[1990-08-04-USWA-Memphis TV] Eddie Gilbert vs Bill Dundee

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

I have heard of plenty of #1 Contender matches. But a #2 contender match? Very strange. The match feels a bit rushed, but hey, they go 7 minutes before there's a run-in, which is rare for this group. I'm just happy to see a match in full from Memphis.

 

DWB runs in for the DQ on Gilbert, and Lawler quickly makes the save and they go to town with baseball bats. BUNDY THE GORILLA (a functional equivalent of Wildcat Willie) runs in and attacks Lawler and Dundee, and we find out soon after that it was JOHN TATUM all along! The three-on-two beatdown commences and Tatum clotheslines the referee.

 

I usually don't focus on this type of thing, but using baseball bats as weapons this liberally concerns me, because kids watching may not get the idea of how dangerous a weapon a baseball bat is. I don't have a problem with baseball bats being used. It's more that I wish they were hitting them so many times with it.

 

The heels hit the announce booth and cut a gloating promo. Meanwhile, we see the REAL Bundy the Gorilla tied up and gagged elsewhere in the building. Awesome.

[PeteF3]

A NUMBER TWO CONTENDERS' match. Is Snowman still even around? This is perfectly workmanlike and nothing actively bad at all, but it seems like its spinning its wheels until the inevitable run-in finish. It's DWB, but the 2-on-1 is quickly broken up by Lawler...until BUNDY THE GORILLA attacks from ringside. I approve of any rehashes of legendary Bill Watts angles. Bundy unmasks to reveal John Tatum, miraculously recovered from his horrifying, crippling neck injury.

 

This stuff normally doesn't concern me, but I'm glad Loss brought up all the baseball bat shots. One shot of a bat--especially an aluminum one--will fuck you up, big time. I guess I'm selfishly more concerned about bat shots not meaning anything than influencing kids, but that's a legit problem as well. Even Sting tended not to swing it at people--most of the time he just threatened guys with it and that was enough.

 

Gilbert and Tatum gloat over at the desk. Nobody makes a monkey out of John Tatum! We then get taken backstage to see the real Bundy the Gorilla gagged and tied up backstage. Great little attention to detail.

[soup23]

I didn't see Snowman in the crowd but assumed he is still the champ.

 

Maybe the best studio match we have seen as they were given a decent amount of time.

 

I never trust a gorilla due to mid south but Bundy had been a fixture for a while now. Tatum really got worked up as Bundy as he sweating like crazy at the end with the suit still on. Real good heel beatdown.

[shoe]

This segment was amazing. We get a fun little match followed by great angle after angle. Man the gorilla is tied up. Man I marked out big.

[Kevin Ridge]

They are wrestling for number two contender for World title. We actually get a couple minutes so I’m getting into the match but we get the usual DQ finish. Tatum in Gorilla costume attacks Lawler and Dundee. Gilbert is swinging away with baseball bat. Eddie Marlin makes an appearance. He’s been absent for a few months. Tatum seems to be recovered from his neck injury.

[ajtroma]

The real "Bundy" all tied up was utilityman Greg Peel, son of Buddy Wayne and brother of Ken Wayne.

[garretta]

Dave mentioning the time limit made this feel even more rushed than it was; Eddie and Bill certainly weren't working like they had up to thirty minutes. Anyway, the beatdown's the point of the whole thing. What is it with Jarrett and extended beatdowns of faces? We have Adams in Texas getting the crap kicked out of him week after week with only Chris Von Erich to save him, and now this has to be the third or fourth long bloody beatdown of Lawler and Dundee (counting the ones from the MSC) with no one to save them except a bunch of jobbers. Where was Jeff? For that matter, where was Snowman?

 

The baseball bats being used this liberally concerns me too, not just for the kids watching but for the wrestlers themselves; one swing a little too hard with an aluminum bat and you've got major damage to your biggest stars. I get why Gilbert, Tatum, and Anthony did this; they're heels doing what heels do. What I don't get is why it had to go on so long and be so bloody.

 

I loved Dave's shock at the thought that the gorilla had turned on Lawler and Dundee. Hey, why not? Whoever thought that the photographer would turn on them? I agree that it was a nice nod to detail to have them show the guy who was supposed to be in the costume tied up and gagged; they needed to do that so the kids wouldn't think that Bundy would be mean to them.

 

The match was decent for what it was, but the postmatch made it irrelevant in my eyes. By the way, this match was for the number two contender's slot because there's only one number one contender: the guy with the crown who just got his brains and guts bashed in, along with his friend from Down Under.

[drew wardlaw]

Don't care about the match, don't care about a #2 contender, I care about John Tatum in a Gorilla costume, and the real Bundy bound and gagged in a closet. He just keeps getting better, I don't know how it's possible.

[GSR]

The winner of this match will be the official number two contender for the USWA Unified title. Dundee attacks Gilbert as soon as he gets in the ring and this one is off before the referee even has a chance to ring the bell. ‘The Superstar’ has the early advantage until he misses a dropkick after whipping Gilbert into the ropes and ‘Hot Stuff’ held on. Dave Brown was great on commentary here explaining the nuances of what’s going on in the ring and the characteristics of the wrestlers (especially Gilbert). Dundee escapes a chinlock but can’t capitalise on things, before a nice sunset flip out of nowhere by him for a two count. Gilbert with a wristlock and he utilizes a bit of hair pulling to keep ‘The Superstar’ in the hold. Brown says how the referee is checking with Gilbert “as he strongly suspects hair pulling…which is a pretty safe assumption!” Dundee gets to his feet again and is finally able to escape. He whips ‘Hot Stuff’ into the turnbuckles and charges knee first at him, however Gilbert moves and his knee goes straight into the top turnbuckle. Figure Four but Dundee is able to get to the ropes to break the hold. Gilbert misses a kneedrop off the second rope and ‘The Superstar’ starts peppering him with punches. Reverse crossbody from Dundee and Tony Anthony is out and in for the save giving Dundee the win via technical loss to ‘Hot Stuff’. He starts putting the boots to him and the two of them double team him until Jerry Lawler and his baseball bats make the save. They’re beating on them with the bats when Bundy the Gorilla enters the ring and nails Lawler with a clothesline. A kick to Dundee and he starts laying into them both before taking off the gorilla’s head to reveal JOHN TATUM!!! The heels then uses the bats to bust open ‘The King’ and ‘The Superstar’, while the likes of Ken Raper and Freezer Thompson have no luck in trying to put a stop to this. In the melee Tatum clocks the referee and finally Eddie Marlin is out which appears to be the signal for them to get out of there.

 

They make a stop at the announcer’s desk and Tatum says just like he told them, they might not know when, and they might not know where, but they’re going to pay for what they did to him and that was just a small down payment on what’s to come. No-one makes a monkey out of ‘Hollywood’ John Tatum. As they’re leaving they get a camera man to follow them, and we see the ‘real’ Bundy the Gorilla tied up and gagged in the hall.

 

A decent match and with it being in the studio, and with these two involved, I was expecting some sort of outside interference, although it arrived later than expected. Excellent surprise angle with Tatum being in the gorilla suit, but it’s another beat down that went on too long. I also have a slight issue with the amount of baseball bat shots that they were dishing out and it felt like overkill. Just have one or two and then go back to punching and kicking them. Dave Brown was tremendous throughout all of this and a nice touch at the end when we find out what happened to the original Bundy.

[dawho5]

Tatum coming back as the gorilla was a nice re-work of a Mid South angle. Good beatdown but too much bat work. I liked Gilbert and DWB getting the "we're smarter than Lawler" promo at the end.