The Great Kabuki & “Ravishing” Rick Rude vs. “Gentleman” Chris Adams & Lance Von Erich (5/30/86)

 

Gary Hart shows up before the match and announces that Abdullah the Butcher won’t leave easily leading to a pull-apart with Lance. The match doesn’t pick up until Adams gets in the ring to get his ass kicked by the heels but would get the tag to Lance who held his own until Kabuki hit a back round kick. Rude would then come in working on Lance with a bearhug before Lance would counter into one of his own but Rude cut that off quickly. Lance would fight back though and got the iron claw on Rude before Adams & Kabuki joined in the fun. Rude would throw Lance into the ropes so Percy could hit him with his cane and Rude would follow with a short clothesline for the win. Rude would then post Adams after the match before celebrating. This was a pretty decent match but not enough for a nomination.

 

Next we get the debut of Blackjack Mulligan as he jumps Brody during his match with Rude in Fort Worth on 5/19 and this is a definite extra.

 

Blackjack Mulligan vs. Jerry Allen (5/30/86)

 

Squash and it wasn’t long before Mulligan started wearing a shirt because he was really out of shape here.

 

Gary Hart then cuts another promo regarding Abdullah.

 

Then we get a promo from Raven about Sunshine and another promo from Hart.

 

Next is a video history about the relationship between Adams & Kevin Von Erich.

 

“Gentleman” Chris Adams, Kevin & Lance Von Erich vs. Blackjack Mulligan, The Great Kabuki, & “Ravishing” Rick Rude (6/13/86)

 

Kevin & Rude started early and Kevin just murdered him with a dropkick with Rude looking pretty dazed and tagging right out to Kabuki. Bill Mercer calling Lance “superbly handsome” was pretty creepy. Adams would take some shots from Mulligan and a groggy Rude before tagging in Kevin who Rude immediately rammed his head into a turnbuckle very hard. Kevin & Mulligan would then try to put the claw on each other but Kevin would snap another sniff dropkick on Mulligan’s head. Rude would continue to work really stiff on guys especially Lance who was supposed to duck under a clothesline but Rude nailed him on the top of his head. Adams would come back in and they kept pounding on Rude before it broke out into a 6-way brawl. Kevin would try to put the claw on Mulligan but he backdropped him over the top rope for the DQ. Kevin would get his revenge though with a fucking huge flying dropkick off the top rope on Mulligan before the heels got out. Bad finish but a damn good match and I think this is a fairly easy nomination.

 

Sunshine then cuts a promo with great 80’s hair about her feud with Raven.

 

Mulligan then comes out for a promo calling out Brody who would come out for a wild brawl. Extra material.

 

“Gentleman” Chris Adams & Steve Simpson vs. The Great Kabuki & “Ravishing” Rick Rude (6/27/86)

 

Simpson would take a pounding before tagging in Adams who would pop a Superkick on Kabuki but Kabuki would fight back with chops as Simpson pounds the apron getting the crowd into it. Rude comes in and continues to work over Adams before tagging in Kabuki who keeps up the punishment until Adams hit another Superkick before tagging in Simpson. Simpson comes in a house of fire getting a sleeper on Kabuki which would set off a 4-way brawl before Pringle would hit Kabuki with his cane by accident and Simpson covered for the win. Kabuki would hit Pringle after the match until Killer Brooks would join him to send Rude out of the ring. Fun little match but not a nomination.

 

Then we get a promo from Kerry Von Erich at the hospital after his motorcycle wreck and this is extra material.

 

Then we get another wild brawl with Brody & Abby from Fort Worth and this is definite extra material.

 

After this we get another brawl with Abdullah this time against the Magnificent Zulu aka Ron Pope who was one of the worst wrestlers ever. Hart then puts a clotheshanger around Zulu’s neck and Abby chokes him out

 

Kevin Von Erich vs. Abdullah the Butcher (7/25/86)

 

They really got Abby over huge here as a monster who would attack anyone and use any weapon to win. This was nothing but a brawl with Abby doing his normal schtick and Kevin bringing the fight right back to him. Hart would try to interfere but Kevin knocked him off so Abby could catch him with a thrust to the throat. The battle then went to the floor as Abby threw Kevin out the back door and walked back to the ring. Kevin would come back to the ring and would get a steel chair to nail Abby with it as the brawl would continue. Kevin was on fire here just throwing shots and Abby was using his weight to hold his own. The brawl would then continue up the ramp into the fans before Kevin would come back down demanding that he could back so he could kill him. There was no winner and this was completely awesome as it was one of the wildest brawls I’ve seen in World Class. Definite nomination.

 

Next we get a promo from the Dingo Warrior and the Warrior Nation has begun.

 

Then we get the debut promo by Larry Sharpe & Crusher Yurkov aka Bam Bam Bigelow.

 

Bruiser Brody vs. Perry Jackson (8/22/86)

 

Squash.

 

Then we get highlights of Borne & Sawyer attacking Dingo in Fort Worth.

 

Crusher Yurkov vs. Magnificent Zulu (9/29/86)

 

Sharpe cuts a promo before the match to ask Zulu one more time to join up with him & Yurkov and he would turn him down. This was a horrible match and Sharpe continued to lobby to Zulu after the match who would leave with him. Sharpe then announced that Zulu with a new look with a shaved head and facepaint would face from the WWF, Ricky Steamboat at the Cotton Bowl.

 

Kevin & Mike Von Erich vs. Dingo Warrior & “Ravishing” Rick Rude (8/8/86)

 

Funny seeing Warrior & Rude teaming up. This had a big clip where they went right to the end just after the start. Dingo & Rude would then start brawling after the match.

1. Lance Von Erich + Chris Adams vs Rick Rude + Kabuki

 

It was alright. Nothing too great.

 

- highlights Rick Rude vs Bruiser Brody; Blackjack Mulligan attacks Brody - Ft Worth

 

This was a good piece of business.

 

2. Blackjack Mulligan vs Jerry Allen

 

This was bad.

 

 

int: Gary Hart

 

int: Raven

 

int: Gary Hart

 

3. Chris Adams, Kevin + Lance Von Erich vs Rick Rude, Kabuki, + Blackjack Mulligan

 

This was alright. It just falls short of a nomination.

 

int: Sunshine

 

Int: Blackjack Mulligan; Bruiser Brody comes out and they brawl

 

Another fun angle and a potential extra.

 

4. Rick Rude + Kabuki vs Chris Adams + Steve Simpson

 

I thought this was good. It still didn't feel like a nomination. The face side did a good job selling. The heels just didn't seem hate filled enough. Kabuki looked good in here.

 

int: Kerry Von Erich in the hospital after his motorcycle accident

 

Extra.

 

5. Bruiser Brody vs Terry Gordy

 

Short brawl.

 

Hart and Abby/ Brody angle. Definite extra.

 

6. Abdullah the Butcher vs Zulu

 

Abby is one scary mother.

 

7. Kevin Von Erich vs Abdullah the Butcher

 

The presentation of Abby is so awesome. When Kevin threw that chair shot at Abdullah it looked like he was attempting to kill him. I liked how stiff Kevin was

here. i'll give it a nom as well.

 

int: Dingo Warrior

 

- Larry Sharpe + Crusher Yurkov promo

 

 

 

8. Bruiser Brody vs Perry Jackson

 

 

- highlights Matt Borne + Buzz sawyer attacking Dingo Warrior - Ft Worth

 

9. Crusher Yurkov vs Zulu - Ft Worth

 

int: Larry Sharpe, Crusher Yurkov, + the "new" Zulu

The Great Kabuki & “Ravishing” Rick Rude vs. “Gentleman” Chris Adams & Lance Von Erich (5/30/86)

 

I liked this a bunch, but I don't see a point in nominating it.

 

int: Raven

int: Gary Hart

 

These were fun, Gary's promo was particularly awesome. Maybe extras.

 

This probably would've worked better as a Kevin/Adams vs. Rude/Mulligan tag, as Lance and Kabuki didn't really add anything to the match, but they didn't detract from it, either, so I can't complain. This was great from the word "go", as Kevin and Rude were looking really fired up. Loved the way Rude seemed to shoot in to grab the drop toe hold before Kev came back with the big dropkick. Kevin is a guy with a really sweet dropkick, and he throws three great ones in this baby. Mulligan put on a lot of weight, and is looking eerily like late-90's Hansen, only somehow even more broken down. Still, he is pretty game for this, and he does his best with what little he can do. He sort of works like Pierroth here, as he is a really broken down old guy who apparently can't bump anymore, so he has to find other ways to get over his opponents. I don't think he does it as well as Pierroth, as Pierroth could actually bump a little, and his slumping against the ropes and into the corner generally worked better than Blackjack being staggered by his opponents offense while making faces like the boxers in Punch-Out!! whenever Little Mac pops them one. Also, Blackjack's brawling wasn't so hot, kinda felt like he needed to be wearing jeans to the match so he could hit people with his belt like Pierroth. Still, I did like his funny face selling, and his brawling wasn't terrible. Sure, the littlest big boot was odd, but he made up for it with a nice leaping (sort of) back elbow. Rude really carried the day for his team, and I thought he was the star of the match. Now that I think about it, Lance did add one cool thing here, as he and Rude were going to do a missed clothesline spot to transition Lance to offense, but it got blown, and lance took it on the forehead. It was botch, but it was a good looking botch, and they improvised an even better transition where Lance blocked a Rude vertical suplex and hit one of his own that almost looked like a deadlift. So five guys came to play, and Kabuki didn't do anything wrong. Even with the DQ finish, this was a hell of a bout, maybe even a top 20 pick. I second the nomination.

 

int: Sunshine

Int: Blackjack Mulligan; Bruiser Brody comes out and they brawl

 

God dammit. I had written this whole big TomK Impact Workrate Report-style thing about how great Blackjack and Brody talking shit was, how I dug Blackjack's Cowardly Lion act, how the actual brawl was underwhelming and killed my interest in a Bunkhouse match between these two after the shit talking did such a great job building my interest in it, how these two had the potential to have a great bunkhouse match but how the brawl showed me they wouldn't...and then my computer crashes. Stupid computer. Stupid, stupid computer. Anyway, weak brawl or not, the shit talking, Blackjack's cowardice, and Sunshine's 80's hair makes this an extra.

 

“Gentleman” Chris Adams & Steve Simpson vs. The Great Kabuki & “Ravishing” Rick Rude (6/27/86)

 

I think this match is getting undersold. '85-'86 was apparently the peak of Kabuki's powers, but unlike his other great matches, this one is actually about his offense rather than his selling. He has some sweet looking takedowns early on, which really caught me by surprise. Rude was always great, and this match was no exception. Simpson's FIP section was nice, but I think I liked him more working the apron getting the crowd (and me) fired up during Adams' FIP section. Adams is actually the least guy in the match, and when that's the case, you know you have an awesome match on your hands. Adams' big contribution here was giving Kabuki a taste of his own medicine by letting him charge the corner and eat a superkick for a change, which I thought was cool. Post-match stuff was good, too. Kabuki as tweener is probably a better role for him than Kabuki as a straight heel, and I imagine Kabuki and Tim Brooks vs. Rude and a sufficiently monstrous partner would be a great match. Even with two against it, I am throwing this on the block.

 

int: Kerry Von Erich in the hospital after his motorcycle accident

 

Let me see if I have my timeline straight...this was before they actually had to amputate his foot, right? Either way, this goes on the Sleaze Extra set.

 

Abdullah the Butcher vs Zulu

 

While I get the sense that Zulu was probably almost as bad as Kris says he was (how do you botch stepping into the ring?), he was appropriately fired up here, so I give him a thumbs up for his performance in this match (all one minute of it). Plus, we have the fun pre-match stuff and the nasty post-match stuff. I think this is a good addition to the Abby file.

 

Kevin Von Erich vs. Abdullah the Butcher (7/25/86)

 

This is a match I've really been psyched up about seeing, and it did not disappoint. Abdullah is one of the few guys who you can totally buy no-selling getting cracked over the head with a steel chair. Match definitely leaves you wanting more, maybe some kind of street fight or falls count anywhere match. Still this is a blast as a stand alone bout, and it definitely moves forward.