wrestling / Video Reviews
Leighty’s Retro Review: NWA WrestleWar ’90: Wild Thing
Image Credit: NWA
Loading...-Back to the NWA as this was supposed to be Sting challenging Flair for the World Title and presumably becoming the face of the company, but he destroyed his knee getting pulled down from a cage at the last Clash. The NWA went into scramble mode for their Main Event scene and turned Luger face so Flair had someone to work a program with until Sting was healed. So, not the best of circumstances for this show, but it’s still Luger/Flair in the 80s. Let’s get to it!
-Announce Team: Jim Ross and Terry Funk
-Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, NC
-Feb. 25, 1990
-Attendance: 7894
-PPV Buys: 175,000
-Jim Ross and Terry Funk welcome us to the show. Funk is still in Crazy Uncle Terry mode!
-Gordon Solie îs backstage with Teddy Long, who wants a fight tonight. He promises that Dan Spivey is really injured and won’t be here tonight.
Kevin Sullivan and Buzz Sawyer vs. The Dynamic Dudes
-Sawyer bumped like a mad man to entertain us in the 6 Man Cage Match at the last Clash, so let’s see what he has here. Just to make note, there is a massive WCW Banner with the famous logo at the entrance and other World Championship Wrestling banners, but this is technically still under the NWA banner. We are getting closer to the official split though. The Dudes control early as they work the arm of Buzz. He makes a tag to Sullivan and he backs Shane into the corner for some chops. Johnny blocks the corner to stop an Irish whip. Shane gets a chinlock, but Sullivan reverses to a hammerlock. Douglas counters that and makes the tag to Johnny. He gets caught in the wrong corner, but fights out. Sullivan and Sawyer start slapping each other which pops the crowd and gets a chuckle out of Funk. Sawyer misses a charge in the corner and goes shoulder first into the ROOS POST! Sawyer gets a thumb to the eye of Shane, and makes the tag to Sullivan. He rushes in and gets caught with an arm-drag. Sullivan with a leverage move to toss Shane to the floor. Sawyer is on it as he gets a suplex on the floor as Sullivan distracts the ref and Johnny. Sawyer with a shot to the back from the apron. Back in the ring Sawyer gets a sweet belly to belly suplex for two. Side suplex gets another two count! Sullivan back in, but Shane gets a sunset flip for two. He can’t make a tag though as Sullivan grabs the leg and makes the tag to Buzz. He bites Shane on his back and then hooks a bear-hug. This crowd is actually more receptive of The Dudes than previous crowds. Shane tries to fight back, but Buzz cuts him off and makes the tag to Sullivan. He catches Shane with a boot in the corner and ironically Shane does a Flair Flop. Shane gets pitched over the top to the floor and Buzz beats on him out there. He then pitches Shane back into the ring and Sullivan gets a bear-hug. Buzz back in with chops and Shane shows good fire as he responds and then fires off right hands. He finally makes the hot tag and Johnny runs wild. Dropkicks for everyone! Head scissors, but Buzz wants nothing to do with selling them and just opts to slam Johnny. He heads up top and connects with a splash for the win at 10:15.
Winners: Kevin Sullivan and Buzz Sawyer via pin at 10:15
-Weird ending to an okay tag match. Buzz has been wonderful in these last few appearances. **
-Missy is backstage with Norman The Lunatic and she wishes him luck. He says Missy reminds him of his sister and if she was here, she would give him a hug for good luck. Norman gets a hug and kiss out of the deal.
Cactus Jack Manson vs. Norman The Lunatic
-Jack gets a good reaction from the crowd! Since Cactus has started popping up on these shows now, I went back and read the chapters in Foley’s book that reference this run. I love that book! Jack starts early with right hands and forearms. Back elbow from Jack gets a two count, but Norman kicks out with enough force to send Jack through the ropes and to the floor. Back in the ring Norman gets a clothesline as Terry Funk ponders having Jack work at his ranch. Jack sends Norman into the buckle, but he shakes it off and knocks Jack down with a head-butt. Whip to the corner to damage the back and Norman follows up with a bear-hug. He backs Jack into the corner and sends him to the opposite corner for a splash. FLAIR FLOP from Jack. Jack gets bounced from corner to corner and then takes the bump over the top to the floor. Norman follows, which proves to be a mistake, as Jack goes to the eyes and sends Norman into the railing. He charges, but Norman backdrops him over the railing to the concrete. Funk puts Jack over huge for taking that bump and getting back to his feet. Norman gets a side headlock, but gets run into the post. Jack off the apron with a dropkick. Knee to the back from Cactus as he is keeping Norman on the outside. Back in the ring Norman gets his head rammed into the mat as Funk argue about Norman’s favorite movie being The Wizard of Oz. We are still a year away from Nash sporting that look. Jack goes back to the head-butt and that doesn’t work. They start trading blows in the corner. Jack lands a kick to the gut and gets a two count before hooking a reverse chinlock. Match was much better when they were brawling on the floor. Norman escapes and gets Jack up on his shoulders and falls back with The Electric Chair Drop. Splash misses! Jack bites the forehead and rakes the eyes. He drops a knee on the ropes, but misses a second one as Norman rolls out of the way. Right hands from Norman followed by a backdrop. Jack back to the eyes and he tries a piledriver, but who is he kidding. Norman backdrops out and crushes Jack as he drops down to his knees for the pin at 9:32.
Winner: Norman The Lunatic via pin at 9:32
-This was okay, but went a little long and would have worked better had they continued to brawl out of the ring. Still funny to think this was Jack’s PPV debut and nobody would have guessed we were looking at a future WWF Champion. *
-Gordon Solie îs backstage with Jim Cornette and The Midnight Express. Credit to Cornette for dropping in that these teams have faced each other more times than Hello Dolly has played on Broadway. I think Phantom of The Opera has that honor now.
The Rock N Roll Express vs. The Midnight Express (w/ Jim Cornette)
-Stane Lane gives Cornette an introduction and notes he is the man that stole Ivanka from Donald Trump. So the Cornette war with Trump goes back decades then. Ross: “I didn’t even know he liked girls.” Gibson and Lane are going to start us out as Ross notes these teams don’t like each other. Gibson with an arm-drag. Another go and now Lane gets a hip-toss. Gibson gets a tackle as they are just feeling each other here. Lane yells at the crowd which gives us a shot of the camera side of the crowd and oh man. Lot of empty seats! Good thing Twitter wasn’t around back then. Lane is flustered and gets into a shoving match with Nick Patrick. Cornette takes up for Lane, so Patrick points a finger in his chest as well. The crowd explodes as Cornette gets in the ring and wants to fight Patrick. This is tremendous as Patrick is ready to go. Cornette bails to the floor and this crowd is on fire right now. Morton in and he gets an atomic drop that sends Lane into Eaton. They nearly come to blows on the floor, but Cornette gets them to make peace. JR notes these two teams have held the World Tag Titles a combined six times. Eaton in and Morton flusters him with a series of arm-drags. Test of Strength as we get an audile “Bobby” chant. The “Rock N Roll” chant drowns that out in short order. Morton climbs up on Eaton’s shoulders and comes off with a right hand to Lane. Stan comes in and gets kicked in the ass. Funk: “He might have kicked his brains out there.” Ha! Cornette grabs Morton’s leg from outside and ends up getting chased. He ends up in the ring and takes a bump trying to get away. Gibson delivers a right hand as well. Lane gives Cornette chest compressions outside to continue the run of comedy spots. CHEST COMPRESSIONS. CHEST COMPRESSIONS. I got you Dr. Mike! Back in the ring Rock N Roll continue to dominate with a double backdrop and then a double clothesline to send Eaton to the floor. The Midnights need more time to regroup. Lane in and Gibson with an arm-drag. Tag to Morton and a double elbow to Lane. He fires back with a right hand and sends Morton to the floor. He tries to send Morton into the post, but he blocks and Stan ends up hitting the post head first. This has been all Rock N Roll! Eaton in and Morton grabs an arm to work. Eaton backs him into the corner and lands his sweet right hand. They start trading blows and Funk is loving it as he is grunting with every blow. Clothesline sends both men to the floor. Lane sprints around and hits Morton with a slam on the floor. Cornette sends Eaton back into the ring as The ME is cool with taking a win by count-out. Back in the ring Eaton gets a back-breaker and then a choke. Tag to Lane and he hits a splash to the back as Eaton had Morton hung on the top rope. Cornette adds a shot with the racket and Lane breaks out his KARATE. Ross notes that Morton has been known to be able to take a beating. Someone should come up with a name for that role to honor Morton. Powerslam from Lane, but Gibson makes the save. Lane punches him off the apron for that. The ref goes to deal with Gibson, so Eaton drops Morton throat first on the railing. Cornette with a right hand for good measure. Morton blocks another trip to the post as Eaton takes it this time, but no tag once back in the ring as Lane cuts him off. Cornette grabs the ref again as Morton gets a sunset flip, so no count. Blind tag to Eaton who hits a neckbreaker as Morton had a roll-up. Cool! Morton fires back but charges and gets dropped face first on the top buckle. Morton gets in a kick, but Lane is right next to his corner and makes the tag to Eaton. The crowd is rumbling as they are begging for this hot tag. Eaton hooks a hammerlock and we get a “Bobby” chant again. Morton elbows out and we get another blind tag so Lane can catch Eaton with an elbow. He hooks a reverse chinlock and then rakes the eyes and face. Morton with a punch, so Lane goes back to the eyes. Eaton back in and he hits a slam. He heads up and the crowd pops! He drops an elbow, but Gibson breaks up the count. Lane back in and he wraps the arm around the top rope. He pulls the ref away and Cornette with another racket shot. They are pretty great at this cheating thing! Tag to Eaton and he sends Eaton shoulder first into the top buckle. Arm-bar DDT into a hammerlock! Morton gets to his feet and hits an elbow to break the hold. He sends Eaton into the corner and they end up colliding to leave both men down. Lane gets the tag first and hits a sidewalk slam. Eaton back up top again and The Rocket Launcher doesn’t work as Morton gets his knees up to block. HOT TAG to Gibson! Backdrops, Slams, and Dropkicks for everyone! Roll-up for two as Lane breaks up the count. All four men in the ring and Cornette CRACKS Gibson with the loaded racket. That only gets two! Flapjack is supposed to be broken up by Morton but he is there a tad too little, so they improvise a bit. Gibson gets a roll-up on Lane for the pin at 23:31.
Winners: The Rock N Roll Express via pin at 23:31
-Just some sweet old school tag team action with a raucous crowd. MX and Cornette are magnificent at cheating and that opening bit with Cornette and Nick Patrick was insanely fun. Good stuff here as you would expect. ****
Chicago Street Fight: The Skyscrapers (w/ Teddy Long) vs. The Road Warriors (w/ Paul Ellerig)
-Dan Spivey is out injured so we get Mike Enos under a mask filling in for him. Funny how wrestling works as 6 years later, Enos is working a nothing match on Nitro when Scott Hall makes his way through the crowd to kick off the nWo angle. There’s that Road Warrior POP! Ellerig punches Long to start and then everyone hits everyone. All for men are dressed for a Street Fight so we have jeans and cowboy boots. Animal with an inverted atomic drop on Mark. The Masked Scraper gets slammed down by Hawk. Butch Reed and Ron Simmons head down to the ring and they are rocking a tuxedo look. They seem to be aligned with Teddy Long as they watch the Street Fight continue in the ring. Dropkick from Animal to the Masked Scraper while Mean Mark drops Hawk throat first on the top rope. Hawk back with a clothesline and it’s kind of weird watching the future Undertaker have to sell. Mark chokes Hawk on the middle rope and I keep waiting for him to stick his tongue out and roll his eyes in the back of his head. They head to the floor where Hawk gets a clothesline off the apron. More choking from Mark as the camera is mostly focused on the Hawk/Mark battle. Our Masked man is offering some weak shots so I don’t blame them for focusing on Mark/Hawk. Animal ducks a double clothesline and ends up hitting both Scrapers. Mark gets dumped to the floor and he is done with this and walks away. The Masked Scraper eats The Doomsday Device to end things at 4:58.
Winners: The Road Warriors via pin at 4:58
-The Hawk/Mark parts were solid, but Enos looked rough out there though he was still pretty new to the business. *1/2
-Teddy Long gets back in the ring and Animal presses him over his head and tosses him at Doom, but they catch him. Doom heads in the ring and we have a brawl better than the Street Fight and the crowd is into this. JR and Funk are having a ball calling this fight and I want to lower the rating of the Street Fight after seeing this brawl. Powerslam from Hawk as JR calls it The Road Warriors vs. The Ebony Warriors. Long gets Doom to back up to end a pretty hot brawl.
NWA United States Tag Team Championship: The Z Man (c) and Brian Pillman (c) vs. The Fabulous Freebirds
-The Birds play to the crowd and wait for the women to help them with their robes off, but don’t know Pillman and Zenk have moved the girls and are waiting for them. They hit The Birds from behind and backdrops in stereo sends The Birds to the floor. Pillman and Zenk put on The Birds gear and dance as Bad Street plays. I found that opening amusing and it has to hold us over for a bit as now we stall with Michael Hayes. Brief lockup with Pillman goes nowhere so more strutting and posing. Another lockup and Hayes misses a right hand in the corner. Pillman fires off chops and hits a running clothesline in the opposite corner. Hayes retreats to his corner and makes the tag to Garvin. Zenk in and he pushes Garvin back to the ropes, so we get a break and a little more stalling. Garvin isn’t a master at stalling like Hayes so we get back to business. Zenk hits a dropkick, but Garvin avoids a second one. Garvin sets too early on a backdrop and eats a kick to the face. Pillman back in and he hooks a side headlock. Crucifix gets a two count for Pillman. Garvin back to his corner so Hayes can fluff his hair. Funk wonders if they are checking for rats, bugs, and cooties. Hayes gets the tag and Pillman bounces his head off the buckle. Hayes lands a right hand that sends Pillman to the apron. Pillman springs up top and gets a cross-body for two and then an arm-drag into an arm-bar. Hayes up, but gets caught with a sunset flip for two and another arm-bar. Zenk back in with a double ax to the arm and then he controls with an arm-bar/wrist-lock combination. Hayes to his feet and gets a clothesline and makes the tag to Hayes. Zenk catches him with an arm-drag into an arm-bar and Garvin complains about a hair pull. Garvin then pulls the hair himself. But Zenk easily turns things around. Pillman back in as the crowd is distracted by something happening. May have been something with Hayes as he gets back on the apron. Hayes back in the match and he hooks a sleeper which isn’t going to help things here. Terry Funk tells the kids at home not to mess around with this hold. Pillman is able to escape, but runs right into a left hand in the corner. Hayes goes up top and gets an ugly looking body-press that Pillman rolls through for a two count. Double elbow from The Birds gets two. Garvin drops Pillman throat first on the top rope as Hayes continues to antagonize the crowd on the apron. Hayes back in and Pillman fires back with chops. Hayes goes to the eyes, but misses a punch. Pillman sends Hayes face first into the mat, but tries a backdrop and Hays clubs him down. Garvin and Pillman collide and that looked a little wonky. Tag made to Zenk and he doesn’t even get to run wild as Garvin cuts him off. Hayes in and Zenk corners him and delivers the mounted punches. Ugly sleeper, which I guess is called The Z Lock. Sure! The women freak out as Garvin comes off the top to break the hold and Hayes gets a two count. Zenk gets pitched to the floor and Garvin gets in a couple shots. Hayes out with clubbing blows and he sends Zenk into the ring post. Funk wants us all to now this is the NWA and they are physical. Wonder if they tried to get a deal worked out with Olivia Newton John? Garvin with a chinlock and he talks some trash to pass the time. Garvin transitions into a modified camel clutch. The crowd can’t even be bothered into getting behind at this point. Pillman kicks Garvin in the head and Hayes switches out as the ref gets Pillman back to the apron. He continues with a chinlock as this is rather boring. Hayes has time to monologue because things are moving so slow and the crowd is so quiet. Zenk fights out and gets a power slam to little reaction, but misses an elbow. Small package for two. Hayes makes the tag and Garvin lays in a boot. Another one and Zenk just crumbles to the mat. Slam from Garvin and he drops a knee for two. Hayes back in and another chinlock. Things are so rough that Funk and JR are talking about toothpaste. JR: “You have a nice smile for a Texan.” Transition to a neck vice and then back to a chinlock. JR and Terry discuss Alice Cooper next because not much else to do. Zenk fights out, but runs into another left hand. Hayes off the top, but no clue what they were doing there as they seemed to be of different pages. Garvin in to try to cover and he does so by going to a chinlock. Pillman gets knocked off the apron and Hayes comes off the top behind with back with a double axe for two. Bulldog from Hayes, but Pillman makes the save. Hey, here’s another chinlock from The Birds! The poor crowd looks bored to tears. Zenk gets a desperation DDT and the crowd wakes as Pillman gets the tag. Now he gets to run wild with dropkick after dropkick. All four men in the ring and Pillman gets a double clothesline. Hayes dumped to the floor. Garvin goes to the eyes of Pillman. Hayes tries to use a belt, but the ref catches him. Pillman gets tossed into the cameraman, but ends up on the apron and comes off the top with a cross-body on Garvin as he was looking to DDT Zenk. That gets the pin at 24:30.
Winners and Still United States Tag Team Champions: The Z Man and Brian Pillman via pin at 24:30
-Yeah, this wasn’t my jam at all. It felt every bit of the 24 minutes and credit to the fans for being into the matches that follow after that. A parade of chinlocks and stalling to pad the time isn’t a good thing. *
NWA World Tag Team Titles: The Steiner Brothers (c) vs. The Andersons
-Rick is wearing a sign that reads “Sting’s Revenge.” JR mentions he can’t remember a tag title match between brother teams. Yep! Rick and Arn start us out and Arn sucker punches Rick off the apron. Then Arn holds the ropes to avoid a shot from Scott and bails to the floor. Arn is so proud of himself but forgets he knocked Rick down there and he unloads with right hands. All four men end up in the ring and The Steiners clean house. The dogs are barking! Arn slows things down as he tries to sucker Scott into his corner. He tries a knee-drop, but Scott catches it and hits an atomic drop. Ole in and he eats a few right hands and then a slam from Scott. Ole stalls now and gets Rick into his corner, but he just punches his way out and Scott is in to throw right hands as well. The Andersons bail to the floor as this is taking some time to get going. Back in Ole gets his arm caught but tags Arn and things screech to a halt again. The crowd is trying to hang with them. Rick with a side headlock and he takes Arn to the mat. Terry Funk wonders why nobody has picked him as their favorite wrestler growing up. Give it time sir! Arn gets caught with a powerslam, so he backs into the corner to slow things down again. Lockup and Arn goes to the eyes and this time is able to drop the knee. He heads up top and Rick is up and waiting, so Arn gets down and walks up the aisle to kill more time. I understand milking the crowd, but we are nearly 8 minutes into this thing and not much has happened. Ole gets the tag and hooks a side headlock on Scott Steiner. Ole wraps the arm around the top rope and makes the tag to Arn. He grabs the arm, but Scott reverses. Inverted atomic drop from Scott and he hooks a figure-four, but Ole kicks him in the face to break. Rick in and things slow down again. Ole gets a single leg, but Scott counters with a dead lift suplex. He drops a knee for a two count. Rick back in and he teases stomping Ole in the balls, but relents and Ole scurries to his corner to stall some more. Rick with a lockup, but Arn is too close and gets the blind tag. Arn tries a vertical suplex, but Rick blocks and gets one of his own. Tag to Ole and sends Rick into the buckle, but that does nothing. Ole sends Rick into Arn’s knee and tags back out. The Andersons target the arm as they are one to do. Tag back to Ole, and he just looks old and like a wrestler from a different time. They end up trading punches from their knees and Rick wins that battle. Both sides end up tagging and now the crowd seems bored by this match. Scott lands a back elbow that sends Arn to the floor. He tries a clothesline, but Arn ducks and Scott hits the post. Arn has a damaged body part to attack and cracks the arm off the railing. Hammerlock Ole and he fires Scott back into the railing. Back in the ring Ole hooks a standing armbar. Back to Arn who delivers a hammerlock slam. JR mentions Arn is the reigning TV Champion as well. Arn heads up and tries what would be called a Vader Bomb, but Scott blocks. He then snaps off a FRANKENSTEINER and that wakes up the building. I would hope so as that move freaked everyone out. Rick gets the tag and Ole eats a Steiner-line. Here’s one for Arn as well! Rick gets a small package on Ole for the anticlimactic win at 16:07.
Winners and Still NWA World Tag Team Champions: The Steiner Brothers via pin at 16:07
-Man, these last two tag matches have killed this crowd. No clue what the deal was here as they just didn’t mesh at all. As mentioned Ole looked like out of place and didn’t have much more to offer in the ring at this point. I will give this the edge of the earlier tag match because it was 8 minutes shorter and The Frankensteiner is AWESOME. **
-The Andersons attack after the match and Ole comes off the top with a knee to Scott’s arm/shoulder. I guess they needed to get their heat back.
-Lex Luger gets some promo time.
-Ric Flair gets promo time and has Woman with him now.
NWA World Heavyweight Championship: Ric Flair (c) (w/ Woman) vs. Lex Luger
-Sting, hobbling on crutches after his knee surgery, is here to be an observer. Weird as they started his introduction by noting tragedy struck the NWA and I was waiting for them to announce some had passed and we were getting a 10 Bell Salute, but they were just talking about Sting destroying his knee at the previous Clash. Lex Luger still has his BANGER of a theme, but has ditched wearing a robe. Boo! He is still The US Champion, but his Title is not on the line here. Nick Patrick checks both men before the match and gives them their instructions. Flair tells Luger he better be at his best tonight as he is talking to the World Champion. JR brings up that Flair escaped with his life and Title a year and a half ago against Luger in Baltimore. Flair with a hammerlock, but Luger easily reverses and then shoves Flair on his ass. Flair is already bitching at the ref, which is just part of the mind games he plays. Luger gets a standing side headlock and then powers Flair down with an overhand wrist-lock. Flair complains about a hair pull! Funk gets in a dig at the WWF by nothing this show is not a happening but an event. Weird flex, but okay. Luger wants a test of strength and Flair obliges which is stupid! Luger breaks Flair down to his knees with one arm. Shoulder tackle from Flair and he bails to the floor. Back in the ring Flair continues with the mind games, but Luger is just patiently waiting. Lockup and Flair buries a knee to the gut. He sends Luger into the corner, but he rushes out and runs Flair down with a clothesline. Flair heads up the aisle, but Luger gives chase, delivers a right hand and carries Flair back to the ring. Luger eats a right hand and just flexes at Flair. Gorilla Press Slam as the crowd is getting into this one. Flair takes his time on the floor and then begs off in the corner back in the ring. Funk is Tony Romo like as he calls out what Flair is going to do as he suckers Luger in and gets him in the gut. Luger shakes that off and gets another Gorilla Press Slam. He goes for the cover, but Flair gets his leg on the bottom rope. Flair with a shot to the ribs and a LOUD chop, but Luger just stares at him. Another Gorilla Press Slam and this has to suck for Flair. Luger hooks a bear-hug as JR notes Luger can be the first man in the NWA to hold the World and US Title at the same time. Huh, it would be crazy if someone held the WWF Title and IC Title at the same time, but how likely would that be? Flair begs off in the corner again, so Luger mounts and fires off ten punches as the crowd gladly counts along. FLAIR FLOP! Luger sends Flair across the ring and rushes for a clothesline, but Flair drops down and Luger ends up crashing through the ropes and to the floor. This is where Flair wants Luger as he lays in the chops and sends Lex into the railing. Luger is selling the knee after the fall to the floor. Back in the ring and CHOP! Luger gets pitched back to the floor and has Woman distract the ref. Flair sends Luger back into the railing and then another LOUD chop. Flair keeps firing off strikes to keep Lex on the floor. He finally lets him back in the ring and drops a knee to the head. Snap-mare and Flair drops another knee to impress Woman. That gets two as Lex kicks out with some power. Lex eats a chop and fires off right hands. He misses a charge in the corner though and Flair takes him down with a hammerlock. He uses the ropes for leverage. DIRTIEST PLAYER IN THE GAME! He tells the crowd to shut-up as he releases the hold. He gets Luger to the other side and goes back to the hold while again using the ropes. Such easy heat as the crowd is losing it over the cheating. CHOP! He wraps the arm around the ropes in the corner and Lex is able to push off and hits a clothesline with the other arm. Flair goes to the eyes and Woman gets in a shot as well. Funk didn’t see it, so JR tells him to take his word for it. Flair back to the hammerlock and unlike the previous matches where the crowd was silent, they are begging Luger to get back into this one. Woman pulls the hair as Funk notes it’s irritating more than being something that would hurt Luger. Flair drops a knee to the arm and shoulder for two. He gets another two and another with his feet on the ropes. The ref finally catches him and breaks the pin attempt. Luger is pissed and grabs Flair by the throat and just chokes away. Huh, didn’t know Luger was a choker! Flair sent into the corner and he flips over the top and to the floor. Luger sends him into the railing and eats every chop Flair throws. Lex yells and Flair bails to the ring. He tries to beg off, but Lex gets a sleeper. Flair drops to the mat and Lex gets a two count, but Flair gets his foot on the bottom rope. That’s genius as it forces a break. Lex goes back to the sleeper, but Flair breaks with a belly to back suplex and that leaves both men down. Patrick starts a count and gets to seven, but both men are up. Flair tries a suplex to the floor, but Lex brings him back in with a suplex. Luger wraps Flair’s knee around the ring post and thankfully, it was below The Roos sponsored padding. Flair pulled off the ropes and crashes to the mat. Lex tries a figure-four, but he is awkward with it and Flair escapes easily. That makes sense as Flair is the one that has perfected the move. Chops from Flair and then a running punch sends Luger to the mat. Flair charges again and Lex catches him a powerslam for two that the fans bit hard on as the finish. They are pissed as Patrick notes it was only a two count! CHOP, but Luger eats it and flexes! Flair bails to get away and it’s not to just stall, but to sucker Luger in and it works as he hits a thumb to the eye. Back in the ring Lex reverses to a backslide for two. Again, the crowd WANTED that. Lex goes back to the mounted punches in the corner, but Flair is ready this time and gets an inverted atomic drop. Flair heads up and CONNECTS WITH A RIGHT HAND TO THE HEAD! See, it does work sometimes! He hits another one for two. Double arm suplex gets two! Flair jumps on Luger’s back to hook a sleeper which has Lex carrying the weight of the Champion. The arm drops twice, but not three times as Lex starts feeding off the crowd. “Luger” chant! Flair shoots Luger into the corner and gets a roll-up for two. Lex with a desperation clothesline for two! Luger misses an elbow as he is starting to get frustrated and it cost him there. CHOP! Flair with a shin-breaker and he starts firing off kicks to the back of the knee. Another shin-breaker! He drops his weight on the knee as we are officially going to school! Flair drops the knee on Lex’s knee! Figure-four and of course Flair grabs the ropes for additional leverage. Sting is tired of the cheating and hobbles down to ringside. Lex powers up and flexes while in the hold and starts rolling, but Flair rolls with him and grabs the ropes even as the ref counts, but breaks at four. Sting yells at Luger to motivate him and it works as Lex eats every chop. Flair does the usual and bails to the floor, but that doesn’t work this time as Lex shakes off being sent into the railing. Back in the ring another Gorilla Press Slam! Flair goes to the eyes and heads up top, but that’s one time too many and Luger slams him down. Clothesline from Lex and another sends Flair over the top and to the floor. The crowd is rocking with them now and I don’t blame them. Suplex brings Flair back into the ring and that gets two. POWERSLAM for two! Woman gets in a slap, so Lex pulls her up on the apron. Woman with another slap and Flair jumps to deliver a knee, but it connects with Patrick. No ref as Lex throws the mounted punches again. Flair over the top and runs the apron. He comes off the top but Lex catches him with a right hand on the way down. No ref to make the count! Luger with a superplex and again, no ref to count. The Horsemen hit the ring, but Luger takes them out. He puts Flair in The Rack as Patrick comes to his feet. The Andersons attack Sting and Luger releases the hold to save his friend. The Andersons grab Luger and I guess never make contact and the ref counts Luger out at 38:04. What a crappy ending! Actually Arn landed a few punches, so it should have been a DQ win for Luger as Patrick was looking right at it.
Winner and Still NWA World Heavyweight Champion: Ric Flair via count-out at 38:04
-This was fantastic, but that ending sucked! I loved how Flair always had a plan to bail and bait Luger on the floor when Lex started to get on a roll. Luger kept it simple and used the power game. Sting’s injury really screwed things up with their plans, so we get this ending as they were waiting for Sting to get back healthy, but also didn’t Luger taking any loss by pin or submission. This was still a great effort by both men and woke the crowd up after the last few matches. ****1/4
-The Horsemen beat on Luger in the ring, but The Steiners are out to make the save.
-Thanks for reading!
