NWA Handheld 7/10/87 (Pittsburgh)

Misty Blue vs. Kat Leroux
- Clipped

Chris Adams & Sting vs. Barbarian & Thunderfoot #1
- a little competitive thanks to Barbarian but Thunderfoot obviously takes the fall.

Black Bart vs. Italian Stallion
- It only takes a few minutes for Bart to dispose of Stallion

Buddy Roberts vs. Jerry Jackson
- More competitive than I would have predicted but Jackson is an awkward muscle guy who isn't very good.

Brad Armstrong & Tim Horner vs. Eddie Gilbert & Rick Steiner
- This is your featured UWF matchin an NWA arena. Pretty good match that ends with a nasty flying body press from Horner to Steiner. This was pretty good but there were so many matches that were better on the NWA and UWF sets.

Bubba Rogers vs. Jimmy Garvin
- Decent match.

Terry Gordy & Michael Hayes vs. Mod Squad
- I haven't been impressed with the Mod Squad in Memphis or the NWA. Lets see what the Birds can do with them. This is actually a pretty interesting amtch. The first half is all about the Mod Squad avoiding locking up so they stall and avoid contact. When they do get control, Hayes plays FIP but Hayes vs. Basher isn't exactly prime time wrestling in my book.
Gordy comes in and cleans house and the birds win on a double clothesline. This is short of a nomination in my book.

Dick Murdoch vs. Dr. Death Steve Williams
- Really good match and comparable to their UWF matchups. These guys brawl outside, Dick uses weapons, Gilbert is a general pain in the ass and you get a relatively clean ending. Murdoch and Eddie are upset at the decision and get back in the ring but Doc cleans house. It's too bad that the NWA didn't feature this match on thier TV. Instead they released a subpar matchon the 1987 GAB tape and they had a rather lackluster match (IIRC) on TV. Of course I am going to nominate this.

Midnight Express vs. Barry Windham & Ron Garvin
- This also takes a little while to get rolling but this was pretty damn great. Early on, Garvin and Windham shine including a great punch by GArvin outside that forces Eaton into the guardrail. The MX is frustrated early on and even tease a turn on each other. Then for some unknown reason, the match cuts out and it looks like someone was taping a bad B-flick and reralized they were messing with the MX tag. Windham plays FIP and the MX break out some good double teams and it seems like the Lane-Eaton duo is really starting to gel. DOn't get me wrong, both are such pros that they were having good matches early in their run but they were hitting a stride. Big Bubba interferes for what appears to be an MX pin but the ref sees BUbba's hat and gives the amtch to Windham & Garvin. I don't like the finish but this is a match worth watching.

Road Warriors, Dusty Rhodes & Nikita Koloff vs. Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard & Lex Luger
- Most of this match saw the Horsemen bumping and stooging for the faces. One spot in particular was really cool... Animal has Arn in an armbar so Tully goes to the top rope to hit Animal, but he catches Tully mid-flight into a powerslam. This ends with Arn missing a diving elbow and Nikit apinning him. I have mixed feelings on this match. IT was entertaining and did not suck. However, I enjoyed Doc-Murdoch much better and I felt like the two teams were just going through the motions with the exception of Arn and Flair who were really good. I'll put this in a maybe file but not nomination quite yet.

Holy shit everything I had wrote before the nominated matches I erased by mistake.

 

"Dr. Death" Steve Williams vs. "Capt. Redneck" Dick Murdoch

 

They announced before the match that Doc couldn't use his cast although he could wear it. Doc spent the early part of the match working over Murdoch's left arm as revenge for him injuring his own. Gilbert would get on the apron distracting the referee so Murdoch could use Gilbert's cane as a weapon on Doc's injured left arm. The armwork here is really good as Murdoch would use holds plus the cane again as a weapon while playing total chickenshit to the crowd. Murdoch goes for the Brainbuster but Doc countered with a suplex of his own which saw Murdoch do a Curly Howard sell job. Doc comes firing back now and Murdoch is hilarious in his selling for Doc's punches and the crowd is going nuts for Doc who runs through Murdoch once before eating a big shot. Doc would hit Murdoch though with his cast as Murdoch came off the top rope when the referee wasn't looking to win the match which was a cute finish. Doc then beats down Gilbert & Murdoch after the match. Very fun match and I'll pass it on as a nomination.

 

US Tag Titles: The Midnight Express ("Beautiful" Bobby Eaton & "Sweet" Stan Lane) © vs. "Hands of Stone" Ronnie Garvin & Barry Windham

 

Cornette is using a crutch to walk on for some reason. Man the early shine section is great as the faces were really good on offense but the MX was amazing working as chickenshit heels. Eaton walking around for 30 seconds with his ass hanging out of his tights was so hilarious. Garvin was throwing great punches on everyone including Bubba here. Lane would use his "educated feet" to get the advantage on Windham and the MX turn it on with some really good back and forth work on him including some good double-team moves. Garvin would get the hot tag throwing bombs on both MX and he KO's Eaton but Lane would make the save which brought in Windham and Big Bubba Rogers who caught Garvin with the Bubba Slam allowing Eaton to cover but the referee saw Bubba's hat in the ring and awarded the match to the faces by DQ. Very fun match although I would've liked a longer heel control section but still a low-end nomination.

 

The Road Warriors (Animal & Hawk) & The Super Powers (Dusty Rhodes & Nikita Koloff) vs. The Four Horsemen (Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, Ric Flair, & Lex Luger)

 

Cool seeing this match without any stipulations. The fans are absolutely nuts for the babyfaces here and Magnum is with the babyfaces on the floor where he would slap Flair before the match. MY GOD was the shine section on the Horsemen awesome as Hawk was killing dudes then Dusty was firing punches and elbows on all the Horsemen at the same time which was amazing. All the babyfaces ended up being the shit out of Flair mainly while Arn & Tully got their bumping in as well. Animal would get the heat although not for real long as Dusty would come in getting figure-fours on Arn & Flair before Luger came in to lock on a bearhug. Nikita though would get the hot tag and the match broke down from there with Arn diving from the middle rope only to eat a clothesline from Animal with Nikita pinning him for the win. Yeah this wasn't high-end or anything but it was a total blast and loads of fun. Fairly easy nomination.