Falls Count Anywhere

03-07-03

Yes. I like the Yum Yums.

Los Guerreros vs. the Full Blooded Italians (FBI) was a much better match than it had a right to be, mostly because Eddy (Guerrero is my favorite wrestler) and Chavo made Polumbo and Stromboli look very good.

Eddy may be the more impressive wrestler, with all his hot moves and great facials, but Chavo makes everyone look like gold. He can sell his ass off too. The Guerreros Cheat 2 Win in an awesome finish, where Stromboli had just given Chavo the Fall-away Slam when Eddy came out with the Frog Splash for the three. Nice match.

Kurt and Heyman had some great backstage moments. Just by coming on screen, Kurt makes things better. I swear, he is the best thing in wrestling today. His bit with Stephanie was solid, too, even with Steph involved. By the way, she should never wear bangs like that. Stephanie was HOTHOTHOT when she was playing up the Kurt seduction.

The WrestleMania commercial is awesome. It's the most wonderful time of the year.

Matt Hardy defended the belt against Kidman. Their match at No Way Out was better, but they worked hard and it looks like the move to Hardy was the right one. I really like the role they have Shannon Moore playing. An exciting match that seemed to build perfectly for TV.

The WWE has started doing FLASHBACKs, and I cry gimmick infringement.

Of course, we'll be buying it for the articles.

Torrie Wilson's little segment was awesome, and I can't wait to see her yum-yums while I am flipping the pages of Playboy, looking for the latest Norman Mailer claptrap. I really like Nidia, and it is nice to see her getting some air time in a role that she knows how to play. Nidia flashed Josh, but I am pretty sure Josh saw Nidia's lovelies when they were on Tough Enough 1, since it was obvious he wasn't really surprised.

Hogan comes out to the noisefest. He calls out McMahon, who comes out and jibba-jabbas a bit. They go back and forth and Hogan notes that he is the only guy in the WWE who ever drew, which I am sure Austin and the Rock are very amused by.

Hogan's challenge for Thursday was denied. They talk about the steroid trial, and Hogan plays Mad as Hell better than anyone has in months. It's official: McMahon vs. Hogan is on, and if Hogan loses, he retires.

I am sorry to say that watching Nathan Jones training with Taker in the ring was a bad idea. I like Jones, but he is not in the next big thing. The crowd seemed confused, but Taker ran through the jobber. The less said about the following match, the better.

Rhyno and Benoit took on Team Angle in a match that focused on chain wrestling, or in other words, what Benoit and Team Angle are best at. I love the way these guys move, always with amazing precision. Rhyno looked better than he had in WWE, reminding me of his days in ECW, but he has certainly lost a little speed. His suplexes are still show amazing impact. Benjamin looks ready for a run. Haas needs a little seasoning, but he is well on the road. Working Rhyno's neck was a good story to tell, and the writers are doing that more and more.

I'll be going to the SmackDown! show on the 25th. Anyone bringing a Falls Count Anywhere sign that I see will be given a free hug (or a nod of ultimate respect, depending on your gender)

Cena did his best rap yet on Brock, getting better and better. He is ready for the big feud with Brock, and I am loving the way they are making the line of challengers to the champ obvious and still always managing to deliver.

The Cage match was what I expected, and it came off well on TV. I can't say enough about how Angle will work through everything, but next week will likely be the big match between the two of them, since Kurt won't be able to work the type of match needed for Mania. I hope the Mania match still happens, but it is looking bleak. Still, with a couple of weeks off, Kurt may be able to pull it off.

All in all, a good show, the flow went well, and it built Mania and all the storylines along the way.

FlashBack!
BamBam Bigelow is an entertaining character, and always made me happy when he would work the WWF in the day. So, in 1995, Bigelow got his biggest chance ever, when he main evented against a gentleman named Lawrence "LT" Taylor.

"Anything else would be uncivilized."

The whole thing started at the 1995 Royal Rumble. LT was sitting in the front row, and BamBam came out and ended up losing, which led LT to start laughing. BamBam saw this, pushed him to the ground and got the biggest pop of his career.

I remember watching and saying that it might be a shoot as everyone seemed to come out of sorts, even the camera angles seemed poorly chosen, like some half-rushed documentary that happened to be in the right place at the right time. They brought it to TV and the match was made for WrestleMania XI in Hartford, CT. I had tix, so I got to see it: the first great celebrity wrestling match.

The match was well-built, and the event was good, but the rest of the show was only fair. When Salt -n- Pepa came out to rap LT to the ring, the whole arena came alive, giving the match a touch of showbiz that Mania in those years frequently missed.

Once they were in the ring, I expected pure crap. I would have thought it was a worthwhile match even if it hadn't had delivered, which it did.

Most of the time, the celebrity is only there for a boat payment, but LT, with his years of football, was a gamer in great shape that loved wrestling. He came in and started working with BamBam in a very physical style, giving shoulder blocks and forearms, actual moves that BamBam sold realistically, making it look like he had actually been hit by a defensive lineman. Then, BamBam got offense, and that worked even better.

Someone, I believe Dr. Tom Pritchard, but I am not sure, trained LT good, and his selling seemed as believable as his offense. The crowd was into the match the entire way, with every move LT did getting a good pop, and every move BamBam gave to LT leading to strong boos. It was like watching a match from the early 80s, where the people actually reacted to moves against their favorite wrestlers.

LT went to the middle rope, came off with a forearm and got the three count. He won, and the crowd loved it. The football players LT had brought with him to combat the Million Dollar Corporation came into the ring to celebrate, as did Salt -n- Pepa. The scene was a fitting end to a great match.

Here's the business. LT never did anything with WWF again. BamBam was then pushed as a face immediately after, but never got to the top again and faded. It was just a few months, it got a little mainstream press, but it didn't light up the box office, and the ratings weren't even a lot better than they had been before, but the quality of the event itself was off the charts.

I can't say that it's a well-remembered match, as most folks remember the smaller roles that guys like Tyson and Mr. T played. The LT stuff led to nothing, but he pulled off a great show one night.

And that's all I ever ask for.

Next Week: Cinequest is over, so I will be giving my full attention to Falls Count Anywhere. Reviews, News, and a FlashBack! to a forgotten WrestleMania moment.

In the meantime, head over to the Fanboy Forum and tell us what you think...

Chris Garcia