Wrestler of the Day – October 25: John Nord
Today is a guy you probably only know under one gimmick: John Nord.
Nord started in 1984 and we’ll pick things up in the AWA at Wrestlerock 1986.
Nord the Barbarian/King Kong Brody vs. Jimmy Snuka/Greg Gagne
A few notes here: Snuka is a mystery partner subbing for Jerry Blackwell (that’s for the better, trust me), this match originally went on second of the three cage matches, King Kong Brody is Bruiser Brody because of some legit complaint from Dick the Bruiser, and if Snuka/Gagne win, Verne gets 10 minutes in the cage with Sheik Adnan-Al Kaissie. This is announced as the main event, even though there could be more stuff after it. Oh and Nord the Barbarian is just called Barbarian and is more famous as the Berzerker.
Snuka gets zero fanfare at all. Gagne looks like a 1996 version of Chavo Guerrero. They have to tag here so the match is automatically dropped a few notches. Gagne starts with Brody. Greg gets in a few punches but Brody kicks him in the face, making Gagne look like he got shot. Off to Barbarian who gets punched back into his own corner. Off to Snuka for a death defying chinlock.
The match slows way down as Brody comes in and knocks Snuka down. Then they stand around. Then they stand around some more. Snuka does his leapfrogs but Brody knocks him right back down. Off to Gagne and I can’t believe I’m saying this, but it makes the match way better. If nothing else he sells everything like death which is usually a cool thing to see.
Greg gets rammed into the cage to bust him open. Good piledriver by Brody gets two. Nelson turns into an annoying fanboy again but Gagne’s comeback is shortlived. He manages to send Nord into the cage and there’s the hot tag (with a pop) to Snuka. Off to Brody who is busted open. He yells a lot as Snuka hammers away on him.
Snuka gets in Superfly position but hits a headbutt instead. Nord interferes and Snuka is in trouble again. Everything breaks down and the heels get rammed into each other. Double dropkick puts Nord down and a double suplex does the same to Brody. Snuka rams into Gagne by mistake, but Snuka gets up and dropkicks Nord who trips over Gagne and gets pinned.
Rating: D. Oh boy did they screw this up. First of all, WHERE IS THE SUPERFLY SPLASH??? You bring in Jimmy Snuka and he doesn’t even hit the move he’s legendary for in the kind of match he’s legendary for hitting it in? Second, there was way too much heel control here. The idea is supposed to be faces control to start, Gagne opens, tag to Snuka for more dominance, back to Gagne, Gagne gets beaten down, hot tag, finish.
Instead it was faces control, heels control, faces comeback, faces screw up, faces steal a win. The problem is that it doesn’t allow the fans to build up momentum. This match had the pieces of a decent match, but they were all in the wrong order which is what made it hard to stay invested in. Also the lack of a splash hurt it a lot.
A few years later Nord would become Yukon John, a lumberjack as over the top as he would later be as the Berzerker. From the AWA, I believe in 1990.
Yukon Eric vs. The Menace
Generic masked guy. He bounces off the far bigger Eric and a big boot drops Menace again. A dropkick knocks him a third time and Yukon plants him with a powerslam. Eric howls a lot and drops a leg for the pin. Nord has an awesome look.
It was off to the WWF in early 1991 as the Berzerker, but first he was the Viking, with the exect same gimmick. Here’s his debut on Wrestling Challenge, February 16, 1991.
The Viking vs. David Eisley
Viking shoves him around and nails a big boot as this doesn’t look to last long. A dropkick does the same thing and Viking starts shouting HUSS a lot. Another big boot against the ropes drops Eisley again and a gordbuster knocks him silly. Viking lifts David up and throws him out to the floor like he’s nothing and it’s a countout.
Berzerker was in action at Survivor Series 1991.
Team Mustafa vs. Team Slaughter
Colonel Mustafa, Berzerker, Skinner, Hercules
Sgt. Slaughter, Tito Santana, Jim Duggan, Texas Tornado
A lot of these guys are on their way out. Hercules would be in WCW by May, Tornado would job to the stars until leaving in July as would Mustafa (Iron Sheik), and the rest of the guys would do nothing of note for the rest of their time in the company. Kerry (Tornado) looks high as a kite and almost falls off the apron getting into the ring. This is pretty recently after Slaughter’s face turn as he was a heel at Summerslam. This isn’t exactly the most talent laden match ever and the only feud is Slaughter vs. Mustafa.
Tito and Skinner start with Santana taking over with a headlock. There’s the flying forearm out of nowhere and Skinner hits the floor without a cover. Off to Berzerker vs. Tornado which would work a lot better down in Dallas. Berzerker (a crazy viking who tried to stab Undertaker with a sword) misses a dropkick and it’s off to Mustafa. After some very brief offense, Kerry tumbles to his corner and brings in Duggan to face Hercules, which was in the first ever match at Survivor Series.
Duggan gets taken down by double and triple teaming and it’s off to Mustafa. He loads up his curled boots (it’s a Sheik thing) and does nothing with them. Thanks for wasting our time with that. Duggan pounds away and backdrops Mustafa down before the hot tag to Slaughter. The big showdown is an atomic drop and a clothesline to Mustafa for the elimination.
Berzerker comes in with some clotheslines and a kick to the fat gut of Slaughter. A boot to Slaughter’s face puts him down and it’s off to Hercules for some two counts. Back to the viking who gets crotched on the top rope and kicked in the legs. Off to Duggan who clotheslines Berzerker to the floor and backdrops him back there a few seconds later. Tornado comes in and pounds away on him before it’s off to Hercules again. Tito gets a blind tag and hits a forearm to the back of the head (El Paso Del Muerte) for the pin and the elimination.
Skinner, the guy that owned now former developmental program FCW, comes in as it’s 4-2. When you have Skinner and Berzerker as your only guys left, the team is in big trouble. A blind tag brings in Slaughter who rolls up Skinner for the elimination. Slaughter whips Berzerker into Duggan’s clothesline for the elimination and the win.
Rating: F. The match sucked, it was never in doubt, and the biggest deal on the heel team was Skinner, who would get an IC Title shot soon after this. What a horrible match and one of the most worthless ones in the history of the show so far, which is covering quite a bit of ground. Nothing to see here at all.
Here he is in MSG on December 29, 1991.
Berzerker vs. British Bulldog
This should be short and relatively bitter. Bulldog’s music is rather hard to hear here. Crisscross to start and Berzerker kicks him in the head. Bulldog is a favorite in the Rumble because he won some other battle royal in England. Gorilla said the cup he won was ugly. What a great ambassador Gorilla is.
You can tell the fans aren’t exactly caring here, even though if the chart I saw is correct, this was the opener. No Fuji with Berzerker here for some reason. Camel clutch by Berzerker has Bulldog in something resembling trouble. Gorilla and Heenan talk about people in the Rumble as they don’t care at all here. It’s a shame that they have something to talk about here as Gorilla and Jesse could be hilarious when they got bored. Powerslam is blocked and Berzerker falls on him for the pin.
Rating: N. As in nah that didn’t really happen. I’m just so bored here that I wanted to do something to break up the monotony. Bulldog gets the worst rollup ever about a second later for the real pin.
Rating: D-. Boring match with these two managing to botch a rollup of all things. That’s HARD to do. This went nowhere at all and nothing at all came of it. I get that Bulldog is supposed to be getting a push, but wouldn’t the powerslam be a better way to do that? We really needed to protect John Nord?
Here’s an upgrade in opponent on Superstars, January 18, 1992.
Undertaker vs. Berzerker
Mr. Fuji steals the urn to start and Berzerker nails him with the shield and sword (yeah he hit him with a sword) but misses a stab attempt. A clothesline puts Berzerker on the floor, right in front of Fuji. He drops the urn but Berzerker dives off the apron to put Undertaker down again. The mats are pulled back and Undertaker gets piledriven on the concrete but he sits up a few seconds later. We get the slow stalk up the aisle and the villains leave. I’m not sure if this was a match or not but again Berzerker looked AWESOME.
Here’s a power tag match on June 3, 1992.
Undertaker/Ultimate Warrior vs. Papa Shango/Berzerker
The good guys clean house to start until we get down to Undertaker vs. Berzerker in a tall slugout. This time it’s Undertaker getting the better of it but missing a charge in the corner and getting dropkicked out to the floor. The fight heads outside with Undertaker ramming him face first into the steps. Back in and it’s off to the Warrior but Shango hits him in the back with the voodoo stick.
The heels take over with some forearms to the back and actually make some nice tags to keep the fresh guy in. Warrior gets tied up in the ropes and stomps by Berzerker until he gets his arms free and backdrops the big man to the floor. The hot tag brings in Undertaker who chokeslams Berzerker for two. The flying clothesline drops Shango and everything breaks down with Warrior hitting a quick shoulder and splash to pin Berzerker.
Rating: D. Not much to this one but I’m still kind of astounded by how well Berzerker is moving out there. I liked Undertaker learning from getting beaten up by Berzerker before and adjusting in future matches. He’s always been a smart wrestler and that’s some good, basic psychology that so many wrestlers just miss. This was a standard house show match and was probably much better for the live crowd than someone watching elsewhere.
Another big tag match from Prime Time on July 21, 1992.
Ric Flair/Berzerker vs. Undertaker/Randy Savage
Savage is still WWF Champion here and starts with Flair. Ric takes him into the corner to start and WOOs in the champ’s face. Randy goes after the arm until he drops Flair a few times with a clothesline and shoulder. Off to Undertaker and Flair is already begging off into the corner. Chops and punches have the exact effects you would think they would on the dead man and he gorilla presses Flair down.
Berzerker finally comes in for the monster slugout and a big boot puts Undertaker on the floor. Back in and Undertaker slugs away before bringing Savage back in with a top rope ax handle. The heels take over on the champ with Flair putting on a chinlock. Berzerker puts him in the corner and kicks Savage into the post.
Randy gets beaten up on the floor even more until Undertaker comes over to scare them off. A slam onto the exposed concrete has Savage in even more trouble and Berzerker ties him up in the ropes. Randy kicks his way out though and makes the hot tag off to Undertaker. A quick tombstone plants the viking and Savage’s elbow is good for the pin.
Rating: C+. Much better match here with better workers to fill in the teams. Flair vs. Savage is one of the best feuds WWF had that people don’t remember enough about and this was another good, albeit short, performance from them. Fun match here that had more time to build and was better as a result.
Berzerker was in a dark match at Summerslam 1992.
Tatanka vs. Berzerker
This is the final dark match and is held right before the main event but I’m putting it here for the sake of simplicity. Berzerker wants a test of strength to start and easily takes the smaller Tatanka down. The Native American comes back by easily shoving Berzerker to the floor before they slug it out back inside. They collide after a crisscross but Berzerker misses a dropkick, allowing Tatanka to fire away on the leg.
A World’s Strongest Slam gets two on Tatanka before a regular slam puts him down outside the ring. Back in and Heenan makes Indian jokes as Berzerker kicks Tatanka in the ribs. A backdrop puts Berzerker on the floor before Tatanka starts his war dance back inside. The Papoose to Go is enough for the pin on the viking.
Rating: D. To give you an idea what this match was, think of nothing. Now take away any possible interest that nothing has and you’ll have this match. It was very dull and uninteresting and the fans clearly wanted to see the main event instead of more worthless wrestling. Tatanka would become a pretty big deal against Yokozuna in about a year.
Here’s another match on November 23, 1992.
Crush vs. Berzerker
We’re in Erie, Pennsylvania here and apparently this is going to be a classic. Gorilla and I need to have a chat about what it means to be a classic. Hayes likes Berzerker and thinks bCrush should have more of a mean streak. We get a test of strength and the power of Hawaii wins.
Apparently Mr. Fuji has left Berzerker. I’m sure it has nothing to do with that Yoko guy. He misses a big knee drop. Yeah he’s not inspired by Bruiser Brody AT ALL. Crush makes his comeback but manages to mess up an atomic drop. That’s hard to do. He was over as all goodness though so I can’t complain. Crush gets the Head Vice for the submission.
Rating: D+. Just a way to get Crush a win to keep him over which is fine. To say he was over is an understatement and this was just a way to get him over. This was short enough to not be that bad though, which helps a lot. Berzerker’s stock is starting to fall, even though it wasn’t very high in the first place.
Another match against a big name guy on January 2, 1993.
Berzerker vs. Mr. Perfect
Berzerker gets right in his face to start but gets chopped back. Perfect ducks a big boot and clothesline before a dropkick sends him out to the floor. Back in and Perfect misses a charge into the post but has to avoid a shot from the sword. A big boot puts Perfect down again but he backdrops Berzerker out to the floor. Cue Ric Flair for a distraction, though not a good enough one for Berzerker to get in any good shots. Flair leaves and the big guy is able to drop Perfect though and we take a break. Back with Berzerker getting two off a World’s Strongest Slam but he ducks his head and gets PerfectPlexed for the pin.
Rating: C-. Not the worst match in the world but the Flair interference stopped what they had going. The sword thing continues to be so over the top that it’s awesome, which is the best thing you can do for a character like Berzerker. I mean, he’s a viking with a sword and shield. How serious can you be with him?
We’ll jump way ahead now to a return run in WCW, starting on Nitro, January 5, 1998.
John Nord vs. Barbarian
You might remember Nord as the Berzerker from the early 90s. He’s part of a new wave of talent coming in apparently, which will also include a former WWF Tag Team Champion debuting later tonight. Nord is just a guy in white trunks and furry boots here. They clothesline each other and no one goes anywhere but another clothesline puts Barbarian on the floor. Nord, a big guy in his own right, hits a dive over the top to crush Barbarian but he stops to go after Jimmy Hart. Barbie rams him into the barricade but Nord sends him head first into the steps.
They whip each other into the barricade as this is way more energetic than you would expect it to be. Back in and Nord hits a Samoan drop for no cover followed by a series of elbow drops. Jimmy gets choked a bit but Barbarian hits a big boot to the jaw, sending Nord out to the floor. Back in and a pumphandle slam gets two for Barbarian before he chops Nord in the corner. Nord misses a charge into the corner and falls outside again, only to come back in with a middle rope elbow. A modified camel clutch by Nord (Nord was sitting almost on the mat while pulling back on the chin) is good for the submission.
Rating: C+. This was WAY better than I ever could have expected it to be as Nord looked pretty solid out there. Barbarian was his usual self but a bit more physical than he usually was, making for a pretty solid surprise here. I barely remember Nord at all around this time which is one of the fun parts of rewatching these shows. Good stuff here.
We’ll wrap it up with one more WCW match on Worldwide, July 4, 1998.
John Nord vs. Goldberg
A big boot immediately drops Goldberg but he pops up and clotheslines Nord to the floor. They head outside (the Worldwide set is interesting as the ring is surrounded by a platform, meaning the guys are just under the top rope when they’re standing otuside) with Goldberg slugging him around but getting punched a few times back inside. Not that they matter as the spear and Jackhammer are good for the pin. Goldberg would win the World Title two days later.
I was expecting a boring, mostly comedic set of matches here but Nord was actually awesome with some great flexibility and a look that made him even more intimidating. If you gave him a serious gimmick in the WWF, he could have been a big deal with all of his athletic gifts. This one was a very nice surprise.
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