wrestling / Video Reviews
Leighty’s Retro Review: NWA Great American Bash ’89
Image Credit: NWA
Loading...-Back into our 1989 reviews and we are up to one the most famous shows of all time. This is the show often viewed as The Greatest PPV ever (along with WrestleMania X-7). Next up should be SummerSlam 1989, but I have an older review of that show and may jump to Clash of The Champions: Fall Brawl. I think my plan is to get to all through all the 1989 shows I haven’t done and then go back to WrestleMania V and SummerSlam 89 before moving to my next year. Currently, 1992 seems like the favorite to hit up next. Let’s get to it!
-Announce Team: Jim Ross and Bob Caudle
-Baltimore Arena, Baltimore, MD
-July 23, 1989
-Attendance:14,500
-PPV Buys: 140,000
-A note flashes up several times during the show: “Presented in the Most Complete Form Possible, Due to Original Production Technical Difficulties.”
$50000 Triple Crown Battle Royal
-Every man in this Battle Royal walks down the aisle with a crown in their hands. We have two rings so everyone starts in one ring and when eliminated you head to the second ring. One man wins Ring 1 and waits for the winner of Ring 2 to see who collects the $50,000. Our competitors: Bill Irwin, Sid Vicious, Brian Pillman, Eddie Gilbert, Kevin Sullivan, Mike Rotunda, Dan Spivey, Ranger Ross, Rick Steiner, Ron Simmons, Scott Hall, Scott Steiner, Terry Gordy, and Steve Williams. They cut to Teddy Long watching from up the ramp but its pretty awful camera work. It’s your standard battle royal with everyone hitting everyone, but the crowd is into it at least. JR lets us know that each man in this match won at least one Battle Royal to qualify which makes sense. Ranger Ross is the first to get dumped to the other ring. I am not sure if you have to get tossed in the other ring or just tossed over the top no matter what side, but it seems like it has to be from Ring 1 to Ring 2. Simmons ends up in Ring 2 and he and Ross have a little match to give the crowd something to watch while the other twelve continue to just walk around punching each other. Oh wow, Simmons gets tossed by Ross and is the first official elimination. I think he would rebound from this devastating loss. Hall and Gordy end up in Ring 2 and Hall with a blonde perm is still wild to see. The video cuts out and again we get the warning about original production issues. We are back with nearly everyone in Ring 2 and Pillman vs. Sid in Ring 1. Clothesline from Sid has Pillman doing a 360 sell. Scott Steiner was bounced in Ring 2 and Gordy and Gilbert join him in short order. Pillman misses a dive and ends up in Ring 2, so Sid is the winner of Ring 1 at around 6:10 or so. Pillman is quickly eliminated and Ring 2 is down to Spivey, Williams, and Rotunda. Rotunda misses a clothesline and ends up flying over the top to the floor. Williams with a running corner clothesline on Spivey. Williams tries a series of clotheslines to eliminate Spivey, but no dice. Running tackle, but a second one fails as Rotunda trips Williams. Spivey cloteshlines him to the floor and we are down to The Skyscrapers at 8:20. Teddy Long is here and he says they aren’t going to face each other and will split the $50,000.
Winners: The Skyscrapers at 8:20
-I can’t really rate this as about two or so minutes was lost due to whatever transfer issues they had. How bad was the master tape? The crowd was into it though and Sid looked like a monster.
-Gordon Solie îs backstage with Teddy Long and he is holding the envelope with the $50,000 check. He hypes up his team and that’s pretty much it.
Brian Pillman vs. Bill Irwin
-Pillman’s overdubbed music is so loud I didn’t even hear a bell, but Irwin attacks before we get one apparently. Pillman gets a side headlock as Ross brings up that Pillman is a former Bengal and good friends with Boomer Esiason. Go Niners! Oh wait, this is just months after my 49ers beat Cinci in Super Bowl XXIII and that was the game that made me a 49er fan for life. My apologizes to Steve Cooke! It was the first football game I ever watched and my dad bet my Cinci would win. The 49ers let me get one over on my dad and they’ve been my favorite team since. Oh, as to the match, not much of note happening as there is even a faint “boring” chant. Always has to be someone! Pillman continues to work the arm after hitting an arm-drag. Irwin backs him up and gets a modified side suplex to change the momentum. Vertical suplex from Irwin and he talks some trash. “Come on boy, do you want to fly? You want to fly? Fly out of here.” He tosses Pillman to the floor and yells for the ref to get him in the ring. Irwin’s trash talk is entertaining me in this one, I’m not going to lie. Irwin sends Pillman throat first into the top rope and gets a two count. He hooks a reverse chinlock and works that for a bit as Ross talks about the promoter of this event and how the NWA is catching fire this summer. Pillman fires back with chops, but ducks too early on a backdrop and eats a boot. Clothesline and Pillman does another flip to sell it. Irwin uses the middle ropes to choke and buries a running knee to the back. More choking as he yells, “What” over and over again at the ref. He pitches Pillman to the floor, but there are tables on that side and that had to suck for Brian as he went splat. Irwin misses a move on the ropes and now Pillam starts his comeback with a series of dropkicks. Leaping clothesline followed by a splash. Good chops from Pillman followed by a headbutt, He heads up top, but Irwin walks moves out of the way and Pillman crashes to the mat. Boot rake from Irwin followed by some right hands. There’s that guy with the boring chant again. Irwin throws Pillman from Ring 1 over both sets of ropes to Ring 2. Patrick stops Irwin from following, which lets Pillman jump from the top rope in Ring 2 all the way back to Ring 1 with a crossbody for the pin at 10:18.
Winner: Brian Pillman via pin at 10:18
-This was solid as Pillman got to show off a bit and Irwin was fun with his constant trash talk. The ending was pretty sweet for the time as they made use of having two rings. **1/4
-Gordon Solie is backstage with Paul E Dangerously and Paul knows about Cornette’s damaged knee from his scaffold fall and that’s what he is going after tonight. He doesn’t care about winning as he just wants to make sure Cornette can’t walk again.
The Dynamic Dudes vs. The Skyscrapers (w/ Skyscrapers)
-Johnny and Shane play frisbee with a kid they pull out of the front row. Why don’t I remember the Skyscrapers being billed from Metropolis? That’s kind of cool for some reason. Shane as a smiling, happy babyface is weird! Spivey starts with Johnny and after a lockup, Johnny gets a dropkick, but Spivey just shrugs it off. Clothesline from Spivey and Johnny gets dumb as he tries to run Spivey down with a shoulder. He finally uses his speed and gets another dropkick and then some Dude double teaming with a monkey flip. Shane gets dropped with a boot, but makes a blind tag. Johnny off the top with a cross-body for one. The crowd starts a “we want Sid” chant. The man has always had it! Spivey gets a running clothesline in the corner and the tag is made to Sid and the place pops. Sid throws a chop and it’s rather weak, but the crowd doesn’t care as they roar like it’s a GUNTHER chop. Then Sid tags out to let Spivey handle things again. Another clothesline drops Johnny, but he avoids an elbow and makes the tag to Shane. He ducks a clothesline, but gets planted with a Boss Man Slam! “WE WANT SID.” Spivey breaks out a Razor’s Edge which is kind of sweet to see in 1989. Big Boot sends Shane crashing to the floor where Long lays in the boots. JR cover as he notes those kicks are more insulting than doing any kind damage. Suplex from the apron brings Shane back into the ring and it gets a two count. Tag to Sid and another roar! Sid with a clothesline and he poses to the crowd to a monster reaction. Sid sends Shane into the corner and hooks a nerve hold as he grips the small of the back. The crowd boos as Spivey tags back into the match. Wild! Sidewalk Slam to Shane and hey, this crowd wants us to know that they want Sid. Spivey is here to do work though and gets a backbreaker, but misses a second rope head-butt. Shane finds a way to make the tag to Johnny and he runs wild for a bit. Clothelines off the top gets a two count as Sid breaks that up. All four men in the ring! The Scrapers hit each other with a clothesline by mistake. Double dropkick to Sid and one for Spivey. Shane goes for a head scissors, but Sid helps counter that into a powerbomb. A really nasty looking powerbomb from Spivey finishes at 9:10.
Winners: The Skyscrapers via pin at 9:10
-The match was nothing, but the crowd reaction to Sid was wild. He barely did anything, but was over more than the other three men combined. That powerbomb at the end was nasty looking. *
-Jim Cornette gives a fired up babyface promo as he prepares for Dangerously!
Tuxedo Match: Paul E Dangerously vs. Jim Cornette
-Look at how young these two are? Well, Cornette pretty much looks the same, but Heyman looks like another person. The crowd is fired up for this one! Winner is the one that strips their opponent of their tuxedo. Cornette gets the jacket off first, but celebrates with the fans and gets powder tossed in his face. He takes his phone and starts attacking Cornette’s bad knee. Genius! Dangerously tears off Cornette’s jacket and lands a “feminine right hand,” according to Jim Ross. Dangerously works the knee over in the corner as Cornette screams like crazy. Dangerously uses his cummerbund to choke, but makes the mistake of dropping it, which lets Cornette choke him with it. Dangerously breaks in the corner and spits on Cornette before kicking him under the rope and to the floor. Right back to the knee from Dangerously as they are taking what is usually a comedy match, dead serious. Paul struts in the ring as he is probably having the time of his life out there. Cornette crawls back in the ring and gets slapped in the face for his trouble. Elbow drop is missed, but Paul shakes it off and throws some right hands. Cornette fires up and responds with right hands. Paul goes flying off the final punch in dramatic fashion. More punching from Cornette, but Heyman goes back for a bag of powder. It’s the 80s so who knows what’s in that powder? Cornette kicks it back in his face and rips off the rest of his tuxedo for the win at 6:14.
Winner: Jim Cornette via pin at 6:14
-This was fun as both men took it serious and did what they could without running long and overstaying their welcome. We had psychology as well with Dangerously working Cornette’s bad knee. **1/2
Texas Tornado Tag Match: The Varsity Club (Mike Rotunda and Kevin Sullivan) vs. The Steiner Brothers (w/ Missy Hyatt)
-All four men in the ring at once and anything goes. Sullivan rams Rick off a table and hits him with a chair, but it has no effect. Rick with his own chair shot, but gets crotched on the railing. ECW! ECW! ECW! Sullivan and Rick kill each other with tables on the floor while Mike and Scott have an actual wrestling match in the ring. Scott punches away on Mike in the corner while Rick gets sent into the post of the floor. Scott gets backdropped over the top to the floor as Rick and Kevin get back in the ring. Heavy clothesline drops Rick! Sullivan off the middle rope with another clothesline. Suplex from Rick while Scott hangs Mike in the Tree of Woe. Powerslam on Sullivan gets two. Small package from Scott on Mike gets two. Rick gets dumped to the floor and eats a boot from Sullivan. Scott gets hit with a double clothesline and then a legdrop from Rotunda. That gets two! Rick gets a sunset flip and headbutts Sullivan repeatedly in the balls to bring him down. That’s tremendous! Double backdrop sends Scott flying as a stretcher gets brought into the ring. Sure, why not? Rotunda gets low bridged and ends up on the floor. That lets Scott come off the top with a cross-body on Sullivan as he had Rick set for a slam. Both Steiners end up on top of Sullivan for the pin at 4:45.
Winners: The Steiner Brothers via pin at 4:45
-No clue why this was only given 4:45 but for a 5 minute match this was great. This was ECW before ECW and somewhere Heyman had to be taking notes in the back. Sullivan would take this style and produce greatness with Cactus Jack and The Nasty Boys five years later. Just pure chaos and not something we saw all that often in those days. ***
-Sting is fired up backstage for his match with The Great Muta. Eddie Gilbert is there and he is rocking a 49ers’ hat! BANG BANG NINER GANG!
NWA World TV Title: Sting (c) (w/ Eddie Gilbert) vs. The Great Muta (w/ Gary Hart)
-Muta’s entrance is awesome and that music is still fantastic! The crowd is jacked for this one as they love Sting and Muta is well, MUTA! Each man is in a different ring and Patrick tries to get Muta to come to the ring, but Sting decides to just jump from one right to other and dive on Muta. Fantastic start! Sting gets distracted by Hart, so Muta comes off the top with a chop. Handspring Elbow draws an OOOHHHH from the crowd! Sting no sells a spinning kick but an enziguiri sends him to the floor. Slingshot crossbody from Muta to the floor and that draws a “Muta” chant. Sting fights back from the apron and gets a clothesline. He comes off the top with another clothesline for a two count. Nice standing dropkick sends Muta to the floor and Sting looks to jump, but just clears the rope and lands on his feet as that looked awkward. Not sure if Muta was out of place and Sting realized he couldn’t make it that far, or what happened. Back in the ring Muta escapes a suplex and gets the dreaded ORIENTAL SLEEPER! This crowd is rocking with them here! Muta releases and throws some kicks and chops. Sting back with a Press Slam, but misses an elbow. Lightning elbow from Muta before hooking another submission. Another “Muta” chant from some of the men in the crowd as some women squeal over Sting. Abdominal Stretch and Muta uses the ropes for added leverage! Muta rolls Sting into a pin for a two count. Elbow to the back of the neck and Sting pitched to the floor, but he gets right back in and hammers away with right hands. Muta to the eyes to stop that comeback. The Handspring Elbow misses this time and now Sting runs wild with a series of clotheslines and a modified bulldog. Standing dropkick and now Muta bails to the floor to regroup with Hart. Muta tries The Mist, but Sting ducks and the ref gets blinded. Stinger Splash misses as another ref checks on Patrick. Make sure his neck is okay! Muta gets the moonsault and Tommy Young rushes in for the count, but Sting is out at two. Kick misses and Sting gets a belly to back suplex for the pin at 8:09. Muta contends he had his shoulder up and leaves with the TV Title. The crowd starts a “bullshit” chant and that won’t be the last time someone chants that after a Sting match.
Winner: Sting via pin at 8:09
-Fantastic match that was criminally short. The screwy ending with both men’s shoulders being down hurt things. Not sure why everything is getting shortchanged on this show as far as time, but what we got here was great even with the rough ending. ***1/2
-Lex Luger is still annoyed he isn’t number one contender, and wants the disqualification rule put back in place for his match tonight.
NWA United States Championship: Lex Luger (c) vs. Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat
-As noted this was supposed to be no DQ, but Luger demanded that be changed or he wasn’t coming out to defend. Luger’s theme is a BANGER too. That, or it’s just the nostalgia. Luger tells Steamboat he has to accept that the DQ rule is in effect or he is leaving. The promoter discusses things with Steamboat and he accepts Luger’s condition. I’m sure that won’t come back to haunt him. “Steroid Package” from a few people in the crowd. The things you noticed watching this show years later. Steamboat starts quick and goes for pin after pin. Two dropkicks and the leather starts flying with chops. Backdrop sends Luger across the ring and then another chop sends him to the floor. Dragon follows for some more chops! Luger swings wildly and misses which leads to an atomic drop. Luger is first back in the ring though and catches Steamboat trying to come in with a knee. Heavy clothesline from Luger on the floor. Damn! Dragon with some more chops and then he rams Luger head first off the commissioner’s table. Dragon up top, but gets caught with a right hand on the way down. Luger goes to work on the back with some clubbing blows. Press Slam from Luger pops the crowd! He continues the work on the back as he preps for The Torture Rack. Multiple covers, but Dragon is out at two so Luger argues with Tommy Young. Steamboat gets a roll-up and I agree with Luger as Young made a fast count for two there. Luger rips Dragon’s head off with a clothesline, then another, and another as Dragon bounces up and down like a super ball. Dragon with some heavy chops that sends Luger into the corner. Young tries to stop Steamboat which gives Luger an opening. He gets a two count, but walks into a cross-body. Luger back with an Inverted atomic drop. He sets too early on a backdrop which lets Dragon get a neckbreaker. Luger escapes a slam, but misses a clothesline and ends up on the floor. Dragon pounds away with chops on the apron and tries a slam, but the back can’t hold and Luger falls on top for two. Dragon avoids a charge in the corner, but runs into a knee. LUGER UP TOP, but Steamboat slams him down. Standing dropkick followed by a series of right hands. Now Steamboat goes up and connects with a chop to the head for two. Crowd wanted that one! Luger gets a backdrop that sends Dragon from one ring to the other. Luger steals a chair from ringside as the crowd starts to freak out. The ref distracts Luger enough that Dragon gets a catapult that sends Luger into the chair into the post. DRAGON IS OUT FOR BLOOD NOW AS HE BLASTS LUGER WITH THE CHAIR FOR THE DQ at 10:25. That pesky ref gets tossed out the ring as Dragon lands a few more chair shots and then chases Luger all the way up the ramp with the chair.
Winner and Still United States Champion: Lex Luger via DQ at 10:25
-Fun match with an ending that made sense due to Luger’s demands, but it’s another non finish tonight. Still a strong match with a hot crowd and Luger working hard. ****
WAR GAMES: The Fabulous Free Birds and The Samoan Swat Team (w/ Paul Heyman) vs. The Road Warriors, The Midnight Express, and “Dr. Death” Steve Williams (w/ Paul Ellerring and Jim Cornette)
-Big pop for The Warriors. DUH! Jimmy Garvin and Bobby Eaton start us out in this one. That makes sense for both sides! With the Arn and Tully in WWF at the time, kind of weird to see a WarGames without the Horsemen. I like the black cage as well. Eaton lands the first right hand before the lock-up. Garvin throws some knees in the corner, but gets caught with another right hand. Eaton hits a swinging neckbreaker, but misses an elbow. Garvin lands a right hand and gets a slam. Eaton reverses a whip and gets an atomic drop, but runs into a boot to the face. Eaton is the first one sent into the cage and Samu reaches under the cage to pull his hair for good measure. Eaton uses the cage to hang and deliver a kick, but eats a forearm from Garvin. Hayes provides commentary from the floor as he talks shit to Eaton. Funny moment as he nearly dropped the F Bomb, but caught himself and called Eaton scum instead. Eaton fights back with a side backbreaker and fires off more right hands. We have less than a minute before the next Bird or a Samoan enters the match. Heyman bitching at The Samoans on the floor is kind of cool to see considering what Heyman is doing right now. Gordy is the third man in the ring and Eaton is screwed! He gets tossed into the cage and bounces off the ropes. Heyman tells the camera that Hayes is next and then the Samoans last. Hayes is making friends in the front row as he yells at them. Meanwhile Eaton is getting the shit kicked out of him in the ring. Eaton gets tossed into the cage again as the period ends and Dr. Death enters. He takes down both Birds with a double clothesline and then isolates Gordy in the opposite ring. Doc presses Gordy into the roof of the cage over and over again before slamming him down. I believe it was 8 times that he pressed him into the roof. Amazing spot! The crowd loved that! Gordy back with a running clothesline as Garvin continues to beat on the injured Eaton. No blood yet which is kind of disappointing since this is an 80s WarGames match. Heyman lied apparently as Samu is next in and Williams eats a super kick. Such an easy and simple formula with this type of match. Shows how hard it is to screw up and should amaze people that WCW was able to do it a few times. Doc and Gordy continue to torment each other. Eaton starts to fire up as he is tired of getting his ass kicked. Animal is ready to enter and the crowd erupts as the countdown is on. Big pop as he enters and he runs wild on anyone from the opposite team. Here’s a clothesline and there’s a clothesline. Boot to the face for Samu! Animal leaps over both set of ropes with a tackle on Samu. This crowd is losing it! Double clothesline to Samu! Doc eats a clothesline from Gordy. Hayes is yelling “kill’ at Fatu on the floor. I am trying to think of fathers/children that have both appeared in WarGames and all I can think of is Fatu/Usos, The Rhodes Family, and Ric/Charlotte Flair. Animal gets double teamed by The Samoans as the crowd is chanting for Hawk. The roof is going to blow off this place when he gets inside the ring. I think Stan wants to go in next which will only make the crowd lose it even more for Hawk. Garvin and Eaton have been beating on each other for fifteen minutes at this point. Here comes Lane and the crowd seems a little disappointed, but they are back full throat once Lane starts throwing everyone into the cage. Hilarious moment on the floor with Heyman and Hayes as Hayes asks if he has to go, and when Heyman tells him yes, Hayes shoots back with “Damn.” I nearly choked on spit laughing from that! Just the way he said “Damn.” The strategy according to Heyman is for Hayes to DDT everyone. Sure enough he is in and everyone eats a DDT. Hayes is so proud of himself he heads to the other ring alone to strut and talks shit to Hawk. Well, that last part isn’t really smart. I have enjoyed the small story of Eaton/Garvin and Doc/Gordy fighting with each other throughout. Here comes Hawk as the place explodes! He comes off the top with a double clothesline to The Samoans. He goes crazy with chops and right hands on Gordy. Double clothesline! He javelins Garvin into the top buckle while Hayes eats a DDT from Eaton. JR is losing his mind on commentary as he is all in his glory. Hawk with the shoulder tackle from one ring to the other. Another funny moment on the floor as Dangerously tries to put his phone through the cage while Tommy Young just stares at home. Damn brick phones! Hawk with another clothesline off the top to Garvin. Hawk with a neckbreaker as he has a body part to target. He hooks the Hangman’s Noose and Garvin gives up at 22:23.
Winners: The Road Warriors, The Midnight Express, and Dr. Death at 22:23
-The crowd was way into this with Hawk and Animal being crazy over. No blood which was weird for the time and a lot of just punching and kicking between some impressive spots to wake the crowd. Again, it’s hard to screw up WarGames as long as they stick to the heel team having the advantage dynamic. ***3/4
The faces all leave except for Animal who gets left behind. The heels beat the piss out of him while holding the door closed. The faces eventually break in and the heels bail quickly.
-Ric Flair is interviewed backstage by Gordon Solie. He says he was asked to wrestle a few times on TV to get ready for this match, but he didn’t think he needed it. He is ready for Terry and will prove he is still The World Heavyweight Champion. In his mind and heart he is 120% and if not, we will find out in an hour. Flair is a great sympathetic face when he has to turn that on. I mean, we love to boo him, but this was a great promo.
NWA World Heavyweight Title: Ric Flair vs. Terry Funk (w/ Gary Hart)
-Flair of course comes to the ring with 4 women in silver gowns. They immediately start fighting on the floor as Flair throws chops and bites Funk on the head. Funk runs into the front row and starts slamming the railing. A fan mocks Funk behind his back and then backs up as Funk turns around and catches his. Now fans have Twitter to do that and can be as safe as possible. Funk throws a chair in the ring as Flair has him frustrated early. They finally lockup in the ring and Funk fires off some chops so Flair responds with a sick sounding chop. Wow! Another chop and Funk flies over the top to the floor. Flair comes off the apron with a right hand, but Funk lands the second blow and sends Flair into the ring post. Funk slaps Flair in the face a few times and then brings him back into the ring with a suplex. That gets a two count! Another suplex is blocked and Flair rolls to the floor holding his neck. The crowd is rocking as Flair suplexes (kind of) Funk to the floor. They both actually crash to the floor after hitting the apron. Chops from both men and man, do those chops from Flair sound great. Flair to the eyes, so Funk retaliates with the same. Funk sets for a piledriver, but Flair backdrops him over the top and to the floor. Flair is out for revenge and starts targeting Funk’s neck. He drops a knee to the back of the head and then another for two. Flair plants Funk with a piledriver as the crowd roars with approval. Another one and this one had some STANK on it. Funk to his feet, but stumbles backwards through the ropes and tries to crawl up the aisle. Check out a very young Doug Dillinger working security. Back in the ring Flair with chops and a forearm for a two count. Belly to back suplex from Flair and he hooks the figure-four. The branding iron was slid into the ring by Hart and Funk smacks Flair in the head with it as Hart distracts the ref. Flair is bleeding! Funk goes after the cut with right hands and then sticks the piledriver as the crowd freaks out. That gets two as Flair gets his foot under the bottom rope. Funk uses his wrist tape to choke and that forces Tommy Young to try to pull Funk off by the hair. Funk shoves Young and preps for a piledriver on the exposed concrete, but Flair backdrops out to save his life. Funk dives off the apron awkwardly and hits Flair in the side of the head. Neckbreaker from Funk as Caudle is worried Flair may be permanently injured. Another necbreaker as Funk wants Flair to say he quits. Perhaps these two should have an I Quit Match? Just a thought! Hart is yelling for Funk to take the pin, but he seems obsessed with making Flair quit. Funk goes for the branding iron again, but Flair gets to it first and swings for the fences as he hits Funk in the head. Now Funk is bleeding! Perhaps this is why they didn’t want blood in WarGames. Flair gets some rapid punches in the corner and Funk stumbles around until he falls on his ass. Flair continues to fire off right hands as he sees blood and wants to end this one. He misses a knee in the corner and now Funk goes for the spinning toe-hold, but Flair counters and tries for another figure-four. Funk turns that into a small package, which Flair rolls to his advantage and that gets the pin at 16:21.
Winner and Still NWA World Heavyweight Champion: Ric Flair via pin at 16:21
-This was a great fight with a fired up crowd. Completely different from Flair/Steamboat and it needed to be. This was Flair out for revenge and Funk wanting to get the satisfaction of making him quit which was a nice way to get to the next match. ****1/2
-Buckle up folks as it’s about to get awesome! Flair decks Gary Hart, but here’s Muta with Green Mist to Flair. They beat on Flair and threaten to give him a piledriver on a chair, but Dillinger stops that. He gets attacked, but the real back-up is here as Sting hits the ring. All four men start brawling all over the ring and as the crowd is going crazy. Flair and Sting clear the ring as Muta tries to throw the steps into the ring.
-We aren’t done yet as Muta throws a chair in the ring, so Flair sprints outside and the brawl starts all over again. They fight up the aisle for a bit but Hart is able to get Funk and Muta away. JR lets us know that the TV Title has been held up due to the earlier controversy.
-We cut to JR and Caudle and then the brawl starts again. Chairs are thrown and Funk is swinging the branding iron which has fans near him ducking. Muta gets slammed on the floor as Flair gets his hands on the branding iron and he wears out Funk and Muta with it. THIS IS AWESOME! Funk hits Flair in the head with a chair. Sting chokes Muta with a rope because why not? Ross and Caudle are trying to close this show, bit here’s Flair and Sting. Flair cuts a promo and brings Sting over to say, “thank you.” Flair tells Funk they just started and he has just broken a good sweat. He is going after Funk until he wears his Texas out ass. Sting and Flair both yell before walking. Flair is a stand-up guy and I am sure Sting can trust him with his life.
-That post match brawl is one the few NWA things that I have seared in my memory as a child. I didn’t watch this show on PPV, so I had to have seen the brawl either on TV later or perhaps I rented the VHS version.
-Thanks for reading!
