wrestling / Video Reviews
The Name on the Marquee: NWA World Championship Wrestling (9.24.1988)
Loading...-Cold open: Ivan Koloff squashes Tony Suber, but the Russian Assassins attack him with a chain after the bell. And FINALLY, the NWA does the obvious thing and Nikita charges to the ring to rescue his uncle and reunite the family.
-Originally aired September 24, 1988.
-Your hosts are Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross, and David Crockett.
-By the way, to show you how insane this company was going behind the scenes, Jim Crockett was actually negotiating at this point to buy WCCW from Fritz Von Erich, while also trying to sell this company to Ted Turner because he was up to the jolly green giant’s nuts in debt.
ROAD WARRIORS (with Paul Ellering) vs. THE MENACES
-One Menace ends up on the floor, the other ends up in the Doomsday Device, and we’re outta here.
-Road Warriors warn the Midnight Express to start shopping for their cemetery plots.
BARRY WINDHAM (US Champion, with JJ Dillon) vs. AGENT STEEL
-Steel armdrags Windham. Windham comes right back with a slam and a dropkick. Kneedrop by Windham, and the flying lariat ends it with ease.
-They’re still using the Horsemen logo as David interviews JJ and Barry. JJ declares Barry the greatest US Champion of ALL time after only five months or so, so look for Barry to get his ass squashed by the Ultimate Warrior down the road. JJ cryptically acknowledges recent developments and says that the future of the Four Horsemen is for he and Ric and Barry to decide.
STING vs. JERRY PRICE
-They criss-cross, and Sting just comes to a dead halt, which frightens Price enough that he runs out to the floor in a cute bit. Back in, Sting backdrops Price and slams him down. Splash, scorpion deathlock, just that easy.
-Sting shits on Price for wearing spandex so thin that he could see underwear through it. “GET SOME THICKER SPANDEX!”
MIDNIGHT EXPRESS (All the belts, with Jim Cornette) vs. CRUEL CONNECTION #1 & CURTIS THOMPSON
-JR has been firing off “since 1905” as a catchphrase for the past few weeks. Lane offers Thompson a handshake and Thompson hurts Lane’s hand with it. Lane responds with thrust kicks and tags Eaton in. Jobbers gang up on him while Cornette gives us a history lesson and tells us about the attendance records his boys set in Mid-South Wrestling a few years ago. Lane tags in while Cornette calls out every team, heel and face in the NWA (“a mind reader would charge the Sheepherders half-price!”) Double goozle finishes off #1.
-David Crockett talks to Cornette, who runs down the Varsity Club and that little troll Kevin Sullivan. Cornette is hanging onto his heel edge, as a fan yells “We love the Midnight Express!” and Cornette declares “We love the Midnight Express too!”
-Here’s Lex Luger to accuse Jim Cornette of “doing a David Letterman audition.” My god, the one thing that would have made David Letterman angrier…Lex warns Ric Flair that he’s still hungry for the belt.
THE FANTASTICS vs. MIKE JUSTICE & JOE GRIFFIN
-Hiptoss and a dropkick by Bobby Fulton. Tommy Rogers heads in and works the arm. The other jobber comes in and falls victim to the Samoan drop, and the rocket launcher ends it. I love these weeks when a baseball game or whatever shortened the show, the pacing was so vastly improved.
NIKITA KOLOFF vs. EDDIE SWEAT
-JR plugs an article about Nikita in the new issue of Muscular Development Magazine, where they’re apparently celebrating Opposite Month. Sweat targets the head, but Nikita gets his stereotypes mixed up and no-sells it, and the sickle finishes. In-a-hurry ass-kicker Nikita is the best Nikita.
STRAIGHT TALK WITH THE BOSS
-Magnum TA has an interview segment, how ’bout that. His guest is Ivan Koloff, who buries the hatchet and shakes Magnum’s hand. Ivan says that he and Nikita are a contrast in styles from old school Russia and new school Russia. He’s going to try to fight his own battles with the Russian Assassins.
“Dr. Death” STEVE WILLIAMS & BRAD ARMSTRONG vs. TERRY JONES & KEITH STEINBORN
-Brad changes tag team partners so much that they should just have him start cutting promos about how he doesn’t use deodorant or something. Jobbers back him into the corner, but Brad slips out and tags out. Doc press slams one jobber on op of the other, and Brad finishes with a Russian legsweep.
-Ric Flair gets a mixed reception. He offers fans a chance to see him naked for a $20 ringside seat.
VARSITY CLUB vs. RANDY MULKEY, BRUCE HOLLIS, & GARY ROYAL
-Sullivan chops Mulkey and backdrops him as Tony weirdly predicts that “we’ll see a lot of smart fans” during the next house show in Detroit. Rick Steiner, who forgot to take off his Florida belt, tries to come into the ring and get the pin without tagging in, but his partners scold him and make him go back to the apron. They finally tag Rick in as Tony notes that at recent shows, when the fans chanted anti-Syracuse stuff, Steiner egged them on. Steiner is forced to tag Rotunda back in and Rotunda does the double underhook to win this one.
AL PEREZ (with Gary Hart) vs. MAX MCGYVER
-Kevin Sullivan just hangs out after his match, so Perez tosses McGyver to the floor and Sullivan whips him with the dog collar. Back in, Perez gets the submission right away with the spinning toehold.
-Gary Hart predicts that either Sullivan or Perez will do some terrible things to Dusty Rhodes in an upcoming dog collar match, and the mandated padlock will work to their advantage, because now Dusty can’t escape.
RUSSIAN ASSASSINS (with Paul Jones) vs. ITALIAN STALLION & MAX MILES
-#2 and Stallion trade punches. Stallion fights back with a dropkick. Miles comes in and #1 just mauls him with boots. #2 loads up the mask and puts Miles away with a headbutt.
-Paul Jones calls Ivan Koloff gutless, and he has more to say but WE’RE DESPERATELY OUTTA TIME!
