One-Sided Beatdowns
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Paul E. Dangerously, Lance Russell, Joey Styles, Vince McMahon, Jim Cornette, Tony Schiavone, Michael Cole, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves, Kevin Sullivan, Tommy Dreamer, Todd Grisham

So this is something that WWE put together on the Vault, which is basically a 40 minute collection of squash matches. That is the kind of thing which can make for some fun violence, as some of those squashed can be all kinds of entertaining. I’m going into this mostly blind so this should be good. Let’s get to it.

Little bit of a weird thing here: on YouTube, the identifications on some of the matches are all over the place, with Big E. being listed instead of Sid Vicious, a match with Bayley on commentary listing her in the match and some other names being nowhere near close. No idea what’s up with that.

From Monday Night Raw, December 10, 2001.

Hardcore Title: Undertaker vs. Spike Dudley

Undertaker is defending and Spike throws in a bunch of weapons before the bell, with Undertaker swatting a trashcan out of the air. Undertaker doesn’t care so Spike goes and sits on his motorcycle, which is enough to start the destruction. The beating begins on the floor and Spike is thrown inside for a hard right to the head.

Spike is tied in the Tree of Woe (which Lawler seems to have never heard of before) but he gets out for a low blow. Some trashcan lids to the head just annoy Undertaker, who smashes him in the head with the same lid. Undertaker drives a forearm over Spike’s face and the Last Ride onto a trashcan retains at 2:36. This wasn’t quite one sided but ticked off Undertaker can be most enjoyable.

Post match Undertaker chokeslams him over the top and out to the floor (OUCH).

From WCW Main Event, August 27, 1989.

Sid Vicious vs. Lee Scott

Sid hits a big clothesline and the fans are just going nuts for him. A gorilla press to the floor lets Sid throw him back inside. The helicopter slam sets up the powerbomb to complete the destruction at 1:30. This was GREAT as Sid absolutely massacred him.

From ECW On Sci Fi, August 1, 2006.

Kurt Angle vs. Brooklyn Brawler

Commentary doesn’t think much of Brawler’s chances. The ankle lock sends Brawler straight to the ropes to start so Angle beats him up there instead. A headbutt and ankle lock finish Brawler at 1:10.

From Monday Night Raw, June 19, 1995.

Shawn Michaels vs. Gus Kantarrakis

The name graphic has two R’s in the latter’s name but everything else I can find shows just one. Not a good sign when even the company can’t bother getting your name right. Michaels shoulders him down to start and runs the ropes…but has to stop and pick him up. They get back up and Michaels hits another shoulder so he can ride on Gus’ back for the comedy.

Michaels gets Gus to chase him on the floor and then has a seat in the front row. Gus’ cheap shot doesn’t work as commentary ignores the match to talk about celebrity news. Back in and Gus manages a right hand to the ribs and slows Michaels down but he easily sends Gus outside. A suplex on the floor has Gus in more trouble and the superkick knocks him silly out there as well. Back in and the fans want it one more time so Michaels basically Weekend At Bernie’s him into another superkick for the pin at 4:20.

Rating: C. Gus was another level of useless here as he had a weird look and Michaels was almost wrestling himself at times. That being said, this was the goofy Michaels who felt like a star no matter what he was doing and there was no way to avoid putting the title on him next year.

From WCW TV, May 10, 1986.

Midnight Express vs. Mulkey Brothers

Naturally Jim Cornette is here with the Express and even jumps on commentary. Condrey backdrops Randy to start as Cornette says tomorrow is Mother’s Day so he loves Mama Cornette…and wants his allowance. Randy is taken outside and suplexed onto the concrete before Bill comes in, only to be tossed outside as well. Back in and Bill’s face is rubbed into the mat as Cornette calls out Dusty Rhodes and Magnum TA.

A belly to back superplex plants Bill again as Cornette WILL NOT SHUT UP, which is what made him a legend. Bill is sent hard into the corner and a butterfly suplex gives Eaton one, as he pulls Bill up over and over. Randy comes in and actually scores with some punches to Condrey, who suplexes him right back down. A good looking top rope elbow hits Randy and Condrey finally finishes with what would be better known as the Skull Crushing Finale at 4:53.

Rating: C+. The Midnights turned the tag team squash into an art form and the Mulkeys were some of the best targets they could have had. It wouldn’t have been right to leave the Midnights off of something like this as they really were great at what they did. Throw in Cornette ranting at everyone he could think of and it was a lot of fun.

From Monday Nitro, June 1, 1998.

US Title: Goldberg vs. La Parka

Goldberg is defending, gets hit in the head with a chair before the bell, and runs through him with the spear and Jackhammer to retain at 28 seconds. Well you knew Goldberg was going to be on this show.

From Monday Night Raw, July 25, 2016.

Braun Strowman vs. James Ellsworth

Ellsworth hides in the corner at the bell and then thinks it’s a good idea to come up swinging. Strowman throws him into the corner and hits a big boot to the chest, setting up a running splash. A reverse chokeslam finishes Ellsworth at 1:10. Yeah that worked.

From WCW TV, December 16, 1989.

Steiner Brothers vs. Cactus Jack Manson/Rick Fargo

Rick (Steiner, in case you thought Fargo mattered) backs Manson up against the ropes and then slaps the fire out of him. Believe it or not, Jack is kind of into the pain so Scott comes in for a backdrop. Manson fights up with an elbow for two but Scott knocks him outside rather quickly.

Back in and it’s off to Fargo and I don’t see this going well. Scott suplexes him down with ease and a super fall away slam drops Fargo again. We cut to some shots of the crowd and come back to Rick neck cranking Fargo, followed by some riding on the mat. Back up and the Steiner Line puts Fargo down again, setting up the Frankensteiner for the pin at 4:46.

Rating: C-. This was there for the sake of having the Steiners and Jack in the same match but there wasn’t much to it. The Steiners could beat up just about anyone and that’s what they did here. It just wasn’t that entertaining and was more about name value, but I can go with something like this on a big compilation.

From NXT, August 3, 2016.

Asuka vs. Aliyah

Bayley is on commentary but Asuka offers her a seat on the ramp to watch closer. Asuka snapmares Aliyah down as the fans sing for Bayley, whose confidence has been wrecked by Asuka taking the Women’s Title from her. A hip attack drops Aliyah again and Asuka chokes her in the ropes while looking down at Bayley. Another hip attack in the ropes drops Aliyah again and Asuka kicks her out of the air for two, with Asuka pulling her up. A Buzzsaw Kick sets up the Asuka Lock for the tap at 2:28. Nice story advancement with the squash.

From Sunday Night Heat, October 28, 2004.

Tyson Tomko vs. Shawn Riddick

Tomko powers him into the corner to start and hits a spinebuster before hammering away. Some forearms on the mat have Riddick in more trouble and Tomko throws him outside. Tomko isn’t having any of this comeback and kicks Riddick outside, which is enough for the referee to call it at 1:48. Riddick was bumping like crazy here.

From Superstars, February 6, 1993.

Beverly Brothers vs. Bob East/Pete Christie

The Brothers beat on the first one before handing it off to the second one. As we get a look at the latest WWF Magazine, the Brothers hit the Shaker Heights Spike (a flapjack into a faceplant) but the guy over rotates and comes down HARD on his head, thankfully for the pin at 1:28. That was on highlight reels for a good while and could have been a lot worse.

From WCW TV, March 3, 1990.

Kevin Sullivan/Buzz Sawyer vs. Robbie Idol/Zan Panzer

Sawyer is a known nutjob who takes over on Idol. Sullivan comes in for some chops and stomps Idol in the face. It’s back to Sawyer for more chopping before it’s off to Panzer, which makes Sawyer laugh. Sawyer sits on Panzer’s neck as we hear about various upcoming house shows. Sullivan ties Idol in the Tree Of Woe for the running knee and Sawyer, looking a bit nuts (understatement), adds his great top rope splash. Naturally Sawyer pulls him up at two and hits another splash but pulls him up again…and the referee disqualifies Sawyer at 4:13. For what? Beating him up too much?

Rating: C. Not great ending aside, this was another destruction with those splashes looking great. At the same time, Sullivan and his Slaughterhouse (also including Cactus Jack) never did much for me and that was the case again here. They’re a perfectly fine midcard monster team and that’s about it, which only gets them so far.

Post match Sawyer beats him up some more and Sullivan leaves, with a bunch of wrestlers having to come drag Sawyer off of Idol. They can’t quite do it though, instead picking BOTH of them up at once for a unique visual to wrap it up.

Overall Rating: B. I had a GREAT time with this and it is the kind of thing that shows just how much the people running the channel appreciate wrestling. They mixed in a huge variety here and some of them were incredibly entertaining. Just a great little package of fun stuff and worth a look if you want something to the point and exactly as advertised, with nothing breaking five minutes.

 

 

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Mid-South House Show
Date: November 11, 1985
Location: Municipal Auditorium, New Orleans, Louisiana

This is part of a house show, which is certainly a lot more than you can get most of the time. Mid-South has an awesome reputation for some fired up crowds and while this is past their peak as a promotion, they still have quite a few stars and a rabid fan base so this could be good. I’m not sure what to expect here and the lack of commentary could make things confusing. Let’s get to it.

Bruise Brothers vs. El Corsario/Steve Williams

The Brothers are Mad Dog Boyd/Pork Chop Cash and Corsario is a 21 year old Savio Vega in a mask. It’s a brawl to start with the Brothers starting very fast and knocking Williams outside. Corsario is sent into the corner and a splash finishes him off at 49 seconds. Well that woke the fans up.

Lord Humongous vs. Jake Roberts

Humongous is a masked man (and not played by Sid Vicious this time) with Oliver Humperdink (Jake’s big annoyance at the moment) in his corner. Humongous shoves him into the corner to start and Jake isn’t sure what to do here. Jake hammers away but gets slammed down, only to avoid an elbow. The threat of mask removal sends Humongous bailing out to the floor and then they do the same thing again.

Back in again and Jake hammers away but a reversed whip lets Humongous hit a hard clothesline. Posing ensues and Jake gets caught in a bearhug to keep him in trouble. With that broken up, Humongous goes after Jake’s back with some knee drops and headbutts before cranking on both arms at once.

We hit the bearhug again but Humongous lets it go and misses a legdrop. Jake’s atomic drop gives us a double knockdown and a VERY big crowd reaction), followed by a hard running clothesline to drop Humongous. Humperdink breaks up the count though and the chase is on, allowing Humongous to grab a cobra clutch to knock Jake out at 10:50.

Rating: C. This felt like another step in a long story between Jake and Humperdink and that is going to work well enough. Humongous felt like a mercenary and he did well enough in the role, as he felt like a combination of a slasher movie monster and a decent power wrestler. Also, the ending was a good win for Humperdink over Jake, as there is something about seeing someone get choked out.

Post match Jake is out so Humperdink drops an elbow on him and counts his own three.

Tag Team Titles: Eddie Gilbert/Nightmare vs. Al Perez/Wendell Cooley

Gilbert and the Nightmare (Moondog Rex/the original Demolition Smash) are challenging and have Oliver Humperdink in their corner. Perez and Nightmare start off to limited avail so it’s time to stare at each other for a bit. Perez’s top wristlock doesn’t work either so the staredown is on again. This time they’re a little hesitant about a test of strength so it’s off to Gilbert to shoulder Perez down. A dropkick sets up an armbar on Gilbert though and Perez adds in some knees to the shoulder.

Cooley comes in for an armbar, an armdrag and another armbar (make your own Chris Jericho joke) before handing it back to Perez to stay on the arm. Perez and Cooley draw Nightmare in and change without a tag, much to the fans’ delight. It works so well that they do it again, followed by Cooley dropping a leg on the arm. An armdrag lets Perez come back in for a kneedrop onto the arm and the cranking continues. To mix it up a bit, Perez and Cooley crank on both arms at the same time.

Gilbert finally gets up and brings in Nightmare, who misses an elbow and gets sunset flipped for two. It’s already back to Gilbert, who misses a charge into the post to make the arm even worse. That means another armbar and then some hiptosses to both Gilbert and Nightmare. The villains finally get it together as Nightmare grabs Gilbert to avoid a dropkick, meaning it’s time to beat on Cooley. Gilbert’s arm is fine enough for some elbows and a stomach claw.

Nightmare grabs a reverse chinlock and it’s right back to Gilbert for a middle rope ax handle. Another chinlock, this time with a knee in the back, keeps Cooley in trouble and a clothesline cuts him down again. Gilberto chokes on the rope and Nightmare hits a belly to back suplex for two. Back up and the classic double collision evens things out all over again, proving that Cooley’s head is far harder than Nightmare’s.

The hot tag brings in Perez to clean house as everything breaks down, with Cooley being knocked to the floor. Perez immediately goes to check on him as Cooley is holding his head and not getting up. For some reason Perez throws him back in and Gilbert is right there with the strutting. Perez comes in to break up a double suplex but Gilbert hits a hot shot to finish Cooley for the titles at 25:59.

Rating: B-. This got a lot of time and wound up working rather well as they went with the formula, which a Mid-South crowd is always going to eat up. Perez and Cooley worked well enough for a face team (the matching tights always help) and Humperdink seems to be enough of an evil force to make a middle of the road team into more of a threat. Good match here, and it doesn’t feel anywhere close to almost half an hour.

North American Title: Butch Reed vs. Dick Slater

Slater, with Dark Journey, is challenging for the promotion’s top title. We’re joined in progress with Slater hitting a belly to back suplex and cranking on the leg. Reed fights up and slugs away but can’t follow up because of the knee. More slugging away puts Slater down but he’s right back up with a sleeper. Reed gets close to the rope so Slater slams him down before he can make it (that’s rather clever). The Figure Goes onto Reed’s bad leg until he manages to turn it over, as you might have expected.

The referee gets bumped, though Slater puts on a spinning toehold anyway. That’s reversed into a small package for no count but here’s another referee to count Slater’s cover on Reed, even with his feet on the ropes. Hold on though as some unnamed wrestler comes up to say what happened and it seems we’re continuing. Reed gives chase and hammers away back inside before taking Slater outside for a whip into the barricade. The referee throws it out in there somewhere, with Reed retaining via DQ at about 9:30 shown.

Rating: C+. It was certainly energetic while it lasted and Reed is someone who impresses me more and more every time I see him on his own. Reed was a heck of a power guy and he was showing a lot of fire and charisma here. I know he is best remembered as a tag guy with Ron Simmons in Doom but this was working well.

Jim Duggan vs. Buzz Sawyer

No DQ and Duggan jumps him before the bell to start. Sawyer is knocked to the floor in a hurry but comes back in to quickly lose a slugout (Who brawls with Duggan?). This time he is knocked outside, where Duggan hammers away even more. Duggan sends him face first (and hard) into the barricade, then swears at Sawyer and does it again.

Sawyer is busted open (shocking) and Duggan hammers away in the corner. The time out request is denied and Duggan throws him over the top but Sawyer comes back in with a low blow. A ram into the barricade sends Duggan over and Sawyer sends him into the steel a second time. Duggan avoids having a table dropped on him but gets sent into the barricade for a third time in a row.

Back in and Duggan swears some more before blasting Sawyer with a clothesline. Sawyer hits his own clothesline though and they’re both down for a needed breather. Duggan returns the low blow and a three point shoulder puts Sawyer out on the floor….where he takes the countout at 11:48, because now we have countouts.

Rating: B. This was a red hot brawl and a great example of everything that Duggan could do in this place. Duggan is best known as being the goofy patriot and that worked out well, but he was AWESOME as the bar fighting brawler, which he got to showcase far better in Mid-South. Sawyer was kind of a horrible human but he could do this kind of thing very well. Heck of a match and I could have gone for a lot more.

Post match Sawyer charges back in to choke away but a piledriver is countered with a backdrop. The bell ringer loses his mind as the brawl continues, drawing out a bunch of other wrestlers to pull them apart. They’re finally separated but Sawyer smacks Duggan in the face to set it off again. The wrestlers get them apart and we see Sawyer having to be held in the back.

Cue Duggan and the brawl starts again backstage, with Duggan swearing rather loudly and Sawyer screaming at him but not being able to stand. This was a GREAT angle and I want to see these two tear each other apart. That’s where Mid-South shined and it was on full display here.

Overall Rating: B-. The main event helped a lot and while it would have been a good bit better with the rest of the show included, this was another fun show and makes me wonder how great Mid-South could have been had they not fallen apart due to circumstances outside of their control. This had a great mixture of styles and an awesome main event on top of everything else. Good stuff here and it makes me want to see a lot more from Mid-South, especially in their better days.

 

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

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Hidden Gems #14
Date: 1983

Georgia Championship Wrestling House Show
Date: November 6, 1983
Location: Omni, Atlanta, Georgia

So you might have heard of the Last Battle of Atlanta, with the legendary cage match between Tommy Rich and Buzz Sawyer. Well this is the followup show and just about three weeks from the original Starrcade. This is another case where it’s out of my comfort zone but that can make for some awesome surprises. Let’s get to it.

This is NOT the complete show but I’ll try to fill in the gaps where I can.

It looks like we’re missing Les Thornton defeating Pat Rose in the opener and starting with the second match.

Brad Armstrong vs. Joe Lightfoot

They shake hands to start and it’s Brad grabbing a headlock. They go to the mat with that as this is already feeling like an NWA opener. Lightfoot gets to his feet and shoots him in, only to get crossbodied for two. It’s right back to the headlock takeover for another good stretch as we’re already four minutes into this. Back up and the headlocking continues until Brad hits some shoulders. An armdrag into an armbar doesn’t work on Joe as he reverses into a headscissors as we hit five minutes.

That’s broken up after a minute or so but Brad misses an elbow drop. Lightfoot hits the legdrop and we’re right back to the headscissors. Brad fights up again and blocks a monkey flip out of the corner so he can drop a knee for two. The spinning high crossbody misses though and it’s an atomic drop to send Brad back into the corner.

A backbreaker gives Brad a quick two with Lightfoot getting his foot (because it’s light you see) on the rope. Lightfoot kicks him out of the corner and hits a running forearm for two (and a good bump from Brad). What looked to be a top rope headbutt misses though and Brad grabs a small package for the pin at 12:36.

Rating: C-. This started off rather slowly but once they got off the mat, it wound up being perfectly watchable. That’s how you did an opening match back in the day though and if nothing else it’s a big relief to not have the twenty minute draw that it felt like at the beginning. Armstrong would go on to become one of the most consistent and underrated wrestlers of the era and you can see his potential in stuff like this.

TV Title: Jake Roberts vs. Ron Garvin

Roberts is challenging, has Paul Ellering in his corner and can only win the title in the first ten minutes of the match (as is customary). This is part of a long rivalry and they circle each other near the ropes to start. Garvin, with longer hair than usual here, cranks on a wristlock to put Jake down. That earns Garvin a whip to the floor but he’s right back in to knock Jake outside instead.

The stalling is on for a bit until Garvin drives him into the corner again. Ellering’s distraction doesn’t work either as Roberts gets knocked down and slammed into the middle for two. Jake stalls outside again but Garvin slugs him down one more time as this is totally one sided in the first five minutes.

More lefts and rights set up a middle rope knee for two but Jake finally gets in a knee to the ribs. We hit the chinlock with three minutes left in the title portion. Instead of going for something else, Roberts switches to an armbar and pulls on the rope for a change. A vertical suplex gives Jake two but Garvin slugs away one more time. There’s a rake to the back but Jake finds a well hidden weapon in the turnbuckle and hits him in the throat. The DDT gives Jake the pin and the title out of nowhere at 9:27.

Rating: C+. Points for the surprise here as they were setting up the draw (in the first ten minutes at least) to perfection here. The match saw Jake selling the whole time until he cheated to steal the title, just like a snake would. That sets up a ton of rematches (and there would be more than one) so it was a well done and surprising match which set up the future. Not bad at all for about ten minutes.

Post match Ellering gets the weapon away from Jake so that the referee can’t find anything in a great bit.

Jimmy Valiant vs. Great Kabuki

Kabuki has Gary Hart with him. Before the match, Valiant says it’s time to beat up some people, including the bald headed geek Gary Hart. Valiant gives Hart five seconds to get out before the beating is on, and then gets in the ring to deck Hart five seconds later. You can’t fault him for timing. With Hart on the floor, Valiant beats up Kabuki in a hurry and crotches him against the post.

Back in and we get some shaking knees, a thumb to Kabuki’s throat, and more knee shaking. After sending the referee into the corner, Valiant chokes away but the referee’s distraction lets Hart slip Kabuki something. That’s enough for a shot to the face and it’s time for Kabuki to start chopping. Those are cut off with the sleeper so Kabuki goes to the face again for another break. That earns Kabuki another sleeper so he rakes the eyes again to get out. Kabuki’s claw doesn’t last long so he kicks Valiant in the ribs.

The claw goes on again for two but Valiant fights up again. That means a lot of gyrating and dancing as the comeback is on. Naturally that is cut off by a third claw but this time Valiant sends him into the referee. Valiant slams Kabuki off the top and pulls out a chain for the right hands, drawing in Hart for the failed save. Valiant chokes him out with the chain and knocks Kabuki out with another right hand. Hart goes after Valiant again so it’s one more right hand….and Valiant pins Hart at 10:02? Makes as much sense as anything else.

Rating: D. Yeah this didn’t work. I know Valiant is someone who can work a crowd into a frenzy and I did like what he did to Hart before the bell, but there wasn’t much to be seen here as it was a lot of laying around with some dancing in the middle. Valiant has never been the kind of guy known for his in-ring prowess (and that’s fine) but I needed something more than this.

Buzz Sawyer vs. Abdullah the Butcher

Butcher has Ellering with him and Sawyer seems to be a face after being the biggest heel ever last time around. They brawl on the floor to start (well duh) and Sawyer is knocked all around ringside as Butcher is a different level of violent. Some postings have Sawyer rocked and bleeding early. A shot to the face knocks Sawyer over the barricade and a chair to the face makes it even worse. Sawyer shoves the referee and they actually get in the ring for a change. Butcher rips at the face with the trademark fork but Sawyer takes it away and gouges away with the fork as well. That’s finally enough for the double DQ at 4:16.

Rating: C-. I know it’s not much of a match but that’s kind of the point of something like this. You know what you’re getting with Butcher (I mean, his name is BUTCHER) and Sawyer could be a wild brawler in his own right. This wasn’t a good match, but it was a wild brawl that they were trying for and after a bad match before it, this is what they should have done.

Post match the brawl is on again with Sawyer using the fork again, both in and out of the ring. Butcher doesn’t want any help from the referee and knocks him down, with Sawyer taking out Ellering as well. The brawling continues and they choke each other a lot but things start to slow down a bit.

They get back inside with Butcher choking on the mat until they roll outside again. More choking and brawling take them into the crowd where the camera can’t quite follow them. We see them brawling even more until they’re FINALLY separated with Sawyer heading back to the ring. The brawl was twice as long as the match and you can imagine how many rematches they’ve set up.

We take an intermission, with the ring announcer saying a pair of glasses has been found. I love that kind of little touch to make it feel unique.

National Tag Team Titles: Road Warriors vs. Brett Wayne Sawyer/Dusty Rhodes

The Road Warriors are defending and have Ellering with them. The much smaller Sawyer grabs a headlock on Hawk to start before bouncing off of his shoulder. A pair of dropkicks have the Warriors staggered and you can feel the anger growing. Dusty comes in to face Hawk and you can feel the fans getting into things more than they have in a long time. The dancing shots to the head stagger Hawk and it’s off to Animal for a change.

The test of strength goes on but Sawyer slides through Dusty’s legs to get in a cheap shot on Animal in a unique spot. Animal gorilla presses Sawyer so it’s already back to Hawk, who can’t slam Dusty. Both Warriors get slammed though and the champs are livid. Back in and Sawyer hits Hawk in the face, which doesn’t seem to be the best career move. Animal comes in for some hardcore glaring so Sawyer grabs a headlock.

A shoulder takes Sawyer down again though and Dusty gets to try some more with Hawk. Dusty takes Hawk down with ease and gets in a kick that looked a good bit low. That means it’s already back to Animal, who is so sick of Sawyer’s headlocks that he throws him into the corner. Fair enough as that’s almost all Sawyer has done so far. Hawk slaps on a bearhug and it’s quickly back to Animal for one of his own.

The bearhugging continues and Sawyer has to get his arm up at two drops. With that out of the way, it’s right back to the bearhug. Now one might think that the Road Warriors shouldn’t be in a match this long at this point as they don’t seem ready for it, but Sawyer escapes and brings Dusty back in so we don’t have time to address that.

Dusty gets knocked down as well and Hawk grabs….a wristlock? We’re fourteen minutes into this and you grab a wristlock? Dusty gets out of that like it’s a wristlock and brings Sawyer in again as everything breaks down. Sawyer powerslams Hawk but Animal makes the save for two, with Dusty making another save. Everything breaks down and Ellering comes in for the DQ at 15:13.

Rating: D. I don’t think the Road Warriors have been in more than a dozen fifteen minute matches in their careers so doing this in 1983 was a REALLY questionable move with bad results. What exactly were they expecting out of a team with an arsenal of three moves when they were feeling like really working that night? Not good, but the Warriors were left out there to die and Brett wasn’t much better. So yes, Dusty was the most polished worker of the match.

Post match Dusty is sent outside and Sawyer gets destroyed until Buzz Sawyer finally runs in for the save. Buzz carries Brett out in a scene that does have some emotion to it.

Tommy Rich vs. Ted DiBiase

I believe Pez Whatley is the guest referee (it’s definitely a wrestler). They go right to the slugout to start with Rich knocking DiBiase outside. Back in and Rich punches him down again as DiBiase is getting angry. A dropkick and elbow to the head keep DiBiase in trouble and we hit the headlock takeover to slow things down. DiBiase rolls him up for two but can’t get out of the hold as you can hear wrestlers talking about what they want to do in the match.

The hold is broken and put right back on as the pace has dropped a good three gears in a hurry. It’s finally broken up for good with DiBiase hitting a backdrop but the piledriver is countered without much trouble. Therefore, it’s right back to the headlock as we’re almost five minutes in. Back up again and DiBiase knees him in the ribs but misses an elbow, allowing Rich to drop a knee for two. Now it’s a chinlock on DiBiase but he fights up and sends Rich into the corner for a stomping.

After an argument with the referee, DiBiase drops a knee for two and grabs a suplex for the delayed same. The choking is on until Whatley breaks it up, allowing Rich to get in some right hands. DiBiase’s middle rope elbow to the head gets two more and we’re right back to the chinlock. That’s switched to more choking but Rich kicks his way out of the corner. The middle rope fist drop misses DiBiase but Rich kicks him in the face for the double knockdown.

Now it’s Rich grabbing a sleeper because we haven’t had a hold in a few minutes. DiBiase breaks that up in a hurry and stomps away some more. This time Rich is busted open and DiBiase goes after the cut, including MORE CHOKING. Whatley finally pulls DiBiase off of Rich in the corner so the comeback can be afoot. The bloody Rich slugs away as some other wrestlers come in to try and break it up, only to get decked by Rich as well. They hold him back enough for DiBiase to get in some more shots but they fight is on again. It happens again and this time Whatley, who was helping break it up, calls for the bell at 16:59.

Rating: D. I’m not sure what this was supposed to be but it wasn’t exactly a great way to keep Rich looking like a big star. After all those years of feuding with Sawyer, maybe the fans just want to see something else. Or they didn’t care after nearly fifteen minutes of choking and chinlocks. Terrible main event and the lack of a reaction doesn’t bode well for Rich’s future.

Post match they keep fighting on the floor to an almost nothing reaction, with Rich being declared the winner, presumably because of the wrestlers going after him first when they were breaking it up. Otherwise, that makes no sense.

Overall Rating: D+. That’s about as good as it was going to get as the show just wasn’t all that good. The problem is that they were coming off one of the biggest feuds in the history of the south and now they have to follow that up. Couple that with Rich’s star power going down in a hurry, likely due to fatigue after that Sawyer feud, and there wasn’t much else that could be done here. This just wasn’t a very good show, but it was definitely interesting with no commentary and having to let the wrestlers make you understand the story on their own.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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