[1990-05-11-USWA Texas] Kerry Von Erich vs Matt Borne

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

Kerry's revenge. Awesome stuff. Really heated brawl. I was so sure they were going to work a double countout when they were brawling outside, and then a cheap DQ when Borne threw the chair in the ring, and neither happened. I love when the cynical smark in me gets bitchslapped like that. They finally did work a double countout, but it was totally worth it, as they brawl outside the Sportatorium into the parking lot and take bumps on cars. Kerry slams Borne on top of the car and ends up slugging matchmaker John Brazille when he tries to intervene. Other wrestlers finally come out to split this up, and John Brazille wants the camera out of there. This seems like something that should be more famous because it has major tape collector appeal and is really unique and intense.

[PeteF3]

USWA Texas segment of the year, hands down. Borne is a fucking...well, Maniac here, dragging what is by far the best post-amputation match out of Kerry that I've seen. I love the desperation escapes of the clawhold, going to the eyes and resorting to low blows. Then we brawl to a DCOR that heads outside into the parking lot and a frigging insane brawl on a pickup truck, which includes Borne getting bodyslammed onto the hood and some crazy swings with a giant 2x4 and a crowbar. John Brazille gets nailed by Kerry and eventually cuts the camera off and says something about a suspension, as Jeff Jarrett and Chris Adams drag Kerry away from killing Matt. I guess the former World Class was *really* under the radar nationally at this point, because I agree on not knowing why this segment isn't more famous.

 

Of note: Pringle subtly heels on Kerry at the beginning of this match, blaming Von Erich for ruining the friendship by not taking Borne on the first time.

[goodhelmet]

I put some asterisks in the description so people will know this is a must see segment.

[soup23]

Agree that this is really awesome stuff and the match will be rated in the Tupelo Concession Stand variety and will rank high on my top 100 at year end. Real intense hatred and great punches by Kerry. Borne really acts unstable and out of control in this match to. The visual of them fighting on the car with lightning flashing and thunder rumbling should be one of the more memorable visuals of 1990's wrestling.

[shoe]

OMG I can't believe I have never seen this. It is awesome. Such a kick ass brawl.

[Kevin Ridge]

Kerry needs to be separated and calmed down before the match. Borne tries a blind charge but Kerry fights off. Ironclaw is blocked but Von Erich keeps trying and gets it on the stomach. Borne throws a chair in the ring. Kerry briefly thinks about using it but tosses outside. We brawl outside the ring and a car gets used as a weapon. Really cool when you think of the year this happened. Borne gets a two by four to the face. Other wrestlers show up to break things up.

[Cox]

A good match turns into a great brawl. It's a shame something this unique doesn't have more of a reputation nationally, especially since I think this aired on ESPN nationally (I could be wrong about that). The one thing I thought was off is that Kerry seems to get lost a little towards the end of the brawl, blatantly locking up with Borne to call some spots since he doesn't know what to do, but that's a minor quibble and this is a great fight. Looking forward to seeing more of this feud.

[ajtroma]

I remember seeing it on ESPN, long after the fact. I think it was written about in The Wrestler and it aired after that.

 

This was kick-ass and they just destroy that ASS UGLY El Camino. The incoming thunderstorm really helped the atmosphere. If only they had some more lights out there.

[garretta]

You knew this was going to go south when John Brazille and Max Andrews had to hold Kerry and Borne apart before the bell, and boy, did it ever. As terrific as the brawl was, though, the match's highlight was Kerry diving off the apron to slap the claw on Borne before they went outside; that's a move I never thought Kerry would even attempt with a prosthetic, let alone be able to hit. Outside, we get a classic Memphis parking lot brawl, complete with Brazille getting slugged by Kerry, then calling for the camera to be cut off in a vain attempt to shield the children of Texas from any more needless brutality than they'd already seen. I actually liked the fact that there were no lights out in the parking lot; it added to the spontaneous feel.

 

I told myself that I wasn't going to wish for Marc during these matches, since he left of his own accord for far better things than wrestling, but we needed someone who'd been around the Von Erichs, had seen what they'd gone through, and could let us in on Kerry's emotions as he tried to avenge Chris by beating Borne's brains out. Instead, Craig calls it just like any other brawl between two wrestlers, which is understandable in a way given that it's just his second week on the job, but still not what the match needed. Percy tries, but he's already blamed Kerry for the whole mess several times, plus his high voice just doesn't resonate. Maybe Craig will get better as the weeks wear on, but that doesn't help this particular match. I wonder why Bill Mercer wouldn't come back?

 

We still hear Marc on the Nintendo voiceovers, which is a small satisfaction.

 

Can't wait to see the next chapter in this one. It's fair to say that USWA Texas just might be the best in-ring promotion in North America at the moment.

[drew wardlaw]

Dude awesome Kerry comes out to Tom Sawyer! This is the most engaged in a USWA match so far. Great heated brawl, Kerry comes out red hot trying to hit the discuss punch early, but Borne blocks it! The action never lets up, and spills to the outside and teases brawling in he darkness once, then back to the ring, then back out into the parking lot and on to the El Camino. Wow, almost 10 years before WWF was doing it. What a segment, I can't wait to see more from here.

[JKWebb]

If you like this match, and you haven't looked into the Portland 80's Matt Borne stuff, then I would highly recommend checking it out. This brawl is intense! Kerry storms out of the gate with rapid fire punches, and Borne is firing right back. You can feel the hate. The punches look great. A discus punch eventually sends Borne over the top rope. They battle in and out of the ring for a bit and then the action spills into the parking lot. They battle on an El Camino during a thunderstorm! What a segment is right - This was great!

 

#474 - placetobenation.com/countdown-top-500-matches-of-the-90s-500-451/2/

[ohtani's jacket]

Loss' #474. This started off well and Bourne looked like an absolute beast, but Kerry sucked too much for me to rate this too highly. Those discus punches were abysmal. I've always loathed matches that go backstage. I can barely tolerate matches that go around the arena. I'm kind of surprised by how many people thought it was cool that they half-arsed it on a pickup truck in the middle of a thunderstorm. The real fight here seemed to die out once they left the ring.

[JKWebb]

I had tons of fun watching this, but sort of got the same feeling about the discus punches.

[GSR]

Max Andrews, John Brozell and Percy Pringle are all in the ring to keep Kerry and Borne separated and to add to the gravitas of the match, while senior (in more ways than one!) official Bronco Lubich is the assigned referee. The first minute of this is really good as they trade punches and you get the sense that this is a fight. Kerry goes for the claw but Borne holds that off and Kerry goes for a stomach claw instead. Borne escapes and the two of them fight some more before a discus punch sends Borne over the top rope to the floor. This is where the match goes to pot. They start fighting on the floor and Borne breaks the first count, but the second time they are out of the ring for 50 seconds. Why hasn’t Bronco counted them out? The camera also loses them here as the two fight to the back which doesn’t help matters. Kerry posts Borne and he finally gets back in the ring. I’d like to say that Borne beats the count, and officially he does, but it’s 25 legitimate seconds later and Bronco is a quick counter so I don’t know how he dragged this out. A succession of discus punches and Borne takes another tumble backwards over the top tope to the floor. Kerry puts the claw on Borne on the floor, they fight to the back and the two of them are finally counted out. The end up fighting to the outside with Kerry taking a backdrop onto a car and Borne getting slammed on a car bonnet. John Brozell comes out to try and put a halt to things but Kerry decks him (we later find out he gets a very short suspension for this). The two of them continue to fight until Jeff Jarrett and a couple of other wrestlers separate them.

 

I enjoyed the brawl in the parking lot as it’s something different for the Texas branch of the USWA although the poor lighting doesn’t help matters. The opening minute and the intensity there was really good, but I had a huge problem with the count out not being adhered to. Kerry also seems limited to punches, discus punches and the claw. I preferred both Lawler/Valiant and Travis/Valiant to this, while I think that Austin and Adams brawl better too. On a final note, I’ve since watched the Borne/Kerry match from 5/25 and prefer that to this one as well.

[dawho5]

Loved this! Kerry slamming Borne onto the hood of the el Camino (TWICE!) had me popping. Don't even care that it was a DCO because what came after was sooooo damn worth it. And come to think of it, what came before was right up there too.