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I got this in the mail today, and watched it. I must say this is must see viewing. There was some kayfabing involved, but overall pretty interesting. Some of the stories are incredible. They had this visual on the screen with all the deaths, and they kept adding them to the screen until the screen is unreadable. One of the stories Kevin tells about his father is just jaw dropping.

I miss the old Territory system. It allowed talent to stay a lot fresher. Traveling world champion popping a territory. Different workers working different styles.

Hennig v Bockwinkle 12-31-86 The Showboat These guys had an awesome match here. Hennig played the young up and comer trying to unseat the veteran champion. These guys just sworked a really smart match. Hennig worked over Bockwinkle's arm with some really solid work. He used armbars, cross armbars, punches to the arm, and knees and kicks to arms mixed in with some arm drags. Bockwinkle used a headlock on Hennig early and worked spots around that. Eventually, Nick started working over Hennig's legs. One really cool spot was when Bockwinkle had him in a Figure 4 and seamlessley switched into an Indian Deathlock. Both guys were selling each others offense so well it helped make the match. Eventually Hennig is busted open in the last 10 minutes which helped the drama of the match. Towards the end of the match Hennig begins working over Bockwinkle's legs to set up the figure 4. Hennig has him trapped in it as time expires. This was awesome,awesome stuff. 4 1/2 *

Yeah, and later in the WWE section Meltzer hints at a Batista/Melina thing. Talking about Melina, and Sharmell argueing about the fight because Melina is suddenely Batista's friend.

The Blonds defeated Steamboat/Douglas for the unified tag team belts that consisted of the NWA and WCW belts. The photo looks like Austin has the NWA belt, and Pillman has the WCW belt.

The tag team division RIP since easily 97 in the WWF. The titles don't mean anything in the WWE anymoe. If the main belt means nothing, the tag belt means even less. I love tag team wrestling, it is a lost artform.

Ted Dibiase v Tito Santana WWF from the Cow Palace in late 88 or early 89 This was a pretty fun match. The guys got around 12 minutes and had a good match. Dibiase was one of the great workers around this time, and Santana was pretty good also. Dibiase was working over Tito's neck,and back as the set up to the Million Dollar Dream. Tito was using the headlock to control match, and worked spots around the headlock. The psychology here was simple yet effective. The crowd was into the match. Both guys worked hard to get the match over. The finish was blah, but it furthered the Dibiase/Hercules feud that really didn't get Hercules over as a babyface like the WWF wanted. The more Tito I watch the more I like him. Sure he can be a little too much kick/punch stuff,but he sells well, has good timing, good psychology, and plays the underdog well. The problem being underdog babyfaces weren't pushed strong in the WWF in the late 80's.

Fantastics v Sting/Eddie Gilbert Mid-South/UWF date unknown The Fantastics are the champions going into the match. They are so over in this territory. Actually everywhere I've seen them work they are over. They are the epitome of babyfaces. Sting was green as grass, but was developeing more w/o the Warrior at this point. It was a good match with all action. The guys only got about 6 minutes but they used them as best as they could. The match had tons of heat which was a staple of Mid-South wrestling. Crowd heat is so important to me in a match. It can make a good match great, a bad match bearable. This is why imodo Wrestlemania V was hard to watch at times. The crowd was apathetic to everything. The Brainbusters/Strike Force match you could hear a pin drop. The Brainbusters was an awesome team at getting heat, and they got none at Wrestlemania. That hurt that match. The Fantastics and Sting/Gilbert were working at a really fast pace. The finish set up the Fantastics for a series of rematches. The fans thought the Fantastics were screwed out of the title. The work wasn't spectactular, but it was good. Especially from the Fantastics,and Gilbert. Sting seemed a little lost, and clumsy. Though he did show some athletic ability.

Curt Hennig v Hercules 7-10-89 MSG This was a really well worked match. Hennig made Hercules look like a million bucks.At one point in time Hercules was a solid worker. Of course Hennig was bumping like a super ball here. This really helped get Hercules over as a super strong guy so Hennig got Hercules gimmick over. Hennig was working over Hercules neck throughout the match. He heeled it up real nice in some of the rest holds.Rest holds in matches are important when they are used to help enhance the story, or to get heat. Resting to get rest is just lazy. Both these guys used rest holds to enhance the story.Hercules worked over Hennigs backs with knees,stomps, and bear hugs to set him up for his standing backbreaker. In one spot Hennig does his running neck snap on Hercules in the standing position, and Hennig sells his back on impact. This was a cool payoff to all the back work done by Hercules. Overall, a really good match. Hennig was one of the top 5 workers in the states at this point, and this match shows why.

Brody V Abby Feb of 87 Somwhere on the Island Growing up these guys terrified me. Wrestling really misses guys like this in today's product. Watching these guys you really believed in them as brutal animals. This was just a bloody brawl. Both guys are carving each others up with the Wooden Forks. The most surreal aspect of the match was when they were brawling all over the building all the spectators were running all over the place. Overall, it was a fun brawl.

Jake Roberts v Ted Dibiase 1-9-88 Spectrum These guys have had a lot of really good matches with each other in Mid-South as well as in the WWF. I've seen them work in tags, singles, elimination matches etc. They have all been good. This is no exception. What they did in the ring was fine. Even the finish was a fine finish. My gripe was the time they got. The match time was right around 8 minutes. These guys need at least 12 minutes to tell a story. Both guys are excellent workers, but if you get shafted on the time it's hard to have a great match. Both of these guys are great in ring psychologists. Haveing more time is usually a benefit to them. Their was a lot of good talent on the show. Other matches were Rude v Warrior,Strike Force v Hart Foundation, Bulldogs v Conquistadors, Beefcake v Valentine, Jumping Bomb Angels v The Glamour Girls, and Savage v HTM in an NWA cage. So obviously with so much talent it's hard to get 15 minutes for a match. Oh well, it was still a solid match.

Backlund v Buddy Rose 8/30/82 MSG These guys had a really good match. Rose really was a good worker in the 80's. People really don't give the guy enough credit. Rose took some good bumps, but I thought some of them were a little too comical for a World Title Match at MSG. With that said Rose's stooging in the match was really good. We got the typical Backlund mat game. The match had a clean finish with helped it a lot. I liked this match better than the one they had on the DVDVR best of the 80's WWF DVDS. The match had a pretty good structure to it. Rose was controlling Backlund with a headlock, hair pulling etc, and worked spots around it. Both guys took the crowd up and down when they wanted to. Even with the rest holds their was something happening. I would definetly recommend the match.

My favorite part this week of the Observer was the mention how Jarrett set up a conference call for the War Games Cage match; so all the participants could plan it out. The no shows for said call were Styles,Rhino,Killings, and one of AMW. The guys were fined 2 hundo. Rhino's status on the fine was unclear. Styles tried to call Jarrett, but Jarrett wouldn't take his call. I mean a fraking conference call to go over a match. Wrestling is too corporate nowadays.

Curt Hennig v Ronnie Garvin 3-18-89 MSG These guys got around 11 minutes and had a pretty good match. Hennig was the Benoit/Malenko/Guerrero type worker for the WWF in the 80's early 90's for television and houseshows. If a Nitro or Raw was around in his prime he would be given 8-20 minutes to eat up show time. Hennig of course bumps like a pinball. Some of the bumps he takes are just incredible. No wonder his back was shot by 91. The way Hennig sold Garvins punches were awe inspiring. Heck after the 1st one I thought Garvin legit knocked him on his ass. It was just a good give and take match.Hennig was a master heel in heeling it up with hair pulls etc. For about 30 seconds the crowd begins to turn on the match. To both guys credit they suck the crowd right back into the match.

Bob Orton v Pat Patterson 8/30/82 MSG This was from the show with the famous Tiger Mask/Dynamite Kid match. This was a solid match nothing special though. The guys got about 10 minutes so the match didn't build real well especially since the finish was a C.O. Orton took some Curt Hennig like bumps. My expectations were high for the match, and in that case I was dissapointed. Overall, it was ok but could have been a lot better.

Steamboat/Muraco @MSG 11-25-85 It was a pretty solid match. The psychology was pretty solid with Steamboat working over Muraco's neck. Muraco eventually gains control on Steamboat and Steamboat gets juice on himself to help gain sympathy. Muraco works the cut like any good heel should. Overall, really solid stuff.Steamboat really had good psycholgy to his matches in general, and this was no exception. The crowd seemed a little lackluster at times. The guys were able to bring the crowd up and down when they wanted to.

I just watched the title change between the Rock n Roll and Fernandez and Rude that was on Saturday Night that took place after the the match with the Andersons at Starcade. The Rock n Roll were selling their injuries from Starcade. The guys got about 35 minutes to tell one heck of a story. The more Manny Fernandez I watch the more I realize what a complete and utter stud worker he was. Rude was a solid worker at this point, but was smoked in comparison to Manny. Morton was gold in this as well. He would sell his arm that it hurt doing arm drags and the like from his injuries at Starcade. A match that told a similar story that the Starcade match with the Andersons told which made perfect sense since they were selling injuries from Starcade. I feel both matches were in similar quality.

I loved that match between the Andersons and Rock n Roll. The match was so smartly worked. Like you said the finish was anticlimatic but did play into the fact that the Rock n Roll were the master of the flash pin. I felt the blood and the psychology were really strong in the match. The Anderson's were just destroying that arm, and cutting the ring in half getting heat 1st on Gibson, and then on Morton. Just really good stuff.

I just watched both those McGee/Flair matches.They were both well worked. McGee's offense was really state of the art for 1984. The Benoit comparisonof 93 is pretty spot on. In the 2 matches you saw McGee perform a German Suplex,flying lariat, flying headbutt, and some really solid matwork. That bump he takes into the turnbuckle for the finish of the 2nd match was incredible. McGee just seemed really smooth in the ring. Loss, I think you liked them a tad bit more than I did, but not by much. Pegasus thanks for the link; I always wondered what happened to him. Also does anyone know of anymore other McGee matches that are worth going out and seeing?

Just finished watching a Flair/Jumbo match from 78.The match was for Jumbo's U.N title. This match had some really cool stuff in it. Jumbo performs a gut wrench over the head suplex on Flair. I was like holy shit. I even went back on the DVD to make sure my eyes weren't decieving me. Flair takes a front bump over the ring post that looked awesome. He sold his arm and Jumbo did some arm work on Flair. Jumbo won the first fall with a belly to back suplex. I personally would have had the finish with the gut wrench because that looked like death. Flair eventually gets the upperhand in the 2nd fall and just absolutely destroys Jumbo's leg. Eventually, Jumbo falls prey to Flair's Figure 4. The camera gets a great shot of the figure 4 where you can really see the #4 in the maneuver. In the 3rd fall Flair continues to work on the leg until Jumbo score with a small package off the figure 4. Overall, this was apretty entertaining match. Both guys would have better matches with each other over the years, but this was a terriffic start.

I just watched Flair/Adams 3/13/85. Pretty cool match with Adams as the freshly turned heel versus NWA champ Ric Flair. This is Texas and they usually hate Flair, but tonight he's the babyface and Adams is the dastardly heel. So Flair works a babyface style with some heel tendecies. The heat for the match was really hot. All due to the fresh dynamic involved. Plus getting the match with Flair is what Gary Hart promised Adams if he would allign himself with Hart. Flair busts out an airplane spin which I don't recall him ever doing. Both guys seem to be relishing the roles they are placed in the match. The 1st few minutes is just stalling and playing to the crowd which just makes the crowd even more into it. Overall just really cool stuff.

I just watched a Steamboat/Kernodle v The Koloffs tag match. Just a well worked tag match with tons of heat. Don Kernodle really was a solid worker. He has had his share of really stellar matches.

I just watched a handheld of Flair/Ronnie Garvin 3-24-86. Just another good match between the 2. The matches between these guys really don't get enough love. In this match they go close to 40 minutes with really good work all around.Ronnie Garvin is a really good worker who also doesn't get nearly enough respect. Sure, I just watched a match of his against Flair, but he has had a lot of really good matches with a variety of opponents over the years.

I too like the Hawaii match. I flip flop a lot between the Hawaii match, St. Louis match, the August of 82 match, and Flair's title win in Japan.

I just watched Roberts/Dibiase in the WWF @MSG. I think the date was December of 89. The match was a no DQ/Virgil is barred from ringside. What a great match. I feel it was better than the match that was on the DVDVR best of the 80's in the WWF match. I even think it's slightly better than the match between the 2 off the Barnett Mid-South disks which was an awesome match. The psychology in the match was really good. You had Jake work over Dibiase's arm, while Dibiase worked over Jake's neck. They worked these body parts to perfection. Dibiase even gives the piledriver to Jake. Jake even goes to the 2nd rope and performs a flying knee lift to Dibiase. Just really awesome stuff with 2 really smart workers.