The Hornet v. Todd Dalton

 

Hornet is not an act I'm in love with, but him goading a fan to go under the rope to try and fight him and then demanding police throw the guy out was really funny. Overall this was a decent enough opening match, with a couple of stiff looking blows and two guys who were at least trying hard. Hornet's diving axe and subsequent Dalton faceplant on the floor were probably the highlights. Respectable showing.

 

Chris Candido v. Ricky Morton

 

Candido has the headgear on as is this is shortly after he lost a hair match. Of course Candido complains of hairpulling on the very first corner break. This was much better on paper than in practice. Lots of schtick which would have been fine if they had build to something bigger, but there really wasn't a lot of effort and though there was build there was never any real payoff in the way of big spots.

 

Bruiser Bedlam v. Dirty White Boy

 

God Bedlam sucked. This was just a dry as dirt, boring as piss match, with Bedlam working a shitty foreign object gimmick throughout. Crap.

 

Chris Candido v. Lance Storm

 

This was pretty "eh." Lots of basic stuff and a none of it really looked bad, but neither guy seemed to be working full speed. Nothing worth seeing.

 

The Gangstas v. The Rock N Roll Express

 

Pre-match here is great with New Jack screaming at random fans. Mark Curtis pats him down and finds weapon after weapon which New Jack naturally says he was planning on using when questioned. Then Curtis threatens to fine him,but New Jack says he spends that at the strip club every night. The early exchanges in this are a lot of fun as well with New Jack being bombastic/dancing around like an ass and the RnR's working lots of outsmarting the heels gimmicks that are naturally hammed up given the overtly racial nature of Gangstas gimmick. I was actually shocked at how good a foil Mustapha was for a lot of this. Inevitable Morton FIP is interesting as it is all armwork. Gangstas doing body part work doesn't sound like it would be any good, but it was a decent effort. Hot tag spot was pretty lame as was the finish. There will be plenty of awesome New Jack moments we pick up on tv, so I don't feel like this is a must have in any way despite the fun pre-match stuff.

Todd Dalton vs. The Hornet (9/8/94)

 

Dalton coming out to Holding Out For A Hero by Bonnie Tyler is fucking hilarious almost as much as Hornet with the fan wanting to fight. Hornet's schtick was awesome here as he was stooging like a motherfucker with some fun stalling. He was like a low-level Memphis heel here and could've fit right in working openers there in their heyday. His work wasn't that hot but his charisma was fun. Dalton was nothing here and Hornet made the match.

 

Ricky Morton vs. Chris Candido (9/8/94)

 

Wow what a disappointment here as it seemed like all they wanted to do was horseshit around and nothing else which is fine but we don't have a good definitive singles match between these two.

 

SMW Heavyweight Title: "Dirty White Boy" Tony Anthony © vs. Bruiser Bedlam (9/8/94)

 

Horrible match.

 

Chris Candido vs. Lance Storm (9/8/94)

 

This is a interesting matchup considering what would be coming down the road. Both guys worked hard here and this was a fun match along with being the best one on this show. Not a nomination though.

 

SMW Tag Titles: The Rock n Roll Express (Robert Gibson & Ricky Morton) © vs. The Gangstas (New Jack & Mustafa Saed) (9/8/94)

 

This was another match where the schtick was better than the actual match with New Jack being fantastic but the work here was kinda underwhelming which we would get better from these teams later.