NWA On Demand

[Matt D]

There are a couple of Tully vs Duncum matches, I think.

 

As for the tag, I love Boesch but him not getting that the ref missed the tag took me out of the match for a minute. In general, I was slightly higher on this than Pete. I liked how Tank and Robley worked together and didn't differentiate them quite as much. In general, I think Robley is more unique, at least. There's always something askew about the way he moves and his general presence. Tank's more meat and potatoes. I like some of the little things he does though, like the way he used his body to cut off the ring. I really liked Manny and Tiger together. Finish was made better by blood and steel but it was a bit of a cop it. It felt like Robley booking and protecting himself when the faces should have gone over, even if they did the post match stuff but I have no idea if Buck was actually booking Southwest at this point.

[shoe]

Gino vs Gary Young

 

This goes 26 minutes. Young is a solid hand, but I don't think he has the tools to fill 26 minutes. Gino has his work cut out for him.Gino with some trash talking right away. Though he ends up cowering away. Gino bumps to the floor. Young working the arm. Gino scurries to the rope. Nothing is really happening, but Gino is making it interesting. Ete rake by Gino, but Young recovers . Gino of course cowers in the corner. Cheap shot by Gino to set up a heat segment. Young tries to fight it, but Gino cuts it off with a hair pull. young fighting back. Throws a pretty sad drop kick, and gets back to the arm. Gino is tremendous taking an ass kicking. Gino has a million ways to cheat off a rope break, and here it is. Young is totally firing up. Gino bumping and stooging here. Flying lariat by Gino gets a fall.That was a super fun fall.

 

2nd fall and Gino tosses Gary to the outside. Gino just beating on Gary. Big miss by Gino opens the door for Gary. Flair bump to the floor. Young gets the equalizer in a very energetic fall.

 

3rd fall and Young targets the back.He is giving Gino back drops, knees to the back, forearms to the back, a running knee, camel clutch, and a slam. The fall is getting repetetive, but still makes sense. Gino cheats to turn the tide. Gino tosses Gary to the floor. In a nice revenge spot Gino slams him on the floor. Gino now goes after the back. He has a modified bow and arrow on. Th crowd is trying to rally Gary. Young with a Red Sanford comeback. Only for Gino to pull him back down to the mat. Gino finally puts him down. Gino can do no wrong. He really is an awesome worker. Maybe Gary Young's greatest singles match ever. My slight complaint was it went a little long. 3 3/4*

[shoe]

Lewin vs Tanaka

 

On paper I was not excited for this match, but Matt D pointed out we have Dillon and Hart on the outside so that warmed my heart a bit. I kinda dig JJ in Houston manages the foreigners. I really miss the salt ceremony. I wouldn't buy a car from either manager. So far this is pretty ho hum. JJ tries to make something happen. Lewin on the arm. The 1st fall was rough. Lewin with a couple of dropkicks gets the crowd stirring. . Lewin beating JJ. JJ is bleeding big time. Tanaka steals the fall. The 2nd fall really got the crowd to care. 3rd fall and Lewin is now beating Gary Hart, ripping his suit, and wants Hart to fire him. Hart then fires him.. Gino saves Hart. Then hits Tanaka by accident allowing Lewin to steal the match.

 

The match was pretty bad, hidden by a lot of smoke and mirrors. JJ bleeding like a stuck pig. Lewin hits a drop kick. and that meant a lot. It totally got the crowd . Then Lewin's and Hart's break up was awesome. Gino getting involved, and finally Lewin basking in the glory of fans after the face turn.

[shoe]

I really underscored how incredible the last 2 falls were. JJ Dillon was incredible taking the bumps, and bleeding Being the set up man for the big face turn. Then the implosion between Gary Hart and Mark Lewin was so amazing. The crowd embracing Lewin reminded me of Buddy Rose's face turn. What a great moment.

[Matt D]

Look, this is another one of those weeks that really proved how special this footage is. Maybe another service will get you a higher number of current 4* matches or whatever, but this is footage that no one's seen in 35 years that's everything we love about old wrestling. In the last week we had some stuff that was just okay from a quality standpoint, like Slater vs Duncum, but that was also a match that we never even thought about. It was another look at Slater's development in 81, where he was as a main event heel (not where he would be a year or two later), a Southwest Title match, Duncum playing that Mulligan esque babyface again. We got the tag with Manny and Tiger, another great look at mid-card hero Tiger (and yes, he's been a revelation in the footage), just how much of a breath of fresh air Manny must have been in this period, more of just how good Robley was as a grinding heel and sure, another look at Tank, who I think is slightly better than Pete does (in cutting off the ring especially). We had Tiger and the midgets and yes, Ivan was awesome. We've seen a bunch of midget matches from this era now, from this territory and others and there were a few spots in there I'd never seen before that were just so good. And then there's the Lewin face turn which felt like just one of the classic turns. He's a guy who was on the back end of his career but that had been presented for decades as something important. The way he just basks in the crowd, not overly appealing to him, but using his actions and specific moves (like the dropkick) to get over that now he's a face, by decimating both Dillon (who was more than willing to bleed to get this over) and Hart, and then by just holding his arms out as the fans cheered. He was still Lewin but he was their Lewin now. That's what we got in a week, basically. Almost everything there has been unseen for three and a half decades. Just think about that. And I haven't even watched the best match of the week (per Pete) yet, being Gino vs Young. And hey, hopefully we get something tonight or tomorrow too.

[Matt D]

So, I'm not going to outright say that Jose Lothario punching people is the best thing in wrestling history but... well, it is.

[shoe]

Or him dropping knedrops on people.

[BruceTharpe]

Just for you guys. JOSE LOTHARIO vs. PAK SONG - online now!

[Johnny Sorrow]

The dude heckling Pak Song is the best.

[NickH]

Nice to see some matches uploaded from this card, look at those main events. Hope they have them. Chavo vs Mansfield could be good too.

 

Boesch @ Houston, TX - Sam Houston Coliseum - January 16, 1981
Black Gordman d. Relampago Leon
Ivan Putski d. Tank Patton by DQ
The Dynamic Duo d. Scott Casey & Tiger Conway Jr.
Chavo Guerrero d. Eddy Mansfield
Dory Funk Jr. fought Billy Robinson to a draw
Wahoo McDaniel d. Terry Funk

[Matt D]

The dude heckling Pak Song is the best.

There are times that I worry I am more inclined towards Johnny than Pete on this stuff. For instance, I kept going on to the latter how that heckler carried the first 8 minutes of the match entirely on his own.

 

I liked Gordman vs Leon. It was in slow motion at times but Gordman wasn't afraid to bump and he works as sort of a fake Satanico (which isn't fair to him considering how much of a star in his own right he was in CA), just a rudo's rudo. Leon brings a lot of the tricked out arm drags and the energy. This was an opening match and while I would have loved to hear Boesch commentate on it, when we don't have the commentary, we can really hear the crowd and man were they into it. I'm excited to see more of this card too. Robinson in Houston sounds fascinating. That could be Mansfield's career match, for instance, and Tank's career worst!

[shoe]

I was busy trying to locate where the loud fan was sitting.

[shoe]

Dynamic Duo vs Scott Casey/Tiger Conway Jr.

 

The Duo seem to always deliver. This is an odd camera angle. Tiger unloads on Tully, and the camera angle is back to normal. Both Tully and Gino are bumping and stooging big time. Love Tully selling his attempted headbutt on Tiger.Finally the #'s game catches up to Tiger, and he's FIP. Both members of the Duo are great at working the apron. Hot tag to the Cowboy. Casey standing tall and kicking ass.The dbl team to set up their advantage. They cut him off and work him over. He tags to Tiger, and hits an amazing flying headbutt. 1,2,3

 

Fall 2

 

Conway dominating early. Casey in and they mesh as a tag team. Tiger presses the moment. The faces have all the momentum until Tiger misses Tully in the corner and posts himself. This leads to the Duo stealing the fall.

 

Fall 3

 

Gino working over Tiger's hurt shoulder. Tully in and he punches Tiger right in the shoulder. Gino back in and is stomping the shoulder. The heat is getting hot. Quick tags working over the shoulder. The Duo are maestros working over the shoulder. Hot tag and Casey is bumping the Duo. Again the Duo use the #'s game and cut off the Cowboy. They're focusing on Scott's back. Crowd getting restless. Ref distraction. They toss Casey over the top rope. Ref tries to get Conway out. Gino hits his falling elbow from the top for the win. 4*

 

In ring promo from the Duo. Boesch is disgusted. Tully and Gino are on fire.

[Phil Schneider]

Man they are really cockteasing us with this Jan 81 card Tank Patton v. Putski? Just give us Terry v. Wahoo already

[NickH]

I hope we get Dory v Robinson. Their match in March 82 was really good. Probably the best Dory singles match of the 80s that I've seen.

[Matt D]

Work's been so busy that I can't do proper write ups of anything right now. The tag match was great though. I will say something about it at some point.

 

The Putski match wasn't that bad. Lots of headlocks and shtick but it was over and Patton was extremely game for it. The control wasn't bad because he had the crutch of the cast. I got a kick out of the pre-match antics. We're getting most (if not all) of this card. There's a place for something like this on a card like this. There just is. And as Putski matches go, they worked it smart and they had the crowd. It's about all you could hope for in something like this, really.

 

Chavo vs Mansfield just went up and I've got high hopes for that.

[conker8]

Dory Funk vs Billy Robinson

 

This is Robinson's first match in Houston. We know from the start they will go to the time limit draw but the match has a good pace. This match highlighted Robinson's skills and tricks and Dory can follow him. I love the slaps from Robinson to get Dory fired up.

Good match.

[NickH]

Dory v Robinson

 

This felt like the first 20 of a Dory broadway. Just feeling out and being defensive but no one told Dory 20 minutes was the limit. I was waiting for Dory to wake up then finally about 15 minutes in they get going. It was frustrating to watch, I'm glad Billy slapped him to spark some fire but it wasn't happening. Last 5 minutes was good but the rest lacked intensity. Might be better on a second watch. ***

 

Now we wait for Wahoo/Terry.

[shoe]

I loved Billy cranking Dory with a leverage move.Billy with one of his carnie escapes. At the end he snaps Dory's leg. Billy slaps the taste out of Dory and the crowd reacts. Billy working the arm, but takes an elbow and bumps to the outside. Billy is pissed, and Dory takes a powder. A Robinson back breaker gets 2. European forearms rocks Dory. Another back breaker gets 2. Billy focusing on the back, and hooks on a surfboard. Now Billy transitions to put his knee in Dory's back. Loved Robinson trap pin attempt on Dory. Dory hits a forearm shiver. Now Dory is hitting Robinson with stiff looking European forearms. Robinson is reeling. We jump to the final 5 minutes. Dory with more nasty European Forearms. Robinson with a jumping punch. Big neck breaker gets 2. Billy eats another forearm, but counters into an adominal stretch. Robinson back breaker causes Billy's knee to give out. We end up in a draw. Their was a lot to like.At times I could see people saying it was boring. I thought Robinson looked good. Dory at times. The last 5 minutes really helped the match. 3*

[shoe]

I have high hopes for this. Chavo is a stud, and Mansfield has been a lot of fun. Chavo has the NJPW jr. belt. Mansfield is chewing up the scenery early on. Big punch and miss by Mansfield. Chavo on the leg. Still working the leg with a fun knee lock. Mansfield flips Chavo, but he lands on his feet. He then goes back to the leg. Chavo's shine has been pretty solid. Chavo with the flying ankle pick , and back to working the leg. Chavo with leg kicks. Then he snaps the leg, and does a toe hold. I like Mansfield selling and trying to protect the leg. Mansfild suckers him in. A back breaker by Mansfield. Eddie tosses Chavo to the floor. Mansfield working him over. Chavo goes into the post. Mansfield works the arm. It gets sloppy down the stretch. Disapointing match;

[Johnny Sorrow]

The Lewin face turn match is one of the BEST things I've ever seen in pro wrestling. It's fucking perfect.

[shoe]

Putski vs Patton

 

Ivan dancing to the Polka was great. I love Tank's get up. Keep an eye for Patton's cast. He swings and misses . headlock spots work. Like Patton using the cast for some small jabs. I loved how Putski uses the cast to his advantage. Big back breaker by Patton, and again. Again the cast is in play working over the back. This is basic but Putski's charm carries it

[NickH]

What happens now? This can't be the end.

Just cancelled my yearly subscription which luckily ends this month but I want an answer on the future before paying any more.

[goc]

The NWA sale doesn't affect the site at all. Bruce already said that on his Facebook page.

[NickH]

The NWA sale doesn't affect the site at all. Bruce already said that on his Facebook page.

 

I just read that. That is great news. New pricing feature as well as a Roku app!