W2BTD Posted September 18, 2014 Report Share Posted September 18, 2014 They went 8-90 as a team, with all 8 wins coming on house shows or dark matches at TV. All of the house show wins were on small spot shows. None of the big city house shows like MSG, Spectrum, Boston Gardens, etc that sometimes aired on local TV, except for this one from Maple Leaf Gardens, 1/10/88: http://www.cagematch.net/?id=1&nr=44003 Does anybody know if that show aired? If not, and if none of the dark matches were taped or house show matches were bootlegged, then there is likely no video evidence of a Conquistador victory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khawk20 Posted September 18, 2014 Report Share Posted September 18, 2014 I don't think it aired but a win over the Rougeaus seems like a sketchy result to me, unless the Ray was on his way out or something or it was a DQ/COR or something like that, which doesn't seem like a good result for an opener. I'd like to know how Honky beat Savage, too. I assume COR/DQ, I don't believe Honky ever pinned him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveJRogers Posted September 18, 2014 Report Share Posted September 18, 2014 They won the tag titles twice in 2000! ;p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Posted September 18, 2014 Report Share Posted September 18, 2014 Compiled a list of all 8 wins from Graham's site. Does Denver count as a "small town"? I know it wasn't MSG, Philly, etc., but still. Plus, Savage and Andre were on that show, as well as Warrior and Honky, and that match vs. Rockers, if the result is accurate, was given a lot of time. That Lacrosse, WI Prime Time Wrestling match looks like it also could've been a hidden gem of sorts given who's involved. WWF @ Toronto, Ontario - Maple Leaf Gardens - January 10, 1988The Conquistadors defeated Jacques & Raymond Rougeau WWF @ Salisbury, MD - Wicomico Youth & Civic Center - January 27, 1988Prime Time Wrestling - 2/19/88: The Conquistadors defeated Brady Boone & Omar Atlas when Atlas was pinned at 6:19 after a slingshot / clothesline off the top double team WWF @ Omaha, NE - Civic Center - February 15, 1988 (4,158)The Conquistadors defeated B. Brian Blair & Jim Brunzell after the Conquistadors switched places in the ring; Earl Hebner continued the role of heel referee for the bout WWF @ Warwick, RI - July 3, 1988 (620)The Conquistadors defeated Paul Roma & Jim Powers WWF @ LaCrosse, WI - LaCrosse Center - July 13, 1988Prime Time Wrestling - 8/1/88: The Conquistadors defeated Sam Houston & Terry Taylor at 9:27 when Houston was pinned with a clothesline as he attempted a bulldog on the second Conquistador; after the bout, Taylor blamed Houston for the loss - ruining his debut - attacked him, and threw him out of the ring (Taylor's TV debut) WWF @ Manchester, NH - JFK Coliseum - August 7, 1988The Conquistadors defeated Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty WWF @ Denver, CO - Auditorium - September 30, 1988 (6,500)The Conquistadors defated Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty at 17:39 WWF @ Toledo, OH - Sports Arena - October 6, 1988 (9,500)Prime Time Wrestling - 11/15/88: The Conquistadors defeated John Latu & Bob Emery at 2:02 when Emery was pinned following a clothesline off the top after a slingshot from the other Conquistador Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khawk20 Posted September 18, 2014 Report Share Posted September 18, 2014 I'm having a hard time processing the Rockers losing to the Conquistadors under any circumstance unless they were on their way out of the area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Posted September 18, 2014 Report Share Posted September 18, 2014 Being a 10-year old at the time, the Rockers never struck me as a being a threat to most teams. They debuted as a young, exciting team, and their first real program was against Arn and Tully. As a kid, Arn and Tully simply felt more superior to me. Even when they feuded with the Rougeaus, the Rougeaus felt superior. I started buying into the idea that the team may be a threat once they started a program with the Powers Of Pain, but even after that, they still lost to the Orient Express at Mania 6. Wasn't until the summer that I started to believe in them more strongly, but point is that, for most of two years, they were never a strongly pushed tag team. In fact, very bottom-rung, Young Stallions-level babyface team. Losing to the Conquistadors wouldn't have been out of the question. (Side story: A group of friends and I were doing the "play wrestling" thing at school (much to the school's chagrin) and decided to do a tag tourney, based off of WWF tag teams. Two of us got last pick and all the good ones were taken. Demolition, Powers of Pain, Brain Busters, Harts, even the Rougeaus and Bushwhackers were taken. Some teams that left (Bulldogs) were also chosen. We started thinking who to be and finally, he suggested the Rockers. It was literally the last option there. As hard as it is to believe with where Michaels wound up, they were that low on the totem pole.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tofu_chipmunk Posted September 18, 2014 Report Share Posted September 18, 2014 I'm having a hard time processing the Rockers losing to the Conquistadors under any circumstance unless they were on their way out of the area. Only guessing, but losses to the Conquistadors may have been a test for the Rockers to see if they would "play nice" this time around after their ill-fated cup of coffee with the WWF the year prior. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigelow34 Posted September 18, 2014 Report Share Posted September 18, 2014 That October 1988 squash on TV had to be just to get them some visibility/cred before Survivor Series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khawk20 Posted September 18, 2014 Report Share Posted September 18, 2014 Wasn't until the summer that I started to believe in them more strongly, but point is that, for most of two years, they were never a strongly pushed tag team. In fact, very bottom-rung, Young Stallions-level babyface team. Losing to the Conquistadors wouldn't have been out of the question. I disagree from my vantage point as a fan at the time because I'd previously experienced their AWA run and in my mind they were naturally higher on the list as that. At the very least, they were always in the mix as a team that could beat anyone established or lose to anyone established depending on the day. The Conquistadors were the lowest level of "regular" tag teams in the WWF in my mind for their entire run. The result of a Conquistadors vs. whatever-other-established-team in a match on a major card was always a foregone conclusion to me before the bell rang. Never had that vibe with the Rockers because of how much I had previously viewed them in the AWA. All depends on where you pick up viewing wrestlers as a single or a team, I suppose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W2BTD Posted September 18, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2014 Those random house show wins over the higher ranked teams are just something WWF would do every now & then. The two Rockers wins for example came during a stretch where the teams were paired together from about August to November, until the programs were changed after Survivor Series. The Rockers won almost 40 matches in that stretch to the Conquistadors two. The Conquistadors were paired with the Young Stallions after SS, and were gone by April 1989. The Rockers moved into a feud with the Brain Busters, after the hot angle during the SS match. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W2BTD Posted September 18, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2014 It looks like all three TV wins served some sort of purpose. The first squash was the establish them as above the level of your run of the mill jobber team, probably because some other heel either team left or broke up (The Islanders?), and to that point they had never won a match and were presented as straight jobbers. The second win was just to set up the Terry Taylor angle and establish him as a heel. The third, as Bigelow34 noted, looks pretty clearly to be a set up to give them some cred going into Survivor Series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khawk20 Posted September 18, 2014 Report Share Posted September 18, 2014 I'm having a hard time processing the Rockers losing to the Conquistadors under any circumstance unless they were on their way out of the area. Only guessing, but losses to the Conquistadors may have been a test for the Rockers to see if they would "play nice" this time around after their ill-fated cup of coffee with the WWF the year prior. A reasonable guess, true or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superstar Sleeze Posted September 22, 2014 Report Share Posted September 22, 2014 Their Cinderella story at Survivor Series '88 was really compelling especially with The Body selling it. Demos/POP double turn meant shit to me because the matches sucked either way, but that Conquistadors surviving against all expectations was a great hook to make you care. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tofu_chipmunk Posted September 22, 2014 Report Share Posted September 22, 2014 Their Cinderella story at Survivor Series '88 was really compelling especially with The Body selling it. Demos/POP double turn meant shit to me because the matches sucked either way, but that Conquistadors surviving against all expectations was a great hook to make you care. It was a good piece of booking for the double-turn as the Conquistadors were the only tag team on that Survivor Series team that could look sympathetic as the heretofore face Powers of Pain beat the hell out of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.