Superstar Sleeze

I think there are two Flair matches one made the Mid-South and one from Houston that Flair fans might point to. I have not seen them. Also there is a Flair/Wahoo match from one of the Battle of the Belts cards in Florida, which I have also never seen. Nothing else springs to mind as a candidate, but I could be missing something obvious.

AWA World Heavyweight Champion Nick Bockwinkel vs Wahoo McDaniel - AWA 8/28/83 I am so glad we have this on tape. There is no commentary and I dont know why we do, but it is so awesome. It was really cool to see Bockwinkel in this stiff, violent brawl. I have gotten to see very little, but what little I have seen, I liked a lot and am so grateful that we have a classic like this on tape. Bock ain't playing around, he has his fists taped up, but Wahoo is here to kick some ass. He targets the leg and and throws some tomahawk chops. The crowd seems pretty pro-Wahoo. Bock retreats to the outside where he grabs a chair and clobbers Wahoo. HOLY SHIT! He sends Wahoo into the post and then drives his head into a steel pole that holds up the ropes near the fans. Wahoo is bleeding, but comes firing back with chops. You can hear the crowd fine, but there are no sound effects so we are robbed of the dulcet cacophony of flesh on flesh. Wahoo is delivering a deliberate and measured ass kicking. Bock is the best at this kind of split-legged dazed selling or falling to his knees and rocking back and forth after every chop to the head. Bock rakes the eyes and throws Wahoo to the outside, but Wahoo meets him at the apron to chop him in the head and Bock falls on his ass in some great selling. Bock relentlessly tries to grab his famed Oriental Sleeper, not once, not twice, but three times and his head driven into the turnbuckles. Wahoo gets some payback on the outside cracking Bock's head off hard objects. Bock and Wahoo crack heads and Bock ricochets outside the ring. The finish sees Wahoo trying to go through the ropes to get Bock and is nailed with the chair. My one complaint that keeps this from being an all-time classic is that I did not feel like they were earning every inch. I thought Bock was complacent in selling and bumping, but Wahoo and not fighting back enough. It is a small complaint, but one that kept me from marking out to the fullest extent. Still Wahoo vs Bock lives up to the hype as one of the best violent brawls of the 80s. ****1/2

I am glad I am not alone in thinking the rematch is better (pretty slightly better, but better). I hope to the get review up by the end of the week.

Mid-South North American Champion Dick Murdoch vs Butch Reed - Mid-South 9/22/85 I would conjecture that this was to give Reed more practice in the classic NWA World Championship style as he already had one match against Flair and would have a couple more. It would establish Reed as the lead championship material babyface whereas Duggan was the brawling, blue collar babyface. Reed is able to convey not only brute strength in this match, but a great amount of technique, stamina and also some great verbal selling. On the flip side, there is always talk that Murdoch would have been NWA World Championship if it had not been his propensity for comedy and lightheartedness in his match. This series with Reed gives us an inkling of what it would have been like if Captain Redneck was The Man.What a great reign it would have been! I had watched a good amount of Murdoch before this and liked him, but this match totally sold me on him. He is an absolute torture master. Then when it comes to selling he is just so spot on. I don't know how to explain it, but it is exactly what I think you should do. It is the perfect blend of entertainment and conveying pain. This is nominally face vs face at the beginning, but Murdoch will be playing de facto heel. They do tit for tat armdrags to establish face vs face. We get the long Reed side headlock, which is custom for Reed in his matches with Flair. Murdoch is right there with Ole & Arn for best at working the arm just incredible at making everything look painful (wristlock while stomping on head and ribs) and takes his time. Reed uses power tries for pin and then goes right back to the headlock. We get that sequence for a bit and it is very logical and very entertaining. I think it was great to have Reed creating the movement. The match is getting more and more heated with them both working hard. It crescendos to both men cocking their fists and the ref intervening to stop this classical match from getting out of hand. Perfect tease. Reed takes a powder from all the arm work and he psyches himself up, which is a really cool spot. The ref tries to cool him down. I love we get a collar and elbow tie up this late into the match. It is a nice reset without forgetting the past. He levels Murdoch with a forearm and classic Murdoch face down selling. Perfect. Murdoch elbows the top of head to get to a hammerlock bearhug with nasty punches to the ribs. Murdoch throws out classical wrestling and just starts throwing nasty strikes to Reed that causes him to slump into the ring. In a criss cross sequence, Reed finally clock Murdoch and Capn Redneck is reeling. Murdoch drags him to the outside and slams him on the concrete. They tease the countout finish. Piledriver, knee drop, Murdoch is pouring it on, but only gets two after each. The selling in this match is amazing. With each men selling this war of attrition and trying to fight through the pain. Reed was great at selling the face, being doubled over and then fighting through all that finally kicks some ass in a great comeback. Murdoch does his great job selling with his weak windmill punches. Murdoch tries to fight from his ass, awesome! Reed just starts to choke him. It is breaking loose in Tulsa! I hope it is Tulsa! They start trading punches and atomic drops and Reed's final atomic drop was a DOUBLE HOT nearfall! Dicky Murdoch rolls to the outside. Reed is exhausted and they both collapse from all this fighting! Reed applies the figure-4, hey now you cant say Flair made him do that spot! Murdoch is in the ropes and Reed is relentless and the ref is trying to get Butch to back off. Of course, this causes Reed to eat a boot. Now Reed is fighting from his back and punching the bad knee. Wow! Murdoch tries a bodyslam, but his knee is so fucked they both topple over the top rope. Double countout. Badass classical American title match. Reed shoves ref as he is trying to give Murdoch the belt. I smell rematch. He punches Murdoch and throws him into the belt. He decks ref. It gets scrappy and they finally break it up. Butch promo and this becomes a wicked brawl. I loved this match. Awesome selling, really built well to Reed's comeback and Murdoch is excellent at all facets of wrestling. ****3/4

AWA World Heavyweight Champion Nick Bockwinkel vs Hulk Hogan - AWA 4/24/83 Watching the six man match from like a month prior to this, you could see Hulkamania in full force. Oddly enough, I did not think Hogan was as over here, he was over, but not HULKAMANIA over. I think it is because he was not running wild and unbridled. The Hogan of like 1984-1987 has just incredible amount of effusive energy that is irresistible. He is almost subdued against Bockwinkel. Bockwinkel gives a great bumping heel performance, but he is supplying a lot of the energy, but he is not that over as a heel. I just thought of this right now, but I think he is most over of the two combatants should be the wrestler supplying the energy. Bock was pinballing off Hogan to establish Hogan's strength game. I liked the tit for tat with Bock repeatedly kneeing Hogan in the ropes only for Hogan to turn around on Bock. That was Bock's great equalizer using short strikes to the ribs like he did against Martel. Overall, he got very little offense in and this was mostly Hogan kicking ass or missing a move. He did have more offensive range in this match, but ti goes to show you it is not how many moves you know, but how you do them. The Hulk Up was definitely not down pat and things just did feel HUGE like you would expect this title match to feel. I actually liked the finish run quite a bit with Bock desperately trying the sleeper three times and the first two times Lord James Blears is wiped out only for the third time Hogan to hurl the champion over the top rope, bring him back in and hit the legdrop for the win and the AWA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP! As one would know, Bock has the belt returned to him on the technicality of the ref being bumped. It was a fine match and I was actually impressed with some of Hogan's moves like his Oklahoma Slam and his clothesline, but it was missing that spark. Bock was fun as a heel, but would have been nicely he was a bigger mountain to climb in this match. ***

NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair vs Nick Bockwinkel - AWA, Winnipeg 1/17/86 I would imagine that Bockwinkel was disappointed in this match and honestly so am I. It is a great and enjoyable match, but Flair is not very interested in working anything but his match. In his defense, he was in Winnipeg, a place that had never or rarely seen him so all his spots would be incredibly fresh. That being said he was going up against NICK FUCKING BOCKWINKEL!!! Not Rufus in the parking lot of a used car dealership in Bumblefuck, KS. We are joined in progress and miss about the first ten minutes. One of the first things we see is a beautiful, masterful drop toe hold into a leg lace. I am a mark for a good drop toe hold and Bockwinkel has the best. Flair is great at verbal selling. The entire leg work on Flair is the best part because it feels different and Flair is selling it so well. Bock thinks figure-4, but opts for the figure-4. I should mention Scott Hall is on commentary and he is actually pretty good. Bockwinkel goes for a splash and eats knees. Flair gets a double stomp in before his delayed vertical into the figure-4. The crowd is chanting Nick! Nick! Nick! Was there one specific angle where Nick Bockwinkel went from number one heel in the promotion to respected veteran? Nick reverses the pressure on Flair. Flair throws Bock out and is able to grab a sleeper. At some point, Bock even joins the "press slam Flair off the top rope" list. They go the tit for tat route with Bockwinkel using the figure-4, sleeper and throwing Flair out. Flair does sell the figure-4 for a while and it allows Bock to win a suplex struggle. Flair is not mailing this in at all. He is selling every single hold and he is bringing all his usual energy. It is just he is not trying anything outside his routine. They both tumble over the top rope and it is a double countout. Both men were clearly trying and putting out a lot of energy, but it felt like an exhibition. There was selling and good offense, but it just felt like fun. I am very glad it exists. ***1/2

NWA World Tag Team Champions Rock N Roll Express vs Ragin & Ravishin (Manny Fernandez & Rick Rude) - WCW TV 12/6/86 I am going to sound like a broken record, but again I thought this heat segment on Morton was too long. I don't really think they needed to go 30 minutes in this match. They established their point and manufactured the drama, but prolonging the agony on Morton's arm only served to lessen the impact of the finish. I thought all three RnR matches I have seen are at about the same level and with the same issue. I would probably put this middle of the pack, but I think they are very close to each other. I liked the shine of this one a lot and probably the most of three. I thought they did a great job dazzling them with speed early. Rude & Fernandez were great at selling that. I have seen limited Manny Fernandez, but he was very athletic and very impressive in how he moved in the ring. He was definitely the workhorse of the team, but I thought Rude carried his end. Fernandez missed an impressive second rope elbow drop and they went to work on the arm. They establish the red herring of Morton favoring his injured, taped arm from Starrcade after every arm drag. You expect that to be the transition into the heat segment. The kids chanting "Break It!" when Gibson had Manny in the arm stretcher was funny. It turns out ti was not Morton's arm that needed to be worried about but Gibson's injured leg, which Manny kicked and promptly tagged out. Rude cut him off and held him down for Manny to come off the top rope with a knee crashing down on Gibson injured knee. They worked the leg with deathlock and they wrenched. We got the standard Gibson crawling to the wrong corner drama. Rude takes a HUGE back body drop and thats enough for Gibson to roll through to make the tag, Like many RnR matches, the first hot tag is short lived and the Ragin Bull wails away on Morton's bad arm. Like in the Gibson heat segment, one of the first moves is Fernandez crashing down from the turnbuckles onto Morton arm. They do the good heel work of pulling the bandage off and even use the Anderson hammerlock slam. There is a lot of arm holds, but they are being wrenched and some good double teams. I wish the RNR Express member on the apron would assert himself more. Morton getting rammed into the steel post, Paul Jones getting a lick in and Rude coming crashing down off the apron was a nice mix-up, but again it was back to the arm bar. Inverted atomic drop on Rude, which is not as awesome as an atomic drop on Rude. FINALLY HOT TAG! Again quick finish, which was the general norm, but I feel like RNR Crockett matches have quicker finishes than WWF even. Morton injures himself on a dropkick. Gibson goes for the O'Connor Roll, Rude decks him so Manny ends up on top for the win and NEW WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS! This was a great limb-based double FIP tag team match that was very enjoyable. ****1/4

NWA World Tag Team Champions Rock N Roll Express vs The Andersons - Starrcade 1986 Steel Cage Match NOW GET READY TO BOOGIE! It is the consummate babyface tag team against the consummate heel tag team, so you can bet your ass this is pretty damn spectacular. I really enjoyed early on Arn tries to bully Robert Gibson into the cage only to be rammed into it and then in his dazed wandering over to Morton and getting nailed. The early portion of the match feels like a great tag team match that just so happens to take place in a cage. Morton is teeing off on Ole. I love in the 80s how quick the tags were in the early going. Gibson charges after Ole and his knee rams the top turnbuckle. Now we go to school! Andersons working over a limb is like chicken soup for the pro wrestling fan's soul. Gibson kicks off in a toehold sending Arn into the cage and love his presence of mind to tag Ole and stop Gibson from moving. Gibson trying to crawl away from Ole sends up the Rock N Roll chants! The Andersons are so great at ring awareness and ring positioning. These little details are so overlooked in today's pro wrestling. ENZIGUIRI! Morton's hot tag is very short lived as he sent crashing into the cage repeatedly by Ole and of course Morton is wearing the crimson mask in no time. The Andersons are wrestling a perfect tag team constantly keep themselves between Morton and Gibson and maintaining control in their corner so every hope spot can countered with a quick tag. Arn rakes Morton's face in the cage and the shreiks of the girls are amazing in this. They are working the cut and the arm of Morton. They are just dissecting Morton's arm with laser precision. In the Russians match, we did not get to see Morton in all his glory. This is Ricky Morton at his absolute best with a totally captivating performance. Morton catches Arn off the ropes and nails a DDT, but cant capitalize. Ole is quick to come in and attack launching him in the cage. Gibson needs to assert himself! I mean that both in a kayfabe sense and a entertainment sense. Watching the Andersons kick ass is great, but everything has diminishing returns. I think just like in the Russians match, the heat segment goes too long. I think a stronger Gibson presence would have added some dynamism. I really like the spinning wristlock by Ole. Morton on his knees with the crimson mask teeing off on Ole was a great act of defiance. HUGE SPINBUSTER~! ARN IS FUCKING PUMPED! Knee by Ole from top rope onto the arm. This is such a severe ass kicking. Ole cuts off with a brutal knee and Morton just wont stop fighting. Arn saves and finally Gibson runs over Arn. Gibson proves himself useful by dropkicking Morton on top of Ole for the win! Huge pop! Like I mentioned a similar issue with the Russian match that the heat segment seemed interminable. Well it turned out it was because there was no hot tag. I actually like that wrinkle, but I think there were ways to build to a more climatic finish. The Andersons are much more enjoyable to watch on offense so it was better than the Russians match. It just could have used more variety. A great master's class in tag team wrestling by four of the best. ****1/4

What do you have against Duggan? His babyface run in Mid-South is incredible. Jacques only has the Garvins feud in Montreal. The Rougeaus are bland with a couple great matches against the Rockers. The Mountie and Quebecers are fun, but that is not Duggan/DiBiase or Duggan/Sawyer. Sell me on Jacques because he seems like a solid hand nothing more.

NWA National Heavyweight Champion Tully Blanchard vs Ronnie Garvin - Worldwide 5/3/86 The whole Crockett absorbs Georgia, Florida and Central States and when they end as separate entities is still a little murky to me. The National Heavyweight Championship was the top Georgia title and it seemed to be active in Georgia through 1984, but was brought into Crockett in 1985. Blanchard has a history of bouncing from title to title. He won the Television Title pretty immediately in arriving in Crockett in 1984 and held it for a long, long time. He dropped it to Dusty at Great American Bash 1985 and then only a couple weeks later turned around and defeated Magnum for the US Championship coming off the loss to Magnum at Starrcade, it seems Tully worked Dusty a lot and worked as Arn partner a lot because Ole disappeared for a bit and I am not sure why (they were referring to themselves as "Three Horsemen"). When Flair began his feud with Morton this left Garvin without a house show loop partner. In the meantime, Tully Blanchard had won the National Heavyweight Championship from Dusty Rhodes who he was working since Flair was working Garvin on the house show loop. Prior to the match, Garvin had his right hand injured, which affects his ability to chop and use his Hands of Stone. The hand psychology as one could predict was awesome in this. My only complaint and is a minor is that was even more exploited. I feel like this is the first 1980s match I have watched that needed an editor. Nowadays, it feels like every match needs an editor, which is hilarious because they actually have agents that go over the match lay out before hand. Yet, in the 80s when the vast majority was called in the ring, I have found one instance of needing an editor in the hundreds of matches I have watched. I digress. The match goes a shade over 30 minutes and there just does not seem to be a sense of progression in the match. There is a lot back tracking to previous segments and then when you think they are going to go forward they end up going in a different route. It also feels very meandering. It is 80s Crockett so that means there is plenty of action so it is never dull. I actually find my attention is more tested when there is too much going on because I am trying to process it all and then something else happens, which causes me to lose focus. I do try to watch a match especially on a first pass (I had seen this match about three years ago and loved it and still do love it) and just let it wash over me try to not think. It still happens when too much shit is going on I just lose focus and my mind wanders. There are enough elements in this match for me to call it a great match and enjoyable. Stone Cold says you can tell how great a matchup is going to be just based how the guys lock up. Well, if thats the case this is *****, a definite contender for best lockup ever. The crowd is red hot for this. The Flair vs Garvin TV studio match bout will make any wrestling fan become a fan of Garvin, but this is the match to see understand how over Garvin was with crowd in 1986. Every offensive move he does gets a pop. Garvin avoids the use of the hand early and uses his head instead. We get a short little Tully control to lead to a pretty cool spot where Garvin leapfrogs over him on a charge and lures Tully into a backslide. Garvin forgets himself and uses his right hand to chop. OW! He immediately ties Tully up in effort to recover and basically this establishes he will have to fight the match one handed. Tully crowds him in the corner, Garvin accidentally uses the hand, which resisters pain, but then moves to headbutt that cause Tully to slump into the corner. Dusty and David applaud his efforts. Garvin applies a sleeper to a massive POP! The sleeper was fucking over in the 1980s. Garvin hits a simple elbow drop to another massive pop! I like how the right hand is affecting his pinning combinations. In a weird coincidence, everytime we leave for commercial Garvin is on top and we come back with Blanchard on top. It would have been nice to see those transitions. Blanchard looks to finally make some head way when he blasts him with a knee that sends Garvin to the outside dazed and confused. Short-lived. Garvin smashes him into the turnbuckle and top rope cross body pops Dusty huge. "Somebody bring me some refreshments!" During a Garvin ab stretch, Dusty says "Canadian Born, United States Citizen" and it just made me laugh so hard. I love, Big Dust. At this point, I already feel like the match is meandering. They are working with a lot of energy and there is a lot of stuff, but it does not feel like they are working towards a finish. There is come progression when a BIG headbutt rocks Blanchard and Garvin begins to work the leg. Now I have a sense of some forward progress that Garvin is going to break down Blanchard and win that match that way since he was robbed of the Hands of Stone. Blanchard is really great at selling. I love him pleading with the ref to give him more time in the corner to recover, Standing toe hold and David Crockett is at his most creepy here you know when he speaks with hushed excitement "Twist! Oh Yea! Tighter!" He wrenches the ankle around the post. We get back from commercial and Blanchard is in control and I would say within 2 minutes leg selling is totally dropped. Blanchard wants the piledriver, but Garvin backdrops.and sits down for a pin, the crowd totally bought into the nearfall. At this point, in my notes, I have written too long of a match. Blanchard uses JJ's shoes and whacks Garvin's hand. FINALLY! The hand work that should be done 5 minutes ago! It is really, really great. Blanchard tortures Garvin and Garvin sells according. This what I mean there are elements of this match that really high-level, just needed an editor. I love Garvin biting Blanchard to keep him off the hand. Garvin fighting through the pain says fuck it and throws a chop now a boot. Garvin is coming on strong. Boston crab out of a Blanchard leapfrog. Dusty exclaims "Sit Down On It!" while David gets wicked creepy again with "Now, squat." GARVIN STOMP! YES! Garvin chops, but he is so much pain and Dusty is so pissed about it. This finish run feels like a total mish-mash of spots. I did like when Tully's feet made the ropes on a backlside, David "He must have the longest legs in town". Blanchard is whipped into the ref, yes the finish! Jumping headbutt and both men collapse. JJ hands Tully a roll of quarters while Dusty tapes Garvin's injured hand. HANDS OF STONE! 1-2-3! HUGE POP! Dusty and the crowd celebrate. Tommy Young realizes Garvin's fist was taped and DQ's him. Wow! Dusty finish with an immediate reversal. All the elements of a classic were there, they just needed an editor. Garvin took way too much of the match also. I enjoy Garvin offense, but he needs someone like Flair that is going to go toe to toe with him. Blanchard's first instinct is to stooge and bump. Flair is going to fight for a bit then do that. Also without his chops, his offense felt meandering. Still an enjoyable match if just way too long. ****1/4

It must have been a different Jerry Von Kramer that patronised and ridiculed that poster for having the temerity to suggest that Dibiase's stock was falling in the GWE poll? The way you patronised him when telling him to watch the Duggan vs Dibiase match? I know 'Parv' is always right, 'Parv' knows best and 'Parv' is clearly so smarter than everyone else on this board, but you are in a bubble if you think there is nothing wrong with the way you speak to people, especially if they don't agree with 'Parv'. Magnum Milano, I mean this sincerely, I appreciate you being offended for me. I am a pretty easy going person especially in regards to pro wrestling. I can also relate to Parv in the fact I usually speak in hyperbole. That's not to say Parv or I do not mean what we say. We just experience something at full force and we express in such a way. So he came at me in full on Parv mode and that's cool because I know him and I know he is not picking on me. He just really, really wants me to at least understand where he is coming from. I did not feel attacked by Parv and did not think I was disrespected. Parv has an intense passion for pro wrestling and I hope it is never extinguished even if I think sometimes he brings this on himself by overgeneralizing or stating things as fact when he may not have all the information. Parv, please don't ask me for examples because I can't think of any. We are all guilty of that. We form opinions on what we know and that's all we really can do. I think Parv's heart is in the right place and he is an eager learner. God, now I sound patronizing. Fuck, I don't really know what I want to say. I am trying to defend Parv, but temper with the fact that I can understand people's frustrations. I guess please dont get offended on my behalf and don't hold it against Parv. I don;t think he has overstepped his bounds in regards to me. If I get offended by Parv, I will flame his fucking ass and you will all know about it. Parv, what the fuck, bro, you can't expose the business like that with such insider info. For the Love of God, you tool, IT IS SLEEZE! S-L-DOUBLE E-Z-E BECAUSE MISSPELLING IS EXTREME!

NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair vs Ricky Morton - GAB 7/5/86 I watched the build for this match and WOW! Does it take this to the next level! Ric Flair came off as the most psychotic bully of all time. Having to wrestle bigger men for most of his career, Flair got a few chance to push someone else around and my God did he milk this chance for everything it is worth. Seeing Flair in this role is something you actually want to see more because it is when he is at his most heelish. There is nothing likeable about a man who goes out of his way to disfigure a man just because he can. It reminds me of Beiber first came out and there was just this violent reaction against him by the "macho" man community especially in the heavy metal community. I could not wrap around my head around this irrational hatred for a teen idol. There is an inherent dislike some men have for pretty boys that can command attention of women especially young women. In every promo, Flair channels that psychotic hatred for Ricky Morton. He went out of his way to disrespect Morton it seemed out of insecurity and because he felt like he could. You really get the sense that he think if he can show up Morton he can prove to all these young girls what a real man is and in turn make them real women, which Flair cites as loving him. Morton stands up for himself on Worldwide and slaps the Champion and the tries to tear his clothes off. They go on to have an absolute barnburner of a TV match on 4/12/86, which is nonstop action. The ref gets bumps and Gibson comes in to count three for Morton to end the show as Flair escapes with his title, but his pride has been significantly wounded. Then on an episode of Worldwide, he snaps when Morton actually pins him by ref's count in a tag match. You can see Flair's world crashing around him. How did this little punk that is not even a real man just beat me? He lashes out in a terrible fashion and executes what at the same time seemed like hot air in that promo a couple weeks ago that he would disfigure Morton's face rendering him ugly for his adoring fans. The Horsemen barge into RnR locker room and Flair rubs Morton face in the concrete floor and you see blood streaking across the floor. I think this is the greatest angle I have ever seen. Morton comes back for a promo wrapped in bandages explaining you can take my face, but that is not where the source of my power comes from, it comes from his heart and his fans and he is coming for the Nature Boy and he is going to take the title. Ric Flair does lend some key insight into why this feud happened in a seemingly throw away line when he said "Ricky Morton is the most popular wrestler on Earth." If you listen to Ric Flair's podcast, he LOVED wrestling babyfaces that were over. Once he saw how over Morton got against the Russians, you know he pushed hard for this singles feud. Without watching the build, this is a ***** classic and now having watched the build can you say GOAT match candidate because I sure can! Ricky Morton is wrestling in a protective mask as Flair enters the stadium via helicopter. He is psyching out his opponent right up until the bell. The entire beginning of the match is Morton working awesome payback spots against Ric Flair huge honker of a nose. Morton stalks Flair at the beginning measuring him for the immense pain he is about to administer to this bully. Morton punches, wrenches and rakes Flair's nose. This is Flair in his element screaming in pain as Morton unleashing sweet revenge on his banana nose. Morton rubs Flair's face in the mat, it may not be concrete, but it will have to do. Flair looks unsure of himself. He needs to find a way to slow down the pace because Morton is a runaway freight train of anger. So he goes to Flair 101, draw into the corner, knee to the midsection and chops stymie Morton. Morton goes back to the face and Flair is pissed! He is making mistakes because he is frustrated. Morton headbutt Flair with the mask! Flair rips the mask away in anger. Morton punches him in the face and gets his mask, which was a nice little tease for the heat segment. Flair finally throws him off of a headlock into the cage, which is enough rattle him. NOW WE GO TO SCHOOL! It is just a tease again as Morton gets a cross body. Flair and Morton start tearing in each other hitting each other whereever they can and Flair rips the mask off, hurls him into the cage and the pretty face of Morton is a crimson mask. Let beating begin! Flair dons the mask to mock Morton as he tortures him. He throws Morton into the cage and twists the nose. He then throws the mask over the cage. There will be no refuge for Morton. Big WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Morton is selling his nose and face so well. He is in pain, but the sympathetic kind and you really want to leap out there and help him against this maniac. "You want some of this!" He throws Morton hard into the cage. "Tell em your name" as he rakes Morton's face in the cage. I wish he added "Because they wont be able to recognize you." Pelvis thrust for the ladies. That is what this feud is all about. Flair's deeply-rooted notion in what a real man is and what a real woman should want out of a man. Ricky Morton stands as an defiant affront to the ideology, which defines who the Nature Boy is. Flair starts going for pinfalls, but the teeny bopper idol wont stay down. Flair freaks out and calls Tommy Young, a son of a bitch. Figure-4 and now Tommy Young is pleading with Morton to just quit and fight another day. Morton inside cradle! He is firing back and he sends Flair into the cage. There is a terrific squeal of joy from all the girls in attendance. Flair begs off as any bully does when you punch him in the mouth. Morton rakes Flair's head into the cage and Flair is bleeding. Morton is punching and clawing at his face. Morton sleeper! Flair makes it to the ropes. Top rope crossbody for two! Rock N Roll! Rock N Roll! Rock N Roll! Go Ricky Go! Flair tries to escape the cage, this ain't the WWF, pal! Morton missile dropkick, he pinned Flair with this on TV albeit Gibson counted the pinfall. Flair presses Morton on the kick out on Tommy Young. Flair is able to drive Morton's manhood into the ropes to win with his feet on the ropes. In a feud that was centered around what a real man is and how that relates to what women find attractive, I cant think of a better ending then a fucking ballshot by the man posturing as a tough, macho man, but is really a vindictive, arrogant and small man. They both focused on the face with laser precision. There was only one way to end this and that was an attack on the anatomical representation of manhood. It worked on two levels it exposed Flair as the total opposite of what a real man is by stooping so low to win the match and also to psychically assault Morton's manhood after disfiguring his face. I think I just convinced myself this is the greatest pro wrestling match of all time. *****

Bock & Verne in the same year, so sad. I think it is about time I watched Nick Bockwinkel vs Wahoo McDaniel. Thanks Mr. Bockwinkel for all the smiles and happiness, 30 years after the fact. Proving you are not evanescent and will be always held up as a paragon of excellence in the greatest form of entertainment that ever graced this Earth, professional wrestling.

NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair vs Ronnie Garvin - WCW 12/28/85 This match is like one big mark out moment for me. This is one of my all-time favorite matches and that's with only having seen like the first 3/4s on Youtube. I only got my hands on the full thing and LORD HAVE MERCY!!! This may be the best TV match I have ever seen. Flair and Garvin just absolutely wail on each other for 15 minutes. There is no better sound than sound of flesh on flesh. The skirmishes they have are simply awesome. They just beat the living shit out of each other. Flair is so busy trying to go chop for chop with him he forgets to beg off until late in the match! Some highlights I had not noticed before was Flair screaming "watch those tights damnit" so he could sneak in a closed fist. I love that moment when Flair incensed grabs two tuffs of Garvin's hair only to have Garvin grab his giant honker and smack around a bit. Flair likes to say "All Man". This match proves he is All Fucking Man! Flair was on fire on promos on 12/21 & 12/28. "I'm high on just being Ric Flair" and bemoaning the hardships of being a modern day sex symbol was killing me. Pete on Parv's Fair for Flair is so right, this is not Flair being dragged out of his comfort zone. This is Flair in his natural state just pounding the shit out of each other. If you watch Fair's strikes (his elbows and sledges) they are very reminiscent of his former tag partner, Greg Valentine. Carolina boys love this level of brutality and physicality. He just did not always have the opponents to execute those matches. Garvin's chops on the floor are just YIKES! I love them choking each other in this match both just to survive. There is literally never one dull moment. It is all an action, stand up sprint between those two badasses. If you don't believe in the awesomeness of Ron Garvin, watch this match. It is what made me a believer. Garvin reverses a suplex and lunges on top of him, but Flair is in the ropes. Some Flair-isms do stop seep in late in the match, but most of them fit in this all out war. Kneecrusher! Flair exclaims "Now tough guy go to school!" Garvin shoves hard. What follows is just fucking incredible! Garvin loses his mind and basically tries to kill Flair. He grabs any part of Flair's face and throat and open hand slaps huim. Flair two hands around Garvin's throat! I LOVE PRO WRESTLING! David Crockett and I are marking out together 30 year apart. HANDS OF STONE! Foot on ropes! MUTHAFUCKA! Flair crotches him on top rope and Flair looks exhausted from this war. He chucks the ref and here comes the American Dream. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! He applies the Figure-4 and the Andersons hit the ring and they look to re-injure Dusty's leg. Amazing, brutal, rompin stompin match! So glad to finally see the whole thing in all its glory! One of the stiffest match you will ever see! Hot Damn! ****1/2

Yeah that was pretty presumptuous on my part. I should not have phrased it that way. I really wanted to compare these three because of the great similarities among all three (blood feuds, mid-80s, similar finishes, and violent). Yes, of course they maybe other candidates. Goc, make sure to watch the Allentown TV and two previous MSG matches before the Bootcamp match.

NWA World Tag Team Champions Ivan Koloff & Krusher Khrushchev vs Rock N Roll Express - JCP 7/9/85 You wouldnt know it based on the crowd, but this is the Rock N Roll Express' debut in Jim Crockett Promotions. The crowd acts like they have been their favorite team for years chanting Rock N Roll throughout the match and popping so big for the title change. It shows that while you may not have had every territory's TV, fans were aware of the other major stars. This match is one of the best examples of Southern Style tag team wrestling and why the Rock N Roll Express are one of the truly great tag teams of all time. I think one thing this match has going for it that WWF tag team matche sorely lack is hope spots. It is just one hope spot after another during the Gibson heat segment. It builds to some incredible drama to when he will finally get the hot tag. I do think the heat segment gets a little long in the tooth and there were a couple too many hope spot, but I like more hope spots rather than having none at all. They start the match off with power vs speed basics. Morton avoiding Krusher at every turn and even when gets caught with a bodyslam Morton has the presence of mind to move on the follow up elbow. It establishes the respective advantage of each team. The RnRs focus on Ivan's arm with standard babyface arm work. Ivan is able to bully Morton into his corner and they toss Morton around. I love when Morton gets a dropkick, Krusher immediately goes for the tag and then gets back to cut the ring off. That's really perfect tag team wrestling strategy. Morton is able to tag Gibson and now they work over Ivan's leg. there are some really fun spots with them rolling through the leg work into a double punch on Krusher. They do it again so he drops from apron so they turn around nail Uncle Ivan and then nail Krusher when he is back in the ring. Awesome! Robert Gibson tries to charge Krusher in the corner and crashes the arm into the post. Morton is worried and the Russians smell blood. Ivan works the arm. I love the modulation of Gibson's selling he front loads his hope spots. Literally every spot at the beginning of this heat segment was hope spot and cutoff. We get Gibson going to wrong corner, Khrushchev hits turnbuckles., Gibson fight back form his knees, Uncle Ivan missing the big knee drop, Gibson bieling Uncle Ivan off the top rope, kicking Krusher on a telegraphed back body drop. Each cutoff saps Gibson's energy and morale. The Russian begin to ground Gibson with armbars and eye gouges. Gibson does not have as much fight in him. Simultaneously, the Russians keep blasting Morton off the apron and drawing him in the ring, which gives them double team opportunities. This is also David Crockett's finest hour as he just goes all in as the Rock N Roll's Express cheerleader. Highlights during the heat segment include "Whatta man!" and "GET OVER THERE AND MAKE THAT TAG!" The heat segment does go a little long for me and I started to lose interest. Finally, Gibson blasts Krusher with the knee. Morton comes in firing with dropkicks and he gets a sunset flip, but a melee has broken out. The Russians look to set Gibson up for the SIckle, but Morton comes in and hits a Victory Roll for the win and a massive pop! That is how you put over a debuting team! Devote an hour of team to them, let them have a kick ass match in their style with plenty of selling and then win the championship! A lot of people and myself included find it interesting that Gibson had the elongated face in peril role, but he knocked it out of the park in this one. I think if they shaved off some time from the heat segment and applied to the finish run this would be a contender for greatest tag team match of all time. ****1/4

What is the best brawl in American pro wrestling history? I think Tully/Magnum will win and I don't even know if I disagree with that assessment. I just don't think it is an open and shut case. Surrounding angle: I think Tully/Magnum gets definitively crushed here in my opinion. Duggan and DiBiase started their feud in 1983 breaking up the Rat Pack and DiBiase joining Skandor's army. They already had badass brawls leading up to this one. DiBiase had lost a loser leaves town match in 83 and when he came back in late 84 it was one of the best angles I have ever seen. DiBiase having laid out Duggan in the parking lot like a coward, we see an extremely bloody Hacksaw cut one of the all time great promos in the crowd with Bill Watts. It was one of the best visuals I have ever seen. Once you add in the tuxedo match and DiBiase smashing Duggan's car in you have the makings of one of the best builds ever. Plus I love how all the stipulations make sense in relation to the build. Slaughter and Sheik features one of my favorite moments ever. After Slaughter/Sheik confrontation on the previous week in the aisleway, the crowd was pumped to see Sgt Slaughter kick some Sheiky baby ass. The next week on TV in Allentown, Sheik kicks Eddie Gilbert's ass and begins to spit on him. The crowd chants for Slaughter and he does not disappoint chasing him off. He cuts a money promo and then leads the crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance. Holy shit! What a moving moment! I got goosebumps watching this in 2015. I think the real beauty of the build is the two MSG matches previous to this that really build to the boot finish in the final match. Now we come to Magnum/Tully and I will be honest the buildup was pretty meh. I watched pretty much every Tully/Magnum promo from when Tully won the title to Starrcade right before I watched the match and they were entertaining promos, but this was not the next level shit I expected. The tit for tat dressing up as a cop was fun. The breaking of Sam Houston's arm was probably the highlight of the angle. "She likes it!" "She likes it!" angle with Magnum forcing himself on Baby Doll is definitely not timeless and I dont want to ruin anyone's memories, but I did not like a babyface doing those things to a woman. It soured me a little on the angle. It put too much sympathy on Tully and Baby Doll in my opinion. Being objective, there is nothing that Magnum/Tully angle has that touches Duggan/DiBiase and Slaughter/Sheik. Match Reviews: http://prowrestlingonly.com/index.php?/topic/32332-sgt-slaughter-vs-iron-sheik-wwf-msg-61684/ http://prowrestlingonly.com/index.php?/topic/31383-ted-dibiase-vs-hacksaw-jim-duggan-mid-south-new-orleans-32285/ http://prowrestlingonly.com/index.php?/topic/32435-nwa-us-champion-tully-blanchard-vs-magnum-ta-nwa-starrcade-1985/ Finish: I think it is really neat that all three of these matches have really definitive, badass payoffs for the babyfaces. That's what separates these matches from Blood In The Sand and other brawls.. It is also cool that each match features a unique weapon to finish the match. For Slaughter/Sheik, the boot, and Duggan/DiBiase is the coal miner's glove both of which were integral elements of the build. Tully/Magnum's wooden stake was not apart of the build, but still fucking awesome and even more brutal than the others. Feelings: Slaughter vs Sheik is the most pro wrestling like in its execution. There are traditional pro wrestling bumps and spots. There is a shine-heat-comeback. It is the most natural match for a pro wrestling fan to get into. They take it to the next level in terms of violence and satisfaction. In terms of being the best pro wrestling match, I think this features the best pro wrestling. Duggan vs DiBiase is a great personal feud and the beauty of this match is how every element of the feud is expertly paid off in this. I think Duggan is a great wild man in this match and DiBiase sells being trapped in the cage with a lunatic so well. The Coal Miner's Glove finish is a true beauty and the Loser Leaves Town stip really adds to the finality even though he would come back. It is in my opinion the most feel good of the matches. Magnum vs Tully is disturbing in its violence and realism. It is a pretty radical departure from the pro wrestling formula. I think it is easy to celebrate a match that exceeds or departs from the pro wrestling and becomes even more real. The finish is unlike the other finishes. It is not a feel good moment. You want to shrink away from it because how violent and gruesome it is. It is a match where there is seemingly no winners because Magnum had to become an evil human. You cannot really celebrate what he did. It is a representation of war. There are no good guys or bad guys. There is just survival. Subjectively, I like Magnum vs Tully the least because I believe in the goodness of humanity and believe that pro wrestling does such a great job presenting how the good guys overcome the bad guys. With Magnum/Tully, you lose that feeling celebration and it is just a somber moment. I think Slaughter vs Sheik is my favorite because it is pure pro wrestling hate and violence with a feel good finish. I think Duggan/DiBiase had the best finish, but just does not do it for me bell to bell. Magnum/Tully is the Oscar film, Slaughter/Sheik is the summer blockbuster and DiBiase/Duggan is high-end thriller. I think they are really close, but once you put the whole movie together, I am going with Slaughter/Sheik. What do you think?

NWA US Champion Tully Blanchard vs Magnum TA - NWA Starrcade 1985 In all my years of fandom, I don't think there is more UN-polarizing match than this one. It is universally praised as a ***** classic and undoubtedly one of the great violent brawls in history. There have been so many words used to describe this masterpiece of hate by so many people. I will try to do the match justice with my words. What makes this match so special in my opinion are the screams of agony from Tully Blanchard into the microphone and Magnum's guttural roars of pain. It takes this match to a whole new visceral level. The eye gouging by both men is incredible. This is not a violent brawl in the usual fantastical sense of pro wrestling. This looks like what would happen between two men that truly hate each other. The match is one of the few matches where there is a real sense of fear for one of the competitors because of the danger they are in. Tully seemed to be in real danger when Magnum throws his shoulder into the arm and it was cut open. Magnum just loses control at the sight of blood and starts punching it and biting it. Baby Doll's reactions are pitch perfect. She is one of my favorite characters in pro wrestling and I really enjoyed her in this match. Tully claws at the eyes and just lunges at Magnum out of self-preservation. Then begins the mic punches from Tully. Goddamnit, Magnum say I Quit, ok you wont THUMP! Say it! THUMP! Say it! THUMP! One of the most famous sequence in pro wrestling history. Magnum gets into the mic shots too. Tully hits a inverted atomic drop and after a series of mic shots. Tully looks to be in control. Baby Doll chucks in a wooden chair, which Tully infamously shatters. Tully tries to drive a stake into the cut on Magnum's forehead , but he blocks. Magnum jabs the wooden stake into Tully eye and with blood pouring down his face and wails of indescribable pain Tully finally says YESSSSSSS! I love the ending of the match with Tully cowering in the corner of the cage looking like a pathetic, shivering man from the triumphant Magnum who slings the belt over the shoulder. ***** So greatest brawl of all time or greatest brawl of all time? Not so fast my friend! Slaughter/Sheik and Duggan/DiBiase are right there with this. I think Duggan is just as much as wild man in the cage and I think DiBiase does even better job selling that he is in there with a lunatic. It is more fantastical in its execution, but it is just as sweet in its payoff. Slaughter/Sheik has the advantage of not having the cage in my opinion which allows for Slaughter to bump huge and there is a more natural progression of shine-heat-comeback that takes you on a ride you can naturally go with and is so exciting. Magnum/Tully is so violent and so jarring. I think it is really cool how all three matches are paid off with a unique weapon. For Duggan/DiBiase it is the coal miner's glove, Slaughter/Sheik it is the boot and Magnum/Tully it is the wooden stake. When I think the matches are so close, things like context and the surrounding angle seems like it could break the tie. The DiBiase/Duggan angle is one of the all time great angles with DiBiase's return and the bloody Duggan cutting one of the greatest promos ever to the tuxedo match and DiBiase destroying Duggan's car. That bloody promo is fucking incredible and what a visual. For Slaughter/Sheik, the Pledge of Allegiance in Allentown gave my goosebumps and actually moved me. I am a sucker for these patriotic angles and Slaughter just knocked it out of the park. I loved the matches that let up to the Bootcamp match and how each match built on the next. Now we come to Magnum/Tully and I will be honest the buildup was pretty meh. I watched pretty much every Tully/Magnum promo from when Tully won the title to Starrcade right before I watched the match and they were entertaining promos, but this was not the next level shit I expected. The tit for tat dressing up as a cop was fun. The breaking of Sam Houston's arm was probably the highlight of the angle. "She likes it!" "She likes it!" angle with Magnum forcing himself on Baby Doll is definitely not timeless and I dont want to ruin anyone's memories, but I did not like a babyface doing those things to a woman. It soured me a little on the angle. Being objective, there is nothing that Magnum/Tully angle has that touches Duggan/DiBiase and Slaughter/Sheik. I think that is why I enjoyed those matches more. As for the best brawl, I still don't know. It is too close to call. I just don't think it is an open and shut case for Magnum/Tully.

NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair vs Ricky Steamboat - NWA Boogie Jam 3/17/84 What is most impressive about this match is how Flair and Steamboat take every advantage allotted to them by virtue of going long by taking the time to make every single sequence count and drip with struggle. It is this attention to detail that makes the seemingly ordinary extraordinary. The test of strength spot which saw Ricky Steamboat and Ric Flair flex every muscle, perspire profusely and clench their jaws as Steamboat worked to get Flair on the mat and Flair finally countered with a bodyscissors and see the battle waged there until we get a monkey flip. I am a total mark for amateur wrestling sequences in the middle of the match and these two were awesome here. Once Steamboat gets a takedown on Flair, he still has to work the extra mile to control his feet and apply the Boston Crab. The first 15 minutes of the match feel like the template for Flair vs Butch Reed with a great extended headlock sequence. Steamboat keeps going back to the headlock and they do every headlock spot you would expect. Another favorite of the early part of the match is Flair wants a suplex to break these headlocks and there is a great struggle over it only for Steamboat clamp on a front facelock. The next five minutes is spent working in and out of front facelock until Flair finally gets that suplex he wanted and Steamboat holds on to the facelock! Awesome! One of my favorite aspects of this match in addition to the struggle is of course the progression of Flair's performance. It is what he does better than anyone else. In '84 in the Carolinas, he is a babyface feuding with Dicky Slater, but here of course he is the de facto heel. They start with a handshake and Flair is soundly routed at the beginning by the headlock. He goes for the aforementioned suplex and ends up still on the losing end. Now he is getting frustrated. He starts shooting for amateur takedowns and they have an engaging sequence with Steamboat coming out on top and getting that Boston Crab I spoke of. Flair shifts gears again, he tries to quicken the pace, but Steamboat is game for that and nails him with multiple dropkicks. Flair goes for a walk and cannot get anything going after trying three different strategies. This is when that test of strength happens. Flair tries to chuck him out and Steamboat comes right off the top with a flying karate chop. Flair now tries crowding in the corner and this lead to Steamboat roaring back with chops. Flair is now desperate and he is throwing knees and chops. Steamboat is too much and hits a press slam. Flair begs off and this feels like the climax of the shine with Flair progressing with more frustration and more desperation until that moment when he is terrified at the prospect of losing. Steamboat goes for the figure-4 yank of the trunks and Flair buries a knee into Steamboat when they are tied up in the ropes. The master of the corner and ropes, Ric Flair has finally gotten one up on Steamboat. Flair kicks ass on top and reminds me a lot of The Hammer with big forearms and nasty elbows to the top of the head. Flair is so smart with his timing because he does not rush anything and makes sure to give Steamboat plenty of time to sell and sell he did. There is a great pinning combination from Flair that exemplifies the struggle of this match where Flair hooks the leg and clasps Steamboat with that hand while also cradling Steamboat's neck and spreading his legs for extra, legal weight advantage. A very compelling spot. The first Steamboat hope spot is a sleeper and when he goes for the big splash, he eats knees to the midsection (the same midsection Flair worked on) and he collapses to the outside. There is an amazing, moving moment when all the women rush ringside and try to tend him. It is moments like these just will never happen again and show the beauty of pro wrestling. It was after Flair's ab stretch that I thought the match kinda went off the rails. The bridge/backslide is the sequence that seems out of place. Flair jumps on him with a sleeper and is sent into the turnbuckle. Steamboat is rocking it, but gets hotshotted. Flair really pours it on with great offense like the butterfly and delayed vertical suplex. Flair goes for the figure-4, but Steamboat blocks. Big Steamboat comeback: Flair Flip and Flair Flop. Barrage of Steamboat cradles. They have quickened the pace to increase excitement, but they have departed from what they were doing before. Flair's only equalizer is the headbutt to the midsection, but nothing can deny Steamboat except for the bell. Steamboat is able to hit a flying bodypress and the bell rings at two. Saved by the bell. The first chunk of this is really excellent. There is no one wrestling spot that will take your breathe away or will make you mark out, but the attention to detail will completely ensnare you. The women tending to Steamboat is the one spot that moves you. I just feel like the finishing sequence is the standard, awesome Flair/Steamboat finish sequence, but departs too sharply from the great struggle from before. Yes you still have Steamboat doing all he can to win and Flair desperate, but ti feels different. Still it is Flair vs Steamboat for close to an hour, it is fucking excellent. ****1/2

NWA US Champion Greg "The Hammer" Valentine vs "Rowdy" Roddy Piper - NWA Starrcade 1983 Dog Collar Match The 1980s were just a decade of absolute awesome, violent brawls. It is a total lost art. I love how Valentine and Piper put over the danger the match early with the tug of war with the chain and just how cautious they are. I love a barnburner brawl, but there is something about this slow build that adds to the danger element. You add in Gordon & Caudle stressing the injury to Piper's ear. You know at any point Valentine could lash that heavy steel chain against the Hot Rod's vulnerable ear. Piper was in command early and used the chain more effectively. We got some many cool, violent chain spots. Valentine wrapping it around Piper's eyes only to have Piper wrap it around The Hammer's mouth and nose was an awesome visual. We got of course Piper yanking the chain out from under Valentine into his crotch, a good TIMBAH spot and Piper fucking around with Valentine in the corner. One of Piper's counters was just to take the chain hold it taught and pop right into Valentine's face. I let out an audible "Shit!" and grimace every time I see that spot. On the outside, Valentine seeks refuge, but Piper just hurls a chair at him and continues to wail. The ref tries to restrain Piper and BOOM! Chain lashed straight against the ear. What follows is one of the nastiest and gnarliest heel heat segments. Valentine bashes the side of Piper's head into the post and chucks him into chairs. He constantly is brutalizing the ear with the chain, his massive forearms and knees. The infamous blading of the ear takes to a whole new visceral level. There are two times Piper is in his element: loud, obnoxious jackass you want to punch in the face and scrappy underdog. We get the best damn scrappy underdog Piper! I loved when he fires up and just tackles Valentine. He sees his own blood and just fucking loses his shit. The best part about any Valentine match he will take as good as he gives. So he is game for taking all the beating from Piper. Also what is great about the Hammer is he ain't just let you fucking hit him. He is going to fire right back at you with some stiff shots. It was awesome watching this. The suplex struggle and the visual of both men lying on their backs with the chains on their faces was more telling than any words I can write. After all this violent awesomeness, how can I have complaints, I do and they are minor. I have never really like Piper's punches and some of them were clear whiffs. I wished he tightened that shit up. My bigger problem is the finish. It is just too anticlimatic. In the 80s, you can get away with that finish because the crowd is going to pop anytime an over babyface goes over an over heel. It was just Piper yanks Valentine off the second rope in the safest bump of the match, sort of throws the chain around and then just pins with a half-hogtie, just was not that definitive violent ending. What takes Slaughter/Sheik, Duggan/DiBiase, and Mags/Blanchard to that next level is that definitive, satisfactory and memorable violent ending. It is the lack of that ending that gets this knocked down a peg. Up until that finish, it was right there with him in terms of sheer brutality and great hated-filled brawling. ****3/4

NWA World TV Champion Tully Blanchard vs Ricky Steamboat - NWA Starrcade 1984 I watched a good chunk of the excellent 1984: Year of Transition series. By watching it, you understand that Tully and Steamboat were the biggest stars on the show week to week. Flair and Dusty would show up, but they had busy schedules. It was Tully and Steamboat that were the workhorses. The year began with Dick Slater as the top heel, but by the spring it was clear that Blanchard was the most hated man in Mid-Atlantic with his fingers in many different angles against top babyfaces including Mid-Atlantic legend Johnny Weaver. Steamboat took the US Championship off from Dicky Slater, but only to lose to newly turned heel Wahoo McDaniel, who doubled as Tully's best friend. It all came to a head in this classic at Starrcade as Steamboat goes into the match with injured ribs. I loved, loved the first half of this match. The struggle over those injured ribs was incredible. Tully was sneaking in shots every chance he could get and Steamboat was firing back with all he had to try to save the ribs. Steamboat was expertly using the chinlock to control Tully and to stave off any attack to the ribs, a perfect use of the chinlock. Upon making the ropes, Tully just dives as soon as he can with his weight on the ribs as Steamboat defends himself. It is just electric. I loved Steamboat's selling as a wounded man, but fighting through the pain. He uses the ropes to stand up and roar back. They were on pace to have the best match of the 80s in my opinion. After Steamboat roared back, Tully slowed the down the match pace and the match was still excellent, but lost that really unique feel. Steamboat went on absolute tear in one of his best offensive performances ever. He kicked Tully's ass, busted him open, spit at him and stole his move! It was very badass. Tully had to resort to a foreign object and as Steamboat brought him with a back suplex, he let him have it. They did two nice false finishes: Tully hitting a cross body after the foreign object spot and Steamboat recovering enough to hit a top rope crossbody. Tully was thinking slingshot suplex, but blocked and in a sunset flip attempt nailed him with the foreign object for the win. The beginning of the match feels very special. The last half is a very quality, but standard finish run. The match feels way too short and kinda incomplete. Regardless, this match rocked and was a ton of fun! ****

NWA World Tag Team Champions Jack & Jerry Brisco vs Ricky Steamboat & Jay Youngblood - Starrcade 1983 I just watched for the first time a TV studio bout between these two teams that I thought was tremendous. It explained how these teams were once pals, but an accidental or perhaps not so accidental injury to Steamboat's knee had ruffled some feathers. So in the TV match, Steamboat and Youngblood target one of the Brisco's knees only for them to get hot about it and when they get on offense really go after Steamboat's knee. The finish was a Brisco jumping on the knees of Steamboat when he was in a figure-4 triggering a DQ and a lot of pain. Then in the summer, it looks like the Briscos cemented their heel turn by jumping Youngblood and sending him to the hospital as Steamboat explained in a promo with Ric Flair. None of this heat or hatred comes through at all in this match. I always thought it was a very technically good match, but with no really sense of going anywhere. I was shocked to find out there was all this awesome backstory and we get a match that just feels like well-executed standard tag team fare. I thought the opening portion of the match was entertaining, but forgettable. Youngblood is a good hand. Steamboat seemed content to do a lot of movement, but not really do anything at the same time. The transition to the heat was kinda weak. It was just like "ok time to beat on Steamboat". Jack kicking Steamboat's ass was great. Steamboat really delivered in terms of selling why Jack was just awesome one offense. He had the suplexes, the nasty offense, and drama from pinning combinations. The climax of this with Steamboat powering out of the short arm scissors with all his muscles bulging was an awesome visual. That whole segment was definitely the best of the match and really salvaged things. I liked the double football tackle on Younglood to end his very short lived hot tag. Jerry beating up Youngblood was just kinda there. Steamboat and Youngblood do a couple double teams to win the match to the delight of the crowd. It was a standard tag team match wrestled by four of the best so it came off professional and well-executed. Besides the heat segment, I don't think I'll remember anything about this match and having seen this match at least three times before I never remember anything from it anyway. ***

NWA World Heavyweight Champion Harley Race vs Ric Flair - MACW 8/31/83 I have told this story before I think, but I think it is humorous that after years and years of wanting to see 1980s wrestling specifically Ric Flair how underwhelmed I was as a teenager finally seeing Starrcade 1983 main event (as my first 80s match), which I still think is a pretty disappointing affair and I dont even think you can blame it all on Kiniski. Fortunately, I stuck with 80s wrestling. I have seen this match multiple times before since it is on a Ric Flair WWE DVD Set and I think this is definitely a lot better than Starrcade 83, but I have heard there are still better Flair/Race matches. i can believe that as while this one is enjoyable I believe these two could have a better one. I thought this one was a little herky jerky. They were not really letting the drama build through long heat segments, but nor were they all out brawling. It just felt like they were constantly transitioning. Not in an annoying video game way, but in not a compelling way as they could. I feel like I am not doing a great job explaining it. I really enjoyed the match so I don't want to get too hung up on it. Flair is a great babyface and wished he believed he was. Wrestling in the early 90s would have been better for it. He knows how to time his Wooos, strut and mannerisms to get that big pop. It always bring a smile to my face when he is pulling these shenanigans. Plus it is refreshing to see the Nature Boy being proactive rather than reactive. He is actually pretty damn good at bringing the offense to an opponent. You know you are over when all you have to do is pick up someone's foot and it gets a pop. Of course for Flair that is the signal for the figure-4 and the fans were rabid for his victory. As great as Flair was, I thought this was probably the best Race performance I have ever seen maybe except against Baba in 79. I loved him him throwing a stray punch at the ref in the sleeper. I loved his selling and stooging off the ropes. He took a couple really nasty bumps on the concrete. What I loved the most was his constant reliance on the headbutt and underhand tactics. Anytime, you really felt like Flair had it in hand like with his sleeper (Harley raked the eyes), figure-4 (yanks tights and big headbutt to midsection), Harley got desperate and would do anything to save his title. Race was using the headbutt as his great equalizer. Sure, we were not getting Harley's big bombs, but instead we were getting a nasty, gritty performance. Everything was a kill shot. He was kneeing Flair right in the side of the head or hitting him with a nasty short headbutt. When Harley did go for a bomb, he was intending to ensure Flair would never challenge him again like the piledriver on the outside or the diving headbutt on the outside, both of which he missed and led to nasty bumps. After the piledriver bump, Flair unleashes the best offensive stretch of the match. He cant get the figure-4, but he delivers bomb after bomb (I really liked when Harley rolled away, Flair hesitated then dropped the elbow). Hell Flair even busted out the Boston Crab. Out on the apron, in the ropes, Harley delivered some really nasty headbutts. I love Harley taking advantage of a transient like that. When Harley misses the diving headbutt on the concrete, you can totally buy the countout, but instead we get some real fun strutting and Woooooing as Flair takes it to the World Champion. Again, the headbutt to midsection looks to be the equalizer, but Flair avoids the diving headbutt again and finally Flair applies the figure-4. Only to have Dicky Slater run in and then Bob Orton turn on Flair and attack Flair. Then they shoot the big angle for Starrcade with the spike piledriver and neck crank. This is such a fucking awesome angle. Race pointing laughing is tremendous. I loved the diving headtbutt vs figure-4 battle. Neither man could not hit/apply their big move and they kept trying. It was Race missing on his third occasion that set up the Flair figure-4. I thought Race wrestled as an excellent heel and really loved his use of the headbutt. This is going to sound crazy, but I think Flair could have brought more energy. He wrestled a solid match, but it seemed kinda tame from him. The angle at the end really takes this up a level. The fact that this match is so good and the angle is even better makes Starrcade 83 all the more disappointing. ****

I prefer Valentine vs Santana from Baltimore in 85 (I think it is super close between this and the above tag match). I have not seen Backlund/Slaughter from '81 in Philly in forever, but thats a contender. Then depending on how you feel about Hell in a Cells (whether they are to be considered cage matches), I would have HBK/Taker over this also.

World Class Championship Wrestling Progress Report Watched: Flair vs Von Erichs (7 matches), Freebirds vs Von Erichs (16 matches), total of 23 matches Need to watch: Von Erichs vs Dynamic Duo, Best of Chris Adams and Misc matches. Rankings (>=****1/4) 1. Fabulous Freebirds vs Von Erichs -7/4/83 ****3/4 2. Kerry Von Erich vs Michael Hayes - 11/24/83 Loser Leaves Town, Cage Match ****3/4 3. NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair vs Kerry Von Erich - 8/15/82 2 out of 3 Falls ****3/4 4. NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair vs Kevin Von Erich - 5/5/85 ****1/2 5. Kerry & Kevin Von Erich vs Terry Gordy & Buddy Roberts - 2/16/88 ****1/2 6. Kevin Von Erich vs "Gorgeous" Jimmy Garvin - 7/18/83 ****1/2 7. NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair vs David Von Erich - 10/11/82 ****1/2 8. Kevin & David Von Erich vs Jimmy Garvin & Terry Gordy - 8/15/83 2 Out of 3 Falls ****1/2 9. NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair vs Kerry Von Erich - 12/25/82 Steel Cage Match ****1/2 10. Fabulous Freebirds vs Von Erichs (Kerry, Kevin & David) - 9/5/83 ****1/2 11. NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair vs Kevin Von Erich - 4/1/83 ****1/4 12. NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair vs Kerry Von Erich - 5/6/84 For the emotional moment Notes: I have the least to say about World Class. I definitely got swept in the fervor of the Von Erich boys when I was watching, but over time there were diminishing returns. They were always portrayed as world beaters and they never really faced any real sense of danger. The Freebird matches were always fun, but so many lacked drama because the heat segment was either short or non-existent. Kerry and Kevin were both awesome workers and totally different. Kevin embodies "think shoot, but work" and is just a scrappy muthafucka. Kerry Von Erich was incredibly charismatic power wrestler. I just wished both would show a little more vulnerability to really hook me in. They did not finally have that violent, chaotic brawl until 1988! That would have been huge in 1983. World Class had the thinnest roster of any promotion I have looked at and ultimately was not sustainable, but that single year of 1983 maybe the hottest one year in the history of pro wrestling for anyone promotion. Every crowd was absolutely molten for the Von Erichs/Freebirds. I love their July 4th match to death and that crowd is one of the best crowds ever. I loved Flair vs the Von Erich boys. The matches with Kevin are just absolute wars. I think they hold water with Flair's stuff against Wahoo and Garvin. Flair vs Kerry is only eclipsed by Flair vs Luger in terms of that classic Flair vs. Power Wrestler match. I have never seen a WCCW Chris Adams or a Gino Hernandez match in my life. So I am looking forward to the last half of my watching.