NWA On Demand

[shoe]

I did short shrift the final 2 falls.

[Matt D]

Playing catch up:

 

We received two Fantastics vs Gilbert/Sting matches. We got them out order.

 

The earlier match is interesting. It's basically a very, very long heel-in-peril, primarily on Sting. You got the sense in this one that they were teaching him, that the purpose here was to get him a lot of ring time stooging and bumping for the Fantastics. They had an amazing rapport with the crowd, certainly, but the drama came too late in this one. It was fun for what it was, though, because you really did get to see Sting go to class and some of the lessons he was learning here probably paid off for his entire career as a babyface.

 

The second match Pete covered. It was the 2/3 falls and it was really strong. I thought it benefited considerably from the 2/3 falls structure, which forced them to utilize transitions at appropriate times. You can't do a twenty minute heel-in-peril if you're going to do a fall ten-fifteen minutes in. The Fantastics were absolutely ahead of their time; some of the near-falls at the end of the first fall felt almost 90s AJPWish. Sting had come a long way by this point (even from a few weeks earlier you see improvement). There's an exasperation he portrayed as a heel that was very natural, a sort of "how the hell did I get into this situation?" mentality which was probably how he really felt to some degree. I wish the hot tags had been a little hotter/better timed and obviously the finish was an issue, but I thought this was strong and heated throughout. The Fantastics rousing the crowd with the object on the apron drumming between the second and the third fall was great stuff. In both matches, it's a testament to Gilbert and the Fantastics that they were able to go so long with someone so green. You have to envy these crowds. These matches were the undercard for the first two Doc vs Freebirds cage matches.

 

I caught Dibiase/Link vs Tatum/Victory last night, It was a lot of fun. Odd couple babyface pairing with Dark Journey. The heels had Missy. Dibiase was slumming with these guys to a degree, but the heels (Especially Tatum) were happy to be in there with him and bumped and stooged all over. He was also super giving, with the majority of the match being Dibiase-in-peril. The comeback was definitive and really, this was all to set up the Freebirds coming out and assaulting Dibiase post-match. Pete would use the phrase umbrella storytelling here and he'd be right.

 

The battle royal was enjoyable too. It's hard to keep track of everything, especially without commentary but some moments stood out. Taylor and Koko working together against OMG amused me for some reason. I loved Gang being in the ring with Tatum and co. at the end, and just mauling them when they wanted a heel-heel handshake. Duggan hitting Ring #2 and immediately charging at Gordy was awesome. I don't think we've seen much of them interacting. There was a moment when Duggan had his hand up to punch Taylor blindly, and when he realized who it was, he gave him the big thumbs up instead. The end of the match with Gordy/Buddy vs Chavo in Ring #2 and Dibiase coming out bandaged up after the earlier assault was awesome. That Dibiase/Doc vs Freebirds feud was something else. We have most of the pieces now I think. What a great, lost 80s feud. It was awesome to see Chavo, sort of at the end of his run as a star, get one last big win.

[shoe]

Dibiase/Link vs Tatum/Victory

 

Bang your Head is such an 80's anthem. Having Missy and Journey's angle going on adds another wrinkle here. This is a pretty fun shine with Tatum and Victory stooging. Dibiase is great as the standing tall baby face. The heels bail from the faces. Dibiase charges Tatum in the corner and that sets up the heat. Dibiase is FIP and has really carried his side. The heat segment was ok, but wasn't that interesting. Loved the Freebirds run in. Even though Dibiase wasn't the legal man on the pin. Link's hot tag was fun, but we got what we needed from him. 2 1/2*

[shoe]

Battle Royal

 

 

Love 2/3rd of the Birds being eliminated early so they can control ring 2 early on. Duggan was like a force of nature. OMG winning ring 1 is a good story. Especially the fresh blood to start the match. The barrage of eliminations was done quickly. Loved the Gordy/Buudy Roberts vs Chavo. Then Teddy comes out to even the odds. OMG vs Chavo is left. They did a good job of really building drama down the stretch.

[shoe]

The Fantastics have really come across as key components here in Houston. They can be formulatic at times, though I haven't seen a bad or lazy performance. Heels begging off to start. Loved Sting backing into a Tommy Rogers punch. Love seeing Sting heeling it up. It feels like a different world. I love the visual of Fulton and Sting being nose to nose. I'm enjoying the stalling and bull shit early on. I'm enjoying the Fantastics shine. They are making the most of all these moments.Fulton especially is good at milking the moments. Love how they are working with Sting here. Watching Tommy Rogers positon Sting for spots is amazing. Fulton putting himself in holds for Sting to catch his wind is amazing. Now it's time for the heat, and I love Fulton's bump to set up the arm work. It also adds to the 2 out of 3 story of Gilbert working Fulton's arm. Eddie is great at causing misdirection in the match. Love the dbl team cut offs by the heels. Love the miscommunication spot to set up the comeback. I thought some of the sloppiness added to the match. I liked how the titles were held up to set up the 2 out of 3 falls stip. 3 1/4*

[shoe]

OMG vs Ware

 

We start out with Ware dancing with the fans. In the ring Koko is in full hit and run with the big man. charging and frailing about. The guys really do a great job milking this for all it's worth. Eventually it's smash time for OMG . He's using his size to beat down Ware. Ware starts a comback, only for Akbar to trip him. This gets a DQ .Shitty finish. I thought this was another fun OMG performace. Koko was good as the undersized baby face. 2 1/2*

[shoe]

Gordy vs OMG

 

This is for the UWF title. Battle of the bulls. Loving both guys throwing hands. Gordy with an early advantage. I really liked how they milked OMG finally taking a bump. I absolutely loved Akbar's trip to set up OMG's heat. Gordy is busted open. I'm a fan of blood, but here it feels kind of not earned. I do like OMG working the cut though. Gordy throwing huge bombs in a comeback. OMG is now busted open himself. The ring breaks. Akbar in. 2 bloody ass mofo's throwing bombs, and using the ring. Their was a lot to like. Though my expectations were way high. 2 3/4*

[shoe]

Hayes vs Dibiase

 

Sunshine flirts with the ref Tommie Gilbert early. This is Ted's black glove that is on the pole.This is fast and furious early. Ted with some beautiful punches. Hot crowd for all the poll spots. Hayes with some great punches of his own. Hayes choking Teddy down. In a great touch before Ted starts to climb he wipes the sweat off. Hayes puts Ted into the poll and busts him up. All the cut offs on the climbs have been great. Hayes working the cut. The back and forth nature feels more modern in structure. Ted's comebacks were great. I loved the punch exchange in the corner. The Sunshine spot worked. The crowd is so with Ted on the climb. Sunshine interferes, and Hayes gets the glove. Dark Journey evens the odds, and Link gives Ted the advantage. The Freebirds are out, and so is Doc on the no finish. This match ruled. The action, the story telling, the ebbs and flows. Just great stuff. 4*

 

Heated promo by Ted. I believe very word he says.

[NickH]

Just a few things I noticed recently.

 

The Funks vs Wahoo & Putski match is now the edited version from 'The Best of Houston Wrestling' which has knocked off 10 minutes from the original upload. Strange decision when they have the full match.

 

I also found the Spoiler vs Brody match on youtube which is the same as the one on the site but the one on youtube HAS COMMENTARY with Peter Birkholz (Boesch's Nephew). I get the feeling that Boesch muted any commentary that wasn't him.

 

 

JOHNNY VALENTINE INTERVIEW:

Valentine might not be the greatest talker yet I have to listen to every word he says, he just had a big presence about him. And who would have thought he would be in Wahoo's corner for anything. They must have had a great deal of respect for each other after all the battles that they had.

[shoe]

The Gordy-Gang match is on You tube , but has Birkholtz commentary. I think it's a rights thing. The Houston library has been a tricky thing for years.

[goc]

The Spoiler/Brody thing could also be something where Birkholz went in and added commentary way later for some type of video release. As far as I know Birkholz never did any commentary until really late, like the last year of so of the promotion.

[Johnny Sorrow]

Johnny "Crippled Apollo Creed" Valentine is just another example of Paul's genius.

[BruceTharpe]

TRIPLE FEATURE of classic matches Released TODAY:

 

MASKED SUPERSTAR vs. AL PEREZ -

 

BOBBY DUNCUM vs. "DR. DEATH" STEVE WILLIAMS - and

...

TERRY TAYLOR vs. KILLER BROOKS (with GARY HART!)

[Matt D]

Things have been busy. I'm still watching everything but I'm lax on the write-ups.

 

Dibiase vs Hayes was gold. Another classic part of the feud. I took a lot of flack one March upon a time where I was overly critical of a wrestler who dropped his character while performing certain moves. My counter to that is Michael PS Hayes. He's probably the most committed wrestler ever in that regard. The expression on his face as he's charging Dibiase across the ring is this perfect mix of disdain and cockiness and underhanded viciousness. I love that it was Dibiase's glove on the pole. Ted(and Doc) vs the Birds is one of the best feuds of the 80s. There's no doubt about it at this point. They ran it for half a year with great match after great match and great promos to boot. How great was Ted's comeback out of the corner. It's a crime we didn't get babyface Ted after 87. I wish this had one moment of Ted (with the Million Dollar Glove) hitting a heel. The post match promo made me badly want to see the Ted vs OMG match too.

 

Koko vs OMG was another good OMG performance. You have to love all of Koko's dodging to begin. "Milking it for all it was worth" is right. I'm with Pete on this one, including the finish.

 

I hope we can get more Valentine from earlier into the 70s as we go. He had such a presence.

 

Anyway, keep 'em coming Bruce. Seeing a new match pop up is easily a highlight of my day.

[shoe]

Fabs vs Guerreros

 

This has been a strong feud in Houston. We open up fast with the Guerreros wanting to push the pace. They get a nice shine early. They control the Fabs with their wrestling and tags. Keeping them off balance with their style. Keirn takes a powder to slow the pace. He suckers Hector only to have the tides turned. Keirn gets him the 2nd time only to get reversed again. I like the teases of the heat. Finally the Fabs use the # game and get the heat. Loved the tease of the hot tag. Only for the Stan Lane eye rake. Chavo's hot tag is en fuego. The crowd is nuts for the false finish. Then even more for the actual finish. Fabs get some of their heat back post match. 3 1/2*

[shoe]

Bock is such a good interview. Might be the best ever talking down to people. He works so well in Houston as he did in Memphis.

[shoe]

Tiger vs Brooks

 

Lets see how good Tiger is. This will be a test for him. They tease a Dog collar match. Brooks using the headlock early. I'm liking all the jockying on the mat. Brooks feeding Tiger was a lot of fun. Their seems to be a lot of start stop momentum. Tiger's arm drags are beautiful and look like it hurt. Brooks throwing knees to the back. Then uses head butts, and forearms to the back. A back breaker gets 2. Brooks transitions into a chinlock. Now Brooks is cranking the neck. Liked Brooks covering Tiger's nose to cause problems to his breathing. Brooks is really roughing him up in the ropes. Tiger's comeback is a lot of fun. It has a lot of energy, and the crowd is with him. Love Brooks posing like he won, even when it's a draw. Overall, I thought this was effective. It wasn't a classic, but Tiger continues to prove what a good hand he is. 2 1/2*

[Phil Schneider]

Main event of that show is

 

Mexican Death Match: El Halcon & Jose Lothario d. Gran Markus & Gino Hernandez

 

Which is really intriguing

[Johnny Sorrow]

We have Midgets. I'm so happy. And Midgets worked into other stories going on.

[Johnny Sorrow]

Midget Ivan the Terrible is a revelation. He's awesome.

And I've never heard "FAGGOTS!" screamed as much in a wrestling match than in the first five minutes of Fabs vs Guerreros. With the cherry on top of some shrill broad screaming "Betcha gonna go fuck him in th' ass!" 😆

[shoe]

Agreed, Ivan the Terrible is a revelation. The dude was incredible. So much charisma, and was a master showman.

 

 

Mixed tag

 

Ivan the Terrible has been a total revelation. I kind of get a Bill Dundee vibe from him. Ivan is biting Tiger right on the ass to start. Ivan tries to set up a Brooks sneak attack that fails. Love the midget interference spots. Tom with the beard pull. Ivan's pin ball stooging between Tom and Tiger was glorious In a great misdirection spot, Brooks runs into Ivan. I love the reversal's of the roles where the midget is the base, but Brooks is too fat. I've never heard a crowd laugh so hard in my life at a wrestling spot. Ivan milked that spot for all its worth. This match ruled. 3 1/2*

[shoe]

Slater vs Duncum

 

Slater early on shows some athleticism escaping from a wristlock. I really like Bobby shielding the ref from his punches. Duncum using his size to control the match. Solid punch exchange with Bobby on top. Back to the headlock for Bobby. It's been all Duncum. This 1st fall has pretty basic stuff with Duncum in control. Slater with a cheap shot to the leg. Slater is working the leg. Slater gets Duncum's boot off and submit's him with a spinning toe hold.

 

2nd fall and Slater is back after the leg. Duncum is selling it for all its worth. Bobby steals the 2nd fall with a lariat.

 

3rd fall In between falls Bobby hits Slater with his boot. Bobby is attacking before the bell. Duncum wants revenge. Duncum leg is slowing him down.

 

Their was stuff to like and stuff not to like.. Dick's leg work was great. Bobby's selling was tremendous. Crowd was kinda ho hum for it all. After the 1st few minutes, Duncum's shine got boring. 2 1/4*

[Matt D]

I'm totally with Pete on this one. I think, for instance, the match would have worked a lot better with Gino instead of Slater, because while Slater's good, especially on offense, he wasn't nearly irritating enough to make that headlock sequence work. He gets there a little bit with the early over the top attempts, but in general, you needed someone as annoying as Buddy Rose or Gino to make it work. I loved the targeted limb stuff and Duncum's selling was top notch. I loved how the boot being off played into both falls. From what we've seen, 81 Duncum has a really great match in him in Houston, but this isn't it.

[shoe]

Tag match

 

Fun shine to start. Manny is such an in your face worker. The babyfaces are working the arm. Robley tags in only for Tiger to own him. Manny rocking Robley's arm. Tiger is after it as well. The heels turn the tide and the heavy hitter is in. Patton is using his size to put Manny down. Tank uses his weight and size to his advantage. Robley is good as the cheap shot artist role. I always love to see the crowd reaction when a ref overturns the tag. Finally, Tiger gets the hot tag and the crowd is hot. Tiger is busted up, and the heels are working the cut. I really liked the shine. I liked the blood. I enjoyed Robley during the heat, but Patton was pretty average while getting the heat. Solid stuff. 2 1/2*

[shoe]

I'm totally with Pete on this one. I think, for instance, the match would have worked a lot better with Gino instead of Slater, because while Slater's good, especially on offense, he wasn't nearly irritating enough to make that headlock sequence work. He gets there a little bit with the early over the top attempts, but in general, you needed someone as annoying as Buddy Rose or Gino to make it work. I loved the targeted limb stuff and Duncum's selling was top notch. I loved how the boot being off played into both falls. From what we've seen, 81 Duncum has a really great match in him in Houston, but this isn't it.

Tully is another guy where it would have worked. Hell Terry Funk would have made it work too.