Superstar Sleeze

Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling March 1985 3/2/85 Main Angle: No big angle, really. They bring up Tully injuring Dusty's ear but they drop that next week. So I guess it is not just 21st Century Vince that loves to drop angles. Tully's promo at the end of the show is pretty good mocking Dusty. Dusty is classic with Magnum. It sounds like Mags is new in the territory and you can tell Dusty saw dollar signs in Magnum. Match of the Night: Dory Funk Jr vs Steve Casey fucking ruled! Excellent ten minute scientific draw. Loved this. This is one of my favorite types of wresting. I did a full review on the Match Discussion Archive so check it out there. Dad Wrestling: Dont you miss the days when Dad Fights would main event wrestling shows. Ron Bass & Buzz Tyler look like the Dads on the street that hate each other. Ron Bass is the sourpuss alcoholic Dad that no one likes. Buzz Tyler is the Dad that embarrasses his kids but friends love because he is a total goof. It was pretty boring, formulaic wrestling but once you see it through that lens it is more entertaining. This is for the Mid-Atlantic Title too, which Buzz Tyler would win at Silverstarr '85 I believe. Tyler hits the Avalanche on Bass behind the ref's back, but he nails it on JJ before the double countout finish Midcard Mania: Don Kernodle announces the returns of Sgt Slaughter to fight the Russians at Silverstarr '85. Uncle Ivan taunts the babyfaces and the crowd by touting that American Law keeps Sarge and Kernodle from teaming again, great reference to Final Conflict. Barbarian looked fucking killer in his squash. Superstar Graham is the Kung Fu Mater of the Universe BABY! 3/9/85 Format: Arena matches with interviews by Bob Caudle in front of the Mid-Atlantic Blue Backdrop. The TBS WCW show wouldnt start for another month and a half or so. Main Angle: THE CHAMP IS HERE! The World's Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair is here and he is wrestling Chic Donovan. He cuts a very subdued babyface promo on Wahoo McDaniel and that "creep" Tully Blanchard. He says Wahoo is disrespect to this great sport. Very solid Ric Flair promo, for those not familiar with babyface this type of promo would shock people, but this is classic babyface Flair. Wahoo closes the show saying it is bullshit that he put so much of himself into this sport and fuck you for saying I disrespected this show. I am paraphrasing. Wahoo is not a very good promo in my opinion, lots of stumblin', bumblin' and fumblin'. He challenges Flair to an Indian Strap Match Match of the Night: Ric Flair vs Chic Donovan pretty easily for some reason I feel like I watched this after Loss & I were talking about how Chic Donovan just cant resist to shake his booty. Classic babyface Flair outwrestling Donovan at ease and Donovan cheating to get the advantage. We get a heat segment on Flair, but he is never in real trouble. The finish was interesting a botch but they worked it well. Flair went for a Leapfrog, but either didnt get high enough or Donovan didnt duck low enough and Donovan ate Flair's knee. Donovan sold it like a KO show and the commentary sold it nicely. Flair slapped for the Figure-4 for the win. Borderline necessary for a review. For those not familiar with babyface Flair really should watch this because babyface Flair is truly novel from heel Flair. Dream Match that I am not sure happened or made tape: Tully Blanchard w/"The Perfect Ten" Baby Doll defeated a jabroni to defend his TV Championship with a typical vertical suplex. Every indictment laid against Flair is one thousandfold truly for Tully. Not much offense, lots of bump & run and stooging even for this loser. Dusty cuts a promo and says he can find his own Perfect Ten right here in Greensboro. He brings out a woman in a lavish fur coat to get under the skin of Tully. All I can say did Flair & Dusty vs Wahoo & Tully happen? Did it make tape? And how can I see it? Silverstarr '85: Never heard of this! Sgt. Slaughter is in Mid-Atlantic?!?!?! The Russians win a squash match in a six-man tag. The Russian Sickle is more like a Running Nodowa at this point. Magnum TA, Don Kernodle and Sgt. Muthafuckin Slaughter have been signed against the The Russians. Uncle Ivan cuts a solid promo, but it brings me great sadness to report he does not say "Pride of Carolinas" when describing Kernodle. Uncle Ivan & Kernodle were a tag team in 1984 and then Kernodle found his patriotism and nephew Nikita came in. Did Silverstarr '85 make tape? Silvestarr is clearly a Dusty name as he loves the word "Starr". Other Squashes: Steve Casey, a British babyface scientific wrestler had boring squash. Black Bart had a short squash. Barbarian looked amazing in his squash. Paul Jones cut a yell-y promo that was very ok. He demeaned Barbarian saying dont ever step in front of me. Could have set up a decent Barbie face turn. Boogie Woogie cut a mostly unintelligible promo but his cadence and conviction were so good, it was fucking awesome! Oh Paul Jones shaved off his beard, my bruthas & sistas so fuck him! 3/16.85 Double Hot Bizzaro Angle of The Week: Dusty Rhodes & Magnum TA save Ric Flair from a Tully Blanchard/Baby Doll/Wahoo McDaniel sneak attack with the Indian Strap. Bob Geigel had refused to let the NWA World Title be defended in an Indian Strap Match. Flair cuts a promo that Wahoo is old news and it is time to move onto the other great stars, Wahoo comes out and says Flair got his way with the Cage at Starrcade 83 what the fuck, Geigel? Flair says fuck it you wanna settle this lets go to the ring. They take off their shirts and it is FUCKING ON! They trading the leather and this molten hot. Tully jumps Flair with the Indian Strap. Tully & Baby Doll hold Flair as Wahoo whips. Dusty & Mags saves. Ultra hot angle and Ric Flair cuts one of his beautiful unhinged promos about how he does not give a fuck what Geigel says HE IS DEFENDING THE FUCKING BELT IN AN INDIAN STRAP MATCH AT SILVERSTARR '85 BRUTHA and Jim Crockett is all like Ric, what about what Geigel and Flair is all like Fuck you, Fuck Geigel, Fuck Wahoo and it is fucking glorious! I fucking love Flair. Molten hot angle that puts the heat squarely on the big Silverstarr '85 main event in Greensboro which was on the night this aired, 3/16/85. Tasteless Angle of the Year: Dusty slaps Baby Doll. No excuses. No it was a different time. No It was a different place. It was 1985 and everyone knows that was wrong. Dusty gave a half-assed apology. Even worse is the crowd cheered. Less said about this, the better. Embarrassing. Debut of the Year: Arn Muthafuckin Anderson looking like an absolute beast stud just ripping the poor arm off that jabroni. Easily the best match of the night and one of the best squashes I have seen since starting this project. Check this one out. This is a clinic. Manny Fernandez comes out to save the jaybrone from more torture but Arn being the stud he is beats the shit out of Manny. Great debut! Magnum's Push To The Moon Continues: Mags gets two promo segments and does guest commentary. He challenges Wahoo for the US Championship once Flair is done, which makes total sense. Then he pushes the six-man with Sarge & Kernodle vs The Russians at Silverstarr, {EDIT: Chief Jay Historian @Ricky Jackson strikes again pointing out that Wrestling Data does have the match listed as taking place. I was using Caegmatch which did not have it listed. So did Sarge just choose the AWA over Crockett afterwards?). Jimmy Valiant fresh off winning a squash and kissing Tommy Young comes into the screen. Magnum duck & evades the kiss, but Bob Caudle does not. Jimmy Valiant is coming for who else but Paul Jones, who shaved his beard. Other happenings: Buddy Landell debuts in the territory and fucks up the Figure-4, more on him next week. Ron Bass wins a squash and cuts a promo about the Mid-Atlantic Title. Kung Fu Billy Graham is lame as hell. I find out the Rock N Roll RPMs were a heel tag team not a babyface tag team! Learn something new everyday. MId-Atlantic runs a lot more squashes than World Class and I watched 3/16 & 3/23 back to back so I might have missed something, but I captured all the Flair, Dusty, Wahoo, Blanchard and Mags stuff, which is the real hot shit and Arn Anderson's debut ruled! 3/23/85 Second Bizzaro World Angle: Arn Anderson shits on Ric Flair and calls Buddy Landell the true Nature Boy. Landell gets three promo segments and Arn gets two. They clearly had plans for Arn from jump as he has looked like superstar two weeks in a row. Landell got torpedoed by Flair turning heel. It is as simple as that. Flair stays babyface and there is no doubt Landell is the leader of the Four Horsemen and they run the Battle of the Nature Boys. They did not need Flair babyface. They had Dusty & Magnum as top babyfaces and if Flair was not going to travel as much it made way more sense to turn him heel. The big loser in all of this was Landell. Look I know there are a lot of Buddy marks on here and I really dont mean any insult here, but the big winner were the fans throughout the ages. Flair vs Dusty was where the money was. Anyways, Landell won his squash and properly applied the Figure-4. AA won his squash over Denny Brown, but was not as dominant and showed off his ability to stooge. Great swinging Robinson Backbreaker. The competitive match of the night was Manny Fernandez vs one of the Rock N Roll RPMS who have been renamed DJ & LP instead of Tommy Lane and Mike Davis. A Dusty call and this finish was Dusty as fuck. The RPMs switch places even though they dont look that similar. They both end up in the ring at the same time and Manny sunset flips both to two to a big pop. They redo the spot but with a crossbody for two and Double A Arn Anderson interferes and beats up the Ragin Bull. Arn had his promo skills from fucking jump. He actually feels like a bigger deal in these two weeks than he ever did as a Horsemen. He looks like a main eventer even more than Landell. Arn Anderson the World Champion is an interesting idea. Johnny Weaver was talking about Anderson psychology of isolating a limb and breaking it down. I was thinking did Ole or Gene invent modern day limb psychology because thats a pretty fucking cool feather in their cap. LOL Moment of the Week: Johnny Weaver calls The Longriders "Black Bass and Ron Bart" that shit hit me just right and fucking popped me huge! The Russians Are Back: They Want the Gold, the Tag Team Gold. We find out Dusty & Manny have it! I must have known that from looking Great Hisa's site for years but totally forgot that. Dusty is feuding with Tully over the TV Title and has not mentioned he is a Tag Champion, classic Dusty. No Uncle Ivan. Nephew Nikita's Russian Accent has to go down as the worst fake Russian accent of all time. Thank God Krusher Khrushchev is an American turncoat so he can explain the angle without a bad accent. Tully Blanchard Promo: First one on this program, he says Dusty is keeping him off TV so he bought some time. Standard Tully fare, God I wish we got a Flair vs Tully feud proper before the Horsemen. Flair & Dusty vs Wahoo & Tully in a gimmick match is what I need in my life. Other shit: Barbarian fucking rules and destroyed jabroni. I love the Barbarian like it is my fucking problem. Jimmy Valiant introduced us to his "old lady". it was a bat, Bob Caudle thought it was an axehandle so maybe I was not playing attention and he is going to break Paul Jones' arm. Turns out Don Kernodle and Keith Larsen are shoot brother and are forming a tag team. No explanation on why they have different last names. I feel like I am missing something. No Flair or Wahoo. I dont remember Dusty. We covered Tully. Oh Magnum, he challenged Wahoo for the US Title which he will win a steel cage and I have definitely seen that match. I think it takes place on Worldwide I thought it was pretty good. 3/30/85 Saw Guns N Roses (Axl, Slash & Duff) last night for first time at "full" strength. I had seen Axl by himself in December 2011 and Slash in like Summer 2013 or 2014 and I am really glad I went saw them together. Slash was so fucking awesome. Slash's solo/Sweet Child O Mine/November Rain maybe the greatest 20 minutes of live music I have ever heard. My memory is Axl sounded better in Dec. 2011 but his mannerisms and energy more than made up for all the wonky vocal effects and zillion backing tracks he used. Go see GNR is they are in your area, 2.5 hours of money & time well-spent. Been busy so I havent had time to do one of these, but watched one during lunch today. Main Angle: Dusty Rhodes is your new Television Champion defeating Tully Blanchard at Silverstarr '85 two weeks prior but only being announced on TV now. The finish was Dusty driving Tully head first into a steel chair held by Wahoo McDaniel, Tully's well-intentioned ally. Baby Doll was hanging in Betty Lou. I get naming a car. I get naming a baseball bat. But naming a cage? That's just fucking bizarre. Dusty calls the shark cage that Baby Doll is being imprisoned in, Betty Lou. More on Betty Lou in a second. Tully does not blame Wahoo and the two of them jump Dusty. You can tell how much Dusty loves Betty Lou and he is distraught being slammed into "her" repeatedly. Ric Flair comes out to save, but is overwhelmed. Flair does end up beating Wahoo in the main event of that show in an Indian Strap match. The Flair & Dusty alliance is so weird, man. This is all run down via still clips in the beginning of the show and then a Dusty promo mid-show. Before the Dusty promo, Tully cuts a promo saying he wants to finish this South Texas style with barbed wire. Apparently Texans from Austin arent real Texans. This would all lead to the Barbed Wire match in July 1985. I think I have seen the 1987 version. I will have to check. Sandwiched between these two promos is a Dusty/Manny promo discussing how Dusty & Manny lost the belts to the Russians. The Russians are now the tag team and six-man tag team champions. The closing match is an impromptu match between The Russians and Magnum/Manny/"Pride of the USA" Don Kernodle who has been upgraded from "Pride of Carolinas" to "Pride of USA" pretty big promotion. Match of the Night: Tully Blanchard vs Steve Casey. Steve Casey is an English babyface midcarder that won a squash a few weeks back. So this was not going to be a Tully squash. Pleasantly surprised by this match as I am not a Tully guy per se, I think he is more good than great in the ring (awesome promo though). Tully worked on top the majority of the match longer than I have ever seen. He worked the arm, he could have cinched in that armbar better, but he stayed on it and they worked a lot of great highspots around it. Casey bumped & fed for Tully well which you never seen a babyface do. I thought Casey really made Tully look great. Casey sold the arm during the comeback really, really well. It was a hot comeback, great use of the dropkick, nailing it the first time for a big pop and then missing it a second time to his demise. Slingshot suplex for the clean as a sheet win for uber heel Tully was surprising. ***1/4 Midcard Mania: Arn Anderson's super push was cooled ever so slightly. No interaction with the Raging Bull. He beat a jobber clean dismantling the arm and winning with a strong armbar (shouldve shown Tully how it is done). Buddy Landell won again. JJ Dillon ran down the history of Buddy Rogers and Ric Flair to give some context to the Buddy Landell, Nature Boy impersonation gimmick. You can tell this was going to be a big angle until they go on TBS next month and Dusty realizes he wants Flair to be his main rival. The Barbarian looked cool as fuck as JJ (subbing for an "injured" Paul Jones) and Superstar Graham cut a promo on Boogie Woogie Man. Barbarian should have been pushed to the moon. I am sure the prominence of this show goes drastically down starting next month when they debut on TBS with World Championship Wrestling as this becomes the tertiary show. This was an interesting glimpse into what Crockett was like right before the TBS/Horsemen era. It was very, very different. I really wish we got Flair vs Tully as a feud at some point. Alas, oh well.

Going to reformat this, the Sunshine mystery man angle hooked me so I started watching World Class week by week. I am going to do months of TV for a single promotion per post. WORLD CLASS CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING MARCH 1985 3/2/85 TV Match of the Month: I had an inkling I had seen this before specifically when I saw Kevin take two feet to the mush on a missed splash attempt. You know that lame spot in wrestling. When the dude jumps off the top/middle rope and eats a foot, but you have no clue what offensive move he was going to do because he stops a mile short and protects himself on the boot, Kevin Von Erich and goes fucking flying into the double boot of Gino. I was thinking, damn I am pretty sure I have seen this before and I was correct. This match is an absolute fucking CORKER! It finished #26 on the DVDVR Texas set. I am so glad, I didnt remember I had seen it. You knew from jump this was going to be a banger of a wrestling match. Kerry/Adams so a cool criss-cross right into a BANG! Superkick! Popped me huge! It is torrential downpour of kickass pro wrestling. This is Kevin Von Erich at his best just being a total Tasmasian Devil and Kerry is a stud here, nails a really cool Discus Punch at one point. Adams & Gino are great heels! ****1/2, it is the match discussion archive under its tape date of 2/22/85. World Class had the top two matches of the month! Midnights vs Fantastics: World Class has the thinnest roster but they make the most of it. The Von Erichs vs Dynamic Duo are the main event, but the Midnights & Fantastic anchor the show. We get clips of a great PYTs vs Fantastics match. I need to see what footage we have of those two badass tag teams! First time seeing Bobby Eaton since his death definitely brought a tear to me as he won a squash with a Middle Rope Knee. Thank you, Bobby, rest in peace, brutha. Bobby Fulton vs Jack Victory at like 7-8 minutes was way better than it had any right to be. Fulton is so damn charismatic. Booty-shaking his way into the hearts and minds of anyone who watches him. He wins the match with a crossbody. Jack Victory may have the worst hair cut I have ever seen. It was a Dumb & Dumber mullet. Picture a mullet, but with a bowl cut in the front. Hideous. 3/9/85 Format: Sportatorium footage with Bill Mercer on commentary. 1985 is not a high water mark for World Class, lets see what they got. No promos. Was Crockett/Georgia/Florida unique for focusing so much on promos? Main Angle: Before the Kerry Von Erich vs Rip Oliver match, Sunshine announces she is going to bring someone in to clean up World Class Matches That Went Far Too Long: MX (Condrey & Eaton) w/Jim Cornette vs Adidas & Johnny Mantel and Kerry Von Erich vs "Crippler" Rip Oliver w/Jim Cornette. These are the type of matches you can only get away with in the 80s because the crowds were invested in the characters and simply wanting the babyface to win. Kerry & The Claw (We Want The Claw chants very prevalent) were wicked over, but so were midcard bums like Adidas & Mantel. Nowadays the crowds cares about great matches and who wins from a who should be pushed standpoint? I could see many fans being like MX needs this win going against Fantastics. It is like for fucks sake when did pro wrestling become a giant marketing meeting between promoter/wrestlers/fans. I guess it always has been so let me qualify why is it a self-conscious marketing meeting! Both matches were pretty boring. Eaton was in a putrid, jabroni-looking blue & purple cross patch one arm tarzan singlet. Video Package: I enjoyed the MX vs Fantastics matches in World Class (yes the ones in 88 Crockett are better, but these are good too). I really liked the video package to get us up to speed on the "fued". Squashes: One Man Gang with Gary Hart squash. OMG never been one of my dudes, but I will keep an open mind. 3/16/85 Format: Seems to be squash up front, one angle, one long midcard match and then a hot main event (last week notwithstanding) Main Angle: Chris Adams, the American Heavyweight Champion has fired Gary Hart about quitting for him. Gary Hart pulls the 'ol you cant fire me, I fire you gimmick. The Bill Mercer sitdown with Gary Hart was amazing. Mercer was just asking good, solid questions and Gary would get angrier and angrier. It would be one fist that slammed the table, then two, it would start to knock over their sweet teas and then the table went flying. Gary Hart vows vengeance on Chris Adams using One Man Gang Hot Main Event: Midnight Express vs Fantastics for American tag titles, so hot that I made a review for this in Match Discussion Archive. Just classic, classic stuff from them. Corny gets MX intentionally DQ'd but after the match Manning says three strikes youre out and strips MX of the tag belts. There will be a rematch down the line. Sunshine Angle: Mercer announces Sunshine's man will be here next week, this is what hooked me. Sunshine is a good promo. Midcard Shit: Johnny Mantel & Brian Adidas as friends of the Von Erichs definitely anchor the midcard. Adidas has the better look and I recognized his name. I had never heard of Mantel. Adidas beat El Diablo a masked jobber to get ready for Chris Adams next week and Johnny Mantel had a nice little babyface vs babyface draw with Sweet Brown Sugar Skip Young. I have more of a stomach for babyface vs babyface scientific draws. It was solid. 3/23/85 Main Angle: Hercules Hernandez is Sunshine's mystery man, kind of a letdown to be honest. Thats more because I am unfamiliar with Herc. He looked like a smaller Brody and was kinda doing the Huss gimmick. Is he known for aping Brody's stuff? Hercules mows down Corny's men...Rip Oliver and Midnight Express. Hot Main Event: Chris Adams vs Brian Adidas (non-title). I would give this *** just under what I feel is necessary for a full blown review. Adams was your typical 80s heel champion. It was confusing at first because I figured he would be a babyface based on the Gary Hart angle, but World Class was the pioneer of the three-way feud (see Von Erichs/Birds/Devastation Inc). The idea here was Adams is still a prick and feuding with Von Erichs but is also feuding with Gary Hart & OMG. He was feeding Adidas obstacles that he could quite literally walk through. Lots of bumping and stooging. He reminded me of Tully Blanchard. Good, mean heat segment on Adidas. He looked vicious. I liked the extended comeback of Adidas it was a couple maneuvers where they both got hurt before he took over. The Airplane Spin into the FU popped me. Adams survived. I forget the exact finish but OMG came out and ruined the match. I usually hate this booking, but there is a key exception here. Just do it in the first five minutes of the match, BUT OMG is NOT trying to help either one in fact he wants to squash both. So it makes more sense for him to wait for both men to tucker each other out and then jump both men. Adams nails a wicked Superkick, which stuns OMG long enough for Adams to make his getaway and leave Adidas to the monster. Mercer does a great job explaining this is the first time we have ever even seen OMG stunned and usually the Superkick is a KO blow. It is puts over the Superkick and OMG at the same time. Really hot angle. OMG won the squash match of the week. Midcard Mania: Kelly "And Stuff" Kiniski is here and is taking on Johnny Mantel. Kiniski has a shaved head and is wrestling a roughhousing style without heeling too, too much but you can tell he is the heel. I am 99% sure Mantel wins here, but honestly even though I watched this last night I kinda forget. 3/30/85 Main Angle: No angle this week. Sunshine & Mercer did an interview at ringside which a change of pace for World Class. She is very normal in a good way. She is a natural but seems like she could be your next door neighbor in a good way. She hints at bringing someone else in. My interest is piqued. There should be more mystery man angles in wrestling. Fantastics come out and cut a pretty bland babyface promo. Hot Main Event: Kerry & Kevin Von Erichs vs Dynamic Duo in Texas Tornado Match! First time seeing the Von Erichs in a while. Texas Tornado matches can be raucous mayhem, but I thought this didnt reach the highs it could have. *** There seemed like the coordination between the two pairs was not always on. The double dropkick in the shine was great. All the claw work was interesting. It was kinda on the short side and didnt really get as heated as it could have. The Dynamic Duo whip the Von Erichs with their belts (Gino was the Texas Heavyweight Champion) triggering the DQ. Would have liked to see some angle development with OMG & Gary Hart but oh well. Midcard Mania: Kelly "And Stuff" Kiniski is back working some New York jobber and takes way too long to put him away. Oh boy. Iceman Parsons and Rip Oliver have the most Platonic Ideal 80s midcard babyface vs heel draw. Picture a **1/2 average babyface vs heel match from the 80s those two had it. I will go back and watch 3/2/85 to round this out. 3/16 and 3/23 were the best shows. 3/9 & 3/30 are skippable. I love how each episode is 40-45 minutes.

Taped in Dallas TX, March 8, 1985. Aired on WCCW TV 3/16/85 American Tag Team Champions The Midnight Express Bobby Eaton & Dennis Condrey) with Jim Cornette vs The Fantastics (Bobby Fulton & Tommy Rogers) The previous week, the Midnight Express defeated Brian Adidas & Johnny Mantel and they really hyped this main event showcasing a video package of the feud up until this pint and how the MX had stole back the belts from the Fans. Were the Midnights married to the Fantastics for their entire World Class run? It would be a crying shame if we never got MX vs Kerry & Kevin. Does that exist? Corny also has “Crippler” Rip Oliver and Sunshine is going to be bringing in a mystery man to clean his act up. Awesome TV main event here not quite as good as what we would get in Crockett in '88 but this is still really fun, energetic, character-focused work. Tommy Rogers shows up Eaton to start. The crowd is nuclear as Texas crowds almost always are. They are shitting all over Corny and rooting hard for Tommy. The MX bump & run and stooging work never gets old. They create obstacles for Rogers to overcome and he quite literally punches right through them with the climax being trying to trap them in the corner. Condrey tags in and it doesnt get much better for him. The Fantastics do some really fun high energy arm work where Fulton traps the arm and then Rogers running and leaping comes crashing down on it. The MX do some misdirection and when Condrey gets a blind tag, he DECKS him with a clothesline. Very good MX heat segment. The biggest difference between the Condrey & Lane is in the heat segment. Condrey delivers a much grittier heat segment. Lane usually the heat segment is cooler with more killer moves. Condrey Snake Eyes on Rogers, steps on him, Eaton delivers the sneaky, hard punches, they throw him to the outside that kinda grimy shit. Eaton does bring the “cool” when does he not? He delivers a killer backbreaker/bodyslam combo. Condrey clobbers Rogers on another misdirection spot and Eaton delivers the elbow. Fulton gets the hot tag for a very short house afire, where the camera misses Corny pulling his leg. Fulton kicks out and recovers into an O’Connor Roll. Corny wallops him with the racket for the DQ and seemingly to retain the tag titles. After the break, David Manning said after three controversial finishes, the Midnight Express has been stripped of the titles! I love it! I really love the three strikes and you're out policy. I thought this was almost as good as all their other World Class stuff the very short hot tag where Fulton didn’t get to do much and was really just two spots, the leg trip and racket shot was a bit underwhelming. The shine and heat segment were classic Fantastics vs Midnights. ***3/4

Unfortunately, we had an emergency with the heavy metal crew, but Pro Wrestling Love is pivoting back to its bread & butter discussing Pro Wrestling with my former partner on Tag Teams Back Again (WHOOMP! THERE IT IS!) and a true Titan of Wrestling, @Ricky Jackson and we are discussing the Top 25 WWF matches between 1978-1987! It was great to be back with Kelly talking what we love most, pro wrestling and it was like riding a bike getting back to kicking ass with him. This is part 1/5 talking #25-#21! I hope everyone enjoys! https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-wpfjd-1099722

The MartMan wants to watch some wrestling that includes promos & angles. Dont get me wrong I am still gonna watch some great pro wrestling and include that in the match discussion archive, but I just wanna devour some down home 80s cooking. Of course if I come across anything badass Ill throw in a review. I like to start things in medias res must be the soap opera fan in my me, so lets start this completely randomly on March 9, 1985. Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling Format: Arena matches with interviews by Bob Caudle in front of the Mid-Atlantic Blue Backdrop. The TBS WCW show wouldnt start for another month and a half or so. Main Angle: THE CHAMP IS HERE! The World's Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair is here and he is wrestling Chic Donovan. He cuts a very subdued babyface promo on Wahoo McDaniel and that "creep" Tully Blanchard. He says Wahoo is disrespect to this great sport. Very solid Ric Flair promo, for those not familiar with babyface this type of promo would shock people, but this is classic babyface Flair. Wahoo closes the show saying it is bullshit that he put so much of himself into this sport and fuck you for saying I disrespected this show. I am paraphrasing. Wahoo is not a very good promo in my opinion, lots of stumblin', bumblin' and fumblin'. He challenges Flair to an Indian Strap Match Match of the Night: Ric Flair vs Chic Donovan pretty easily for some reason I feel like I watched this after Loss & I were talking about how Chic Donovan just cant resist to shake his booty. Classic babyface Flair outwrestling Donovan at ease and Donovan cheating to get the advantage. We get a heat segment on Flair, but he is never in real trouble. The finish was interesting a botch but they worked it well. Flair went for a Leapfrog, but either didnt get high enough or Donovan didnt duck low enough and Donovan ate Flair's knee. Donovan sold it like a KO show and the commentary sold it nicely. Flair slapped for the Figure-4 for the win. Borderline necessary for a review. For those not familiar with babyface Flair really should watch this because babyface Flair is truly novel from heel Flair. Dream Match that I am not sure happened or made tape: Tully Blanchard w/"The Perfect Ten" Baby Doll defeated a jabroni to defend his TV Championship with a typical vertical suplex. Every indictment laid against Flair is one thousandfold truly for Tully. Not much offense, lots of bump & run and stooging even for this loser. Dusty cuts a promo and says he can find his own Perfect Ten right here in Greensboro. He brings out a woman in a lavish fur coat to get under the skin of Tully. All I can say did Flair & Dusty vs Wahoo & Tully happen? Did it make tape? And how can I see it? Silverstarr '85: Never heard of this! Sgt. Slaughter is in Mid-Atlantic?!?!?! The Russians win a squash match in a six-man tag. The Russian Sickle is more like a Running Nodowa at this point. Magnum TA, Don Kernodle and Sgt. Muthafuckin Slaughter have been signed against the The Russians. Uncle Ivan cuts a solid promo, but it brings me great sadness to report he does not say "Pride of Carolinas" when describing Kernodle. Uncle Ivan & Kernodle were a tag team in 1984 and then Kernodle found his patriotism and nephew Nikita came in. Did Silverstarr '85 make tape? Silvestarr is clearly a Dusty name as he loves the word "Starr". Other Squashes: Steve Casey, a British babyface scientific wrestler had boring squash. Black Bart had a short squash. Barbarian looked amazing in his squash. Paul Jones cut a yell-y promo that was very ok. He demeaned Barbarian saying dont ever step in front of me. Could have set up a decent Barbie face turn. Boogie Woogie cut a mostly unintelligible promo but his cadence and conviction were so good, it was fucking awesome! Oh Paul Jones shaved off his beard, my bruthas & sistas so fuck him! Mid-South 3/9/86 Format: Matches in front of the Irish McNeil Boys Club, in between the size of a studio wrestling and a full arena like WWF or JCP was doing. The most disappointing aspect is the lack of promos. This is very wrestling-heavy. I am hankering for some great promos & angles so doesnt scratch that itch like Crockett. Furthermore, I think Crockett's style is better to get heat. You cant beat the wrestlers cutting promos. Jim Ross & Joel Watts can hew & haw all they want, but the best way to build that heat and emotion connection is let the wrestlers rip it on the mic. I think Crockett has it right. Match of the Night: Jake "The Snake" Roberts vs Terry Taylor for the Television Championship (a medal worn by Vero's Hero). I am a bugger Terry Taylor fan than most and lower on Jake The Snake than most, sometimes less is just less, brutha. I thought this was very energetic for Jake. It was probably 8-10 minutes but was action-packed. I watched this last night, I might go back and review it because it was a really strong workrate match. There was a really good spot early with Taylor CLOCKING Jake with a right cross and Jake selling it with the slither powder. I recall a pretty clean finish for Taylor. The more important part is the angle after where Jake the Snake drops the Champ with a DDT on the chair busting Taylor open. So that feud is just getting started. JR puts over Joel Watts' video editing ability. We get a video package for Vero's Hero and his forced smile. Taylor should have been a heel from jump, definitely something smarmy about him. Commentary: Mid-South fans is it typical for Joel Watts to walk all over JR on commentary. He is always shouting over him and doing the vast majority of play by play. JR was good when he got a chance to talk which was not often. Dream Tag Team That Did Happen & I Got To See: Hacksaw Duggan & Kerry Muthafuckin Von Erich! OH HELL YEAH! These are my two favorites from Mid-South & World Class respectively FUCK YEAH! I love Mid-South Duggan he just has this Northern Blue Collar grit to him like a Bruno or a DDP. I just dig that vibe. Huge fan of the Flair vs Kerry series (dont sleep on their Mid-South series, 4/28/85 is a contender for their best match ever). They wrestled Hercules Hernandez (doing a Sheik gimmick) and Gino Hernandez. You know it wouldnt have been half-bad in some promotion they did a Gino & Hercules are brothers or cousins gimmick. Gino as the mouth and Hercules as the heavy. I didnt think the heels added much. This was all about the babyfaces and the fire and charisma they brought. Ted DiBiase came out, OH SHIT THATS RIGHT, the Loser Leaves Town match is still coming up! Duggan has gotten a hold of the Coal Miner's Glove and blasts one of the heels, I think Hercules and Kerry picks up the win . Nice way to build the DiBiase/Duggan program. Kerry cut a typical Kerry promo which a fumblin, stumblin, bumblin promo. It looks like they are setting up Flair vs Kerry in the territory. Other Squashes: Kamala crushes a jobber but crushes him so fucking bad he gets DQ'd...Splash off the top rope. Iceman King Parsons short squash, looked good. Dirty White Boys (Tony Anthony & Len Denton) won a squash, underwhelmed. They were not very heelish. There was a "Barbarian" squash, but it was not the real Barbarian. Who is this Mickey Mouse Barbarbian? Seriously? I didnt recognize him at all. Match that went too long: Buddy Landell vs Brad Armstrong, Buddy was a great heel, but not too much to this one. It didnt really stick with me. Interesting Mid-South had two competitive matches compared to Mid-Atlantic having zero (yes Flair vs Donovan was a good match but nobody thought Donovan was going to win). World Class Championship Wrestling 3/9/85 Format: Sportatorium footage with Bill Mercer on commentary. 1985 is not a high water mark for World Class, lets see what they got. No promos. Was Crockett/Georgia/Florida unique for focusing so much on promos? Main Angle: Before the Kerry Von Erich vs Rip Oliver match, Sunshine announces she is going to bring someone in to clean up World Class Matches That Went Far Too Long: MX (Condrey & Eaton) w/Jim Cornette vs Adidas & Johnny Mantel and Kerry Von Erich vs "Crippler" Rip Oliver w/Jim Cornette. These are the type of matches you can only get away with in the 80s because the crowds were invested in the characters and simply wanting the babyface to win. Kerry & The Claw (We Want The Claw chants very prevalent) were wicked over, but so were midcard bums like Adidas & Mantel. Nowadays the crowds cares about great matches and who wins from a who should be pushed standpoint? I could see many fans being like MX needs this win going against Fantastics. It is like for fucks sake when did pro wrestling become a giant marketing meeting between promoter/wrestlers/fans. I guess it always has been so let me qualify why is it a self-conscious marketing meeting! Both matches were pretty boring. Eaton was in a putrid, jabroni-looking blue & purple cross patch one arm tarzan singlet. Video Package: I enjoyed the MX vs Fantastics matches in World Class (yes the ones in 88 Crockett are better, but these are good too). I really liked the video package to get us up to speed on the "fued". Squashes: One Man Gang with Gary Hart squash. OMG never been one of my dudes, but I will keep an open mind.

It is penultimate episode with @goodhelmet & @victory discussing the very best of Glam Metal! I had the good fortune to attend my first concert since the Pandemic going to Day 3 of the M3 Festival in Maryland which is an 80s Glam/Hair/Sleaze Metal Festival that I have always wanted to go to. Pretty Boy Floyd killed it and they were one of the two bands I really wanted to see, finally got to see Faster Pussycat too! Fake LA Guns was wicked shitty. Warrant was also pretty killer. Had a blast! I talked about that on this show along with Will & Ryan bringing up some heartbreak stories so bring some tissues too! https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-rx56t-108fa61

At least this promotion was the same week as when the podcast dropped, wicked busy week at work after a week of vacation, but that is just how the cookie crumbles. Do NOT sleep on this podcast @goodhelmet goes an absolutely hilarious tear during his discussion of a Keel song and then follows with a real barnburner of a story attending an Alice Cooper concert! Ryan brings the funny with his experiences on his IG page and Marty discusses how glam metal developed sonically! Give it a spin! https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-qzktw-1084f61

My original review kinda sucks, I need to talk about this on a podcast recording tonight (good teaser for Pro Wrestling Love Fans) so watching this during my lunch break. Sgt. Slaughter vs Pat Patterson - WWF MSG 5/4/81 Alley Fight Pat Patterson is decked out in a I <3 NY shirt, dungarees, belt, cowboy boot and a Yankees hat (Yankees Suck!). Vince yells "Go Get Em Brutha!". Street fight attire should be jeans or fatigues. These two look great. Patterson's shine is red hot. MSG is rockin'! Patterson is just teeing off on Sarge and Slaughter is selling well. During one scrap, on their knees, an errant Sarge punch connects with the steel post to delight of MSG and the chagrin of Slaughter. Patterson takes off his belt and whips Slaughter like the dog he is! He chokes him with the belt. The belt needs to make a comeback in wrestling along with cowboy boots, fire and powder. Slaughter rakes the eyes and gets control of the belt and pops him in the throat. He wraps the belt around the mouth, nasty visual. He rips off the I <3 NY shirt and chokes him with that, great heel move. Patterson bucks him over the top rope and then Slaughter misses the Atomic Stomp. I love how it takes two moves to consolidate your advantage. Patterson hits not one, but TWO BOMBS AWAY KNEE DROPS! Slaughter rakes the eyes again and stomps the head. Slaughter hurls Patterson over the top rope and Pat is sent careening to the floor. Pat punches him in the breadbasket, double fist to the head, CATAPULT INTO CLASSIC SLAUGHTER BUMP! THERE IS BLOOD! Pat tees off on Slaughter. Amazing stagger selling by Slaughter and just when it looks like Sarge is gonna go down, he punches Pat in the balls. Great selling by Patterson and even better jelly leg selling by Slaughter as he goes fishing for brass knuckles in his pants. The one misfire is that Sarge does connect with the brass knux and it is not sold really dramatically or really consequential. Patterson's fiery comeback is so damn good! Blocking the knux, punching the cut, ramming Slaughter's head into the post and then taking off his boot and beating the living shit out of him. I love Slaughter's bumping choices here, the way he is staggering and going to one knee instead of taking a series of flat backs. We need more of that. There seems to be a final KO blow, but Wizard is a little late and Slaughter just eats boot shots on the apron holding the ropes and Wizard throws in the towel. All-time great bloody brawl classic! Patterson was a vicious red hot babyface, every babyface should watch this offensive performance and every heel should watch Slaughter for his choices on he sells and bumps. No change in rating, excellent. ****3/4

Trying to get back on track with my promotion of these podcasts, this is Glam Metal Pt 2 with the incomparable @goodhelmet & the studly @victory! Released last Sunday so this gets me back on track. Really fun episode, we count down #20-#16. I think Will's rant against me for not including the Sleeze Beez' bonafide classic, "Stranger Than Paradise" is some of the funniest/most entertaining audio I have recorded! So check that out & much, much more! https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-kakxr-107d8a2

Doing a killer road trip through DC, Baltimore, Harrisburg PA, Waynesboro VA and Wilmington, NC and just loving life! Had a blast talking to Stacey, but it is time to move on. While this might be Pro Wrestling Only, my show is not. One of my other passions is HEAVY METAL...specifically glam-sleaze-pop-hair metal, call it what you will, but I call it bitchin'! To give it a pro wrestling flair, we have the co-founder of PWO, @goodhelmet & a stud from Chicago @victory on to discuss our favorite songs of the genre! Click the link, download & rock out! https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-ihvqs-1074817

My bad habit continues as I am again one week behind, but this deserves serious love as it is the Grand Finale of my series with @JimmyRedman on the WWE 2010-2014! I had a blast doing this series and we each had a completely different top 5 so there are 10 matches discussed. We each went with ballsy picks for our numbers 1! Let us know what you think. https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-untpz-106bdf6

Haystacks Calhoun does guest commentary on this and says the reason Khrushchev is getting one over on America in the Cold War is we have a chump US Champion like Buddy Rogers. Is it 1960 or 2020? You decide! I cant believe they were doing guest commentary to set up matches even back then. Nice little squash by Rogers like the finish a lot. The way he urgently punished the back en route to the Figure-4, wish we would see more of that nowadays.

NWA World Heavyweight Champion Buddy Rogers vs Haystack Calhoun - Chicago 4/14/61 There are certain wrestlers my Dad & my uncles always bring up and Haystack Calhoun is one of them, so I have always wanted to see one of his matches. I do enjoy me some Buddy Rogers. I gotta agree with another reviewer when they say the Nature Boy looked a lot like the Nature Boy. This definitely felt like as close as we would get to Flair vs Haystacks. Calhound wrestles in overalls and barefeet and as horseshoe good luck charm. Was Haystacks the first wrestler not to wear traditional trunks to wrestle? Rogers makes a great go at this and Haystacks is quite mobile. He is no Jerry Blackwell, but his sit down splash and big splash towards the end are massive highspots. The early portion of the match puts over Haystacks size and that there is not much Roger can do against him. Great headlock work and Rogers cant even really choke him because his neck is too big. Rogers kicks at the leg and pulls the hair. They announce the Blackhawks are up 4-3 over the Red Wings to a big pop and then it is 5-3, which is funny to know. Haystacks bodyslams Roger and then hits his big aforementioned highspots. Rogers out of desperation starts to dropkick Haystacks with the second one sending him tumbling out of the ring, breaking the middle rope in the process! Terrific finish that a Big Show or Mark Henry should have cribbed. Clever way for Rogers to win and for Haystacks to be protected. Call me crazy but this was a lot of fun. ***1/2

Gorgeous George vs Cyclone Anaya - Chicago 5/23/50 It is amazing that we have The Human Orchid on tape and this is definitely something I have wanted to see for a while. I implore all wrestling fans to watch this as you can see Goregous George is a template heel. He is lustily booed upon introductions and he just has the mannerisms and accoutrements of the gimmick down pat that all the generations of those aping his style after the fact could have learned a thing or two from 'ol Georgie from his pre-match routine. First Fall: I have watched Cyclone against Thesz and Rogers and he had a couple humdingers with those two. So I am thinking I would lay the blame of this pedestrian start on Georgie. Just a lot of sitting in holds for 15 minutes. The best part of the first half by far was Anaya mussing up Georgie's immaculate hair that got a good rise out of George, the crowd and myself. I was hoping for a more gimmick-y match. George broke up a headlock with a closed fist to the gut, used the hair to maintain a hammerlock and worked a leglock using the ropes. Standard for our day, but dramatic cheating back then. In all honestly, I found Thesz's roughhousing against Ruffy to be far more engrossing and heated. The crowd did not like George. In the hammerlock, Russ gets a bit too clever for me wishing for a different view of George's "-terior" namely his "an- not pos-". It could have worked, but it was too cute. Russ definitely understood the George gimmick and did a good job playing it up. Russ days both men's legs are gimmicked so he sounds like a 21st century wrestling fan. Anaya worked a long Indian Deathlock and George worked a leg lock. As the first half came to a close Anaya was working the armstretcher as George was trying to kip out and bridge to avoid being pinned. Lets see if the second half of the first fall picks up...George does a very comical at an attempt to escape the armstretcher. Kayfabe died in 1950, folks, get over it. George's escape is pretty anti-climatic and reverses into his own armstretcher which does not last long. George goes for noogies. George does the headlock/closed fist gimmick. Anaya has had enough! He gives him a taste of his own medicine! Hell Yeah! Ref breaks it up. Great selling here by George perfect heel, crybaby selling while Anaya is fighting through the pain like a man. Anaya lays into George now, nice fire. Monkey Flip thats called a Monkey Rip by Russ, dig it. Like that spot here. After all this piss 'n' vinegar from Anaya, George takes the fall after two wicked headlock RIPS! He really did RIP him down. Got better down the stretch. Second Fall: Customarily in 2/3 Falls in the 70s/80s, the second fall is the shortest fall and they keep with tradition. Even though, George won the fall, he looks the worse for wear selling the damage from the long-armstretcher. That becomes the focus of Anaya who pounds on it and uses various armbars, wristlocks and hammerlocks on the bad wing of Georgie. George works a half-crab, but does not get much else in the way of offense. Anaya starts wringing Georgie's neck violently. George bumps & sells so well. George figures a good offense is a good defense and RIPS Anaya down, but Anaya will not be stopped. It is Anaya's famed Cobra Twist (aka Abdominal Stretch) with a neck wring for the submission victory. Red hot finish there. Third Fall: Short & sweet. Anaya CRACKS George with a slap due to all his posturing. George's response is take down into a front chancery. A little fight from ol Georgie. Anaya comes up with the Cobra Twist but George is in the ropes and it is a closed fist there. They do a little King of the Mountain with George shoving Anaya over the top and blasting him on the way in. Second time, Anaya snapmares George over the top rope to a big pop and it is the All Japan double countout finish. The first half is dry working holds, but they ratchet up the heat and intensity down the stretch, not as good as the Thesz or Rogers matches. Still it is Gorgeous George if you are a wrestling fan you simply must watch! ***1/4

Verne Gagne vs Billy Goelz - Chicago 6/21/50 Russ says Goelz is the Illinois Jr. Heavyweight Champion, I believe. This not hosted by the Chicago Film Archives, but apparently came out in 2009. It is a fantastic, single fall bout since this is NOT for the world heavyweight Championship. The quality on this is not the best, but young Verne looks nothing like old Verne in my opinion, if it didnt say Verne Gagne in the video I would not never have guessed it was him. The first ten minutes are a battle of the Goelz Hammerlock vs the Gagne headscissors. Verne only started wrestling in 1949 but not only has the technical/athletic part down pat, but even the theatrics. Verne gets two flashy takedowns out of some very competitive collar-elbow tieups. Goelz when he takes Gagne down with an armbar, he sticks with him and turn into a 4-5 minute tenacious hammerlock. They work the hammerlock fabulously. Verne is really good about his verbal selling and constantly trying to escape to keep this interesting. This takes an incredible gas tank to being working for the escape out of a hammerlock. It really shows how great of shape Verne is in. Goelz for his part is not only wrenching the Hammerlock, he is constantly trying to negotiate pinning predicaments with the hammerlock as his fulcrum. I really liked Verne going for the crotchhold (bodyslam) but Goelz disabuses him of this strategy by cranking the hammerlock more. Verne THROWS Goelz halfway across the ring on a snapmare that pops me. Goelz shows his dogged determination pouncing on the injured Gagne and going back to it. Verne goes back to the snapmare; Goelz hangs on but they are in the ropes. Goelz tries to get back to it and Verne uses the Bret Hart trick and bucks him off into the ropes. Verne applies a falling reverse headscissors and this begins his offensive run. Before we switch gears, I want to reiterate and emphasize how great Verne's verbal selling was during the hammerlock it really made that segment of the match special. Two things stood out about the headscissors, one on the first attempted break Goelz went right back to the bad arm, kneading with his knee only for Gagne to re-apply the headscissors. Excellent work. Goelz does this turtle tactic where he grabs his own knees and tucks them to his chin as if in the fetal position to render it impossible to apply a hold to him. I am sure that has been done in World Of Sport, but it was novel to me and if I was a pro wrestler I'd crib that. Verne switches to working a tight side headlock that Goelz slips out the back door occasionally. They trade big, meaty dropkicks. Goelz used a leg-vine version of a full nelson that I know I have seen once before but it is escaping me where. Goelz proves he is a proto-Anderson or proto-Murdoch by going back to the arm. He does the over the shoulder arm-breaker, the dropdown with all your weight arm breaker, the arm stretcher, all the staples of 80s arm work is being done in 1950. Gagne does the classic reversal of the arm stretcher rolling right up into a headlock. It is GRAND FINALE time...they work a super hot one minute stretch going into the draw, Verne gets this tremendous shoulder tackle and loses control trying to follow it up I loved his missed dropkick. Then it is a Goelz Boston Crab, flip out into a jackknife flipped into a cradle as time expired. Wild. That would not look out of place in the 80s at all and would be heralded as a red hot finish stretch. The Hammerlock vs Headscissors work was sublime and fantastic. Goelz would have fit right in as an Anderson or as a tag partner for Dick Murdoch. He was excellent at torturing the arm. Gagne was the best underneath 50s babyface I have seen so far. Technical clinic. ****1/2

NWA World Heavyweight Champion Lou Thesz vs Ruffy Silverstein - Chicago 3/17/50 This match is just as good as I remember it. It is from Russ Davis' call that I started incorporating "crowding" and " rips" into my reviews. First Fall: Thesz was relatively dry and played it straight in the Anaya match. Not so here at all. Thesz really ratcheted up the heeling with constant crowding on the ropes and a deluge of cheapshots. Slaps, elbows, punches in the headlock, you name it and Thesz took advantage. Hell at one point, he damn near pushed Silverstein over the rope. I loved the crowding tactic. It stymies any momentum, breaks all rhythm, and presses Thesz advantage. Silverstein doggedly returns the favor with rip after rip of a headlock takedown. There was one fan vociferously exhorting Ruffy "To give it to him" and Ruffy obliged finally in the corner as he could take it down no longer and he let Thesz have it. Again, it would happen on the ropes with some forearm sledges across the bow. What bailed Thesz out was a sudden, impactful dropkick that resulted in a three count. Terrific babyface vs heel wrestling. Thesz was relentless in his cheapshots, in every hold he was using roughhouse tactics to break the momentum. It gave the match a real, tense edgy feel to it. Ruffy could not never get his rhythm, but Thesz could not maintain either. Very interesting. I liked the finish to the fall. Good climax. Second Fall: They start off just as chippy into the ropes. There is a palpable hate between the two at this point. Ruffy applies a full nelson, which according to Russ is his trademark. Thesz backs him into the ropes and does NOT give him a clean break; he whips around and punches him hard in the breadbasket. Silverstein leaves his head exposed on an errant takedown attempt and Thesz BLASTS him with a straight, exposed knee to the face. Damn! Another one! Not quite as stiff, but this match is brutal. Ruffy is able to recover enough to apply a rolling butterfly cradle to take the second fall. I love how heated this is. Third Fall: Tremendous third fall. Thesz comes off a massive ornery prick. He was outright taunting the referee with his blatant, aggressive cheating. Ruffy starts the fall piefacing Thesz and this shit is on. Thesz adds cupping the ear to his asshole tactics. Silverstein dumps him over the top rope. EUROPEAN UPPERCUT ROCKS THESZ! Excellent sell by Thesz really puts that move over and sells the danger of him losing. Ref orders Thesz to give a clean break he places his elbow on Ruffy's jaw and then smacks his own hand driving the elbow into the jaw. God love him! More cheapshots in the headlock knocks Silverstein out of the ring. KNEELIFT as Ruffy tries to return. This is merciless. Thesz chokes Ruffy by placing his forearm across his throat and a Thesz Press puts Ruffy out of his misery. Thesz gives an absolute masterclass on being a roughhouse heel. If he was in there with a red hot fiery babyface this could have been an all-timer, but this was still a terrific match. ****1/4

NWA World Heavyweight Champion Lou Thesz vs Cyclone Anaya - Chicago 3/31/50 Lets see if I still remember how to do one of these. Kinda lost my smile there for two months, but I had a hankering to watch some wrestling lets lean into that. First Fall: Gorgeous, delectable wrestling. Beautiful takedowns. If you love a good takedown, this match is for you. Side headlock takeovers, double wristlock takedowns, some nice armdags. Very 1950s in how it is organic, competitive and feels earns. Loved Thesz on a headscissors doing a modified short piledriver. That was early and popped me. Anaya stays right with Thesz, nice stump puller at one point and Anaya gets the bigger highspots. His bodyslam is put over huge by Thesz and the ref starts counting as if it were boxing. Anaya gets a rip roaring drag, but this time it gets Thesz's dander up and Thesz counters with a SPLENDID, FORCEFUL double leg takedown. They started trading side headlocks. Thesz wins the first fall with a Thesz Press. Very solid meat & potatoes pro wrestling. Not much in the way of panache or flash, but something you can really sink your teeth into. Second Fall: They stick with brought them to the dance lots of strong, competitive wrestling. Anaya gets the first advantage with a standing split leg toehold, Thesz sweeps the leg beautifully. During the break, Russ informs us that Cyclone does have a finish it is called the Cobra Twist and this turns out to be a Abdominal Stretch. Anaya goes for it, but they end up in the ropes. Thesz takes control, but Cyclone hits a sudden bodyslam with an immediate vertical press which was a nearfall I bit on. They trade some wicked snapmares, but in the flurry of confusion, Anaya strikes and applies the Cobra Twist for the second fall. Nothing stands out from a character/narrative perspective, but from a work perspective this is sublime. Third Fall: Terrific final fall that moves the match from very good to great territory comfortably. Anaya goes for the Cobra Twist immediately and they do a little doe-see-doe. Anaya uses some wristlocks, headscissors and headlocks to control. There is a superb moment in the headscissor where out of nowhere Thesz KICKS ANAYA IN THE MOUTH to break a headscissors. That had me audibly "Ooooooo". Stupendous moment when Thesz throws Anaya off and immediately pounces with a drop toehold rolled right up into a calf slicer. Exquisite. Cobra Twist again but they tumble out of the ring. Anaya beats the count at 17, presumably he had until 20. Anaya visibly limping. Thesz executes a series of double leg takedowns only for Anaya to Kangaroo kick from off, yes I will be stealing that from Russ Davis in the future. Wicked Thesz dropkick quashes that defense and executes the Single LEG Crab on the injured leg for the victory. Pro wrestling in its purest competitive form. ****

Ugh! Sorry I am a week late again in advertising...a combination of night shift, podcast recording, dating, friends and family kept me preoccupied last week. This is the shortest episode of Pro Wrestling Love clocking in a brisk, efficient 45 minutes but there is stilly plenty of charm with @JimmyRedman on the show. Dont skip this one, but I promise we more than make up for it next week...erm I mean this week...I mean next episode...yeah thats it. I will be back later this week to advertise, this week's episode and grand finale! https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-zgv7v-10626e3

A week late, but hopefully not a dollar short! Hot Vax Summer is in full effect and I was insanely busy last week and couldnt even find the time to hype Episode #3 with Stacey @Jimmy Redman as we go through our #15-#11 of the Best WWE Matches of 2010-2014 and a favorite time period for the both of us. Lots of Mark Henry Love from the both of us! A Smorgasbord of NXT Matches! I turn heel at the very end and with a pick so audacious that I was not sure if Stacey & my friendship was going to survive it! Click the link, download and enjoy! https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-2awnz-104ae4d

@Jimmy Redman & I are back in action! With another fun-loving, ebullient episode of Pro Wrestling Love covering #20-#16 of our Top 25 Pro Wrestling Love countdown. Stacey goes to town about Beth Phoenix vs Kelly Kelly and we get some bonus love for Nattie vs Alicia Fox. My contribution in what will become a running gag is I cant figure out how to say Pyrrhic Victory. It is always good time on Pro Wrestling Love! Click the link, download, listen and tell us what you think! https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-4uask-104ae49

I am so excited! I just cant hide it! I am about to lose control & I think I like it because I have my sista from another mista on with me for the next five shows, the one, the only @Jimmy Redman! I cannot possibly think of a better subject for me and Stacey to sink our teeth into then WWE 2010-2014! Stacey is a Superfan of this era and her Redman Report on the Top 100 WWE Matches of 2013 is the stuff of actual legend and has turned me on to so much great wrestling. https://www.cultofwhatever.com/2014/03/the-redman-report-top-100-wwe-matches-of-2013/ I always enjoy talking to Stacey and really glad we got to spend so much time together. This is part 1/5 and as anyone can expect between the two of us, we go long! I hope everyone has as much fun listening to this as we did recording it. https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-afxz4-10444e2

Thanks Frankensteiner for listening & enjoying it! I have not watched the match yet. I have a zillion things I want to do and watch, but I will put it on the list. It is Grand Finale time! What is the best WWF Match between 1988-1997? Guess what Pete & I agree! Not only that, we agree on what the second best and the third best matches are! 1-2-3 are set in stone those the top 3 definitive matches in WWF between 1988-1997. I think this is the most discussed era ever, but I think it was important thing to do. It is the one touchstone that almost all fans can discuss and have opinions on. I really had a fun time with @PeteF3 and thank you for coming on with me! Let us know what you think...what's your #1, what did we have too high, too low, what did we whiff on? https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-wgixy-1031b68

I know the longest stretch of road I think I have been down was about 2 miles of side road connecting Kilkenny to the highway. I ended up in the ditch at one point I was so worried about oncoming traffic demolishing me. Those high walls or high shrubs give you no play! Happy Belated Mother's Day! Is there really such a thing as a belated Mothers Day? After all, Mr. T says every day is Mother's Day! We are celebrating with @PeteF3's penultimate episode counting down the back half of our Top Ten of Best WWF matches between 1988-1997.We start getting into the canonical territory. I pulled up two curveballs in the beginning. Pete lays down a canon match that I dont have and we discuss that. A lot of famous matches that most everyone has watched so listen in to us weigh in on them! Click the link and enjoy! https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-u528f-102fd13

NWA World Heavyweight Champion Dory Funk Jr vs Antonio Inoki - JWA 12/2/69 Two Out of Three Falls Junior has his dad and a very blond, dare I say handsome, Harley Race with him. I really enjoyed Inoki vs Jack from 1971 and I am excited to see how these two pair. First Fall: Great Championship Style Wrestling, which I think is my favorite style. Not as good as Jack vs Inoki, but few matches are. Jack vs Inoki had amazing takedowns and scrambles with unparalleled intensity and organic nature. This match does not have next level takedowns, but features really good action. I LOVED the early shouldertackles by Inoki. Watch how Junior fed those. He would charge and meet Inoki very close to the ropes maximizing how good they looked and the impact. He looked overly aggressive and not like a fool taking a bump in the middle of the ring with a thumb up his ass. Inoki worked a lot of great arm drags and arm bars. Nice Inoki reaction to the leapfrog to go back and get that arm drag. I liked how Junior finally combatted the shoulder tackles, he waited a little longer and met Inoki when he was in stride and dropped down into a wicked drop toehold and rolled right up into the calf slicer. Excellent psychology, he took more time for himself, let Inoki come to him and then executed the counter. Fundamentals. Junior works the calf-slicer, toehold really well, but eventually loses control. Upon stand up, he takes Inoki down and is thinking STF, he has the toehold applied and but as he looks to apply the facelock, Inoki grabs wrist control and is able to maneuver into a hammerlock when Junior tries to the alleviate the pressure. Nice chaining there. Some great hammerlock work, the staples, wrenching, trying to snapmare out, but Inoki maintains control, crotch hold, but Inoki maintains control, shit like that I just love. Junior finds most success with one of my favorite moves the drop toehold. He uses that twice to escape the hammerlock. Great moment when Senior is getting in Inoki's face about Junior scoring the Drop Toehold and the ref stomps at Senior's hand. There is a 30 second clip to a stand up after a bundle of leg locks happens, I applaud this editorial decision. :p They work an awesome test of strength sequence. Some great bridges by Inoki to avoid pinfalls and loved the body scissors counters. There is a great sequence where Junior gets the monkey flip out of the knucklelock after Inoki failed but then Inoki turns that into a body scissors. I love how a big deal is made out of Junior clenching his fist as he was struggling to escape the body scissor. He uses a double axehandle to break and turns it into a deep toehold. Inoki makes the ropes, but Junior drives the knee into the back of the thigh in an unclean break. I like that Junior is ratcheting up the heel behavior. A very strong first twenty minutes. We get a 30 second clip here. We come back to the hottest part of the match. Junior begins manipulating the fingers and the crowd goes apeshit. Throwing food and garbage into the ring as Inoki sells it for all its worth. Junior presents Inoki's hand for Harley to punch this really whips the crowd into a frenzy. Junior slams the head into the steel turnbuckle. All the while, Inoki is desperately trying to fight out with the great dramatic elbows to the head. He eventually breaks free and clamps on a headlock. They do my favorite headlock spot as Junior gets over the top rope onto the apron but Inoki yanks him back in. Some more good headlock tenacity spots until Junior nails a wicked back suplex. He stomps the bad hand, slams into hard, steel objects and works a good hammerlock. Inoki is able to stand up and reset the match. He finally goes for the abdominal stretch but they get tied up in the ropes. Junior tries for the Boston Crab, but Inoki uses his leg strength to send him flying. You have got to see the heat on Inoki's Boston Crab. The crowd was going wild. This being a 2/3 falls match I thought for sure this would be a finish. Junior scurried through the 5-hole and almost got a quick pin out of it. Inoki moved to another Sleeze favorite the short arm scissors. They end up in the ropes. Junior tries playing King of the Mountain. This time is just slamming Inoki's head into the steel. Inoki eventually breaks through his defense with a lunging shoulder tackle from the apron. A couple Irish Whips hard into the buckles and a pair of bodyslams. Inoki was rocking. Third Irish Whip, Senior does the ol Funk staple of laying out on the top rope to cushion the blow for his son. Here come the flying rotten tomatoes! 1960s Japanese crowds rule! Junior takes him down into a reverse chinlock. Lots of hair pulling and top wristlock tests of strength before Inoki wins the day with a top wristlock. I am continuing to love this. I think they had some really hot sequences especially the finger manipulation, Boston Crab and his Dad's interference. I still think the Jack match is better, but this is in my top handful of 1960s Japanese matches, 40 minutes in. Really strong stuff. Harley distracts the ref and Junior uses hair to get control of his own hammerlock. They go into the bomb throwing portion on an excellent criss cross. We see Junior eat an Inoki shouldertackle because he met Inoki too close to the ropes. On the next one, he lets Inoki come to him and BANG! Amazing jumping knee to the skull. That popped me. Great nearfall. They strung together some doozies. Junior got is mouth busted open hardway I believe on one of those criss cross noggin knocker spots. Inoki got a wicked hot backslide. Junior had hot nearfalls with the Butterfly Suplex and the Bombs Away Kneedrop. Inoki had a bodyslam and really hot nearfall on an Airplane Spin that worked me up into a lather. They did some great outside the ring brawling. At one point, Inoki ripped a phone off the hook and tried to nail Junior with it, but the ref intervened and Junior got a hold of it and nailed him with it. Sheer madness. Best spot of the entire match...Inoki floats over, down the back seamlessly into an ABDOMINAL STRETCH~! MARK OUT CITY! Crowd went nuts! Junior bucked him over the top rope. Inoki gets one more abdominal stretch on an whip into the ropes but Junior is saved by the bell. Sixty minute broadway with no falls but entertaining throughout. I think there is some editing I would do rearrange some of the spots but thats just picking nits this was a blast. The first twenty minutes is excellent grappling. The middle twenty minutes is really hot babyface/heel work that still maintains the sporting nature. I liked the bombing throwing finish stretch although I did think they ran out of things to do towards the end and they were just waiting for time to expire at points. The Japanese crowd was wild, throwing fruit and garbage when the heels cheated and popping like mad for all the Inoki nearfalls. This is an excellent Broadway. ****1/2

Between a post-vaccination vacation to Miami and a slew of night shifts, I have not gotten a chance to watch much wrestling, but looking to change that and picking up where I left off. NWA International Champion Giant Baba vs Fritz Von Erich - Olympic Auditorium 12/19/69 Two out of Three Falls This is too chopped up to rate, but it also too cool to pass up. Seeing LA footage from its heyday and seeing Baba work America is worth it. There is a one old lady who is a big Baba fan and she is always shouting "Get him back in the ring, Baba!" when Baba wins by DQ at the end, the crowd pops. Nice to see Baba over as a babyface! First Fall: Dont get much, Fritz is worse for wear on the apron. This was a staple of Fritz cowering heel strategy was too be on his back in the apron or in the ropes. He lures Baba to the outside and slams him into hard objects. Then he wins with a series of dropkicks. Nice Cowboy Kick after the fall. Second Fall: Baba beats the shit out of him with chops that Fritz sells well. You can see the difference between America and Japan here. In Japan, Fritz is much more aggressive because the Japanese has a natural inclination to dislike him. Here Fritz is more cowardly to ensure the American crowd does not root for him. I like this psychology. Fritz is near the bottom rope and the ref keeps breaking Baba. Eventually, Fritz takes advantage and single leg picks Baba and applies the Stomach Claw. Baba sells this incredibly well as that is Baba's strength above all else is his selling. They play a little King of the Mountain, but Baba chops his way back in. They do two ugly criss cross spots where I think Baba was wanted the Neckbreaker Drop but does not really get it, but thats the fall. Tied 1-1. Third Fall: We dont get much. Baba hits the Giant Chop for two. Goes for it again and this time Fritz evades and applies the IRON CLAW~! Baba starts bleeding from the headcrusher. Baba was in the ropes; Fritz pulls him back into the center, but will not break so the ref disqualifies Fritz. The crowd pops which is nice. I thought it was kinda lame, but 1969 was a simpler time. Good look at Baba in America and to see the differences between America and Japan.