Superstar Sleeze

Anything with Fujita Jr Hayato is pretty badass. Matches with Sasuke, Yoshitune, and Ken Ou I can recommend that took place in M-Pro

WWF Intercontinental Champion Randy Savage vs Ricky Steamboat - WWF, Toronto 2/15/87 I could have sworn I had seen this match before, but I don't think I have. What a tremendous match! Perhaps even better than the Mania match, which I need to rewatch now. Steamboat made his return at the January Saturday's Night Main Event during Savage and Steele's match. I really enjoyed the Savage vs Steele feud and SNME matches. The turnbuckle stuffing spot is pretty funny. It was the perfect feud to put even more heat on Savage, but it was all to really get that heat on Savage for the Steamer. After crushing having larynx crushed and needing to re-learn how to talk, many have criticized the Mania for the lack of violence and hatred from Steamboat. Around the horn in the Northeast loop (Boston, Philly, NYC and Toronto) for two shows in each city they saw Steamboat win or lose by DQ and not win the title. This explains the cleaness and neatness of the Mania match as Steamboat had gotten his licks in and now was coming from the title. Besides a single pinfall cover by Ricky which I think was out of force of habit. Steamboat focused on using his energy and technique to set up his chops and this maybe the most violent Steamboat ever looked. Savage was great at selling the discombobulation and tries to head for the hills, but Steamboat chucks him back in. Again, Macho Man powders and this time with some cat and mouse game Savage nails The Dragon and throws him over the top. Savage sells well, but once recuperated he sends Steamboat into the railing. Big bodyslam by Macho man on the floor. I like how this match has more selling and more drama. Savage is matching violence with Steamboat. The big spots on the floor is allowing more time to breathe. Finally, Savage lays Steamboat across the top rope and drills that throat with an elbow. I think if we got some choking and coughing from Steamboat that would have sealed the deal as this being a tippy top great match. Still Savage is coming off the top with the double axe handle and now a kneedrop to throat. Camera is not letting us see if he is choking or coughing. Classic Savage clothesline stymies a Steamboat rally. Savage is here to preserve his title reign so it makes more sense for him to go for all these covers. Steamboat is draped throat first across the middle rope and Savage looks to really hurt him by crushing with all his weight, but Steamboat moves! Love that spot! There was so much drama if he would or would not move. Somehow, Savage has a minor cut on his forehead, but dont know how.Steamboat does the skin the cat spot, but Savage dont play that and he just clobbers him with a clothesine. Savage looks to hit the double axehandle on the railing, but gets a punch in the stomach. Steamboat uses speed and armdrags and then chokes the hell out of Savage. I love how Steamboat is using his normal offense to create opportunities for violence. Now, it is a larynx for a larynx as he snaps Savage's throat against the top rope. Steamboat mocks Savage's throat selling. he drops Savage on the top rope. How does a taste of your own medicine feel! Savage powders and tries to send him in teh railing, but it is the Macho Man that tastes the steel. Savage with that awesome tippsy selling right into a Steamboat big karate shot from the top. Catapult and now Savage is busted wide open. The way Savage's body conforms to the turnbuckles on that spot was awesome. Savage is straight money in this match. He is selling so well! he always trying to escape, but he is so disoriented that he cant escape the Dragon. Savage has enough wherewithal to grab the tights to send him out. Savage drills from behind on the ramp with a high knee. Great use of the ramp! Steamboat chants and he is pissed! He goes for the sunset flip and only gets two and now they do the Mania match finish with a ton of nearfalls for Steamboat. It is the O'Connor Roll that does him as Savage is able to reverse and pull tights. Awesome match! Savage is covered in blood with the championship, but Steamer is so pissed he runs down the ramp and blasts him. I think you can see the change in Steamboat within this match. Up until the end, he wants to get his licks in first with chops then targeting the larynx and finally busting Savage wide open. Eventually after all this payback, he does want to add on top of that taking the championship away from Savage thus why he goes for the pinfall barrage. The pinfall barrage plays right into Steamboat's wheelhouse of quickness. The object of wrestling is put your man down for three the more attempts you make that better chance you have of getting that win. I think this match and the other matches in Northeast showed Ricky he could get his revenge or he could get the championship, but not both. After two months of kicking ass, he set out to win the title at Mania. Savage's performance in this is just tremendous. I think above all his selling was just perfect. He was discombobulated from the being and that just sold how much fire Steamboat had. When he was on top, he slowed it down and really targeted the neck. The cheap win with the tights covered in blood and leaving with the title is just a great heel ending. One of the best matches in 80s WWF and one of the all-time classics. ****3/4

WWF Intercontinental Champion Ricky Steamboat vs Honky Tonk Man - WWF 6/2/87 It feels like a pretty routine title defense for Steamboat that worked in most of his familiar spots and he was working with great energy. Honky was bumping for him and besides a short heat segment really did not do much. He teased Shake Rattle Roll and then Steamboat came off with a BIG off the top, in a conventional match it would have been over. The finish was strange. Jimmy Hart distracted the ref, but Steamer dispatched of both, but when he went for the pin, Honky kinds but not really got on top and the ref did not break his count. It was a weird finish and not one that really protected Steamer when you could have used the manager. Thus began the reign of the Greatest IC Champion who ever lived.

Tito Santana vs Jake The Snake Roberts - WWF Houston 11/26/86 Tito is one of my all-time favorite WWF workers. He always wrestles with such vim and vigor. Jake the Snake is a wrestler that I have never really thought was all the great. Everytime, I see him, I thought 1 or 2 spots would be interesting, but the rest of the match would be dreadfully dull. I would say this more of a Jake the Snake match than a Tito match, but because Tito is involved one of the better Jake matches I have seen. First off, Jake or should I say the DDT was way more over than Tito. It was clear they would have to turn him babyface and by Wrestlemania III that would be the case. I actually dont know the babyface turn angle. Then pretty much the rest of his WWF run up until the Savage program in 91 he played the number three babyface on the roster. The match started with Jake yanking Tito off him by the hair when Tito went for holds and then goading him to punch him right in the kisser. Eventually, Tito had enough and when Roberts turned around he laid one on him. Jake did a great job selling these and it was some setup/payoff that they could use in the early part of today's matches. Santana hit the Flying Burrito early, but Jake rolled towards the ropes and was able to get the ropes. Nice way to protect a finish. Then match got kinda dull. Tito worked a headlock/chinlock until the jawbreaker. Jake hit an inverted atomic drop and then really teed off on Tito. Jake is definitely not a guy with a lot of energy or movement, which might be why I find him inaccessible/ With more watching, I may get him more. Jake goads him again and Tito smashes him in the face. They crack heads and Jake throws him to the outside. Jake plays a little King of the Mountain. Jake hits his trademark short arm clothesline and signals for DDT. Jake works with the chinlock and ropes. Tito makes his big punching comeback. Jake teases the DDT, but ends up in the Figure-4 as the time limit expires. Disappointing Tito match in the sense that since his offense was not going to take the majority of the match, I did not think his selling carried the match. I think Jake would have been great in Memphis against Lawler. It was a good match, but nothing that could get to the next level. ***

WWF World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan vs Kamala - MSG 1/19/87 No DQ One of my all-time favorite Hulk Hogan matches and maybe his best match of the 80s against a monster heel. After watching a couple Kamala matches for Tag Teams Back Again (on the Place To Be Nation!), I thought he was fantastic at committing to his character, timing his bumps and working larger than life. I went back to watch this match and it is a doozy! I love Kamala's entrance with the mask and Kim Chee and The Wizard. Hogan in war paint is always bitchin. Kamala jumpstarts the match and whips Hogan like the dog he is with the belt. Hogan fires back and smashes the belt upside Kamala's head. The MSG crowd is molten hot for this match. I need to check out the matches leading up to this. Hogan gets distracted beating up on the Wizard and ends being felled by Kamala's biggest weapon his overhand chop. Kamala busting out the heavy artillery with headbutts and a nice side kick. I love the Kamala splash, he really leaps into it. He only gets two! Imagine Kamala as the World Champion that would have been badass. Kamala tries to go up top, but misses and then misses again. Here comes the Hulkster! Hogan choking with the tape and generally kicking ass. Big bodyslam gets a huge pop! Kamala only goes down when he needs to maximize these pops. Hogan misses the elbow. Kamala bites the injured arm. Staying true to the cannibal gimmick AND using psychology. I marked out hard for that. Hogan throws powder in the face of Kamala. Punches Wizard in the head to get the magical horn, rams that into Kamala's head and hits the leg drop for the 1-2-3. It is not Cena vs Umaga, but it is tons of fun! ****1/4

WWF World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan vs Mr. Wonderful Paul Orndorff - SNME 1/3/87 Steel Cage The awesome movie, Bridge of Spies, can be summed up by these lyrics, "I am a Real American, fight for the rights of every man!" I loved Mr. Wonderful's gimmick of stealing the Hulkster's music. It plays into the false finish of them both touching at the same time because they cue up the music, but that's the theme of the both men so it only adds to the confusion. The match is itself is pretty good, but I have seen plenty better better Hogan performances in terms of just unbridled energy. Still Hogan in the late 80s is just so entertaining. Orndorff probably would rank in the lower tier of Hogan opponents in my opinion he just does not bring much to the table. You had your monsters like Andre, Bundy and Kamala etc...that are staples of Hogan's run. You have the offense and bumping powerhouses like Savage and Harley. Orndorff does not have a cool gimmick to fall back on, but he is good at everything just not great. I like the beginning with Hogan ripping his shirt on top of the cage, very cool visual. Orndorff jumps him and whips him with the belt, which is probably the best spot of the match. Another cool spot was when Hogan stopped Wonderful from going over the top and bashed his head into the cage. It was standard cage fare until the false finish with both men touching the floor simultaneously and Danny Davis calling Orndorff the winner. This furthers the big Danny Davis, crooked ref story, Orndorff hits a knee from behind that wipes out Hogan and Davis. Joey Marella restarts the match. Hogan does a great extended comeback complete with cage shots and a backbreaker! A trickle of blood and McMahon says this is the first cage match on network TV in history, getting violent! The Brain comes in to buy Orndorff some time and takes a wicked bump into the cage. Hogan wins by going over the top. A good entertaining match, but nothing in Hogan's top tier. ***

You missed the job you were meant to do on this Earth, name Coliseum Home Videos.

So over at Online Onslaught Forums in like 2012 they did a big 1024 elimination style bracket to crown the greatest wrestler ever. I thought it may be interesting to post and see if people care. Since it was elimination style, it is broken up into tiers based on what round they go to. Obviously dont agree with most choices and the point is to be elitist and say this list is wrong, but just to show who a WWF/WCW/ECW centric hans thinks the greatest wrestlers are. This is not here to deride. But i could not help myself towards the bottom. 1. Shawn Michaels - Confirms what people think. 2. Randy SAVAGE Tier 1 (Top 4) Ric Flair Steve Austin Tier 2 (Top 8) Kurt Angle CM Punk Eddie Guerrero Chris Jericho Tier 3 (Sweet 16) Jake The Snake - What??? Just seems weirdly high to me. John Cena - That's a unexpected, but happy surprise Bret Hart Ricky Steamboat Edge The Rock Mick Foley Undertaker Tier 4 (Top 32) - First Non-American Candidates Andre Vader Triple H Bryan Danielson/Daniel Bryan Dusty Rhodes Hulk Hogan DDP - YES! YES! YES! Jushin Liger Mr. Perfect Rick Rude Arn Anderson Dolph Ziggler - Holy Shit! I am in shock. El Santo - How much footage do we even have? Another shocker AJ Styles - They do have good taste! Great Muta Roddy Piper Tier 5 (Top 64) Sting Jerry Lawler - Not bad! Austin Aries - An interesting pick. I should watch some stuff Chris Benoit Big Show Rey Mysterio - Wow! Way lower than I expected. Brock Lesnar Kevin Nash - Wow! Ron Simmons - Whats happening? Rhino - Ok, this is getting too weird not to comment? Kane - Oh Lord. Misawa - All Japan, finally! Raven - Yep this is funny now. RVD Tully Blanchard Ted DiBiase Harley Race Dr. Death - Pretty high, given the audience. Samoa Joe Bigelow Syxx/Kid/X-Pac - I dig that pick Scott Hall Dustin Rhodes Scott Steiner Tajiri Yokozuna Rick Martel James Storm Booker T British Bulldog Taz - He beat Kenta Kobashi in the previous round, part of me died. Taz maybe in my bottom 20 wrestlers of all time and Kobashi may be my number one. That's why I highlight it. Brian Pillman

I think the Butch Reed/Dick Murdoch were fantastic and would make my Top 100 Greatest Matches of all time. I thought the 12/83 tag was great, but not OMG GREAT~! I have not seen the Flair matches, but of course will. It seems like most his case rests on these matches. It seems too sparse and I did not think he was as blowaway great as a babyface as Duggan has been. Guess, I am saying I am not connecting as well with him and think his resume is a bit thin. I do want to watch Reed vs Tito from WWF. I have seen the Doom classics and they are good to great. I don't think he is making the cut.

Rising: Lawler - After watching the Bigelow match, I finally totally get the hype. Took me a while to get into my groove with him. Went from what's the big deal to an easy Top 20 candidate. Dick Murdoch - Through the fucking roof up. From knowing next to nothing, to being a huge fan. No feeling out process. Love at first sight. Murdoch understands that wrestling can be fun and serious without each undercutting the other. Top 50 candidate and I still have New Japan to watch! Duggan - Incredible, blue collar everyman babyface in Mid-South. The heir to Bruno. Two ***** classics in my opinion. He will make the bottom 10 of my list when before I didn't know if he would make my top 500. Kerry & Kevin Von Erich - This was not so much as rising as confirming my belief they were top 100 wrestlers, which used to be based on a handful matches and now based on a lot more. Kerry is so charismatic and Kevin is the king of struggle in matches. He really believe in the "think shoot, but work" mentality. Shawn Michaels - Rockers work is excellent, but hold the phone he has been producing in the 2000s when others have claimed weak offense. He went toe to toe with Benoit in 2004 and controlled most of the match in very convincing and stiff fashion. Add in that I have never been as down on his 90s singles work. Don't count the Heartbreak Kid out of this one, folks, he may make late run very high on my ballot. Plenty of matches to go. DDP - The dude knew how to lay out a barnburner. I forgot about him when discussing Northern style everymen characters. Loved the Die Hard gimmick. Perfect way to update Bruno into the sarcastic, caustic 90s. The Goldberg, Sting and Benoit matches are absolutely terrific matches from a layout perspective and always get massive reactions. Very similar to a Duggan going from a Top 500 guy to a Bottom 10 of my 100. Chris Benoit - I am dissociating the man and the wrestler. A total machine that is always moving forward really enjoyable stuff in WCW and WWE. Underrated seller to boot. Should make Top 25. Falling: Terry Gordy - Like the Von Erichs, just confirming my belief he was a good wrestler, but not an all-time great wrestler. He bumps big, but does not add much to the actual match he is. He is like a larger, goofier Mr. Perfect. Need to watch more of his All Japan. Hey, what the hell is a Gordy list? Sorry, I am tardy to the party. I think I could use a Gordy List for Gordy. Ted DiBiase - Hate to pig pile on him, but not seeing what made him special in Mid-South. Consistently the second best guy in his matches. Chris Jericho - I was once a huge Jericholic, but it was all flash and gimmick. Love the Ayatollah of Rock N Rollah and the Conspiracy Victim, but no meat on the bones match quality wise. Probably wont make my Top 100. Dean Malenko - One of my least favorite wrestlers of WCW late 90s, totally self-indulgent and no sense of flow. Memphis has been the Lawler show and he has been great. Savage was helped by Memphis and in how much of a star he came across so that's a bit of a boost for him. Naturally predisposed to like Savage because he is my second favorite American wrestler of all time. Texas has been the VonErich/Freebird show. Hayes is better than expected, but not Top 100 great. Mostly just confirming the suspicions based on a handful of matches. AWA is interesting. I have really liked it so far, but there is nothing that has made me move people up and down. Most of that is the AWA is the territory I have seen the most of beforehand. I am still feeling out Bock and Martel. Both could be Top 20 or Top 50. Hard to say at this point. Blackwell is a lock for Top 50, but I had seen enough thats where I would put him and this confirmed it. Buddy Rose case will be made in Portland. The AWA is that cherry on top that can push him up ten spots, but Portland will be a priority before this deadline. The Rockers at worst are third best tag team of all time and I think I can make the case for them as the greatest tag team of all time. That may be enough to get Marty into Top 100, we will see. Mid-South: Duggan and Murdoch have been stellar. DiBiase has been underwhelming. I will probably not have enough to watch enough Chavo Classic, but he was awesome also. Sell me on Butch Reed.

Re:Chops. Will directly said "wearing down your opponent". My football analogy existed to explain why the early chops would be no sold or take a little effect and over time they would have a greater impact. Re: Perpetual Motion. Perpetual motion leverages Flair's natural cardio advantage but was not used to blow up opponents, but to constantly break their rhythm. He was constantly throwing shit at his opponents, knees, elbows, running the ropes all in hopes of landing the one blow that would allow to get firm control. I think the key unique competitive advantage of Flair was that he was constantly fighting back. Watching Race and Tully, they would bump for sustained periods of time. Flair always broke this up by fighting back. That is the distinction of the perpetual motion offense Flair did and other heels of the time.

People covered the broken orbital bone. Dangerous K is Kawadas nickname. It sounds cooler when the Japanese announcer screams Dangerous. Never heard Dynamic T does not mean it is not true. Misawa/Taue is a contender for GOAT match for me. May even better than 6/9/95. I love Misawa/Doc because try as he might Misawa just can't contain the explosiveness of Doc. I love how tenuous hold over the match. Really feels like a night Doc will not be denied. I would go ***** when I rewatch

The point you raise is a very good one I think we all have a home promotion we grew up on that and shaped who we are as wrestling fans. Upon branching out, certain promotions will come naturally to us, some will be acquired tastes and others will never get it. Each promotion, time period and wrestler needs to be treated uniquely on a case by case basis with a close eye to detail. Putting the time in will pay dividends in the long run understanding how different spots mean different thing at certain points of time, to different wrestlers in different promotions. I don't think there is no right way to work a wrestling match just like I don't think there is one right way to work a song. It does not have verses-chorus-werse-solo/breakdown-chorus or shine-heat-comeback-finish. All that being said I think there are universal themes of good work in my opinion. I am sure there are people that will disagree, but if a wrestling match does not have these elements at a minimum I don't think it can be considered great wrestling. That is a wrestling match with a real sense of struggle. I don't want to watch an athletic exhibition, a gymnastic floor exercise and the absolute worst people that help each other into spots. The next is a real sense of urgency in your movements. That is does not mean a fast pace per se, but a total investment in winning this match and making me believe this is the most important thing in your life right now. I can appreciate a good spotfest and am a mark for comedy wrestling, but struggle and urgency are the key themes are that should transcend all wrestling. These elements make matches and wrestlers timeless, they make wrestler candidates for greatest of all time and promotions red-hot.

NWA World Heavyweight Champion Kerry Von Erich vs Terry Gordy - WCCW 5/7/84 I am such a mark for Kerry to have the belt. I love the title victory and just love seeing the NWA World Championship around his waist. I don't think he would have made a great champion mostly due to personal problems, but I wish it was a bit longer. This match against archrival Terry Gordy is the day after the Parade of Champions. This match is actually worked like a 90s workrate sprint. There is not a terrible amount of selling, it is mostly about Slam! Bang! Action! I think they do a great job laying in everything and making it exciting. They just don't tell much of a story. I love how Kerry runs through his shoulder block and he works the arm early. Gordy takes a big bump off the turnbuckle shot. Kerry misses a knee and Gordy hits a delayed vertical suplex. Kerry kicks out and looks for a suplex, but it is Gordy that gets it. He is excited. Gordy wants to put him early with a piledriver. Kerry drives him back into the corner. I love how Kerry winds up for his strikes. They do the ab stretch dance and it is Gordy that gets it. Go Kerry Go! Kerry switches into his own ab stretch. Kerry forms the claw and the crowd goes bezerk. He applies the Claw to Gordy's stomach and Gordy collapses. Gordy rakes the eyes and Kerry wins a Irish Whip Battle, but then Gordy gets a cross body off the ropes. Gordy hits a back suplex, but only gets two. Kerry pops up and hits a dropkick. This is Cena vs Owens of the 80s with slightly better selling and transitions. At least they are not actively helping each other into spots. They knock head on a criss cross. Kerry backdrops out of a suplex. Gordy sleeper. I think they are trying to get every 80s spot squeezed into this 15 minute match. Kerry elbows and roll up for two. Gordy nails a big boot. Hell, two Gordy moves in a row I think this qualifies as a heat segment in Texas. Kerry drills Gordy with a right and sends him to the floor. Kerry suplexes Gordy over the ropes, but they kinda botch it and Gordy suplexes Kerry. Kerry kicks out and comes back with a kneedrop. Gordy piledriver!!! The most dangerous move in wrestling! Kerry is FUCKING He-Man! He fights from his knees with punches. Kerry hits a back suplex only gets two and applies the Iron Claw to the forehead! Kerry hits a clotheline Royale! Drills a middle rope elbow, which felt like a cool spot. Gordy cuts off with a series of punches and Kerry gets a small package, My Dad's favorite move. Gordy backslide shades of the Parade of the Champions! Gordy with an awesome crossbody! I will say this is very dramatic down the stretch. Kerry starts revving up, but misses the Discus punch. Gordy calls for the Oriental Spike! He applies it! Kerry uses the ropes to thrust himself off onto Gordy. Gordy goes up top and Kerry rolls through a top rope crossbody to a HUGE pop! They went out there to have an action-packed match and never let the crowd get bored. They succeeded. At the very least, they still worked towards finishers and there was a great sense of urgency that lent itself well to a dramatic ending. They did not really have a story or a hook that you could really sink your teeth into and selling was pretty much non-existent. Fans of the modern style would lose their shit over this match. I really liked it, but I had higher hopes for it. ****

Michael Hayes vs Buddy Roberts - WCCW 5/16/88 Holy shit! Was Michael Hayes over! I know he was coming off a house show run with Flair in Crockett in early 88, I think a lot more could have been done with him as a singles babyface. I think they had the right idea by turning Hayes face against the Birds to freshen things up. I would go one step further and I acknowledge that would NEVER happen, but they should have turned Kevin heel against Kerry. Kerry & Hayes vs Kevin, Bam Bam & Buddy Jack would have probably given them business for at least another year. Then they could have used Lawler like they used Flair before. This was an absolute blast. Hayes was awesome playing to the crowd was actually a pretty damn good asskicking babyface. He was just drilling Buddy who could not find refuge anywhere. I loved the moonwalk away from the corner just come flying back with more punches. He even landed a stiff chop. He looks to end it with a bulldog on the concrete, but goes flying into the post. Buddy choked him with a rope that Hayes sold really well. It becomes one of the better ECW brawls you have ever seen with each slamming the other into the table. Then Hayes cracked Roberts in the back of the head with a chair. Heyman was an incredible promoter. He took a style totally prevalent in the South and just repackaged it for Northern audiences and sold it as completely original. Hayes kicks some more ass, but ref gets bumped and Roberts nails him with a foreign object to win. The crowd heat was off the charts for this. They LOVED Michael Hayes. Another option would be to run face vs face Hayes vs Kerry, which I think could have been electric. Wicked fun match. ***1/2

Kerry & Kevin Von Erich vs Fabulous Freebirds (Terry Gordy & Buddy Roberts) - WCCW 2/16/88 Badstreet Match Finally, the Von Erichs and the Freebirds have the brawl that I always knew they had in them. I think scaling it back to 2 vs. 2 was a big boon. Another big difference was Gordy was working way bigger in this match. His first instinct was to stand his ground rather than bump. There are two reasons for that. Probably the biggest was his knees were shot as he two giant metal braces on them. I would hazard having worked Japan for at least five years now had rubbed off on him and he definitely seemed more offense-focused which made more a more awesome stand up battle rather than the usual feel-good Von Erich/Freebird battle. A note the Freebirds were sans Michael Hayes and incorporated Iceman King Parsons as the third member. This coming off the infamous Christmas 1987 where Fritz faked a heart attack to try to kickstart business. The beginning of this match is why I fucking love pro wrestling. Kerry and Gordy just go fucking nuts on each other. They were really throwing haymakers at each other and it felt like a real struggle. I loved Kerry's discus punch to Gordy and his first bump came off that. Gordy clinches with the house of fire Kerry and throws a nice belly 2 belly when Kerry was trying to loosen up his belt. Gordy tags in Roberts and Kerry catches his boot and rips off his belt and just goes crazy on Buddy. This is fucking awesome! Kerry discus punch and tags in Kevin. He is like lightning punching both Birds right in the mouth. A melee breaks out in the corner and Kerry jumps on the pig pile. Gordy throws Kevin over the top rope for a nasty bump. Then he suplexes Kevin on the floor. So Kerry tries to give him a taste of his own medicine only to have Buddy clobber Kevin with his boot so Kerry nails Buddy with his belt. Just when you think how can this any crazy, you have to watch the next spot. I really cant do it justice, but I will try. You know how when someone hits someone with a chair usually there is enough delay to give the other person some time to prepare. In real life, if you were armed with a chair against assailant, you would just start swinging for the fences while the assailant charged you. That's what fucking happened. I mean Gordy fucking smashes Kerry in the head as he charging him. It looked like a fucking shoot. This match is so damn good. Kevin slams Buddy on the floor and ground and pounds him. He tries to apply the claw. My biggest problem of the match is Kerry does not really sell those awesome chair shots. Buddy with a quick knee to the midsection allows him to tag in Bordy. Gordy shows his new no-selling attitude. He absorbs Kevin's punches. Kevin rolls away takes off his boot and Gordy no sells those shots going after Kevin's eyes. Kevin gets a foreign object from Kerry and Gordy is finally disoriented. Kevin looks for the claw to the head and settles for the stomach. Kerry leaps over them and decks Buddy! Kerry is looking for his belt and cant find it. Love it! Gordy a little quickly gets up and piledrives Kevin and gives a great maniacal laugh. Now backdrop driver, yep Japan definitely has taken a hold of him. One more time?!?!?!? Kevin back drops out and here comes Kerry house of fire! He immediately piledrives Gordy and then piledrives Buddy! I love it! Kerry has found his belt and attacks Buddy. Gordy decks kerry so here comes Kevin with a boot to clobber Gordy. They both deck Gordy with a belt. Iceman and Adams brawl on the outside and the ref calls the match off. Lame finish aside, this was a fucking war! For one night in 1988, they totally recaptured the magic of the Von Erichs vs Freebirds as the crowd was absolutely electric for this match. I think Gordy working a lot stronger with his first tendency to fight back rather than bump made a huge difference. This is one Kerry's best individual performances in terms of just being a total asskicker. There was not enough selling to take it to the next level for me, plus the bullshit No Contest in a Badstreet match was lame. Still the second best Von Erich vs Freebirds match and Ill be shocked if it is not in my top tier of matches for Texas. ****1/2

Got a little worried when the next episode is going to be the 1987 year in random tags = Let me allay those anxieties, we will not be ending the year with random tags like we did previously just a change of pace. We will be right back to our regularly scheduled programming afterwards. Plus the crown jewel show is coming up Islanders vs Strike Force!

World Six-Man Tag Team Champions Fabulous Freebirds vs Von Erichs (Kerry, Kevin & Mike) - WCCW 9/3/84 Steel Cage Elimination Match Another raucous, chaotic brawl this time in the confines of the smallest steel cage in the history of pro wrestling. Gordy was taller than the cage. Mike had suffered a shoulder injury so this Kerry and Kevin going against their bitter rivals, the Freebirds. I liked this even better than the previous Badstreet match because the numbers game added an interesting wrinkle. Any time the Von Erichs looked to get on a roll, the free Freebird would bust it up. Also, the Von Erich would focus on things like double noggin knockers and other ways to incapacitate two opponents at once. It added some cool strategy. Of course, there was a ton of heel miscommunication. Lots of cage shots and boots. The big climax to the shine was Kerry applying the double claw on Gordy and Buddy while Kevin had it on Hayes. Hayes busted that up. Gordy applied the Oriental Spike on Kerry which weakened him for the Spike Piledriver. I was shocked that Kerry was the first to be eliminated. Kevin going up the seemingly insurmountable of 3 vs 1 definitely made things interesting. Kevin is the scrappy fighter of the Von Erich clan so he was perfect for this role. I loved him on the top rope with a boot in his hand. He has a weapon and the high ground. He dives into the fray and it was Buddy choking him with a belt that looked to do him in. He was able to get a quick roll up on Hayes, but it was evident that the 3 on 1 advantage meant quick pinfall break ups. He would some how have to incapacitate all of them. His only ally was the cage and he started throwing the Birds into it. He was able to get a pin on Hayes! It was down to 2 on 1. Gordy and Roberts beat the shit out of him and werent playing any games. Gordy nails a piledriver. He pulls up Kevin ruh roh. Robert scales the cage seemingly for the Super Spike Piledriver. However, Kevin backdrops Gordy as Mike shakes the cage. Kevin splashes Gordy and Mike pins Buddy after his long fall on his nuts. Von Erichs win! I was not super enamored with the finish. I hate to speak ill of Mike Von Erich because by all accounts he never wanted to be a wrestler, but it did not feel like he earned his stripes and it was just a hokey finish. I really like the heated and energetic flow of the match. The '84 matches definitely do not hold a candle to the '83 matches. Definitely the case of diminishing returns. Texas was flying high in 1983, but by 1984 the cracks were showing and it was getting stale. Still a great match. ***3/4

World Six-Man Tag Team Champions Von Erichs (Kerry, Kevin, Mike) vs Fabulous Freebirds - WCCW 7/4/84 Badstreet Match Absolute raucous mayhem! I love a chaotic brawl. Tornado style tag with boots and belts being thrown around willy nilly. This is Kevin's element as he is a real firecracker. I thought Hayes was also real good. They were really slugging each other with those boots. I thought the triple dropkick on Gordy was a real highlight. Gordy needing to hit a low blow on Mike was hilarious. Lance Von Erich was not a horrible idea in principle. Maybe not selecting a standout local high school star. I guess Steve Simpson didnt work either. Maybe just sticking Chris Adams in as a friend of the Von Erichs. My favorite spot was Kerry accidentally flung his boot into the crowd and they threw it back to him to keep wailing on Gordy. The finish is Killer Khan interferes hitting the Asiatic Spike on Kerry to give the Freebirds the win. Very entertaining match. ***1/2

Dick Murdoch vs Ted DiBiase - OKC 12/31/85 Dick Murdoch is just spectacular at every facet of wrestling and this here represents the peak of his brawling. He looks to jumpstart the match against Teddy, but he is countered with a powerslam and a big punch. Ted is walloping Murdoch who is doing his classic face down, ass up selling that always makes me laugh. Murdoch realizes that coming up at Ted does not work so he changes gears by playing some cat and mouse. When Ted tries to climb over the barricade, Murdoch lands a big blow to disorient Teddy. Murdoch focuses on the back of the head, neck area presumably to set up for the Brainbuster. He drives his head into the table to bust him open and works a short, but effective King of the Mountain. I love the selling of punches by Ted where he is trying to cover up, but also fight back. DiBiase finds an opening and drills him and here is the Fist Drop! Murdoch does the spin around on his hip selling so that's where Hollywood got it from. DiBiase gets violent biting and clawing at Capn Redneck. He misses the fist drop and here comes a badass finish stretch. DiBiase wants to end it by loading his glove, but Murdoch wipes him out with a knee. Murdoch works a fantastic sequence against his neck using the railing, three chair shots to the back of the neck, neck snapped against ropes and then looks for the brainbuster, but DiBiase floats over to nail him with the loaded glove to win. Hitting him with loaded glove is definitely a great satisfying finish. I would have liked to seen a little more DiBiase offense to really build to raging climax. It almost feels like a heel finish where Murdoch was going to wing after a great string of offense only for DiBiase to get lucky with his foreign object. It felt a little backwards is all. If DiBiase was kicking ass, kicking ass and then finally nailed him with the loaded glove it would have been awesome. It is still a total classic and a great Murdoch performance. ****1/2

Dick Murdoch vs Ted DiBiase - Houston 12/27/85 This is a result from the one of the hottest Mid-South angles of all time that successfully executed the double turn of the hated Ted DiBiase and the former North American champion Dick Murdoch. A quick synopsis is that Murdoch was pissed DiBiase got a NWA World Title shot against Flair and right before the match, Murdoch beat the living shit out of DiBiase bloodying him up and nailing him with Brainbuster. DiBiase proved he is all-man and came out to wrestler Flair with a giant bandage. DiBiase was ripshit that Murdoch cost him a title shot and so they went around the loop. This match is joined in progress and also the finish stretch is an exact replica of the OKC 12/31, which we have in full. I think this is a great match, but ultimately does feel incomplete and seeing the complete match from OKC it renders this one useless. I will focus on the middle of the match that was different. Murdoch is kicking ass with solid heel offense in the form of stiff strikes, stomps and elbows. DiBiase as a babyface is interesting, he shows good fire and selling, but is being overwhelmed. They bust each other open. When DiBiase misses a fist drop, they go into the finish sequence. It is a great match, but seeing the complete match is what needs to be seen.

Dick Murdoch vs "Dr. Death" Steve Williams - UWF 6/13/87 Crockett has purchased the UWF by this point and Big Bubba Roger is the UWF heavyweight champion. This match is to determine the number one contender to Big Bubba's championship. Murdoch is a full-on heel being managed by "Hot Stuff" Eddie Gilbert and Doc is the last babyface standing in the UWF after the buyout as DiBiase and Duggan jumped ship to the WWF. Jim Ross is on commentary and Doc is wrestling so yes there is a huge Boomer Sooner Orgasm late in the match that is just hilarious to listen to about the OU/Nebraska rivalry. Weird aside, growing up in Boston most people were/are Notre Dame fans for college football, but my Dad liked Oklahoma growing up. As a way to be a dick to him as a kid in the 90s, I used to cheer for the Huskers. Go Big Red! I hate the college football conference realignment bullshit that took away such great rivalries as that. Dr. Death is in a cast, which gets me very excited because we know the master of arm torture, Dick Murdoch is going to kick some serious ass. Doc's strategy seems to be a good offense is a good defense. He can't use the cast though as Gilbert has negotiated to ensure that would trigger a DQ. Doc looks to attack Murdoch's arm as Murdoch misses twice with bionic elbows that were targetted for Doc's injured arm. Murdoch finally hits his target and stomps on Doc. Williams writhes in pain and tries to take a walk. Out of desperation, he sends Capn Redneck into the post arm first and now both are left with injured arms. I love how they sell it back in the ring each leading with their good arm to protect the bad one. The match picks up back from commercial when Hot Stuff distracts the ref and Capn Redneck smashes a mic stand into Doc's arm. Murdoch uses it whenever he gets into trouble. JR finally moves it and Murdoch ends up getting the bell and using that. Doc fires up and nails the Oklahoma Stampede, which looked great. Gilbert put Murdoch's foot on the rope. Doc keeps pouring it on and here comes that classic Murdoch selling. Dr. Death gets busted wide open and when he sees red he EXPLODES OUT OF THE CORNER! JR just loses his shit and jizzes in his pants. The ref is bumped and Doc uses the cast to blast Gilbert and Murdoch to win the match and set up the title bout with Rogers. After the match, Big Bubba, Murdoch and Gilbert do a number on Doc and even Dusty Rhodes when he came out.Not surprising given that Dusty was a big proponent of Big Bubba. Dusty cut a badass promo after the match, which unfortunately puts all the babyface heat on him instead of Doc, which is too bad. Great TV match to set up a big title match with both wrestlers playing to their strengths. ****

Mid-South/UWF Progress Report I still have to write a bunch of Murdoch reviews, but I wanted to write this up now and not wait as long as I did with the AWA. Watched: Best of Magnum TA (5), Best of Hacksaw Duggan (8), Best of Guerreros (4), Best of Dick Murdoch (6), 23 Total Need to watch: The Nature Boy in Mid-South, Best of MX & RNR Express and Miscellaneous matches Rankings (>=****1/4): 1. Ted DiBiase vs. Hacksaw Duggan (No DQ, Loser Leaves Town, Coal Miner's Glove on a Poll, Tuxedo, Cage match) ***** 2. Hacksaw Duggan vs. Buzz Sawyer - 11/11/85 ***** 3. Mid-South North American Champion Dick Murdoch vs Butch Reed - 10/14/85 ****3/4 4. Mid-South North American Champion Dick Murdoch vs Butch Reed - 9/22/85 ****3/4 5. Mid-South North American Champion Magnum TA vs Ted DiBiase- Tulsa 5/27/84 No DQ ****1/2 6. Mr. Olympia vs. Chavo Guerrero - Mid-South 6/24/83 ****1/2 7. Hacksaw Duggan vs Buzz Sawyer - 12/27/85 Dog Collar Match ****1/2 8. Dick Murdoch vs. Barry Windham - 7/11/87 ****1/2 9. Ted DiBiase vs. Dick Murdoch - 12/31/85 ****1/2 10. The Fabulous Ones vs. Chavo & Hector Guerrero (Mexican Death Match) - Houston 1/24/86 ****1/4 11. Ted DiBiase vs. Jim Duggan (No DQ) - 3/8/85 ****1/4 12. North American Champion Magnum TA vs Ted DiBiase - OKC 5/27/84 No DQ ****1/4 13. Ted DiBiase vs. Hacksaw Duggan (Street Fight) - Houston 7/29/83 ****1/4 14. Rock N Roll Express & Hacksaw Duggan vs. Midnight Express & Ernie Ladd -6/8/84 ****1/4 Findings: Mid-South is one of the most loaded promotions of the 1980s having a strong core of babyfaces with Junkyard Dog, Hacksaw Duggan and Magnum TA in 1984 and then in 1985 by turning Butch Reed as a babyface to replace the departed Dog and by the end of 85 turning DiBiase to create another incredibly strong trio of babyfaces. On the heel side, they had Butch, DiBiase, Midnight Express and Dicky Slater & Buzz Sawyer. In mid-1985, Dick Murdoch returned full-time and was the perfect flexible champion to play face when necessary, de facto heel against Butch Reed to prepare him for the Flair match, and outright heel against DiBiase. It only took a couple matches for me to feel like I knew Dick Murdoch my whole wrestling fandom. He is so readily accessible and versatile playing babyface and heel. His stooging spots are among the best ever to exist. He is an absolute pro at torturing someone with arm work and may be my selection for best at arm work in history. At the same time, he has explosive offense attacking the neck and leading to the Brainbuster! He is definitely a lock for top 100 list for greatest wrestler ever. At the end of the day, there is only one major star of the Mid-South set so far and that is Hacksaw Duggan, who has one of the all-time great babyface runs from the summer of 1983 to the summer of 1987. Duggan is such a different babyface than almost any babyface that has existed since Bruno. In a lot of ways, I see him as an heir to Bruno. He has a Northern, blue collar everyman feel that I think outside of Da Crusher and Bruno that has totally been ignored by pro wrestling. Most everyman characters like Steve Austin or Dusty Rhodes have a southern feel to him. Someone like John Cena could be that guy and sometimes he is, but he has too much Hogan in him that does not make him realistic enough to be that true Northern, blue collar man. Growing up in the North, I have always thought this was sad reality that the unique Northern, urban aesthetic has been mostly ignored even though Boston, NYC, Philly and Chicago fans are among the most rabid. Leave it to Bill Watts to push a strong Northern character in the deep south, the dame way he broke the mold by pushing a strong black babyface to massive success. I think that is Bill Watts is greatest characteristic is ability to know when to stick with tradition and when to depart. In a territory of power wrestling, he was not afraid to use the Midnight Express and Rock N Roll Express as main event acts. The Hacksaw Duggan push is among his greatest pieces of booking. Duggan fit like a glove in Mid-South's power-oriented environment. I love great power wrestling and it is probably my favorite style. In addition, he had the ex-football background that Watts loved. He knew how to cut an earnest, ass-kicking promo. In between those ropes, during his heyday, he was in the upper-tier of brawlers. Having bloody brawl after bloody brawl with Ted DiBiase and Buzz Sawyer. His work single-handedly made Mid-South in my opinion the premier brawling territory I have watched. I cant' say enough great things about Duggan and it only makes me angry how he was used in WWF when he was so fucking good in Mid-South. Of course, you can't talk Mid-South, without discussing Ted DiBiase. This may controversial to some and to others it is just reinforcing existing opinions. He was just kinda there. He was in there for some of the best matches in history, but I thought in the case of Duggan and Murdoch matches he was the second best wrestler. In the Magnum matches, he did seem to finally be leading the matches. The Duggan match is one of the ultimate payoff matches and DiBiase is great in that, but it is Duggan that really shines. There is still more DiBiase to be watched. I just don't have a feel for him. I know his stock spots, but what's his gameplan in each match? I will keep in an open minded. I am definitely looking forward to some more great brawls from Mid-South and all the Ric Flair classics.

World Six-Man Tag Team Champions Fabulous Freebirds vs Von Erichs (Fritz, Kevin & Mike) - Parade of Champions 5/6/84 Badstreet Match Michael P.S. Hayes is back BABY and in style with the most badass theme song in wrestling history Badstreet USA! The Freebirds returned winning the Six-Man Titles before the big Parade of Champions show, which was the bittersweet highwater mark for World Class Championship Wrestling, which honored David Von Erich and featured Kerry Von Erich fulfilling his two year quest to win the world championship from Ric Flair. It was only fitting that there was a major Von Erich vs Freebirds match. They keep Mike's involvement to a minimum. Fritz comes off as a huge star and a monster face in this. It was the absolute right call to have Fritz in here and to put him over huge. The first Fritz punch on Hayes before the match got underway got a massive pop! David Manning, Captain Buzzkill says that even though there are no rules there are still going to enforce tags. The match is booked like most World Class matches with the Freebirds with a ton of babyface heat. This is reminiscent of Hayes/Kerry match with a ton of love for the babyfaces. Freebirds do a good job with double teams and quick cutoffs to make sure that this is a total runaway squash, but overall this is just a great feel good match. Fritz giving Hayes the belt in the ass was awesome. A good example of the Freebirds getting theirs without detracting from the good vibrations was Gordy's stiff punches on Kevin, but still bumping HUGE for Fritz. Kevin goes for the claw, but Gordy blocks. They work a short, but strong heat segment on Kevin with Hayes using his boot (he was really clobbering him) and then Buddy Roberts in all his awesomeness uses his belt buckle. Kevin tags out and Fritz comes in this is a great hot tag. Fritz is kicking ass 3 on 1 and puts the claw on both a bleeding Hayes and that little prick Roberts. Gordy clobbers Fritz with the boot. Kevin comes off the top to hit a cross body on Buddy to win the match. Post-match, Killer Khan debuts as the new monster heel. Perfect use of everyone in the match. Fritz got his big spots the belt whipping and double claw. The heels did a great job bumping, but making sure to get theirs. Kevin got the duke because he is sticking around and Mike was super limited. Really fun feel-good, popcorn matches of all time. ***3/4

I think Ric Flair earned the right to be the NWA World Champion and should be rewarded likewise. Sometimes, I read these arguments like Flair was lucky to be in that position or had good fortune. Of course, there is luck that comes with any situation. He happened to be the perfect age to take over for Harley and not be so young that he missed waning days of the traveling champion. If he is older, he may have been Harley's 1a and if he was younger, Lord knows what would have happened. Flair earned that right and then thrived for the first half of his reign as a draw. Bob Backlund is of course one of the most interesting cases in wrestling and in my opinion probably the most interesting. I think on the surface he did not earn the right to be WWF Champion and probably with more digging it would be hard to construct a case where you said he earned that championship before winning the title. Upon winning the title, there is no argument that can be made that tells me otherwise that he did not earn his keep week in and week out working that loop for six years. I am of the belief that for the most part people earn these championships through hard work and good performances. Therefore winning a championship should not be construed good fortune, but as recognition of a Grade A wrestler. Yes, by winning a championship or consistently being a challenger means you are put in positions to have better matches and more impact on that card, business and general entertainment, but these are earned positions.