Sage Cortez
I’m already hitting up September of 1989, and the only big show in that month to air on television was Clash of the Champions 8. I do know of a few of the matches on this show, but not all of them as I didn’t want to accidentally spoil myself. The Freebirds against the Steiners should be really good, and the main event which was supposed to have the Great Muta and Terry Funk facing Sting and Ric Flair would have been good. I’m interested to see when they announce that the match had to be changed. Besides that, we have a match between Lex Luger and Tommy Rich. That doesn’t sound too exciting.
– September 12th, 1989, from Carolina Coliseum in Columbia, South Carolina
We’re back to the old Clash of the Champions introduction for this! Once it’s over, they show the post-match of GAB ’89, and a montage of the four guys who are supposed to be in the main event. That’s bad form. Jim Cornette and Jim Ross are our hosts for this show, and that’s a hell of a team. Gordon Solie seems to be the interviewer, and he’s with Gary Hart! Hart says that the rumors about problems in his camp are just not true. I haven’t heard those rumors. I guess we’re heading into the first match!
The Samoan Swat Team (w/Paul E. Dangerously) vs. The Road Warriors (w/Paul Ellering)
Pre-Match Thoughts: This should be fun, and I assume it’s the last match between these teams as there would be no reason for the feud to continue afterward. Considering that, of course I’m assuming that the Road Warriors are going to run them over. Hawk just looks like a total beast at this point, like he’s been packing on the pounds. Not sure he needed more muscle mass. At least it appears that they got their talent on the show this time.
Match Review: Animal and Fatu begin the match, with Fatu kicking Animal in the face. Animal comes back with a powerslam, then he clotheslines an on-rushing Samu to clear the ring. Hawk and Samu are the legal men in now, and Samu ducks to the outside only for Animal to rush over and take him out. This crowd is HOT. Back in Samu goes, and Hawk slams him. A fist drop gets 2, and he dropkicks Samu as well. Animal and Fatu tag in, and Animal puts Fatu in a headlock. He hits Fatu with a shoulderblock and tags out, so Hawk hits Fatu with a big clothesline for 2. Hawk misses a charge to the corner and flies to the outside, so Samu walks over and clobbers him. He then crotches Hawk on the rail, that’s a dirty heel tactic. One I approve of, though. Fatu then gives Hawk a powerslam back inside the ring, it gets 2. He puts Hawk in a bear hug, and when Hawk tags out, the referee doesn’t spot it. The SST hits Hawk with double headbutts, one to the face and one down low. Hawk takes some shoulders in the corner from Samu, and Fatu tags in for an elbow from the top that gets 2. He bodyslams Hawk and heads up top again, this time flying down with a big nothing into Hawk’s boot. Hawk finally makes the tag out, and Animal goes crazy on poor Samu with a big back elbow. He hits him with a flying shoulderblock, and Fatu breaks up the cover. Hawk then knocks Fatu out of the ring, and gets sent into the post. The SST tries to hit Animal with the CELL PHONE, but Hawk hits Fatu and knocks it away from him. He tries to get the phone, but instead he winds up clotheslining Samu. Now he gets the phone from Ellering, and hits Fatu with it right in front of the referee. Um…then, the Road Warriors pick Fatu up for the DOOMSDAY DEVICE, and that gets the pin at 6:46.
Sadly, they don’t show it on camera, but Ellering hits Dangerously and on camera they show him breaking his phone. The SST then tells Dangerously to fuck off, and leaves without him.
My Thoughts: Fatu nearly killed himself on the bump from that finisher, by the way. Nearly a full blown top of head to the canvas bump. The match was pretty good, and the angle after the match made a lot of sense. Now, the match was pretty good and had a lot of heat. The crowd really cared about what happened here, which is the way an opener should go. You don’t stick guys like Hercules and Haku in an opener, you run a tag team match with guys like the Hart Foundation and Road Warriors to get people heated up. **1/2 for that.
Shortly after the show, there was a TV taping at which Ric Flair fired Dangerously. According to the WON, Dangerously was concerned about his role going forward, seeing as the Samoans were taking time off. It also says that he never got along with them and that he would simply partake in a hosting role until finding a new client. Didn’t quite work out that way.
The Halloween Havoc promo was excellent, and totally campy. Really funny watch.
THE CUBAN ASSASSIN vs. THE Z-MAN
Pre-Match Thoughts: These names are too much. I don’t know what this company has with having guys called ASSASSINS. The Z-Man is, well, it’s a joke really. Zenk is a good wrestler and didn’t need to be saddled with a stupid moniker. Obviously, the debuting Zenk will win this match. I hope he has some good offense. This kind of babyface was dying out at the end of the 80’s and of course the NWA brings him in.
Match Review: They lock up, and the white meat takes the Cuban down with a hip toss. A few dropkicks follow, the last of which knocks the Cuban out to the floor. He comes back in with sloppy punches, and gets hit with another dropkick by the Z-Man. They aren’t calling him Zenk at all. He takes the Cuban down with an arm drag, and does so again to keep him there with an armbar. Zenk tries a sunset flip which gets 2, and the Cuban comes back with a bodyslam. He tries to fly off the second rope with a diving headbutt, and it misses. Zenk tries a charge to the corner and runs into an elbow, then the Cuban tries his own charge. Zenk evades it with a leapfrog from the second rope, and puts the Cuban in a SLEEPER. That sleeper ends the match at 3:37.
My Thoughts: This was poor, and the idea to have Zenk show up with a different name and announce him as such was really stupid. That destroyed whatever name value he may have had carrying over from his WWF days, so nobody cared. The match was as generic as it gets and really no fun at all. In the NWA, the announcers don’t get guys over. The wrestling gets them over. This was not good enough, he didn’t do anything to make him look better than other wrestlers. 1/4*.
Before the show here, it was declared RIC FLAIR DAY in South Carolina. That’s actually pretty cool, something worth being proud of. This being Crockett’s big area, he had wrestled in South Carolina for years. Definitely a proclamation earned. The governor saying that Flair had a history of “styling and profiling” was fantastic.
Sid Vicious (w/Dan Spivey & Teddy Long) vs. Ranger Ross
Pre-Match Thoughts: HAHA! This is the most intriguing unfair matchup I’ve yet to see on a Clash card. I can’t wait to see Sid actually wrestle a match by himself! He tries telling the crowd to screw off, but they can’t hate this guy.
Match Review: Sid knocks Ross over the top to start the match, and follows him to drop him onto the rail. That looked so menacing. He sends Ross back into the ring, and Ross tries to hit him with a karate kick. Sid just walks back into the ring, plants Ross with a DDT, and does his taunting to a big cheer. He then throws Ross into the air with a big HELICOPTER SLAM, BAH GAWD THAT’S THE MOST IMPRESSIVE MOVE I’VE SEEN IN MY LIFE. Lastly, Sid picks Ross up for the POWERBOMB, and that’s the end after just 1:10.
My Thoughts: I really, desperately want to give this a full five stars. Obviously, I can’t and I won’t. It deserves a star for how much of a star Sid was made to look like, so that’s *. This is how you do an uncompetitive match, you make one guy look really good in one way or another. Jim Ross predicted that Sid would be a world champion someday, and of course somebody would be so enamored with his size and presence in the ring that they’d have to put the belt on him.
Looks like we have a special video here. It’s a vignette of Robin Green and Missy Hyatt going shopping. Well, can’t say a hell of a lot about that. Robin has Rick Steiner’s credit card, and she goes to spend a shitload of money with it. Like, really a shitload. I don’t quite know what the point of this is, but I’m sure they wouldn’t shoot something like this without there being a point. Even if it’s WCW. Ric Flair booked the show after all, this is one of the only times this company was ever properly booked.
The Steiner Brothers (w/Missy Hyatt & Robin Green) vs. The Fabulous Freebirds for the NWA Tag Team Championships
Pre-Match Thoughts: Before anything starts, we have the Freebirds in the back with Gordon Solie. That was a great promo given out by both of them, spoken from the heart with no pausing. By the way, I looked for a while trying to find out why Terry Gordy left. I couldn’t find anything, but he’s out of the picture for the NWA going forward. That really sucks, but it could be worse. He was hardly being used properly to begin with. Looks to me like Hayes lost his belt or something like that, unless Garvin was wearing both of them and I didn’t notice it.
Match Review: Hayes and Scott Steiner will start the match, and Scott takes him down with a few arm drags. He cradles Hayes up for no count, then runs into a left jab. Hayes heads up top, and comes down with a cross body that Scott reverses for 2. Scott hits Hayes and Garvin with some STEINERLINES, and that clears out the ring. Crowd loves the Steinerlines, brother. Scott then drops Garvin with a hip toss and arm drag, and puts him in an armbar. Garvin gets out of it, gets thrown into the buckle and given a HUGE German suplex. Rick tags in, slaps a headlock on Garvin, and follows with some big STEINERLINES. Hayes tags in, gyrates in front of Robin, and that makes Rick a bit angry. He powerslams Hayes, and powerslams Garvin as he leaps off the top rope! Rick hits Hayes with punches in the corner, and says something about not hearing Hayes. Loud audible spot calling. He hits Hayes with another clothesline, and then follows with another in the corner. Rick gives Hayes a belly to belly throw, and misses another charge to the corner, leading to Garvin making the tag. He nails Rick with a huge forearm and plants him with a DDT, as Scott breaks the cover. Hayes tags in and throws Rick to the outside, then slams him hard into the barricade. Yikes. Hayes hits Rick with a big running clothesline for 2, and tags out again. Garvin hits Rick with a running knee for 2, and slaps on a chinlock. Rick gets out of it by throwing Garvin off of him, then he uses a slingshot suplex on Garvin. Finally Rick makes the tag out, and Scott comes in like a house of fire. He uses the FRANKENSTEINER on both Freebirds, and hits them with a DOUBLE STEINERLINE. He has a powerslam for Hayes, and Garvin breaks the cover at 2. Rick runs back into the ring to deal with Garvin on the floor, and Scott goes into the ropes. As he’s running them, he gets tripped by SOMEBODY, and Hayes gives him a DDT for the victory at 10:25.
Obviously, the question is who tripped Scott? Nobody’s copping to it, but on the replay you can see that Missy was standing on the other side of the ring. That camera work was intended to leave it in question, but you can see Missy on the bottom right corner of the screen, away from where the trip happened. Scott tells Rick that Robin did it, but Rick refuses to believe it and points at Missy instead. Ha. The third replay from a different angle is no better at figuring out who did the tripping.
My Thoughts: This was a good match with a hell of an idea for a finish. Once again, the great booking strikes. I think with the earlier vignette, they were trying to make you think that Robin was with Rick for his money. With the finish, it draws more things into the equation. It would have been obvious to me though that Robin did the tripping, due to what happened earlier on. Very well done ending, good match too. I liked the way the Steiners threw the Freebirds around only to lose. So, the Steiners were presented as being the far better team, but inexperience and getting screwed kept them from winning the match. ***1/4.
Norman the Lunatic (w/Teddy Long) vs. “Flyin'” Brian Pillman
Pre-Match Thoughts: I want to just call Pillman by the name they use, but Flyin’ Brian is too weird for me. I can’t get used to that. Norman’s entrance is always interesting, and the GOLD KEY that Long has is great. Great manager. For some reason, Pillman was led to the ring by a bunch of cheerleaders. What the hell?
Match Review: Norman attacks from behind to get things underway, but Pillman hits him with a few dropkicks. He picks Norman up for a suplex, and heads out to the apron for AIR PILLMAN! That’s a springboard clothesline, shocking move for the time period. Pillman then heads up top, and down he flies to the floor with a cross body! Long then distracts Pillman, and when Pillman grabs the KEY, Norman crushes him in the corner. He uses a flapjack on Pillman, and throws him hard into the corner. Norman heads up to the second rope, and comes down with a big splash. Can’t believe Pillman kicked out at 2. Norman sends Pillman to the outside and hits him with an avalanche in the corner,then tries another and Pillman dodges it. Pillman sends Norman back into the ring, and comes off the top with a missile dropkicks. Then Pillman follows with a bodyslam on the big guy, and backdrops him! Pillman tries to fly off the second rope with a cross body, but Norman powerslams him for a 2 count. He clotheslines Pillman as well for 2, they’re making him look great kicking out of this guy’s big moves. Pillman wraps Norman up with a crucifix, and that gets the 3 count at 3:31!
For good measure, after they have the match they have the usual argument between Long and Norman. The fans want Norman to turn, but that’s not going to happen yet. If it does.
My Thoughts: This was great, specially considering how short it was. This is how you make new wrestlers look, not the way Zenk was made to look earlier in the show. Really fun match, about as good as it gets given the time allotted. ***, might want to check it out. Bastion Booger didn’t always suck! No possible way to hate on that match.
Now, Gordon Solie is with Gary Hart again, and apparently there’s a problem with Terry Funk. Funk is in the building according to Gary Hart, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a problem. Once it’s revealed that he’s out of the match I’ll put down what I thought of it.
Mike Rotunda vs. “Dr. Death” Steve Williams
Pre-Match Thoughts: The Varsity Club concept is dead, but Rotunda keeps coming out with the same music, wearing the letterman’s jacket, and the same outfit. Finally Dr. Death has dropped the singlet and is wearing trunks instead. This match was bound to happen given that they had just done a series of matches for TV.
Match Review: Doc starts chasing Rotunda out of the ring as soon as he hits the ringside area, then they get in the ring and he hits Rotunda with a clothesline. Doc follows with a press slam, and uses the football clip. Rotunda clotheslines Doc when he tries it again, then sends Williams to the outside. Rotunda hits him with punches, then theye get back in and the crowd starts up the “Syracuse sucks” chants. Rotunda cheats during an abdominal stretch, he got a lot of heat for doing it too. Doc tries a sunset flip, gets punched in the face a few times, but takes Rotunda over anyway for 2. Rotunda comes back with a high knee, then drops the elbow for 2. Rotunda puts Doc in a chinlock, and puts his feet on the ropes during it to cheat. I love it. Finally, Doc gets out of the hold with a jawbreaker, and misses an elbow drop. Rotunda covers and gets 2, then they wind up in the ropes for Rotunda to poke Dr. Death in the eye. He does that again, then picks Doc up for bodyslams. He heads up top, and Doc slams him down! He goes to the corner to hit Rotunda with punches, landing 6 of them. He misses a rush to the corner, and Rotunda takes his own charge, which he misses and flies over the top as a result of. Doc brings him back into the ring, and Rotunda holds onto the ropes. The referee kicks the hand away, Rotunda winds up on top for a cradle only for Doc to reverse it, and the good Doctor gets the win at 7:04.
He did win the match, but Rotunda wasn’t done with him. He hits Williams with a clothesline to send him out of the ring, then throws him into the rail. He sends Dr. Death back into the ring, but now Williams is ready to fight and Rotunda simply leaves.
My Thoughts: I don’t think this match was super spectacular, as they sat in the chinlock for a lot longer than I would have expected. The beginning was fun and the finish was pretty good, both guys worked hard. As with all the other matches, the crowd is very much into what’s going on here. **1/2, and glad that Williams won the match. Not so happy about the even-steven at the end, though. I also don’t understand as they moved both guys onto other things for Halloween Havoc.
Tommy Rich vs. Lex Luger for the NWA United States Championship
Pre-Match Thoughts: Lex Luger has a promo before the match, and proclaims that he’s the showpiece of this event. That’s an appropriate level of arrogance given his opponent here. I don’t hate Tommy Rich, but I have no idea what was gained from bringing him in. He didn’t even have name value anymore. Luger was really coming into his own in this heel role. Rich on the other hand looked like an old redneck. I don’t mean that in any sort of endearing way. This can be a good match, though!
Match Review: Luger grabs hold of a headlock and takes Rich down, but Rich gets out of it quickly. Good start to the match as Jim Cornette runs down Rich’s whole career. Rich gives Luger a backdrop, a bodyslam, and takes Luger down with an arm drag as well. Rich tries to use the headlock, but Luger reaches the ropes. He hits Rich with a shoulderblock, and they do some rope running that ends in Luger eating a right hand. Rich goes back to the arm with an arm drag, but Luger gets out and Rich takes him down with a cross body for 2. To the arm again, but this time Luger exits the hold quickly and misses a charge to the corner. Rich rolls him up for 2, then uses a small package for 2. Back to the arm once again, and Rich gives Luger another backdrop when they get up. Rich misses a dropkick, and finally Luger can take over. He powerslams Rich, and it gets 2. A few forearms to the back also get 2, and he throws Rich out of the ring. Rich comes back up to the apron quickly and uses a sunset flip for 2, then Luger misses a clothesline and flies over the top. Rich and Luger botch a suplex attempt with Luger falling on top for 2, then Luger plants Rich with a sidewalk slam that gets the closest of 2 counts. Luger powerslams Rich once again, as Cornette puts over Rich huge for having been a major star in the past. Luger goes for the TORTURE RACK, but Rich gets out and Luger has to block a cradle. He puts Rich on the top rope for a SUPERPLEX, and there it is! Fortunately, Rich kicks out at 2 and that isn’t the end. Luger decides to head up top, and down he comes with a big splash that completely misses. Rich hits Luger with his best shots, and caps it off with a back elbow. After another back elbow, Rich heads up to the second rope for a fist drop that gets 2. Rich gives Luger a THESZ PRESS, and Luger gets his foot on the bottom rope after a 2 count. They then head to the outside and Rich accidentally punches the post, then he puts Luger in a SLEEPER while they’re on the apron. Luger uses the fortunate positioning to drop Rich throat-first onto the top rope, and falls back into the ring for the pinfall victory at 10:38. The crowd popped for Luger winning that, he still has fans. Rich tried to attack him in the aisle to get some heat back, but the segment was clearly over.
My Thoughts: This was yet another good match, far better than you’d expect. Luger had been working extremely hard in order to get that push to the top, and this was yet another example. Rich carried his end too, but given the matchup you’d think this match wouldn’t turn out so well. Instead it did. I also liked the commentary which was bigging Rich up the entire match. So, when you’d see this out of shape looking guy taking it to Luger, it would be easy to understand how that was possible, and it was really easy to get into the match given his general look and underdog status. ***1/2. I want to redefine what I recommend to essential things that every wrestling fan should watch, I don’t quite think this fits though.
We have Gordon Solie with Gary Hart once again, and Hart says that he has something to announce. He says that Terry Funk had an operation, and had a video to show as well. Funk cuts a promo from his hospital bed, and said that when Flair beat him down with the branding iron, his arm got infected and he nearly lost his arm. Funk then said that HE WILL BE THERE.
What really happened was that Funk had a staph infection and he absolutely had to have surgery. He also could not wrestle. I find the mindset of the NWA a bit abhorrent in that they continued to promote his match the entire show full well knowing that he would not be wrestling. Considering that he proclaimed he would be there, when he did show up, it was sure to make people who tuned in to watch him wrestle extremely angry. After all, if he can be there…that’s the mindset of fans, anyway.
The Great Muta (NWA TV Champion) & Dick Slater(w/Gary Hart) vs. Ric Flair (NWA Champion) & Sting
Pre-Match Thoughts: Flair and Sting had some comments before the match, and Flair says that he wasn’t surprised that Funk would get out of the match. He knows Funk is messed up, but Funk has an open invitation to join them in the ring. That’s a good save, but who knows who had already changed the channel. Sting puts over his team, and says that Muta’s about to get some. They didn’t announce that Slater was going to be part of the heel team until it was time for the match. The crowd didn’t look too pleased, that’s for sure. They were about to get to see a hell of a match, and didn’t get to see Terry Funk…but maybe it will still be a hell of a match. Looks like Sting also adopted the entrance with the ladies that Flair usually had.
Match Review: Ross was sure to point out at the start of the match that Funk’s promo was taped from a hospital in Louisiana. Wonder how that will come into play. Muta and Sting will start the match, and Slater has a cast on his arm from Flair breaking it with a branding iron. Sting takes Muta out with a clothesline, as the commentary is so good here it’s taking me out of the match. Jim Ross told a great story about how Muta’s yellow spray is the most lethal. Sting takes Muta down with an arm drag, then Slater tries to make a tag only to nearly tumble into the ring. Muta then kicks Sting in the gut a few times, only to be given a backdrop after being whipped into the corner. Flair tags in for the first time, hits Muta with chops, then goes to work on his arm. Obviously they were building Muta up to challenge Flair, but Slater tags in quickly after Flair does and locks up with him. Flair hits him with chops, and kicks Slater in the back as his body is drapped on the ropes. Slater comes back with a whip and Flair flips over the top to chop Muta off the apron, then he flies off the top with an elbow to Slater. Muta kicks Flair out of the ring, then hits him with a PLANCHA! Sting flies onto Muta with a plancha, then Slater flies over the top and the thing turns into a brawl. Flair and Sting throw their opponents into the rail, then take control of the center of the ring. That was fun. As we then see, Gary Hart has the branding iron in the corner. That does not bode well. Sting hits Slater with a chop to the arm from the top rope, then puts him in an armbar. He suplexes Slater as well, and it gets 2. Slater drives Sting to the corner and tags out, but Sting fights his way out of the corner and picks Muta up for a press slam. Flair makes the tag, elbows Muta in the mouth, and follows with a back suplex. Flair drops the knee, but gets raked in the face to stop his momentum. Muta follows that with the HANDSPRING ELBOW, and brings in Slater. Slater chops Flair with his cast, and he gives Flair a swinging neckbreaker too. Continuity with the targeting of Flair’s neck, I see. Muta tags in, kicks Flair as per his usual, and sends Flair out to the floor. Slater comes off the apron with a cast shot to the head, then he rams Flair into the rail. Returning the favor from earlier, I see. He throws Flair back in for an elbow drop, then Muta puts a nerve hold on our champion. Flair gets out of it with an inverted atomic drop, and makes the tag out!
Sting comes in to take Slater out with a bodyslam, then Muta makes a blind tag and attacks Sting from behind. Sting dishes out a press slam to Muta, then sends him into the corner as Flair and Slater fight on the outside. Sting hits Muta with the STINGER SPLASH, then he puts Muta in the SCORPION DEATHLOCK. Hart runs in and has a roll of quarters, which he hits Sting with to knock him out. Muta covers, and Sting kicks out at 2! Muta gives Sting a powerbomb, that also gets 2. Slater drags Sting to the ropes and catapults him throat-first into the bottom rope, and he slams him on the floor as well. Muta throws Sting into the rail, and Flair’s just tired of that and runs over to attack Muta. He chops Muta, but Muta throws Sting back into the ring anyway. Slater puts Sting in a sleeper, but Sting uses a jawbreaker to get out of it and then collides with Slater. He backdrops Slater out of a piledriver attempt, and finally Sting makes the tag. Flair deals with both guys by chopping them, then Sting knocks Muta to the outside with a dropkick. Sting tries to pick Muta up, and Muta sprays the MIST in his face. THAT’S THE YELLOW MIST, BAH GAWD STING IS SCREWED. Slater then unwraps his cast as Flair drops Muta with a back suplex, and Slater hits Flair in the face with that cast. He then pushes the referee to the outside, which leads to a DQ at 19:16. Flair bladed off that cast shot, and now here comes TERRY FUNK. He has a bag, and BAH GAWD HE PUTS A BAG AROUND FLAIR’S HEAD AND TIES IT CLOSED. Sting tries to make a comeback while he’s blinded, but Slater cracks him in the ankle with the branding iron. THEY BENT IT ON HIS LEG.
Apparently Flair received CPR during the commercial break from Brian Pillman, and now they’re patching up his wound. Ross then plugs THE WRESTLING HOTLINE if you want to find out more about what happened here, and that’s the end of the show!
My Thoughts: This was a hell of a match, with a hell of a way to finish it off. There was good continuity with the attacks on Flair’s neck, and I really enjoyed the double heat segments. Slater didn’t let the quality of work in this match slip at all with Funk having been taken out of it. The non-finish with Hart popping Sting with a roll of quarters was great too. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought Sting was eating a pin there. Best of all the match was long. I’d give it ****, it was very enjoyable and I’m not factoring what happened after the match into the equation. People were angry about the whole thing, really. Both that Funk could be at the show when he was taken out of the match and unable to compete, and because he was trying to kill Ric Flair with the bag. It doesn’t come off that way until the point where they said Brian Pillman had to give Flair CPR. That’s way too far for wrestling, but I still dig the angle. Sometimes you have to push the boundaries a little bit, they just presented it incorrectly. If they had Flair rip the bag off shortly after it was tied on, if they hadn’t said Pillman gave him CPR, it would have been just fine.
This was a hell of a Tuesday night wrestling show, no doubt about that. We got so many good matches out of it, and some memorable angles too. Pretty much exactly what you’d hope for. This wasn’t the best Clash, but it was certainly up there. Obviously, there’s no topping the first one, but this would settle in right behind. The NWA product did take a turn downhill for a bit after this, with a disappointing Halloween Havoc and Starrcade, but this here was yet another great outing. The attack on Sting was used for him to take a bit of time off to deal with an ankle problem, by the way. One reason that the NWA wasn’t gaining any ground even though they were putting on great shows, is simply that people didn’t trust them to deliver what they advertised. Terry Funk being taken out of this match was a great example. Next up, I’ll be covering the WWF from SummerSlam up to SNME #23. Some good stuff there!
Wrestling Time: 1:02:27. Almost all of it was good, and the angles on this show were excellent.
Best: Ric Flair & Sting vs. Dick Slater & the Great Muta. In any other year, this could have been one of the five best matches the NWA put on. Not this year.
Worst: The Z-Man vs. Cuban Assassin. Zenk did nothing to differentiate himself from the other wrestlers.
Card Rating: 8.5/10. That is no joke, watching this show was a hell of a lot of fun.
