[1995-02-26-SMW-Sunday Bloody Sunday II] Heavenly Bodies & Jim Cornette vs The Gangstas & D-Lo Brown

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

This doesn't have the heat that you'd think, which may be a result of the disappointing crowd. IIRC, the gate for this show was one of the early warning signs that things weren't going well. They also try to work MX/Cornette spots from Chi-Town Rumble '89, like the drop toehold and elbow, but the Bodies aren't as smooth as the MX and the rhythm just isn't there, so it comes across as a sad imitation. I'd even say that goes for other regular Bodies spots, like the flapjack. Cornette is also the centerpiece here -- I'm not sure if that's by design since I have no idea if he knew how long he'd have the Bodies at this point. But this match is too much about him, which comes across a little poorly, not because he's the one running the show, but because he looks too strong for a manager. Underneath all the awkwardness, the structure of a workable, straight up Southern tag is definitely there. And I think the biggest strong point of the match is the way the Bodies and Cornette keep outcheating the Gangstas behind even Bob Armstrong's back. But I don't think straight up Southern tags are something that anyone will point to as a strong suit for the Gangstas. Neither the Bodies nor the Gangstas sell well enough to make this anything more than awkward.

 

Post-match, Bob Armstrong takes a beating (he was a pretty biased referee, so maybe it was warranted), but the Bodies and Cornette start swinging the racket and run them off.

[Dylan Waco]

Gangstas actually were good Southern tag workers at this point in their careers. Pending SMW Set will prove that. I never would have believed it myself if I hadn't seen the matches

[Tim Evans]

Yeah this had way too much Cornette. Why is he standing toe to toe with New Jack of all people?

[PeteF3]

I didn't have a problem with Cornette, actually. He was in a lot and got in offense, but it generally made sense. Plus I'll always mark when unexpected workers do the somersault dive to the corner to make a tag, and Cornette busts out one of those here. Loss' other criticisms are perfectly valid, though. For all the heat they get on the stick (or New Jack gets, rather), the Gangstas just haven't brought the goods in the ring. There are spots designed for them to bump and stooge and they just can't do it--witness New Jack's tepid selling of the low blows in the corner. Del Ray or Landell or Fuerza Guerrera would know how to get across that their dick was on fire. New Jack just lays there. The FIP segment doesn't offer much besides clubbering. I like matches involving longtime heels wrestling as faces but keeping all of their old tricks, thus giving their opponents a taste of their own medicine. But there are probably at least 10 Bockwinkel AWA matches that get that story across better than this. The attack on Bob Armstrong is the most heated and best-worked portion of the segment.