Sage Cortez
Leading into the NWA’s February PPV event, there are a lot of guys making their return or debut. I’m also interested in how the shows will look without Dusty Rhodes taking part in them. I did find a lot of videos to watch, so I’m pretty happy about that. There are some big rematches from Starrcade to go with our returns and debuts. The first NWA article of the year covering assorted matches will also be my longest. I’m going to get to the matches as it’s hard to contain my excitement and anticipation any longer!
– Taped to air January 8th, 1989, on NWA Main Event, from the Albany Civic Center, in Albany, Georgia
Randy Rose (w/Paul E. Dangerously) vs. Bobby Eaton (w/Jim Cornette)
Pre-Match Thoughts: This is a continuation of Starrcade, and thankfully that feud isn’t over at all. I really didn’t want it to be and believe there’s a lot more left in it. I also like that this match was televised.
Match Review: Rose attacks Eaton when he climbs into the ring, and I guess it’s on now. Bobby comes back with a bulldog, and we go right to a commercial. I really hate that stuff.
Back from that commercial, Cornette is in the ring, trying to start a fight with Paul E. Eventually Eaton gets fed up, and Cornette does too. They both give chase to Rose and Paul E., and back on the inside, Eaton gives Rose a backdrop. Eaton sends Rose into the turnbuckle and over the top, but no disqualification for it. Rose climbs back in and gets put in a headlock, but comes back with a hip toss. He heads up top, and Eaton arm drags him down from the top. That was really well done. Eaton gives him a cross body as well, it gets 1. He follows with another arm drag, but Rose reverses to a head-scissors. Eaton gets up and uses another arm drag, but Rose gets out. Rose misses a charge to the corner, and on the outside Cornette whacks him with the racket. Eaton pulls him back in, misses his own charge to the corner, and Paul E. hits him with his cell phone. That is a good play on what Cornette did. Rose flies to the outside with a double axehandle onto Eaton, and drags Eaton back in. Rose goes to a chinlock, as we seem to be nearing the home stretch. Rose hits Eaton with a clotesline, it gets 2. That was his first pin attempt! Rose decides to give Eaton a leg drop, and follows with a bodyslam. He goes up top again, and misses a reverse splash. Eaton gives Rose a backdrop, and an atomic drop as well. Rose and Eaton collide with each other, and both managers run in! Paul E. puts Rose on top of Eaton, gets busted, and Cornette turns Eaton on top. The referee counts 3, and Eaton wins at 11:20. Cornette and Paul E. fight, and do their usual bit where Paul E. can’t get his hands on his counterpart. Too bad.
My Thoughts: This was an average TV match for the current day, but a good TV match for the time. Getting matches like these on TV were not that common, so it was easy to enjoy them and not look to find fault in it. **1/2 for acceptable wrestling.
– Taped to air January 14th, 1989, on World Championship Wrestling, from WTBS Studios in Atlanta, Georgia
Eddie Gilbert vs. Barry Windham (w/JJ Dillon) for the NWA United States Championship
Pre-Match Thoughts: This is just…perfect, that’s what it is. Such a good matchup, and I can’t wait to watch it. I see no way that this could be subpar. Windham has held this belt for quite a while now, and who knows when it’s going to end? I actually do, but…forget that. To the match!
Match Review: Gilbert and Windham lock up, with Gilbert getting the better of it. He slaps Windham, but Windham comes back with a quick suplex. Gilbert kills him with a flying clothesline, that looked like such a good move. Windham takes Gilbert down with a headlock, Gilbert transitions to a head-scissors, and Windham fights out of it. He treats Gilbert like a punching bag, but this punching bag fights back! He knocks Windham down, but Windham gives him a gutwrench suplex. He follows that with a bodyslam, and decides to knee drop him as well. Up top Windham goes, and Gilbert slams him down. Ric Flair has made his way to ringside, to watch the match. That’s weird. Windham gives Gilbert an inverted atomic drop, then rakes the eyes and stuff. Typical cheating heel actions, is basically what happened there. He gives Gilbert a back suplex, and tosses him to the outside as well. Man, Gilbert is getting treated like a jabroni. Gilbert fights back some, and tosses Windham back in the ring. He gives Windham a backdrop for 2, and misses an elbow drop. Good series of hope spots that should lead to a resumption of normal activity. The TV studio crowd is really responding to this match. Windham gives Gilbert another suplex, and floats over for a 2 count. Gilbert rolls Windham up for 2, and Windham isn’t too happy about that. He resorts to biting the challenger, and puts Gilbert in place for a superplex. Instead, he knocks Gilbert down to the apron, and…goes for it again. Windham gives Gilbert that superplex, but doesn’t go for a cover. I like the way Windham’s approached this match. Windham gives Gilbert another slam, and misses a knee drop. Gilbert decides to apply a figure-four, and the crowd seems to believe that Gilbert is going to win now. Windham reaches the ropes, and Gilbert gives him a suplex when they get up. Flair is finally fed up, and climbs in the ring to stop his buddy from losing his title. What a bitch. Windham gets disqualified after 12:25 of great action, but this isn’t over. Windham and Flair give Gilbert a double clothesline, and Flair gives him a knee drop. Flair is doing all of this while wearing a shirt, tie, and slacks. It’s really funny.
Later in the show, Gilbert would interrupt an interview and tell Flair and Windham that he would have a partner ready to face them next week. Both sides agreed that it wouldn’t be Lex Luger, and that is that!
My Thoughts: This was great television and a perfect build towards their big debut angle. I really enjoyed the match, both guys gave a great effort and worked really hard. They told a distinctive story with Windham treating Gilbert like he didn’t measure up, but when it turned out that Gilbert did measure up, Flair ran in to put a stop to that. This is the kind of wrestling that I like to see. The match also presented Gilbert as being a legitimate contender, and fortunately he stuck around for a while. ***1/2, and recommended. The match is very easy to find, and was a great way to kick off 1989. Only two weeks in to see a nice match on television, not bad at all for the fans.
The Original Midnight Express (w/Paul E. Dangerously) vs. THE FORMIDABLE DUO OF TRENT KNIGHT AND BOB EMORY
The capitalization was purely sarcastic. The reason I’m watching this one is that Dangerously was on commentary for it. Maybe they’ll show something good, too! His rip off of Cornette’s introduction was a great touch. Tony Schiavone does a good job of mentioning that Genichiro Tenryu will be joining the Road Warriors as their third man holding the 6 MAN CHAMPIONSHIPS. What an important title that has been. The Original Express looked great here. It was a strange throwback to see Condrey wrestling in the WTBS Studio again. After the match, we got the pleasure of seeing an angle from a house show, in addition to a long Dangerously promo about it. Apparently Cornette came out to attack Dangerously after the Original Express lost to the Fantastics, and Dangerously busted him in the gut with his cell phone. Serves him right. The most noticeable thing about that video was that the Original Express is taking a hell of a lot of jobs. They took one on a match that didn’t even air in full right here. I wouldn’t have aired that, it didn’t make them look good. It also seems that Missy Hyatt is doing interviews on this show from time to time now. High five!
Mike Rotunda (w/Kevin Sullivan) vs. Rick Steiner for the NWA Television Championship
Pre-Match Thoughts: I’m somewhat shocked that this rematch is being done on TV. New owner means new stuff. Simple as that, and I love it. I have deliberately ignored the TV Title’s history, so I have no idea what to expect. For all I know, Rotunda will win the rematch even though Steiner just won the belt. I don’t remember what I saw when I added the link to my list.
Match Review: Sullivan distracts Steiner, and Steiner gets taken down with two ridiculously hard clotheslines. He dodges the third and Rotunda flies over the top, only to get back in. Steiner gives him a backdrop for 2, and Rotunda takes a break already. It ends, and they neutralize each other with chain wrestling for a little bit. The back of Steiner’s ring gear is fading, so he needs to change it. Couldn’t help but notice. Rotunda gives him a hip toss, but Steiner comes back with a clothesline to knock Rotunda out of the ring again. Rotunda gets back in, and goes straight to work with big punches and a dropkick. Steiner gets dumped to the outside, and Sullivan throws a cardboard box at him. Steiner then shoves his head into the box numerous times, and gets kicked by Sullivan. Hard for Steiner to beat two guys here. Rotunda puts him in a sleeper, and when Steiner gets out, he clotheslines him again for 2. He follows with a bodyslam, and decides to go up top. Of course, Steiner throws him down for 2. Steiner hits Rotunda with a shoulderblock, and then we get a top rope down spot that completely fails as Steiner is unable to tumble over them. Damn. Sullivan follows that attempt by hitting Steiner, and Rotunda suplexes Steiner back into the ring for 2. Rotunda gives him a back elbow, it also gets 2. He resorts to biting, and follows with a gutwrench suplex for 2. The action is fast, here. Steiner finally gets some offense in with a sunset flip attempt, but Rotunda pokes him in the eye for 2. Steiner is able to clothesline him, and Dr. Death jumps in the ring for the DQ at 9:09.
After the match, Dr. Death and Sullivan go up to the second rope for…a DOUBLE SPIKE PILEDRIVER OH MY GOD. Sullivan then tries to steal Steiner’s dog, and the JUNKYARD DOG and MICHAEL HAYES come out to put a stop to that. That was a hilarious ending.
My Thoughts: I thought the finish to the match was very unnecessary, but it was executed pretty well. I guess the way I’d describe it is that the stuff after the bell was agreeable to me, and what caused the bell was not. I totally get it though, and I don’t really have an alternative to it. Hayes and JYD making an appearance was hilarious, though. SIX MAN TAGS AROUND THE COUNTRY! Really funny stuff on that front. The match was hard hitting, quick, and fun. They missed the spot, and the finish was bad. **1/4.
I strongly considered watching a six man tag with Dusty Rhodes in it, but it just sounded too awful to watch. I also decided not to punish myself with that. So, with me not watching that, I have some news. Dusty Rhodes is leaving the company and decided to start booking in Florida. His plan was to steal wrestlers from the NWA. Of course, he was fired as the booker, so this was on the cards all along. Really, it’s for the best. The WWF picked Dusty up, but it’s not like he had a lot to offer anyway. It was a loss for the NWA in terms of drawing power, but the gain they should have made in a booking and wrestling sense is great for somebody with my perspective of looking back at the past.
– Taped to air January 21st, 1989, on NWA Main Event, from the Omni in Atlanta, Georgia
The Original Midnight Express (w/Paul E. Dangerously) vs. The Midnight Express (w/Jim Cornette)
Pre-Match Thoughts: This is exactly what I want to see, brother. FEED ME MORE OF THIS. The video quality is pretty good, which is always a bonus. Paul E. got HUGE heat for his team’s entrance, it cannot be understated. This match took place just a few days after Starrcade, so naturally, the arena is hot for it. To be able to see two quality acts face each other again on the house show circuit right after a PPV is what wrestling is supposed to be all about. This card also had a Bunkhouse Stampede with Abdullah the Butcher, a MANAGER’S Bunkhouse Stampede, a Sting vs. Ric Flair match, and another that I’ll be reviewing after this one.
Match Review: The show comes back from commercial, and we have both teams fighting with each other. Lane atomic drops Rose onto a chair, and Rose gets sent to the outside, where Cornette whacks him with the racket. We go a while without any action, then Condrey and Lane climb into the ring. Lane tags in Eaton, and Eaton gives Condrey an elbow drop after a Lane drop toe-hold. Eaton tags out, and Condrey does as well. Condrey tries a double team move like one that the Midnight Express used, then Rose gets hit with an atomic drop to prevent it. Lane blocks a charge from Rose, and Rose wants a timeout. Sadly, we go to another commercial.
Eaton teases hitting the Originals with Cornette’s racket, then Lane goes for a monkey flip on Rose. Condrey hits him with a clothesline to stop it, Rose comes off the second rope with a fist drop, and tags out. Rose pulls Lane to the outside and throws him into the rail, then makes a legal tag in to land a back elbow. He gives Lane a suplex for 2, and follows with a clothesline. He draws Eaton into the ring, and Lane takes a cell phone shot from Dangerously. That leads to Cornette chasing him around the ring, which stops when Rose puts Lane in a chinlock. Lane gets out and tries a sunset flip, but it gets blocked. Condrey tags in once again, and Lane hits him with a double thrust to the throat, only to still be unable to tag out. Condrey puts an armbar on him, and the referee misses a legitimate tag. That’s too bad. Rose comes off the top with a flying punch, it gets 2. Why do referees allow heels to switch like that? It defies logic. Condrey tags in and runs into a savate kick from Lane, and Eaton finally makes a tag in. He gives Condrey an elbow drop from the top rope, and a double bulldog to his opponents. That was cool. He and Lane give Condrey a double flapjack, and Dangerously climbs in the ring! Cornette hits him, and gives chase around the outside, while Condrey hits Eaton with a foreign object. He goes for the cover, and finally the Original Midnight Express gets a win in this feud, via pinfall at 15:21!
My Thoughts: Brilliant! It’s about time the Original Express picked up a win, as it was hard to take this series that seriously when they had not done so. I didn’t enjoy the match nearly as much as their contest at Starrcade ’88, but it was decent enough. The problem with this one was a lack of good production, and the heat segment seeming a little disjointed. It’s just fine, though. **1/4.
Kevin Sullivan (US Tag Team Champion) vs. Eddie Gilbert
Pre-Match Thoughts: This is such a territory days, Southern wrestling type match that I wanted to see it. I don’t have any expectations for how good it will be. I just liked the matchup. Despite Sullivan’s status as a champion, he hasn’t wrestled much on TV since joining the company.
Match Review: Sullivan immediately attacks Gilbert, and we’re underway. He throws Gilbert to the outside, rams him into the post and table at ringside, and uses a chair too! This is a great way to start a match. Gilbert gets back in and fights back hard, causing some fat kid in the crowd to start dancing. Sullivan comes back with a clothesline, and goes to a chinlock for a brief time. That’s about as early into a match as I can recall that hold being used. Eventually they start trading chops, and Gilbert charges right into Sullivan’s boot. Sullivan gives Gilbert a double stomp for 2, and they struggle over a test of strength. This is the most basic of matches, but the crowd seems really up for it. Gilbert gets knocked down with a chop, and Sullivan starts laying them in before throwing Gilbert to the outside again. Gilbert hits Sullivan with a low blow, and decides to place a table up against the post. He rams Sullivan into it, calls Sullivan a “SON OF A BITCH,” and hits him so much that the referee has to break them up. Sullivan accidentally hits the referee, and crotches Gilbert on the top rope. He goes for the cover, but there’s nobody there to count. Sullivan wakes the referee up, and Gilbert rolls Sullivan up for 3 at 7:40. Sullivan is so pissed about it that he grabs a chair, only for our referee to pull it away from him.
My Thoughts: This wasn’t a great wrestling match, but it was my kind of match. It was hard hitting, you could sense the hate these two had for each other, and it built perfectly to the finish. I’m only going to give this ** as the chinlock was lengthy and most people don’t really like that. The brawling was great though, and for somebody immersing themselves in the time period without watching any smaller promotions, it was unique. That was good fun.
– Taped to air January 21st, 1989, on World Championship Wrestling, from WTBS Studios in Atlanta, Georgia
Ric Flair (NWA Champion) & Barry Windham (NWA US Champion, w/JJ Dillon) vs. Eddie Gilbert and a MYSTERY PARTNER
Pre-Match Thoughts: I love mystery partner angles. Sometimes they go to shit, and sometimes they deliver. Eddie Gilbert cut an interview earlier in the show, telling people they better call their friends to change the channel, as his partner is one that will deliver a shock to fans everywhere. He wasn’t joking. He has another one before the match, where the clip from the previous week’s episode is shown. Flair asks where Gilbert’s partner is, and a familiar theme comes on…IT’S RICKY THE DRAGON STEAMBOAT. Jim Ross didn’t sell this as much as he should have, so Schiavone stpped in to do it. This should have devolved into base sentences and crazy stuff flying out of the mouth of these commentators.
Match Review: Steamboat and Windham start the match, and Windham gets arm dragged a lot. Steamboat gives him a bodyslam after some insane running, and Flair rushes into the ring to try a back suplex. Steamboat flips through, and press slams Flair onto Windham. I didn’t even know he could do that! Flair tells Steamboat that he’s “going to get his ass kicked,” and they start murdering each other with chops. Steamboat gives Flair another press slam, and the excitement level on commentary has picked up as a result. Flair takes a break, and Steamboat walks over to the commentary team to tell Flair that “if he wants to play, he should stay in the sandbox.” This is great stuff. More chops follow, and Steamboat gives Flair a huge backdrop. Gilbert finally tags in, reminding me that he really was still part of the match. He and Flair fight, he gives Flair a hip toss, and follows with a flying head-scissors. Flair finally tags out, and Windham resumes his rivalry with Gilbert. Gilbert gives him a backdrop, and Windham comes back with a back suplex. So many backs. Windham rakes the eyes, heads back to his corner, and tags out. Gilbert throws Flair into the corner and over the top, the Nature Boy has to take yet another break as a result. Gilbert takes him down with a drop toe-hold, and to the figure-four he goes. Steamboat rushes in to prevent Windham from breaking it up, so Flair breaks it himself. Gilbert puts Flair in a small package for 2, but Windham tags in for a powerslam. Gilbert rolls him up for 2, but Windham has the momentum. Gilbert is able to use a cross body for 2, but Windham goes to the eyes and tags out. Gilbert reverses a suplex into a roll-up of Flair for another 2 count, and he gives Flair a flying clothesline. It’s weird given the narrative of this match, but Gilbert is taking punishment while giving out a lot of offense. Windham throws him to the floor, Flair throws his shoulder into the post, and rolls Gilbert back in. Windham gives him a suplex for 2, and continues to do work with right hands. He gives Gilbert an atomic drop, but Gilbert fires off a clothesline shortly after! Flair tags in to cut Gilbert off from making a tag, and he gives Gilbert a double underhook suplex. After a knee drop, Flair covers for 2. Flair gives Gilbert a back suplex for 2, and tags out once again. Windham hits Gilbert with the LARIAT, and gives him an inverted atomic drop as well. He follows with a bodyslam, and goes up top for the first time. His flying elbow misses, and Gilbert finally makes the hot tag.
Flair and Steamboat are in, and Steamboat gives Flair a backdrop. He nails Windham with a chop to send him to the outside, and there’s another backdrop for Flair. He bodyslams him, and chops him on the head. Face-first into the mat a few times, and a press slam follows. Steamboat heads up top, and flies off with a cross body for 3 at 15:14! Wow! After the match, we got this interview below. Flair, Windham, and JJ crashed it, and it was amazing. This may be the best interview of Flair’s career.
My Thoughts: Flair taking a clean job on TV is…man, that is crazy. That’s the perfect way to legitimize Ricky Steamboat as the next challenger for Ric Flair. Him putting over the NWA as his home was a big deal too. This wasn’t just a great TV match, it was a great match in any format. These four busted ass, and worked the fastest paced tag team match that they could with a perfect finish. It’s unfortunate that they didn’t put the US Championship on Gilbert because they were priming him up for a good run with it. Everything was perfectly timed and well booked. One reason for that may be that the NWA brought in George Scott as their booker. Originally, they were going to have Steamboat show up under a mask and pinned Flair, but Scott changed it. ****1/4 for a great match, it’s a classic and I’d recommend it. Their TV has improved so much, and they just put an amazing match on it. I’m very pleased.
– Taped to air January 28th, 1989, on World Championship Wrestling, from WTBS Studios in Atlanta, Georgia
The Russian Assassin #2 (w/Paul Jones & Russian Assassin #1) vs. Ricky Steamboat
Pre-Match Thoughts: I wanted to watch another Steamboat match before proceeding. This is one that he should win clean, but I like this trend of having legitimate matches on TV every week.
Match Review: Steamboat starts the match quickly, ducking under and running around his opponent to give him dropkicks and arm drags. Steamboat continues to work the arm, until he gets clocked in the face that is. Steamboat gives him another arm drag in response, and Flair makes his way to ringside. This should be good. Flair goes on commentary and immediately starts shit talking Steamboat, as the Assassin gives him a back elbow and clothesline. Poor Steamboat gets bodyslammed, and that gets 2. Flair continues talking, as Assassin #2 has Steamboat in an armbar. The commentary here is amazing, and the match is being wrestled like it’s secondary. It should be secondary, listening to this stuff. Assassin takes Steamboat down with a choke, and follows with a clothesline for 2. He misses a charge, and tries to throw Steamboat over the top. Steamboat skins the cat, chops Assassin, and rams him into the turnbuckle a lot. He climbs up top, comes down with a cross body, and gets the victory at 6:42.
The match is over, but the activity surrounding it is certainly not. Jones and Assassin #1 get in the ring, only to be knocked out of it. Now, Flair starts yelling at Steamboat and gets his attention. He intends to get in the ring, so Steamboat flies over the top with a plancha. Looked like that hurt. He starts beating up Flair, and here comes Barry Windham from the back. He teams up with Flair to beat on Steamboat, and Edie Gilbert comes out from the back. Flair throws Gilbert face-first into the post, throws Teddy Long into the announce section, and Windham gives Gilbert a backbreaker. Windham holds Gilbert in place, and Flair gives Gilbert a knee drop in such a way that Gilbert’s face smashes into the concrete floor. Then, Steamboat chases Flair away while tearing his pants off.
My Thoughts: The match was secondary, and decent enough for what it was. *1/2 for that. The angle was a classic, but the sad part is that it seems they’ve written Gilbert out of feuding with Windham. I really hope not. I do have one last Gilbert match, so I’ll be pulling that up pretty soon. This is a hell of a build towards a PPV, though. Arguably their best yet.
– Taped to air January 28th, 1989, on NWA Main Event, from who knows where
Barry Windham (NWA US Champion) & JJ Dillon vs. Kendall Windham & Eddie Gilbert
Pre-Match Thoughts: Look, you’d have to be a moron to not understand what is going to happen at some point in this match. Barry gets a crappy partner and Gilbert’s is Barry’s brother. You’d have to be an idiot.
Match Review: Gilbert and Barry will start the match, locking up in the middle of the ring. Barry gives him an arm drag, and it is announced that he will defend his title against Lex Luger at Chi-Town Rumble. What about Gilbert? He rolls Windham up for 2, but I’m bummed about this news. They’ve built so well to a match at Chi-Town Rumble between Windham and Gilbert. It’s the most WCW thing ever to switch Luger in there, even though he has history with Windham. Gilbert takes Barry down with an arm drag, and Barry gives him a back suplex. For whatever reason, Gilbert doesn’t sell it, and Barry wants a test of strength. Gilbert doesn’t accept, and goes over to hit Dillon. He’s basically fighting this match by himself. He gives Barry a backdrop, but Barry rakes the eyes and takes control. He gives Gilbert a flying back elbow, and a bodyslam as well. Windham climbs up top, and Gilbert gives him a big slam down. I don’t know how these guys can take that bump all the time. Windham gives Gilbert a back suplex that has a greater impact than the last, and follows with a powerslam. JJ wants to be tagged in for the first time, and gets what he wants. Gilbert gives Barry a DDT, and JJ turns around to see that he’s in trouble. Then, Kendall walks in the ring and clocks Gilbert with a left hand. No shit, right? The Windhams give Gilbert a double DDT, leading to a disqualification for Barry and JJ at 7:21. To make matters worse, Kendall Windham rips off Tully Blanchard and uses a slingshot suplex as his new finisher, giving that move to Eddie Gilbert.
My Thoughts: That was entirely predictable, but I wanted to see how that took place. Another thing going with this, is that Butch Reed made his debut, managed by JJ Dillon. Putting two and two together, and you’d see that at some point they wanted to make Kendall and Reed Four Horsemen. I’m glad they didn’t go through with that, it would have been terrible. The match was *3/4, standard fare. I am still angry that Gilbert won’t be facing Windham at Chi-Town Rumble. What they did to get around that was, they had him face Ric Flair in a non-title match. He lost, they said he had facial injuries from Flair attacking him on TV, and he was written out. That’s a terrible way of doing business from my perspective, they had built Gilbert up and given people a reason to cheer for him only to cut him off. On top of that, Dillon was signed away by Vince McMahon to book. As pointed out in the WON, he had all the contact information for NWA wrestlers, all of the contract information, and had a lot of friends. This was a direct shot at the NWA. More on that at the end.
– Taped to air February 11th, 1989, on World Championship Wrestling, from WTBS Studios in Atlanta, Georgia
The Varsity Club (US Tag Team Champions are Kevin Sullivan & Mike Rotunda) vs. The Road Warriors (NWA Tag Team Champions) & Paul Ellering
Pre-Match Thoughts: It’s rare that Williams, Rotunda, and Sullivan all team together in a match, but that’s what we got here! The Road Warriors didn’t even turn face. It just turned out that people kept cheering them, so there was no reason to change anything about them back to what it was before. Tony Schiavone is gone, so they are rolling through color commentators now. Ours for this match is Jim Cornette.
Match Review: This match starts in progress, but who even cares. It was like one second in progress. Rotunda takes down Hawk, but Hawk fires back up to his feet and goes crazy on the poor guy. Rotunda tries another takedown, and Hawk winds up punching him a lot. Sullivan and Animal tag in, and gives Animal a clothesline that he doesn’t even sell. He gives Sullivan one, and Dr. Death tags in. He takes down Animal, and they brawl with Doc being treated as the only guy equal to the Road Warriors. I like that a lot. Hawk tags in, gets taken down, and comes back with a clothesline. Rotunda runs in and gets taken out, then Ellering tags in for the first time. Sullivan tags in as well, and Ellering gives him a few dropkicks. This is amazing. He hits everyone with dropkicks, and that clears the ring. Why did they need to bring in Tenryu for the Clash? They have something good here. Animal tries to run the ropes, and takes a big tumble over the top thanks to Dr. Death pulling the rope down. He rams the announce table into Animal’s arm, then hits him with the belt. Williams stomps on Animal’s arm, as it’s clear they’re going for an arm breaking angle. Rotunda gives him a hammerlock slam back in the ring, and drops a leg on that arm as well. Dr. Death tags in, and puts an armbar on Animal for a while. The commentary is getting this match over really well. Hawk gets fed up, but the Varsity Club just keeps triple-teaming Animal whenever Hawk runs in the ring. They’re hitting Animal with a lot of stiff shots too, giving as good as they already got. Dr. Death and Animal blow a spot, then Animal comes in with a leg drop from the second rope. Hawk runs in once again, and I guess he just doesn’t give a shit anymore. Ellering makes a legal tag, but everyone’s fighting. Ellering gets thrown shoulder-first into the post, and Hawk gets thrown over the top for a disqualification at 7:48.
The Varsity Club was trying to get after Animal, but Hawk grabs a chair to clear them out. Sullivan remains, but Hawk’s swing misses. Damn, I wanted to see that. Hawk goes crazy during his interview, how could you not cheer this guy? “WE’D LIKE TO KILL YA!” He breaks a chair, Animal talks more shit, and that was the end of the segment. The Varsity Club cut an interesting promo after the commercial. While the Road Warriors and Tenryu were scheduled to face Sting, Michael Hayes, and the Junkyard Dog at Clash 5, I don’t know how anybody could believe that match would actually happen.
Match Review: Now I understand why Tenryu was drafted into the team, they needed him. Their manager wasn’t going to be tough enough for this fight. Once again, we have a nice feud heading into Clash of the Champions and Chi-Town Rumble. The match wasn’t great, but the way they capped it off with the angle and interview was just amazing. *1/2 match, great story and setup for later events.
– Taped to air February 18th, 1989, on World Championship Wrestling, from WTBS Studios in Atlanta, Georgia
SAMOAN SWAT TEAM DEBUT
This is after Clash of the Champions, but I don’t particularly care. It fits in before Chi-Town Rumble! Dan Spivey also debuted as a new member of the Varsity Club during this show. That’s a weird fit. I absolutely love the Samoan Swat Team/Headshrinkers. Samu and Fatu are my kind of wrestlers. They looked amazing in this match, showing moves and techniques that nobody else in the promotion did. The best spot they did was a back suplex from the second rope, like holy crap. That’s a super rough bump to take.
To finish this one off, we have news! The NWA had planned to run their next PPV on the same day as WrestleMania V. Their logic was that Turner’s power would force the WWF out of being able to have their show carried. The thought was that if this happened, the WWF would have to use crappy closed-circuit TV to air their show. The WON basically predicts the future with both sides raiding stars from their opposing organization, and salaries being raised beyond a profitable level. It’s really crazy how this was predicted. To counter the Chi-Town Rumble, the WWF decided to air a face to face special on Prime Time Wrestling. I don’t know what’s on that special and I can’t find it, but apparently it was supposed to have some sort of debates. That’s just terrible. According to the WON, the scheduled April PPV event was canceled and replaced with a Clash of Champions airing at the same time as WrestleMania. So, the same thing as 1989. It also says that big TV companies wanted the NWA to run their PPV show at the same time as WrestleMania because the WWF changed their PPV deal on them. The threat of the NWA as leverage forced the WWF to change it back.
That’s it for this article. Next up I’ll have one reviewing the second Main Event from the WWF, a true prime time special with a big match. The Mega Powers are scheduled to face the Twin Towers, and I’m going to start watching that right after I type this out, at 9 PM on Wednesday.
Best: Ricky Steamboat & Eddie Gilbert vs. Ric Flair & Barry Windham. There aren’t enough words to describe how good this was. It was built towards properly and given the legitimacy it deserved.
Worst: Everything I reviewed had a purpose so I don’t think I should assign any of that to this. How about Lex Luger usurping Gilbert in his feud with Windham and knocking Gilbert completely off the PPV? That works for me.
