Autistic Dragon

Konnan & the PR Trio all look good ahead of their tournament match in two weeks. I'm liking the RPM's as Honky's roadies. They may have lost but I see a future. Benoit & Muta will meet to crown the first International champion...if Crush doesn't get to Benoit first. The Slickster's trio move one step closer to collecting some more gold. The issue between Savage, Spivey and Steamboat will hopefully be settled at American Meltdown.

Idol & Poff agree to one more match at WrestleRock. Haystacks sends a powerful message to the Warrior. Chicky & Adidas go to another draw so Morrow says to do it again with no time limit & Lori Anderson as ring announcer! Griz costs Putski the match but Busick is there to make sure Kokina doesn't inflict too much damage. Larry Z isn't ready to step in the ring with Fujinami yet. Austin & Gagne both predict big nights for their crews at WrestleRock. Nikita ends the night by sending the champ scurrying.

I don't know who Baxter is but if he's against Humperdinck, then he's cool with me. Spazz gets his team some momentum before the big scaffold match. Knighton tries to step to the champ who leaves him scratching his head. Tony & Lou run it back with the Cowboy coming out on top.

Double J taps out Smiley in a friendly opener. I'm sure Mr Wright was pleased as could be seeing his Christian wrestler ko the Gigelo. The Franchise proves he's worth Big Money. Gordy spikes Shaska. Miss Linda gets her man out of a tight spot. I just hope she got away from Powers. That makes two title tournaments Dutch isn't a part of. Can't blame the Express for bailing. The Superstar & The Fab One -The Fabulous Superstars?- claim the #1 seed. The picture of Budro retaining thanks to an old lady is priceless. Also liked the dig at the crowd for the double standard. And then it turns out the old lady was Tommy Rich in disguise! Plus the reveal that Slater hired Mr Hughes, no wonder Tommy's running scared.

(I'm jumping ahead so I don't fall to far behind.) The National Wrestling Alliance proudly presents.... BATTLEBOWL! From the Houston County Farm Center in Dothan Alabama. Airing live on the USA Network 6/3/88. "Lethal Lottery" matches. "Shooting Star" Keiichi Yamada & "World's Strongest Man" Bill Kazmaier defeat "Manic Matt Borne w/"Number One Paul Jones & Big Daddy Cyrus w/"The Mastermind" Ron Fuller when Yamada pinned Cyrus with the "Shooting Star Press" "The Gatekeeper" Jimmy Golden w/"The Mastermind" Ron Fuller & Brad Anderson w/Ole & Arn Anderson defeat Chris Youngblood & Brickhouse Brown when a distraction from the Andersons allowed Fuller to sneak in the ring and nail Brown with a big boot. Ranger Ross & Nightmare #2 defeat Mark Youngblood & Nightmare #1 in a somewhat comedic match in which Paul Jones cheered whenever one of his Nightmares was doing well and got upset whenever Youngblood was doing well. The end sees Jones pass a foreign object to one of the Nightmares who KO'd Mark with it... only for the other Nightmare to pin him meaning Mark got laid out by his own partner! Ross went to check on his Mark after the bell but was planted with a double DDT. NWA United States Champion Bruiser Brody & NWA World Six Man Tag Team Champion Jason the Terrible defeat "Rugged Ron Garvin & "Gorgeous" Jimmy Garvin w/Precious by count-out when Ron & Jimmy immediately started fighting each other with their brawl spilling outside the ring. "The Doctor of Desire Tom Prichard & The Super Destroyer w/"Number One" Paul Jones defeat "The Monster" Rip Morgan w Jr Foley & Super Strong Machine when interference from Jones lead to Super D pinning SSM with his patented Super-plex. The ref missed the interference as he was trying to break up a brawl between Prichard & Morgan. "Terrific" Terry Taylor w JJ Dillon & "Chief Wahoo McDaniel defeat "Pitbull Kerry Brown & "Tennessee Stud Robert Fuller w/The Mastermind" Ron Fuller when the Fuller's walked out on Brown. Kerry held on as best he could but ultimately went down to the Five-arm. Battlebowl match. Entrants #1 is Tom Prichard. Entrant #2 is Jimmy Golden. We get a fun but brief southern style brawl which the (relatively) fresher Golden takes control of. He's actually trying to eliminate Prichard when... Entrant #3 is Ranger Ross. Ross hits the ring and jumps on Golden inadvertently saving Prichard who takes a breath while Ross lights up The Gatekeeper with rights and lefts. Prichard rejoins the action just in time for... Entrant #4 is Jason the Terrible. Jason immediately goes on a tear downing both Prichard & Ross with headbutts. Golden looks to strike a deal with the masked madman only to eat a headbutt for his trouble. Jason continues to assert himself with power moves until... Entrant #5 is Nightmare #2 Nightmare #2 sprints to the ring and immediately throws a groggy Ross over the top rope. Ranger Ross has been eliminated. Nightmare #2 celebrates like he won the world title only to turn around into a Superkick from Prichard. The three men left standing continue to beat on each other until the arrival of... Entrant #6 is Bruiser Brody Brody storms the ring and immediately heeves the staggering Nightmare over the top. Nightmare #2 has been eliminated. Brody goes on a rampage against the remaining entrants halted briefly by... Entrant #7 is Brad Anderson Brad takes his sweet time getting in the ring jaw-jacking with the fans as he does so. He finally gets up on the apron, hurls a few final insults, gets in the ring....where he's meet by a big boot from Brody which sends him over the top. Brad Anderson has been eliminated. It takes a while for him to get up and when he does he throws a fit insisting he wasn't ready. He's finally escorted out just as... Entrant #8 is Bill Kazmaier Kazmaier gets into a slugfest with Golden as soon as he enters the ring which ends with him scooping up the Gatekeeper and dumping him out to the floor. Jimmy Golden has been eliminated. Jason attacks Kazmaier from behind but the Canadian strongman is able to get the masked terror up in a military press and drop him out on top of Golden! Jason the Terrible has been eliminated. Everyone is still taking in that feat of strength when... Entrant #9 is Wahoo McDaniel Or rather he should have been but as he was making his way down he got Pearl Harbor-ed by Lightfoot and his "War Club". Wahoo take several stiff shots by the time security is able to chase Lightfoot off and McDaniel has to be helped to the back. Wahoo McDaniel is unable to compete. Entrant #10 is The Super Destroyer The enforcer of the Paul Jones Army levels everyone with Lariats & suplexes and even managed to go toe-to-toe with Brody until... Entrant #11 is Keiichi Yamada The Japanese high-flyer makes a beeline for Super D and the two spend the remaining period beating the tar outta each other until finally.... The 12th and final entrant is Terry Taylor Taylor enters as Yamada & Super D are exchanging blows near the ropes allowing him to rush them and send both to the floor. Keiichi Yamada and The Super Destroyer have been eliminated. Not that either man seems to care as they continue to pound away on each other. Final Four: Tom Prichard, Bruiser Brody, Bill Kazmaier and Terry Taylor. The four square off into two pairs. Prichard squares up to Brody and manages to dig deep, peppering the mountain of a man with right hands forcing him to back up to the ropes. Seeing his chance, Prichard runs the opposing ropes and charges at the US champion. This proves a mistake however as Brody is able to catch Prichard in a hip-toss sending The Doctor to the floor. Tom Prichard has been eliminated. Meanwhile Taylor paired up with Kazmaier. The Canadian managed to get the Horseman up in another military press but just as he was about to throw him out, Taylor slipped down his back before dropping to a knee and hitting a uppercut to the uprights before using the leverage this position gives him to get Kazmaier over the top rope. Bill Kazmaier has been eliminated. Finalists: Bruiser Brody and Terry Taylor. Pinfall or submission from here on out. Taylor uses his superior wrestling ability to evade the bigger man in a clear effort to wear the already tiring Brody down. When he deems his opponent suitably winded, he comes off the ropes with the "Five-arm" which sends Brody staggering into the ropes.... only for him to use the momentum to come back with a big boot which sends Taylor crashing to the mat. Going off pure adrenaline, Brody runs off the ropes and comes off with the "King Kong" Knee Drop for the 1...2...3! Winner and going to the Great American Bash to challenge for the NWA World Heavyweight Title... Bruiser Brody!

Ernie Ladd starts the show with a huge announcement, Mid-South is spending Independence Day in the Superdome! Eddie is confident he's winning the TV title while Rick is confident his brother's got his back. Medusa with a incredible debut with a win over the former NWA World Women's champion. Alofa finds himself in the unemployment line while The Barbarians get ready for round 2 with the Texas Outlaws. Luger's gonna get locked in a cage with the monster he & Woman made. JYD joins Reed in the fight against the reborn Movement....and pays the price.

Damn site put my comment on a new chapter so I didn't notice the Clash. Z-Man gets past the Ace but Honky lays him out afterwards. This could be fun. Hart's men cost Benoit & co but it's not long before they pay for it. Duggan & the Nasties got a lucky draw. Konnan, Silver & BD slow things down leading to a win. Roberts & Bigelow get chances to flex. Rotundo escapes with his life. Savage goes ballistic and ruins the World title match. Could we be heading for a triple threat? Rhodes ends the night bloody & victorious, just how he likes it.

A Plowboy win ensures the fans are happy by the time cameras start rolling. Knighton decides he's not done with Michaels just yet. Let's see If he's picked up any new tricks. Riggins & Wolf tie the score in a brutal no DQ match. Lou & the Cowboy get shortchanged but they "maximize their minutes" as JR likes to say.

Oakland. Price is the first of Rose's minions to fall to the Natural. The Monster scraps The Bulldozer. I gotta say, Regal gives a pretty rational justification for his & Robbie's actions. Really like you tying in their previous frustrations. Mr Backlund on the other hand has just plain had enough. Candido gets promoted to golden boy! Good for him. Hashimoto has too strong an immune system. Cactus tries to play rough with Christopher but Steamboat gives him a taste of his own medicine. Dan Severn just showed Payne more respect after their match than Paul Bearer has in weeks. San Francisco. Regal's singles run is off to a good start. Owen feels the wrath of Tenryu. Pillman flys to a win over Bob Holly. Footloose and The Malenko Brothers have another classic. Ferrari helps the Playboy hold onto the gold. Miller drags Hart into the gutter. A potential Hennig injury hands the NoE a win. Fresno. Neidhart's hometown hotstreak continues. Brookside gets his own successful start to his singles career. Haynes finds two tough partners to take down Bearer's trio of madmen. Sunshine's fear doesn't hinder her men in a 8 man tag. Mr Backlund has to dig deep to get past PCO. The Force overcome a struggling DC. Flowers gets dirty to ward off Furnas.

Savage, Spivey and Steamboat all sound off on the world title match at the Clash. There's something big coming I can feel it. Race and Rhodes finally agree on something, at the Clash, it all ends. Slick enters his trio causing the Rockers to recruit Roma giving us 10 teams for the loaded tournament. Zenk & Orton could be something of a sleeper. Duggan signs up The Nasties to fight the Russians but they make clear their only here for the titles. Exciting ending scene as Benoit becomes a dual champion only to get jumped by Muta.

The Russians definitely look ready for the tag title tournament. Ron Wright finally produces his team. Nobody's seen'em before, no idea of how good they are but he has a team. Rogers & Powers are determined to prove they are the hottest duo in wrestling. Landel sends a message to Slater, who may be too focused on Rich for his own good. Dutch & Gaylord can't get away with nothing and I love them for it. After a particularly frustrating episode, Dutch takes a whipping to the delight of the crowd. Stacked card for the Mid-South Coliseum.

Big Guy Myers gets the crowd warmed up. Vin Man taking a page out of Tommy Rich's playbook with a custom shirt. The Harris Brothers steal one from the Glamour Boys. Busick & Kokina get too heated. Idol gets the win but Poffo gets the last word. Big 8 man tag to close the night with Putski scoring the win for his team.

An expectedly tense press conference. Peterson is back and on the hunt for payback. Atlas/Myer's first meeting descends into chaos. Stevens has a new client to send after the man who took his place as Crippler. The Killer Bees are here and seem to have a interest in Venomous. WrestleRock just got bigger with the Gunslingers meeting the Unhinged Outlaws in a Bunkhouse match. 10 minutes isn't enough for Chicky & Adidas. Sawyer tries to jump Colon again and pays for it. Morrow's really turned the WrestleRock Rumble into a pressure cooker.

Taped at the Norfolk Scope before Main Event. Originally airing on 5/21/88 on the USA Network. On Commentary: Bob Caudle & David Crockett. Billy Joe Travis defeats The Mongolian Mauler with the "Just a swingin" neckbreaker. Angel of Death defeats Stoney Burke with the "Death Sentence" "Pitbull" Kerry Brown defeats The Brooklyn Brawler with a Powerbomb. Main event. The Sheepherders (Butch Miller & Luke Williams) w/Jr Foley defeat The Patriots (Firebreaker Chip & Todd Champion) after Foley KO'd Champion with his helmet. In other news... We see another video of the guitar player from the previous week, this time he seems to be playing at some kind of outdoor festival. Young women crowd the stage as the man plays his electric guitar, his flowing blonde hair blowing in the wind.

From Norfolk Scope in Norfolk Va. Previously recorded & airing on 5/20/88 on the USA Network. On Commentary: Gordon Solie Ring Announcer: Sean Moony Match #1 Buffalo Soldiers (Ranger Ross & Brickhouse Brown) vs Tough Guy Inc (Don Bass & Big Daddy Cyrus) w/"The Mastermind" Ron Fuller The two teams trade momentum several times with Tough Guys relying on their size & willingness to bend the rules while the Soldiers have superior athleticism and technique. Brown has Bass in position for the swinging neckbreaker when Fuller quite literally throws his hat in the ring. When the ref goes to return it, Bass drops down and delivers a uppercut to the uprights. The ref turn around to see Bass pull Brown into a cradle for the tainted win. Match #2 Doug Gilbert defeats "Dangerous" Dick Bush with a Hotshot. (Paul Jones leads The Nightmares to the ring. He tells Mooney that The Nightmares have won titles all across the country and yet all NWA leadership could think to do was put them in opening matches against nobodies. Says they're the newest soldiers in the Paul Jones Army and he's taking them where they belong, straight to the top) Match #3 The Nightmares (1&2) w/"Number One" Paul Jones defeat Dylan Darwin & Bryan Read with a double DDT on Read. Match #4 "The Doctor of Desire" Tom Prichard vs"The Monster" Rip Morgan w/JR Foley The fierce rivals hold nothing back with Prichard showing serious fire to withstand the Australian brute's onslaught. Prichard is lining up for the Superkick when Foley gets on the apron only to catch the kick himself. This draws cheers which Prichard takes in for a second too long as when he turns around Morgan goozles him and nails the chokeslam for the 1..2..3. Match #5 The Zero Fighters (Keiichi Yamada & Hiroshi Hase) defeat Brady Norwood & McKinley Sanders when Yamada pinned Sanders with the "Shooting Star Press" (After the match Hase hands Mooney a letter. In it, the Japanese contingent promise that one of them will win Battlebowl and give the NWA it's first World Heavyweight Champion since Giant Baba) Match #6 The Renegade Warriors (Chris & Mark Youngblood) defeat The Virginia Villains with a double knife edge chop to Villain #1. Main Event. "Rugged" Ron Garvin vs "Gorgeous" Jimmy Garvin w/Precious We get some good exchanges showing how well these two know each other. They trade control of the match several times with neither of them staying on top for too long. Finally the bell rings signaling that TV time has expired. Ron wants to keep fighting but Jimmy & Precious bail out.

The House of Humperdinck has come to Arkansas and they are ready to Lock & Luna. The Renesto Brothers beat the always dangerous Terrors. Match 4 will be on TV next week and no DQ to boot. Love it. The Cuban Assassin lays a hurting on The American but I'm sure the masked man won't take this sitting down.

The Storm is coming! Some exciting teams coming together.

Portland night 1. Everybody saw Brookside coming but Regal turning is a real shock. Rose spends most of the match on the apron only to come in and immediately lose. Classic. Flyin' Brian is soaring to a TV title shot. Tenryu takes down the General. The Midnights are in the tag title hunt, where they belong. Portland night 2. Neidhart & Yaysu go to a draw. I feel another round coming. The Malenko's score one on Footloose. Mr Backlund with another dirty win. Has he completely abandoned his moral crusade? Rose runs away with his California title. The SCS have a new lady-friend who's already proving helpful. Even without his lady, Haynes proves a game changer. Eugene. Candido wins what I'm sure was a technically sound opener. Payne falls to the Bulldozer. If I were him I'd be wanting a word with Bearer. The DC prove their still a top team with a win over Stormfront. Death Sentence just plain don't care. Hashimoto avenges Burke against Fuchi. The Knights Templar put a beating on Cheetah Kid to close the show.

WCW is bringing in six man tag team titles! You've definitely got the teams for it. Azul & TM2 get a solid win over a credible team. Race runs his mouth and now he has Rhodes one on one in a Texas Death Match. Koloff & his Pitbulls shouldn't be overlooked in the six man tournament. Okay I was joking last time but Bockwinkel & Brisco are both looking pretty chummy with Spivey. Steamboat won't back down but he should keep his eyes peeled. Hart enters his boys in the tournament as well and with the roll Muta is on I'm not betting against them. Bam Bam runs over Madness. Leave it to Roberts to be creepy as a face. The Lumberjack match has the obligatory craziness topped off by the mystery man screwing Konnan. Now Vega has to focus on Benoit. I like the idea of unifying the foreign titles into one International title.

Simpson and Smiley get everyone warmed up. The Doy Thumps The Assassin. The Shiek gives his Samoan monster a hand. The numbers game give a win to Hot Stuff Inc and Eddie now has a title shot. The Barbarians survive the slobberknocker with their titles in tact. Snowman gets some backup in his campaign against Mid-South in the form of Kareem Muhammad. A man Ernie Ladd knows very well. Love the visual of the Shiek grinning at the audience while everything goes to hell behind him. Woman wanted Vader to be a monster and as always, Woman gets what she wants.

Morrow & Britton start the show with some big announcements. First a press conference between champion and challenger I'm sure will go swimmingly then he unveils four big matches. Zbyszko/Fujinami should be a masterclass while Colon/Sawyer should be a bloodbath. Throw in the WrestleRock rumble and celebrity performances and we're looking at a massive show. Warrior prepares for the biggest challenge of his AWA career. Sawyer saying he's "just having fun" was such a heel line. Things break down in a wild trios match. Baby Doll has her men back in shape and with a chance to earn a title shot. The Glamour Boys give The Harris Brothers a taste of their own medicine. Atlas has a match with Duker while the rest of Gagne's Gang step into a cage with the tag titles on the line. Loved Greg's reaction. Larry Z isn't dreading the Dragon. Thanks to Dream Machine, Chicky is going for the TV title.

Dark Journey must've been so frustrated seeing her former clients get beat. Rose & Ash get heated. Papa-san & the Headhunter take the lead.

Snowman continues his mental warfare against Reed but he may have just pissed the champ off. The Steiner brothers get instant tag cred with a win over The Assassins. But a handicap match is a different matter. Tatum seemed pretty comfortable talking over the boss, though Gilbert doesn't seem to mind as he's focused on getting himself a TV title shot. Million Dollar Inc try to cripple SBS to draw out Dr Death so they can put a beating on him to. There may not be anything of The Lakefront Arena left after The Texas Outlaws & The Barbarians get done with it. Vader gets a bit of payback by pinballing Luger in the main event. But there's still the question of who exactly jumped Manny? Another stacked card for New Orleans.

NWA Live @ Legion Stadium in Wilmington NC 5/18/88 The Nightmares (1&2) defeat two local talents with a double DDT. Curiously as the Nightmares were heading to the back they were met by Paul Jones. "British Magician" Steve Wright defeats Brad Anderson (no Ole or Arn) with the "Octopus hold". "The Monster Rip Morgan w JR Foley defeats the debuting Doug Gilbert with a Chokeslam. After the match, Billy Joe Travis & Wendell Cooley came out to help Gilbert to the back. The Renegade Warriors (Chris & Mark Youngblood) defeat Tough Guy Inc Don Bass Big Daddy Cyrus w/"The Mastermind" Ron Fuller by DQ when The Nightmares ran down and attacked the brothers. Tough Guy Inc & Fuller were surprised but ultimately shrugged and walked away, passing Paul Jones as he entered the ring. The Nightmares hold up the Youngbloods and Jones was heard shouting "Did you think I forgot about you?" before the Nightmares planted both Warriors with a double DDT. "World's Strongest Man" Bill Kazmaier vs The Ugandan Giant Kamala w Number One Paul Jones & Friday ended in a double count-out. NWA United States Title. Bruiser Brody(c) defeats "Gorgeous" Jimmy Garvin w/Precious. A ref bump sees Precious try to hand Jimmy her purse but Ron Garvin runs out and stops her. She turns around and goes for a slap but he catches her hand before putting her over his knee and starts spanking her! Jimmy is furious and heads to the floor where he clubs Ron from behind before ramming his head into the ring post. He checks on Precious before headed back into the ring. He charges Brody but runs right into a big boot. The ref comes too as Brody hits the "King Kong" Knee Drop and makes a groggy three count.

NWA Live @ the Ashville Civic Center in Asheville NC 5/16/88 "The Ugandan Giant" Kamala w Number One Paul Jones & Friday defeat three local talents by stacking them on top of each other and hitting "Air Africa" on the pile. The Celestial Trinity (Zodiac & Jason the Terrible) defeat The South Pacific Connection (Siva Afi & Cocoa Samoa) after interference from the Angel of Death. "The Doctor of Desire" Tom Prichard defeats Butch Miller w/JR Foley with a Superkick. "Rugged" Ron Garvin defeats The Gatekeeper Jimmy Golden w/"The Mastermind" Ron Fuller. Fuller got up on the apron and Golden tried to whip Garvin into him. Garvin reversed it though causing Golden & Fuller to collide banging heads. Fuller tumbles to the floor while Golden staggers into the "Hands of Stone" punch. NWA World Tag Team Titles. The Rock n Roll Express (Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson)(c) vs The Minnesota Wrecking Crew (Arn &Ole Anderson) w/JJ Dillon went to a 45 minute time limit draw.