Mid-South Wrestling
Date: November 16, 1984
Location: Irish McNeil Boys Club, Shreveport, Louisiana
Commentators: Jim Ross, Joel Watts

Another week, another Mid-South as the WWE Vault is actually trying to air something regularly for a change. The good thing is that it’s one of the best weekly shows ever, with Jim Duggan and Butch Reed coming together to fight Skandor Akbar and the eternal battle between the Midnight and Rock N Roll Expresses. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Before the show went on the air, Buddy Landell was in the ring to complain about Butch Reed attacking him last week. Landell gave him the chance of a lifetime and today, he’s going to embarrass Reed on TV.

Ted DiBiase vs. Magnum TA

Skandor Akbar is here with DiBiase, who works on Magnum’s arm to start. Some dropkicks send DiBiase outside to vent the early frustration. Apparently Butch Reed just hurried out of the building as DiBiase is back inside so Magnum can punch him in the jaw. Magnum grinds away on a headlock but gets reversed into a belly to back suplex.

DiBiase chokes and knees away but the piledriver is reversed with a backdrop (as usual, DiBiase does a great flipping bump). The comeback is on with the belly to belly connecting but DiBiase gets the foot on the rope. Cue North American Champion Magnum TA for a distraction though and DiBiase loads up the glove. The right hand knocks Magnum cold for the pin at 5:43.

Rating: B-. They didn’t have a lot of time here but it definitely felt like one of the bigger matches on the show in the last few weeks. Magnum definitely had that charisma to him that made him feel like an absolute star and he was against one of the biggest villains in the promotion. I would assume they had far longer matches on the house shows, but this was a nice little preview.

Apparently Butch Reed’s brother has been in an accident so he had to go deal with everything. As a result, the match isn’t happening, but here is Brickhouse Brown to volunteer to take Reed’s place.

Buddy Landell vs. Brickhouse Brown

Brock avoids a charge into the corner to start and hits a crossbody for an early two. Landell misses a charge into the corner and Brown hammers away, with a middle rope…we’ll say fist getting two. Landell avoids a charge though and drops the wind up elbow for the pin at 2:30. Well that was quick.

It’s time for the football helmet match but Ted DiBiase comes out to challenge Jim Duggan, who he accuses of living in the past. DiBiase wants to face Duggan man to man right now Cue Duggan, who throws his helmet away and we’re ready to go.

Ted DiBiase vs. Jim Duggan

Duggan slugs away to start and fires off the shoulders in the corner but DiBiase stomps him down. The flying headbutt drops DiBiase and Duggan chokes away but here is Steve Williams in full football gear. Duggan, ever the genius, hits Williams in the pad and injures his hand. Hercules Hernandez comes in to jump Duggan as well and it’s a DQ at 1:20.

Post match the big beatdown is on, with Williams looking ridiculous in his full gear, and a bunch of wrestlers (including Shawn Michaels) making a failed save attempt. Some bigger names rune in for the real save.

Master G. vs. Hercules Hernandez

Hercules looks…odd as a Sheik and has Skandor Akbar with him. They trade some shoves to start as commentary talks about Williams and company destroying Duggan. G. misses an elbow and Hernandez’s crossbody gets two. Back up and some slams send Hernandez begging off in the corner, followed by a collision to put them both outside. Hernandez wraps the knee around the post a few times, followed by a shinbreaker. The half crab makes the referee stop it without G. giving up at 3:45.

Rating: C+. There was something fun about these two beating on each other, with Hernandez looking like an absolute monster. That’s the entire point with someone like him (his name is HERCULES after ll) and the ending made him look even more devastating. I can go with G. not giving up, as it keeps him protected while having the referee cut it off for his safety.

Rock n Roll Express vs. Jim Horton/Thomas Ivy

Non-title. Ivy gets knocked down by Morton to start so it’s off to Gibson, who takes Horton over for the tag on purpose. The double dropkick finishes Ivy at 1:10. That’s a long match for the Express.

Post break Butch Reed is back…because apparently there was no accident with his brother. Now he’s back and found out that Jim Duggan was attacked by “them three stooges and a camel jockey”. Revenge is promised.

TV Title: Adrian Street vs. Bill Dundee

Street, with Miss Linda, is defending. Dundee starts with an early headscissors but Street takes him down by the leg without much trouble. Street pokes him in the jaw a bit, only for Dundee to come back up with some stomping. Back up and Street forearms him into the ropes and uses one of them for a choke. A rollup gives Dundee a quick two but they collide for a double down. Street hits a piledriver but Dundee is right back up (oh we’re certainly not in Memphis) for some shoulders in the corner. A middle rope crossbody gives Dundee the quick pin and the title at 5:11.

Rating: C+. This was a nice quick title change and made Dundee look like quite the star. He’s not the biggest guy in the world but, in his words, he wrestled big and that was showing here. I liked what we got here and Dundee basically caught him at the end, meaning we might be seeing this one again. I’ve heard worse ideas.

Chavo Guerrero/Hector Guerrero vs. Lee Ramsey/Art Crews

Crews and Ramsey actually start fast with some early dropkicks but we settle down to Chavo vs. Crews. A snapmare takes Crews down and it’s off to hector for a butterfly suplex to pin Ramsey at 1:33, though it doesn’t seem to have gone as planned.

Post match the Guerreros beat them up some more…and that’s a reversal for the DQ so Ramsey and Crews win.

Magnum TA is at the commentary booth and wants either Ted DiBiase or Ernie Ladd in a cage match next week.

Roll credits.

Overall Rating: B-. You can feel things building up here and the stories might be slightly predictable but that’s not always a bad thing. The interesting thing is I’ve been watching for about a month now and already feel like I know everything I need to know about this show. That’s an impressive sign and makes it so much easier for fans to join in. I’ll definitely keep looking at this stuff, as it’s a good example of how to do this week to week.

Results
Ted DiBiase b. Magnum TA – Loaded right hand
Buddy Landell b. Brickhouse Brown – Wind Up Elbow
Hercules Hernandez b. Master G. via referee stoppage
Rock N Roll Express b. Jim Horton/Thomas Ivy – Double dropkick to Ivy
Bill Dundee b. Adrian Street – Middle rope high crossbody

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Mid-South Wrestling
Date: November 9, 1984
Location: Irish McNeil Boys Club, Shreveport, Louisiana
Commentators: Boyd Pierce, Bill Watts

Apparently this is something that is being released weekly, at least for the time being and I can think of worse things. You never know what you’re going to get on something like this but the first few weeks have been rather good. There have been some rather good stories taking place, with the biggest being Jim Duggan’s attack at the hands of Ted DiBiase two weeks ago. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Again this is presented in its most complete form. This show is a few minutes shorter and I’d bet on a music video of some sort missing.

Opening sequence.

Commentary runs down the card and explains that we can write in via postcard to pick the main event we want to see on TV. I don’t buy it as legit but that’s a cool idea as a way to tie the fans into the show. This is what is edited out of the WWE Vault version.

Commentary recaps the Rock N Roll Express’ issues with the Midnight Express, featuring Ricky Morton putting Robert Gibson in a straitjacket to demonstrate what they had planned for Jim Cornette. They really earned the beating that Cornette (still in a mask) and the Midnights put on them as a result.

Back in the arena, commentary talks about how brave the Rock N Roll are before throwing it to Jim Ross (who gets a nice bio of his own) to reveal the real stipulation.

Ross and the Rock N Roll are on top of a scaffold (uh oh) and want the match up there so Cornette can’t interfere. Ricky Morton admits that he’s scared as Robert Gibson throws a melon down to the floor for quite the visual.

Jack Victory/Dale Veasey vs. Rock N Roll Express

Non-title and the double dropkick finishes Victory at 27 seconds.

Here are Skandor Akbar, the masked Jim Cornette, Buddy Landell and Hercules Hernandez for a chat. Akbar gets right to the point: he has purchased Hercules from Cornette (this just keeps happening to him), who is happy with the deal. As a bonus, Hercules can even be a sheik, but he has to wait on the harem.

Hercules was Cornette’s bodyguard to protect Cornette from Jim Duggan but Duggan was beaten up so Cornette feels safe. Landell tries to take credit for this but Akbar tells him to stay out of it. Oh and why is Landell wearing that watch when he hasn’t delivered as promised yet? Akbar promises that he and his army will crush everyone because he is now Mr. Mid-South. Good, logical way to get Hernandez away from Cornette and on to something else.

Butch Reed vs. Jim Horton

Hold on though as here is Buddy Landell to talk to Reed. That doesn’t work for Reed, who rants about being the man. Reed doesn’t need anyone because he is the #1 man in Mid-South. Landell says he taught Reed everything he knows but Reed only let Landell hang around out of pity.

Landell offers Reed the watch, which sends Reed even further over the edge. Reed throws the watch down and stomps on it, sending Landell into hysterics. Landell shoves Reed, who drops him with a big right hand. Skandor Akbar and company come out to talk in peace, with Akbar talking about how he should have talked to Reed man to man. He is ready to give Reed the offer of a lifetime but Reed says he stands alone.

Akbar makes it clear: Reed is either with them or against them so Reed starts swinging. The brawl is on and Reed is beaten down, with poor Horton getting beaten up for standing in the wrong place. Jim Duggan makes the save with the 2×4 to a ROAR. So I guess we’re not going to have a match. How rude.

Post break Duggan and Reed are at the commentary desk and say they need to talk to each other. The reality is they both want to stand alone but Duggan respects Reed after years of fighting him. They’ve given each other everything they have and come back for more. They have to do something to stop Akbar and even if they’ll keep an eye on each other, they can do it together.

Reed returns the respect and shouts about how something has to be done, with Duggan saying he doesn’t need the board. Instead he needs a fired up Hacksaw Butch Reed. OUTSTANDING stuff here as this was a crazy hot promo, with both guys coming together after a long time fighting. In other words, standard wrestling booking with people the fans cared about and respected. That’s why Mid-South worked so well.

Hector Guerrero/Chavo Guerrero vs. Shawn Michaels/Mike Jackson

Michaels, with short hair and in black tights and an MTV shirt, debuted less than a month before this was taped so he couldn’t have had more than a handful of professional matches. Chavo works on Jackson’s arm to start and hands it off to Hector (my goodness does he look like Eddie) to stay on said arm.

The take turns on the arm with Hector hitting a splash but Jackson manages to trip him down for an elbow drop. It’s off to Michaels, who is snapmared down and gets in a single right hand to no avail. A dropkick and double back elbow sets up a spinning splash to give Hector two. Michaels fights out of the corner and hands it back to Jackson for some dropkicks before Chavo avoids another one. A full nelson brings Jackson down and Chavo adds a Swanton for the pin at 3:22.

Rating: C. It says a lot when Jackson, who had one of the longest in-ring careers ever, is the least interesting person in a match. Obviously the appeal here is a 19 year old Michaels and he looked like a 19 year old who had been in the business for about a month would look. There was nothing at all to him here and no reason to believe he would one day become a huge star. You also have the Guerreros, who are a totally underrated team who was doing stuff that no one could pull off at this point. Quite the fascinating match here, for a bunch of reasons.

Ted DiBiase vs. Lee Ramsey

DiBiase hammers away to start and gives him a slam, followed by a backdrop. The powerslam and Figure Four finish Ramsey at 1:32.

Master G./Brickhouse Brown vs. Midnight Express

Jim Cornette handles the Midnights’ entrance (of course) and we’re ready to go. The Midnights jump them on the way in but get sent outside for some yelling from Cornette. Eaton and Brown start things off with Eaton’s right hands not getting him very far. A backdrop puts Eaton down and it’s off to G. for the running shoulders.

Condrey comes in off a blind tag and stomps on G. as the Midnights get to take over in the corner. G. fights out of trouble though and it’s back to Brown as everything breaks down. Cornette trips Brown so Condrey goes up top, with the referee not letting him dive (as it’s illegal). Like a good villain, Eaton uses the distraction to drop a top rope elbow for the pin on Brown at 4:03.

Rating: B-. The more I see of Brown, the more I like him. The more I see of G., the more it makes me want to see Brown. On the other hand you have the Midnights and they really are as great as they’re advertised as being. There is such an amazing teamwork between them and stuff like that ending made them look like they were smart to go with athletic. Very fun stuff here.

Ernie Ladd/Buddy Landell vs. Tony Falk/Bill Dundee

Hold on though as Magnum TA comes in to take Falk’s place so Ladd walks out, refusing to face Magnum and let him try to steal the title back. Dundee is down to face Landell one on one but Landell walks out instead. No match.

Here’s how to pick your dream match again.

Steve Williams has his football helmet and accuses Jim Duggan of being a coward for bring out his 2×4. Williams wants to face Duggan next week if Duggan isn’t a coward.

Roll credits.

Overall Rating: B+. The wrestling here was your usual collection of squashes, plus that snappy Midnights match. That’s not the important part here, as this was all about the Duggan/Reed/Akbar stuff, as Duggan and Reed gave some of the best fired up promos you’ll ever see. I barely watch this promotion and I want to see them get their hands on Akbar and company in a big fight.

That’s what you should want from a big face turn and my goodness did it work. Definitely check out some Duggan and Reed from this era as they’re two big guys who could fight but now they’re fighting a common enemy. Really fun show here and I’ll be watching whatever they put up from Mid-South.

Results
Rock N Roll Express b. Jack Victory/Dale Veasey – Double dropkick to Victory
Hector Guerrero/Chavo Guerrero b. Shawn Michaels/Mike Jackson – Swanton to Jackson
Ted DiBiase b. Lee Ramsey – Figure Four
Midnight Express b. Brickhouse Brown/Master G. – Top rope elbow to Brown

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Mid-South Wrestling
Date: November 2, 1984
Location: Irish McNeil Boys Club, Shreveport, Louisiana
Commentators: Joel Watts, Jim Ross

I took a look at the first one and had a good time so let’s do the second. This is the week after the previous show and it’s fun to get some fallout. The big stories coming out of last week are the destruction of Jim Duggan and Ricky Morton, which won’t end well. There is also a new North American Champion in the form of Ernie Ladd and that feels secondary. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

This is billed as presented in the most complete form possible, which makes me think there are some music issues.

Opening sequence.

Ernie Ladd is at the commentary desk (and refers to Jim Ross as “Mr. TV Announcer”, a trademark of his) and says that Magnum TA might be younger and faster, but Ladd is older and smarter and won the title fair and square. We look at the title change, which involved Ladd choking with some tape. Back in the arena, Ladd talks about how he’s the champion because he’s that smart. Ross runs down the rest of the card, with Ladd glaring at him.

We look back at Jim Duggan’s bloody promo from last week. The more I look at him, the more impressive he is, as he looked like he got hit by a bus and bounced along the road. He blames Ted DiBiase and swears revenge before being taken away.

Steve Williams vs. Gary Cortinelli

Cortinelli is better known as the Italian Stallion. Williams runs him over to start and shouts for Duggan while pulling Cortinelli up. The bearhug goes on and Cortinelli fights out, even managing a hiptoss. Williams isn’t having that and finishes with the Oklahoma Stampede at 1:50.

Hercules Hernandez vs. Thomas Ivy

Hernandez has the masked (due to baldness) Jim Cornette in his corner and doing his entrance. Said entrance also includes a request for Skandor Akbar to handle some negotiations. On the other hand, Ivy looks like he took third in a Mr. T. lookalike contest. Ivy works on the arm to start and Hernandez kicks him down without much trouble. The big clothesline sets up a chinlock on Ivy as Cornette approves. That’s switched into a cobra clutch and Ivy is out at 2:03.

Earlier today, Skandor Akbar and Buddy Landel were in the ring, with Akbar wanting results from Landel, which he apparently promised. Landel says some people call Akbar’s money “blood money” but he wants some more of it. Akbar pulls out a gold watch and that see to be payment enough, though he wants results next week. With Landel happy, Akbar offers threats about Ted DiBiase being back. Just as Jim Duggan about it.

Buddy Landel/Butch Reed vs. Steve Brinson/Mike Jackson

Jackson grabs a headlock takeover to take Landel down before doing it again with a running shoulder. Back up and Landel grabs a rather high hiptoss but gets kicked down, allowing Brinson to come in for a headlock. Jackson comes back in for a headlock of his own but Reed gets in a knee from the apron. Landel stomps away and grabs a backdrop, followed by Reed’s middle rope fist to the head. It’s already back to Landel, who misses a knee drop but Brinson gets suplexed. The gorilla press drops Brinson and Landel begs to come back in so the corkscrew elbow can finish at 4:16.

Rating: C. Landel is someone who was around in a lot of these promotions back in the day and it’s easy to see why. When he was on, he was rather worth having around, especially if you needed Dollar Store Ric Flair. His stuff with Akbar should be interesting soon enough, especially when we find out…whatever it is that he’s doing.

Ted DiBiase vs. Master G.

Master G. is the future George Wells (well also current and past it’s his real name) and I’m guessing the edit is to his music. Skandor Akbar and Butch Reed are here with DiBiase as he and G. back each other into the corners. G. fights back and hits a big backdrop to send DiBiase outside. Back in and DiBiase goes for a piledriver but gets knocked away, only for DiBiase to go after the leg. The Figure Four is blocked though and DiBiase is kicked out to the floor. Reed offers a distraction though and DiBiase gets in the loaded punch, allowing the Figure Four to finish G. at 4:28.

Rating: C+. DiBiase and that black glove are always worth something, as it was built up for a long time and became established as a big deal. It’s good to have him back, as he instantly feels like one of the biggest stars on the show. As for G….uh yeah he’s certainly a person who is here too. He was fine enough as a warm body here, but I didn’t get much out of the four or so minutes we got from him here.

Post match DiBiase won’t let go and it’s a DQ instead. Magnum TA, Bill Dundee and Brickhouse Brown run in for the save.

Magnum TA vs. Missing Link

Skandor Akbar is here with Link, who does right to the eyes to start. Magnum knocks him outside so Link rams his own head into the steps. Back in and Magnum strikes away but gets caught with a headbutt. Link’s middle rope headbutt has Magnum in more trouble but he fights back, with Akbar getting on the apron. Link runs into him by mistake and Magnum grabs the belly to belly for the pin at 2:02. Well that was fast.

TV Title: Adrian Street vs. Bill Dundee

Street, with Miss Linda, is defending. Dundee takes him down by the legs to start and there’s the catapult into the corner, with Street being more than over the top in the crash. Street rolls away to get out of a wristlock and chops away in the corner. Some shots to the face let Street take him down again and an elbow to the jaw gets two.

Back up and Dundee gets in a hard shot to the face before sending Street crashing out to the floor. A shot to the throat takes Dundee down again but he fires off the right hands to the face. An airplane spin has the referee knocked outside so Linda comes in to count. Dundee gets distracted and Linda sprays him with perfume, allowing Street to hit a running forearm for the pin at 4:15.

Rating: B-. Street, with Linda, is another act that makes me want to see more and more every time he’s in the ring. He wasn’t exactly doing something ground breaking, but he did it so well and had the ability to back it up in the ring. This was a fun main event, as Dundee was trying to figure

Commentary previews next week’s show.

Roll credits.

Overall Rating: B-. This was more about the fallout from last week and that worked well, with Williams getting to do something and TA getting some heat back. DiBiase continues to feel like one of the biggest stars around here and that went well with Ladd’s rather good promo to start the show. I could absolutely go for more from Mid-South as it definitely lives up to the hype.

Results
Steve Williams b. Gary Cortinelli – Oklahoma Stampede
Hercules Hernandez b. Thomas Ivy – Cobra clutch
Buddy Landel/Butch Reed b. Steve Brinson/Mike Jackson – Corkscrew elbow to Brinson
Master G. b. Ted DiBiase via DQ when DiBiase would not release the Figure Four
Magnum TA b. Missing Link – Belly to belly suplex
Adrian Street b. Bill Dundee – Running forearm

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Mid-South Wrestling
Date: October 27, 1984
Location: Irish McNeil Boys Club, Shreveport, Louisiana
Commentators: Bill Watts, Boyd Pierce

Sure why not. The Vault has released some of these shows and Mid-South is a bit of a dark spot for me, especially in its heyday. While I know a good bit of its history, I haven’t actually seen a lot of it and that needs to change. We might as well check out what is available so let’s get to it.

Opening sequence. Oh sweet goodness how 80s can you get?

Commentary runs down the card and announces that Terry Taylor is going to be out of action for about a month due to an injury. Watts moves on to Jim Cornette and his tennis racket, which is just part of the wild violence around here. The promotion is going to get rid of just about everything that could, you know, KILL PEOPLE, but they’re going to let a lot of the rest go. Well that’s intense.

Steve Williams has a football helmet and is ready to face Jim Duggan (or Doogan as Watts always called him) in a football helmet match. Williams goes on a rant about how he’s going to bury Duggan in the dirt.

Duggan has his helmet on too and it’s giving him flashbacks to his gridiron days. It’s time to fight Williams again.

Skandor Akbar (as interviewed by a rather young looking Jim Ross) is looking for great weapons for his army and he has found an incredibly underrated wrestler in Buddy Landel. It’s time for Landel to deliver whatever Akbar has paid him to do which is….not specified.

Missing Link vs. Mike Jackson

Jackson is around 35 here and about ten years into what is (thus far) a fifty plus year career in the ring. Link goes nuts by ramming his own head into the corner a few times but Jackson is up with a dropkick that misses by about a foot (even Watts calls out that they didn’t connect). A headbutt puts Jackson down and another sends him out to the floor. Back in and a World’s Strongest Slam into a middle rope elbow to the back finishes Jackson at 1:23.

Jim Duggan vs. Steve Williams

This is a football helmet match…and there is no Duggan. Instead here is Ted DiBiase (returning after an absence and looking bizarre with no facial hair) with Duggan’s SMU helmet to say Duggan won’t be wrestling tonight. Apparently Duggan jumped him from behind and tried to hit him with the helmet. DiBiase avoided it though and knocked him out with one punch. Ross doesn’t seem to buy it as DiBiase’s clothes aren’t even messed up. Commentary isn’t sure about this either but there’s no match at the moment.

During the break, Duggan was found and is described as “in bad shape”.

We get an interview from last week with a masked Jim Cornette (due to getting his head shaved) saying that he was ready to take out a member of the Rock N Roll Express. His mother has sent in a check for $25,000 and all it will cost them is a Tag Team Title shot. The Rock N Roll Express can even name the stipulation so if they’re not scared, sign on the dotted line and get paid.

Butch Reed vs. Brickhouse Brown

Brown snaps off some armdrags but gets taken down with a headlock takeover. A headscissors works a bit better for Brown and it’s Watts’ chance to complain about the WWF, which was a common subject for him. Reed wins a test of strength but Brown spins out (that was snazzy) into an armbar, which has Reed fuming.

One heck of a clothesline out of the corner drops Brown and the legdrop connects as well. A neckbreaker drops Brown again but Reed pulls him up and two and sends him outside. Brown starts going after the knee and follows with a backdrop, only to miss a missile dropkick. Reed’s gorilla press and legdrop finish at 6:22.

Rating: C+. Brown had a good look and it’s easy to see why he would get more than a few chances. At the same time though, Reed felt like a star and had the look to go with it, which is why he was such a star for so long. This was a fun match and Brown got to show off a bit, which has me wanting to see more of him.

Jim Duggan has crawled into the arena and he is a bloody mess. He talks about how he went down to get his bag out of his car and three or four guys jumped him. Someone hit him with a slapjack though and he went down. The only face he saw was Ted DiBiase, who beat him with the slap jack. He said he’d be here though and stand up for everything (technically he’s not standing at the moment but close enough) but he can’t keep going and has to be helped out. Heck of a promo from Duggan here, who was a totally different star outside of the WWF. He looked like he was near death here and it was rather outstanding.

Post break, Watts praises Duggan for getting through all of that. Duggan is going to the hospital.

North American Title: Magnum TA vs. Ernie Ladd

Magnum is defending. Ladd runs him over with the size and power to start but gets knocked out to the floor. Magnum is back in with a front facelock but a forearm cuts that off rather quickly. Back up and Magnum strikes away and hits a backdrop (eventually), followed by a middle rope dropkick. The referee gets bumped though and Magnum’s elbow drop gets a delayed two.

Another shot knocks the referee outside and Ladd chokes Magnum down with some tape as another referee comes out to check on the first one. The second referee comes in and Ladd picks Magnum up but falls backwards to give Magnum two. Watts explains that Ladd is trying to fool the referee into thinking that Magnum is still fighting (if that’s what they were going for, that’s brilliant) and Ladd finishes with a double legdrop at 5:29.

Rating: B-. The more I see of Ladd, the more I wish I could see even more. He knew how to be a big man in wrestling, which is a hard thing to make work. The good thing is that we should be seeing something else from him going forward as you know, he won the title and all that such. The faking out the referee at the end was great and added a layer of realism that you don’t often see. It’s not a great match but I liked it well enough.

Here are the Rock N Roll Express to answer Jim Cornette’s challenge. Ricky Morton is sick of Cornette interfering and busts out a straitjacket, which is how they’re going to cut Cornette off in the title match. For some reason Morton puts Robert Gibson in the straitjacket and ties it up (oh dear) and, because Morton has apparently never watched wrestling, or had a functioning brain before, here is the Midnight Express to jump them.

The huge beatdown ensues with Cornette getting in some shots of his own and….yeah the Rock N Roll deserved all of that. How stupid can you…oh yeah it’s Morton. A bunch of good guys make the save. That was another level of stupid from Morton, who might not have been the brightest guy in the world but….how can you be this dumb?

Ted DiBiase vs. Johnny Mantell

DiBiase (with Skandor Akbar) starts fast and hammers away, including a running shot in the corner. Mantell fights back and strikes away, including a monkey flip out of the corner but a second is blocked. The falling fish (with the black glove) sets up the Figure Four to make Mantell give up at 1:28.

Post match DiBiase says he’s ready for Master G. next week. G. has some kind of special hold but DiBiase has the Figure Four.

Watts is distraught at what has happened this week and recaps the show.

Roll credits.

Overall Rating: B. There’s a reason that classic Mid-South is nothing short of beloved and you could see it here. I pretty much jumped into this cold and felt like I got every story that was going on with nothing leaving me unsure or confused. The action was good, but the point here is the whole atmosphere, as it feels like an exciting show with people moving around and getting into issues. That Duggan promo was a heck of a sight and I want to see where this is going. This lived up to the expectations and I’ll absolutely take that.

Results
Missing Link b. Mike Jackson – Middle rope elbow to the back
Butch Reed b. Brickhouse Brown – Legdrop
Ernie Ladd b. Magnum TA – Double legdrop
Ted DiBiase b. Johnny Mantell – Figure Four

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

NWA House Show
Date: February 26, 1984
Location: The Omni, Atlanta, Georgia

This is exactly what it sounds like, as we’re going to one of the biggest arenas in the south and probably the most important in all of the NWA. This is a pretty awesome era for wrestling and there is some incredible talent on the show, which means we should be in for a treat. I’ve been looking forward to this so let’s get to it.

Pez Whatley vs. Jesse Barr

Whatley is rather popular and Barr is better known (kind of) as Jimmy Jack Funk. After some extensive referee instructions, we’re ready to go, with an exchange of standing switches. A wrestling exchange on the mat goes nowhere and it’s a standoff. Whatley grabs a quick small package for two and we get a nice shake of the finger. Barr takes him down and puts a knee in the back for the chinlock to slow the pace.

Whatley fights up a few times before a pull of the hair drags him back into a regular chinlock. Another comeback is cut off with a snapmare into another chinlock as they’re not exactly burning the mat up here. Back up and Whatley hits a crossbody and small package for two each, followed by a quick belly to back suplex. Barr sends him crashing to the floor though, setting up a running knee (loud one at that) for one on the way back in. Another running knee is blocked though and Whatley hits a running headbutt for the pin at 6:43.

Rating: C-. Not exactly a hot start here as this wasn’t even a long match and a good chunk of it was spent on the chinlocks. The fans did come up for Whatley’s comebacks but there wasn’t much to see here. That being said, this was the kind of match that existed for the sake of having wrestling going on while people were filing in and it served that purpose.

The Spoiler vs. Johnny Rich

Spoiler is a rather large masked man while Rich is a traditional good guys. Rich gets backed into the corner to start and Spoiler slugs away. Some right hands and a bad dropkick get Rich out of trouble so Spoiler powers him into the corner without much trouble. More right hands rock Spoiler and Rich gets two off a slam, with Spoiler already having to use the ropes. From offense that bad looking? Spoiler goes up and walks the ropes (yes, that is where Undertaker got it from) for a shot to the head before knocking Rich out to the floor.

Back in and Spoiler walks the rope for another elbow and Rich is outside again. Rich gets back in and slugs away before slamming Spoiler off the top to break up the third rope walk. Spoiler shrugs it off and grabs the claw before knocking Rich outside for the third time. Rich tries a sunset flip but gets caught in the claw, which is enough to give Spoiler the win at 6:58.

Rating: C. Spoiler seemed to be a solid monster villain and it shouldn’t be a surprise that he wound up being such a success. He had a look and could do some impressive things in the ring, which is more than enough to turn someone into a star. On the other hand you have Rich, who really didn’t show me much here. He seemed fine enough for a regional guy, but Spoiler beat him up pretty easily here, as he should have.

Post match the hold stays on a bit too long before Spoiler lets him go. A bunch of people come out to help Rich to the back but he’s mostly out of it.

Mr. R. vs. Ted DiBiase

This is an idea that you’ve seen a bunch of times, as Mr. R. is Tommy Rich under a mask following a suspension but everyone is in on the joke. R takes him down without much trouble and DiBiase is frustrated early. An armdrag puts R down for a change and DiBiase points to his head, more or less guaranteeing that he’s a villain. A headlock takeover takes DiBiase over with a headlock but he rolls out of it without much trouble.

R is right back with another headlock takeover and grinds away on the headlock as the fans are rather interested. It works so well that R does it a third time, with DiBiase getting frustrated. DiBiase can’t fight out with a top wristlock and the headlocking continues. Back up and DiBiase finally takes him down and starts in on the arm. The cranking continues but the Spoiler and Jesse Barr come in to go after R’s mask, which is enough for the DQ at 6:39.

Rating: C. This felt like more of an angle than a match and I can go with the idea of them just sending in the villains before things got serious. There is something to be said about R doing the obvious joke and it’s working well here. The fans were way more into this than anything else on the show and I’m not overly surprised given who was involved here.

NWA Junior Heavyweight Title: Les Thornton vs. Tommy Rogers

Thornton is defending and is quickly scolded for a shot to the ribs. Rogers grinds away on a headlock and gets rolled up, with Thornton even grabbing some trunks to show what a villain he is. It works so well that they do the same sequence again so Thornton headscissors his way out.

Rogers finally gets up and tries a sunset flip, only to get caught in the headscissors again. That’s finally broken up and Rogers grabs a headlock, which is AGAIN reversed into the headscissors. Back up and Thornton knocks him to the floor as we’re somehow almost ten minutes into this thing with almost nothing happening. A sunset flip gives Rogers two and Thornton’s butterfly suplex gets the same.

The chinlock goes on, with Thornton pulling him down by the hair to keep him in trouble. Back up and Thornton misses a charge into the corner as something actually happens. A knee drop gives Rogers two and he dropkicks Thornton out to the floor. Rogers belly to back suplexes him back inside but Thornton lands on top of him for two, because this is kind of a mess. Rogers hits a suplex and a top rope sunset flip for two but Thornton rolls him up and grabs the trunks to retain at 14:04.

Rating: C-. They picked things up a bit at times here but egads this was another dull match. It’s one of those matches where they were just sitting around waiting to do something and it made things so dull. The Junior Heavyweight Title has almost always come off as mostly boring stuff, which was the case again here. Just laying on the mat in a hold for long stretches of time isn’t interesting and the crowd was letting them know.

Nikolai Volkoff vs. Wahoo McDaniel

No entrances here for some reason. They circle each other to start and then stare at each other without the circling. Volkoff kicks him down and hits a running boot before going to the choking. McDaniel fights his way out of the corner but Volkoff is right back to hammer away as this is firmly in punch/kick territory.

A backbreaker gives Volkoff two and his pretty awesome gorilla press backbreaker gets the same. The bearhug goes on (you were just waiting on that one) but doesn’t last long, with Volkoff elbowing him in the face for two. McDaniel finally fights up and chops him to the floor, with the fans getting way behind the comeback. Volkoff misses a chair shot and McDaniel fights back but throws the referee down. That’s enough for the referee to call for the DQ at 5:51.

Rating: C+. This was starting to get somewhere and it made for a good enough power brawl. They weren’t exactly doing anything good here but it worked because the two of them were beating on each other like power wrestlers should. Not a great match, but it was entertaining enough.

Post match McDaniel stays on Volkoff, who runs away from the beating.

TV Title: Jake Roberts vs. Ron Garvin

Roberts, Paul Ellering, is defending and this was a huge feud. It’s so weird seeing Roberts in his pre-WWF days as he wrestles in a sleeveless shirt and pants instead of tights. Roberts takes him to the mat to start and grabs an armbar for some rather necessary cranking. The arm cranking ensues but Garvin gets up, sending Roberts backing up into the corner for a breather.

It’s already back to the arm, with Garvin seemingly nervous about throwing a punch (that feels like a plot point). The armbar goes on again, with Roberts grabbing the trunks to send the fans into another frenzy. Roberts uses the trunks again and then gets in a discussion with the referee over touching the rope. Garvin fights up and hammers away in the corner, including knocking Roberts out to the floor. Back in and Roberts is favoring his arm before bailing to the floor from an angry Garvin.

Roberts gets back in again and shoves Garvin down out of the corner. The armbar goes back on, with Roberts switching over to a chinlock. Garvin fights up and the fans are entirely with him but Roberts karate chops him back. The comeback is on though with Garvin firing off the big right hands to the ribs. Roberts’ shirt goes up to reveal a bunch of tape so Garvin hammers away. Roberts gets tied in the ropes so Ellering makes the save, only to get caught with a chair. The referee gets decked and Roberts hits a DDT onto the chair (that looked good), followed by an elbow drop for the pin at 13:26.

Rating: B-. This was a fairly basic match but the crowd was WAY into everything, with Garvin’s comebacks getting quite the reception. The arm/rib injuries were good additions and they made me want to see Garvin use them to get back against the cheating Roberts. You could see that this was part of a bigger story and that explained a lot of the reactions from the crowd. Best match on the shot thus far.

National Tag Team Titles: Road Warriors vs. King Kong Bundy/Stan Hansen

The Warriors, with Paul Ellering, are defending and this could be a mess. Hawk and Hansen lock up to start and neither can get anywhere with the power stuff. Instead, Hansen chops him up against the ropes, which works better than I would have expected. Animal (with a decent amount of hair) comes in but gets dropped by Bundy (no hair) as the fans sound pleased.

We settle down to Hawk coming in to face Bundy and the test of strength ensues. Bundy isn’t having any of this being kicked in the ribs thing and knocks Hawk backwards, setting up the bearhug. Hawk gets out but can’t whip Bundy out of the corner. A scream sets up a charge but Bundy gets the boot up without much trouble. Animal can’t slam Bundy so it’s off to Hansen for a headlock. Hawk comes in and gets hit in the face a few times as the fans approve.

An armdrag into the armbar (that feels so out of place in this match) has Hawk down again and Bundy drops a bit knee on the arm. The legdrop on the arm has Hawk in more trouble and it’s back to Hansen for some rapid fire elbows on the arm. Hawk actually gets over to the arm so Animal can work on Hansen’s arm for a change. The armbar goes on again and the fans are right there to cheer Hansen to freedom.

Animal splashes the arm to cut that off though and it’s back to Hawk for his standing armbar. The armbar goes to the mat for a good while before it’s back to Animal for the same. Back up and Hansen misses a charge into the corner, allowing Animal to bend the arm around the rope.

Hawk gets to continue the armbarring but Hansen fights up, drawing in Animal to cut him off almost immediately. Hansen fights up and hits a running knee, allowing Bundy to come in and clean house. The splash hits Animal for two as Hawk makes the save. Ellering seems to trip Bundy down and it’s a big four way brawl, with the referee throwing it out at 15:41.

Rating: B-. This took some time to get going but the weirder thing was seeing the Warriors as unpolished heels. They weren’t doing much of anything that would become their standard, including the rather lengthy armbars. While that part didn’t work so well, there was something to be said about the wild brawl at the end and seeing such a different version of the legendary team. And a hot tag to King Kong Bundy, which is not the most common thing to see.

Post match the brawl stays on and the Warriors bail, with Bundy shouting something into the microphone.

NWA World Title: Ric Flair vs. Brad Armstrong

Flair is defending, not long after winning the title at the first Starrcade. Armstrong’s National Heavyweight Title isn’t on the line here and he can’t be older than 21 or so. We get the old school referee instructions and a handshake gets us going. Flair backs him up to the ropes before wrestling him down but Armstrong reverses into a hammerlock. The standing armbar sends Flair over to the ropes so Armstrong switches to a headlock instead.

Flair fights up so Armstrong cranks on the head even more. Flair finally escapes and goes to a waistlock, only for Armstrong to reverse back into the headlock. This one is broken up much faster and Flair cranks on the arm, setting up the big chops. Armstrong isn’t having that and goes back to the armbar. That’s broken up as well and Flair adds in a handshake. They start running the ropes and Flair gets in a leapfrog, only to walk into a pair of dropkicks.

This time Flair needs a breather on the floor, which is more in his style. Back in and Flair fires off some shoulders in the corner but Armstrong cuts him off again and hammers away. A backdrop sets up another headlock but Flair forearms his way out a good bit faster this time. Not that it matters as Armstrong gets it on again, only for Flair to elbow him in the face. The knee drop connects (or as close as it gets) and it’s back to the corner for some shoulders to Armstrong’s ribs.

Flair gets two off a suplex and chops away in the corner but Armstrong fights out again. This time we get the Flair Flop before Armstrong slaps on a sleeper. Flair has to get his foot on the ropes, so Armstrong gets smart by crashing down onto the leg. Armstrong gets in his own suplex before grabbing the abdominal stretch. That’s broken up as well and they’re both down for a needed breather. Flair is up first and misses the big elbow, allowing Armstrong to whip him into the corner.

This time Flair actually gets stuck in something close to the Tree Of Woe, allowing Armstrong to knock him down. A backslide and O’Connor roll give Armstrong two each so Flair goes up top, only to get slammed back down. Right hands in the corner earn Armstrong a bit of a lecture, allowing Flair to chop away. Flair whips him into the corner but falls down on a slam attempt to give Armstrong two more. Back up and Armstrong hits a crossbody, with Flair rolling through and putting his feet on the ropes to retain at 20:49.

Rating: B. This was a good example of storytelling, as Flair was taking Armstrong lightly at first but got in trouble because he couldn’t keep up with him. Flair caught him later on and took over but Armstrong just kept coming at him until Flair had to cheat to win. It’s no masterpiece or anything but you could see Flair bringing him along in a basic but well put together match.

Flair leaves and we’re out pretty fast.

Overall Rating: B-. This show took some getting used to but you could tell the fans were into just about everything. The one thing that takes time to adjust to is how basic a lot of the matches were, as this was much more about simple action between people the fans cared about. It’s very different than what you get today and while it’s not perfect, there is an energy to it that works well. This was a great surprise from the WWE Vault, though it definitely takes some adjustment if you’re used to a modern style.

 

 

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World Championship Wrestling
Date: July 14, 1984
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Tony Garea, Gorilla Monsoon, Gene Okerlund
Host: Vince McMahon

Now THIS is a famous one, as (in the very condensed version) Vince McMahon bought the World Championship Wrestling (the TV show, not the company) time slot from Georgia Championship Wrestling and brought his product to the south. This basically sent the company’s fan base into open rebellion, which ultimately resulted in Ted Turner getting the time slot and (in part) setting off the WWF vs. WCW war. This is how a lot of it started though, so let’s get to it.

We’re officially introduced to Vince McMahon, who stands in front of a World Championship Wrestling backdrop to completely melt my mind. He runs down who is coming and you can already feel how off this is compared to the NWA style.

House show ads.

Adrian Adonis/Dick Murdoch vs. SD Jones/Nick Decarlo

Non-title and the ring announcer pronounces it as A-Done-Is. Murdoch grabs a headlock on Jones to start and brings in Adonis, with Jones being smart enough to back away in a hurry. A backdrop puts Adonis down so it’s back to Murdoch, who is headbutted down. Decarlo comes in to work on the arm and it’s an armdrag into an armbar.

Murdoch gets his arm cranked as well but a whip into the corner takes Decarlo down. An Adonis elbow gets two and Murdoch wrestles Decarlo down again. Decarlo slips over for the hot tag to Jones to pick up the pace but Murdoch takes him down as well. It’s quickly back to Decarlo, who is caught in a belly to back suplex/top rope clothesline combination for the pin at 6:08.

Rating: C. And that’s probably the high point of this show. Adonis and Murdoch are kind of a forgotten great team and that finisher looked rather good. The problem is that this was just a step above a squash with a bunch of people the fans didn’t want to see. That is going to be the problem for the entire show, and I’m not sure if it is going to get much better than this.

Gene Okerlund talks to Mr. Fuji, who brings in George Steele. Okerlund desperately tries to make him talk and eventually gets Steele to say STEELE. Oh it’s going to be a long show.

More house show ads.

Jesse Ventura vs. Chris Curtis

From Minneapolis and Jesse makes sure to yell at a Minnesota Viking to start. Jesse goes at his usual pace to knock Curtis into the corner. A slam sets up a missed legdrop but a shot to the throat cuts Curtis off again. Ventura cranks on the arm before grabbing the over the shoulder backbreaker for the submission at 3:40.

Rating: D. Yep it was downhill from the opener as this was a boring squash. I have no idea who thought it was a good idea to put Ventura in the ring for a show like this because he was never exactly known for what he could do in the ring. This was slow and boring, like so many other Ventura matches.

B. Brian Blair loves the competition around here and is looking for the Tag Team Titles. He still needs a partner though.

Alexis Smirnoff wants competition too. He should settle for finding a better accent.

The WWF Magazine is on sale, complete with photos of Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant! Now they can’t actually be on this show, but at least you can find out where you can go to pay money to read about them doing cool things!

Iron Sheik vs. Ron Hutchison

Sheik knocks him around with ease to start as the fans want Sgt. Slaughter. Some kicks to the ribs set up the camel clutch to finish Hutchison at 2:08.

More house show ads, including ones we have already heard.

Vince McMahon talks about Bobo Brazil possibly being the best black wrestler of all time.

Big John Studd vs. Bobo Brazil

From Philadelphia and Vince talks about Bobo being on the comeback trail. Given that he turned 60 four days before this aired, I wouldn’t bet on that being a success. Studd knocks him around to start and we hit the bearhug in a hurry. Bobo reverses into a bearhug of his own and headbutt Studd down as we look at the fans instead of the ring. Studd bails to the floor for a bit but comes back in to take Bobo into a chinlock. That’s broken up and Bobo headbutts away but gets knocked down with a single shot. Studd drops an elbow for the pin at 5:41.

Rating: D-. I’m surprised they made it through the end of the show at this point as this was another awful squash. How hard can it be to make a BIG JOHN STUDD squash effective??? He hits you, he bearhugs you, he finishes with some power move. They managed to make that look bad, but Brazil being presented here as some kind of a star in these circumstances was weird enough.

Paul Orndorff explains why he’s handsome and has great hair. He’s the reason the divorce rate is so high, because every time he looks in that camera, more women leave their husbands for him. Orndorff is someone who continues to impress me more every single time.

Same WWF Magazine ad from earlier.

House show ads.

Vince promises more in the future, including Hulk Hogan next week! Host Freddie Miller comes in to close the show.

In a minor but telling sign of how messed up things were: Gene promised us another match but we just got ads and Vince instead. How slapped together was this show?

Overall Rating: F. This was the definition of WWF arrogance/not getting it, as they had no idea what the fans wanted to see and then threw out a completely pathetic collection of squashes with no particular rhyme or reason. I’m stunned the show was as well received as it was (and it was completely rejected) because this would have been bad in front of any audience. Your first show featured Studd, a nothing Murdoch/Adonis squash and the combined efforts of the Iron Sheik and Jesse Ventura? This was completely horrible and is only there for historic reasons (and it was huge to put it mildly). Total failure here.

 

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You might have heard of these two.

NWA World Title Ric Flair vs. Jack Brisco
Date: April 7, 1984
Location: Baltimore Civic Center, Baltimore, Maryland

Flair is defending and this is from Georgia Championship Wrestling. Before the match we hear from some fans who love the show and want to see some matches. We also see Ole Anderson talking to promoter Gary Jester, though at first he messes up and asks “what the f*** is his name”. With that out of the way, we’re joined in progress with Flair not being able to power out of a headlock. Brisco shoulders him down and grabs the headlock again but this time Flair takes him into the corner.

That doesn’t exactly work well as Brisco snapmares him down and puts on a chinlock. More headlock grinding ensues before Briso flips him over by the wrist to start in on the arm. Some armdrags into a short armscissors have Flair n more trouble and Brisco rolls him around the ring for an impressive spot. The hold stays on a bit until Flair finally makes the rope for the break. Brisco’s sunset flip gets two and Flair bails out to the floor for a breather.

Back in and Brisco pounds away with right hands but Flair knocks him away. There’s the knee drop for two and Flair dumps him out to the floor. Back in and Flair’s atomic drop gets two more but Brisco counters the suplex into a sleeper. That’s good for two arm drops but Flair gets back to his feet and belly to back suplexes his way to freedom. Brisco gets in his own suplex and tries his own Figure Four, sending Flair to the rope before it can go on in full. Back up and Brisco blocks a headlock takeover so Flair sticks with the standing version.

A snapmare gives Flair two with his foot on the rope but Brisco is back up with right hands to the face. The Figure Four goes on but Flair is way too close to the rope. Flair is back with the shinbreaker and the Figure Four goes on, only to have Brisco turn it over. That’s escapes as well so Flair heads up top and gets slammed right back down. Brisco loads up a hiptoss but Flair reverses into a cradle (that was sweet) for the pin to retain at 21:14 shown.

Rating: B. The star power alone is enough to make this good but what matters here is how good both of them really are. Brisco may have been way past his prime here but you can believe the possibility that he could pull it off here because it’s Jack Brisco going after the title. Flair could have a classic with anyone at this point and when you put him in there with someone who was also great, the result shouldn’t be a surprise.

Hidden Gems #9
Date: 1984, 1986, 1995

It’s the third of four sets of these Christmas shows and of course it’s more AWA because there’s nothing else to possibly air. These things are a complete hit and miss collection and while that can make for some fun surprises, it can also make for some absolutely terrible stuff. Let’s get to it.

AWA House Show
Date: December 25, 1984
Location: St. Paul Civic Center, St. Paul Minnesota
Attendance: 13,000
Commentator: Ron Trongard

Billy Robinson vs. Steve Olsonowski

Robinson is freshly heel and jumps Steve to start before sending him into the corner a few times. Steve gets sent into the buckle three times in a row and then tossed outside as Robinson is being more aggressive than usual. Back in and Robinson stomps away, followed by a loud right hand to put Steve on the floor. This time though Steve grabs Robinson’s leg and wraps it around the post to give himself an opening.

Robinson takes a breather of his own on the floor and calmly stands on the apron because he’s smart enough to know the referee will protect him there. A backbreaker takes Steve down but it bangs up Robinson’s knee all over again. It’s time to start on the knee for real with a hamstring stretch and an elbow onto the leg.

Robinson bails to the rope to get out of a leg crank so Steve elbows him out to the floor. We’re told it’s five minutes in at six minutes, which is a reversal from what you usually get. Back in and a sunset flip gives Steve two and the knee is damaged even worse. The leglock goes on again but Robinson is finally smart enough to use the good leg to break it up.

Steve is right back to the rope as they’re certainly sticking with the formula that has worked so far. They do it again at the ten (eleven) minute mark but this time Robinson goes to the eyes to get out. The comeback is on with Steve being knocked around the ring, including getting choked on the rope. Steve is right back with a backbreaker and dropkick for two but a middle rope elbow misses, giving Robinson the pin at 13:01.

Rating: C. I was getting into this one and would have liked it more if they had a few different things going on instead of the same formula over and over. The ending didn’t help either as Robinson literally just covered after Steve messed up. I’ve seen a good bit out of Olsonowski lately and he’s a steady hand in the ring, which is something you can always use.

Steve Regal vs. Baron Von Raschke

Say it with me: not THAT Steve Regal. We hit the stall button to start as Regal yells at a fan and then chills in the corner a bit. Baron goes outside to shake hands with the fan, which takes enough time that Regal hits Baron in the face to get things going. Some stomps keep Baron in trouble on the way back in but is fine enough to send Steve into the buckle a few times.

A headlock slows Baron down and an elbow to the head sets up the chinlock. The five minute call is accurate this time as the clock must have been fixed. Baron fights up and hits one heck of a backdrop to get another breather. The threat of the Claw sends Regal bailing to the floor but he comes back in and offers a scared handshake.

Some stomping in the corner sends Regal outside again so he comes back in (again) and hammers away. We go back to the chinlock and then a headlock to mix things up a bit. Oh wait never mind as the chinlock goes on again. Baron finally (and I do mean finally) breaks it up with an atomic drop….but Regal punches him in the face and puts on a front facelock.

Regal gets caught choking and the hold is broken so it goes right back on. With five minutes left, Regal sends him head first into the mat a few times, causing Baron to Baron Up. A backdrop takes care of that but Regal misses an elbow so Raschke can really start the comeback. The Claw goes on and Regal gives up at 17:13.

Rating: D-. Nope. This is the definition of the old school match that is nothing but laying around in holds for the most part. There’s nothing going on in those chinlocks and headlocks with both guys just laying there on the mat for a few minutes at a time. If they weren’t doing that then they were stalling on the floor, making this a truly mind numbing experience. That kind of a match can work and it can work very well, but this was terrible.

Mr. Saito vs. Jim Brunzell

Joined in progress with Saito coming back inside and getting taken down by the knee. Saito reverses a leglock into a cross armbreaker so Brunzell rolls around trying to break it for the better part of two minutes. The BORING chants are on, which you knew was coming after the previous match. Brunzell reverses into a leglock from behind but Saito gets up and rakes the eyes for the break.

We hit the ten minute mark, meaning they skipped about five and a half minutes. The sleeper has Brunzell in trouble, but unlike the Baron he does more than just sit there, which already makes this match better. A rope gets Brunzell out of trouble so the sleeper goes on again. Brunzell’s comeback is countered with a ram into the buckle and it’s time for him to take a breather on the floor.

Saito goes after him and gets pulled down so Brunzell can wrap the leg around the post (same sequence, even the same post, as the Robinson match). The Figure Four goes on (good one too) and it’s kind of a weird visual since Saito wrestles barefoot. With five minutes left, Saito grabs Brunzell’s leg to break things up but opts to turn it over and hurt Brunzell’s leg instead. Brunzell hammers away on the mat with forearms to the head and the Figure Four goes on again.

It’s reversed again, with Trongard being surprised that it would hurt Brunzell. I’m still not sure on the physics of that one. Brunzell doesn’t realize that he’s next to the rope and spends forever turning it over again for the break. The abdominal stretch keeps Brunzell in trouble until he reverses into one of his own with thirty seconds left. That’s broken up as well and Saito blocks a sunset flip until time expires at 14:17 shown of 20:00.

Rating: D+. This was still dull but they did a far, far better job of keeping the fans entertained. The leg stuff was the same thing that happened to Robinson but the effort here made it better than the previous match. It also helps that most of the matches on this show have come close to the time limit so the draw wasn’t the most obvious thing in the world. Still kind of dull, but light years better than it could have been.

Post match they keep brawling until the official decision.

Curt Hennig vs. Nick Bockwinkel

Hennig would explode into a major star down the road around here. Again joined in progress but it seems to be right after the bell. Bockwinkel starts with the hard forearms to the face, followed by the knees to the ribs to put Hennig outside. Hennig’s head is rammed into the apron a few times as it’s all Bockwinkel so far. Some more forearms off the apron keep Hennig down until he finally pulls Bockwinkel down by the knee (learn a new match layout) and hammers away at the five minute mark (Yeah they clipped all of three seconds. Why not just show the opening bell?).

This time it’s Bockwinkel being knocked outside and it’s a suplex to bring him back in. A double clothesline knocks both guys down and it’s Bockwinkel up with some knees to the ribs for two. Bockwinkel’s sleeper is broken up with a ram into the corner and it’s time to hammer away on Hennig in the corner. Hennig comes back with right hands and a headknocker (picture the start of a piledriver but Hennig jumps up and lands on the back of Bockwinkel’s head), setting up a sunset flip for two.

With that not working, Hennig gets two off a sunset flip. That was close so to mix it up a bit, Hennig sunset flips him for a near fall. Tired of having his sunset flipped, Bockwinkel takes him down into a Figure Four, which is turned over. For some reason Hennig grabs the rope while it’s reversed, suggesting that physics don’t work the same around here. Bockwinkel continues the AWA philosophy of “if a hold is broken, put it right back on” so Hennig makes the rope even faster this time. Bockwinkel tries it a third time and knowing what’s coming, Hennig small packages him for the pin at 14:21.

Rating: C. The energy was better here and they had a much better story throughout with Bockwinkel trying everything he could to finish Hennig but not being able to pull it off. Hennig was still very young here but it was nice to see them trying to make a big star for a change. He clearly had all the tools save for the experience though and pushing him made sense.

Post match the livid Bockwinkel sends him head first into the post to blow off some steam. Hennig is busted open and Bockwinkel adds a pair of piledrivers. Referees and wrestlers break it up but Bockwinkel manages to add in a chair shot to the head. They break it up again and Bockwinkel gets over again to stomp away. The post match beatdown was over five minutes long.

Greg Gagne/Jerry Blackwell vs. Masked Superstar/King Kong Brody

It’s a brawl to start with Gagne kneeing Superstar outside. Brody kicks Blackwell in the face and takes over. The villains alternate with their boots on Blackwell until Superstar puts on a front facelock. Superstar gets shoved away though and it’s off to Gagne for his weird dropkick on Brody.

Blackwell chokes from the apron but Brody is fine enough to block a monkey flip and put Gagne in trouble. The piledriver is broken up but Brody sends Gagne right back into the corner. Superstar’s flying headbutt sends Gagne outside and it’s time to walk around the ring a few times.

Back in and Gagne slips over for the tag to Blackwell so house can be cleaned. Blackwell drops an elbow and the big splash for two on Brody. Stereo dropkicks (Blackwell’s is a jumping foot to the stomach) put the villains down and Blackwell powerslams Brody but the ref gets bumped. With the ref down, an ax handle knocks Blackwell out for the pin at 10:29.

Rating: C-. This was energetic but not very good. One of the most consistent problems with the AWA shows is I have no idea how we got to this match. The commentary very rarely offers any details as it’s all about the wrestling, which is fine but not the most informative thing in the world.

Post match Blackwell gets beaten down even more until Greg Gagne makes the save. Blackwell headbutts the referee for not being there to count his pin.

A Tag Team Title match with the Road Warriors defending against the Fabulous Ones in a no contest is cut here.

AWA World Title: Jimmy Garvin vs. Rick Martel

Martel is defending and Garvin has Precious in his corner. Trongard says that this is a repeat of something that happened before. Now we’re not told what that thing is, but something did indeed happen. Garvin starts fast with some knees to the ribs so Martel snaps off a dropkick to send him outside. An early Precious distraction doesn’t work as Martel grabs an atomic drop and punches away.

The hammerlocking begins with Martel adding a knee drop for a bonus. Since this is the AWA, the hold stays on for a few minutes, though at least Martel keeps moving to keep things a little more fresh. Garvin is right back with an armbar of his own, followed by some legdrops to the arm. The champ comes back with his own armdrag into an armbar, which is almost all we’ve seen in the match so far.

A few kicks send Garvin outside and he wants a timeout. The delay seems to work very well for him as he comes back in and takes over with a chinlock. Martel’s comeback is cut off with another chinlock into the reverse chinlock for a special twist. Martel fights up and gets sent over the top, which Garvin denies and actually gets away with thanks to Precious.

Another comeback works a little bit better this time as Martel hiptosses him down and gets in a long series of right hands to FINALLY wake the fans up. A slingshot splash gives Martel two and he hammers away in the corner until the referee pulls him off. That lets Precious slip in a foreign object so Garvin can knock Martel cold for the pin and the title at 17:00.

Rating: D. While there were worse matches on the card, this was another dull one full of chinlocks and rest holds that killed the interest. Martel was trying and had his good, fired up comeback, but he doesn’t feel like a top star and this didn’t feel like a World Title match. You know the ending isn’t going to stand either, which makes this a pretty weak way to end the show.

And never mind as matchmaker Wally Karbo reverses the decision to keep the title on Martel to end the show. That makes sense as you wouldn’t want a face looking strong around here. Of the seven matches on the card, the faces went 2-3-2 with the two wins coming either via DQ with Martel after he was pinned or via fluke by Hennig, who was beaten senseless after. Even when the young faces won, they didn’t exactly look good in the process. How AWA of the show.

Thankfully we can get away from the AWA a bit and jump ten years forward to Smoky Mountain, which I haven’t seen much of over the years. I’m not completely sure when or where this was filmed, as the event was held over several nights in different cities. The date listed on the Network is two weeks later, so I’d assume this is the version that eventually aired on television.

Christmas Chaos 1994
Date: January 7, 1995
Commentators: Jim Ross, Les Thatcher, Buddy Landel

Opening sequence.

Yep it’s a studio show.

The announcers welcome us to the show and aren’t happy to see Buddy (TV Champion), who has bought the TV time. He wants to talk about what happened on Christmas night in Knoxville and as luck would have it, here we go.

SMW Title: Dirty White Boy vs. Buddy Landel

Landel is challenging and his TV Title isn’t on the line. Joined in progress with White Boy in trouble and Landel yelling at the fans in between stomping. The Figure Four (because Landel was a Ric Flair knockoff/tribute, albeit very talented as well) is broken up twice in a row and White Boy grabs a DDT for a breather. Landel pulls out a chain but White Boy takes it away and knocks Landel cold for the DQ at 2:25 shown.

Post match White Boy beats him up even more.

Landel remembers beating the White Boy’s brains in and wants a rematch on January 28. White Boy wants to face Jerry Lawler and Landel would pick him too because White Boy knows he can’t beat Landel. The White Boy is on his way out here so Landel suddenly remembers a conference call in Los Angeles.

We get a video from Jerry Lawler in a locker room where he finds a drunken man underneath a pile of clothes, which apparently is the drunken White Boy. That’s typical for a horrible place like Knoxville, which is the dumb end of Tennessee. Lawler is coming to Knoxville at Super Saturday Night Fever because he wants the title that White Boy holds out the window of his pickup truck when he rides around with the Dirty White Girl.

Back in the studio, the White Boy talks about how he isn’t scared of Lawler or Landel so he’ll face both of them at Super Saturday Night. Landel’s match can be non-title though and we’ll see how he likes that.

Bruiser Bedlam (Oh dear what a character. Convicted of assault, drug trafficking and blowing up a police station, plus accused of several murders. He also pinned Randy Savage.) calls Jim Ross an idiot so Ross throws him out.

From December 5 in Princeton, West Virginia.

Cactus Jack vs. Bruiser Bedlam

Bedlam is having issues with his manager Jim Cornette. They trade shoulders to start and that’s a BANG BANG from Jack. Landel jumps in on commentary to rant about how awesome he is as Landel grabs a headlock. Bedlam slugs Jack out to the floor, which just seems to fire him up. Back in and Jack hammers away with forearms in the corner, followed by a chair to the back. As Landel rants about his upcoming match being non-title, Bedlam powerslams Jack for two and frustration sets in. Some brass knuckles to the head knock Jack silly but here is Brian Lee to point it out to the referee, meaning it’s a DQ at 5:27.

Rating: D+. They beat each other up here for a little while and that’s all it needed to be. There was no point in trying to have a wrestling match here so it was two brawlers fighting instead. That’s how things should have gone and the match was entertaining enough. I wasn’t wild on the finish, but the rest was entertaining enough.

From Christmas night in Knoxville.

Chris Candido/Boo Bradley vs. Tracy Smothers/Cactus Jack

Falls Count Anywhere. Tracy is replacing Brian Lee, who had transportation problems. If Bradley (Balls Mahoney) doesn’t take care of Jack, Tammy Fytch (Sunny) will THROW BRADLEY’S CAT OFF A BRIDGE. They don’t play around here. Candido chairs Smothers off the apron and Jack is in trouble. Smothers comes back in to pull Jack out of the way, causing Bradley’s top rope splash to hit Candido instead. That’s enough for Jack to steal the pin at 57 seconds shown.

Post match Candido yells at Boo, who the fans get behind. Candido slaps Boo and gets knocked down but here’s Fytch with the cat. With Bradley taken out by a chain, Fytch puts the cat back in the bag and runs off, sending everyone in a chase. They come back into the arena with Candido carrying the bag (I think you get the idea here) and Bradley hammering away. Fytch hairsprays Bradley, allowing Candido to drop the top rope leg on the bag. Candido and Fytch leave and Bradley is devastated (I mean, not as devastated as the cat) so here’s Cactus Jack to console him. Rather hot angle here.

Candido and Fytch have both been suspended and are rather unhappy. When that ends, Candido has to face Bradley.

Jack and Bradley have a funeral for the cat with Jack telling Bradley that he has to step out of Candido’s shadow. Bradley says Candido is his enemy now and Candido won’t like him when he’s angry.

From Christmas night in Knoxville again.

Tag Team Titles: Rock N Roll Express vs. Gangstas

The Gangstas are defending and Jim Cornette is managing the Express to make sure the sky is falling in Knoxville. Joined in progress again with everything breaking down and New Jack hitting Gibson with a slap jack. New Jack goes after Cornette though and it’s a tennis racket shot from Morton for the pin and the titles at 1:18 shown.

Post match the Gangstas beat down the Express but Cornette makes the save with the racket n one of the most bizarre scenes I can remember in a long time. The Gangstas get back up and destroy Cornette as Gangstas’ associate D’Lo Brown comes in to help with the beating. Cactus Jack and the Dirty White Boy make the save.

In the back, the Express praises Cornette for doing what he promised to do and then taking a heck of a beating. Cornette now has an open invitation to manage the Express against the Gangstas anytime. Cornette staggers in, COVERED in blood, saying he needs a phone.

We go to Cornette’s home a few days later. Cornette talks about wanting to remember Christmas night so he can hate someone. After twelve years of fighting the Express, he decided to find a team that could destroy them once and for all. For once, he had them feeling like they owed him something because he helped them win the Tag Team Titles. He thought about turning on them but decided to be a man of his word.

Cornette knew that the Gangstas would destroy them after the match and he would have a ringside seat for a Christmas treat. Then the fans started begging Cornette to help them and his ego took over. For about twenty two seconds, he beat the Gangstas down but then reality took the ego’s place. After that, all he remembers is pain and it’s all from the Gangstas.

When Jack and the White Boy made the save, Cornette got a round of applause. Now he hates the Gangstas but before he left the building that night, he called some friends. The Heavenly Bodies are coming back to help him deal with the Gangstas. They’ll be back on January 28 for Super Saturday Night Fever but before we get there, Cornette wants to talk to Commissioner Bob Armstrong to get the Bodies’ suspension lifted. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Now this was an old school southern promo, which did exactly what it needed to do. Cornette explained everything and set up stuff for the future in a great angle. I love the idea of bringing someone in to continue the angle as it’s such a territory style which works very well. That’s how you keep people coming back and this worked very well.

The announcers hype up next week’s show to wrap things up. This is edited off the Network version.

Since I can’t escape them, back to the AWA!

Brawl In St. Paul
Date: December 25, 1986
Location: St. Paul Civic Center, St. Paul, Minnesota
Attendance: 8,000
Commentators: Ron Trongard, Dick Jonckowski

It seems that we’re skipping Buddy Wolf vs. Buck Zumhofe going to a fifteen minute draw. Aww shucks.

Earthquake Ferris vs. Brian Knobbs

Yes that Brian Knobbs and no not that Earthquake. Knobbs is still very green here and calls Ferris fat. That earns him a slam from the bigger Ferris and it’s time for a breather on the floor. Back in and the name calling continues with Knobbs telling the fans that Ferris is a worthless piece of meat. Ferris slams him down but misses the elbow, meaning Knobbs can start in on the arm. Some legdrops to the arm and a twist around the rope have Ferris in trouble. He’s fine enough to whip Knobbs into the corner for a running splash and the Ferris Wheel (airplane spin) sets up another splash for the pin at 4:26.

Rating: D. Not the best start to the show as Ferris isn’t quite the most thrilling big man and Knobbs on his own is holding up a bit too much (needs to Sag some more). The fans liked Ferris well enough though so it worked for an opener, but it’s not something that holds up all that well.

Post match Ferris gives a rather “I’m happy to win” promo and sucks up to the crowd.

Boris Zhukov vs. Steve Olsonowski

Zhukov has Sheik Adnan Al-Kassie. After a weapons check, Boris hides in the corner and then on the floor. It doesn’t last that long as we hear about great football days at the University of Minnesota. Steve grabs a headlock and then a headlock takeover as we’re on the mat early in this one. The announcers use this as a way to subtly talk about the AWA action figures (or dolls in this case), though Boris’ head going into the corner and possibly the post gets their attention.

Another flying headlock takeover gets two as Boris gets caught on the mat again. The fans start chanting something as the headlock keeps going, though at least they’re moving and trying to do something with it. They get back up with Steve losing a top wristlock and getting his arm sent into the corner. The arm is wrapped around the rope as a fan is LOSING IT over the referee not doing enough to help Steve. He’s so loud that the camera looks at him for a bit as Boris pulls on an armbar.

A headbutt lets Boris wrap the arm around the post and it’s right back to the armbar. Back up and Steve misses a charge into the buckle, meaning it’s a different kind of arm crank for a change. Steve finally makes the comeback with chops and a backdrop for two. An atomic drop gets the same, this time with the Sheik putting the foot on the rope. Steve misses a middle rope elbow so Boris drops his own for the pin (a fast one at that, with Sheik shoving the foot off the rope) at 13:10.

Rating: D. This could have been a lot worse as Steve is someone I’ve started to like as I watch these things. He wrestles a nice enough match and can do all the basics quite well. Boris was your run of the mill Russian heel and while the arm stuff made sense and even played into the finish, it went on for a long time and wasn’t exactly interesting.

Greg Gagne/Leon White/Scott Hall vs. Larry Zbyszko/Super Ninja/Mr. Saito

You might know White better as Vader. Larry has been having some issues with referees as of late and got to pick his own referee here. We wait around for some reason but hang on as Larry needs to yell about a man being wrongly accused and having to overcome the system. Ninja kicks Gagne down to start and follows with a thrown before it’s already off to Larry. This doesn’t go very well for the villains as Greg gets two off a backslide. The referee (who looks to be Jerry Sags of the Nasty Boys and yes indeed it is) has to deal with White though, allowing Saito to kick away in the corner.

We hit the choking on the mat for far longer than any human should be able to survive before it’s off to Ninja for a missed legdrop. That’s not enough for the hot tag though as Ninja kicks Gagne down and grabs a nerve hold. See, he uses holds like that because he’s from Japan and that’s what masked Japanese villains are supposed to do. Gagne kicks Ninja away and does the same to Larry, allowing the tag to White.

House is cleaned in a hurry and a running powerslam gets two on Saito with Ninja making the save. Zbyszko comes in and gets crushed in the corner, followed by the big splash for two more as Saito makes a save this time. Hall comes in for the first time to a nice reaction and Saito bows to him. Thankfully Hall doesn’t go for it and grabs a headlock instead. A shot to the knee puts Hall down but he’s fine enough to hit a knee lift for two on Ninja.

The villains change again though and tie Hall up in the ropes so Zbyszko can….get picked up and carried over to the good corner. Gagne comes in and it’s Zbyszko in trouble with everyone taking a shot at him. Since the tags need to continue without anything happening, Saito comes back in for a Scorpion Deathlock/Figure Four hybrid to start in on Hall’s leg. Ninja tries an Indian Deathlock but gets small packaged for two instead.

It’s back to Zbyszko, who gets slammed down because he’s the very weak link of the team. Gagne comes in again and gets beaten up as well as this just keeps going. Saito drives him into the corner and stomps away, allowing Zbyszko to come in and actually not screw something up! This time it’s an abdominal stretch but Gagne hiptosses his way out of it and we look at a fan telling Zbyszko that he sucks. Hall and Saito come in with Hall grabbing a bearhug but Ninja makes the save.

That earns him a bearhug but Saito throws salt in Hall’s eyes for….I’m not sure actually but the match ends at 15:41. Saito covers him while grabbing the trunks but he lets go, then people try to break it up, then the camera cuts away and we hear three slaps on the mat. Before the third goes down though, another referee (Scott LeDoux, a regular wrestler) comes in to say something to the original referee. Zbyszko comes after LeDoux and it’s a brawl with the good guys clearing the ring.

Rating: D+. Well that was a lot. This was fifteen minutes of people just going back and forth with nothing tying the match together and no flow to it whatsoever. Everyone was fighting everyone and while the energy was there, the ending was a mess and I’m still not sure what happened.

Post match the villains leave and White beats up the original referee. LeDoux talks but I can’t make out a word he’s saying. The announcers say they don’t know who won the match either. They try to recap everything and you have to give them points for hitting the chaos they were shooting for.

AWA World Title: Curt Hennig vs. Nick Bockwinkel

Bockwinkel is defending and Billy Robinson is guest referee. They grapple to start with neither getting anywhere early on. The announcers are still talking about the six man tag and don’t remember Ninja pinning Hall. That’s probably because Saito was the one covering him but that’s just a detail. Bockwinkel hits some shoulders but gets slammed down for one. That’s enough to send Bockwinkel to the floor for a breather, which makes a lot of sense for him.

Back in and Bockwinkel grabs a top wristlock as we cut to a rather bored looking fan. The hold stays on for a good while, which also makes a lot of sense for Bockwinkel. They go down to the mat as a few fans shouting from the crowd are drowning out commentary. Hennig reverses into a hammerlock and starts in on the arm with the Bockwinkel not being able to bridge out of it. The hold is released and Hennig hammers away instead before sending him into the buckle over and over.

Bockwinkel bails to the floor but this time pulls Hennig down and wraps the leg around the post. Back in and it’s off to the leglock, which again goes on for a good while. Hennig: “My leg! My leg!” Another Figure Four attempt is reversed into a small package for two so Bockwinkel wraps the leg around the rope. Back up and Hennig knocks him to the floor, meaning it’s time for Bockwinkel’s arm to go around the post.

The arm is fine enough for Bockwinkel to ram Hennig into the buckle a few times as the announcers remind us that Robinson is a thing in this match. Some knees to the ribs give Bockwinkel two but Hennig goes right back to the arm. We’re clipped to the two of them fighting to the floor with Bockwinkel ramming him into the apron a few times. Back in and a forearm give the champ two, followed by Hennig’s sunset flip for the same.

The good looking dropkick gets the same, though the camera was on the crowd at the kickout for no logical reason. Hennig’s ax handle (finisher) gets two more but the referee gets bumped (oh here we go). Hennig hits something off camera for no count and has to counter the piledriver with a backdrop over the top (there it is). Back in and Hennig slams him (Dick: “That youth is paying off.” Good thing Curt invested in it then.) to set up the missile dropkick but Robinson calls for the bell and the DQ at 19:18 shown. You can feel the energy go out of the arena as they know what’s happening again.

Rating: B. These guys were getting going and once you get around the long form rest holds, you can see a good story in there with the scientific veteran against the young athlete. Hennig was having to get in his shots here and there but Bockwinkel had the better overall plan. It made for a good match but the ending killed it, as always in the AWA. Also, what does it say that they ran this match on two out of three Christmas nights

Post match Hennig calls that BS refereeing and the fans agree. The announcer explains the DQ and tells the fans how lucky they were to see such a great match. Hennig continues to rant until Verne Gagne comes in to say it’s up to the referee’s interpretation of the rules. It never ceases to amaze me how the AWA seems to enjoy taking away the fun and energy from the fans at every chance. Bockwinkel says there’s no such thing as being fair in wrestling so Hennig needs to learn from his lessons.

Jimmy Snuka vs. Colonel DeBeers

DeBeers is from South Africa and tries to swing his flag at Jimmy, earning himself a running headbutt. A shot to the face cuts Snuka down though and DeBeers stomps away, which just annoys Snuka a bit more. The headbutts have DeBeers in trouble and he’s even busted open. You don’t do that in a match against someone like Snuka, who hits a top rope right hand to the head. Snuka hammers away and shoves the referee for the DQ at 3:37.

Rating: D. I’ve always liked DeBeers a little bit but this was just a match for the sake of a match. The lack of time didn’t help either as they flew through the whole thing, which made it feel more like an angle advancement than anything else. That’s fine, but it’s kind of a weird place on the card for such a thing.

Post match Snuka keeps beating him up but DeBeers bails before the Superfly Splash.

We take a break to build the cage.

Tag Team Titles: Midnight Rockers vs. Doug Somers/Buddy Rose

Somers/Rose are defending and it’s in a cage with Billy Robinson as guest referee again. Joined in progress with the Rockers sending the champs into the cage as Sherri Martel (champs’ manager) yells about various things. Somers is busted open early as Sherri is literally trying to chew into the cage. Another ram into the cage gives Shawn two on Somers so it’s off to Rose.

That means Rose gets to go into the cage as well, drawing blood of his own. Marty comes in for a situation that even he shouldn’t be able to mess up, meaning it’s another whip into the cage for Somers. It’s already back to Shawn for a top rope shot to the head as this is completely one sided so far. Rose finally rakes Marty’s eyes for a breather but gets crotched on top to put the champs in trouble again. Somers breaks up a cover at two and the champs…still don’t take over as Marty slugs away with right hands to get out of limited trouble.

Marty powerslams Somers and Shawn hits the top rope elbow for two as this is a very long opening beatdown. After a hard stare and some spitting at Rose, Marty runs Somers’ head against the cage for the sake of some more pain. Sherri wants it stopped as Shawn rubs Somers’ blood on his face. A headbutt below the belt finally gives Somers a breather and Rose sends Michaels into the cage. Rose’s DDT (called a front piledriver) gets two on Shawn with Marty having to make a save.

Somers sends him into the cage as Shawn is very busted as well. Sherri shouts what sounds like some rather non-PG slurs at Shawn as the beating continues. A fan throws a drink on Sherri as Rose gets the slowest two in the world from Robinson. Shawn gets in a headbutt and knee lift to drop Somers, allowing him to fall into the tag to Jannetty. Rose tries to get out so Marty pulls him back over the top. With Rose down, Marty hits a high crossbody on Somers for the pin and the titles at 17:21.

Rating: B-. The blood helped a lot here and you can tell there’s a history between the teams. The rematch of this was on Shawn’s From The Vault DVD and that one was a lot of fun too so you know they have something special between the teams. I liked this more than I was expecting to and it made for a good main event.

Post match Somers and Rose knock Shawn outside and beat the heck out of Jannetty. Shawn finally gets in and makes the save as the champs leave. Yeah Somers and Rose are the champs because this wasn’t a title match. See, I thought “it’s a battle for the Tag Team Titles” meant it was a title match and the fans seemed to agree with me. But that might be fun so we can’t have that, especially when the Rockers would get the titles less than a month later.

Overall Rating: D+. I don’t know how much more of these AWA Christmas shows I can take. They’re just not my style and take so long to get through with one boring match after another. Some of the bigger stuff was good but those lower level matches are nightmares most of the time. SMW was good stuff, though it’s the kind of thing that is going to take some time to get used to. There are worse sets of shows, but these weren’t exactly strong.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

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Tuesday Night Titans
Date: November 13, 1984
Location: Video One Studios, Owings Mills, Maryland
Hosts: Vince McMahon, Lord Alfred Hayes

Another request here, partially so I can say I’ve done an episode of this show. This is a bit of a different show as it’s mainly a talk show with wrestling guests. There would be matches included, though this isn’t exactly the best time period from a quality standpoint. I’m not entirely sure what to expect here but that’s the kind of show Tuesday Night Titans was. Let’s get to it.

I’m going to do my best on the dates/locations of the matches but it’s one of those shows that throws them them together from other TV tapings.

I can barely hear Hayes’ introduction over the REALLY loud intro music.

Vince and Hayes are on the talk show set to intro the show. We talk about Thanksgiving (this is being written two days before his year’s holiday so it’s kind of appropriate) with Vince promising to deliver a turkey in the form of first guest in Captain Lou Albano. Lou immediately lists off all of his accomplishments as a manager, which has to be some kind of a record (fourteen Tag Team Champions is pretty crazy).

He goes on a rant about how amazing athletes wrestlers are, even talking about Vince’s amateur wrestling credentials. Albano brags about his IQ of 901.73 back in his medulla ob-long-gata which makes him a linguist and a bi-linguist. Vince FINALLY cuts off this rather hilarious speech and throws us to a match.

From Hamilton, Ontario, Canada – October 29/30, 1984

Nick DeCarlo vs. The Spoiler

Spoiler, a big masked guy (I won’t say who he is in case you haven’t seen him before) has Albano in his corner. Before we get going, here’s Intercontinental Champion Greg Valentine (also Albano’s client) to say he doesn’t have any competition. Albano goes into a rant about how awesome Valentine is as the match starts. Valentine goes over to commentary to talk about how he wants respect as Spoiler throws DeCarlo into the corner. DeCarlo gets knocked outside, followed by a top rope clothesline back inside. A knee lift sets up the Claw to put DeCarlo away in a hurry.

Back in the studio, Albano apologizes to Hayes for not being a gentleman. Then he goes into a rant about Spoiler squeezing a ball in his hand until he got strong enough to break a pair of pliers. Now he can squash any wrestler’s skull. Vince: “Some skulls are softer than others.” As for Valentine, they might just retire the title. For now though, he’ll face any contender around.

Back from a break with Albano laid out on the couch with his shirt open as we get to our second guest: Barry Windham. Barry is a standard face but Albano laughs at him and talks about his own training style. Albano’s various stomach issues take us to the next match.

From Salisbury, Maryland – November 7, 1984.

Barry Windham vs. Charlie Fulton

An unnamed hillbilly is in the crowd. We’ll call him Jim and move on. Barry takes him down with a top wristlock before grabbing an armdrag into an armbar. That’s enough wrestling as Barry forearms him down and drops a knee for two. More right hands drop Fulton and a bulldog is good for the pin.

Rating: D. Nothing to see here as Windham never felt right in the WWF. It was clear that he wasn’t exactly happy there as he would eventually self destruct, though at least he did have a nice run in the US Express. Fulton was a jobber to the stars around this point and that’s exactly what he was doing here.

Back in the studio, Albano makes more fun of Windham and eventually gives him some dieting advice. Oh and watch any match you’re not involved in. Windham calls him a slob so Albano calls him dehydrated and says if you put Windham’s brain in a parakeet, it would fly backwards.

We take a break and come back with Mike Rotundo as the third guest. Albano: “Take your hat off! You’re not in the barn!” Vince talks about Rotundo’s athletic accomplishments and again, Albano talks over him in a rather heelish way.

From the Hamilton, Ontario, Canada – October 29, 1984.

Barry Windham/Mike Rotundo vs. Mohammad Saad/Bobby Bass

Not quite the US Express just yet. Windham knocks Saad out to the floor to start as we hear about Windham and Rotundo’s background. Rotundo comes in for an armbar and Bass gets forearmed into the corner for his cheating efforts. The good guys start their fast tagging and work over Saad’s arm until a bulldog is good for the pin. Total squash.

Back in the studio, Rotundo threatens to shut Albano up. Windham and Rotundo talk about the various regional Tag Team Titles they’ve won, which you don’t hear about very often. Albano has been advising the current World Tag Team Champions (Dick Murdoch/Adrian Adonis) but Rotundo doesn’t think they need a manager at this point. Albano rants us to a break.

I’m not sure where the next match takes place. Vince says it’s from the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, New Jersey but I can’t find any record of these two ever having a match there. I can however find one from around this time in Toronto, which would make a lot more sense.

Nikolai Volkoff vs. Rocky Johnson

Joined in progress with the announcers saying it’s in the Toronto area, meaning we’re in the Maple Leaf Gardens on October 21, 1984. Thanks for that, commentators. Johnson punches him in the jaw but doesn’t follow up. Well he’s never been the brightest guy in the world. A nerve hold (I think) takes Johnson down but some gyrating gets him back to his feet. Back up and a double shoulder puts them both down for a breather. Volkoff wins a test of strength and of course cheats as soon as Johnson starts coming back. A kick to the ribs sends Volkoff outside but he’s right back in with a hard forearm to the back. Johnson hits some of his always weird looking (though still fine) dropkicks, only to get dropped throat first across the top rope for the fast pin.

Rating: D+. Not a terrible power vs. speed match here with Johnson being more about charisma than his in-ring abilities. This was also back when Volkoff was looking like a powerhouse rather than the much bigger version that most people remember him as. It was easy to see why they ran Volkoff vs. Hogan so many times as this was during a big time in the Cold War and it was kind of a perfect matchup.

And now, COMEDY! Hayes brings out the world’s oldest wrestling fan, a man who appears to be about 94 years old (or about 40 and in bad makeup and a horrible wig) named Lloyd Lynch. He talks about his hometown of Cut and Shoot, Texas before nodding off for a second. His favorite wrestler was the Swedish Angel, a 300lb guy with a big bearhug that everyone loved. Vince has such an awkward look on his face and Lloyd makes it worse by talking about seeing the Angel in Madison Square Garden and squeezing a man’s hair off. That man turned into Gorgeous George and that’s how he got his start.

After talking a bit about meeting Vince’s grandfather and an award Vince’s father just received, it’s time to talk about women’s wrestling and Lloyd is already laughing. Apparently Lloyd remembers a women’s wrestling match from 1834 with Millie Lang Tree. He also knew some woman from Boston who defeated a 412lb wolf with a Boston crab in the back of a pickup truck at a drive-in movie in San Antonio.

As for Millie though, she used a double toe half nelson, which of course Lynch agrees to demonstrate. He pulls his leg up into the air….and hurts himself in the process. Thankfully that’s it and hopefully we never have to sit through something like this again. It was about as funny as being hit in the head with a box of hammers as they weren’t trying for anything more than redneck hillbilly humor with Lynch apparently being at least 110 years old. Just bad stuff here and something beneath even the WWF’s standards.

Thankfully we move on to the next guest: David Bruno Sammartino, who would later drop the Bruno and then realize that no one cared about Bruno’s really boring son. We hear about Bruno trying to keep David out of wrestling but David knew it was all he wanted to do. The Sammartino name isn’t a burden because it’s like being Rocky Marciano’s son. And now, a match.

From (I believe) the East Rutherford, New Jersey – October 14, 1984.

David Sammartino vs. Mr. Fuji

Joined in progress with David working on an armbar in front of a silent crowd. Gorilla calls a shoulder block beautiful and it’s right back to the armbar. Fuji comes back with a falling headbutt to the ribs and the slow motion continues with the fans still not caring. A stomach claw continues to be one of the dumbest moves of all time until Sammartino grabs the leg to escape. Fuji’s slow motion offense continues but David slugs away like his dad to the only reaction of the match. A kick to the ribs and a knee drop give David two and a small package puts Fuji away.

Rating: D-. The match was bad but I always feel bad for Sammartino. He always looked like he was trying but there’s just nothing there. Other than being Bruno’s son, there’s nothing about him that stands out. It’s not really surprising that he never went anywhere in wrestling and a lot of it probably comes from the pressure of being Bruno’s son. Really boring match here, which was common for David.

Back in the studio and thankfully Albano is back to talk about David’s physique. He likes what he sees in Sammartino and suggests that he eat lots of protein, including unborn virgin goat’s milk. Oh and change your name. Not bad advice actually.

We come back with our next guest: the huge Blackjack Mulligan, who brought the house band with him. He’s here to stand up for AMERICA and doesn’t want to hear about people like the Iron Sheik who doesn’t stand for AMERICA. Then you have people like Big John Studd, who just isn’t nice in general. After listing off a few more villains, it’s off to a match.

From Hamilton, Ontario, Canada – October 29, 1984.

Blackjack Mulligan vs. Ted Grizzly

Grizzly is billed from Morgan’s Corner, Arkansas, which was the hometown of Haystacks Calhoun. Mulligan shoves him down with almost no effort and forearms him in the chest. A drop toehold has Grizzly tapping but that wouldn’t mean anything for a good ten years. Grizzly’s right hands have no effect and a jumping back elbow to the jaw puts Grizzly away with almost no effort. The fans stand up and look at something in the aisle but we don’t get to see what it is. That might be a bit too interesting you see.

Back in the studio, Mulligan says he’s ready to face anyone, anytime. For tonight though, let’s bring out some square dancers! Seriously they come out and dance and time is devoured. Vince FINALLY throws it to commercial….but first we see a mechanical bull. Oh jeez here we go.

Back with Vince, Hayes and Mulligan standing next to the mechanical bull called Mr. Black. Mulligan doesn’t think much of Roddy Piper, who can’t shut up long enough to have a real talk. Blackjack doesn’t quite get how this wrestling thing works does he? Anyway he’ll be having his own talk show called Blackjack’s Barbecue where we can ask the real questions.

We go to Piper’s Pit where Piper mocks a rather muscular wrestler until Mulligan shows up and gets in Piper’s face. Mulligan calls him a pole cat (skunk for you city folk) and says he’s proud of his heritage….and that’s it.

Back in the studio, Mulligan talks about the use for mechanical bulls, which Hayes says he’s heard of being inside medieval dungeons. Vince is talked into getting on the thing and lasts a few seconds before falling off. And now, more from the band as this segment just keeps going for no logical reason. Hayes is put on the thing….and doesn’t ride because we go to a break.

After another break, Albano is going to answer some letters to give fans advice. First up, a woman whose husband won’t use modern hygiene products. Albano lists off a few ingredients to mix together, including olive oil and witch hazel, to put on him instead. It turns out that Albano doesn’t use such products either and Vince is disturbed.

The second question is from a woman with an obese husband who has heard of a book called the Fat Person’s Guide to Ecstasy. Albano has never heard of such a book and says the husband should lose weight. Then he lists off the book’s authors and thinks the husband should be on a low carbohydrate diet. There are fat people who are ok though, including the fat mamas who love him. You can eat anything you want, but only swallow half.

Third up is a wife with a husband who never takes off his cowboy boots. Albano thinks the husband has a bad smell and needs to lose weight. Maybe he should fill a bathtub with alcohol and walk into the thing. Albano is worried about what will happen when the guy dies and they have to take the boots off. That’s enough for Vince and we’re finally done. Another unfunny segment, though Albano’s insane charisma carried it as far as it could.

Back from a break with Vince and Hayes talking about the awesomeness that is Paul Orndorff. We get a highlight package on Orndorff’s career (despite him not being in the WWF for very long at this point), meaning some long clips of matches showcasing Orndorff’s strength. I was never a big Orndorff fan but he did have a great piledriver.

After a final break (thank goodness), it’s time for more Mulligan for more music and dancing, this time with Vince, Mulligan, and the rest of the guests joining in. Rotundo looks so out of place out there and it’s kind of funny.

Overall Rating: D-. Oh just no. I get the idea they were going for here but sweet goodness it wasn’t entertaining. The wrestling was a bunch of lame squashes and the “comedy” was somewhere between torture and just not funny. It’s a weird time for the company and while there was talent around, most of it wasn’t on display here. Albano was funny due to sheer willpower but you can only do the same jokes so many times.  This was horribly unentertaining and I’m kind of shocked this show got to 100 episodes.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume VI: July – December 1999 in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

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Someone requested this a little while back so here you go.  Also, if you like this, I have a whole e-book of Starrcade reviews available right here.

https://www.amazon.com/KBs-History-Starrcade-Thomas-Hall-ebook/dp/B00D2UKOG0

Starrcade 1984
Date: November 22, 1984
Location: Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina
Attendance: 16,000
Commentators: Gordon Solie, Bob Caudle

There isn’t much else to say here. Other than the main event all we’ve really got is Tully Blanchard vs. Ricky Steamboat for the TV Title. There are a bunch of title matches but it’s for stuff like the Brass Knuckles Title, the Florida Title and the Junior Heavyweight Title. This show just isn’t remembered that well at all. Let’s get to it.

We open with a clip of the end of Flair vs. Race with Flair winning the title. A year later and Flair is much more of a tweener than a clear face as he was the previous year.

The announcers talk about the main event as the lights go out behind them. Some music plays and some lights flash as I guess this is the intro. Now there’s a spotlight on the ring and announcer Tom Miller introduces us to the show.

Junior Heavyweight Title: Denny Brown vs. Mike Davis

This would be the equivalent of the Cruiserweight Title back in the day but even less important. Davis is defending and I’ve never heard of either guy aside from this one single match. Brown seems to be the more popular one and takes early control with some dropkicks and headscissors. Off to an armbar on Davis for a LONG time but he comes back with some shots tot he back followed by a few slams.

Brown snaps off a forearm to the face but his back is too banged up to take advantage. Davis slugs him into the corner but walks into a dropkick for two. Back up and they collide to send both guys down. Back up and Davis tries a belly to back suplex into a bridge but Brown raises his shoulder for the surprise pin and the title.

Rating: D+. What in the world were they thinking here? Neither guy is a name whatsoever, the match was really boring and the ending was confusing (the announcer said Davis retained), making this one of the weakest opening matches I can ever remember. That’s not a good sign for a show with such a weak card already.

Tony Schiavone is in Flair’s dressing room….but doesn’t talk to him. Ok then.

Brian Adias vs. Mr. Ito

Ito is a career Japanese guy and Adias is a career Texas guy, which means the fans likely have no idea who either guy is. They go to the ropes to start and get a clean break. Adias is so generic it’s painful to watch. Adias takes him down with a drop toehold but Ito takes him over into a headlock. Back up and a dropkick puts Ito down and there’s a headlock by Brian. Ito armdrags him down and puts on an armbar as this is going nowhere. Adias (yes I’m spelling that right. It’s how it was spelled on his graphic) gets chopped into the corner but comes out with an airplane spin of all things for the pin.

Rating: D-. This is Starrcade right? The biggest show of the year and the show that was supposed to be the original Wrestlemania? We’ve twenty minutes into this shindig and Denny Brown vs. Mike Davis is by far and away the better of the two matches. At least last year I had heard of the people in the bad tag matches. Nothing to see here again.

The announcers actually talk about Adias for a few minutes. It’s so strange to hear what sounds like genuine talk about the match we just saw instead of hearing announcers talk about pitchmen for whatever the latest product WWE is schilling.

Florida Heavyweight Title: Jesse Barr vs. Mike Graham

Barr is defending. You might remember him as Jimmy Jack Funk from the WWF but odds are you don’t. Again, why should fans in North Carolina care about the Florida Championship? Graham immediately takes it to the mat and puts on a leg lock. Off to a chinlock on Barr but Jesse comes back with a top wristlock. Riveting stuff again if you can’t tell. It doesn’t help that both guys are in blue trunks and have similar hair. Barr’s is slightly longer so that’s as good as I can get for telling them apart.

We’re like three minutes into this now and it’s been almost all arm work. Barr takes it to the corner and bends the arm around the ropes before being reversed into a drop toehold from Graham. Back up and we get a test of strength which literally goes on for two minutes. Graham takes over with another armbar before trying his Figure Four, sending Barr into the ropes.

Barr grabs a headlock as we’re somehow nine minutes into this match and still firmly in first gear. There’s no heat to the match at all and nothing as far as a story. It’s just trading headlocks and arm holds for LONG stretches. Barr puts on another headlock and shouts about Graham pulling his trunks.

AGAIN a basic hold goes on for a long time until Graham fights out and goes for the knee. The Figure Four goes on in the middle of the ring but Barr easily makes the rope. Mike tries an atomic drop and a rollup in the corner but Barr throws his feet on the ropes for the pin to retain. The wrestlers keep going for a bit for no apparent reason.

Rating: D-. From a technical standpoint this was fine, but good night this was uninteresting. I think Barr was the heel but I’m really not for sure. After a nearly twelve minute headlock and armbar marathon I really should be able to tell which is which. This was another dreadful match in a series of them tonight.

We get a clip of Dick Slater being tied up in the corner and choked while Ricky Steamboat is beaten up by Tully Blanchard. This is BY FAR the most interesting thing tonight. Black Bart drove a boot into Steamboat’s back off the top.

Zambuie Express vs. Assassin/Buzz Tyler

This is an elimination tag match and the Express is Elijah Akeem and Kareem Muhammad, with Kareem being the guy who trained New Jack. Tyler and Assassin are apparently your good guys here. It’s a big brawl to start with the Express being sent to the floor in a hurry. We start with Tyler vs. I think Muhammad, the latter being a VERY fat guy. Both Express guys are in what looks to be military fatigues and Tyler knocks Kareem to the floor.

Off to Assassin vs. Akeem with the Express being knocked to the floor again. We get back to Muhammad vs. Tyler with Buzz getting beaten down in the corner. The Express crushes Tyler with a standing double splash but Tyler fires off some punches to come back. Everything breaks down again Akeem is sent to the floor. Tyler and Akeem are both countered out and we’re down to the Assassin vs. Muhammad. Just to keep the entire show at an awful level, the two of them collide and Assassin falls on top for the pin.

Rating: F. Another lame match here as it was a brawl for the most part and I have no idea what the point of the gimmick was. Also again the announcers weren’t sure when the match ended as they missed the countout elimination of the two guys. Assassin seemed popular but the match was such a mess you could barely tell who was legal the entire match.

Dusty Rhodes is sitting in a chair with a jacket covering him up. Is standing up too much effort for him tonight? He talks about how awesome he and Flair are but tonight we find out who the better man is.

Brass Knuckles Title: Black Bart vs. Manny Fernandez

This is a kind of Hardcore Title for lack of a better description but falls have to be in the ring. Fernandez is defending and comes out to Beat It by Michael Jackson. We go to the overhead camera like last year which is still hard to get used to. All four fists are taped up and it’s a slugout to start. Manny punches him down to start but Bart goes to the eyes. Bull (Fernandez, who was nicknamed Raging Bull) chops him back but Bart pounds him in the head.

Bart keeps pounding away on the forehead and the champion is in trouble. Actually scratch that as Manny fights up and pounds away, knocking Bart out to the floor. Back in and Manny punches Bart down, busting him open in the process. Bart goes to the ribs for a change to take over and the punching continues. Bull is knocked down and we see him from the overhead camera again. Bart can still only get two so he drops Manny throat first over the top rope. Bart tries to bring in a bullrope but gets rolled up and Manny retains his title.

Rating: C-. Is it good? Not really. Is it really even wrestling? Again, barely. However, it’s BY FAR the best match of the night so far as it was at least intense and entertaining which nothing so far has been. Also it helps to have a clear face and heel, which we’ve been completely lacking so far. Not a good match or anything but this was water in the desert by comparison to everything else.

Since we’re an hour in, here’s a seven minute intermission.

We get the ending to last year’s cage match, which is already the best thing tonight event though we only get about fifteen seconds.

Tony is with Ricky Steamboat and the lights go out so no interview.

We see the attack on Steamboat again and head back to Ricky, who has put up $10,000 for a shot at the TV Title tonight. His back is really hurt but tonight is too important to miss.

The announcers talk about the TV Title match. Apparently if Tully gets disqualified he loses the title.

JJ and Tully think there’s a conspiracy against Blanchard. Tully says Steamboat is going down and then he’s coming for the world title.

The announcers talk about the remaining matches for a bit.

Paul Jones vs. Jimmy Valiant

This is one of the longest running and most worthless feuds in wrestling history. Jones is a manager and Valiant is a good guy. This is a loser leaves town tuxedo match street fight, which means the first person to strip the other down wins. Valiant gets a GREAT pop and comes out with the Assassin while Jones has a member of the Express from earlier who isn’t important enough to specify.

Jones cowers in the corner to start before Valiant ties him to the top rope with another rope. Valiant rips off both guys’ jackets and puts one around Jones’ eyes. Valiant strips Jones down to an open shirt and underwear as this is one of those comedy matches minus the comedy. Jones loses his shirt and is in his underwear but the match continues. Valiant pounds him down and puts on a sleeper as Jones is squirting blood from his forehead. Assassin and the Zambuie guy get in and the referee goes down. JJ Dillon comes in and knocks Valiant out with a shoe, giving Jones the pin. In a tuxedo match. Why am I surprised?

Rating: F. Let’s see. Valiant wasn’t funny, Jones wound up in his underwear, and then he won by pin after three people interfered in a five minute match. Is this the show that introduced Vince Russo to the world of wrestling? ANOTHER bad match here as this is rapidly approaching the worst shows of all time. Jones and Valiant would feud into 1986 after having feuded for ten months already.

Ric Flair is serious and says that he’s ready for Dusty because the only thing sweeter than winning the title is keeping it.

Mid-Atlantic Title: Ron Bass vs. Dick Slater

This is the other fallout match from the attack on Steamboat as it was Bass helping and Slater who was tied up in the corner. Bass is defending and is also half of the Mid-Atlantic tag champions with Black Bart. Slater knocks Bass to the floor to start and it’s time to stand around. Slater chases Dillon into the ring and out to the floor as we’re still waiting on any significant contact.

Back in and Slater suckers Bass into the corner before putting on the move of the night with a headlock. Back up and we go right back into the headlock as we wouldn’t want this to get too exciting. Bass bails tot he floor but gets pulled back inside very quickly. Back in and Bass rams Slater into the buckle and caught in the ropes where Bass punches him back and forth like….something that pops right back up when it goes down.

Slater comes back with some right hands and a boot over the face. After Slater is sent to the floor, Bass pounds him down but Slater starts Hulking Up. It’s short lived though as during the comeback, Slater hits the referee. Dillon comes in and gets beaten up as well but after a slam and legdrop to Bass we get the DQ.

Rating: D+. This wasn’t as horrible as some of the other matches, but again this was nine minutes of punching and headlocks. That’s one of the major problems with this show: everything is so basic and low level that it’s almost impossible to get interested in anything. Also great job here of having Slater get revenge: by losing.

Now, a VERY slow rendition of the National Anthem to make sure we don’t get excited about anything.

Keith Larson/Ole Anderson vs. Nikita Koloff/Ivan Koloff

Larson and Anderson have Don Kernoodle with them for no apparent reason. Ok so apparently Kernoodle is Larson’s brother (despite having different names) and the Russians injured him. Makes as much sense as anything else. The Americans jump the Russians to start and the beating is on fast. We finally start with Ivan vs. Keith and the Russian’s arm being worked over.

Off to Ole to crank on the arm like an Anderson can. Both good guys stay on the arm and there’s the hammerlock slam from Ole. Off to an armbar as it’s clear we’re in for a long one tonight. Back to Keith again for a wristlock as this match keeps going. At least it doesn’t have headlocks though. The good guys make probably their eighth switch as Larson comes in to crank on the arm. Ivan finally gets some separation and goes up, only to be slammed off the top for two.

Anderson and Larson stay on the arm before Ivan FINALLY drags Anderson over to the corner for a tag off to the monster Nikita. He pounds Anderson down and puts him in a bearhug as momentum has completely swung the other direction. As is the custom tonight, the hold stays on for several minutes before Ole smacks Nikita in the head to escape. Back to Ivan who gets two off a slam.

Back to Nikita to break up a hot tag and puts on another bearhug. Anderson finally punches out of it and makes the hot tag off to Larson. Keith speeds things up but gets run over by a Russian Sickle (hooking clothesline). Everything breaks down and Kernoodle is knocked down. As Ole and Nikita fight on the floor, Ivan pins Larson off a chain shot to the head.

Rating: D+. The frustrations continue here as the heels win AGAIN. Not only does Kernoodle not get his revenge, but we have to sit through fifteen minutes of arm work to get there. It is indeed a story, but it’s a dull story. Somehow this is probably the best worked match of the night though which says a lot.

Post match Kernoodle beats up the Russians with his crutch. Good to see that a guy on a crutch and in a neck brace can beat up two monsters who just beat his brother and Ole Anderson.

TV Title: Ricky Steamboat vs. Tully Blanchard

Steamboat comes out to Eye of the Tiger which is rather awesome. Blanchard is defending and both guys have put up $10,000, meaning Blanchard is getting shafted here. Also if Tully runs or gets disqualified he loses the title. They lock up to start and Tully goes after Ricky’s injured ribs. Steamboat fires back with chops and the champion heads to the floor. The crowd is HOT for this one. Back in and Steamboat suplexes Blanchard down and hooks a reverse chinlock.

Tully can’t shake him off for a bit so Steamboat knees him in the chest to take Blanchard down again. Ricky’s ribs are too banged up though and he can’t stay on Tully. An elbow to the ribs has the champion in control and he follows up with some knees to said ribs. Steamboat kicks his way out of the corner and chops away before putting on a chinlock. Blanchard fights up and gets to the ropes before hammering on Ricky’s ribs again.

Back up and they circle each other a bit with Tully backing away most of the time. Tully escapes a headlock and tries to bail, only to be rolled up for two. Steamboat pounds away in the corner and hits a kind of standing clothesline for two. In something you’ll never see again, Ricky spits in Tully’s face and chops away in the corner. A swinging neckbreaker gets two for Steamboat as does a great looking dropkick. I think the champion is bleeding as Steamboat pounds away.

Tully loads up a foreign object as Steamboat tries to suplex him in from the apron and knocks Steamboat out cold……for two. That would be the ending of Tito Santana vs. Randy Savage a year and a half later. Tully’s superplex is broken up and Steamboat hits a top rope splash for two. Steamboat tries a sunset flip but Tully, right in front of the referee, pulls out the foreign object and blasts Ricky in the head with it for the pin to retain the title.

Rating: B+. If this show doesn’t get a failing grade, it’s all because of this. This is one of those combinations that was going to be amazing no matter what they did due to pure talent alone. The story worked very well with the ribs being injured but Tully cheating every way he could to keep the belt. Very good match here which could have been amazing with more time.

US Title: Billy Graham vs. Wahoo McDaniel

Graham is challenging and is a kung fu master here in a dramatic gimmick change. He even comes out to Kung Fu Fighting. Tom Miller, the ring announcer, is actually taller than Graham. Billy is introduced as a former US Champion but I can find no evidence of him ever holding that title anywhere. Wahoo is teasing a heel turn at this point and starts with a test of strength for some reason.

Graham easily shoves him down so Wahoo tries to grab for hair. This completely fails since Graham is bald so Wahoo goes to the eyes instead. Graham comes back with a full nelson but the champion quickly makes the rope. Back to the full nelson but it doesn’t look to be locked in full. Billy tries some covers for two each before getting back up…..and getting chopped in the chest for the pin to retain Wahoo’s title.

Rating: D-. Erg this show is driving me crazy. The match was WAY too short and drags things back down after the great match we just got done with before this one. Wahoo was old and fat at this point but would be a good foil for Magnum TA in a few months. Graham would join up with Paul Jones to feud with Jimmy Valiant, much like a lot of other midcard heels.

We see the end of Race vs. Flair for the third time tonight.

Some Japanese guy, former world heavyweight boxing champion Joe Frazier and NASCAR driver Kyle Petty are the judges for the main event. Frazier is also guest referee and sounds like he’s taken way too many punches to the head.

The announcers say let’s go to the ring then change their mind because we’re not ready yet.

NWA World Title: Dusty Rhodes vs. Ric Flair

Dusty is challenging and the winner gets $1 million. Flair is in pink and Dusty is in purple here which is a weird sight to say the least. Remember Joe Frazier is guest referee. Oh and Dusty is one half of the world tag team champions. Flair is the face here due to the hometown crowd but would be turning heel very soon. Thankfully only Dusty’s robe was purple and he has black trunks underneath. Dusty backs him into the corner to start and runs Flair over with a shoulder block. Off to a headlock by Big Dust before Flair takes him into the corner.

They trade punches and chops with Dusty taking over again with a headlock. We hear about Dusty trying pro football but not liking the team aspect of it. That’s hilarious when you think about it. Some elbows take Flair down as this has been almost all Rhodes so far. Ric goes to the eyes to escape and drops a knee to the head for two. Dusty will have none of this selling stuff though and puts on his terrible Figure Four.

Flair gets to the rope so it’s time for Dusty to lay on Flair’s leg for a bit. We’re five minutes in according to the ring announcer and Dusty puts on a top wristlock. Flair takes it into the corner as this is still going slowly. A bad press slam puts Flair down and Dusty chops away for no cover. Dusty pounds away in the corner and sends Flair into the corner for the Flair Flip. Frazier tries to break up a suplex back into the ring by Dusty but Rhodes does it anyway for a very slow two.

Flair elbows him in the face to take Dusty down, only to go up and get slammed down. Even in 1984 that didn’t work at all. The champion puts on a sleeper but since standing up is too much for Dusty, he rolls forward and sends Flair to the floor. They head to the floor for some brawling and Dusty goes into the post, busting him open. Oh man it’s a BAD one too, right above Rhodes’ eye. The referee looks at it but Flair starts pounding away at the cut, and that’s good enough for Frazier to stop the match. Seriously. In the main event of Starrcade.

Rating: D+. What a perfect way to end a terrible show. The match never got going and it doesn’t even reach thirteen minutes in total. What kind of an ending is that anyway? Here’s how you end this match if that’s what you’re going to do: have Flair either DESTROY Dusty to the point where Frazier stops it to save Dusty’s career or have Dusty blacking out from blood loss. Dusty was up and throwing punches when the match was stopped, making it look like a technicality than anything significant.

Flair kisses the million dollar check.

In the back, Flair celebrates with the check and says he left with what he wanted to leave with and that’s about it. Not really a heel promo but he didn’t say that was unfair or anything like that.

The announcers talk for a bit.

Dusty goes on a big rant against Joe Frazier while having a towel wrapped around his eyes. He promises to get Joe Frazier somewhere down the line. Dusty says he’s coming for Flair still. This could be seen as either an irate face promo or an evil heel one, depending on how you look at it. That’s the problem with a promo like Flair’s: it’s so neutral that you can’t really do anything with it.

The announcers wrap things up.

Overall Rating: F. Before I get into this, let me make it clear: this is excluding Tully vs. Steamboat which was a very good match and is worth checking out if you have time. Aside from that though, this is one of the worst shows that I’ve ever seen. It is PAINFULLY dull and never picks up any steam at all. I know it’s a different time period, but I’ve watched shows older than this which aren’t boring in the slightest, like last year’s Starrcade for example.

On top of that there were WAY too many instances of the heels winning here. Look at last year’s show: the heels dominated the first half before the good guys too over in the last bit and sent the fans home happy. While Flair won here, he was the only top face to win. Other than that, the biggest face to win was Manny Fernandez in a glorified gimmick match. There is nothing else on this show to watch and the show suffers greatly as a result.

As I said before, no one remembers this show at all and it’s not hard to see why. The show before and after it would be MUCH better with the same main event being done far better the next year. Not a good show, not memorable in the least, and definitely not worth torturing yourself with other than Tully vs. Steamboat.

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Complete 2002 Monday Night Raw Reviews in either E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

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And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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