[1991-01-05-USWA Texas] Jeff Jarrett vs Eddie Gilbert

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

Super match with a very hot crowd. Gilbert takes some impressive stooge bumps early on in this. The story here is that Gilbert's arm is useless from Jarrett's arm work, and Jarrett's leg is useless from Gilbert's leg work. So they are two wounded animals duking it out. Gilbert loosens Jarrett's boots before applying a figure four, which is a really cool touch, especially when he pulls on the laces to stop Jarrett from reversing the figure four. That's some Grade A detail. There are all sorts of cool spots you don't see every day. Both guys punching each other simultaneously and falling down was great, as was Eddie's hobbling around after the figure four was finally reversed. Jarrett pins Gilbert after intercepting a chain and punching him with it. He takes the Southern title to boot, but there's a Dusty finish with the title going back to Gilbert after a reverse decision when the referee finds the chain. This is just awesome stuff with a wild crowd. The best match so far.

[Loss]

Still the best match so far. This all looks and feels the same watching it again.

[shoe]

I loved this match. They really clicked together as opponents and a really underrated feud. The boot laces was a really nice touch. This bout was set up well and built upon on all these neat little things. I even loved the Dusty finish because both guys especially Gilbert milked every moment and reaction from the crowd . They just really manipulated the crowd's emotions there.

[Childs]

These guys were gold together, and this was their best match yet. I think Memphis babyface Jarrett is easily my favorite version -- just a perfect blend of fire, athleticism and grasp of structure. Gilbert was also at his absolute peak. Loss put it well in a previous thread when he said 1990-91 Eddie was out-Lawlering Lawler. Like everyone else, I loved the stuff with the boot laces.

[soup23]

This was a fabulous match and should be the prototype to anyone wanting to work the style. Gilbert at points as the most devious look on his face that is just subtle enough for the camera to pick up. I can't believe the shoe lace spot hasnt been lifted to death.

[PeteF3]

USWA-Texas, how I've missed you! Redman Tobacco has seized control of the lucrative sponsorship contract from Renegades Rampage, but otherwise it's the same Sportatorium we know and love. Except the crowd is hotter than it's been since the Von Erichs' heyday. This is surprisingly matwork-based which is not only really well-done but the work pays off big-time throughout the match--Gilbert has a hurt arm, Jarrett has a hurt leg. Fantastic work in the figure-four with Gilbert using Jarrett's boot laces for leverage. After James Beard gets bumped, Gilbert pulls a chain from under his towel, but Jarrett gets it and uses it for the apparent pin. Unfortunately he makes the same mistake he made against Jerry Lawler and gets caught with it again, and the Southern title goes back to Gilbert.

 

What I love about Gilbert is that he wrestles mostly on the level and only cheats either incrementally to gain a slight advantage--and just enough for you to notice--or at the very end. His heeling here amounts to a few closed fists and the work with the bootlaces, while the chain doesn't make an appearance until the finish. It's what separates Lawler the heel from Ric Flair the heel, and what separates Gilbert as well.

 

This really does seem like an exciting time to be a USWA fan, as there's more energy in the Sportatorium than in a long time with grandiose plans being tossed about in the sheets by Pedicino. I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts.

[Kevin Ridge]

USWA-TX is back. Jarrett works the arm early which leads to a cool spot later when Eddie has the spinning toe hold on and Jeff breaks by yanking on Gilbert’s arm. The double KO spots all work well. I’m going to say the announcers botched the finish as on replay it was only a two count on the first attempt. Jarrett uses the chain and gets the real three count. Referee reverses the finish she he checks the Jarrett’s tights for the chain. That was dumb of Jarrett to put it down there in the first place. I was liking the match quite a bit but felt the finishing sequence wasn’t good.

[soup23]

This match is just a pleasure to watch. I don't know where it will rank on my overall list for 1991 but it will probably wind up being one of the most fun matches of the year.

[ajtroma]

The ropes were shockingly loose though.

[spooner]

This is the most over I have ever seen Jarret as either a heel or face. USWA is new to me and I very much enjoyed this. Excellent crowd and both guys giving it their all. The bootlace spot was something new, and the double punch knockout was well executed. The finish was lame, but they worked it well.

[...TG]

Echoing everyone else in the thread when I say how great this was. I even liked the finish, and I usually hate ref bumps. I also usually hate Jeff Jarrett, making this match surprising on another level.

[garretta]

The ending ruined this for me. It wasn't that Gilbert retained, or even that we had a Dusty finish. It's that both the referee and Jeff had to look stupid in order for the above to happen.

 

I'm going to tell you this one time, Jeff: If you win a match by clocking your opponent with a chain (as most wrestlers do from time to time), DO NOT stuff said chain down your tights. Throw it out into the crowd, drop it to the floor, swallow it, but DO NOT stuff it down your tights. It makes it look like you brought the thing into the ring. You already cost yourself the Unified title against Lawler by doing the exact same thing, so we can safely say that this is a pattern of stupidity with you. Lawler (at least then) and Gilbert are bad guys. They want to see you lose and humiliate you, and you're letting them do it. Don't let them do it to you anymore. Do you understand?

 

As for the referee, it's hard to fault him specifically, since this was obviously the booked finish. But why make your ref so gullible as to believe Eddie Gilbert, who's never told the truth in his career and isn't about to start with his title and gateway to Lawler's crown on the line? If you want to run a finish like this, do it the way it was intended and have another referee or official come out and tell the ref what happened. Then you at least have an unbiased observer reporting what the ref didn't know. Yes, the reversal of the decision will piss off some fans, and you can't run finishes like this too often, but occasional use will add intrigue to rematches as long as it's done correctly. (It would also help if whining from the announcers was kept to an acceptable minimum. It's fine to note that Jeff used the chain after Eddie got it out of his towel, but to insinuate that the title change should have stood, as Pedicino did here, strains the bounds of credibility.)

 

The actual match was very well done, with lots of focused limbwork by both guys. The commercial break came at exactly the wrong time, as we didn't see how Jeff hurt his knee in the first place, but the story was still easy enough to follow. The use of the boot lace for leverage by Gilbert was ingenious; as Soup said above, it was definitely a spot worth stealing. Craig botched the false finish at the end, but he corrected himself immediately, so all is forgiven.

 

Craig had a slight case of WWF-itis here; almost every time he mentioned Jeff's name, the nickname "Simply Irresistible" had to come before it. I wonder why Dad pushed him as a heartthrob in Dallas, but not in Memphis, where it stood a greater chance of actually being true, especially when you consider that his competition was grizzled vets like Lawler, Dundee, and the Fabs.

[Bix]

He did push Jeff as a heartthrob in Memphis, the problem was he didn't execute it well. There was a lot of backlash for the ad for his poster and it wasn't quite counter balanced the way the Fabs were pushed.

[drew wardlaw]

Is this the best Jeff Jarrett match of all time? This is great. I wish there was more stuff like this out of Texas. Or maybe there is for 1991? I'm hoping Jarrett stays around Texas and is a big deal in Texas. This really solid.

[JKWebb]

Along with TG, I've never been too big on JJ, but this was super fun. Reflecting on 1990, since I took a little break between the YB's, it just seems TX was the best fit he had. I've loved some of the Memphis stuff too. I guess, as I've seen others say before, this is the best era of his career.

[dawho5]

Loved this. The dueling limb work and attention to detail make this match for me. Finish was your typical Memphis fare, so it's no surprise by any means.

[cactus]

You can't get more Southern than this! This is my first time seeing Eddie Gilbert and he was brilliant as the stooge heel. Young Jeff Jarrett is the heartthrob babyface and the crowd are going apeshit for him. There's dual limbwork here and it's marvellous. Gilbert adding more pressure for the Figure Four by yanking on Jeff's laces was a nice touch. The dusty finish wasn't great and poorly executed, but I can forgive that as this was a lot of fun!

★★★¾