NWA May-June 1987

 

Disc 1

Michael Hayes “The Boys Are Back In Town” (Clip)

JJ Dillon Interview

 

Midnight Express vs. Barry Windham & Ron Garvin (TV 5/16/87)

- If you see the way people are talking about Chavo in the Mid South thread now, that is how people are going to talk about Ron Garvin after this set. One of the minor complaints I have about these NWA matches is a reliance on armbars, headlocks and other restholds but usually the formula is so solid that the wrestlers get their story told anyway. One of the little things I love about this match... Garvin gives Bobby a backdrop on the concrete. Later on, Windham delivers a powerslam to Bobby. If you remember the backdrop, you think that Bobby's back is toast but Barry picks him up before the count so Bobby doesn't have to kick out of the damaging situation. Hell, Bobby takes more damage tothe back after a Barry superplex. Then, later on, when Bobby is tagged in during a Windham FIP section, he is still selling the back. So awesome. The finish is also memorable and too convoluted to explain so just watch this match and tell me what you think. Nomination.

 

Ric Flair Promo Commercial

Midnight Express Interview (Include with above match)

 

Rock N Roll Express Interview

Nikita Koloff vs. The Gladiator

New Breed Interview (Possible Extra)

Midnight Express vs. The Mulkeys (End not shown)

Tully Blanchard Interview

Barry Windham vs. Brodie Chase

Lex Luger Interview

Tully Blanchard vs. George South

Jimmy Valiant & Lazer Tron Interview

Manny Fernandez & Ivan Koloff vs. Stevens & Nelson

Lex Luger vs. ??? (Nikita Koloff brawl) (Possible Extra)

 

Dusty Rhodes Promo

Magnum TA Interview

Nikita Koloff vs. Art Pritts

Nikita Koloff interview

Jimmy Garvin vs. Trent Knight

Lex Luger Interview

Road Warriors vs. Force & Sullivan

Road Warriors Interview

Ron Garvin vs. Barry Phelps

 

Nikita Koloff Interview

Lex Luger vs. ???

Lex Luger Interview

The New Breed vs. ???

Ragin’ & Ravishin’ vs. Rock N Roll Express (JIP) (Phantom Title Switch) (4:12) (EXTRA)

Rock N Roll Express Interview

 

 

Disc 2

Midnight Express vs. Nelson & Savage

Russians vs. Rocky King & ???

Ric Flair Interview

Tully Blanchard vs. Todd Champion

- Champion lasted more than 5 minutes but Tully still disposed of him easily.

Tully Blanchard Interview

 

The New Breed vs. Force & Martin

Rock N Roll Express vs. Ragin’ & Ravishin’ (JIP- Columbia, SC)

Rock N Roll Express vs. Barber & Jay

Rock N Roll Express Interview

Jimmy Garvin vs. Terry Jones

Tully Blanchard Interview

Midnight Express vs. Stevens & Knight

 

Midnight Express Interview

- I love Stan Lane's T-Shirt. What the hell was he thinking? I may throw this on as an Extra for the shirt alone.

 

Barry Windham Interview

Arn Anderson vs. Chance McQuade

Dusty Rhodes Interview

Jimmy Garvin Interview

Freebirds vs. Thunderfoot # 1& 2 & Gladiator # 1

Freebirds Interview (Possible Extra)

Vladimir Pietrov vs. Barry Phelps

Ric Flair Interview (EXTRA)

Barry Windham vs. Gladiator # 2

Nikita Koloff Interview

Ron Garvin vs. Rick Sullivan

Recap of Murdoch breaking Dr. Death’s arm

Lex Luger Interview

Ric Flair & Lex Luger vs. Nelson & Savage

Four Horsemen Interview

 

Dusty Rhodes vs. Tully Blanchard (6/6/87)

- I think this might be the strongest of the Tully-Dusty matchups. It just has that big match feel. You have Magnum at ringside, Blanchard's money, almost as much hype as the WIndham-Flair 1/20 matchup. It also has that wonderful Dusty booking as Dusty appears to win with the slinshot suplex. JJ runs to the back with the money that Dusty thinks he won so Dusty chases him. Tommy orders the match to re-start and counts Dusty out. Before that, Tully bumps, stooges and sells for Dusty better than anyone and the crowd was relaly hot for this match which probably mkaes it better than it actually is. Still, I am nominating it to see where it goes.

 

Dusty & Magnum Promo

Jim Crockett & Tommy Young Interview

Tully Blanchard Interview

-Gotta include these all with the match.

 

 

Disc 3

Midnight Express vs. Nelson & Savage

Barry Windham vs. Brodie Chase

Barry Windham Interview

Four Horsemen Interview

 

Ron Garvin Interview

Kendall Windham vs. Art Pritts

Rock N Roll Express Interview

WarGames Announcement (Extra lead in for Wargames)

Dusty Rhodes vs. Tully Blanchard (6/6/87, Greensboro, NC) (JIP)

Post-match with Dusty Rhodes, Magnum TA & Tommy Young

Nikita Koloff Interview (Wargames Hype. Possible Extra)

Jimmy Garvin vs. Rick Sullivan

Midnight Express Interview (What the hell is Lane wearing???) (Possible Extra)

Ric Flair Interview (War Games Hype Extra)

Blanchard, Anderson & Luger vs. McQuade, Force & Jay

Four Horsemen Interview

 

Jimmy& Ron Garvin vs. Savage & ???

The Southern Boys vs. ???

Barry Windham vs. Thunderfoot #1

Tully Blanchard Interview

The Russians & Manny Fernadez vs. Rocky King, Italian Stallion &Todd Champion

Ric Flair Interview

Nikita Koloff vs. Thunderfoot #2

Tully Blanchard vs. ???

Midnight Express vs. Nelson Royal & Mike Force

- Nothing here.

Disc 1

 

I'm fine with Will's Extra picks.

 

Midnight Express vs. Barry Windham & Ron Garvin (TV 5/16/87)

 

This is a solid nomination. We start out with a shine where the heels are fighting every step of the way. The faces have an answer for everything. We get a noggin knocker and this turns the tide and puts Ronnie in FIP. The work here is basic, but it works. The ref misses a tag so Garvin misses his opportunity. Gotta give Garvin credit for fighting every inch. Finally we get the tag and Windham is great and kicks it up a gear untl he's cut off. Now the MX heat segment on Barry is much more dynamic. It builds and builds to a hot tag and what a great finish.

 

Disc 2

 

Again I'm on board with the Extra picks

 

Dusty Rhodes vs. Tully Blanchard (6/6/87)

 

 

This is pretty damn great. The crowd was hot but seemed to burn out a tad. Tully was a bumping machine. The booking was good, but Dusty did come across as a whiny bitch though. All of the interviews were pretty great afterwards. Low-end nom.

Disc 3

Good on the extras

World Championship Wrestling 5/16/87

What a way to hype up the return of The Fabulous Freebirds to Atlanta than to show their Boys Are Back In Town video and this was awesome. I loved Schiavone calling the Birds "The Kings of the South."

JJ Dillon then comes out and talks about how the Horsemen are still the dominant force in wrestling no matter what units try to fight them.

US Tag Titles Tournament - Finals: The Midnight Express ("Beautiful" Bobby Eaton & "Sweet" Stan Lane) vs. "Hands of Stone" Ronnie Garvin & Barry Windham (5/16/87)

The faces start strong taking the battle to the heels who are effecting at selling everything they are taking and the bumping of course is solid as well. We go to break with the faces on top and come back with Garvin getting worked over on the mat by Eaton but Garvin makes a comeback as while on the floor he gave Eaton a backdrop on the concrete. Eaton though recovered and held Garvin by the foot keeping him from getting the tag to Windham. Garvin took a pounding here including an awesome Alabama Jam before getting the hot tag to Windham who runs wild as the crowd goes nuts. Windham looks hot here throwing some great punches and using his normal arsenal to weaken both of the MX. Windham breaks out his Superplex on Eaton but he has gotten weak on his own and can't capitalize on it. Barry climbed up top though and missed a diving kneedrop and now the MX are back in control taking it to him. The MX were so good at working offense that you believed that the match could end at just about any moment but Windham would always find a way to kick out. Eaton then went up top for a huge diving elbow but Windham rolled out of the way and he got the hot tag to Garvin who came in throwing bombs as Cornette nailed Windham with the tennis racket. Windham then came back in and hit Eaton with a lariat then threw Teddy Long out of the ring. Cornette then hit Lane with the racket by mistake as Garvin chased him around the ring. Windham got Cornette in a sleeper then Lane hit Garvin with a steel chair. Lane rolled Teddy in as Eaton had Garvin covered to end the match. This was a helluva damn match and one of the best TV matches of this era. Definite nomination.

The MX cut a promo afterwards in celebration as Cornette can't talk since he was still sleeping in the back thanks to Windham. Lane said that they did it on TV and the whole world saw how great they were and they want the World Tag Titles. Cornette finally comes out and says that he feels great and he is macho kind of guy. Extra material.

NWA Pro Wrestling 5/30/87

This starts with the RnR out with Caudle & Weaver talking about watching Magnum's back in Greensboro on 6/6 and wanting the NWA World Tag Titles back.

"Russian Nightmare" Nikita Koloff vs. The Gladiator (5/26/87)

Gladiator jumps Nikita at the bell but eats a Russian Sickle for his trouble. Nikita then joins Caudle after the match talking about how he is coming for Lex Luger.

The New Breed join Tony next for a wacky promo about being from the future and having to stop Lazer-Tron & Valiant.

The Midnight Express ("Beautiful" Bobby Eaton & "Sweet" Stan Lane) vs. Bill & Randy Mulkey (5/26/87)

MULKEYMANIA!!! and the MX take their time in working them over before putting them away.

Next we get Tully Blanchard bringing out Dark Journey as his personal secretary and it's great seeing Journey back in a heel role. Extra material.

Barry Windham vs. Brodie Chase (5/26/87)

Easy win for Barry.

Luger & Dillon join Tony next for a promo talking about how it's his destiny to win the US Title from Nikita Koloff.

NWA World TV Title: Tully Blanchard © vs. George South (5/26/87)

Of course the $10,000 is also on the line here. South gets a little offense in but Tully finishes him off with the Slingshot Suplex.

Then we get a promo from Valiant & Lazer-Tron with Valiant talking about riding around on his Harley with Lazer in a sidecar through North Carolina...hilarious.

"Ragin Bull" Manny Fernandez & "Russian Bear" Ivan Koloff vs. Ricky Nelson & Larry Stephens (5/26/87)

Koloff replaced Rick Rude as a NWA World Tag Champ and he had a different belt from Manny as Rude never gave his belt back.

"Total Package" Lex Luger vs. Dexter Westcott (5/26/87)

Luger wins with the Torture Rack quickly then demanded that Nikita come out and face him which Nikita did and this ended in a wild pull-apart brawl.

World Championship Wrestling 5/30/87

This starts with a taped promo from Dusty talking about how he is still standing tall and that Magnum TA will be with him on 6/6 at Greensboro Coliseum and they will be standing tall then. Dusty is awesome here and that leads to Magnum cutting a promo from Techwood which was the first time he had been there since the wreck and he cuts a great promo too. Extra material.

"Russian Nightmare" Nikita Koloff vs. Art Pritts (5/30/87)

Nikita is pumped from seeing Magnum and he kills this guy. Nikita then cuts a promo on Luger afterwards talking about the angle from NWA Pro and Nikita is hyped up.

"Gorgeous" Jimmy Garvin vs. Tim Davis (5/30/87)

Jimmy gets the Brainbuster in a minute.

Luger then comes out and he is happy that Nikita is upset with him because he has him off his game and he will win the title.

The Road Warriors (Animal & Hawk) vs. Mike Force & Ricky Sullivan (5/30/87)

Total destruction and then we get a promo afterwards from the Roadies & Ellering.

"Hands of Stone" Ronnie Garvin vs. Barry Phelps (5/30/87)

Garvin doesn't play around here and KO's Phelps quick to win.

NWA Pro Wrestling 6/6/87

Bob Caudle & Johnny Weaver start the show announcing that the RnR Express are the new NWA World Tag Champs.

Nikita then joins Caudle & Weaver talking about his issues with Luger with the brawl shown from last week.

Jim Crockett joins Tony next talking about the Great American Bash and that The Match Beyond will take place on 7/4 in Atlanta.

"Total Package" Lex Luger vs. Gene Ligon (6/2/87)

Luger gets the Torture Rack quickly and wins then goes to Caudle talking about how his patience with Nikita is over with.

Next we get promos from Tully & Journey for the 6/27 Philly show.

The New Breed (Chris Champion & Sean Royal) vs. Cougar Jay & Mike Force (6/2/87)

Another great squash for The New Breed even with Jimmy Garvin cutting a promo mid-match.

Then we get clips of the RnR/Ragin & Ravishing match that they said was the title change when it wasn't.

Ricky Morton then joined Caudle & Weaver talking about how great it was to be a 4-time NWA World Tag Champ.

Dusty then talks to Tony next about how he has all the money and he is getting Whiskey Bent & Glory Bound. Good stuff.

The Midnight Express ("Beautiful" Bobby Eaton & "Sweet" Stan Lane) vs. Ricky Nelson & John Savage (6/2/87)

A fun MX squash.

Next we get promos from Gibson for the 6/27 Philly show.

"Russian Bear" Ivan Koloff & Vladimir Petrov vs. Tommy Angel & Rocky King (6/2/87)

The Russians steamroll these guys.

Ric Flair talks to Tony next talking all kinds of shit about how great the Horsemen are and how they dominate the Summer.

NWA World TV Title: Tully Blanchard © vs. Todd Champion (6/2/87)

Todd gives Tully a good fight but a Slingshot Suplex by Tully ends the match naturally. Tully then talks to Caudle after the match about Dusty and he said that he would never lose his belt or his money to Dusty.

World Championship Wrestling 6/6/87

David & Tony start the show talking about how the RnR Express are the new NWA World Tag Champs.

The New Breed (Chris Champion & Sean Royal) vs. Mike Force & Alan Martin (6/6/87)

The fans go apeshit for the Breed here clapping along with their music and cheering for them loudly.

Then we get clips of the supposed title change between the RnR Express and Ragin & Ravishing which never happened because Rude walked out so they showed clips of an older match that the RnR won. That is some carny shit. Extra material.

Jim Crockett is out next talking about the upcoming Great American Bash tour.

The Rock n Roll Express (Robert Gibson & Ricky Morton) vs. Randy Barber & Cougar Jay (6/6/87)

RnR have their belts back and they take care of business and then they cut a promo after the match talking about how the belts were always theirs.

"Gorgeous" Jimmy Garvin vs. Terry Jones (6/6/87)

Garvin wins with the Brainbuster in about a minute.

Tully, Dillon, & Dark Journey are out next talking about the big match with Dusty that night in Greensboro and Tully cuts a fired up promo. Extra material.

The Midnight Express ("Beautiful" Bobby Eaton & "Sweet" Stan Lane) vs. Trent Knight & Larry Stephens (6/6/87)

This version of the MX is now starting to master the squash match then they cut a promo afterwards with Lane wearing an AWESOME "I Ran Into Tammy Faye At The Mall" shirt with Cornette demanding a NWA World Tag Titles match.

Barry Windham is out next talking about the Western States Heritage Title tournament and how he wants to win it so he can get the leverage he needs to be the top contender to Flair but he wants the UWF Title from Big Bubba as well.

Arn Anderson vs. Chance McQuade (6/6/87)

Arn dismantles McQuade but the story of the match is MLB Hall of Famer Lou Brock hanging around watching the match.

Next we get a taped promo from Dusty from the 6/6 episode of NWA Pro talking about his match with Tully in Greensboro as well as being happy about RnR winning the tag titles back. Dusty then talks about Baby Doll and warns Dark Journey saying he loves brown sugar. Extra material.

Jimmy Garvin & Precious are out next with Garvin demanding Flair and saying that he will take his title.

The Fabulous Freebirds (Terry "Bamm Bamm" Gordy, Michael "PS" Hayes & Buddy Jack Roberts) vs. The Gladiator & The Thunderfeet (6/6/87)

The fans are red hot for the Birds who just manhandle the masked men then the Birds cut a promo talking about the Horsemen and how they are going to kill them at The Omni the next night.

Vladimir Petrov vs. Gary Phelps (6/6/87)

Petrov wins in less than 30 seconds.

Flair then cuts a promo next talking about how he is being serious today and that no one is better than he is. Flair then rips on the Freebirds and brings over a crew member asking him if he wanted a night with Dark Journey which he said yes but Flair said he can't because she is Tully's. Flair then rips on the Celtics and pretends he is Magic Johnson. Extra material.

Barry Windham vs. Gladiator #2 (6/6/87)

Windham wins with a lariat in 15 seconds.

Nikita is out next for a promo about Luger then talks about getting revenge on Murdoch at The Omni the next night.

"Hands of Stone" Ronnie Garvin vs. Ricky Sullivan (6/6/87)

Garvin wins in about 40 seconds.....notice a pattern. Windham then joined Garvin for a promo afterwards about getting back their US Tag Titles.

Then we get clips of Gilbert & Murdoch breaking Doc's arm from UWF.

Luger & Dillon are out next talking about Nikita and Luger said that the US Title is his very soon and he flexes a lot.

"Nature Boy" Ric Flair & "Total Package" Lex Luger vs. Ricky Nelson & John Savage (6/6/87)

Here is The Dream Team and Flair uses the figure-four to win in about 90 seconds. The Horsemen then all celebrate together after the match ripping on the Freebirds. Flair then said that Dark Journey tried Hayes but he didn't meet her standards.

NWA Pro Wrestling 6/13/87

NWA World TV Title & Winner Takes All $100,000: Tully Blanchard © vs. "American Dream" Dusty Rhodes (6/6/87)

Dillon wants to get the money from Magnum himself but Magnum's cane says different. Dusty just tees off on Tully early and often here and this is really fun stuff as Tully was great at selling and bumping for Dusty's offense. Dusty focuses on working over Tully's right leg and does it inside and outside the ring even using Magnum's cane as a weapon. Dusty at one point even locked on the Figure-Four leglock on the floor as Tully was talking shit to Magnum. Tully though would recover and locked on his own Figure-Four leglock inside the ring but Dusty would reverse it fairly quickly. Tully still works over Dusty's bad left leg fiercely though before Dusty fights back until both tried a cross body block and ran into each other. Dusty got up first and then went back teeing off on Tully where he has him reeling. Dusty would hit Tully with his own Slingshot Suplex to win the title or so he thought, Tully put his foot on the bottom rope after the pin was counted but Tommy Young thought he had it before the count. Dillon steals the money and runs away with Dusty chasing him out of the building and Young counts Dusty out. Tony can't believe what happened and Magnum was looking incredulous at what happened. Dusty then cut an angry promo in the ring. This was a very strong match and an easy nomination.

Next we get promos from Paul Jones, Petrov, & Luger for the 6/27 show in Philly.

Tully then cuts a promo with Dark Journey talking about the match and he said there is no controversy in his eyes and Dusty's money is gone. Extra material.

The Midnight Express ("Beautiful" Bobby Eaton & "Sweet" Stan Lane) vs. Ricky Nelson & John Savage (6/9/87)

MX only needs a minute to win this one.

Then we get a promo from Gibson for the 6/27 show in Philly.

Barry Windham vs. Brodie Chase (6/9/87)

Windham wins with the Lariat in less than a minute then talks to Caudle at ringside about the Dusty/Tully situation.

Arn, Tully, Luger, Dillon, & Dark Journey are at ringside next with Dillon saying that Tully would never wrestle Dusty for the TV Title again.

World Championship Wrestling 6/13/87

Ronnie Garvin starts the show talking about Dusty's issues with Tully Blanchard and that the Risky Business Boys are ready to battle Horsemen at all times.

Kendall Windham vs. Art Pritts (6/13/87)

Kendall making his TBS debut here and wins very quickly with the Bulldog.

RnR Express are out with Tony next talking about defending their titles.

Next we get Jim Crockett on the 6/13 NWA Pro show talking about "The Match Beyond" taking place at The Omni on 7/4 and goes over the rules. Crockett also announces that Tommy Young will not referee any Dusty matches per investigation. Next we get the War Games video. Extra material.

Then we get Dusty vs. Tully JIP from Greensboro on 6/6 with all the angles afterwards which is extra material.

Nikita comes out next talking about how there is no doubt that Dusty is the real NWA World TV Champ before talking about putting his US Title against Luger on the Bash tour.

"Gorgeous" Jimmy Garvin vs. Ricky Sullivan (6/13/87)

Garvin wins with the Brainbuster in seconds.

Cornette and the MX are out next where Cornette talks about surviving all of his matches with Garvin and they want the NWA World Tag Titles.

Ric Flair is out next for a promo talking about Tully beating Dusty for the $100,000 and then talks about the upcoming War Games where he rallies up the other Horsemen. Extra material.

"The Enforcer" Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, & "Total Package" Lex Luger vs. Cougar Jay, Mike Force, & Chance McQuade (6/13/87)

Flair has his boys motivated and they take it out on the jobbers here. This is also the first time that Arn is referenced as the Enforcer on TV.

The Horsemen are all together next for a promo with their new music and this is tremendous stuff. Extra material.

NWA Pro Wrestling 6/20/87

"Gorgeous" Jimmy Garvin & "Hands of Stone" Ronnie Garvin vs. David Isley & John Savage (6/16/87)

Very easy win for the Garvins.

The Southern Boys (Steve Armstrong & Tracy Smothers) vs. Tommy Angel & Cougar Jay (6/16/87)

Southern Boys make their JCP debut here coming out to Bocephus and it's a shame they don't last longer because they looked good here.

Jim Crockett then announced next that Dusty & Tully will meet in a Barbed Wire Match on 7/18 in Charlotte.

Next we get a promo from Barry Switzer about the Bash.

Barry Windham vs. Thunderfoot #2 (6/16/87)

Another good win for Windham.

Tully joins Tony next upset about having to meet Dusty in a Barbed Wire Match because he beat Dusty on 6/6 in Greensboro.

"Ragin Bull" Manny Fernandez, "Russian Bear" Ivan Koloff, & Vladimir Petrov vs. Todd Champion, Italian Stallion, & Rocky King (6/16/87)

This is a total mauling by the heels.

Flair comes out next and said that July is the best month of the year for him because he makes the most money that month from working the Bash tour. Flair is awesome here and extra material.

"Russian Nightmare" Nikita Koloff vs. The Gladiator (6/16/87)

Gladiator tries but fails and eats a Russian Sickle.

NWA World TV Title: Tully Blanchard © vs. Ricky Nelson (6/16/87)

Tully just hammers Nelson here.

The Midnight Express ("Beautiful" Bobby Eaton & "Sweet" Stan Lane) vs. Mike Force & Nelson Royal (6/16/87)

Cornette talks shit on the RnR throughout the match where the MX toy with their opponents before finishing them off.

Luger & Dillon are with Tony next talking about the War Games on 7/4 and how the Horsemen will be dishing out all the pain. Luger also says that he will weaken Nikita and will take his title.