Goldberg’s Rookie Year
Commentators: Dusty Rhodes, Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay, Lee Marshall, Scott Hudson, Bobby Heenan, Larry Zbyszko

Here’s what could be an interesting concept, as it’s another situation where the name tells you exactly what to expect. Here we have a look back at an important time for Goldberg’s career, as the debut was so impactful and it just grew from there. I’m curious to see how well he grew in the short span so let’s get to it.

From Saturday Night, October 11, 1997. This would be very shortly after Goldberg’s WCW debut so he’s a brand new concept.

Bill Goldberg vs. Roadblock

Roadblock is a big man with something of a construction gimmick (it went about as well as you would expect). Some early forearms and clotheslines don’t do much to Goldberg but Roadblock is certainly laying the shots in. Goldberg wants him to bring it and then rolls him down into a legbar. That’s broken up so Goldberg drops him with a big jumping shoulder. A belly to belly puts Goldberg down for two but he’s right back with a jumping spinwheel kick. The yet to be named Jackhammer finishes Roadblock at 2:19. This was a different style from Goldberg, as he was still just a guy with surprising talent rather than the killing machine.

From Main Event, December 13, 1997. Because WCW, some of the graphics in the arena say WCW Pro, because the shows were taped in the same venue and they didn’t bother to change them.

Bill Goldberg vs. Manny Fernandez

Not that Manny Fernandez. Goldberg double legs him down and chokes in the corner, followed by a backbreaker. A right hand drops Fernandez again and Goldberg gives him a quick fisherman’s neckbreaker. The Jackhammer (named) finishes at 2:26. Much more of a squash here, as Goldberg is starting to put some things together.

From Starrcade 1997.

Bill Goldberg vs. Steve McMichael

They start brawling in the aisle and Goldberg whips out a table. That’s leaned up against the post and Goldberg gets inside for the opening bell. McMichael jumps him for a fast side slam but Goldberg hits the flying shoulder for two. They go outside with McMichael hammering away but Goldberg punches him out of the air back inside.

Goldberg goes after the leg and then loads up the table at ringside. Back in and Goldberg can’t quite slam him over the top due to the referee actually getting involved, allowing McMichael to fall on him instead. That doesn’t work for Goldberg, who forearms him off the apron and through the table for a huge spot in 1997 WCW. The Jackhammer finishes McMichael at 5:59.

Rating: C-. Yeah there’s just not much to be said about McMichael’s time in the ring, as he was a good talker and fight the idea of a Horsemen, but that was about it. It was nice to see Goldberg have an actual feud against a name though, as you’re only going to get so far with the squashes. Now just find something better for him after this.

From Saturday Night, January 31, 1998.

Goldberg vs. Meng

Jimmy Hart is here with Meng. An early clothesline doesn’t do much to Meng so Goldberg takes him down by the leg instead. Meng strikes away but gets caught in a spinebuster as we hear about a potential WCW toughman (hardcore for all intent and purpose) division. The fans are way behind Goldberg as Meng comes back with some hard chops as commentary hypes up an audio show airing on the internet, which was a big deal back then. It didn’t last long, but the internet getting some attention was a huge change.

Goldberg’s comeback is countered with a belly to back suplex but more chops just get on Goldberg’s nerves. A headbutt has some more impact for Meng so Goldberg fights up again. For some reason Goldberg stops to yell at the referee though, meaning it’s a boot to the face to put him down again. You can see Goldberg getting winded as he tries for a powerslam, which results in Meng going head first into the mat. Hart tries to come in but gets thrown down, leaving Goldberg to hit a bad spear on Meng. The Jackhammer gives Goldberg the win at 7:17.

Rating: D+. They had something with the idea of Goldberg having to face someone who could be a physical match for him, but my goodness it got ugly when Goldberg was winded. The problem here was that Goldberg still wasn’t ready to have a match this long and you could see the cardio issues. The idea was there, but the execution really wasn’t and that hurt a lot.

From Saturday Night, February 7, 1998.

Goldberg vs. Disco Inferno

Well the battle of theme songs goes to Inferno. Before the match, Inferno asks if the fans want to see him dance and then doesn’t do what they request. Well then why ask? If there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s an illogical comedy heel. Inferno hides to start and gets taken down by a…I think it was supposed to be a leg trip but they botched the heck out of the timing. Goldberg’s gorilla press powerslam puts Inferno down but he comes back with some forearms, actually managing to slug away in quite the surprising display. Goldberg isn’t having that of course and spears him into the Jackhammer for the pin at 1:48.

From Saturday Night, February 21, 1998.

Goldberg vs. Jerry Flynn

Well we had to get this match in here somewhere. Goldberg knocks him to the floor to start fast but Flynn is back with a kick to the leg. Flynn takes him to the mat and grabs the leg, only for Goldberg to switch places and hammer away. Flynn’s kneebar is broken just as quickly so he kicks away, earning a gorilla press powerslam. The spear and Jackhammer finish at 2:07. This was more like it for Goldberg, as he had to fight through some adversity before getting the win.

From SuperBrawl VIII.

Goldberg vs. Brad Armstrong

Armstrong circles him a bit and gets caught with a quick full nelson. The rolling kneebar works better (Goldberg must have been practicing) as Heenan says Goldberg is the only wrestler who could get him out of managing retirement. The gorilla press powerslam sets up an overhead belly to belly as we’re firmly in squash territory. Armstrong’s Russian legsweep has no effect so Goldberg gives him a pumphandle toss. The usual puts Armstrong away at 2:24. Total squash of course, though I’m not sure why they went in this direction for a pay per view. It seems like a step back for Goldberg, which is an odd choice.

From Monday Nitro, March 30, 1998.

Goldberg vs. Ray Traylor

We get the first mention of the streak, which is now at 66-0. The fans are behind Goldberg and rather impressed as he powers Traylor into the corner to start. Traylor’s right hands don’t do much good so they yell at each other…and Goldberg head fakes him to hit a clothesline in a great move. Traylor is back with the spinebuster, which makes Goldberg pop up. The spear and Jackhammer (nice one too) finish for Goldberg at 2:20.

From Saturday Night, May 16, 1998.

US Title: Goldberg vs. Yuji Nagata

Nagata, with Sonny Onoo, is challenging and we’re at 84-0. Goldberg blocks the kicks to start and grabs the rolling kneebar. And there’s the gorilla press powerslam before the two move combination wraps Nagata up at 1:20.

From Worldwide, July 4, 1998. Note that Goldberg was the US Champion but doesn’t have the belt here because this show was taped three months in advance.

Goldberg vs. John Nord

Non-title and Nord is better known as the Berzerker. They yell at each other to start until Goldberg knocks him outside. Nord’s forearms don’t do much back inside so Goldberg hits him with a backdrop. The big boot misses but the spear doesn’t, followed by the Jackhammer for the pin at 2:20. No mention of the streak here, again because of the whole three month thing.

From Monday Nitro, April 27, 1998 (as I guess we’re going based on taping date, which makes…well pretty much no difference whatsoever).

US Title: Goldberg vs. Scott Norton

Goldberg is defending and Norton strikes away to start, with a flying shoulder connecting for two. That earns Norton a swinging neckbreaker for two but he knocks Goldberg outside. They slug it out on the floor and Goldberg is sent shoulder first into the post. Back in and a kneebar has Norton in trouble for a change but he makes the rope in a hurry. The shoulder breaker gives Norton two and he grabs the Fujiwara armbar. That’s broken up as well so Goldberg escapes another shoulder breaker and does what you would expect (including one heck of a Jackhammer) for the pin at 2:48.

Overall Rating: C+. This is what I love about the Vault: these compilations are clearly set up by big time fans. You know the obvious matches that could be on here and none of them were anywhere to be seen. You can find the Raven and Hall and Hogan matches anywhere, so here’s a bunch of stuff that is pretty much nowhere to be found. This was a lot of fun as you could see Goldberg growing up, though it was clear that he was NOT designed to go long. The short stuff worked very well though, which is why Goldberg is so well remembered to this day.

 

 

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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.

 

 

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

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NWA House Show
Date: February 1, 1987
Location: The Omni, Atlanta, Georgia
Attendance: 4,500

So the WWE Vault YouTube channel strikes again as we have a house show from some of the glory years of the NWA. The names included on the show are something of a who’s who of this era and that should make for a rather fun time. The main event is the Road Warriors challenging for the Tag Team Titles so let’s get to it.

Note that there is no commentary for this and it’s not the complete show, but we’re getting about an hour.

Dutch Mantell vs. Bill Dundee

Dundee’s Central States Title isn’t on the line. Mantell chases him around to start and grabs an armdrag as Dundee is shaken up early. A backdrop gives Mantell one and it’s time to work on Dundee’s arm. Back up and Mantell grabs his big whip, which is enough to send Dundee bailing to the floor (which is far from a cowardly heel move). Dundee gets back in and goes after the leg, setting up a front facelock to take over. The middle rope crossbody misses for Dundee so Mantell rolls him up, only for Dundee to reverse into one of his own and grab the tights for the pin at 5:12.

Rating: C. Not exactly a classic here but they kept things moving and didn’t spend too much time out there, making it a solid choice for an opener. Dundee is a great example of someone who wrestles bigger than his size, as he is not a big guy but makes you forget it, which is quite the trick. Mantell is best known for his talking, but he could more than hang in there with anyone.

Jimmy Garvin vs. Bob Armstrong

Garvin jumps him to start and hammers away in the corner. The brainbuster is loaded up but Armstrong slips out and elbows him in the face (with a cast) for the pin at 30 seconds. Ok then.

Brad Armstrong vs. Arn Anderson

Anderson has JJ Dillon and Lex Luger in his corner, the latter of whom seems to be making his debut. Anderson shoulders him down to start before grinding away on a headlock. Back up and Armstrong hits some dropkicks out to the floor, with the fans approving. A crossbody gives Armstrong one and he grabs an armbar to keep Anderson in trouble. They go to the floor with the arm being sent into the barricade, followed by more armbarring back inside.

Anderson can’t even get out of trouble by going to the eyes and Anderson is right back on the arm. An atomic drop out of the corner puts Armstrong down for a breather though and Anderson drops a knee for one. The Anderson Drop (later known as the spinebuster) gets a slightly delayed two but Armstrong punches him out of the air and starts the comeback. Armstrong loads up a suplex but Luger sweeps the leg, allowing Anderson to land on top for the pin at 8:10.

Rating: C+. And that’s how you introduce someone and have them pay instant dividends, as the fans immediately get that they need to pay attention when Luger is out there. The Horsemen were always going to be fine with some cheating to win and Luger lets them do it even more frequently. Nice stuff here in another fairly short match.

TV Title: Wahoo McDaniel vs. Tully Blanchard

Blanchard is defending and has JJ Dillon with him, plus the winner gets $10,000. McDaniel takes him into the corner to start and hits an elbow to the head, with Blanchard bailing out to the floor. Back in and McDaniel chops away again, with Dillon’s distraction completely failing. A rake to the eyes works a bit better for Blanchard and he snapmares McDaniel down into a chinlock. Blanchard punches him down for two more but McDaniel is right back with the signature chops. Lex Luger, apparently at ringside too, gets in a belt shot, to give Blanchard the pin at 5:11 (with the camera on Luger rather than the cover for a weird visual).

Rating: C. Similar story to the last match as Luger is able to screw over two popular stars in back to back matches. It’s easy to see why Wahoo was so popular as he looked tough and had some incredible charisma. Again though they didn’t have much time to build things up, which makes me wonder if there were about fifteen matches on the show or if the main event was going REALLY long.

Midnight Express vs. Ronnie Garvin/Robert Gibson

Elimination rules. Garvin is half of the US Tag Team Champions so the Midnights (with Jim Cornette and Big Bubba Rogers of course) could be feuding with either of them. Eaton hugs Cornette who gives him a kiss on the cheek before he drives Gibson into the corner to start. Gibson slams his way out of trouble and it’s time for Cornette to yell at a cameraman. Condrey comes in and gets slammed down as well before the good guys beat up both Midnights at once.

Cornette pulls Eaton out to the floor as Garvin rolls Condrey up for some near falls. A Bubba cheap shot puts Gavin down though and Eaton comes in for some choking behind the referee’s back, as a villain should be known to do. Condrey grabs the camel clutch so Garvin crawls over to the ropes in something you don’t see very often. That doesn’t work but a jumping headbutt does, allowing the hot tag to Gibson as the fans go NUTS. Everything breaks down and Cornette rackets Gibson for the elimination at 7:38.

The villains celebrate so Garvin rolls Eaton up to tie the score at 8:02, which would be used again by Randy Savage on Ted DiBiase at Survivor Series 1988. So it’s Condrey vs. Garvin, with Condrey slamming him down and dropping an elbow but not being able to keep the shoulders on the mat. Garvin’s rollup gets two and they collide for a double knockdown. They trade rollups for two each until Garvin’s big right hand gets two more. An elbow to the head gets the same but the Texas piledriver is countered Bubba gets on the apron but Garvin sends Condrey into him for the fast pin at 12:38.

Rating: B. Despite the really weird good guy combination, this was easily the most fun thing on the show so far and the fans were losing it for the ending. Garvin was someone the fans would get behind no matter what he was doing and they wanted to see him win here. You would normally associate Gibson with getting the win here, but this was good stuff with Cornette losing it as usual on the floor.

Post match the Midnights and company lay out the winners until Gibson gets the racket for the save.

Russians vs. Super Powers

The Russians talk trash before the match and Dusty gets laid out but Nikita makes the save with the chain. The Russians run off and the match is a DQ before it ever starts. Well that’s lame, but the fans were going nuts for Dusty and Koloff.

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

The Warriors, with Paul Ellering, are challenging and Paul Jones is here with the champs. Rude already has the slow robe reveal down and is basically what he would be in the WWF about a year later. Hawk doesn’t think much of Rude’s posing to start and shoves him down, setting up his own posing. Back up and Hawk wins a test of strength to take Rude’s hands to the mat for a good stomping.

Animal comes in to shoulder Rude down before doing the same to Fernandez as the fans heartily approve. The champs charge back in and are gorilla pressed out to the floor because you just do not do that to the Warriors. Back in and Fernandez is knocked outside again so let’s try Rude vs. Hawk again. A slam sets up Hawk’s middle rope clothesline (that always looked great) for two as Fernandez makes the save.

Fernandez gets in a cheap shot from the middle rope so the villains can take over, with an elbow to the face dropping Hawk. Rude’s top rope fist drop actually connects for two but Hawk grabs a quickly broken bearhug. The piledriver wakes Hawk up (as is his custom) and it’s a double tag to Animal and Fernandez. Everything breaks down and Animal hits a powerslam, drawing in Jones for the (delayed) DQ at 11:04.

Rating: C+. The Warriors are a great example of a team not having to do much to make it work because they were so popular that the fans were going nuts over anything they did. The ending isn’t that big of a surprise as it’s rather normal for a house show result. Fernandez and Rude would never be defeated for those belts, as Rude would leave for the WWF in April and the Rock N Roll Express got the belts in a phantom title change.

The only match missing is an hour long Broadway between Ric Flair and Barry Windham, which probably tore the house down.

Overall Rating: B-. It does feel incomplete without the main event but this was a heck of a fun hour of old school wrestling. You could hear the fans reacting like crazy to just about everything and you can see why the NWA was as hot as it was at this point. The business side of things would go downhill in a hurry, but the wrestling wasn’t the issue here. This YouTube channel is great and I could absolutely go for more of this kind of thing.

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

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AND

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Thunder
Date: September 30, 1999
Location: UTC Arena, Chattanooga, Tennessee
Attendance: 2,411
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Larry Zbyszko

Thankfully this is another live Thunder (well liveish. It’s airing at about 11pm due to a baseball game but at least it’s not the second show of a taping) which tends to be a lot easier to sit through (not good mind you) than the dreaded taped versions. It’s still about the old guys fighting over backstabbing and lying or Goldberg crushing Sid’s car because Sid is still a major thing in WCW for whatever reason. Let’s get to it.

Long intro to start with Tenay and Zbyszko talking about people who won’t be appearing on this show.

Psychosis/La Parka/Juventud Guerrera vs. Villano IV/Villano V/Silver King

This is Psychosis’ first match since losing the mask. La Parka tells Silver King to get out of his way so dance time but King channels his inner villain from Footloose and kicks him in the face. An elbow to the jaw staggers La Parka again but Silver King accidentally hits his partners, causing a bit of a flare up. It’s off to IV and Psychosis with the unmasked one scoring with a dropkick.

There’s no other way to put this: Psychosis has a weird face. It looks like it needs to be stretched another few inches to make it fit properly. Anyway he rolls out of a tilt-a-whirl slam and chops away at IV before whipping him into a springboard dropkick from Guerrera. A powerslam gets two for Juvy before it’s off to V for a dropkick. Not exactly the most thrilling stuff at the moment.

King comes back in and grabs a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two on Psychosis before just kicking him in the face. Back to Five for a pretty sweet top rope DDT before King comes back in for the same, only not from the top. A double gutbuster has Psychosis in even more trouble but La Parka comes in to take one of them out.

Everything breaks down and La Parka hits a nice corkscrew dive over the top to take out the Villanos and Juvy, leaving King to lay out Psychosis in the ring. The Villanos come back in and accidentally nail King (never hire villains to do a partner’s job), allowing La Parka to take out IV. Juvy Driver to V, setting up the guillotine legdrop from Psychosis for the pin.

Rating: C-. Not bad here but at the end of the day, the Villanos and Silver King aren’t the most thrilling guys in the world. It’s amazing how far Guerrera has fallen in quality as he used to be right there with Kidman and Mysterio but now he’s just kind of there. The division has fallen on hard times since Mysterio forgot he was a cruiserweight and started hanging out with Konnan.

Adrian Byrd vs. Norman Smiley

Smiley easily wrestles him down to start but walks into a dropkick. A right hand just gets on Norman’s nerves so he hits the spinning slam and loads up his dance. Not the Big Wiggle but it’s better than nothing. There’s something hilarious about that move and I think it’s due to Norman’s face as he does it.

Byrd comes back with a series of punches and counters a monkey flip attempt with a cradle for two. A suplex and slam get two each on Norman and we hit the chinlock. This is more offense than I was expecting from Byrd boy. Smiley easily fights up and hits a nice butterfly suplex, followed by the Norman’s Conquest for the win.

Rating: D+. Much like most matches like this one I’m not sure what there is to say about it. Smiley got beaten up for a bit and then came back with some implied male rape involved. I could have gone for a bigger push for Norman as he was clearly over and talented but he got stuck in the stupid hardcore thing soon after this.

Gene brings out Mona for a chat. He praises her for her record in WCW, which is something like 5-1 or so. Mona brings up all the people she’s fought and is looking forward to new competition. Yeah there were some shenanigans last week, but you have to just keep going. Brandi Alexander sneaks up on her and chokes Mona with a gown. A suplex on the floor sets up a match that was scheduled for later in the night.

Mona vs. Brandi Alexander

Mona is a bit shaken up but gets an early two off a cross body. A jawbreaker drops her though and the fans aren’t thrilled. Brandi takes Mona’s glove off for more choking, followed by some hair pulling. Apparently there are some new matches for Halloween Havoc. We won’t be hearing what they are at the moment, but those matches have indeed been set up. Brandi kicks her in the ribs before choking and kicking at the ribs even more. I can see why she isn’t exactly a household name.

A bad looking backslide gets two for Mona and she gets poked in the eye to put her right back down. To give you an idea of her offensive skills, Brandi gets two off a suplex and hiptoss. Brandi misses an enziguri but Mona can’t get an Indian deathlock. She can however hit a Thesz press and right hands before a side slam gets two. Mona was even nice enough to get off of her before Brandi rolled her shoulder up. A handspring elbow crushes Alexander in the corner, setting up a top rope Frankensteiner for the pin.

Rating: D+. Brandi is just not very good. It also doesn’t help that she isn’t the best looking woman in the world and when you had Trish Stratus debuting in the WWF a few months after this, there really was no reason for this division to exist. I use the word division loosely as I don’t think there are more than three or four girls in the company at the moment.

Ad for Flair and Hogan VHS’s.

Dean Roll vs. Frankie Lancaster

You probably know Roll better as Shark Boy. Feeling out process to start with Frankie nailing a shoulder and grabbing a headlock. Frankie easily takes him down and cranks on the leg before hitting a flip splash to the knee. A legdrop gets two on Dean but here’s Scott Norton to beat up both guys for the no contest.

Norton wants Goldberg and apparently we’ve flashed back to 1998.

After a break, Goldberg comes out to accept the challenge and tells Sid that the clock is ticking. Somehow this took nearly three minutes.

Hugh Morrus/Brian Knobbs vs. Dave Taylor/Steven Regal

Finlay is here with the Brits. Regal hammers on Morrus to start and fires off some European uppercuts. Off to Knobbs for the Pit Stop and Regal’s face is one of the funniest things I’ve seen in years. Taylor comes in due to Regal’s stomach ailments but eats a bunch of headbutts from Knobbs. Dave gets a Pit Stop of his own which ticks him off so much that he stops a charging Knobbs with a boot in the corner. Finlay tries to swing a chair at Knobbs but gets cut off by security and ejected. Well there goes the best part of the match.

The distraction lets Taylor get in a flag shot to Knobbs before sending him into the steps. Regal gets in some knee lifts before Taylor slaps on a front facelock. The Brits keep up the fast tags and Taylor hammers away with uppercuts and right hands in the corner. A chinlock has Knobbs in trouble but Regal runs into an elbow in the corner. The hot tag brings in Morrus (are the First Family the faces here?) and everything breaks down. Knobbs hits a kind of pumphandle slam on Taylor, setting up No Laughing Matter for the pin.

Rating: D+. Who was I supposed to be cheering for in this match? The First Family has never shown any reason for me to like them but they were certainly acting like the faces in this match. Then again, Knobbs is WCW’s definition of a legend and therefore I’m sure we’re supposed to cheer for them.

Here’s the Revolution to talk about Shane cheating recently. Saturn tells Douglas that this team lives by a code of ethics and if he tries that one more time then he’s out of the group. Douglas apologizes and says you can’t stop greatness.

Bobby Eaton vs. Luther Biggs

They bring someone as good as Eaton back for THIS? Luther is Coach Buzz Sawyer’s protege if you’ve blocked this out of your memory. Biggs throws him out of the corner to start and drop toeholds him down into a headlock. Back up and Bobby hiptosses him to the floor so Stern can give him a pep talk. Back in and Biggs gets in a knee to the ribs to take over again but takes WAY too long going to the middle rope for a legdrop. Eaton hammers away but gets dropped by a shoulder. The coach and student start jawing though, allowing Bobby to ram them together and grab a quick neckbreaker for the pin.

Rating: F. THAT’S what I sat through all those stupid promos for? A four minute match with Bobby Eaton getting the pin? Eaton is a great guy but was there any real need for this match to take place? Biggs is a stupid character and Sawyer isn’t much better. Bad match, bad idea, bad execution, bad use of someone as good as Eaton.

Stern dives in post match, which makes me think he missed a cue. Stern puts both of them in a full nelson and yells at Biggs as they leave.

Brad Armstrong vs. Horace Hogan

I can easily live with people like Eaton and Armstrong getting more TV time, but could they be against each other instead of in these matches? Brad takes Horace down with ease but gets thrown across the ring and kicked in the gut. An armbar doesn’t get Brad anywhere as Horace kicks him down again, only to miss a running elbow. Brad hammers away in the corner and dropkicks him out to the floor.

That goes nowhere so Horace goes back to just kicking him before throwing Brad outside. Tenay actually brings up one of the matches at Halloween Havoc: Hart vs. Luger. Oh sorry I mean the Total Package, who is totally different from the Total Package Lex Luger. Horace keeps up the bad offense and drops Armstrong with a clothesline. A suplex gets two on Brad but he avoids a charge in the corner and hits the Russian legsweep for the pin.

Rating: D. Geez how did they manage to make Brad Armstrong and Bobby Eaton boring in the same night? Horace is just a big lug who doesn’t get anywhere and this really didn’t make me want to see Armstrong vs. Berlyn. Then again, offering me a million bucks to sit through that match wouldn’t make me want to see it. I’d do it of course but I wouldn’t want to.

Kendall Windham/Curly Bill vs. Rey Mysterio Jr./Kidman

Oh come on now. Rey and Kendall get things going with Mysterio hammering away but diving into a boot to the face. A springboard seated senton gets two on Windham but he comes back with a kick to the ribs and slam to put Rey back down. Kendall hits a few clotheslines and slams him down one more time before getting two off a belly to back suplex.

Off to Curly (see it’s funny because he’s bald) for a suplex and some elbow drops and a suplex before he throws Rey outside. Back in with Rey hitting a springboard missile dropkick and making the tag to Kidman, who is promptly nailed by a clothesline from Windham. A belly to back superplex gets two on Kidman with Rey making the save and it’s back to the floor because the heels don’t know how to keep a match going for more than fifteen seconds.

Hennig gets in some cheap shots before throwing him back inside for chops from Kendall. We hit the chinlock for a bit until Kidman fights up with a jawbreaker and Bodog, setting up the double tag. Rey cleans house and Kidman just stops running to counter an Irish whip. So you can’t Irish whip Kidman either? Kidman launches Rey into a seated senton to Kendall before Curly gets in some cheap shots. He goes up top for no other reason than to have Rey nail him and hook a top rope Frankensteiner for the pin, just like in the women’s match.

Rating: D. Egads just disband the cowboys already. Without Hennig or Barry in there to run things, the team is exposed for the horrible workers they are and that’s never a good thing. Bad match here with Kidman and Rey being wasted on another horrible team, though to be fair they’re still light years ahead of the Clowns.

Goldberg vs. Scott Norton

Norton still has an NWO logo on his singlet. Goldberg wins a slugout to start and punches him over the top rope. They hammer on each other again with Norton chopping him backwards and sending Goldberg face first into the post. Goldberg sends him right back into the post before they get back in the ring to keep hitting each other very hard. A hard short arm clothesline drops Goldberg again but both guys try flying shoulders at the same time for an awkward looking collision. Back up and it’s spear into Jackhammer for the pin.

Rating: D+. This was Norton’s last match in WCW and I can’t say I’m going to miss him. It’s just a bunch of power brawling with limited selling and you can only sacrifice small people to him to set up another Goldberg loss so many times. Basically he’s a short version of Sid with a bigger chest and no one needs another Sid.

Overall Rating: F. Did I mention this show was on around midnight and WCW knew no one was going to watch it? The wrestlers clearly didn’t care and it’s very telling how bad these stories are as we head into Halloween Havoc. It’s also incredibly clear that this is the most top loaded company in a long time as outside of the main event, there is NOTHING interesting going on right now, and the main event is some of the dullest stuff in years. Bad show that didn’t need to exist, which is the case with almost every episode of this show.

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Here’s a guy you’ve probably never heard that much about but could wrestle circles around a lot of people: Brad Armstrong.

Armstrong would get his start in Alabama in 1980. We’ll pick things up in Georgia in March of 1984.

Tim Horner vs. Brad Armstrong

Brad is National Heavyweight Champion. These two would become regular partners and the winner faces Jack Brisco and the winner of that gets a World Title shot against Ric Flair. They head to the mat for a nice amateur sequence with Brad getting caught in a front facelock. Horner grabs a headlock on the mat but gets armdragged down into an armbar. Another headlock has Brad in trouble but he comes back with more technical stuff, only to get caught in a headscissors. Road Warrior Hawk, who had recently lost to Horner in a huge upset, comes in to go after Tim but nails Armstrong by mistake for the DQ.

Rating: D+. The fans make this a lot better but this was eight minutes of headlocks and armbars. Both guys are capable of having a more entertaining match than this but instead it was all basic stuff. I’m not sure why they went this route but the ending likely has a lot to do with it.

We’ll move to the promotion where the Armstrong Family got famous: Continental Championship Wrestling, with this one coming from January 4, 1986.

TV Title: Robert Fuller vs. Brad Armstrong

Fuller is champion and is more famous as Colonel Robert Parker. The title hadn’t been around for about five years but Fuller reactivated it for all of a month. Fuller is your standard “I’m pretty” character. Armstrong knocks him to the floor quickly and Fuller stalls a lot. Back into the ring and it’s off to an armbar by Armstrong. Fuller comes back and uses a variety of slams as I look for blunt instruments to hit myself with. Armstrong dropkicks him down and out to the floor. Some of Fuller’s friends come out and apparently TV time is up and the title is held up until next week.

Rating: F. The biggest move in a 4 minute match was a dropkick. You figure out the rest.

On to bigger things now, including Starrcade 1986.

Jimmy Garvin vs. Brad Armstrong

Garvin is billed as Gorgeous Jimmy here and comes out to Sharp Dressed Man by ZZ Top. He also has a good looking blonde named Precious with him. The first match here is in Atlanta and we’ll be alternating back and forth. Schiavone and Stewart are the commentators here in Atlanta as well. They fight up against the ropes to start before heading into the corner with neither guy being able to get an advantage.

They go to the mat with neither guy being able to get any extended advantage. Back up and they fight over a top wristlock until Brad finally takes over with an armbar. Off to a headlock instead but Jimmy rolls Brad up for two. Now Jimmy grabs an armbar of his own but they roll into the ropes. Garvin grabs a leg lock and bends the knee back, only to have Armstrong reach his arm around into a chinlock to escape.

Off to an armbar by Brad and Jimmy taps, but that wouldn’t mean anything in American wrestling for about seven years. Garvin counters into a headscissors as the back and forth mat work continues. Armstrong nips out of it and puts on another headlock, only to be countered into another headscissors. By this point you should be able to figure out what happens next on your own: Armstrong counters into a headlock.

Garvin tries to pick Armstrong up to slam him down, only to be dragged into another headlock to keep the match at a very slow clip. Back up and Jimmy suplexes out of the hold but can’t immediately follow up. Armstrong gets sent out to the floor where Precious talks trash as we have three minutes left in the time limit. Back in and Garvin gets two after dropping Armstrong throat first onto the top rope.

A backbreaker gets the same and Jimmy is getting frustrated. They start running the ropes, only to crack heads and put both guys down again. Back up and Brad charges into a knee in the corner but even that only gets two. They trade rollups but Garvin puts on a chinlock of all things with fifteen seconds to go. He releases the hold and goes up, only to miss a top rope splash as the bell rings for the time limit draw.

Rating: D+. This was one of those matches where you could see the time limit draw coming a mile away. As is the Starrcade custom, the good guy can’t win the opener and the opener is pretty dull stuff. Why they’re so afraid to allow a good match to open the show is beyond me, but this was nothing of note at all. Neither guy would ever do much of note either.

Post match Garvin tries to jump Armstrong, only to get knocked to the floor by some right hands.

Brad would have a run in the UWF, including a TV Title shot in the summer of 1987.

TV Title: Brad Armstrong vs. Eddie Gilbert

Armstrong grabs a headlock to start as Jim Ross talks about something bad happening to Chris Adams recently. The champion grabs a hammerlock but gets reversed into the same hold from Brad. We take a break and come back with Brad getting two off a cross body. Now they trade wristlocks with Armstrong grabbing an armbar for a bit. A big right hand drops Gilbert to the floor and we take another break.

Back with Armstrong cranking on another armbar before running the ropes a few times, only to be sent out to the floor. Eddie sends him face first into a table but Brad counters a suplex back inside for two. We have two minutes left in the match and Armstrong gets two off a dropkick. Eddie’s running knee hits the buckle and Brad slaps on a Figure Four but Terry Taylor runs in to attack Armstrong for the DQ.

Rating: C. Better match that the Horner match as there was more stuff besides all the holds. The ending was a nice surprise as you would have guessed it was ending off the time but it advances an angle instead. That’s a good idea as the predictable is usually not the best way to go.

Armstrong would get a shot at a different title at Clash of the Champions III.

TV Title: Mike Rotunda vs. Brad Armstrong

Mike is defending and the announcers emphasize that it’s a twenty minute time limit. Brad is talented but this is a BIG challenge for him. Rotunda takes him down to the mat a few times before slugging away at Brad in the corner. Armstrong rolls through a middle rope cross body for two and the champion bails to the floor. Back in and Mike hides in the corner and walks into a dropkick as he comes back to the middle of the ring. The fans are going crazy when the local boy Armstrong is in control. Rotunda gets back in again and walks into a headlock takeover to the mat. It’s all Armstrong so far.

The champion rolls Brad back for a few two counts before finally shoving him off, only to get caught by a cross body for two on him. Mike bails outside again before getting caught in an armbar to slow things down. Brad cranks on it a bit too long though and gets sent into the ropes for a knee to the ribs followed by a hot shot as Mike takes over for the first time. Armstrong is tossed outside and Sullivan gets in some stomps before Rotunda pounds him back down to the floor.

A big suplex over the ropes gets two for the champion and we hit the chinlock. Mike gets caught with his feet on the ropes to break the hold so he hammers away on Brad in the corner instead. Back to a chinlock thanks to a pull of Armstrong’s hair as Mike is working the clock. Armstrong gets back up but Rotunda takes his head off with a clothesline. The champion drops an elbow for two as the fans go NUTS on the kickout. Another chinlock actually gets a two count on Brad and a backbreaker gets the same.

Mike sends him outside for a few seconds but Brad comes back in with a sunset flip attempt. Rotunda drops to his knees and grabs the ropes but referee Teddy Long kicks the champ’s hands to put him down for two. Rotunda comes back with an elbow and a legdrop for another near fall. We go to the fourth chinlock as Steve Williams comes out to cheer for Armstrong.

Brad fights up but gets caught in an airplane spin of all things. Mike makes himself dizzy and can’t follow up but does grab a gutwrench suplex for two. A small package gets two for the champion as we have a minute left. Despite being a heel Mike tries to get pinfalls until the end of the match but just can’t put Brad down as the time limit expires, earning a huge moral victory.

Rating: C+. As usual, Brad Armstrong puts on a far better performance than would have been expected. The ending of the match told a good story with Rotunda getting more and more frustrated but not being able to put the plucky kid down. I would have liked a few more near falls from Armstrong but the idea of him just wanting to survive was an easy idea to get behind.

We’ll jump ahead a bit to Wrestlewar 1991.

Brad Armstrong vs. Bobby Eaton

We hear about Armstrong’s brother fighting Desert Storm, which would be Road Dogg. Eaton gets a good reaction and the fans chant for him on his way out. Bobby jumps him during the opening and takes over for a little bit. A flying headscissors and dropkick by Armstrong set up an armbar to slow things down. They get back up and a monkey flip sets up the same armbar by Brad.

Bobby gets back up and we head out to the floor. That goes nowhere so let’s hit that armbar again. Off to a test of strength with Bobby taking over. Brad climbs up Eaton and goes to the corner for a spinning crossbody….and back into the armbar. Eaton finally gets tired of it and pops Brad in the face, but his slingshot suplex is countered into a regular suplex by Armstrong for two.

We hit the fifth armbar in five minutes as we see Jason Hervey here again. A backbreaker puts Armstrong down and he drops an elbow to the face. We hit the chinlock and Great Muta is here watching as well. Eaton hits a slingshot backbreaker for two. Off to a modified camel clutch to keep the pressure on Armstrong’s back. Back up and Armstrong tries to hit the ropes but Eaton elbows him in the face and out to the floor.

After a beating on the floor we head back into the ring for an abdominal stretch. Eaton holds the ropes because that’s just the kind of a guy he is. Anderson dives through Armstrong’s legs to see the cheating in a nice touch. Eaton misses a charge in the corner and Brad hits that perfect dropkick to take over. Bobby grabs a ducked head and hits a neckbreaker followed by the Alabama Jam (top rope legdrop) for the pin.

Rating: C. This wasn’t as bad as the opener but it wasn’t that great either. Eaton would get a decent run as an upper midcard heel before turning into a jobber to the stars for most of the 90s. He was still popular after being part of the Midnight Express so it was good to see WCW capitalizing on that here. Also as usual, get Brad Armstrong if you need someone to look good, which is what Eaton would become later on.

Next up is Clash of the Champions XVI for another solid match with Brad as Badstreet, a masked member of the Freebirds.

Light Heavyweight Title Tournament Semifinals: Badstreet vs. Brian Pillman

Pillman is back in WCW after the Loser Leaves WCW match last time. Right after he had left there was a newcomer named the Yellow Dog who wrestled in a mask but was the same size as Pillman and used the same moves. I’m sure you can connect the dots on your own. The Freebirds are ejected before the match starts to make things fair. Pillman gets in Badstreet’s masked face to start and runs him over with a shoulder block.

A quick victory roll gets two for Brian and it’s off to the armbar. Badstreet sends him to the apron but gets caught by a springboard sunset flip for two. Pillman tries to suplex him to the floor but they switch places and it’s Brian being suplexed out to the floor. Badstreet kicks him into the barricade but gets caught in a sunset flip for two more.

The masked man goes up top but gets dropkicked out to the floor, setting up a HUGE suicide dive to take him down again. Back in and Pillman tries a missile dropkick but Badstreet dropkicks him out of the air. A spinwheel kick gets two for Brian but he walks into a DDT. Pillman’s crucifix is countered into a fall away slam for a close near fall. Badstreet takes him to the top for a superplex but Brian knocks him away and Air Pillman is good for the pin.

Rating: B-. Really solid fast paced match here with Pillman being ahead of almost everyone else in America at this point. Badstreet was more than skilled enough to keep up with him for about seven minutes and the result was very fun stuff. Factor in that this was 1991 and this is mind blowing stuff.

Then he was a Spider-Man ripoff that was so realistic that Marvel said cut it out. From Starrcade 1991.

Scott Steiner/Firebreaker Chip vs. Johnny B. Badd/Arachnaman

Chip is the shorter partner of Todd Champion in the Patriots. As his music says, Badd looks just like Little Richard. Arachnaman is a purple and yellow Spider-Man. The resemblance was so strong that Marvel Comics threatened to sue WCW if they didn’t drop the character, which WCW did. It’s Brad Armstrong under the mask. Badd and Chip start things off with Chip hitting some quick Japanese armdrags to take over. Johnny, a legit Golden Gloves champion, fires off a left hand and drops an elbow for two.

Badd fires off some more punches but Chip comes off the top with a cross body for two before it’s off to Arachnaman. Chip grabs his arm and brings in Scott for an armbar of his own. Things speed up with some leapfrogs from Arachnaman but he gets caught in a powerslam and clotheslined out to the floor. It’s off to Badd for a quick left hand and a right to take him down. Steiner isn’t pleased and easily takes Badd down with a leg trip before lifting him into the air and ramming Badd ribs first into the buckle.

Back to Chip for a chinlock for a few seconds before Badd rolls out and tags in the Spider guy. That goes nowhere so it’s back to Badd vs. Scott, with Steiner hitting a big Steiner Line and a double underhook powerbomb. Back to Chip as the match slows down all over again. Chip stands around and lets Arachnaman come back in before missing a charge into the corner. Back to a chinlock by Arachnaman as this match is dying without Badd and Steiner in there. The cameramen are bored too so we look at the crowd a bit.

Chip puts on a Boston Crab but the far smaller Arachnaman is able to power out of it with relative ease. Back to Badd for the chinlock as a Scott chant breaks out. Arachnaman comes back in and gets caught in a crisscross with Badd. Chip thankfully makes a blind tag to Scott and things pick WAY up. Arachnaman tries going up but jumps into an overhead belly to belly suplex from Scott for the pin.

Rating: D+. Scott is good, Chip is not. That’s more or less the entire match in a nutshell here. Chip was boring everyone out there and the crowd just wanted to see Scott. Arachnaman was a horribly dumb gimmick who barely even flew around at all and Badd was nowhere near ready yet, so this was pretty much the Scott Steiner show.

Here’s a solid opponent from Clash XXII.

Chris Benoit vs. Brad Armstrong

Feeling out process to start with Benoit grabbing a headlock before trying a powerbomb but Brad counters with an armdrag, leading to an incredibly fast pinfall reversal sequence and a stalemate. They earn a nice ovation as Brad takes him down with another armdrag and slapping on an armbar. Benoit tries to nip up but Brad takes him back to the mat to maintain control. Chris finally gets up and they try a test of strength with both guys going to the mat and bridging off the mat with pure neck strength. That always looks cool.

They stick with the arm motif by trading hammerlocks until Brad sends him to the floor by the arm. Back in and Benoit is taken down by the arm again before going with forearms to the back to take over. Chris lifts him up and drapes Brad over the top rope before knocking him to the floor with a springboard clothesline.

Back in and Benoit takes his head off with a clothesline followed by chops and headbutts. A backbreaker has Armstrong in trouble and Chris bends him over the knee for a submission attempt. Benoit misses the swan dive but Brad misses an elbow drop, allowing Chris to snap off the dragon (full nelson) suplex for the pin.

Rating: B-. This was a nice way to wake up the crowd a little bit after some decent at best matches earlier. Benoit would get a job soon after this if not from this match alone. Armstrong continues to be as good a hand as anyone else and can have a good match with almost anyone you put out him out there against.

Something from WCW Pro, April 29, 1995.

Brad Armstrong vs. Dino Cassanova

Dino is a very tall guy. Brad cranks on his arm to start but Dino counters into a hammerlock of his own. Armstrong wises up and takes the big man to the mat to drive some knees into the arm. Back up and Brad grabs a great looking armdrag to take him back down. Cassanova comes back with a clothesline to the back of the head before snapping Brad’s neck across the top rope. An elbow drop misses though and Brad’s Russian legsweep gets the pin.

Rating: D+. Not much to see here but Cassnova had a good look to him. The match didn’t do much as it was on WCW Pro in 1995 and I can’t say I blame them for not giving their best efforts. The announcers talked about the same thing they always talked about when Armstrong was in the ring: how close he was to winning a major title.

Armstrong was good enough to get a title shot at Dean Malenko’s Cruiserweight Championship at Slamboree 1996.

Cruiserweight Championship: Dean Malenko vs. Brad Armstrong

So Malenko is the second champion as Otani of all people won it at an NJPW show. Yeah it made no sense but it’s WCW so there you are. There allegedly was a tournament, but only the finals were ever seen. It was also double elimination apparently, but no one other than these three have ever been mentioned. I hear it was in Rio. Apparently the Cloverleaf is a standing Figure Four. And so begins Tony being an idiot.

Armstrong is a guy that was pretty good back in his day but never really was given anything past a glorified jobber role. He hooks the Cloverleaf. Wow I do not care about this match at all. Dean hits his gutbuster from the top to end it. Somehow this was almost ten minutes long. Wow.

Rating: D+. Nothing special at all but considering what we’ve had to watch otherwise, this was GREAT. Like I said Armstrong was good but the title was brand new and nothing was told to us about this. This show needs to die when a basic and dull match like this is one of the most entertaining things all show.

We’ll jump ahead a bit to Nitro, January 5, 1998.

Brad Armstrong vs. Rick Martel

This is Martel’s debut and his first national match in years. A quick rollup gets two for Martel as I think Armstrong is the heel here. Brad grabs a headlock as Tony is SURE there are problems in the NWO. Armstrong charges into a knee in the corner and gets caught by a middle rope clothesline for no cover. Brad gets in a forearm out of the corner and chokes away, only to get caught in the Quebec Crab for the win for Martel. Another short match.

Here’s a match from Worldwide on March 7, 1998 against a pretty famous name.

Brad Armstrong vs. Ric Flair

Flair takes him down with a headlock before cranking on the leg. Brad puts on a chinlock and Flair clearly taps but the match keeps going. They trade arm holds until Armstrong gets suplexed down. Flair rakes Brad’s eyes over the ropes as Tony tells a story of seeing these two wrestle to an hour time limit draw at the Omni.

Brad charges into an elbow in the corner but is still able to slam Ric down from the top. A dropkick misses though and Flair falls head first onto Armstrong’s “abdomen” and now it’s time for the pinfall reversal sequence but they don’t do the backslide bridge. Brad gets two off a clothesline but a suplex puts him down, setting up the Figure Four for the win.

Rating: C-. There’s something fun about watching a basic Ric Flair match. You know exactly what you’re getting but it’s still entertaining enough to work. It’s such a basic wrestling match but well done enough to work. I’d like to see that hour long match though, especially in Georgia.

Time for another new gimmick, this time as part of a hip hop stable. From Bash at the Beach 1999.

West Texas Rednecks vs. No Limit Soldiers

It’s Curt Hennig, Barry and Kendall Windham and Bobby Duncum Jr. vs. Konnan, Rey, Brad Armstrong (don’t ask why he’s in a rap team) and Swoll (huge guy that never did anything) and this is an elimination match. Oh and Rey is Cruiserweight Champion. Konnan speaks some weird language and talks about peeling potatoes. I’m sure there’s some other meaning in there somewhere, especially since tossing salads is mentioned.

Rey vs. Barry to start us off with Rey using his speed and splashes/moonsaults to take over. Off to Hennig who does better for about a second. Off to Armstrong who is there in gimmick number 387 for him, none of which worked that well. Duncum, who would be dead in like a six months, comes in and doesn’t do well either. Swoll comes in and it’s very obvious why he needed Master P to get him a job in WCW.

He can’t do much other than clotheslines which he sells for WAY too long. Barry gets a low blow to him and it’s off to Kendall. Rey comes in and takes both Bobby and Kendall to the floor at once. Konnan, the unofficial captain of the team is in now. He gets a bulldog to take Hennig down and things stay fast. Everything breaks down and slows down as well. The referee messes something up badly as he signals kickout before it happens. Not that it matters as Duncum is pinned a few seconds later. Messy spot there.

The rest of the Soldiers beat up Duncum as he leaves. Things grind to a halt now until we get to Armstrong vs. Hennig. Heel cheating results in a Perfectplex getting rid of Armstrong. Off to the captains again (Hennig vs. Konnan) and that lasts about a second as Kendall is in again. Konnan gets the rolling lariat and things get awkward again. Konnan gets what I guess you would call a rollup to get rid of Kendall.

If you need a scorecard it’s Barry/Hennig vs. Konnan/Rey/Swoll. Barry gets a DDT on Konnan as the Soldiers are fighting with Kendall now. Konnan vs. Barry now as this needs to end quickly. Nicely timed as they fight to the floor with one of the Soldiers named Chase carrying Barry off and it’s a double countout. I guess Soldiers are immune to disqualifications. It’s Rey/Swoll vs. Hennig now.

Swoll proves why it shouldn’t be him in there because he just isn’t that good. Barry comes back in so Swoll beats on him too until Chase gets rid of him. Thankfully Swoll would retire by the end of the year. Another of those far too long clotheslines sets up a tag to Rey who climbs on Swoll’s shoulders and dives off to pin Hennig with a splash.

Rating: D+. Well when they only had a few people in there this was good but after that, it turned into a huge mess. Swoll has zero business being in a ring at this point but hey, his cousin managed to not help the ratings at all and cost the company a few hundred grand so everything is cool right? Let the wrestlers wrestle and stop having the faces be jerks while the heels are just out there doing their thing.

After not doing anything of note in a major promotion for years, we’ll wrap up Armstrong’s career at a reunion show in 2006 called World Wrestling Legends 6:05: The Reunion.

Midnight Express vs. Bob Armstrong/Scott Armstrong/Brad Armstrong

is the manager of the Express (Lane, Condrey and Eaton) and the more famous Armstrong (Brian, as in Road Dogg) isn’t here so who really cares? Cornette says the Armstrongs have been a thorn in his side for years and tonight he can get rid of them. When was that? Well Condrey looks like crap.

BOBBY HEENAN IS MANAGING THE ARMSTONGS!!! HOLY FREAKING SMOKES!!! Heenan looks a bit bad here but not too bad. Wow this is awesome to see. Bob Armstrong is in a mask for absolutely no apparent reason. You can see through the face part of it though so there’s zero point to it at all. Condrey vs. Brad, who is very underrated, to start us off.

Eaton comes in and doesn’t look that great. Off to Scott who is the referee that was in WWE that had the hitch in his count. We get the Heenan vs. Cornette showdown which is the main point of this match. And they just look at each other and now back to the match. Off to Lane vs. Scott now with the crowd kind of dead for this for some reason. Here’s Bob who is old as all goodness and in the mask and never really was anything special but who cares?

Stan kicks Brad in the back to give the Midnights the advantage. Bob was in there maybe four seconds. Stan dances a bit as Cornette chokes Brad. This is awesome to see them together again which is the idea here. Heenan gets a chair. When would Bobby EVER do that? Brad gets a pretty ugly looking suplex to break Eaton’s momentum.

Everything goes nuts and Cornette pops Bob with the tennis racket which does nothing at all. Heenan takes out Cornette so that Bob can pop Bob to pin Eaton. In other words Bob Armstrong pinned Bobby Eaton after Bobby Heenan got him the tennis racket. Wow these were unoriginal parents.

Rating: D. Boring match of course as Bob Armstrong looked horrible in there and for the life of me I still don’t get the mask but whatever. This was just for the managers which the announcers point out which is fine. This wasn’t anything of note but seeing the Midnights was awesome all over again. Bad match, cool moment.

Brad Armstrong was a good hand to have in the lower card. Yeah he got stuck with a lot of horrible names and gimmicks, but he would always put on a passable match and make the other guy look good. That’s a really hard thing to be able to do but he pulled it off very well. I would have liked to see him get a token TV Title reign. It would have been better than Prince Iaukea at least.

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Continental Wrestling Federation TV
Date: October 22, 1988
Location: Montgomery Civic Center, Montgomery, Alabama
Commentators: Charlie Platt, Dutch Mantel

This is the last episode I have of this show and THANK GOODNESS FOR THAT. I can’t take much more of this horrible and boring show. The company isn’t remembered at all and like I said, there’s a reason for that: it’s not interesting at all. No one has anything resembling a personality and the champion is lucky to be on TV 15 seconds a week. Let’s get to it.

The champ is actually wrestling tonight. I’m shocked. Oh great: the Party Patrol is here AGAIN.

Bullet talks about his issues as of late. We get a clip of last week with Bullet saving the Rich’s (they’re the Party Patrol if anyone is getting lost) from a beatdown by the tag champions last week. Brad Armstrong will be here before the end of the night. As Bullet leaves a guy in a hat with long hair but his face covered up jumps Bullet. And it’s Tony Anthony, the Dirty White Boy. Stubbs comes in too and it’s a big beatdown. The Rich’s make the save. This is still boring but it’s BY FAR the most developed and interesting angle in this company at the moment.

House show ads. What else did you expect?

Tom Pritchard vs. The Invader

Ok this is weird. Either this is in a different arena or they really don’t know how to do lighting, because the arena is full of people in one shot and in the next you can only see about three rows. Invader is just a guy in a mask. Pritchard is heavyweight champion. Now you can see like 15 rows full of people. This is a very oddly designed building. Mantel says Bullet has a bad shoulder injury. Invader hammers away but walks into a backdrop. Pritchard punches him down and drops an elbow for one. Off to a chinlock and then a middle rope cross body gets two. Enziguri gets the pin for the champ.

Rating: D. Mantel says this is a confidence builder for Pritchard. He’s the heavyweight champion. Why would he need a confidence builder? For a face champion, Pritchard certainly does have problems beating what appear to be just basic heel opponents. The lack of a feud for him isn’t making me interested in the title, especially when the Dirty White Boy vs. Bullet is clearly the top feud in the company.

Second batch of ads.

CWF Heavyweight Championship Tournament Final: Tom Pritchard vs. Dirty White Boy

This is from Birmingham and is the tournament final. Why we’re seeing this after knowing who won is beyond me but whatever. It’s joined in progress and Pritchard is on commentary for it. Neckbreaker gets two for White Boy. All White Boy at this point. Ron Fuller, a big shot in this area, is guest referee.

Pritchard starts a comeback with punches but walks into an atomic drop. This is apparently 25 minutes in and their third match each of the night. Anthony misses something off the top and Stubbs tries to interfere, only for Fuller to take care of him. Someone runs in and drills Anthony during the distraction for the pin. Well that was pretty heelish. Not enough to rate but what we saw was bad.

Party Patrol vs. The Count/The Grappler #2

Please….make it short. Davey and Grappler start things off and Davey uses that wide variety of arm drags of his. Arm work abounds and it’s on the right arm which is rather odd. The Rich’s are in the national top ten rankings of tag teams. I want to see these rankings. Then I want to slap whoever writes them. Off to Johnny and the Rich’s control with their usual boring stuff.

The camera cuts to just a shot of their feet as Grappler gets a suplex to take over. Count misses a middle rope elbow and it’s off to Johnny again. Or is that Davey? Actually who freaking cares? Headknocker takes Count (another masked guy) down and things break down a bit. Grappler is gone and Johnny suplexes Count. Off to Davey and they botch a Thesz Press for the pin.

Rating: F. I hate these guys. That is all.

House shows.

Willie B. Hert vs. Chuck Allen

Allen is a blonde dude and Hert is the same annoying dancing man that he’s always been. Willie grabs the arm and the announcers make fun of Allen for being fat. And apparently the director got bored with the match as we cut to a promo from Ron Fuller. The match continues to be boring as Fuller talks about how he’ll keep his title. The promo has nothing to do with this match but I’d rather hear Fuller talk than watch it so there you go. Hert is destroying him anyway. Suplex puts Allen down and pounds away. Allen rakes his eyes and that’s all of his offense. Neckbreaker and headbutt end this.

Rating: D-. When the TV show doesn’t want to watch the match on it, I think you should probably know how good things are. This was just an extended squash by what I presume is supposed to be a fun character in Hert. He never really does anything serious so what else would he be classified as?

Mr. Martin is here with his new protege. It’s….MASAHIRO CHONO??? Martin challenges Lord Humongous (Sid Vicious) to a loser leaves town match against Kokina (Yokozuna). I’m pretty sure Sid lost so he could go to the NWA.

Mr. Chono vs. The Equalizer

Allegedly this is Chono’s American debut. That’s certainly Masahiro Chono. Equalizer is another masked dude. I believe we’re clipped to Chono dominating. A backbreaker gets two as he pulls Equalizer up. He slaps him down in the corner and hooks an abdominal stretch. Equalizer gets in some basic shots and Chono is like I DON’T THINK SO IN JAPANESE! Owen Hart style spinwheel kick puts Equalizer down and a Cobra Clutch ends this. Total squash but what a random thing to see here.

House show ads. New idea there.

Ken Wayne says he’s Danny Davis’ worst nightmare. He won the title back from Davis at the Road to Birmingham so here’s a clip of it. It’s also hair vs. hair but since it’s clipped I won’t bother listing it as a full match. Clipped to Danny GUSHING blood. Top rope legdrop hits for Wayne and we’re told this is 30 minutes in. Wayne for to pin him but Davis rolls him up very quickly for the surprise pin. Post match Wayne hit him with a Coke bottle and cut Davis’ hair anyway.

Bullet is back with his arm in a sling. Stubbs tries to jump him but Bullet beats him down anyway. Anthony pops up and they work over Bullet’s arm again. Brad Armstrong makes the save. Willie B. Hert comes out also and he and Brad say they won’t let this happen to Bullet again.

Overall Rating: D. Better show but that’s probably due to the show featuring a lot of stuff that wasn’t from this week. The Bullet storyline wasn’t horrible but it was all they had going for it. Chono was a very surprising appearance but it was just in a squash and he would be back in Japan pretty soon. Probably the best of the four shows but that’s not saying much.

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