Wrestling with Work #20 (Impact, ROH, WWE Evolution, Funk vs Hart)

A few catch-up items before a big weekend, plus a very interesting item from the ol’ Watch Later list.

Ratings

“Speedball” Mike Bailey vs Samuray Del Sol (Impact Wrestling 10/19/23)

Rating: ***1/4

Gravity vs Angelico (ROH on HonorClub 10/19/23)

Rating: ***

Komander vs Metalik (ROH on HonorClub 10/19/23)

Rating: **3/4

Gates of Agony vs The WorkHorsemen vs Action Andretti & Darius Martin (ROH on HonorClub 10/19/23)

Rating: **1/2

Trish Stratus & Lita vs Mickie James & Alicia Fox (WWE Evolution)

Rating: **1/4

Reviews

No DQ Match: Crazzy Steve vs Black Taurus (Impact Wrestling 10/19/23)

Here’s a case of someone I want to like, and someone I want to be elsewhere. I’m actually a pretty good fan of Impact Wrestling since last year, I’ve really enjoyed the wrestling it’s put on and how it’s picked itself up from the floor to become a solid, steady promotion.

There are still some guys who have been there through the tough times, including Crazzy Steve, who is the person I wish I liked more. I think his aesthetic is really interesting, I like the horror references he’s worked into his gear and look, but I have a hard time getting into what he’s doing. I think it’s the common problem where mainstream wrestling can only go so far; as much as he wants to be a horror movie villain, you know he’s not gonna kill anybody or get too bloody, so much like The Fiend character, it’s hard to really suspend disbelief with what he does. He’s also terminally fine as a wrestler, never rising above acceptable.

Frequently rising above acceptable, and directly into my heart, is Black Taurus. Taurus has impressed me from the first time I saw him a few years ago, from basically every aspect of his game. He’s an exciting wrestler who’s fun to watch, his look is awesome, and I enjoy him practically any time I see him. As much as I like Impact, it is still a relatively minor stage in American wrestling, and Taurus is someone that I feel could really turn a lot of heads if only more people saw him. I’m certainly not privy to any backstage or political reasoning why Taurus has not shown up on AEW when many other luchadors have, but I would just love for him to get a great run somewhere that isn’t Impact, as they seem to only want him at a very specific, limited capacity.

Rating: **3/4

No DQ Match: Terry Funk vs Bret Hart (Terry Funk Presents Wrestle Fest: 50 Years Of Funk)

This one is a real vibes-based gem. It’s a curiosity of its time, with ECW’s Terry Funk facing the WWF Champion Bret Hart in a show featuring talent from both shows. Even better, the version I’m watching is recorded on a good-not-great consumer-grade camera, so the whole thing has a yellowed visual that gives it an archival feel when watching it. The mechanics of the match aren’t super impressive to me, but it’s just an interesting collision of two of the all-time greats, gathered together to celebrate Terry Funk, in some of the same footage that you would see later in Beyond The Mat.

Rating: ***1/2

Have a good weekend!

Wrestling with Work #9 (Impact, ROH, WWE, VADER)

A mixture of old and new today. You might say…it’s time.

Black Taurus & Laredo Kid vs Rich Swann & Sami Callihan (Impact Wrestling BTI 9/28/23)

Utterly competent, appropriate enough for the Impact pre-show. LK and Taurus are always fun to watch, the latter being one of the most underrated competitors going today, in my view. I can’t get enough of Black Taurus on any level and I really wish he’d get more spotlight where I can see him. Swann & Callihan do their thing; I must compliment the clean as hell 450 splash from Swann.

Rating: **3/4

X Division Championship: Chris Sabin (c) vs Alan Angels (Impact Wrestling 9/28/23)

Good to see Angels get this big of an opportunity after, no doubt, the biggest win of his career in Ultimate X. They didn’t have a lot of time to make this a real looker of a match, but both did fine for what this was. Amazing how Sabin can still keep pace with people a decade or two younger than him.

Rating: ***

“Speedball” Mike Bailey vs Jonathan Gresham (Impact Wrestling 9/28/23)

Cripes, this again? This is the fifth singles match between these two in Impact, not counting singles outside of the company nor multi-man matches involving the two. Look, I like both of these guys, but there’s really not a whole lot more to be said about this. It’s become Impact’s safety match. I figured this was to gas up Bailey en route to fighting Will Ospreay, but Gresham won this one with an admittedly novel subversion, one of the only cases where multiple consecutive pins actually worked. Constant rematches in wrestling annoy me, so I hope we let this one breathe for a long while.

Rating: **3/4

Trinity vs Gisele Shaw (Impact Wrestling 9/28/23)

One of my all-time favorite women’s wrestlers meets a current favorite of mine. I really respect Trinity for doing her own thing in Impact and aiming to help make the “territory,” so I’m glad to see she’s mixing it up with practically everyone she can on the roster. Shaw is so ready-made for a bigger stage, her character work in matches is very good for her experience level and I hope she gets a look in elsewhere soon (no offense to Impact).

Rating: ***

Shane Taylor vs Jimmy Jacobs (ROH on HonorClub 9/28/23)

Had to peep this one for the surprise Jimmy Jacobs cameo. It’s just a squash, Shane bullying around the smaller Jimmy, but it gave me a bit of good nostalgia.

Rating: **1/4

Mercedes Martinez vs Allysin Kay (ROH on HonorClub 9/28/23)

I was hoping for more here, but it’s another ROH squash on an episode full of them, as usual. I’m sure these two can and have had more substantial matches than this.

Rating: **

Rey Mysterio vs Kane (WWE No Mercy 2008)

An unwitting throwback to the first one of these, but funny enough, the lack of stip somehow helps it. Instead of cycling through tired weapon/brawl spots, they go with the tried-and-true big vs little spots, which both guys are far better at getting across. It ends in a DQ and isn’t anything special, but good to know they had something a little better in them.

Rating: **1/2

IWGP Tag Team Championship: Big Van Vader & Crusher Bam Bam Bigelow (c) vs The Steiner Brothers (NJPW Masters of Wrestling 6/26/92)

Allow me to indulge in a modern cliche: Big meaty men slappin’ meat. After listening to the newest episode of How2Wrestling and finding out more about The Man They Call, I discovered that this match existed and I absolutely had to see it. O’course, it’s Vader and Bam Bam throwing their weight around, and the early 90’s Steiners hurting their opponents and themselves to even the gap. I don’t have much intelligent to say about it, it’s just a good fuckin’ time.

Rating: ***3/4

Big Van Vader, Cactus Jack, & Mr. Hughes vs Sting & The Steiner Brothers (WCW Main Event 2/9/92)

This was some good old-fashioned TV rasslin’ if I’ve ever seen it. Such a cool sight to see most of these guys in their primes (did Mr. Hughes have a prime?) and have a totally good TV match. Definitely throw this one on if you’ve got 10-15 minutes to kill.

Rating: ***1/4

Until next week!