Posted November 9, 201311 yr comment_5571666 Solie & Mike Graham are on commentary here and man I can remember watching this show live. They held this show just a day or two after a big Hurricane which was the reason for a lower attendance and Rick Martel not being able to fly in for the show to defend his title against Bock. Hell the power was going in and out early on due to the storms. Chavo & Hector Guerrero vs. The Grappler & Rip "The Crippler" Oliver (9/2/85) Just a year earlier the Guerreros were hated but now the fans are behind them against the PNW stalwarts. These guys worked even without power at times here which made for an interesting atmosphere. Guerreros were fun early on taking advantage of the mistakes by the heels as well as just being better but it would catch up to them with Hector working FIP. The heels would key on his back after he took a hard backdrop and Oliver's use of bearhugs before doubling him up when we would lose the video for a minute because of the storms. The heel control section was solid as they were vicious working over Hector's back and Chavo was strong trying to help out when he could as well as motivating his brother to get the tag. The heels also baited Chavo to fight them so when Hector tried to tag there was no Chavo which is always a fun spot. Hector's staggering hot tag was really good and Chavo came in firing away hitting a big rana on Grappler as Hector followed with a big cross body block on Oliver off the top rope which set off the 4-way brawl. There was a shitty ref bump which saw Hector get thrown over the top rope and Grappler loaded up his boot but he kicked Oliver by mistake as Hector (not the legal man) made the pin. This was a damn fun match and I think it's a solid nomination. Cocoa Samoa vs. "Hustler" Rip Rogers (9/2/85) Lady Maxine is with Samoa as they come out to Eye of the Tiger which is great. Decent back and forth action to start with Rogers eventually getting the advantage working over Samoa's neck. Good basic work here by Rip before he went up top which Samoa would answer with a slam off the top rope. Samoa would hit a big headbutt which tied Rogers up in the ropes but he would miss a diving press which would start a series of nearfalls between them. Samoa would use some high impact moves but Rogers came back every time. Samoa would get an abdominal stretch but Brenda Britton came in behind the ref's back and interfered which saw Maxine do the same and allowed Samoa to win. Fine little match but nothing special. Florida Heavyweight Title: Jack Hart © vs. Kendall Windham (9/2/85) Jack Hart is of course Barry Horowitz and he comes out to Jump by Van Halen which is great. Hart jumps Kendall at the bell and tries to put him away immediately. Hart is ruthless here as Pringle is in full Percy mode on the floor pissing off the fans. Kendall fights back with punches to Jack's ribs and eventually he makes enough headway to stop Jack's mauling tactics. Kendall would get a nice sunset flip off the top rope for a nearfall but Jack continued working him over. Kendall got another chance once Jack missed a cross body block off the middle rope and Kendall just started teeing off on Hart throwing reckless punches and a flying lariat. Hart thought would counter a bulldog and grabbed something out of his tights but he would miss and Kendall countered with a cross body block to win the title. The fans went nuts for the finish as Kendall was very over. Hart was solid here but it was way too onesided plus Kendall was pretty green in selling as well so no nomination. Next we get a promo from Harley Race with Coach John Heath about his match with Hansen later on against the Roadies as well as wanting a shot at the NWA title. Southern Heavyweight Title: "Ravishing" Rick Rude © vs. Billy Jack Haynes (9/2/85) BJH coming out to Holding Out For A Hero is awesome. Rude's beard game here is as strong as BJH's. I like the mini pose-off before the match with BJH ending up by telling Rude to basically fuck himself. BJH is on top early and almost locks in the full-nelson but Rude quickly gets away. BJH used his power game to keep Rude grounded but a short clothesline would soon change things and Rude became the aggressor. Rude would take BJH to the floor and threw him into the railing as Pringle had Bill Alfonso distracted. Rude then went to his power game to work over BJH who took a very high hard bump off a backdrop which was cool. The match would soon turn into a slugfest which was what BJH wanted and gave him the chance to get back into the match especially after Rude crashed and burned off the top rope. BJH's comeback was fun and spirited but as he had Rude up for a press slam he would get tripped up by Percy. BJH then went after Pringle which allowed Rude to get the cane to use as a weapon and to get the win. Fun match and I'm putting it on the block for a nomination. Coach Heath then interviewed Kendall afterwards with his new title followed up by a promo from the Roadies with Buddy Colt. AWA World Tag Titles: The Road Warriors (Animal & Hawk) vs. Stan "The Lariat" Hansen & Harley Race (9/2/85) The challengers team is quite the team and HOLY SHIT they come out to the OLYMPICS THEME!!!!!!!! wow. Hansen goes after the Roadies on the floor and Race joins him with this match looking like All-Japan style just with Race subbing for Brody or Gordy. It was fun watching Animal & Race have a match inside the ring while Hawk & Hansen were brawling wildly on the outside. The match kinda felt weird once they started working holds and the fans weren't nearly as interested as they were when the brawling was going on. Hansen would eventually hit a big piledriver on Hawk for a nearfall which was the highlight of the fierce you go I go action that was going on for almost 10 minutes. The match eventually went to the floor where both teams got counted out and this was totally an AJPW type match. Fun match but not a nomination. Then we get a promo from Flair about his match with Wahoo and this is good stuff. Nick Bockwinkel vs. Frank Lang (9/2/85) The future Frankie Lancaster is subbing for Rick Martel and this is quite the difference in talent. I loved the ring announcer billed this as an AWA title match and Bock as the champ.....big mistake. This is followed up by a promo from Wahoo about his match with Flair. 2 out of 3 falls for the NWA World Heavyweight Title: "Nature Boy" Ric Flair © vs. Chief Wahoo McDaniel (9/2/85) Flair juices a little early from an old cut and that adds an extra element to the early portion. This is totally what you would expect from these two in lots of hard chops and strong psychology. Wahoo was vicious working over Flair's left leg early on and Flair was just as vicious working over Wahoo's left arm as this match was turning into something great. After a very long but great 1st fall, Wahoo would win the fall by pinfall with a sleeper hold which I always dug submissions leading to pins. Wahoo kept up the beating as the 2nd fall started but Flair who got chopped to the floor pulled Wahoo's feet from under him and started working over the left leg furiously setting up the figure-four which he would eventually lock in but Wahoo would counter forcing a break. This is a total fucking war and both men are putting it all out there with Flair desperate to win a fall. Alfonso gets bumped and Wahoo locks Flair in a backslide for a phantom pinfall which Flair would answer by chunking Wahoo to the floor and posting him where he would bring him back into the ring and pinned him to even the falls. Wahoo is now juicing so that makes this 3rd fall even more exciting but as it starts there is a fight in the crowd that the fans are watching with their backs turned to the ring which was a bad look for the broadcast. Wahoo goes nuts and throws Flair out where he posts him twice to get Flair's blood churning out which it does quickly. Wahoo is now desperate and he locks back on the sleeper that won him the 1st fall but Flair would get his feet up and sprang off the ropes to send Wahoo down and got the pinfall. Wahoo was pissed afterwards but the decision was final. Fantastic match and a slam dunk nomination.
