[1991-10-04-GWF] Eddie Gilbert vs Handsome Stranger

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

This is some first class cheating. Last few minutes of the finals of a TV title match. Bagwell! He has Gilbert beaten after intercepting a foreign object, but the ref is out. Clever finish, as Scotty the Body puts the brass knucks on Handsome Stranger's hand and Gilbert pretends like he got punched, so that the referee will DQ Bagwell and he can win the title. Awesome.

[PeteF3]

Welcome back, Eddie. He and Scott Anthony successfully frame the Handsome Stranger for using brass knuckles and thus Gilbert wins the TV Title tournament final. No building in history ever saw more creative finishes than the Sportatorium.

[Kevin Ridge]

Oh, this was Bagwell? Some awful referee bumping. Referee finds foreign object and disqualifies the Stranger.

[soup23]

We go from the Flair cheating that I hated to this that I loved. Gilbert shows some down right amazing resourcefulness to gain the tv title here.

[garretta]

This is one of the more inventive bullshit finishes I've ever seen. It's a bit involved, especially since there had to be two ref bumps in order for it to be pulled off correctly, but the heat it gets more than justifies its intricacy. If Eddie's not Public Enemy #1 in Dallas with Raven as 1A after a screwjob like this, something's definitely wrong somewhere.

 

I was going to say that I was surprised that WMC didn't find and air this footage to set up the Lawler/Gilbert unification bout, but it was probably still being edited for broadcast. I'll be interested to see if it turns up on any future shows, though, and that goes for Eddie as well. My guess is that with Embry still going strong, Memphis doesn't need another top heel at the moment, so Eddie's only in for a one-shot, which is kind of a shame. I'm looking forward to seeing what he and Raven have in mind for the good folks of Dallas, though.

 

Bagwell looked good in what little I saw. I'll be interested to track his progress going forward as well.

[dawho5]

I loved Eddie not being able to pick which side of his face Bagwell hit him on. Really great finish and it's awesome to see Eddie Gilbert again.