Superstar Sleeze

Bill Dundee vs Bobby Eaton - Memphis 7/24/82 The ideal Southern 80s TV match that is just so much fun. Eaton & Hart are out to talk some smack about the Aussie Midget. The Dutchman was going to have none of that. Dundee asks him to watch his back and neutralize that twerp, the Mouth of the South. Eaton is consummate heel. Just so good at stooging especially little details saying his tights were yanked on a hiptoss, the way he goes for the ropes to break up a fall or how he asks Dutch how he likes it when he is choking Dundee on the ropes. Dundee missed a splash from the top rope and that's your transition. They don't give much a way in this because they are on TV, but they are doing so much with little. Does anybody have a better elbow drop than Bobby Eaton? Dutch fails at his one job as Hart trips Dundee up during his mini-comeback, but Eaton only gets two. Whats good for the goose, is good for the gander and Mantell trips up Eaton, but that only gets two. The middle rope breaks, which I think was a shoot. Lay off the twinkies, Dundee. Dundee hits a cross body for the three! The First Family hits the ring, but Dutch with the whip and King Cobra chase them off as the bloody Dundee is awarded the title. Just a fundamentally sound fun TV match. ***

Bobby Eaton & Sweet Brown Sugar vs Dutch Mantell & King Cobra - Memphis 7/19/82 If I have heard it once, I have heard it a million times from Mempho wrestling fans that Sweet Brown Sugar was actually Bobby Eaton's best tag partner. After watching this, I can see their point because it is basically like two Bobby Eaton's in the ring. I think I prefer how Condrey with his gritty heelishness and Lane with his flashier personality add more to Eaton rather than Sugar which just amplifies Eaton's great offense. The story here is that Mantell is feuding with the First Family specifically Eaton who beat him for the Mid-America title. Mantell wants Eaton, but Eaton is doing all he can to avoid him. I am sucker for these stories with lots of chase scenes and Eaton running away from Mantell in fear. I just lap that stuff up. They play on Mantell's previous heel disposition when he accidentally hits Cobra on the apron. They tease a break up and as the First Family is celebrating they bumrush them. Great stuff! Eaton buries the knee in the knee in the back and of course now Eaton comes in. It is 1982, but you would not know it given the offense that Sugar & Eaton laid down on Mantell. Just poetry in motion. Probably the best move is Koko has Mantell in a bearhug and lowers him to get elbow drop by Eaton. Everything is perfect especially that Eaton punch. Mantell gets a back suplex and there is a HUGE POP for Cobra (never heard of him before). Koko sells this hot tag like a million bucks! Awesome! Cobra dropkicks everything in sight. Eaton looks to jump off the top and Mantell introduces the bullwhip. Sweet Brown Sugar takes a RIDICULOUS BUMP over the top rope to escape the bullwhip. Super fun, entertaining tag team match. Shows that Eaton and Brown Sugar were just money together and put on an offensive and stooging clinic. The shine & heat were excellent, but they could not escape 1982, the finish was suitable for what they needed. ****

That's a really cool poster. Lawler vs Bobby Eaton sounds friggin bitchin! Look my boy, Sweet Stan challenging for the Southern Championship. Bill Dundee vs Sweet Brown Sugar - Memphis 6/21/82 Scaffold Match 2 Out of 3 Falls If I have heard it once, I have it heard millions times, this is the best Scaffold match in history (well maybe it is Chicky Starr vs Invader III). It is indeed just that, hell, it is probably the greatest match to take place with two men wrestling from their ass. It helps a lot that Dundee was an acrobat in the circus. He is way more comfortable up there than most wrestlers and can pull out a couple tricks. Sweet Brown Sugar does make a go of it. I think what hurts this match is not the work or the scaffold, but that it is 2 out of 3 Falls. The whole point of the scaffold is that it is so dangerous that falling off it could hospitalize you. By having 2 out of 3 falls, you inherently negate that because at least one man will get back up. I thought the first fall was really well-worked with Dundee doing some great stuff to really add to the drama that he may fall off and then eventually does. The second fall, Koko did a great job selling right before his fall. The third fall did a great job making you think Dundee was taking the plunge only for the big turn of events. Great match, but two out of three falls hurts the drama. ***3/4

It is too bad Dana White is already bald. He could have this as a hair vs hair match with Vince at UFC 200 to launch his bid to be the Republican Presidential Nominee in 2024.

They should put the Big Gold Belt on him just for the visual of him walking down to the ring. That's probably the only thing that would be stranger than Severn walking to the ring with the NWA & UFC World Championships on a random RAW in 1998.

Bumping this with the GWE Tag List coming out and the Soundcloud issue has been resolved.

Fabulous Ones vs Moondogs - Memphis 1/9/84 I love Keirn's punches and kicks. They are so crisp and such nice form. The Moondogs have a crutch and they are going to town. They try choking Keirn, but Lane gets the crutch and hits him in the Kibbles & Bits, if you will! Crutch is broken and Lane is wailing away! Another tremendous brawl from these two teams. I love all the choking, weapons, and hatred. It is total, raucous mayhem. I love the Moondog not making the backdrop so he takes a header into the table topples it. There is another crutch and the Moondogs regain control with it. They throw a table in! OH HELL YEAH! Lane takes a nasty bump into the table. This is awesome! Keirn somehow gets a leather belt and goes to town on the Moondogs. PILEDRIVER~! on Lane! They are choking Keirn with the belt. Keirn dives onto the belt to send them into each other. The only complaint is the finish is a little lame as the Fabs chase the Moondogs off with the bone after one shot. I was looking for a little more violence or something more climatic before the Moondogs just ran off. Still awesome brawl! ****

Fabulous Ones vs Moondogs - Memphis 6/13/83 Simply awesome! The Best ECW match ever happened in Memphis in 1983! For its entire existence, ECW wanted to be Memphis and they never touched this. Public Enemy eat your heart out. Tables, chairs, ring bells, you name it, it ended up in the ring. The match actually got thrown out like two minutes in because the Moondogs kept belting Calhoun. He takes a ton of punishment in this. They keep brawling for another 8 minutes and it is glorious. No need to do a recap just know it is bloody and violent. It is one of the all time best barroom brawls as a wrestling match. It never lets up. Without a satisfying finish, cant rank it much higher than ****1/4, but watching it will be some of the best ten minutes of your life.

AWA Southern Tag Team Champions Fabulous Ones vs Moondogs - Memphis 5/2/83 Stretcher Match One of the best violent, Southern tag brawls I have ever seen with a fantastic finish. They two teams just rip into each other the whole match. I love the double stomp and the Fabs use it liberally. They are clawing at the Moondogs eyes and raking their boots on their faces. There are no wrestling moves just fighting. Lane has a chain, but it goes flying out on a collision. Lane disoriented gets smashed in the head by the bone and ends up that Bloody Lane will be playing face in peril. This match sees Lane doing more selling, but Kerin is very active and adds that drama. I loved Keirn flying around to attack Moondogs, but always led to the other Moondog beating up Lane. Keirn was really great in this and Lane sold his ass off. Moondogs are really great at clubbering. Keirn just cant be at two places at once! Lane fires off some kicks, but gets cut off. Lane gets his knees up on a splash and after going to the wrong corner he makes it to Keirn. Keirn absolutely tees off on the Moondogs! He bites and claws at the Moondogs until one them bleeds! Keirn looks to send one of the Moondogs to the hospital, but his head gets trapped in the ropes! The way Keirn sells it by choking and then being lifeless. You totally buy that as a scary moment and something that could end the match as he is just hanging there with the Moondogs attacking. Lane fends them off with a chair, but calls for the bell. Lane stands over his lifeless partner with a chair in a great moment. The way the ropes snapped to let Keirn go was scary. I really loved this finish. Very dramatic and am a sucker for partner doing all he can to save and protect his partner. They put Keirn on the stretcher, but Moondogs topple the stretcher and Lane is pissed and tees off on them. A classic Southern brawl made even better by one of the all-time great finishes! ****1/2

AWA Southern Tag Team Champions Fabulous Ones vs Moondaogs -Memphis 4/4/83 They start hot and heavy as there is no love loss between these two teams. The Moondogs not only bloodied the Fabs, but they also tore their coats bequeathed to them by the Fabulous Jackie Fargo. Russell does a great job putting over the shame the Fabs felt having to tell the legendary Jackie Fargo what happened. I love the Moondogs' gimmick of being hillbilly caevman carrying around a giant dinosaur bone. The Fabs are all business. No monkeying around, just fists and kicking ass. I like the Moondog with the longer hair and the bigger beard the best. Really good stooge. Double teaming by Moondogs turns it in their favor. Lane is great at selling, but always peppering in those kicks and strikes to let you know he is there. Keirn is great in the same way; he does not let his partner twist in the wind. The Moondogs are very energetic and really fun clubbering offense. (loved the headbutts) Lane dives on their double clothesline attempt. Keirn is a fucking awesome house of fire. He throws a great fist. He really tears into the Moondogs, but falls prey to a bone shot and the Fabs lose the match to a really flat crowd response. No boos. Weird. Really enjoyable, standard southern tag. Feisty and energetic, which is how I like it, but no one spot stands out. Just very good wrestling. ***1/2

WWF World Heavyweight Champion Kane vs Steve Austin - WWF RAW 6/29/98 I actually enjoyed this quite a bit. I thought this was a very energetic match. I was impressed with Austin's performance. I loved his urgency. It was a full court press and he never let up on Kane. The clothesline off the apron was a great example of this. Kane had such a presence at this point that everything looks credible. Early on his heat segment was energetic but it did get chinlocky. Liked the Bearer shoe shot to Austin. Kane gets his choke slam to create some drama but Austin reverses Tombstone into Stunner. No comeback just Stunner. Fine. Stunners Undertaker as a receipt for the chair shot at KOTR. Good angle. Good energy. HUGE POP! Good match ***

The Wendell Cooley working the marks to make money off his pictures maybe the greatest carny thing I have ever heard. I fucking love it. I laughed really hard at the Scott (maybe it was Steve) Armstrong promo where he talks about the fan in the front row says "Nice guys finish last.". I thought that was funny as hell. The story of Beau getting Mempho thrown off Johnson City TV was one of the all-time best stories in wrestling history. I have learned so much and these are really fun shows.

Awesome segment!!! Everyone knocks it outta the park even Kane. My favorite part is the passing the buck from Vince to Bearer to Kane because the first two are too chicken to tell Austin to his face no. Loved this!

I agree with you the Payback match was better, but this was so incredible live. For me it was actually all the interference in the end, I did not think it was as well executed as Payback. Two Styles Clashes into the Spear was great. A more detailed review will come, don't want to mess with the memories just yet.

Worst match I have ever seen live. Dreadfully boring. The drunk guys screaming "CHRIS!!! THATS NOT HOW YOU WIN!" repeatedly was hilarious and the only saving grace of the first 25 minutes. I will say the first 25 minutes was awful. The final 5 minutes does save the match from being the worst match ever. I thought they did a great job building to the thumb tacks (Jericho's initial reaction was money) and the crowd did get re-invested in that stretch. The payoff was great. DDT onto tacks was nasty and freaked me out. So the final five minutes felt dangerous and violent, but first 25 minutes wow, so bad.

It is funny that the show I saw the greatest match I have ever seen live and I also saw the worst match I have ever seen live.

WWF World Heavyweight Champion Stone Cold Steve Austin vs Kane - WWF King Of The Ring 98 First Blood I liked this way more than I expected to. A really entertaining Attitude Era brawl with some really crazy, memorable bumps. Austin as the relatable, mortal beer-drinking redneck everyman against a monster was a good story. Austin is so "real" and Kane is so "unrealistic" it makes for a great pairing. Kane doing zombie sit-up after zombie sit-up at the beginning of Austin's crazy offensive flurry set the tone. I liked Austin going right for removing the turnbuckle pad and that's when Kane made his move began beating down the Rattlesnake. The hijinx with the Cell was fun. Austin took a crazy bump head first into half-lowered Cell. Then they teased having Kane hold him as the Cell would come down and crush him. Even Kane got in on the fun taking a wicked bump into the door and then as the Cell was going up suspending himself from his gut on the door. The arena brawling was heated. Austin tried to open up Kane from the back of the head using the exposed turnbuckle, which made sense. The Cell lowers and here is Mankind. Jesus! Stay down Mick! Stunner! STUNNER TO KANE! Now here is a hobbling Undertaker with a chair. Both Austin & Taker have chairs and Taker nails Austin's chair into his head. For some reason, Taker thinks this is a good time to revive the ref. Austin gets to nail Kane to stand tall, but he is bleeding so he loses. Wicked lame finish that is super protective of Austin. I actually thought the match was pretty good up until the run ins. I think there was an easy way to make this match even better and more heated. All it would have taken was one interview on RAW with JR asking, "Austin, how do you plan on making Kane bleed when he has that leather mask?". "I am take that stupid sumbitch's mask off, shove up his ass, expose his hideous, scarred deformed face, then I am going to bust him wide open and make him wish he died in that fire. If you want to see me take off that dumb freak's mask, give me a hell yeah? HELL YEAH!" Now there is a new wrinkle to intrigue fans will I get to see Kane's face. Then have the match worked around Austin trying to take off the mask, but ultimately failing. Anyways, the match we got was good, but a lame finish. ***

The Undertaker vs Mankind - WWF King of the Ring 98 Hell In A Cell Match One of the most iconic matches of all time, I will say one improvement undoubtedly of 2016 compared to 1998 is there is no way this match would have been allowed to continue after the second bump probably not after the first. The first bump is incredible for the sheer velocity. We saw Shane-O Mac fall from the top, but Foley was hurled from the top. I can't believe the fans were chanting for Undertaker as Foley was being carted out. I mean God, that just seems cold and callous. That second bump through the roof is even scarier because of the chair falling with him. It is incredible he landed the way he did each time that he did not die or paralyze himself. Undertaker must been like fuck, twice, are you shitting me? Looks like Taker jammed his ankle pretty good. The iconic image from my childhood was Foley in the corner with the sick bloody smile and the tooth sticking out his nose. Taker basically bumps for himself as Foley's shoulder is fucked up, is concussed and is loopy as fuck. Taker spears the cage. OW! Tacks get introduced. I forgot about this! Is this WWF debut of tacks? Foley eats the tacks twice, that Chokeslam looked painful. Tombstone ends it. Crowd redeems itself with a standing ovation and a decent sized Foley chant. A match everyone needs to see, but something I wouldn't call great. It is iconic.

The Rock vs Ken Shamrock - WWF King of the Ring 98 Chyna is bilingual! HHH is bi a lot of things, but lingual isn't one of them! LOL! Had read about this incident, but it way funnier to witness it. Pretty ho-hum match. For two great characters, I did not feel much character work in this. It came off very dry. Rocky bailed a couple times early, but I did not really get the sense Shamrock was overwhelming him. Good use of HHH at ringside to set up chaos and allow Rocky to hit a low blow. Weird layout. Rock gets his ass kicked all year, but escapes with the belt and this match Shamrock gets his win, but gets his ass kicked. Shamrock is decent at selling and Rocky is mechanically proficient. It is just pretty dry. Rock's DDT was pretty sweet and the People's Elbow was cool. Lots of nearfalls for the Rock, clearly for his protection. Thought Shammy's comeback was pretty muted. Liked Shamrock hitting a Northern Lights as a counter to Rock's third DDT attempt. Always a fan of flash submission, but just did not feel the drama in this match. Mechanically fine, but lacked drama and presence.

Loss is right except for in the middle of the summer he was programmed with the blackhole of suck the Wyatt's so people forgot about the Bryan, Lesnar and Big Show matches. By end of 2015, the Sheamus matches were great saw TLC live and that was awesome. The triple threat at Feb PPV was friggin bitchin. The HHH match I need to watch again because after 6 hours I was exhausted. The AJ matches are incredible. Badda bing badda boom Reigns is the realest guy in the room, how you doin?

I'm so glad I went to this show. I didn't think it was quite as good as Payback, but few are. So glad they saved Rollins bs for after the Match. Total stone cold classic! Probably the greatest match I've ever seen live!

I really hope this match involves Flair in drag

That should have been the opener. I have really good luck seeing awesome spotfests. Maryse is so hot. I hope Miz has Bischoff's gimmick.

Well the Vaudevillains are bygones

After watching Reigns/Styles at Payback, I saw an instant classic. Immediately bought tickets for this show in Newark. This morning rewatched match and I not only think it is Five Fucking Stars but the best match in 12 years. I'm so excited for the rematch. I just can't hide it! I'm about to lose control! And I think I like it!