wrestling / Video Reviews

The Name on the Marquee: NWA World Championship Wrestling (7.23.1988)

August 11, 2018 | Posted by Adam Nedeff
NWA - Ron Fuller, Dory Funk Jr. Image Credit: NWA
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The Name on the Marquee: NWA World Championship Wrestling (7.23.1988)  

-Cold open: The Tower of Doom is lowered to the ring at Great American Bash. Also lowered: the overall quality of the show as a result.

-Originally aired July 23, 1988.

-Your hosts are Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross, & David Crockett.

RUSSIAN ASSASSIN (with Paul Jones & Ivan Koloff) vs. TRENT KNIGHT
-Chops and chops by the Assassin. Press slam and a big boot, and Knight takes the first trip to the concrete for this week’s episode. Ivan strangles him with the chain before Assassin suplexes Knight back in. He starts working the back as Assassin has replaced the Powers of Pain so effectively that now he’s the one whose squashes go on way too long. Russian guillotine by Assassin gets the win by submission. Kudos to JR for mentioning on commentary that, yeah, that move does have other names.

-David Crockett meets Paul Jones and the gang. Russian says a few words in Russian to show off the fake accent he’s been working on. Hey, stupid joke time–what do you call a fan of regional vocal sounds? An accent mark. Ivan Koloff promises that the Road Warriors will be taken care of in some arena near you very soon.

FANTASTICS vs. CHRIS CHAMPION & GARY ROYAL
-First time in months we’ve seen Champion, as the TBS show didn’t even bother booking the second version of the New Breed, and now he’s just a jobber. He’s grown an awe-inspiring mullet since the last time he was on the show, down to the middle of his back, with the top of the hair nice and spikey. Pristine piles of literal white trash are spontaneously forming from his ears and falling to the mat because of this hairstyle.

-Fulton armdrags Champion. Champion armdrags back and it’s actually making me feel sad to watch Champion, they’re not even mentioning that he was a star six months ago, he’s just some guy. Royal tags in and gets slammed down. Fulton goes to work on the arm. Subtle stuff on the commentary, as Tony talks about what a shrewd manager Jim Cornette is and that the Fantastics fell short as a tag team because they’re more preoccupied with revenge than they are with being fighting champions. That was laying the ground work for a Fantastics heel turn that never came, as the plan was to have them feud with the Rock & Roll Express.

-Champion gets clotheslined down and tags out quickly. Royal gets rolled up for a three-count out of nowhere and I think the jobber just forgot to kick out there. Really weird ending.

RON GARVIN (with Gary Hart) vs. TOMMY ANGEL
-Garvin throws the towel to Gary Hart to make a point. Garvin applies a half-crab and stretches the leg. Series of headbutts as Garvin seems happy and motivated in the new role here, back to the way he worked jobber matches before he won the NWA Title and showing a lot of enthusiasm in there. Garvin applies a front facelock and just pinches Angel repeatedly while holding onto it. Angel gets pissed and throws some right hands, but Garvin throws more punches and chops. Abdominal stretch, and the hands of stone finish. He does the Garvin stomp after the pin, because he’s dastardly. Fun to see Garvin looking completely revitalized.

-Gary Hart promises that Dusty Rhodes will be eliminated from professional wrestling thanks to his connections. Gary craps on the nickname “Dr. Death” for fun. “Who did he kill? Oklahoma’s football program?”

-Jim Cornette declares that as U.S. Tag Team Champions, the Midnight Express are #1 contenders for the World Tag Team Titles, and somehow, the last time they were U.S. Tag Team Champions, the Horsemen just kinda forgot to give them a title defense. But it’s probably just because Arn & Bobby are best buds outside the ring and JJ didn’t want to create any awkwardness. But NOW Cornette feels they’re due for a shot at the World Tag Team Titles, they’ve signed a contract, they mailed them to JJ, and now they’re just waiting around.

AL PEREZ (with Gary Hart) vs. DAVID ISLEY
-Perez gets Isley on the mat and drives knees into the shoulder. Perez stomps away. Airplane spin by Perez, and he chokes Isley out. They go out to the concrete and Isley takes a HARD slam down there. Funny thing: There’s a fan at ringside who’s a dead ringer for Mighty Wilbur and is dressed like him. Spinning toehold by Perez gets the submission. Honestly, the Garvin heel turn gave them an opening to do some dissension in the ranks and have Perez turn face and see if that works. He’s not over as a heel, period.

-We go to pre-taped words from Dusty Rhodes, tellingly in an empty studio, as the WTBS audiences were no longer friendly confines for him. He says that every time something big happens in the NWA, Dusty Rhodes is in the middle of it! Yes, that’s the issue, really. He promises to get funky in simian-like fashion on Ron Garvin.

ROCK & ROLL EXPRESS vs. AGENT STEELE & GEORGE SOUTH
-South gets backdropped and headscissored around by Robert Gibson. Everyone tags and Ricky Morton dropkicks Steele. Morton works the leg over, and the double dropkick puts this one to bed.

-The Rock & Roll Express says that they’ve held the World Tag Team Title more times than either the Horsemen OR the Midnights, so they should be moved to the front of the line for a title shot.

ROAD WARRIORS (with Paul Ellering) vs. J.C. WILDE & RIC ALLEN
-This is a pretty different Road Warriors squash, as they start with less energy than usual and wrestle just kind of a regular match. The jobbers even make a tag at one point. Powerslam off the second rope by Animal gets the win.

-Hawk is glad to be a neo-maxi zoomdweebie and not a clamhead. They threaten Ron Garvin for betraying their good friend Dusty Rhodes.

TV TITLE: MIKE ROTUNDA (Champion, with Kevin Sullivan & Rick Steiner) vs. GARY PHELPS
-Drop toehold into a facelock by Rotunda. Rotunda reaches out to Steiner on the floor and tags him, and Steiner steps in and clotheslines Phelps, then clotheslines Rotunda back in to continue the match. The difference between NWA and WWF commentators: The NWA commentators react to that like, “Uh, that’s against the rules” and then just move on. Gorilla Monsoon would have a heart attack and not be able to concentrate for the rest of the match. And really, Gorilla would be in the right because this match keeps going and there’s no good reason for that. Double underhook suplex by Rotunda finishes.

-Mike Rotunda vows to defend the belt against anyone, and gets a bit sidetracked bickering with Rick. And then Kevin Sullivan takes a cold shit on the whole thing by talking about eating chilled monkey brains and living among the lepers.

TULLY BLANCHARD (with JJ Dillon) vs. RYAN WAGNER
-Tully sweeps the leg and applies a toehold. Weird exposition from JR talking about how, yes, it’s true that Bobby Eaton and Arn Anderson are best friends, but “as we know, Tully isn’t well-liked among the Midnight Express.” Wait, why do we know that? Slingshot suplex by Tully gets the win.

-David Crockett talks to JJ, who smirks and says that gee, the mail is slow, so he hasn’t signed the contract. He says Jim Cornette is only antsy about getting a title match because Mommy was a little late paying his allowance this week. Arn has a few words for his best friend, Bobby Eaton. That’s such a weird detail to slip into this storyline, it makes me wonder what the long-term plan was if the Horsemen hadn’t jumped to the WWF.

BARRY WINDHAM (U.S. Champion, with JJ Dillon) vs. DALE LAPEROUSE

-Uppercuts and slapping by Windham. Superplex gets three.

-Barry promises that he beat Dusty Rhodes once, and he’ll beat him again.

LEX LUGER vs. KEITH STEINBORN
-Forearms by Steinborn. Luger fights right back with a hiptoss and a dropkick. Torture rack gets the win.

-Lex Luger promises that the rematch, wherever that rematch is signed, won’t be stopped, and he WILL be the next NWA Champion.

STING, NIKITA KOLOFF, & “Dr. Death” STEVE WILLIAMS vs. GREEN HORNET, LARRY STEPHENS, & CRUEL CONNECTION #2

-David promoted this segment by saying the NWA World Champion would be in action, so apparently something crazy involving Cruel Connection #2 happened at a house show.

-Koloff takes Cruel down with a side headlock. Cruel punches out, but gets caught in the corner, and Sting just picks him up like a dad roughhousing with his kids. He carries Cruel over to the corner and forces him to tag, then picks up Stephens and carries him to the opposite corner, where Williams tags in and clotheslines him. Hornet tags in and gets tied up in a bow and arrow. And then this one just kinda goes on…

-Sting dropkicks Cruel out to the concrete. Back in, Williams drops an elbow on him. Hornette tags in to take another turn. Sting works the arm. And then Dr. Death works the arm. Sting flings Hornet across the ring and Stephens tags back in. Stinger splash and the Oklahoma stampede finally end this. Eight minutes without allowing your opponents one single move cannot be interesting under any circumstances.

SPAM SLAM!

-Doomsday device! A move actually worthy of being the Spam Slam of the Week!

RIC FLAIR (World Champion, with JJ Dillon) vs. CURTIS THOMPSON
-Ah, there’s the champ. Thompson shoulderblocks Flair down. Flair is irked by that and goes to a top wristlock, taking Thompson down with it. Hammerlock by Flair. He drops the knee and throws a few chops before sending Thompson out to the floor. Nowwwwww we go to school, and the figure four wins it.

-JJ Dillon says TBS is welcome for the ratings boost, and Ric Flair says that if Lex wants a rematch, he can kiss the Nature Boy where the sun don’t shine.

4.7
The final score: review Poor
The 411
DAMN that was a long two hours.
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