[1992-08-08-SMW-Fire on the Mountain] Rock & Roll Express vs Stud Stable

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

Rock & Rolls by the numbers, but that's hardly a bad thing, and it's good to see them in this context of everything else happening around the world. Nice, solid tag match about on the same level as most of the Mid South house show stuff. This crowd is HOT for the Rock & Rolls return after a long absence. Morton is worked over as FIP and even juices. These guys are fired up to give a good match with Morton coming back. The finish went like two sequences too long -- I would have liked to have seen the double dropkick get the pin, but this is still worth checking out.

[Tim Evans]

As much as I like the Stud Stable, they really shouldn't be having 15+ minute matches. This was ok but went too long. Good post match though.

[shoe]

This was a good Southern tag. Both teams looked good. It was a good way to introduce the Rock N Roll.

[El-P]

Loss said it best. Rock'n Roll by the numbers, which can't be bad, but the Stud Stable just isn't that good, so it feels like a match we've seen a hundred times against random opponents. Landell vs Horner and especially Orndorff vs Garvin were much better.

[Kevin Ridge]

Alright match but it was nice to see Rock & Roll back out there together. Agreed that they should have just gone with the double dropkick as the finish.

[WingedEagle]

RNR are super over. The production quality makes this look more dated than anything on the Memphis 80s set. We get your standard Morton face in peril segment early including a blade job off a post shot. Like Loss said, I would've liked the double dropkick serve as the finish here but what we go better set the stage for the post-match attack. That of course came with another Fuller promo, so in the end we win anyways.

 

***1/4

[PeteF3]

Good match even with the limited heel team. The R'nRs and Morton specifically are just that good. Not a lot new under the sun here but the Stable put the Rock 'n Rolls over in their big return while also looking strong and keeping the feud going.

[GSR]

Airs in highlight form on the TV set and the crowd go wild for the Rock & Roll's return, whilst Robert is instantly a million times better already than he has ever been in Smoky Mountain now that he has Ricky by his side. Agree that the finish would have been better straight after the double dropkick, but we end up getting a lengthy post match beat down by the Stud's to prolong the feud between the teams.

[garretta]

I wasn't a fan of this.

 

I know Corny wasn't ready for Bodies-Rock 'n' Roll yet, but he could have picked a better team than Fuller and Golden to put Ricky and Robert against for their first feud. Sure, Fuller's great on the stick (though I still prefer him as a face, oddly enough), but they're next to nothing in the ring, especially Golden, whom I've never seen the appeal of, either in the ring or on the mic. They're good cheaters, of course, but there's nothing else to them that makes them a legit threat here, like the teamwork and execution of the MX, the raw power of the Russians, or the craftiness of the Horsemen. Ricky and Robert went through the spots that drive the crowd nuts, and Ricky bled for good measure, but you get the feeling that one sustained offensive flurry would have put the Studs away. Fuller and Golden were much better beating Rock 'n' Roll down after the match than they were during it, and that just shouldn't be. The finish wasn't too bad, since they needed to extend this a few more weeks plus they wanted to make sure that the Studs were humiliated enough to attack Rock 'n' Roll after the match.

 

The thing that saved this was the commentary of Les Thatcher. He gave detailed histories of all four men in the match, talked about their fiamilies' backgrounds in the sport, and during the match he educated the viewers on many of the little things that make a good tag team. He knew how to get in and get out quickly, and how to hype this match and the upcoming matches on the card without getting carried away with himself. I remember loving him on the SMW set, and now that I've heard him in the context of the other color guys in the U.S. this year, I'd have to put him a strong number two behind Jesse, with a definite chance to move up as I hear more of both. He blows away Corey Maclin for damn sure; I hesitate to compare him and Heenan because they approach the job a hundred and eighty degrees differently. He needs a better play-by-play guy than Phil Rainey, though. I guess Caudle was either on vacation or had business to take care of for Senator Helms.

 

The crowd was nuts for Rock 'n' Roll, and I think that helped them raise their level of performance. Maybe it was best that they weren't fighting the Bodies here, because no other team would have looked very good under the circumstances.

 

I know the ref isn't supposed to see everything in matches like this, but to miss a pin because he's out on the floor trying to walk Ricky back to his corner? That's so ridiculous it's almost business-exposing. If you're going to look like an idiot, ref, at least do it in the ring. And shame on whoever thought of the spot in the first place.

[dawho5]

As mentioned before, by-the-number RnR tag.  Which is a perfectly fine thing.  Good heel beatdown after to set up whatever the gimmick match ends up being.  Nice to see Ricky and Robert working together again and the crowd loved it.