Autistic Dragon

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.

Ron Wright & Dutch have really bonded over their mutual pastime, complaining about Jerry Jerrett. The tag title tournament goes international with a Japanese duo coming for the gold. Gordy has his eyes locked firmly on Landel. Rich misses his deadline and Slater puts the word out, the hunt is on. I think Street & Dutch sniping at each other was the best part of the show. Whatley gets a dirty win on Scorpio. Not only does Dutch get his team disqualified losing their spot in the tournament, Dundee up & swipes Shoo baby!

We had some happy fans in Pine Bluff as the good guys (and Dark Journey) sweep the night. Bill Ash does put a somewhat bittersweet twist to it however as The Headliner holds on to his gold.

I'm sure putting the ladies out first got the men in the audience all warmed up. Cowboy Tony rangles himself a win in his debut. The Renesto Brothers get their first win as a team. I love that it's DJ's interference backfiring that leads to her team winning. What a fun way to spend Memorial Day.

Some solid dark matches ensure everybody gets a paycheck. Only in WCW can you see a Japanese man challenge a Canadian for the European title. Tom Zenk with the biggest win of his career becomes the new TV champion. Tiger Mask 2 gets a chance to shine. Spivey is on a roll. Vega winning the Mexican title was the biggest surprise of the night, for me anyway. Thanks to Herc, the Twin Towers are double champions. The Slickster is covered in gold. Roberts is off to a hot start as he sends Sabu running. Muta slays a dragon to retain the Japanese title. Does anyone else think maybe Bockwinkel & Brisco don't want Savage to be World Champion? *Thinks it over* nah, an authority figure in wrestling playing favorites? That's silly. Team Rhodes give the crowd something to go home happy about by winning The Match Beyond. Good use of pictures. Really brought the main event to life.

AWA medics certainly earned their money having to tend to Canek, Fujinami, Colon, Los Guerreros & I'm guessing Bruiser. His man may not have won the tournament but Gagne's Gang certainly left a mark. Warrior & Kokina both get chances to flex. Bad News gets major cred taking out the legend. Nikita endures three tough opponents to earn himself a world title shot. Nikita vs Brown is gonna tear the house down.