wrestling / Video Reviews
Leighty’s Retro Review: NWA Chi-Town Rumble ’89
Image Credit: WWE/Peacock
Loading...-We continue on as we get our first NWA PPV of the year. This show is a few days after the awful Clash of The Champions, but we know things start to turn around for the NWA, so let’s see what they have to offer here. Let’s get to it!
-Announce Team: Jim Ross and Magnum T.A.
-Feb. 20, 1989
-UIC Pavilion, Chicago, IL
-Attendance: 8,000
-PPV Buys: 130,000
-We spend a lot of time, wasting time to start as JR and Magnum talk for a bit and then throw to a generic video package of wrestler highlights. Then back to Magnum and JR, who then throw to a Michael Hayes backstage promo where he talks about all the matches and then gets into his upcoming match.
Michael PS Hayes vs. Russian Assassin #1 (w/ Paul Jones)
-As we mentioned on The Clash review, Assassin was also known as The Angel of Death. JR mentions that the red, white, and blue runs through Hayes DNA. Yeah, the red, white, and blue of the Confederacy judging by his robe. Simpler time in the 80s where you cheered for the Confederate Southerner over the Masked Commie! Hayes misses wildly on a left hand and gets caught with an atomic drop, but no sells and decks The Russian with a clothesline. He comes off the middle rope with a right hand a few times as he peacocks to the crowd. Hayes hooks an armbar and JR uses the time to let us know about the weather in Chicago. I heard it was cold enough to freeze hell. Hayes throws some elbows to the shoulder. Russian goes to the eyes and boots away in the corner. Hayes fires back and lands a back elbow. Hayes struts and then lands a boot to the head. Back to the armbar! Yay! Russian pushes off, but misses an elbow and Hayes gets a sunset flip. No count though as The Russian kicks out quickly. The announcer mentions 5 minutes have gone by and they must have a slow timer because I have 5:20 gone. Hayes goes back to the armbar, but thankfully The Russian breaks quickly and dumps Hayes to the floor. Hayes back in with a right hand and then a chop. Back to the armbar! Hayes gets shot off and hits a shoulder tackle. He runs the ropes again, and The Russian buries a knee to the gut. He goes to the eyes in the corner and lands some boots in another corner. Weak looking Russian Cycle gets a two count. Even JR had to note he didn’t catch much of it. The Russian chokes for a bit and then hooks a reverse chinlock. A USA chant breaks out to keep the crowd awake. Hayes elbows his way out and gets a crossbody for two, but gets caught with a better looking Russian Cycle for two. RA gets a reverse chinlock for two and that goes on for longer than any sane person would think is a good idea. RA gets a whip to the corner and hits a super weak knee to the gut. Another knee to the back and then Hayes gets sent head first into the top buckle. Paul Jones works in a cheap shot for good measure and it gets two as Hayes gets his foot on the middle rope. Hayes blocks being sent into the buckle and fires away with right hands. He bounces The Russian’s head off the top buckle ten times, but a bulldog is blocked. Hayes counters a suplex and gets one of his own, but he misses an elbow. Russian misses a charge in the corner and Hayes opens up with right hands. He gets the ten count punch in the corner and fires off a chop. The Russian sets too early for a backdrop and Hayes sticks him with a DDT for the pin at 15:48.
Winner: Michael PS Hayes via pin at 15:48
-Just way too long and boring. The crowd was into Hayes though and I am a sucker for the DDT. *
-Ricky Steamboat interview all about the joys of being a family man. He has his little boy and wife with him.
Sting vs. “Hacksaw” Butch Reed (w/ Hiro Matsuda)
-Sting is three years into his career at this point and they enjoyed putting him out there against former WWF guys to get a win. Sorry about the spoiler! Sting starts with an atomic drop, so Reed stalls and yells at the crowd. Reed backs into the corner to slow things down again, so Sting yells out to his fans. Lock-up and nothing happening as they break and Reed complains about a hair pull. Another lock-up and they jockey for position. Reed backs Sting into a corner, but Sting avoids a right hand. The soup bone variety as noted by JR. Another go and Reed hooks a side headlock. Sting leaps over Reed a few times and flips out of an arm drag and gets one of his own. He hits a dropkick and Reed bails to the floor. Reed takes his time getting back into the ring and then we get another lock-up. Sting gets a side headlock and takes Reed to the mat with it. Reed tries to push Sting off several times, but Sting keeps control of the hold. JR takes a shot at The Ultimate Warrior by noting Sting has surpassed any of his former partners. I kind of wish this was Warrior vs. Reed because it would be over by now. Reed bails to the floor to talk strategy with Matsuda. Back in the ring, Reed unloads with right hands, but misses an elbow in the corner. Sting goes after the arm to control and bites the hand of Reed behind the ref’s back. JR has to ignore Sting’s cheating. Reed gets run down with a shoulder, but he uses Sting’s momentum to send him to the floor. Magnum notes that Reed took a shoulder to sucker Sting into trying it again, so he could side step and send him to the floor. Reed drops Sting throat first on the top rope and then comes off the middle ropes with a double axe for two. More soup bones! Reed uses the bottom rope to choke and then distracts the ref so Matsuda can lay in a choke to piss the crowd off. Teddy Long tries to get Matsuda back, but that lets Reed choke away back in the ring. Sting’s arm drops twice and it sure look like it did a third time, but I guess not as he gets to his feet. Reed uses the hair to pull Sting back down, and considering Sting was biting him earlier, I don’t blame Reed. Sting has his arm drop a third time again, but it shoots right back up which is good enough for the ref. Reed flattens Sting out as he maintains the side headlock. He even uses the bottom rope for extra effect. This goes on for a bit as Reed continues to cheat behind the ref’s back. After this match and the previous Reed match at The Clash I am good on long Butch Reed solo matches for the rest of my life. Sting starts his comeback as he gets a slam and then tries what would become a Vader-bomb, but Reed gets his knees up to block. Reed misses a clothesline and stumbles so much he falls out of the ring to the floor. Sting brings Reed back in with a vertical suplex for two. Reed uses leverage and tights to send Sting to the floor. He beats on Sting on the apron and then snaps him back into the ring. Swinging neck breaker gets a two count. Another chinlock, though Reed pulls the tight as he continues to cheat to win. JR notes the Bears number 1 draft pick is sitting in the front row. Didn’t matter who anyone drafted the upcoming year as my 49ers just ran through the entire league in impressive fashion. Sting gets a jawbreaker and hits a clothesline to wake the crowd up. Thank goodness! Sting with a backdrop and then drops an elbow. Now Sting chokes in the corner, so Reed goes to the eyes. JR bitches about that while ignoring that Sting was using a choke. Sting gets a sunset flip from the apron, but Reed holds onto the ropes for a two count. Long kicks Reed’s hands away and Sting gets the roll-up for the pin at 20:07.
Winner: Sting via pin at 20:07
-Better than the last unnecessarily long Reed match, but that’s not saying much. Again, Sting should have mowed through him and not had to go 20 minutes to win with a roll-up. The crowd loved Sting though. *
-Paul Dangerously says he told Dennis to stay in Colorado as he has brought in Jack Victory as the Midnight Express don’t know him.
Randy Rose, Jack Victory, and Paul E. Dangerously vs. Jim Cornette and The Midnight Express
-The loser of the fall must leave the NWA. No clue why Victory is subbing for Dennis Condrey, Research says he decided to stay home instead of showing up to do the job. Sorry, spoilers! Rose and Lane start us out with some chain wrestling. Lane with a side headlock and then he runs Rose down with a shoulder. Rose back with some strikes followed by a slam. He heads up and gets slammed down by Lane which is followed by a clothesline that sends Rose to the floor. Back in the ring the tag is made to Jack Victory and he gets dropped with a toe-hold which lets Eaton and then Cornette drop an elbow to pop the crowd. Tag to Lane and he lands a back elbow and then sends Rose into Eaton’s knee. JR mentions he hasn’t seen Victory in the last several months. Took up residence in Russia from what I hear and became a Blackmailer. Cornette lands a right hand which pops the crowd again. Rose sets Lane up for a punch from Paul but Lane moves and Paul hits his own man. It didn’t really do much other than annoy Rose and give the crowd a chance to laugh. Eaton in and he sends Rose through the ropes. Rose lands a punch to the ribs from the floor and tosses Eaton from the apron to the railing. Back in the ring Rose gets a slam and Dangerously wants in the ring. He lands some kicks and then quickly tags out once Eaton gets to his feet. Cornette wants the tag and he wants Dangerously. The crowd wants to see it as well, but there’s no need for Rose to do it. Just take the advantage! He does as he gets a slam and that brings in Dangerously and it’s more kicking. Right hand from Paul gets a two count. Paul eats a shot to his ribs, but goes to the eyes to break. JR: “These two men are more suited to a debate than an athletic contest.” Preach! Cornette fights back, but Dangerously tags out and Jim is screwed again. Lane and Victory take turns beating up Cornette, so Eaton just comes in and catches Victory with a bulldog. That lets Cornette make the tag to Lane and throws his arsenal of karate kicks. Paul gets in a cheap shot from the apron and that turns the tide again. Rose with a powerslam for two! Lane gets knocked to the floor and Rose comes off the middle rope with a clubbing blow to the back. Loud “Paul E Sucks” chant! Back in the ring Rose gets a sidewalk slam for two. Lane gets a backdrop to escape a piledriver attempt, but Victory gets the quick tag. He gets in a few shots and makes the tag back to Rose. He hook s a chinlock and then drops a knee to the back. Rose dances to mock Sweet Stan! Lane responds with a kick to the gut, but Rose backs him into the corner for some chops. Victory back in and he runs into a boot in the corner. Hot tag is made to Eaton, though they would have popped more for Cornette. Backdrop from Eaton followed by a slam and he heads up top. Sweet missile dropkick! He then makes Victory tag Dangerously and now the crowd is losing it. Cornette gets the tag and he throws some rights as Paul wobbles around like a fish. Clothesline gets one as Rose makes the save. Tag to Lane and now everyone is brawling in the ring. Rose misses a splash off the top, but Victory makes the save. Dangerously jumps on Lane’s back as things starts to slow down. Double elbow by Rose and Victory. They then get sent into each other and a double flapjack gets the pin on Rose at 15:54.
Winners: The Midnight Express and Jim Cornette via pin at 15:54
-This was fine, but hurt by Victory having to fill in for Condrey. The crowd was way into Cornette vs. Dangerously and kind of subdued for the rest. **3/4
-Ric Flair cuts a promo in advance of the World Title Match against Steamboat. Flair having Matsuda in his corner is just weird!
NWA TV Title: Rick Steiner (c) (w/ Scott Steiner) vs. Mike Rotunda
It’s Michigan vs. Syracuse! Tom Brady vs. Donovan McNabb and we know how that went! Mat wrestling sequence to start which makes sense and Rotunda gets a full nelson. Steiner powers out and shoves Mike. Another lock-up and Rotunda gets a takedown, but Steiner slides out and Mike ends up on the floor. Another lock-up and Rick gets a single leg, so Rotunda grabs the ropes and gets in a cheap shot. European uppercuts from Rotunda, but he nearly gets caught with a Steiner-line. He bails to the floor to avoid and things slow down again. JR notes they are in Big 10 Country and man is that Country a lot bigger today vs. 1989. You tell someone in 1989 that Rutgers, Oregon, Washington, UCLA, and USC are all in the Big 10 they would want you drug tested. Sorry, college football talk seeping in there. Blame JR! Back in the ring Steiner gets a hiptoss and takes Mike’s head off with a Steiner-line for two. More notes from JR as he tells us Mike Rotunda was a finalist in the National Punt, Pass, and Kick contest. Pat McAfee actually won that contest to tie it to today’s wrestling. Sorry, all the football talk is due to nothing of note happening in this match. Rotunda offers a handshake, but Rick talks to his hand and she tells Rick that Mike is bad, so no shake. Rotunda gets an abdominal stretch and uses the ropes. Scott tells the ref and eventually Mike gets caught so the ref forces a break. Steiner unloads with right hands and Mike bails to stall some more. Lockup and Rick backs Mike into a corner, but Rotunda lands a right hand over the back of the ref. Rotunda gets a crossbody off the middle ropes, but Rick rolls through and gets a two count. More grappling and Rotunda gets back control and throws some forearms. He switches to an armbar, but Rick gets to his feet and gets a side headlock. That goes for a bit as they jockey for ring position. Rotunda breaks and gets in some chops followed by a tackle. He gets caught charging and gets monkey-flipped across the ring. Backdrop from Steiner for two! Slam next and Steiner heads up top, but misses a splash. Rotunda dumps Rick through the ropes and follows him out so he can send him shoulder first into the post. Back in the ring Steiner gets a power slam for two and then another two count. The crowd comes alive as Kevin Sullivan heads down to the ring. He grabs the mic and tells Rick he has a beautiful looking dog back in the dressing room. Rick doesn’t know what to do as he wants to head to the back to save his dog. Scott breaks the ref’s count as Magnum suggests Rick just send Scott back to check on the dog. That sound’s smart! Rotunda misses a dropkick back in the ring and Rick follows up with right hands including the ten count punch in the corner. Steiner gets a sleeper and falls to his back, but he is the with his shoulders on the mat and Teddy Long has to count him down at 16:22.
Winner and New NWA TV Champion: Mike Rotunda via pin at 16:22
-Rick had nobody to blame but himself for that one. The match was okay, but it had a lot of starts and stops. I am cool with some amateur stuff, but it never really paid off. More dull than bad, but not good any way you slice it. *1/2
-The Road Warriors do a Road Warrior interview backstage!
NWA United States Title: Barry Windham (c) (w/ Matsuda) vs. Lex Luger
-The crowd is pumped for this one! Aggressive lockup and Windham goes to the mat, but Luger is up quickly. They run into each other and Luger doesn’t budge. He catches Windham with a sleeper, but Windham breaks with a belly to back. Luger no sells and gets an atomic drop. Press Slam pops the crowd and this is already the best match I have seen so far this year from the NWA. Lockup and Barry goes to the eyes, but gets pulled into the corner by Luger. He goes for the ten count punch, but Windham walks out for an atomic drop. He misses though and Luger murders him with a clothesline. He follows with a backdrop that gets two! Beautiful power slam from Luger and he heads up top. He misses a flying shoulder and ends up rolling to the floor. Barry gives chase and delivers a clubbing blow to the back. He sends Luger into the time-keeper’s table and brings him back into the ring with a suplex. Barry throws right hands with his gloved hand, but Luger fights back as JR goes over the football backgrounds. Windham hits a lariat, but Luger goes to the floor again. JR notes that Luger has been busted open above his eye. Barry goes for a right hand, but Luger ducks and Barry punches the ring post. Uh oh! That’s his claw hand! For clawing! Back in the ring we see that Barry’s hand is bleeding. Sweet! Sell it sir! Barry somehow punches with the hand, though he sells each time. He tries the claw, but Luger just squeezes the hand to force a break. Smart! Windham finally changes up and starts throwing elbows since his hand is screwed. Luger fights back, but Barry goes to the eyes with his left hand. Windham continues to throw with the right hand and catches Luger with a delayed powerslam for two. JR mentions that Windham’s hand is probably numb now which is letting him throw it. ROCKY BALBOA taught us that! Barry preps for The Superplex and hits it which gets some fans standing up to applaud. Barry gets a two count which draws a gasp from some in the crowd. Barry gets a belly to back suplex, but Luger gets his shoulder up and Windham is counted down at 10:43.
Winner and New United States Champion: Lex Luger via pin at 10:43
-This was fun and didn’t over stays it welcome. They hit each other hard and I liked the psychology of Windham destroying his hand. The ending would have been more effective if we hadn’t see Steiner just pin himself in the preceding match. ***1/2
-Windham attacks Luger after the match and gives him a piledriver on the US Belt. Luger’s lucky this isn’t Memphis!
-Mike Rotunda cuts a promo backstage as he is the new TV Champion. I can’t help but thing of Bray Wyatt every time I see Mike now.
NWA Tag Team Titles: The Road Warriors (c) (w/ Paul Ellering) vs. The Varsity Club (Kevin Sullivan and Dr. Death Steve Williams)
-The Chicago crowd loves The Road Warriors! Sullivan starts with Animal and tries to come off the top, but Animal catches him with a power slam for two. Animal gets caught in the wrong corner, but fights out. Williams in as Magnum notes this is the wrestler vs. the street fighter. About a decade later we would see what happened when Williams faced a brawler in Bart Gunn. Hawk gets the tag and Williams bails to the floor. Williams gets a knee on Hawk and press slams him to the mat. He misses an elbow and Hawk hits a clothesline and then kicks Sullivan for good measure. That distracts the ref which lets The Warriors hit a double clothesline for two. JR is shocked someone kicked out of The Road Warriors double clothesline and wants to meet another man that can do that. Sullivan gets the tag and tosses Animal to the floor so he can hit him with a steel chair. Smart! Sullivan comes off the apron with a double axe to the shoulder. Williams targets the arm back in the ring and catches Animal with a kick to the face for two. Animal fights back, but Doc has the leg tied up and makes the tag to Sullivan. He hits the double stomp and brings Hawk into the ring so they can hit some double team moves. Tag back to Doc and he stomps Animal on the match. Slam from Doc and the crowd is not liking this at all. Doc misses a charge in the corner, but Sullivan gets the tag and keeps Animal from making the tag. Doc gets the tag again and comes off the ropes with a double axe to the shoulder. He cranks on the arm for a bit as Paul tries to get the crowd to rally behind Animal. He responds with some right hands, but doesn’t go for the tag. They clothesline each other and it’s a race to the corner. Hawk gets the hot tag and he runs wild on Sullivan and Doc. Everyone starts hitting everyone and we get left with Animal and Sullivan in the ring. There is some confusion as they wait for Hawk to get into position. Hawk ends up coming off the top with a shoulder block on Sullivan. He gets the pin at 8:27 while Doc has Animal covered. JR notes that Hawk and Sullivan were the legal men.
Winners and Still NWA Tag Team Champions: The Road Warriors via pin at 8:27
-Just a basic tag match that used the tag formula. Not sure what is up with all these convoluted endings tonight though. **1/4
-Luger gets his victory speech backstage and says the blood is worth winning The US Title.
-Recap of Flair/Steamboat rivalry including their kick ass brawl from The Clash a few days ago.
NWA World Heavyweight Championship: Ric Flair (w/ Matsuda) vs. Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat
-Steamboat is already in the ring like some jobber while Flair gets roses and a kiss from one of the women he has at ringside. JR notes there have been two World Titles changes in Chicago (Buddy Rogers over Lou Thesz and Flair over Garvin). I appreciate history lessons! Lockup and they jockey for position. Side headlock, but Flair shoves off so Steamboat gets a tackle and quickly goes for the pin. That seemed to surprise Flair, but he is out at two. Steamboat flips out of a belly to back attempt and gets a roll-up for two. Flair bails to the floor to break the momentum as Magnum mentions Steamboat is going for the pin at any chance. Winning is the name of the game! Lockup again and Flair backs Dragon into the corner. He lands a forearm and fires off a sick chop. Steamboat responds with some chops, sends Flair into the corner and sends him flying with a backdrop. Flair suckers Dragon into the corner and goes to the eyes and hair. They trade chops and Steamboat gets the better of the exchange as Flair gets dropped. Somewhere 18 month old GUNTHER was watching and taking notes. Dragon back with a dropkick and nearly gets a three count off a side headlock takeover. Flair grabs the tights for leverage and gets a couple two counts. Steamboat walks the ropes while keeping the hold so he can take it back to the mat. Flair quickly rolls to a pin for another two count, but Steamboat maintains control. Flair backs Dragon into the corner and more chops and Dragon responds. Flair fires back, but gets destroyed with a double chop for two. That had to suck! Flair bails to the floor to slow down the momentum again. Another lockup and Steamboat goes back to the side headlock. Flair throws forearms in the corner and gets a chop, but this time no response from Dragon. Flair shoots Steamboat off, and Dragon gets a leap frog and catches Flair coming back with another double chop. Flair staggers and falls through the ropes where Dragon teases coming off the top, but Flair moves far enough out of range. Flair talks some trash and he challenges Steamboat to see him in the middle of the ring. A very small, “Steamboat Sucks” chant breaks out. Flair with another chop, but Dragon catches him with a hip-toss and a head scissors take down. Dragon with a dropkick and back to the side headlock. Flair hasn’t been able to get out of first gear in this one as Steamboat has had the upper hand at each turn. Flair goes to the hair and starts throwing elbows mixed in with some chops. Dragon back with another tackle, but runs right into a back elbow. Dragon throws some more chops including one that sends Flair over the top and to the floor. Flair suckers Steamboat by the ropes and pulls him to the floor. Now we are in Flair Country as he takes advantage of The Dragon on the floor. He fires off some chops and sends Steamboat into the railing. Flair with an elbow to the forehead followed by a snap mare. He pulls down the kneepad and drops a knee for two. Flair goes for the cover several more times, but Dragon is out at two each time. Butterfly suplex gets two! They start trading chops again and Dragon gets the advantage. They are just lighting each other up. Flair gets sent into the corner and flips over the top. He runs the apron and comes off the top with a crossbody, but Steamboat rolls through and gets a two count in a fantastic near fall. Flair brings Steamboat out of the corner with an inverted atomic drop and quickly gets the figure four as the crowd is getting into this one big time now. Flair uses the ropes as you would expect and the crowd starts a loud “Steamboat” chant. The camera pans to a group of fans flashing the 4 Horsemen signal. Flair continues to use the ropes behind the ref’s back. Steamboat nearly gets counted down several times but always gets the shoulders up. Flair finally gets caught by the ref and he forces a break. The damage is done though as Flair targets the knee. Dragon fires off some chops and Flair responds in kind. Sweet! Flair dives on Steamboat and they both spill over the top to the floor. Why not trade some chops down there? Steamboat gets sent into the ring post and Flair seems content with taking the count out win. Don’t blame him! Dragon is up to the apron and Flair brings him in with a sweet delayed suplex for two. Flair goes back to the cover and then again, but Dragon is out at two each time. Belly to back suplex gets two and Flair gets into a shoving match with the ref, Tommy Young. Backbreaker from Flair and he uses the ropes for extra leverage. Dragon is out at two each time as Flair maintained the cover with his feet on the middle rope. Steamboat gets a roll-up for two as Flair was yelling at the fans. Steamboat tries to come off the middle ropes with a crossbody, but Flair ducks out of the way. They go through a reversal sequence and Dragon gets a suplex for two as Flair got his foot on the ropes. Backslide gets a two count! Chops from Flair and Dragon responds. Dragon comes out of the corner with a clothesline and chops Flair on the head. Flying tackle drops Flair and Dragon heads up top. He hits the karate chop and heads back up top again. Crossbody, but the ref gets knocked down in the process. Flair gets a roll-up with the tights, but there’s no ref. Flair goes to the eyes and he tries to dump Steamboat, but Dragon skins the cat. He comes off the top, but Flair avoids again. Flair goes for the figure-four, but Steamboat gets the small package for the win and World Title at 23:17.
Winner and New NWA World Heavyweight Champion: Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat via pin at 24:08
-Just fantastic work here as they put in the time and built this thing perfectly. The crowd bought into everything and were rocking by the finish. Dragon had Flair at every turn until the action went to the floor and that let Flair take over. I like that Flair’s chops were always answered back by Steamboat which was a cool psychological touch. Just great stuff and it’s no wonder this match has stood the test of time. Do I have matches that I like more? Sure, but this was still amazing. *****
-The celebration is on in the back as the boys pour champagne over Dragon and you can tell it burns as he can’t open his eyes the rest of the interview until someone gives him a towel. Steamboat credits Ric Flair for being a great World Champion and he offers a rematch as soon as they get the papers signed.
-JR and Magnum sign off while match is taking place behind them. I wonder what that was? Thanks for reading!
