Brad Armstrong vs. Jimmy Garvin - This was such a boring match. Not one of Brad's better matches.

 

The Barbarian & Shaska Watley vs. Baron Von Raschke & Hector Guerrero - Man, Hector was a one-man show in this bumping huge and hitting high-impact moves. I will admit the Barbarian hit some nice MOVES but this isn't a tag that stands out in the NWA. No vote.

 

Kansas Jayhawks vs. Ivan Koloff & Khrusher Khruschev - Why the NWA ever had Mantel and Jaggers as faces, I'll never know. I never got into this one and I don't think it was as good as the Guerrero tag.

 

Rick Rude vs. Wahoo McDaniel (Indian Strap Match) - Man, Rude was steadily improving at this point and looks much better than he did when he was in World Class and Memphis. Wahoo laid in some stiff shots and Rude kept up but I don't think this was as vicious as it could have been. I liked Rude going to the top rpe and Wahoo yanking him down while moving out of the way. Still, this was a match that could have used some blood and a few more minutes.

 

Bill Dundee vs. Sam Houston - Man, this might be the best Sam Houston match I have ever seen... but I'll admit I haven't seen many. Still, Dundee was in vintage form and both guys kept the action moving. The ending sucked pretty bad but you get a lot of bad endings in NWA matches. This was much better than several of the Dundee TV matches nominated in Mid South and I have no problem putting it up for discussion.

 

Paul Jones vs. Jimmy Valiant (Hair Match) - Like I mentioned before, I'll probably put the whole Valiant-Jnes feud in as an extra. This would make a nice end to the chapter.

 

Ron Garvin vs. Big Bubba (Louisville Street Fight) - I really like Garvin but this is one of the weaker street fights/gimmick matches I have watched today. Bubba would really pick up his game in 1987 but I wasn' terribly impressed here. The Garvin piledriver was pretty ugly in a botched/painful way. I wasn't a fan of the ending either.

 

Dusty Rhodes vs. Tully Blanchard (First Blood Match) - I remember talking to Loss on the phone after watching this match a few months back, and he may think I am nuts, but I enjoyed the hell out of this. This wasn't so much a match as it was a story and this is what I think of when I think of Tully Blanchard prick heel. Dillon bleeding in the first 5 seconds off a bionic elbow was a little over the top but it s one of the reasons I love this so much. I can see you guys knocking this down but fuck it, I am nominating it.

 

Midnight Express vs. Road Warriors (Scaffold Match) - For pure historic impact, this will go on the extras but God, I hate scaffold matches. I hope one day that we can get a copy of Dundee-Ware so I can have hope that not all scaffold matches suck.

 

Rock N Roll express vs. Ole and Arn Anderson (Cage Match) - This is one of my favorite Andersons matches and this is much better than the Russians-RNR cage from Starrcade 85 that I already nominated. Both RNRs take turns getting thier asses beat and the Andersons are complete dicks in this. I wish the Andersons would have dropped some blood but this is sill an easy nomination.

 

Ric Flair vs. Nikita Koloff - After watching the Magnum-Nikita feud, I had high hopes for this match but it wasn't very good. I think the fans were still cold to Nikita even though his turn received a monster pop. As par for the course since 1984, the ending sucks and leaves everyone unsatisfied in the long run. No vote.

"White Lightning" Tim Horner & Nelson Royal vs. Don & Rocky Kernodle

 

So we have a babyface tag match starting the show from Greensboro and Don Kernodle's Starrcade career trajectory has been something to watch as this is the first time he actually worked on a Starrcade after being at the previous 3 in a non-wrestling role. This has some pretty good action with both teams working hard and it's not worked in the normal scientific way as both teams went at a fast pace and worked a normal match just no one heeling. Don's lariat was really damn good leading up to tagging in Rocky who had Horner in an O'Connor Roll but Horner cut it back to get the win. Fine opener.

 

Brad Armstrong vs. "Gorgeous" Jimmy Garvin

 

The early part of the match was basically a feeling out process for both men and Brad tries to make it interesting but Garvin doesn't hold up his end of the bargain with Precious working harder than he was on the floor. The match would finally get interesting when Garvin chunked Brad to the floor and then played King of the Mountain while posing to the crowd but they have already worked over 10 minutes already. Brad gets back in the ring and the pace picks up with the crowd getting into it as both men are selling their fatigue. Garvin catches Brad with a big knee for a nearfall with a minute to go then got an inside cradle with 30 seconds left. Garvin then decides to lock on a fucking chinlock for some reason before realizing time was coming up and went up top where he missed a big splash as the bell rang. Brad attacked Garvin afterwards but was pulled off by referee Scrappy McGowan then sent Garvin running as the crowd went nuts. The way the match ended I think both men got lost in it because that was a weird way to have a draw.

 

Hector Guerrero & Baron Von Raschke vs. The Barbarian & Shaska Whatley

 

The Mexican dubbed over music WWE Network used for Hector was nice. Tom Miller definitely was hyped up introducing Hector & Baron which was fun. Hector would get isolated early and the heels worked him over before Barbarian got chunked to the floor where Baron held him up for a diving plancha by Hector which popped the crowd. Hector's offensive flurry didn't last long though as Barbarian pounded on him once back in the ring and along with Shaska dominated him near their corner. Hector is bumping and selling hard keeping this interesting and I loved the way that Hector got the hot tag as when after Shaska spit on him, Hector was thrown in the ropes then stopped and spit right in Shaska's face before jumping to tag the Baron who came in doing his stomp and teed off on the heels. Baron got the claw on Shaska but Barbarian broke it up spawning a 4-way brawl with Shaska missing a dive into the corner and Baron following it up with a diving elbow to get the win. The heels attacked Baron after the match until Hector made the save. Hector looked good here but it was just a match.

 

Next we get Johnny Weaver going to Dusty's locker room trying to get an interview but he doesn't want to talk.

 

US Tag Titles: Ivan Koloff & Krusher Khruschev © vs. The Kansas Jayhawks ("Hangman" Bobby Jaggers & "Dirty" Dutch Mantell)

 

Ivan gets worked over early and often before tagging in Krusher who started strong but also got caught by the Jayhawks and they continued their dominance. Dutch trying for a drop toehold while Krusher grabbed the ropes to tag in Ivan was a nice spot. Ivan then came in and the Jayhawks continued to pound on him as the Russians are having big problems. Krusher then dropped to the floor and grabbed Dutch crotching him on the railing and now the Russians start to dominate Dutch. The Russians got caught by a desperation clothesline by Dutch who tagged in Jaggers and the 4-way brawl was on before Ivan grabbed the chain but Dutch grabbed Shoobaby to counter the chain and Scrappy McGowan was looking confused. Krusher then hit Jaggers with the chain and McGowan counted three to end the match. Man was McGowan lost here and this match felt rushed towards the finish.

 

Indian Strap Match: "Chief" Wahoo McDaniel vs. "Ravishing" Rick Rude

 

This is Wahoo's wheelhouse match and he has a past with Rude so they should be fine together. Wahoo tries choking Rude early but Rude comes back with punches and then he comes back choking Wahoo with the strap. Rude ties Wahoo's wrists with the strap and tries to touch the corners but fails with Wahoo getting control back and he starts taking it to Rude. Wahoo starts lashing Rude with the strap and Rude starts juicing along with Wahoo which adds to the match. Rude came off the top once and then tried again but Wahoo threw him off with the strap and dropped a big elbow setting up his turn to carry Rude around the ring touching the corners. Wahoo gets 3 corners and fights to the get to the 4th one before chopping Paul Jones off the apron and touching the corner as Rude nailed him into it. The heels attacked Wahoo after the match until Hector & Baron made the save. This match was pretty fun but it's just not enough to make the set as I think it needed more time and blood from Rude.

 

Then we get promos from Ivan & Krusher about beating the Jayhawks and their hatred of Nikita.

 

Central States Heavyweight Title: Sam Houston © vs. "Superstar" Bill Dundee

 

Houston looks good early on and Dundee is a good opponent to play to his strengths. Both guys worked on the mat some to start before Houston started firing off some good punches but Dundee got a nearfall on an O'Connor Roll where he had Sam's trunks. Dundee sent Houston to the floor after that Houston gave Dundee an atomic drop and he went sailing over the railing. Dundee got control when he got back in the ring and hit a big elbow drop off the top rope before fishhooking him which was cool spot. Dundee then started peppering Sam with his awesome punches doing the Dusty flip flop and fly spot which was great. Dundee continued to work over Houston including throwing him to the floor like Sam did to him earlier and I loved Dundee walking the middle rope before hitting him with an axehandle smash for a nearfall. Sam makes a comeback firing off some good punches and has Dundee reeling before missing a kneedrop giving Dundee the chance he needed to work over Sam's left leg but as he went for the Indian Death Lock, Houston launched Dundee into Scrappy McGowan. Dundee then grabbed Houston's boot and used it on him but McGowan saw it and called for the DQ then Dundee beat on Houston with the boot afterwards. This was a fun little match and I got no problem with it being a low-end nomination.

 

Big Mama's Hair vs. Paul Jones' Hair Match: "Boogie Woogie Man" Jimmy Valiant vs. "Number One" Paul Jones

 

Manny Fernandez was locked in a cage above the ring and I was wondering why in the fuck was Manny not working a match on the show. Manny brawling to get in the cage when all it took was a chop by Wahoo was AWESOME. This was exactly what it needed to be as Valiant was bloody fighting for the hair of his woman and Jones was fighting for his own hair. Valiant used Jones' own brass knux to KO him and the Greensboro fans went completely apeshit as this was basically 3 years in the making and a tremendous payoff to the feud as Jones got shaved bald in the ring. Bull & Rude would jump Valiant afterwards and destroyed him with a spike DDT. Slam dunk extra.

 

Next we get a video with Nelson Royal who discusses what a Bunkhouse Stampede is and this is fucking awesome as he is sitting by a fire drinking coffee talking about dudes beating the hell out of each other. Slam dunk extra.

 

Then we get a video going over Crockett Cup 86 as they are pimping the 87 one.

 

Louisville Street Fight: Big Bubba Rogers vs. Ronnie Garvin

 

Garvin goes from originally being in the Starrcade main event with Flair to this match but he was awesome so he made it work. Garvin does nothing but throw bombs early and Bubba takes them for a minute then gets knocked to the floor. Garvin was a machine here just taking it to Bubba who was doing as good as he could at this stage of his career selling for him. Bubba had to use a roll of nickels to get over on Garvin which tells you how much Garvin was frustrating him that a big dude like Bubba had to resort to that. Bubba starts working a bloody Garvin over until Garvin pulls a rope out of his boots and starts choking Bubba then attemps to hogtie him before he starts biting at his head bringing out juice from Bubba. This has become a war of attrition with Garvin using headbutts and punches to counter Bubba's weight advantage. Bubba for his size was a tremendous bumper and had a great bump over the top to the floor after a Garvin punch. Garvin follows Bubba to the floor for more fighting but it comes back to the ring where Bubba goes up top before Garvin press slams him off. Bubba would launch Garvin on top of Tommy Young on a pinfall before Garvin just nuked Bubba with a piledriver right on his damn head. Corny then nailed Garvin with his tennis racket and Young counted both men out so the first man to get up wins the match. Young shoves Corny out of the ring while both men struggle to get up and as Garvin gets up, Corny clips him with the racket and Bubba wins. This was a fantastic brawl and I think it is a fairly easy nomination.

 

First Blood Match for the NWA World TV Title: "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes © vs. Tully Blanchard

 

Dusty with the short haircut is great and even greater is Tully wearing headgear to protect himself from bleeding although Earl Hebner would force him to take it off. JJ then put vaseline on Tully's face to keep from bleeding but Hebner would wipe it off and this was fucking awesome. Dusty would deliver the Bionic Elbow to Dillon and he juiced immediately, which was great because it proved that Dusty could end the match with one elbow if hit right. Dusty was great playing to the crowd here and Tully was a perfect nemesis as he stooged around making Dusty look even better. Pretty much everything here was about going to the head and whether each guy would bleed so there was great psychology here with the fans popping for every shot to the head. Tully would finally bleed after a ref bump as Dusty started pounding on his head so Dillon wipes off Tully's head then gives him a roll of coins that he would use to deck Dusty. Hebner would then get up right in Dusty's face seeing him bleeding so he awarded the match to Tully. These two had better matches but this had a great story and a very fun match to go with it. It won't place high but it still belongs nonetheless.

 

Scaffold Match: The Road Warriors (Animal & Hawk) vs. The Midnight Express ("Loverboy" Dennis Condrey & "Beautiful" Bobby Eaton)

 

This is a legendary match that needs to be on the Extras set no doubt but as far as a nomination this is by no means worth that as most scaffold matches aren't good although we have definitely seen the MX in some good ones it's just that the Roadies aren't built for working this style of match to have a good match.

 

Next we get a Great American Bash hype video.

 

Steel Cage for the NWA World Tag Titles: The Rock n Roll Express (Robert Gibson & Ricky Morton) © vs. The Minnesota Wrecking Crew (Arn & Ole Anderson)

 

This was a great series featuring two great teams and this match would prove to be Ole's last great match. Anderson's were awesome here just killing Gibson working on his left leg as their style was to work a bodypart rendering that part useless and making quick tags keeping the fresh man in the ring. Gibson would finally get the hot tag to Morton who came in blazing before being run into the cage thus starting his FIP section. Morton is bleeding profusely and the Andersons continue to make quick tags to block him from tagging Gibson. Arn hits a perfect Spinebuster for a nearfall then holds Morton's left arm so Ole can come off the top rope with a knee smash on it. Ole would then go to the armbar which was a patented Anderson finisher but Morton would fight out of it and would soon collide heads with Ole. Arn would get the tag though before Morton so the pressure was still on Morton but he would fight out of it using punches and would get a small package on Ole for a nearfall. Gibson was tired of this so he entered the ring for a 4-way brawl and as Ole had Morton up for a slam, Gibson would dropkick Morton's back falling backward for the pin. This was a great match with everyone looking damn good thus a definite nomination.

 

NWA World Heavyweight Title: "Nature Boy" Ric Flair © vs. "Russian Nightmare" Nikita Koloff

 

My god the intro video for Nikita Koloff with the WWE Network music is AMAZING as it's tribute to Magnum T.A. running along the beach and it sounds like a Hootie & The Blowfish song....this is unbelievable. Fans are still booing Nikita some as they don't want to cheer for him yet which is funny. The match starts with Flair being tentative and trying to dictate the pace forcing Nikita to work his style but Nikita would use his power advantage to frustrate Flair. Ric would fight back but Nikita would find a way to get Flair down before missing a Russian Sickle going over the top rope to the floor and this gave Flair the opening he needed. Flair then went after Nikita's left leg wrapping it around the ringpost before using the figure-four leglock with help from the ropes as Tommy Young had his back turned. Flair would break the hold and started using strikes on Nikita but Nikita would fire back with strikes of his own before getting thrown back to the floor. Flair would join him this time and bashed Nikita's head against the scaffolding bringing out the juice from Nikita's head. Flair works over Nikita's cut like a madman but it made Nikita even madder so he came firing back with shots of his own and even bashed Flair's head against the scaffolding which brings out the color from Naitch. Nikita now gives Flair a dose of his own medicine by working over the cut and this has turned into a slugfest before a really awkward looking ref bump on Tommy Young. This is the same shit from Starrcade 85 all over again as Nikita hits Flair with the Russian Sickle but there is no referee to make the count. Scrappy McGowan shows up to help Tommy and as this happens Flair knees Nikita in the back then McGowan comes in the ring to make the count but it's a nearfall. Nikita would go for the Russian Sickle again but hit McGowan as Flair ducked and this time Tommy Young comes back in the ring. Nikita throws Young down twice and he calls for the bell so yes a shitty DQ finish for the 2nd straight year at Starrcade. The heels then came out to hold Nikita so Flair could work him over until the babyfaces ran out to make the save. This was a pretty good match but the finish was terrible and there wasn't enough in the match to make up for it's shittiness. So no on a nomination.