Author: M. Swift

Are you ready to go back Into the Vault? Last week, we did the 20th anniversary of WCW Souled Out 2000. This time we’re looking at WWE Royal Rumble 2000. While Souled Out had twelve damn matches, this show had six with one of them being the Royal Rumble match. Let’s dive in and see if this show aged well.  Skip These Matches  The opener with Kurt vs. Tazz? Skip that. It should’ve been on HeAT, really. I liked the New Age Outlaws and the Acolytes were always a badass team. They wouldn’t become truly awesome until a week later when they became the APA.…

When I started following the independent wrestling while in high school, my team was The Spanish Announce Team: The Amazing Red and Los Maximos (Jose and Joel). This trio didn’t have the charisma of some of the other guys on the indies at the time but they didn’t lack athleticism and fearlessness. The RF Video release of Best of the SAT (Spanish Announce Team) featured some of their best from 2001.  On this The Indy Tape, let’s look at the three best matches from this compilation. It’s a hard one because there are a lot of matches that live up to the…

WWE King of the Ring ‘94, the “Perfect Father’s Day Card.” We’ll see about that as we head Into the Vault for another Hart-studded extravaganza!  Skip These Matches  I will say that King of the Ring ‘94 is an easier one to get through than the ‘93 edition. That isn’t to say that 1993 was a painful watch but 1994 didn’t show up to waste time. We’re short a non-tournament match but the card is chopped up beautifully between the tournament action.  Just skip all of the 1-2-3 Kid matches and the IRS matches. It pains me to say “Skip a 1-2-3…

For the 20th anniversary of WCW Souled Out 2000, we head Into the Vault to see if nostalgia saved this show or if it’s still as poorly received as it was then. Let’s go!  Skip These Matches  Wow, where to begin? Kidman against Malenko? Skip. Both were really good during the 90s and actually into the early 00s but this match doesn’t do them justice. Of course, Kidman had a match later on the show which makes up for the shortness.  Or does it? Honestly, this match could’ve been left off or ran on TV. Whatever. It’s part of a three-match series where Kidman…

We’re heading back Into the Vault for WWE King of the Ring ‘93. Sometimes when I do the reviews of tournaments, I know the tournament layout and who won—only to be sideswiped by a non-tournament match. This show has three of them and two of them are important but all three are necessary. Let’s get into WWE King of the Ring ‘93!  Skip These Matches  When it comes to a tournament, I hate to say “Skip these matches.” If the tournament is on one show, I usually go through them all even if I know all the matches aren’t worth the watch.…

Looking through my tape collection, there are several “Best of” comps. I figured we’d go through a couple starting off with The Best of Trent Acid on the first edition of The Indy Tapes. It’s an RF Video release from between 2004-2005, runs for about 3 hours, and features mostly 2001 bouts but ends with a 2002 match. There’s also a 2000 match thrown in but let’s look at the very best matches from this one.  Trent Acid vs. Reckless Youth vs. Ric Blade (CZW Un F’N Believable 4/14/01)  I really enjoy those early 2000s junior indy triple threat matches and CZW had some great…

I love a wrestling tournament, especially a single-elimination one. They’re easy to sit through and depending on the participants, you get a fun one-night tournament. Well, it’s fun if the majority of the matches are good. Let’s check out one of the highly respected tournaments in old school wrestling: the 1994 Super J Cup.  The Players   Some might say “Even the FMW guys showed out on this.” While it didn’t touch New Japan’s 90s junior heavyweight division—very few junior divisions did—FMW’s juniors weren’t slouches at all.   There was a sense of importance to this show and everyone showed up and…

Alright, so the second go at reviewing my favorite WCW PPV series didn’t go too well. WCW Starrcade ‘91 just did not rock at all. So, let try this again with the other show that took place on my birthday, WCW Starrcade ‘96.  You Could Probably Skip These Bouts  Starting off: the WCW Women’s Title match to crown a champion pitted Akira Hokuto against Madusa. Short but really solid match. The reason you could skip this is that the women’s division was still growing so it didn’t have depth.   That means you would’ve probably seen these two square off several times in 1996 and would see them face off…

Every year, there are two WCW Starrcade PPVs that I watch: 1991 and 1996. This is mainly because they take place on my birthday but each show featured a few matches that I’ve come to appreciate. WCW Starrcade ‘91 took place during a time when the promotion had a pretty dope roster at the midcard and above position.   The rest of the roster was a hodge-podge. You’ll find a few undercard talents that you’d root their push. WCW—and the business in the U.S—were in a rough place at the time but the company still delivered on PPV. Let’s take a look back at Starrcade ‘91: Battle Bowl – The Lethal…

When the Road to WrestleMania begins, a lot of scuttlebutt about the Hall of Fame begins. Hell, a few months before, there’s talk about the HOF. Throughout the year, fans talk about who belongs in the WWE Hall of Fame.  What bothers me is the number of importance fans put on WWE’s Hall of Fame. The ceremony is what you want from a Hall of Fame induction, the size, and effort put into the presentation respects the contributions of those who go in. No problem there at all.  My thing is about who goes in. The induction process itself. Let’s take a…