Autistic Dragon

Taped at the Roanoke Civic Center before Main Event. Originally airing on 4/28/89 on the USA Network. On commentary: Bob Caudle & David Crockett "British Magician Steve Wright defeats Ted Thompson with the "Octopus hold". The Eliminators (Perry Saturn & John Kronus) defeat Robert Pugh & Kennan Mitchell with "Total Elimination". Interestingly Paul Jones was seen observing from the aisle. "Pitbull" Kerry Brown defeats The Insurgent with the Powerbomb. Main event. "Russian Bear" Ivan Koloff w/"Number One" Paul Jones defeats "The Latin Hearthrob Al Perez after a distraction from Jones allowed Koloff to roll Perez up with a handful of tights. In other news.... We see another video hyping the arrival of "The Golden Warrior" Kevin Von Erich. We are informed that Battle Bowl will return and it will air live on the USA Network on Saturday, June 1st from the Civil Coliseum in Knoxville TN. Just like last year there will be 6 randomly drawn tag team matches with the winners advancing to the Battle Bowl proper. The winner will receive a NWA World Heavyweight Title shot at the Great American Bash which will air live on Pay Per View on Saturday, July 6th from the Baltimore Arena in Baltimore Maryland.

From the Roanoke Civic Center in Roanoke VA. Previously recorded and airing on 4/27/89 on the USA Network. On commentary: Gordon Solie Ring announcer/interviews: Sean Mooney The Zero Fighters (Keichi Yamada & Hiroshi Hase) defeats The Master Blasters (Iron & Blade) when Hase pinned Blade with a Victory Roll. As the enraged MB's walked to the back, they were stopped by a man in a hood. While they initially looked like they'd move him by force they seemed to enter a trance and ended up following him to the back. King Kong Bundy w/"Number One" Paul Jones defeats Mark Strange, Nathan Domini & Sal Massarauro by crushing all three of them with the "Avalanche". Bundy made sure the ref knew to count to 5 before making the cover. Jones joins Mooney and says that last week Whatley made the biggest mistake of his life because nobody would even know who Whatley was without Paul Jones! The Nasty Boys (Brian Knobs & Jerry Saggs) defeat Stan & Steve Stenton with "Welcome to Nastyville". NWA World Six Man Tag Team Titles. The Stud Stable (Rod Price Tommy Cairo & Jimmy Golden)(c) w/"The Mastermind" Ron Fuller defeat The Lawmen (Wendell Colley, Billy Joe Travis & Doug Gilbert) with a Spike Piledriver on Gilbert. "Boogie Woogie Man" Jimmy Valiant & "Black Bullet" Shaska Whatley defeat Don Black & Gary White with a "Groovin" elbow followed by a "Flying Willie". Whatley responds that his only mistake was spending so much of his career listening to a snake like Jones, especially since it meant breaking up his friendship with Jimmy. Says it's time to set things right and that means running Jones out of the NWA. Badd Company (Pat Tanaka & Paul Diamond) w/"The Perfect 10" Baby Doll & Big John Studd defeat The Angels of Mercy with "Badd Time" (German suplex/Superkick combo) Main event. Super Strong Machine defeats Abdullah the Butcher by DQ when Abby snapped and attacked SSM with his fork. He gets several vicious jabs before the Zero Fighters run down to protect their "Sensei". Hell breaks loose when the hooded figure returns and orders the Master Blasters to the ring. The warriors of the wasteland storm the ring and aid Abby into beating down the Japanese trio. The beating continues as the show comes to an end with the mystery man entering the ring and lowering his hood to reveal...

Victoria. Michaels & Jannety are ready to Rock the west coast. Well he may have lost Christopher butCornette has not only secured the services but manages to bring the Lover Boy back to PCW. The Southern Boys finally snap on Gunn. A successful return for Douglas. Reno Riggins -who totally isn't from Tennessee by the way- makes his return to make the Playboy even stronger. Ted Dibiase, Terry Gordy AND Steve Williams? And that is a Triangle of Terror. Vancouver. Malenko ground Beettlejuice. Scotty's singles run is off to a good start. Hart struggles to get past Finlay. If I were in the Citadel I'd be losing patience with Severn pretty quick. Tony Atlas returns and the first thing he does is hand the California title to Austin? Curious. Soultaker's gone from a winning streak to the beginning of a losing streak. Kelowna. Condrey shows he can win on his own. Blackman is seriously stepping up lately. Azul with a solid win. The Dreamboats come so close but remain so far away. Lee is on the role of his career. Rose just clipped the Eagles' wings.

Senerchia makes history on his first night in the UWF. The Koslowski bros break even with the Soviet team. Bad News taps! Did not see that coming.

Morrow just handing out gifts! Jumbo vs Vader in Japan? That's a sellout. Hogan squares up to another monster in Kokina.

Sting starts the night with a bang winning the TV title. Sid actually needs some help to get past Reed. Luger has better luck than Gilbert. Debeers manages to screw Atlas out of a fair match again. Terri might've just earned herself a women's title match. Piper brought a partner alright, just not the kind we expected. Sting's banner night continues as he breaks Sid's streak. Reed avenges his friend by helping Luger advance. Woman steps up to make sure her boys retain the tag titles. Luger legitimately deserves a award for his acting in the match with Sting. Made sure it he caught everyone off guard when he literally dragged Flair across the finish line. Woman's Horsemen now have all the gold but Luger now has a shot at Flair's title, I'll be looking forward to how that's resolved.

Alright I fixed it.

Taz vs Benoit has me hyped. Backlund v Fujiwara and Madea v Allen are also huge.

Bossman showing everyone who da man is! Heenan feels a little slighted by Savage so arranges a Rude Awakening for the champ. Spivey wastes no time showing how valuable he is to the Dangerous Alliance. Rockers fight off the big men to hold on to the gold. Andre and co with a big win to close the show.

I didn't know Link had a son. Seems to know what he's doing. Atlas and the Cuban get heated. Durante & Wolfe look like a couple of Pitbulls. Miss Peaches certainly seems to have Bruno's number. Captain Lou skirts the stipulation to hand Renesto the gold.

Good job laying the ground work for the new era of Central States.

Taped at the Grady Cole Center before Main Event. Originally airing on 4/21/89 on the USA Network. On commentary: Bob Caudle & David Crockett Too Cold Scorpio defeats Mitch Conners with the 450 splash. Brad Anderson w/Ole Anderson d defeats Riley O'Reilly with the Fujiwara armbar. The debuting "Leaping" Lanny Poffo defeats Carl Harper with a MoonSault. Main event. The Samoan Island Tribe (Alofa & Fatu) defeat The Killer (Bees B. Brian Blair & Jim Brunzell) when Brunzell attempted a sunsetflip on Alofa and the massive Samoan just sat on him. In other news.... Commentary says that next week we'll have an announcement regarding the NWAs next two major events. We see a hype video for "The Golden Warrior" Kevin Von Erich.

From the Grady Cole Center in Charlotte NC. Previously recorded/airing on 4/20/89 on the USA Network. On commentary: Gordon Solie Ring announcer/interviews: Sean Mooney Junkyard Dog defeats "The Thoroughbred" Tommy Cairo w/"The Mastermind" Ron Fuller with the "Thump". The Master Blasters (Iron & Blade) defeat Brock Williams & Kent Mason with "Welcome to the Wasteland" on Mason. We see a recap of Abdullah the Butcher's horrifying return in Huntington WV and learn he'll return to TV next week against Super Strong Machine. Commando Boone defeats Hank Primm with a big splash. The Beasts of Burden (Nord the Barbarian & Rip Morgan) w/The Assassin defeat The Patriots (Firebreaker Chip Todd Champion) with a double big boot on Chip. "Chief" Wahoo McDaniel defeats The Russian Tiger with a Tomahawk chop. More footage from Huntington where we see The Nightmares defeat The Sheepherders to become the NEW United States Tag Team champions. Solie says that sources report Paul Jones putting the now former champs on a plane to New York before today's program. "Nature Boy" Buddy Landel w/JJ Dillon defeats James Roode with the Figure Four leg lock. Main Event. "Boogie Woogie Man Jimmy Valiant and NWA United States Tag Team champions The Nightmares Danny Davis Ken Wayne defeat The Paul Jones Army (The Super Destroyer, King Kong Bundy & Shaska Whatley) w/"Number One Paul Jones by DQ when Ivan Koloff ran in to break up a pin. A beatdown of the faces ensues with a confused Whatley looking on. Jones enters the ring and shakes hands with Koloff before instructing him to hand his chain to a baffled Whatley. At Jones order, the Nightmares are tossed from the ring and Super D & Koloff hold Valiant up by his arms. Jones turns to Whatley and says "it's time to prove yourself!" Whatley looks conflicted but a determined look comes across his face as he wraps the chain around his fist. He rears back and nails.... Koloff! Jones is shocked but quickly recovers and starts yelling "get him". Super Destroyer throws a punch that is blocked and he gets a shot with the chain. Bundy roars as he charges across the ring but Whatley pulls a low bridge and sends the behemoth crashing to the floor. Jones sees the tide has turned and ducks out. The show ends with Whatley helping Valiant up while Jones and co regroup.

Night 1. Lynn seems to get the deciding win over Malenko. Another bad break for the Southern Boys. O'Grady comes in clutch. Gunn end Soultaker's streak. The Dreamboats bad luck in tournaments continues. The Wild Things get Forced from the tournament. Chono takes out a wounded King. Windham has had all he can stand. April 89 is officially belongs to the Midnight Express. Cornette must've been so happy to have all his men be champions but Eddie had to go and spoil it. Hall sends his former friend to the unemployment line. Once again the Playboy is holding the gold. Night 2. The Jackal reveal a dangerous new weapon. Adams proves he's the man in the Diamond Exchange. Severn's malaise is starting to hurt The Citadel. Page just picked the worst possible time to turn on Bam Bam. Awesome gets time to shine. The Can-Ams & the FOJ are headed to the finals. Jack seems to have awoken something in Austin. Stromfront finally win the big win. Regal is showing a new side to himself lately. The Can-Am Express add their name to the MLMM trophy. Oh Tenryu pust have been SO pissed when the result was announced.

Well, Vinnie and co were technically right in their prediction. Vader showing the AWA why he is The Man. Hansen wins the battle of the cowboys. Good idea preserving Nikita and Sarge. The Hulkster gets his first big win. The Bullet and the Superstar stand tall. Jumbo gets to take the world title home to Japan next month.

NWA sends Luke Williams and Butch Miller to the WWF in exchange for Kevin Von Erich, Kevin Sullivan and Lanny Poffo.

Debeers pulls some clever legal maneuvering but Jarrett bites back by ensuring he finally faces Atlas. Dibiase trying to drive a wedge between the Horsemen before he and Williams go for the tag titles. Like the idea of Luger and Gilbert defending the titles in their first tournament matches. Terri wastes no time completing her face turn by backing up Medusa. Piper brings in a new partner for a loser leaves street fight. Hope he picked wisely. Loved Lawler no-selling Flair's poking at his restaurant job.

NWA Live at the Huntington Civic Center in Huntington WV on 4/17/89 "Russian Bear" Ivan Koloff defeats Firebreaker Chip with his feet on the ropes. Jamie Dundee defeats Perry Saturn with a second rope fist drop as Adrian Street and Ms Linda looked on. Big John Studd w/"The Perfect 10" Baby Doll defeats Ranger Ross with a Bearhug. "Exotic Adrian Street w/Ms Linda & Jamie Dundee vs Super Strong Machine ended in a no contest when ABDULLAH THE BUTCHER stormed the ring and attacked both men with a fork. Young Jamie tried to intervene but got cut up for his trouble. NWA Heritage Title. The Super Destroyer w/"Number One Paul Jones defeats"Boogie Woogie Man" Jimmy Valiant after Jones slid SD the title and he whacked Valiant with it. NWA United States Tag Team Titles. The Nightmares (Danny Davis & Ken Wayne) defeat The Sheepherders (Butch Miller Luke Williams)(c) w/"Number One" Paul Jones after hitting the "Waking Nightmare" on Miller. Jones was down from a accidental clothesline from Williams earlier in the match and by the time he got up, the match was over. Once he realized what happened, he shook his head and walked off alone. NWA United States Title. Junkyard Dog defeats "Tennessee Stud Robert Fuller(c) w/"The Mastermind" Ron Fuller by C.O when Robert was knocked to the outside by a JYD tackle. He looked to reenter the ring when Ron whispered something in his ear before handing him the title and the two walked away. When the result was announced JYD got pissed and ran after the brothers. While Robert saw him coming and booked it, the Dog got his hands on Ron and forced him back into the ring before planting him with the "Thump" to send the crowd home happy.

Dan Spivey is a perfect fit for the Dangerous Alliance. A good night for The Hart Foundation.

The addition of pinfalls should add an exciting new layer to UWFI matches.

The first round of the MLM tournament is looking strong. Two loser leaves town matches adds some spice to each night. Let's see if the Midnight's can turn their Crockett Cup win into a title reign.

Carolina Coliseum, Columbus SC. April 14, 1989 Live on Pay-Per-View. Crockett Cup Quarterfinals. The Steiner Brothers (Rick & Scott) (WWF) vs Salman Hashimikov & Victor Zangiev (UWFI) w/Ivan Koloff After a highly scientific display in which all four men place their amateur skills on the forefront, Ivan takes advantage of a accidental ref bump to pass Zangiev the chain. Zangiev actually looks shocked and engages in conversation with Ivan before throwing the chain out of the ring earning applause from the surprised fans. Unfortunately for the Soviet, Rick capitalized on the argument by blasting Zangiev with the "Steiner-line" to get the win. Koloff furiously berates Zangiev as well as Hashimikov when he speaks up for his partner. The argument gets heated and Ivan finally snaps and slaps Hashimikov! The man mountain is absolutely seething and plants Ivan with a belly to belly suplex. He then helps his partner up with the two shaking hands with the Steiners then leaving. Winners: The Steiner Brothers The New Breed (Sean Royal Chris Champion) (MLW) vs WCW World Tag Team champions The Horsemen (Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard) You get the feeling that the Horsemen aren't taking their opponents seriously at first allowing the New Breed to launch early match blitz. But as soon as the Horsemen decide to kick things into high gear it becomes clear where things are headed. Double A synches it by hitting Champion with the best Spinebuster in the business. Winners: The Horsemen NWA World Tag Team champions The Road Warriors (Hawk & Animal) vs WWF World Tag Team champions Demolition (Ax & Smash) The two Mad Max inspired duo's beat the holy hell out of each other with neither side giving a inch. This comes back to bite them when all four men are in the ring brawling and the ref's calls for order are completely ignored. An attempt to get between legal men Smash and Animal gets him knocked on his ass at which point he throws it out. It takes a few more minutes and the entire security team to finally separate the two teams. AWA National Tag Team champions The Olympians (Ken Patera & Brad Rhenigans) vs The Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton & Stan Lane) (PCW) w/Jim Cornette The Olympians take the mic and say that after sharing the ring with "those feral kiwis the NWA calls champions it's truly refreshing to compete against such an upstanding team like the Midnight Express and their honorable manager Jim Cornette". Cornette takes the mic and is just so grateful for the kind words but really it's a privilege for his boys to be in the same ring as two men who represented their country in the Olympics.... even if they didn't win any medals. They agree that the best team will win and shake hands. As soon as the bell rings each man tries to kick the man opposite him in the gut. Each boot is caught leaving all four of them hopping on one foot. This sets the theme for the match as while there is genuine technique displayed, there's also this comedic undercurrent as both sides try to cheat while ensuring the other side of course they don't mean it. The end sees Patera get Lane up for a suplex only for Cornette to reach in with the tennis racket and trips him. Lane lands on top and Cornette uses the racket to hold Patera's feet down while the ref counts three. As their leaving, the Olympians were heard loudly saying they couldn't believe the NWA would allow CHEATERS into their tournament. Winners: The Midnight Express NWA United States Title. "Tennessee Stud" Robert Fuller(c) w/"The Mastermind" Ron Fuller vs The Doctor of Desire Tom Prichard The bad wheel came into play with Fuller targeting it the whole match before finally getting the challenger in the "Fuller Lock". Prichard refused to submit but eventually the pain was too much and he passed out. Winner AND STILL NWA United States Champion: Robert Fuller Crockett Cup Semifinals. WCW World Tag Team champions The Horsemen (Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard) vs The Steiner Brothers (Rick & Scott) (WWF) The Horsemen has learned their lesson from the last match it seems and gave the brothers from Michigan their full effort from the get go. To their immense frustration, that doesn't yield the desired effect as The Steiners knuckle down and make sure to give as good as they get. In what could be seen as an act of desperation, Tully gets Scott on the top rope and looks to be going for a Super-plex. As he does so, Rick fights past Arn and gets under Blanchard in the "electric chair" position before turning around with Scott coming off the top with what could be called a "Doomsday Bulldog" for the 1..2...3! Given the reputation of the WCW duo involved this was greeted as a massive event by the NWA faithful. Winners: The Steiner Brothers The Midnight Express get a bye to the finals. NWA World Heavyweight Title. "Rugged" Ron Garvin(c) vs "The Unpredictable" Dick Slater w/The Assassin A textbook example of a Carolinas main event between two masters of the style. Garvin plays the underdog selling the beating from the Beasts he's gotten over the past couple weeks. At one point The Assassin loads up his mask and delivers a headbutt which opens up the champ. Slater makes the cover but Garvin digs deep to kick out to a huge pop. Slater goes to finish things with a swinging neck breaker but takes to long jawing at the fans which allows Garvin to counter into a backslide for the surprise three count. Crockett Cup Finals. The Steiner Brothers (Rick & Scott) (WWF) vs The Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton & Stan Lane) (PCW) w/Jim Cornette Cornette takes the mic one last time tonight. Cornette: Three matches down, one more to go...now let's give it up for the stars of the show...From every man's nightmare and every woman's dream...I present to you the world's greatest tag team....they know exactly how to relive a lovely lady's stress...."Beautiful" Bobby and "Sweet" Stan.... The Midnight Express! Another tag classic in the main event of the Crockett Cup. The Steiner's are machines but the Midnight's are doing everything they can think of to slow them down. At one point Rick is going for a belly to belly on Lane outside the ring when Cornette takes advantage of the ref's attention being elsewhere to crack him in the back with the tennis racket. Amazingly this only seems to piss Steiner off as he drops Lane before walking up behind the celebrating Cornette, spinning him around then planting him with a belly to belly on the floor. Steiner soaks in the cheers this brings until a regrouped Lane rams him into the ring post. Scott fights on alone for a while but ultimately the Midnight's are too much for any one man and the "Veg-o-Matic" finishes things off. After three attempts, the Midnight Express have won the Crockett Cup. Winners of the 1989 Crockett Cup: The Midnight Express!

April 13, 1989 Winthrop Coliseum, Rocky Hill SC. Crockett Cup Night 1. The Dreamboats (Tommy Dreamer & Glamour Boy Shane) (PCW) w/Trisa Hayes vs Salman Hashimikov & Victor Zangiev (UWFI) w/Ivan Koloff The west coast hearthrobs seem to have things in hand until Shane sees Ivan advancing on Trisa. When he leans through the ropes to get Ivan to back off, the Russian veteran coldcocks him with the chain wrapped around his fist. The ref is checking on Hashimikov at this time and both men look confused to see Shane crumple to the mat with Ivan having to frantically encourage Hashimikov to make the cover. He obliges and the three count is academic. Ivan raises the hands of his clients who both look confused at the boos they're hearing. Winners: Salman Hashimikov & Victor Zangiev The Steiner Brothers (Rick & Scott) (WWF) vs AWA World Tag Team champions Los Guerreros (Hector & Mando) Hector & Mando show exactly why they've been able to rise to the top of the AWA's tag division demonstrating peerless teamwork, technical ability and willingness to bend the rules that would overwhelm the average team. The brothers from the University of Michigan however are far from average and their freakish combination of strength, athleticism, grappling and raw intensity proves a tough nut to crack. The end seems to come out of nowhere when Hector tries to send Scott to the ropes only to have Steiner reverse it. Instead of sending Guerrero to the ropes however Scott pulls him back into a hurricarana for the 1,2,3! Winners: The Steiner Brothers. The Koslowski Brothers (Dennis & Duane( (UWFI) vs The New Breed (Sean Royal & Chris Champion) (MLW) While the Koslowski's are undeniably talented athletes and their amateur skills provide Royal & Champion with headaches, their relative unfamiliarity with a pro wrestling environment proves their downfall with Duane falling to the "Wave of the Future". Winners: The New Breed. Wayne Shamrock & Joe Malenko (UWFI) vs WCW World Tag Team champions The Horsemen (Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard) If the three UWFI teams we've seen tonight, the pairing of Shamrock & Malenko seems the most familiar with a straight forward American style match. While this helps them, the combination of a former Cup winner and four time NWA World Heavyweight Champion is too much to overcome and Blanchard seals the deal with the Slingshot suplex on Shamrock. Winners: The Horsemen (Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard) WWF World Tag Team champions Demolition (Ax & Smash) vs The Rougeau Brothers (Jacques & Raymond) (MLW) The Rougeau's bring all their underhanded knowledge to bear but nothing works as Demolition power through everything thrown at them before finishing Jacques with "Decapitation". Winners: Demolition. NWA World Tag Team champions The Road Warriors (Hawk & Animal) vs The Powers of Pain (Barbarian & Warlord) (WWF) w/Mr Fuji Four meaty men slapping meat which ends with the "Doomsday Device" on Warlord. NWA United States Tag Team champions The Sheepherders (Butch Miller & Luke Williams) w/Paul Jones vs AWA National Tag Team champions The Olympians (Ken Patera & Brad Rhenigans) Before the bell, the Olympians grab the mic and cut a promo about how they're So Excited to have a "good clean wrestling match with two fine upstanding gentlemen like the Sheepherders" all the while wearing smiles that a used car salesman would think was a bit much. They offer handshakes to which Butch and Luke look at the outstretched hands, then to each other, shrug and punch the Olympians in the face. For all their grandstanding, the Olympians prove more than willing to meet the Sheepherders dirty trick for dirty trick. Jones looks to turn the tide but a miscommunication leads to him colliding with Miller allowing Rhenigans to roll him up with both hands full of camo pants. The Sheepherders were clearly displeased with their manager as they returned to the back. WCW United States Champions The Freebirds (Michael Hayes & Jimmy Garvin) vs The Midnight Express Bobby Eaton Stan Lane (PCW) w/Jim Cornette Cornette grabs the mic and proudly introduces his team dubbing then amoung other things "the favorite tag team of every woman on Bad Street". An absolute tag classic followed with the Freebirds playing situational faces who aren't afraid to play dirty if the other side does. Hayes looks to set Eaton up for a DDT but a struggling Eaton manages to push him against the ropes which allows Cornette to crack him in the back with the tennis racket out of view of the ref. Eaton pulls Hayes into a inside cradle for the tainted three count. Winners: The Midnight Express. Updated card for night 2. Crockett Cup quarterfinals. Salman Hashimikov Victor Zangiev vs The Steiner Brothers The Horsemen vs The New Breed The Road Warriors vs Demolition The Olympians vs The Midnight Express Non tournament matches. NWA United States Title "Tennessee Stud Robert Fuller(c) w/"The Mastermind Ron Fuller vs "The Doctor of Desire" Tom Prichard NWA World Heavyweight Title. "Rugged" Ron Garvin(c) vs "The Unpredictable" Dick Slater w/The Assassin

Great job hyping all the elimination tag matches as well as the individual feuds strown throughout. Gordy and Hogan are gonna tear each other apart! Love the idea of closing the show with a music video about the World Title match.

Central States has arrived! Looks like Captain Lou has an interest in Santana.