[1991-11-10-WCW-Main Event] Terrence Taylor & Richard Morton & Thomas Rich vs Big Josh & Dustin Rhodes & Tom Zenk

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

This was better than the previous match. One of the main reasons is that Ricky Morton was so heavily featured and so good in this role. But even Taylor stepped up from his usual bland stuff with some nice offense, including a stun gun on the turnbuckle. Your standard FIP formula, but a really good version of it. Taylor goes to hit Josh with the computer for the finish (If they rely on the computer for info, why would they ever risk it so much by throwing it into the ring?). Josh shows a moment of compassion and looks at his bloody friend, which costs him the match, as Taylor hits him with the computer again. The York Foundation takes the six-man titles.

[Zenjo]

I haven't yet got past "The computerised man of the 1990's" without laughing.

 

[Kevin Ridge]

Too bad they couldn’t get Jobs or Gates to be a special manager for the York Foundation. Zenk might be one of the last guys to be able no sell turnbuckle shots. Big Josh deservingly gets a computer to the head after showing compassion during the match. The computer log on got the better of him.

[PeteF3]

(If they rely on the computer for info, why would they ever risk it so much by throwing it into the ring?).

Even in 1991 Miss York had the technical foresight to keep her wrestler data on a VPN rather than risk damage on one internal hard drive. That or the laptop is a mere security blanket or placebo. I put way too much thought into this--I think I'm to the York Foundation gimmick what JVK is to IRS. Except IRS never had a performance as good as any of the six guys in this match--including Josh, and including Zenk. The YF provides some good offense and there's some nice fired-up babyface responses, especially from Dustin. Good finish as Rich is accidentally tagged with the computer by Taylor, but Josh checks on him rather than covers him, and Taylor gets another swing and Rich capitalizes for the pin. Rich gets busted open, which in and of itself is far from unusual but in 1991 I feel like we should be documenting all instances of blood on Big Two programming. There's actually a lot more of it than I remember.

[soup23]

Good continuation of last weeks match including an awesome finish where you think Big Josh has got one over on the York Foundation again and then shows concern for his former friend Thomas Rich costing him. Terry Taylor and Morton being a prick on the apron were both highlights. Good indicator of some of the really good WCW tv stuff coming up in 1992.

[garretta]

This was okay until the finish, which was dumb on a couple of different levels. First of all, I could buy the whole bit about Josh checking on Rich after Taylor nailed him with the computer if he'd shown any reluctance at all to lock up with Rich at any time in the first two matches, But he hadn't; he treated him like Morton and Taylor until it was the convenient time for him to go soft-hearted and cost his team the belts. Second, if Morton whacking Rich on top of the head caused him to bleed like a stuck pig, shouldn't Borne have been bleeding as badly from the back of the head after Morton clobbered him? Either Tommy was busted open hardway or someone got sloppy somewhere.

 

The heels had much the better of this, working together almost flawlessly as a unit. That makes sense, considering that Morton and Rich had been face tag team partners shortly before they were recruited by the Yorks and that Ricky and Taylor had been partners at least occasionally in various territories. The last truly cohesive face unit to hold the titles had to be the LOD and Dusty back in the mid-eighties.

 

Interesting point that Pete brought up about the computer. I don't think it was an actual computer, now that I got a look at it. I don't know what object could be made to look like a laptop, but I don't think anyone would use an actual computer as a weapon in a fight even if they had one handy. Besides, I had a laptop back in the day, and they're a lot heavier to lift and control than they look. They're also very sensitive, and if they were used to hit people as often as the Yorks do it, eventually pieces of the thing would be scattered all over the ring.

 

The syndicated announcing in WCW, particularly for Main Event, continues to be abysmal. Tony calls this match like he's reading the schedule of buses to Poughkeepsie, only perking up long enough to plug his hotline bit with Rich to be aired the following day. This isn't the announcers' fault entirely, though; if I was calling nothing but matches I knew to be recorded weeks in advance, some of which have been rendered utterly useless due to circumstances that have happened since their taping, I might not be so enthusiastic either.

 

So Zenk has signed a match with Luger, has he? Where? When? I'll bet it's not at the Omni, or we'd have heard about it ad ridiculum for weeks now.

 

Way to bury Rich by saying that the only man who can execute the hangman's neckbreaker/Rude Awakening is Rude. Or could that have been an insider's warning for Rich to stop using the move now that Rude was on the scene?

[dawho5]

I liked the York Foundation work form the apron. Did Dustin have his awesome right uppercut from day one?!? Tony saying that Zenk was a guy who could win the World Championship made me very sad. Very, very sad. Zenk's FIP work wasn't actively bad so I'll not comment too much. Finish makes me wonder if Big Josh is Rick Steiner levels of stupid as a character. Matt Borne is so wasted on this gimmick.