This month was a hodge podge of stuff, the highlight being the full Festival de Lucha pilot that is filled with great wrestlers doing great stuff in front of a crowd of Americans who are loving every second of it. The rest is solid: Brock Lesnar and Kofi Kingston dark matches, clips from Tri-State and Houston and a full show from Mid-South including an epic Buzz Saywer/Jim Duggan match, a show from the Great American Bash 1988 tour that included a rare WarGames match, and some SPOOKY dark matches.
Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Orton (WWF SmackDown Dark Match 11/29/01)
These two will debut in the next few months, but tonight they walk underneath the SmackDown fist before the show begins. The crowd seems impressed with the presence that is Brock. A JEFF WACKOFF sign is held up in the front row and quickly removed. Orton isn’t exactly a spit-fire babyface, but he’s a solid one, ducking and dodging and doing dropkicks and armbars while Brock responds with an impressive deadlift powerbomb and impressive overhead belly-to-belly suplex and impressive spinning backdrop suplex. They do that sunset flip out of the corner spot very poorly for 2 before Randy, ironically, charges into a powerslam for 3. Crowd entertained, potential exhibited – Dark Match 101. ** and Recommended just to see these guys running through basic sequences so early on.
Brock Lesnar vs. Rico Constantino (WWF SmackDown Dark Match 1/3/02)
There are like 25 people in their seats when this begins. Unlike Lesnar/Orton, this is not interested one bit in showcasing Brock’s opponent. Brock gets scattered Goldberg chants, but there’s also random RVD chants so who really knows? Rico gets a quick little run with la magistral cradles and armdrags before he’s stomped on and tossed around. A superkick is countered with the powerslam and that’s it. BROCK. ** and Recommended, again to see 5 minutes of early Brock.
Kofi Kingston vs. The Miz (WWE SmackDown Dark Match 3/23/07)
The Miz had debuted on TV in the last year and he’s got The Miz music and is just Mizzing around. He cuts a quick promo like he’s already the best in the world at it, saying he moved from Cleveland to Los Angeles to party like a rock star. Kofi, still using the Nahaje middle name, comes out in full Jamaica gimmick with the exception of generic rock music blaring on the loudspeakers, and he cuts a promo himself in the original Jamaican accent: “These people did not pay good money to hear you talk that jibba jabba! Talkin’ out your backside… in Jamaica, we call that… booty chatta!” OOOOOHH!!!
This is future WWE Champions The Miz and Kofi Kingston doing wrestling drill sequences together. Kofi’s got the fighting pose down already, doing a whole lot of the great dark match equalizer: the armdrag. I found myself impressed by everyone’s ability to fit a chinlock into these 4-5 minute dark matches. Miz charges at Kofi and takes a nice bump on his nads in the ropes, and soon walks into a Trouble and Paradise for a nice efficient 3-count. **, though in a shocking turn of events Not Recommended, as if you watch these two today there aren’t a lot of surprises here.
Kofi Kingston vs. Steve Corino (WWE SmackDown Dark Match 12/14/07)
I enjoy the early looks at future WWE stars in these dark matches, but I REALLY enjoy the wackiness of Steve Corino working a WWE dark match in 2007. Nine months later from the last match, Kofi now has over-the-top reggae music while Corino waltzes out in a body shape that makes me think he hadn’t gotten much notice prior to this. He does an armdrag right away and yells, “YOU SEE WHO THAT IS, THAT’S ME BABY!” Kofi, of course, responds with his own armdrag. Both guys provide a competent performance assessment – dropkick, armdrag, gutwrench suplex, eyerakes. Kofi fights out of a hold and hits the Boom Boom drop for 3. His vignettes continued to run through this month until his debut on ECW in January, while it’d take another decade for Corino to get the call to work at the PC. ** and Kind of Recommended.
Festival de Lucha (WCW TV Pilot 1/27/99)
The WWE Network added an 8-man tag featuring Chris Jericho and Rey Mysterio from this experiment previously, providing a glimpse into what seemed like a great wrestling curiosity. This time, they uploaded the entire show. As both WCW and the WWF tried to make a buck off of Lucha Libre in the mid-90s, WCW taped a pilot for a show to air on Telemundo, featuring their top Mexican talent and other guest stars from AAA as well as a few white folks to provide a slightly less competent heel act than Halloween and Damien.
It OF COURSE begins with mariachi music and dancing in front of a stage setup that looks like a Mexican restaurant chain.
A live band casually plays guys to the ring like it’s a legit party and there are excited Caucasians as far as the eye can see. I have no idea if any of these matches were supposed to be 2/3 falls rules or not – they all seem to be one-fall but some of the counts are so light and sometimes everybody just keeps fighting after a count anyways.
Lucha is my wrestling blindspot but the rules still seem to change as the show goes on – some 2/3 falls, some not. It’s fine to me: this is about embracing the chaos, the constant onslaught of color and character that this pilot provides. It’s a bunch of Lucha legends and novelties going balls out with like 10 awesome matches in a big arena. There’s no standalone classic but as far as a “hey motherfuckers look what we can do” it ruled.
I also got introduced a lot of Lucha folk – there’s no commentary and the faces keep coming, so at times I felt like poor JR watching some 4-Way IWGP Jr. Tag Team Titles match and just tried to embrace the action. Wikipedia helped though.
Generally this is a blast, but as I’m sure the suits determined back in the day I don’t think it was scaleable.
1. Silver King, Kendo & Venum vs. Super Boy, Felino & Villano V: From this match on everybody just goes balls out, running through their impressive spots like headscissors and twisty moonsaults and a corkscrew springboard planchas. I don’t say that to demean any of it – it’s a nonstop flurry of incredible, things taken for granted now that back in 1997 not only had an extra special feel of being new but were also performed more gracefully and, at times, less carefully.
I’m not sure if it’s the freshness of it or the opener feel but this might have been my favorite match of the card. Silver King lassos one of the girls walking the wrestlers to the ring and dances with her, ready to start this show with the best possible vibes. Super Boy and Villano V come out all fat and mean-looking with Felino at their side being a CAT. King and Felino are all-stars here, but everybody rules. In between the mind-melting dives they throw in a few comedy spots – a hop, a bow. Sometimes they lose themselves, but they get back on track in such a way that I came away more impressed. Villano takes an amazing helicopter spin at the finish and the crowd is IN on whatever show they’re about to watch. Excellent showcase opener. ***1/2
Jimmy Hart trots out a team of jerks to get some ENTERTAINMENT on this show. They drag out and step on a… blow-up doll? Ricky Santana seems to be the main mouthpiece, Ron Rivera laughs creepily, and another guy cuts an impassioned promo about Puerto Rico. I think the group is called ECKA? I am an ignorant fool.
2. La Parka, Super Calo & Salsero vs. Halloween, Damian, El Mosco: La Parka enters with his chair and Super Calo in tow, while Salsero gets his own separate entrance music and has his own valet and really this match has a lot going on but the story is Salsero. He is the greatest possible Fandango, a swagger in his dance and beauty in his flying. The joy brings the crowd back following their anger over the aggressive Puerto Rican pride.
The match is all about smacking dudes and charisma. Halloween’s crew does basic heel stomping stuff while the babyfaces armdrag and dance, dance, DANCE. Halloween and Damian try to use kendo sticks but end up getting blasted, and Parka ends up on top of a pile-up for what seems to be a 3-count but also might be 2. Damian does a kung-fu pose and gets hit with a stick, then everybody does a bunch of crazy dives and Parka pins Damian with a Whisper in the Wind. I couldn’t tell you one way or another what happened at the end, but a beautiful mess. ***
3. Blitzkrieg, Piloto Suicida & Raul vs. Villano III, Rey Misterio Sr. & El Texano: Everybody gets right to it at the bell because Jimmy Hart’s crew is running out for a DQ soon. Blitzkrieg’s chops, Mysterio Sr’s, bulkiness, and the fact that Raul just seems to be this guy with long hair named Raul stood out. Villano does an amazing stiff senton on Blitzkrieg that the crowd can’t help but freak out for. Pilato gets a quick pin on Texano with a rana that nobody seems satisfied by, then the action keeps going, Raul nearly dies on a suicide dive, Jimmy Hart runs out with his dudes who attack everybody, and the bell rings. **
4. Konnan, Rey Mysterio Jr. & Hector Garza vs. Juventud Guerrera, Psicosis & Pirata Morgan: What a stacked line-up. The crowd loses it as Konnan, Rey and Garza come out and party with the chicas, as Konnan does full mic work. This is obviously highlighted by little Rey getting thrown around or flipping people out with headscissor variations, but there are massive spots from all involved. It’s more a quick showcase than a proper match, but what a showcase – genuinely incredible stuff. Plus there’s a great shot of Konnan and Rey talking strategy in the corner. Jericho, Finlay, Chavo, Lenny Lane, Kaz Hayashi, and Norman Smiley run out to beat everybody up, and it’s a big ol’ melee mess. A Konnan X-Factor gets a HUGE pop. ***1/4
5. Juventud Guerrera, Felino & El Mosco vs. Piloto Suicida, Raul & Salsero: Salsero and Raul are back and have combined forces. Felino and Piloto absolutely tear it up, but the star here is Juventud who is ready to fire up this already fired up crowd. He shakes his ass after a Salsero dance number and it’s a treasure. Salsero again has a legit standout performance, so smooth between the dancing, and he does a handspring back body block that is delivered so perfectly it actually looks like it hurts. The Juvy Driver wins it and the crowd LOVES it. ***
6. La Parka, Blitzkrieg & Kendo vs. Ron Rivera, Psicosis & Kaz Hayashi: La Parka absolutely rocks out with the chair for the intro, while Psicosis wants people to kiss his ass. This is another one that’s low key awesome, with Parka especially putting in work. Kaz Hayashi being here is cool – he tries to keep up but is real cautious with the bumps. A Phoenix Splash from Blitzkrieg on Rivera wins it. ***1/4
7. Villano III, Villano V, Rey Misterio Sr. & El Texano vs. Pierroth Jr., Ricky Santana, Fidel Sierra & Psicopata w/ Jimmy Hart: Texano, Rey Senior, and a pair of Villanos storming out after an extended dance number is unbelievable. Jimmy Hart’s group in the ring has means this is more brawly than the rest of the matches so there’s less pops, but it also means there’s more heat and anger and payoffs. Nobody’s trying to impress, they’re here to kick ass – though occasionally they’ll try and impress. Fidel seems all whacked out and I’m not sure he added much. Ricky pins a Villano after salt to the eyes booooo. ***1/2
8. Konnan, Rey Mysterio Jr., Hector Garza & Silver King vs. Chris Jericho, Norman Smiley, Johnny Swinger & Lenny Lane: Here’s the match they put up on one of the original Hidden Gems uploads a few years ago and despite the more recognizable names it’s by far the weakest match of the show. The entrances are outstanding though, and set a tone the original Hidden Gem upload didn’t: Konnan charges out to the Wolfpac music with Rey, Hector and Silva King at his side, while Jericho and crew walk out to no music as they show off their chiseled bods and dance with all the chicas over boos.
Once the bell rings – eh. Jericho yells at the crowd and ring girls, then the heels tag in and out as Konnan looks on in disgust. Muscular Lenny working Lucha spots with Rey feels kinda weird, though Lenny does take a sweet bump in the corner leading to Rey’s Bronco Buster. Garza and Swinger have a decent exchange, but Swinger seems consistently confused by the rules, reluctant to tag in. Smiley works over Silver King and hits a big bodyslam, and then – BIG WIGGLE! King reverses an Irish whip with a Tiger feign and Lane just kinda stands there and waits for a kick. Rey does a baseball slide headscissors, Konnan hits the X-Factor on Swinger and sets up Tequila Sunrise, but Jericho stops it and puts Garza in a Liontamer for the win. *3/4
9. Psicosis, Felino & El Mosco vs. Blitzkrieg, Super Calo & Venum: I can’t find the next three matches before the Konnan/Disco main event (lol) in any results, but they do appear to have been taped the same night. This is a sprint of non-stop big bumping with the occasional awe-inspiring high spot. Felino drops some straight-up mean powerbombs on Venum, while Blitzkrieg vs. Psicosis is the good stuff. ***
10. La Parka, Hector Garza, Kendo & Raul vs. Fit Finlay, Norman Smiley, Johnny Swinger & Kaz Hayashi w/ Chris Jericho: Jericho gets on the mic before the match and says he’s already beat every Mexican including Konnan so he’ll just be coaching his friends. This has a Parka/Smiley strut-off that on a show packed with great stuff may be the most must-see thing there is. Finlay is here and it’s a trip but his role is mostly just backing guys into ropes and swinging at them. Kendo does a pescado that’s caught by Finlay and Johnny Swinger – just wanted to write that out. The evil Irish/British/American/Japanese/Canadians win and Jericho does the Big Wiggle after the match. ***
11. Rey Mysterio Jr., Piloto Suicida & Salsero vs. Halloween, Damian & Villano V: This is great, and though Rey is God, the real revelation here is Piloto and Salsero who just rip it up all match. Villano vs. Piloto at the start is wild, while Salsero hits everything with such grace but also seems to be having so much fun doing it. Damien and Halloween bring the very effective basing and heel shtick, Rey mixes jaw-dropping spots with outsmarting the heels, and after a rollicking good time a Damian muscle buster ends it. ***1/4
Disco Inferno (correct, that one) runs out to help put the boots to Rey, but Konnan makes the save and cuts a promo, which leads us to our… main event?
12. Disco Inferno vs. Konnan: Was this supposed to satisfy someone’s itch for a mediocre American-style wrestling match? A Disco low blow gets him DQ’d, then he dances and gets a springboard dropkick to the back from Rey. Konnan and Rey dancing with the chicks to end the show feels appropriate. **
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Harley Race vs. Dick Murdoch w/ Skandor Akbar (NWA Tri-State 4/2/77)
This match took place in Leroy McGuirk’s NWA Tri-State territory, which in 1979 was bought out by Bill Watts and became Mid-South Wrestling. It’s from a show taped at the TV studio, joined in progress with Boyd Pearce on commentary. Race is the reigning NWA World Heavyweight Champion, though the championship is not on the line. The setting is neat, Harley as champ working in a studio, while the wrestling is a few unremarkable minutes of TV leg work and stomps. Race does a reverse cradle, Akbar runs in, Murdoch reverses the cradle, Race kicks Murdoch into Akbar, Race covers Murdoch for 3.
The real story is probably the post-match, where they run an angle where Murdoch punches Akbar, then MR. X runs out and attacks Murdoch with Akbar leading to an NWA logo slide being put up to CENSOR IT. Boyd Pearce pops in on the screen to commentate the action, explaining very calmly how mortifying it all is, before they cut back to Murdoch’s neck hung from the ropes and referees helping him out. NEAT but Not Recommended.
WCWA Texas Heavyweight Title: Gino Hernandez [c] w/ Ted DiBiase vs. Kerry Von Erich w/ Terry Taylor (Houston Wrestling 2/22/85)
Gino Hernandez is my favorite wrestler I’ve seen barely any footage of, and I’m not sure if a 10-minute championship match with Kerry Von Erich is the best or worst way to get acquainted with a guy. This match took place on a Paul Boesch-promoted Houston card where a young Shawn Michaels lost to Jack Victory in the second match.
Before the match a heel Ted DiBiase announces that Skandor Akbar is hurt, so he’ll be Gino’s manager for the evening. Terry Taylor arrives to even the odds. Gino holds up his title, yells at the crowd, and says they should respect their hometown guy – the greatest wrestler of all time. Truthfully there’s not much happening in-ring here – they work a top wristlock, then Kerry works a hammerlock, then Gino works a hammerlock, then Gino works an armbar. It’s not very good. Commentary cuts in towards the end as the action picks up a bit before the referee gets bumped, DiBiase and Taylor run-in, and ding ding ding – double DQ. It’s from a cool era but Not Recommended.
“Hacksaw” and Buzz tear down New Orleans (Mid-South 11/11/85)
This is an entire Mid-South spot show card from the Municipal Auditorium in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Duggan/Sawyer match has always been spoken up quite highly of – let’s see!
1. The Bruise Brothers (Pork Chop Cash & Mad Dog Boyd) vs. Steve Williams & El Corsario: This is a brawl right from the bell, just chaos with no commentary and an excited crowd providing the soundtrack. Then Dr. Death quickly ends up out of the ring, Corsario gets splashed, and he loses. In like 30 seconds? WHAT? WHY? SOMEBODY EXPLAIN THIS TO ME-
2. If Jake Wins, He Gets 5 Minutes with Humperdink: Jake Roberts vs. Lord Humongous w/ Sir Oliver Humperdink: I think this is the Jeff Van Camp version of Lord Humongous, wrestling’s charming total ripoff of the Mad Max 2 character. He is suitably big and scary, and Jake’s about to head to New York so I had an idea where this was going despite the stip. The bell rings and Jake gets wristlocked, kicks the Lord, then backs away – pop. He tries to get the mask, hits a kneelift, then Humongous takes over with all the bodyslams and bearhugs you could ever want. Jake hits the DDT but stops the pin to grab Humperdink, so Humongous locks on the cobra clutch for the win. **
3. Mid-South Tag Team Title: Al Perez & Wendell Cooley [c] vs. Eddie Gilbert & The Nightmare w/ Sir Oliver Humperdink: Perez is absolutely RIPPED, a guy who had to be after a WWF run that didn’t come for another four years. Wendell is right there with him, while Nightmare is a classic old chubby guy hanging with this hip kid who actually wants to be just like the old chubby guy, Hot Stuff Eddie Gilbert.
This match is a journey. Eddie and Nightmare are pretty great taking Perez and Cooley’s armbars and armbreakers, but it’s a journey. Perez takes heat and there’s occasional legitimate outrage from the crowd, but it’s a journey. But then the journey pays off with a pretty incredible finish. Nightmare spins around like three full times off a noggin’ knocker. Cooley takes a huge bump over the top and Perez protests that he can’t continue, but he ends up back in and the crowd is OUTRAGED as he’s beaten down. Perez runs in and starts teeing off but is pushed away, then Eddie flapjacks Cooley on the ropes and the poor guy shakes. Eddie does an awkward cradle on him for 3, as Perez dives for the save a second too late. The crowd chants bullshit at the new champs – job well done. ***1/4
4. Bounty Match: Butch Reed vs. Dick Slater w/ Dark Journey: This is a nothing-fancy brawl, not the most exciting match on the WWE Network but the kind of match you watch and want to be like, “All wrestling should be like this.” There are lock-ups, punches, and a figure-four by Slater that is milked for ALLLLLL it is worth. Slater also will occasionally growl something like “Hey watch the damn hair!” or “I’m gonna break his god damn leg!”
They do another referee bump when Slater throws Reed into him, and in the confusion they run the ropes and collide, ending with Slater on top of Reed and Dark Journey holding Slater’s feet on the bottom rope for 3. Slater tries to piledrive Reed on floor, but Reed fights back and almost punches Journey – I think he might’ve if Slater didn’t get involved, which seems like a problem. The winner, Dick Slater, skulks off. ***1/2
5. No DQ Match: Hacksaw Jim Dugan vs. Buzz Sawyer: When I said “all wrestling should be like this” on the previous match I meant it, though I’d miss the odd Japanese shit-kicking. However, THIS match is basically the peak of that phrase, a dirty bloody brawl in a world where the term brawl is thrown around way too much. I just watched Seth Rollins and Erick Rowan throw each other into props in a Falls Count Anywhere Match on Monday Night RAW – compared to this, it was just embarrassing.
Sawyer has his chain, but Duggan enters and just GOES at him, swinging away until Sawyer backs off. Sawyer gets in the ring, has to back off again. Again. Duggan follows him outside and throws him into the guardrail, then punches the shit out of him until he bleeds. Lots and lots of face-punching. He basically kicks Sawyer’s ass and has to be held back a few times before Sawyer gets in a low blow to stop the madness. One might sympathize for poor Buzz if he wasn’t such a low-down piece of shit. When they get back in there’s an epic shot of Buzz Sawyer his knees, recovering, covered in blood. Duggan throws a big lariat, but not a traditional one – just a CLUB. He gets on bloody Sawyer, yells HOOOO, and punches at his face some more. A football tackle sends Sawyer wildly through the ropes and to the floor, and eventually both guys just won’t let go of each other so the locker room has to spill out to break them apart.
It was fucking CRAZY.
Then after the match there’s candid footage of Sawyer being helped backstage, caked in blood and exhausted as he steps out of the bright lights. Duggan comes through the curtain after and Sawyer GOES AFTER HIM and they continue brawling! Someone brilliantly utters, “C’mon man – Jesus Christ, this is rasslin!” Duggan is finally pulled away as Sawyer sits there screaming “DUGGAAAANN!!! DUGGANNN!!!! DUGGANN!!!!” Then he lays down and cries. I’m serious. It was one of the greatest things I have ever witnessed on the WWE Network. ****1/2 match, 5-star experience, and it is Highly Recommended you at least watch the main event of this show.
Great American Bash 1988: Greensboro (JCP 7/16/88)
The Great American Bash 1988 was indeed a tour, though Bash ’88 is more known as a pay-per-view headlined by Ric Flair vs. Lex Luger for the NWA World Title, Dusty Rhodes vs. Barry Windham for the NWA U.S. Title, a 10-man TOWER OF DOOM match, and more. This show took place a week after, and is headlined by a WarGames match I never knew existed. There’s no commentary, only Tony Schiavone ring announcing and giving time calls, while the crowd is packed and excited for the professional wrestling.
1. Bugsy McGraw & Tim Horner vs. Larry Zbyzsko & Rip Morgan: As with any WarGames show, we’ve got two rings setup but all the matches are wrestled in one. Zbyszko was the reigning Western Heritage States Champ, a title that would be vacated when he left for the AWA in January. New Zealand’s Morgan does a haka dance, which is a nice contrast with ol’ Larry. Bugsy charges out wearing a “BUGSY FOR PRESIDENT USA” t-shirt, while “White Lightning” Tim Horner seems like a guy that might actually be getting a push. Zbyszko bumping and selling early is alright, Horner doing his thing is fun, but Morgan is outright bad and once it settled they lost me. A crossbody by Horner wins it in seven long minutes. *1/2
2. The Italian Stallion vs. Ron Garvin w/ Gary Hart: Ron Garvin, now led by Gary Hart, has requested to wrestle in the OTHER ring. Cuz he’s a dick now. They lock-up, he does a leapfrog, fakes an ankle injury, clocks Stallion with a punch, and sits on him to end a brilliant 45-seconds. **
3. Dick Murdoch vs. Gary Royal: Gary works a tight headlock that the crowd likes, then Murdoch starts a slow mean beatdown where he is admonished frequently by referee Teddy Long and I bet Murdoch didn’t like that. It’s a quick squash, but Murdoch’s shit-eating grin after hitting a brainbuster is worth it. *1/2
4. Gorgeous Jimmy Garvin w/ Precious vs. Rick Steiner: Steiner is the Florida Heavyweight Champ and a member of the Varsity Club, while Jimmy Garvin and the LOVELY Precious are having a babyface run I never knew happened. Kevin Sullivan runs out like a minute into this and Garvin fights him off, then inside cradles Steiner off a bodyslam. OK? DUD
5. The Rock & Roll Express vs. The Sheepherders w/ Rip Morgan: This match has a lot of good bits, it just goes 18 minutes. The Rock & Roll’s getting the better of The Sheepherders early is fun, and then they settle into a long beatdown on Robert. And I love them yelling “Listen here, you Yankee scumbags!” or Luke wobbling waiting around for a crossbody, but there just wasn’t enough material for the time. Ricky gets the hot tag and wins it with a top rope crossbody. **3/4
6. Brad Armstrong vs. Al Perez w/ Gary Hart: For some reason this one also went super long, and for that reason it mostly sucks. Brad works armbars, Hart distracts, Perez bodyslams Brad on the floor, Hart gets in cheapshots. Perez’ whirlybird bomb is impressive, but that’s all I’ve really got for you. Brad suplexes him into the ring but Hart holds Brad’s feet so Perez gets the 3. Eh. *1/2
7. 2-on-3 Anything Goes Handicap Match: The Fantastics (Bobby Fulton & Tommy Rogers) vs. The Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton & Stan Lane) & Jim Cornette: Stan Lane with his deep voice introducing Cornette as “your friend and mine” is TREMENDOUS, as is everyone’s adorable jeans and t-shirt Street Fight gear. This is good wrestling, good punches, and mid-range chairshots. It also has a constant stream of chants for Cornette to get in the ring, and when he does he gets in some cheap offense before an AWESOME no-sell and fire-up by Tommy Rogers. Corny throws powder in Bobby Eaton’s eyes by mistake, gets punched by Bobby Fulton, and gets pinned after a double clothesline. A drag here and there but mostly classic tag rasslin fun. ***1/2
8. NWA World TV Title: Mike Rotunda [c] w/ Kevin Sullivan and Rick Steiner vs. Sting: Sting is OVER. Rotunda is BASIC. And these guys have a Very Basic, Very Solid Wrestling Match where Sting does tackles and fire-ups and Rotunda is game to bump around for everything and call for timeouts and stuff. After a LONG chinlock from Rotunda, Sting makes a comeback. He press slams Rotunda off the top rope, throws him into the other ring, and does a HUUUGE crossbody over the ropes that would make even Kazuchika Okada himself envious. Sting gets on the Scorpion Deathlock but Steiner and Sullivan run-in for the DQ. Sting has his hand raised, but wins no championship. Good, safe, solid. ***
9. Scaffold Match: The Road Warriors w/ Paul Ellering vs. Ivan Koloff & The Russian Assassin w/ Paul Jones: Ivan and his Assassin come out first and enter the ring, looking up at the scaffold. The Road Warriors storm out and though their music is loudly dubbed over, you can still feel the pop. They charge up the scaffold and Ivan and Assassin have to be goaded up it. Once Ivan throws salt at Animal, it’s ON. Or is it? I can never tell with a Scaffold Match. Is it good? Is it bad? It’s not must-see, but it works. Lots of hanging.
Animal does a dropkick, the crazy bastard. Then I start thinking about Ivan Koloff taking the bump. THE bump. The scaffold bump. How can he even do it? He can’t. He can’t! And a moment later he’s hanging like he’s on monkey bars and does the damn thing, the crazy bastard. He climbs back up but Animal ties him to the structure with the chain, and Assassin carefully descends down the scaffolding and takes his slightly less awe-inspiring fall into the ring. The Road Warriors win! **
10. WarGames: Dusty Rhodes, Lex Luger, Nikita Koloff, Steve Williams & Paul Ellering vs. Ric Flair, Barry Windham, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard & JJ Dillon: This probably isn’t the best or most memorable WarGames match ever, but it has a murderer’s row of talent that looks awesome walking to the ring together and talking strategy in their circles before the match. The big thing here, other than the blood and the brawling and the legendary performers, is Tony Schiavone’s loud countdowns which border on aggressive.
Dusty and Arn start and it goes as expected – Arn bumps and bleeds. The Horsemen win the coin toss and Barry comes in to work over Dusty and apply THE CLAW. Dusty bleeds. Dr. Death comes in and is bombarded by Barry and Arn until he fires back with a double clothesline WOOOO. Barry and Arn bumping for him and Dusty is tremendous, and Barry especially goes all in on the cage bumps.
Flair is in next, and Dr. Death no-selling Flair chops is definitely a special experience. The Horsemen soon take control: Dusty gets worked over by Flair and Barry and bleeds a few buckets, Arn beats up Doc, and Flair CACKLES. Luger buzzes in to even the odds and pulls off a press slam on Flair, but Barry low blows him. He takes a beating from Flair and Barry but just stares them down, then refuses a toss into the cage from Flair. Dusty fires up and tees off on Barry and Arn, while Luger punches at Flair in the corner and Tully paces back-and-forth waiting for the countdown.
Tully grabs a chair and enters and the Horsemen are briefly in control, though everyone is tired: Arn’s holding Luger’s legs down, Flair is crawling around, and Doc is throwing Tully into the cage. During all this Barry and Dusty are just punching and bleeding. Nikita enters and the Horsemen pounce immediately, only for Nikita to no-sell and kick Flair’s ass.
I always respected JJ Dillon’s willingness to show off his flabby pasty body in his gross-looking wrestling tights, and he does it here. He gets to double clothesline Lex Luger with Barry Windham and celebrate, but then he tries to choke Nikita and realizes the mistake he’s made.
Finally, Paul Ellering enters and Tony calls it: “Survive or surrender… The Match Beyond.” And it’s brawling, blood, choking, and sweating for a few more minutes. JJ misses a dropkick and sells an atomic drop all funny, which weirdly fits in this chaotic massacre. Dusty puts him in the figure-four and holds the ropes as he taps. Not exactly the workate or spectacle WarGames, but a heck of a damn match. ****
Strong show – Recommended.
Rowdy and Ravishing – Rowdy Roddy Piper vs. Rick Rude (WWF Superstars Dark Match 10/31/89)
This typically mammoth taping from the WWF took place on Halloween night at the Expocentre in Topeka, KS. It was stacked, highlighted by the taping of the Thanksgivng Weekend of Saturday Night’s Main Event which had Ultimate Warrior vs. Andre the Giant, Hulk Hogan vs. The Genius, Mr. Perfect stealing and destroying the WWF Title, the debut of SAPPHIRE, The Rockers vs. The Brainbusters 2/3 Falls, and Arn Anderson’s last WWF match. The Superstars’ end of the show had Survior Series build-up, the debut of EARTHQUAKE, and Roddy Piper kicking Brother Love’s ass.
The Superstars of Wrestling logo is blurred, Piper holds up a RAVISHING RODDY PIPER, and these two are working LIGHT. I’m not sure they are even trying to make anything look like it connects, though they do rely on in-ring sequences over shtick more than I expected for a dark match. Piper keeps the pressure on and drags Rude balls-first into the post, then Rude sneaks up on Piper and beats him up a bit. He throws punches, Roddy stiffens up and fires back and does the Rude swivel. The ref gets bumped and Piper tries to wake him up, then he sends Rude outside and begins a 10-count on behalf of the referee. The bell rings at 10, and the match is awarded to… RUDE, by DQ! Despicable! **3/4 but Not Recommended because there are hundreds of matches better from these guys. It’s a prime time WWF dark match, but not some unique curiosity.
11. A Savage Halloween – Hacksaw Jim Duggan vs. Macho King Randy Savage w/ Queen Sherri (WWF Superstars Dark Match 10/31/89)
Sherri is the real Queen here, constantly getting heat on the floor and interfering and just manager-ing her ass off for this match that would presumably be unaired. These guys match up weirdly well – Savage all nimble, Duggan all roughneck – but this match is crap without her. A Savage beating is followed by a flabby Duggan comeback with a whiffed kneedrop and very bad clotheslines, and when Duggan goes after Sherri the crowd freaks out… then Savage knees him in the back and they do a very careful referee bump (ANOTHER), before Savage clocks Duggan with something Sherri ahnds him for… 2! The crowd goes HOOOOO before Savage quickly rolls up Duggan and puts his feet on the ropes for 3 BOOOO. **3/4 and Recommended just for Sherri.
