Houston’s Wrestling Spectacular
Location: Sam Houston Coliseum, Houston, Texas
Commentator: Paul Boesch

This is a DVD released by Jim Cornette a few years ago and I have very little idea of what to expect. As you can probably guess, this is all from Paul Boesch’s Houston Wrestling and mostly from the late 70s/early 80s. I have no idea what to expect here but there are some very talented names on the lineup. Let’s get to it.

We open with what looks like the opening from Houston’s TV show in a nice touch.

From April 16, 1982. I’m not completely sure on the date as only the year is accurate but that seems to be the most likely option.

AWA World Title: Nick Bockwinkel vs. Dick Slater

Bockwinkel is defending and Slater’s Southwest Title isn’t on the line. Slater takes him down with a hammerlock to start and it’s time for some early cranking. Bockwinkel has to get up and go to the ropes for the escape and we reset things a bit. They go to the test of strength until Slater hits a headbutt, setting up a headscissors on the mat. Back up and Slater plants him down for two, followed by a small package for the same. Slater goes with the Indian Deathlock as Boesch talks about Bockwinkel’s father losing his ear in a match.

Bockwinkel grabs a forearm around the face for the break and hammers away at the chest. That’s fine with Slater, who headbutts his way out of trouble as Bockwinkel can’t get anything going here. We’re back in the front facelock for a bit until Bockwinkel gets up for some shoulders in the corner. One of them misses though and Bockwinkel hits the post to put Slater right back in control. Bockwinkel backdrops out of a piledriver attempt but Slater is right back with an armbar.

They get up but Bockwinkel hits him in the ribs, only for Slater to go back to the hammerlock as the arm cranking continues. The arm is tied up in Slater’s legs but Bockwinkel makes the ropes. Bockwinkel tries to hammer away but gets sent face first into the mat, which is enough to send him backing to the floor. Back in and they ram heads for a double down, giving Bockwinkel a much needed breather.

Slater slams him down but misses a middle rope knee drop to FINALLY give Bockwinkel an opening. The Figure Four goes on and Slater is in trouble but he’s able to roll over to the ropes. Bockwinkel wraps the bad knee around the post before snapping Slater’s throat across the top rope for the first fall at 15:18.

We get a one minute rest period between falls before Bockwinkel goes right after the leg again. Slater kicks him down though and sends Bockwinkel outside, followed by a bunch of kicks on the way back inside. A falling headbutt and a knee drop have Bockwinkel in trouble and Slater puts on his own Figure Four. The rope is reached again so Slater wraps the leg around the post (just as Bockwinkel did to him). A top rope elbow to the back of the head gives Slater the second fall to tie it up at 19:49.

We get another rest period before Slater starts fast with a piledriver to send Bockwinkel outside again. Back in and Slater hits a suplex for two but Bockwinkel slugs his way out of a spinning toehold. The referee gets bumped though and there’s no one to count as Slater gets an O’Connor Roll. The very delayed count gets two but Bockwinkel reverses into a rollup of his own and uses the tights for the pin to retain at 22:09.

Rating: B. This took some time to get going but eventually turned into Slater being good, but not quite good enough to win the whole thing in the end. That’s a nice story to tell and shows just how much better Bockwinkel was here. Bockwinkel absolutely takes some time to get used to, but when he’s showing what he can do, it absolutely works.

Post match Slater gets in a bonus shot to knock Bockwinkel off the apron.

From December 21, 1979.

Jimmy Snuka vs. Ken Patera

2/3 falls again and JJ Dillon is here with Patera. The fans rather approve as Patera gets his warmup pants off and commentary talks about how Snuka got his physique by doing the simple things in life. Such as climbing coconut trees. They lock up to start and Patera shoves him away before they go to a crisscross. Snuka leapfrogs him into a crossbody and Patera already wants a breather.

Back in and Boesch says Snuka has “hit the highspots”. Ok so it’s in a different context entirely (he’s talking about going to big cities) but it sounds so strange anyway. A slam sends Patera bailing to the floor again, followed by a headlock from Snuka back inside. Patera powers out and poses, earning himself a quick dropkick in a funny bit. Snuka grinds away on the headlock again as Dillon is rather anxious on the floor.

Patera finally sends him into the ropes for the break but gets caught in another headlock. Back up again and Patera tries to squeeze the ribs to escape but settles for backing him into the ropes instead. Patera gets up and starts in with the clubbing forearms, plus a knee to the ribs to really stagger Snuka. The chinlock goes on and Patera, like a villain, pulls Snuka down to prevent the escape.

Snuka fights out but gets dropped with another knockdown. A top rope ax handle to the back and an elbow give Patera two, with Boesch sounding rather proud. Snuka gets in a shot to the head and starts the comeback, including a jumping…uh…something to the face. A big chop drops Patera again but he gets in a shot of his own for a breather. Snuka is back with a crossbody but Patera rolls through and his feet land on the rope for the pin and the first fall at 13:23.

We get a longer than usual rest period between the falls, which is at least partially so Dillon can say there was NO cheating. The second fall begins and Snuka is not exactly pleased. Some chops in the corner have Patera in more trouble and a slam makes it worse. The running diving headbutt has Patera rocked and a jumping headbutt gives Snuka two. Another headbutt gives Snuka two, with Patera having to get his foot on the ropes. A quick shot staggers Snuka and Patera gets his full nelson.

Snuka flips Patera forward for the escape (which you don’t see very often) and he makes another comeback with the classic technique of hitting someone in the face. That means it’s time to start doing a comeback dance but Patera gets his knees up on a splash. The rollup cover gets three, which doesn’t count as the referee sees Patera’s feet on the ropes. Instead Snuka gets an O’Connor roll to tie it up at 20:01.

The annoyed Patera forearms away in the corner to start the third fall but Snuka atomic drops him down. Back up and Patera gets a bearhug to slow things back down. That’s broken up as well and they crash out to the floor, where Dillon grabs Snuka. A headbutt cuts that off (the fans approve) and Snuka chases Dillon until it’s a double countout at 24:31 (the fans disapprove).

Rating: B. Again, it was a bit slow at times but I was wanting to see where this went. That’s a good sign as I don’t have any connection to the story or the wrestlers at this point but it worked anyway. If nothing else, it’s always interesting to see the pre-prison version of Patera, as he really was good as a power villain. It’s easy to see how he became such a big star in the WWF not long after this.

From July 27, 1979.

Jack Brisco vs. The Spoiler

2/3 falls again and Gary Hart is here with the Spoiler (a fairly tall masked man who has impressed me before). A headlock doesn’t get Spoiler very far to start so he tries it again to some better success. They fight into a top wristlock but Spoiler pulls him right back into the headlock. Brisco can’t get very far by grabbing the leg and Spoiler keeps grinding away, with Boesch talking about how Spoiler doesn’t like Hart cheating for him.

The referee catches the cheating though and makes Spoiler break it, which he does…with a facebuster in a smart move. We’re right back on the headlock and Brisco is in more trouble, even as he’s on top of Spoiler on the mat. Brisco starts kneeing away at the back to escape and we hit a reverse chinlock. Now it’s Brisco grabbing a headlock of his own, with Spoiler stacking him up to escape.

A big boot sends Brisco outside but Spoiler misses a dive off the top, which is what Boesch said made Brisco World Champion. That’s remarkably specific. Brisco punches him down again and grabs a chinlock, with Spoiler getting a foot into the ropes. Some knee drops have Brisco down again and a rollup with trunks gets two, as Brisco’s feet are in the ropes. The Claw hold goes on and Spoiler grinds away, with Brisco looking all wobbly.

Another comeback has Brisco on his feet and he finally gets out with a shinbreaker. Brisco stays on the leg and puts on a half crab, with Spoiler tapping, albeit about 15 years before that meant anything in wrestling (with a useful graphic before the match reminding us that it doesn’t matter). Spoiler eventually manages to grab the claw again but Brisco goes back to the leg. The Figure Four goes on and Spoiler grabs the referee, who KICKS SPOILER for the break (that has to be cheating).

Hart’s distraction makes Brisco let go and he charges into a boot in the corner. Spoiler rolls him up but Hart gets caught helping on the pin and that’s a DQ for the first fall at 18:11. Hart and Spoiler both hammer away between falls so Brisco decks Hart and rolls Spoiler up for the pin at 19:13.

Rating: B-. They had a nice story here with Boesch telling us that Spoiler was getting sick of Hart’s cheating and then Hart cost him both falls. At the same time, Brisco is still one of the best of all time and can work well with anyone in there. I always get something out of his matches and this was no exception. The Spoiler continues to look like someone who should be just kind of there but does well every chance he gets.

Post match Brisco chases Spoiler off.

From November 30, 1979.

Dusty Rhodes vs. Ken Patera

2/3 falls again and James J. Dillon is with Patera again. Patera grinds away on the headlock to start and hammers away a bit before grabbing it for a second time. A snapmare makes Rhodes get funky like a monkey though and it’s time to work on a wristlock. An armbar has Patera down and Dillon is right there on the apron to accuse Rhodes of pulling the tights.

Dillon’s distraction lets Patera get out so Rhodes starts the flip, flop and fly (as only he could ever really do right). Patera fights back and gets a chinlock to slow Rhodes down a good bit. Rhodes gets up as well and starts firing off the elbows, including the Bionic Elbow for the first fall at 8:27.

After the required rest period, Rhodes wastes no time in knocking him out to the floor for another hard elbow. Back in and a snapmare sets up a missed Bionic Elbow and Patera goes up top, only to be slammed back down. Rhodes puts on a chinlock of his own, with Patera going to the ropes for the break in something you don’t see very often. Patera starts in on the leg and cranks away, with the fans wanting some elbows but commentary pointing out that it won’t make a difference.

Rhodes slips out but gets sent into the buckle to cut him off. The full nelson goes on, with Rhodes immediately running for the ropes in a smart counter. Instead Patera grabs the bearhug and cranks away until they go down for a two count. Rhodes finally gets up and slaps the ears for the escape, only to get bearhugged again, this time for a pin at 18:33. Rhodes gets up after the rest period and chases Patera outside, where he pulls Rhodes outside as well. They slug it out on the floor, where Dillon grabs the leg on the way back in, which is enough for the DQ to give Rhodes the win at 19:56.

Rating: B-. I’ve been overly harsh on Rhodes over the years but you can definitely see the charisma, which was more than enough to make him into such a big star. The action here wasn’t quite as good as the rest of the stuff so far but Rhodes’ charisma was carrying him here. Patera continues to be someone who can be a good villain, with the interference being a nice way to keep him safe in defeat.

From January 9, 1981.

Chavo Guerrero vs. Black Gordman

2/3 falls again and of course this is Chavo Sr. (Classic), whose International Junior Heavyweight Title isn’t on the line. They trade standing switches to start until a flying headscissors brings Gordman down. Back up and Gordman gets a full nelson, with Guerrero reversing into one of his own. That’s broken up and Gordman works on the arm for a big before getting taken down by the leg.

Guerrero cranks away before letting up, allowing Gordman to pull him into the same leglock. This one doesn’t last as long so Gordman goes with some shots to the face instead. Guerrero is sent into the corner and seems to slip off what looked to be a crossbody attempt, instead settling for a springboard version and the first fall at 7:04.

After the rest period, Guerrero forearms him into the ropes to start the second fall before winning a slugout. Gordman gets in a cheap shot to take over and grabs what looks to be a nerve hold but is really a choke. The referee holds Gordman back but he manages to get in a shot on Guerrero anyway, as the officiating here leaves something to be desired. A pair of DDTs (Boesch: “That bulldogging headlock.”) and a running backsplash tie it up at 10:48.

The rest period sees the referee yelling at Gordman, who starts the second fall with an STO (that’s a big move for this time). It works so well that Gordman does it again for two before choking with the tape. That wakes Guerrero up and he strikes away in the corner, setting up a monkey flip. Gordman sends him over the top rope though and that’s a DQ to give Guerrero the win at 13:55.

Rating: C+. Weakest match of the set so far and even then it was completely fine. The ending seems to be a way to set up a rematch for the title (which is exactly what happened) but there wasn’t much here that would make me want to see them fight again. Gordman had some stuff that would become more commonplace later, but for 1981, it was insane to see some of this stuff.

From October 24, 1980.

Dusty Rhodes vs. Ivan Koloff

This is an interesting match which happened a bunch around the territories. To spice this up a bit, this is a Texas Death Coffin match, meaning it’s a Texas Deathmatch, which means you have regular falls and rest periods after, but apparently you win by regular coffin/casket match rules. Rhodes and Koloff argue over whether the coffin is in the ring or on the floor, with Rhodes (inside) getting his way.

They take their time to start, with Rhodes promising to lay him in the coffin (which sounds like threatening murder). Koloff seems squeamish of the coffin (because, you know, coffin) and keeps yelling about it while Rhodes dances a bit. Some hard shots in the corner have Rhodes in some trouble but he throws Koloff over the coffin instead. Koloff steps away from the coffin and kicks him down to take over. A middle rope knee (the Sputnik Dive) connects but Rhodes gets a small package for the fall at 4:09.

Koloff is perfectly fine so this was little more than a breather for Rhodes, which makes sense. The USA chants start up and Koloff (a proud Canadian) isn’t happy. Rhodes slugs away with elbows but lowers his head and gets kicked in the face for a fall at 6:17. They’re both back up again and the USA chants are on again, because they went so well for Rhodes last time.

They go outside this time and Koloff gets sent into various things to bust him open. Koloff takes off a boot to knock Rhodes silly, followed by a chair to the head. That’s not enough to put Rhodes (also bleeding) in the coffin so he fights up, only to miss the elbow for two. A piledriver gives Rhodes the pin at 11:26 but he can’t get Koloff into the coffin.

That doesn’t count anyway as it’s during the rest period so once that is out of the way, we can start up again. Rhodes goes for the coffin again but Koloff still isn’t having that. Now it’s Rhodes who won’t go in, but Koloff does drop a knee on him for the fall at 12:28. The rest period ends and Koloff rams him into the side of the coffin, only to miss a knee drop. Rhodes knocks him into the coffin and that’s enough for the win at 14:12.

Rating: C+. This was a bit weird as it felt like they were trying to do two different matches at once. The coffin deal was fine enough but the Texas death match and the falls didn’t add anything, as they just served as ways to give the two of them a breather. It wasn’t a bad match, but it was a bit more complicated than it needed to be.

From June 16, 1978.

Dick Slater vs. Alberto Madril

Another 2/3 falls and Madril is usually known as Al (as he’s listed on the DVD case). Slater walks away from some threats of right hands in the corner and kicks Madril down. Madril’s armbar works a bit better, including taking Slater to the mat to crank away even more. Back up and Slater drives him into the corner, earning a rather big shove. An armdrag sets up another armbar, though this one doesn’t go as well for Madril. Back up and Madril gets two off an O’Connor roll, setting up another armbar. This time Slater stands up and climbs over the ropes, which works for a break.

Slater punches him down and grabs a quickly broken front facelock, with Madril reversing into a hammerlock. That’s broken up as well and Slater hammers away, allowing him to use the hair and pull Madril into an armbar of his own. A knee onto the arm has Madril in more trouble and his comeback is cut off by a shot to the throat. Slater’s Russian legsweep gets two but Madril punches him down for two. Slater forearms him in the back for two more but the piledriver is countered with a backdrop. Madril gives him an atomic drop for a hilarious sell, only to get small packaged for the first fall at 11:32.

The second fall starts and Madril immediately chases him outside, with Slater coming back in and bailing right back to the floor. Back in again and Slater elbows him out to the floor so the beating can begin. The sleeper goes on back inside for two arm drops but Madril fights out and slugs away.

Slater gets tied in the ropes and punched a few times for two, with the fans not liking the speed of the count. Back up and Slater sends him to the floor, only for Madril to come back in for a rollup to tie it up at 18:50. We get what feels like an extended rest period as Madril’s shoulder seems to be hurt. It’s so hurt that the referee stops the match and awards it to Slater at 20:45.

Rating: B-. The ending didn’t help things but there is only so much that can be done if Madril is too banged up to continue. Slater continues to be someone who feels like he could be a star in just about any promotion. He works well and comes off like a heel you want to see lose. That’s a valuable thing to have and it worked here, even with a less than optimal ending.

From April 8, 1977.

Bruiser Brody vs. Dusty Rhodes

2/3 falls again and I believe that’s the right date, as it seems like this might be April 1, especially with a pre-match announcement that Brody will face Fritz Von Erich the following week. They circle each other to start, with Rhodes (who is SLIM here) chasing Brody out to the floor. Back in and Rhodes hammers away, which has Brody bailing to the floor again.

After a lengthy stay outside, Brody comes back in and gets his arm cranked. Brody fights out and takes over on the mat, only for Rhodes to take him into the corner. What looks like a low blow takes too long to set up though and Brody knocks him down again. Some running boots to the head and a knee drop finish Rhodes for the first fall at 6:08.

Rhodes rolls to the floor and sneaks back in to hammer Brody from behind. An elbow to the face sets up the big elbow to tie it up at 7:18. We pause for Brody to get up (those were some BIG elbows) as the rest period is far longer than after the first fall. Rhodes is right on him to hammer away as soon as the bell rings and Brody is sent outside. A dancing Rhodes follows him out but then goes back inside to chill in the corner.

Some elbows to the head rock Brody again but the big elbow misses. Brody knocks him down and claws away at Rhodes’ head on the mat, which is enough to fire up the comeback. That’s cut off again and Brody hammers him down in the corner, followed by some big boots for two. Rhodes is back up for a headbutt and they’re both down, with Rhodes calling on the fans to help him up (and that’s a big part of why Rhodes was a star). Rhodes, powered by the fans, gets up and hammers away, only to get backdropped over the top for the DQ to give Rhodes the third fall and the win at 14:34.

Rating: B-. This was starting to get somewhere with the fans getting behind Rhodes, as they’re supposed to do when a hero is fighting a monster like Brody. The thing that caught my attention here was how well Brody could sell. He was a big guy, but he made Rhodes’ offense look like a superhero by staggering around like that. You could see a lot of Brody in Undertaker’s selling later on and that’s because it works very well.

Post match Brody ties him in the ropes and keeps up the beating, including a bunch of kicks, both running and standing. Rhodes escapes and fires off some elbows to send Brody skedaddling.

From September 19, 1980. This is described as “Surviving Footage” so we’re likely not getting close to the full match.

Bruiser Brody vs. Ivan Koloff

2/3 falls again and we’re joined in progress with Koloff begging off in the corner and Brody hammering away. Brody sends him into the corner and starts kicking away as the fans are WAY behind Brody here. A slam plants Koloff again and they go outside where Koloff is posted rather quickly. Back in and the bleeding Koloff gets in a shot of his own for a knockdown, setting up the top rope knee drop for the second fall to tie it up at 3:07 shown. That would mean we missed about the first eight minutes, assuming the times I can find are accurate.

Koloff hammers away to start the third fall but Brody sends him face first into a boot in the corner to start the comeback. Commentary acknowledges that Koloff isn’t going to win a slugout here, which is exactly what happens. Brody blocks a kick to the ribs and spins him around, setting up a one armed slam.

The slow beating continues, including a neck snap to send Koloff sprawling. They head outside where Brody uses a chair (the referee doesn’t mind) and then get back inside for another slam to drop Koloff again. A fist drop gets two on Koloff but he avoids a charge into the buckle for the big crash. With nothing else working, Koloff grabs a shovel and comes off the top to knock Brody silly for the DQ and the third fall at 9:39 shown.

Rating: C. This was a slower paced brawl with the ending seemingly designed to keep the feud going. Koloff had something with the shovel/burying deal and this was about six weeks before the Coffin Match with Dusty Rhodes. It’s nice to see things tie together like this, as we’re waiting to see someone conquer the heel, which is what we got earlier in the set (which is some weird structuring but oh well).

From August 7, 1981.

Tony Atlas/Tiger Conway Jr. vs. Tank Patton/Colonel Buck Robley

2/3 falls again. Atlas signs a bunch of autographs before the match, only stopping for the introductions. That’s not something you see very often but it works rather well. There are also two referees here for a weird but logical visual. Atlas and Patton start things off but don’t do much of anything before it’s off to Robley. Conway ducks a right hand and fires away on Robley, who goes down in a hurry. Patton gets beaten up as well before Conway starts in on Robley’s arm.

Atlas comes in and Robley panics, apparently worried about getting beaten up even worse. A rather grinding headlock has Robley in more trouble and the dropkick has him down again. Patton comes back in and gets taken down by the dancing Atlas. Conway and Atlas take turns working on Patton’s arm until he manages to send Atlas into Robley’s knee in the corner. Atlas easily powers out of a cover so Robley goes with the bearhug to wear him down.

That’s broken up but Patton is there to cut off the tag attempt. Another bearhug goes on for a bit longer before Patton slams Atlas down. It’s back to Robley for another bearhug and Atlas ax handling his way to freedom still isn’t enough for the tag. Some shots out of the corner are enough to bring in Conway to quickly clean house. Everything breaks down and Patton drops Conway with a clothesline for the first fall at 10:53.

The second fall starts with Patton working over Conway before handing it off to Robley for a knockdown of his own. A piledriver attempt is blocked though and it’s back to Atlas to clean house. Headbutts abound and Atlas bearhugs Robley to even things up a bit from earlier. That’s broken up so it’s back to Conway to clean house again. A flying headbutt finishes Patton at 16:03 and we’re tied up.

Tiger Conway Sr. is at ringside cheering for his son, who takes Patton down by the arm. It’s back to Robley, who gets punched down with some big right hands. Robley comes back with a sleeper as Conway Sr. and Patton argue. It’s back to Patton to slug away, including a knee drop for two. Robley kicks him down again for one, with Conway’s foot getting on the rope. Back up and a kick to the face allows the tag to bring Atlas back in.

House is cleaned in a hurry, with some gorilla presses dropping Robley. Atlas misses a headbutt though and it’s back to Conway for a Boston crab. The kickout sends Conway into the referee though and the brawl goes outside. Robley grabs a chair but Conway takes it away and starts swinging. That’s enough for the referee to throw the third fall out and the match is a draw at 24:55.

Rating: C+. This took some time to get going but it was working well by the end. It was a match that should have been a bit shorter than it went, but the fans were going nuts for Conway and Atlas. You could see the star power in Atlas no matter what he was doing and I could imagine Robley and Patton being an annoying heel team. That makes for a good pairing, but it only worked out so well, mainly due to the match going long.

Conway and Atlas want to keep going but that’s not going to happen.

From 1966.

Johnny Valentine vs. Bull Curry

2/3 falls and no time limit. Valentine was a huge star and Greg’s father. He’s also the United States Champion but the title isn’t on the line here. Assuming the 1966 date is right, this would put the match at some point from June to August, though that’s assuming quite a few things. Valentine goes after the arm to start but Curry (the crowd favorite) slugs away to bang up Valentine’s ear. Commentary mentions Curry wanting revenge about Valentine hurting Curry’s son so there’s something personal here too.

They go with some grappling and Valentine grabs a front facelock, which is switched into a chinlock to keep up the grinding. Curry fights up and slugs away as the crowd gets back into things. Back up and Curry backs him into the corner, where Valentine manages a shot to send Curry out to the floor. They go back to the apron and Curry is knocked right back down again. Curry tries another slugout, earning a third trip to the floor. Yet another slugout actually goes to Curry, who is quickly rolled up for the pin at 9:46.

After the rest period, Curry wastes no time in punching him into the corner and then doing it again for good measure. The slugout is on again and Valentine is in trouble, mainly due to being busted open. More right hands have Valentine rocked, with maybe the best “no one is home” look I’ve ever seen. Valentine is knocked down and collapses, which is enough for a countout at 13:17. Curry is right there to start slugging away after the rest period and Valentine is in BIG trouble. The referee gets knocked down and the fight goes to the floor where it is thrown/counted out at 15:47.

Rating: B. This was a fight rather than a match and that’s a good way to go. The idea of Curry (known as Wild Bull) being someone who can’t be controlled, especially when someone has done something to his family, fits perfectly and it was working here. The beating that Curry gave him made Valentine look like he was dead on his feet and it was quite the sight to behold. I might have enjoyed this as much as anything on the set so far, which is a nice bar to clear.

Post match Curry keeps up the beating and has to be held back. Curry gets back in the ring and the fans go NUTS.

From November 30, 1979.

American Title: Bruiser Brody vs. The Spoiler

Spoiler is defending in another 2/3 falls match. They fight over a lockup to start and Spoiler’s knees in the corner don’t seem to do much. Brody shrugs that off and knocks Spoiler down before ripping at the face in the corner. The brawl heads outside with Brody hammering away and they grab a chair each. One of the chairs is brought in and Brody cracks him, which is fine with the referee. A slam and the big knee drop give Brody the first fall at 3:20.

Brody wastes no time in going right after him (the rest period is cut out here for some reason) but has to block the Claw attempt. Spoiler snapmares him down but still can’t get the Claw. Eventually it goes on, only for Spoiler to let it go and hit an elbow to the head. Another Claw attempt is blocked so Brody kicks his way out of the corner. Brody misses a charge into the corner though and the Claw goes on again and Brody is pinned to tie it up at 7:14.

After another missing rest period, Spoiler knocks him into the corner and goes up top for an elbow. They go outside and Brody gets posted, only to come back with some big microphone shots to the head. Brody tries to rip the mask off but Spoilers gets in a top rope forearm. A Claw attempt misses though and Brody goes simple with straight choking. Back up and Brody hammers away but Spoiler goes to the throat to take him down. Some elbows to the head set up the Claw for two, even with Spoiler grabbing the rope. Brody finally slams his way to freedom and another knee drop is good for the pin and the title at 14:38.

Rating: B-. It’s nice to save the title change for the end and they were beating each other up rather well. Spoiler continues to be someone worth a look, while you can definitely see Brody’s influence on a lot of modern brawling. Good enough stuff here, even with things going a bit slowly at times.

We get what appears to be the TV closing to wrap things up.

Overall Rating: B. I had a really good time with this as you could tell that there was a lot going on with the Houston territory. Boesch was one of the better received promoters of his day and it makes sense given how good some of the stars were around here. There is nothing close to bad and the better action featured some very high quality stars. Pretty awesome set here and I could go for seeing a lot more stuff like this, both from Houston and beyond.

 

 

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Classic All Star Wrestling
Date: October 23, 2022
Host: Adam Parsons

We’re back with another week of random classic matches which in some cases are more old than classic. Either way, I’m looking forward to seeing a lot of this as I don’t know what’s coming and that’s a great feeling to have. If nothing else, it’s cool to try to figure out what I’m seeing most weeks, which is quite the mystery to solve in some cases. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Adam Parsons runs down the card.

We’re starting with a bit of a confusing one, as Parsons says this is from Southwest Championship Wrestling (San Antonio). Now this is billed as being from San Antonio, but the ring is rather Memphis, the commentary is rather Memphis, the referee is from Memphis and the only record I can see of these two having a match is in Memphis on January 4, 1986, so I’m thinking Parsons slipped up with the announcement.

Rick Casey vs. Benny Trailer

Casey (better known as Wendell Cooley) works on the arm to start and grabs a quick suplex. Arm cranking ensues and the bulldog finishes Trailer at 3:04.

Rating: D+. The match was nothing more than a squash but I was having fun trying to figure out where this took place. All signs point to Memphis and I’m all but certain it was just a quick mistake from commentary. That’s the fun part of this show and they made it work again here, even if it was a pretty lame match.

Next up is from International Championship Wrestling, likely from the early 1980s.

Tojo Yamamoto vs. Kenny Harris

Yamamoto was a longtime star in Memphis so this is a rare excursion for him. The graphic says Harris but commentary (which sounds like Lanny Poffo) says Hall. A chop has Yamamoto in trouble so he goes into his tights for what is likely a phantom foreign object. Yamamoto gets his arm cranked so it’s a pull of the hair to get himself out of trouble.

Another shot sends Yamamoto into the corner and we pause again as he keeps trying to find something in his tights. Back up and Yamamoto goes to the eyes to take over and some chops in the corner keep him in trouble. Some chops put Harris down and the stomach claw is enough for the submission at 5:20.

Rating: D+. You know, if you want to have Yamamoto go with the foreign object deal, he might want to actually find one (even if it doesn’t exist) at some point. I’m not sure what else you could expect here, but they were doing quite a bit of stalling for a payoff that didn’t really come. That being said, you don’t get to see much Yamamoto but he knew how to do the villainy things. There are better examples than this though as it wasn’t the most interesting deal.

I’m assuming we’re staying in in International Championship Wrestling, as I can’t imagine anywhere else going here, from Frankfort, Kentucky, again in the early 1980s.

Pez Whatley vs. Walter Johnson

We’re joined in progress and Johnson, a former NFL player, misses a headbutt as the referee is down. Whatley dives into a bearhug as Rip Rogers comes in to throw powder in Johnson’s eyes to give Whatley the pin at 1:00 shown. Just the finish instead of the match here.

Post match, Whatley yells about Ronnie Garvin and yes this is ICW.

Finally, from Southwest Championship Wrestling in San Antonio, likely on July 1, 1984.

Parsons gives us the preview for next week and signs off before the main event. Ok then.

Bruiser Brody vs. Abdullah the Butcher

We’re joined in progress again with the two fighting on the floor. Back in and Butcher kicks him low so Butcher beats up the referee (in case you thought the referee mattered here). The brawling continues as we get a second referee, who is shoved down almost immediately. They fight to the floor again and then into the crowd where they find a piece of wood. A bunch of fans run off as they fight to a high rise area and choke/rake eyes. Brody grabs a chair and Butcher wanders off at 4:58 shown.

Rating: C. I have no idea how much of that was part of the actual match as it was just a big brawl rather than anything resembling a match. Brody and Butcher were there to do this kind of thing over and over and that is why they would always be able to find work around the country and world. It’s a total freak show, but dang they could make it feel exciting.

Overall Rating: C-. This wasn’t one of their better shows, but what matters is still the fun from just seeing what we might get that week. It’s the point of a show like this and it worked very well again here. Getting to go around the wrestling world and get away from the WWF or Crockett is great for a change as there is so much talent that you just won’t see most of the time. Not a great edition, but dang this is a fun concept.

 

 

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Hidden Gems #13
Date: 1980

Texas Championship Wrestling TV
Date: October 27, 1980
Location: Sportatorium, Dallas, Texas
Commentator: Boyd Pierce

So this is a different one with a full episode of the Texas Championship Wrestling TV, which would eventually morph into World Class Championship Wrestling. These shows are very rare, hence why they make a lot of sense as a Hidden Gem. Believe it or not, the show is about the Von Erichs. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence, with a bunch of still shots.

Tim Brooks vs. Ted Heath

They go into the corner to start with the British Heath getting in a shot to the ribs off the break. What a villain. Some circling goes to Heath as he takes over on the hammerlock, allowing Pierce to talk about how awesome Heath was as an amateur wrestler in the UK. The wristlock into the hammerlock keeps Brooks in trouble until he reverses into a hammerlock of his own. Ever Pierce acknowledges that they’re not moving very much out there, even as Heath takes over with another hammerlock.

A headscissors takes Brooks down, allowing him to hit a quick splash onto the arm. After some pausing for Heath to hold his arm, we get a rather fired up test of strength with Brooks kicking him in the ribs to take over. Heath backflips out of things though and takes Brooks down in a pretty impressive counter (how British of him). Brooks takes him right back down and drops some knees, only to have the arm bent around the rope. They go into the corner with Brooks getting a chain to the throat and the bearhug goes on.

Heath breaks out of that and gets in the chain as well, sending Brooks running off like a true coward. Imagine that: running when an angry man is swinging a steel chain at you. Get some backbone man! We have three minutes left in the fifteen minute time limit and it’s Brooks coming back in to beg away again. With the chain taken away, Heath starts in on the leg and chops Brooks on the mat but a splash hits knees. Brooks drops a leg for the pin at 13:27.

Rating: D+. This was a weird one as it felt like they ran out of time for what they were trying to do and threw together a quick finish. Heath was decent enough here but Brooks was a heel around the territory for a long time. It would have worked better had they gotten to the bigger stuff earlier, but that ended just came out of nowhere and felt like it was from a different match.

Brian Blair vs. The Jackyl

The Jackyl is a masked man replacing the injured Bulldog Brower. Blair slugs away to start with Jackyl staggering around until he falls down. A headlock takeover lets Blair keep him in trouble as the announcer talks about how AMAZING the Von Erichs are. Jackyl finally goes with a pull of the hair to escape and it’s right back to the headlock takeover to lay on the mat some more.

After another minute or so of just laying there on the mat, they get up to their knees for more headlocking. Blair switches to a front facelock as we hit five minutes in….somehow. They FINALLY break it up and it’s time for Jackyl to go with the foreign object. Blair fights back with right hands and a knee drop, meaning we hit the front facelock again. It’s time to go after the mask but Jackyl drives him up against the ropes for the sake of identity.

Some right hands have Blair in trouble and it’s off to the chinlock because this match hates me. Blair reaches up and pulls the mask half off so Jackyl cranks on the chinlock a bit more to keep things hidden. That works so well that they do it again but this time, Blair gets away and blindly swings. The slug it out from their knees until Jackyl slams him down, only to miss a legdrop. An atomic drop into a middle rope elbow to the head rocks Jackyl again and an abdominal stretch into the pin finishes Jackyl at 11:56.

Rating: D. This did get a little better once they started doing something but the first five or six minutes were spent ENTIRELY on the mat in one hold after another. That’s not wrestling, that’s not psychology and that’s not effort. This was the two of them laying there for half of the match and that was horrible. Once they got up and tried to do something it got up to acceptable, but just laying there like that isn’t worth anyone’s time.

Post break (and shower and dressing), Blair talks about all of the physical stuff he has to do to stay in shape. Oh and stay away from drugs and cigarettes. He’s been an athlete since he was six years old and now he does some rodeo along with wrestling. Blair likes the idea of Fritz Von Erich beating up Gino Hernandez too. The lack of charisma was strong here, as was Blair’s goodness being almost hard to take. Then again, different time and Fritz LOVED that kind of stuff so it makes sense.

Stan Stasiak vs. Bruiser Brody

The brawl is on in a hurry with Bruiser knocking him to the floor early on. Back in and they brawl in the corner, with Brody getting smart by working on the heart punch hand. Stasiak is fine enough to send him face first into the buckle and we hit the nerve hold. Brody fights up from his knees and stomps away in the corner so they can go outside. Some rams into the apron let Brody bites him in the head as the beating is on. Back in and the running knee misses Stasiak but the referee gets pushed away, allowing Stasiak to use a foreign object for the pin at 4:28.

Rating: C. That’s not the ending I would have bet on as Brody is Brody and it’s 1980 so why is Stasiak still being pushed as something? It wasn’t clean or anything though so it’s not like this is anything of note. It was one of the more entertaining matches on the show as well, mainly due to Brody’s crazy charisma.

Bruiser Brody/Von Erichs vs. Stan Stasiak/Gary Young/Pak Song/Gino Hernandez

That would be David/Fritz/Kevin here and there are a ton of stipulations. It’s an elimination match with pin/submission/over the top rope eliminations. Whoever is eliminated first can’t wrestle in Texas for six months, but if it’s one of the Von Erichs they can keep living in the state. Any of the other five have to get out of Texas altogether. Brody and Young start things off as there are two referees inside the ring for a weird look.

They run the ropes with a kick to the ribs putting Young in trouble, meaning it’s off to David for an armdrag takeover. David gets pulled into the corner though and it’s time for the villains to start taking their turns on him. Gino gets in some stomps but it’s off to Kevin, sending Gino BAILING to the floor. The villains take a breather on the floor and we settle down to Young front facelocking Kevin. Song’s chops put Kevin down but a dropkick puts him down. The Claw goes on and Song is pinned at 3:57.

We take a break and come back with Brody slamming Gino and cleaning house as only he can. Kevin comes in to get caught with a cheap shot, allowing Gino to throw him outside. Gino chokes Kevin so Fritz comes in to ship Gino with a leather belt. Kevin and Gino fall over the top for the double elimination and the credits roll as they fight on the floor at 6:56 shown.

Rating: D+. This didn’t have time to go anywhere but they got rid of Song so at least they got the important part done. The point of a show like this is to leave the fans wanting more and that is exactly what they managed to do. Granted I’m not sure how well it worked with no real backstory to the whole thing but the Von Erichs in the main event was the guaranteed main event.

Overall Rating: D. I wasn’t feeling this one at all as it just wasn’t an entertaining show. The promotion was built around personalities and the long form stories but none of those were on display here. It was a case of knowing almost everyone involved aside from the interview with Blair and the deal with Fritz whipping Gino. The promotion would get better but this wasn’t the time just yet. Bad show, but anyone can have an off week.

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The season is done now and the good news is that the show has received the highest audience and ratings in the history of the network. That would make it seem like a second season is likely, which is great as this has been one of the best series of documentaries I can remember seeing.

Bruiser Brody

We’re starting with probably the best episode here. Bruiser Brody was a monster back in his day and one of the true traveling attractions in wrestling. He would wrestle a little bit throughout the territories but never stayed in one place for very long. Eventually he tried to buy into the World Wrestling Council in Puerto Rico, which didn’t sit well with another wrestler, who stabbed him to death in the shower.

That’s what the episode focuses on because what else could it focus on? The main speaker here is Tony Atlas, who was in the locker room that night and saw the knife. He also helped carry Brody out but there was nothing that could be done to save him. This is a well known story in wrestling but the fallout is the fascinating part though as the show looks at the coverup of the murder, with claims of self defense and subpoenas being delivered after the trial was over.

This one felt like a dive into a very deep story and that’s where this thing got fascinating. The main story is well known but the details themselves make it clear how horrible the entire situation really was. It’s one of those cases where everyone else seems to know what happened but the people involved with the killing yet somehow they’ve gotten away with the whole thing. Check this one out as it’s more than worth your time.

Von Erichs

This one is much more like the Montreal Screwjob episode than anything else. The problem with the Von Erichs is that there is so much to be said about the whole thing that you can’t contain the whole thing in a single hour. The family is one of the greatest tragedies in wrestling history and we get a lot of that here.

Kevin Von Erich, the last of his generation, gets to talk a lot here and you can feel the real emotion coming from him as he talks about his brothers passing away. The line of “I used to have five brothers and now I’m not even a brother anymore” is a really hard one to sit through, though it does seem like he has found peace, which is the best possible ending that he could have.

The other big issue here is talking about how David passed away from stomach issues when it has been pretty well established that it was a massive drug overdose. That being said, I can completely understand the lack of wanting to talk about something like that as maybe Kevin still believes otherwise. Can you blame him for wanting to try to have some peace on that? Either way, this made me want to watch the other two awesome documentaries on World Class, both of which are more than worth seeing. This is a good show for another side, but it could have been twice as long to really cover everything in more detail.

Gino Hernandez

I was looking forward to this one as Hernandez is another interesting case that you don’t hear about very often. Hernandez was a young and talented heel who knew how to work a crowd but also spent a lot of time partying and getting involved with some rather questionable people.

This one takes a different twist though as it’s much more about Hernandez’s family trying to find out what happened to him. Hernandez died under some mysterious circumstances (the autopsy report had some mistakes and he had something like five times the amount of cocaine in his body for an overdose) and for thirty years his mother and daughter weren’t sure what happened to him. The producers found some of the people Hernandez associated with back in the day and smoothed things over a bit, though it does seem that there was some more going on.

This is more in the true crime path like the Brody show and that made it better. Again, it helps to have a story that a lot of people aren’t familiar with and some characters that are easy to get behind. Throw in some stories like Hernandez being paranoid that he was about to be killed and then dying under mysterious circumstances and this was quite an easy watch. Well if you can ignore a story about death, drugs and a destroyed family.

Fabulous Moolah

Series finale time and this one didn’t work as well for me. The idea is that Moolah is someone who is beloved for her success and influence on wrestling but she might have been a rather horrible person behind the scenes, controlling her women wrestlers and throwing them away when she stopped making them money. It sounds like a lot to cover and that’s where this runs into trouble.

The problem here is they run through so many different stories about Moolah that it’s hard to get any kind of flow going. It’s a lot of looking at one person/story then another then another and while it certainly makes Moolah look horrible, it’s not the best way of presenting things. It’s much more a bunch of things being thrown together and used as a presentation of everything wrong with her. The overall message works, but the means of getting there not so much.

Overall, I’m sure there’s something there with Moolah, but her legacy is so strong and influence so incredible that it’s rather easy to overlook. At the same time though there are so many stories of people being treated horribly that it’s impossible to overlook. When you consider the history of wrestling though, especially the era when Moolah was on top, it’s all but guaranteed that Moolah wasn’t the only boss doing things like this. It’s a good amount of stories and evidence against her, but that’s what it feels like: a bunch of stories told one after another instead of one big compelling idea.

So yeah, the series is great and even the worst episode (probably Moolah or the Screwjob) are all worth checking out. The Brody one is great though and they all fly by. Season two should be great as it’s not like there aren’t a ton of stories to tell. Dino Bravo has been rumored for a season premiere and that could work out very well. Check these things out as soon as you can.

WWWF House Show
Date: August 7, 1976
Location: Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
Attendance: 22,000
Commentator: Vince McMahon

This was added to the Network recently and I almost always enjoy these older shows. There’s something about going this far back into history and seeing how things really were back in a different era. The main event, or at least the featured match as the last match wasn’t always the biggest, is Stan Hansen challenging Bruno Sammartino in a rematch of their original rematch at Showdown at Shea. Let’s get to it.

A note on the Network says this isn’t the complete show. I’ll try to let you know if anything is missing as far as I know.

Vince welcomes us to the show and explains the main event.

Johnny Rivera vs. Jose Cadiz

The ring announcer says there are nine matches on- the card but I can only find eight. Maybe something is missing from the records or maybe they’re counting a 2/3 falls match as two matches. He also has some of the worst charisma I’ve ever heard. It’s also weird to see the referee in khakis and such a dark atmosphere.

Rivera grabs some armdrags to start and Cadiz is already frustrated. A headlock slows things down a bit and this is just such a culture shock compared to modern stuff. Cadiz fights off the mat and puts on a fireman’s carry with some choking at the same time. That’s not cool with a fan who is seemingly well known to both Vince and the rest of the crowd. Rivera flips over the back and dropkicks him to the floor for a breather.

Back in and something like a Wasteland gives Cadiz two but Rivera spins up into a sunset flip for two. Rivera misses a flip splash and gets covered for one as this is trying to speed up a bit. A few snapmares set up a chinlock from Cadiz as Vince is surprised that someone can do this well in their Garden debut. Rivera fights up and gets the better of a full nelson before a not terrible ankle scissors gets two. Cadiz grabs a headscissors on the mat but Rivera just backs away for the escape.

Back up and Rivera snaps off a hurricanrana but misses a dropkick, allowing Cadiz to bite his face (no reaction from Vince on that). With nothing else working, Cadiz ties him into the ropes for a running knee to the ribs. How dastardly of him. Rivera slips out and gets in a dropkick before grabbing a chinlock of his own. That’s finally enough as Rivera hits a few dropkicks and a high crossbody for the pin at 10:41.

Rating: C. These are going to be on a slightly sliding scale as there’s such a difference in eras at this point. The match wasn’t horrible but it would have been better served with about three minutes cut out. Rivera had some nice high flying (for its time) stuff and Cadiz was more of a vicious heel than I was expecting. Not terrible here but Rivera kept slowing down instead of stringing much together.

SD Jones vs. Johnny Rodz

Rodz is more famous as the trainer of Tommy Dreamer and the Dudleyz among others. They trade control on the mat to start with Rodz likely choking to take over. We hit the armbar for a bit and Rodz pulls whatever he can to stay in control. Jones finally shoves him off and Rodz backs off in the corner like a good heel should. Some stomps and a middle rope kick to the back of the head gives Rodz a one count but he hurts his hand punching Jones in the jaw.

Rodz wants time out so Jones delays a bit before sending Rodz into the corner. That’s kind of nice of him in a rather mean way. Rodz gets in a cheap shot and some middle rope elbows to the neck but Jones shrugs it off and knocks him into the corner without much effort. They very slowly slug it out (it’s only been eight minutes) until Rodz tries a bridging German suplex but Jones lifts his shoulder to pin Johnny.

Rating: D. This really didn’t work as they didn’t have much to offer other than punching each other. Jones looked like someone who was there for charisma (a common trait back in the day) because all he seemed to do was throw punches and then counter a suplex for the pin. Rodz was billed as Unpredictable but he wasn’t much outside of the norm. Pretty dull match and the fans didn’t seem to care until the ending.

Tag Team Titles: Executioners vs. Jose Gonzalez/Dominic DeNucci

Two out of three falls and DeNucci (Mick Foley’s trainer) and Gonzalez (the guy who murdered Bruiser Brody) are challenging. The Executioners are your standard monsters in masks but they’re played by Killer Kowalski and Big John Studd. Gonzalez and we’ll say #2 (normally Studd and that’s clearly him) start things off with #2 grabbing a headlock and grinding the much smaller Gonzalez down.

It’s off to #1 vs. Dominic with the rather popular DeNucci getting cheered as he chops and slugs away. Double teaming keeps Dominic down and we have a double stomach claw to show that it really is 1976. The champs slowly take turns hammering on Dominic in the corner and it’s off to another stomach claw. Dominic finally gets over for the hot tag off to Gonzalez as everything breaks down.

The Executioners are whipped into each other for a BIG reaction and Gonzalez slams #1 for two. A sunset flip gets the same and it’s back to Dominic for some double arm shots to the back. #1 gets tied in the rope and Dominic goes for the mask but can only get it over the chin. A catapult sends #1 into the corner and #2 gets slammed for two as everything breaks down again. The referee gets Gonzalez out of the ring and that means a double backbreaker puts DeNucci away for the first fall at 10:12.

After a brief breather, DeNucci bails into his corner and almost seems scared of the Executioners, which makes them quite the imposing force. #1 sends DeNucci’s back into the corner over and over before stomping away as the champs have a target. Now it’s a back claw, which makes it look more like a massage than anything painful. Gonzalez finally comes in to try for a save, only to not be there when Dominic gets over for a tag. Man you had ONE JOB.

A top rope stomp to the back doesn’t even get a cover and DeNucci gets over for the tag, which is allowed despite clearly not being seen. Gonzalez cleans house and dropkicks one over the top as the referee has no idea who is legal (fair enough in this case as save for a bit of hair sticking out, the Executioners are nearly identical). With regular strategy not working, Gonzalez just unloads on #1 and keeps ramming him face first into the mat. Simple stuff often does it better. DeNucci comes in to hammer away with some more of those double shots, followed by an airplane spin of all things to tie it up at 19:12 total.

There’s a quick break (which might have been missing tape) and we come back with DeNucci punching a dizzy #1 into the corner as the crowd is losing it over this stuff. A backdrop is enough to allow a tag off to #2 and the match just kind of stops for a bit as #1 can’t get back up.

We settle down to Gonzalez being backdropped but #1 can’t even get up to the top out of exhaustion. It’s back to Dominic to slug away on #2 and load up the airplane spin, only to have #1 make the save. Gonzalez and starts cleaning house again but a slam on #2 is broken up by a kick from #1, causing #2 to fall on top to retain at 25:37 total.

Rating: C+. I liked this more than I was expecting as Gonzalez was a good fast paced guy while DeNucci, with that odd double strike style, made for a good veteran presence. The Executioners were a good team and would have been better off with Lou Albano talking for him, though he wasn’t here for some reason. Good match here and the time didn’t actually bother me all that much, which is rather surprising.

Bruiser Brody vs. Kevin Sullivan

Sullivan is billed as popular (right) and Brody is #1 contender in his MSG debut. Brody wastes no time in hammering away on Sullivan whose shots to the ribs have no effect at all. A whip into the corner allows Brody to pound away even more, followed by some no selling of the right hands. Brody throws him up in a rack for the submission at 2:29. Total squash and Brody did little more than forearm/punch until the end. He looks AWESOME though and that’s all that matters.

Chief Jay Strongbow/Billy White Wolf vs. Baron Mikel Scicluna/Rocky Tamayo

Strongbow and White Wolf are a big time team and #1 contenders. Tamayo and Strongbow start things off but hang on a second as we have to wait for the microphone to be raised. Jay starts a crisscross before sliding between Tamayo’s legs for a fairly fast paced spot for these days. An armdrag sends Tamayo down so it’s off to the Baron, who gets caught with a foreign object. The nitwit of a referee doesn’t actually take it away from him so Baron gets in a cheap shot with the object to take over.

Tamayo kicks away from the apron and more foreign object shots have White Wolf reeling as well. It’s back to Tamayo as the slow beating continues. The Baron allows White Wolf to roll over for the hot tag to Strongbow and that means it’s time for the chops. Everything breaks down and the good guys clean house, capped off by a double chop to put Tamayo away at 5:56.

Rating: C. This was straight Memphis with the foreign object before the Indians (which they were called over and over again during the match) started picking up the pace. That was the most entertaining part of the show so far and it was a face paced ending. I could have gone for more here, which I didn’t expect to say in the slightest.

WWWF World Title: Bruno Sammartino vs. Stan Hansen

Bruno is defending inside a cage with elimination only to win. Hansen has long blond hair here and it’s a very weird look for him. Bruno takes a bit for his entrance and the fans get more and more excited until he finally comes out, getting easily the biggest reaction of the night so far. As you might expect, Stan jumps Bruno as he gets in and the fight is on in a hurry. The place just goes NUTS for Bruno’s comeback though and it’s easy to see why he stayed on top for so long with this kind of reaction.

A knee to the ribs cuts Bruno off and Hansen stomps away, only to get sent into the cage. The wall rocks backwards, which makes for a cool visual compared to the rigid cage you see today. Bruno kicks away and even blocks the lariat, sending the crowd into an even bigger frenzy. Hansen elbows and forearms his way to freedom but Bruno is right back with knees to the back to set up a reverse chinlock (which Vince calls a Boston crab).

A quick attempt to escape gets Hansen beaten up even more and Bruno just chokes away. Stan hits him in the throat and goes up as a drunk fan is carried out through the entrance. There’s a low blow to Stan as this is almost all Bruno so far. Hansen elbows the cage (which Vince calls the lariat) and Bruno keeps kicking away. Stan goes for the door again and earns himself another beating.

Some shots to the back have Bruno in the closest thing to trouble he’s had all match but he sends Stan into the post for his efforts. Hansen is busted open and Bruno takes off Stan’s elbow pad (which may have been loaded) to go after the cut. Bruno just unloads on him with shots to the head and Hansen is DONE. Sammartino looks at Hansen as he’s draped over the ropes and then walks out to retain at 10:33.

Rating: B-. Sammartino was getting vicious here but this was basically a squash as Hansen only got in a few brief bursts of offense. Other than that it was Bruno kicking the stuffing out of him for about nine out of the ten and a half minutes. It was rather odd to see Hansen destroyed like this but it gives Bruno the definitive win, which is probably the idea they’re going for here.

Hansen poses on top of the cage and then collapses backwards in a funny bit. Even Vince says this was annihilation.

Bobo Brazil vs. Doug Gilbert

Brazil is 52 years old here because I don’t think he was ever actually young. Gilbert jumps Brazil before the bell and hammers away but a kick to the head and the Coco Butt (headbutt) send Gilbert outside for the countout at 35 seconds. Were they running REALLY short or something? Bobo never even took his vest off.

Ivan Putski vs. Skandor Akbar

Before the match, Putski says he wants Hansen. Akbar is far more famous as a manager but he did wrestle too. He looks a bit like Rusev. Putski grinds on a headlock to start and hits him in the face a few times. Grabbing the trunks doesn’t get Akbar out of trouble but raking the eyes does.

Vince admires Putski’s thighs and calves as Akbar chokes on the ropes. Putski shrugs it off, hammers away, hits the Polish Hammer (running ax handle to the chest) and hits a seated senton for the pin at 2:56. My guess is they had to wrap it up early for the sake of the curfew (in MSG you had to be done in a hurry or the match would be stopped).

I’m not sure what was up with the announcement about the show being in its most complete form as every match was there according to every card I can find.

Overall Rating: C. I liked the show well enough but it was only going to be so good. The version on the Network runs about an hour and forty minutes, though the intermissions to put up and take down the cage are of course gone. There’s some good wrestling on here but the 1970s were a VERY different time and it was all about the personalities instead of any of the in-ring work. It’s still cool to see all these famous names in their primes though and it’s so awesome that the Network is there to let us see all these things. Check out some of these old school shows, if nothing else just to say you saw them.

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

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Today we’re looking at a guy who was small but tough: Kevin Sullivan.

Sullivan got started all the way back in 1970s. We’ll pick him up as a jobber in the WWF on August 7, 1976 in MSG.

Kevin Sullivan vs. Bruiser Brody

This is Brody’s MSG debut. It’s so strange to see anyone but the Fink doing the announcing. In a sign of the times, Brody’s manager the Grand Wizard heads to the back as managers weren’t allowed at ringside back then. Brody doesn’t seem to mind as he pounds Sullivan up against the ropes. Some choking ensues but Sullivan avoids a charge in the corner. That’s the extent of the good part of the match for Sullivan though as Brody torture racks him for the win.

We’ll jump ahead to the first Starrcade in 1983.

Kevin Sullivan/Mark Lewin vs. Scott McGhee/Johnny Weaver

McGhee and Sullivan get things going meaning we don’t have a tall man in the ring at all. Off to Lewin to slap McGhee in the back and tag out to Sullivan again. Weaver gets the tag and we get a crisscross resulting in Sullivan holding onto the ropes to avoid a right hand. Lewin comes back in but Weaver starts cranking on his arm to gain control. Off to Scott again as Lewin isn’t sure what to do.

Mark and Kevin start tagging in and out very quickly to work on Scott’s arm with knees and chops to the shoulder. Lewin comes in to crank on both arms at once but Scott manages to make a tag while still in the hold. That would be very impressive but the tag doesn’t count as the referee didn’t see it. Lewin and Sullivan stay on the arm before it’s a nerve hold by Mark. Sullivan comes back in but lets McGhee go long enough for the hot tag to Weaver. Johnny cleans house but has his bulldog broken up by Sullivan. Now it’s Weaver getting pounded down and Lewin comes in off the top rope with a knee to the arm….for the pin? Seriously?

Rating: C-. It was better than the opener but not by much. The arm stuff was fine although the ending was out of nowhere. Sullivan just held the arm while Lewin jumped onto it for the pin. The match wasn’t bad but we’re now a fourth of the way through the show and no good guy has won yet. That’s some questionable booking.

Another big jump forward to Clash of the Champions V as Sullivan is part of the Varsity Club.

US Tag Team Titles: Varsity Club vs. Fantastics

Kevin Sullivan and Steve Williams had taken the titles from the Fantastics at Starrcade but tonight it’s Williams and Rotunda defending. Ross puts over the idea that the Varsity Club is going to try for a submission because the Fantastics have never given up before. Rotunda and Rogers get things going with some high quality stalling. A fireman’s carry puts Tommy down and the stalling continues. Rogers finally gets things going with a cross body for two but it’s quickly off to Williams for some raw power. Rotunda helps Williams for a double clothesline from the apron and the champions take control.

Fulton comes in a few seconds later for a double dropkick and some dancing to very little amusement from the crowd. The stalling continues and we get an inset promo from Rick Steiner, saying he’ll take care of Rotunda in Chicago. Williams runs Fulton over and brings Rotunda back in, only to have him get caught in a sunset flip for two. Bobby cross bodies Steve for two more and it’s back to Rogers for a dropkick followed by more standing around.

Steve runs him over again and Rotunda gets the tag to slow the pace even more. Fulton gets sent to the floor where Williams runs him over with a clothesline before dropping him face first on the apron. A top rope ax handle gets two for Williams and a clothesline gets the same for Rotunda. No real sign of the attempted submissions yet. Fulton avoids a knee drop but Williams breaks up a hot tag attempt.

A big shoulder tackle puts Fulton down again but he grabs the ropes to block the Oklahoma Stampede. Now the hot tag brings in Rogers as everything breaks down. Tommy hits what was supposed to be a top rope cross body to Williams but hits him more in the back, only to have Rotunda get in a cheap shot to give Williams the pin.

Rating: C-. This is a good example of the difference between slow paced and boring. They weren’t going fast here, but they were doing stuff throughout the match. This was very different, and much more entertaining, than the previous two matches which were often move, move, three minute chinlock. It wasn’t a great match or anything, but there’s a huge difference between the two styles and it made this match much easier to sit through. The Fantastics were done as a team in the NWA soon after this.

Here are some more good opponents at Great American Bash 1989.

Varsity Club vs. Steiner Brothers

This is under Texas Tornado rules and is Scott’s debut on PPV. Sullivan and Rotunda here as they’re all that’s left. The Steiners bring actual dogs with them. Kevin and Rick fight on the floor as this is of course just a massive brawl. Apparently this is no DQ also as Kevin rams Rick into a table and it’s all fine. Rick busts out a belly to belly in the ring though as Scott just destroys Mike.

Scott gets double teamed as they are flying through this. The evildoers get stereo twos as I’m liking this brawl style here. Rick brings in a chair or something like it and gets blasted in the head with it in a painful looking spot. Kevin picks up Rick for a slam but Scott comes off the top onto Rick’s back for a double splash more or less and the pin on Kevin. Total nonstop action here to coin a phrase.

Rating: B. This was incredibly fun. It was about four and a half minutes long, but this was very similar to the Nasty Boys vs. Cactus Jack/random partner matches in 94 as they just beat the fire out of each other from bell to bell. What more can you really ask for other than it being longer? This was the end of the Varsity Club as Rotunda left before coming back next year as a sailor while Sullivan hooked up with a bunch of crazy characters, one of which was a newcomer named Cactus Jack. You may have heard of him.

Time to torture some skateboarders at Wrestlewar 1990.

Kevin Sullivan/Buzz Sawyer vs. Dynamic Dudes

Sawyer is insane and that’s about all you need to know about him. He starts with Ace and these people are a bit more receptive than the Philly crowd was in our last show. Speaking of last shows, this is the final major show that Sawyer was on for WCW if that means anything for you. Ace sends him to the floor and a brawl breaks out on the outside. Shane and Sullivan come in and the Dudes keep control with the arm work.

Ace comes in to work on the arm more but Sullivan gets a tag. He also gets in a fight with Sawyer, much to the Dudes’ amusement. That’s smart: why break up a fight when you can get a breather? Sawyer’s arm goes into the post so Shane cranks on it. Out to the floor with Sawyer taking over. Sunset flip gets two for Ace and there’s the tag to Shane. Buzz immediately takes him down and hooks a bearhug to take Shane to the mat.

Sullivan comes in and pops Ace, which draws him in so that Sullivan can throw Shane to the floor. Everything breaks down and Johnny botches a flying headscissors. Sawyer goes up and hits a big old flying splash for the pin. That’s the interim Raw GM and the Executive Vice President of Talent Relations for you. Funk called it the Jam Sandwich, which is something Brodus should use.

Rating: C-. Not much here as none of these guys was much to watch at this point. I’ve never been a big fan of Shane and Ace is just ok. He never was all that good as his size became an issue for him but he was too slim to be a power guy. Not a very good match with a total contrast in styles that didn’t work at all.

Sullivan would head to the indies for a bit after this, including this match at ECW Ultraclash 1993.

Abdullah the Butcher/Kevin Sullivan vs. Terry Funk/Stan Hansen

This is more or less anything goes. Terry goes up the scaffold. It’s a Bunkhouse Match, which was Dusty’s idea of anything goes. No story here it appears but rather just four crazy guys that can fight. Chairs are brought in and it’s Sullivan vs. Funk and the other two fight also. Ok never mind no they don’t. Abdullah throws photographers out of the way to get to Funk. Joey is LOVING this.

They trade off we actually get to the ring. Sullivan and Funk go up the scaffold as I realize how weird it is to see Hansen in America. It’s just not something you see that often. Funk is busted open. Naturally there’s no flow or anything like that and it’s just a wild brawl. Funk gets a chair and blasts everyone with it. Abdullah can barely move but that’s typical for him and not meant as a knock to him.

I’m pretty sure everyone is bleeding now and Sullivan blasts Funk in the head with a hammer. Ok that was insane. That’s beyond FREAKING OW MAN. Abdullah accidently hits Sullivan and Funk goes for a Figure Four on him of all things. Someone with a chair comes in and we actually get a DQ. It’s Eddie Gilbert. Dang I thought he was gone. Funk and Hansen win.

Rating: B+. Totally wild brawl but the DQ ending killed it. This was exactly what it was supposed to be: totally violent with no semblance of order or anything like it. This is the life’s blood of ECW and something tells me this is a Heyman thing. The bunch of run ins after the match ended are practically a trademark of his.

Off to SMW at some point in 1993.

Brian Lee vs. Kevin Sullivan

This is part of along feud where Sullivan has sent a series of men to try and take Lee out before finally just doing the job himself. This is a Singapore Spike match where there is a box on each corner and only one holds a spike to use as a weapon. Brian’s partner Tim Horner and Sullivan’s minion the Nightstalker are handcuffed to posts. Lee hammers away to start and the fight is quickly on the floor. Sullivan sends him face first into a table and nails him with a chair but can’t get into a box.

Lee is thrown to the floor but comes back in with a chair to the back. Two boxes are checked and empty so they head back outside to brawl some more. Sullivan hits him in the ribs with a hammer to almost no effect. Back in and Sullivan stabs him with pliers before checking the other two boxes. There’s no spike so Lee makes his comeback with right hands and a cross body which takes out the referee. Nightstalker gets on the apron with the spike in his hand but hits Sullivan by mistake, allowing Brian to roll him up for the pin.

Rating: C-. This was a decent brawl and the story helped things a bit. It’s always a plus when you give me a reason to care why the face is in trouble but wants to fight anyway as it makes him seem like a hero and the villain look like a coward for resorting to cheating. Lee is getting better as he’s starting to find himself in the ring.

Back to WCW for a fairly memorable run, starting at Slamboree 1994.

WCW Tag Titles: Cactus Jack/Kevin Sullivan vs. Nasty Boys

It’s a Broadstreet Bully match, meaning hardcore. Nasty Boys are the heel champions here. Naturally this is just a big brawl which is what the Nastys were good at. Now THEY would have been good for ECW. It’s good that Foley is here as he’s the only one with a good deal of wrestling talent. In a very funny and smart spot, Cactus comes at Knobbs with a trash can and Knobbs gets his hands up. Jack’s solution: throw it at his feet.

That’s thinking as you go which is what made Foley great. They’re trying to top Spring Stampede I think but Sullivan’s suckiness is preventing that. Sags gets a table to a HUGE pop. To keep things NASTY, he gets tired carrying it. This is nowhere near as intense though and there’s a lot more walking around doing very little. In a nice finish, Schultz does his standard thing of pulling the shirt over the other guy’s head and punches him as Cactus hits him with a hockey stick for the pin and new champions. Maxx Payne hits Sags with a guitar for general purposes.

Rating: B-. This was a good fight, but it’s the sequel to a great fight. This felt like it was trying to be a great fight. That being said, it was still very fun. Jack vs. the Nasty Boys was fun as Jack was just as insane as they were but he could think. This was fun and again, since this is the only match like this all night, it stands out far more and looks better than it would if there had been this almost in every match, ala ECW.

Here’s the showdown at Fall Brawl 1994.

Kevin Sullivan vs. Cactus Jack

The announcer says it’s Loser Leaves WCW and then explains that the stipulation is that the loser leaves WCW. WOW. Yeah this Foley guy has no future here so he needs to move on. That’s Hogan’s idea at least. Again, another young guy with talent that’s over has no place at all in Hogan’s company, no sir. We can’t have young talent here that could show up Hogan. Give me a break.

We don’t actually go to the ring first but rather out into the crowd. This is really just a fight instead of a match which is what makes sense. Foley had recently lost his ear in a match with Vader in Germany which was never turned into a story like Foley wanted to. According to Foley in his book, WCW didn’t want to push a hot feud that the fans were into and good matches were being produced from. That just can’t happen.

Jack throws in a chair but nothing comes of it. This is all Jack selling and Sullivan trying desperately to convince a single person that he has talent. Dave, Kevin’s brother, keeps Cactus from using a chair. Kevin tries to use one also and Dave stops him.

Cactus rams into him on the apron which for some reason knocks him down long enough for a pin. Off to ECW and credibility Jack, even though you were very over in WCW and getting more and more respect every day and having good matches. We have no need to that pesky talent thing.

Rating: D+. This was all Cactus here as he made Sullivan look good, thereby proving that he was awesome. Again, let me make this clear: Mick Foley, 4 time world champion and surefire Hall of Fame wrestler, was thrown out in favor of the Taskmaster. Let that sink in for a minute and tell me Hogan isn’t hurting this company in the long run.

And a totally different kind of match at Starrcade 1994.

Mr. T. vs. Kevin Sullivan

Mr. T. was with Mr. T. at the first Wrestlemania and has been associated with him on and off ever since. He’s in a referee shirt and hat here for no apparent reason. T sidesteps Sullivan to start and hiptosses him down….as Santa comes out. Some headbutts put Sullivan in the corner and T pounds away, only to be sent out to the floor.

Sullivan rips his shirt over T’s head and pounds away as a cameraman goes down. They stay on the floor with Sullivan continuing to pound away until Jimmy Hart, Hogan’s manager, comes out. The distraction lets him slip his megaphone to Santa (Kevin’s brother) who blasts Kevin in the head, giving T the pin.

Rating: F. Was there a point to this that I was missing? It wasn’t even four minutes long and T was on offense for all of thirty seconds. The rest of this was Sullivan slowly beating on T outside before the finish. Other than that, not much to see here at all but I guess T brought in some extra buys for the show.

Sullivan would transition into a managerial role around this point but still wrestled occasionally, including this match on Nitro, September 25, 1995.

Taskmaster vs. Randy Savage

How did a guy like Sullivan get Woman? That makes no sense. Taskmaster jumps him early and Zodiac is on the floor. That’s gimmick number 8 million for Beefcake that didn’t work out. A barber is the best he can do. That’s very amusing. Did Sullivan ever do anything of note? I can’t think of anything. Savage gets crotched over the barricade and he’s in trouble.

This match is on fast forward it seems. And there’s Zodiac for the DQ. Actually never mind. Blatant interference is fine but shoving the referee to fight for your life isn’t. Giant comes out and beats the tar out of Savage as jobbers come out to try to beat up Giant for some reason. Alex Wright comes out and gets beaten up too.

Luger comes out and we have some intrigue here. Luger of all people was one of the most interesting people in the company around this time. He goes after Giant too and takes a chokeslam. He actually had everyone guessing as to which side he was on, which was a fun angle. Then the NWO ended that.

Rating: N/A. This was a fight rather than a match but was designed to add more to the Hogan/Giant and Luger/Savage feuds. Yeah I’m shocked too.

Here’s Sullivan’s best match ever as part of his blood feud with Chris Benoit. I’m sure you’ve heard the story a dozen times, but in short, Sullivan was booking and came up with a story where Benoit stole Sullivan’s real life wife Woman, but that’s exactly what happened in real life. Here’s their first showdown at Great American Bash 1996.

Chris Benoit vs. Kevin Sullivan

This is falls count anywhere. Now this was a very interesting story to say the least. The idea is that the Dungeon and the Horsemen want to team up to fight Hogan, but these two hate each other too much. As for the real life story, these two HATED each other. There was a storyline where Benoit stole Sullivan’s storyline wife. To play up the storyline, they traveled together.

However, it soon became real life as Nancy Woman Sullivan left Kevin for Benoit. The feuds you would see on TV would often be shoots instead of works, with these two really beating the heck out of each other. It’s this match where Benoit allegedly became a big deal, and if I remember it right, that’s a very fair assessment to make.

They’re beating the living tar out of each other very early on and if these shots aren’t legit, they’re the best fakes I’ve ever seen. Almost immediately they’re out in the crowd. They go up into the stands and go into the men’s room. Benoit gets his head slammed in a stall door which has to hurt horribly. For some reason there’s like 25 people in there, which shows how interested the people were in this show.

They fight over shoving the other’s head into the commode. Dusty loses his mind over a woman being in the men’s room. Sullivan lands a great shot with some toilet paper as this is just a wild fight. You really can see the mega star in Benoit just begging to be unleashed, but alas it wouldn’t happen for several years. In a very painful spot, Benoit is thrown down the stairs in the arena.

Jimmy has been standing in the ring the whole time. They say why would people want to come in and declare war? That would make a lot more sense if guys like Benoit got to fight them. Benoit vs. Nash when Nash was worth something. How’s that sound? Tony for some reason can’t get the difference between a chair and a table.

We have a D-Von Special as we get one of the old school tables, as in the oens that don’t break. They sit the table on the top rope and Benoit wins with a snap suplex off the top, which looks painful as all goodness. Dusty says you don’t want to get caught in the bathroom with Benoit. Anderson runs out to save Sullivan from Benoit but beats up Sullivan with him, officially reforming the Horsemen to a MASSIVE pop. The Dungeon runs out for the save as the Horsemen leave together.

Rating: A. DANG this was a wild fight. Benoit looked like a star out there and he and Sullivan just beat the tar out of each other. Benoit had everything you could want, and he didn’t even use the Crossface yet. How WCW screwed this up is truly beyond me. This match was just pure brutality, making it a very fun match all around. Not great from a technical perspective, but it wasn’t supposed to be at all. Very fun and a pure breath of fresh air given how bad this show has been so far.

Another part of the feud at Bash at the Beach 1996.

Chris Benoit/Arn Anderson vs. Taskmaster/The Giant

Ok so there are two things to keep in mind here. If the Horsemen win, a Horseman gets a shot at the Giant the following night for the title. The second thing is that no one can beat the Giant so they’re going to focus on Sullivan. They brawl in the aisle and Mongo runs out with the briefcase he had to nail Giant who chases Mongo to the back, making it a handicap match for a bit.

It means nothing as Giant is back in like 8 seconds. Ok then. Now Benoit and Sullivan were having a GREAT feud where most of it was shoot stuff as Benoit had (kayfabe) stolen Woman, who was in real life married to Sullivan. In real life, Benoit and Woman had an affair and in real life Woman left Sullivan for Benoit. So in other words, they legit hated each other and were in brutal fights with each other.

Sullivan gets to get beaten on forever as we realize that the match is over once Giant comes in. So he gets a tag (to a freaking POP) and the Horsemen run. Benoit and Sullivan fight up to the announce area as Giant beats Anderson up like a jobber and the chokeslam ends it in like a minute. Benoit dives off of the announcers’ stage to plow into Sullivan.

That could have been a top five ever feud if Sullivan hadn’t sucked so much. Benoit is just destroying him at this point until Woman comes out and yells at Chris to stop it. This never went anywhere because of the NWO. Benoit was just awesome back then, even moreso than he would become. Giant carries Sullivan off like a 6 pack which is kind of funny.

Rating: D+. This did its job and that’s it. There was nothing to the match but somehow it went eight minutes. This was just a filler to set up the next chapter in Benoit vs. Sullivan and to be fair it did that, but we’ll never know where it went after that. Giant being an unstoppable force was perfect for him here.

Here’s a bit match from Nitr, December 16, 1996.

Arn Anderson vs. Kevin Sullivan

Sullivan blames Schiavone for showing the videos (of Benoit and Woman) on the way to the ring. The brawl stats in the aisle and Sullivan throws a chair at his head. Anderson misses a swing with the chair and hits the post by mistake. They go into the ring for what must have been a good 4 seconds before heading into the crowd.

They go into the ring for the first time that you can actually keep track of and the referee gets a DDT. Sullivan double stomps him and ties Anderson into the Tree of Woe but Anderson manages to kick him low. Here’s Hugh Morrus who gets a DDT. Konnan gets a left hand and Sullivan manages to hit Anderson with a wooden chair for the pin.

Rating: N/A. I can’t really grade this as a match because it was a brawl instead of an actual match. It was entertaining which is really all you can ask for here. Benoit would get back soon enough, namely due to being in the US Title tournament. This was a fun brawl but there isn’t much of a reason to watch it from a storyline perspective as the heat was on Benoit.

Another showdown at SuperBrawl 1997.

Chris Benoit vs. Kevin Sullivan

This is a death match which means street fight. Jackie is with Sullivan and Woman is with Benoit. The chicks will be strapped together for no apparent reason. These two feuded FOREVER and it never particularly went anywhere other than giving us one or two great matches and then the guys trying to redo the matches over and over again which never worked. This would be (I think/hope) the final one.

Both pairs start brawling and it’s a nice pop for that surprisingly. The women are the focus here of course as Benoit and Sullivan have the most basic match you can have that is still classified as pro wrestling. They’re suplexing each other, as in butterfly/regular varieties, in a DEATH match. Woman crotches Sullivan with the strap and the girls get unattached. Benoit gets hung, which I guess you could call foreshadowing?

Dusty freaks out because a woman is doing something so this is turned into a total joke. The girls beat on the guys as I want this to end very badly. The guys watch the girls then wake up and beat on each other. The girls get left in the ring as the guys fight up the aisle. It’s split screen time because WCW enjoys doing that for some reason.

The guys fight into the back and we’re on one screen now. They throw stuff at each other and it’s time to go back into the arena after about a minute or so. The referee, ever the genius, stayed with the girls instead of going to the back where a pin could have happened. Back in the ring and Benoit gets caught in the Tree of Woe, which is one of Sullivan’s finishers.

Woman saves and Benoit pops up to piledrive Sullivan. Jackie doesn’t hit Woman but she falls down anyway. It’s table time which wasn’t a well known wrestling thing yet so it was still a fairly big deal. Sullivan goes on the table, Jackie gets on top of him for the sake of protection, Benoit is like screw it and dives on both of them, the table doesn’t break, Sullivan is pinned under the table.

Rating: D. Terribly boring stuff here as this was a DEATH match and it was a comedy match. No idea what they thought the appeal to this would be but it didn’t work in the slightest. This feud was straight up played already so they kept going with it for months and months on end. Weak match, feud sucked, wasn’t funny.

And now a retirement match at Bash at the Beach 1997 to finally end this feud.

Kevin Sullivan vs. Chris Benoit

This is a career match and Jackie is out with Sullivan. No Woman though. Sullivan hasn’t wrestled in three months and Benoit is a Horseman. You figure the ending out. This is the final match of a feud that has gone on for a year now and it’s another slugfest which was done best the first time and has gone downhill ever since. Sullivan suplexes him to the floor and it’s a brawl already.

They tear apart a piece of the guardrail and Benoit suplexes Jackie. She of course no sells it because she’s Jackie and can take moves from men so she’s tough and should be on TV for the next 10 years right? Benoit is finally like screw this and tosses her at Sullivan then pounds on him for awhile. She interferes again because she can I guess. Jackie needs to get hit by a bus. Seriously.

They fight up to the set and Benoit goes through a surfboard house. I don’t think this is No DQ but who cares I guess. Benoit has sand all over him. They destroy most of the set and Sullivan is thrown into a tree. Sullivan takes a beach chair to the head and Jackie hits Benoit again. Seriously, go away. They fight to the other side of the set and keep punching each other.

Sullivan hits a Piledriver in the aisle and since it’s been 18 seconds since Jackie did something, she drops some elbows. Kevin gets a garbage can lid shot to Benoit’s lid but it just fires Chris up. And never mind as he gets sent to the floor so Jimmy can get some shots in. Benoit gets hung upside down with his back to the apron and Sullivan chops away even more.

Back in and Benoit pounds away on him even more. Sullivan bites his stomach so Benoit bites Sullivan’s ear. Crossface goes on but only gets two arm drops. Heenan says this show has the largest audience in the history of PPV. I won’t even start on that one. Benoit pulls him back to the middle and puts it right back on but can’t get it full.

The hold is broken so Chris kicks him a lot. Now he chops him a lot and Sullivan is a face somehow. He Hulks Up for lack of a better term and puts Benoit in the Tree of Woe. Three running knees hit him as Jackie gets a wooden chair. Jackie pops Sullivan with the chair for no apparent reason other than to give herself a reason to yell some more. Swan Dive ends Sullivan’s career.

Rating: C-. The problem for this comes down to one thing: they had the same match for a year straight. Why in the world would I want to watch another big brawl between these two so many times over and over again? It’s not horrible but we’ve seen it such a ridiculous amount of times that no one cares. Also, WAY too much Jackie time here.

Sullivan would come back for a one off match at Starrcade 1999.

Jim Duggan/???/???/??? vs. Revolution

Oh and if Duggan loses, the Revolution has to do his janitor job for thirty days, but if Duggan loses he has to renounce his citizenship on Nitro. Duggan’s partners are…..the Varsity Club. Yes, the same three guys (Rick Steiner, Kevin Sullivan and Mike Rotundo) from 1988 are back again for absolutely no apparent reason. Instead of Shane in the match, it’s WCW’s version of WWF bodybuilding chick Chyna, named Asya. Get the joke? Also Benoit isn’t here because of the US Title match later tonight.

Duggan wants to start the match himself so he sticks his tongue out at the Varsity Club. Saturn starts for the Revolution and gets pounded down by Duggan so it’s Malenko’s turn. Jim beats him down as well with the Three Point Clothesline but he doesn’t seem interested in tagging. The Varsity Club yells at him and you can feel the heel turn coming from here. Saturn comes in again with a springboard missile dropkick to take Duggan down.

The Revolution takes turns beating on Duggan in the corner as this is rapidly going nowhere. Dean hits him with the Revolution flag and even Asya gets in some shots of her own. The Varsity Club finally gets bored of standing on the apron and everything breaks down. To the shock of no one paying attention, the former heel stable turns on Duggan and lays him out, allowing Douglas to come in and steal the pin.

Rating: D. As predicted, no one knew who the Varsity Club was so no one cared when they turned on him. Why Duggan would pick them as partners is beyond me, but as mentioned he wasn’t that bright. This was a waste of Malenko and Saturn, which is a big part of why the bailed to the WWF along with Guerrero and Benoit in about a month.

Sullivan never was the best wrestler but he could have a decent brawl. His feud with Benoit, while WAY too long, produced some very solid fights, including the classic at Great American Bash 1996. There are a lot of others who could have better matches than he could, but he made the most of his career, which lasted nearly thirty years. That puts him on a very short list with some great company.

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Today is a guy you probably only know under one gimmick: John Nord.

Nord started in 1984 and we’ll pick things up in the AWA at Wrestlerock 1986.

Nord the Barbarian/King Kong Brody vs. Jimmy Snuka/Greg Gagne

A few notes here: Snuka is a mystery partner subbing for Jerry Blackwell (that’s for the better, trust me), this match originally went on second of the three cage matches, King Kong Brody is Bruiser Brody because of some legit complaint from Dick the Bruiser, and if Snuka/Gagne win, Verne gets 10 minutes in the cage with Sheik Adnan-Al Kaissie. This is announced as the main event, even though there could be more stuff after it. Oh and Nord the Barbarian is just called Barbarian and is more famous as the Berzerker.

Snuka gets zero fanfare at all. Gagne looks like a 1996 version of Chavo Guerrero. They have to tag here so the match is automatically dropped a few notches. Gagne starts with Brody. Greg gets in a few punches but Brody kicks him in the face, making Gagne look like he got shot. Off to Barbarian who gets punched back into his own corner. Off to Snuka for a death defying chinlock.

The match slows way down as Brody comes in and knocks Snuka down. Then they stand around. Then they stand around some more. Snuka does his leapfrogs but Brody knocks him right back down. Off to Gagne and I can’t believe I’m saying this, but it makes the match way better. If nothing else he sells everything like death which is usually a cool thing to see.

Greg gets rammed into the cage to bust him open. Good piledriver by Brody gets two. Nelson turns into an annoying fanboy again but Gagne’s comeback is shortlived. He manages to send Nord into the cage and there’s the hot tag (with a pop) to Snuka. Off to Brody who is busted open. He yells a lot as Snuka hammers away on him.

Snuka gets in Superfly position but hits a headbutt instead. Nord interferes and Snuka is in trouble again. Everything breaks down and the heels get rammed into each other. Double dropkick puts Nord down and a double suplex does the same to Brody. Snuka rams into Gagne by mistake, but Snuka gets up and dropkicks Nord who trips over Gagne and gets pinned.

Rating: D. Oh boy did they screw this up. First of all, WHERE IS THE SUPERFLY SPLASH??? You bring in Jimmy Snuka and he doesn’t even hit the move he’s legendary for in the kind of match he’s legendary for hitting it in? Second, there was way too much heel control here. The idea is supposed to be faces control to start, Gagne opens, tag to Snuka for more dominance, back to Gagne, Gagne gets beaten down, hot tag, finish.

Instead it was faces control, heels control, faces comeback, faces screw up, faces steal a win. The problem is that it doesn’t allow the fans to build up momentum. This match had the pieces of a decent match, but they were all in the wrong order which is what made it hard to stay invested in. Also the lack of a splash hurt it a lot.

A few years later Nord would become Yukon John, a lumberjack as over the top as he would later be as the Berzerker. From the AWA, I believe in 1990.

Yukon Eric vs. The Menace

Generic masked guy. He bounces off the far bigger Eric and a big boot drops Menace again. A dropkick knocks him a third time and Yukon plants him with a powerslam. Eric howls a lot and drops a leg for the pin. Nord has an awesome look.

It was off to the WWF in early 1991 as the Berzerker, but first he was the Viking, with the exect same gimmick. Here’s his debut on Wrestling Challenge, February 16, 1991.

The Viking vs. David Eisley

Viking shoves him around and nails a big boot as this doesn’t look to last long. A dropkick does the same thing and Viking starts shouting HUSS a lot. Another big boot against the ropes drops Eisley again and a gordbuster knocks him silly. Viking lifts David up and throws him out to the floor like he’s nothing and it’s a countout.

Berzerker was in action at Survivor Series 1991.

Team Mustafa vs. Team Slaughter

Colonel Mustafa, Berzerker, Skinner, Hercules

Sgt. Slaughter, Tito Santana, Jim Duggan, Texas Tornado

A lot of these guys are on their way out. Hercules would be in WCW by May, Tornado would job to the stars until leaving in July as would Mustafa (Iron Sheik), and the rest of the guys would do nothing of note for the rest of their time in the company. Kerry (Tornado) looks high as a kite and almost falls off the apron getting into the ring. This is pretty recently after Slaughter’s face turn as he was a heel at Summerslam. This isn’t exactly the most talent laden match ever and the only feud is Slaughter vs. Mustafa.

Tito and Skinner start with Santana taking over with a headlock. There’s the flying forearm out of nowhere and Skinner hits the floor without a cover. Off to Berzerker vs. Tornado which would work a lot better down in Dallas. Berzerker (a crazy viking who tried to stab Undertaker with a sword) misses a dropkick and it’s off to Mustafa. After some very brief offense, Kerry tumbles to his corner and brings in Duggan to face Hercules, which was in the first ever match at Survivor Series.

Duggan gets taken down by double and triple teaming and it’s off to Mustafa. He loads up his curled boots (it’s a Sheik thing) and does nothing with them. Thanks for wasting our time with that. Duggan pounds away and backdrops Mustafa down before the hot tag to Slaughter. The big showdown is an atomic drop and a clothesline to Mustafa for the elimination.

Berzerker comes in with some clotheslines and a kick to the fat gut of Slaughter. A boot to Slaughter’s face puts him down and it’s off to Hercules for some two counts. Back to the viking who gets crotched on the top rope and kicked in the legs. Off to Duggan who clotheslines Berzerker to the floor and backdrops him back there a few seconds later. Tornado comes in and pounds away on him before it’s off to Hercules again. Tito gets a blind tag and hits a forearm to the back of the head (El Paso Del Muerte) for the pin and the elimination.

Skinner, the guy that owned now former developmental program FCW, comes in as it’s 4-2. When you have Skinner and Berzerker as your only guys left, the team is in big trouble. A blind tag brings in Slaughter who rolls up Skinner for the elimination. Slaughter whips Berzerker into Duggan’s clothesline for the elimination and the win.

Rating: F. The match sucked, it was never in doubt, and the biggest deal on the heel team was Skinner, who would get an IC Title shot soon after this. What a horrible match and one of the most worthless ones in the history of the show so far, which is covering quite a bit of ground. Nothing to see here at all.

Here he is in MSG on December 29, 1991.

Berzerker vs. British Bulldog

This should be short and relatively bitter. Bulldog’s music is rather hard to hear here. Crisscross to start and Berzerker kicks him in the head. Bulldog is a favorite in the Rumble because he won some other battle royal in England. Gorilla said the cup he won was ugly. What a great ambassador Gorilla is.

You can tell the fans aren’t exactly caring here, even though if the chart I saw is correct, this was the opener. No Fuji with Berzerker here for some reason. Camel clutch by Berzerker has Bulldog in something resembling trouble. Gorilla and Heenan talk about people in the Rumble as they don’t care at all here. It’s a shame that they have something to talk about here as Gorilla and Jesse could be hilarious when they got bored. Powerslam is blocked and Berzerker falls on him for the pin.

Rating: N. As in nah that didn’t really happen. I’m just so bored here that I wanted to do something to break up the monotony. Bulldog gets the worst rollup ever about a second later for the real pin.

Rating: D-. Boring match with these two managing to botch a rollup of all things. That’s HARD to do. This went nowhere at all and nothing at all came of it. I get that Bulldog is supposed to be getting a push, but wouldn’t the powerslam be a better way to do that? We really needed to protect John Nord?

Here’s an upgrade in opponent on Superstars, January 18, 1992.

Undertaker vs. Berzerker

Mr. Fuji steals the urn to start and Berzerker nails him with the shield and sword (yeah he hit him with a sword) but misses a stab attempt. A clothesline puts Berzerker on the floor, right in front of Fuji. He drops the urn but Berzerker dives off the apron to put Undertaker down again. The mats are pulled back and Undertaker gets piledriven on the concrete but he sits up a few seconds later. We get the slow stalk up the aisle and the villains leave. I’m not sure if this was a match or not but again Berzerker looked AWESOME.

Here’s a power tag match on June 3, 1992.

Undertaker/Ultimate Warrior vs. Papa Shango/Berzerker

The good guys clean house to start until we get down to Undertaker vs. Berzerker in a tall slugout. This time it’s Undertaker getting the better of it but missing a charge in the corner and getting dropkicked out to the floor. The fight heads outside with Undertaker ramming him face first into the steps. Back in and it’s off to the Warrior but Shango hits him in the back with the voodoo stick.

The heels take over with some forearms to the back and actually make some nice tags to keep the fresh guy in. Warrior gets tied up in the ropes and stomps by Berzerker until he gets his arms free and backdrops the big man to the floor. The hot tag brings in Undertaker who chokeslams Berzerker for two. The flying clothesline drops Shango and everything breaks down with Warrior hitting a quick shoulder and splash to pin Berzerker.

Rating: D. Not much to this one but I’m still kind of astounded by how well Berzerker is moving out there. I liked Undertaker learning from getting beaten up by Berzerker before and adjusting in future matches. He’s always been a smart wrestler and that’s some good, basic psychology that so many wrestlers just miss. This was a standard house show match and was probably much better for the live crowd than someone watching elsewhere.

Another big tag match from Prime Time on July 21, 1992.

Ric Flair/Berzerker vs. Undertaker/Randy Savage

Savage is still WWF Champion here and starts with Flair. Ric takes him into the corner to start and WOOs in the champ’s face. Randy goes after the arm until he drops Flair a few times with a clothesline and shoulder. Off to Undertaker and Flair is already begging off into the corner. Chops and punches have the exact effects you would think they would on the dead man and he gorilla presses Flair down.

Berzerker finally comes in for the monster slugout and a big boot puts Undertaker on the floor. Back in and Undertaker slugs away before bringing Savage back in with a top rope ax handle. The heels take over on the champ with Flair putting on a chinlock. Berzerker puts him in the corner and kicks Savage into the post.

Randy gets beaten up on the floor even more until Undertaker comes over to scare them off. A slam onto the exposed concrete has Savage in even more trouble and Berzerker ties him up in the ropes. Randy kicks his way out though and makes the hot tag off to Undertaker. A quick tombstone plants the viking and Savage’s elbow is good for the pin.

Rating: C+. Much better match here with better workers to fill in the teams. Flair vs. Savage is one of the best feuds WWF had that people don’t remember enough about and this was another good, albeit short, performance from them. Fun match here that had more time to build and was better as a result.

Berzerker was in a dark match at Summerslam 1992.

Tatanka vs. Berzerker

This is the final dark match and is held right before the main event but I’m putting it here for the sake of simplicity. Berzerker wants a test of strength to start and easily takes the smaller Tatanka down. The Native American comes back by easily shoving Berzerker to the floor before they slug it out back inside. They collide after a crisscross but Berzerker misses a dropkick, allowing Tatanka to fire away on the leg.

A World’s Strongest Slam gets two on Tatanka before a regular slam puts him down outside the ring. Back in and Heenan makes Indian jokes as Berzerker kicks Tatanka in the ribs. A backdrop puts Berzerker on the floor before Tatanka starts his war dance back inside. The Papoose to Go is enough for the pin on the viking.

Rating: D. To give you an idea what this match was, think of nothing. Now take away any possible interest that nothing has and you’ll have this match. It was very dull and uninteresting and the fans clearly wanted to see the main event instead of more worthless wrestling. Tatanka would become a pretty big deal against Yokozuna in about a year.

Here’s another match on November 23, 1992.

Crush vs. Berzerker

We’re in Erie, Pennsylvania here and apparently this is going to be a classic. Gorilla and I need to have a chat about what it means to be a classic. Hayes likes Berzerker and thinks bCrush should have more of a mean streak. We get a test of strength and the power of Hawaii wins.

Apparently Mr. Fuji has left Berzerker. I’m sure it has nothing to do with that Yoko guy. He misses a big knee drop. Yeah he’s not inspired by Bruiser Brody AT ALL. Crush makes his comeback but manages to mess up an atomic drop. That’s hard to do. He was over as all goodness though so I can’t complain. Crush gets the Head Vice for the submission.

Rating: D+. Just a way to get Crush a win to keep him over which is fine. To say he was over is an understatement and this was just a way to get him over. This was short enough to not be that bad though, which helps a lot. Berzerker’s stock is starting to fall, even though it wasn’t very high in the first place.

Another match against a big name guy on January 2, 1993.

Berzerker vs. Mr. Perfect

Berzerker gets right in his face to start but gets chopped back. Perfect ducks a big boot and clothesline before a dropkick sends him out to the floor. Back in and Perfect misses a charge into the post but has to avoid a shot from the sword. A big boot puts Perfect down again but he backdrops Berzerker out to the floor. Cue Ric Flair for a distraction, though not a good enough one for Berzerker to get in any good shots. Flair leaves and the big guy is able to drop Perfect though and we take a break. Back with Berzerker getting two off a World’s Strongest Slam but he ducks his head and gets PerfectPlexed for the pin.

Rating: C-. Not the worst match in the world but the Flair interference stopped what they had going. The sword thing continues to be so over the top that it’s awesome, which is the best thing you can do for a character like Berzerker. I mean, he’s a viking with a sword and shield. How serious can you be with him?

We’ll jump way ahead now to a return run in WCW, starting on Nitro, January 5, 1998.

John Nord vs. Barbarian

You might remember Nord as the Berzerker from the early 90s. He’s part of a new wave of talent coming in apparently, which will also include a former WWF Tag Team Champion debuting later tonight. Nord is just a guy in white trunks and furry boots here. They clothesline each other and no one goes anywhere but another clothesline puts Barbarian on the floor. Nord, a big guy in his own right, hits a dive over the top to crush Barbarian but he stops to go after Jimmy Hart. Barbie rams him into the barricade but Nord sends him head first into the steps.

They whip each other into the barricade as this is way more energetic than you would expect it to be. Back in and Nord hits a Samoan drop for no cover followed by a series of elbow drops. Jimmy gets choked a bit but Barbarian hits a big boot to the jaw, sending Nord out to the floor. Back in and a pumphandle slam gets two for Barbarian before he chops Nord in the corner. Nord misses a charge into the corner and falls outside again, only to come back in with a middle rope elbow. A modified camel clutch by Nord (Nord was sitting almost on the mat while pulling back on the chin) is good for the submission.

Rating: C+. This was WAY better than I ever could have expected it to be as Nord looked pretty solid out there. Barbarian was his usual self but a bit more physical than he usually was, making for a pretty solid surprise here. I barely remember Nord at all around this time which is one of the fun parts of rewatching these shows. Good stuff here.

We’ll wrap it up with one more WCW match on Worldwide, July 4, 1998.

John Nord vs. Goldberg

A big boot immediately drops Goldberg but he pops up and clotheslines Nord to the floor. They head outside (the Worldwide set is interesting as the ring is surrounded by a platform, meaning the guys are just under the top rope when they’re standing otuside) with Goldberg slugging him around but getting punched a few times back inside. Not that they matter as the spear and Jackhammer are good for the pin. Goldberg would win the World Title two days later.

I was expecting a boring, mostly comedic set of matches here but Nord was actually awesome with some great flexibility and a look that made him even more intimidating. If you gave him a serious gimmick in the WWF, he could have been a big deal with all of his athletic gifts. This one was a very nice surprise.

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