The first thing you need to know about the Hidden Gems collection on the WWE Network is that it is SO cool.
If you watch them back-to-back you are sent on a thrilling journey through snapshots in time, from wrestling in black-and-white to a time when $550 on the line seemed like a big deal, from wrestling in studios with bright blue rings to a time when ‘Terry Funk Retirement Match’ vaguely resembled something legitimate.
If you want to pick and choose you’re getting a look at some great classic wrestling or at the very least fascinating scenarios, whether it’s Muhammad Ali in a pro wrestling ring being interviewed by Vince McMahon or one of the biggest professional wrestling superstars ever working in a ring where an auto shop is advertised on the apron.
There’s all kinds of great, cool, weird stuff here. Most everything you can count as being fun with some of it being straight-up epic. Everything is well worth watching – the Flair/Windham and Piper/Brisco matches are legitimately great, Thesz/Gunkel, Muhammad Ali’s match, and Last Battle of Atlanta completely fascinating, and even though the Gorilla Monsoon, Joe/Regal, and Rollins/Ohno matches aren’t much, they are still super interesting and well worth checking out.
The basic format here is this: I will start with some background on the participants, promotion, and match, and then review the match. The star rating at the bottom has little bearing on how awesome or weird the thing was. Read the review for that.
Texas Rasslin’: Thesz vs. Gunkel – 2/3 Falls – NWA World Heavyweight Title: Lou Thesz (c) vs. Ray Gunkel (Texas Rasslin’ Sportatorium 5/30/51)
I cannot find any record of this match online, at least from this exact date. This wouldn’t be the first time the WWE Network got weird with dates, but it’s still weird. The title, location and announcer suggests it’s from the old Texas Rasslin’ show, basically the pre-precursor to World Class Championship Wrestling. It’s for Lou Thesz’ NWA World Heavyweight Title, held in the famous Dallas Sportatorium and promoted by Ed McLemore (owner of the Sportatorium before Fritz Von Erich), with Ves Box on commentary. Thesz was in the midst of his first reign as NWA (National Wrestling Alliance) World Heavyweight Champion, having been awarded it after the first NWA World Champ Orville Brown was injured in a car accident, and Thesz at the time was the NWA (National Wrestling ASSOCIATION) World Heavyweight Champion, so he got the nod. Thesz held the strap for most of the 50s, though this was his longest reign, and he’s stopping by the territory here to work local hero Ray Gunkel.
Gunkel was a successful amateur wrestler and had went pro only a few years before this but was making a name from himself, eventually winning the Texas territory’s title later in the year. By 1953 he was being managed by famous boxer Jack Dempsey, and by the late 50s he was promoting and working as top babyface in NWA Georgia. Around the 60s he started to slow down on the in-ring stuff and focused on promoting, eventually taking TV tapings to the studios of WTCG in Atlanta, which eventually became the home of WTBS – yeah that one. In 1972, he died of a heart attack after a match with Ox Baker when Ox hit him with the heart punch, which made that move a big god damn deal, especially given that Baker was indirectly involved in the death of another wrestler earlier in the year. Ray’s wife Ann took over promoting duties, but as soon as Ray died Florida promoter Eddie Graham and others began plotting a takeover of the territory – rumor has it they were discussing it at at Gunkel’s funeral. A furious Ann started her own promotion and competed with the NWA-affiliated promotions in Georgia before folding and selling, eventually ceding the territory to what became the NWA-affiliated Georgia Championship Wrestling and Jim Crockett Promotions, which led into World Championship Wrestling. EVERYTHING. IS. CONNECTED.
At this point any wrestling from pre-1970 can be counted as a Hidden Gem, so this and the next few things can be counted as that.
I can’t say I’ve seen more than a handful of matches from the 50s, but it’s interesting to watch this and think about today’s wrestling or even where wrestling went just 10-20 years later: it’s just an extension of this, amped up to a million. Holds, bumping, selling – that’s the ticket. Wrestling still had to evolve of course – Gunkel works a side headlock for 5 minutes and I might be fascinated by all that happens outside of it (the history, the presentation, the fact that I’m watching Lou Thesz wrestle), but most regular humans wouldn’t be.
The picture is black-and-white and you can hear the film projection sound running. The referees are in white v-necks and khakis and a chubby Ed “Strangler” Lewis manages Thesz. The ring announcer’s voice is of an old timey circus. The commentary by Box is super casual too, just from another time, like he’s taking puffs of a cigarette in between lines. “This is the usual list of do’s and dont’s which precedes every match.”
Thesz vs. Gunkel is a good match from back when the professional wrestling was so deliberate and hold-based that it was hard to question a damn thing – even a routine bodyslam seems like a perfectly legitimate grappling maneuver. It’s around 40 minutes and each guy is almost always struggling for control or out of a hold and the holds seem at least relatively legit, like when Gunkel holds a routine toehold for a while and keeps slapping at Thesz’ foot to lock it in tighter, or when Thesz seems to lock his calves in place as he wrenches a headlock. Gunkel moves big, like when he spins around after being told to back off by the ref – feels a bit like a Randy Orton, just very expressive in a way that envelops the crowd even more. Thesz works like a true prick, a subtle stoic old man heel in the vein of a Dean Malenko or Masanobu Fuchi – he gets in a shot after backing Gunkel against the ropes and the crowd is not happy. I liked how Thesz sold his ears here – just kept trying to ring them out after getting out of Gunkel’s headlocks, with Box talking of cauliflower ear. The match has a slow pace but when it picks up Thesz is pretty awesome bumping and selling – Gunkel at one point does his own Thesz press and Thesz flails his legs wildly to the delight of the crowd. Gunkel gets his own shot on the ropes later on and Box lays out professional wrestling psychology in the simplest of terms: “You and I have seen Thesz use that maneuver where he slaps his opponent with his left as they break, in an effort to arouse his opponent’s temper – and Gunkel made a very similar gesture there.” Thesz rocks an Airplane Spin towards the finish, followed by a few bodyslams (or, a piledriver as it’s called) and a POWERBOMB. Gunkel’s fire + Thesz being a dick – it’s not the most complicated thing in the world but it works, and is well worth checking out especially if you haven’t seen much stuff from back when JFK was still a Congressman. It’s your grandpa wrestling and it’s a damn hoot. ***3/4
Gagne Metrics – Verne Gagne presents Gagne-Metrics (AWA 9/23/64)
Speaking of your grandpa wrestling – this is Vergne Gagne in black-and-white offering some straight-up, straightforward workout advice. Gagne at this point had been running the AWA for a few years and had been AWA World Champ several times. Seems like he was looking to make a buck in the physical fitness world as this is essentially an infomercial. He explains isometrics – basically contracting your muscles by using resistance against an object vs. sit-ups or squats or lifting weights – and does demonstrations for a few minutes. Seems like this was something aired in the middle of the day, geared towards housewives wanting to be fit. It’s pretty wild to see a late-30s Verne Gagne telling women to stand on a stack of books and do pull-ups from a door frame, I mean this is wild stuff. At the end it’s revealed to be produced by the Verne Gagne Foundation of Physical Fitness Incorporated, and it sure is something.
Gino ‘Gorilla Monsoon’ Marella – 10 Minute Time Limit and $550 On the Line: Gino Marella (Gorilla Monsoon) vs. Dave Ruhl (Stampede Wrestling 3/16/61)
This is from the Stampede Wrestling TV show and gives a look at a young Gorilla Monsoon. Gorilla was only a couple years into his career here, while Ruhl had over 10 years in the business, never becoming a massive name though he did win the NWA Canadian Heavyweight Title several times after this and eventually became a booker for Stampede under Stu Hart. Stampede had a gimmick going where guys put $50 in a pot and tried to beat newcomer Gino in 10 minutes – if they did, they got the pot. Pot was up to $550 at this point, so it wasn’t going well for these fellas. The match isn’t much, mostly Marella working over Ruhl – holding him down, hitting him, throwing him around. At one point he tickles him and the crowd pops. Gorilla was a beast of a man but there isn’t much here – highlight is probably Ruhl going for a crucifix and Gorilla awkwardly bridging, then using the ropes and momentum to slam back down onto Ruhl. And that’s just a highlight cause it’s just kind of mildly interesting to watch. Another weird highlight is commentator Ed Whalen taking time to point out that it’s a good crowd but that the crowd is scattered around, as you can see empty seats all over the place. He also says they were giving out free tickets – business must’ve been HOTTTTT. Interesting to see a super young Gorilla Monsoon do his thing, but not much here. **
NWA Title: Funk, Jr. vs. Kiniski – NWA World Heavyweight Title: Gene Kiniski (c) vs. Dory Funk Jr. (Florida 2/11/69)
This took place in Tampa, FL and saw Dory Funk Jr. end the 3-year NWA World Heavyweight Title reign of Gene Kiniski. Kiniski had won the title off of Lou Thesz, who held it for a 3-year span before him. Kiniski had been wrestling in California, Texas, and Canada for about 15 years at this point, and actually trained with Dory Funk Sr. early on. He was previously AWA World Champion and had a stint in the WWWF where he had a few matches with Bruno Sammartino. Kiniski was the first heel type of NWA World Champ, and defended against all kinds of talent: Bobo Brazil, Dick the Bruiser, Johnny Valentine, Bill Watts, Edouard Carpentier, Pat O’Connor, the Funk brothers, Lou Thesz, Don Leo Jonathan, John Tolos, Abdullah the Butcher, and Haystacks Calhoun. After 3 years as champ, an exhausted Kiniski announced at the 1968 NWA Convention he’d step down as champ, and agreed to lose to Dory Jr. Dory was a few years into his career after a successful college football career at West Texas State. He worked initially for his pops in Amarillo but around this timeframe had branched out to Florida, Missouri, and Japan. He’s probably more known to folks as Terry Funk’s brother or the guy who took creepy pictures of Adam Windsor. Jack Brisco also beat the Missouri Mauler for the NWA Southern Heavyweight Title on this card. Gordon Solie, still early into his career as well, is on commentary.
This is a wild watch just to hear Dory Funk Jr. described as a “tremendously excited youngster” and hear Solie talk about a New Era in 1969: “This typifies America’s new young athletes – bigger, stronger, and brighter.” The match is joined in progress and they only show the last few minutes… quality is pretty crap and all discolored, but the crowd is into it and Kiniski takes a few flat backs like a pro, then tries a backbreaker and slowly deflates and holds his back. Funk takes it with a toe hold and wins the NWA World Title. Most interesting part of this whole thing is Solie interviewing Dory on winning the belt, with Dory all of 27-years-old and talking like an over-the-hill grizzled cowboy, calmly describing his title win and thanking his father and brother for training him for 6 months (!) in preparation for this big match. Dory would go on to hold the title for 4 and a half years, a reign at that time second only to Thesz’. No rating, but worth seeing – really does feel like the bridge from one era to another, as Thesz went to Kiniski went to Dory went to Harley and so on and so forth until Dan Severn or Chris Jericho, whoever you want to believe.
Andre the Giant Feats of Strength (WWWF 1/12/76)
Andre had been in the WWWF for a few years at this point and was about 10 years in to his career as a whole. He started working with Canadian promoter/manager and wrestler Frank Valois in 1966 and traveled all over the world wrestling. It was in Japan in 1970 when Andre found out he had acromegaly. Valois eventually asked Vince McMahon Sr. for advice and Vince offered a few suggestions: Andre should be portrayed as a large immovable monster and not do moves like dropkicks, in order to enhance the perception of his size. Some things never change. They then began calling him Andre the Giant and loaned him to wrestling companies around the world, while the WWWF got a cut.
On the Andre the Giant DVD, there’s a squash match from the same date with him beating Black Gordman & Great Goliath by sitting on them. Not sure if this segment was aired along with that or not.
As for the segment – this is a minute-and-a-half segment with some trash commentator that sounds like a third-rate Jay Sulli or Gabe Sapolsky talking over Andre the Giant breaking a crowbar in half and lifting up a 2000-lb weight backstage. Was it a work? Was it not? We will never know. Then we cut to the ring where he has a tug-of-war in an empty arena with 11 guys trying to pull his arms apart, and then a few of them take a bump. Astounding!
Vince McMahon interviews Muhammad Al – Exhibition Match: Muhammad Ali w/ “Classy” Freddie Blassie vs. Buddy Wolfe w/ Dick the Bruiser (Guest Ref: Verne Gagne) (AWA Amphitheatre 6/12/76)
Buddy Wolfe was a guy who wrestled all over the place in the 70s and 80s – AWA, NWA, WWWF. He was actually the guy Andre debuted against in the WWWF. In 1976, he happened to be Muhammad Ali’s wrestling sparring partner in preparation for Ali’s upcoming exhibition match / publicity stunt against Antonio Inoki in Tokyo. And so this crazy thing happened.
To explain all that is happening in this match – Muhammad Ali being managed by Classy Freddie Blassie and interviewed by Vince McMahon in Chicago on a show promoted by and match referred by Verne Gagne against a little-known wrestler managed by Dick the Bruiser – some history will help.
The Antonio Inoki vs. Muhammad Ali exhibition match from 1976 is a pretty famous thing in wrestling circles, mostly because A) it was a pretty crazy mainstream thing for a pro wrestler to do, B) because Muhammad Ali was in a wrestling match, C) because infamous amazing nutcase promoter Antonio Inoki was the guy he was wrestling, and D) because most people thought it really kind of sucked. In April 1975, Ali met the president of the Japanese Amateur Wrestling Association and talked some shit, asking him if there’s any Oriental fighter who’d challenge him and that he’d give them one million dollars if any could beat him. It made some headlines in Japan, and ever-the-promoter Inoki accepted the challenge, with Ali getting 6 million bucks for his services.
The fight took place at the famous Tokyo Nippon Budokan and sold out. It was broadcast to 34 countries and over 150 closed circuit TV locations in the U.S. In New York, Vince McMahon Sr. sold tickets to a closed-circuit telecast at Shea Stadium and drew almost 33,000 people. At Shea, the Ali/Inoki fight on the big screen main evented but there was also a wrestling card including Andre the Giant vs. Chuck Wepner. Because of this, Vince Jr. and Freddie Blassie traveled around the country to hype the fight, including Blassie appearing with Ali on The Tonight Show to hype the fight.
The fight itself was mostly Inoki on his back, throwing kicks at Ali so hard that they caused bruises, two blood clots and an infection. This was most of the match and it went to a 45-minute (!) draw. I have no idea if Ali didn’t think it’d be a shoot and Inoki did or not, but yeah Inoki didn’t allow for punches and probably made a bunch of racists in 1976 even more mad at Japanese people. At the end of the day it was a neat silly thing that was an early look at the possibilities of MMA.
On June 2, to hype the fight, Muhammad Ali appeared at a WWWF card in Philadelphia, and jumped into the ring after Gorilla Monsoon beat Baron Mikel Scicluna. Ali removed his shirt and Gorilla lifted him up into an Airplane Spin as Vince Jr. commentated. Then, on June 12, Ali stopped in Chicago to have an exhibition match with Buddy Wolfe. According to chitown rich on the Kayfabe Memories board, it wasn’t advertised locally, there was no admission charge, and not much of a crowd. The reason for this match was it was taped for ABC’s Wide World of Sports, which Ali appeared on with his old friend Howard Cosell in order to hype the Inoki fight. Cosell apparently showed complete disdain for professional wrestling as he commentated over the match, but this version has no commentary. Certainly a Hidden Gem and nothing I’ve seen or even heard of before, as all I know of with Ali and wrestling was the Inoki match and the angle with Gorilla.
With the event being put on by AWA and being aired by ABC, the AWA brass was ready to make the most of it. Verne is the referee and wears a track suit with his name – ‘VERNE GAGNE’ – stitched on the back in big bold letters to make sure everyone in the world can see, while co-promoter Dick the Bruiser (and a guy my dad, from the Chicago area, saw a lot as a young man) is clearly clamoring for TV time. He shot an angle to get him at Buddy’s side for the match and then he actually kind of works an angle during it as he helps Ali out a bit, which turns into something later in the year. Kenny Jay, an enhancement guy from the timeframe, also acted as Ali’s wrestling sparring partner and had a match with Ali on this card as well.
And so – the match. It’s 15 minutes. And it’s kind of boring. It’s an exhibition match with 3-minute rounds and is mostly Ali throwing punches and Wolfe selling/bumping like an 80s jobber, highlighted by Wolfe managing a takedown or a hiptoss or two. But still. It’s Muhammad fucking Ali doing a wrestling match. The pomp and circumstance is what you are here for… Verne in his stupid tracksuit, Ali wearing boxing gloves, Freddie Blassie shouting advice. The crowd goes absolutely bonkers when Wolfe picks Ali up for a backbreaker and Wolfe gets busted open about 10 minutes in. Before Round 4, Wolfe attacks Ali from behind and they go at it, ending with Ali punching a bleeding Wolfe down to end the fight.
The post-match is where the money is – Nick Bockwinkel steps in the ring and has a little showdown with Ali, and then Vince McMahon steps in and interviews Ali, who calls Bruno “Sambortino” and Monsoon “Gorilla Monzone.” Ali proceeds to cut a classic promo – “I’m gonna destroy all rasslers just like I destroy all fighters, right fans!?” HUGE pop. “Greatest of all time – YEAHH! All time! YEAHH! ALI! ALI! ALI” and then he does the shuffle. I mean, whatever – it’s Ali doing wrestling, watch it. ***
Roddy Piper vs. Jack Brisco – Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Title: Jack Brisco (c) vs. Roddy Piper (MACW 7/7/82)
This match emenantes WPCQ studios in Charlotte for Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, which was the name primarily used by Jim Crockett Promotions at this time, though the brand would soon be ditched by Jim Crockett Jr. for the NWA brand, as Crockett had recently been named NWA president. It’s from the Mid-Atlantic TV show on 7/10/82, with commentary by Bob Caudle and a clean-shaven David Crockett. Also on this show were Sgt. Slaughter, Greg Valentine, and Ricky Steamboat/Jay Youngblood squashes. Being a part of Mid-Atlantic TV unfortunately means it’s a Hidden Gem – get moving, Network.
After runs in Florida and Mid-Atlantic as a singles guy and with his brother Jerry, and then as NWA World Champion in the 1970s, Brisco had recently returned to Mid-Atlantic in early 1982. He regained the NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Title, formerly known as the NWA Eastern States Heavyweight Title which he held a bunch of times in the early 70s. The man he beat to get it was Roddy Piper and Piper is NOT. HAPPY. Piper had been working 5 years on the West Coast and in the last couple years had jumped to the Georgia territory, a run that would culminate in him working babyface against Greg Valentine at Starrcade ’83 in their legendary Dog Collar Match, before he headed off to get famous in the WWF. After Brisco had beat him for the belt, he stole the title and has been getting fined $1,000 a day until he returns it. Caudle and Crockett recap that Piper has said if Brisco can come up with $10,000 to make up for the money he lost, he’d give the title to an NWA official and wrestle Brisco, with the winner getting the belt and $10,000.
So before the match, they run an angle. Piper comes out demanding the 10k and is handed it by the commentators. Piper counts the money and when he figures out it isn’t the full amount he FLIPS. THE FUCK. OUT. I mean Piper was a legend, the fucking BEST. He carries this angle so well, first acting happy and calm ready to accept his money (because he probably has a plan to win the title and money back because he’s Roddy god damn Piper), even getting the crowd to laugh when Crockett says he wouldn’t accept a check and he doesn’t skip a beat and goes “No checks in Scotland, no.” But when he finds out they’re short – “I’M GONNA KILL YOU, MISTER!” He calls Caudle and Crockett scum and is about to grab one of them when Wahoo McDaniel and Ricky Steamboat show up with the rest of the money. Piper eventually accepts to continue with the match, but makes sure Wahoo and Steamboat are banned from ringside.
The match goes almost 20 minutes and is excellent stuff… Rowdy Roddy Piper and Jack Brisco doing their thing in the studio, man. Brisco is such a serious god damned technician… the crowd hoots and hollers as each guy struggles for control, with Brisco just stoically working holds and a fiery Piper trying to keep up. Brisco works a TIIIGHT headlock for a while that Piper sells his ass off for – going limp, pulling hair, bumping, heaving – all while David Crockett flips out. Both guys are just exhausted towards the end and everything’s sold so well, while the crowd is screaming up and down with them. Piper works the ever-loving shit out of a sleeper hold but Brisco works out of it into his own, and then Piper hits Brisco with a roll of coins (he had a plan all along!) to win. The real money here is the pre-match stuff and the post-match angle, with Piper just being out of his mind happy winning the title. “IT’S MINE! THERE’S NO MISTAKE!!!” Bonus slow-mo replay of Brisco selling the coin shot too – so good. ****1/4
Champs Collide: Race vs. Backlund – WWF World Heavyweight Title & NWA World Heayweight Title: Bob Backlund (c) w/ Arnold Skaaland vs. Harley Race (c) (WWF MSG 9/22/80)
This is a WWF World Heavyweight Title and NWA World Heavyweight Title Unification Match held at Madison Square Garden on a card that also featured an early Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant match. In 1980, Vince McMahon had not completely started going after the territory system, and so for a fleeting time in professional wrestling the WWF, AWA, and NWA were on good terms. Because of this, the NWA touring champ would appear from time to time on WWF and AWA shows. Bob Backlund was almost three years into his WWF Title run, and would hold it for another few before fans tired of his shtick and Vince Jr. officially took over and pushed Hogan. Race was in the middle of a grueling five-year run as NWA Champ that included defenses six tiems a week, dropping and regaining the title against Tommy Rich, Dusty Rhodes, and Giant Baba, wrestling hardcore matches with The Sheik, and stopping by the WWF and AWA to work guys like Bob Backlund and Nick Bockwinkel. This match had actually been done a couple times, usually going to a time-limit draw or (in this case) DQ.
This is definitely a Hidden Gem, as a post on Kayfabe Commentaries from 2006 discusses someone thinking they read the cameras were turned off for the match, but brief clips appearing on WWE 24/7 and it being listed on a fan survey making many think it was indeed in the Vault. And so it appears here, with the NWA World Heavyweight Title appearing in MSG and no commentary.
This is a 30+ minute match that is mostly a headlock. Top-to-bottom it’s not exactly the most entertaining thing but Harley Race is a god damn master of professional wrestling – his mannerisms and demeanor make even the most rudimentary match at a minimum good, while Bobby Backlund does his thing but is just kind of along for the ride. And what a ride it is… the onus here is on the guy IN the headlock (Race), not the guy applying it (Backlund) – for an early 80s match it totally works, as they work the headlock, step up the pace for a big pop, go back to the headlock, step up the pace for a big pop, and repeat. In between, Race talks shit and Backlund stares on stoically. Race has no issue showing ass in MSG, as Backlund constantly gets the better of him with Race bumping like a man in the prime of his life. At 20 minutes Backlund lands a piledriver where Race basically lands on his face and the crowd goes NUTS for a kickout at 2. They sell everything as a struggle as the match goes on, with Bob busting his ass for a double underhook suplex at one point, just screaming as he lifts. Race bleeds, they have a slugfest featuring some truly shit Backlund punches, and the crowd is going NUTS at the last few minutes where it seems like someone might get the pin. Race punches the ref and Backlund is announced as the winner and the crowd FLIPS – until they realize no one’s going home with a new piece of gold. This is not the most amazing thing, but it’s genuinely impressive how amped they had the crowd when 75% of the match was a headlock, and is as good a look as any at prime Harley Race on the Network. ***1/2
The Last Battle of Atlanta – Steel Cage Match: Tommy Rich vs. Buzz Sawyer (Paul Ellering in a Shark Cage) (GCW Last Battle of Atlanta 10/23/83)
The Last Battle of Atlanta – Steel Cage Match: Ole Anderson vs. Paul Ellering (GCW Last Battle of Atlanta 10/23/83)
This match is what got this Collection its’ Internet Buzz, as what we have here is a true Hidden Gem and absolute Holy Grail of professional wrestling. There’s a good story recapping it up on WWE.com, but to sum it up this is basically the precursor to what became the Hell in a Cell, the first ever cage match with an enclosed top, and the culmination of a major blood feud that lit up the Georgia territory in the early 1980s. “Wildfire” Tommy Rich and “Mad Dog” Buzz Sawyer had been feuding across the South for almost two years and it culminated in this match. I got around the tape trading world in the 90s and 00s and this was always thought to be lost footage. It became mythical, with rumors of over-the-top violence and a perfect culmination of a feud. When this match was announced as part of the first Hidden Gems Collection, folks just flipped out.
Buzz Sawyer started working in 1979 in the Georgia area for JCP and GCW. In 1982 he was the 4th most hated wrestler in America according to PWI, and legend has it that he was really just a total nutcase of an 80s pro wrestler, with all that that entails. He drank, did drugs, and fought cops. He trained wrestlers too… apparently the man that became The Undertaker paid him for wrestling lessons, but Sawyer only taught him a lock-up and skipped town. In the ring I thought he was great… scary, credible, and willing to take some big-ass bumps to put over whatever babyface he was against. Plus he had the best powerslam EVER. After his time in the Georgia territory he stopped in Mid-South and World Class Championship Wrestling, along with some brief stops in the WWF and WCW, before dying of a drug overdose in 1992.
Tommy Rich started working in the mid-70s in the South – Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, with work predominantly for NWA-affiliated companies like GCW. He briefly held the NWA World Title in 1981, beating Harley Race and losing it 4 days later, apparently due to a power struggle over the Georgia territory – promoter Jim Barnett was a minority holder in Georgia and booker of the NWA Title, so used it to boost interest in his territory. Rich was over – in 1981 he was voted Most Popular Wrestler in PWI, in 1982 he was second only to Andre the Giant. During this time, he seemed to be on his way to superstardom. After the run in Georgia (which really culminated with this match), Rich went to Memphis, the indies, had a brief stop in WCW as a heel with the York Foundation, and stopped in ECW in the mid-90s as an old man to be a part of the Full Blooded Italians. He’s still one of those old-timer guys that might still be hanging around the indies, and Cagematch.de has him working as recently as 2015.
Both Rich and Buzz became big names feuding on the GCW show on TBS’s Saturday night wrestling at 6:05 (a precursor to JCP/NWA/WCW and for a little bit WWF), which was the first wrestling television show that aired nationally. Both guys wanted to be the top dog and were a good parallel with each other. Rich was a super popular babyface with his good looks, bleached blonde hair, and willingness to bleed all over the place. The ladies loved this man. Their lengthy feud featured bloody violent brawls that packed houses, interference in each other’s matches, and both guys apparently legitimately disliking each other. The buzz for this feud was created via magazines, with only still photos available of both guys sporting crimson masks, the promise of violence at live events as good a reason to go as any. Before Dusty and Flair got famous, these two were a big draw for the Georgia territory. Sawyer also had a manager at this time, a blonde and not yet bald Paul Ellering, while Ole Anderson was a big name in the territory and still working babyface.
This feud culminated in a big time cage match, the Battle of Atlanta, at The Omni in Atlanta in front of 10k fans. Also on the card was Bruno Jr. beating Pat Rose, Brett Wayne vs. Jake Roberts for the NWA National Title, and Jimmy Valiant & Pez Whatley vs. The Road Warriors! There was no escape, no time limit, no DQ, and Paul Ellering suspended above the ring in a cage. The stipulation said that neither would wrestle again after the match, and if Rich won, Ole got a match with Ellering. It was time to settle biz-ness. The buzz for this match grew over the years, with rumors of insane blood and violence from those who saw it live. Some said more blood came from this match than any other. On the next TV, there was NO mention of it. Rich later said in shoot interviews that he legitimately didn’t like Buzz. But the footage was thought to be lost. Legend had that Ole Anderson threw out the old Omni tapes, but when Vince bought the WCW footage, those lucky few searching through it found a reel from the WCW library titled “Omni Live Events,” and the Last Battle of Atlanta was found, with no restoration even needed.
The match itself is just chaos, though it doesn’t quite live up to the years of hype – and I mean really, what could? As it is it’s really fun, perhaps a tad slllooowww but a total spectacle and bloodbath with two grizzled dudes just brawling. No referee dares enter the ring, so the announcer has to count pins over the loudspeaker. There’s a nice shot of the mesh on the ceiling of the cage early on., and Buzz goes right after Rich’s arm – slamming it into the cage, slamming Rich into the cage. It’s nothing fancy but the crowd is hot and Rich’s hair is soaked in blood a minute in and that’s really all you need sometimes. Sawyer bleeds himself and by the end of the match both guys are just on their knees, wailing away at each other. Buzz takes a HUGE crossbody into the cage and Rich keeps throwing him into it before pinning him 1-2-3. It was a damn bloody FIGHT that felt legit, though the legit bloody fight has been done better at other points. As it ends, both guys just are just laid out and completely out of it, and hearing the announcer yell “Ladies and gentleman, please stand back! Please stand back!” and an official yelling “Can I get some help!?” just adds to the madness. Star ratings are stupid because in a vacuum this isn’t incredible but it’s a legendary match and totally worth checking out. ***1/4
Paul Ellering helps Buzz out of the ring and Ole Anderson enters in a polo shirt and dress pants and GOES TO WORK. The Paul/Ole showdown is actually fun too, and more a traditional kind of match with Ole all fired up and Ellering bumping like crazy. Ole’s punches are awesome – he reels back big for them and maximizes the reaction, while Ellering bumps and bleeds all over. The crowd’s going crazy at the start, though they do lose steam as the match continues. Ole’s pants rip in a way where he’s almost wearing shorts by the end of it. Ole bleeds too at some point, Ellering takes control, the crowd chants O-LE, they trade punches, and Ole headbutts Ellering to win. ***
Ric Flair vs. Barry Windham – NWA World Heavyweight Title: Ric Flair (c) vs. Barry Windham (NWA World Wide Wrestling 1/20/87)
This was a rare NWA World Heavyweight Title defense on TV that went to a 45-minute draw (not 60 due to TV time constraints). It isn’t so much a Hidden Gem, as it’s been all over Ric Flair comps (and a WWE DVD) for years as one of his best matches, but if the WWE Network isn’t putting up old episodes of Worldwide then I’m glad it’s here.
Ric Flair was in the midst of his epic 80s NWA World Title run, holding it from when he beat Harley Race at Starrcade 1983 with only a few short interruptions – according to the history books, this is his 4th reign. Barry Windham had debuted in wrestling at the end of 1979, and spent most of his time in Florida before forming a tag team with his brother-in-law Mike Rotunda (IRS) in 1984 and eventually heading to the WWF for a brief stint as the U.S. Express. Windham returned to JCP in the fall of 1986 and was immediately established as a budding superstar, teaming with Ron Garvin and having many showdowns with Flair.
This match took place in Fayetteville, North Carolina as part of a TV taping for JCP’s NWA Pro and Worldwide. The only match advertised was actually Ric Flair vs. Brad Armstrong, but the Horsemen jumped Armstrong during a promo on NWA Pro, so Windham was put into a match with Flair. Windham and Flair had started a program and worked each other on the previous week’s show with a short, impromptu match. Outside of some interviews with Lex Luger Luger, Nikita Koloff, and the participants, this match was the only thing on the show. Dusty Rhodes and Tony Schiavone did commentary. Dave Meltzer rated this five-stars.
So what you need to know is that this match is so far and away one of the absolute best matches ever and completely a must-watch for anybody to understand how awesome professional wrestling can be and how good prime Ric Flair and prime Barry Windham were. It is SOOOOOO good. These two are just absolute WORKHORSES, I mean my GOD. This thing has it all: Prime Flair. Prime Barry. Tommy Young as referee. TV taping. The crowd’s buzzing throughout, on the edge of their seats with the action. It’s got a blistering fast pace, classic pretty good guy vs. classic dastardly heel, everything makes sense, everything is a struggle, everything flows so well into the next thing, both guys are selling their asses off, great shifts in momentum, endless desperation, Flair running away, begging off, and cheating, Windham being all fired up and bumping big, and by the end both guys just look absolutely exhausted, the sweat dripping from the bridge of their noses and flying off every single chop – this is as good as professional wrestling gets maaan.
I present to you the notes I took as I watched this as this thing is so action-packed and lengthy that a play-by-play recap might be the only thing that can do it justice:
Lockup, headlock, shoot off the ropes and Windham shoulder tackles Flair down – the crowd goes NUTS. SUCH AN ATMOSPHERE. They work the mat for an armbar. Flair backs up, clean break – WOOO. Flair backs Barry up – chops, Barry reverses an Irish whip, hits a hiptoss and a bodyslam – Flair begs off and gets put in a headlock. Flair fights up, chops Barry down, shoulder tackles him down, runs into a drop toehold and headlock. Flair chops, Barry gets a right hand and is ready to fuck Flair up. Flair tries to control with chops but Barry fires away with shots, a hiptoss, and a dropkick. Flair rolls to the ropes and desperately shakes his head. Flair tries a shot, Barry blocks it and fires back, Flair rolls outside, jumps over the gate and walks towards the back where there are cops blocking the way. Flair returns, gets a takedown, Barry fights back into a headlock. Flair works back up, shoots off, shoulder tackle – Barry tries another, Flair drapes him over the ropes and knocks him down. Cut to commercial. Barry counters a bodyslam with an inside cradle for 2 and Flair flips out at the ref. Return to a headscissors and the crowd has calmed down a bit, though some soon get some Barry chants going. THIS WAS ONLY 10 MINUTES IN.
Barry gets on another headlock, Flair tries to fight out and gets punched for his trouble. Barry gets a shoulder tackle, tries another and gets thrown outside. Flair goes to work as the folks in the front row flip out. Flair gets Barry back inside, works the shit out of an armbar, pulls the hair to keep it going. Barry gets in some rights, Flair takes him down with a drop toehold and goes back to the armbar as Dusty sells that Flair learned it from the Andersons. Tommy gets down for a count as Flair sneaks a foot on the second rope and the crowd flips out. Barry gets in some right hands that the crowd goes nuts for, then gets in a bunch of turnbuckle punches leading to a FLAIR FLOP! Flair gets in a shot to the gut and we have a slugfest, ending when Flair backs up and takes a flat back. Barry goes to work with punches as Flair begs off, then does a double-leg takedown and covers him with feet on the ropes. Barry forces himself out and gets in some shots, then whips Flair who takes a shoulder into the top turnbuckle and falls to the floor. Barry goes to work on the outside and we hit another commercial.
The show returns with Flair in control, dropping a knee. Barry takes his MASSIVE backwards bump over the top off a back elbow, a classic bump of his. Flair tries to suplex him back in, Barry lands on his feet, hits right hand. Both guys are fucking EXHAUSTED. 1-2-no. Backdrop, Figure-4! Flair holds the ropes and has to break, but the damage is done. Barry tries to fight back, Flair kicks the leg and throws him outside. Barry fights back and sunset flips into the ring – Flair desperately tries to get to the ropes but falls back for a 2 count. Flair desperately grabs a sleeper, Windham slips out and kicks him away. Barry goes up top and hits a diving lariat. He manages a suplex and goes up top, but misses an elbow. Flair tries a kneedrop but misses. Barry punches Flair over the top. Flair’s leg lands on the steel rail so Barry stomps away at it, then brings him inside. Flair begs off, Barry pulls him back – figure-4. Barry punches Flair out as he’s in the hold for a couple 2 counts. Flair grabs the ropes, begs off, and Barry keeps at him. Commercial.
We return to a Flair chop and desperate right hand from Barry. They go at it with desperate strikes, Flair shoots Barry off and tries a hiptoss, Barry refuses and works his way into an abdominal stretch – Flair lifts Barry up and they land on Tommy Young as the ring announcer announces 5 minutes are left. Flair throws Barry outside to buy some time and check on the ref, Barry climbs to the top and hits a missile dropkick! Tommy snaps out of it as Dusty counts along… 1-2-no! They exchange blows, Barry reverses a whip and gets on a sleeper. 4 minutes left! Flair back suplex! Both are down, sweaty, out of it. Flair tries a whip, Windham reverses, Flair up and over, climbs up top, crossbody, Barry reverses for a near fall. Barry gets on a headlock, Flair hits and gets on his own, shoots off for a shoulder tackle, shoots off again and gets caught in the sleeper again. 3 minutes left! Barry pushes Flair against the ropes, reverse cradle for 2. Flair desperately punches at Barry’s calves. Barry punches in the corner, Flair falls down, Barry covers for 2. Flair reverses a whip to the corner, Barry returns with a flying lariat! “This place is goin’ crazy man, people are standing on top of their kids!” exclaims Dusty. Barry’s too slow to cover and Flair rolls to the apron. Barry suplexes Flair back in, both men are down. Flair’s bleeding! Kneedrop by Barry, 1-2-no. 1 minute left!! Barry headlock, Flair shoots him off, Barry works into a backslide and tries and tries and tries… finally gets it for 2. Flair elbows Barry’s head, goes up top, Barry throws Flair off. Barry whips, Flair, powerslam… 1-2-no! CROWD IS GOING BONKERS. 15 seconds!! 10 seconds! Flying lariat! Barry’s too slow for the pin!!! Time limit draw!!!!
The show ends with a promo from Barry about his desire to get the belt, Dusty Rhodes discussing the belt, and finally Ric Flair and the Horsemen celebrating backstage. Just classic stuff. The time-killing for the time limit got just a hair goofy at the end, but ho-lee shit is this an incredible match and 100% must-watch. ****3/4
Brothers of Destruction – The Undertaker w/ Paul Bearer vs. Unabomb (Kane) w/ Al Snow (SMW Superbowl of Wrestling 8/19/95)
This match is from SMW’s Superbowl of Wrestling, a major card held by SMW in their last few months that featured appearances by WWF wrestlers like Shawn Michaels (defending the WWF Intercontinental Title) and the Undertaker, as well as matches featuring a young D-Lo Brown, The Headbangers, PG-13, Al Snow vs. Marty Jannetty, Dan Seven, young Balls Mahoney, Terry Gordy, Tommy Rich, a couple Armstrong brothers, the Heavenly Bodies, and Tracy Smothers.
SMW was opened in 1991 by Jim Cornette with financial help from music producer Rick Rubin in an attempt to revive “wrestling the way it used to be and the way you like it” AKA good ol’ boy territory rasslin. They were able to run a full-time schedule and had some buzz, but were running into financial troubles in 1993 leading to Cornette beginning a working relationship with the WWF. Cornette started working as a booker and on-screen manager (Camp Cornette!) for the WWF in 1993, hence the appearances of Undertaker and Michaels on this show, as well as other random cameos for big shows like Lex Luger and Macho Man Randy Savage. It also led to that weird time in the mid-90s when SMW stars like Dirty White Boy and Tracy Smothers came to the WWF to be jobbers, and almost led to a young Chris Jericho coming in as The Goon.
Unfortunately, SMW was in even more financial trouble at this point and was closed by December 1995. At that point Cornette joined the WWF full-time, eventually being the manager of Vader as well as NWA talent “invading” the WWF in 1998 and going on to run WWF developmental territory OVW until he pissed too many people off and got canned.
But before that, they ran this big ol’ show, where in 1995 The Undertaker went one-on-one against the man who would eventually become his on-screen brother, Unabomb AKA Glenn Jacobs AKA Kane. At this point, Undertaker was a major name and headliner for WWF, and in 1995 was feuding with Ted DiBiase’s Million Dollar Corporation – taking on IRS at the Rumble, King Kong Bundy at Mania, and Kama Mustafa at SummerSlam, before heading into the WWF Title picture in 1996 and continuing to be the dead and occasionally undead god we know and love today.
Unabomb / Kane was actually in the midst of his Isaac Yankem DDS run around this time and by August (a month before this) had just technically finished up by SMW. He had debuted in the early 90s under a variety of monster gimmicks – Doomsday, the Christmas Creature, Bruiser Mastino – in a variety of promotions like the USWA and, for one match against Sting, WCW. He came to Smoky Mountain as Unabomb in early 1995 and formed a tag team with an up-and-coming Al Snow, a team that beat the Rock & Roll Express for the SMW Tag Team Titles. They lost a 4-corners match to the Heavenly Bodies, The Thugs (Dirty White Boy & Tracy Smothers), and The Headbangers in July and were forced to leave SMW – AKA they were getting called up to the WWF – where Unabomb continued to be Yankem and Al Snow was Avatar, Shinobi, Leif Cassidy, and eventually that guy that carried around a head. The next year the Yankem character was phased out, Jacobs worked briefly as the Fake Diesel, and in 1997 became the man we still know and love named Kane.
I write all that history to set up a match that is short, clipped, and doesn’t really have much to it, though it is completely fascinating to see Undertaker vs. Kane before Kane was even a thing, complete with the aforementioned auto shop being advertised on the apron. Mark Curtis referees and compared to the Brothers of Destruction seems even shorter than usual. The Unabomb shtick has Kane wearing Demolition-esque gear and a mask to the ring, while Al Snow manages Unabomb and is introduced as “Simply Sensational” Al Snow. Seeing the lights go out and Taker’s music hit with this independent-esque setup is just wild. Paul Bearer leads Undertaker to the ring.
It’s interesting to look back on this match as around the time Vince thought he saw something in Glenn Jacobs – he was a big guy obviously, but also athletic and sold big for Taker. Undertaker gets in all the Greatest Hits – rope-walk, sit-up, landing on his feet when thrown over the top. Kane gets in an impressive legdrop from the top rope onto Taker who’s draped over the top. Bearer gets a REST IN PEACE chant going, which is so tremendously fantastic. Taker does a Stinger splash, Kane almost drops Taker on a powerbomb, Taker sits up, hits the leaping lariat > chokeslam > Tombstone. Snow is outraged, then scared. A decent match that’s totally worth checking out, clipped up but you see enough. **3/4
South Africa: Austin vs. Bret – Bret Hart vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin (WWF South Africa 9/14/96)
This match took place in South Africa at the Sun City Casino and Resort’s Superbowl auditorium and takes place two months before their match at Survivor Series. It aired as a live event TV special on SuperSport in South Africa and was never aired in the United States, though it did appear on Bret Hart’s Dungeon Collection DVD from 2013.
It was Bret Hart’s first televised match of any kind since he lost the WWF Title to Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 12 in the Iron Man match. In reality Bret’s contract was coming up and he negotiated with both WWF and WCW during this time, getting a $9M offer from WCW and the infamous 20-year contract offer from the WWF. During Hart’s break, Steve Austin was starting to move up the card, having won the King of the Ring 1996 and doing the Austin 3:16 promo, and for the past few months had been calling out Bret on TV, demanding his comeback match. Jim Ross and Owen Hart are doing commentary here, and Ross promotes this as Hart fulfilling a last contractual obligation – an interesting thing to play up, and something repeated to decent effect since (Punk). Hart would eventually re-sign and return to U.S. television and accept Austin’s challenge for Survivor Series, a rivalry that was Stone Cold’s ticket to the top. Austin, in his own words, was catching fire at this time, though he was still full-on heel and not as over as you’d think at this point, given all the hoopla surrounding Austin 3:16. STONE COLD didn’t really click until mid to late 1997, all thing considered, but this whole stretch of time was absolutely crucial to his rise.
Also on the card was Crush vs. Aldo Montoya, Yokozuna vs. The Sultan, The Godwins vs. The New Rockers, Savio Vega vs. HHH, and Marc Mero vs. British Bulldog with Owen Hart interfering – 1996 WWF was ROUGH.
The match itself is very good, nothing high-end but a really good house show match. It’s so cool to see two masters of the ring do this type of thing, a very old-style match with headlocks and armbars and stalling by Stone Cold… Bret in his prime and Austin just about to head into his. This was before the Austin neck injury – still working heel, doesn’t have the glass break music yet, talks shit to the crowd, bumps, begs off, offers handshakes, bails out. His bumps and mannerisms are massive, this is a guy that knew what he is doing. Bret is still working face, though a stoic face. There’s a fun spot towards the end where Austin tries to bounce on Hart who’s draped over the ropes, but Bret avoids it and Austin doesn’t so much sell it as bounce up, land on his feet, and mouth off to the card. Bret does a plancha towards the end, and this wraps up strong – Austin reverses a whip and Bret takes his corner bump, Austin tries a superplex but Bret front suplexes him and drops the diving forearm. Bret locks in the Sharpshooter and Austin thumbs his eye. Austin sets up the Stunner and Bret struggles for a backslide, then uses the ropes for momentum into an inside cradle for the win. Very good, very interesting. ***1/4
ECW: Bret Hart vs. Terry Funk – Terry Funk Retirement Match: Bret Hart w/ Stu Hart, Bruce Hart and Keith Hart vs. Terry Funk (WrestleFest 9/11/97)
This match took place at the Tri-State Fairgrounds Maxor Pharmacies Coliseum in Amarillo Texas, at a show co-promoted by Terry Funk and Paul Heyman’s ECW called Terry Funk’s WrestleFest or WrestleFest: 50 Years of Funk. This show was billed as a celebration of the careers of Terry, his father, and his brother, as well as Terry’s last match in Amarillo. The show had talent from both WWF and ECW, and this match is semi-famous for being not just one of Terry Funk’s many farewell matches but the only time Bret Hart kind of sort of worked an ECW show. The entire card is pretty fascinating – Taz vs. Candido for the ECW TV Title, Douglas vs. Dreamer for the ECW Title, a Bushwhackers match, Hakushi/Hayabusa/Masato Tanaka vs. Jake the Snake & The Headhunters, and most fascinating of all Mankind vs. Sabu and Dory Funk Jr. vs. Rob Van Dam, all headlined by Terry Funk vs. Bret “The Hitman” Hart. I need this whole weird card on here.
Hart was in the midst of the Hart Foundation run and on a collision course with Shawn Michaels in Montreal in two months. Legend has it he was willing to job to the Funker, but he was WWF Champ at the time and Vince didn’t want his champ losing.
Funk had originally retired in 1983 (!) while in All Japan. He came back a year later and had a career renaissance stopping by the WWF, coming to WCW and having a legendary feud with Ric Flair, and eventually being a part of ECW and the Japanese Death Match scene. Funk had slowed down a bit at this point, though he still headlined ECW’s Barely Legal in April 1997 and won the ECW Title, eventually losing it to Sabu in their infamous barbed wire match in August. But late-1997 seemed as good a time as ever to close up his career, and this match is promoted as his last match in Amarillo in advance of him retiring at the end of the year.
So he returned to the WWF as Chainsaw Charlie a month later and continued to wrestle until announcing his retirement again in 2016 – though as I write this that was only last year so who knows.
Joey Styles is on commentary, and is actually pretty annoying as this really is an awesome match and he’s over-compensating way too much to show how smart and knowledgeable he is about professional wrestling. Before the match, Paul Heyman and ECW wrestlers – Dreamer, Bubba, Balls, Taz, Candido, Sandman (on the top turnbuckle leading chants) – all present Terry, who’s flanked by his wife, two daughters, and Dory – with a Lifetime Heavyweight Championship and thank him for helping ECW. It’s a genuinely nice gesture that still feels just a little bit sleazy because it’s ECW. Dennis Stamp of Beyond the Mat fame is the referee – this is actually the match Stamp was eager to referee in the movie. Bret is flanked by his father Stu and brothers Bruce and Keith, which is actually really cool as you’ve got the Hart vs. Funk thing going but you’ve also got Stu sitting on a chair in Bret’s corner for the match, looking like some kind of a Mafia don. After the good feelings of the Funk ceremony, Bret gets on the mic: “I’d just like to say a few words please…” BOOOOOOO!! He praises Funk, thanks him… and then goes “one last thing – I’m gonna give you a Canadian ass-whoopin’.” BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!
Match is really good from start to finish, a deliberate, old-school style match with so many awesome little touches… it’s just a treat to see these two do their thing. They work holds early, Bret stalls and eventually goes after the knee while Funk sells like Funk sells – looking legitimately hurt, desperately running away. There’s a great zoom-in on his agonized face as Bret goes at the leg in the corner, and he screams obscenities at Keith when Bret puts him in a figure-four. The Harts basically work as dirtbag heels, helping Bret and even getting on the mic at one point to exclaim, “Come on, Bret, put him out of his misery! Finish him off!” The crowd might have been just a hair smarky to truly buy into the awesome story of Texas hero vs. Canadian asshole. There’s a great spot where Bret punches away at Funk who comes back swinging and knocks Hart down. Later on Terry calls for chairs and throws them at Bret’s leg as revenge. Then crazy-ass Terry does a springboard Vader bomb through a table on the outside and blades. Finish is a double pin with Bret getting his shoulder up at the last second, which is acceptable in theory but didn’t come off good here. Then the ring announcer gets real weird – he tells everyone over the loudspeaker to stay in their seats, then when people throw a few things in the ring he tells them not to like a disappointed grade school teacher. Terry drips blood as the footage ends… another one that’s really good but more fascinating than anything. ***1/2
Samoa Joe vs. William Regal – William Regal vs. Samoa Joe (UPW 10/11/00)
This is pretty wild to watch as it is just such straight-up crappy independent wrestling on the WWE Network, complete with commentary over a loudspeaker and a guy named the Big Schwag. I didn’t know WWE got the rights to UPW footage, though it makes sense they’d have it given the developmental relationship around this time. UPW scouted for and sent wrestlers to WWE including The Miz and of course John Cena. Commentary is rough, two fellas who got told not to have a second of dead air and man do they not. Regal had returned to the WWF a few months earlier and was doing the Commissioner thing – he enters scowling with his chest all red from chops, like he was working Benoit on the house show loops. Joe was just a YEAR (!) into his career at this point and is legitimately skinny, rocking a Hawaiian shirt and Colt Cabana-esque singlet and tights. This is a super basic Regal vs. rookie type of match, like Regal vs. Darren Young on a Superstars or something. But I did find it pretty fascinating to watch rookie Joe forced to work another guys’ type of match and clearly be carried – this is just an empty vessel of a young guy being taken for a ride. Regal does Regal things – wristlocks, bridges, holds, stretches, shots to the bridge of the nose. The crowd seems just a little bit restless. Joe taps in 5 minutes to the Regal stretch. **1/2
Though seeing jobber Joe is interesting, post-match is really what this is all about: Naked Mideon shows up and kisses Regal who reacts as Regal reacts to things like that. He gets on the mic and cuts a great Regal promo that isn’t mic’d at first – “Are you trying to make a bloody fool out of me, sunshine?” – as a few guys chant faggot. For fuckssakes, 2000. Apparently Undertaker was supposed to show up but didn’t, and out comes Triple H to a big reaction. The people are HYPED THE FUCK UP as he goes after Regal, though the commentary team marking out is complete trash. Triple H then cuts a Triple H promo about eating and sleeping and breathing THIS BUSINESS. Then The Big Schwag (!) comes out flanked by the Drunken Irishman, and they both get Pedigrees. Seeing jacked up 2000-era Triple H working a West coast indy segment is kind of incredible and makes this whole thing incredibly worth it. Added bonus is thinking about the trajectory of the careers of these 3, all leading to NXT in 2016.
FCW Champion: Seth Rollins – FCW Heavyweight Title: Seth Rollins (c) vs. Kassius Ohno (FCW 4/29/12)
Note: As I look today (3/10/17) this is no longer featured in the Hidden Gems Collection.
This match took place at the FCW Arena in Tampa, Florida while FCW was closing in on the NXT re-brand. Rollins was a couple years into developmental and had won the FCW Title in February, eventually losing it a couple months later to… Viktor. I haven’t watched an old Rollins match since NXT started, so it’s pretty cool to see where he was right before his big run began. The former Chris Hero had been brought in just a couple weeks before this. It’s hilarious seeing these two work overseen by massive pictures of FCW superstars Alex Riley, Bo Rotundo, Leo Kruger, Mason Ryan, and Justin Gabriel. Both were probably just looking forward to a feud with CM Punk on the main roster at this point, such naive young talents all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Also on the show was a Rick Viktor (managed by Paige and Ivelisse) squash and Bo Rotundo beating Big E. Langston in under 6 minutes. Alicia Fox’s younger sister is ring announcing, Byron Saxton and Chris Russo are on commentary.
Hate to say it but this match is is honestly pretty crap. Like it’s most of the stuff you’d expect from a Ring of Honor midcard match from the same timeframe, which has some merit but is not my thing at all. They do holds and chops and spots and it’s all OK but feels kind of empty… like it hit all the notes you’d expect from these two but never actually got going. If Kassius Ohno was walking around acting like he was hot shit after stuff like this, then guy deserved to be canned (sorry, I’m trying to be snarky, I like him). Some very impressive stuff here and there at least, highlighted by Ohno doing his apron flip thing followed by a bullet tope from Rollins. Rollins had the athleticism but still clearly had some kinks to work out, while Ohno had the striking and the cravates but he too needed a wake-up call. Curb Stomp finishes it. Come for a look at pre-superstardom Seth Rollins; stay for the Alex Riley poster looming over him. **1/2
