Green Onions

Booker T (c) VS Curt Hennig - WCW TV Championship 4/29/1999

JJZ: Alright so let's start with the obvious Chris. That finish was disappointing. My first thought was fucking shit. I can't play this forward now. But the match stayed with me on a whole. I kept thinking to myself, man for the end of his career Hennig can fucking go. And Book looked like he the was right there at his feet. The potential was radiating off of him. This match was a showcase of what will become and what made someone great. I honestly don't know if either ever reached their full potential but I loved both of these careers.

CJD: I would say these are two of the  prime examples of never hit their ceiling in wrestling history. I bet some would disagree on Booker T, that if anything he overachieved. I think watching him in this time period though and you can see ACE written all over him and he only briefly got to hit that level. Listen to how he's got that crowd in the palm of his hand. These are two guys who understood the broad strokes of American heavyweight wrestling so well while bringing an explosive athletic style. They're similar in a lot of ways when you think about it, great characters yet largely forgettable promos (outside of King Bookah). And they worked together exceptionally well in this match! I get why this match stuck with you because I'm a sucker for this style when it's done well. This is Sting, Dustin Rhodes, Steve Austin, Barry Windham, etc. Good mechanics, great fire, compelling face/heel dynamic. I'll forgive the crap finish. This match was a hum dinger!

Don't Wanna Be An American Idiot

Christian/Lance Storm (c) VS Booker T/Goldust - WWF Tag Team Championship 7/30/2002

CJD: This is an era that you know I was totally checked out of wrestling. For example I didn't even know the Unamericans were a thing so I couldn't figure out the jingoistic slant to the commentary other than "oh well it's WWE" for the first few minutes. Then I realized the tired heel dynamic. Regardless, the heels in this are very effective in the ring. Goldust is a terrific face in peril and always has great chemistry with every different type of wrestler you can imagine. The finish is the same crap we still complain about to this day but they lay this match out beautifully otherwise. We've featured a lot of matches like this over the years at PIF, 10 minutes or so of fundamental tag team goodness. This isn't going to go down as one of the best we've covered but for four guys we've barely touched on up until now I was feeling this one. I love that they got this kind of platform on one of the big 4 PPVs.

JJZ: Damn baby, this match was so much fun. In a ten minutes I was highly impressed with how good the tag team psychology was. Shit you don't see any more, cutting off of the ring and actually having to tag. The energy from the crowd was so good. Everyone one was hitting on everything. That Dustin bump over the top was crazy. And can we talk about Booker? He looks like he is built out of stone. Not gonna lie. I popped for the spin a roni. Probably spelled it wrong. Also popped when I heard Fink on the mic. Great pick my guy.

Nobody Gets Higher

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4isctf

Rob Van Dam/Booker T (c) VS Ric Flair/Batista - WWE Tag Team Championship 3/22/2004

CJD: This match might seem like it's out of left field, especially when you give me a wrestler we spent a huge portion of our teenage years watching, but I think it's a pretty Chris Pick. Good tag team wrestling, clear hierarchy, everyone plays their role well, and definitely a "huh, never knew about that one" or "huh, totally forgot that happened" kind of match. I didn't appreciate the Flair/Batista team anywhere near enough at the time, it's such an effective use of both guys at that point in their career. RVD & Booker are a fun team that I'm a little surprised they didn't get more life out of. Also when you're picking the next MDTSOCWWKD champ, keep in mind a few weeks ago we were transitioning from Martin Stone to Jon Davis.

JJZ: Outta left field is an understatement my friend. At one point in my life I literally would have said I hate Dave Batista. But after a little help from our mutual friend Mr. H I have learned to appreciate him for his better qualities. Those were on display in this match, good psychology, pacing, and old school power wrestling. Flair is Flair which means tons of flavor to this match. The teaming of these two are such a compliment to each other and kinda make for a perfect team. Experience, youth, energy, psychology, power, technical ability. And across the ring! Had no clue this ever happened! Fun ass team. Booker T is someone I really need to focus on a little more. I know his WCW run but not so much WWE. Good stuff babycakes. Curious where this road will lead me.