kevinmcfl

EPISODE #22 JANUARY 14, 1989 Jerry Jarrett Gets Confronted Hot Stuff Eddie Gilbert and Missy Hyatt showed no respect for the new WCW President, Jerry Jarrett when they interrupted his interview where he was hyping up both Clash of Champions: St. Valentine’s Day Massacre and Miami Mayhem. Eddie Gilbert let everyone know that at one time in his career, he worked for the small Memphis promotion that Jarrett ran and let him clearly know that WCW is the big time and if he tries any of the nonsense that he did in Memphis, he will run WCW into the ground just like he did in Memphis. When Jarrett asked What he meant by that, Missy sauntered her way into the interview and let him know that Eddie and Missy where the face of WCW and that he shouldn’t waste any of their time with matches against any of the small time wrestlers he had in Memphis. Jarrett kind of chuckled and said that was exactly his plan. He went on to say that in Memphis, he was lucky to have wrestlers who might not have been big time but they gave it their all and that he thought it would be great for them to get a shot at the WCW World Television Title. When Eddie interrupted, Jarrett clearly put him in his place and told him to wait until he was finished as he was about to announce some of the small time wrestlers he had in Memphis. He went on to announce both the Rock n Roll Express and the Armstrongs! Gilbert tried to interrupt but Jarrett was now on a role and announced that next week, Eddie Gilbert will have a rematch from Wrestlecade and his title will be on the line against one time, small time-promotion member, Ricky Morton and that match will be right here on WTBS! Eddie and Missy tried to interrupt but Jarrett simply walked away. Certain Angles Continue - Sting and Lex Luger had singles matches against low level performers and both called out the Horseman in their post-match interview. Luger, was happy to be the U.S. Champion but he and Sting both put Ric Flair on notice. They also said they were angry with themselves for trusting Tully Blanchard and that if he and Arn had any interest in getting in the ring with them, they would put him in their place. Tully and Arn also had their first tag team match together in quite some time as they easily defeated the Young Guns (Sam Houston and Kendall Windham) in this weeks main event. Flair joined Tully and Arn in their post-match interview where Flair said that he and Tully had a long talk before Wrestlecade and that they both know that they are better together then against each other. They also said that sometimes families fight but nobody fights the family and if Luger and Sting want to continue this silly game of chasing the best, they are going to run into a brick wall. Woman did say that the group had made a mistake with Dan Spivey and that they are still looking for the 4th Horsemen but they will make sure to make the Perfect decision this time. When this promo was done both Tony Schiavone and Jim Ross noted that Lex and Sting better be careful as it seems to be 3-2 right now. -Don Muraco easily won his match against Allen Martin with the Hawaiin Hammer. During the match, Roddy Piper was part of the announce team and he made no bones about his low blow and brass knuckles shot to Muraco during Wrestlecade. He reminded everyone that it was Muraco who had shoved him a few weeks ago and that Piper just shoves a little harder. Piper let everyone know that if you mess with the bull, sometimes you get the horns and that is exactly what Muraco got. Piper left the interview area before Muraco came over for his match which Muraco pointed out was just another cowardly act by Piper just like what he did at Wrestlecade. While there is no set date for these two to get back in the ring together, you can be sure that it is coming. -Sir Oliver Humperdink and Lord Humongous continue their reign of terror on WCW. Humongous got another 30 second win with the powerbomb as he destroyed Kieth Steiborn. Humperdink announced that it was obvious that WCW was doing its best to prevent the inevitable as they keep giving Humongous these easy matches. Humperdink quickly rephrased his last sentence as he let everyone know that whoever Humongous faced, it would be an easy win for him. He also let everyone know that Mayhem will be his coming out party as now there is no way to stop Lord Humongous from getting a WCW World Title shot. New Angles -Jeff Jarrett defeated Larry Cheatum by submission with the Figure 4 in his first WCW match. He was very humble in his first post-match interview with Jim Ross as he was just happy to be here in WCW and to test his skills against the best of the best. This is when “The Hustler” Rip Rogers and Terri Powers walked in. Jim Ross asked what they were doing a this was not their time. Rogers quickly reminded Jim Ross that they do want they want in WCW and right now, they wanted to know what Jarrett was doing here in WCW. Rogers reminded everyone that he was “the hustler” but it seems that Jerry Jarrett was trying to hustle everyone here in WCW by saying that his snot-nosed kid belonged in the big time! Rogers continued by saying that he didn’t even think he could beat Terri as she was clearly stronger than he was. Terri gave an impressive double bicep pose which Jeff nodded in approval. Jeff simply said that he would be grateful for a match against Rip to try and test his approval. Rip took this as an insult as he thought he was far too good to get in the ring with such a low-level performer. As Jeff turned to the crowd to get some approval for a possible match between the Hustler and himself…. WHAM… Rogers nailed him from behind and then he and Terri walked off. Jeff struggled to his feet and seemed to get serious quickly… “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice shame on me. Rogers… I’m ready anytime you want to step foot in the ring. -It seems the Anti-American angle is underway as the most obnoxious man ever to step foot in WCW has arrived. Col. Debeers gave an instant heat-building promo with Jim Ross. Debeers: (He came to the set wearing green camouflage pants, a black beret with the South African flag on it, an angry looking handlebar mustaches and and carrying a walking stick which he held with some strange pinky grip): Today, is about respect. Respect for the greatest wrestler you Americans have ever seen. Respect for South Africa. A country that completely understands the proper order of how people in society fit. We don’t give in to terrorist like Nelson Mandela … while you people almost elected someone like Reverend Jesse Jackson for president. I am here to put the wrestling world in proper order. You will learn that Col. Debeers and others are sick and tired of what America stands for. Your disgusting thoughts that all people are equal is nonsense. There is no one equal to me, especially not the filth you have running around here getting everything they don’t deserve. When Debeers marched off, Jim Ross made it clear that the views of Col. Debeers are not the views of WCW and the WTBS broadcasting system. -The tag team division seems to be heating up as The Fabulous Freebirds (Hayes & Garvin), the Grapplers, The Samoan Swat Team, Terry Funk & Dick Murdoch and Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard all had wins today. Who will get the title shots is still to be sorted out. One thing for certain is that Dr. Death was still a little gimpy and was seen hobbling. What this means for the WCW World Tag Team champions is still to be determined. -Two babyface newcomers, Shane Douglas and Jim Powers both got nice wins in singles competition this week and got over with the crowd pretty well. Again, time will tell if they catch on. - Others getting wins in this big 12 match tv show included Hacksaw Butch Reed who seemed none to pleased with the nonsense coming from Col. DeBeers, Sam Houston who gave the ladies in the crowd something to look at and Medusa Micelli who returned the favor for the men in the crowd. Big News Coming from the WCW Power Plant - It seems like Jerry Jarrett is bringing in NWA legend, Mr. Wrestling II to be the head trainer in the Power Plant. Jarrett said that he was looking for someone who could not only teach what goes on inside of the ring but also be able to help the young stars work on their microphone skills. Those is the business say that Mr. Wrestling II and his nearly 5000 in-ring matches and 30+ years in the business should be great in this role. Others also noted his ability to be such a great heel and babyface will allow him to get the most out of each wrestler at the Power Plant. What to Expect Next Week in WCW - The Main Event: WCW World Television Title Match Between Eddie Gilbert and Ricky Morton - Information Jake “The Snake” Roberts coming to WCW -Some clarity on the tag team situation, especially with a focus on the World Champs, Ted Dibiase and Dr. Death in regards to the health of Dr. Death’s knee. -Some developments for Clash of Champions: St. Valentines Day Massacre

Really sorry to have fallen behind. Life is crazy for the next two months. Love all the hard work leading up to Superclash and it did not disappoint one bit! Nice win for the Gunslingers. I must admit that I thought a title change was coming here but looking forward to seeing what is next for the champs. Nice added match with Grizzly and Kaz! I think this was a good way to bring in Grizz as it gives him some instant credibility. Interested to see what you do with him. Just like in the second match, I think this was an instant way to get Vader into the mix. He could be big time by now. I really enjoyed Black Bart vs Iceman. This was so well done and just as I pictured these two going at in back in Texas in the early 80's. I love Iceman as a bigtime midcard fan favorite. Good booking again with Sarge. If you want him to be big time, he needed a push. Not sure I would have watched much of the DJ-Adias match as I might have been focused on Raquel! Nice use of the big card to introduce some of the newcomers!! My favorite match of the night was Kerry vs Gordy!! Man I miss those old events from the Sportatorium! I guess I keep rooting for my favorites as a youth... enjoyed Keirn and Mr. Olympia Blackwell and Kokina is a nice addition to the card as it is just so different from everything else. Hope the ring was re-enforced. I must admit that I was surprised with Buzz Sawyer getting the win over Colon and this is only because for the last few years I have watched Colon do the unthinkable against the nastiest people in the sport. Hope to see him back again. I thin we have discussed this before... how in real life, we were never that excited about Larry Z but having him on my roster and following him here in the AWA, I admit I enjoy him here in Dawn of War. That being said, this was one of the matches I was really interested in and truly enjoyed. Looking forward to Orndorff with the belt and seeing what is next for the Living Legend. If you have the Guerreros and the Fantastics wrestle 10 times, I bet it is 5-5. Instant classic. Great job. Talk about instant classic, the main event did not disappoint. I love Jumbo as the new champ, especially with all the talk you have been doing as far as the AWA going international. Just a question for you. I have had Nikita a few times and while I was always excited to have him, I quickly got tired of him. I think it was because I had trouble coming up with different things for him. Did you feel the same? Awesome show!!! I will catch up with the rest of what I missed in the AWA before the weekend is over. Take care buddy!

Great opening to the show with what went down in Memphis! Jerry Jarrett has no comment right now. Hickerson is an interesting choice. I wonder if he will solve or create the problems. Love the chaos of the tag titles! I think having the women at the top of the talent helps to keep everyone interested in a promotion like this.

Great work getting your new roster all in order. I really love when the local fan favorite turns heel. It just gets everyone so angry. Billy Jack in Portland fit this and this could be a real money maker!

Royal Rumble looking good! Looking forward to Dusty Rhodes in the WWF! Looking forward to seeing what Tommy Rich does here.

Really thought this was a great week for the NWA. The quality of matches on TV was awesome... Valiant vs Koloff, Steven Wright vs Adrian Street, John Studd coming to help Baby Doll and then Wahoo finding some awesome tag partners to face Paul Jone's Army. I hope Superfly will leap soon! He is a great addition. Loved it all!!

Welcome back to the game! I agree with Spaldoni. Neidhart could be huge here. Also like all the different talents being used.

Day 1 was a great event. I enjoyed the videos you added. I wish I used Jimmy Valiant in the one he was in the video. He cool vibe got over with the fans! Badd Company and Baby Doll will make for a fun watch every week. The Perfect 10 always adds some excitement. Buddy Landel might not be the Nature Boy some were expecting but he is a star and should make the Horsemen a great stable!

Sorry, I fell a bit behind again. I enjoyed how your SNME followed your dirt sheets. Very good. I must admit that I am really excited about the WWF with Hogan. It kid of frees you up to make it what you like. Excited for the Royal Rumble. It is my favorite event. One I had to steal with WCW with Mayhem.

Ok, so who is this masked man causing all the chaos in PCW?

EPISODE #21 JANUARY 6, 1989 PREVIEW SHOW FOR THE NEW YEAR Jerry Jarrett: With Jim Herd on the verge of having the wrestlers walk out due to his lack of wrestling knowledge, WCW has brought in Jerry Jarrett to be the new President of the company. Jarrett is most known for the way he creatively made Memphis Wrestling into one of the top promotions in the country. On his first TV appearance, he made sure fans understood that he would do anything to make sure they got a quality program every week. He also announced that WCW had two major events coming up in February. First, on February 15th in St. Louis, Missouri it would be Clash of Champions III: St. Valentine’s Day Massacre which would air right here on WTBS. Then on February 27, WCW will have its first Pay-Per-View event of the year titled Miami Mayhem and take place at the Miami Arena. Jarrett went on to explain that Mayhem will be a unique event where not only will the WCW World Title and the WCW World Tag Team Title be defended, but there will also be The Mayhem Match which will be based on the classic Battle Royal in which a 25 wrestlers aim at eliminating their competitors by tossing them over the top rope, with both feet touching the floor. The difference in the Mayhem Match is that the contestants do not enter the ring at the same time, but instead are assigned entry numbers, via a lottery. The match begins with the two wrestlers who have drawn entry numbers one and two, with the remaining wrestlers entering the ring at two minutes intervals according to their entry number. The winner of Mayhem will receive a WCW World Title match at WrestleWar 89 to take place on April 17th in the Midsouth Coliseum. While nobody is sure if Mayhem will be a success, word is that the wrestlers like the idea that the gimmick has to do with the match and not them changing their character like it was under Jim Herd. WCW officials also liked that Jerry Jarrett was able to use his Memphis connections to secure the Midsouth Coliseum, one of the iconic wrestling venues in the country. LET’S TAKE A LOOK AT THE ROSTER CHANGES FOR 1989. Those on the way out: -“The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes- Due to a difference of opinion with Jim Herd, Dusty and WCW have decided to part ways. This is the most difficult of all the moves and maybe one day under Jerry Jarrett, Dusty can return home. - Dan Spivey- Spivey seemed on the verge of stardom in WCW as he was recently added to the Horsemen stable. Nobody knows exactly what went wrong here but the angle soon changed to where he became a selfish member of the group and was quickly kicked out. WCW seemed content to not renew his contract and have parted ways. -The Latin Connection (Mando Guerrero & Ricky Santana)- Again, nobody knows what went wrong with this gimmick but just before Jim Herd was let go, he released the tag team. This occurred just days after they lost their United States tag team to the Freebirds. Some say that Jim Herd just wasn’t creative enough to come up with something else for the duo after the title loss. Whatever the reason, Herd should have seen that the Latin Connection’s chemistry on the mic with Roddy Piper was very entertaining. One thing of note here is that Dr. Diobolico, the Latin Connection’s “bodyguard” is still under contract to WCW. -The Nation (Snowman & Ray Candy)- This one was done under Jerry Jarrett. Jarrett and Snowman have some history working together and the word on the street is that Snowman is not a team player and that the anti-establishment character he plays in wrestling might just actually be his true personality outside of the ring also. While Jarrett is a leader the wrestlers respect, he needs that respect from the wrestlers to move WCW in the right direction. If Snowman couldn’t do this, he had to go. Ray Candy just seems to be a casualty of Snowman’s reputation. Again, an interesting note was that Curtis Hughes was not released. Maybe this was due to him being a brand new member of the Nation and Jarrett may feel that he can rebrand his identity. Time will tell. -Jimmy Valiant- “The Boogie Woogie Man” also left WCW angry by the direction Jim Herd was taking his character. Valiant said that he was starting to look like a dirty old man instead of a cool free-loving hippie. Valiant is said the return to where he is respected… the NWA. -Sweet Brown Sugar- This was a move by Jerry Jarrett that was out of respect to Sweet Brown Sugar. Jarrett really likes SBS and realized that he was not much more than a jobber in WCW. Jarrett knew that Sugar’s talent would be seen by other promoters and that he would catch on with another smaller promotion and hopefully play a bigger role. -Other minor releases- Mike Shaw, Cannoball Grizzly and Big Money Marcus Those on the way In: WCW Power Plant- One of the first things that Jerry Jarrett did was to open a wrestlers training facility for those just starting out in the business. This training facility is located in Atlanta and many former wrestlers have been hired to help future wrestlers learn the skills of the trade both inside and outside the ring. There seems to be some very talented future “stars” already enrolled in the school. One is a 6’3, 350 pound powerhouse by the name of Scott Norton. Another is Anthony Norris, a 6-2, 300 pound black man who is trying to find his way in the world after being discharged from the army for striking his captain. The Hoffman brothers are another two who have received early praise at the power plant. As with all potential stars in any sport, potential is the key word and only time will tell. -Jake “The Snake” Roberts- Easily the biggest the name to join WCW so far in 1989. What his role will be has been kept very quiet but with his in-ring abilities and talent on the mic, it won’t be long before Roberts is the middle of something in WCW. -Jeff Jarrett- Jeff has decided to follow his Dad, and make the jump from a smaller promotion to the big time. There is no denying his talent both in the ring and on the microphone. Everyone fully expects Jeff to be a star one day with or without his father and many say that 1989 will be his breakout year. -The Iron Sheik and The Cuban Assassin- It is obvious that Jarrett is taking a small chance by brining in these two as they are both passed their prime but one thing Jarrett knows is that the anti-American character still sells in wrestling; especially in the Southern states. If one or both of these can work out, it could help propel a babyface up the ranks or lead to a bigger angle. -Col. Debeers- Again, Jarrett is taking a chance as the Col. Debeers character is extreme. Maybe he is going to see what happens with the Iron Sheik and the Cuban Assassin first before bringing in DeBeers or maybe he will join all three together. Only time will tell but things are going to heat up in WCW. -“Hollywood” John Tatum- Tatum was rehired by WCW. The reason is that Jarrett feels that Tatum could be a great mid-card heel as he is great on the mic and is a genius at antagonizing the fans once he steps foot in the ring. There is a small problem here as he is said to have had some sort of relationship with Missy Hyatt. While it was kept behind the scenes, this did upset Eddie Gilbert and might have been the reason he left WCW to begin with. -Jack Victory- Victory left with Tatum as Jim Herd kind of quickly put an end to Hot Stuff Inc. and left Eddie and Missy to work solely by themselves. It is interesting to see him return to WCW at the same time as Tatum. It is also possible that Victory puts his red mask back on as the Russian Assassin and joins those already mentioned in a larger Anti-American stable. Again, time will tell. -Jim Powers- While Powers is not a huge star, he does have the looks to make him a midcard babyface which is something missing from the WCW roster. ANGLES -WCW World Title- Champion Ric Flair While Flair is the champion, there is no shortage of challengers to the title. At the top of that list has to be Lex Luger. With his recent win to become United States Champion and his strong hatred for everything Horsemen, he has to be considered a major threat to Flair. The same can be said for Luger’s good friend Sting. It took a bit of chaos and shenanigans just to keep Sting from leaving Wrestlecade with the title. Sting has to be in line for another title shot and this time, who is to say that he wouldn’t leave with the title. And just look at some of the other names that would love a shot at Flair and the 10-pounds of gold. There is Roddy Piper, Terry Funk, Tony Atlas and Hacksaw Butch Reed. Nobody would be shocked if any of these 4 men walked into a match with Ric Flair and walked out the champion. Needless to say, 1989 is going to be a tough year for Ric Flair. -Tag Team Picture- World Champions: Ted Dibiase & Dr. Death, U.S Tag Champions: Freebirds Going into 1989, one of the major goals of Jerry Jarrett is to increase the depth in the tag team picture. While the amount of quality teams might not be there, the firepower at the top most certainly is. With the Samoan Swat Team nearly capturing the world titles from Dibiase and Dr. Death at Wrestlecade, they still must be considered the #1 contenders for the big title. Now with Dr. Death seemingly a little hobbled after the match, one might even say that the Samoans might be favored in a rematch against the champs. Now with the Latin Connection gone from WCW, who are the other tag teams that could make a push in 1989. First, you must look at the Freebirds who might want to step up from their U.S. titles to the world title. After watching Michael Hayes and Jimmy Garvin dismantle the Latin Connection at Wrestlecade, and knowing their history, the Freebirds might just enter 1989 as the United States Champions and leave 1989 as the World Champions. Terry Funk and Dick Murdoch might be on the verge of joining forces and if they do nobody is safe. With Murdoch helping Funk at Wrestlecade and both at the latter stages of the career, a tag team might just make the most sense. Also, WCW just added the Grapplers to its roster, and they have been dismantling any team put in the ring with them. They have the power to deal with Dibiase and Dr. Death and they also have the treachery to match the chaos of the Freebirds. Now we get to the big names of possible additions to the tag team picture. Tully Blanchard and Arn Anderson looked to be on the same page at Wrestlecade and if these two decide to get back in the tag game, they will quickly move to the top as they are one of the best duos ever to be in the ring together. The exact same thing can be said for the Rock n Roll Express. While Jim Herd had the “brilliant” idea to have Robert Gibson sit on the shelf with an imaginary injury, you can fully expect Jarrett to put the tag team back together very soon. Jarrett comes from a promotion that loves its babyface tag teams and you can fully expect the Express to WOW the fans in the very near future. Add Tully and Arn and the Rock n Roll Express and a bleak tag team picture looks much better. Throw in fact that you still have the Lightening Express and possible any two from that Anti-American coalition that seems to be coming into WCW and the tag team picture is beginning to look brighter and brighter. The dark horse in all of this might be what Jarrett decides to do with Hacksaw Butch Reed. Reed and Ron Simmons looked very good together against the Nation at Wrestlecade. Some say that if Reed and Simmons work together full time, by the end of 1989 they could spell DOOM for the rest of the tag division. -The United States Title- Champion: Lex Luger So, who could rise up and take the U.S. Title from Luger in 1989? While that seems like a hard task, most think Luger will have to lose the title before completely turning his focus to the World Title. When you look at who has the in-ring ability and strength to deal with Luger, your choices are somewhat limited right now but wrestling is a strange sport with things constantly changing. While still relatively new, you must think Oliver Humperdink’s monster, Lord Humongous, could match Luger muscle for muscle and power move for power move. Also, you never know but on any given night, Terry Funk, Dick Murdoch or Don Muraco could come out on top and leave with the U.S. Title. Also, imagine the heat that could come from a Col. Debeers or Iron Sheik taking the title from Lex Luger! …. And if we dare to dream, what if Dibiase and Dr. Death lose the World Tag Team Title. Lex Luger vs Dr. Death seems like a title match like no other. WOW -The WCW World Television Title: Eddie Gilbert What a man would do for a woman…. And what a woman Missy Hyatt is. I mean in the last year, Eddie Gilbert has basically tried to hang Dr. Tom Prichard and then tool care of Michael Hayes. He has sent the Z-Man Tom Zenk from WCW and has left the ring with his title after a war with Ricky Morton. What is next for the champion? Being the TV champ, it is not always about a feud but you must be ready to defend that title against someone new each and every week. With Jerry Jarrett coming in, it would not be a shock to anyone if he used that title to revise some Memphis angles of days gone by. Eddie Gilbert vs an Armstrong (Brad) seems like an awesome match. Thrown in a possible spoiled kid bout where Eddie ridicules Jeff Jarrett as only being in WCW because of his Daddy. With Eddie and Missy together, enjoy the wild ride. -Roddy Piper vs Don Muraco It looks from the finish at Wrestlecade that this one has some meat left on the bones. It will be interesting to see what is next here. -Jake “The Snake” Roberts- While nobody knows where Snake fits in WCW in 1989, everyone is expecting something big. Stay tune as 1989 is sure to be a barnburner. One thing for sure is that whatever the landscape of WCW was in 1988, it is sure to be bigger and better in 1989. Stay tune and enjoy the wild ride.

WCW announced on Friday that Executive Vice-President Jim Herd has been released. WCW officials announced that due to creative differences, Jim Herd will continue to work for WTBS but will no longer be involved in the popular wrestling program. One angle created by Jim Herd was that upset many people is the “injury” to Robert Gibson. This basically broke up the Rock n Roll Express, one of the most popular tag teams ever to step inside the ring. While Morton has thrived in his attempt to capture the WCW World Television title, it has left Gibson out of the territory weeks after signing a very lucrative contract. Many officials want Herd to explain how Gibson sitting on the shelf can give any return on their investment. Herd did not seem to have an answer. Next, WCW has seen a bit of a mass exodus of wrestling stars in the past month. This includes Stan Hansen, Jimmy Valiant, Armondo Guererro along with one of the biggest stars in the industry, “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes. Stan Hansen jumped ship when Herd demanded that he take part in a comedic angle where he would be the leader of the Desperados. If you know anything about Stan Hansen, you know that he would not be a part of any comedic angle. Jimmy Valiant was frustrated as he was being portrayed as some dirty old man instead of the fun-loving hippie that he has been for much of the last decade. The one that really broke the camel’s back was Dusty Rhodes. Jim Herd wanted Dusty to go down in defeat to Terry Funk and then return the next week ditching his blue-collar persona and come out in a polka dot dress. Even after Dusty left, Jim Herd did not seem to smarten up. After Wrestlecade, he was said to have gone to the WCW World Heavyweight Champion, Ric Flai, and told him that he was going to lose his “Nature Boy” gimmick and start to come to the ring as a Roman gladiator. Flair called a wrestlers-only meeting where they agreed that it was either Jim Herd or them. Thus… Herd was relieved of his wrestling dutues. In 1989, WCW will turn to promoter Jerry Jarrett. The reasons why are numerous. One person said that the difference between Jim Herd and Jerry Jarrett is like night and day. Herd knew nothing of the wrestling business while Jarrett has spent his entire life in and around wrestling. He has been a wrestler. He has been a promoter. He has done everything in the business. He turned Memphis into one of the best promotions in the country with very believable yet creative storylines all with a relatively small budget. While it has only been a few days since he has joined WCW, many popular wrestlers have inquired about joining WCW. One was actually quoted as saying, “Jerry Jarrett has the best track record in the business. He just loves everything about the wrestling business. He loves the studio, the arenas, the fans… He lives for professional wrestling. This quote is by the one and only Jake “The Snake” Roberts who will be returning to WCW for 1989. Who else will Jerry Jarrett bring in to replace the wrestlers who have left? Tune in to WTBS each and every weekend to find out.

WCW, in a move that was created by a typo and a note from Lowblow, well add Jerry Jarrett. If anyone in the future joins and wishes to run the Memphis Territory, I will send him back if they want him

WCW adds Iron Sheik

WCW also releases Sweet Brown Sugar, Mike Shaw, Big Money Marcus, Ricky Santana, Ray Candy, Snowman and Mando Guerrero

WCW adds Nikolai Volkoff

The loans do count against your roster. I moved Ivan Koloff to the NWA. I have you currently at 62 and NWA currently at 64. Everyone please check your rosters as I have made numerous errors.

I honestly thought the Renestos would never get the titles! Looking forward to seeing what is next!

WCW adds Mike Shaw and Fidel Sierra

HEMISFAIR ARENA SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS DECEMEBER 26,1988 ******** A note to the readers: In all my years in this hobby this was truly the hardest event for me to write. The reason is simple. I have no idea what direction I am heading in for 1989. I was torn on who I was going to put over in 5 of my matches and this might have led to some poorly booked matches. Hopefully, with a little planning time I can take some time and get WCW in order! 6-MAN TAG TEAM MATCH Hacksaw Reed, Tony Atlas & Ron Simmons defeats Snowman, Kareem Muhammed & Brother Hughes when Hacksaw Butch Reed followed up his military press slam on Snowman with a nasty football tackle. The match saw everyone get a little shine with Brother Hughes being the most successful member of the losing team. The end saw Atlas battling Muhammed and Simmons brawling with Hughes which left Snowman and Reed going head-to-head. This is where this angle began way back in April in Ernie Ladd’s Mid-South Wrestling Revolution. Snowman did everything he could do to make sure Reed never got a title shot because he thought Reed was bowing down to authority. It was only fitting that these two would be the two battling at the end in this rather clean, all-out brawling finish. After the match, the fan favorites celebrated with a little fun-natured flex off! WCW WORLD TELEVISION TITLE MATCH Eddie Gilbert © with Missy Hyatt vs Ricky Morton Possibly the match of the night. From Eddie’s arrogance to Morton’s energy to Missy’s dress, nobody took their eyes off the ring even for a second during the entire match. This was easily the fastest-paced match of the night and the bumping and selling by each man made each move seem like it could be the last. With less than a minute left, the end seemed to come when Ricky connected with a top rope missile drop kick, but Missy was able to drape Gilbert’s leg over the bottom rope. This led to a very unsatisfying time-limit draw. Morton was fuming at Missy Hyatt and went out after her but Eddie had recovered enough and when Morton turned the corner he was nailed by Hot Stuff. Gilbert and Missy took the tv title and headed to the back. U.S. TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH The Latin Connection (Guerrero & Santana) with Dr. Diobolico vs The Freebirds (Hayes & Garvin) The Latin Connection had succeeded in WCW by completely ignoring the rule book. From hair cream to low blows, Mando and Ricky have blazed a path of cheating. The problem here is that whatever dirty trick they tried, Michael had done it years ago. With the Freebirds one step ahead of the Latin Connection, Mando and Ricky’s title reign depended on Dr. Diobolico. The problem here was that Michael had snuck up behind him at one point and rubbed his own hair cream in his eyes resulting in Diobolico being taken to the back by the medics. This ledto a wild finish with all four men in the ring where Jimmy and Michael hit a double running bulldog and Michael pinned Mando to win the titles. GRUDGE MATCH “Hot Rod” Roddy Piper vs “The Magnificent One” Don Muraco This match seemed to come out of nowhere. Piper has been Muraco’s only real supporter since he arrived in WCW. The Magnificent One’s arrogance has rubbed everyone the wrong way but Piper told everyone that he could back up what he said. For Piper, that all changed when Muraco went too far and shoved both Jim Ross and Tony Schiavone last week. When Piper tried to step in and control Muraco, he got a shot from the Hawaiian Hammer. Piper was fuming and asked for this match at Wrestlecade. Muraco was the first to the ring and he seemed to relish in the chorus of boos. He loves the attention and just smirks at the crows and waves his arms in the air asking for more negative attention. The boos instantly turned to cheers as the bagpipes begin to blare. Piper, in his traditional white tee shirt and plaid skirt was squeezing the bags and playing the pipes. When Piper entered the ring both he and Muraco went face to face in a huge stare down! Ref Pee Wee Anderson simply calls for the bell! WHAM… Low Blow by Piper and Muraco drops to his knees! WHAM … Piper, without even trying to hide it, pulls a pair of brass knuckles from his trunks and nails Muraco in the head. Muraco is out! Pee Wee Anderson instantly calls for the bell and the DQ of Piper. Piper, who could care less of the win, simply tosses the brass knuckles in the air and walks out leaving a “rocked” Muraco laying in the center of the ring. WCW WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH Ted Dibiase & Dr. Death Steve Williams © vs The Samoan Swat Team with Gary Hart Not much to say here. We all know this is going to be survival of the fittest. The Samoans will hit a lot of big chops, savat kicks and nerve holds while adding in a few face pulls, punches and even one or two Samoan Drops. Dr. Death, while very technically savvy in his ground game is going to focus on big power moves with different types of suplexes and body slams. Dibiase, the one with the ability to slow this match down will add in a few arm bars and headlocks while working on the huge legs of Samu and Fatu as he tries to soften them up for the Figure 4. Let’s not forget Gary Hart who will use every trick in the book to give his men the advantage. As for the ending, we see Ted Dibiase play the face in peril and take a pretty good beating before making the hot tag to Dr. Death. Dr. Death goes absolutely wild on the Samoans and clears house including a fan-favorite, big right hand to Gary Hart who tumbled out of the ring. Dibiase and scoops up Fatu and with an amazing feet of strength, hits the Oklahoma Stampede on the big Samoan for the win. The problem was that Dr. Death seemed to be severely hobbling after the match. It looked like Dibiase whispered something in his ear after the match but Dr. Death just shrugged his shoulders. UNITED STATES TITLE MATCH “Dangerous” Dan Spivey © with Woman vs “The Total Package” Lex Luger Spivey might be the champion and have 4 inches and 30 pounds on Luger but you can tell he wanted no piece of Lex. It was almost comical at times watching this huge monster playing the frightened heel. Luger took advantage of this and controlled much of the match but Spivey is just too big and strong to be kept down the entire time. Both men hit some huge moves and had many close calls. In the end, we see Spivey pounding on Lex. Lex, slowly begins to rise from the ground while Spivey continues to punch away. Lex just shakes off the last blow and then shakes his head “no” at Spivey. The crowd goes wild! Luger now starts clobbering Spivey and down goes the champ. Luger with the Irish Whip! WHAM…. Powerslam on Spivey. Instead of going for the pin, Lex gives the “Rack” sign to the crowd! Can Lex rack the 310 pound Spivey? Lex scoops up Spivey but he can’t hold him and Spivey crashes to the floor. Lex regroups and again calls for the Rack! Again, Lex scoops up Spivey. This time he locks it in and he is bending Spivey in half. Finally, Spivey taps! Luger is running from corner to corner! Flexing to the crowd as the ref hands him the United States Title! BULLROPE MATCH “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes vs Terry Funk First the rules. Each man is tied together by a bull rope. To win, you must drag your opponent to all four corners of the ring. Pins and submissions do not count. No DQ. Next, the entrance. Funk comes to the ring wearing his orange “Dusty sucks eggs” T Shirt, a black cowboy hat, jeans and he is carrying his trusted branding iron. Dusty comes out wearing a simple white T-shirt, a white cowboy hat which he takes off to reveal an American flag headband, jeans and some big old cowboy boots. The opening segment, WAR! Dusty and Terry just beat the other to Hell with neither willing to go down. It wasn’t long before we get color. Both men take multiple turns fighting from the top as neither will give an inch. Before the wild stuff even starts, we have an instant classic! Next, from out of nowhere comes Jimmy Jack Funk. Terry’s cousin who started all of this nonsense back in August when he attacked Ron Simmons. Dusty came to the aid of Simmons and then went nuts of Jimmy Jack just because he was a Funk. This brought Terry to WCW and here we are. Now, since this is a NO DQ Match, Jimmy Jack went straight to the ring and started to go to work on Dusty. Terry seemed to want no part of this as he wanted to beat Dusty all by himself. He told Jimmy Jack to get the Hell out of the ring which he did. Problem was, the damage might have already been done. Funk is now all over Dusty. Even from the arena floor, Jimmy Jack couldn’t help himself and still got in a few more blows on the American Dream! The Last Straw? Jimmy Jack must have hit Dusty one too many times as “Captain Redneck,” to the delight of the fans, rushed out and clobbered Jimmy Jack. Murdoch now began cheering for Dusty and the crowd feeds off of his energy. Together, Murdoch and the crowd implore Dusty to rise to his feet. He was shaking off each and every blow from Terry Funk like an elephant would shake off a bit from a gnat. Finally Dusty is all over Funk and the moment is completely in Dream’s favor. The End! Dusty, the bull rope, and the multiple bionic elbows have Funk basically out of his feet! He starts to drag Terry around the ring! Corner #1… Dusty slaps it as the fans go wild! Corner #2… Dusty slaps it and the crows is getting louder. Murdoch is up imploring Dusty to go! Corner #3… Dusty slaps it and the crowd is going bonkers. Murdoch is on the apron and screaming at Dusty “one more corner.” Dusty is dragging Terry to the last corner! WHAM…Big, Stiff Right Hand by Dick Murdoch… on Dusty Rhodes… the crowd is silent!! After a long minute, Funk is up before Dusty. WHAM… Piledriver by Funk! Funk now drags Dusty to Corner #1, Corner #2, Corner #3 and… Corner #4! Murdoch simply walks away from the ring. The crowd is too stunned to even notice him and he escapes with minimal debris being thrown his way. Funk looks down at a fallen Dusty gives him what some will say was a nod of approval while others will say it was an arrogant smirk. Disclaimer: Not sure I like the ending here. This will be Dusty’s last match in WCW with Terry Funk remaining. I did not want to weaken Funk at all but out of loyalty I did not want to have Funk with a clean win over Dusty. In a match that should have ended with no outside interference, I couldn’t help myself. Dusty has been the man in NWA/WCW history and thought he should leave on top. Also without Hansen, I thought Murdoch needed a change. What better way then to create the new, more evil Texas Outlaws with Terry Funk. Thoughts… Ideas on how I could have done this better would be appreciated. WCW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH Ric Flair © with Woman vs Sting Another instant classic where Flair did everything he could to make sure this was a Match of the Year candidate. Sting controlled a lot of the action and included a few early Stinger Splashes but no pin. We also had Flair give his patented “Now We Go To School” rant as he locked in the Figure 4 but this also didn’t lead to the end. Soon after the match started, the arena floor became a little crowded. First Arn Anderson and Dan Spivey join Woman in Flair’s corner and then Tully Blanchard and Lex come out to make sure the Horsemen don’t try any shenanigans against Sting. With Sting on top, Flair shoved Sting into ref Pee Wee Anderson who went face first into the ring post. This is where the chaos started. Sting whips Flair into the corner one more time and connects with another Stinger Splash. Flair takes 3 steps towards the center of the ring and falls flat on his face like only Flair can do. Sting grabs both legs and is going for the Scorpion Death Leg. Sting twists both legs and steps over Flair and sits down deep into Flair’s back. Sting has the Scorpion Death Lock locked in! Here comes Arn and Spivey but they are cut off by Tully and Lex. Lex is all over Spivey while Tully and Arn just seem to stare each other down. Flair is struggling but there is no ref. Somehow, he is able to drag himself all the way over to the corner but again, with no ref, Sting just drags him right back to the center of the ring. For the second time tonight, Lex has Spivey in the Rack and then slams him to the arena floor and then heads to the ring! Lex sees that Sting has Flair in serious trouble and is cheering him on! Tully heads over to get ref Pee Wee Anderson up again as he senses the end is near. Pee Wee is up and coming over to see if Flair is going to submit! Arn nods to Lex in a way that makes it seem like Arn knows it is over! WHAM… Huge kick by Tully Blanchard to the head of Sting!! Pee Wee Anderson immediately calls for the DQ! Before Lex can process what has happened, Tully and Arn are all over him! Eventually, we get a 3-2 beat down of Sting and Luger by Flair, Tully and Arn Anderson. When Sting and Luger are finished off, Tully extends his hand to Ric Flair. Flair hesitates… shoved the hand away… then gives Tully a huge hug! The Horsemen leave together and make one last stop. That is over the fallen Dan Spivey where they each give him a good kick good bye as he is obviously out f the stable.

If that gets signed Hulk and McMahon are tied at the hip. Very interesting situation.

Very interesting. The Dirt Sheets hint at Hogan leaving the WWF but then he is on TV. So many great feuds heading into 1989! Great work

EPISODE #19 DECEMBER 16, 1988 Fall Out from Clash of Champions: Season’s Beatings - “The Boogie Woogie” Jimmy Valiant, who lost his match to “The Hustler” Rip Rogers at Clash of Champions and did not show up for the Battle Royal has apparently left WCW. Speculation is that he was too distraught about not getting a date with Terri Powers that he had to move on. - Stan Hansen has also left WCW. Right or wrong, Hansen said that he and Murdoch just didn’t seem to be on the same page of late. Hansen says that he has all the respect in the world for Murdoch but he said that his first priority was winning titles and he wanted to pursue that goal in a different promotion. - It turns out that the man who aided the Nation (Snowman & Muhammed) in their Pearl Harbor job on Hacksaw Butch Reed and Ron Simmons was Curtis Hughes. For those old Memphis fans, Hughes spent some time there as the bodyguard for Dutch Mantell but never really got a shot in wrestling. This fueled his anger and helped him decide to join the Nation, an anti-establishment group, who is “fighting the system.” Lucky for Reed and Simmons that Tony Atlas was in attendance and ready to help. The story was that Atlas was in town talking to Jim Herd about a job as he had recently been released by the AWA. Atlas, who spent most of 1988 as a heel was asked why he had decided to help Simmons and Reed. Atlas said that he and Hacksaw Butch Reed have had a similar career in wrestling and he felt a connection to him. Atlas says, just like Reed, he was frustrated at the lack of title shots he was getting and turned on both the promoters and the fans before seeing the light. Atlas hoped that he can make up for lost time and show the fans again why they were in love with Mr. USA back in the day. He is also excited to see Hacksaw Reed and the young upstart, Ron Simmons do the same. Summary of this Week’s Show…. - The show started with a replay of Piper’s Pit from Clash of Champions where Terry Funk was bad mouthing Dusty Rhodes and when Dusty came out of nowhere and destroyed the Piper’s Pit set as a wild brawl from Dusty and Funk raged all over the arena floor. The interesting thing here was when Jim Ross stated to Piper that he was surprised that Piper didn’t join in on the attack of the American Dream, Piper responded that he has nothing but neutral sense he arrived in WCW and he had nothing in common with a rancher from West Texas in Terry Funk or a rather bloated American icon in Dusty Rhodes. - Brother Hughes, the newest member of the Nation, had his first real match in WCW where he destroyed Allen Thomas with a powerslam. Hughes was joined at ringside by Snowman and Kareem Muhammed. After the match, the trio seemed rather upset at Tony Atlas who had jumped in to help Ron Simmons and Butch Reed at Clash of Champions. Snowman had pointed out that Atlas had seemed to turn a corner recently in the AWA as he seemed to understand that he was being kept down by the authority. Muhammed pointed out that Atlas was just another Uncle Tom like Simmons and Reed. Snowman pointed out that with the addition of Brother Hughes, the Nation was at its strongest point ever. Huges, in a dark suit, sunglasses and bowtie, remained silent but just nodded in agreement. The three challenges Simmons, Reed and Atlas to a 6-Man tag team match at Wrestlecade. This match was quickly accepted by the fan favorites. - The U.S. Champion, Dan Spivey seems to be walking on thin ice with the other Horsemen as Flair and Arn both questioned him on his attempt to help Lex Luger win the Battle Royal at Clash of Champions. This would have gotten Spivey out of his U.S. Title match with Luger at Wrestlecade. Spivey tried to deny that he was in fact trying to help Luger but when the Horsemen showed the video of him trying to convince Sting to turn on Luger, he had no choice but to admit it. Spivey then tried to pump up Flair by saying how great he was and that he knew that Luger would be easy pickens for him. Flair didn’t buy this and then seemed to get even more angry when Spivey threw his own words back at him and reminded him that “to be the best, you had to beat the best! -The Dusty Rhodes-Terry Funk heat couldn’t get any hotter as they head into Wrestlecade and their Bull Rope Match. When this week’s Terry Funk promo started with “What does an Egg-Suckin Dawg know about bull roping” the brawl was on! Dusty, for the second straight time, forgot that he was the babyface in all of this and attacked Funk in perfect heel, Pearl Harbor fashion. Wrestlers poured out from the back but nothing was going to stop this one. Eventually Jim Herd came out and grabbed the mic and threatened to cancel their Bull Rope Match and suspend both if the nonsense didn’t stop right now! Funk and Rhodes realized that to continue their feud at Wrestlecade, they needed to behave now so they gave a few more shoves and a few more insults and then went their separate ways. -Sting, after a nice win over Big Money Marcus came to the podium where he thanked Lex Luger for allowing him this title shot against Ric Flair at Wrestlecade. Luger and Sting were the last two left at the Battle Royal at Clash of Champions when Luger decided to quit the match and allow Sting to win the battle royal and get the title shot. Both Sting and Luger gave fiery promos on how Wrestlecade would mark the end of the Horsemen. Tully Blanchard came out and also congratulated Sting on his title shot and went on to say that while Sting will be the new champion after Wrestlecade, it will be him, Tully Blanchard who will finish off Ric Flair in WCW. Don Muraco also continued his winning streak but again he made happy with Schiavone and Ross. As hew went over to the podium, Schiavone, Ross and Piper all seemed focused on what just went down between Terry Fink and Dusty Rhodes. Muraco started screaming at Schiavone and Ross about how he is the undefeated one here in WCW and that they need to focus on the Magnificent One. Jim Ross looked at him like he was crazy and went on to ask Muraco if he had just witnessed what happened between two legends in the sport. This sent Muraco off and he shoved Jim Ross and got right in the face of Tony Schiavone. Roddy Piper tried to calm things down and came in and put a hand on Muraco’s shoulder…”Hey Don, calm down. Just calm down.” Muraco pushed Piper’s hand off his shoulder and then shoved Schiavone hard enough to make the announcer stumble. This time Piper comes in a bit strong and grabs Muraco by the left arm. WHAM… Muraco clobbers Piper with a big right hand and Piper goes down. With Piper and Schiavone on the ground, Muraco gets right in the face of Jim Ross and demands that he call him the “Magnificent One” which Ross quickly does. As Murraco starts to walk off, Piper gets up. Roddy Piper: Ok now…. Hold on just a minute… just a minute Murraco. Ever sense you got here, you’ve been demanding things. You demand to have interviews. You demand to be on TV each and every week. You demand to be called the Magnificent One. But now, now, you’ve gone too far. You put your hands on me. The one who has been stickin up for you ever since you got here. Well, “old Hot Rod” has had enough. What’s say you and I stop dancing around the truth. We don’t like each other. In fact, we hate each other….. So how about you and I get it on at Wrestlecade? Muraco doesn’t even hesitate. He points to his head like a lightbulb just when off. He smugly shakes his head in agreement and then simple walks off! -Prior to this week, we were all set with the WCW World Television Title match for Wrestlecade with the champion, “Hot Stuff” Eddie Gilbert set to take on Ricky Morton. Not much changed here. Hot Stuff and Missy Hyatt gave a poolside promo about how they did not even need to train to beat Ricky Morton while Morton had a quick TV match and then a promo with Piper. The interesting thing was that during Morton’s promo, Roddy Piper asked Morton to take a look at a video for a second. The video was of his Rock n Roll Express partner Robert Gibson who still had both eyes bandaged from the injury caused by the Latin Connection and the hair removal cream. Gibson offered words of encouragement and let everyone know that while is been rough, he is doing better and hopes to return at full strength at some point. Morton was obviously choked up and looked like he was crying. He basically said that his winning of the TV title will be in honor of Robert. -The WCW World Tag Team Title Match is all set. While Bounty Gate has passed with no money collected, Gary Hart would like nothing better than to have his Samoan Swat Team dethrone Ted Dibiase and Dr. Death. The champs were not the least bit phased by anyone Hart has set after him trying to collect Sheik Adnan Al Kassie’s bounty. The difference here is that they have no faced anyone like the Samoan Swat Team. Both teams destroyed their opponents on this week’s show and seemed really confident with their chances of coming out on top. Title change or not, this is going to be a war! -The shocker of the night came when the Laton Connection were with Roddy Pipper at the interview area and they were being more heelish then ever. Mando Guerrero was gloating at how easy it was at Clash of Champions to beat the Lightening Express. When Piper tried to put them back in their place by saying it must have easy when they basically fought the match 3-2 as Dr. Dumbolico seemed to be helping out, Ricky Santana smugly put his title in Piper’s face and said that it’s been a long time since Piper’s skirt has been held up by anything gold! Piper just smirked before mentioning that he had a message from Jim Herd about who they were going to face at Wrestlecade with their U.S. Tag Team Titles on the line. At first Mando was angry claiming that they just defended their titles but Ricky calmed him down by reminding them that they have easily beaten every team that has been put in front of them. Piper, interrupted by clearing his throat and told the Latin Connection that they would actually be facing a team that they had never faced. When Mando asked who Piper smiled and said…. The …. Fabulous…. Freebirds! Mando and Santana went crazy as Piper laughed as hard as he could. And that sets the stage for Wrestlecade! WCW WORLD TELEVISION TITLE MATCH Eddie Gilbert © with Missy Hyatt vs Ricky Morton 6-MAN TAG TEAM MATCH Hacksaw Reed, Tony Atlas & Ron Simmons vs Snowman, Kareem Muhammed & Brother Hughes U.S. TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH The Latin Connection (Guerrero & Santana) with Dr. Diobolico vs The Freebirds (Hayes & Garvin) GRUDGE MATCH “Hot Rod” Roddy Piper vs “The Magnificent One” Don Muraco WCW WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH Ted Dibiase & Dr. Death Steve Williams © vs The Samoan Swat Team with Gary Hart UNITED STATES TITLE MATCH “Dangerous” Dan Spivey © with Woman vs “The Total Package” Lex Luger BULLROPE MATCH “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes vs Terry Funk WCW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH Ric Flair © with Woman vs Sting

Just loved the intro of the Soultaker and the Juice Crew!

Great job hyping up SuperClash. If I were still a kid, I think Kerry vs Bam Bam would be the highlight of the show but the way you are hyping up Larry Z and Orndorff that may be the highlight now. Also, really interested in Vader's debut! He could be the future of the AWA. Can't wait!!