The Name on the Marquee: NWA World Championship Wrestling

-Cold open: Ron Garvin falls victim to a 3-on-1 attack from the Midnight Express and Big Bubba.

-Originally aired November 15, 1986.

-Your hosts are Tony Schiavone & David Crockett, but we only got 33 minutes this week, so Jim Cornette is here right NOW to get his mic time in.

MIDNIGHT EXPRESS & BIG BUBBA ROGERS (with Jim Cornette) vs LEE PEEK, ALLEN WEST, & VERNON DEATON
-Dennis Condrey starts with Vernon. He chokes Deaton while Cornette talks about all the fans in Bolivia who are excited about Night of the Skywalkers. Cornette mentions that he’s had his men on the scaffold and “there were a few little bugs at first” but now they have the idea.

-Bubba boots down Allen West and follows with a fireman’s carry slam while Cornette mentions he learned that move on the streets of Louisville, which is why there’s going to be a Louisville Street Fight at Starrcade. Flying elbow from Bobby Eaton, and he gets the winning pin with one finger.

-Rick Rude is here to cut promos on behalf of everyone in Paul Jones’ Army, which makes it vastly more bearable.

STARRCADE ’86 CONTROL CENTER
-Recently, Jim Cornette had a scaffold set up over the ring in an empty arena so the Midnight Express could have a training session. This gives us a GREAT skit where the cameras are turned on too early and Cornette is scolding his men for whining so much about the match. After getting them settled down, Cornette looks at the camera and says “Let me know when you’re rolling.” And after a beat, Cornette is immediately rambling and talking shit and warns the Road Warriors that his men are ready.

-To prove it, he has his men climb the scaffold, and they take forever to do it, particularly Bobby Eaton, who really won’t even get on the first rung until Cornette’s fifth order. Cornette demonstrates how secure the scaffold is by shaking it, and Eaton lets out a petrified yelp and starts to climb down until Cornette yells at him.

-He sends Bubba up there to serve as a sparring partner of sorts, and nobody wants to go through with the training. Cornette is hilarious, talking about how there’s nothing to be scared of. “Look at me! I’m not scared!” he says while standing in the ring. The Midnights finally goad him into climbing up there with them. Cornette climbs a single rung and starts to cry.

-Superstar Bill Dundee is the baddest dude alive, and he doesn’t respect Sam Houston because he hears Sam Houston owns a truck!

TIM HORNER & RICKY LEE JONES vs MULKEY BROTHERS
-Wrestling history in the making, as David Crockett coins “Mulkeymania” on commentary. Horner & Jones work of I-wanna-say-Bill. Randy tags in and gets armdragged by Horner. Powerslam by Horner, and Jones turns a spinning toehold into a pinning combination for three.

-Ric Flair has some new jewelry this week, and 25 years later, so will Carl’s Pawn Shop.

TULLY BLANCHARD (with JJ Dillon) vs. KEITH PATTERSON
-Blanchard works Patterson over with elbows and forearms. Slingshot suplex gets the quick win.

-JJ Dillon says that strategy is different in a First Blood match because working the arm and working the leg won’t get you a win. You just need to concentrate on busting a guy open.

BRAD ARMSTRONG vs TONY ZANE
-Zane misses a corner charge right away and falls victim to a hammerlock. Kneelift follows, and the Russian legsweep finishes.

-Dusty and Nikita are here. Ric Flair says Nikita has gone soft, but Nikita flexes a bit and says Flair wears sunglasses to hide the fear in his eyes. Dusty Rhodes warns Tully Blanchard that he’s gonna turn him into a pumpkin.

-Cornette and his men are back out and Cornette is completely irritated at how poorly edited the training video was. The cameramen completely missed all the impressive maneuvers the boys did on the scaffold, so Cornette promises that NEXT week, we’ll see the real training video.

-We watch the Midnights and Big Bubba attack Ron Garvin. There’s absolutely no organic reason for them to do it, it really is just because both guys need a match.

RAVISHING RICK RUDE vs PAUL GARNER
-Paul Jones isn’t here, apparently because he wants to make sure Rude can function without him just in case something comes up. Mission accomplished. Dropkick and the DDT finish right away.

-Cornette’s here AGAIN. Did some guys miss their flight? The Road Warriors are the bigger men, and that just means they’ll fall harder.

6.0

The final score: review Average

The 411

The Midnight Express training video carried the half-hour. The rest of the show was focused on the "lesser" matches for Starrcade and there's not much to get excited about there.