Hidden Gems Collection #3
Date: 2009, 2011

I’ve done some old school stuff so far so now let’s try something a little more modern. In this case we have a bunch of stuff from Florida Championship Wrestling, which basically morphed into NXT, featuring a lot of names that you’ll be familiar with. There’s also one match from the old days of NXT so it’s quite developmental themed this time around. And since this is kind of short and there’s one match from 2009, I’ll throw that in as an unrelated bonus. Let’s get to it.

Rosa Mendes vs. Kaitlyn
Date: January 16, 2011
Location: FCW Arena, Tampa, Florida
Commentators: Matt Martlaro, Byron Saxton

From FCW TV and Rosa’s Queen of FCW Crown (a secondary women’s title) isn’t on the line. Kaitlyn starts fast with a backdrop but Rosa kicks her in the ribs to take over. A seated Blockbuster gets two and it’s time for hip shaking. Rosa gets two more off a snap suplex and the chinlock goes on again. Kaitlyn’s comeback is cut off with a choke in the corner but she comes back with an electric chair drop for a big crash. A slam gets two on Rosa, followed by a Flatliner to give Kaitlyn the pin at 4:25.

Rating: D-. Yeah….this didn’t work and I’m not sure where the gem part is in here. I don’t think Rosa ever actually won a match on the main roster so seeing her as a success in developmental doesn’t do much for me. Kaitlyn was someone who could have been a big deal and while she was something of a star in WWE, it never quite clicked. Much like this match here, which just wasn’t any good.

Xavier Woods vs. Michael Tarver
Date: June 5, 2011
Location: FCW Arena, Tampa, Florida
Commentators: Matt Martlaro, Byron Saxton, William Regal

This is back when Woods was just a guy. Tarver on the other hand was a guy who liked to punch and was the member of the Nexus actually worse than David Otunga. Some early forearms to the back have Woods in trouble but the yet to be named Honor Roll drops Tarver without much effort. A headscissors takes Tarver down again and he chills on the floor until Woods comes after him, meaning one of Tarver’s big forearms to the face. Back in and Woods jumps into a knee to the ribs for two as Tarver takes over again.

Rating: D+. This still wasn’t very good and a lot of that is due to Tarver. The guy just wasn’t talented and there’s no way around that. At least they had a story here with the ribs, even if they didn’t go anywhere in the end. The ending looked good though and Woods won so it’s not all that bad.

Dean Ambrose/Damien Sandow/Antonio Cesaro vs. Seth Rollins/Johnny Curtis/Derrick Bateman
Date: November 20, 2011
Location: FCW Arena, Tampa, Florida
Commentators: Matt Martlaro, William Regal

Curtis is Fandango and Bateman is EC3. Ambrose is the Jack Brisco 15 Champion, which was defended in 15 minute Iron Man matches. Bateman is a mystery partner, even though the fans want Regal (we’ll get to that one). Curtis and Cesaro start things off as we hear about how serious a competitor Curtis has been over the years. That’s so odd to hear, as is Cesaro being A, called Antonio and B, being referred to as a newcomer.

Cesaro easily takes over on Curtis but wants Rollins. That’s what he receives but instead it’s Ambrose coming in as the announcers talk about how big this rivalry has been in FCW. So it’s a generational thing. The good guys (Rollins and company) start working on Ambrose’s banged up arm but Dean drags Curtis over to the corner. That’s enough for the tag off to Sandow, who is a lot more serious than you might expect.

Curtis can’t fight out of the corner as Cesaro comes back in for some forearms. It’s also strange to hear the announcers talk about how much these people want to get up to the main roster. I know that’s the case, but you almost never hear it mentioned. Cesaro kicks a distracted Rollins off the apron but Curtis uses the delay to hit a spinwheel kick, allowing the hot tag to Bateman.

House is cleaned on Ambrose and egads it’s weird to see Bateman without all the muscles and wrestling such a fast paced offense. Rollins comes back in to kick Cesaro to the floor, setting up the big suicide dive. Curtis hits a big flip dive to the floor and Dusty is LOVING this stuff. Back in and Ambrose hits a Knee Trembler (Regal’s finisher), followed by the Regal Stretch to make Bateman tap at 6:06.

Rating: C+. For a six minute match with six people involved, this was a heck of a little match with everyone getting a chance to shine. You can tell how much energy this place has and it’s no surprise that most of them wound up being stars on the main roster. Ambrose vs. Rollins is one of those feuds where the two of them seem joined at the hip, which makes sense given how much chemistry they have. Odds are that’s why this made the collection and that’s fine.

Leakee vs. Corey Graves
Date: November 20, 2011
Location: FCW Arena, Tampa, Florida
Commentators: Matt Martlaro, William Regal

Leakee (pronounced Lay Ah Key) is better known as Roman Reigns. Graves has a rather nice looking woman named Leah West with him. The much bigger Leakee takes him into the corner to start for some stomps to the ribs and Graves bails to the floor. Leakee follows as Martlaro talks about not being quite the speaker that Dusty is. Gee you think? West offers a distraction so Graves can take over with a rake to the eyes (it’s a classic heel move for a reason) and a waistlock.

Dusty goes into such a rambling statement about “stuff happening” that even he admits he has no idea what he’s talking about. Think back to some of his insane calls and think about that one for a second. Leakee fights up and hits a bulldog for two, followed by a running forearm (looks like a forerunner to the Superman Punch). The Samoan drop finishes Graves at 4:30.

Rating: C-. This wasn’t half bad and you could see the star power in Reigns. It’s probably best that Graves moved over to the announcers’ booth as his in-ring abilities never quite fit all that well. He was watchable at best and needed a little more than that to stand out, especially in what NXT was going to become. On the other hand you have Reigns, who wrestled in NXT all of twice before moving on to the main roster.

Antonio Cesaro vs. Seth Rollins
Date: December 7, 2011
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Christopher Patrick Russo, Byron Saxton

This might be the first ever NXT event at Full Sail. The future Brandi Rhodes is ring announcer and of course she’s awesome at that too. Before the match, Cesaro does his regular “Americans are dumb and Europeans are awesome” speech. They go right at each other to start with Rollins missing an early dropkick and getting caught in a gutwrench suplex. There’s something so awesome about watching someone pick up another human being and throw them around like that.

The double chickenwing goes on for a bit until Cesaro kicks him in the face to cut off the comeback. It’s off to a neck crank to keep Rollins in trouble, followed by a gorilla press toss, sending Rollins throat first onto the top rope. I almost forget how freakishly strong Cesaro is at times. An arm trap chinlock keeps Rollins down but he gets two off a rollup to go with a breath of air. Rollins forearms him in the face and hits the Wade Barrett middle rope swinging suplex to send Cesaro into the corner.

The Curb Stomp misses but Rollins settles for a monkey flip over the top in a spot you don’t see that often. The big flip dive connects and the Curb Stomp connects for two back inside. Cesaro grabs the rope so Rollins goes to get him, allowing Cesaro to hit a cheap shot to the throat. Swiss Death (pop up uppercut) finishes Rollins at 5:12.

Rating: C+. This is the kind of match that should have been given about twenty minutes but they managed to fly through everything without it feeling rushed. That’s quite the impressive feat and they made it work very well here. This was when the two of them had some crazy energy (ok so Rollins still did) and should have been the top stars of the future (ok so Rollins was).

And now we’ll mix things up a bit. I mean….uh….oh yeah two of them now basically run developmental so it ties together. It’s also listed as being in the most complete form possible due to technical difficulties.

D-Generation X vs. Legacy
Date: September 4, 2009
Location: Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio

Post Smackdown dark match inside a cage. For those of you who don’t remember them, Legacy is Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase Jr. Before the match, HHH goes into a pretty funny bit about how it’s 10:30 so Raw isn’t even over yet, meaning they have a lot of time. Then they realize this isn’t on TV so this is for the millions NOT watching at home and you won’t see this until Friday even if you could see it. We get a long delay after the bell so I notice how big the gaps between the sections of the cage are this time.

They do the “let’s tag over and over bit until someone stays in” bit, even tagging the referee at one point. HHH headlocks Cody to start (likely trying to drag him back into WWE ten years early). More staring ensues as you can tell they’re not really feeling the workrate tonight. Cody comes back with some right hands so it’s off to Shawn to scare him a bit. A swinging neckbreaker drops Cody and Shawn steps on his face, sending Cody bailing over for a tag.

DiBiase has some more luck with some right hands in the corner but Shawn cuts him off with a couple of chops. A cheap shot lets DiBiase take Shawn down into the corner and it’s back to Cody for more right hands. You might be noticing a lot of those tonight and there’s a reason for that: this isn’t the most important match in the world. Shawn gets sent into the cage (first time it’s been used so far) as the boring match continues. A catapult into the cage gives Ted two and it’s back to Cody, with Shawn fighting out of the corner.

The reverse chinlock goes on, because a cage match needs a rest hold. Shawn powers out and the hot tag brings in HHH to clean house. That means a jumping knee and a spinebuster but Cody gives him a DDT. Everything breaks down and Shawn hits the flying forearm into the nipup before helping HHH send Legacy into the cage. The Pedigree and Sweet Chin Music give us the double pin at 12:21.

Rating: D-. Oh yea this one was terrible and there’s no way around it. The guys weren’t interested in trying and they had a really lazy match instead of doing anything of note. The cage was a complete non-factor for about 90% of the match and other than a few token rams, there was no reason this wasn’t a regular tag match.

Overall Rating: D+. This is much more of an interesting set than anything good. I really could go for the full FCW library to be released as they have some very cool pairings in there. It’s the current generation getting their starts and some of the feuds could have been fascinating. What we got here was fine, but that cage match was just a waste of time.

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

No image on this one, because I don’t want to spoil the impact.

Hidden Gems #2
Date: 1989

So when I originally put this on the schedule, it was entirely for the sake of the AWA Team Challenge show which got….interesting reviews, shall we say for reasons of general insanity. Since I started doing the rest of the years though, I might as well do the entire year, which is quite the eclectic collection this time around. Let’s get to it.

For the sake of simplicity, I’ll do these in order from the date they aired, starting with the earliest.

From February 23, 1989 in Florida.

Gordon Solie and Diamond Dallas Page (back when he was a heel commentator with some big hair) are with Oliver Humperdink (a heel manager) at the announcers’ desk with Oliver not being happy about Dusty Rhodes. Lately Dusty has brought out his son Dustin, who needs to be taken care of. Therefore, Humperdink is calling in Terry Funk to eradicate Dustin so Dusty will give up. Terry isn’t here yet, but he’s sent in a video for our visual enjoyment.

Funk, standing in front of a big wooden cutout labeled Dusty, has a new word for us. The word is a Dusty, which is a 150lb frame, with 50lbs of added fat, 50lbs of added obesity and 50lbs of added hot air, giving you a 300lb blob. Terry whips out a chainsaw and cuts off the wooden arms and head before hacking away the painted on heart. That leaves you with a heartless jackass, and if you breed that with a thick tongued barmaid, you get a Dustin, who is too stupid to say no, he won’t get in the ring with Terry Funk. Well, that was absolutely terrifying and we’ll move on as fast as possible.

From a WWA show promoted by the AWA. Note that this is VERY late in the match with about nine minutes shown of a match that ran thirty. It was also broadcast in Japan, as you can hear the Japanese commentary under the English commentary. Also of note: former World Champion Pat O’Connor is guest referee.

Rock N Roll Express vs. British Bulldogs
Date: February 23, 1989
Location: Memorial Hall, Kansas City, Missouri
Attendance: 300
Commentators: Ray Stevens, Greg Gagne

Joined in progress with Dynamite Kid dropping a knee onto Ricky Morton’s back and slapping on an armbar. Bulldog comes in for an armbar of his own as there are more empty seats than filled ones. Morton gets thrown outside as we hit the 25 minute mark. With the fans looking bored out of their minds, Greg talks about them being up for the entire match. I know they can see the match, so why like about something that is clearly wrong? I’ve never gotten that.

It’s back to Bulldog, who misses a top rope knee but still breaks up the hot tag attempt. Morton finally rolls over for the hot tag to Robert Gibson and everything breaks down. Gibson gets one off the slowest one count ever off a backdrop and then suplexes Dynamite with two minutes left. It’s back to Ricky for two off a piledriver, followed by the double dropkick for another slow two. A small package gets the same and we have thirty seconds. Smith and Gibson both try dropkicks and it’s back to Dynamite for an exchange of small packages as the time limit expires at 7:14 shown.

Rating: D. It’s really not fair to rate the last fifth or so of a match but what we got wasn’t all that great. The wrestling wasn’t anything to see but then again these teams were WAY passed their primes by this point anyway. I certainly don’t think I’d want to see the full version, but it’s certainly fine for an historical curiosity if nothing else.

Post match Badd Company, the Tag Team Champions, say they’re ready to face any team. They’re particularly ready to face Ricky Rice and Derrick Dukes (the Top Guns), who must be dreaming if they think they’re getting the titles. Ok then.

From May 13, 1989 in Sarasota, Florida in the PWF (Professional Wrestling Federation), Dusty Rhodes’ promotion. As you can probably guess by the name of Dusty’s opponent, it didn’t even make it a year.

PWF World Title: Dusty Rhodes vs. Big Steele Man
Date: May 13, 1989
Location: Robarts Arena, Sarasota, Florida
Commentator: Gordon Solie

In a cage with Dusty defending and that would be Tugboat/Typhoon/Shockmaster. Makes sense as they’re brothers-in-law, along with Jerry Sags (there’s your trivia for the day). This is in a cage and joined in progress again with Dusty going after Man’s manager, Oliver Humperdink (hey it’s a theme collection). Man hammers away in the corner but Dusty gets in the ten right hands to take over again. The Bionic Elbow keeps Man in trouble and he gets sent head first into the cage as the blood is flowing.

Man gets smart enough to grab a bearhug but Dusty hiptosses his way to freedom, only to miss the big elbow. A right hand knocks Dusty into the referee and of course Dusty hits the big elbow a few seconds later. Humperdink comes in (because the cage door is worthless) but gets punched back. Dusty hits a suplex but Diamond Dallas Page, Steel’s other manager, throws in a towel. Apparently it’s covered in something to knock Dusty out, meaning….well nothing actually as we’re clipped to a still of Man holding up the title at about 4:20.

Rating: D-. I’ve seen a full show from these guys before and the regular thing wasn’t that much better. This was slow and plodding and little more than a way for Dusty to have a foil, even though both of them would be in the WWF in about two months. That being said, what else were you expecting from Dusty vs. Tugboat in a serious match?

And now, for the reason I wanted to watch this in the first place.

Team Challenge Series Pilot
Date: October 23, 1989
Commentators: Ralph Strangis, Greg Gagne

So back in the late 1980s, the AWA was, uh, bad. Like, really bad. Their answer was this big series of gimmick matches with a big scoring system and the entire roster split up into three teams. This was called the Team Challenge Series and what we have here is described as an unreleased home video pilot special. I’m sure this will be FASCINATING. Let’s get to it.

We open with a montage, featuring cheerleaders in very 80s bikinis chanting YAY YAY YAY FOR THE AWA, plus the American flag, a concert and wrestling. I guess this is Verne Gagne’s idea of patriotism?

Verne, with his dog, introduces the concept. He’s so excited about this concept with new technology (remember that) that he might come out of retirement one more time. I mean, would that really surprise anyone?

Our hosts and commentators, Ralph Strangis and Greg Gagne promise us some great new stuff over the next sixty minutes. The video is less than forty, making me think that either this company can’t count or something has been edited. Guess which I’m leaning towards. Greg says we’ll be able to feel the armdrags and dropkicks. Well his partner had a great dropkick so I’ll take what I can get.

Tommy Jammer vs. Tom Burton

Let me stop you right here. See, around this time the AWA wasn’t doing well with drawing audiences. That would be the case here, so this is how they solved the problem. An example of the entrances:

Now, in case that’s not enough for you, there are no fans in the “arena”, which appears to be a small, dimly lit room. Not that you can tell how big it is, when the lights go as far as where the first row would be. Now, to compensate for the lack of the fans, we do get some extreme closeups of some random people, presumably watching anything but this show. And now, the match.

Burton armdrags him down and we hear about the great technology: slow motion. Yes I said SLOW MOTION. Now for those of you unfamiliar with the history of slow motion….well you’re pretty common actually. From what I can find, the earliest usage of slow motion in television was first used on television in 1939, or FIFTY YEARS before this aired.

Back to the match, we cut to some fans giving a thumbs down sign at what appears to be a restaurant or a bar, with a brick wall and a bottle of ketchup visible. Now, considering it’s a well lit scene and the arena is about as well lit as an old school NWA arena, I’m thinking something is afoot. Or astupid. Burton hits a simple slam and that’s enough for a slow motion replay.

Jammer makes a comeback and we go to a far too close camera angle, with the camera seemingly inside the ring. That sounds cool in theory, but when it’s so close that you can’t see Jammer as he slams Burton, it might be a little too close. Oh and where is Jammer’s slow motion replay? Jammer gets an armdrag and we change camera angles, followed by another armdrag and another cut to some woman at what might be a different bar. A powerslam and a splash (called the Surfer Splash on the original call and the Jammer Splash on the replay) finish Burton at 1:46.

We go to Baron Von Raschke and Sgt. Slaughter, with the former being listed as the captain of the Blitzers. His man Paul Diamond is ready to face Slaughter’s (captain of the Snipers) Colonel DeBeers (Isn’t a colonel above a sergeant?) in what sounds like an over the top rope challenge.

Now it’s clear that these two are on different teams, but we still have no idea what the teams are, who is on them, how many teams there are, how they were determined, what they’re fighting for, or ANYTHING about the concept other than the fact that there is a concept at hand. I have a feeling this is going to get even worse as we keep go forward.

The announcers don’t like the Destruction Crew. Of note: it sounds like this was a TV show that was released on video. That would explain the time issue earlier, but it’s not really clear either way.

The Destruction Crew (Mike Enos and Wayne Bloom, better known as the Beverly Brothers in the WWF) swing sledgehammers at a green screen of a hotel being demolished. They’re ready to destroy things. Or maybe people. This was a Demolition knockoff.

Destruction Crew vs. Jerry Lynn/Ricky Rice

This would be the second time Rice has been mentioned today in what is likely the only two times he’s been mentioned in about twenty five years. The Crew has Luscious Johnny V in their corner. We get more shots of fans in what is very clearly a different location. This is described as being “just like at a sports bar”. So wait: is watching the show live like it’s in a sports bar, or is the show supposed to be in a sports bar? Are they saying the fans are watching this from elsewhere or are they supposed to be in the arena? I would assume the former, but egads this is far more complicated than it should be.

Rice gets armdragged (popular move tonight) down to start and Enos shoulders him for a bonus. Some wristlocks have Enos in trouble and it’s off to Lynn….as the fans seem pleased. That would make you believe that the fans are supposed to be in the arena, meaning this is supposed to be in the sports bars shown. Lynn, who looks nothing like he would ten years later in ECW, stays on the arm as we can see the ceiling, which is far higher than it was in the bar shots earlier.

The replay shows that Lynn’s face and head never came close to touching the mat. Greg: “He may have a broken neck!”

Post match Eric Bischoff (with huge hair) talks to Johnny and the Crew (great band name) who just talk about how awesome they are. Only Bischoff mentions the team concept, and the fact that the Crew is on Larry Zbyszko’s (unnamed) team. No word on who Lynn and Rice play for.

The announcers think that the Crew is destined for one thing: the Tag Team Titles. Not winning points or anything related to the Series, but the titles, which may or may not be a part of the Series. You know what is part of the Series? Of course not, because we still haven’t been told about it nearly fifteen minutes in.

Slaughter explains what sounds like the main event, which is an over the top rope challenge, called a King of the Hill match. DeBeers better win tonight or he’s going to disgrace America. Note that DeBeers is from South Africa.

DeBeers, standing in front of a flag which isn’t from South Africa, talks about being in the South African military and says that while he hasn’t lost a war, he’s had some casualties. From now on, Slaughter needs to communicate through the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Tonight, he’s winning for South Africa.

The announcers FINALLY tell us something about the Series: the teams were picked at random. And we move on to Beverly Hills.

We get a foxy boxing match (meaning women basically in lingerie boxing) with a ring surrounded by women in actual lingerie. The Blonde Bomber jumps Slaughterhouse Sean before the bell as we hear about their managers. The camera goes to alternating first person views as round one ends. Apparently the beating continues, though we’re looking at the Bomber’s manager Mustang Sally instead.

Ralph actually explains the rules here, even as the Bomber jumps Sean from behind and puts on a chinlock. A snap suplex gets two and the referee tells her to put the gloves back on. Sean blocks a kick in the corner and hits a heck of a right hand to knock the Bomber silly as round two ends.

Greg explains the rules and concept of the whole thing, which makes enough sense, assuming you forgive this explanation coming over halfway through the whole show.

And here are the standings:

Larry’s Legends – 16

Baron’s Blitzers – 15

Sarge’s Snipers – 13

Of course there have already been 44 points given out when we haven’t seen an actual match on the pilot yet. From what I can find, the Series started on October 1. This video is dated October 23, so assuming a point a match (and we have to assume since we haven’t been told anything otherwise), there have been an average of two matches a day, every day, since the thing took place. Also, this would suggest that it’s a TV show, because you probably wouldn’t put “current” standings on a home video release. Then again I have no reason to believe that any matches have actually taken place at this point so who knows.

Just to make it even more confusing, Diamond says this is the beginning of the Series and he’s in the first match. So yeah, there are just points for the teams despite the Series not even starting yet. This just keeps getting better and better.

Paul Diamond vs. Colonel DeBeers

Over the top rope challenge. It should be noted that during the entrances with the fake crowds, the wrestlers are turning to the left and walking into the people, just in case you thought they might be real you see. Ralph: “We are watching this with you, live from satellite base. From sea to shining sea, in sports bars and in your homes. This is the new AWA. Ralph Strangis and Greg Gagne ringside.” They can’t even go three sentences without screwing something up!

Also, if this is possibly released on home video (which makes sense if this is the first match), then how are they supposed to be watching it at a bar? And are these all bars in the Minnesota area? Or is it like some worldwide watch party where everyone got a pre-release copy of this tape and they’re all watching it together?

The bigger DeBeers shoulders him down to start but gets caught in a flying headscissors. Diamond misses a crossbody in the corner though and DeBeers tries to get him out, showing some actual thinking here for the first time on this whole thing. A dropkick grazes DeBeers and we look at the slow motion replay to prove how badly it missed. DeBeers snapmares him down and hits a top rope headbutt, followed by a kick to the ribs to knock him over the top and out to the apron.

Another headbutt misses and we take a slow motion look at DeBeers going face first into the buckle. Some right hands get DeBeers out of trouble and we crank up the crowd noise again. DeBeers rolls outside (legal) and drives some elbows into the chest before heading back inside. A piledriver is reversed into a backdrop though and Diamond gets the win for….some to be announced amount of points at 5:49.

Rating: D. Again, it’s not even the worst wrestling ever. DeBeers and Diamond are talented enough guys that they could work a completely watchable match. This was fine for what it was, even with a little drama on some of the near tosses. It’s just everything else thrown in there leaves you with so many questions.

Sgt. Slaughter vs. The Terminator

I believe the Terminator is Marcus Laurinaitis, Animal and Johnny Ace’s brother. The ring is heavily mic’d here so we’re getting a lot of extra trash talk, somehow with no swearing included. It’s so weird seeing Slaughter with hair. Slaughter hits a forearm to the chest and we see it in SLOW MOTION WITH MIC’D UP SOUND!!! I CAN’T HANDLE THIS MUCH TECHNOLOGY! They demand that the other show them toughness so Slaughter drop toeholds him down into a headlock.

We get a quick preview for next week (Again, video or not?), including a very young Yokozuna, to wrap things up.

Overall Rating: A+. This was incredible, with everything going wrong in every possible way and turning the whole thing into one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen. It didn’t make sense, the wrestling was crazy, and the entire show was such a blast to watch. It was the kind of thing that you have to see to believe and it’s absolutely incredible in a train wreck sense.

Normally I would list off a bunch of stuff that they did wrong here but there isn’t enough space to do that justice. This was a perfect storm of awful as the AWA continues to have no idea how to get out of the downward spiral they were in. The company was long past the point where they should have pulled the plug and instead we get a show where Slow Motion is the next big thing in wrestling technology.

Really, this is something that you need to see to believe because words can’t do it justice. Just watch it for a few minutes and see if you can look away. The entire concept was a mess in the first place and then there’s….whatever you want to call this thing. It’s such an incredible spectacle and one of the few things that ever had me nearly speechless. Go out of your way to check this out and just have a good time with how insane the thing really is.

Here’s the show on the Network. You owe yourself this one.

http://network.wwe.com/video/v2518758883

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

Hidden Gems #1
Date: July 9, 1983
Location: Charlotte Coliseum, Charlotte, North Carolina

This is a trio of house show matches from 1983 in previews for the upcoming Starrcade. I mean, it’s four months from Starrcade but it’s as good of a tie in as we’re going to get. All three of these matches were very good at Starrcade with one of them being an all time classic, so this could be interesting. Let’s get to it.

Note that there are no commentators so it’s just the action alone.

NWA World Tag Team Titles: Brisco Brothers vs. Jay Youngblood/Ricky Steamboat

The Briscos (Jack and Gerry) are defending after having won the titles from Steamboat and Youngblood the previous month. The fans aren’t exactly thrilled to see them, to put it mildly. Youngblood is a talented guy who wore a Native American headdress and looked a good bit like Steamboat. Unfortunately he wouldn’t make it to 1986, passing away due to pancreatitis at the age of 30.

The challengers don’t show up to start so Gerry offers them a chance to forfeit right now. Those are fighting words though so here they come. It’s a brawl to start with the champs cleaning house, even though I didn’t hear a bell. Some heroes these two are supposed to be. Youngblood gets a very delayed one on Gerry off an atomic drop and we settle down into a match. Steamboat comes in for a swinging neckbreaker and Gerry is already flailing around on the selling.

Jack gets knocked off the apron and the champs are reeling early. There’s a slam into a good looking slingshot splash from Youngblood but Gerry comes back with a belly to back suplex for the break. It’s off to Jack for a backbreaker as I’m already drooling over the idea of Jack vs. Steamboat. The chinlock goes on and Steamboat tries to come in, allowing Gerry to add some stomps in a classic heel baiting move.

With nothing else working, Youngblood ax handles Gerry in the head and the hot tag brings in Steamboat to a big reaction. House is cleaned and we settle down to Steamboat working on Gerry’s leg. That includes wrapping it around the post and a shinbreaker as Steamboat must have been watching his Ric Flair tapes. Or just working with him for the better part of ever. A falling chop to the knee (Huh?) keeps Gerry in trouble and it’s back to Youngblood for an Indian Deathlock.

Jack comes in for the save with a kick to the ribs but gets clotheslined right back down. That means the hot tag to Ricky and the top rope chop to the head gets two on Jack. Everything breaks down with Ricky having Jack pinned but Gerry comes off the top with an ax handle to the back to give Jack the pin to retain at 11:54.

Rating: B+. I really liked this one as they had a hot crowd and four talented guys in the ring. In other words, it was a classic NWA tag match and that’s almost always going to work. They had a great match at Starrcade as well so I can’t say I’m surprised here. These teams actually traded the titles twice before Starrcade so it was hardly a long term title chase.

Post match the champs brag a lot so Steamboat and Youngblood beat them up and leave. Kind of odd to see the heels left alone in the ring like that. Gerry calls them out for another fight but no one shows up.

NWA World Title: Harley Race vs. Ric Flair

From another show on the same day with Race defending, having taken the title from Flair less than a month earlier. Before the match, Flair says something that I can’t make out. Race starts fast with a suplex attempt but Flair slips out and hits a crossbody, sending Race begging off. Back up and Race takes him into the corner, only to be reversed for a poke to the eye. A hiptoss puts him down and Flair tells him to bring it.

Flair puts him down again with a headlock takeover and grinds away for a bit as the mic keeps picking up the fans talking in a weird bit. It’s like a fancam mixed with regular footage and that’s taking some time to get used to. Back up and Race leapfrogs him (!) but gets taken down by a flying forearm, which isn’t quite worthy of its own exclamation point. Instead Flair takes him straight back down with a front facelock and then turns it over into some small package attempts. It’s so strange to see Flair wrestling a low key technical style like this but it’s working.

Race fights up and they slug it out until a headbutt to the ribs slows Flair down. The champ takes over in the corner with stomping and knee drops, followed by a near gorilla press for a surprising power display. The falling headbutt connects as we keep cutting to a young girl in the crowd for some reason. Race gets two off….something that the girl didn’t like. Flair’s comeback is cut off by a trip to the floor but Race misses the falling headbutt on the concrete.

A chair off the head rocks Race again and Flair continues the head trauma with a posting. Since Race is old school though, his head is basically immune to damage and he comes right back, only to get slammed off the top (what an odd role reversal). Flair scores with a backdrop and slaps on a sleeper. That’s reversed, so Flair belly to back suplexes him for two instead. The fans are WAY into this as Flair hits a regular suplex for two more.

Right hands in the corner have Race rocked and Flair goes up top for the top rope elbow to the head, only to knock the referee down as well. Race throws Flair over the top and I think you know where this is going. Flair comes back in and gets two off a belly to back suplex. They fight to the floor for a nice false finish on what looked to be a double countout but Flair gets back in.

Race’s high crossbody is rolled through for two and Flair slaps on the Figure Four. In a smart idea, Race throws the referee to the floor for what should be the DQ but Flair begs him off and we keep going. Flair chops away but gets thrown over the top for the DQ at 17:31. The fans go nuts when Flair is announced as the winner, probably as they know a rematch is coming.

Rating: A-. Oh this was great as Race was looking desperate by the end and trying to get himself counted out or disqualified because he knew the younger Flair was the better man. That’s why he needed to cheat to win and it makes the entire bounty storyline make that much more sense. Great match here, as you had to know it was going to be given who was out there. I know it gets said a lot and it should be said even more: Race is incredible and one of the best to ever get in the ring. Watch his stuff and learn a lot.

Post match Flair comes in and hammers away until Race bails. We get an announcement for next Wednesday’s show to wrap it up. I love little touches like that.

Roddy Piper vs. Greg Valentine

Back in and Piper hammers away to send Valentine outside again, drawing quite the reaction from the crowd. More stalling ensues inside until Valentine takes him into the corner for some shots to the head. You don’t throw hands with Piper though, who erupts in the corner and even throws in a knee to the ribs for some flavor. Valentine bails again, this time going up the aisle for a breather.

Back in again and Piper hammers away all over again, this time hitting a jumping knee to drop Valentine. A gutbuster finally gets Greg out of trouble and it’s time for the forearms to the chest, ala Sheamus of all people. Piper snaps him throat first across the top rope, with Valentine doing a better than expected bump. A rake to the eyes gets him out of trouble again and it’s time for another slugout. Valentine knees him in the head (looked good too) and Piper falls out to the floor.

To get really violent, Valentine puts Piper’s head against the post (as Piper has a bad ear) and pulls on it, drawing some rare screams from Piper. Valentine stays on the bad ear but Piper starts bobbing and weaving, followed by something like a dropkick out of the corner. A running knee sends Valentine outside again and this time it’s Piper sending him into the post.

Some left hands put Valentine down again and Piper even goes aerial with a right hand from the bottom rope in a rare visual. They start ripping at each others’ faces and both seem to be bleeding (as they should here). Valentine heads outside again and this time Piper dives off the apron to take him down. Piper grabs the rope (ringside barricade) and chokes away back inside, drawing the DQ at 13:47.

Rating: B+. This was all about violence and two guys wanting to hit each other as much as they could. Valentine was scared to fight at first until he tried slugging with Piper, when he realized he was in over his head. This had a ton of crowd heat too and that was more than enough to carry this to a higher level. Very entertaining fight and the collar makes sense as Valentine ran off so many times.

Post match Piper keeps choking away with the rope until some of Valentine’s friends come in for the save. Piper fights them off too and Valentine is foaming from the mouth (great visual) as the villains run. That leaves a crazed Piper in the ring to wrap things up.

Overall Rating: A. Oh yeah I’ll be coming back to ALL of these as this was a blast. I mean, granted I picked and chose a few combinations here and I’ll have to keep doing that until I get caught up, which is going to take a long time. Either way, this was an awesome set of matches and I liked them better than their Starrcade rematches, which says a lot as that’s a classic show of its own. This is a great way to let us see some fresh wrestling that hasn’t been seen in a long time and that’s the beauty of the Network.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

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