[1990-03-09-USWA Texas] Jeff Jarrett & Bill Dundee vs Billy Joe Travis & Terrence Garvin

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

It's interesting how they used Garvin in the USWA - as a guy who was still learning the ropes and wasn't quite ready to step in the ring with the top stars yet, but who kept antagonizing top stars. They work that into the layout here. Garvin spends the whole match running from the babyfaces while Travis tries to pull double duty for his team. We get a "Faggot!" chant. Classy. Fun stuff on the heel side with Garvin refusing to tag in unless the babyfaces were in trouble. Travis continues to look really good. Akbar has Steve Austin and Jeff Gaylord attacking Dundee in the aisle way before Jarrett runs them off, which results in a DQ.

 

This match was consistent and hit the right points, but it didn't quite come together.

[PeteF3]

Garvin works this like Bobby Heenan, constantly running away from trouble and only tagging in at strategic points...and tagging right back out if he got touched. Travis does provide some funky offense--that weird sliding uppercut/neckbreaker thing, and a Vaderbomb/elbow drop, but the Jarrett FIP segment doesn't last too long and ends rather easily, and then we go to a double countout. I didn't pick up on the chant, though I did enjoy one fan taunting Garvin with an oversized baby bottle and Marc Lowrance's continued euphemisms to describe Garvin ("unusual" ... "the Liberace of wrestling").

[soup23]

I really like these texas tags because it gives a good indication of the action in the MSC on Monday nights in longer than clips form. The streak of Dundees bad tights continues. This was pretty good and didn't stray to far from the formula. I also liked the fans pleading with Jeff to recognize that Dundee had been laid out.

[shoe]

I enjoyed this so much. All the Garvin running, he must have been blown up big time.

[Kevin Ridge]

Garvin runs laps around the ring to avoid actual ring action. Announcer says listen to the crowd as they use a bad chant. Travis does a funky uppercut/neckbreaker. Dundee gets ambushed in the audience by Akbar and company. Poor Travis had to wrestle the match almost by himself and gets popped at the end after the match.

[Cox]

Garvin does a great job at doing the cowardly role, but I can't help but feel a little uncomfortable about the whole thing, with the crowd chants and all. The match is good, not great, but still cool that this footage exists, whereas so many weekly house shows in other towns were never filmed.

[garretta]

Almost too much falderol for my taste in the first half, although I knew what they were going for with Garvin. The second half wasn't bad, but why did we need Akbar? Were they doing something with him where he had his finger in every pie, or was he heat insurance in case the crowd didn't have the right reaction to the Memphis invaders and Garvin?

 

I wonder what Papa Fritz thought of the direction in which Jarrett took his promotion. Dallas used to brand itself as a rough-and-tumble territory where only the tough guys survived. Now, the vast majority of the matches and angles were being played for comedy. That couldn't have done much for his pride.

[drew wardlaw]

Garvin just constantly jamming around the ring was very good, and the shot in the crowd where Jeff Gaylord is standing and the fans are dying to try to inform him that Dundee is down, what a great shot.

[GSR]

I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone run as much in a match as Garvin did here. The storyline was that Garvin wanted no part of either Jarrett or Dundee and spent the majority of the match running away from them or hiding behind Travis. He would only get in the ring if they were already down or hurt, and the moment they got back to their feet or got a shot in on him he would tag straight back out. At one point, with Garvin cowering behind Travis, the crowd started a ‘faggot, faggot’ chant at him and with Dundee encouraging them on. Travis with an elbow drop off the middle turnbuckle and Jarrett kicks out of the pin. Garvin tags in and whips Jarrett into the ropes, he ducks a Garvin clothesline, nails him with a right and tags in Dundee. The four of them start fighting and Garvin ducks out the ring and heads up the aisle with Dundee in pursuit. Jeff Gaylord, Steve Austin and Skandor Akhbar jump Dundee and leaving him lying on the floor with Jarett coming to his aid and chasing them off. The match is declared as double count out as Garvin and Dundee were the legal men in the match.

 

This was fine, a good storyline throughout but with a disappointing finish. Absolutely no reason for Garvin not to drop a clean pin here. Why is Akhbar getting involved? Is Garvin an associate? Is he after Dundee? As well as the homophobic chant from the crowd, Marc Lowrance also gets in some digs at Garvin, referring to him as ‘the Liberace of the Wrestling ring’ at one point.