YouTubular: Bob Bradley

From another recent suggestion we have Bob Bradley. According to Obsessed with Wrestling, Bradley was born Robert Markovich in Maryland, but hailed from Oklahoma professionally. He took over the Battle Kat gimmick briefly when Brady Boone left the WWF. Battle Kat, we’ve covered, but if I remember correctly they were all Boone matches. Bradley did use the nickname of the Cat for a time. Bradley was the Texas Heavyweight Champion in 1987, beating the Dingo Warrior out in a tournament final. He would move onto become the Ultimate Warrior in the WWF. In the mid-nineties, Bradley was wrestling for the NWC in Las Vegas and was booking shows in Sacramento.

Bob Bradley vs. Barry Windham
Video Length: 2:10
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This is from UWF with Jim Ross and Magnum TA on commentary. The audio has a hiss. Windham takes Bradley down with a waistlock and he scurries to the ropes. Windham hits an arm drag and goes to an arm bar. It’s mentioned that Big Bubba Rogers is the UWF Heavyweight Champion, so this would make the match sometime in the late spring of 1987. Bradley tries to toss Windham out of the arm bar, but he holds on. He lets go and they grapple. Windham whips Bradley to the ropes and nails a dropkick. Windham hits a backbreaker. Bradley backs Windham into the corner on a headlock. Bradley takes over with an eye rake. Windham comes back with a forearm to the dome and one to the gut. Bradley does the drunk guy sell. Windham with a scoop slam to set up the flying lariat for the win. ½* Bradley’s token offense not withstanding, this was just a ‘showcase the wares’ match for Windham.

Bob Bradley vs. Steve Simpson
Video Length: 4:54
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This clip has the same hissy audio as the above clip, but is from World Class. Simpson is billed as being simply from Africa. That’s like listing Nikita Koloff, The Great Muta and The Great Khali all being from Asia.

Bradley gets all Battle-Katty to start with back flips and such. They lock up and then break off for that whole mutual respect thing. They trade off on an arm wringer and then do the same with a hammer lock. Simpson flips over Bradley to break and goes for an O’Connor roll. Bradley holds onto the ropes, but then misses and elbow drop. Simpson works a full nelson. He then goes to a snap mare and works a body scissors on the mat. Simpson does something out of the Kama Sutra as he rocks back and forth to butt slam Bradley while still in the body scissors. Simpson rolls him over for a near fall. Bradley powers up and back for a pin fall attempt on Simpson. Bradley breaks and body slams Simpson. Simpson fights back with knees, but Bradley reverses a whip off the ropes for a back elbow. Bradley telegraphs a backdrop and Simpson slides under him into a sunset flip for the win. Bradley sells the surprise finish with a great facial expression of ‘what the hell?’ ¾* A little disjoined overall, but a solid bout with some good mat wrestling.

Bob Bradley vs. Big John Studd with Classy Freddie Blassie
Video Length: 4:34
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This is from “WWF Championship Wrestling” with Vince McMahon and Pat Patterson on commentary. Studd shoves Bradley out of a lock up to start. Bradley comes off the ropes and Studd meets him with a knee lift that sends Bob to the floor. Bradley struggles to the apron and Studd bends him over backwards and clubs on him. Bradley falls back to the floor. He makes his way to the apron again and Studd slingshots him into the ring. Studd gets a messed up hip toss and Bradley convulses on the mat like he’s having electro-shock therapy. Studd finishes with the backbreaker rack. Studd was just a bit too plodding to make this interesting. DUD.

Bob Bradley vs. Corporal Kischner
Video Length: 6:02
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This is from “WWF Championship Wrestling” with McMahon and Bruno Sammartino on commentary. Kirchner works a waistlock, which Bradley breaks by making the ropes. Bradley goes to the ropes again to break a hammerlock. Kirchner picks up the pace with a couple armdrags and a backdrop. Bradley bails. Kirchner slingshots Bradley back in and works a headlock. Bradley shoves out of it and they go into a crisscross sequence. Bradley goes low and Kirchner boots him. Bradley rakes the eyes and punches away. Bradley gets a body slam and a leg drop. He then gets a shaky leg diving headbutt. That’s where Bubba Ray got that from. Kirchner fights out of a front chancery, but takes a belly to belly suplex off the ropes. Kirchner gets a sunset flip for the win, but there’s some confusion and Kirchner hits a Samoan Drop and pins Bradley again. I think the referee counted too fast and the guys did the planned finish anyway. A little sloppy, but Bradley got some decent offense in for once and looked like the guy that was keeping it all together. ½*

Bob Bradley vs. Ivan Putski
Video Length: 4:30
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This is from “WWF Championship Wrestling” with McMahon and Patterson. Putski over powers Bradley to start. Bradley works a headlock that Putski picks Bob up from and slams him. Bradley takes Putski down from behind and covers for a near fall. Putski picks Bradley up out of a front chancery and throws him into the ropes. Bradley basically says ‘suck it’ with a back flip and jump. So, Ivan is all like ‘oh yeah’ and puts him in a headlock and pounds on him. Bradley breaks with a backdrop suplex. Bradley spazzes out and Putski hits a punch to knock him into the ropes. Putski slugs him again and Bradley falls to the floor. Back in the ring, Putski works a headlock. He fells Bradley with another punch. Putski jumps on him with a camel clutch. Bradley slings back and slams him. Bradley fights back, but Putski reverses a whip and finishes with the Polish Hammer. This match shows how limited Putski was in the ring, but Bradley made him look like a beast whose raw power was too much to overcome. ¼*

Bob Bradley vs. Ivan Putski
Video Length: 5:45
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This is about the same as above. McMahon mentions that they’ve faced a few times with Bradley not being able to pick up a win. Putski works an arm wringer. Bradley fights out and Putski goes to a headlock and punches away on him. Bradley flops and convulses. Bradley wants a test of strength. He’s got the height advantage, but Putski clearly has him out muscled. Bradley kicks Putski in the gut to put him down, but he fights back. Putski wins the test of strength and stomps on Bradley’s hands. Bradley works a headlock and Patterson talks about Putski’s diet, which includes onions, garlic and raw eggs. I don’t think that would make you a popular guy in the locker room or with the ladies. Putski slams Bradley out of the headlock. Bradley takes over in the corner, but Ivan Putskies up and unleashes a barrage of blows. Polish Hammer time! Putski wins. ¼*

Bob Bradley vs. S.D. Jones
Video Length: 2:42
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It’s a YouTubular mega-jobber special! This is also from “WWF Championship Wrestling” with McMahon and Patterson. They grapple around with some amateur stuff to start. They then slug it out. Jones hits a haymaker off the ropes and finishes with a swinging neckbreaker. Yes, Bradley just jobbed to S.D. Jones in about a minute. He lasted longer against Big John Studd. DUD.

Bob Bradley vs. Eddie Gilbert
Video Length: 4:58
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More from “Championship Wrestling” with McMahon and Patterson. Gilbert looks about 12 years old. Bradley starts getting the best of a test of strength, so Bradley kicks his hands. Gilbert gets a headlock takedown for a near fall. They work off the headlock. Bradley powers out. Gilbert takes Bradley down and rolls him over for a one count. Bradley powers out of the headlock again, but Gilbert goes low and picks the leg. Bradley makes the ropes. He takes over and scores a press slam. He drops an elbow. Gilbert tries to get up and Bradley hits a knee drop to the neck. Gilbert rocks Bradley with a couple punches. He scores a backdrop and a dropkick. A high knee gets the win. Patterson says of Gilbert, “that kid is going to go a long way. He moves real well.” That’s what Missy Hyatt liked about him too. Both guys were green and the match was just a string of moves without any real cohesion. ¼*

Bob Bradley vs. Tito Santana
Video Length: 4:33
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This is from “WWF Championship Wrestling” with McMahon and Patterson on commentary. Neither man can get the advantage in a collar and elbow tie up. They break off and go back to it. Santana pushes Bradley to the ropes and breaks clean. They fight over a top wristlock. Santana goes behind for a hammerlock and Bradley makes the ropes to break. Bradley pushes Santana out of a headlock and tries a back elbow, but Tito grabs the ropes to stop himself. Bradley schoolboys Santana, but he quickly rolls out. They do a test of strength. Bradley starts to win, so Santana backs him into the ropes and monkey flips him. Bradley bails. He comes back in and Tito takes him to the mat with a headlock. Bradley reverses and takes off the kid gloves. He clubs on Santana and gets some sort of a rolling butterfly suplex. That’s what I’m calling it. Santana fires back and scores a backdrop. He hits the flying forearm and then gets a splash for the win. I liked the mutual respect thing they had going on to start, but there was no real second act to get to the finish as both men picked up intensity and aggression. ¾*

Rocky Johnson vs. Bob Bradley
Video Length: 4:34
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Not sure who the commentators are, they’re a bit muffled. I’m thinking it might be Monsoon and Patterson. Bradley attacks Johnson at the bell. He flips Johnson out of the corner and covers for two. Johnson hip tosses Bradley out of a headlock. Bradley goes back to the headlock and Johnson picks Bob up and sits him on the top rope. Johnson breaks clean. Bradley gets a quick takedown just to prove he can. Bradley makes the ropes to break a hammerlock. They do a test of strength, which Johnson breaks with a monkey flip. Johnson hits a couple arm drags and Bradley runs into a backdrop. Bradley kicks Johnson as he comes in and works him over in the corner. Bradley whips Johnson to the far corner and follows with a high knee. He rakes the eyes. Johnson rockies up and goes all Rocky on Bradley with punches. He wins with an O’Connor roll. This was similar to the Santana match and just as solid. ¾*

Bob Bradley vs. Pedro Morales
Video Length: 4:56
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This is from 1982 and Morales as the Intercontinental Title. McMahon and Patterson are on commentary. It’s a bit of a Puerto Rican standoff to start. They eventually lock up firm and Morales works a hammerlock. Bradley reaches the ropes to break. Morales powers out of a headlock and takes Bradley to the mat with an arm lock. Bradley works up and breaks with a rake to the eyes. He slugs Morales into the corner. They reverse position and Morales takes over. Morales body slam Bradley and just stares at him. He’s moving at half the speed of smell. Even Vince has no idea what he’s doing. Morales hits a chop off the ropes to set up the Boston Crab. Bradley submits. That just plain sucked. DUD. Morales was drawing some heat, not sure about that.

Bob Bradley vs. Paul Orndorff
Video Length: 3:32
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This is from “WWF Championship Wrestling” with McMahon and Sammartino. Orndorff works a hammerlock, which Bradley breaks by making the ropes. Orndorff tosses Bradley out of a headlock and works the arm. This is shortly before Wrestlemania II as commentary tells me. Bradley works up, so Orndorff puts him back down with a fireman’s carry takedown and stays on the arm. G. Gordon Liddy gives an insert promo about how he’ll be a good judge at Wrestlemania, because he’s been in court enough. Bradley works up again and rocks Orndorff with some forearms. He goes into the ropes and almost knocks over the female ref. That’s something I’m surprised Vince hasn’t tried again. Orndorff catches Bradley with a hip toss and goes back to the arm. Bradley rakes the eyes to break and pounds on Orndorff. Bob sells the arm nicely. They get real sloppy on a crisscross as it doesn’t look like Orndorff knows what he wants to do. He eventually throws Bob to the floor. Orndorff suplexes Bradley in from the apron and hits a clothesline. He finishes with a piledriver and for some reason we cut to a few seconds of another match. Orndorff didn’t seem to be feeling it as this was just a tune up before his match with Don Muraco at Wrestlemania. ¼*

Bob Bradley vs. Koko B. Ware
Video Length: 4:58
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This is Ware’s WWF Debut. Lord Alfred Hayes is the ring announcer. Commentators are Monsoon, Johnny V and Ernie Ladd. Ladd: “He’s got the moves and the groves. He’s not a stepin ‘n fetchit, he’s a real soul man. When you say soul, he’s black to the bone, he’s black to the core. He’s not what some would consider a half breed.” I don’t even know where to start with that statement. Valiant just says his name sounds like a breakfast cereal. Ware gets Hayes and the Federettes to dance with him. The Federettes were ring girls who took capes, belts, jackets, whatever from guys before matches. Ware does an insert promo before the match holding a boom box and encouraging everyone to the do the Bird.

Bradley tries to prove he’s just as agile as Ware with a back flip. Ware takes the opportunity to charge and backdrop Bradley off the ropes. Ware works the crowd and they’re hot for him. Ware shoves Bradley out of a headlock, but is knocked down with a shoulder block. Bradley catches Ware on a crossbody, but can’t hang on and falls back for a near fall. Ware gets two off of a headlock takedown. Bradley powers out and fires away. He body slams Ware and goes up top. Koko moves on a knee drop try. He hits a couple dropkicks and then gets one off the second rope and a big splash for the finish. Nice debut for Ware, but far from showing all he could do in the ring. He was a tremendous high flyer for the period. ¼*

Bob Bradley vs. “The Rebel” Dick Slater
Video Length: 4:40
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Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan are on commentary. Bradley backs Slater into the corner. Slater reverses a whip to the opposite corner and catches Bradley on the bounce out for a hip toss. Slater drops an elbow and then picks Bradley up just to snap mare him back down and apply a chinlock. Since neither guy has anything going on we get an insert promo from referee Danny Davis telling the fans they have no idea what real refereeing is all about and they should get off his case. This was part of an angle of Davis turning heel and eventually becoming a wrestler after being suspended as a ref. Slater gets a Russian leg sweep and covers for two.

Slater hits a couple elbows to floor Bradley and then drops an elbow. A swinging neckbreaker sets up a jackknife pin for a two count. A small package gets two. Slater goes low as Bradley goes high and he flies to the floor. Slater suplexes Bradley in from the apron and finishes with an elbow drop from the top rope. An ok if not spectacular match to get the newcomer Slater over. ¼*

Bob Bradley vs. Big Bossman
Video Length: 1:13
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Jesse Ventura dressed as the Ultimate Warrior as the video starts will haunt your nightmares. Bossman works Bradley over in the corner as Slick and Akeem cut an insert promo on facing the Bossman at Wrestlemania VI. I tried to think of a Twin Towers line, but nothing tasteful came to mind. Bossman whips Bradley from corner to corner and then floors him with a clothesline. Bossman slam ends it. They barely got through the insert promo. DUD.

Tugboat vs. Bob Bradley
Video Length: 2:33
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This is from “Superstars” in 1991 with McMahon, Roddy Piper and Honky Tonk Man on commentary. Tugboat gets a big pop, which surprises me. Bradley attacks Tugboat at the bell. Tugboat doesn’t budge on a shoulder block. Bradley tries a crossbody. Tugboat catches him and tosses him over his back like a sack of potatoes. Bradley moves on an elbow drop and clubs way, trying to keep Tugger off his feet. Tugboat cuts an insert promo about how he will win the Royal Rumble. Bradley climbs on Tugboat’s back for a sleeper and he slams Bradley into the turnbuckles to break. Clothesline, body slam, big splash for the finish. Nothing special from the limited and plodding Tugboat, but he did have energy and connected with the fans well. ¼*

Bob Bradley vs. Ultimate Warrior
Video Length: 2:36
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It’s the rematch nobody clamored for. This is from “Superstars” with Vince McMahon and Jess Ventura on commentary. Warrior is the Intercontinental Champion and he doesn’t even take the belt off before attacking Bradley. Bradley takes a backdrop then Warrior boots him in the gut to stumble backwards into the corner. Bradley bounces out like he’s got a spring in his butt. Warrior whips Bob to the far corner then tosses him to the floor. It makes a good spot for an insert promo, something about Dino Bravo’s sundried tomatoes were an appetizer for the Warrior. Hell if I know what he was talking about. Warrior drags Bradley back into the ring and Bob does a Flair Flop off of a clothesline. Press slam, splash, pin fall victory for the Warrior. Warrior then tosses Bradley to the floor and carries him all the way back to the dressing room. I won’t even conjecture what the Warrior did to him after that. I wonder how Bradley felt about getting squashed in under two minutes by a guy he won a title belt off of a few years before. Bradley’s comical, yet awesome overselling was the only thing that takes this above the usual terrible Warrior squash. ¼*

The 411: Bob Bradley is a great seller. While it sometimes borders on goofy, it certainly gets his opponents over. It certainly helped to add entertainment value to the Warrior match. Bradley seems to work best as a heel with a natural cockiness and arrogance. For once, we have a huge array of matches to look at and can see that Bradley can work against a wide variety of workers and make them look good. His fundamentals were solid and he had a natural athleticism that added a dimension. Bradley might be the best jobber we’ve covered and it’s just a shame he never got a push and a gimmick to catch on.

Final Score:  8.5   [ Very Good ]