NWA On Demand

[Matt D]

I really liked Lucas/Morton vs Dynamic Duo. Structurally, it was clever, with the faces being pissed off enough to get themselves DQ'd immediately and then it settling into a more typical shine/heat/comeback format, with the shine lasting through the next fall. I loved them working Gino's arm. Morton showed both the connection to the crowd we know him for and a lot of fun offense, even if not everything was hitting perfectly. Lucas was like an older, more seasoned Morton, which is a different sort of dynamic than Gibson. Tully was super athletic here, again, just dynamic flying around the ring with broader body language than we're used to, I think. I wasn't so high on the hot tag, though Lucas' initial flurry coming in was great. The tag itself was just slightly ill-timed to maximize the moment. I liked the finish a lot though. They did it all so crisply and quickly. It was a BS finish but it worked due to the speed that they moved with it. I could have used a bit more heat but the fact the babyfaces started a fall down, basically, helped, as did the fact that Morton can make a few minutes taking a beating feel like more.

[BruceTharpe]

ONLINE TODAY! AWA World Championship from July 2, 1982 - Two out of Three Falls - BOBBY HEENAN at Ringside! NICK BOCKWINKLE vs. RICKY MORTON!

[Matt D]

I'm excited. Heenan rarely came to Houston too.And it's 2/3 falls. Thanks, Bruce.

[Tabe]

 

ONLINE TODAY! AWA World Championship from July 2, 1982 - Two out of Three Falls - BOBBY HEENAN at Ringside! NICK BOCKWINKLE vs. RICKY MORTON!

 

Gee Bruce, it's like you're just walking down my request list. I like it!

[Childs]

Ooh, psyched for that one.

[AJS]

I just finished watching this and thought it was excellent. I haven't seen many Nick Bockwinkel matches but I'm looking forward to seeing more of him after this.

[JerryvonKramer]

Nick Bockwinkel vs. Ricky Morton (7/2/82)

 

Two out of three falls. No commentary. Awesome because you can hear guys in the crowd calling Heenan weasel and "Heenan you big sissy". I love watching wrestling like this, almost feel like you are there in the arena in a way.

 

Bock is pretty imperious in the early going, and seems just mildly peeved about Morton having moments of offense. This mild annoyance starts turning to frustration. And then the bout erupts into more violence as it progresses.

 

Each of the first two falls is really well built, with the fall coming somewhat against the run of play. Bock has some nice clubbing punches, and Morton shows good fire. What Bock does very well here is to give Morton a lot of credibility as a challenger while also ensuring he gets over the idea of himself as the maestro.

 

Morton looked good on offense here, and Bock gives him quite a lot considering this is basically his version of Flair vs. Sam Houston. Bock is great at pulling out cheap desperation equalisers when they count. His selling of the leg in the third fall is also excellent. I love how Morton targets the injured leg. There's a scrappiness to Morton's work here, almost reminds me of Piper in a way. Finish is straight out of the Harley "banana peel" playbook.

 

I really enjoyed this match. I thought it was a good showcase of what Bock could do against a young and talented babyface who was still making his name in the business. Bock plays the role differently from Harley or Flair. What is excellent about this match is the progression of his mindset, from complete arrogance and borderline contempt in the early going, to mild anger, to frustration, to desperation. By the end of the match you almost forget that Morton is not really on his level, and that's what being a travelling champ is about. But he never bitches or stooges for Morton like Harley might, and never comes across as the bully against a smaller guy as Flair might. It's a measured, mature performance from the consummate ring general.

 

Strongly recommended.

 

****

[goc]

Of course Bruce would start uploading a bunch of awesome stuff with Morton & Lucas right after a tree falls on my house and I have no way of watching any of it. I just can't bring myself to watch wrestling on a library computer.

[...TG]

Of course Bruce would start uploading a bunch of awesome stuff with Morton & Lucas right after a tree falls on my house and I have no way of watching any of it. I just can't bring myself to watch wrestling on a library computer.

As an ex-librarian, I can assure you that wrestling is far from the strangest thing I've seen dudes watching on public computers.

[goc]

Well even if I do end up stooping to that, at least I will never be Tyree Carter (yes I am going to leave that for you to google on your own)

[Matt D]

Everything I wanted from it given the date. Loved it. Comments later.

[shoe]

Bock vs Morton

 

Man oh Man was I stoked to see this come up. These guys didn't dissapoint me in the least. Your AWA World Heavyweight Champion along with being my #4 wrestler on my #PWOGWE ballot. This match never aired . So thank you Bruce and nwaclassics.com . It means so much to be able to see this instead of Ricky Morton talk about the time he went a broadway with Bock in Houston in some RF Video shoot interview. This is 2 out of 3 falls.

 

The 1st fall is solid stuff. Early on Bock targets the neck, and I'll be damned if it doesn't payoff in the finish of the 1st fall with a Bock piledriver. Here Bock is the maestro while Morton is the up and comer. Bock was just a step ahead in this fall. One spot that I loved seeing was Bock slamming Morton, Morton kicks off Bock, Morton slams Bock. This was a spot Bret and Hennig would use in their matches against each other. I've seen Bock use this with Bret, Hennig,Martel and others. It's cool to see it here and his influence on other wrestlers.

 

The 2nd fall Bock is really aggressive going after Morton's neck. Morton is selling it big time and this fall takes the match up to another level. Morton steals the 2nd fall with a flash pin.

 

The 3rd fall seals the deal for me. Morton is out and he wants payback on the neck. So we get that for a bit. Then Bock misses and Morton goes after the leg. I loved Morton's knee drop to the back of the leg. The drama around the Figure 4 was tremendous. We see the banana peel finish that protects both guys.

 

4 1/4*

[BruceTharpe]

Awesome reviews guys. Thank you.

[shoe]

How about either Gino vs Valentine or Gino vs Lothario for tomorrow ?

[Matt D]

Bockwinkel vs Morton

 

This match was a real testament to the power of selling, not just in selling the pain of moves, though there's that as well, but also in selling the weight of everything else that happens in a match. The opening stretch was remarkable for Morton's pluckiness and Bockwinkel's escalating response. We'd seen something like this in his match vs Chavo, but Bock came in with an entirely different attitude here. He started with the handshake, likely expecting to make short work of Morton, but it wasn't personal in the same way. It was just business, a nice little romp in the ring, some high quality calisthenics in front of a mostly unappreciative but at least well-paying crowd before a lovely dinner and nightcap with Robert Heenan. Obviously, it didn't work out that way. Morton reversed one move after the next, getting cheekier each time. Sure, there'd be a moment of Bockwinkel pressing him back into the ropes or locking in a full nelson, even strongly enough that Morton made sure to sell it after the fact, but he escaped again and again. As he did, his yokel confidence grew and grew and grew, even as Bockwinkel's frustration mounted. After an attempt to slow things down and regroup with Heenan failed, Bock's speed increased, his aggression increased, and it just made the backfires and Morton showing of his mettle all the more intense. It was a variation of the theme with of the Chavo match but extremely different, a similar story told a different way. It all culminated with Morton's rebellious slap and Bockwinkel's controlled demeanor finally breaking as he gave up on wrestling and went to fisticuffs first; the emperor momentarily had no clothes, but that hardly mattered because even naked, he was still the emperor and had climbed over the bodies of a hundred fallen opponents (through hook or crook) to reach his heights.

 

While he threw Morton out to really start the heat, there was no need for a King of the Mountain segment here. He had already taken over control and now it was a matter of punishing and embarrassing the youngster for his gall. Even then, he let Morton come off as a youthful force, barely able to contain him with the headlock. While the video quality is as good as ever here, I wish we had a few different angles on the grounded headlock since Bockwinkel's facial expressions are generally the high point of that part of his act. Morton would rise up and Bockwinkel would cut him off, brutalizing him all the way until the pile driver that ended the first fall. The heat segment continued though, with Morton's desperate neck selling as he tried to keep his distance just brilliant beyond his age. There was a real sense of gamesmanship there with Morton coming off like a wounded animal bravely trying to get any edge in the fight that he could. Even into his comeback, he'd continue to sell that neck, even after he hit the momentum shifting sunset flip and took a swipe at Heenan.

 

The nature of the match was such that the vulnerability shifted completely once the falls evened up. At that point, Bockwinkel's belt was suddenly on the line. I think the announcer even made sure to stress it when announcing Morton as the winner of the second fall. Everything up until that point had been preliminary. When Bock had a one fall advantage, he could take his time, could wrestle on his terms. Morton had just proven he could score a pinfall out of nowhere, and if he did it once, he could do it again. Morton's neck was recovering and he started to expertly target Bockwinkel's legs. I wouldn't say he had a huge variety of offense here, but instead, that everything he did looked exceptionally good. Some of that was Bockwinkel's selling, but so much was Morton's enthusiasm and focus, as well as the general sense of vulnerability that came with the third fall of a match with the champion's belt on the line and the momentum having shifted in the challenger's favor. My favorite moment in this was Bockwinkel grabbing Morton's arm when he spun for a figure four attempt. I'd never seen it countered quite like that. It wasn't an inside cradle or anything like that. It was just Bockwinkel desperate to stop Morton from locking the hold in and trying to buy himself a few seconds.

 

The great double punch led into the finishing stretch, where they were really going at it. Bockwinkel's leg selling here was extraordinary. He could have dropped it as they went towards the finish and almost anyone else would have, but it helped frame and define his punch attempts and made that feeling that the title could change at any moment, even in and around the finish, all the more powerful. The finish itself was good, stemming from the same Morton enthusiasm that had carried him through the match. I'd seen Bockwinkel use a similar closing stretch with Martel around this point but this, again, felt different, a different shade and slightly different tone. I'm sure the fans left the arena disappointed that Morton didn't pull it off but at the same time satisfied for the earnestness of the attempt and just how close it had come. Bockwinkel, in portraying that balance between vulnerability and mastery almost certainly left them thinking that maybe next time it'd be the one (and they darn well better pay the ticket price for that show, just in case).

 

Just another match that we're so lucky to have. Bockwinkel was amazing, first and foremost because he reacted to everything. It's as if he was working at 2x speed, but instead of using that to do more, to fit more spots in, he used it to react to things with more depth and detail than any other wrestler I've ever seen. It's sort of the difference between watching wrestling in black and white and in color. Everything resonates more. Everything matters more. You really don't know that wrestling can be this way until you watch Bockwinkel, and Morton, at this stage of his career, was just another great foil for him.

[AJS]

I loved that Bockwinkel's piledriver got him the first fall. The use/abuse of the piledriver is one of the things that really annoys me in wrestling. Whenever I see the move executed well, i'm thinking that logically the match should be over. But so often this move, where you're lifted upside down and driven down to the mat head first doesn't lead to anything meaningful or is shrugged off by the recipient like it was nothing. Here, the move got Bock the 3 count and he continued to work on Morton's head and neck into the second fall and Morton continued to sell it. great stuff!

[BruceTharpe]

Online today: TULLY BLANCHARD vs. MIL MASCARAS singles match!

[goc]

I suspect that will be another piece of evidence to disprove the "Mil Mascaras totally sucked" idea.

[shoe]

Dynamic Duo vs Mil Mascras/Tito Santana

 

This was a pretty good tag. The Dynamic Duo are so good at bumping and stooging. The 1st fall was a great shine sequence. Tito looked great as did Mil. I loved Mil's double Mexican arm drag to the Duo. A super fun 1st fall.

 

The 2nd fall was solid work too. We got some more focus on Mil and in a total shock drops the fall.

 

The 3rd fall the heat is really growing. The match ends up out of control and leads to a double count out.

 

3 3/4*

[Matt D]

Mil did look really good there, I thought he was getting back up way too quickly as he was getting hammered down, but past that nothing egregious and his act worked really well against guys who could stooge as thoroughly as Gino and Tully. He was also great on the apron as cheerleader. I liked the finish a lot actually, with the escalating frustration. Houston's tag structure bedevils me a bit as it's not generally a traditional southern tag but either has the sputtering heat or, like in this one, felt more like an AJPW tag at times, back and forth while still highlighting Tito and Mil's ability to overcome adversity and how rotten Gino and Tully could be. I loved Tully's use of the elbow here and his flipping corner bump too.

 

This was Tito as an ace and it showed. I really feel like these Houston matches from this era fills in an important gap with him.

[Tabe]

WHOO! 3 for 3 on my requests! Maybe I need to make more...

[Matt D]

The Mil vs Tully video feels like one of the most special nights I've seen in Classics so far. There are two matches in the video. Mil vs Tully feels like one of the better, more weighty five minute matches we have, but the chaos that ensues and the heat and the impromptu match that follows (with the drink-assisted transitions!) and the crazy scene at the end. All of it adds up to what we'd consider a classic episode of TV if it was in Memphis or Mid-South. It's the sort of night that you can see the fans telling their kids about someday. That's how it felt at least. I can imagine the heat a few weeks before when Mil lost and I can imagine the heat a week later with Tully in a cage for the blowoff match. This feels like the greatest Houston feud we weren't expecting.

[shoe]

I agree 100% Matt. This feels like an incredible segment. We have an amazing 5 minute brawl with Mil and Tully. Then the stip of the dress in play. Gino and Chavo bring it home. Just utter chaos. It was an easy 5* segment.

[JHawk]

Since it hasn't come up, I'd assume the Graham-Bruno match from Baltimore mentioned a couple of pages ago is the title change, which would be Vince Jr. on commentary. If somehow it isn't the title change, I'm curious.

 

I am so behind on this stuff right now.

[BruceTharpe]

DiBiase vs. Slater coming up!