JCP Angles, Promos, Matches and Squashes Worth Watching in 1986

Angles Worth Watching

By relying more on promos and in-ring work to advance characters, JCP was able to space out their angles enough to where it was pretty impactful anytime one got ran. All of these recommendations are from the WWE Network only, though the Saturday show was always kind enough to show the most important stuff from Pro and Worldwide. The very best ones have a ** next to them until I figure out a better way to do it.

• Ric Flair attacks Ron Garvin but gets knocked out (1/18/86)**
• The Rock & Roll Express attacks The Midnight Express and double dropkicks Jim Cornette (3/8/86)
• Baby Doll attacks Ric Flair and slaps JJ Dillon (3/15/86)**
• Pistol Pez Whatley turns on Jimmy Valiant (3/29/86)
• Ricky Morton stomps Ric Flair’s sunglasses and they brawl (3/29/86)**
• Jim Cornette hits Baby Doll with a tennis racket (4/26/86)
• The James Boys hang Jim Cornette from a pickup truck (5/10/86)
• NWA U.S. Heavyweight Title Contract Signing; Nikita insults Magnum’s mother (5/31/86)**
• Tully Blanchard reveals his sling is fake and punches Ron Garvin bloody with taped fists (5/31/86)**
• Jim Cornette introduces Big Bubba Rogers (5/31/86)
• Ole Anderson returns and attacks Dusty Rhodes with the Four Horsemen (6/7/86)
• Big Bubba Rogers throws down Baby Doll and Dusty Rhodes breaks a chair over his head (6/21/86)**
• Road Warrior Hawk attacks Ric Flair but Tully Blanchard piledrives Animal on the floor (6/21/86)
• Dusty Rhodes/Big Bubba Rogers pull-apart brawl (8/16/86)
• The Miss Rock & Roll Express contest winners are announced (8/16/86)
• Tully Blanchard takes a chair to Dusty Rhodes’ leg with a chair and Baby Doll leaves with Ric Flair (8/17/86)**
• Randy Mulkey pushes Jim Cornette and Big Bubba Rogers lays him out (8/23/86)
• Confrontation between The Four Horsemen and Baby Doll opposite Dusty Rhodes, Magnum T.A., Ron Garvin and Dick Murdoch (8/30/86)**
• Paul Ellering slaps Jim Cornette but Bobby Eaton lays out Animal (9/20/86)
• Baron von Raschke puts The Claw on Paul Jones but is attacked by Jones’ Army (10/18/86)
• The Four Horsemen tail Dusty Rhodes and break his hand in a parking lot (10/25/86)**
• Dusty Rhodes introduces Nikita Koloff as his partner against The Four Horsemen (10/25/86)**
• Ivan Koloff and Krusher Khruschev attack Dusty Rhodes and Nikita Koloff (11/8/86)
• Jim Cornette falls off the scaffold (Starrcade 11/27/86)**
• Big Bubba Rogers and The Midnight Express attack Barry Windham and Ron Garvin (12/27/86)

Promos Worth Watching

The key with the Saturday show was longform promos, week after week of classics from the greatest of all time. Everybody was and still is trying to be these guys, if they get the chance. There is at a minimum 1-2 promos actively worth logging onto WWE Network and watching per show, so I tried to pick out the best of the best of the best – it is still sixty-eight. I definitely missed something too. Go discover.

• JJ Dillon announces he manages Tully Blanchard only and they set their sights on Dusty Rhodes (1/4/86)
• Ric Flair on Ole, Dusty, Baby Doll and Tully (1/4/86)
• Ric Flair and Arn Anderson on Dusty Rhodes injuring Ole Anderson (1/4/86)
• Ric Flair on Ron Garvin and Space Mountain (1/18/86)
• JJ Dillon, Tully Blanchard & Arn Anderson on Ron Garvin, Dusty Rhodes, Magnum T.A. and Sam Houston (1/18/86)
• Ric Flair on Ron Garvin and Dusty Rhodes (1/25/86)
• Dusty Rhodes and Baby Doll on The Andersons and Bob Geigel (1/25/86)
• Ric Flair on the NWA and Ron Garvin (1/25/86)
• Jim Cornette on The Rock & Roll Express’ Cage (2/15/86)
• Ric Flair on the re-designed NWA World Heavyweight Title (2/22/86)
• Ric Flair on Magnum T.A., Dusty Rhodes and Ricky Morton (3/1/86)
• Dusty Rhodes and Baby Doll on The Four Horsemen – DUSTY STRIPS!! (3/8/86)
• Ric Flair on Ron Garvin, Dusty Rhodes, Baby Doll, The Road Warriors and Ricky Morton (3/8/86)
• Jimmy Garvin on Pez Whatley’s Attack (3/29/86)
• Ric Flair on Dusty Rhodes and Ricky Morton (4/12/86)
• Ric Flair on Dusty Rhodes and the Hyatt Regency (4/19/86)
• Dusty Rhodes with Baby Doll on Ric Flair (4/19/86)
• Jimmy Garvin and Precious on Baby Doll and Wahoo McDaniel (4/26/86)
• Magnum T.A. and Dusty Rhodes on Jim Cornette and The Midnight Express (4/26/86)
• JJ Dillon and Tully Blanchard on intimidation (4/26/86)
• The Four Horsemen promo (4/26/86)
• Jim Cornette and The Midnight Express on The James Boys (5/10/86)
• Jimmy Garvin on Dusty Rhodes, Magnum T.A. and Wahoo McDaniel (5/10/86)
• Ivan Koloff confronts Magnum T.A. with a stipulation for the U.S. Title (5/17/86)
• Ricky Morton (wearing a facemask) on Ric Flair (5/31/86)
• Ric Flair on Ricky Morton’s girlfriends and Ole Anderson’s return (5/31/86)
• Ric Flair on Dusty Rhodes and the Great American Bash (6/7/86)
• Baby Doll on the Four Horsemen and Dusty Rhodes on Ole Anderson and skeptics (6/7/86)
• The Four Horsemen on the Great American Bash, Dusty Rhodes and The Road Warriors (6/21/86)
• Ric Flair studio promo on Dusty Rhodes and his 14 title defenses (6/21/86)
• JJ, Tully and The Andersons on Dusty Rhodes and The Road Warriors (6/28/86)
• Paul Ellering and The Road Warriors on The Four Horsemen (6/28/86)
• Ric Flair on defending the NWA World Title against Dusty Rhodes (7/12/86)
• The Four Horsemen on Dusty Rhodes and themselves (7/12/86)
• Jim Cornette with Big Bubba Rogers on Baby Doll (7/12/86)
• Dick Murdoch on Jimmy Garvin, Arn Anderson, The Russian Team, Dusty Rhodes and Jim Cornette (8/2/86)
• Ric Flair on injuring Dusty Rhodes’ leg (8/9/86)
• Ric Flair on Dusty Rhodes and Being the Man (8/16/86)
• Arn Anderson on Dusty Rhodes (8/16/86)
• Jim Cornette on Dusty Rhodes and Baby Doll (8/16/86)
• Ric Flair and Baby Doll on Dusty Rhodes (Pro 8/23/86)
• Dusty Rhodes on Baby Doll, the Four Horsemen and Big Bubba Rogers (8/23/86)
• Jimmy Garvin on Magnum T.A. (8/30/86)
• Ric Flair and Baby Doll on Dusty Rhodes, The Road Warriors, Nikita Koloff, Magnum T.A. and The Rock & Roll Express (9/6/86)
• Jim Cornette with Big Bubba Rogers promising The Midnight Express will regain the NWA World Tag Titles (9/6/86)
• Ric Flair and Baby Doll on Magnum T.A. and Dusty Rhodes (9/20/86)
• JJ Dillon and Tully Blanchard on Dusty Rhodes (9/20/86)
• Arn Anderson on Dusty Rhodes (9/20/86)
• Ric Flair on the NWA and his $1,000 clothes (10/4/86)
• Jimmy Garvin with Precious on Magnum T.A. (10/4/86)
• Big Mama puts her hair on the line against Paul Jones (10/18/86)
• Announcement of the Skywalkers Match (10/25/86)
• Jim Cornette on the Skywalkers Match (11/8/86)
• Ric Flair on Nikita Koloff (11/8/86)
• The Rock & Roll Express on Starrcade and The Andersons (11/8/86)
• JJ Dillon and Tully Blanchard on Starrcade and Dusty Rhodes (11/8/86)
• Ric Flair on Nikita Koloff (11/15/86)
• Ric Flair on Starrcade and Nikita Koloff (11/22/86)
• The Four Horsemen on Nikita Koloff, The Rock & Roll Express and Dusty Rhodes (11/22/86)
• Ole and Arn Anderson on all the Tag Titles (12/20/86)
• Nikita Koloff and Dusty Rhodes on the Four Horsemen and the Bunkhouse Stampede (12/20/86)
• Ric Flair on Dusty Rhodes and Nikita Koloff (12/20/86)
• The Four Horsemen on their enemies and winning all the belts (12/20/86)
• Magnum T.A. video package (Starrcade 11/27/86)
• Ric Flair on being championship material (12/6/86)
• Ric Flair invites girls up to the Hyatt Regency in Chicago (12/13/86)
• Ole and Arn Anderson on their enemies and parity (12/13/86)
• Ric Flair on being Wrestler of the Year, The Road Warriors and Nikita Koloff (12/27/86)

Matches Worth Watching

Matches are on the Saturday WCW show unless otherwise noted. They are in some kind of order below.

• Crockett Cup – Quarter Final: The Road Warriors w/ Paul Ellering vs. The Midnight Express w/ Jim Cornette (Crockett Cup 4/19/86)
• Steel Cage Match – NWA World Tag Team Title: The Rock & Roll Express [c] vs. Ole Anderson & Arn Anderson (Starrcade 11/27/86)
• Crockett Cup – Round 2: The Rock & Roll Express vs. The Sheepherders w/ Jack Victory (Crockett Cup 4/19/86)
• Steel Cage Match – NWA World Heavyweight Title: Ric Flair [c] vs. Ricky Morton (Charlotte GAB 7/5/86)
• Crockett Cup – Quarter Final: The Fantastics vs. The Sheepherders w/ Jack Victory (Crockett Cup 4/19/86)
• Ricky Morton w/ Robert Gibson vs. Ric Flair w/ Arn Anderson (4/12/86)
• NWA World Tag Team Title 1 Contender Match: The Rock & Roll Express vs. Ole Anderson & Arn Anderson (GAB Greensboro 7/26/86)
• Crockett Cup – Round 2: The Fantastics vs. Tully Blanchard & Arn Anderson w/ JJ Dillon (Crockett Cup 4/19/86)
• Ric Flair w/ Baby Doll vs. Mike Jackson (8/30/86)
• Louisville Street Fight: Ron Garvin vs. Big Bubba Rogers w/ Jim Cornette (Starrcade 11/27/86)
• Crockett Cup – Round 1: The Fantastics vs. The Fabulous Ones (Crockett Cup 4/19/86)
• NWA World Heavyweight Title: Ric Flair [c] vs. Dusty Rhodes w/ Baby Doll (Crockett Cup 4/19/86)
• NWA National Heavyweight Title: Tully Blanchard [c] w/ JJ Dillon vs. Sam Houston (GAB 7/19/86)
• NWA National Heavyweight Title: Dusty Rhodes [c] w/ Baby Doll vs. Tully Blanchard w/ JJ Dillon (3/8/86)
• NWA World TV Title: Arn Anderson [c] vs. Manny Fernandez (4/19/86)
• Steel Cage Match – NWA World Heavyweight Title: Ric Flair [c] vs. Dusty Rhodes (GAB Greensboro 7/26/86)
• The Rock & Roll Express vs. Ole Anderson & Arn Anderson (GAB 7/19/86)
• Taped Fists Match: Ronnie Garvin w/ Chief Wahoo McDaniel vs. Tully Blanchard w/ JJ Dillon (Charlotte GAB 7/5/86)
• Hair vs. Hair: Jimmy Valiant w/ Manny Fernandez vs. Paul Jones w/ Baron von Raschke (GAB Greensboro 7/26/86)
• Best of 7 Series – NWA U.S. Heavyweight Title: Magnum T.A. [c] vs. Nikita Koloff w/ Ivan Koloff (GAB Greensboro 7/26/86)
• Steel Cage Match: The Road Warriors & Baby Doll vs. The Midnight Express & Jim Cornette (GAB Greensboro 7/26/86)
• NWA World Tag Team Title: The Midnight Express [c] w/ Jim Cornette and Big Bubba Rogers vs. The Road Warriors w/ Paul Ellering (GAB 7/12/86)
• Steel Cage Match: Dusty Rhodes, Magnum T.A. & Baby Doll vs. The Midnight Express & Jim Cornette w/ Big Bubba Rogers (Charlotte GAB 7/5/86)
• Sam Houston vs. Steve Regal (GAB Greensboro 7/26/86)
• Taped Fists Match: Ronnie Garvin w/ Chief Wahoo McDaniel vs. Tully Blanchard w/ JJ Dillon (GAB Greensboro 7/26/86)
• NWA World Heavyweight Title: Ric Flair [c] vs. Nikita Koloff (Starrcade 11/27/86)
• Brad Armstrong & Bob Armstrong vs. Jimmy Garvin & Bill Dundee w/ Precious (11/29/86)
• NWA World TV Title: Arn Anderson [c] vs. Ron Garvin (3/1/86)
• Tully Blanchard w/ JJ Dillon vs. Mike Jackson (2/22/86)
• NWA National Heavyweight Title: Tully Blanchard [c] w/ JJ Dillon vs. Wahoo McDaniel (GAB 7/12/86)
• NWA World Jr. Heavyweight Title: Denny Brown [c] vs. Steve Regal (GAB Charlotte 7/5/86)
• Robert Gibson vs. Black Bart (GAB Charlotte 7/5/86)
• Nelson Royal & Sam Houston vs. Ole Anderson & Arn Anderson (GAB Charlotte 7/5/86)
• Bunkhouse Match: Manny Fernandez vs. Baron von Raschke w/ Paul Jones (GAB Charlotte 7/5/86)
• Indian Strap Match: Chief Wahoo McDaniel vs. Gorgeous Jimmy Garvin w/ Precious (GAB Charlotte 7/5/86)
• No DQ Match – NWA U.S. Tag Team Title: Ivan Koloff & Krusher Khruschev [c] vs. The Kansas Jayhawks (Starrcade 11/27/86)
• Hair vs. Hair Match: “The Boogie Woogie Man” Jimmy Valiant w/ Big Mama vs. Paul Jones (Starrcade 11/27/86)
• NWA U.S. Tag Team Title: Ron Garvin & Barry Windham [c] vs. The Midnight Express w/ Jim Cornette and Big Bubba Rogers (12/27/86)
• Hair vs. Hair: Jimmy Valiant vs. Shaska Whatley w/ Paul Jones (Charlotte GAB 7/5/86)
• Brad Armstrong vs. Mike Jackson (12/27/86)
• NWA World TV Title: Arn Anderson [c] vs. Sam Houston (4/12/86)
• Double Russian Chain Match: The Road Warriors w/ Paul Ellering vs. Ivan Koloff & Nikita Koloff (GAB Charlotte 7/5/86)

Squashes Worth Watching

Not all matches are created equal. All of these are on the Saturday WCW show. Some are reviewed below.

• Ron Garvin vs. Mac Jeffers (1/4/86)
• The Midnight Express vs. Phil Brown & Wee Willie Wilkins (3/29/86)
• Ron Garvin vs. Paul Garner (4/26/86)
• Shaska Whatley & Baron von Raschke w/ Paul Jones vs. Bill Tabb & Lee Peek (4/26/86)
• The Midnight Express w/ Jim Cornette vs. Bill Mulkey & Randy Mulkey (5/10/86)
• Ric Flair & Arn Anderson vs. Italian Stallion & Rocky Kernodle (5/24/86)
• Ron Garvin vs. Bill Tabb (6/7/86)
• The Midnight Express vs. Sam Houston & George South (6/28/86)
• The Rock & Roll Express vs. Thunderfoot & Golden Terror (6/28/86)
• Ron Garvin & Dick Murdoch vs. Brodie Chase & Alan Martin (9/6/86)
• Ron Garvin vs. Grimm Reeper (10/18/86)
• Arn Anderson vs. Alan Martin 12/6 (12/6/86)
• Ole Anderson & Arn Anderson vs. Randy Mulkey & Mike Simani (12/13/86)
• NWA World TV Title: Tully Blanchard [c] w/ JJ Dillon vs. Bill Mulkey (12/13/86)
• Ole Anderson & Arn Anderson vs. Rocky King & George South (12/20/86)

Random Reviews

Many of the matches listed above are talked about in more detail below.

Ron Garvin vs. Mac Jeffers (1/4/86) – An underrated gem of mid-80s JCP is Ron Garvin squashes, where he’s basically an old dad teaching some young punks a lesson. He stretches, slaps, and just straight hurts guys. This is the ultimate of these matches, as he just tortures poor Mac Jeffers.

Tully Blanchard w/ JJ Dillon vs. Mike Jackson (2/22/86) – Incredible squash, Mike Jackson is fired up and is the perfect foil for Tully’s douchebag shtick.

Ricky Morton vs. Ric Flair (4/12/86) – Just an amazing TV match, two of the best in the 80s who have just perfect chemistry. Morton keeps on Flair with no wasted movements, and Flair just flops around like a madman while the crowd goes nuts for the whole thing. Totally fan-friendly finish, so much fun.

NWA World TV Title: Arn Anderson [c] vs. Manny Fernandez (4/19/86) – Classic example of Arn tearing apart an arm as well as Arn selling a limb himself, with a great good guy as a foil. Great structure and flow for a 15 minute match, felt like it lasted half that.

Crockett Cup – Round 1: The Fantastics vs. The Fabulous Ones (Crockett Cup 4/19/86) – This kicks off with as pure 80s dynamic you can get – the scuzzy Fabulous Ones opposite the babyfaced Fantastics, Tommy Rogers with his dukes up and Bobby Fulton doing a hip swivel before an arm ringer. Rogers is a classic on the apron as Fulton takes heat, but the complexity of some of the tag stuff at the end is incredible. One sequence goes like this – sunset cradle on Fulton, Fulton reaches for a tag but can’t get it, Rogers runs in all fired up but is pushed away by Lane, Keirn smirks and sticks his tongue out as he tries to pin Fulton to the mat. Fulton then rakes Keirn’s eyes out of desperation, but grabs his leg in pain and is clobbered by Lane and catapulted into the ropes. There’s no hope left! Everyone’s playing a role and it RULES.

Lane then FLEXES and spits at Rogers, but Fulton manages to trip Lane, however he’s punched in the throat and the crowd is hanging on EVERYTHING. They run the ropes and both collide and Fulton is RIGHT THERE for that tag to Rogers, which he gets a feeling of elation that just doesn’t exist in a wrestling crowd anymore. Amazing tag finish setup too – Rogers tags in Fulton, basically gets Irish whipped on purpose, takes a back body drop but lands on his feet, which enables Fulton to do a quick reverse cradle for 3 as the Fabulous Ones look confused. The Fantastic Ones aren’t like geniuses on offense but this is still a great tag match with some of the damndest wrestling ever at the end. ***3/4

Crockett Cup – Round 2: The Rock & Roll Express vs. The Sheepherders w/ Jack Victory (Crockett Cup 4/19/86) – This is an incredible match, a slice of life from the 1980s when the guys who eventually became the goofball The Bushwhackers had a thrilling 10-minute match with the molten hot Rock & Roll Express. The Sheepherders and Victory do a pre-match ritual raising the New Zealand flag and doing some military march, so Ricky Morton grabs an American flag from someone in the crowd and holds it up to a huge pop. The match is all action – Sheepherders bump like an absolutely incredible pro wrestlers, then scream and are all aggressive on offense. The Rock & Roll’s have done some amazing hot tags but after the Sheepherders’ craziness this one felt extra hot. They send the Sheepherders into each other, then Victory runs in with the flag. Morton fights him off with the flag and the bell is rung and ROCK & ROLL ARE DQ’D!!! Wild, crazy, awesome wrestling. ****1/2

Crockett Cup – Round 2: The Fantastics vs. Tully Blanchard & Arn Anderson w/ JJ Dillon (Crockett Cup 4/19/86) – WHAT A MATCH!! There are a couple other-worldly Tommy Rogers out-wrestling Tully Blanchard sequences right away, before Tully and Anderson begin to work over Fulton and these two are just on another level of realistic tag team beatdown, covering every single one of their bases. “ARN, GIMME A KNEE!” Tully keeps trying to pin Fulton, and it feels so real as Fulton sells his ass off having to exert energy to keep kicking out. Rogers eventually hot tags, but a Gourdbuster seems to end him – HOWEVER, Fulton saves, Tully slugs Fulton, Anderson sets up a bodyslam, but Fulton fights Tully off and dropkicks Rogers over Anderson for the 3. Classic. ****

Crockett Cup – Quarter Final: The Road Warriors w/ Paul Ellering vs. The Midnight Express w/ Jim Cornette (Crockett Cup 4/19/86) – Just a master class in wrestling. Road Warriors are the prototypical unstoppable badass tag team, Midnight Express are the prototypical bumping and stalling tag team, and it all comes together here. The timing on everything is perfect. Condrey takes bumps that shouldn’t be physically possible. Eaton is a godly tag team heel – he thinks he outsmarts Hawk by sneaking outside, gets slammed back in, knocked outside, and knocked down again, with every step of the process timed and sold brilliantly. The best stuff. ****3/4

Crockett Cup – Quarter Final: The Fantastics vs. The Sheepherders w/ Jack Victory (Crockett Cup 4/19/86) – There is a legitimate full USA Pledge of Allegiance pre-match. The guy who brought the USA flag used earlier and now high-fives someone, his work complete. This match is completely chaotic wrestling, with the Sheepherders maybe more amped up and crazy than before. Fulton bleeds early, Rogers gets a hot tag, the Sheepherders bleed, THE REFEREE BLEEDS. There’s no cutting off of the ring or any of that, just FIGHTING AND BITING. Incredible. Fulton uses a pipe or something. Eventually it just can’t be contained and the ref calls a double DQ, as a woman who appears to be Mad Maxine helps Victory away. Though they were eliminated in the quarters, Crockett Cup ’86 is all about The Sheepherders. ****1/4

NWA World Heavyweight Title: Ric Flair [c] vs. Dusty Rhodes w/ Baby Doll (Crockett Cup 4/19/86) – Paul Boesch rocks a pink-ish ensemble as he intro’s the match, only to be outdone by Ric Flair’s incredible robe that must be seen. This is the longest match of the show, and it’s two legends having a match that, though a little understated and quiet here and there, is one of their better big ones. Dusty bleeds and sells, Flair bumps and cowers, but perhaps the most fascinating part of all of this is the ringside camera getting the close-up audio and video of Baby Doll’s reactions, selling every ebb and flow of the match. She’s honestly amazing. “COME ON DUSTY, PUSH HIM! COME ON DAMNIT, PUSH HIM!” Also, I swear Flair let’s out a “fuck” when he leapfrogs Dusty and knows he’s about to be suckered into an elbow. Flair f’s with the crowd with a few foot-on-the-ropes kickouts, forces himself on Baby Doll, gets hit with a boot by Dusty, and it’s a DQ. Dusty hits the ref, hits Flair, and Baby Doll claps over his unsuccessful bid to win the championship. ***1/2

Shaska Whatley & Baron Von Raschke w/ Paul Jones vs. Bill Tabb & Lee Peek (4/26/86) – This is a crazy match, as it’s basically a great Southern tag in the confinements of JCP WTBS formula. The hot tag is barely caught due to commercial and the good guys really get no offense at all; regardless, it’s freakin’ great. Shaska and Baron keep on their opponents well, but the real star is Peek who makes everything look vicious.

The Midnight Express w/ Jim Cornette vs. Randy Mulkey & Bill Mulkey (5/10/86) – Great example of the weekly Midnight Express squash – though it lacks a high-five – plus some insane flat back bumps on concrete by Randy Mulkey.

Ric Flair & Arn Anderson vs. Italian Stallion & Rocky Kernodle (5/24/86) – An Anderson tag match with Flair instead of Ole. Both Flair and Arn make these nobodies look like a million bucks, all the while maintaining credibility. Amazing example of a TV squash match that makes everybody look good.

The Midnight Express vs. Sam Houston & George South (6/28/86) – Fun squash match, with the Express giving Houston and South a ton of offense.

Great American Bash: 7/5 Charlotte & 7/26 Greensboro

NWA National Heavyweight Title: Tully Blanchard [c] w/ JJ Dillon vs. Chief Wahoo McDaniel (7/12/86) – This isn’t a studio match, as at this point the show was showing highlights of the Great American Bash tour. Thos is just an awesome example of getting something out of nothing. Wahoo’s TV shtick is terrible, but here he just does holds and chops and Tully works a dramatic match around it.

The Road Warriors w/ Precious Paul Ellering vs. The Midnight Express w/ Jim Cornette and Big Bubba Rogers (7/12/86) – Another match from the Bash tour. Such simple, awesome stuff. All the spots are built to super well, with the Warriors constantly overpowering the Midnights. Not much happens, but they milk the fuck out of everything and it’s beautiful.

NWA National Heavyweight Title: Tully Blanchard [c] w/ JJ Dillon vs. Sam Houston (7/19/86) – Another Bash match. Crowd is fired up, Houston is a GREAT babyface, and Tully is great at bringing the crowd down at all the right moments. Some insane sequences here. Just classic stuff – Houston’s fired up babyface spots are beautiful, made all the better by Tully whiffing punches and selling everything like a total goof.

The Rock & Roll Express vs. The Minnesota Wrecking Crew (7/19/86) – Another Bash match… they have to drag this one out as it goes to a 30-minute draw, but what a master performance, with great beatdowns and comeback spots, and a crowd going apeshit the entire time.

Ric Flair vs. Mike Jackson (8/30/86) – This is basically all Mike Jackson, against all odds they make you believe he might just win. Ric is fantastic begging off, selling a figure-four, and getting the crowd going nuts as he just eats shit for Jackson. Jackson takes some nasty bumps too.

Brad and Bob Armstrong vs. Jimmy Garvin & Sam Dundee (11/29/86) – They cut the angle that sets this up on the Network but Bob Armstrong wrestles in blue jeans and is all fired up and it’s tremendous. Brad takes a beating, Garvin cheats by spraying some shit in Brad and Bob’s face, and the studio crowd is appreciative to see an actually complete wrestling match, even despite a double DQ finish. Garvin and Dundee are game bumpers for Bob as well.

NWA World Tag Team Title: The Rock & Roll Express [c] vs. “Ravishing” Rick Rude & “Ragin’ Bull” Manny Fernandez w/ Paul Jones (12/6/86) – This thing goes over a half-an-hour, hence the image. But man is it fun and just impressive how solid it is the whole time. Tons of great sequences early on based around rope-running and armbars. Manny is all over this match, especially early on, bumping around and selling huge for the Rock & Roll’s. Looooong segments of Rude and Manny working Robert’s leg and Ricky’s arm, and Rock & Roll selling makes it pretty compelling. The studio crowd is amped up for a big tag title match, and David Crockett is at his peak dorkiness on commentary marking out for this.

Arn Anderson vs. Alan Martin (12/6/86) and Ole Anderson & Arn Anderson vs. Randy Mulkey & Mike Simani (12/13/86) – These are the follow-up TV matches to the Andersons losing their cage match with the Rock & Roll Express at Starrcade ’86. They are both squashes, but stand out as Andersons are pissed off after losing and just maul their opponents. The first Arn solo match just has him efficiently beat his opponent with a few impactful moves, while Ole and Arn take their time abusing their opponents with crossfaces, chokes and armbars while the studio crowd chants for Dusty. Includes Ole just straight putting all his weight on the bridge of Mulkey’s nose, as well as an attempt at an “Ole is a Wimp” chant. Just such straightforward solid TV rasslin.

Happy Thoughts – WCW Starrcade ’86: The Skywalkers (11/27/86)