NWA World Championship Wrestling 4/23/88
- We open to clips of Tully Blanchard beating on some jobber…JJ Dillon hops on the apron and points out Magnum TA standing with the Midnight Rider’s horse in the back of the aisle…as they are fixated on that, the Rider sneaks in from the crowd, hooks a noose around Tully’s neck and chokes him out…that takes us into our opening animation
- We are emanating from the Jacksonville Coliseum in Jacksonville, FL…Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross and David Crockett are ringside and welcome us to the show in addition to running down today’s card for us…they talk about the effect the Midnight Rider has had on the Horsemen and also reference the Crockett Cup, of which we will see highlights next week…Tony sends us to the ring
- Sting vs. David Isley…one of the forgotten Isley Brothers battles Sting to kick off the show this week…Teddy Long is our referee…Tony talks about how hot Sting is right now and Ross mentions how he is a top contender for Ric Flair’s title…Isley twists and shouts as Sting splashes him in the corner and feels a summer breeze blowing in as he submits to the Scorpion Deathlock to give Sting the win…Sting reminds him to love the one he’s with as Isley pops that thang and heads to the back a loser…Crockett interviews Sting, who promises to go sixty minutes with Flair the next time around with JJ Dillon locked in a cage and three more judges at ringside…Sting takes off and we take a break
- Tony and Ross are back and talking about, you guessed it, the Midnight Rider…they take us back to a live event in Roanoke, VA to see the Rider make his in ring debut
- Midnight Rider vs. Bear Colley…Rider rides out on a horse, flanked by Magnum TA as a mellow saloon tune plays them down…Bear has a chair but it backfires as he whiffs on the swing…Rider smacks him, lands an elbow to the dome, drops Bear with a DDT on the chair and wins in less than a minute…after the bell, Rider follows with a second DDT to the steel…poor Bear never stood a chance…Ross is with Magnum at ringside, who says it’s time for drastic measures…Rider stands in the corner as Bear is tended to by officials and wrestlers…Magnum issues some serious warnings as Rider cleans house in the ring, chucking everyone to the floor…I do enjoy how Rider wears a sports coat as part of this ensemble…Ross climbs in the ring for an interview…Rider speaks and the crowd pops at the sound of that familiar lispy drawl…Rider levies more warnings to the Horsemen and promises his ride has just begun…really strong segment and Rider was put over very strong here…makes you feel like he and Magnum are really gonna wreck the Horsemen’s shit
- Fantastics vs. Corey Stevens & Snake Watson…lots of great jobber names this week…I don’t know no Snakes…Teddy Long back at it here…Corey & Snake jump the Fantastics, but it goes nowhere…Fantastics will be taking on the Midnight Express with the losing team getting lashed with a whip, Jim Cornette included…Ross runs down the upcoming live events as the Fantastics slow things down a bit while working over Snake…Ross notes how aggressive they are and credits their wars with the MXE over the US tag titles for the change in attitude…Stevens gives thing a go, but that ends quickly…I will be all set if I never see Bobby Fulton shimmy again…the Fantastics hit the Rocket Launcher and Snake is down for the count…Crockett catches up with the winners at ringside…they talk about the whipping match with the MXE
- Steve Williams vs. Bob Riddle…Dr. Death in the house and he immediately takes offense to Riddle’s blonde mullet, or he should be if he isn’t…that thing is a work of art…Teddy Long at it again…Williams press slams Riddle, which is impressive as Riddle is a good sized dude…Williams hits a three point stance and finishes with the Oklahoma Stampede as Ross giggles with excitement at ringside…quick win, tons of intensity, ingredients of the usual Dr. Death squash…Crockett chats with him after the bout and Williams calls out Ric Flair
- Midnight Express vs. Tommy Angel & Rocky King…Cornette introduces the MXE will holding the whipping strap and taunting the Fantastics…the US tag champs are on the scene, ready to pick up yet another win…Eaton starts things up and tosses Angel to the floor, where Cornette whips him a few times…Teddy is getting a workout tonight…MXE tags in and out like the superstars that they are…Rocky tags in and is a house of fire, beating Eaton around the ring as Cornette is screaming on commentary…Rocky’s afro may surpass Riddle’s mullet as the best jobber hair of the night…Schiavone tells Cornette of the rule change, stipulating that Cornette will be eligible to be whipped if the MXE loses…Cornette blows a gasket as you would except…Tony’s taunting of Jim about it is pretty funny…Cornette hints that he may be sick the night of that match but Ross & Tony bust him up some more…King’s quick flurry aside, this has been all MXE…they hit the Rocket Launcher and that is that
- Jim Crockett is with the Nature Boy Ric Flair in the aisle…the champ is styling and profiling for sure tonight; decked out to the nines as usual and flanked by some babes…80’s babes, but babes nonetheless…he calls out Sting and Dr. Death, embraces the ladies and Crockett and struts off…great Flair stuff as always
- Barbarian, Warlord & Koloff vs. McGyver, Emory & Thompson…big six-man action up next as the Paul Jones Army is in the house…this is a heel dream team for me, consisting of hosses and Russians…Jones’s team is the six-man tag champs…despite how old and grizzled he is, I still dig Ivan at this point as he just looks like a bad ass…Teddy Long still going strong here…POP just look like beasts, juiced to the gills and intimidating as hell…Tony says Ivan is like an in-ring manager for the POP, almost like a player-coach…astute point by Tony…Ross says they believe they can reign as champs for years…Barbarian is just killing these guys…Jones gets involved on the floor, but his charges hardly need the help…the champs have not been on the defensive at all and at this point they are begging for the jobbers to tag so they get some fresh meat…what a great heel team this is…they actually work pretty smoothly as a unit too…Ivan is such a dick, it is glorious…Jones says there is an open contract out there…POP hit their finisher and Ivan follows with a legdrop for the win…fun squash and I loved every minute of it
- Jimmy Garvin & Precious are in the aisle with David Crockett and they talk about the way the black cloud Kevin Sullivan has infecting the NWA…they have gone after his brother Ronnie and kidnapped his main squeeze…good fire by Garvin here
- Al Perez vs. Gary Stevens…Gary Hart is with Perez…Ross says Perez has issued a challenge to Nikita Koloff and is salivating over a future match between the two…Perez is pretty jacked here…Tony plugs NWA Pro on Saturday mornings…some more talk about the Midnight Rider…Perez has a really good look and style, wonder why he never really clicked...he even had Hart talking for him…he hits a nice spinning crucifix drop as Ross rambles about meeting some Cowboys players…he says Perez is set to head to Houston, gunning for the vacant US Title to be determined in a tournament…how has this tournament not been mentioned at all until this point…Perez assaults the ribs as Hart lands a blow in as well…Perez wins with a spinning toehold, so good for him…fine squash…Crockett catches up with Hart & Perez, who talk about going after the US belt and are also sure to discuss the Rider
- Nikita Koloff vs. Krusher Knault…Krusher is pretty grotesque…Koloff has the buzz cut working here…he mauls Knault right off the bell and quickly finishes with the Sickle…nothing to see here…Ross says Koloff is ready for Perez
- Windham & Luger vs. Anderson & Blanchard…big time main event here with Luger & Windham’s tag straps on the line against the Horsemen…JJ Dillon is with Tully & Arn and Teddy Long is in there to ref this thing…Ross does the in ring introductions…the champs get huge pops and there is a buzz in the air for this one…Ross puts over the rivalry involved here as Tony puts over the champs and how well they have developed…the champs tag in and out and dominate Tully early on…Windham is smooth as silk flying around the ring, as he is right in the midst of his peak athletically…after a long opening segment, Anderson finally tags in…not much changes though, as Windham is just locked in…the crowd is going nuts as Barry hooks in a figure four…Tully breaks it and the Horsemen finally gain control of things…it is short lived as Barry fights right back and hammers away at Arn…Luger tags in and lofts Tully into the Rack…as Arn busts it up we take a break…Luger & Barry have just been dominant…but when we get back, Arn has a sleeper on Lex, who Ross tells us has been worked over heavily during the ad…Luger eats a second DDT but stays alive…Luger is dumped outside, where Arn is all over him…Lex survives a spinebuster, really showing some determination here…all four of these guys look great here, but that is no surprise…Luger is finally able to block and reverse a suplex but can’t quite make the tag…a minute later he does and Windham cleans house…crowd is going wild but Luger eats the ring post while brawling with Tully and collapses out on the floor…he is busted wide open as he crawls around on the floor…the Horsemen beat down Windham, who is all alone now…JJ starts yelling at Barry, stating “I told you he wouldn’t be there”, which confuses Tony & Ross…Barry looks for a tag, but Luger is still down and out…JJ keeps chatting at Barry as he is in the midst of wiping out his team…Lex finally crawls up, but an angry Barry slaps his hand to tag him in and then powerslams him into the ring…Barry follows with a lariat to a lot of heat from the fans…Tony & Ross are not pleased…Arn covers and we have new tag team champions as Lex is can barely move…JJ walks away with Barry, patting him on the back…the Horsemen leave as Midnight Rider leads the locker room out to hit the ring to check on Lex…fantastic heel turn to finish off a hot tag match…good stuff…Tony & Ross are confused over what has happened as Rider stalks to the back…Rider storms around backstage and finds the heel locker room…he confronts Barry, who refuses to talk…that allows the Horsemen to jump the Rider…a big brawl erupts and everything is chaos as the faces are trying to cover Rider’s face while JJ demands his charges to unmask him…wow, crazy hot finish there
- Back at ringside, Crockett is with the Varsity Club…Sullivan said we just witnessed the biggest moment in wrestling history and that the Rider needs to be stopped…we then head back to the ring
- Mike Rotunda vs. Sam Bass…this must be the cousin of the illustrious Sal Bass…I was wondering why that previous match didn’t end the show, but I guess it gives Tony & Ross a chance to break everything down…they wonder if Barry is the fourth Horsemen that they have heard rumors about…Steiner helps out down on the floor but the focus is all on the Windham turn and Rider fallout as Rotunda works over Bass…Crockett is with us and he went to check on Lex, who is devastated about what happened…they are doing a nice job of rehashing this and going back digging for clues…really good angle work out of the booth…and a Rotunda match is the perfect backdrop for it…Rotunda gets the easy win as we take a break
- Tony & Ross are with us, talking more about Windham & Luger…and they take us back to the footage from earlier…actually showing a good chunk of the second half of the match and all the ensuing chaos…then we see a clip of JJ fitting Barry with a Horsemen leather jacket…they all pile in a limo and head off into the night to celebrate…Windham lowers the window and hangs the Rider’s mask out as he holds up four fingers…and we are out
- Very fun show this week…entertaining squashes and a ton of angle development plus a treat for a main event with a major angle poured on top…can’t wait for next week’s fallout
Review Date: March 2013
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