Autistic Dragon

Author's note: Apologies friends but I'm just not feeling up to writing two episodes worth of content. Please accept this brief highlight reel. The Crockett Cup. This week's Main Event saw a special appearance by NWA President Jim Crockett Jr. He says it's time once again to determine who is the greatest tag team in wrestling today. As is tradition, he has sent invitations to every major wrestling promotion in this great country to send their finest Tag Teams to compete in a two night tournament. The winners will not only claim the titular cup but a cash prize in the amount of One Million Dollars. He announces that Night 1 will air live on the USA Network April 13th from the Winthrop Coliseum in Rocky Hill SC on while Night 2 will air the following night, April 14th, from the Carolina Coliseum in Columbia SC live on Pay Per View. Manny Fernandez isn't done yet. Manny Fernandez returned to NWA programming and call out Dick Slater for needing the help of three men to beat him at SuperBrawl 2. Crockett addressed this later in the night, decreeing that Slater and Fernandez would meet one more time on March 18th at the Freedom Hall Civic Center in Johnson City Tennessee with the winner being declared number one contender to the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. And to ensure that the best man wins, this bout will be held inside a steel cage! The Paul Jones Army. As promised Paul Jones revealed his newest monster on Main Event in the form of the "Walking Condominium" King Kong Bundy who needed less than 30 seconds to finish his unlucky opponent with the "Avalanche" before demanding the ref count to five. But what everyone was talking about was the events of the following Worldwide. In the main event Shaska Whatley faced off with former tag partner and longtime rival Jimmy Valiant. Jones remained disinterested throughout the match allowing it to play out without incident. Whatley would claim the win via backslide and Valiant would offer a handshake. Whatley actually looked ready to accept but Jones stirred himself to shout at his client to refuse. The two had another back and forth with Jones becoming increasingly heated. It was at this point that Valiant would interject himself seemingly arguing on Whatley's behalf. Security got between the three before things could erupt further but a new wrinkle had been added to Whatley's fraying relationship with his longtime manager.

Jarrett had better load that Clash up if he's putting a show in the Superdome on free TV. Flair and Dibiase in a rematch is a good start. Also love the idea of "The Crowning". Debeers and the AAC are gonna be lighting fires everywhere they go. There appears to be some dispute over who's in charge of Hot Stuff Inc...or is it Hyatt International? Miss Tennessee calling out The Hustler. Is Rogers man enough to accept. Humperdink looking a little reluctant to send his monster against Luger.

Nice touch having the Bombers win clean in the home country Sawyer and Link don't care if it's a match or a fight. Larry Z charming fans worldwide. Brandi and the Fantastics make a Thrilling trio. Colon's neck doesn't hold up allowing Starr to take the win. Canek holds onto his title shot. Orndorff and Big Jim prove a formidable team. St Clair with a triumphant return. Nikita's anger gets the better of him. Jumbo dodges the Bullet and remains World Champion.

Dory is teaching some valuable lessons so far. The Bruisers vent on some poor schmucks. Glamor Doll takes his beef with Huber to the next level. Grizz makes a statement. The spirit of the Vin Man was with Vinergy as they go to a co with the Saints. Stan Hansen is coming! Even I couldn't enjoy that stunt the Olympians pulled. Dundee uses the belt Adias brought in and it costs him. The Hulkster throws out an open challenge and a returning Terry Gordy immediately steps up. What a match for Champagne Slam!

Out of curiosity, which of the "kids' do you think is ready to step up and lead NJPW as World Champion?

Some fun options for Pick your Poison next week. Andre & Snuka get their chance to fight the Powers at Mania.

Victoria. Austin keeps his momentum going. The Juice Crew derail the Blondes. Lynn and Malenko were just getting started. The Dragon just got the gold and is already making a list of who he's looking out for. Bigelow blows off some steam but things are still tense with DDP. The Rainbow Warriors and Flyin' Brian end the night with back to back defenses. Vancouver. I like how you connect the first three matches. Soultaker and the Bulldozer take advantage while Rose shows Dreamer why he's the kind of the Northeast. The OWC prey on deflated opposition. Finlay gets taken out by the Hitman. Windham has had enough of this little lightshow that's been following him around. Kelowna. The New Generation unveils another exciting new tag team. Scotty and Dustin both get solid wins. The DC manage to hold onto the gold again. Hall proves to have Hennig's number. Regal shows his title win was well earned.

Taped at the Memorial Auditorium before Main Event. Originally airing on 3/3/89 on the USA Network. On commentary: Bob Caudle & David Crockett The Eliminators (Perry Saturn & John Kronus) defeat Alex Portman & Rupert Overstreet with "Total Elimination" on Portman The returning Commando Boone defeats Rick Bronson with a big splash. "The Gatekeeper" Jimmy Golden w/"The Mastermind" Ron Fuller defeats "Jumping" Jerry Maxwell with the Piledriver. Main event. "Wildcat" Wendell Colley defeats Brad Anderson with the running Bulldog. In other news... Commentary hype the announcement of the 1989 addition of the Crockett Cup. Venues are still placing bids to hold either parts of the two night extravaganza with the final decision to be announced next week.

From the Memorial Auditorium in Greenville SC. Previously recorded and airing on 3/2/89 on the USA Network On commentary: Gordon Solie Ring announcer/interviews: Sean Mooney Match #1 Too Cold Scorpio vs Dynamite Kid A pioneer of the fast paced "light heavyweight" style taking on a man many say can take it to the next level. Dynamite does a respectable job keeping pace but you get the feeling he's just a step behind and he ultimately falls to the 450 splash. Match #2 The Nasty Boys (Brian Knobs & Jerry Saggs) defeat Kip Johnson and Samuel Biles by taking Johnson on "A trip to Nastyville" VTR- We see footage from a recent houseshow where Kamala is taking on Wahoo McDaniel. Something has set Kamala off and he starts attacking anything that moves. His opponent, the referee, ringside security, even his own handler Friday! Jones has to call down the rest of the Army to finally corral the crazed beast. We then cut to Paul Jones who says that NWA leadership has "unjustly" barred Kamala from competing at NWA events. He vows to unleash a new monster next week and everyone is going to pay. Match #3 "The Latin Hearthrob" Al Perez defeats The Masked Marauder with the German suplex. Match #4 The Beasts of Burden (John Nord & Rip Morgan) w/The Assassin vs The Patriots (Firebreaker Chip & Todd Champion) The Patriots have had a rough few months after losing the United States Tag Team Titles. They clearly are trying to reassert themselves but they run into a huge obstacle in the Beasts. The former champs put up a fierce fight but they were overwhelmed by the ferocity of Nord and Morgan with Champion falling to the double big boot. Match #5 Jamie Dundee defeats Robert "Rough Stuff" Stanton with a second rope fist drop as Adrian Street looked on approvingly. We see more footage from the recent NWA loop. Shaska Whatley is set to take on Jimmy Snuka but it's announced Snuka didn't make it to the building. However a suitable replacement has apparently been found. A buzz goes throughout the building which turns into a shocked applause as "WILDFIRE" TOMMY RICH makes his way down. The video skips to the finish which sees Jones try to trip Rich only to get Whatley by mistake causing him to stumble into a Piledriver for the win. Match #6 "The Russian Bear Ivan Koloff defeats Aaron McMichael with the "Russian Bearhug" Main Event "The Doctor of Desire" Tom Prichard vs "Nature Boy" Buddy Landel w/JJ Dillon Both men are on point and produce a thrilling TV main event. Landel puts the ref in front of him to stave off the Superkick. Prichard moves the ref out of the line of fire allowing Landel to score a punt to the uprights followed by the Corkscrew Elbow drop for the win. The future of the Horsemen may be somewhat in doubt but the self-styled "real Nature Boy" is clearly a threat no one should take lightly.

Nikita is on the warpath and he's headed straight for Sarge. Nelson continues to make Larry Z a salty bitch every time he opens his mouth. Miller strikes again and this time with his eye on the #1 contender spot on the line. Keirn looks Fabulous in a showcase. Huber nearly eeks out another win over Doll. Sweet Dreams is looking good but I still say they're in over their heads. The Fantastics aren't done with Los Guerreros. St Clair is all class. Armstrong is trying to focus on the world title but Idol refuses to be ignored. Speaking of the world title, Stevens is sick of hearing about Hulk Hogan.

Taylor cutting some randos hair while threatening Brutus is such a funny visual. The Americanna 89 tour is going strong! A couple of big matches for the Heenan Family. A dramatic return for Snuka as he saves Andre from the Fuji-clan.

Damian over Rotunda is a pretty big upset to me. Robin holds onto the gold but Simmes has a good case for a rematch. Interesting to see the crowd cheering for the champ getting dq'd. I imagine Zenk & Steiner was a fun time. Walker is on a major roll. Things get heated in the semi-main. Saito & Goto with a hard fought win to close the show. Between cheering Robin taking the easy way out and booing the Japanese duo despite them playing faces, you're making the MLW crowd a interesting part of the show.

WWE apparently had to pay MLW 20M in a antitrust lawsuit last year. https://whatculture.com/wwe/wwe-paid-mlw-20-million-to-settle-antitrust-lawsuithttps://whatculture.com/wwe/wwe-paid-mlw-20-million-to-settle-antitrust-lawsuit

MLW won 20M from WWE in a antitrust lawsuit. https://whatculture.com/wwe/wwe-paid-mlw-20-million-to-settle-antitrust-lawsuithttps://whatculture.com/wwe/wwe-paid-mlw-20-million-to-settle-antitrust-lawsuit

Nothing like a ranking system to sell that "real sport" feeling. The Russians are taking over the UWF. Mr Backlund evens the score with Takada while Madea seems to be entering a bit of a slump.

SuperBrawl aftermath. The Four Horsemen. The future of the historically dominant stable is in question. With Race and Anderson failing to recapture the World Tag Team Titles and Orton once again falling to Garvin, the group is without gold and seemingly out of various title pictures entirely. Landel and Orton were both victorious on this week's NWA television but manager JJ Dillon was noticably vague when asked about future plans. The Stud Stable. SuperBrawl 2 was much kinder to the Stud Stable as not only did Golden, Price and Cairo retain the World Six Man Tag Team Titles but Robert Fuller -with some help from brother Ron- defeated Junkyard Dog to become the new United States title. This means all four active members are carrying gold which has some saying that the Stud Stable have placed themselves as the new top group in the NWA. The Paul Jones Army. On paper SuperBrawl 2 was a good night for the Army with both the Super Destroyer and The Sheepherders retaining their titles but that's not necessarily what people were talking about the next day. The Destroyer's match was marred by the odd behavior of Jimmy Snuka (who was not on this week's programming) while the Sheepherders were confronted by former Army members The Nightmares. The now unmasked duo cut a promo saying they'd returned to pay Jones back for unceremoniously firing them last year. These are not the only issues facing the Army as the recent tension between Jones and Shaska Whatley was taken to another level on this week's programming. During a match with Jimmy Valiant, Whatley appeared to have the match won when Jones started shouting at Whatley to inflict more punishment. This started a discussion which distracted Whatley enough for Valiant to score a roll-up for the win. Jones was furious and was shouting at Whatley. Unlike previous incidents Whatley fired back leading to a heated argument which ended with Jones slapping Whatley! Shaska cut his manager a withering glare but ultimately fell in behind his leader. Dick Slater and The Assassin. One of the more surprising developments at SuperBrawl 2 was Dick Slater winning the Taped Fist Match against Manny Fernandez with the aid of the Assassin and the Beasts of Burden. The Assassin was in Slater's corner as he pummeled a local talent on this week's Main Event with the two cutting a joint promo afterwards. The Assassin said Slater possessed the killer instinct he looked for in a client as well as the in-ring ability to take his group -which he seemed to dub Killer Inc- to the top of the NWA by bringing him the NWA World Heavyweight Title.

NWA drops Chris and Mark Youngblood. NWA signs Grizzly Boone and JT Southern.

Medusa and Richter are definitely women who could win a crowd over. It wasn't pretty how they did it but the Horsemen hang on to the gold. The Mayhem match was a fun read. Lots of stories running next to each other. Lawler and Flair would be a moneymaker regardless but putting it in the Mid-South Coliseum is basically printing money.

Night 1. The OWC take advantage of the hotheaded Southern Boys. The Suicide Blondes outfight the Irishmen. Taker wins the family feud. Soultaker claims another victim. Azul pulls the win out of nowhere. Dreamer hitting Scotty with the DDT just feels right. The Jackal proves an effective field leader. Christopher may have eaten a few pins recently but he wins when it counts the most. Awesome doesn't take the title but i'm sure he's happy leaving the champ in a heap. The Rainbow Warriors winning the title is a perfect end to night 1. Night 2. The Blood Syndicate may be outnumbered against the Citadel but they aren't necessarily outmatched. Jackal always seems off his game when trying to help Cactus. Phoenix Rising & Can-Am still can't determine a winner. Rose is hanging in there in a changing PCW. Hall continues to be the bane of the Neighborhood. Austin shows everyone -especially Bret- what he can really do. Strange to think we'r in the post Severn era of the Submission title. The Age of Regal has begun! DDDp helps the DC break the trend of title changes. The mysterious triangle appearing before the main event proves a bad omen for the Widowmaker. I wonder how Bearer and the others will react to that display of showmanship? In any event 89 may have been the year of the snake but in PCW it's the year of the Dragon!

Unpopular opinions incoming. There is nothing wrong with how Sho won the title. He is a HEEL, he should win the title in a dishonorable fashion. Plus this way Despe is somewhat protected because he can say he wasn't truly beaten. Same with EVIL retaining. Shota wasn't "punked" he overcame getting beaten down by the entire HoT and needed to be rammed into exposed steel bolts to be defeated. Plus without a midcard title restricting his booking, he's free to go deep in the NJC. Speaking of the NJC, Finlay, who may I remind y'all went to the finals last year, is also poised for another strong run now that he doesn't have to build to another title defense. Putting the belts on Nemeth and Riddle respectively makes sense when you remember they booked a 10,000 seat venue for Chicago. It's perfectly reasonable for NJPW/Bushiroad officials to believe that these former WWE talents, men known to the American wrestling audience, would help move tickets. Not saying they're right but I don't blame them for thinking it. Also considering that the stated goal of the Global title is to be defended away from NJPW, putting the strap on a free agent like Nemeth does make sense. Likewise the TV title could now appear on shows for current partner MLW.

Hoss with a solid return and is on the hunt for gold. Akbar looks to sic Kokina on Big Jim. Miller carries a grudge and makes it Burke's problem. Sawyer naturally pins his loss on Link. A huge announcement as the AWA is coming to London! Young & the Vin Man are bad losers and take it out on Brandi. Sarge is totally, seriously happy that Nikita came back. Larry Z interrupts Iceman's time to whinge about his loss but Parson's isn't having it. The Olympians first promo as champs was perfect. Chicky takes the time to kick his old rival while he's down. Kaz's power proves the difference maker in a wild main event.

Any particular reason the Great Lakes area stands out?

Jacques technically won but a pretty rough night for the Rougeau brothers. Devine and Mitchell win a thrilling 2/3 falls. Davey Boy is officially the face of MLW as TV champion.

Already watched and highly recommend.

LA. Haynes send Severn a message. O'Grady is starting to shine. Lynn and Malenko put on a classic. Regal is racking up wins ahead of his match with Dustin. Rose has a plan for Pillman. LA night 2. Tenryu continues to impress. Blackman roughs up the Roughneck, Adams Superkick always pays off. Steamboat seems to have the number of the NoE. Bam Bam is in trouble with his Exchange brethren. After a couple interruptions, WIndham emerges with his title in tact. What was that triangle though? Santa Barbera. Christopher has no luck with the New Generation. Awesome smashes Shane. Dreamer has better luck against Ace. Patriot evens the score with the Blood Syndicate. Soultaker exorcises Armstrong but Big Juice can claim the gold,