Review: WWE Rey Mysterio – Biggest Little Man 3 Disc DVD

Brett Mix’s Rey Mysterio: “Biggest Little Man” DVD Review:

 

“It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.”- Rey Mysterio

Disc 1 Matches:

1) Rey Mysterio Jr, Latin Lover, Heavy Metal vs Madonna’s boyfriend, Fuerza Guerrera, Psicosis in a Six Man Tag @ When World’s Collide -November 6th 1994

An early look at young Mysterio here in a rare match that is very good at the special event in late 1994 named “When World’s Collide!” Fuerza Guerrera started the bout with Heavy Metal in the early going and we saw some quick offensive plunges by both guys. Heavy Metal did some awesome arm drag take downs then tagged in Mystrio as Guerrera tagged in Psichosis. Listen to how the broadcasters build up Mysterio and Psicosis coming from the same background and the little action they do in the ring is AWESOME and shows you a little preview of what is to come in the future between them. “Madonna’s Boyfriend” had a huge size advantage on Rey but he performed a flying drop kick off to get out of a dangerous predicament until he tagged in the Latin Lover who we find out was a male stripper before coming into Wrestling.

He dances as the ladies scream and he took it to Spicoli as the Latin Lover gave him some shoulder blocks until Spicoli thought he was in control as he dodged some moves until recieving a super kick straight to the face by the Latin Lover. Fuerza Guerrera and Psichosis didn’t want to get in the ring with Heavy Metal (the babyface in the match) but eventually Psichosis did and he came up with a clothesline on Heavy Metal until Heavy got him back with one. Some exchanges in moves where the guys miss each other with moonsaults, ducks after irish whips until this sequence ends by both guys pulling the hair of each other. Rey gets in with Fuerza Guerrera and we get to see some of Rey’s offensive instincts and how skilled he is in the risk taking department. A high flying hurricanrana on the outside to Fuerza Guererra, and they point out in 1992 Rey became the youngest champion in the history of Lucha Libre wrestling.

This match illustrates Rey’s moveset and his ability pretty wonderfully despite it being a tag team attraction that features the likes of many other athletes in this match. Heavy Metal dominated Guererra in the ring for a bit with a spinebuster slam and the fans got into this six man tag even more whenever Rey’s team (and Heavy Metal’s team) was in control as they were the baby faces. Great spot for the heels when Spicolo aka Madonna’s boyfriend threw Rey four rows into the audience from the outside due to the size difference of both guys. Rey also continued to take a huge beat down on the outside when Spiccoli grabbed him and hit a hard snapshot vertical suplex on the outside of the ring with Rey landing on his back onto the mat on the outside!

This after Rey was thrown four rows into the audience. Rey now beat down in the ring with Psichosis who obvioussly knows he’s injured but Rey somehow battles through it and drove Psichosis’s face right into the mat and the fans go wild! Very cool moment in this match for sure. Rey got to rest on the outside after that beat down while The Latin Lover and Heavy Metal took care of the work load while Mysterio recovered on the outside and that is also another nice feature about tag meatches, the realism where it allows the partners to get rest and come back more rested in the match. The pace went back and forth with neither team really dominating as both the heels and faces got there fair amount of shots in the match. When Rey eventually back in he created moves literally out of no where in the ring and he dives onto Madonna’s boyfriend from the top rope with a summersault! Rey has been insane in this match! He might not have been in the ring the whole time but he’s the one catching everyones eyes in this match with all the high risk moves so I can see why he chose this match to be shown as the first one on the disc.

It runs a little over 10 minutes and the Heels do end up winning when Fuerza Guerrera slaps on a neck hold of all things and Heavy Metal gives up and the match kind of ends out of no where after all that fast paced action!

As I said Rey did about 5-6 amazing things in this match and you got a good taste of what’s in store for this amazing athlete in this 6 man tag match on PPV at When World’s Collide, a pretty good choice for the first match as it was very solid!

It’s really a great display of how AAA wrestling down in Mexico is done and best of all it was an exciting match that never dragged for very long and the point was clear about Mysterio the whole way through, I enjoyed it! This match is also on his 619 DVD but I’m glad it’s here as well!

** 3/4

 

 

2) Rey Mysterio Jr vs Psicosis -ECW Hardcore TV September 26th, 1995

From Lucha Libre AAA Wrestling in Mexico to the Extreme.

It’s still Lucha Libre wrestling but it’s taken to the Extreme in ECW as Heyman gave these guys a chance.

Joey Styles hypes it up and says we’re all in for a treat as the 23 year old Psichosis was taking on the 20 year old Mysterio.

Rey looks extremely tiny as Psicosis looks a little more intimidating at this point in there careers, they’d have many more battles over the years this was just one of the first ones and the first one between them in ECW. Rey whipped Psicosis out of the ring and he went flying to outside the ring and when he got back in the ring Psicosis went to the hammer lock and Rey eventually reached behind him with a snap take down and he countered back with a kick and a flip and then an arm drag that took Psicosis out of the ring for a 2nd time and that got the fans on there feet.

Pretty incredible sequence there which showed both guys speed and Rey got the better of him there. While Rey tried to keep outdoing him Psicosis held on to the ropes as Rey went down on his stomach waiting for Psicosis to jump OVER him but Psicosis outsmarted him by stopping and proceeding to drop an elbow on the back of Rey. Psicosis had the advantage now and kicked at Mysterio and he had the weight advantage clearly so he threw Mysterio face first into the top turnbuckle followed by a dropkick into the buckle. Psicosis then picked him up and hit what looked like a modified samoan drop followed by a leg drop that puts Hogan’s to shame. 😉 With Psicosis in complete control after Rey’s dominating 2-3 sequences at the beginning he took over complete control of the match with Styles saying he is in serious trouble right now. Psicosis hit an amazing split legged drop kick in the corner.

He went for it again and Mysterio countered with a hurricanrana and roll up but got a 2, He did it two more times and even after being dropped on the apron by Psicosis he stood there until both men battled on the ring apron and Rey sent Psicosis head first into the turnbuckle on the outside. The fans were going crazy as they obvioussly loved this style of wrestling.

So amazing to see such appreciative fans such as ECW fans showing there love for hard work and Rey and Psicosis really brought there A game as they were both very young but obvioussly both EXTREMELY capable of big things.

The match did go back and forth with Psicosis in control of the middle of the match and now once again as he hit a big leg drop off the top and got only a 2 count. Psicosis lipped off some fans while hitting a spinning heel kick that sent Rey to the outside, as Psicosis flew threw the ropes Rey grabbed a steel chair and hit Psicosis head first. So not only risk taking, high flying, fast lucha libre wrestling but it was now implemented with an EXTREME style to boot! Awesome!

The fans ate it right up! Psicosis kept up with the drop kicks to Rey Rey’s head once in the ring and despite Rey pulling those neat offensive outbursts out of no where this was still Psicosis’s match to lose. The guy was in complete control after yet another summersault that Rey kicked out of. Psicosis missed a split legged drop kick in the corner that worked for him before and he fell to the outside. Rey then with a summersault off the top rope to the outside rail LANDING on Psicosis and the fans go insane! Huge spot and high risk by Rey that turned out successful.

Rey hit a Frankensteiner in the corner out of no where and rolled up Psicosis for 1…2..3 and the fans went nuts, Rey won an amazing debut match and the crowd went insane. Rey knew that the fans appreciated this type of wrestling and the best was yet to come he said.

This was a great match as expected and despite Psicosis controlling most of it Rey would come out of no where with those amazing offensive outbursts that had your jaw to the floor. Incredible work and amazing spots at times although a little of the action looked out of place.

Still a great match for the timing in there career and the chemistry not being all there, I would even go as far as AMAZING in some ways! Highly enjoyable yet again! Should note that this bout actually got the attention of Eric Bischoff as he was completely blown away by this stuff (Who wouldn’t be?) and you can see this match also on “ECW: Path Of Destruction”.

*** 1/2

 

 

 

 

 

 

3) Rey Mysterio Jr vs Juventud Guerrera -ECW Harcore TV February 6th, 1996

To start the match Juventud did a Facelock into a fireman’s carry into a scoop spin and then slam to Rey Mysterio. The crowd is relatively quiet at the start but whenever something big happens the ECW crowd is a lot like Japan in that regards it’ll go from LOW to HIGH so the appreciation is much louder and felt that much more.

The silence while the wrestling goes on is also a sign of respect from the fans to the athletes that I even enjoy viewing, very good to see. This is the 2nd ECW match on the set and the last ECW match on the set. Rey did some other great things in this promotion that you can see on the Rise and Fall of ECW and Blood Sport discs that I will review in the upcoming weeks or months and the other DVD’s I mentioned above.

Back to this match though, Juventud after controlling the first little bit put him into a pinning combination and after that predictably fails he went into a sidelock take down and Styles reminds us the two are lightning quick, this is further proven when Mysterio takes down Guerrera with a quick arm drag take down.

Styles says something great when he says both young men are just 21 years old yet they wrestle like they’ve been in the sport for 10 years, isn’t that the truth. I LOVED the slaps both men exchanged in this one. Got pretty violent yet it seemed like these slaps were just a test of who was tougher, not I want to fucking kill you slaps.

Mysterio with an awesome extreme Hurricanrauna from the top turnbuckle to the floor after Guerrera was on the ring apron. He may not get up says Joey Styles after his famous “OOOOH MY GOOOOOOOOOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!” the fans chant ECW.

Somehow after a 20 second break Guerrera is back in the ring and he gives Rey Rey a summersault leg drop that catches Mysterio on the skull. Rey did get back in control with a clothesline that sent Guerrera inside out followed by yet another head scissors. Some repetitive sequences by Rey in these early matches with how he lands on the ring apron after a back drop and then comes off with a spingboard hurricanrauna or one to the outside. The fans love it though and they really are amazing sequences so I won’t complain.
Mysterio tried to decapitate Guerrera as he made him wear a chair around his neck as he then pushed him into the ring post with it on, further damaging the neck of Guerrera. Lets see if Guerrera gets back in control of the match despite these big time moves, oh yes he does.

He hits a drop kick followed by a german suplex without a bridge, all impact. A springboard spin kick by Guerrera and only gets a 2 after he shows off to the crowd who had been on his case the whole night, After Rey blocked the powerbomb attempt, Guerrera did apply it but Mysterio kicked out yet again and Juventud is pretty frustrated. Rey gets hit with a press slam and he was in the air for a good 10 seconds.

Somehow Rey is magically better and he sent Guerrera into the corner and hit a Hurricanrauna for like the 4th time in the match out of no where. AGAIN he hits it and these are starting to bug me. Rey hits a powerslam and then goes to the top only for Guerrera to cut him off and then off the top rope he goes for a splash mouth from the turnbuckle, but Mysterio counters it with a head scissors (his 80th of the match) and wins it.

The fall was at 9:31 and Rey wins yet another ECW match after being dominated for a good chunk of it while hitting about 76 Head Scissors in the process. Don’t get me wrong there was a lot of good sequences in this match but the pysychology was flawed and some parts got very repetitive. Still pretty good though in parts! Not a bad spot on the DVD but it wasn’t NEEDED.

 

 

** 1/4

4) Rey Mysterio Jr vs Dean Malenko (c) for the WCW Cruiserweight Championship -Great American Bash 1996

Tony Schiavone: “We are in for a treat with Rey Mysterio.”

Rey said he was excited to be in WCW with all that talent, and a highlight wrestler like Rey taking on the Ice Man, the man of 1, 000 holds in Malenko.
I’ve seen this match before and it is a classic.

Malenko and Mysterio are both in the top 15 IN RING workers ever and overall for me they’re both in the top 25 WRESTLERS of all time. Even if there mic skills aren’t top notch that is just how good they are in the ring to be that high on the list, I say the same thing for the likes of Steamboat, Bret and Benoit even though they are higher then these two on my list.

For this Great American Bash PPV we have Tony Schivaone, Mike Tenay and Dusty Rhodes doing commentary, not a bad tandem at all for this match, you’ve gotta love how Tenay breaks down cruiserweight matches.

They talked about both these guys as if they were gods so it made for a better visual experience with it telling the viewer you truely knew you were in for a treat and that you were watching something special. It is a cruiserweight match in 1996 WCW on PPV afterall for the gold and this is Malenko and Mysterio, the sky would have to be falling for this not to be a great match.

But just how great? Well I consider this to be one of the best matches on the set, and in the career of both men and in WCW history, THAT’s how good it is!

This was the match that put Mysterio & WCW’s crusierweight division on the map in the United States. Malenko’s groundbased style mixed perfectly with Rey’s lucha libre form to put on the first crusierweight classic match since the Pillman/Liger match in North America at WCW Superbrawl 1992!
An all time classic and its worth buying the DVD for matches like this and the two vs Guererro, not to mention the 25 other good to great ones! It’s a must buy already people but back to this paticular bout!

This match gets a good chunk of time and that’s another strength and although its fast paced I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t at least some slower moments but tbe beautiful part is it all made sense. Nothing in this match is irrelevant and it’s all apart of both these amazing workers game plan, pefect psychology with top notch action, I could watch matches like these every single night, they make me proud to be wrestling fan!
These are the matches I truely cherish and enjoy, the reason I love reviewing gems like these and it’s no wonder people watched this over Duke the Dumpster and Bob Holly on Monday Night War, what a tough choice that is, not to mention the other attractions on WCW television at the time like the New World Order and all the other ex-WWF mega stars like Flair, Savage, Hogan, Perfect, Waltman, Hall, Nash, Dibiase, Luger, Heenan, Mean Gene, etc. Or guys like Sting, Benoit, DDP, Eddie, I could go on for years. Either way this was why the WCW was so top notch and this match is a classic in its own right for bringing back the classic cruiserweight division for good that would last in this company approximately 3-4 years although it was never as good from mid 96-mid 98 sort of like the whole company of WCW.

Rey included this match on his 619 DVD of course and even when I watched it on that set I knew I was dealing with an all time masterpiece!

By far the best match so far and maybe the best match of Disc 1 as I can’t remember the next 6 matches on this disc but we’ll see where this match holds up once Disc 1 is done, this is only match 4 of 10.

Didn’t take long for these two to hook up, The man of 1, 000 holds or better known at this point as “The Ice Man” with that cold stare was all business and wanted to ground his opponent. He came in the champion looking to settle down the high flying Mysterio but if there’s anything we’ve learned from the previous few matches its that Rey can come back with a unique counter-offensive move seemingly at any time during the match! Especially in big time matches like this.

Even though Malenko was the mat guy they pointed out Mysterio knew his holds despite being a 21-22 year old high flyer. Both guys with chain wrestling to start, countering the others holds imprssively which leads to them both staring at each other in the center of the ring and the crowd shows there appreciation.

Mysterio catches Malenko with an elbow then a brilliant armdrag where Rey Rey went flying seven different ways and it sent Malenko to the outside, when Dean got back up on the apron he was kicked off by Rey Mysterio Jr with a drop kick from the top of the turnbuckle and Malenko went back to the outside. Amazing pacing to start this title match and brilliant moves to start. An amazing showing of strength by the Ice Man as he got in an offensive move by sending Mysterio to the top over the rope by springing him with both arms to Rey to the outside and Rey misses the baseball slide.
Every time the two would lockup in the center of the ring after a great sequence where someone went to the outside a new body part was targetted and it became clear not after long that Malenko was tarfetting Rey’s arm and then went to work on his left arm as it was his main focus point with some holds.

He is after all the man of 1, 000 holds and Malenko both methodically and aggressively took it to Rey’s arm in am efficient manner by driving his knee into Rey’s shoulder, and the pace kept up great as the hold wasn’t held long, When Rey tried to escape he STILL had his arm worked on in the match as Malenko kicked his left arm against the steel gaurd rail! Amazing stuff.

When Rey tried to turn the tables Malenko viciously almost took his head off with a clothesline and a near fall. More arm work by the Ice Man and you can legitimately feel Rey Mysterio’s pain as he screams while Malenko does literally everything in the book you can to attack the area of Mysterio.

The strategy of Malenko was expected to be him taking out the legs of the high flyer Rey Mysterio in an attempt to ground the high flyer but ever since Mysterio injured his arm, Dean Malenko was like a shark that smelled blood and he was absolutely relentless as he applied arm bar after arm bar, slammed it into the buckles, the rails and drove every body part he could into it, and he applied all these moves viciously and QUICK so Rey had no time to breathe. An overhead suplex after a hammerlock after Malenko methodically continues his arm-shoulder-elbow domination of the Challenger Rey Mysterio.

After Rey attemped a flip because his legs were still fresh to get out of the domination of Malenko, Dean stil caught him as he dodged it and applied another modified arm bar. He then began to work on the legs of Rey as the psychology WAS THAT perfect, he noticed Rey was trying to get out of these predicaments with his flying abilities so not only did Malenko focus on what was weak, he also focused on Mysterio’s only strength. What a champion. What a fucking Pro-Wrestler, amazing intelligence shown by Dean Malenko and this is just a thing of beauty to watch here! Side suplexes and overhead suplexes followed by near falls inbetween holds was what Malenko spent the majority of the mid-match doing, the Champion seemed to want to end it around the 12 minute mark badly but Mysterio wouldn’t budge. Dean Malenko kept elbowing down Rey’s arm and stretched the muscles by throwing it over his right shoulder wearing down any kind of strength he might have had.

THE match turned the tide a little bit when Dean missed Rey and went flying to the outside! This was Rey’s chance, with his one good arm he punched Dean down from the apron with his right arm and came off the ropes and springboarded off the top off the ropes to the outside with a summersault on Dean and the fans went insane.
Back in the ring there was tremendous transition with bridges and rollups and near falls, the fans clapped in appreciation as they know this is a classic match. Mysterio hits a Hurricanrauna and a near fall again, they point out we are witnessing one of the best cruiserweight matches ever. Mysterio then with 3-4 near falls after a Frankensteiner from the top rope, Malenko then hit a powerbomb from the top rope and pinned Mysterio at 17:23 to retain the Cruiserweight title.

Rey says when he got back to the locker room he recieved a standing ovation from his peers.

Unbelievable isn’t even doing it justice, buy the DVD for this match among a few other classics alone. Wont regret it, truely remarkable and as said in the middle of the review for this match it opened the door for the divison so it’s a historic classic that needs to be shown and remembered for all time, one for the ages between two incredible workers. If there’s one problem I wish

it could have gone a bit longer but it’s not like it was short, it’s just it was so good I needed more!

**** 1/2

5) Rey Mysterio Jr vs Dean Malenko (c) for the WCW Cruiserweight Championship -WCW Monday Night Nitro July 8th, 1996

 

With the amazing success of there encounter for the title at the Bash, a re-match on Nitro was not only a no-brainer it simply was probably in the cards already due to Rey winning the title for the first time, but it HAD to happen. People wantred and needed to see more of this match. It’s still awesome, not quite as good because it’s a TV match and they had to cut time down but it’s relevant as it’s Rey’s first cruiserweight title win and it’s a rare Nitro match with Malenko, and it’s fucking Mysterio and Malenko who is honestly in there right mind going to complain about this match selection?

More Malenko-Mysterio action is always a good thing and this Nitro match took place OUTSIDE.

Despite this one not matching up to the original clash at the Bash for obvious reaosns it actually started off with a better pace then GAB’s match. Mysterio with a Hurricanrauna to the outside followed by a series of offensive moves where he utilized his speed and hit a few drop kicks to Dean Malenko. It looked like Rey botched a move as he fell off of Malenko and it looks like Dean perhaps improvised and just went for a pin and then he came in control.

If it wasn’t a botch (and I’m almost sure it was) then it was brilliant improvisation and they covered it up quite well. This was the night after the Famous Hogan HEEL Turn at Bash at the Beach so they talked about that heel turn quite a bit during this match as expected. They went to a commercial break so god knows what we missed but when they went to the break Malenko was in control of the match with a hold wearing down Rey, and when they returned Rey gets hit witoh a slam and then a reverse chin lock. The sky was light when the match started and despite just 5-7 minutes ging by in this match the sky has all of the sudden gotten darker.

While I was noticing things with the SKY, Mysterio found his way out of the chin lock and went for a quick pin but inly got a two and Malenko kicked Rey out of the ring to the outside. Rey gets back in the ring and Dean Malenko slaps on another reverse chin lock, then a body scissors. This has been a pretty solid back and forth match so far.
Not really psychological like the Great American Bash match and that’s always nice to see not a COPY from a different match. Malenko hit a back body standing suplex to Rey on the outside of the ring onto the mat. Dean broke his own count and then he picks up Rey Mysterio and throws him back in the ring, scoops him up and slams him down to the canvas and gets a 2.
They point out how Rey’s got heart and he shows that as he counters a slam with a Hurricanrana to the outside of the ring. Both men laying down on the cement/mat area on the outside of the ring, both men not moving as they try to shake it off. Mysterio kicks Malenko’s leg and then climbs to the top followed by a BRILLIANT looking Frankensteiner that only gets him a 2 count.

Such a brilliant move by Rey Mysterio, so fast and crisp as usual, then after another sequence of events Rey hit a Standing Hurricanrauna and REY pinned Malenko with a 3 count after hooking the legs right after the Hurricanrauna and the fans go ansolutely wild! We got a new champion! The place continued to go wild and Rey gave Dean a lot of respect on this DVD for how he gave him the cruiserweight torch…..and now there was a bullseye on Mysterio’s chest for other challengers in the divison to step up and challenge.

This was a nice little match under 10 minutes but probably over as commercials aren’t counted but after your used to seeing PPV matches shown in FULL it’s upsetting to see one not like it, but hey, it’s a crucial match in his career, it’s a very good one, it’s rare from Nitro and it’s against Malenko. So when put that way nothing about this match sucks, I’m glad it was put on the DVD, awesome match!

*** 3/4

 

 

 

 

6) Rey Mysterio Jr (c) vs Ultimate Dragon for the WCW Cruiserweight Championship -WCW Hog Wild 1996

Rey’s title defense on PPV here against a tough opponent in Ultimo Dragon or known here as Ultimate Dragon and that’s NOT how I’d perfer to call him but anyway……….
This match is a good one, it’s more mat based and it’s a one upmanship for a great portion of the time with the two guys trying to use similar moves in attempt to outdo one another. The usual expected High Flying offense did eventually come in to play but it wasn’t the main focus of this title bout oddly enough but that took nothing away from this title encounter, as a Great match is indeed a Great match no matter how many times Rey hits a springboard moonsault or top turnbuckle frankensteiner into a pinning combination. etc….

Clash of syles as said by Rey Mysterio as its his lucha libre style against Dragon’s Japanese high flying style. Despite both mens high flying arsenal as I elluded to before it was more of a mat based start and middle with the two trying to out work the other on the ground in a methodical manner.

This was the opening bout of Hog Wild and there were the beyond annoying bikers surrounding the ring as this took place outside of course as the Hog/Road Wild events do.

Rey was a fairly new champion by this point and he wanted to prove he wasn’t just a spot monkey so to speak and could put on a great match defending his title to open a WCW PPV, this was his chance lets see how he did.

Side headlock takedown by The Dragon early on and his strength looks to be a little better then Rey but it didn’t take long for Rey to slap on some holds but the beginning portion of the match the pacing was very good and both guys exchanged offensive styles. Heenan is pretty hillarious saying these two wear masks to hide how ugly they are.

Ultimo Dragon after a long sleeper hit a nice spinning heel kick and the fans booed, a ton of go behind’s a standing switch, a latteral press and the two guys flipping over each other 5 minutes into the match doesen’t get a round of applause from the rather ungrateful audience. I certainly know if I was in attendance I would want to see this match and cheer it.

Rey and the Dragon had to clap themselves to get the fans to do it after there stare down after the impressive sequence got little to no reaction, which is definately surprising considering this was the opening match on a PPV and the fans are usually jacked for those types of matches. A nice running Powerbomb by the Dragon and he tried to ground Rey by slapping on a leg lock until he got to the ropes, Rey layed outside for awhile until the Dragon put on a modified Torture Rack to Rey Mysterio. Rey out of no where in the torture rack actually fell on The Dragon and out of desperation he hit a spring board drop kick in the ring, followed by a spring board off the top ropes to the outside PAST THE FLOOR area, about a fifteen foot drop. The ring is elevated so Mysterio flew about 10-15 feet to the ground in amazing spot and for the third offensive move in a row he hit a Frankensteiner om the Dragon only got a 2. The Dragon got right back in control though by throwing himself over the rope and Rey goes down to the mat as The Dragon got back in control.

I love the outside atmosphere although a little quiet but it took nothing out of the match thanks to the gruelling pace.

Over 11 minutes Rey pins Ultimate Dragon after a Frankensteiner from the top rope and retains the title.

A slow start, flawed psychology with Rey’s legs all of the sudden magically being A OK, slow mat work and an unappreciate crowd were really the only few things holding this back because it was a unique match in a lot of ways with great blend of styles, a unique atmosphere, an interesting pace with back and forth high risk spots and it was unpredictable. Overall a very good match but nothing more due to a few of its problems as pointed out.

 

***

7) Rey Mysterio Jr (c) vs Super Calo for the WCW Cruiserweight Championship -WCW Fall Brawl: September 15th 1996

Another impressive title defense on PPV for Rey Mysterio here as his 1996 is almost as good as the likes of Shawn Michaels in this year of 1996 among others.

I remember Super Calo just a little bit but I never remembered him THIS GOOD. This was absolutely phenominal this match! Especially if you’re not expecting much.
Mike Tenay says this is the most important match in Calo’s four year career and it was and Mysterio lips he is the cruiserweight champiom when he walked down the ramp incase anyone forgot which is nice I guess.

This match was so fast paced and done so well with a ton of high risk offense. There is one spot in paticular that stands out the most in this match and it is the West Coast Pop from one ring to the other by Rey! Holy Sh*t!

Moves like that hadn’t been seen in North America since the days of the guy I just reviewed…..Flyin Brian Pillman so good job for Rey. Speaking of those two rings, they kept going back & forth between the two rings that were setup for the War Games later in that night at the 1996 Fall Brawl.

Anyways besides the fast paced action and the high risk and the fact that Calo was able to put on such an impressive performance with Rey Mysterio in this match there were still a lot of other aspects I enjoyed about this title bout. I love how there showing a lot of Rey’s title defenses from PPV after PPV with his first cruiserweight title and they selected good matches on this DVD set. I also love how there’s a third Malenko match right after this one on this disc as Malenko is the fu**ing man pretty much, Rey won the title from Malenko on Nitro so it was only natural that Dean would get a re-match eventually. But back to this match Super Calo applied nice moves like a flying elbow drop, a summersault from th etop and even worked on the left arm of Mysterio for awhile.

Like usual, Rey gets grounded in the early going by his opponent then he finds some unique way to get back in the match by twisting and turning and eventually giving his opponent an arm drag take down followed byo a Hurricanrauna. Still though this didn`t stop Calo who was wearing a mask, a backwards hat and shades while wrestling a fast paced, high flying match. Calo pounded on Rey to the outside then hit a tremendous dropkick straight to the head pointing downwards from the top turnbuckle to the outside, Tony says `That is what you call High Risk!`

He even flew through the ropes after that move to further inflict pain on the back of the neck of Rey and rolled him back in the ring. Calo`s offense was pretty unique in this match and I`ve noticed a similar trend, usually all if not most of these matches Rey Mysterio is on the defense for most of the match but somehow finds a way to win with an impressive move, oh well these are all still great matches again, so I can`t complain really, especially after seeing an incredible Frankensteiner from Rey to Calo on the outside then a baseball slide followed up by a summersault on the top of the middle rope to the outside all consecutively, incredible! He even jumped from the outside with a sunset flip and only scored a two as Rey`s offense was finally coming in despite Calo dominating a lot of the match. The crowd was dead for most of the match when it was Super Calo dominating but whenever Rey would hit a big time spot they`d make noise.

Also a back flip from Rey to one ring to the other ring before his West Coast Pop after jumping from one ring to the other got the job done follwed by a hurricanrauna that everyone in attendance went apeshit for and Tenay and co said it was Unbelievable! Everyone watching echoed those statements obvioussly and this West Coast Pop from one ring to the other was AFTER Super Calo dropkicked the ropes and found no one home giving Rey some time to set up for the big spot in the other ring while Calo got back up to his feet. $This one ended at 15:50 in a great title match where Rey retained his title after that hurricanrauna after the west coast pop from one ring to the other (I can`t get over it hence the repetition) such a great finish to a great match, this one got a lot of time and it was a blast, went further then anyone expected.

I could POSSIBLY even go higher with this rating but I won`t, I`ll stay at a solid four.

So Awesome!

****

8 ) Rey Mysterio Jr (c) vs Dean Malenko for the WCW Cruiserweight Championship -WCW Halloween Havoc: October 27th, 1996

Rey Mysterio Jr always competes in classics at Halloween Havoc events it seems, just wait till the 1997 version on Disc 2. Anyways, this one is an awesome match as exected and the third match with Malenko on this Disc alone! The first one at Great American Bash 1006 where Rey was unsuccessful in capturing the title from Malenko was a **** and a half masterpiece! Then the Nitro match a month later where Rey won the gold was almost 4 stars.

This one…is brilliant. I used to have this match at 4 stars when I reviewed this PPV which is quite good overall if anyone is interested, I gave this PPV an 8 out of 10. This match was the opener and I bumped the rating up after the last time I watched it and I stick to that rating even now, these two are justmagic together a lot like Eddie and Rey which you will see more of on Disc 2 and 3 from both the WCW and the WWE.

The Gameplan in the Bash match that was so brilliant was Malenko`s arm attack and The Methodical Ice man; Man of 1, 000 holds knows how to wear a body part down quite brilliantly and that`s exactly what he did before picking up the win on Rey despite him hiting some unreal moves on him. As said in a match with less strategy on Nitro and less psychology a more suitable faster paced outside TV match on Nitro which was still very good, even GREAT was where Mysterio finally won the big one aka the cruiserweight title over Malenko on that edition.

This third encounter on the first disc was on PPV so it once again featured some smart wrestling. Great psychology because it got quite a bit of time to work and with two guys with this much chemistry you`d expect them to deliver on a PPV. Malenko wasted no time going after Rey and stomped on him in the corner followed it up with a waist lock slam and then even went for the Texas Cloverleaf in the first 20 seconds! Somebody is pissed off about losing his title I`d imagine…….

Rey`s left arm is once again the target Again just like the bash but it looks like Rey has learned his lesson and he scouted it by countering his hold by scoooping Malenko`s leg followed by a drop toe hold and an amazing arm drag take down. Malenko had to get out of the ring because of the fast paced action and took a walk and Rey even swinged his legs out of the ring 619 style and the crowd OOO`d but he missed Malenko, then not after long hit him with a Summersault Senton Splash! Rey Mysterio put on a different mask while Malenko was on the outside catching a breather and Rey then hammered on Malenko when he got back in ther ring in the corner, his hurricanrauna into a pinning attempt look like it might of got the three but the match wasn`t 4 minutes old so it was doubtful, but it looked so very real and convincing and that`s the sign of a great match with great opponents making you truely believe the action you are witnessing.

Malenko did score in some offense as he can`t be the bitch for very long it just wouldn`t be right…he hit a side suplex and then went for Rey`s left leg and left arm together in a side-abdominal stretch while Rey screamed, and Malenko applied pressure into the back, arms and legs of Rey. Malenko is the master of technique says Tenay and he is trying to ground Rey, well isn`t that everyones strategy when facing Rey, I swear it is. Malenko kept up the head scissors after a vertical suplex to Mysterio to knock the wind out of him and try to suck the life out of him, that`s how Malenko works his matches and he does it quite effectively. After a series of suplexes and stretches Dean continued slapping on hold after hold which was painful to even watch! Even the cobra clutch! The fans applaud Dean after he lets go of the hold as they are clearly smarter wrestling fans and appreciate the solid work he is executing in the ring. An amazing back breaker by Malenko to Rey in the dead center of the ring. Dean throws Mysterio`s back into the ring apron on the outside then throws him back in the ring and Malenko continues to wear down the champion. His grounding attack has officially worked and he is in complete control. Malenko sends Rey Mysterio for the ride with an irish whip to the ropes, he ducks the first metting but then gets caught in another hold by Malenko and this time it`s a strong looking SLEEPER HOLD and Heenan yells “`GOODNIGHT! GOODNIGHT!“
Hilarious and Dean layed back on the mat for more leverage. After Rey momentarily got out after about 30 seconds he found himself right back in the hold at the 12 minute mark in the match, Malenko has dominated 9 of the 12 minutes so far after Rey had a solid beginning, Malenko just has been way to effective at wearing down Mysterio`s body in every way shape or form.

Tenay was right whne saying Mysterio was yet to get on track because Malenko was absolutely owning him in every way a Professional Wrestler could own an individual with hold after hold, attacking EVERY…SINGLE..body part and inbetween all these dozens of holds hitting some tough blows mixed in with the likes of Suplexes and back breakers, etc. Rey usually gets out of these predicaments with a high risk move like an arm drag or a Frankensteiner but he did gey a few shots to the head of Malenko in as the fans cheer but it didn`t last as the most he got at the fifteen minutemark was landing on Dean and only getting a two count, then he hit a spring board into a summersault despite Malenko having worked on his lower body the whole match, Mysterio looked fatigued after that move though to stick with the matches story and he only got a 2. Mysterio then did a flip in a unique pinning combination where he stretched back but only got a two, and Tony thought HE GOT HIM in Vince McMahon style. Tenay talked about the reseliency in this young champion AGAIN sort of like McMahon would for Michaels. But it`s true here as Rey had a lot of momentum and hit a corkscrew after springboarding off the ropes flipping backwards on Dean on the outside, and then threw him back in the ring.
A Hurricanrana in the ring looked very promising but Malenko kicked out. Malenko then hit a powerbomb after countering a springboard by Mysterio in mid-air in one of the coolest looking moves I`ve ever seen and the crowd STILL goes nuts when Rey kicks out! Unbelievable match. A powerbomb off the top rope did it in for Mysterio and Dean Malenko regained his cruiserweight title at 18:37 with that move.

What a match!

This one was even better then I remembered it being..again! Here I am thinking that the GAB was clearly better then Havoc but I`ve gotta say this might even be better, it`s a few minutes longer, more variety of moves, more in depth wrestling and a better climax.

This was a great story and one of the best openers to any PPV I have ever seen and so far the best match on the DVD. Malenko has been in both of the best matches to this point, this match and the match at the Bash. Rey`s run as champ was over but he had a good run providing some great matches as shown here along the way but the fans popped when Malenko won it back, he after all is the man. Rey would get it back soon but in the mean time would take on other cruiserweights while Malenko would focus on defending that title.

Fabulous, as I said the beat match on the DVD to this point.

My jaw dropped when watching this beautiful piece of art!

 

 

 

**** 1/2

 

 

 

9) Rey Mysterio Jr vs Jushin `Thunder` Liger -WCW Starrcade: December 29th, 1996

Well you know how I was saying Dean Malenko was the fu**ing man.

Well that wasn`t a lie but you can say the same thing about Jushin “Thunder“ Liger. This is Liger`s first appearance on the DVD set and it`s a good match but you might set unbelievable expectations since it is Liger and Mysterio and a huge event like Starrcade, however if you don`t set those expectations you should be satisfied with this match.

I was also just calling Malenko vs Rey one of the best openers I`ve ever seen at Halloween Havoc 1996 in the last match as I gave it a **** 1/2 rating, but Jushin “Thunder“ Liger competes in a match at Superbrawl 1992 in the WCW which I consider to be the 2nd best opener of ALL time that I recently viewed with Flyin Brian Pillman. 2nd Only to the best opener and in my opinion the best match of all time in Bret vs Owen Hart at Wrestlemania 10.

So there is a lot of connections here and this one had some strengths for sure, it was highly anticipated! They circled around each other for a bit and Tenay talks about how this is a dream match as it`s the first ever head to head meeting between two innovator`s of wrestling, Rhodes said they revolutionized wrestling and in a way they both did but lets give credit to Brian Pillman as well!

Every time Rey went up to Liger he just kept hitting him with drop kicks, then a long standing and beautifully applied vertical suplex! Liger`s power wore down Mysterio in the begining stages of the match with power moves, chops, throwing him to the buckle sternum first, head butts, just a tremendous offensive attack, a number of different move combinations, even putting him up in the air and letting him land stomach first. A big time powerbomb where it looked like Rey landed right on his neck was also felt hard by Rey and wonderfully applied once again by one of the greatest ever in Liger. This is a pure ass kicking. What`s this, Rey is getting his ass kicked in a match on his DVD, surely not…. (sarcastic face included here)

HOWEVER after a few minutes of this sh*t kicking, Rey got back with a hurricanrauna to the outside that was UNFORTUNATELY not applied as well as it could have been as it looked slower but at least it made the match more back and forth and got the crowd happy….for the moment anyway as it didn`t last when Liger suplexed Mysterio from the canvas outside to the floor on the mat. Ligwer then Powerbomed Mysterio`s back onto the mat in a hard fashion, Jushin Liger is VICIOUS!

Rey did come back so it wasn`t the stereotypical shit beating then he`d some how miraculously come out of no where with a springboard summersault, he hit a DDT on Liger and he sold it kind of funny and THEN he did his springboard move but this time it was a dropkick followed by a sleeper for 15 seconds then when he hopped off the top of the corner turnbuckle, Liger hit Rey with a drop kick in mid-air to get back in control! Very cool.

Lots of head shots in this match, spinning heel kick nicely applied by Liger into Rey`s head in the corner, and Rey did one of his own and caught him right in the Jaw! He also hit a moonsault on Liger on the outside and the crowd finally react, as they were pretty dead for a big time match with this many spots in the match before. The commentators think it might be a countout and you legitimately think it`s a possibility for awhile, Rey with a leg drop from the top and would of got a 3 but Liger`s leg was on the ropes. Liger hit a diving head butt but got near fall at the thirteen minute mark and Mysterio kicked out as both men didn`t want to give up in a match of this magnitude. Liger eventually got the win kind of out of no where with a Hurricanrana at 14:07 and some people cheered but the majority looked dissapointed as he was the heel who won.

Great match though, my favourite thing about THIS match was the fact it went back and forth and wasn`t the beat down with a super Mysterio comeback, I`m glad this match was included as it showed some Liger greatness, a very solid bout for sure that anyone can respect!

 

 

****

10) Rey Mysterio Jr vs Ultimate Dragon -WCW Spring Stampede: April 6th 1997

Here we are, it`s the last match of the Disc, Number 10 of 29 matches on this excellent DVD that`s been nothing but a pleasure to review thus far. The worst match has been a ** 1/4 while two matches in the first 9 have scored a **** 1/2 with me and the rest mostly in the three range with some spectacular range of wrestling, mat wrestling, strong psychology, high flying, risk taking lucha libre action with a lot of different opponents who bring a unique chemistry with Rey Mysterio.
That`s what makes these matches so great!¸

This encounter took place at Spring Stampede 1997 and it was a one on one cruiserweight bout between (still known as) Ultimate Dragon and Rey Mysterio Jr.
I thought there match at Hog Wild 1996 was very good at *** but it had it`s problems but still very good overall, lets see if they can do a better job almost a year later and this time they`re not outside and there is NO Title on the line here. What I can say about this encounter is that it was more fast paced & impactful than their previous match with Dragon working a stiffer style with suplexes, slams, and kicks while Mysterio hit his high flying offensive moveset to the Dragon.

I actually saw these two go at it on Velocity in the WWE back in 2003, yeah a random tidbit that had nothing to do with the match but oh well….I do this at times.

Even though this match was Higher impact there was still a lot of wearing down by The Dragon with some mat moves to Rey, Rey like the last match. He also gave Rey a Liger Bomb a standing running powerbomb, followed by a TOMBSTONE PILEDRIVER. Ultimo is just full of different finishing moves, he wants to knock Rey out or make him submit it would seem as the broadcasting duo would say as he has a sleeper, after a powerbomb and and piledriver. Rey battled out of the sleeper and hit a spinning heel kick SOMEHOW but that momentum didn`t last and Dragon continued to kick at the abdomen and the legs of Rey Mysterio. Another suplex then a powerbomb followed by a chin lock with a modified indian death lock as he worked on the legs, chin and neck of Mysterio. Great way of working down the muscles then went to an abdominal stretch.

Mysterio got a sleeper and when he hit his high fast paced moves he went for a version of the 619 and got no Dragon but a funny sport where he almost kicked the camera guy off the ring apron!

Rey did get a summersault on the Dragon on the outside as well as one on the inside of the ring and the commentary went out for some reason in the match then came back as Rey hit a leg drop after a spring board drop. Rey battles back and this is a lot more fast paced then the Hog Wild match that is for sure! Back and forth just like the Liger-Mysterio match at Starrcade a good example of this is when Rey is dominating Liger dropkicks Rey off the top turnbuckle, hits him with a baseball slide into the steel gaurd rail, then leaps off the ropes with a slingshot into the cross body and now Rey is once again taking a great deal of punishment! Once back in the ring, Rey flipped in mid-air and got a baseball kick by Dragon! Holy sh*t!

Dragon then SPINS REY about 7 times and when Rey is dropped the Dragon falls down as he is dizzy and the fans laugh, my god this is getting good!

Brilliant spot where the two reversed pinning attempts after many flips and they point out how even this match has been, infact it might even be the most even match of all the matches on the disc to this point. Dragon hit a Frankensteiner off the top rope but only got a 2 count! After million near falls Rey FINALLY gets the 1, 2, 3 at 14:58 after a Hurricanrauna just after all those pinning attempts were countered, this match at Spring Stampede finally is over and Rey wins.

A much better match then Hog Wild between the two that I rated three stars as said, this one was enthralling, hard hitting, back and forth and the climax was unbelievable. The end of Disc 1 ends with a solid match and it`s clear through 10 matches this is already a must own with a ton of quality. The best match is arguably the next one and the first match on Disc 2!

 

 

 

****

———–

 

 

 

 

Disc 2 Matches:

 

 

 

11) Rey Mysterio Jr. vs Eddie Guerrero (c) for the WCW Cruiserweight Championship -WCW Halloween Havoc: October 26th 1997

“Pound for pound you’re not going to find a better wrestler then Eddie Guerrero.” -Tony Schiavonne

Well THIS is IT!

This is THE Match that so many talk about in regards to Rey Mysterio Jr and Eddie Guerrero both for that matter. I know SOME don’t look at this match and say it’s one of the finest cruiserweight matches of all time for WHATEVER reason but to those people I ask this?

If it’s NOT then WHY can’t I think of better Eddie Guerrero match in WCW? Think about it, Eddie is a top 10 Wrestler most would agree yet I can’t think of a better match then this one for him.
This is also Rey Mysterio’s best ever as far as I’m concerned because this cruiserweight bout is still a talked about classic to this day nearly eleven years lateer it STILL has people thinking it’s beyond amazing or perhaps its never been outdone, I’d have to agree. Most say it’s the best match in WCW history as well which is no easy task.

Sure there are some people that make a claim that’s it’s overrated. Well, I can’t even begin to see the logic to that argument. Everything about this masterpiece and I said that right, “masterpiece” was BEYOND brilliant. These two had insane chemistry together, Eddie’s magnificent mind games with mastered psychology and solid mat work with Rey’s unbelievebale high risk offense and BRILLIANT, breathtaking improvisations blended together at a spectacular place made Vegas say “WOW” throughout this classic’s entire duration and it wasn’t even that long.

They kept the time relatively short and never let it go on for a few minutes longer then it should have, like other matches have in the past! Rather, everyone wanted MORE from this brilliant contest and soon as it ended but the crowd was happy with the result, with the effort, how it ended and knowing they just witnessed a classic for the ages. Similar to Steamboat/Savage from Wrestlemania 3 where it was just quality, quality, quality in such a short amoung of time.
This STILL gets talked about daily seemingly and for good reason, this match was simply THAT good.

Eddie Guererro going into this PPV defense was the reigning Cruiserweight title holder and Rey hadn’t held the title in quite some time but he spent that time training and winning some impressive battles to move up the ranks in that division as shown on Rey’s DVD.

Rey is wearing a purple suit, while Eddie is as cocky as ever with his hair down giving Rey a glare.

Eddie says this ranks up there as one of the best. Everything clicked, the psychology, the pacing, everything. I’d agree and so would many, everyone is high on this match.

Fans are behind Rey here at Havoc 97 im Vegas while the broadcasters are Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay, Bobby Heenan and the American Dream Dusty Rhodes.
The bell rings at Halloween Havoc and the two cruiserweight’s waste little time to get things on. “Eddie Sucks” chants bug Eddie to the point of frustration and then hillariously Mysterio slaps him. The beginning few moves happen so fast that you literally can’t keep up, with Eddie on the outside, Rey does a flip on to the apron and Eddie just scoops Rey’s legs to take him down to the mat. Every time Rey tried to perform a unique high flying move it would be Guererro coming back with a suplex as Eddie Guerrero seems one step ahead of Rey Mysterio and Heenan points out how
Eddie Guerrero is the best wrestler in the world.

Eddie Guerrero told Rey he would not get the belt while the fans chanted Eddie sucked.

Rey struck Eddie with some shots and he leaped over Eddie and then caught Eddie Guerrero with an armdrag takedown and then he flew across the ring with a crossbody! Eddie on the outside and Rey went for him but he landed on the apron and Eddie sweeped his legs and he fell on the floor hard.
Bad move by Rey as Eddie had it scouted. Eddie Guerrero had a mean strak and he slammed Rey into the steps. Eddie Guerrero then slingshotted into the ring on top of Rey.
Eddie with a hard chop to Rey. Eddie Guerrero in control here and a european uppercut to Rey Mysterio and then he grabbed him by his power ranger head but Rey reversed an irish whip and gave him a dropkick. Eddie caught Rey after a handspring and hit a back body drop. Rey didn’t want to lose the mask. This was Rey’s 9th mask match and he was 8-0. Mask vs Title obvioussly. Eddie almost got the three and showed frustration.
Eddie with a back breaker to Rey and then only another two. Eddie grabbed Rey by the head and then attempted to take off Rey’s mask. I wish he did in the WM 21 bout, perhaps that one would of been better.
Eddie Guerrero with an abdominal stretch and even in this hold he tried to rip it off his face.
This match owns even more for the fact it happened at Slim Jim’s Halloween Havoc, OOOO YEAH!
Guerrero had this hold for a good minute until picking him up and hitting a back breaker to Rey’s small body and he is in pain on the canvas. Eddie Guerrero with a two count and then he stretched Rey’s arms.
Eddie Guerrero tried his best to make sure the weight advantage was still evident by over powerhimg on top of him. However Rey sprung up out of no where and used the top rope for leverage with his great jump and hit an unbelievable springboard backflip DDT combination. A dropkick sent Eddie outside.
Then Eddie Guerrero drop kicked Rey off the apron as he was one step ahead after a bunch of re-positioning. Match really picks up here.
Eddie sends Rey hard into the railing on the outside and then back into the ring.
Eddie Guerrero then with a surfboard reverse chinlock, and then he ripped off half the mask, or the eye hole while Eddie squeezed the life out of the quick Rey with his forearms crossed. Eddie knew what he was doing here. Eddie Guerrero picked up Rey Mysterio and then locked on a Gory Special locking Rey’s arms back and then Rey counterds with an armdrag but missed a dropkick. Eddie still in control but Rey with instances of resilience. Eddie Guerrero then with a back breaker.
Eddie Guerrero showing who is boss despite Rey’s quick counters. Different variation, first with the shoulder breaker and now he forced his knee into the abdomen of Rey while twisting Rey’s right arm and leg while he layed on his left side in a modified submission hold. Eddie Guerrero irish whipped Rey, he ducked then caught a hard reverse elbow off the side ropes. Eddie got a nearfall.
Mysterio down and sent head first into the corner where he caught another hard European uppercut before a hard chop. Eddie with a right hand and Rey struck back and got Eddie in the corner and the fans got fired up as Rey chopped Eddie for payback, Rey went for an irish-whip but Eddie caught him with one after a chop. Rey Mysterio hung upside down on the turnbuckle helpless and Eddie Guerrero dropkicked him before a baseball slide where Rey sat up with great agility and Eddie hit groin first into the Slim Jim pole, hurting his own Slim Jim.
This changed the complection of the match buying Rey enough time to launch himself off the top onto Eddie from the turnbuckle then chopped him.
Mysterio reaching down to get the ball back in his court. Rey reversed off the side ropes, landed on his feet, a quick roll-up and just a two count. Eddie though came back with a clothesline to Rey. Eddie was close to being defeated for the title with a hurricanrauna. Rey with a springboard and missed and with a headscissor he took him to the outside off the inside apron.
Rey then with a summersault flip to the outside and then in mid-air hit a headscissors/hurricanrauna to Eddie onto the ground that launched Eddie to the outside. Eddie then inside the ring caught a Corkscrew moonsault from the high flying Rey Mysterio.

What aerial offense.

Talk about exciting.

Rey with a powerslam.

Mysterio tried a split-legged moonsault but Eddie blocked it with his knees.

Eddie Guerrero hit a hard powerbomb and then pinned him and got a two. Eddie Guerrero is frustrated!

Eddie charged towards Rey and then hit face first into the corner and Rey hit a spin wheel kick to Eddie. Rey signalling to go to up top for a springboard hurricanrauna and went for it but Eddie caught him in mid-air and turned it into a back breaker.

This looked like the Champion was going to put it away with a frogsplash now, but Eddie rolled when he realized Rey was going to move. Rey jumped and got caught from the top turnbuckle by Eddie but he turned it around and Eddie went for a powerbomb from the top but got caught with a Hurricanrauna by Rey Mysterio who hooked the legs and got the three at 13:41.

The classic was over.

One of the best matches in WCW history if not the very best.

 

**** 3/4

 

 

 

 

12) Rey Mysterio Jr vs Eddie Guerrero (c) for the WCW Cruiserweight Championship -WCW World War 3: November, 23rd 1997

 

This re-match at World War 3 gets overlooked A LOT so I am so glad it got included as yes, it should have been an easy choice for Mysterio and Eddie would have been proud of this selection as well as he did a phenominal job not only in the ring but for his character as well!

At some point inbetween Havoc and World War 3, Eddie regained the title from Rey Mysterio on Nitro (Seen on Viva La Raza) so Eddie came into this match as the Champion defending the title against Mysterio who was once again challenging Eddie for the strap on PPV.

Rey gets his share of offense in but believe it or not, he doesen’t even get as much in here as he did in the Havoc match! Eddie Guerrero had Rey well scouted in this re-match as Guerrero was a mastermind when it came to inring psychology so when Rey for instance went to hit a springboard into a Hurricanrana, Eddie would stop him in mid-air and hit him with a devistating Powerbomb. That wasn’t the only move that would hurt Mysterio’s neck region, he was hurt with a HUUUGE suplex from Eddie in mid-ring.

I can’t stress enough the emphasis of this Standing Suplex Eddie gave to Rey as it literally made Rey spasm on the canvas floor and to me it was one of the loudest suplexes and definately looked and felt painful from here. The crunching sound was extremely loud and considering the small size of Rey (If you haven’t seen him in person, TRUST me..he is tiny) it was quite the surprise his body could make such a sound. The move was a true testament to how good the chemistry these two had and how good these two were at making there moves seem as real as possible. Everything has a purpose.

Alfred Hitchcock when directing movies, people said everything he did in every fame of every scene was for a specific reason and that is why he was the greatest director of all time. Well I’m not suggesting Rey Mysterio or Eddie Guerrero were the Alfred Hitchcock’s of the ring persay but what I am saying is it is like that. Everything they did in these matches had a purpose and when you see two wrestlers pull off such incredible moves, so efficiently, so quickly all following the story they are telling you can’t help but be AMAZED!

As I said in the beginning this match often gets overlooked and Rey did outsmart Eddie in some instances of the match by dodging Eddie’s summersault from the top but just when it looked as if Rey was going to get back in the match with some offense of his own he couldn’t because Eddie was one step ahead of him. These guys did so many moves in such little time that the pace never dragged although it’s not like the two went to unimaginable heights here, there wasn’t a ton of flashy risky moves in this one as opposed to the other one, this one was more of a methodical beat down from Eddie to Rey in revenge mode.

That was his main goal and Guerrero stuck to it and did in incredibally well, as I said before Eddie would of been proud this brilliant performance was added to the DVD set. I imagine it possible will be to his new 3 Disc set since the Havoc one likely wont as it’s on his original and THIS one, it by all means should because it shows HIS Skill and it is an excellent victory for him.

Rey doesen’t walk out the new Champion this time as the matches storytelling comes through in bright colors as Eddie retains the title with frog splash at 12:42 after completely wearing down Rey’s body the entire match almost. Rey should be proud of how he took this punishment, but like I went over this one was more about Guerrero and it’s a nice title defense for him in what is a forgotten excellent re-match!

Brilliant stuff, especially for its length!

****

 

 

13) Rey Mysterio Jr vs Juventud Guerrera (c) for the WCW Cruiserweight Championship -WCW Thunder: January, 15th 1998

This is a VERY INTERESTING MATCH!

For one it is the first ever WCW Thunder match to make it to DVD.

The other reason is because it is well paced throughout and it’s not really presented like a TV match it is sort of presented like a PPV one, the two go at it as if they had all the time in the world. I definately don’t mean that in the sense where they took there time but they were very calm, very conservative and knew there role quite well which made for brilliant pacing inbetween High Flying spots actually.

The Champion Juventud Guerrera who was also known here as “The Juice” is definitely an underrated talent in the wrestling world and he always had chemistry with the likes of Jericho, Psichosis, Ultimo and the likes in that division. Juventud Really displayed a great deal of talent in this match with Mysterio on Thunder and I’m ver happy they put this on the set as I didn’t watch it live and I used to watch WCW Thunder quite frequently during this time period but don’t remember this specific match
.
I’m just happy to now own it on DVD because it was most definately exceptional even if not for it being a FREE Television bout. The fast paced action literally never stopped once in this one and even if I’ve said that during lots of these matches (Come on, it’s Rey Mysterio here) I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY mean it here.

This one was a full throttle, flip over flip, over counter over reversal over another summersault countered into a swinging hurricanraunas type deal. Yeah, that good. These guys are absolutely breathtaking when on there “A” Game and both men will tell you they were in this match and you can definately tell they were just after watching this amazing performance.

Going through the match I thought “Yeah, this is definately good and it has it’s great spots no doubt, but I wonder what made Rey choose this one, SPECIFICALLY” well then question was answered relatively soon. He continued to counter Juvi’s offense with brilliant counters that WOW’d the crowd and this is a title victory for Rey, on WCW Thunder!

So that definitely makes the match memorable and they billed it as the winner of this match defends that title against Lionheart Chris Jericho at Souled Out. Mysterio eventually came out of no where after some domination by Juventud Guerrera (especially in the 2nd half) and hit a hurricanrauna and grabbed a hold of the legs to ensure his victory (I love when he does that)

The place exploded and we have a new Cruiserweight Champion! You need to pick your spots, and although Rey was a victim throughout the 2nd half he found the right opening to hit that move on Juvi and win the title. Rey celebrated and it ended a pretty decent legnth title match on Thunder!

Great bout! Had it’s problems with the story at times and that’s really the only thing I can think that hold it down because everything else was sensational, a great choice for the DVD once again!

 

*** 1/2

 

 

14) Rey Mysterio Jr (c) vs “Lionheart” Chris Jericho for the WCW Cruiserweight Championship -WCW Souled Out: January, 24th 1998

Here we go! This title match should be a little different then most and it was, not neccessarily in a GREAT way but a little refreshing because although it’s always exiting to see high flying luchadore action you need a little variety here and there, and yes Chris Jericho can dance with the best of them even as he proved early in his career in this division, but he still had a different style then Rey.

Infact Rey put over Jericho’s style being more technical then his while Rey was more of a risk taker, high flyer.

That’s not the only thing Rey put over regarding Chris Jericho he also complimented his amazing deal of charisma and I thought it was hillarious when he said he’s find a way to tell him to SHUT…THE HELL….Up, that was gold coming from a serious guy like Rey and his delivery was pretty funny.

The second and I MEAN THIS quite literally here, the SECOND CHRIS JERICHO walks out here you just love to hate him. He has the biggest cocky smile on his face and he says or lips things like this to the crowd “What me?!” as if he was in a state of shock people were booing him, fu*k he’s awesome. He also said things like this once in the ring (Points to the crowd) “Come on guys you know me….You KNOW ME!” Then smiles, he is amazing in this role. Jericho’s, attitude, charisma and excellence added to this divison in a big way, infact in a lot of different ways this was one of the best divisons in all of Wrestling history at any given time in early 1998. Once the match got underway “Jericho Sucks” chants took off and he looked at the crowd like “What!? ME!?”

Pretty hysterical as Rey on the other hand was ALL business, ALL the time. He wanted to lock up right away but Jericho then went head to head with Rey to show him the height difference. Rey’s leg injury had been exposed by Juventud in the previous bout on Thunder and Jericho went straight for it once he cut out the head games. He slowly took apart Rey’s knees even at one point moving the Steps to run off them performing an aerial attack in mid-air. Then in cocky-Jericho fashion yells to the camera while flexing his Pecs, “COOOME ONNN BABYYYYYYY!” He still does this in the WWE even IF he is a shell of his former self according to some people.

Maybe I’m just not used to the SLOWER style here which is why an otherwise seemingly *** – *** 1/4 match gets slight deducted but the few times I’ve watched this encounter I’ve never been able to get into this match. It was NEVER boring, that’s the next match, but it was lacking something important but Jericho took full advantage of Rey’s weakness in his legs. In the end when Rey out of desperation tried to hit Jericho with seemingly ANYTHING he had left in his body with his LEGS, IT STILL wasn’t enough, and coincidentally Jericho made him tap out in a very fitting fashion by attacking his injured knee. LionHeart Chris Jericho the then Challenger forced Rey Mysterio to submit with the Lion Tamer at 8:28 to become THE NEW WCW Cruiserweight Champion.

The belt has switched hands quite often in the past few matches on this set, but one thing remains constant for the past few matches and this trend would continue to at least the next match. Most of these Cruiserweight title matches are the same in the sense where the gameplan is the opponent absolutely dominates Rey throughout the entire duration OR Rey comes out of no where and picks up the win after being dominated. Makes one think if Rey was legitimately injured around this time frame. Either way this one was SHORT, very different in a slower sense with a bigger guy like Jericho and not a lot of high flying which was a little bit of a change of pace. Not neccesarily bad but absolutely nothing stands out besides Jericho’s attitude which is quite awesome. Rey has an injured Knee, Jericho exposes this and wins the title in under 8 1/2 minutes.
The end.

Lion Heart: COME ON BAYBAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY! (poses)

** 3/4

15) Rey Mysterio Jr vs Psicosis in a #1 Contender’s Match -WCW Road Wild 1998: August 8th, 1998

 NO match of the 14 I’ve reviewed on this set HAS BEEN boring….until this one.

 I watched this as a younger teen but never payed any attention back then to matches pacing but from the reviews of this match I read beforehand I was warned about its slow moments. Slow matches are fine, especially if it makes sense and they get the job done, hell it might even BE NICE as a change up seeing as everything else almost on this set was high flying, heart pounding, fast paced, entralling action from bell to bell! Honestly, I don’t mind technical matches but when headlocks are applied in a dead crowd (WHO ARE OUTSIDE with guys who know SH*T about wrestling revving there bikes) then they kind of get to you. ESPECIALLY during the beginning of the match, Psicosis slaps on a headlock and you just think “What the f*ck” and he does this in succession a few times after they fail after a 30 second period where Rey will finally break it only to find himself back in another hold which doesen’t really follow any sort of gameplan. It’s not like Psicosis was methodially taking apart Mysterio piece by piece but at the same time he was trying to ground Rey which is alright, and understandable but the fashion he did it in wasn’t exactly appealing to the eye.
He is one of Rey’s favourites and you can definately see why, I’d say Psichosis’s chemistry with Rey Mysterio is 2nd best only to Eddie Guerrero and this is said by Rey that he is one of his favourites on this set and it’s also obvious by him being Rey’s opponent at the original One Night Stand in 2005. (Although that match wasn’t AMAZING but GOOD enough, got better as it went along)

At least Psicosis had his mask on in this match despite everything else.

It REALLY is unfortunate though because even Tony Schiavone would question why he would be doing this moves but then Tenay being the BRAIN he is came up with a million different excuses and who knows if any of them were right but it just seems like everything Tenay says COULD be right regardless if it is or not. I guess having gifts like that generally apply to you when you are a color commentator in the Pro Wrestling industry.

What I was getting at here is that when these two go at it, I mean all out, lucha libre brilliance, it’s a thing of beauty. They even showed sequences like that in this match, one in paticular I LOVED. Rey got irish whipped to the ropes and Psicosis stood at mid-ring while Rey did a cart wheel followed by a summersault in mid-air followed by a swinging hurricanrana that sent Psicosis to the outside as Heenan yells WHOAA!

The fans go crazy and Rey goes to the top turnbuckle and the Bikers make noise.

Rey wasn’t the only one putting on a show, no Psicosis would do the very same thing when he hit a back breaker or a suplex, he’d say “WHAT” to the crowd followed by a strange motion with his tongue…(Hot ladies in the front? Who knows…) and then the broadcasters make note it could be a mistake to show off as it gives Rey time to rest and surely as Psi came off the top rope attempting a frog splash, Rey got to his feet and caught him in mid air with a nice drop kick. The Drop Kick by Mysterio would be returned back to him in an even more amazing way as just like in the Juventud-Thunder match a few bouts ago in this review, Psichosis like Juvi applied a countered-powerbomb in Mid-Air to rey when he went for a Hurricanrana. Those sequences are nothing short of breathtaking, Phenominal agility and impact to the mat!

Definitely catches anyones attention and the near falls are always brilliant around that time as you genuinally think because of the impact it could be the three but it’s not quite it at thay point. Like he does in almost EVERY, SINGLE, MATCH on this set he hits a Springboard Hurricanrana, only this time its for the win after being dominated and grounded throughout the match. See once again despite the domination Mysterio knew how to find a way and he picked his spots right. At the end of the climax Rey Mysterio pinned Psicosis at 13:38 of the match with a Springboard Hurricanrana to NOW become the new #1 contender to the WCW Cruiserweight Championship.
A little lengthy especially with it’s long and stretched out pace and that takes some points off this otherwise very solid bout with a lot of good sequences, the chemistry is very evident but the boredom can’t be ignored.

It’s still a pretty unique match though and that’s why I don’t dislike or even mind it, infact I am somewhat intrigued by why it is the way it is…….

** 3/4

16) Rey Mysterio Jr vs Blitzkrieg -WCW Monday Night Nitro: February, 9th 1999

 

I swear to god this Rey MANUAL didn’t take long to make and you’d think for 29 matches they’d at least correct some errors.

Halloween House instead of Halloween Havoc (In his match with Eddie)
Dates wrong, some names wrong, and here they spell Blitzkrieg wrong. Go into this match with little expectation or even moderate expectation and you will be blown away. This is my third time watching this match, and the first time I viewed the bouts with Super Calo on Disc 1 and Blitzkrieg here on Disc 2, my jaw was on the ground. It’s nothing that steals the DVD but it’s something that makes you think, why wasn’t this guy (and in this case it’s Blitzkrieg) a bigger star?

Anyway matches like this don’t come along very often and it was TV match and I spotted Will Sasso who is well documented as a big time fan (He’d have to be, to be at NITRO past 1998) jokes, I went to a Nitro in 2000 and yeah it was bad but the WCW wasn’t THAT bad in early 1999. This match did open the show and Blitzkrieg was wearing a red suit as you can see in the relatively blurry picture above the title of this match. Rey hit a wonderful corkscrew Moonsault onto Blitzkrieg who actually happened to be on his back on the outside, very tremendously applied.

Rey sent him back in the ring and performed a powerbomb to him and gets a 2. Before he did the 619 he’d use that swinging his legs through the ropes to trick his opponent into perhaps thinking he was about to go to the top of the middle rope for a perhaps springboard move. This match, by the way was Blitzkrieg’s debut here on Nitro. Blitzkrieg changed the complection of the match by whipping Mysterio viciously into a pole! Rey went to the outside and knew this was an important match as he wanted to climb the ranks in the cruiser division so he dodged Blitzkrieg’s leap from the outside, as he is a dare devil himself.

Rey sent Blitzkrieg hard into the safety rail on the outside to get back on top, but this Blitzkrieg looked incredibally impressive, the looks on the crowds faces said it all in the first move of the match. Blitzkrieg hit a drop toe hold and it looked absolutely amazing, so sharp, so crisp! Talk about making a first impression! Rey now in control hit a superplex but Blitzkrieg kicked out! This is a fantastic match, you forget sometimes this is on MONDAY NIGHT NITRO!

But Steve Austin and The Rock were stealing all the ratings away with there feud so not as many WCW fans from 96-98 perhaps saw this live, I know I didn’t. Wasn’t always fast paced action, at times Rey held down the opposition by grounding him and Tenay makes that exact point by so many times you see the opponent of Mysterio try and ground him down in a match (god knows we’ve seen it in almost every match on the DVD and I know this BECAUSE I have repeated it over and over as you know) but it was interesting to see REY one step ahead here as the verteran compared to Blitzkrieg wearing HIM down with holds so he could utilize his legs later in the match with high flying moves! A sky twisting Moonsault from the top from Rey to Blitzkrieg and his face his the Canvas.

Mysterio wins a terrific match with a Frankensteiner in the corner. A nice debut for Blitzkrieg with some awesome moves shown in the mean time but in the end it was Rey who walked out with the win.

Rey thankfully after this match gives WCW its credit as we’re done the ECW and WCW portion of this DVD at the halfway point of the set. We now go to the WWE and Rey says it’s because everyone else went there, well everyone else kind of had to…..

Awesome quality here!

*** 1/2

 

 

 

17) Rey Mysterio vs Chavo Guerrero (Rey`s Debut WWE MATCH) -WWE Smackdown!: July, 25th 2002

In the early days of the first draft at the brand extension the ropes were Black for Smackdown! and people still watched the show, it`s significant because this was probably the last year they did. Well they (and when I say they I am referring to US, the “people“) caught something magnificent in the year 2002. Al Wilson. No for real they caught the debut of Rey Mysterio to Smackdown! Besides Goldberg this was one of the most anticipated WCW wrestlers to come to the WWE so the buzz was huge and sometimes it doesen`t quite play off as you`d expect. (Goldberg)

But this Debut was EXCELLENT!

Seriously I watched it live and was so stoked for Rey, and every SINGLE time I`ve watched this debut match for the WWE of his I get more and more impressed. The fact Rey went out there and looked as calm as he did and did all that high risk stuff without botching anything due to nerves is absolutely remarkable and far as I`m concerned should be appluded. But lets not just credit Rey…no, Chavo`s in ring psychology was the f*cking MONEY in this match. I remember these two had a classic at a piss poor PPV the Great American Bash in 2004 (WWE`s first attempt at the GAB; go figure) but Chavo`s attack at Rey`s mid-section was so stellar in this one. The timing was off the charts and each move made sense similar to Chavo`s late uncle Eddie with Mysterio. Must be that Guerrero-Mysterio connection and before the match Cole points out how Rey`s uncle and Chavo`s dad used to have a feud many years ago so the family rivalry goes back and what amazing matches they`ve put on for us in the mean time to enjoy!

The match began with Chavo immdeiately taking control of Rey reversed it with a go behind and a hammerlock and with Rey in control it allowed him to show off some of his mat and aerial offense to the crowd who appreciated it with loud roars. Very impressive stuff, what I liked most here with Rey in this debut match in the beginning is they didn`t make Rey show off so obvious, he did it in a conservative pace that followed the matches flow.
It was done expertly and Chavo did a brilliant job making Rey look good and most importantly, despite Rey showing off his skill they didn`t bury Chavo in the process making him look like a bitch. That was key. Rather they had Chavo fight out of Rey`s offense and had him scoop slam Rey onto his abdomen after a counter to Rey`s high flying move. Chavo then got the crowd on his bad side with cocky tactics as natural as a heel he is, Chavo then applied a number of moves to disect them mid-section of Rey. The crowd even felt bad for Mysterio as they began `Lets Go REY` chants and this is his first ever appreance! He was over from the get go and the fans let him know it and out of no where Rey hit a beautifukl cork screw to Chavo after all that punishment to his abdomen region, and he STILL SOLD IT LIKE A PRO.

Wrestling students should watch this match and study it, I swear this is perfect and it`s amazing the FREE matches the show of `SMACKDOWN!` got in 2002 and 2003, better then most PPV matches tbh. Rey called for a 619 and Cole calles it a six-nineteen and then a Hurricanrauna which we`d know as the West Coast Pop and he gets the 1,2,3 and the place goes wild, everyone knew he`d be the human highlight reel on Smackdown! Especially after this stunning debut. Good match is an understatement. Both men should get a shit load of credit for this one, what a Smart wrestling match with a tremendous pace and crowd, everything was picture perfect. Had it gotten more time to develop it should be four stars but after all it was a TV match.

Stunning debut!

*** 1/2

 

 

18) Rey Mysterio vs Kurt Angle -WWE Summerslam 2002: August, 25th 2002

The fastest opening to Any of the 20 Summerslam`s! Maybe the fastest opening to any PPV in history, Rey jumped Angle with a springboard into a hurricanrauna, ducks a clothesline and did a leg scissors followed by a dropkick catching the gold medalist off guard. The Smarky Long Island crowd would cheer Lets go Angle although Mysterio was still COOL in the eyes of the fans, I imagine Angle got some sympathy support from the crowd because he went from being in the WWF Title match at Summerslam 2000, 2001. and he`d be in one in 2003 as well but on this one..in arguably one of his best years he`s in the opener. He got the win, he was in there with a top 25 wrestler ever and if anything it just added to the show`s credibility the fact the card was so stacked that the pacing of the show could actually AFFORD to put this on as the opening contest! Pretty amazing. The Speed was fucking unbelievable here and that`s got to be the biggest strength of this bout. Angle attacked Rey`s legs after Rey kept hitting high risk moves and he went to the point of dragging Rey out of the ring under the apron by his legs and little Rey went flying to the outside hitting the mat hard.

Angle is cocky now as he hit a snap shot vertical suplex inside the ring to Rey. Angle then with hard blows to Rey as he attempted to ground the high Flyer and as Rey came off the ropes Angle hit a German. Rey Blocked another German in succession by grabbing onto the top rope in a unique counter, so Angle improvised by pounding on the back of Rey! Rey got a roll up but only a 1 and a half as Angle hasn`t been damaged outside of the early minute of the match. Angle choked Rey on the middle rope by stretching his head in a backwards direction almost in a camel clutch fasion but with Mysterio`s head on the rope! They really put over how Angle has never faces a high flying opponent like Rey before.

Despite Rey being impressive it was Angle who locked on a HALF Boston Crab that further worked on the lower back of Angle, he tried to wear him down so he`d eventually tap out, that was Angle`s strategy but Rey was nifty and again applied a roll up. He obvioussly only got a two and you can see this Half Boston Crab in the photo above the title of the match on this Review.
Mysterio kept hitting moves here and there inbeteween Angle`s offense, he hit a sunset flip but didn`t have enough strength to move Angle`s body so Angle came back with a belly to belly suplex that hit hard! Near fall and then an arm drag out of no where by REY that sent ANGLE to the outside of the ring. THE REF BLOCKED REY`s high risk move but he did it anyway over the ref with a spring board moonsault over the rope, over the ref! The crowd applauds and chants Holy S*it, as I shared the same thought. Probably my favourite sequence in the entire match. He then came BACK in the ring with a springboard leg drop and an near fall.

After those two moves it didn`t take long for Angle to get back in control as he locked on the Ankle Lock but Rey got out and set him up for the 619, he hits it! He goes for the 619 and GETS it but Angle kicks out! Mysterio then went up high after a brief pause which bought Angle some time and Rey goes off the top and gets drop kicks Angle off the chin. Rey had Anglo on the top rope and went for a Hurricanrauna but Angle countered it on the canvas into an Ankle Lock and Rey tapped at 9:20, the whole time in this match the crowd was into it replying to every counter and move and it really added to the match! What an emotional roller coaster that match was!

This ENTERTAINING contest only went 9:20 seconds folks….yeah for a 9:20 second opener these guys went off the walls, danced on the roof, crawled in the basement then swung from the rafters. I am shocked this brilliant opener which is one of the most exciting openers ever that`s for sure was under ten minutes, it`s beyond incredible. Rey was right when he said it`s a match that is still talked about to this day!
It rocked the house on what was a very good PPV, infact this PPV is probably the third best WWE PPV behind WM 17 and WM X9 as I`m sure many would agree, and this match helped it reach that kind of status!

****

19) Rey Mysterio vs Matt Hardy V1 (c) (Mfers-Shannon Moore and Crash Holly) for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship -WWE Smackdown!: July, 5th 2003

Matt Hardy is hilarious.

Lets be honest here. Like him or not, hate this gimmick, his voice, his sayings, he is passionate about the WWE and he is a good to great worker. In this division he was fabulous as the chemistry with Rey was solid as seen here.

Matt and Rey had a big time rivalry in the beginning half of 2003 or perhaps the whole year if memory serves right, Rey got screwed in the opener of Wrestlemania 19 as Matt held the ropes for leverage and the official did NOT see it.

Rey had waited a long time to win the title.

This match he would finally do it a few months AFTER WM X-9 in Anaheim with his family front row at ringside.

Rey knew and Matt knew and we all knew this was going to be BIG. Now for it to pay off and be as good as it was, is just an awesome touch.

The MFers got involved so they were sent to the back. That is kind of hilarious in its own right, MFERS. May Lockwood aka Crash Holly Rest in Peace and Shannon Moore is releases so thanks for the memories I guess, I believe Shannon is gone anyway, I thought that is what I read.

Either way this contest got off to a brilliant start with ducks, go behinds, reversals, counters and Matt got the best of Rey early. He attacked him from behind. Matt would spend a great deal of time choking out Rey in any way he could!

Rey who had to battle through all the odds to get to this point looked like it was going to be the same song and dance, and with Matt arguing with the ref on the outside he did a spring board Senton off the top to the outside hitting Matt, they go to a commercial break at this spot and then they tell us Rey was all over Matt during the commercial, but just when we get back Matt found a way to attack Reys left knee. Rey Mysterio had his family looking concerned at ringside as Matt applied a half boston crab very similarly to how Angle did at Summerslam. Rey got to the ropes though and the place popped.

You have just got to love Mattitude. The Attitude Era was successful so why not be Mattitude, right….

Anyway while Rey tried to walk he limped so that was awesome selling and Matt targetted his Left leg again and used the rope for leverage (but just not to win like at Mania) but no, to apply more pressure to Reys leg.

Cole said it best when he said Matt is battling a man on one leg. Matt could attract heel heat just by looking at the crowd and with Rey hanging upside down in the corner Matt went charging at Rey but Rey moved and Matt hit the corner!

Turn of events as Rey hit a hurricanrauna but only got a 2.

This has been one of the best Smackdown Cruiserweight stories I have ever seen, just like the Chavo-Debut match on Smackdown! this is a brilliant choice for the DVD especially fitting as it involves his family and its the ending saga in a long time feud with him finally winning the big one. This match would have been a LOCK to the DVD regardless if it was REALLY good but lucky for us IT WAS THAT good and we should all be grateful.

Matt hit a Side Effect out of no where and Rey kicked out, just moments later Rey oput him in a cradle and MATT KICKED OUT! Then MATT hit the TWISTE OF FATE! Rey kicked out! Rey got ANOTHER ROLL UP AND MATT KICKED OUT! Holy shit this match roles, Rey hits a 619 and goes for a West Coast POP and Matt Catches him but Rey drags him towards the ropes with his legs and hits a hurricanrauna that sends Matt to the outside.

Ho-Ly…….Sh*t………

This match is incredible.

Rey broke the count at 9 and Matt grabbed the belt, while the ref blocked there view the MFERS slammed Rey and now Matt got back in the ring as Cole screamed. Matt jumped off the top as it looked like Matt was going to steal another match as he hit the leg drop from the top rope and REY KICKED OUT! The place went insane as if Austin just returned.

To be FAIR it absolutely looked like the match was going to be over.

Mysterio then rolled up Matt with all he had left after Matt waited for a few moments in shock and got the three as he hooked the legs. He wins with the roll-up and celebrates with his wife crying at ringside in his home state and his son Dominic who we would unfortunately know a little better in two years from this match… were ALL THERE.

Rey holds him on his shoulders with the belt.

Beyond the crowd support, the TV match, the family, the emotion it was the story telling of Rey finally getting the gold from Matt and doing everything it took to get there. He did it not only in convincing fashion but amazing fashion.

One of the better title matches in Smackdown history, a true gem and a borderline classic in the summer of 2003 here!

Fantastic!

****

20) Rey Mysterio vs Tajiri (c) for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship -WWE Smackdown!: January, 1st 2004

New Years Day and I was at my house hungover from the night before and I still watched Smackdown! at this time believe it or not so I remember this match happening. I had jut met Tajiri and Rey both as I went to a Smackown in the Summer of 2003 so I was extra interested in this one seeing at how I love and respect both guys, and they were extremely nice to me and respectful so they are both even up higher in my books.

Tajiri is all kinds of impressive and when he is in the ring with a guy like Rey you REALLY feel it!

That it I am referring to is obvioussly the X-Factor that makes a good match great!

Tajiri followed the same basic formula Reys opponents usually do by grounding the high flyer with leg work and even arm work, but the leg work took up most of the match.

Rey was the challenger here and this kicked off Smackdown! The First match of 2004 was an impressive one, as soon as Tajiri went for an arm bar after the leg work, Rey would counter with a go behind and run off the ropes for momentum but then would be grounded by the bigger, powerful Tajiri with a kick. Tajiris kicks are NOT just kicks, they are fu**ing hardcore KICKS. He sent Mysterio to the buckle, after a few moments Tajiri went for a hand spring flipped to the ropes but Rey got back in control with a drop kick to the outside!

With Rey looking to turn the tide he hit a springboard moonsault to Tajiri off the top rope on the outside as the fans go wild! This was a SICK SPOT. The fans went crazy as did Tazz and they went to a commercial. Rey still in control when they get back and even went for the 619 early and Akio broke it up by actually grabbing Reys legs half way through it. Hilarious. Well, at least it is better then FALLING through the ropes by accident like he did going for a 619 at a live event right in front of me, They of course editted it for TV as it was Smackdown and they have two days to do that, but that was quite the experience let me tell you….
.
Tajiri then went back to work on Reys leg and kicked him to the outside and Tajiri then drilled his elbow into the injured left knee of Rey.

The fans chanted 619 and SOMEHOW Rey kind of got some momentum realizing it was desperation time and he fought back against Tajiri and reversed some of his offense, even the Tarantuala attempt in the corner. Rey hit a low dropkick to Tajiri and set him up high and hit a beautiful top rope hurricanrana in luchadore style and only got a near fall. This match has been very good but Reys two spring board moonsaults and hurricanraunas have looked magnificent! Tajiri though with kicks to Reys hurt legs and then Rey counters with a sunset flip but only got a count of 2 then he hit an arm drag to Tajiri but only got a two count. Rey hit a springboard but Tajiri had him scouted and applied a modified half boston crab and this looked like it might be it for the challenger but he grabs the rope and Brian Hebner broke it up.

Rey used all of his power to kick Tajiri in the head with his GOOD RIGHT leg but Tajiri sent Rey down into the corner and lifted him up to the top and took it to him on the top until Rey hit him with a head butt. Akio pushed him off the top and Tajiri hit a running powerbomb but somehow Mysterio kicked out!

This is A LOT like the Matt Hardy match half a year earlier against Rey.

Rey flipped in mid-ring but did not draw the three. He finally hits the 619 and goes for the West Coast pop and missed it but Tajiri caught him with the kick to the face. Akio held onto Mysterio but Rey Ducked and Tajiri sprayed the mist into Akios face. Rey Ducked a kick and hit a hurricanrauna on Tajiri and got the 1, 2, 3 as Rey got a standing ovation as he once again wins a Cruiserweight title.

It is definitely pretty awesome that of all the matches Rey wins the Cruiserweight title in, they are usually pretty awesome like this one!

Fantastic match that gets better in the 2nd half for sure!

****

 

 

 

21) Rey Mysterio (c) vs Chavo Guerrero for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship -WWE Great American Bash 2004: June, 27th 2004

This match is awesome. I am noticing a trend here.

That is what I have to say first of all….

The Red White and Blue Ropes are great to see after a combination of so many different rope color combinations in AAA Mexican Wrestling, ECW, WCW and the WWE where I have seen literally every combo until this.

The rope color, the bullrope match and this match were the only good things of this horrid PPV.

Hopefully it saved this S*IT event for the fans there.

This really is a brilliant contest though for Wrestling fans.

A pure war, a battle that made sense and got a ton of time in which to work being on PPV.

Chavo worked already a brilliant match with Rey in 2002 in his debut match and it is NOT like that was there first meeting ever as they had some chemistry in WCW although there was NOT enough room for that on this DVD.

Rey and Chavo rolled around to start and Rey hit an Oklahoma roll to Chavo and Chavo looks at the ropside area while Rey looks confident thinking he can get the better of him.

Chavo then rolls over Rey and counters back SAYING that HE could get the better of him! Then he clapped, pretty hillarious stuff from Chavo!

They lock up as the two had a chance to get the best of one another early, then Chavo goes for an armbar hold. Cole points out work on the arm woukld prevent Rey from hitting a 619, Rey flips over but Chavo keeps it locked in until Rey uses the ropes for leverage and gets out of the armbar with a kick to Chavos abodomen area and he locks in an armbar to Chavo.

Seems like both guys trying desperately to get the better of the other in the early stages of this match. Some fast and entertaining action as the crowd are all on Reys side obviously!

They walk around not wanting to make a mistake as the two circle one another and Chavo levelled his forearm into Reys back and went for a dropkick and hit it quite nicely.

The flow of the match went back and forth for awhile.

When Rey got in control he targetted the bicep of Chavo simply because he had kicked him there earlier. This is some of the greatest pure counter wrestling with cruiserweights you are going to see in North America in the kast 5 years due to the piss poor state its been in as of late for the WWE anyway.

The Leg work by Chavo was so phenominal that the crowd in Virginia felt legitimately sorry for him as they cheered him on as they clapped, the mark of a good match is when what you believe you are seeing is REAL.

The work between these two was REAL here.

Rey looked for any escape POSSBILE while in these Boston Crab-Leg Locks and every single time he would try to grab for an arm or get out or even attempt to hit his skeany offensive moves his knee would buckle. They did such a wonderful job at showing how Chavo dominated this match since Reys knee got hurt. Rey then SOMEONE backed Chavos bicep into the post.

A move out of desperation there by Mysterio but even still Chavo had done so much damage by this point, would it even matter you would have to wonder…..

Chavo was relentless, vicious with blows to the back of the neck of Rey! Both men on the top rope in a moment of drama and they both fly off hitting face first and Rey further injures his knee, while Chavo injures his bicep and they both get to there feet just before the 10 count.

This match has officially become a WAR.

Chavo then connected with a Gory Bomb and Mysterio still found enough will to kick out. Chavo is struggling here as well with his injured bicep and strong matches become classics when you are fully aware that both guys have an injured body part and through every move it is an uphill battle and every little counter, hold or move MATTERS in one way or another.

Guerrero had a half-crab locked in at mid-ring and the crowd cheered for Rey as he desperately crawled to the ropes for a good 30 seconds and GOT TO THE ROPES as the fans chanted 619!

They then chanted Chavo Sucks, Mysterio on top of Chavo as Guerrero went for another Gory Bomb but Mysterio countered with a sunset flip out of the Bomb and Rey got the 1,2,3 to retain the title!

Cole and Tazz ask how Rey did it….it truely is a mystery, what a story, what an ending, what a match!

So Rey retained the title in the end at 19:40 when he beat Chavo with a roll-up, what endurance with this near twenty minute match at that pace with excellent psychology is just everything you need in a Cruiserweight match and I`ll say it again, it`s no wonder he got 3 matches with Rey on this DVD, making it 7 Guerrero matches out of 29, Rey was truely remarkable with the Guerrero family!

This is the end of Disc 2 and what a way to go out in perhaps the greatest bout these two have ever had together.

****

————————-

Disc 3 Matches:

 

 

 

22) Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero vs The Basham Brothers (Doug and Danny) (c) for the WWE Tag Team Championship -WWE No Way Out: February, 20th 2005

 

 

This is the first of 8 matches on the final Disc of Rey’s so far excellent DVD. 21 of 29 matches have passed, a few have been decent and have had unique qualities about them, a dozen have been good and a half dozen have been GREAT! So far so good to say the least.

Tag team matches are not my fortay but it definitely adds a unique element to this set as 28 of the 29 matches here are singles matches so this is a fun change of pace.
The Bashams are a good tag team because they have an old school look with a new school style so they were tough and wore down there opponents, which coincidentally fit will as there opponents on this night were high flyers.

Rey and Eddie were about to get in a mini-feud themselves and leading into Wrestlemania and most of the spring and summer of 2005 so this was of course the typicsl start the jealousy angle as both friends became tag team champions on this night at No Way Out on PPV.
It remains a special night in the life of Rey Mysterio winning a title with a legend like Eddie who died this very year makes it even more special and this tag match was quite good so it definately deserves a spot on the DVD if Rey Desires, I can see why this was added. It’s not anywhere near the best match but they could of done worse, it has a sentimental attatchment to Mysterio and gives the Bashams some due as well, so a lot of different parties win here.

In the beginning we saw some nice work from Eddie and Mysterio but it wasn’t long before the Bashams ended up controlling pretty much 10 consecutive minutes of the bout as after all they were the more experienced tag team in the match. They (The Bashams) methodially took apart Mysterio by keeping him in there corner and applying slow moves on him such as abodominal stretches and arm bars. Very physical action and pretty slow in parts. They grounded both men down quite well as they both knew it was absolutely essential to do so against the likes of these two talented high flyers. The crowd stayed into the tag match despite holds being applied early which was a good thing and helped the matches cause. A dead crowd never helped anything and the fact it was the opening match of No Way Out probably helped as the fans are usually patient as the face team is being worked on by the heels as they root there favourites to get BACK into the match and that’s what happened here.

When Eddie eventually got tagged back in by Rey (who kept entertaining by dodging the Bashams in quick fashion in a nice sequence before this) the fun really started and the match REALLY PICKED UP! Eddie decided to “Lie Cheat and Steal” in the match by doing his “fake lie down” to fool the ref and his opponent twice near the climax of the opening encounter. Good stuff as always From Eddie, I made a mistake earlier saying the Guerrero family appeared 7 times in the 29 Rey Matches, well 8 if you include this match as he is Rey’s partner and 9 if you include Rey’s tribute match FOR Eddie.

To end this tag match Eddie Guerrero pinned Doug after hitting him with a title belt at 14:50 and the ref counted the three and we’ve got new tag team champions!
Eddie and Rey, great friends celebrate with the tag gold after what was a very good tag team attraction.

Nothing amazing but as I stated earlier, it’s clear why this was added and it was a very good tag match for PPV and for this set!

***

 

 

 

23) Rey Mysterio vs Eddie Guerrero -WWE Judgment Day 2005: May, 22nd 2005

 

Oh my god, seeing Eddie walk out to that slowed down heel tone of “Can you feel the heat” with the ring tone and that cold stare is so awesome. He is great as that character and I wish it was still here.

Maybe I’d watch a lot more of today…

This one has great wrestling, tremendous psychology and was miles better then there pretty good match at Wrestlemania 21.

Eddie was over as a heel and got the crowd to hate him in a lot of brilliant ways, his mic skills were tremendous as a heel and just the look on his face was brilliant. A lot of back and forth, quick action in this one a lot of counters involved.

You`d expect these two to roll around the mat with each other, they did, You`d expect them to exchange holds with go behinds, reverse armbars and hammerlocks with handspring roll ups, they DID. They slugged it out, they disected a body part of one another and when Rey hit, he did it to prove a point. The fans were on his side.
When Guerrero hit it was ruthless, morely in an evil sense with a demonic look in his eyes and a vicious outburst of strength to his former friend Rey Mysterio.

Rey hit some moves out of no where at times but Eddie controlled most of the match however he just seemed to not be able to put Rey out of the match no matter how much he tried. He had to resort to getting himself DQ`d to save face but more so to keep the feud going and get more heel heat and truely take the frustrastions he felt on Rey out on him in this match!

Like the two bitches they are when the match started they slapped each other back and forth a little bit until Rey viciously grounded Eddie and instead of wrestling him just struck him with some blows because of how personal this rivalry had become.

Textbook storytelling. However Eddie threw Rey into the steps not after long as he over powered him and then began his attack. Eddie Threw Rey face/mask first into the top of the ring apron and side of the ring post.

Eddie Guerrero even hit a devistating spine buster to Rey on the announce table and it didn’t break, ouch. Again, Heel Guerrero owns.

Oh that’s not all, to prove how much of a prick Eddie is he DID IT AGAIN. This time even harder……wow. Eddie threw Rey back in the ring and glared at the fans screaming at him while the announcers made him sound like the Anti-Christ, it was a great Heel turn and RUN in my opinion, the only must see thing on SD were the promo’s and interactions between these two however that was until Dominic got involved. :side: Even then though the were able to still put on Great Matches like at Summerslam 2005 in the Ladder Match.

As good as there WWE classics or GREAT or GOOD matches were over the years they never got to the level of World War 3 or Halloween Havoc 1997 In my estimation but this match and the SD Encounter I will soon review upcoming are the closest they probably got and are definately close to or on par with World War 3’s Brillant Match.
An Abdominal Stretch to Rey after Eddie hit two spine busters to Rey on the announce table definately left a lasting impact on the mid-section of Mysterio. Instead of applying a powerbomb he fell to his back so Mysterio would hit face first into the canvas. He kicked the s*it out of him pretty much and even still Eddie Guerrero couldn’t put that little masked tough sob away.

In the end Eddie Guerrero was disqualified after hitting Mysterio with a steel chair at 18:31. The 2nd best WWE match they ever had together next to the Smackdown bout that is upcoming…… This one was awesome though with Heel Eddie as always. Cole got annoying like always in the match though, especially afterwards.

Still though as said it`s a lot like the Great American Bash match with Eddie`s nephew and Rey from the year before where it`s an expertly crafted scientific display of Wrestling excellence!

Love this match, always have fun with Heel Eddie going one on one with Rey on PPV in a match with a lot of time, with that lineup…the question is how could you lose?……

 

**** 1/4

 

 

24) Rey Mysterio vs Eddie Guerrero -WWE Smackdown!: June, 23rd 2005

 

I’m going to run down a lot of what happened in this match? Why?

Well whenever I do this (for half the matches in my reviews basically) I want to point out the brilliance or relevance of each move and why they happened and so on, as you read on you’ll get a good idea of why I love this match! It’s a month later so Eddie’s got more bags under his eyes to fit the HEEL look and longer hair and is more of a dick and is more over as a heel here, nice. Eddie Sucks chants in the crowd before the two got it on…If it’s repetitive oh well, his manerisms as heel are nothing short of brilliant. He could literally go to Hollywood with how well he acted here, you need to buy this DVD and check this shit out because memory or words don’t do it justice.

This time in this encounter Eddie took Rey down early nut Mysterio had him well scouted as he countered an early abdominal stetch with an arm drag take down as the fans cheered and Eddie took his time. They locked up again and Eddie slapped on a headlock as the fans waited to see if Rey could get out of this hold and as it was early Rey sent him to the corner but Eddie struck down hard on him by backing him into a corner viciously and without fair game, Rey smiled in a sarcastic fashion while shaking his head while Eddie said
“Hey it’s all good…” This was just all ACE.

Rey’s arms were stretched behind his back as Eddie grabbed them from behind and drove his forehead into the high back of Rey to add Pressure and as Rey got out he slapped on a headlock sent him to the ropes and hit a shoulder block. Eddie sent him to the ride again and Mysterio ducked, came off the other side and he kicked Eddie from the Canvas to the outside! Rey out did him this time as they went to the first commercial break. Rey now in control a little bit as he to after weakening Guerrero with a few blows locked on a tough looking abdominal stretch that kind of looked funny given the height difference of Mysterio. Rey now sustaining control of the match and went a bit to the side and held a shoulder lock while the fans chanted 619 but Eddie picked him up with his force and dropped him on the top of the buckle and then pushed him off to the floor.

Eddie laughed and then slammed Rey against the table then shoulder first into the steps. Eddie was faster in this match then the Judgment Day encounter and he stomped on Rey on the outside until breaking the count. The bout had gone back and forth but Eddie’s mean streak was a sign of him on his A game as he continued to find ways out of whatever offense Rey threw at him! Eddie slapped on an arm stretch by elevating Rey off his feet as back met back and leaned forward until Rey hit an armdrag out of desperation he came off the ropes and Rey got caught with a BACK BREAKER BYE EDDIE! Wow, Eddie has took apart Rey’s body in almost every way imaginable here. This match has been done brilliant so far as you can tell if you can keep up…..Eddie just with no remorse kicking at the side of Rey and then yelling at the crowd when they yell at him to stop. This is Story Telling, this is how to do a Match, no less a TV Match in Professional Wrestling, made for compelling television that insulted no ones intelligence and you got to see a Classic at the same time between two of the world’s best workers! After Eddie had locked in a Camel Clutch, Rey caught a momentary break by sending Eddie to the outside and then once Eddie got in he stomped Mysterio and then sent him to the turnbuckle.

Rey layed there on the canvas in pain as his back was being ripped apart and Eddie didn’t give him any time as the sadistic heel as he became he kept on rubbing it in, grounding Rey! Guerrero choked Rey in a full nelson. Guerrero then relentlessly sent Mysterio to the buckle and as he came off jumped up and caught Eddie with a hurricanrauna! The fans erupted as Rey can finally make his way back into the match perhaps! Eddie got drop kicked to the ropes and is now in position for a 619! Eddie comes off though and hits him with a clothesline! Eddie now paranoid Rey had the ability to get back went for a cover and got a two and then of course argued. Eddie now fully realizing Rey had the ability to come back wore him down with a overarm reverse chinlock!

Eddie then hit yet ANOTHER backbreaker to Rey after Rey got out of the hold and Guerrero went for 2 near falls and paced around the ring thinking what in the hell he’d have to do to beat this already beaten up but yet resilient Rey Mysterio. Eddie sent Rey to the ropes and hit his back but Rey back kicked Eddie and slowly delivered blows but as he did Eddie was one step ahead until Eddie sent Rey to the ropes and Rey came off with a standing bulldog on Eddie! Both men down till the 5 and then this war turned into a slug fest! Rey started to come back in the match and everything was booked and paced perfectly as Rey built his strength and made Eddie weak all at a realistic pace. Rey hit clotheslines, bulldogs and a West Coast pop but not enough to put away Guerrero. Rey digging deep for momentum and pounded away on the head of Eddie, both back up and now this is surprisingly anyones match! Rey climbing up the ropes and got caught by Eddie as he landed crotch first on the top and rolled off and the fans quieted down ass the offensive explosion from Rey got slowed down. Rey got hit with two amigo’s and sent Eddie to the ropes before the third! Rey back in control! 619 Just missed as Guerrero kicks him in the mid-section and completes the third amigo and flies up top for a frog splash. Rey ducked it.

These two had the chance to put the other away but dodged the others finishers. Rey covered Eddie after he landed face first after his own failed frog splash attempt and only got a two count! Eddie goes for a Powerbomb and Eddie gets kicked forward by Rey and finally hits the 619! He hits the West Coast Pop and Rey overcomes the odds and beats Eddie and the place goes wild! The Jinx continues and Guerrero can’t beat Rey in the WWE and this was an unbelievable match!

Wow….just wow. Everything was so flawless and perfect and so realistic in the comeback and story telling. Maybe my favourite match ever between the two. A Classic Match, one of the best in SD History for reasons all mentioned above! If Disc one doesen’t sell you, then Disc 2 should be able to….and if that doesen’t these two matches here are a lock. Buy This DVD, NOW.

**** 1/2

25) Rey Mysterio vs “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels -WWE Monday Night Raw “Eddie Tribute Show”: November, 15th 2005

Michaels targetted the arm first then Rey countered with some of the same. A lot of this match Joey Styles, Jonathan Coachman, and Joey Styles respectfully discussed Eddie Guerrero’s life the relationship beteween him and the superstars and how he is missed. Some parts of this amtch weren’t depressing though like a sequence here where the fans applauded very loudly after it was done near the beginning. A hammer lock, a shoulder block a dodge, an arm drag by Rey and then Shawn with a a kick off on the ground, a side head lock take down by Michaels and then a stand off which got a tremendous ovation! Shawn then with another hammerlock to Rey as these two don’t have much chemistry together. An inside cradle by Shawn to Rey and then a 2 and a headlock. Rey with a springboard take down on Michaels after a ton of his offense and then went for the Hurricanrana but Michaels pushed him down from behind and Rey’s head hit the mat. Rey jumped off the ropes onto Shawn on the outside and back on the inside they continued to take it to one another at a pretty good pace, it never got boring.

It’s funny, well it’s definately not funny but it’s interesting, it’s as if when Eddie died, Rey’s matches kind of died on this DVD. Not to say there’s not quality matches on this set after Eddie passed but it just didn’t feel the same as most of his best work was with Eddie or Malenko and with Eddie gone he went on to better things gold wise but it’s just something I kind of noticed for myself anyway. Rey certainly still had Chemistry with The Guerrero name as he did with Chavo as seen on this set and there are two more matches with Chavo here remaining to further prove that point. Earlier I said Chavo met Rey three times on this disc well I was wrong, it’s 4 in total on the DVD just like it is 4 with Eddie and all of them are great or AMAZING. Rey and Shawn did some high flying and there contrast in styles is pretty unique so that is why this is sort of a dream match by many although obvioussly with no storyline, no match preperation and the emotional state of both men especially Rey it’d be amazingly difficult to pull off even a *** match here, ESPECIALLY with it being on Raw and the two having absolutely 0 chemistry thus far with how they’ve never wrestled. But the two did an exceptional job and they did Eddie proud and that’s what matters most here.

In the ending stages if what was an actually a better match then I expected Rey caught Shawn and hit him with a 619 and a leg drop to win the match as he payed tribute to his late friend. Classy move for Shawn to job, as if it really mattered though. Again, Star ratings don’t really matter for this match, it was a pretty good Television match and a nice touch on the DVD for Eddie especially being the only match with Rey and Shawn and on Raw itself. That is all….

 

** 1/2

 

 

 

26) Rey Mysterio vs Randy Orton vs Kurt Angle (c) in a Triple Threat match for the World Heavyweight Championship -WWE Wrestlemania 22

This one featured early action from Orton and Mysterio as Randy hit a nice drop kick to Rey until Angle who was over here with Chicago suplexed Randy. Unbelievable triple suplex which got a great ovation obvioussly followed that great move! This match consisted of Kurt Angle dominating BOTH MEN for 8 minutes. Yeah, that’s about it. I would write more but why bother? Oh Rey botched a move, but hey it’s Mania, and you can’t click on everything right? This match isn’t a bad one it’s just there wasn’t a lot to tell other then that!
Don’t get me wrong it was entertaining and great wrestling was shown but the champ was just all over the place making it seem like neither Orton or Mysterio could logically win.It’s clear that’s what they were going for to help Rey’s “underdog story”. Mysterio pinned Orton after a 619 and a West Coast Pop at 9:18 to become the World Champion for the first time. Yes, that’s right…I said 9:18. That’s the biggest flaw of this match by far and I think everyone would safely agree. Pretty generous rating all things considered but hey, it WAS a Great match and it WAS heading places, good to see Rey win the title here on this DVD regardless how many people hated it!

 

***

 

 

27) Rey Mysterio (c) vs JBL for the World Heavyweight Championship -WWE Judgment Day: May, 21st 2006

For the main event of Judgment Day 2006 this is what took place, a rare Mysterio PPV World title defense as he didn`t have many but this was a pretty solid one!

JBL still in the main event picture challenged Rey for the World Title here. JBL works good as a heel both on the mic and in the ring, a lot better then anyone would have thought when thinking of his gimmicks before the JBL one came along anyway…..

I could tolerate the JBL hate back in 2004 when it was brand new and he had a title run (although he made it respectable) but it’s a little bit of a tough pill to swallow
NOW when he does such a good job.

Rey had his critics as well being the World Champion. Some actually wanted JBL to win back the gold here, I wasn’t sure how these two styles were going to work together but they did mesh relatively well as most do when given preperation before a PPV unlike uhhhh Goldberg and Lesnar or uhhhh Steiner and Triple H but lets move on.

JBL tried to slow the pace down a lot on Rey, tried to wear him down with many holds on the mat, and many stretches that would prevent Rey from performing his high risk moves. Basically that’s the same story as most of the matches on this DVD and if I always say if there is one flaw on this magnificent set its the flaw that a lot of matches stories are repetitive. THANK GOD for some of the blend in styles, lucha libre and most of all Eddie/Dean matches to get us through or else I’d hang myself because every match the opponent tries to wear down Rey. However here it’s obvioussly logical to do that given the massive size differences and what would benefit JBL to get back to the top of the mountain then to beat the tar out of Rey and made sure his offense stayed low!

He was unsuccessful for the most part as Rey always comes back in matches it seems and of course he did in this one as well when defending the title here at Judgment Day! It was a relatively short reign but I`m glad they had him defend the title before losing it against someone who is I guess SOME WHAT Credible like JBL. 😉

Mysterio pinned JBL after a Frog splash at 15:56 to retain the World Title.

Fans go home happy.

Pretty good/solid match but nothing GREAT as you`d assume beforehand! Doesen`t hurt the DVD any as like I said it is good in parts and you can definately see why it was added given it was a successful PPV World Title Defense.

** 3/4

 

 

29) Rey Mysterio vs Chavo Guerrero (W-Vickie Guerrero) in a “Falls Count Anywhere Match“ – WWE No Mercy 2006: October, 8th 2006

Chavo turned on Rey at the Bash costing him the title a few months before this and the two had a bunch of matches together around this time period.

The action started in the ring and it was good, some fast paced stuff that got a little rough as this feud like the one with Eddie was pretty emotional, especially considering how tight these guys were after the death of Eddie. I don`t ever agree with Eddie being involved in storylines past his death infact I`m extremely AGAINST it as I know a lot of you are as well but to add fuel to the fire in thie feud it`s understandable as long as they don`t bring it up. It`s common sense really since they rubbed it in your face for all of 2006!

This one literally went all over the place as a Falls Count Anywhere match should which really added a new dimension to the rivalry between them as far as chemistry goes. We all know what they are capable of in the ring together as shown on Smackdown, in WCW and more specifically at The Great American Bash in 2004. (The only good thing on that show)

JBL was funny when he said no one cared about Hockey when they were by the boards in the crowd area, Cole is a big hockey fan and so am I (Obviously given where I live) but JBL is just always humerous.

A lot of impressive high flying moves even if the majority of the match did take place outside of the ring.

Highly enjoyable overall. Mysterio pinned Guerrero after a Crossbody off a guard rail at 12:10. A great little unique clash this time around! Pretty original in parts which is its biggest strength.

***

29) Rey Mysterio vs Chavo Guerrero in an “I Quit” Match -WWE Smackdown!: October, 20th 2006

 

 

Last match of the DVD!

Not a bad choice to go out with here!

The Chavo-Vickie vs Rey feud was very heated and stretched out to the point of over the top boredom by this point but that didn`t mean the two couldn`t put on great matches together. It`s Guerrero and Mysterio and if these 29 match revies or 10 of the 29 approximately with a Guerrero name involved has taught you anything it`s that they can always deliver and in a big way!

The Ropes are black, this must have been a super show and the ramp looks a little different.

I feel bad for Vickie but god has she gotten ugly. Not that she was ever PRETTY mind you but she`s gotten a lot worse, I guess I can`t be to harsh though as she did lose a husband that year.

Anyway these two really wanted at each other in this one, badly!
Ya know Chavo goes under the radar at times you`ve gotta be impressed with his natural ability to draw heat before a match.

He begins an attack on Rey that doesen`t last long as Mysterio hit a crossbody and then some offense to Chavo which the fans appreciated. Pounded away on him in the corner while Vickie made some gross looking faces on the outside and then sent Chavo to outside the ring beside her before a springboard moonsault!

God I love that move. I`ve seen it about 156, 76, 000 times since watching this DVD but it`s still impressive and I love it.

Chavo then got thrown against the steps as Rey is really hurting him here. What`s this, Rey IS ACTUALLY dominating an opponent to start a match, wow…..but it is an I Quit match so the brutality is justified and I liked how Rey kicked Chavo`s back and threw him to the pole viciously! Mysertio has gotten tough and tired of these Guerrero`s by now, surely! 😉

Used the chair in Chavo`s mid-section then on him inside the ring as Charles Robinson as goofy as ever asked if he`d quit and he didn`t or I`d be done and Rey kicked the chair into his face in the corner, nice spot here and this is a good match.

Entertaining offense by Rey anyway especially for TV!

How many times have I said that on these TV matches…but it`s true. Rey continued his high flying, high risk offense but one times to many as Chavo in desperation threw that same chair that he left beside Chavo (pretty smart) at Rey`s head on top of the buckle.

Chavo then targetted Rey`s legs and worked onb them for awhile using the chair as well.

Chavo then Pillman`d or Austin`d Rey`s hurt leg as he jumped off the top rope and used his whole body not just his feet to land on Rey yet the masked son of a bitch still wouldn`t quit. Thid DVD will literally never end. Jokes, I“m loving these matches.
Chavo beat on Rey with a chair to the outside of the ring up the ramp continually kicking at his stomach and legs and Rey wouldn`t give up so both guys got in offense here.

Some nice spots in this match including a suplex from Rey to Chavo on the top of the ramp as he reversed what was going to be a suplex from Chavo from the top of the ramp to the floor apparently… (as if) Yeah, I used AS IF and haven`t watched clueless in at least a month. Anyway….

Chavo got pushed to the floor from the ramp area in another cool spot but wouldn`t give up just yet and Rey at the top of the ramp RAN ALL THE WAY from the entrance and spring boarded off the top of that to catch Chavo with an extremely high risk move. Wow.

THAT was definitely incredible and Rey then sent Chavo`s back into a wall area inside the ramp floor to the side. Rey locked in a reverse chinlock asnd Chavo didn`t give in. When he didn`t Rey hillariously and aggresively leveled Chavo in the head out of frustration.

Mysterio smacked Chavo Guerrero with that chair on the outside then choked him as Vickie looked on worried!

Chavo did get on the offense a little more on the outside after a cheap move and went after the head of Mysterio in frustration as well.

Now is another great spot.

With Rey hanging from a steel barricade that is vertical attatched to the tron to the side of the ramp, Chavo hits Rey repeatedly with a chair while Rey just hangs there helplessly and has to quit.

What a guy…..goes out on his DVD by actually QUITTING in a match…but this was a GREAT ONE!

Better then the Falls Count Anywhere Match at No Mercy.

Amazing match! Very violent and fast paced.

 

 

*** 1/2

————————————–

Final Rating for Rey Mysterio: Biggest Little Man DVD = 9/10

 

 

This is without a doubt a MUST own and immediately a top 5 set for individual performers EVER released by the WWE. Some of the matches at times can get a little repetitive…. sure, but the repetitive stuff is all incredible and with 29, yes…29 matches and most of them in the or near the 4 star range, SO how can you possibly go wrong?

So it is another set that is a must own especially if you like this type of wrestling! I enjoyed it most definitely and my favourite parts were some rare matches with Juventud, Calo, Blitzkrieg, and of course the Malenko and Eddie material although some with Chavo were also great!

No Documentary but hey, these are all gems and if you love to watch WRESTLING like I do then it`s great, besides Rey talks inbetween the matches and shows SOME CLIPS plus all of the entrances so it`s not like it`s match, match, match, and I`d even be OK with it if it was. I haven`t heard one REALLY negative review yet on this set, I`m telling you to pick it up! You`ll be glad you did.