THE MOSS COVERED THREE HANDLED FAMILY CREDENZA

ARTICLE #21
JANUARY 7, 2002

Do You Believe In Miracles?

3/20/94 Ladder Match for the WWF Intercontinental Title: Razor Ramon vs Shawn Michaels (w/Diesel)

Many fans still call this the greatest match in WWF history. While it is the most historic great WWF match ever, the 1995 rematch between these two was actually a hair better because it was better laid out. Still, this was a standard-setting match for the WWF and ladder matches in general. The match started with several cool exchanges in quick fashion. The highlight of this segment saw Razor attempt his Razor's edge, but Michaels backdropped him out of the ring and onto an exposed section of the concrete floor. Diesel, Michaels' bodyguard, interfered early on and was ejected. There were so many creative and breathtaking spots with the ladder. Michaels did a splash off the ladder at one point, and did another splash by falling onto the ladder, which in turn fell onto Ramon. However, the highlights saw Michaels act as a human highlight reel as Ramon tore him apart. He threw Michaels into the ladder in a corner, and Michaels sailed onto the floor. Ramon knocked the ladder over and Michaels twice fell onto the ropes: the first time neck-first and the second time crotch-first. Ramon also catapulted Michaels into the ladder outside the ring. In between moves, the pacing was excellent for the most part with both men selling the damage well. The end came after Michaels fell off the ladder crotch-first onto the top rope and got entangled in the ropes. Ramon seized that opportunity to climb the ring and retrieve both championship belts (including Shawn's fake belt), thus winning the match in 18:44. Undoubtedly the greatest match in Wrestlemania history. *****

1/4/96: Vader vs Antonio Inoki

Vader slapped Inoki before the bell. Vader overpowered Inoki early with his stiff strikes in the corner. Vader no-sold several shots from Inoki but Inoki locked Vader in a headscissors that sent both men tumbling out of the ring. Vader slammed Inoki on a ringside table and dumped the table on him. Inoki got up on the apron but Vader met him with a lariat. Vader missed a second lariat and Inoki locked him in a choke sleeper in the ropes for a huge pop. Vader fought back and dropped Inoki on his head with a sick released German suplex that folded Inoki up like a cheap accordion. Vader took the fight to the entrance ramp. He charged Inoki but Inoki backdropped Vader back into the ring. Inoki scored with a top rope kneedrop. Inoki landed several kicks, including an enzuguiri that knocked Vader out of the ring. Inoki kicked Vader and Vader tumbled over the barricade into the announcers� area. Inoki hit Vader with a chair and busted him open pretty badly. Inoki punched away at Vader�s bleeding forehead and gave him another enzuguiri. Inoki applied an armbar but Vader broke the hold. Vader fought back and locked on a sleeper on Inoki in the middle of the ring as heat reached a fever pitch by Tokyo Dome standards. Vader slammed Inoki hard for a near fall and chokeslammed him for a heated near fall. Inoki tried to fight back with an enzuguiri but missed. Vader elbowsmashed Inoki and applied a dragon sleeper. Vader gave Inoki a Vader bomb for a dramatic near fall. Vader gained another dramatic near fall with a moonsault made even more amazing because Inoki actually took it. Vader hit a corner splash but missed a second one. Inoki slammed Vader and applied a cross armbreaker for the submission win at 14:13. The quick ending worked well as a �fluke� finish that protected Vader�s credibility. Inoki had too much of an ego to lose, but the ending didn�t damage Vader as badly as it could have. Also, to his credit Inoki took a ton of punishment and worked the hardest he had in years. One of Vader�s finest performances. ****1/4

4/2/93: Shinobu Kandori vs Akira Hokuto

This match mixed great wrestling, lots of hot moves, great psychology and tons of blood to produce an all-time classic match and easily the best match of Kandori's career. Hokuto may have had her best match as well, since she worked to Kandori's strength's while not sacrificing her own due to Kandori's limitations. The match started in heated fashion, with both women exchanging knockdowns and verbal challenges. Early on, Kandori "injured" Hokuto's shoulder, setting up the dramatic storyline of the match. The action spilled outside the ring, where Kandori gave Hokuto a tombstone piledriver on the announcer's table. Hokuto juiced heavily from that move, with her entire face covered in blood. She and Kandori brawled throughout the crowd on the arena floor. Kandori then dominated the middle segment of the match, mainly focusing on Hokuto's arm but also throwing in moves such as a tope. Hokuto fought back with a huracanrana and hit her top rope flip plancha at 23:45. There were lots of great near falls down the stretch, including pin attempts after Hokuto's Northern Lights Bomb and even after the same move by Kandori, which got a huge pop. Each woman went to punch the other, but Hokuto's punch proved more powerful. An emaciated Hokuto covered Kandori to win the match at 30:27. Super finish that got across the idea that neither woman had the strength left to attampt any of their usual finishers. Nearly every aspect of the match was flawless. *****

4/15/95 All Japan 1995 Carnival Tournament Final: Mitsuharu Misawa vs Akira Taue

Taue was really fired up for his first Carnival Tournament final and had the best match of his career. In fact, the match was shockingly fantastic to the point that it was perhaps the best Carnival Tournament final in company history. They started out with strong action and Taue hit a tope suicida on Misawa to great heat. Taue dropped Misawa neck-first on the top rope on opposite sides of the ring and applied a dragon sleeper. Taue gave Misawa a DDT for an early near fall. Misawa countered a powerbomb with a huracanrana and finally gained the adcantage at 7:20. He gave Taue his elbow suicida. Misawa pounded Taue with a flurry of elbows and gained a near fall. Misawa gained a near fall on Taue with a back suplex. Taue actually twice raked Misawa's eyes to thwart his offensive attacks. Taue dropkicked Misawa out of the ring and gave him a back suplex off the apron to the floor. Misawa fought back and gained a near fall with a tiger splash at 15:00 and another near fall with a German suplex. Misawa then gave Taue a tiger driver for a dramatic near fall. Taue fought back and gave Misawa a nodowa off the apron to the floor as fans popped a nut screaming so loud. Taue then gained a near fall back in the ring. Taue hit a released German suplex for a great near fall. Taue gave Misawa a dynamic bomb for another great near fall at 21:30. Misawa knocked down Taue with several elbows, but was so out of it himself that his comeback was aborted. He countered a Taue nodowa and hit a desperation running elbow. Misawa gained a near fall after a series of elbows. He gave Taue a released German suplex and then a tiger driver for a very heated near fall. Taue attempted a comeback but Misawa gave him a tiger suplex for another near fall. Misawa gave Taue another tiger suplex and scored the pin at 27:05 to win the tournament. Misawa, who sported a black eye afterwards, was just amazing in carrying Taue to this level. Everything he did was flawless and his work was comparable to his best epic matches against Kobashi and Kawada. *****

10/5/97 Hell In A Cell: Shawn Michaels vs Undertaker

This is perhaps the best cage match in wrestling history and easily, by leaps and bounds, the best match in the Undertaker's career. Of course, you can credit that feat to Michaels, who turned in another monumental performance. Undertaker dominated Michaels for the first nine minutes of the match, giving Michaels a brutal beating and using the cage as a weapon several times. Michaels made a comeback and hit a tope suicida on Undertaker, knocking him into the cage. Michaels hit Undertaker in the back with the ring steps. Michaels then piledrove Undertaker on the ring steps in an impressive spot. Michaels gave the Undertaker several chairshots and gained a near fall. Undertaker fought back but Michaels cut him off. Michaels hit a top rope elbow as Sgt. Slaughter ordered the cage to be risen in order to remove a cameraman previously beaten up by Michaels when he got in the way of the action. The action spilled outside the cage where Undertaker catapulted Michaels into the cage. Michaels began to bleed heavily as Undertaker continued his assault. Michaels climbed to the roof of the cage where he and Undertaker then fought. Undertaker slammed Michaels on the roof of the cage. As Michaels was hanging over the side of the cage, Undertaker knocked him off and backwards into the Spanish announcers' table. Undertaker continued to take apart Michaels, including a top rope chokeslam. However, Kane then made his WWF debut and came into the ring, where he confronted Undertaker and then tombstoned him. A groggy Michaels then covered Undertaker to win the match at 29:59. While the ending was a tainted one, it could not take away from the greatness of this match. Michaels took one of the greatest beatings in wrestling history in this match. ****3/4

4/28/96: Shawn Michaels vs Diesel

This was a shockingly great match and by far the best match Diesel ever had. Again, you can credit that partially to Michaels, who had one of his best matches. Michaels went right after Diesel but Diesel got the better of him. Michaels knocked Diesel out of the ring with a dropkick. Michaels gave Diesel an Orihara moonsault and gained an early near fall. Michaels was whipped into the corner and Diesel knocked him off the apron onto the ringside barricade. Diesel dominated Michaels for the next several minutes with his usual offense and even choked the referee. Diesel took the referee's belt and whipped Michaels with it. Diesel also hit Michaels with a chair a few times. Michaels then went to hit Diesel with the chair but Diesel gave him a low blow. Diesel maintained his dominance of Michaels and gained a near fall. Michaels bumped like crzay for Diesel, adding to the drama of the match. Diesel then stunned the television broadcast team when he jacknife powerbombed Michaels through their table. Michaels sold that move like he was shot. Michaels used a fire extinguisher on Diesel to regain the advantage. Michaels gave Diesel a great flying forearm and hit him twice with a chair. Diesel fought back and gave Michaels a boot to the face. Diesel went for a jacknife but Michaels gave him a slew of punches. Michaels gave Diesel a top rope elbow and went for a superkick but Diesel gave Michaels a lariat. Diesel then grabbed Mad Dog Vachon in the front row and took his artificial leg. However, Michaels fought back and knocked Diesel out with the leg. Michaels then gave Diesel the superkick in dramatic fashion and scored the pin at 17:54. This match was never dull and was really dramatic folllowing the powerbomb through the table. Diesel also worked harder than usual to add to the match. ****1/2

11/20/94 All Japan Women V-Top Tournament First Round Match: Combat Toyoda vs Yumiko Hotta

Another match that was far greater than it had any right to be. Both women had the best singles match of their career, especially Toyoda, who had the match of her life. Hotta gave Toyoda a brutal slap and a knee to her nose that looked sick. Toyoda established herself as a toughwoman early by barreling through Hotta early on. The two had a heated exchange of forearms and elbows with neither woman coming out on top. Hotta gave Toyoda a series of stiff kicks. Hotta went for a kick but Toyoda caught her and started working on her leg. Toyoda applied a figure four leglock and the two exchanged words. Hotta landed a kick but Toyoda came back with a lariat. Hotta missed a rolling spin kick in the corner and Toyoda assumed the upper hand. Hotta slapped Toyoda while Toyoda was on the top rope, throwing her off balance and causing her to hang upside down in the corner off the turnbuckles. Hotta then kicked the helpless Toyoda on the ring apron. The action spilled to the floor where Hotta slammed Toyoda on a ringside table. Hotta stiffed Toyoda with a series of knees but missed a spin kick off the top rope. Toyoda went for a powerbomb but Hotta countered it. Toyoda gained a near fall with a powerslam and two other near falls with a pair of powerbombs. Toyoda then gained a heated near fall with a top rope splash. Hotta gave Toyoda a tiger driver for a great near fall and a second one for another near fall. Toyoda surprised Hotta with a backslide for a near fall. Toyoda scored another near fall with her Combat driver. Hotta gave Toyoda a great cross-arm German superplex for a dramatic near fall. Hotta gave Toyoda a top rope spin kick and nearly gained a win via knockout. Hotta stiffed Toyoda with a slew of slaps, knees and kicks. Toyoda surprised Hotta with a German suplex and scored the pin at 16:55 for an upset. Great match with a super final six minutes. Every move meant something and there were no dull moments. ****3/4

10/25/95: Toshiaki Kawada vs Gary Albright

Kawada carried Albright to what was easily the best match of his career. In doing so, Kawada had one of his better matches. The fan heat was also unreal for this match. Albright immediately went for a German suplex but Kawada applied a leglock. Kawada gave Albright a jumping kick and went for a back suplex, but Albright applied a leglock of his own. Kawada gave Albright several knees to the head. Albright gave Kawada a belly to belly suplex and applied a cross armbreaker. Albright followed up with a Fujiwara armbar. Albright suplexed Kawada and then reapplied the armbar. Kawada gave Albright a slew of kicks to his leg and tried to apply a half crab but Albright blocked it. Kawada then applied a cross armbreaker on Albright. Albright tackled Kawada on the arena floor but Kawada fought back and gave him several kicks outside the ring. Kawada slammed Albright and gave him another kick but Albright fought back with some blows of his own and belly to belly suplexed Kawada. Albright powerslammed Kawada for a near fall. Albright gave Kawada a brutal released German suplex. Albright gained a near fall on Kawada, then hooked on a full nelson. He took down Kawada and went for a submission. Kawada briefly countered with a cross armbreaker but Albright regained control of the match. Albright headlocked Kawada but Kawada countered with an impressive backdrop driver. Kawada then applied the stretch plum on Albright. Kawada lariated Albright but Albright applied a sleeper. Albright continued to dominated and then attempted a dragon suplex. Kawada countered it and gave Albright several knees and a rolling kick to the head. Kawada applied a cross armbar and made Albright submit at 15:35. Kawada's selling was masterful from start to finish and added to the drama of the match. ****1/2

Next Issue: The Clash Classics

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