorts of brutality, but AJ falls to just a couple of chair attacks?
Okay, here's a problem you have noted in the past with my TVs.. Excessive violence and run ins. Two matches in a row have ended with run ins or interference with illegal chair use, the match before being a hardcore match that the two chair uses would NEVER be able to top. This was the problem with putting Tanaka & Rhino on so early. It's also somewhat repetitive that Helms & Jericho ends pretty much the same way Cage & Styles did, with a screw job with chairs.
And to no one's shock, Helms was with the Corporation all along. Hate to say it, but I seen this coming from the finish of the match.
Christian's promo was good and a nice change of pace from the chaos of the ringside area.
The pre match hype for Foley & Homicide was great. I like how the music videos are being used. Unfortunately, this is a Hardcore title match, which will only continue the monotony of hardcore. It really hurts the effectiveness of what Foley & Homicide will do, when there's already been a hardcore match earlier in the show, and the last two matches have had chairs.
I continue with Foley & Homicide when I resume.
I think Foley's entrance would have been more interesting if you would have wrote his unique hobble style of walking.
Homicide's music's entrance is actually the Kill Bill sound effect. The Ironside introduction, while is basically the same thing that Tarintino swapped for Kill Bill, has stampeding horses in the background.
I'm disappointed that Foley went into the stairs any way other than the Foley Special. Foley has a unique way of hitting the steps that no one else is dumb enough to attempt, by running full force into the steps knees first. It's probably why in 2011, he has the aforementioned signature hobble..
This is definitely the night of chairs. I think chair shots would have more effect if there weren't so many, even if it meant different weapons being used. Pipes, boards, potted plants, toasters, Tickle Me Elmo's.. it sure seems like ICW staff bought a surplus of chairs for the evening's hardcore festivities.
If a Cop Killer, off the apron and to the floor, through a table, hadn't been the finish, I would have been protesting. You talk about the finish I proposed for the Hell in a Cell as dangerous and unrealistic. You sir do not know dangerous and unrealistic!
Series of interesting promos allows for adequate clean up time.
A great tag match. Glad that at least one match for the show doesn't have on the floor brawling, interference, or weapon use. It gives the show a nice change of pace, especially after the hardcore match.
Very interesting vignette with Heyman.
While it helps the storyline a lot, I don't like the interference from Tajiri. It seems like literally every match is ending with some sort of weapon shot, interference, or other shenanigans. It's honestly setting a bar way too high for the Hell in a Cell match, with progressive violence. I think the Tajiri run in would have been better suited as a post match run in. Dinsmore beats Regal, but continues to beat on him after the match. Referees are worthless. Lights dim, and Tajiri shows up to make the save. End result is the same, with Dinsmore coming out on top, but the match isn't hampered by the run in.
Great back to back promos from Taz & Daniels. I think these might have been better suited spaced out through the show, as to hype the show for the duration, rather than last minute hype.
And the Hell in a Cell match is where I'm at when I continue
Since when is Daniels from Kalamazoo, Michigan? I have NEVER heard him introduced as from anything but "The City of Angels".
I also don't like Taz using his ECW production track. "War Machine" fits him SO much better, especially in this current angle.
Taz: How do I get into the cell? The door?
Albert (pointing down the ramp): It's that way. Go. GO!
With a name like "Anthony Ref" does he really have any other choice in life but to be a referee?
It didn't take the action long to spill to the floor. I think that's a real disadvantage of a Hell in a Cell, as opposed to a traditional cage match, that they could realistically have a full match and never touch the cage, since it's a good foot or two away from the ring.
I really would have rather they broken the side of the cage, ala HHH vs. Cactus, than the Corporation straight up interfere. Defeats the purpose of a cage match if all they have to do is cut a lock and they can interfere. But with this, I'm glad you didn't go with my proposed finish, because the added interference REALLY wasn't needed, especially with all the other run ins on the show.
The finish was good. Not sure why you thought it wasn't.
Overall, a very good show. I think it would have been helped out if you were more sparring about the run ins, less is more sometimes. The foreign object use would have been better if there was more of a variety about what was used. A chain instead of a chair. Or even when there was a run in.. a fresh man should be able to beat down a worn out man in a sneak attack without issue. He shouldn't NEED a chair. But we've been over that.
I look forward to the future of ICW, because while this was a "big" PPV.. It seemed more like the set up for a bigger PPV down the line, outside of the main event.