The Furious Flashbacks – The 100 Greatest WWF Matches of the 80’s Vol. 2

The Furious Flashbacks – The 100 Greatest WWF Matches of the 80’s Vol. 2

A second collection of 80’s awesomeness featuring the Brisco Brothers

So after I started into the first DVD in this series I figured I’d check out the website it came from to see how many more there are in the series. Well, there are eight discs in total. Not only that I have a match listing lined up for each disc. Just looking at the match listings was making me mark out. Here we have Andre v Killer Khan, Rockers v Brainbusters and Savage v DiBiase. Disc three features Rude-Piper, Backlund-Slaughter and Bret-Savage. There’s gold in them thar hills! Disc four has Sammartino- Zbyszko, Backlund-Hogan and the Glamour Girls v the Jumping Bomb Angels. So join me as we continue our trip down memory lane!

Andre the Giant v Killer Khan

This is a Mongolian stretcher match. Khan isn’t actually Mongolian but rather Japanese following in the rich tradition of representing various foreigners from different places than they’re actually from. Like the Samoan Yokozuna. This is in Philly. Khan is no small man but Andre makes him look tiny. Big boot from the bigger big man. Andre is moving pretty freely because this is the early 1980’s. In comes the stretcher but the crowd hate that. Khan tries for Andre’s ankle because he broke it in a previous match at the Boston Gardens. Khan gets hauled up by Andre and piledriven. He misses with a follow up headbutt and that’s a long way to fall. Khan starts screaming like a kamikaze pilot. He ties the previously broken ankle in the ropes and stomps it. The ref tries to free it but Khan is relentless. As the ref gets the ankle loose Khan kneedrops the head. Andre isn’t moving and his ankle is still tied up. Khan gets the stretcher but they can’t get him out of the ropes. Andre is still kayfabe unbeaten. Andre gets free and grabs the stretcher to throw it at Khan’s head. Andre is selling the ankle but not so much that it’s altering his approach. Khan holds onto the rope so Andre repeatedly sits on him. Oh boy. Medic? Khan gets dumped on the stretcher but holds the ropes to prevent being removed from the ring. Andre stiffs the shit out of him in the corner and hits a suplex. Damn! And people think Vader is stiff. Khan looks dead and is face down on the stretcher. They cart him out and Andre wins it. **1/4. Nice to see Andre work a match where he has actual mobility. The match wasn’t particularly good though.

Dream Team v Tito Santana/Ricky Steamboat

In Toronto’s Maple Leaf Gardens. Dream Team is Greg Valentine and Brutus Beefcake. Steamboat shows off his speed right from then off. He’s all energy but, to their credit, the other team are up for it by bumping around like crazy. Unfortunately they don’t stick to that energy and start stalling after Tito tags in. Hammer comes in to subdue him further until Santana fires up with a clothesline. Santana goes after the Figure Four but Hammer is still way too lively to let him put that on. Ventura makes the same call. Great minds and all that. Hammer gives him a shoulderbreaker to show Santana the error of his ways. Heels run interference in order to give Santana a double-teaming shoeing while Steamboat protests. Beefcake just bails out of the ring to kick the shit out of Steamboat in front of the referee. If that wasn’t enough Hammer is busy choking the life out of Santana behind the referee’s back. Hammer smartly shifts his focus back onto the arm/shoulder. Santana sneaks through Beefcake’s legs though and makes the red hot house of fire tag to Steamboat. The crowd goes absolutely BATSHIT. Steamboat starts throwing heels around like they’re going out of fashion before slapping the sleeper on Beefcake. An eye gouge gets Beefcake out and Hammer tags back in. He rakes the eyes too and hits a gutbuster. Now Steamboat hits up the near death 20-minute beating selling. When it came to the ‘I’m gonna lose unless you cheer for me’ selling Steamboat was up there with anyone, which is probably why he was a babyface his whole career. Hammer softens up Steamboat’s leg and goes for the Figure Four but Steamboat gets a roll up out of desperation for 2. He tries to fire up to another huge response and hot tags Santana back in. Another massive reaction from the crowd as Santana cleans house. Flying Jalapeno on Hammer gets 2 with Beefcake saving. Beefcake throws Steamboat over the top rope. Santana now gets his ass kicked 2 on 1. Steamboat recovers and comes off the top to lay out Beefcake though. Hammer is left alone with Santana who hooks up the Figure Four for the submission win and the crowd loses its feeble collective Canadian mind. ****. Great formula tag match. Just a fine example of how to do it perfectly although I’m not entirely convinced it’d work that well nowadays. The crowd tend not to have the attention span and there’s too many smarky bastards, like me, around who see tag team formula for what it is.

Brainbusters v Young Stallions

This is also in Toronto but three years later. Stallions are Jimmy Powers and Paul Roma. Brainbusters would be former Horsemen Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard. Arn schools Powers on the mat with the riding that Sean Waltman is so fond of. Only Arn makes it look good. Powers battles his way out of the heel corner and that leads to a four man brawl with the Stallions clearing the ring out. Tully keeps picking Powers off but Powers powers out. Roma in to dropkick Tully and shows Arn his injured jaw. I think he dislodged a molar. Arn in to take Roma to school but as per usual Arn is all up for giving and let’s Roma look great before cheap shotting him. Arn takes a dropkick but luckily doesn’t have any dental problems resulting from that. Stallions make a wish with Tully’s legs and then throw him back in when he bails for time. The commentators start talking about the runway to the ring, like ECW used quite frequently and NOAH still do today. The Stallions continue to overpower until Arn cheap shots Roma again. ANDERSON SPINEBUSTER~! Delayed cover gets 2. Brainbusters take their time and beat the shit out of Roma. Well, he asked for it. Look at him! Brainbusters kick his ass on the floor while Powers is drawn in to position the referee. Powers is dumb enough to do it again so the Brainbusters beat Roma up some more with illegal double teams. Shades of Wilbur Snyder and Arn sets it up right in front of Tully so they can cheat. Crowd isn’t biting on it quite as much as they did with Steamboat, which shows a change in times. Powers get drawn in AGAIN. What a dumb shit. Gorilla even holds him responsible for the Stallions losing at this juncture. Yeah, you’re tagging with Paul Roma and YOU are the weak link. How bad do you suck? Powers gets drawn in AGAIN. I’m aware of how stupid he is at this point. It’s almost intrusive. The Brainbusters aren’t even doing anything to bring him now. He’s just doing it himself. Tully tries for a slingshot suplex but Roma blocks into a suplex of his own. Crowd is finally biting as they will Roma to make a tag. He gets it and Arn backs down. Powers with dropkicks all over the place. Slams! Double noggin knocker. Heels collide again. Everyone is in there. Powers tries for a suplex but Tully jumps over the top with a sunset flip and Arn clotheslines Powers over for the pin. Heels take it! ***1/4. Solid enough tag match. Brainbusters pretty much did that match on their own though.

WWF title – Randy Savage (c) v Ted DiBiase w/Virgil

This is a cage match. This is summer of 1988 in MSG. They worked this match following Wrestlemania where Savage beat DiBiase in the tournament final to win the belt. Ted jumps ahead of the bell but Savage comes firing back at him like a tornado or a steamroller according to the announcer. Sounds like Gene Okerlund but there are three guys on commentary. Lord Alfred is on there too. Ted starts breaking Savage down. Backbreaker slows him up. Ted tries for an early climb out but Savage dramatically grabs his ankle. When it comes to the wrestling Ted is one step ahead. His pre-match promo pointed out that his bodyguard Virgil would be keeping Liz company at ringside while Savage is caught in the cage. It’s the steel bar cage btw. Ted tries to get out again but Savage drags him back down and ties his legs up. Virgil frees him and then punches Savage off the ropes. Virgil is the difference maker for DiBiase because he can interfere and make a difference. Ted gets run into the cage and Savage goes up again but again Virgil interferes. This time it’s for long enough for Ted to bring him back down. He’s either stopping Savage from escaping or buying DiBiase time. Savage frequently finds himself isolated on the top rope. DiBiase takes great pleasure in throwing him off. There’s that Superfan, Vladimir, in the crowd. Man, he was more famous than half the jobbers the WWF have had over the years. He was the WWF’s version of Hat Guy. Both guys change tack and make a play for the door. It seems like they forgot about it until then. Virgil patrols the door too. Double clothesline knock down. DiBiase takes it harder it seems. Both guys climb up and Virgil makes sure Savage can’t get over. Ted could have gotten out there and the commentators pick up on that. Hayes says he didn’t have the energy to do it. Hmm. Ted goes for a suplex and Savage has far more left and blocks into his own. Ted takes another header into the cage. Savage goes for the door but Virgil slams it on his head. That man is a difference maker! At least he was until DiBiase fired him. Ted nearly gets out but Savage grabs his trunks. Ted doesn’t have enough strength to pull Savage out as well. Savage gets the hair. Savage seems to have more energy. He goes to climb out but finds Virgil waiting again. Now here comes the AWESOME as a fan jumps up the outside of the cage and tries to throw Virgil off because the New Yorkers had gotten so pissed off with the cheating. You can’t buy heat like that. He wasn’t trying to be a jerk he just got totally carried away. Security gets him as Savage bashes Virgil and DiBiase’s heads together. One falls back in, the other to the floor. Savage climbs out and retains his title. ***1/2. Loads of energy there. Savage was so loaded with caffeine he was bouncing off the walls of the cage.

WWF title – Randy Savage (c) v Bad News Brown

This is a Harlem Street Fight. Although it’s blatantly not in Harlem or anywhere near to it. It’s really odd hearing Tony Schiavone commentate on a WWF match. Bad News attacks before the bell and whoops Savage from pillar to post until he gets distracted by Liz’s presence. Both guys have street clothes on for this. Savage is about 8 months into his year long reign as WWF champion. Savage uses his weightlifting belt and then gets a chair too. Brown cuts him off to prevent what would surely have been a finishing move with the chair off the top. That chair is very cushioned. Brown doesn’t think its badass enough so opts instead for laying a beating on the champ. Brown has a fucking TABLE in the ring. This is 1989 people! Early ’89 so it’s not like they even stole this from the Flair-Funk angle. Savage reverses on Brown and the referee gets planted THROUGH the table. GHETTOBLASTER! Savage is beaten but his table ploy counted against him. Brown slams Savage but the referee just keels over again. Sell that table! Savage is selling the Ghettoblaster by holding his head. Backslide and Brown gets himself pinned. Savage retains. ***1/4. Just too damn short. Awesome stuff though especially with the table because it all made sense. It wasn’t a table for the sake of having a table spot.

POST MATCH Brown takes offence at the refereeing standards in a championship match and stomps the shit out of both the ref who started the match and the one that ran in to count the fall. Savage runs back in to make the save himself but Brown chokes him out so out comes an assortment of babyface jobbers to get Brown off him but that just causes a pull apart brawl. IRON MIKE SHARPE~! RED ROOSTER~!

Ted DiBiase w/Virgil v Bret Hart

This is from Prime Time in March 1989. The ring announcer is female referee Mike McGuirk. Virgil tells her that DiBiase should be announced as the Million Dollar champion. Lord Alfred relays a story where he bought a Gucci belt for $75 and thought that was extravagant. Heh. Bret takes over quickly and hits a smooth Russian legsweep for 2. Ted got caught cold there. He realises this and bails out. They run a nice fake out spot where Bret almost gets a roll up but Ted grabs the ropes. While he’s celebrating Bret inside cradles him for 2. Referee is Timmy White here. Ted argues with the crowd so Bret hauls him back into the ring. Ted gets discombobulated and ends up tied in the ropes. Bret charges him but Ted gets free and Bret hurts himself. Ted is happy with a count out win and then changes his mind interrupting the count but Bret is wise to Virgil’s position and goes the other way around the ring. Ted gets in some well disguised choking. Ted now has Bret in a weakened state and hits a clothesline. Ted with the Million Dollar Fist Drop. I always thought that looked stupid but now I kind of mark for it. Bret blocks a suplex into his snap suplex. Ted goes to the nefarious cheating to get back on top. Backbreaker gets 2. Bret gets a small package for 2 and then another one when Ted tries to pick him up. Ted throws him out to Virgil, who seems to have walked off. He’s really not doing his job in this one. Compared to the Savage match from earlier. Virgil wakes up and starts distracting so Ted can illegally choke Bret. Thing is, he could do that himself. Ted is setting Bret up for Virgil and Virgil isn’t doing his job. No wonder Ted fired him. Bret comes back into a slugfest, which he wins with his better looking punches. Ted is up for some selling and begging off. Bret goes to the moves of doom. Backbreaker sets up the 2nd rope elbow for 2. Crowd is really starting to bite on this. Mainly since the slugfest. Bret charges though and misses with the knee in the corner. Ted hooks him with a spinning toehold Funk style. Bret kicks him off and Ted falls over the top rope. Bret decides it’s worth the sacrifice to hit a pescado but that just leads to a double count out. BOO! ***3/4. Tag a finish on and that was something special.

Gene Okerlund interviews the Rockers. Shawn looks so weird with that bleached blonde hair.

2/3 falls – The Rockers v Brainbusters w/Bobby Heenan

Heenan talks about how they don’t have the tag titles and takes issue with his own team for being failures. This is from November 1989 and Saturday Night’s Main Event. Marty Jannetty starts with Tully Blanchard. Jannetty uses his speed to get control. Tully pulls his hair to counter so Marty fires back with nip up’s and right hands. Crowd is getting really hot for this already. Tully powers Marty into the heel corner where Arn cheap shots him. I love these guys; they’ll take every short cut in the book. Sunset flip from Marty but Arn grabs Tully’s hands to stop him going over. Shawn sees this and dives across the ring to kick him off. Marty gets the pin and the Rockers take the first fall.

2nd fall – Heenan jumps into the ring and he doesn’t look pleased with the outcome of fall one. The heels get into a shouting match. This was originally set to lead to the team breaking up but Tully got himself fired before Survivor Series and the angle never got finished. The Rockers try for a cheeky roll up in mid argument but that only gets 2. Heenan has seen enough and walks off. Rockers are allowed extensive double teaming and dropkicks fly all round. Rockers with the double elbow drop, double nip up. Tully gets himself picked off for more double teaming. Shawn tries a flying headscissors but Arn drags him into the ropes allowing Tully to score the pin and level it at 1-1.

3rd fall – Jess Ventura goes to talk with Bobby Heenan. He says they’re a disgrace and the worst tag team he’s ever managed. He fires them on the air but they’re not aware of that because they’re still in the ring awaiting the 3rd fall to begin. Shawn is still down so the Brainbusters beat him up. ANDERSON SPINEBUSTER~! Jannetty makes the save. Shawn tries a bodyscissors but Arn catapults him into a big right hand off Tully. He tags in and makes a point of kicking Marty to give the Brainbusters a chance to rough Shawn up on the floor. Shawn comes back though and hits a high crossbody for 2. Crowd is really into this. Arn takes out Marty again to prevent a tag. Shawn tries to back him up. Marty punches Arn but as he falls back he headbutts Shawn and KO’s him as well. Shawn nutmegs Arn to make the hot tag. Marty cleans house with slams and dropkicks. The weight of numbers gives him trouble until Shawn pulls Tully out of the ring. Tully is much stronger at this juncture and posts Shawn. Not hard enough though and Shawn recovers to throw Tully off and high crossbody Arn for the victorious 3rd and decisive fall. ****. That was tremendous. Hot crowd, good storyline and solid formula wrestling. My only complaint is it could have easily gone 30 minutes but I guess TV time wasn’t on their side. The Brainbusters never teamed again. Tully got fired and Arn quit after Survivor Series but Tully wasn’t re-hired by WCW.

Bret Hart v Bad News Brown

April 1988 from MSG. The Fink doesn’t even get time to announce Bret before Brown jumps him. This is right after Bret turned babyface at the Wrestlemania IV battle royal. These were the last two guys in the ring. Brown has a lot of attitude but Bret has a lot of skill. He reverses Brown until Bad News gets frustrated and bails. Bret floats over in a tip up and rakes the eyes. Well, he’s only just turned face so he has certain heelish elements to his game. Because he’s aligned as a face though the crowd quite happily pop it. Hey, there’s superfan Vladimir at ringside. Brown gets thrown over the top and he takes a walk. Brown offers a handshake but Bret spits at him. Definitely still working heel, just getting the crowd reactions. Bret runs into a pair of feet in the corner and up goes Bad News. Bret throws him off. Foreign territory for Bad News up there. Bret goes to the Five Moves of Doom but Bad News eye rakes his way out of a backbreaker. All of a sudden that’s a bad thing for the New York crowd compared to earlier where it was tolerated when the babyface did it. Brown starts throwing a lot of elbows and beats Bret down savagely on the apron with strikes. Brown slams him on the floor for good measure. Brown clubs away at the sternum for a while. His offence has been very systematic and methodical. Bret takes a big front turnbuckle. He goes for another but Bret reverses and Brown takes the front buckle. Bret tries to follow up quickly off the 2nd buckle but Brown moves out of the way of the elbow. Brown hits his own elbow drop, as if to say “hey, I can do it” and pins for 2. Barely covering on that pin. Cocky. Brown headbutts away setting for the Ghettoblaster with all the head shots. One foot pin gets 2. Brown goes for the diving headbutt, off the 2nd, but it misses. Bret has a glimmer of hope and starts throwing punches to keep Brown from getting back in charge. Backbreaker gets 2. Brown bails because he senses doom. Bret goes out after him and gets a receipt for an earlier slam on the floor. Brown struggles onto the apron and Bret suplexes him back inside for 2. Bret misses another elbow. That’s been his Achilles Heel in this match and yet he keeps going to it almost through habit. Bret counters again in the corner and monkey flips Brown out for 2. Brown throws him outside and hints at a piledriver on the floor but Bret backdrops out of it. There goes Brown’s advantage. Back inside Bret hauls Brown up into a piledriver for 2. The referee doesn’t count to start with. Why is that? The time limit has expired? But the ref counted after the bell anyway. What the fuck is that? ***3/4. Where’s my finish?

Tito Santana v Butch Reed

JIP as the graphic helpfully points out. May 1987 coming off the back of Wrestlemania 3. Santana tagged with the Bulldogs in a 6-man on that show. Reed defeated Koko B. Ware. Crowd is really hot for this match out in Anaheim. Reed takes over with a foreign object over the referee’s head. Ventura thinks it was just a regular punch because Reed is so strong. The Hispanic population of California get some serious Tito support going. Slick, Reed’s manager, encourages Reed to dish out more of a beating with his fists and elbows. Tito comes back with some punches and Ventura thinks Santana has a foreign object. Haha. Classic. Reed throws him out to the floor. Slick wants a slam on the floor. Don’t listen to Slick! Reed opts for posing instead. Good choice, Butch. You’re a natural! Reed goes to suplex Tito back inside but Tito uses his weight to switch in mid-air and land on top for 2. The crowd starts getting SERIOUSLY loud in support of Tito’s attempted comeback. Reed takes him back down with a chinlock. Tito tries to fight out and this works really well because the crowd get excited every time he tries to fight out but then Reed just drags him back down then they run it again. Rinse, repeat and the crowd buys it every time. I think they take liberties by running the same thing four times. Tito finally gets out to a huge reaction and Reed knees him right back down. I can’t believe how much the crowd are biting on this. Was there a back-story or something? Reed with a piledriver for 2. Bruno Sammartino is impressed at the kickout and he was WWF champion for something like seven years. Tito is all fired up and he stomps away at Reed and the crowd is going MENTAL. He pounds Reed and pins…for 2. He beat on him so much that was a genuine near fall. Like the first Ki-Joe match in Ring of Honor. FIGURE FOUR! Reed is trapped but he’s the new guy they’re pushing so he gets the ropes to survive. Reed kicks him off and the referee tries to break them up but the time limit has expired. ***1/4. Crowd bought into everything they did but they did very little. That’s not working hard that’s working smart.

Ted DiBiase v Jacques Rougeau

This is from September 1987 in Rockford, Illinois. Also JIP. Gorilla & Brain on commentary. Jacques is still one half of the Rougeau Brothers but doesn’t have his partner out here. Virgil is here though. It’s odd seeing Jacques as such a bland babyface guy. It works though because Ted has enough personality for two. He gets dropkicked out of the ring. Ted sells everything more than he needs to here, which puts Jacques over big time. Heenan talks about the Rougeau’s fading in every match they have after starting fast. Ted takes his time and paces his offence methodically. Suplex gets 2. He picks up the offence with some elbow drops but Jacques moves after two of those. Backslide! Ted got caught being too predictable and nearly lost. Ted tries to come off the buckles but gets punched in the crap factory. Jacques with a flying back elbow for 2. I really don’t remember Jacques being such a high flier. Virgil jumps on the apron thinking that Ted needs a breather. He does and Jacques is dumb enough to get distracted AND rolled up for the pinfall. Ted wins. And he grabbed the tights, naturally. **1/2. Solid but nothing special. DiBiase could work well with other high flying guys outside of the very top guys, Savage/Steamboat, and this was a quick demonstration.

WWF title – Hulk Hogan (c) v Bob Orton Jr

This is also in Anaheim and the crowd reaction is once again tremendous. This aired on Superstars in May 1987 so we’re right after Wrestlemania 3 and the legendary Andre match. Orton gets some early offence but the crowd chants Hogan’s name and he fires back quickly. They completely fuck up a clothesline over the top. That was unsightly. Mr Fuji isn’t happy. Hogan with a slam and an elbow drop. Something that bothers me about Hogan is that his finisher is a legdrop; why not just hit it whenever the other guy is down? I guess because he’s not worn the guy down enough but it strikes me as strange. The top rope breaks when Orton gets run into the buckles. What the hell? The rope is still attached but it’s REALLY loose. Orton thinks about using the ropes but then realises they’re fucked and attacks off the second rope instead. Orton measures a few ridiculous looking elbow drops. I think possibly Orndorff got the Boogie Woogie Elbow off those Orton elbow drops, which is where the Rock was inspired to do the People’s Elbow. They run a comeback and forget the ropes are broken leading to an unusual spot where Orton can’t run into the ropes so he just stops. Orton with a shoddy looking neckbreaker for 2. Interesting to watch them wrestle around the rope but that doesn’t mean the match is any good. They battle back and forth and Orton uses the ropes for a leg jam for 2. Hogan pops right up out of that and Hulks up. You know where this ends up. Hogan retains. **. Interesting to see a match where the top rope breaks, stays there and they still put on a decent match without it. The tendency to use the top rope cropped up a few times and it must be hard to fight that instinct.

Bob Orton Jr v Mike Rotundo

This is from Philly. December 1984. Picture quality is the worst of any match on the tape so far. Orton is better known as Piper’s bodyguard while Rotundo is one half of the US Express. Orton is the aggressor and hits a rather unconventional press backbreaker. The crowd seem to be annoying him though so he stops off to jaw with them instead of getting a pin. Orton goes up top but Rotundo gets knees up on the splash. Crowd gets very excited about that. Rotundo fires back with punches and elbows and he’s really selling his exhaustion. Makes me wonder how much of a clip lead into the start of what we were shown. We clip away for Jess Ventura to talk about it. This is from a TV show so there are clips away. I’m glad they don’t do it that way anymore. We return to the action with Rotundo hitting a dropkick. Orton is selling like a champ and bounces himself onto the buckles then onto the top rope with a crotching. Shawn Michaels used that all the time. I wonder if he borrowed it from Bob? Or whether they both borrowed the general style of it from Flair? Certainly the way Bob was doing it is exactly how Shawn does it. Orton goes to bash Rotundo’s head into the buckles but gets caught and reversed. He tries to go up top again but that’s not working for him today and he’s slammed off for 2. Rotundo can’t believe it’s not over, which allows Orton a chance to get back into it. He takes that chance and hits a bulldog for 2. Both guys look really tired now. Both kayfabe and actually. Orton goes for another bulldog but Rotundo shoves him off into the buckles. An atomic drop sends Bob into the buckles again but he saves himself by getting a foot on the rope. Orton with a backbreaker for 2. His approach is far more methodical and it does seem that apart from Randy Savage the WWF heels in the 80’s worked really slowly compared to the faces. They had this dynamic in place that no one seemed to want to mess with. Credit to Savage for changing things AND staying heel in the process. Orton isn’t so tired that he can’t manage a leapfrog but when he lands Rotundo has turned him around and nails a lariat…for 2. Rotundo was just too tired to get the quick pin. The tired Orton is well positioned and sticks his leg on the rope. Rotundo sits on it. “That’ll teach him” – Gorilla. This turns into a crazy brawl for 30 seconds, which is impressive considering how tired they must be. Rotundo comes out on top. Rotundo with a flying headscissors. He tries for another one but Orton counters it and hangs Rotundo up top. He looks for the patented superplex and hits it. Orton would win the match BUT the time limit has expired so it’s a draw. ***3/4. Great stuff. Kind of like a Savage-Steamboat style match only slightly less epic. The crowd really ate it up.

Tag titles – North-South Connection (Adonis/Murdoch) (c) v Brisco Brothers

This is from later in the same month in MSG. It’s right at the end of the Brisco’s careers. Gerry just sold Vince McMahon his stake in Georgia Championship Wrestling thus securing himself a job for life. The Brisco’s held the NWA tag titles twice and big brother Jack was a 2-time NWA champion. Murdoch starts out as the chickenshit falling through the ropes and then hiding behind the referee. Jack goes right after the leg and nearly picks off a Figure Four with his first offence but Murdoch gets the ropes. GREAT wrestling btw. When you keep in mind that the heel champions are the showboat team and the Brisco’s are the workrate team this should be really fun. Adonis in but Gerry picks his arm off with an armdrag and an armbar. It’s weird that because the heels are the more showy team they are the ones who get picked off in the reverse heat segments. Everyone comes in and this totally breaks down but the guys want a clean match so restore control themselves. Gerry finds himself picked off in the process and now we get the actual heat. But he’s a quicker and smarter wrestler than Murdoch so he reverses into another armdrag and tags in Jack. Murdoch takes a big punch and lands ready for doggy. Jack stands around nodding instead of following up. Gorilla is unimpressed. Murdoch eventually gets back up without Jack taking advantage, ahem, at all. Jack then armdrags him back down. That was really weird. The challengers really go after Murdoch and his arm and this would be the third reverse heat segment. Crowd isn’t reacting well to it but the wrestling is tremendous. Mainly because of the Brisco’s having so much amateur experience. Murdoch gets hit with another big left hand and it’s SO harsh he bumps it, gets back up and bumps it again through the ropes. Captain Redneck is tremendous. Murdoch grabs a camera case from under the ring and bashes Gerry with it. Isn’t that a DQ? Apparently not and Adonis rushes in to take advantage. I’m amazed the referee didn’t DQ Murdoch for that. Powerslam gets 2. Cheating is fine, but cheating in front of the referee is dodgy. Adonis goes for the spinning toehold but that’s countered directly into the Figure Four. Adonis is luckily in his corner and tags out leaving Gerry wide open for Murdoch to elbow drop him. Gerry comes back with some more of those left hands staggering Murdoch. Dropkick! Figure Four! Adonis runs in to break it and Gorilla thinks that was a DQ as well. Jack gets the tag while Adonis is leaving and he picks off Murdoch’s leg because the Figure Four already did a lot of damage. Jack grabs one leg and holds the other in place with his foot. Murdoch really has nowhere to go because he has no control over his own legs. Murdoch struggles out but gets caught in another leghold. He can’t get the tag. It turns into a tug-o-war that Jack wins and its back to the hold. Murdoch goes to the eyes and rolls into his corner to tag Adonis. Jack trips him up though and starts working Adonis’ leg instead. That was seamless. Murdoch can’t even get out of the ring because his knee is so bad. The ref orders him out of there. Murdoch struggles up and can’t stand without the ropes. Gerry in and he works at Adonis’ leg too. From here it looks like there’s no way back for the champs. Both of them are hurt and the Brisco’s barely look like they’re breaking a sweat. Murdoch knows they’re in trouble and exposes a turnbuckle. Ref warns him about it so Murdoch is all “I was just holding the tag rope”. Backbreaker/knee drop from the champs gets 2. I don’t like because both guys had bad knees and shouldn’t be able to do it. Neckbreaker gets 2. Gerry is pretty fresh still so he’s ok. He goes after Murdoch’s knee and the big Texan’s selling is terrific. Murdoch uses his upper body strength to jack Gerry up – BRAINBUSTER! That gets 2. Gerry has taken some serious impact stuff in the past few minutes. Murdoch drives his knee into Gerry’s head for 2. That was with the good knee so I can live with that. Now Adonis tags in with a Savage Elbow for 2. Jack has to make the save there because Gerry is screwed. HOT TAG! Adonis was careless. Jack catches him in a sleeper. Murdoch runs in and he gets the sleeper as well. Adonis runs in to makes the save. He kicked Jack right in the head there. MAEDA THAT SHIT DOWN! Murdoch is barely moving though so you’d think Jack still has enough to finish him off. Jack hasn’t taken much abuse at all. Sunset flip gets 2. Gerry back in with the Oklahoma roll for 2. I love that move when it’s done right. Adonis jumps in there and we get ourselves a donnybrook. Sleeper on Murdoch and he’s down. Adonis elbows Gerry right in the neck though. Ref couldn’t stop him because he was still escorting Jack out. Crowd is getting steadily hotter and hotter here. Murdoch walks into the wrong corner and gets beaten down again. Gerry with a German suplex…for 2. That looked like it was over. Gerry holds the waistlock but Murdoch is wise to it and runs Gerry into Adonis. Gerry rolls him up anyway and everyone piles in for another big brawl. All hell breaks loose and it must be close to the 30 minute time limit. Ref just let’s them go and the Brisco’s can’t beat the count by the looks of it. The brawl continues and it gets even crazier with Jack ramming Murdoch into the announce table. Now it’s officially a double count out and this one is over. ****1/2. Awesome tag match. Some psychology issues aside it was terrific. It had a real Japanese feel to it for some reason. The Brisco’s were totally awesome and could have transformed the tag division given a chance but Gerry was contemplating retirement and that was the end of that. Great stuff.

Brainbusters v Hart Foundation

From Summerslam ’89. Bobby Heenan is managing the former Horsemen here. The Brainbusters are the tag team champions but this isn’t for the titles. Why? Who knows? Arn takes it to the mat with Bret but Bret counters and works over the arm in Anderson fashion. The Harts team on Arn’s arm ensuring his isolation in reverse formula style. Blanchard comes in and the Harts work him over too. Anvil no sells some chops and Bret elbows Blanchard in the back of the head. The Harts work on Blanchard’s arm as well. Brainbusters come in to double up but Bret flips and sends them both out while the crowd goes nuts. Brainbusters try something else with a blind tag and Bret gets picked off. Anvil comes in to help and they clear out the Brainbusters again. Blanchard gets isolated again and this match has been all Harts thus far. Everyone in but Anvil takes a front turnbuckle on a whip allowing the Brainbusters to finally get some offence in. Anvil gets worked over and Arn lays in a punch to the stomach for 2. Bret cheap shots Arn to my surprise and the crowd loves that. Hot tag to Bret and he cleans house. Elbow drop off the 2nd rope and a snap suplex gets 2. Everyone in and Bret gets whipped but he clotheslines Blanchard in the process. Arn gets posted by Anvil. Back inside and Bret slingshots Anvil in for a shoulderblock on Blanchard. Harts double team as Anvil BURNING HAMMERS Bret onto the fallen Blanchard. Well, it was a hell of a lot softer but that was the move. Heenan distracts while the Brainbusters look to cheat. Arn connects with the double axe handle off the ropes for once in his career and the Brainbusters take it at 15.56. ***1/2. Lots of workrate but it really was a bit too one sided and the finish sucked.

IC title – Rick Rude (c) v Woyah

Also from Summerslam ’89. Rude does his “sweathogs” promo to demonstrate how you work a mic in front of a crowd. Woyah doesn’t bother selling during the opening exchanges and clotheslines the hardworking Rude outside. Rude comes back in with a sunset flip and Woyah doesn’t sell that either. Press slam and he dumps Rude OVER THE ROPES. Woyah uses the belt like his true sportsman. Suplex on the floor and Rude sells away to his heart’s content. Woyah throws Rude outside again as Ventura makes the observation of “Woyah doesn’t know how to wrestle inside the ring”. SHOOT! Back inside and Woyah hits the Bret Hart killing axe handle of doom…for 2. Scoop slam gets 2. Suplex gets 2. Inverted atomic drop and Woyah mocks Rude before dropping him on his ass bone. Woyah climbs but Rude crotches him. Rude starts to work the spine over with some forearm shivers. Suplex gets 2. Rude continues to work on the back for another near fall. Rude Awakening is blocked so Rude goes to a sleeper instead. Woyah no sells that and hits a jawbreaker. Joey Marella takes a fine ref bump on the next exchange. Woyah starts no selling everything and the powerslam gets NOTHING because the referee is still down. Woyah persists with the cover for whatever reason his roid loaded head has come up with. PILEDRIVER and the crowd is going batshit but it’s only a 2 count from the recovering Marella. Over the shoulder powerslam but the running Woyah splash gets knees. Rude tombstones Woyah and Woyah is nearly dropped on his head by lifting it up. Rude drops a knee off the ropes for 2. Roddy Piper appears at ringside. Rude NAILS A PILEDRIVER…for 2. Rude takes a moment to jaw with Piper. Woyah takes advantage of the opportunity to GERMAN SUPLEX RUDE OFF THE ROPES. Press slam and the running splash finishes at 16 minutes even. ***3/4. Excellent match. Shame about Woyah’s selling but Rude made up for it by bumping around his weaknesses like crazy.

The 411: Great to see the Brisco’s match with Murdoch & Adonis but apart from that there weren’t any really superb matches on this one. However the vast majority of the matches were very good. Orton-Rotundo & Bret-Bad News were entertaining surprises in particular. Thumbs up, obviously.
Final Score:  8.5   [ Very Good ]