[1994-10-29-USWA-TV] Interview: Buddy Landell / Buddy Landell vs Tommy Rich

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Kevin Ridge]

Landell does a promo talking about his $1,500 suits and nice car. Wonder why he was upset about that $30 he is still owed. Gilbert and Rich are still trying to get into the building. Security is hold them back. They should get a team of these security guys to cut down on all the run ins and cheating.

 

Landell wants a match with Rich but Gilbert must stay outside the building. Marlin lifts Rich’s suspension but he must face Landell immediately. Tommy is trying to back out of this match. Quick match with Landell dominating. Buddy gets the figure four on and uses a belt to tie up their legs. Gilbert gets into the building with the help of Bowden and attacks Landell while is still doing the figure four. Oh, the security guards who were watching Gilbert earlier are just standing ringside. Good job boys. So much for my earlier praise.

[Loss]

Buddy wants Tommy Rich in the ring, but Eddie Marlin doesn't want to let him move ahead. He eventually shows his persuasive powers, but Rich doesn't want to work the match.

 

Short match with Rich in street clothes.

[Exposer]

Buddy Landell gets Eddie Marlin to lift Tommy's suspension so they can have a match. It was a short match and ended in a beatdown on Landell by Rich, Gilbert, and Scott Bowden. Eddie Marlin and Randy Hales threaten to call the police on the heels if they don't leave the building because they're still suspended. This was alright.

[soup23]

They really tried to have an episodic feeling to this episode and this was ok but felt really hokey in spots. It seems hard to believe that all security guards will slack on their job and allow Gilbert to come back in.

[PeteF3]

This whole thing was built to really well and I was watching in earnest to see where they were going, but man was this an underwhelming payoff. They have a great set-up for Landell to get Rich in the ring with Doug out of the picture entirely. The match goes along fine and then Landell re-does an old Austin Idol trick, locking Rich in the figure four and then wrapping a belt around his legs so that it can't be broken. And then Scott Bowden runs to the back and just lets Gilbert in. WEAK. The security guards couldn't wait until the end of the show before running to grab a sandwich or wherever they're at. Landell gets beaten down with a pipe until escaping and Marlin restores order. They're going for an out-of-control chaotic feel here but it just doesn't work on the level of past Memphis melees. They went all-out to create a show-length angle and in the end it's just another quickie studio match with a cheap finish. Vince Russo would be proud.

[JKWebb]

It seems like this would have been a good time for Landell to finally ditch the nature boy gimmick and make a different path for himself in Memphis.  He has the hair, the suits, and the robe.  You can hear some folks in the Memphis audience shouting Ric Flair.  I just don't get it.  Maybe it just comes from not fully understanding what Buddy was going for, but I've watched many different eras of Buddy, and I guess he just thought this was his gimmick to stick with forever.  I just think he had the opportunity here to get away from calling himself the nature boy and copying Flair's gimmick.  He was good enough on his own merits that he didn't need that.