Andrew Lutzke
This article series is me, a couch, a remote, possibly an adult beverage and some random Wrasslin’ I decide to watch. I won’t bore you with play by play, instead I’ll offer random observations and memories – and an occasional dose of arm chair re-booking.
Today’s offering is simply a DVD I bought on ioffer.com called “The Best of the Original Four Horsemen”.
**We open with stock footage of several cities as the voice over tells us promoters from around the country were vying to host the “Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Tournament” – this is the press conference for the 1986 version – played very straight like an actual sports press conference. Crockett’s widow apologizes to the main fan base for letting the New Orleans Superdome promoters win the bid. Then Bill Apter and Bill Watts both get a chance to speak.
Was Watts a co-promoter of this event? It seems odd he’d want to be part of this, since the UWF was trying to create its own national expansion and here he’s helping JCP try and sell out the biggest arena in Watts’ territory. This practice that would seemingly hurt Watts business. Hmmm.
The event will be split into an afternoon and evening portions, with separate tickets for each event. Watts accidently buries half the card by saying the “after we get the afternoon portion out of the way, we’ll see the best tag teams in the world vie for the million dollars that night – and also see that phenomenal main event”
Amazing Dusty had the reserve to not book himself to win this tournament – he bows out of his scheduled tagging with Magnum in order to get a World title match with Flair.
**Crockett Cup action: The Fantastics versus Arn and Tully: Clip job version shows almost nothing but the babyface shine segments. Odd way to present your top heels. A little chicanery leads to the Fantastics scoring the upset pin. Well that wasn’t expected!
**Dillon and Tully promo: Dillon claims Ronnie Garvin has to have his name embroidered on his towel because Tully hit him so hard last time that he’s still loopy and doesn’t remember his own name.
**Arn and Ole versus Don and Rocky Kernoodle: The plummeting down the card of Don Kernoodle doesn’t surprise me retroactively, because seeing him here 3 years after his big run with Slaughter – I’m not seeing much – a balding, chunky short guy that looked like he struggled to even lift Arn up for a slam. The Horsemen cheat to win, because “win if you can, lose if you must, but always cheat”.
**Italian Stallion, Sam Houston and Rocky King vs. Tully, Arn and Ole: David Crockett tells us we’re lucky to have the heels in JCP. This being mid-80’s JCP, the crowd is rabid – even for the job squad. With that kind of crazed fan base, it is sad Crockett couldn’t get his marketing wing going. How did the arthritic athletes in the AWA get a toy line and JCP couldn’t??? Commentator Jim Cornette even points out that Houston is the only chance his team has of winning. The Horsemen do the classic Minnesota Wrecking Crew arm work and get Stallion to submit.
**House show footage – Dusty Rhodes versus Ric Flair: Quick clip of World Champ Dusty hitting a clothesline for a 3 count on Flair. A CLOTHESLINE!?!!?!? Flair’s foot was on the rope but Tully charges in with a chair and they try and hurt Dusty’s leg again.
Flair predicts afterward that Dusty will lose to him since Rhodes has challengers from across the NWA to prep for and Big Dust won’t be able to focus on Flair. Tully reminds us that he’s beaten Rhodes for the National and TV titles and the World title could be next.
**House show footage- Dusty Rhodes vs. Ric Flair: Clips of Flair attacking Dusty’s bum leg from the last attack with a chair. David Crockett suggests injuring the leg was intentional to help set up the figure four…WELL DUH DAVID! Dusty hits the clothesline for ANOTHER 3 count on Flair – this time the ref sees Flair’s foot on the ropes and Dusty’s celebration is ruined by a chop block and a figure four that leads to Flair pinning Rhodes to regain the World title.
**Flair (dressed as Scarface) gloats about his win. Ric buries the WWF and says the NWA isn’t about Hollywood and rock music. Flair then talks about his dual ring rat fucking. You have to love that man.
**Dusty Rhodes vs. Ric Flair – clipped to Rhodes pinning Flair, but Dusty’s valet Baby Doll put Flair’s foot on the ropes. Dusty escapes the figure four and yells at Baby Doll instead of focusing on Flair and Flair clips his leg again. Your own damn fault Dusty… Dusty blasts Flair’s leg with a chair upwards of 15 times and is DQ’d. I sure as Hell hope Flair sold that as a serious injury…
Nope…Flair’s gloating promo is next and Flair brags about banging Baby Doll. So I guess that makes him a loser after all.
** The Horsemen corner Dick Murdoch four on 1 – Dusty, Ron Garvin and Magnum save him and everyone brawls.
**Murdoch promo wearing a wig and rolex to mock Flair. Murdoch is great here explaining he’s rich too, but he’s a country boy so he likes his jeans, tennis shoes, pick-up truck and spiny legged dog. This of course leads to an 8 man brawl again as the principals of the last segment charge in.
**Ole cuts an almost babyface promo as he talks about being old – but that means he’s experienced. “I like hurtin’ people and I’ll take a little hurtin’ back. I’m like leather, just getting’ tougher with age.” Good promo.
**Clips of Dusty single handedly taking out Tully Blanchard, JJ Dillon, Bobby Eaton and Dennis Condrey – while on his BACK. No ego there. Magnum TA shows up to help Dusty try and break Tully’s leg.
**Tully’s maimed now and claims Dusty attacked him in the locker room after the in ring attack as well – knocking over doctors to batter Tully. The Horsemen avenge Tully’s leg injury by breaking Dusty’s wrist in a parking lot attack.
**Dusty uses the cast on his wrist to bust up JJ Dillon’s face. Tully wants Dusty at Starrcade or the Horsemen will mutiny and none of the 4 will show up to the event.
**Flair,Arn and Ole attack the Rock and Roll Express in the locker room and rub their faces into the concrete – then Morton has his nose broken by a Flair knee drop…this all leads to…
**Cage Match: Ole and Arn Anderson vs. Rock and Roll Express – Starrcade ’86: This is of course a great match and I can’t really add anything that hasn’t been said before. The fan heat here is just tremendous and makes the JCP demise within 18 months all the more sad and amazing.
**Ric Flair wants everyone to remember that being World’s champion is more taxing then any of us can comprehend and he plans on having an orgy on Wednesday after he defends the belt again.
**A nervous as heck Lex Luger makes his JCP debut. He’s shaking like Michael J. Fox here. He wants to be a Horseman.
**Flair is intrigued by Luger’s offer and with all the money and titles the Horseman have; he’s clearly smart enough to know who the elite wrestlers are. Flair talks up some more hot ring rat sex and David Crockett marks out.
**JIP – Barry Windham vs. Ric Flair: Barry flies over the top rope and Dusty actually calls it a “bump”. Dusty is awesome on commentary as always – When Barry is put in the figure four “Barry Wind’em is in for sum pain, blues and agony he-rah”.
**Luger still waiting to be accepted as a Horseman – his buddy Barry Windham stops by to let him know what a mistake he’s making.
**Ole and Arn are in the middle of cutting a promo for upcoming tag matches, when Dillon cuts Ole off to let Arn know he has a key singles match signed for Arn – Arn throws a jab at Ole losing at Starrcade in the middle of his promo.
**Ole wants to take out Dusty Rhodes and Dick Murdoch before he retires.
**Tully Blanchard vs. Tim Horner: This match is the cure for insomnia. We get 10 mins of Horner using a armbar, then a hammerlock. If this was designed to be a show case for Horner, he blew it. Dillon’s nervous behavior at ringside is great psychology on his part.
**Luger appears on TV next to Dillon, Windham comes out and Luger beats him down.
**Windham calls Luger out, but Flair comes down instead. Barry kicks his butt until the Horseman run in. Dusty, Nikita, Brad and Bob Armstrong run in to even the odds.
**Dillon promo says Ole is the cornerstone of the Horseman.
**Ole has issues with Luger’s association with the Horsemen, Tully tells him he took his focus off the 4H and it cost him and Arn the tag belts. Ole pops him.
**Dillon says Ole owes him and Tully an apology. Ole comes out and shoves Dillon, which leads to Tully charging in and they brawl.
**Arn Anderson is given a free pass to leave the Horsemen, given Ole’s exit from the group. Arn says he carried Ole for the past two years and he feels Ole doesn’t have the fire in his belly anymore.
With that we end the first chapter of the Horseman saga.
Final Thoughts: This was a fun romp through one of the more famous angles in wrestling history. Having the TV interviews here really helped to flesh out the angle and it was fun to see it laid out in “real time”, instead of a edited documentary piece. I can better appreciate the build and twists to the Dusty and friends versus Horseman saga having now seen it in presented in this manner.
