Goody Bag 48: Asshole Robert Frost

WWF Title Match: Randy Savage v Shawn Michaels: From Munich Germany on April 14 1992, with Shawn subbing for Jake Roberts. Savage sells the banged up knee from WrestleMania the whole way to the ring, and in fact, he pretty much went on selling it for the rest of the year, too. They spend a while sizing each other up to start, with Macho reluctant to engage due to the knee, and Shawn waiting until he has a good opening on his end. Randy manages to dodge him once Michaels tries to strike, and Randy grabs a hammerlock. Shawn escapes and throws a shoulderblock for two, then goes right for the leg, but Randy bails to the outside before Michaels can do any damage. Macho chucks a chair in to try and distract HBK, so Sherri comes over and whacks him in the leg, allowing Michaels to pounce. Savage, of all people, should know better than to fall for Sherri's bullshit. Shawn unloads on the leg on the outside, but Randy reverses him into the post, and Michaels is in full oversell mode on the bump. A trip into the steps follows, and a flying axehandle on the way back in gets two, but also messes up Macho's knee. He's moving slowly, but manages a hangman's clothesline for two. Bodyslam, but Michaels counters with a cradle for two, so Savage throws a quick backelbow for two to fight him off, and Shawn bails. He decides to take a walk, but Savage drags him back, which seems like a pretty stupid idea. Like, dude, you can barely walk. You're already the champion, if he wants to walk out, take the easy V, and go home. Sherri tries another distraction, but this time it backfires, and Savage schoolboys for two. Unfortunately for him, the leg is slowing him down too much for a quick follow-up, and Shawn hits a kneebreaker. That allows Sherri to pounce on Macho's knee as well, bashing it into the post and apron while Michaels distracts the referee. Shawn works the leg in pretty basic fashion (all kick, pound stuff - but it's effective), and he slaps on a figure four to try for the submission. Huh, so Shawn's figure four always sucked, apparently. Still a more respectable version than the one he started using later, but he was really terrible at submission holds in general for such a master level worker. Macho makes the ropes, so Shawn keeps unloading on the leg, but another figure four is countered with a cradle for two. Savage has no follow-up, however, allowing Shawn to slap it on on the next try, but Randy reverses this time, so Sherri helps Shawn to the ropes to save himself. The quick escape allows Michaels to keep control with a bodyslam, but another figure four attempt is blocked, and this time Savage is able to throw a clothesline. Flying Elbowdrop (complete with slow, messy climb to sell the knee) retains at 13:50. This was good enough, but they'd have a better (and totally different, non-knee focused) match a few days later in England. ** ¾

Rick Rude and Steve Austin v Sting and Brian Pillman: From WCW Saturday Night on January 8 1994 (taped December 13) in Atlanta Georgia. Austin starts with Sting, but he wants Pillman instead... only to immediately bail when Sting obliges. Steve sweeps Brian to the outside, and steals the high ground to pound him on the way back in, but misses a charge. That allows Pillman a 2^nd rope clothesline for two, so Steve bails to regroup for a moment. Tag to Rude on the way back in, and a distraction from Austin allows Rick to unload in the corner. Clothesline, but Pillman counters with a sunset cradle for two, so Rick goes back to simply pounding on him in the corner again. Hey, KISS. Backdrop, but Pillman leapfrogs his way into a tag to Sting, and Rude eats a pop-up flapjack. Atomic drop knows Rick right into a right from Brian, but Austin breaks Sting's cover at two. Undeterred, Sting grabs an armbar, but Rude powers into his home corner, and tags. Sting fights them both off, so Austin tries to slow things down with an overhead wristlock, then a headlock. Sting forces a criss cross to escape, and he hits a press-slam, leaving Austin begging off in the wrong corner - trying to tag Pillman! Brian obliges, though it isn't quite the 'tag' Austin was hoping for, and Stunning Steve ends up down on the outside. He manages to catch Sting with an elbow on the way back in before passing to Rick, and Rude comes in with a kneedrop. Rude with a backbreaker and a bearhug as the heels cut the ring in half on Sting, but a tombstone gets reversed for two, and Austin fails to cut off the tag! Pillman comes in hot, and Roseanne Barr the door! Missile dropkick on Austin looks to finish, but the referee is distracted, allowing Colonel Robert Parker to sneak in with a cheap shot - Austin hooking the leg to steal the pin at 11:35. This was okay, but nothing special. Rude seemed off his game here, though that was pretty par for the course with him around this time. **

Pretty Wonderful v Sting and Brian Pillman: From WCW Saturday Night on March 26 1994 (taped March 3) in Atlanta Georgia. After some debate, we settle on Paul Roma and Sting to start, but it's stall city for the first few minutes. Big criss cross finally gets us going, won by Sting with a dropkick. That draws Paul Orndorff in, but Sting dropkicks him as well, and both heels end up on the outside to regroup. Dust settles on Roma and Pillman, and Brian cranks on a wristlock. Roma fights him off in the corner and passes to Orndorff for a flying elbowsmash, but Brian reverses a turnbuckle smash, and lands a 2^nd rope bodypress for two. 2^nd rope dropkick, but Orndorff dodges, and Pillman wipes out in DRAMATIC fashion. I mean, wow, was he trying to impress some girl in the crowd, or something? Anyway, that's enough to knock him good and silly, and the heels cut the ring in half. Orndorff misses a charge in the corner to allow the hot tag to Sting, and Roseanne Barr the door. Flying splash on Roma finishes at 10:29. * ¼

WWE United Kingdom Title v NXT North American Title Match: Pete Dunne v Ricochet: From NXT TV on September 19 2018 (taped August 23) in Winter Park Florida. Feeling out process to start, pretty evenly matched, until Dunne gets hold of the hand, and starts dismantling him on the mat. Ricochet manages to grab a modified abdominal stretch, but he's forced to abandon it when Dunne starts cranking on him, and he shifts to a toehold to keep Pete's hands at a distance. Unfortunately for Ricochet, Dunne is able to reverse, so Ricochet tries turning it into a hammerlock pin, but Dunne counters back to the toehold to block. Pete turns it into a nasty surfboard to keep Ricochet away from the ropes, but Ricochet manages to topple him for two on the escape. Dunne quickly ties him up on the mat before Ricochet can either bail or follow up, but Ricochet manages to escape, and he traps Pete on the mat to work the arm. Unfortunately for Ricochet, the hand that Dunne wrenched on is acting up, and he can't properly hold him, allowing Pete to make the ropes. Dunne throws a semi-cheap shot, but Ricochet returns fire with chops, and uses a headscissors takedown, followed by a dropkick to put Pete on the outside. Ricochet dives with a tope, but an attempt at another takedown on the way back in backfires when Dunne swipes at the hand. That allows Pete to ground him again, and it's finger bending time, bitch! Pete punctuates it with a double stomp, so Ricochet tries throwing some clotheslines to shake him off, but Pete goes after the hand again. That slows Ricochet down, but he's still able to block a charge from Pete with a clothesline, and that's enough to buy a little time. He's able to capitalize with a tiger feint kick in the corner, and a flying backelbow gets him two. He tries a TKO, but Dunne escapes, and throws an enzuigiri in the corner. X-plex, but Ricochet escapes, and lands a quick running shooting star press for two. Ricochet heads upstairs, but is forced to abandon a dive when Dunne charges, and Ricochet ends up trapped in a cross-armbreaker. He manages to leverage it into a pin attempt for two, but a standing moonsault misses, and Dunne stomps on the hand to simmer him down. Ricochet slips away and tries a springboard dive, but Pete punches him out of the air, and hits the x-plex for two. Bitter End, but Ricochet counters to a suplex, but Dunne lands on his feet. He tries to sneak attack, but Ricochet sidesteps, and Pete takes a spill to the outside. Ricochet tries a dive after him, but misses, and Pete x-plexes him on the apron. Right back in for the Bitter End, but Ricochet counters with an inverted rana for two, and both guys are left looking up at the lights. Dunne grabs the hand as both guys start recovering, and he throws an enzuigiri, followed by a clothesline. Reversal sequence sees Ricochet stick a DDT for two, but Dunne bails to the apron as Ricochet climbs to the top, and both guys end up fighting up there. Dunne wrenches the hand to try and control him, but Ricochet fights him off with a rana off the top, and a reverse STO gets him two. Springboard 450 splash, but Pete catches him in a triangle choke on the landing, and Ricochet is forced to muscle his way through a powerbomb to escape. Unfortunately for him, Dunne immediately grabs the hand and cranks on a hold, but Ricochet impressively dead lifts him into a brainbuster to escape. Insane power display there, wow! Both guys don't have much left in the tank, and are left slugging it out on their knees when the Undisputed Era runs in for the no-contest at 21:42. Good match here, though I didn't get into it as much as the crowd obviously did, and felt like I was checking my watch a lot. *** ¼