by Scotty Szanto-Nicodemus
Exclusive to OnlineOnslaught.com

I Write Letters™: Hey Rick, I am filling out my NCAA tourney picks... I gave the nod to your Flyers...sorry, but I picked Kentucky to go all the way to the Final Four!… Hey, the way I see it, at least I'm picking Dayton on the advice of a fan, right?  The main reason that I picked Stanford is because it reminds me of a Simpson's reference!… Go Flyers!!

[Editor's Note:  Ummm... Oooops?] 

Now we go straight into:

I Get Letters™:  I loved your recap, honey...you're so cool!  But are you aware that you forgot to add the Eddy Guerrero match that you were so excited to do?

--AmeyAtWork

Yes it’s true, my wife reads my recaps during lulls at work, and she pointed out that I forgot to recap the bonus footage that came with the DVD version of this event (if you haven’t read the recap of the show, it is a long one, and it’s available right here).  I have a logical reason to describe what happened, but I think I’ll just keep that to myself and get on with it.

Low-Ki (champ) v. Eddy Guerrero
ICW (Impact Championship Wrestling) Championship Match, Queens, NY, 11/30/01

I think that this match was Eddy Guerrero’s last indy match before returning to the WWF(E), but I could be wrong.  At any rate, it takes place in the Hammerstein Ballroom in NYC.  From all of the different shows I’ve seen in this building, it looks like a great place to see a wrasslin’ show…not a bad seat in the house!  Eddy comes to the ring to “Latino Heat”, and a rousing “Eddy!  Eddy!” chant.  They circle and tie-up, with Eddy getting the best of the first exchange, and also getting the first 2-count of the match.  Both men back up, and Eddy again takes over, this time with an Arm Bar, and then a Headlock.  A few quick reversals later, and Eddy goes for a Back Body Drop as Low-Ki comes off the ropes, but Ki lands on his feet.  After a nifty Arm Drag by Low-Ki, Guerrero bails to the outside.  Back in the ring, and they go for a test of strength, which Eddy getting the first advantage, but when Ki kicks the leg, Eddy is down, and Ki is able to get a series of nearfalls.  We get another Indy-Respect Staredown, and then they again tie-up, with Eddy taking Ki down to the mat with a Side Headlock.  He lifts Ki up into the Guerrero Special, and then bends over until Ki slides down and his shoulders are on the mat.  This leads into a rapid-reversal sequence with each man scoring a series of nearfalls, culminating in Eddy getting Ki in another Guerrero Special!  That was nice.  Back to the mat, and someone in the audience can be heard saying that Ki is about to come back… “I can see it coming,” they say.  Almost as a response to that, Eddy ties Ki’s legs up in a Figure Four-like position, which he pulls backwards (with Ki still on his stomach) and Low-Ki is being stretched in a move reminiscent of the Liontamer or the Sharpshooter.  Ki positions himself for an Enziguiri Kick, and both men are down.  Low-Ki is up first (at the count of one, no less), and I shouldn’t have to tell you that this match has been pretty much all Guerrero so far.  In response to that, Low-Ki quickly takes over with a Headbutt and a couple of Chops before following him into the corner with a Clothesline.  A quick 2-count later and we are back to the mat with Low-Ki demonstrating some of that old-school psychology by locking in a Head Scissors, and then lifting his body off the mat so that all of his weight is on his arms and Guerrero’s neck.  I’m telling you, Tony Schiavone (circa 1986 or so) would’ve loved calling this match!  Just imagine Tony calling, “Leverage…Pain…Cutting off the air…Guerrero is working for each and every breath, while Low-Ki is basically resting.”  There are no announcers by the way, and Eddy takes-over, concentrating again on Ki’s legs, and then positioning him into a mean looking Surfboard.  Low-Ki is able to wriggle his legs free, and lands a kick to free himself.  Both men are up, whip to the ropes, and Guerrero maintains control with a Flying Shoulder Tackle.  Tumbling Headbutt from the apron by Guerrero, who then locks in a Headlock before hitting a sweet looking Side Suplex.  Eddy stay all over him, and just when it looks like Low-Ki is going to reverse a move from the top turnbuckle, Guerrero hits a wicked Super-Huricanrana.  1, 2, no.  Competing “Let’s go Low-Ki” and “Let’s go Eddy” chants eventually degenerate into “We want Chicken” for some reason, and eventually the crowd just stops chanting all together, which is a bit of a blessing.  Low-Ki takes control briefly with a Pancake-like maneuver, followed by his patented 3-Kick series.  Ki rarely connects the third kick, and this match is no exception as Eddy grabs the foot and quickly turns it into an STF.  Very nice.  I had almost completely forgotten that Eddy was my favorite Cruiserweight in WCW (circa 1997 or so) for a while there…the airbrushed “Cheat To Win” shirt that he had made sealed the deal!  Back to the match, and the crowd is red-hot for this match that has already gone fifteen minutes.  Low-Ki is still locked in the STF, and he is slowly dragging himself to the ropes…he reaches out…and Eddy grabs the arm and ties it up into the Headlock as well!  That’s something that you don’t see in just any-old match!  Ki repositions himself, and is able to reach the ropes with his other hand, finally.  Guerrero releases the hold, and then send Ki into the corner for a couple of punches.  Eddy goes for a whip into the other corner, but Ki reverses it and connects with a Cartwheel Kick.  1, 2, foot on the ropes.  Ki signals for the Ki Krusher ’99, but Eddy reverses it into a Small Package.  This only gets two, and Eddy is on him quickly and lands a Brainbuster out of nowhere.  Guerrero holds onto the hold, and rolls through for another Brainbuster!  Get the fuck outta here!  Let me just say to that, “oh MY GOD!”  Ki is lifeless on the mat, but somehow gets a shoulder up at 2.  They jockey for position, and Low-Ki wins that battle, landing a German Suplex, complete with a bridge that has Ki folded backwards in a position that I’ve only seen yoga instructors get into!  Only a 2-count, and we are back to it.  Ki positions Eddy in the corner for a Superplex, but Eddy holds on, and Low-Ki pancakes himself in the corner.  Ouch!  Eddy is ready for him when he stands up, and comes out of the corner with a Tornado DDT.  He drags Low-Ki to the center of the ring and begins to climb the turnbuckles for the Frogsplash.  He takes a L-O-N-G time to get to the top, as he seems to be soaking up the cheers from the crowd.  He comes off with the Frogsplash, but Low-Ki has rolled out of the way.  Ki then climbs to the top (a little quicker than Eddy did), and he comes off with a spinning move that I don’t know the name of…probably because he rarely connects with it and lands tumbling on his feet and is quickly up.  Both men are up, they charge one another, and Low-Ki ducks and hits a roll-up for the 1, 2, and 3.  Eddy can’t believe it, and as the ring announcer is announcing Low-Ki’s name, Eddy asks the ref, “Was that three?”

Pictures of the ROH Title belt:  The DVD also has half a dozen or so photos of the belt, from different angles and with different backgrounds and such.  I tried to quickly find some photos on their website, but I don’t have a lot of time this morning, and my first attempt wasn’t successful so I gave up.  Check out www.rohwrestling.com for yourself, if you’re into that sort of thing.

In closing, this was a great match, and a great added-feature to an already outstanding DVD.  Now, I’ve got to get out of here.  It’s Friday morning, and my wife is taking the afternoon off work and we’re going to Austin to see what kind of trouble we can get into!  I’ll be back with another recap in 2-3 weeks, and while I’m not sure at this point what show I’ll be doing, the short list includes the Pillman 2000 event and the JCW (Jersey Championship Wrestling) J-Cup Tournament from 2002…the event that turned me on to CM Punk.  And maybe I will have more information on a Special Feature Recap that is still in the planning stages at this time!

PEACE

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