I am so deeply in love with the WWE Network releasing these Hidden Gems weekly. This, plus other WWE Network moves like filling in blanks on World Class and putting up a ton of Mid-South and Mid-Atlantic, as well as more more modern stuff like Sunday Night Heat and Thunder, shows that they are really embracing the deep history of their video library and gives me hope that A) there will be more of it and B) people are actually watching it.
The Hidden Gems releases are so cool because every time a lot come out, it’s an entertaining concise way to quickly go through years of wrestling history, from 1950s Lou Thesz matches to 1970s Harley Race matches to Championship Wrestling from Florida to Percy Pringle to Stampede Wrestling to WCW C-shows to the uncomfortable presentation of an OVW or UPW TV show all the way to developmental FCW. It’s a fun peak at wrestling history and some weird scenarios that future wrestling stars found themselves in.
At some point in early 2018, WWE moved the Hidden Gems from their “Collections” section to the Vault. On May 24, they released 18 Hidden Gems and put them in the Vault section, and it appears that they will be releasing one more every week, with larger releases potentially on the horizon.
The basic format here is this: I will start with some history, 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.
This is Your Life: Jack Brisco (CWF TV 7/30/71)
Back in 1971, when the Vietnam War was winding down and Watergate was about to kick into high gear, when Pedro Morales was on top and Vince Sr. was still running the show, Jack Brisco was on his way up in the professional wrestling world. He had won championship gold all over the NWA’s Florida territory – Championship Wrestling from Florida – and some within the NWA power structure thought Jack would make a swell NWA World Champion.
As Gordon Solie states at the start of this 45-minutes of fun, “We’re going to depart just a little bit from the norm on today’s program.” This is an entire episode of black-and-white FCW TV hosted by Solie that acts as a career retrospective and title match build-up for Brisco, who was the #1 Contender for Dory Funk Jr.’s NWA World Heavyweight Title.
It’s a total curiosity but I dug it so much – you’re not just seeing a piece of wrestling history, but a practically local television presentation from the early 1970s. It’s got a cool, smoky feel with muffled audio and Brisco looking for camera cues any time they returned from commercial.
Brisco in the studio is low key, low charisma, but he has a stoic badass feel to him and is wearing a cool pin-striped suit. He discusses his football and wrestling past and they go all pure sports build with an in-ring Brisco workout with Pat O’Connor. This is 100% two fellas in tights quietly doing sit-ups and stretching each other.
It is very cool to hear Solie and Brisco discussing psychology – it may seem forced today, but there is such a feel of legitimacy as they discuss why Brisco is doing what exercise with O’Connor, or during Brisco’s match with Funk, Brisco says, “You’ve got to take your time … when you start into your hold, you’ve got to make sure you don’t override it because you’re gonna get yourself in trouble … patience is the best thing to follow in a case like this.”
There was a hard sell on Brisco’s amateur credentials too, with wrestling coach John Heath doing commentary over a Brisco/Matusda match and dropping this knowledge: “Can you imagine what would happen to an amateur who’s not been training, to be able to have his body withstand that hold?”
The bulk of the show is a few matches and it sure is neat watching late-60s / early-70s wrestling footage, especially when it’s Jack Brisco. Clips of Brisco’s first NWA Florida Heavyweight Title win vs. Mr. Saito, a full Dory Funk Jr. vs. Dicky Steinborn (great wrestling name) match, a Brisco vs. Hiro Matsuda match, and a non-title Brisco vs. Dory match are shown.
The title switch vs. Saito is cool to see, but there isn’t much to the clips. Brisco was a guy who was always fighting for holds and had people going wild when he actually threw shots and dropkicks.
The Funk/Steinborn match had a whole lot of crowd pops for GRAPPLING. It’s real basic, kind of boring, but every move counts and when they get things revving it is sold 100% as a battle for control by two grappling masters. Wrestling during this period can be fascinating to watch as there are still old school tendencies from wrestling of the 50s and 60s mixed with more speed and rope running. Everything is just so smooth and pretty and still feels realistic.
Brisco vs. Matsuda happened because a feller named Mike Webster was scheduled to work Brisco but didn’t appear, so Matsuda immediately volunteered to wrestle Brisco. I don’t know if it was legit or not but I love stuff like that. This match features both guys just grappling like crazy, always fighting for control. A butterfly suplex is a BIG spot. They inexplicably cut before the finish, then come back to the celebration: Brisco had just went over Matsuda who had just recently fought Dory Funk Jr. to a one-hour draw – HUGE!
It is very cool watching Dory vs. Brisco from around their primes too – it’s fast, desperate, old school grappling. Brisco’s headlock crank spot here is amazing, as is his selling of Dory’s uppercuts. When Brisco counters a spinning toehold it feels MASSIVE. Fans SURROUND THE RING as Brisco gets on his figure-four and wrenches the shit out of it, leading to his non-title victory over Dory. Brisco just calmly commentating over all of this is great – he beats the NWA Champ and all we get is, “Well, it was a great thrill for me, Gordon.”
Jack Brisco never actually got his big NWA World Title win over Dory, as those god damn BACKSTAGE POLITICS reared their head and Dory ended up dropping the title to Harley Race, who then dropped it to Brisco in July 1973. Rumors abound that Dory’s dad didn’t want him losing to one of those pesky “pure” wrestlers and got involved behind the scenes to have Race be the transition champ. Brisco went on to hold the NWA World Heavyweight Title for two and a half years before he dropped it to… Terry Funk.
Clubbing with Sheiky Baby (AWA TV 1/15/77)
This is from an episode of AWA TV taped in Davenport in 1977. Late-70s AWA was prime stuff: Nick Bockwinkel was the champ, Bobby Heenan was his manager, and Verne Gagne was still on top. Famous AWA names like Hogan and Ventura hadn’t shown up yet, though Mean Gene was already hanging around. Before Vince Jr. did his thing, the AWA was expanding from the Midwest and was one of the larger wrestling companies in the U.S.
Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri had started in the AWA after training in the first class of Gagne’s eventually famous wrestling camp under Billy Robinson along some cocky bastard named Ric Flair. He started in the AWA as a babyface, but soon became the infamous Iron Sheik.
This promo is a re-enforcement of his introduction at the time as an evil Middle Eastern man, where he’d challenge wrestlers to do as many swings with his Persian clubs as he could. This Sheik was a young, skinny, charismatic stereotype of a man who wore sunglasses indoors and wasn’t completely off the walls but almost there.
It is basically an “Iron Sheik is coming to your town” promo where Mean Gene (+ a bit more hair) introduces him as from Lebanon. Sheik comes on screen ranting and raving and swings the clubs around, as Mean Gene describes that he does this 500 times each and every morning of his life. Then they cut to him awkwardly lifting a steel chain/club back-and-forth. It isn’t must-see but as with most Hidden Gems, interesting as heck.
Sheik would go to the WWF a couple years later and in the mid-80s become the WWF Champion and wrestling caricature we all know and love him for / worry about him as today.
A Race for The Yellow Rose – 2/3 Falls Match: Harley Race vs. David Von Erich (WCCW 8/15/77)
This is a 2/3 falls non-title match from Forth Worth, TX between hometown rookie David Von Erich and NWA Champ Harley Race. The WWE Network lists this as World Class, but it is still during the Big Time Wrestling era of Fritz Von Erich’s Texas wrestling territory. Fritz was still on top at this point and all his sons were just starting in the business.
David Von Erich had just debuted in June and this was his first big match. Race was the man here – his big NWA Title reign had started in February 1977 after beating Terry Funk. It is mentioned by Bill Mercer on commentary that Jimmy Snuka would soon be challenging him for it. This show also saw Snuka in action, as well as Big John Studd vs. Gino Hernandez and Ox Baker vs. Tommy Seigler in a Taped Fists Match.
There is a drab, ugly, almost yellow aesthetic to this footage. It is such a basic, old-style rookie vs. veteran match, where David keeps getting the better of Harley and you don’t fully buy it because he’s not all there but the crowd is still into it so it doesn’t really matter.
David is a tall drink of water and the bulk of the match is Harley kneeing or headbutting him only for David to manage an armbar. The crowd SHRIEKS any time Race sets up anything, but the only thing that actually seems to work on this kid is a front facelock.
There are a lot of cool little things like Race shaking while in an armbar, David flailing his legs as Race does a bodyslam, Race begging off then getting a shot in on David’s gut, and Race’s bump off of David’s dropkick where he ends up doing a headstand.
They pull off some nice drama towards the end as David tries to pull off even one fall before the time finally expires. Race does Dream Indy-style promo post-match, putting over Fritz’s boy, which crowd goes CRAZY for. They got a point across, put a guy over, and the crowd was biting on everything, but even at 30 minutes it never really got shaking, you know? ***1/4
Race went on to reign over the NWA for 4 years before Dusty and Flair took over the world. David went on to rule Texas and actually beat Race a couple years later. Rumor has it he was tapped to win the NWA World Title in the spring of 1984, but he died in Japan in February 1984.
Dog Fight – Dynamite Kid w/ KY Wakamatsu vs. Davey Boy Smith (Stampede 10/29/82)
Here we have The British Bulldogs battling each other before they became The British Bulldogs in the WWF a couple years later.
Dynamite and Davey Boy were cousins from the U.K. who were scouted by the Hart family and moved to Canada. Davey had just recently won his first title, defeating Dynamite for the Stampede British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight Title. Dynamite was an absolute freak by now, a few years into steroids and on top in Stampede. He was also in the midst of his classic series of matches with Tiger Mask in New Japan that helped re-shape junior heavyweight wrestling all over the world.
Stampede was a few years from the WWF coming knocking and had a heck of a roster here: these two, Bret Hart, Jim Neidhart, and Bad News Allen to name a few. Also listed on this show is Mike Shaw vs. Leo Burke and a midget match with Little Beaver vs. Sky Low Low.
The match is JIP at about 7 minutes in. Davey is just 20 years old and looks like a baby boy, though the frame was beginning to take shape. Even just seeing 5 minutes, there’s still a sense of the the high-impact wrestling that Stampede and Dynamite made famous. He takes some incredible high-angle bumps here, including a big one into the poor ref. Davey for his part already had the big gorilla press slam down. Dynamite uses the ref bump to put Davey in a tree of woe and elbows his balls en route to the 3 count.
Tired babyface Davey challenges Kid to a title match afterwards. Then Dynamite (flanked by his boy KY Wakamatsu who wears a gi and EVIL Asian goatee) cuts an incredible cocky promo: “We’re gonna walk in the ring next week, walk and talk baby, we’re gonna take that belt – we’re gonna take everything – because the muscles of power (flexes), we got it!” Good action here, just super abbreviated. **3/4
The Hammer Pays the Piper – Rowdy Roddy Piper vs. Greg “The Hammer” Valentine (NWA Live Event Charlotte, NC 7/9/83)
I don’t think this match has ever been released – a bonafide Hidden Gem, not on any TV show that might’ve been in someone’s tape collection before the WWE Network came to be, just live event footage in great quality of a classic match between two classic characters embroiled in a classic feud.
Jim Crockett Promotions was having a run in 1983, with access to all the big NWA names. Ole Anderson had been doing booking for Crockett in both the Georgia and the Mid-Atlantic areas. They had enough popularity to make a run at going national, producing the first Starrcade event later this year (and using this feud as a marquee).
Roddy Piper had headed to JCP from Portland in the late-70s and had turned face a year before this. These two were in the midst of a feud that led to a classic Dog Collar Match at the Starrcade where Valentine infamously broke Piper’s left eardrum. A couple months after Starrcade, Piper would take his talents to the WWF and cement his legacy.
Greg Valentine meanwhile had been around the block, a second-generation performer who debuted in 1970 and made a name for himself feuding with Wahoo McDaniel (“I Broke Wahoo’s Leg). Valentine had returned to Mid-Atlantic in 1979 and feuded with Ric Flair and Wahoo again over the U.S. Title before moving onto Piper.
What you have to know about this match is that it is incredible. It is an honor’s class in using absolute boiling hot intensity to make your wrestling match amazing. They don’t take many bumps, but their selling and fire when anything happens, as well as their eyes and reactions when something doesn’t, are what makes this great sport so great.
Valentine stands outside as he enters and stares down Piper, who’s staring a hole through him. Piper tears his shirt and kilt off and is ready to go. He does not take his eyes off of Valentine for a second, just a cold hard death stare. The way Piper fires off on Valentine early is so great, just a blazing fireball of intensity. He has so many little quirks to his stuff too, like when he acts outraged and spits at Valentine all in one swoop when Valentine bails outside. The crowd is SO dialed into this and rallying behind Piper’s intensity. Some of the camera shots zoomed in on his face belong in museums.
Piper is just an animal here – wailing away at Valentine, selling big, always moving or doing SOMETHING. When he gets knocked outside he pops right back in and just starts teeing off. When Valentine bails he lowers the ropes and offers him help in. Valentine is a perfect adversary too: he’s stalling, he’s being stoic, he’s backing against the ropes, and when he takes shots he takes these big lumbering bumps and begs off.
There is an all-time incredible spot here where Valentine backs against the ropes and Piper just goes at him with body shots to every inch of his body. Valentine eventually goes after the same ear as the Starrcade match and it is so gritty and awesome. This leads to another all-time incredible spot where Piper is desperately holding the side of his head and backs into the corner, where he rapidly ducks Valentine’s big swats and manages to just kick Valentine down.
This is such a physical match with minimal big spots – it’s all punching and grabbing at each other. A wide-angle camera shot blatantly shows Valentine blading himself and Piper milks the fact that Valentine is bleeding before jabbing at the wound. It gets extra gross and special at the end as both guys are bloody and Piper is just clawing at Valentine’s face, eventually casually diving off the apron and punching at him on the floor.
The crowd never let’s up – they are all in on Their Guy destroying this boring blonde piece of shit. Piper chokes Valentine with a barricade rope leading to the DQ and the crowd is RAUCOUS with delight as he tries to legitimately kill Valentine. There is a big pull-apart post-match as Piper calls for more and Valentine skips off. Just an amazing piece of business and a must-watch match, both an absolute blast to take in but also a textbook in how to not go for an epic but have a completely compelling wrestling FIGHT. This right here is how you professionally wrestle, baby. ****1/2
Meet the Lugar – “Ravishing” Rick Rude w/ Percival Pringle III and The Lugar vs. Frank Lane (Pringle introduces The Lugar after the match) (CWF TV 10/16/84)
I do not know what to tell you about the date on this match. The Internet (mainly Wikipedia, the most trusted name in news) says Lex Luger did not even begin training until 1985 and that even Rude did not show up to Florida until December 1984. I couldn’t find any TV results for this era of CWF either.
It’s not about the dates though – it’s about the professional wrestling.
The soon-to-be Lex Luger was recruited into the business by Bob Roop and trained by Hiro Matsuda in the mid-80s. He made his in-ring debut around this time, and a couple years later he’d head to Jim Crockett Promotions and become pretty famous. Rude was fairly new to the business too, debuting just a couple years earlier, and was rising up the ranks before he headed to World Class, the WWF, and WCW.
Percy Pringle meanwhile had actually just returned to the business after legitimately earning his certification as an embalmer and mortician. He was running all over Florida and Texas and managing a who’s who of future stars including Steve Austin and Mark Calaway, before he’d head to the WWF and become Paul Bearer.
This is a Rick Rude TV squash with the focus on The Lugar being in his corner and a Pringle/Rude interview introducing a Lugar training montage, which is special stuff.
The squash has Rude giving Lane a lot – he works the neck and Lane looks like a champ by kicking out of a pin and putting his arm up at 3 on a chinlock. Gordon Solie on commentary questions just when The Lugar will debut. It’s a * match but a cool deal.
On the studio interview, Lugar looks the part, wearing sunglasses indoors and a yellow cut-off Puma t-shirt and already sporting big bulging muscles. Pringle is the highlight here, all fired up for everyone to “take a look at my Lugar!” The training montage features hilarious overdubbed 80s music while Percy looks on in his red shorts all impressed. He hams it up to 11 and it is a sight to see.
5. Legends of the Ring – Legends Battle Royal (Featuring: Tony Garea, Baron Mikel Scicluna, Sailor Art Thomas, Pedro Morales, Edouard Carpentier, Al Costello, Gene Kiniski, Gino Brito, Bobo Brazil, Dominic DeNucci, The Crusher, Nick Bockwinkel, Pat O’Connor, Ray Stevens, Rene Goulet, Chief Jay Strongbow, Lou Thesz, Killer Kowalski and Arnold Skaaland) (WWF Live Event East Rutherford, NJ 11/16/1987)
Now here is a special piece of business. In 1987, Vince McMahon might have been ruthlessly turning the rasslin business on his head, but for one night in East Rutherford, NJ, he gave some old-timers a payday.
This took place at the Meadowlands Arena in New Jersey. The show featured Dino Bravo & Greg Valentine vs. Brutus Beefcake & Junkyard Dog, Jake Roberts vs. Killer Khan, Ted DiBiase vs. Ricky Steamboat, and Randy Savage subbing for Hacksaw Jim Duggan vs. King Harley Race.
There were also two Battle Royals. The show ended with Jake Roberts winning one that featured everyone on the card, last eliminating DiBiase (who had just paid Hercules and Dino Bravo $10,000 each to eliminate themselves – amazing). But right before that, the old guys took the ring and fumbled around for a gripping 11 minutes.
Perhaps most notably, beyond Lou Thesz and Nick Bockwinkel in a WWF ring, this match is rumored to have caused a rift between Savage and McMahon when McMahon did not invite Savage’s father Angelo Poffo to participate.
This might be fan-recorded footage – it is single cam with no commentary and you can hear some chatter.
I adore the individual intros each guy gets, as everyone gets a little rundown from the ring announcer of who they are (i.e: “One of the greatest professional wrestlers ever from Puerto Rico… Pedro Morales!” “This man’s aerial skills led to him being called the Flying Frenchman… Edouard Carpentier!” “A former tag team co-holder, always giving 100% in the ring… Dominic DeNucci!”). My personal favorite: “When you say Coco Butt… (CROWD GOES OOOHHH) … one man comes to mind… from Benton Harbor, Michigan, Bobo Brazil!”
It is extra special to see Midwest legend The Crusher enter to silence and LOU THESZ get golf claps, while Chief Jay Strongbow, “the greatest Indian wrestler of all time,” gets a HUGE reaction in New York City, all while wearing a t-shirt and sporting a huge gut.
The match is a Battle Royal. It is what it is. It is kind of crap but it’s also a bunch of old geezers, many of whom are legitimate wrestling legends, having a Battle Royal in the WWF so it is awesome crap. The camera barely catches any eliminations.
Lots of fun little moments though. Every old guys decision to LOCK UP at the start is great. Thesz brings Garea down with a headlock and WORKS it. Al Costello walks around at one point unable to find a grappling partner, so he walks up to an exchange like, “Hey! Can I play?”
Carpentier does a somersault splash and skins the cat to eliminate Rene Goulet. Gene Kiniski still looks mean as hell. There’s a cool spot where Garea and Kowalski try to throw O’Connor out and he crawls with his hands on the top rope over a few guys. Meanwhile, Bockwinkel just seems amused by the whole process.
Bockwinkel, O’Connor, Kowalski, Thesz, The Crusher, and “Crippler” Ray Stevens are the final 6. Thesz knocks Kowalski to the floor OFF THE TOP ROPE. Despite being eliminated, Kiniski keeps trying to grab at Bockwinkel, which I find just hilarious. O’Connor whips Stevens into the ropes (MASSIVE bump over the top), then slams Bock over the top, leaving O’Connor and Thesz – former NWA Champs – to square off in a WWF ring. They grapple for a couple minutes, then they both almost topple over the top and Thesz stays in to a big pop. **
The WWF would kind of do this concept again at WrestleMania X7 in 2001 with a Gimmick Battle Royal and a Battle Royal at the RAW 15th Anniversary in 2007. I wish they’d do this kind of thing in 2018 but everyone seems so fucking prideful nowadays.
The real treat of this is the post-match, with awesome candid backstage interviews done with a few guys. There is one camera, all close-up on their aging face, with a guy off-screen quietly asking questions.
Baron Mikel Scicluna says wrestling is a little faster, a little better than before, and praises The Hulkster. Gene Kiniski says even if he’s hurt, put him in a wrestling ring and he’ll be good for 60 minutes. Skaaland is asked to lift his hat before they start interviewing. Thesz is wearing big-ass glasses. Carpentier says that the wrestlers of today aren’t taught the basic fundamentals we did years ago (HA), and that you have to give the people what they want … like the rock music.
The Freddie Blassie interview is the highlight. It actually gives what I found to be cool insight into WWF’s PR operation back in the 80s – Blassie titles himself the “official prognosticator extraordinaire for the WWF” – wherever they wrestle, the office sends him numbers from local radio and news stations to call up and chat wrestling. He’s also on his 8th wife – an Oriental girl – “she’s not bad but she’s getting old, I’m looking for a 9th one.”
An interesting piece of video footage.
The Natural Legacy – Dusty Rhodes introduces his son Dustin (FCW TV 9/8/88)
This might just be Dustin Rhodes’ first on-screen appearance in wrestling outside of driving Dusty and Magnum T.A. to the ring at Great American Bash 1986.
By April 1988, CWF had become Florida Championship Wrestling and was recovering from the loss of promoter Eddie Graham as well as talent like Luger, Rude, and even Dusty himself to either WWF or WCW. Dusty was still booking WCW at this point, but given that he made his name in Florida early on, wasn’t above stopping by for a TV promo – especially when his boy was about to debut.
This is a 2-minute clip that sees Dusty introduce his son Dustin while sitting on a chair in front of a white wall. Dustin stands and wears an ill-fitting suit, like an awkward draft prospect, and resembles a taller, bulkier Cody. Dusty says that even though Dustin (using Runnels as a last name) is green behind the ears, he will get funky like a monkey. It is interesting to see but there isn’t much here.
A lot went down really soon after this. Dustin won in his debut a week later. Dusty was fired from WCW a couple months later after going against their no-blood policy. He’d head back to FCW, which was soon again re-named the PWF. He’d headline there for six months before heading onto polka-dots and plumbing in the WWF. Dustin meanwhile would actually head to WCW in December and work there for a few months, before going back to PWF and finally WWF and WCW.
A Lesson from Funk University – Terry Funk Promo on Dusty and Dustin (FCW TV 2/23/89)
This is another quick promo but oh my god is it a good one. By February 1989 Dusty was back in the Florida territory and we were headed into PWF’s big show “The Homecoming” which would be the first show using the PWF name as well as the first with Dusty back on top.
At The Homecoming, Dusty would battle The Big Steel Man (Tugboat / Shockmaster) for the PWF Title, Scott Hall & Steve Keirn faced Bam Bam Bigelow & Dick Slater, and Al Perez challenged Mike Graham for the NWA Florida Heavyweight Title, soon to be re-named the PWF Florida Heavyweight Title. Also on the undercard: Dusty’s son Dustin vs. Terry Funk, who was coming to town to help draw a house.
Funk had been a journeyman throughout the 80s, most notably working Japan with his brother Dory and WWF as a singles and then with Dory. A few months after this he’d head to WCW to feud with Ric Flair. Sir Oliver Humperdink was coming off a small role in the WWF as Bam Bam Bigelow’s manager and was at home in Florida, where he worked for many years as a manager and occasional wrestler.
Leave it to Funk though to come in for a quick shot and crush it. We start with a studio TV promo where Humperdink introduces a pre-taped promo from Funk, who Humperdink had brought in to take care of Dusty’s son, “The Natural.” It is an INCREDIBLE, special promo – yes, even compared to all of Funk’s other incredible, special promos.
Funk is at his farm with a big white cardboard cut-out of “Dusty.” He revs up a chainsaw and screams a promo on Dusty over the noise while cutting up the the cardboard, making fat jokes along the way. He even cuts the “heart” out. He invents new definitions for a “Dusty” and a “Dustin,” then brings it home with a promo on Dustin being stupid and not being able to say “NO DADDY” to getting in the ring with Funk. Like I said: incredible, special. Well worth your time.
Funk (managed by Humperdink) would go on to lose to Dustin at The Homecoming by DQ, while Dusty would win the PWF Title (duh). Dusty would then defeat Funk at The Homecoming II in May in a Texas Death Match before heading to the WWF. Dustin would go on to win the PWF Florida Title from Perez a few weeks later before heading to the WWF for a brief run with his dad, and then returning to WCW in early 1991 and building an excellent wrestling resume.
At Ease, Yoko! – Team Challenge Series: Sgt. Slaughter vs. Kokena Maximus w/ Sheik Adnan Al-Kaissie (AWA All-Star Wrestling 4/29/90)
Kokena vs. Rod Neil (WWF Dark Match 9/1/92)
Now HERE is some wild, obscure shit: and it’s two-for-one.
First up is an AWA Team Challenge Series match, sub-titled The Battle of the Buldge. This is on a year-from-bankruptcy AWA show at the Rochester Civic Center that feels completely cheesy, out-of-date, and has a ton of empty seats. AWA was just throwing shit at the wall as 1990 began, and seemed to think a complicated points-based year-long tournament with three teams (led by Slaughter, Larry Zbyszko, and Baron von Raschke) was the way to go. It really wasn’t. Some of the matches were held in empty studios to “stop wrestlers from interfering” but it was really because tickets weren’t selling. Slaughter actually left the AWA for the WWF DURING the series, forcing Colonel DeBeers to take over for him.
Regardless, there is still a charm to it, especially considering the talent involved.
Slaughter was on his way up in mid-80s WWF but fond himself stalled in Hogan’ World, so he returned to the AWA while he collected those sweet sweet G.I. Joe royalty checks. He was a top guy in AWA (not that that meant a ton in 1990) and frequently found himself challenging for Stan Hansen or Larry Zbyszko’s AWA Title or feuding with Sheik Adnan Al-Kaissie and his cronies (including old nemesis Iron Sheik).
Kokena Maximus, now immortalized as Yokozuna, had started in the AWA in the mid-80s and eventually started getting a push under longtime AWA manager and wrestler Sheik Adnan Al-Kaissie’s guidance, making a name for himself in early 1990 when he injured Greg Gagne’s leg and retired him.
What is fun here is that even if the presentation is so C-grade, Slaughter would main event the next year’s WrestleMania, while Kokena would main event WrestleMania two years after that.
Kokena is introduced as the Samoan Wrecking Machine. A woman with big hair does the ring introductions while Slaughter wears a G.I. Joe patch and hands out American flags to a crowd filled with kids – it is so NINETIES. The Honorable Sarge said he didn’t want his teammates to get hurt, so if anyone’s facing big Kokena, it’s HIM.
The match is such light basic bullshit with neither guy leaving his feet much – lockups, shoulder tackles, and punches. Kokena does a back rake so Slaughter does a CHEST rake and the crowd pops. They also go completely nuts when Sarge hits two rights, then a wind-up right hand to bring Kokena down. Ugly finish with Adnan not being able to bump over the top when Kokena hits him by mistake. This is not great, but interesting from a historical perspective, and it’s wild seeing such low-rent 90s stuff from a failing AWA on the WWE Network. *3/4
A young Eric Bischoff interviews Slaughter after the match, and boy is he fired up about desecration of the flag.
Later in the year, Slaughter would head back to the WWF as a heel Iraqi sympathizer with General Adanan (Kaissie!) and going on to win the WWF World Heavyweight Title from the Ultimate Warrior before dropping it to All-American Hero Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania 7. The Slaughter and Adnan act soon aligned with Col. Mustafa (Iron Sheik!) and faced Hulk Hogan & Ultimate Warrior in the main event of SummerSlam 1991.
Kokena meanwhile would get a call from Vince McMahon in the summer of 1992. Originally to be introduced as an ally of The Headshrinkers, he debuted on the October 31, 1992, episode of WWF Superstars as a dominant sumo wrestler named Yokozuna. Mr. Fuji was his manager and a few months later he’d win the Royal Rumble and go on to main event two WrestleMania’s. Before ALL that though, he worked just one match in the WWF as Kokena (no Maximus) – a dark match, which before the WWE Network had never be seen.
It took place as the very first match of a classic LONG WWF Superstars taping, highlighted by Warrior vs. Kamala, Bret Hart vs. Papa Shango, TWO Randy Savage vs. Ric Flair WWF Title matches (rumored to be a re-tape), and a WHOLE lot of squashes (nearly 30 matches in all).
The match is as squashy as a squash gets but is so cool – there are tracking errors and a timestamp running on the bottom of the tape and Kokena is just showing off some stuff for the boys in the back. There is no commentary and it is so satisfying to see and hear Kokena throwing Rod high in the air and slamming him down to a big pop. Poor Rod repeatedly gets bodyslammed and the mat feels unforgivable, while the crowd watches in silence as they wait for the Macho Man. A big uranage (Rock Bottom, Uce!) and a splash (that the crowd SHREIKS for) ends it, and the future Yokozuna drops a leg for good measure. Screw the star rating, I could watch a million of these early dark matches – so cool. *1/4
The Dark Side of Royalty – USWA Unified World Heavyweight Title Tournament – Quarter Final: Jerry “The King” Lawler vs. Mean Mark Callous w/ Downtown Bruno (GWF USWA Challenge 10/8/90)
This match is a Quarter Final match in the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Title Tournament, and though there isn’t much to it it’s notable for seeing Jerry Lawler vs. Mean Mark Callous, who would debut in the WWF as The Undertaker just one month later.
By the fall of 1990 Callous had worked primarily in Texas and Tennessee where he won championships under a mask (two from Lawler), before a run in WCW which led to him being recruited by Vince McMahon for a new gimmick. Before his debut as The Undertaker at the WWF’s Survivor Series 1990, he stopped by his old stomping grounds for a tournament.
Lawler here was n top in the AWA and working predominantly in the USWA. He was the first USWA Unified World Champ, merging Kerry Von Erich’s World Class Heavyweight Title with his AWA World Heavyweight Title at AWA SuperClash III in 1988, and had held that title 6 times by now.
He had lost the title in June 1990 to THE SNOWMAN (a guy from Mid-South), but Snowman no-showed a title defense in August, leading to a massive one-night tournament with 20 competitors. Each match would have a 10-minute time limit, and if there was a draw the match would be decided by COIN TOSS. By this point, World Class had withdrawn their title from the USWA’s, but USWA still called it Unified.
Callous is accompanied by Downtown Bruno and wears a leather ring jacket, while Lawler is striking in bright lime green tights. Seeing The Undertaker in basic black trunks is wild, and Lawler looks TINY next to him. Callous had beaten Bill Dundee in Round 1, while Lawler had a bye because he’s Lawler. Callous talks shit with his big red hair and it blows my mind that he will be The Undertaker just a month later.
The match is super basic, but seeing The Undertaker doing the “I hit him with my palm” punch spot and relying on outside interference is neat. Lawler bumps around but Callous sells big when its’ his turn, and then there’s a screwy finish where Bruno eventally takes a massive bump on the guardrail. Lawler then wins by DQ, I think. **
Lawler would go on to eliminate Dick Slater, Terry Funk, and Austin Idol to capture his seventh title. Other luminaries in this tournament included Eddie Gilbert, Jeff Jarrett, and Dick Murdoch.
In addition to Callous, both Bruno and Lawler would eventually head to the WWF – Bruno in 1991 as Harvey Wippleman, and Lawler in late-1992. Bruno would go on to manage many men against his old pal The Undertaker, while The Undertaker would go on to do far greater stuff than this little match right here.
Vader Strikes Back – WCW World Heavyweight Title: Ron Simmons [c] vs. Big Van Vader w/ Harley Race (WCW Live Event Baltimore, MD 12/30/92)
You know that Ron Simmons’ feel-good WCW World Heavyweight Title reign? It didn’t end so hot.
After the Doom tag team split up, Simmons got a little babyface push throughout the early 90s. On August 2, 1992, his life would change forever. At a WCW house show, a Sting vs. Vader match for the title was cancelled, so former Mid-South promoter and WCW booker Bill Watts held a RAFFLE to see who would face then-dominant champion Vader.
Simmons won said raffle, and a powerslam won him the WCW World Heavyweight Title, status as the first African-American WCW champ, and immortalization in a classic YouTube clip with a young black boy jumping up and down as Simmons got the 3. In reality, Vader had re-injured his knee and needed time off, while Watts was a proponent of – sorry – a token black top babyface.
Of course, 1992 wasn’t exactly WCW’s hottest year and Watts had trouble running the place. Simmons’ run as champ lasted an uninspired five months. He feuded with Cactus Jack before being set to defend at Starrcade 1992 against Rick Rude. Rude was injured so “Dr. Death” Steve Williams stepped in for a match that ended with a DQ win for Simmons.
Also on Starrcade, the since-returned Vader worked THREE matches, most notably losing to Sting in the King of Cable Tournament Final. Just ONE DAY LATER at a house show in Philadelphia, Vader was set to beat Simmons for the title, but Simmons did not show. The next night in Baltimore, Simmons was fined $2,000 and sent out to do business.
On a house show that also saw Ricky Steamboat & Shane Douglas vs. Brian Pillman & Bobby Eaton, Sting vs. Steve Austin, and a Johnny B. Badd vs. Scotty Flamingo Boxing Match, Simmons defended the WCW World Heavyweight Title against Harley Race’s Big Van Vader.
I haven’t seen this anywhere before and with it being house show footage, it appears to be a bonafide never-before-seen Hidden Gem. Regardless of the single-cam setup, Tony Schiavone is on commentary. And welcome to HOUSE SHOW VADER, baby. There are GROWLS, lock-up teases, muscle poses, and Vader complaining, “HE’S GOT SHIT ON HIS HANDS!” Simmons gets in some shots and slams, while Harley gets on the mic and growls, “No pain, Vader – no pain!”
Simmons seemed either green or not into it, taking a few awkward bumps. He does manage the powerslam late in the match, but Race jumps on the apron and Vader reaches the ropes. Simmons shoulderblocks Vader, goes flying outside outside when Vader side-steps a charge, is suplexed in but lands on his feet, hits a backdrop for 2, and then runs into a Vader shoulderbreaker for 3. The crowd was buzzing, prime over-the-top jock Vader is cool, but this is ultimately a kind of a weak power guy match that didn’t have any peak. It seemed like they wanted to just get through it to get the strap back on Vader. **1/2
Simmons wouldn’t re-capture his old glory in WCW and headed to the WWF a couple years later. Vader continued to dominate WCW for all of 1993 until Flair beat him for the title and Hulk Hogan came in and nothing was ever the same again.
D-Generation Ryzing – Terra Ryzing vs. Brian Armstrong (WCW Worldwide 2/26/94)
This is SUCH a basic nothing 4-minute babyface vs. heel mid-90s WCW C-show match but the historical implications of the competitors is noted.
Terra Ryzing had just started in WCW after a couple years in the business. The Ryzing gimmick wouldn’t make much of an impact and after a brief team with William Regal, he’d leave for the WWF after a year and become Hunter Hearst Helmsley.
Brian Armstrong was a part of the famous Armstrong Wrestling family and after a few tours of duty with the Marine Corps, he came to SMW and WCW to work alongside his brothers and be a jobber to the stars en route to him going to the WWF as The Roadie.
Also on this episode of TV were squashes for Sting, The Nasty Boys, and Ron Simmons, as well as a main event of Rick Rude vs. Marcus Bagwell for Rude’s WCW International World Title. WCW was hurting at this point, but a young Terra Ryzing seemed like hope.
“A lot of people are talking about this gentleman, Terra Ryzing, cause he’s a star of the future!” This is super short but it’s cool as heck to see these future DX teammates and corporate wrestling powerhouses going at it so early.
I love the Universal crowd too, going BOOO and YAAAY for armbar reversals. Any time good guy Armstrong does ANYTHING (including ducking a clothesline) they lose their shit, and any time that jerk Ryzing is on offense they’re buzzing with boos. It’s worth noting that Ryzing already had the big jumping knee down. He applies an Indian Deathlock and Armstrong taps. “This guy is gonna be a star,” says Bobby, “he’s gonna be a big star in the 90s.” **
Thunder Meets Heat – Eddie Guerrero vs. Jushin Thunder Liger (WCW Main Event 10/1/95)
This sure is fun to see, but there were better Guerrero vs. Liger matches around this timeframe, including the Best of the Super Juniors 1996 Final with Guerrero as Black Tiger. It’s basically Eddie and Liger having a solid TV match and that’s still cool.
It was the feature match on an episode of WCW Main Event, WCW’s Sunday night C-show. The winner would face Dean Malenko on Monday Nitro the next night. This was just a month after the debut of Nitro, a show that saw Liger lose to Flyin’ Brian Pillman.
Guerrero had just come back to WCW after years rising up the ranks in Mexico, New Japan, and ECW. Liger was ruling the New Japan juniors division and would show up quite a bit in WCW throughout the 90s due to New Japan and WCW’s working agreement. This talented midcard would earn buzz, but it was never enough to overcome the influx of big names that were coming to WCW in droves at this point.
Eddie was still a young, smiling babyface here. Tony Schiavone and Dusty Rhodes are on commentary and Dusty saying “Jushin Thunda Lyga” is so great. The chyron for Liger here infamously reads “Jushin’ ‘Thunder’ Liger,’ as if Jushin is short for Jushing . Eddie looks to the camera and promises, “This is gonna be a good wrestling match.”
This is really all about the start and finish, with Dusty marking out over their rapid-fire chain wrestling: “Oh MAN – he shot ’em off!” There are some great complex sequences too, like: Liger does a monkey flip, Eddie lands on feet and tells him to bring it, Liger tries another monkey flip but Eddie catches him and puts him up top, Liger slaps him and forward rolls, a rope-run leads to a rana from Eddie, Liger drops down and hits a koppou kick followed by pescado. Tony calls the koppou kick it a “tumbling boot” and Dusty goes “the WHAT?” and it is tremendous.
The holds in the middle are kind of a drag and though they bring the crowd down, they REALLY bring them down. Liger tries to put Eddie away with no success and is so good showing through his mask that he is just INCENSED. Eddie manages a gorgeous brainbuster followed by the frog splash (or as Tony says, THE JACKKNIFE) for 3. Very cool but low-end Liger vs. Eddie. Dusty signs off with, “I am so hot, I gotta get a drink or sumthin’, bay-behhhh…” ***1/4
Taming of the Extreme – Chris Jericho vs. Rob Van Dam (ECW Big Apple Blizzard Blast Queens, NY 2/3/96)
What a fascinating mess this is.
This is Chris Jericho’s singles debut in ECW, after he worked a tag with RVD vs. The Eliminators in Reading, PA the night before. This is Jericho’s true test, a singles with RVD in Queens, NY at the BIG APPLE BLIZZARD BLAST.
The Big Apple Blizzard Blast also saw Bam Bam Bigelow debut and confront Taz, Dreamer & Douglas vs. Raven & Richards, a Rey vs. Juvi match (!), Sabu vs. Mr. Hughes, Sandman & Scorpio vs. The Gangstas, and a send-off for Woman, who was heading to WCW.
And it is NOT GOOD. Rumor has it that Heyman chose not to air it on TV, and I do believe this is the first time it has been made available.
Jericho had been doing some STUFF throughout the 90s, going from Calgary independents to FMW to CMLL to WAR and finally a few months in ECW (where he eventually won the TV Title) before heading to WCW. RVD had been on a different path, going from Michigan independents to AJPW to a role as enhancement guy Robbie V in WCW and finally to ECW, right around this time as well.
RVD wasn’t over yet and working lighter than normal, while Queens wasn’t buying Jericho’s pretty boy shit. The match is introduced as a Special Attraction and just 30 seconds in there are scattered BORING chants for a side headlock takeover and headscissors. This is followed by some RVD flips and spin kick ducks which get scattered BORING chants but also a few golf claps. While a few guys in the crowd seem to want everyone to know they know Jericho as LIONHEART and that they WILL furiously clap for a submission, the rest of the crowd is fussy.
Each guy does a sloppier version of what they’d become known for, and though it’s a little light it is still occasionally fun wrestling that keeps moving while the crowd alternately claps for it and shouts shit at it. Jericho eventually decides to lean into the boos but also tries to earn respect by taking a HIGH bump outside, which is followed by a somersault plancha from RVD.
And then somehow things break down even further. RVD nearly breaks Jericho’s neck on a tombstone reversal. Jericho nearly flubs his corner dropkick spot. There’s a huge timing miscue on a Van Daminator attempt that leads to Jericho just wrecking RVD with a chairshot to the top of the head before RVD eventually hits it. RVD takes a wild bump from the top rope to the apron and floor and is eventually pinned after the Lionsault. Light, sloppy as shit, but fascinating to watch. It’s funny – had the crowd flipped out for this light sloppy but hybrid-style work I would’ve been like, “Oh ECW…” That the crowd actively shat on it I’m still just like, “Oh ECW…” **
A Starla in the Making – Starla Sexton vs. Malia Hosaka (WCW Worldwide 12/21/98)
It is time for more WCW C-show goodness, with EARLY Molly Holly battling 8-year vet and former ECW wrestler Malia Hosaka. On Colt Cabana’s Art of Wrestling podcast, Molly actually mentions Hosaka as someone who took her under her wing on the independents, and now both are on Worldwide.
Molly had trained under Dean Malenko in 1997 and debuted on the independents in August. She also actually appeared throughout the year as enhancement talent on WCW TV and in the WWF, losing to WWF Women’s Champ Jacqueline on TV. It was a quick ascent for this young Starla.
Worldwide had taken a firm backseat to Nitro and Thunder at this point, and this show featured just two matches: Jim Powers vs. Hugh Morrus and this one. It also featured footage of Ric Flair’s heart attack angle and a Goldberg vs. Kevin Nash vs. Bam Bam Bigelow match from Nitro – oh yes.
Sexton runs out waving with two hands in all her awkward 90s glory. Hosaka’s Titan Tron is literally just the Japanese flag. Former WCW Women’s Champion Akira Hokuto is mentioned, having recently given birth to a child with Kensuke Sasaki, and said child is already touted by commentators Mike Tenay and Lee Marshall as the future of the industry.
This match would not be out of place on any given shady indy show – Hosaka is doing basic heel stuff like choking with her knee and arguing 5-counts, while Starla does awkward sunset flips and headscissors and stuff. She isn’t some ring warrior, but the potential is there and she is so delightfully babyface. The crowd POPS when Sexton bridges out of a pin and keeps the bridge going when Hosaka jumps on her, which is so awesome. A forward roll by Sexton wins it. *3/4
Sexton would go on to manage Randy Savage as Miss Madness soon after this, before becoming Mona and then being released in 2000. She re-appeared soon after in the WWF as Molly Holly. Hosaka signed with the WWF soon after this, though she had a run of bad luck as her angles kept getting dropped and she was eventually released.
Prototypical Arrival – Mark Henry/Bolin Services Confrontation; The Prototype Debuts (OVW TV 5/26/01)
This is from a time when Mark Henry was competing in WWF developmental territory OVW, sent there after the Nation of Domination and Sexual Chocolate runs to lose weight and get better in-ring. He looks SO skinny here, and he’d be back on WWF TV by early 2002 after winning the inaugural Arnold Strongman Classic.
This Prototype guy meanwhile had trained at Rick Bassman’s wrestling school / talent agency Ultimate Pro Wrestling, which scouted for the WWF. He signed a developmental contract in 2001 and headed to OVW before he headed to WWE TV as John Cena.
This is such a stupid sleazy basic indy angle. Henry is all babyfaced up, touting a charity the fans raised money for, and Kenny Bolin and Bolin Services (including a Randy Savage impersonator) interrupts and demands the money. Henry responds, “I guess I have no choice… I guess I have to see you at the hospital” and starts attacking his former pals until a then-unknown PROTOTYPE attacks Henry, following up a Black Hole Slam from Bolin Services member Mr. Black with his weapon of choice… a TORNADO DDT. BROCK LESNAR and SHELTON BENJAMIN then run Cena off. This is bad but seeing all these guys be awkward in 2001 is cool, and historically, Cena’s OVW debut is pretty significant.
Before Phenomenal – The Hurricane w/ Mighty Molly vs. AJ Styles (WWF Jakked 1/26/02)
This was a pretty popular download on the Internet in the mid-00s for two reasons: 1) AJ Styles was on WWF TV and 2) AJ Styles was crazy enough to take the Vertebreaker, which was rumored to be banned by the WWF.
Helms had worked in WCW’s cruiserweight division until the bitter end and his contract was picked up by the WWF in 2001. After coming in as a part of the WCW Invasion angle and working briefly on finding his character (“Hollywood” Gregory Helms was a thing), he began wearing a superhero costume and got over as The Hurricane. His trusty sidekick Mighty Molly had recently joined his side to round out the character.
AJ Styles was a different story. He had debuted in 1998 and quickly made a small name for himself in his home promotion NWA Wildside as an exciting high-flyer. He and his rival Air Paris were signed by WCW in late-2000 in an effort to round out their struggling cruiserweight division, though they got nowhere. While his contract did not get picked up like Helms, he did get tryouts like this one.
Also on this crackling episode of Jakked were Crash Holly vs. Onyx, Saturn vs. Funaki, and soon-to-be Un-Americans Christian & Test vs. Albert & Scotty 2 Hotty.
The quiet basic nature of AJ’s intro is amazing to watch. You could tell Helms wanted to give him a real match and they have a fine C-show special. He does the Hurricane taunt after knocking AJ down, but AJ does the same! AJ goes up HIGH on a hiptoss and a back body drop, and hits a nasty brainbuster. He busts out a Shooting Star Press (!) before going down to a VERTABREAKER, which I remember people just flipping out for. A very cool little syndication match, made more cool by the fact that Styles would turn down a WWF developmental contract soon after this and go on become a special wrestler in Ring of Honor, NWA-TNA, and across the world before finally making his way to WWE over a decade later. **3/4
Glorious Beginnings – Albert vs. Bobby Rood (WWE Velocity 10/19/02)
This is a legitimately good squash match that gets both guys over.
Rood had been in the business for less than 4 years, though he was working tryouts with the WWF all the time. After not getting signed (and man does this match make you feel like he’ll be signed), he joined TNA as a part of Team Canada and just like AJ Styles got some buzz there before signing with the WWE another decade plus later.
Albert meanwhile was in the middle of push as a C-show monster. He had debuted in the WWF in 1999 after just a year in the business and his hairy / pierced look might not have got him over but it got him intrigue (and if you don’t think my 12-year-old self doesn’t remember exactly where I was when I found out what a Prince Albert was, you’re crazy). After some tag runs that didn’t pan out and this singles push that didn’t go anywhere, he was re-named A-Train and managed by Paul Heyman and is now head coach at the WWE Performance Center.
A super young Justin Roberts runs from Albert before the bell. Rood gets an actual entrance complete with music and Titan Tron, and is announced as from Toronto, Ontario, so he gets a pop. It’s Michael Cole and MARC LLOYD on commentary, and they keep selling Rood as a rookie who might just be on the verge of a contract. Rood is all fired up and getting in shots, but Albert keeps knocking him down. Rood has a fire to him, but he also already feels like he is an old man and has never seemed to shake that vibe.
Albert is kind of awesome here and it makes ya wonder what could’ve been – does a huge Canadian backbreaker, a sweet quick lariat to the back of the head after Rood ducks a shot, and KILLS Rood with a catapult in between the bottom and second ropes. Rood manages a big DDT and missile dropkick before he runs into a guillotine kick for 3. Cole says this kid has a future, while Albert lays him out post-match. Completely ideal C-show squash match right here. **
Seeds of Lunacy – William Regal vs. Dean Ambrose (FCW TV 7/1/12)
In the summer of 2012, William Regal’s career was winding down while Dean Ambrose’s was just getting started, and these two natural baddies crossed paths in WWF developmental.
Ambrose was a popular independent name known as Jon Moxley, who earned experience and WWF tryouts as a part of Les Thatcher’s HWA starting in 2004, then gained notoriety as a good promo in CZW and Dragon Gate USA. A tryout tag vs. MNM can be found in Network Reflections – Hidden Gems Collection (Part 3).
Ambrose signed with the WWE in April 2011 and went to FCW. It was evident early on that WWE saw something in him: he got to work a feud and match with CM Punk in FCW, started a feud that wasn’t finished with Mick Foley around WrestleMania 28, and most notably had a long-term feud with FCW color commentator William Regal.
The WWE was still dipping their toes in how to build stars up in developmental – NXT had aired three seasons on SyFy as a competition/wrestling show featuring talent called up from FCW, and while the original season gave us Nexus, the rest of them didn’t make a mark. Right around this time, FCW was re-branding as a company that would run only at Full Sail University and be known as the NXT we know today.
Before that though, working with Regal a few times wasn’t a bad use of a guy in developmental. Regal is Regal – after his ill-fated run at the top as King of the Ring and RAW GM in 2008, he moved to ECW in 2009 and began slowing his in-ring work down. During this time he became a bigger part of WWE’s developmental territory, acting as color commentator in front of the camera and talent scout behind it.
After Ambrose’s debut promo in FCW (on Seth Rollins!), Regal took a liking to the brash youngster, seeing a villain and potential protege in him, and would put him over while doing commentary on his matches. In the fall of 2011, Ambrose attacked Regal, leading to a match in November where Regal injured Ambrose’s arm and pinned him. After this, Ambrose became obsessed with a rematch, and this Hidden Gem is said rematch.
I’m a huge fan when WWE does something out of the box like this, a long-term feud with subtlety: Regal’s transition from fanboy to rival to old man scared of what he’s created is incredible, and sold by an awesome acting performance by Regal. This feud also gave Ambrose a spotlight to cut promos, work angles, and create buzz for himself before FCW re-branded as NXT.
This is a STORYTELLING match. Jim Ross and Dusty Rhodes are on commentary. Ambrose has a hairy chest. Regal is as intense as ever, using all his old tricks to go after Dean’s injured arm and just being a nasty old bastard. Regal is convinced he has Dean’s number early and Dean is too cocky to realize it or even acknowledge that his arm is hurt in the first place. Dean bites his way out of a hold, so Regal responds with knees to the head and slams his arm on the steps. He then traps Dean’s arm in the steps, going back to an old favorite, but Dean takes the opportunity to remove the bottom turnbuckle pad.
Dean eventually finds an opening as Regal tries to drive his arm into the exposed turnbuckle, but Dean reverses it and sends Regal into it. Regal’s facial expression here is incredible – he seems almost shocked at the ability of his body to not withstand something his crazy ass might’ve brushed off just a few years ago. This momentarily lapse in confidence leads to Dean going to work, as he starts driving Regal’s head into the exposed turnbuckle with knees and the old man just seems overwhelmed as his ear gets busted wide open.
Trainers tend to Regal’s ear and there’s a pause in the action as he stumbles around. Dean taunts him. Regal just snaps off a shot and both men go down. Referees fill up the ring as the fans chant LET THEM FIGHT, but the bell is called.
Dean starts attacking the referees, then the trainees who come to the ring (Mike Dalton AKA Tyler Breeze! CJ Parker AKA Juice Robinson!), then puts Regal in the Regal Stretch. He pulls down his kneepad, and Regal accepts his fate, claps for Dean, and exposes his head. Ambrose puts him out of his misery with his own running knee trembler, which causes the locker room to immediately empty and pounce on Dean.
The aging legendary villain was overwhelmed by this new carefree youth villain and it was a sight to see. Their ability to tell and sell this story in front of such a small crowd is impressive too. ***3/4
After this feud, Ambrose never actually appeared on NXT TV, instead hunkering down until his appearance at Survivor Series later in 2012 as a part of The Shield. Regal continued to work a limited main roster schedule as he settled into his role at NXT, eventually having his last few matches on NXT TV with Kassius Ohno, Cesaro and The Wyatt Family.
