Posted May 12, 200916 yr comment_5439348 Mark Youngblood vs. Steve Regal This was pretty fun. Phil often talks about the importance of card structure, and all these shows have been opening with varying combinations of Steve Regal, Mark Youngblood, Jerry Allen, etc. doing your "basic technical opener to establish the rules" as of late. This is probably the best example yet, as both guys have a straight, aesthetically pleasing match where you're given little reason to invest in them too heavily, but just enough reason to actually enjoy what's going on. Buddy Roberts vs. Mike Reed Nothing special. Brian Adias & Jerry Allen vs. The Grappler & John Tatum Kinda empty for a match featuring three guys I like. Freebirds Music Video ("Can't Stop Rocking") Awesome and frequently absurd. Definite extra material. Lance Von Erich vs. Michael Hayes Real good match. I'm starting to think Lance got a raw deal. He is not a great wrestler by any means, but he was pretty competent and over. The main thing working against him was that he wasn't a Von Erich, and once he got exposed as a fraud, his career just sort of fell apart. Kinda wonder how he would have fared if he was just another babyface friend of the Von Erichs instead of being presented as the genuine article. Brickhouse Brown vs. Steve Regal Brown's debut in World Class. Another really fun straight technical opener. Goes the time limit, and you kinda want to see the grudge match that ideally would follow. The Von Erichs vs. The Freebirds (JIP) This is from Ft. Worth. What's shown is pretty good, but I don't think there's enough here to nominate. Rick Rude vs. Steve Simpson Also pretty good, but nothing blowaway. Bruiser Brody and Terry Gordy brawl in Ft. Worth Brody interrupts a match to call out Gordy, and they start brawling all over the place. This was pretty awesome, as they just go at each other with neither man backing down an inch. Definite extra material. The Fantastics vs. The Grappler & John Tatum This was more competitive than their previous match, but had surprisingly little Tatum/Missy stooging and was a bit on the short side. Still good, but I'll have to give it a pass.
November 9, 200915 yr comment_5445710 All of the bouts were solid on this disc. Their was one bout I feel like it should be a nom. The Fantastics vs. Tatum/Grappler. This was a Texas Tornado bout. This was a tad on the short side, but bell to bell action. It had a real Memphis feel to it. The Sunshine/Missy vendor spot was great. Both teams worked hard and I'll give it a nom.
January 4, 201015 yr comment_5446881 "Mr. Electricity" Steve Regal vs. Mark Youngblood (3/7/86) This was decent. Buddy Roberts vs. Mike Reed (3/7/86) Squash. The Grappler (Len Denton) & "Hollywood" John Tatum vs. Brian Adias & Jerry Allen (3/7/86) Grappler & Tatum teamed up quite a bit here and were a competent team. This match felt like it was just there though although Tatum & Missy were good as usual. Lance Von Erich vs. Michael "PS" Hayes (3/7/86) This was fine as Hayes was solid here but Lance just wasn't good enough here to hold his own. Brickhouse Brown vs. “Mr. Electricity” Steve Regal (3/21/86) Brick is making his debut and Regal is also a newcomer. This also suffers from a big clip as we get only a couple of minutes of a time limit draw. “Ravishing” Rick Rude vs. Steve Simpson (3/21/86) Simpson is also making his debut here and a new teen idol is born. Simpson put up a fight but would get squashed. Then we get highlights of a Brody/Gordy brawl from Fort Worth and this was awesome. Definite extra. Brickhouse Brown vs. “Mr. Electricity” Steve Regal (3/21/86) Brick is making his debut and Regal is also a newcomer. This also suffers from a big clip as we get only a couple of minutes of a time limit draw. “Ravishing” Rick Rude vs. Steve Simpson (3/21/86) Simpson is also making his debut here and a new teen idol is born. Simpson put up a fight but would get squashed. Then we get highlights of a Brody/Gordy brawl from Fort Worth and this was awesome. Definite extra. Texas Tornado Match: The Fantastics (Bobby Fulton & Tommy Rogers) vs. The Grappler (Len Denton) & “Hollywood” John Tatum (3/21/86) The Fants are just passing through Dallas as they jump to the UWF a week later. There is a brawl before the bell rings with the Fants cleaning house while eveyrone is in their entrance attire. The brawl would continue as Sunshine goes after Missy getting french fries and smearing them on here as the heels get distracted with the Grappler getting cradled by Fulton for the win. Very short but fun.
