WWF House Show
Date: March 19, 1990
Location: Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
Attendance: 9,500
Commentators: Lord Alfred Hayes, Gorilla Monsoon, Hillbilly Jim

We’re about two weeks away from Wrestlemania VI and that means we probably won’t be in for the biggest card here. The thing is you never know what you might see with one of these things, as house shows can go anywhere between outstanding and incredibly boring. Let’s get to it.

Commentary runs down the card.

Mike Sharpe vs. Jim Powers

This match is so important that commentary doesn’t even acknowledge it starting for a bit as they’re too busy talking about Wrestlemania. Sharpe bails to the apron to start and then hits a loud chop as we’re a minute into the match with absolutely no acknowledgment of it from commentary. Powers dropkicks him out to the floor and Monsoon FINALLY mentions the match as Sharpe staggers around ringside.

Sharpe gets pulled in and knocked outside again, which has him considering walking out. Back in and Sharpe wants a pose off and we go to a test of strength as commentary lists off locations where you can see Wrestlemania on closed circuit. Monsoon prefers pay per view because he can pick his nose in peace. Powers kicks out of the test of strength and goes after the arm but Sharpe is up with a chop. This lets commentary reference Sharpe’s obsession with taking showers before Sharpe gets a boot up in the corner.

The shoulders to the ribs in the corner allow a camera shot of A LOT of empty seats as there is no reason to sit through a match like this. Imagine paying that much attention to it. Anyway Powers’ sunset flip gets two so Sharpe kicks him in the head for the same. A crossbody gets two more, earning Powers a toss out to the floor. As Powers walks around for a bit, Monsoon talks about a sign on the ceiling of his wrestling room saying that if you can read this, you’re not doing well. Back in and Powers’ dropkick gets two, followed by the powerslam to give Powers the pin at 12:52.

Rating: C-. It’s not that it was a bad match on the technical side but it was a dull match between two people who mean nothing in the company. These two were there so there could officially be a match going on while fans were getting concessions and such. It doesn’t make for anything interesting though and that was true here, with nothing to see at all.

Black Bart vs. Hercules

Hercules shoves the bigger Bart around to start and easily powers out of a full nelson. For some reason Bart wants a test of strength, with the reason being revealed as a simple kick to the stomach. The cheating lets Bart take over with more shots to the ribs and a running crotch attack to the back. Commentary’s subject at the moment? The mixed tag at Wrestlemania.

Hercules gets sent face first into the buckle and it’s off to the choking. A swinging neckbreaker and legdrop (to the forehead) get two and we finally hit the chinlock, which you knew was coming. The closeup shows how weak of a chinlock it is, with even Hayes having to admit that it’s bad.

Bart pulls him back down into another chinlock as this is somehow dying even more despite already being dead. Hercules fights up but gets caught with a clothesline for two and my goodness it’s another chinlock as this match has to keep going. The comeback is finally on as Hercules hammers away with the snap jabs, hits the knee lift, and torture racks him for the win at 12:25.

Rating: D. It was boring and that’s all there was here. It’s a match that could have been done in about five minutes without nearly as many chinlocks. Instead, this was another match where they were sent out there to kill time. It gets annoying to sit through these things and it doesn’t make me want to see Hercules facing Earthquake at Wrestlemania.

Orient Express vs. Demolition

Mr. Fuji is here with the Express and yeah I still dig that “all Japanese wrestlers use this song” music. On the other hand, Demolition’s music is scrubbed in quite the disappointment. Smash and Tanaka lock up to start with Smash knocking him down, allowing the tag off to Ax for the chinlock. Sato comes in and gets elbowed in the face but Tanaka gets in a cheap shot from the apron.

That just earns Tanaka a rapid fire beating, with Smash getting two off a backbreaker. The armbar goes on and Ax comes back in to work on the arm as well as Tanaka takes quite the beating. Sato comes back in and gets beaten down and….something happens with Smash getting knocked down, though the camera totally misses it, leaving Monsoon with no idea what happened. Smash is taken outside for a cane shot to the back before going back inside to keep up the beating.

Tanaka has to trip Smash up to cut off a comeback, with the camera mostly missing it as well. Smash clotheslines his way out of the corner and….I’m assuming tags Ax but the camera misses that too! Sweet goodness how hard can it be to know when the tag is coming? IT’S A TAG MATCH! Ax rams Sato into the corner a few times and a powerslam gets two. Everything breaks down and Ax gets the cane to stalk Fuji. Sato is right there with the salt though and Ax is counted out at 10:58.

Rating: C. This wasn’t a great match either but it was far better than anything in the previous two matches. I’m guessing this was designed to set up a title rematch after Wrestlemania, which is fine, and at least Demolition didn’t get pinned. Some of the action here was fine and it didn’t drag, so things are looking up a bit.

Frenchy Martin vs. Koko B. Ware

Martin misses a right hand in the corner to start and gets taken down with a quick armdrag. They fight over a top wristlock and go absolutely nowhere, which shouldn’t be much of a surprise. Martin rams him head first into the turnbuckle, which just makes Ware mad. A thumb to the throat has Ware in trouble for a change and we’re off to the nerve hold.

Back up and an elbow to the face sets up the nerve hold again as I’m having Black Bart flashbacks. Martin sends him outside for a ram into the apron as Frankie….does nothing, as he’s kind of a useless second here. The sunset flip is blocked and we’re back to the nerve hold as you can feel the lack of energy in the building.

Ware gets up and is quickly knocked right back down for two, meaning we hit the….what is this, the fourth nerve hold? Another comeback attempt is cut off with a clothesline before Ware misses a splash in the corner. Martin chokes some more and the BORING chants are getting louder and louder. AND MARTIN PUTS THE NERVE HOLD ON AGAIN! Holy sweet goodness this is pathetic. Ware fights up and hits a headbutt, followed by the Ghostbuster for the pin at 12:39.

Rating: D-. Oh sweet goodness no. This was a match where they should have been embarrassed with what they did out there, as it was just so dry with Martin not trying in the slightest for the most part. They did the same rest hold about five times in a match and the fans were rejecting the whole thing. Absolutely terrible as this show is dying in an amazing way.

Jim Duggan vs. Earthquake

Jimmy Hart is here with….well you should already know this but it’s Earthquake in case you’re new at this. Earthquake backs him into the corner to start so Duggan is back up with some running clotheslines. Hart trips him up though and Earthquake knocks Duggan outside as I admire a fan’s neon green hat.

A missed charge sends Earthquake crashing out to the floor, where he posts Duggan to cut him off again. Back in and we hit the bearhug for a good while, with Duggan biting his face to escape. Duggan slugs away to put Earthquake on his knee and does it again to put him down, where some more big right hands have Earthquake rocked. Hart offers another distraction though and it’s a splash into an elbow to pin Duggan at 6:37.

Rating: C. I’ll take this after watching that horrible Ware vs. Martin match. Duggan’s comeback was really energized and it’s where Duggan tended to shine. I was surprised that Earthquake didn’t win with the usual, but I guess they didn’t want Duggan to be crushed like that here and then be in the ring at Wrestlemania.

Post match Earthquake elbows him again, with Jim Powers and Koko B. Ware’s save attempts failing miserably. Duggan chases Earthquake off with the 2×4.

Bret Hart is ready to face Rick Martel, who is more worried about his appearance and scent than his wrestling.

Martel calls Hart jealous and knows he’s better than Hart.

Brutus Beefcake (we must be in intermission) is only worried about which way he should lay Dino Bravo for his haircut.

Mr. Perfect is not happy with Ultimate Warrior saying he’ll end Perfect’s perfect record. And Warrior is nuts anyway! Well yeah.

Rick Martel vs. Bret Hart

Fink’s reaction to the Arrogance being sprayed is great as he looks annoyed but what is he supposed to do about it? Hart gives his sunglasses to a fan who has what appears to be a bootleg Mario shirt. Eh I’d wear it. Hart backs him up against the ropes and lets him go, with Martel looking rather disgusted. It works so well that they do it again as they might as well put up a big sign saying WE’RE GOING TO A DRAW.

Hart blocks an O’Connor roll attempt and Martel flips backwards for a rather smug pose. Martel jumps over him out of the corner and gets knocked down, with a small package giving Hart two. That’s enough to send Martel bailing out to the floor before he elbows the buckle by mistake. Hart starts in on the arm with a standing armbar and then takes him down to keep the armbar going. Martel powers out but misses an elbow and the arm is banged up even worse. The armbar goes on again and Hart is looking rather bored.

Martel finally makes it over to the rope but gets pulled back into the armbar, with Hart getting to adjust his kneepad. Back up and Martel sends him crashing to the floor, meaning it is time for some jumping jacks. A suplex back in gives Martel two and he can’t believe the kickout. Hart gets whipped hard into the corner (and actually lands back first for a change) and Martel grabs the abdominal stretch to work on the ribs. The referee isn’t about to have Martel grabbing the rope so he kicks the hand away, leaving Martel to miss a charge into the post.

Oddly that doesn’t turn things around as Martel is right back with a failed Boston crab attempt. A backbreaker puts Hart down again but he gets his knees up to block a slingshot dive. Back up and they collide for a double down before Martel takes him into the corner. An atomic drop out of said corner has Martel in agony and Hart turns it on with a suplex and elbow for two. The middle rope elbow gets two more and Hart backbreakers him to the floor. Back in and Hart hits a dropkick and they go back to the floor, where they brawl to a time limit draw at 21:36.

Rating: B-. Those armbars were a bit dull but this was a mostly hard worked match between two people who can make a good impression inside the ring. Hart was getting another chance to showcase himself and Martel is one of the best options for being a good hand in the ring. It’s easy to see why Hart was being teased for the singles run but it wasn’t quite there yet, and wouldn’t be for about a year and a half.

Post match the brawl stays on with Hart clearing Martel out.

Dino Bravo vs. Brutus Beefcake

Jimmy Hart is here with Bravo and they have a bit of a history from the Dream team days, which won’t be mentioned here. Beefcake only has some small scissors with him, which is weird as the big sheers were pretty much his whole thing. Bravo powers him into the corner to start, leaving Beefcake’s lips rather puffed out for some reason. Another lockup has Beefcake up against the ropes where he comes back with some right hands, including one to the ribs.

A clothesline to the back of the head sends Bravo to the floor and the fans seem to approve. Back in and Bravo takes over with a test of strength (as the brilliant Beefcake was willing to try one), with Beefcake having to fight up and strike away. Some right hands in the corner are cut off with an atomic drop for a rather delayed two. Beefcake sends him into the buckle and tries a slam, with Bravo falling backwards onto him for two more.

The bearhug goes on as it’s hard to ignore how red Beefcake is appearing. Geez it looks like he’s covered with a sunburn. Or a weak ketchup. They even drop to a knee before Bravo gets up again and keeps the hold on. This goes on for a bad, bad while until Beefcake makes the clothesline comeback. An ax handle looks to set up the sleeper but Hart offers a distraction, allowing Earthquake to sneak in and break it up, including posting Beefcake on the floor. That’s enough for Beefcake to be counted out at 11:29.

Rating: C-. It’s amazing to see how well Beefcake could get over with the fans despite having such a limited offense. He couldn’t do much more than punch and do the sleeper but the fans got into it every time. That’s what charisma can do for you and it carried this as far as it was going to go here.

Post match Earthquake beats on him some more with referees having to make the save.

Tugboat Thomas vs. Pez Whatley

Whatley tries to go up and is quickly slammed down, which shouldn’t be a surprise. With that not working, Whatley tries a waistlock, which fails even more. Tugboat knocks him down again and grabs the bearhug, with Whatley not even being able to break it up with a thumb to the eye. Instead Tugboat drives him into the corner but misses a charge, allowing Whatley to knock him down and then dance.

The middle rope elbow gets two, with the kickout sending Whatley right back onto the rope. Another slam off the top has Whatley down again and the jumping splashes in the corner keep him in trouble. Hold on though as Whatley tries to pull out a foreign object, earning himself a choke. Another whip into the corner seems to set up a running clothesline from behind but Whatley falls down, meaning it’s just a running slap to the head. The big splash (and Tugboat does get height) finishes Whatley at 5:37.

Rating: D. Tugboat is one of the most interesting cases from this time as I was a fan when I was a kid but my goodness it’s just not there. He’s your standard big guy who can’t do anything but splashes and slams, but he was around for a long time. You need a bit more than that and his stuff really does not hold up. Whatley’s dancing was nice at least.

The Fink announces the April 30 show, with a main event of Earthquake vs. Hulk Hogan. Oh yeah the fans like that one. This brings out Earthquake and Jimmy Hart, with Earthquake promising to get rid of Hogan for good.

Ultimate Warrior vs. Mr. Perfect

I believe this is non-title but it’s not entirely clear. Warrior runs to the ring and the bell rings so they do the crisscross, with Warrior knocking him out to the floor. The chase sends Perfect outside again, followed by quite the shove into the corner. Perfect gets knocked outside again but this time Warrior drags him back inside by the hair for a faceplant. Another whip crotches Perfect against the post and Warrior knocks him down again.

A big backdrop looks to set up the Splash, which just hits raised knees. This time Warrior is knocked outside and Perfect slowly kicks at the ribs. Warrior actually tries a sunset flip for two, with Perfect starting in on the back again. We hit the reverse chinlock for a good while, with Warrior’s arm dropping twice. That means it’s time to shake the rope and start the comeback, even with a clothesline being pretty badly mistimed. The gorilla press drop and the Warrior Splash give Perfect his first televised loss at 10:11.

Rating: C. Naturally Warrior had all kinds of energy and the loss at the end felt like a big deal, but the chinlock in the middle wasn’t exactly thrilling stuff. Perfect was bumping as well as he could here but you were only getting so much here. Warrior could do better and these two did on occasion, but this was ok at best.

Overall Rating: D. What a lame show, with one good match throughout the whole thing. I’m assuming they were setting some things up for after Wrestlemania but my goodness were they trying to kill the interest on the way there? This came off like most of the people weren’t trying and it was just a show they had to do. Bad stuff here, but Wrestlemania would wind up being good enough. Watch that instead.

Results
Jim Powers b. Mike Sharpe – Powerslam
Hercules b. Black Bart – Torture rack
Orient Express b. Demolition via countout
Koko B. Ware b. Frenchy Martin – Ghostbuster
Earthquake b. Jim Duggan – Elbow drop
Bret Hart vs. Rick Martel went to a time limit draw
Dino Bravo b. Brutus Beefcake via countout
Tugboat Thomas b. Pez Whatley – Splash
Ultimate Warrior b. Mr. Perfect – Warrior Splash

 

 

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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Even More Incredible Battle Royals
Commentators: Booker T., Josh Matthews, Michael Cole, Gorilla Monsoon, Gene Okerlund, Lord Alfred Hayes, Ron Trongard, Vince McMahon, Rob Bartlett, Randy Savage, Lee Marshall, Bill DeMott, Nigel Sherrod

Oddly enough, I’ve had a lot of fun with the previous two entries in this series, as they’re just fun to watch. The best part is that a lot of these haven’t been seen in a long time, so they’re not exactly famous. That leaves you with some surprise entries and winners, which hopefully is the case again here. Let’s get to it.

From Smackdown, July 3, 2012.

Battle Royal

Alberto Del Rio, Kane, Jack Swagger, John Cena, Tensai, Damien Sandow, Daniel Bryan, Heath Slater, CM Punk, Dolph Ziggler, Kofi Kingston, Brodus Clay, Great Khali, Big Show, Ezekiel Jackson, Zack Ryder, Christian, Santino Marella, Justin Gabriel, Cody Rhodes

Teddy Long introduces this one, as the winner will be GM next week and that is a stacked lineup. Gabriel is out in a hurry and Show dumps Clay out as well. Tensai gets rid of Jackson and a bunch of people get rid of Khali to clear out a lot of the ring. There goes Sandow and Marella is out as well. Show shoves out Rhodes and Kingston at the same time and we take a break.

We come back with Slater and Swagger put out during the break before Punk’s crossbody gets rid of Bryan…and himself as well. Kane starts wrecking people, including a chokeslam to Show but he doesn’t bother getting rid of anyone. A bunch of heels go after Cena, who fights back and gets rid of Del Rio. Tensai goes after Cena but gets tossed, with Show throwing Cena out instead.

Ryder goes after Show for some dumb reason and gets hit with a spear. Kane tosses Show and Ziggler at the same time, leaving us with Ryder vs. Kane, which fits as Kane ruined Ryder’s life late last year. Ryder slips off the shoulder but gets kicked in the face, only to come back with the Broski Boot. The Rough Ryder is cut off but Ryder low bridges him out for the win at 10:49.

Rating: C+. They had some star power here and that helped a lot, but it was nice to see Ryder actually winning something for a change. The good thing is that Ryder only had to pull the rope down to get some revenge but that’s better than nothing. The bigger names were pretty much cleared out without much of a second thought, but that’s one of the perks of a match like this. Nice enough job here.

From Madison Square Garden, October 20, 1986.

$50,000 Tag Team Battle Royal

Moondogs (Rex/Spot), Rougeau Brothers (Jacques Rougeau/Raymond Rougeau), Dream Team (Brutus Beefcake/Greg Valentine), The Indians (Steve Gatorwolf/Chief Jay Strongbow), Hart Foundation (Bret Hart/Jim Neidhart), Mike Rotundo/SD Jones, Islanders (Haku/Tama), Nikolai Volkoff/Iron Sheik, Killer Bees (Jim Brunzell/Brian Blair), Machines (Super Machine/Big Machine), British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith/Dynamite Kid), King Kong Bundy/Big John Studd

If one member of a team is eliminated, their partner is out as well. The Moondogs are out in about ten seconds and it’s already time to slow down for the weak elimination attempts. Sheik has to save himself from a fireman’s carry and Beefcake is sent to the apron but not out. Studd is almost out but Bundy cuts that off in a hurry.

Rotundo and Jones are out, as are the Indians (and yes, that’s what their graphic said) to clear the ring a bit. Sheik is backdropped out and the Harts/Bulldogs go out, naturally brawling on the floor as they leave. The Machines are almost out, though the Bees are entirely out as things are managing to slow down even more.

Studd backdrops Jacques out and Beefcake follows him, leaving us with the Machines, the Islanders and Bundy/Studd. Bundy and Studd get rid of the Machines though and we’re down to two. Well four but whatever. Tama gets crushed by the Avalanche, which leaves Haku fighting two monsters on his own (I feel sorry for them). Haku slugs away at Studd but Bundy misses a charge and hits his own partner to knock Studd out, giving the Islanders the win at 10:33.

Rating: C-. So the action here was the usual drek, but DANG it was nice to see some actual tag teams for a change. The 80s was just loaded with tag teams and some of these would go on to be among the best of their era. This would have been even better like a year later, but this was a fun one for the names alone. Not a good match for the most part save for the hot ending, but fine for a house show special attraction.

From the AWA. There’s no date given but this would likely be late 1982 (it’s definitely after October 9, 1982 as Otto Wanz is billed as a former World Champion).

$50,000 Battle Royal

Jerry Blackwell, Ken Patera, Buck Zumhoffe, Greg Gagne, Hulk Hogan, Andre The Giant, Baron von Raschke, Bobby Heenan, Kevin Johnson, Tom Lintz, Jim Brunzell, Jacques Goulet, Brad Rheingans, Rick Martel, Bobby Heenan, Adnan Al-Kaissie, Ray Stevens, Adrian Adonis, Bobby Duncum, Otto Wanz, Nick Bockwinkel

Hogan is listed at 335lbs, which is huge for him. Also, since everyone got an individual entrance, I had time to think about something. This is billed as a $50,000 battle royal, with 18 entrants. Commentary said that the participants had put up money for the big prize. But then there was a surprise, as it was now a twenty person battle royal. Now at 18 entrants, $50k breaks down to about $2,777 each. So did the last two entrants have to pay as well and the prize was really about $55k? Or did they get in free? Or did the AWA just pocket the extra entry fees? No wonder they didn’t last.

Commentary says the battle royal is underway, then a few seconds later the bell rings, then a few seconds later the ring announcer says it’s begun. Geez people we can see the concept. Hogan is in early trouble as Andre beats on Patera, who is on the floor but I don’t believe out. There are multiple people on the floor but commentary is not exactly great at telling us who is out.

We get the five minutes in call at less than four minutes as this company can’t get anything right. Adonis hits Andre in the back for some annoyance as we’re told everyone is still officially in. Stevens is finally the first one out and Lintz is out, though Heenan manages to save himself. Patera dumps Johnson as we’re told it’s ten minutes in before it’s even nine. Goulet is out and Adonis goes up top to forearm Raschke, which is quite the odd pairing. Raschke is out soon after and Zumhoffe joins him (good) as Gagne and Adonis fight on the floor without being eliminated.

Rheingans is out and Adonis goes up top again for some reason, with Andre slamming him down. Wanz is out, as is Adonis (billed as the Golden Boy, which is so bizarre given what he would become) and we get a bunch of people almost going out on the same rope before getting back in. Martel is out and things slow down again. We settle down to Heenan and company against the good guys, with Hogan and Andre picking up Gagne and Brunzell to kick various villains away (that’s a visual).

We’re told it’s fifteen minutes in (no) as Brunzell is tossed by Blackwell and Duncum. There goes Gagne and the villains split off to triple team Hogan and Andre in different corners. Hogan is sent through the ropes to the floor, where the beating continues. Andre fights out and gets rid of Blackwell and Al-Kaissie, plus Duncum.

Heenan comes off the top with an ax handle to save Bockwinkel and eliminates himself to avoid Andre… who goes over the top to eliminate himself as well. That leaves Patera and Bockwinkel to double team Hogan, who sends them into each other. Hogan backdrops both of them out to win (and jump up and down in celebration) at 19:52.

Rating: C. I’m not a big AWA guy for the most part, but they have a certain charm about them that was on display here. If nothing else, having Heenan running around trying to run things and then eliminating himself with quite the athletic jump was a great bonus. This had the usual share of standing around, but it’s fun to see such a different version of this kind of match from a promotion that doesn’t get a lot of attention.

From Monday Night Raw, February 15, 1993 (this was on the Invasion Of The Bodyslammers Coliseum Video, albeit with different commentary, so I’ve seen it far too many times).

Battle Royal

Owen Hart, Koko B. Ware, Kamala, Kim Chee, Shawn Michaels, Iron Mike Sharpe, Bob Backlund, Typhoon, Razor Ramon, Damien Demento, Berzerker, Terry Taylor, Skinner, Tito Santana, Tatanka

It’s a big brawl to start and for some reason almost everyone is on one side of the ring. Michaels backdrops Ware out (in a great bump) as commentary talks about Tatanka beating Michaels on Superstars (which I actually watched earlier tonight). Typhoon gets rid of Skinner and Demento is out as well as this is not exactly flying thus far. Berzerker gets rid of Hart but is tossed out by Backlund.

Chee helps Typhoon eliminate Kamala, which just seems like a bad idea. Indeed as Kamala goes back inside to chop Chee and chase him through the crowd and into the concourse as we take a break. We come back (it’s kind awesome that we get to see the stuff in the break on the Coliseum Video) with Kamala chasing Chee through the balcony. Back in the ring, Typhoon gets backdropped over the corner for the elimination and we’re down to Michaels, Ramon, Santana and Tatanka, which breaks down into one heck of a tag match.

Michaels unloads on Tatanka in the corner and Ramon seems to knee Santana low. Santana is back up with the flying forearm and Michaels hits Tatanka with a dropkick. Michaels is sent onto the corner and the good guys kick him out at the same time to get us down to three. And here’s the Giant Gonzalez to knock Ramon through the ropes and throw the other two over before leaving. Ramon climbs back in and wins at 13:32.

Rating: D+. I love the tape and I’ve seen it quite a few times, but yeah this isn’t very good. It’s a few stars with a bunch of filler names and then Gonzalez coming in to wreck everyone at the end. The Kamala chase was funny, but that’s about the only entertaining part. It’s not a terrible match, but it’s pretty boring (until the final four) and that’s worse.

From the AWA, Saint Paul, Minnesota, February 7, 1989.

AWA World Title: Battle Royal

Sgt. Slaughter, Larry Zbyszko, Tom Zenk, Ken Patera, Steve Ray, Greg Gagne, Colonel DeBeers, Ricky Rice, Wayne Bloom, Wahoo McDaniel, Pat Tanaka, Mike Enos, Manny Fernandez, Akio Sato, Derrick Dukes, Mike George, Paul Diamond, Tommy Jammer

For the vacant title. It’s the usual start and there are no entrances here so good luck figuring out who all is in this. This means a lot of choking and brawling near the ropes, with the only interesting note being Diamond Dallas Page on the floor as a manager for apparently three or four people. Jammer is out and Enos (with his very 80s jeans) is as well, followed by I believe George (commentary is useless).

Fernandez is knocked out and a running clothesline gets rid of….someone commentary doesn’t bother to name. Patera is out and Fernandez is back in, as commentary apparently doesn’t get the difference between IN and OUT. DeBeers can’t get rid of Slaughter but someone can get rid of Sato. Fernandez is actually out and a bunch of people are tossed at once. We’re down to Zbyszko, Zenk, Gagne, Tatanka, DeBeers and Slaughter, with Gagne going up top like a moron and missing a top rope stomp.

Gagne is thrown out shortly thereafter and Zenk is on the floor but not out. Slaughter gets rid of Tanaka and DeBeers but gets tossed by Zbyszko. So we’re down two Zenk and Zbyszko as DeBeers brawls with Slaughter. And apparently this is now a regular match, as Zenk hits an atomic drop for two. Zbyszko slams him for two but gets sent hard into the corner. The referee gets bumped (oh sweet goodness) and Zenk hits his dropkick for an incredibly delayed two. A suplex gets two more but Zenk’s crossbody is thrown over the top rope to give Zbyszko the title at 15:38.

Rating: D-. This was a perfect illustration of why the AWA was dying. You had a bunch of people who didn’t feel like stars having an awful battle royal with the ending not really making sense. There was nothing to see here and it was a total mess, which explains the AWA in a nutshell: yeah it existed, but why would you want to watch it?

From the Global Wrestling Federation (early 90s promotion in Dallas), sometime in 1992.

$2000 Bunkhouse Battle Royal

Alex Porteau, Stevie Ray, Booker T, Chaz, Johnny Mantel, Gary Young, Black Bart, Shawn Summers, Rod Price, Scott Putski, Steven Dane, Tug Taylor, Maniac, Dewey, Terry Sill

You can win by over the top or pinfall and….my goodness this place does not have the best looking roster. Price is thrown out and pulls Young with him to get us down to thirteen. Chaz and Dane are both out and Booker beats up Tug Taylor as the Maniac (he’s a bit off) eliminates himself. Booker pins Dewey (I think?) before Summers, Taylor and Putski are all out. Mantel chokes Ray in the corner until Booker makes the save as Bart eliminates Sill. Porteau is out and we’re down to four as we take a break.

We come back with Booker and Ray in stereo chinlocks (in a BATTLE ROYAL) but they fight up…and get pulled back down into the chinlocks. Those are broken up so Ray grabs his own chinlock as I’m amazed at how bad these people are at this stuff. Bart fights up and ties Ray in the ropes while Booker skins the cat to save himself. Ray is back up and tosses Bart and Mantel…meaning Ray and Booker both win at 10:14.

Rating: F. Chinlocks. Multiple chinlocks. In a battle royal. I have no idea how this is the best way they could go, but it offers a good illustration of why this promotion is not exactly remembered positively. This was absolutely nothing and I don’t even get the ending, which wasn’t explained in any way and made a bad match even worse.

From Deep South Wrestling, the disaster of a developmental territory which did produce some good WWE talent, likely in 2005.

Battle Royal

Mike Mizanin, Mike Knox, Mike Shane, Todd Shane, Freakin Deacon, Palmer Cannon, Eric Perez, Nick Mitchell, Roughhouse O’Reilly, Antonio Banks, Mack Johnson, Derek Neikirk, Damien Steele, Kid Kash, Ryan Reeves, Mike Taylor, Joe Slaughter, Johnny Slaughter, Ray Gordy, Tony Santarelli, ???

For a bye in the first round of the Deep South Title tournament and one of the twenty one entrants are never named. Everyone goes after the Regulators (Shane and Shane) to start as commentary is rather hard to understand. One Shane saves the other from a group elimination and Roughhouse O’Reilly (Konnor of the Ascension) has to save himself. Todd Shane is thrown out and Mike Shane follows him as we’re now able to focus on anything else.

The Deacon (Luke Gallows) gets in front of Cannon as everyone tries to charge, with the Deacon eliminating four people in a row. Cannon bails to the floor so Deacon dives onto a bunch of people at once. A bunch of people get rid of Deacon as Cannon is now hiding underneath the ring.

We take a break and come back with Cannon hiding on the floor again as the brawl continues inside. A man in green gets enziguried out but chases Cannon back inside rather than leaving like he should. Well no wonder Cannon ran from that rulebreaker. Everyone looks at Cannon, who dives over the top to eliminate/save himself. Banks (the future MVP) is out and we get down to a bunch of brawling on the ropes. Johnson and Mitchell are eliminated and we take another break.

We come back with nine entrants remaining and the fans behind Reeves (the future Ryback) as someone not important enough to name is tossed. Steele sends Kash to the apron, only for Kash to dump him out. Neikirk has to save himself from being very close to an elimination and O’Reilly is put on the apron. Neikirk and Kash get together to eliminate Reeves and O’Reilly and we’re down to five as we take another break.

We come back with Miz and Taylor staring down with Team Elite (Neikirk, Kash and Knox). Miz gets double teamed in the corner but Kash turns on Knox with a hurricanrana. That earns him a boot to the face from Knox, allowing Taylor and Miz to…not eliminate him. Knox is back up with one heck of a chop to Miz in the corner and they pair off again. Taylor’s hurricanrana takes Kash to the apron but not out, leaving Miz to DDT the other two at the same time.

Taylor and Kash hit a double clothesline and everyone is down. Miz and Taylor are back up to take over on the villains but Taylor misses a charge and gets booted out. That leaves Miz on his own against the three villains, who quickly sends him to the apron to start. Miz manages to pull Kash halfway down though and the other two toss Kash out to get us down to three. Kash grabs at Miz from the floor so here is Taylor to go after him as well. Knox and Neikirk double team Miz but he skins the cat and headscissors Neikirk out. Knox pump kicks Miz in the face for the win at 40:30.

Rating: B. Well DANG that came out of nowhere. I was expecting absolutely nothing here and they wound up having one heck of a match in the end. The last ten minutes or so with Miz and Taylor fighting against the monsters worked great and I wanted to see how they were getting out of it. The time made it work well too, as this had no reason to go this long but they made it work and did something rather good. Nice job here and FAR better than I was expecting.

Overall Rating: D+. Well the winning streak ends at two, as the Deep South match wasn’t enough to make this work. That stretch of the 1993 match, the AWA mess and the horrible Global match dragged this WAY down. There wasn’t much to see here, with the opener and finale being good but not worth your watch. Go and check out the other two entries in the series as they’re a good bit better.

 

 

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All American Wrestling
Date: April 8, 1990
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Jesse Ventura, Bobby Heenan, Gorilla Monsoon, Hillbilly Jim
Hosts: Gene Okerlund, Hillbilly Jim

This popped on my YouTube recommendations and I can always go for some 1990 WWF. We are a week removed from Wrestlemania but it’s hard to say how much of this was taped in advance. If there is a studio portion, I’m sure we’ll hear all about it between a parade of squashes. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Gene Okerlund and Hillbilly Jim welcome us to the show and tell us about the Ultimate Warrior winning the WWF Title. Jim insists that Hulkamania will live forever though. They run down the card and we’re ready to go.

Dusty Rhodes vs. Don Stevens

Commentary goes over Dusty’s various careers, with Vince mentioning that Dusty was a “son of a plumber.” A dropkick and suplex set up a chinlock, followed by the big elbow to finish Stevens at 2:08.

The hosts talk about Wrestlemania VI and Hillbilly Jim’s hair. Because reasons.

House show ads, which are always cool to see.

SPECIAL REPORT!

Ultimate Warrior beat Hulk Hogan to win the WWF Title at Wrestlemania VI and we see some still shots. They make sure to clarify that Hogan is STILL awesome. Of note: we’re told that Jack Tunney will NOT sanction a rematch because it would be too physically grueling on both of them. That’s quite a nice way to cover up why Hogan never got a rematch, though you would think it would have been mentioned more often.

Orient Express vs. Omar Atlas/Paul Roma

Mr. Fuji is here with the Express, who clear the ring rather quickly. We settle down to Atlas in trouble as we get an insert promo from Fuji about how the Express will destroy anyone. Kato strikes away and Tanaka comes back in for a spinning forearm. A backbreaker/top rope ax handle combination finishes Atlas at 3:17.

Rating: C-. Total destruction here and it’s kind of interesting that Roma was in this spot just a few months before Power & Glory started up. The Express was a weird situation as they had all kinds of talent and could have a nice match with anyone (their stuff with the Rockers was great) but they never got above the midcard. It’s a shame as they could have been better, but they never got the chance.

Wrestlemania VII will (not) be at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum!

Warlord vs. Ricky Ataki

Warlord debuts Slick as his new manager and drops Ataki with a flying shoulder. A clothesline puts Ataki on the floor and there’s a suplex to drop him again. We get a quick Slick/Warlord inset interview with Slick being happy about his new acquisition. Warlord finishes with a running powerslam at 2:34. Nice squash.

We go to Madison Square Garden, seemingly on October 28, 1989.

Dino Bravo vs. Bret Hart

We’re joined in progress with Bret in trouble on the floor and having his already banged up chest knocked into the barricade. Back in and Bravo grabs the reverse chinlock before sending Bret right back to the floor. A sunset flip gives Bret two and but Bravo is right back with the bearhug.

They even drop to their knees for a bit in a weird spot before Bret bites his way to freedom. The bearhug goes right back on though and this time it’s a series of elbows to break it up. A suplex drops Bravo and Bret starts the comeback, including dropping an elbow for two. The backbreaker sets up the middle rope elbow but the time expires at 8:46 shown for the 20:00 draw (which was actually about 18:40).

Rating: C-. That wasn’t exactly great as it was mainly spent on the bearhug and Hart having to fight out of trouble. Then the ending came out of nowhere, which granted might have had something to do with showing about nine minutes of the match. These two fought quite a bit but I’m not sure I’ve ever seen them have a good one, so this wasn’t a surprise.

We go to the Brother Love Show, with the Bushwhackers as this week’s guests. Love laughs at them about Rhythm and Blues attacking them recently, sending Butch into a rant about how IT’S NOT FUNNY WHEN SOMEONE GETS HIT WITH A GUITAR. Butch threatens Love, who runs off to end a rather nothing segment, save for butch losing his mind.

Earthquake vs. Jim Gorman

Earthquake has Jimmy Hart with him and promises to hurt Hulk Hogan. The powerslam, a top rope chop to the head, and the Earthquake finishes Gorman at 1:37.

Post match Earthquake crushes him two more times and Gorman leaves on a stretcher.

House show ads.

Jim Duggan vs. Black Bart

Duggan works on the arm to start and sends him into the corner for a clothesline. The three point clothesline finishes Bart at 2:34. Duggan continues to be goofy fun and that would be the case forever.

Barbarian, with Bobby Heenan, says this is his year. Heenan says they’re coming for the good guys.

Jimmy Snuka says his mind is clean and he loves competition.

Gene thinks there are animals in Jim’s beard to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. There’s nothing much to the show but that’s kind of the point. This was about getting people on the show and mentioning some of the things they were doing. Granted in this case you had Wrestlemania fallout so there was quite a bit to cover from the biggest show of the year. I could go for some more like this, as it’s quick and easy while showcasing a lot of the talent of the era.

 

 

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AND

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Here’s a guy I’ve always liked that you mostly likely haven’t heard of: the Raging Bull Manny Fernandez.

Manny got started sometime in the late 1970s and we’ll pick things up in Southwest Championship Wrestling out of San Antonio at some point between August 15, 1981 and December 1982.

Nick Bockwinkel vs. Manny Fernandez

Nick is AWA World Champion but this is non-title. He thinks this organization is trying to embarrass him with such low level competition. However, the jobber he’s supposed to be facing (some guy named Terry Allen, later named Magnum TA) has been swapped in for the red hot Manny Fernandez (the same thing happened to Roddy Piper a year or so later when Jack Brisco replaced a jobber).

Bockwinkel hides in the corner to start before slamming Manny down, only to get kicked off a few seconds later. Fernandez takes him down with a headlock before Nick backdrops him out of a criss cross. Right back to the headlock from Manny as the announcer explains Tully Blanchard vs. Terry Funk, which was set up by Tully hitting Terry in the head with a hammer. Back up and Nick kicks Manny away but gets small packaged for two.

Back to the headlock for a bit before Bockwinkel rolls him up for some near falls. The champ starts hammering away before driving a knee into Manny’s ribs. A shot into the buckle busts Manny open and Nick actually puts on a bearhug. Bockwinkel hammers at the cut but it just fires Manny up as he pounds on Nick’s head. A suplex gets two as the blood is flowing from Fernandez’s head. There’s a sleeper to Nick but the time limit runs out as Bockwinkel is going out.

Rating: C+. I liked this a lot better than I was expecting to. It’s a standard finish for this era as you have the World Champion head to various territories and make guys like Fernandez look good in something like this. It’s not a great match or anything but the fans were into Manny here.

Same promotion from around the same time.

Manny Fernandez vs. El Bronco

Bronco is a masked man who can’t take Manny’s leg out. They collide against the ropes with Bronco knocking Manny down, only to have Fernandez pop back up and hammer away to take over. Manny goes after the mask as we go look at an interview with the local sheriff. After that drive by of randomness, Manny’s Flying Burrito (flying forearm) is good for the pin. Squash.

It’s off to the NWA now, starting at Starrcade 1984.

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.

From the next Starrcade in 1985.

Abdullah the Butcher vs. Manny Fernandez

This is a Mexican Death Match, but in reality you win by climbing a pole and grabbing a sombrero. Butcher knocks him down to start and stabs him in the head with a fork (a signature move of Butcher’s) to bust him open. The commentary is odd here as there are long gaps in between the announcers saying anything at all. Manny fights back with right hands and actually monkey flips Butcher down.

A boot (not on Manny’s foot) to Abdullah’s head puts the big man down but Manny misses a charge, allowing Butcher to take over again. Abdullah goes for the hat which he can reach while still on the middle rope, but Manny makes the save. Now Manny takes the boot to the head but he comes back with some belt shots to the back. Butcher knocks Fernandez down and stands in the corner, only to miss an elbow drop.

Fernandez pounds away with the belt around his hand before suplexing Butcher down. Not bad for a man in socks. Manny goes for the hat but gets hit low with the fork. Butcher chokes away a bit but Manny fires off the Flying Burrito (forearm) and a second one drops Abdullah. A top rope splash misses Abdullah but the Butcher misses a charge into the corner, allowing Fernandez to get up the ropes and grab the hat for the win.

Rating: C+. This was a pretty fun brawl and the more I see of Fernandez the more I like him. They didn’t try to have a wrestling match here and that was the right move all around. Butcher was a good brawler and Manny was able to hang in there with him, which made for a fun match. Good stuff here.

Manny would primarily wrestle in tag matches around this time, including the 1986 Crockett Cup.

Crockett Cup First Round: Jimmy Valiant/Manny Fernandez vs. Baron Von Raschke/Barbarian

We open with Jimmy dancing around like an idiot with the big beard against Baron’s evil paleness. Baron looks old and slow here in 1986. Off to Manny and we’re clipped to Barbarian hitting him in the back but missing a dropkick. Back off to Baron who can’t even throw very convincing forearms. Valiant gets a hot tag which Manny could make due to Baron being old and slow. Sleeper goes on Baron but things break down quickly. Some heel managers get involved but Manny hooks a sunset flip on Barbarian for the pin. About 2-3 minutes out of 11.

Crockett Cup Second Round: Ivan Koloff/Nikita Koloff vs. Manny Fernandez/Jimmy Valiant

The first thing we see is Nikita in a leg lock. This is getting really boring because there’s not enough to gather anything from at all. We’re on the 12^th match and I’ve watched about 35 minutes of this tape. Think about that for a minute. Wrestlemania 17 had 11 matches. Ivan gets a tag in and gets caught in the wrong corner. How was he a former world champion? Off to Valiant as Ivan’t crotch takes a beating.

Clipped to the five minute mark with Fernandez missing a dropkick to bring in Nikita again. Clipped to Manny in a bearhug as Ivan comes in again. Hot tag brings in Jimmy who cleans house and hooks a sleeper. Everything breaks down (that should be the name of this show) and Nikita gets a Sickle for the pin. WOW IT WAS OVER THREE MINUTES SHOWN!!!

Rating: D+. This was just ok as the Koloffs who were usually a good heel team came off looking like clowns here who hit one big move to win the match. I wasn’t huge on this one but a lot of that is probably due to Valiant. He had no room on a show outside of Memphis as he was just a crowd favorite rather than anyone talented in the ring. That being said, his pops were huge and I get why he’s in this. I just don’t like him.

One of Manny’s major tag teams was with Rick Rude. Here they are in May 1987 in Florida.

NWA World Tag Team Titles: Manny Fernandez/Rick Rude vs. Road Warriors

Manny and Rick are defending. Rude takes too much time posing though and gets nailed from Hawk to get things going. Hawk will have none of this being whipped across the ring and man alive are the fans nuts for the Warriors. We take a break and come back with Hawk taking Rude down in a test of strength as everything breaks down. The champs are both gorilla pressed and manager Paul Jones is losing his mind.

We settle back down to Animal vs. Fernandez with Manny being knocked out to the floor. He charges back in to a backdrop as the champions are in major trouble early. Rude comes back in to try the Rude Awakening but Hawk easily shoves him off. Back to Fernandez for an elbow to the jaw but Rude eats a big clothesline. A double tag brings in Animal and Manny with a big shoulder dropping Fernandez for two. Everything breaks down and the managers come in to throw the match out.

Rating: D+. Not much here but good grief the Road Warriors were over. They’re easily the most popular tag team in the world at this point and probably the most popular of all time. Manny and Rude were an awesome team in their own right but they were just in way over their heads here.

Off to the 1987 Crockett Cup.

Crockett Cup Quarterfinals: Super Powers vs. Manny Fernandez/Rick Rude

Rude and Fernandez are tag champions. Clipped (duh) to Dusty hammering on Manny and trying to fire the crowd up. Manny takes over and chokes away on Dusty while Nikita comes in to try to help out. He’s in a neck brace which would cost him the US Title soon to a young guy named Luger. An elbow gets two. Off to Rude who was flamboyant even back in the day.

Rude’s top rope fist gets two. Manny comes back in and Dusty hammers away on the Raging Bull until we’re into a chinlock. Yeah Dusty needs a rest already. Raise your hand if you’re surprised. Dusty comes back with a clothesline and everything breaks down. He rolls through something like a cross body and the tag champions are out to Dusty and Nikita after winning a single match.

Rating: D-. Yeah expect Dusty and Nikita to do really well in this. Dusty had a habit of pushing himself really strong and insisting he was what the fans wanted to see. He also had a habit of booking the company into the ground and causing Crockett to go out of business, but hey, Dusty was the US Champion baby! About five minutes were clipped here if you were curious.

From the 1987 Great American Bash.

Freebirds vs. Paul Jones/Manny Fernandez/Ivan Koloff

The Birds are faces here which takes some getting used to. This is the original lineup too with Hayes, Gordy and Roberts. Hayes and Fernandez start us off and Fernandez looks like an idiot after that exchange. Roberts comes in and gets double teamed by a cheating Jones (normally a manager) and Koloff. Koloff comes in to beat on Roberts and it‘s hard to believe he was WWF Champion at one point. Jones comes in and isn‘t very good. Here‘s Terry Gordy and this would be like Sheamus vs. Runjin Singh. Things break down and an elbow drop ends Jones quickly.

Rating: D+. Just a quick match here that didn‘t mean much. Gordy was a monster though and ran through everybody at the end. He would team with Williams in 1992 in one of the most successful yet boring tag teams of the period. Anyway, nothing match and Paul Jones is one of the worst characters and managers of all time. This was from Atlanta as well.

Off to Puerto Rico on May 11, 1988.

Invader #3 vs. Manny Fernandez

Manny hammers on Invader to start but takes a backdrop and dropkick to the face to send Fernandez outside. Back in and Invader cranks on a headlock to slow things down. The hold stays on long enough to slow us down to glacial levels until Manny shoves him off and avoids a middle rope cross body. Fernandez drops a top rope knee and Invader spits up the most over the top blood you’ll ever see to end the match. Manny drops two more knees to the ribs as Invader is COVERED in blood.

Rating: D. Dull match here until the WAY over the top ending. I mean it looked like when WWE has people vomit in modern times but with blood instead. This was right before a very shaky time for the promotion as Brusier Brody would be dead just a few months later to change everything.

Off to the AWA at SuperClash III.

Manny Fernandez vs. Wahoo McDaniel

No idea why this is here or where they’re from. AWA I think. This is an Indian Strap Match which is all four corners. Tatsumi Fujinami is here for no apparent reason and Fernandez yells at him. Fujinami holds him for a bit and Wahoo hits him. Fernandez stalls of course as we need to get this over with. The bell rings twice here and Wahoo uses the strap to start. No idea why these two are fighting.

Fernandez takes him down and goes for some corners which doesn’t work of course. Wahoo is busted open and Manny tries again. The idea is that Wahoo has never lost one of these. They chop it out and Wahoo of course wins that. Manny is bleeding a bit. Wahoo gets three buckles but gets hit in the little Indians to break the streak. Manny gets three but then goes up top for no logical reason. Wahoo pulls him down and gets the win a bit after that.

Rating: D-. Weak match here as this match tended to be. Wahoo was old and fat at this point but apparently this was the best thing that he could do. No idea why this warranted 8 minutes on this show but Wahoo was still a name I guess. Weak and boring match here though that was totally paint by the numbers.

Fernandez is one of those guys that isn’t remembered too well but he was a solid midcard hand in his time. He was a tough guy who could move around the ring and is still kicking around the indies today in his 60s. He’s one of the insane number of wrestlers from west Texas, which could rival Minnesota for most high level wrestlers. Check him out if you want to see a decent brawler.

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