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Jim Crockett Promotions (1935-1988)

The WON notes from early 85 claim Dusty wanted Steamboat to turn heel and that was partly why he left for WWF.
I'm not sure I believe it as I don't think that's ever come out since, but in some way I can see it if Dusty was actually looking to move Steamboat out of the way as a babyface. (Steamboat has said he quit due to feuding with Tully and failing at the blow off, so Tully could stay strong for Rhodes.)
 
September — Harley Race meets with Andre the Giant multiple times in Japan to attempt to persuade him to leave the WWF, but Andre declines to do so. [WON 1985-10-06]
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I'm not sure where Andre fits at Starrcade 85. He only had 8 months left in the tank at this point, and I'm not sure anybody realized it.

Dusty would probably book he and Andre in handicap matches with the Horsemen ASAP after Starrcade.

The size of merch checks Andre got from 84 was probably enough for him to scoff at any other offers.
 
BruiserBrody said:
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Edit- If Kamala and I stop posting the silly/historical Tweet stuff this board is down to about 3 threads bumped a day. For better or worse, we are the only dorks posting shit. The cool kids are in chat.
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Brodydamus
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Today is the anniversary of the Shitshow that was Bunkhouse Stampede 88

Show should have been something like
Flair vs Sting (Sting was getting house show shots) Don't go 45 but put Sting over to set up the Clash.
Luger vs Horseman paid hitman Kevin Sullivan
Ole and his grudging partner Ron Garvin vs Tully and Arn in a taped fist Texas Tornado non title tag
Dusty and Nikita vs Mid Express
Windham vs Larry Z
Roadies and POP are in the Bunkhouse to continue that angle.

In the weeks and days before the show the RnR Express quit, Bubba quit, PS Hayes was fired and Dr Death was arrested
 
Bunkhouse Stampede is a show i find super easy to watch and I don't know why. It's booked like I would've with my action figures.
 
Bunkhouse is hurt by the fact that they did a house show in Orlando the same night for some reason so you're working with a split crew to begin with.

I'd give Steve Williams his promised NWA-UWF unification match with Flair, do the unificiation for NWA-UWF tag titles, put a few different people into the stampede, and then you can even keep Nikita-Eaton and Windham-Zbyszko and it's a better show.
 
The dark match for Bunkhouse Stampede?

Sting and Jimmy Garvin v The Sheepherders!?!?!
 
JHawk said:
Bunkhouse is hurt by the fact that they did a house show in Orlando the same night for some reason so you're working with a split crew to begin with.

I'd give Steve Williams his promised NWA-UWF unification match with Flair, do the unificiation for NWA-UWF tag titles, put a few different people into the stampede, and then you can even keep Nikita-Eaton and Windham-Zbyszko and it's a better show.
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strummer said:
The dark match for Bunkhouse Stampede?

Sting and Jimmy Garvin v The Sheepherders!?!?!
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Doc was suspended/fired over his drug bust.

Sheepherders were supposed to work the R n R Express but they quit over Ricky being asked to have the Sheepwackers cut their hair. Morton and Dusty were at odds over other things as well.

Sheepherders never got a UWF vs NWA tag title unification, so we could have gotten a heel vs heel unification here too.

I wonder if they could have tried to catch lightning in a bottle and do Flair vs Luger here with Luger winning the belt to try and shake up the dying house show attendance and TV ratings? Flair would have probably had a meltdown and really would have been at Summerslam 88.
 
https://twitter.com/x/status/1884650802771329161

So they threw this out here on free TV, almost WWF SNME style where the feud was blown off at the house shows (Not to mention Starrcade 86) so they could play up a big "free" match. (I wouldn't air a gimmick match either way to try and entice people to see it again later) Plus the build to Starrcade was Dennis and Bobby are going to die! And now we see the match happened multiple times and nobody died but Corny's knees.

The camera work managed to miss both heels actual bumps, and they cut away almost as soon as the match was over.

Edit: I looked it up and this aired a week later as part of the SuperTowns of the Superstation special, so at least it wasn't just on a random NWA Main Event on Sunday night or something.
 
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JCP @ Long Island, NY – Nassau Coliseum – November 25, 1987 (11,500)
NWA World Champion Ron Garvin, Dusty Rhodes, NWA Western States Heritage Champion Barry Windham, Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson defeated Big Bubba, NWA Tag Team Champions Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard, NWA US Tag Team Champions Bobby Eaton & Stan Lane in Wargames when Eaton submitted to Rhodes’ figure-4

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I'm sure Dusty thought the Bunkhouse Stampede would be enough of a draw to carry a PPV, but putting War Games on PPV for the first time may have been the play.

Based on the storylines: Dusty, Nikita, Hawk, Animal and Ron Garvin vs Eaton, Lane, Tully, Arn and Flair sounds like a good idea. If they want to hot shot Sting (who was getting title shots at house shows) then ship Ronnie out of there. I'd love to have put Bubba in it, but he quit over his Starrcade payoff.

So that leaves:
Barry Windham vs Larry Z
Luger vs ________ (I'll stick with my Horsemen hired gun idea I used last time I talked about this card) So I'll put Dick Murdoch here to get a good match out of Luger. Plus you can play up Corny and JJ making a deal for this match while signing up for the War Games partnership.
Sting vs Eddie Gilbert to blow off their break up.
Brad Armstrong/Tim Horner/Kendall Windham vs Sullivan/Rotundo and Rick Steiner to establish the new Varsity Club.
Ole Anderson vs Black Bart in a Taped Fist bounty match (Bart has history with JJ and Ole is feuding with the Horsemen)
Jimmy Garvin and Shane Douglas (Sub for the fired Michael Hayes) vs Sheepherders
Jimmy Valiant, Bugsy McGraw vs Powers of Pain (Horrible match but the PoP are feuding with the Roadies and need a pay day)
Ron Simmons vs The Terminator (Quickie Squash to get Simmons over.)


Damn with Dr Death, Hayes, the RnRs and Bubba all leaving in January this roster needs HELP.
 
JCP, who had Florida and Central States already under their umbrella, had plans to start a promotion in Nashville in early 87. They knew Jerry Jarrett and Lance Russell had heat since 1983 when Lance and Lawler tried to splinter off into a new promotion, so JCP planned to hire Russell away to gut the Memphis promotional machine. Bill Dundee was set to book. Plan was to go to war with Memphis.

Central States, with Warlord, Barbarian, Brad Armstrong and Bill Dundee on the cards, was drawing under 200 fans at the time.
 
Crockett Cup 88- Interesting (?) booking as they had last year's winners the Super Powers listed as a 2nd seed... but Magnum was set to be with Sting and Ron Garvin for some reason I now want to double check on. Dusty winds up suspended over the TA/Tully angle that sees Jim Crockett take a bump and Koloff forgoes a chance at another 500K payoff to instead go after Flair's belt.
Windham and Luger were also seeded but obviously broke up before hand. I've forgotten how Ron Garvin is written off to get Sting/Luger as a pair.

Man as a kid I really wanted to see the Sting/Luger vs Powers of Pain match the Apters shared pics of from the tourney.

Rumors were in the WON that a New Japan team and the Von Erichs were going to appear. And apparently on TV JCP was teasing teams from Puerto Rico, etc.
 
That 88 Crockett Cup had to be really weird for the people in attendance the first night, as the Windham/Luger split aired the night the tournament started, so a majority of the fans in the building probably hadn't even seen the angle.
 
with that scheduling it gives credence to the rumor that the Windham turn was a last minute decision.

But I think I asked that question here before and apparently it wasn't
 
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Dibiase was of course a big miss to not land when the UWF was bought as he would have been an obvious guy to show up at TBS studios in late May 87 when the ink dried. At the very least, he could have confronted Flair and gotten into the rotation of challengers for the Bash series.

In that same vein, had they gotten Gordy enough cash to stay away from Japan, the Freebirds could have been added to the mix by Jimmy Jam who was beginning his angle with Flair over Precious, and would need back up. So the Bash could have seen Gordy and Hayes get some title shots. Plus, that sets up some mix and match Garvins and Freebirds vs Horsemen tag matches.
 
That Dibiase not getting to be a Horseman just sucks. Windham's the man and all but he didn't have the slime.
 

Here's the Freebirds return.

The follow up segment has an unintentionally funny moment as we see Dusty/Crockett and the Horsemen in an office debating a contract for Dusty vs Tully. Crockett agrees to put up additional fees upfront to help put the match together.
He looks at JJ and asks "I assume my check is good enough for you?"
Not in another year Jim!
 

  • NIGHT 4 (05/07 - Charlotte, NC)

  • NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship​

    Denny Brown © vs Steve Regal
  • Robert Gibson vs Black Bart
  • The Andersons (Arn & Ole Anderson) vs Nelson Royal & Sam Houston

  • Bunkhouse Match​

    Manny Fernandez vs Baron von Raschke

  • Indian Strap Match​

    Wahoo McDaniel vs Jimmy Garvin

  • Taped Fist Match​

    Ronnie Garvin vs Tully Blanchard

  • Double Russian Chain Match​

    The Road Warriors (Hawk & Animal) vs The Russians (Ivan & Nikita Koloff)

  • Hair vs. Hair​

    Jimmy Valiant vs Shaska Whatley

  • Steel Cage Match​

    Dusty Rhodes, Magnum TA & Baby Doll vs The Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton & Dennis Condrey) & Jim Cornette

  • NWA World Heavyweight Championship Steel Cage Match​

    Ric Flair © vs Ricky Morton
 
What a card! Lot of stips but they all make sense. Looks like a good crowd in the stadium, too, but might've looked even better if they had put more people down on the field.
 

NWA The Great American Bash Tour 1986 in Greensboro 26-07-1986

Singles Match
Sam Houston vs. Steve Regal

Tag Team Match
Black Bart & Konga The Barbarian vs. Denny Brown & The Italian Stallion

Loaded Glove On A Pole Match
Baron von Raschke vs. Manny Fernandez

Indian Strap Match
Wahoo McDaniel vs. Jimmy Garvin

Taped Fist Match
Tully Blanchard (w/JJ Dillon) vs. Ronnie Garvin (w/Wahoo McDaniel)

Tag Team Match
The Andersons (Arn Anderson & Ole Anderson) vs. The Rock 'n' Roll Express (Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson)

Hair Vs. Hair Match
Jimmy Valiant vs. Paul Jones (w/Baron von Raschke)

NWA United States Heavyweight Title Best Of Seven Series Match #4
Magnum TA vs. Nikita Koloff (w/Ivan Koloff)

Steel Cage Six Man Tag Team Match
Jim Cornette & The Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton & Dennis Condrey) vs. Baby Doll & The Road Warriors (Road Warrior Animal & Road Warrior Hawk)

NWA World Heavyweight Title Steel Cage Match
Ric Flair (c) vs. Dusty Rhodes
 

[⚠️ Suspicious Content] JCP @ Greensboro, NC – Coliseum – July 16, 1988 (6,632)
Tony Schiavone was the ring announcer for the show
Bugsy McGraw & Tim Horner defeated NWA Western States Heritage Champion Larry Zbyzsko & Rip Morgan at 7:10 when Horner pinned Morgan with a crossbody
Ron Garvin (w/ Gary Hart) pinned the Italian Stallion at 1:14 with the right hand punch after faking an ankle injury; prior to the bout, Garvin demanded the match take place in the second ring, with referee Teddy Long and the Stallion then joining him in the ring; during the ring introductions, Hart told Tony Schiavone to announce Garvin as a former world champion; following the opening bell, Garvin and Stallion shook hands; the announced time of the match was 45 seconds; after the bout, Hart took the mic and said the fans were hypocrites for not supporting Garvin
Dick Murdoch pinned Gary Royal with a delayed brainbuster at 6:59
Jimmy Garvin (w/ Precious) pinned Florida Heavyweight Champion Rick Steiner with an inside cradle at 1:25; mid-way through the match, Kevin Sullivan came ringside in an attempt to kidnap Precious, with Garvin fighting him off; after the bout, Garvin tended to Precious
Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson defeated the Sheepherders (w/ Rip Morgan) at 14:08 when Morton pinned Luke Williams with a crossbody off the top after Gibson caused Luke and Butch Miller to knock heads; during the opening moments of the match, Butch took the mic and told the fans to quiet down, with Morton then taking the mic and implying his opponents could kiss his ass; the announced time of the match was 18:50
Al Perez (w/ Gary Hart) pinned Brad Armstrong at 11:14 after Hart grabbed Armstrong’s foot as Armstrong attempted to suplex Perez into the ring, with Perez falling on top and and Hart holding the foot down during the cover
Bobby Fulton & Tommy Rogers defeated Jim Cornette, NWA US Tag Team Champions Bobby Eaton & Stan Lane in a handicap bunkhouse match at 15:07 when Fulton pinned Cornette after a double clothesline, moments after Cornette accidentally threw powder in Eaton’s face
Sting defeated NWA TV Champion Mike Rotunda (w/ Kevin Sullivan & Florida Heavyweight Champion Rick Steiner) via disqualification at 10:10 when Steiner interfered as Sting applied the Scorpion Deathlock; after the match, Rotunda and Steiner argued (Great American Bash 88)
The Road Warriors (w/ Paul Ellering) defeated Ivan Koloff & the Russian Assassin (w/ Paul Jones) in a scaffold match at 5:33; Koloff was eliminated by Animal at 3:58; moments later, he climbed back up with his Russian chain but Animal choked him with it and tied him to the corner; Assassin was eliminated by Hawk; after the contest, Ellering attacked Jones, leading to Jones getting a double clothesline from the Road Warriors and kicked out of the ring
Lex Luger, Steve Williams, Nikita Koloff, Dusty Rhodes, & Paul Ellering defeated NWA World Champion Ric Flair, NWA US Champion Barry Windham, JJ Dillon, NWA Tag Team Champions Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard in Wargames at 21:07 when Dillon submitted to Rhodes’ figure-4, with Rhodes grabbing the bottom rope for added leverage; order of entry: Rhodes, Anderson, Windham, Williams, Flair, Luger, Blanchard, Nikita, Dillon, Ellering (Ric Flair & the 4 Horsemen, WarGames: WCW’s Most Notorious Matches)
 
Ivan is around 45 there and takes a good bump off the scaffold.
The bump Jack the Russian Victory takes was more like a superplex bump. I think the Barbarian could certainly have taken the bump, but Warlord probably wouldn't have done as well. I'm sure the $$$ wouldn't have been worth the risk.
 
That Ron Garvin and Gary Hart pairing/angle could've been a hit.

An odd several year run for Garvin. By 87 he's over enough as a solid midcard+ face. Then the world title run that was exclusively for Flair winning another belt. It would have helped Garvin and not taken anything from Flair's win at Starrcade to give Ronnie a few title defenses on tv. The turn on Dusty the next year, especially with that Gary Hart aspect after, could have gotten over...maybe Ric vetoed it to prevent competition on his heel side. Now I wish WWF had brought Garvin in with Hart. Instead, he went from months of storylines, ppv matches, and big wins as an everyman babyface to jobber status, rarely on tv, and left off payperview.
 
BruiserBrody said:
Ivan is around 45 there and takes a good bump off the scaffold.
The bump Jack the Russian Victory takes was more like a superplex bump. I think the Barbarian could certainly have taken the bump, but Warlord probably wouldn't have done as well. I'm sure the $$$ wouldn't have been worth the risk.
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Ivan deserved a WWE hall of fame induction and speech.

I wonder if those scaffold matches would've been safer, maybe even better, while retaining the awe factor if they were 5 or so feet shorter.
 
Gary Hart is an all time favorite so I'd be curious. I just feel like he gets underutilized. Maybe works backstage until he tells Vince he's a moron.

He's objectively the perfect Paul Bearer though.
 
WWF wanted Gary Hart to manage Earthquake in 89/90 but couldn't get a deal done.

wanted him to manage Umaga as well I think.
 
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