Sage Cortez
Alright, the Great American Bash is gone, and I think this is where things begin to spiral downward. Especially in terms of how good the mid-card wrestling is, and the angles and storylines used. Another problem was that Ric Flair went down for nearly a month with a staph infection. It was only a month, but he was the only proven draw they had. That’s never good. The NWA also introduced one really cool concept. RUNNING THE GAUNTLET. Here’s the concept. A wrestler would be picked to face three random guys on each of the three weekend programs the NWA had. If that wrestler won all their matches, they’d win $15,000. If they lost any of them, the opponents would split the money. In most cases, it was obvious that babyfaces would be RUNNING THE GAUNTLET. I think this was a great attempt to try to get people to watch the programming they were no longer watching. Now, time to watch some matches.
– Taped to air July 14th, 1990, on World Championship Wrestling, from Cobb County Civic Center in Marietta, Georgia
The Fabulous Freebirds vs. The Southern Boys
Pre-Match Thoughts: If the Freebirds were still sporting Confederate gear, this match would be awfully offensive. As it is, the Southern Boys had to move on to facing the Freebirds (even though they did at the Clash) as the company was lacking heel teams other than the Midnight Express, Doom, and the Freebirds. So, nowhere else for them to go. Freebirds weren’t wearing multi-colored makeup this time, but this was taped before the PPV. Steve Armstrong waving the Confederate flag was NOT COOL.
Match Review: Hayes and Smothers will start the match, and Hayes goes into his stalling routine. Hayes chops away at the kid, misses a charge to the corner, and Smothers flies off the second rope with a cross body that gets 2. The Southern Boys both land dropkicks, and bodyslams to follow that, clearing the ring. Smothers gets trapped in the corner and has to fight his way out, which makes Hayes pretty angry. Garvin tags in, and gets hit with a double chop as Armstrong does as well. The guys trade punches for a bit, and Garvin gets knocked out of the ring. He comes back in and tags out, and Hayes is put in a wristlock. He takes Hayes down with it, and drills him with some right hands. Armstrong takes Hayes down with a monkey flip, and Garvin tags in. Armstrong grabs his arm, but gets thrown into the corner and clotheslined from behind for 2. Garvin slams Armstrong, then drops a knee on him for 2. Hayes tags in, and we head to a commercial. Very unusual for the TBS show to have a commercial mid-match.
Back from that commercial, Garvin is in with Armstrong, and knee drops him again for 2. Garvin heads up top, and winds up getting slammed down to the canvas. Smothers finally makes the tag in, and nails Garvin with a flying back elbow. He follows that with a backdrop, then dropkicks Hayes off the apron. Armstrong seems ready for a double team, and clotheslines Garvin in the corner. Hayes goes up top and Smothers slams him down, then the Southern Boys take out both guys with double shoulderblocks. Hayes dumps Armstrong to the outside, and the Birds go for a double clothesline only to have that blocked. Smothers cradles up Garvin and has him pinned, but Hayes clotheslines Smothers. Garvin then rolls Smothers up while holding the tights, and the Freebirds win the match at 12:12.
My Thoughts: This was just fine, but nothing special at all. Everyone worked hard, but they didn’t give away much in terms of high spots, and didn’t pull out anything outlandish. The finish was very basic and something I’ve seen a lot the last few months, but it was a good way to start a feud. This did turn into a feud and I’m going to watch two more matches between these teams. **.
Stan Hansen vs. Tommy Rich
Pre-Match Thoughts: Oh yeah, that’s two matches from one show. Rare for their TV, but I think I had to watch both of them. This wasn’t Hansen’s first match in the company, but it was the first time he faced a legitimate opponent. Rich was always willing and capable, so we’ll see how it goes.
Match Review: Hansen looks so angry, brings some realism to the equation. These guys lock up, and struggle with each other until Hansen takes Rich down and drops an elbow on him. He puts a chinlock on Rich, which Rich quickly fights out of. Hansen rakes the eyes, chops away, and hits Rich with a big knee. Hansen knocks Rich out of the ring, and I think it’s time to brawl! Or not. Hansen rams Rich into the steps, sends him back in, and slams him. Hansen drops another elbow, this time he gets 2. Hansen goes for a piledriver, but Rich backdrops him. Hansen comes back by driving Rich hard into the corner, but misses a charge to the opposite side. Rich goes to work on the arm, good luck with that. Hansen headbutts him, and after a kick by Rich, Rich goes to the corner for some punches. Hansen comes back with a back elbow, and clubs him with knees and elbows. I dig it. Rich fights back with elbows, this is pretty much a brawl at this point. He puts Hansen in a chinlock, which Hansen fights out of. He rams Rich into the buckle a few times, and gives him a back suplex for 2. Rich cradles Hansen up for 1, which leads to Hansen hitting him with some angry chops. Another elbow drop by Hansen gets 2, then Rich clocks Hansen with a back elbow. Rich takes Hansen down with a THESZ PRESS for 2, then dropkicks him for 2 again. Rich uses some fist drops that get 2, then Rich runs into a big boot. Hansen drops yet another elbow, then beats on him. Hansen finally misses an elbow drop, then winds up throwing Rich out of the ring for a DQ at 7:51.
Hansen is pissed, so he hits the referee with a LARIAT and kicks him out of the ring. Excellent. He stomps on him again, then runs over to Rich and whips him with the BULLROPE. Jim Ross has an interview with Nick Patrick in which he says Stan Hansen was suspended for 30 days. Hansen walks over to the interview, and scares Jim Ross away while grabbing the microphone and awesomely ranting at the camera. He said NOBODY SUSPENDS HIM, and when he comes back, obviously something’s going to happen.
My Thoughts: This was a good brawl, haven’t seen too many of those on NWA or WWF TV. I don’t understand why Tommy Rich was still being kept back. He had gotten in shape, was working really hard, and deserved more of a push than he got. I really liked Hansen’s interview, and with him going on a tour of Japan, they had to write him out. That’s where the NWA was at, though. They had to get whatever talent they could even if they couldn’t be around that much. **1/2.
– Taped to air July 15th, 1990, on NWA Main Event, from Cobb County Civic Center in Marietta, Georgia
The Z-Man vs. Arn Anderson for the NWA Television Championship
Pre-Match Thoughts: Yeah, that’s the same taping location. About time they have Arn defend his title. He had it for half a year, and between his injury and the other things they had him doing, he rarely defended it. This is certainly not a bad way to defend it, either. I hope Zenk does more as a singles than he did as a tag wrestler.
Match Review: They exchange slaps after Arn trash-talks his challenger, that seems like a good way to start the match. Zenk hits him a bunch, knocking him down and forcing him to exit the ring for a bit. When Arn gets back in, he goes for a hip toss that Zenk turns into a backslide for 2. Next, Arn took zenk down and missed a knee drop. Zenk grabs the leg and wrenches it into the post, then locks that leg up. Arn reaches the ropes, and clobbers the guy until Zenk puts Arn in an abdominal stretch. Arn hip tosses his way out, but misses an elbow drop. They exchange wristlocks, and it turns out that Arn drives Zenk back into the corner. Arn blocks a backdrop with an elbow to the head, then knees Zenk to knock him out of the ring. Zenk comes back in from the apron the hard way, and gets stomped on. Arn tries to throw Zenk out of the ring, but Zenk meets the apron and this time Zenk pulls Arn to the outside. Arn rakes the eyes, and accidentally clotheslines the post. Zenk throws Arn into the railing, and back in they go. Zenk takes Arn down with a cross body from the second rope that gets 2, then Arn tries for a piledriver, which is turned into a backdrop by Zenk. Zenk kicks Arn in the face and covers, but here come the Horsemen for a DQ at 7:18. Windham and Sid then help out in a triple team, and Sid elbows Zenk. This is a beatdown, haha. Lex Luger and the Junkyard Dog run out, but that was far too late.
My Thoughts: I don’t know why Zenk was left in there for so long without getting any help. That’s the way it was, though. The match was pedestrian, not much happened. *3/4. This wasn’t very inspiring. A funny thing is that they feuded Zenk and Arn much later in the year.
– Taped to air July 28th, 1990, on World Championship Wrestling, from Georgia Mountains Center in Gainesville, Georgia
Fatu vs. Scott Steiner
Pre-Match Thoughts: I have no idea what the point of this is, but it was funny that Fatu was introduced by the graphic which called him the Samoan Savage. That sucks. They also called him the Samoan Savage, Fatu. I don’t know what the hell’s going on there. Scott Steiner rarely got to work singles matches, so I’m VERY confused. This could be fun though! The Steiners also had an insert promo, and Rick didn’t sound like an idiot anymore.
Match Review: Scott foolishly turns his back, so Fatu gets right after him. Fatu gives him a powerslam after the attack, then they do some rope running that winds up in Scott returning the favor. He hits Fatu with some STEINERLINES, so Fatu bails out of the ring for a bit. Fatu offers a handshake, as the announcers are talking about the overall program. Apparently Ole Anderson said Sid would be the next champion. So, that’s where they were going with a Sting feud. Scott declines the handshake, and catches Fatu for an inverted atomic drop that gets blocked. Scott then has to pick Fatu up for a suplex, and misses a Steinerline that causes him to fly over the top. Fatu teases a chair shot, but instead he rams Scott hard into the guardrail. That’s followed with a superkick and a clothesline. Fatu gets back in the ring and waits for his opponent, but Scott trips him and drags him to where he can ram Fatu’s leg into the apron. He rams Fatu into the rail, and Fatu does it to Scott again. He takes Scott down with another superkick, I thought I was watching a re-do of what they had done. Back inside, Fatu puts a nerve hold on Scott, and it takes Scott a bit to fight his way out of that. When he does, he rams Fatu’s head into the mat, but hard heads mean that doesn’t hurt, and Fatu takes Scott down with a clothesline for 2. Fatu misses a charge to the corner, and Scott takes him down with a HUGE belly to belly suplex. Scott follows that with the FRANKENSTEINER, and the Samoan Savage runs in to beat Scott up with a SHOVEL. That’s a DQ, of course. Match was about 7 minutes long. Fatu chokes Scott with a sarong, but out comes Rick Steiner to make the save.
My Thoughts: This was surprising to some degree. Not only in that it was good, but that it seemed like they were building to a Steiners/SST feud. Hey, I have no problem with that. They hadn’t done anything like that yet! For two tag team guys to work this well together in a singles match was the surprising part. I liked the match quite a bit, and bet they could have done even better. **1/2.
Arn Anderson (NWA TV Champion) & Barry Windham vs. Brad Armstrong & Tim Horner
Pre-Match Thoughts: Despite this being a large mismatch, this could be great wrestling. That’s what the point of watching all this is, to watch great wrestling. It’s four really good workers here. I haven’t really mentioned it yet, but I think this version of a Four Horsemen theme was really good. The more I hear it, the more I like it. Before the match starts, there was a Horsemen promo inserted into the picture. Arn carried the thing and it was pretty good, he was talking about Sting.
Match Review: Horner and Arn will start the match off, and they exchange hammerlocks. Horner flips out of one, then takes Arn down with a drop toe-hold before floating into a headlock. Windham tags in to punch Horner, but Horner left the ring. When he gets back in, Windham pokes him in the eye. Horner comes back with a dropkick, and hits Arn with one too. Armstrong tags in for a double clothesline that gets 2, and for some reason he’s being called “THE CANDYMAN.” Okay. Windham takes Armstrong down with a headlock, which Armstrong reverses into a head-scissors. Windham pops Armstrong, then Armstrong gets tossed out of the ring. He scampers up to the top, and comes down with a great missile dropkick! Armstrong hits Windham with a clothesline, so Arn has to tag back in. Arn levels him with punches, then Armstrong ducks under one and tries a cradle, which Arn uses the momentum of to clothesline Armstrong with the top rope. Armstrong puts Arn in a FIGURE-FOUR, and Windham rakes the eyes to break it. Armstrong takes Arn down with a great looking roll-up for 2, this is great wrestling so far. Armstrong fights his way out of the Horsemen corner, and Arn wants a timeout. He doesn’t get that, and Horner tags in for a double snap mare and double elbow drop that gets 2. Arn tags out of there after a knee, and Horner takes Arn and Windham down with a cross body on them both! Windham slows the match down a bit with a lecture, then levels Horner with some rights. Horner flips out of a backdrop and dropkicks Windham, and Armstrong tags in for a big right from the second rope. He puts Windham in an armbar, and when Windham tries an armdrag, he rolls through. Windham pokes the eye, then gets caught in the wrong corner and taken down with a hip toss. Armstrong goes for a flying head-scissors, but Arn grabs him and yanks him down so that he gets taken out by the top rope. Arn tags in there, and there’s a DOUBLE DDT! Arn tells the camera that Armstrong will pay for Sting’s sins, then he gives the poor guy a SPINEBUSTER. Arn tags out of there, and Windham drives Armstrong back into the corner before giving him a delayed vertical suplex. Windham tosses Armstrong out of the ring, and Arn drives Armstrong into the post. Windham then bodyslams Armstrong, and Armstrong tries to fly back into the ring with a sunset flip that only gets 2. Armstrong cradles Arn up for one, and the tag was made during that, so Windham’s back in there. Windham uses a gutwrench suplex, then goes for a piledriver that’s reversed into a backdrop. Can Armstrong make the tag? Not yet. Windham rams his face into the mat, but Armstrong comes back with a flying forearm. There’s the tag!
Horner comes in, and he gives Arn a great looking dropkick. Does it to Windham too, then takes Arn to the corner for a backdrop. All four are in, and Horner cradles Arn up for what should have been the victory, only for Windham to elbow drop him. SID runs out there for the DQ, and it’s time for yet another triple team. Sid drops a leg on Horner’s head, and they try to break his leg. HERE COMES STING AND ORNDORFF TO MAKE THE SAVE! That match was about 14 minutes long.
My Thoughts: This is really the way wrestling is supposed to be. It’s good to watch four good wrestlers get a chance even though two of them are so much lower on the card than the other two. Armstrong and Horner were more than capable, they were good. They just never got a chance because they didn’t have the look. This was a good wrestling match, perfectly structured too. The work was crisp and Arn was great at reacting when the guys would move out of his way. I enjoyed the match a lot. The finish was what it was, and made the Horsemen look kind of weak in that they couldn’t beat those guys. ***1/4.
– Taped to air August 11th, 1990, on World Championship Wrestling, from Georgia Mountains Center in Gainesville, Georgia
SOUTHERN TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS BEST 2 OUT OF 3 SERIES: The Fabulous Freebirds vs. The Southern Boys
Pre-Match Thoughts: This was actually the second match of the series, I don’t know what the first was. Pretty sure it wasn’t the one I watched earlier. Anyway, after that match I watched earlier, these guys had a feud started over who the real champions of the South were. Hence this match. The first one was won by the Southern Boys. They had a promo before the match, and said that the Freebirds were bogus. Jimmy Garvin was carrying a trophy out to the ring, and was also limping in an effort to get out of this match. That’s a great way to put heat on something the crowd may not care that much about. Hayes was sporting glitter once again, and the crowd really did care about those Southern Boys.
Match Review: I guess Garvin was going to have to be part of this match. Hayes and Armstrong will start it, and Armstrong takes him down with a cross body for 2. He puts a headlock on Hayes, then reverses a hip toss into a backslide that gets 2. Hayes takes him down with a snap mare, misses a fist drop, and Armstrong takes him down with an arm drag. The Southern Boys follow with a double chop when Smothers tags in, and Garvin is still selling his leg. Smothers misses a sunset flip by overshooting his leap, so Hayes retreats to the corner and struts. Smothers then trips Hayes, and goes to work on the left leg with some elbow drops.
After a commercial, it appears Hayes was knocked out of the ring. They tried to take the trophy and leave, but the referee wouldn’t allow it. YOU HAVE TO WIN THAT THING CLEAN, BROTHER. Hayes gets in and puts a headlock on Armstrong, then Armstrong dodges a cross body. Armstrong clobbers Hayes in the corner with 10 punches, then misses a charge to the opposite side. Hayes misses a clothesline, so Smothers tags in and takes Hayes to the corner for more punches. Hayes blocks a charge to the opposite corner just the same, and heads up to the second rope for a right hand. Hayes tosses Smothers out of the ring, and runs over there to launch him into the railing. Hayes sends him back in for an elbow drop that gets 2, then puts a chinlock on him. Smothers fights out, gets cut off, and Hayes asks for Garvin to make a tag. Garvin won’t, though. HE’S HURT. Back to the chinlock, and Smothers gets out with a jawbreaker. He makes the tag, and Armstrong takes Hayes down with a backdrop. The Southern Boys then double team Hayes for a bit, and Armstrong cradles Hayes up. The referee was distracted, so now Jimmy Garvin comes in and drops Armstrong with a DDT. THEY FOOLED EVERYONE. Hayes covers, and wins the match at 12:06! Series was evened up at 1!
My Thoughts: Hayes worked this match much better than it would have been with Garvin in it. I’m quite sure of that. The match was better than the first, exhibiting that point. The finish was good too. By the way, I kind of feel like complaining about the constant railing spots, but I don’t because I don’t see it on the same show, but rather over multiple shows. Otherwise, I would as it’s very repetitive. **1/4 seems fair.
– Taped to air August 19th, 1990, on NWA Main Event, from Cobb County Civic Center in Marietta. Georgia
SOUTHERN TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS BEST 2 OUT OF 3 SERIES: The Fabulous Freebirds vs. The Southern Boys
Pre-Match Thoughts: This will decide who the kings of the South are. I for one am looking forward to finding out. This wasn’t a real championship, just a thing they used to get some interest in their show. I think. The Birds won’t be able to do that thing with Garvin faking an injury this time. Can’t believe I’ve watched these guys have three matches once this one is over.
Match Review: Hayes and Smothers will begin it, and Hayes goes for a sunset flip only for Smothers to beat him up. He gets caught in their corner, but rushes out and tags in Garvin. Smothers takes Garvin down with a hip toss, then Hayes rushes in and is given one. Smothers then dropkicks both guys to clear the ring! Garvin looked like an old lady with no beard. Hayes fixing Garvin’s hair started bringing on the boos, maybe the chants will follow. I hope not. Garvin and Smothers are in there now, and Smothers takes Garvin down with a headlock. Smothers hits Hayes as he runs the ropes, then back to the headlock. Armstrong makes an illegal switch in and puts the headlock on Garvin, and the referee thinks there was a tag as Armstrong clapped his hands together. Armstrong takes Garvin down with a cross body for 2, and back to the headlock. Armstrong backdrops Garvin, dropkicks him, and that cleared the ring again. Hayes rubs Garvin’s back and calls for time, they’re doing a lot better at getting heat than they did even a year before. I’m surprised by that. Hayes tags back in, and chops away only to miss a charge to the corner. Smothers kicks him, then hits him with a baseball slide as Hayes tries to evade Smothers. First time Smothers used that spot in three matches against these guys. Smothers tags out, Hayes gets back in, and tries some punches and turnbuckle shots. In the end, Armstrong beats him up and backdrops him. Hayes wants another timeout, but that’s not going to happen. Smothers tags in with a double axehandle from the top, and there’s a double chop as Armstrong gets back in. Armstrong gets hit with a knee from behind by Garvin, then hit with a big left from Hayes to knock him out of the ring. Garvin clotheslines Armstrong on the floor, then makes a legal tag in for when Armstrong gets back in the ring. Hayes beats Armstrong up for a while, then tags back in for a chinlock once Armstrong gets in the ring. I guess Garvin tagged in before that to do nothing. Armstrong gets out and powerslams Hayes, but Garvin makes a quick switch in for his own bodyslam. Garvin slams Armstrong again, then back out he goes. Hayes signals for the DDT, but Armstrong backdrops him out of it.
Smothers makes the big tag in, and he backdrops Garvin. He hits Garvin with a flying back elbow, and there’s a noggin-knocker. He hits Garvin with a superkick, and there’s a fight on the floor with Armstrong and Hayes. Smothers heads up top, but some guy heads down to the ring and pushes him off the top rope. OH SHIT, THAT’S BUDDY ROBERTS! He clobbers Armstrong and Smothers with the Confederate flag, and that’s a disqualification after 8:54. THEN BOB ARMSTRONG RUNS OUT OF THE BACK! He tries to get after the Birds, and grabs the trophy to hit them with. Hell yeah, that was great. Bullet Bob then rips up the trophy, don’t fuck with that guy or his kids.
My Thoughts: I thought this was the best of the matches, and that the finish was excellent. While the Southern Boys did win the series, they certainly lost the battle. This was supposed to lead to a six man tag team match, I believe. As for why it didn’t…look no further than the consistent false advertising these guys did. This was the best of the matches, with the finish helping matters. They couldn’t have either team win this match with a pin, it had to be leading to something more. I don’t know why the Freebirds wrestled better here than they did the year before, but they did. Hayes in particular was more motivated, it seemed. **3/4.
– Taped to air August 24th, 1990, on THE POWER HOUR, from Georgia Mountains Center in Gainesville, Georgia
The New Fantastics vs. Doom (w/Teddy Long) for the NWA Tag Team Championships
Pre-Match Thoughts: The New Fantastics are Robert Fulton and Jackie Fulton. So, Jackie was in the team in place of Tommy Rogers. They were most definitely not brought in to do anything interesting, and given the match, it seems like just to feed a team with decent name value to Doom. Jackie Fulton looked kinda dorky.
Match Review: Looks like Jackie and Ron Simmons will start the match. Simmons runs Jackie over with a shoulderblock, then goes with a second. The third time, Jackie takes him down with a cross body for 2. A dropkick follows that, then Simmons gets caught in the wrong corner and tags out once he gets out of it. Reed gets taken down with a headlock, then Bobby Fulton tags in for the first time. He punches Reed a lot, then takes him down with a couple arm drags. Reed misses a clothesline, and Bobby draws Simmons into the ring. Jackie leaps off the top with a cross body, Bobby dropkicks his brother on top, then the Fantastics land dropkicks. While Bobby celebrates, Doom walks up behind him and gives him a double back suplex that eventually puts him in the hospital. I’m serious. The head bump he took on that was MASSIVE. Reed clotheslines the guy, but Bobby comes back with a knee lift. Jackie makes the tag in, and backdrops Simmons. He kicks him as well, then evades a press slam and tries a cradle. Reed breaks the cover, and Bobby goes in to try to take care of Reed.The Fantastics give Simmons a double atomic drop, then a double clothesline. Jackie has Simmons covered, but Reed leaps off the top with a knee drop on Jackie that leads to a Simmons cover for the win at 5:32. Doom then double teams these small guys, until the Rock ‘n’ Roll Express run out to make the save and clear Doom from the ring!
My Thoughts: As stated, Bobby Fulton wound up in the hospital after taking that back suplex. I thought for sure this was leading to another RnR title challenge at the Clash, but it did not. No idea why not. This match was sort of a mess as the moves seemed really disjointed due to the teams never working together. *1/4.
– Taped to air August 25th, 1990, on World Championship Wrestling
THE BLACK SCORPION
So, for weeks they had announced that in Sting’s first match at Clash of the Champions as a champion, he’d be facing somebody named the Black Scorpion. Except nobody knew who it was until this video right here. Everyone knew that the voice was Ole Anderson, though. This is awesome. Look, as a concept, this was not a bad concept. Not even slightly. The thing about concepts is that you have to have an idea about where it’s going to go. This company had NO idea. Nobody to fit the comments stated, or anything.
All that done, and they never did any RUNNING THE GAUNTLET. I just do not understand. To introduce a nice concept, yet not actually implement it, I just don’t get it. Otherwise, it was fun, but the matches I reviewed shows that the TV has changed with Ole Anderson booking the shows. One thing is that the top stars aren’t matched together anymore. If they’re in matches at all. I read that the attendances got even worse too. At the Clash, I think another one of the matches advertised was Lex Luger vs. Ric Flair. Again. Otherwise…I do not even know. I’m not watching that next anyway, but this is a really weird period. Another thing that happened was that the Steiner Brothers beat the Midnight Express for the United States Tag Championships. Hopefully that leads to at least one good return match. Next up for me is SummerSlam 1990.
Best: Barry Windham and Arn Anderson vs. Brad Armstrong and Tim Horner. This was a lot of fun.
Worst: Ole’s booking. Not having the big stars on TV didn’t help the product in any way, either.
