The Name on the Marquee: NWA World Championship Wrestling (9.5.1987)

-Cold open: We watch Nikita win the TV Title again because it was so awesome.

-Originally aired September 5, 1987.

-Your hosts are Tony Schiavone & David Crockett.

-The Windham Brothers are excited at getting their first title shot together. Seeing the two of them side-by-side does Kendall no favors.

NIKITA KOLOFF (TV Champion) vs ALAN MARTIN
-Nikita elbows Martin, who, in un-jobber-like fashion, goes out to the floor by his own volition to recuperate. Back in, Martin goes after the arm and Nikita just gets mad and launches him across the ring with a hiptoss. Sickle finishes quickly.

-Nikita basically said he has his groove back thanks to winning the TV Title.

LEX LUGER (US Champion, with JJ Dillon) vs KEITH STEINBORN
-Luger lifts Steinborn for an atomic drop but then just throws him across the ring and poses. Luger hammers Steinborn and works the arm. Luger appears to be doing Lamaze breathing while applying a hammerlock. Luger’s level of conditioning seemed to vary by the day, sometimes he’s working a 30-minute match with Nikita, sometimes he’s sucking wind during a resthold two minutes in. Torture rack gets the win.

-Tony talks to JJ and Lex. JJ is troubled by the Weaverlock because he knows how well Johnny Weaver applied it in his heyday…however, Dusty’s version looks closer to a chokehold and he questions its legitimately.

TULLY BLANCHARD (with JJ Dillon) vs ED FRANKS
-Tully snapmares Franks and applies pressure to his jaws until Teddy Long forces him to release. Great commentary with JJ sitting in, calling out Tony and David for being all happy for Nikita and overlooking the fact that he used a foreign object. David coolly responds “Where did he get it from?” and JJ is speechless.

-Front facelock by Tully. He chokes Franks over the rope stomps him from head to toe. It’s actually pretty similar to the soon-to-be-debuting Garvin Stomp. Slingshot suplex by Tully gets the win.

ARN ANDERSON vs MIKE JACKSON
-No mention at all of Jackson’s Alabama title, so I guess that match against Denny Brown was a title match…I guess.

-Side headlock by Jackson. Arn tries to roll through it, but Jackson hangs on until Arn lifts him and plants him on the top rope. Jackson applies a hammerlock and Arn retreats to the apron. Crowd chants “Arn is a chicken” and Jackson eggs them on. Jackson goes off the ropes and Arn knocks the wind out of him with a forearm to the gut. Stomachbreaker as Arn changes up his offense and targets the gut instead of targeting a limb.

-Jackson gets fired up and it turns into a fistfight, but Arn stops him by just throwing him out to the concrete. Chinlock by Arn. He goes to the second rope and Jackson catches him on the way down with a shot to the abs. Backdrop by Jackson. Arn reverses an Irish whip and gives Jackson a spinebuster and ends it right there, before Jackson can make another comeback. Arn made Mike Jackson look like a total badass and it was a great match.

-Arn and Tully tell Nikita to sleep with his little TV Title belt every night because he won’t have it very long. Arn says that was a warm-up match for the Rock & Roll Express.

-Ric Flair montage!

-Dusty Rhodes is here. “When Dusty Rhodes goes to the bathroom, everyone talks about it! When Dusty Rhodes makes a lot of money, everybody wants one!” I, too, would like one money. We go to Worldwide, where Dusty is cutting a promo while Teijo Kahn is wrestling. Teijo finishes his match and Dusty is still talking, and Teijo tells Dusty to take a hike and let him give an interview. So Dusty beats the shit out of him and puts him out with the Weaverlock. A hero walks among us.

-Ron Garvin is here. He wants to make a million dollars a year by being world champion, like Ric Flair. He doesn’t need limos or fancy drinks, because he prefers trucks and beer, but that million bucks sure would be sweet.

RON GARVIN vs TERRY JONES
-Big chop, backdrop, hands of stone, three count. But wait, there’s more! Garvin excitedly announces that he has something new to show us, and he introduces the Garvin Stomp.

-We go to NWA Pro, with Ron Garvin battling Arn Anderson. JJ Dillon attempts to interfere, which brings Dusty over from the commentary table to kick some JJ ass. All Four Horsemen run out, and watching Tully having to help Lex hoist Dusty for the torture rack is unintentionally the best thing about this show. The Forces of Good empty the locker room to come to Dusty’s rescue.

-Ric Flair guarantees that Arn and Tully are your next tag team champions, and Ron Garvin will never get to stick a big gold belt in his pick-up truck. Awesome promo work by Flair as he starts off super-calm and arrogant, but the more he talks about Garvin, the more insane he gets, and it’s clear that Garvin’s in his head now.

U.S. TAG TEAM TITLE: MIDNIGHT EXPRESS (Champions, with Jim Cornette) vs WINDHAM BROTHERS
-Cornette deems this match important enough to stay in his team’s corner instead of doing commentary. Barry and Bobby start. Big right hand and a slam by Barry, and Bobby’s already reeling. Kendall and Stan Lane do battle, with Kendall applying an armbar and hiptossing him.

-Back from the break, Bobby slams Kendall and comes off the top rope with a legdrop. Midnights begin making rapid-fire tags to keep Kendall from getting any kind of advantage. Stan and Kendall collide on a shoulderblock and Barry manages to tag in. Barry takes care of Stan in the ring, while Bobby and Cornette attack Kendall on the floor. Nikita shows up and helps Barry clean house, getting the Windhams DQed. They only had like five minutes to work with and it wasn’t great like you’d hope.

-Cornette goes crazy on Nikita and promises that either of his guys could take the TV Title any time they want.

5.9

The final score: review Not So Good

The 411

Good week if you like the Horsemen, but the rest was a Dusty ego trip and an underperforming feature.