[1991-08-04-WCW-Main Event] Richard Morton vs Bobby Eaton

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

Interesting role reversal here, as they've feuded for years, but now Eaton is the babyface and Morton is the heel. I was intrigued by how they would work this match. While Ricky Morton is quite possibly the best babyface of all time, he is a pretty great heel too, and seems to be having fun in the role. I like how Morton paces this, and Eaton mixing in his great offense with solid babyface work is impressive. This match is the best that either guy has looked all year. That ringpost shot was especially nasty. Taylor and Mr. Hughes run in for the DQ, but this is WCW, where matches don't have finishes. Robert Gibson makes the save with the chair, and I think about the awesome possibility of Morton/Lane vs Eaton/Gibson had Lane not departed. Good match!

[Childs]

Don't have a lot to add on this one. Strong work from both guys, as you'd expect. Unsatisfying finish, though it would have been fine if they had gone somewhere with an Eaton-and-Gibson-against-Morton feud.

[Matt D]

Morton just LOOKS like a heel. He's super sleazy.

[Childs]

Do you like the fact that he essentially kept the same look as a heel? I thought he should have gone for a more corporate look, at first. But I've come around to thinking he was even schmuckier, in a way, to keep his mullet and R'n'R garb.

[Matt D]

I'm really in the same boat. Let me put it this way. I think the gimmick would have worked better if he changed his look. I think he's more enjoyable as a heel during this time because he didn't. At the time, he probably should have, though. Neither here nor there, I love the difference Tommy Rich having a ponytail made. It's also my Northern preconceived notions. I think Morton looks like a scummy dirtbag all the time and has a terrible look for a babyface. That's not a guy I'd want anywhere near anyone I know, let me tell you.

[PeteF3]

I guess this is a match that had to happen. It's not an all-time great and likely not as good as a heel Eaton vs. babyface Morton, but it does its job well enough. Eaton throws awesome punches, there's a great post bump...and a shitty Dusty Rhodes finish (not to be confused with a Dusty finish). Oh, and I think Morton would still project "scuzzy" quite well even if he did get a haircut and new tights.

[Kevin Ridge]

Role reversal as Eaton the face and Morton the heel now. Ross manages to plug the Bruise Cruise, WCW Magazine and Hotline minutes into the match. Also references the new Light Heavyweight division in the works. Eaton tags Morton with a great right hand outside the ring. Eaton was selling the sting in his hand for a few after. Nice touch. Bobby also eats some ring post later. Liked what they were doing until we got the DQ finish. Gibson comes to Eaton’s aid which is something after previous history.

[soup23]

I really liked this match and appreciated the punching and kicking and short cuts Morton used to differentiate from the flying head scissors and arm drags that you saw when these two matched up with the roles reversed. I think Morton could have looked more corporate and been more effective as his gear here was straight up SMW RNR stuff. REally fun match surrounding all the shitty booking happening in WCW.

[...TG]

Why didn't WCW have Morton change his look around after the heel turn? He still has the fabulous mullet, the tassels...a look change may have helped. Is this WCW incompetence? Or is there a backstory?

[PhilTLL]

This was mechanically fantastic, as you might expect, but a bit ambling structurally and of course it has a completely half ass non-finish. Really liked Ross selling Morton's miss from the top as him going for the Alabama Jam.

 

Long term taping and short term booking changes rear their head again, as this match shows Hughes with the Foundation 3 full weeks after GAB, requiring yet another tiresome commentary explanation.

[garretta]

I thought this one plodded a bit. I've seen these two work better in the opposite roles, so maybe that's part of why I was disappointed. Then, of course, we get one of the most ridiculous DQ finishes I've seen in a while, as Taylor just walks in out of nowhere and goes toe-to-toe with Eaton as if he's always belonged there. Nice save from Gibson, but like so much from WCW, it ultimately ends up going nowhere, so it's all pointless.

 

The shilling for the Bruise Cruise and the Hotline were perfectly acceptable, but the Omni stuff's really getting to be too much. Gigante/Gang could conceivably be the blowoff of their feud with stips like JR mentioned, yet the viewing audience at large will not only never see it, they probably won't hear about it on TV. I guess continuity just isn't important to Dusty at this point, and that really seems like a terrible strategy. The worst part is that it would all be so easy to fix: just put a camera at the Omni shows and film the stuff that you might want to use in future angles. The WWF had done it for years, and it was such a treat to see even bad matches from places like MSG and the Boston Garden. This way, they could do title changes and major angles on house shows and still tie them in to TV, which WCW can't do at the moment. It's not like JR has anything else to do except on Sundays when the Falcons play. Put him out there by himself or with Tony or Heyman and see what happens.

 

I liked the hype for the light heavyweight division, but I'm sure it's news to the NWA that they don't exist anymore. I didn't think WCW had split completely from them quite this soon. I liked JR talking about Danny Hodge to add a bit of historical context.

 

I don't know what to make of promoting Missy's hotline segment by teasing discussions of the wrestlers' love lives. If anyone's qualified to do it, she certainly is, but will your target audience (adolescent boys) have any interest in that content? Sure, they'll call once because it's Missy, but it's not like they can check her out while they're on the phone.

 

For the record, Gigante beat Gang at the Omni and shaved his head, according to Graham's site.

[dawho5]

Good match, as mentioned above. Both do well in reversed roles. J.R. having to again cover for WCW using footage older than the booking is beyond ridiculous. Get your shit together WCW.