NWA On Demand

[Johnny Sorrow]

Oh, and that Tully vs. Tiger match IS a main event .

It's a two out of three falls, 25 minute match for the Southwest Title and it's fucking awesome. That's a main event.

The beauty here isn't just waiting for main event matches between just guys like Funk, Wahoo, Race, Bock, and the like. It's also main events like this. This fucking rules. Tiger is great and Tully is amazing.

[Phil Schneider]

So no updates for a couple of weeks, I wonder if this is done.

[shoe]

It seems it's in limbo.Accorfing to Meltzer money hasn't changed hands. Also Billy needs to get possession of the tapes so who knows what his intentions are.

[Matt D]

What we know (or think we know, mainly from Dave):

 

1.) The footage was not part of the initial terms of purchase of the NWA.

2.) With that in mind, they redesigned the site and were once again closing in on Roku.

3.) What's for sale wasn't necessarily the footage but the rights to use it(this isn't clear?). WWE tried to outright buy the footage last year but the price was way too low.

4.) Late in the game, potentially due to Corgan's desire to have something to show people to tell them that THIS IS THE NWA (like Race vs Funk), the right to use the footage became part of the deal.

5.) The money hasn't changed hands yet.

 

Most of us are on either an extended subscription or a reoccurring one, so they really should notify us in one form or another. I think it could honestly go either way. They have to convert the reels anyway. If they're going to do that, this is an okay way to potentially get some money back while it's happening. It's also a way to build up some good will and maybe brand.

 

I think it's too early to really say that the service is done and over with. Corgan's a guy who bought all that Chicago stuff (pictures/programs/etc.) with no ready way to make money off of it because he valued it. He could be someone who appreciates the history of all of this and wants to keep getting it out there. I still can't really overstate how unique and cool the footage is, years and years of full cards of Arena footage with high VQ and commentary from periods where we barely have any outside of MSG/Portland/garbage tapes, etc. It's all the more impressive when you get back into the 70s where we have even less. You learn so much about a region, wrestlers, in wrestling itself from watching week-to-week arena footage in from of the same crowd.

 

We just don't know.

[shoe]

We got an upload

[Matt D]

No one's ever been happier to see a Nikolai Volkoff vs JYD match.

[shoe]

JYD vs Volkoff

 

Man is Volkoff carrying some heat here. They're pelting him with trash. Booing him out of the building as he sings the Russian National Anthem. You see Boesch talking to the ring announcer. Then we get the everyone to their seats. Right off the bat we get this really spirited brawl between the 2. JYD starts to work the arm. His work on it is really fun. He uses hammer locks, works it into the ropes. He's punching the arm, using headbutts on it. Volkoff is putting all this over huge. The crowd of course is all behind JYD. Volkoff with an eye rake and start's getting heat. His work on top isn't that interesting, but the crowd heat totally makes up for it. We get this big bump where the ref goes to the floor, and so does Nikolai. Back in while the ref is distracted, Volkoff posts JYD. He's busted open and barely makes it in. A big stomp to the back of the head, and a press slam that was a bit sloppy gets the pin for Volkoff. The crowd wants Volkoff's blood at that finish. 3 1/4*

 

Also might be Volkoff's best ever performance.

[Matt D]

Lothario stuff was very cool. I have no idea where he was between 81 and 83 but this was him presented as his first time back in the territory. He gave what was obviously a great promo in Spanish. For a guy who Gary Hart said some pretty choice things about, he certainly could portray himself as humble. The match was a really fun six or seven minutes. Gordman comes off as the world's second best Satanico. He was a guy who was a star in CA and he knows how to work like a star. He really made the King of the Mountain work by being super aggressive with it at two points in the match (including to start out). I loved that Lothario kicked out two tricked out armdrags that you never generally see him do. They worked it just a little more lucha with the push off and rope running, but at the end of the day, the story of the match was Lothario, his ability to seem like the center of the universe in the ring, and those punches.

 

I also checked out Roberts vs Duggan and it was interesting for a few reasons. The first was Roberts' card placement. From our card listings, he was in briefly in 78, and after this match won't be in again until 85. I think he was a nationally established heel by this point, but Duggan was a near top card babyface. It was very much a Jake match, where he does a lot of small things very well but you wonder a bit about the big ones. I love the way he moves in this era, just very premeditated on when he'll lock up and how, stalking around the ring. I liked his selling in the moment but not necessarily long-term. Some of the over the top stooging, especially towards the end of the match, was a bit weird, but I guess that could be because of his opponent. Everything's a little over the top with Duggan, who had all of that manic babyface energy you'd want out of him in late 83.

 

Honestly, my biggest takeaway on this is how much I want to see the 12/30/83 show. That's not me being an ingrate either because I'm glad we got this stuff. It's all about how strong a sell job Boesch does. That's the big post christmas show and probably one of the biggest houses of the year and even though they set records in 83, it had to hit big. He spends a lot of the time in these two matches building it up. Reed vs Lothario is a match that I've overlooked in card-gazing over the last year or two but it sounds awesome. Bracero vs Gordman could be a lot of fun. Mr. Wrestling II vs Bockwinkel's always come off as one of those things that we weren't REALLY going to get, you know? But hey, maybe, and Boesch builds it all up so well, including that at 1919 Caroline, they have ample parking (unlike the rest of the city), will treat you with courtesy, and will have great tickets. Fire up the time machine; I'm sold.

[NintendoLogic]

I just received the following email:

 

Hi,

This is to inform you that your subscription with National Wrestling Alliance has ended.

Your recurring payment has stopped because National Wrestling Alliance no longer offers this specific subscription.

Check out their website on National Wrestling Alliance in order to understand how to get access to their premium content.

--
Thanks,
The Cleeng Team

 

I can still watch videos for the time being, so we'll see.

[goc]

They may have cancelled subscriptions because they lowered the price. It's gone down from $8.99 to $5.99. I also don't see an option for yearly anymore.

[Matt D]

Can you still sign up for month-to-month if you aren't already?

[goc]

Yes. You can sign up for $5.99 a month. If you had done a year subscription though I would imagine it's still going to be good until however long that would run & thus you don't need to immediately sign up for a monthly sub. It just means when the yearly runs out you won't get charged however much that was for another year & your sub will expire.

[shoe]

Lothario vs Gordman

 

 

We get pomos to start.`This is Jose's return to the promotion. He has a great suit on and comes across as a star. Gordman cuts a strong worded promo in Spanish. Boesch hard selling 12/30/83 show.

 

Love Lothario's parka. Gordman with a pearl harbor attack . Gordman throwing hands. Lothario returns the favor. A super fun lucha spot. Lothario again throwing hands. Gordman is focusing on the midsection. We see a boot, then a knee, and a slam on the stomach. Some punches into the bread basket. Gordman's heat is built around him roughhousing Jose. The crowd is starting to rally behind Jose. A real fun punch exchange. I loved the uppercut finish. 3*

• Like This

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[shoe]

Jake vs Slater

 

This is the famous match that Ken Hoffman reported the finish of because Jake was leaving the area and headed to the WWF. Watts was so furious that he changed the finish and put Jake over here. I've really enjoyed this feud. This is a NO DQ match. Jake taunts Slater to start and Slater starts just kicking the crap out of him. Slater just taking it too Roberts. Jake's comeback is good with great looking punches. The crowd is 100% behind him. Slater cuts him off and delivers some surgical punches of his own. This bout has a real sense of urgency. The hate comes off the screen. Jake is bleeding and Slater delivers a pile driver. Slater is after the cut. Slater biting the cut and has Jake's blood all over his mouth. The crowd is nuclear cheering on Jake. A quick comeback is cut off immediately. Slater back on the cut. Slater choking him with athletic tape. Jake with his boot making a comeback. This is also a call back to their other matches. Except this time it's legal. Nasty clothesline by Jake, but Slater turns the tide. Ax handle from the top and Jake looks beat, but gets a foot on the rope. Atomic drop by Jake. DDT onto his boot causes the roof to blow off the place. 4*

[Matt D]

Unless I did my math wrong, I don't think we've had this one before. Let me put it this way, I'd be really surprised if we had this previously and it hadn't made the DVDVR set, because it's one of the best sub-ten minute matches I've seen in a while. They compress the shine in this to one line that Jake says over the house mic, which is sort of awesome and unique. From there, Slater cheapshots him and they go straight to heat, and it's brutal and bloody, with Jake blading a gusher. Jake comes back with the object and they loop into an awesome finish. Great stuff.

[Cap]

I finally signed up a couple days ago and got to a few matches yesterday. I put off signing up for a while, mostly because I could tell this was going to demand a lot of my time and I wanted to wait until I could really dive in. Well that day never really came, but I was road tripping for some wrestling recently and catching up on podcasts and I heard Pete and Johnny on Space City talking about this crazy cage match between Terry Gordy and Ted DiBiase as part of an all time segment.

 

For me, seeing some of the new uncovered stuff from Gordy is one of the draws to this. I love watching Gordy wrestle and always wished we had more where he was really put in a position to shine as a performer, at least in the American territories because I think that was the best fit for his skills when he was in his physical prime. Regardless, hearing that match posted and it was getting praise was the straw that broke the camel's back; I signed up.

 

The service itself is incredible. Call me crazy, but I think it is the best buy in wrestling streaming. $6 for all these classic matches, many of which are being unearthed for the first time. I am really happy with my purchase and will likely stay on for quite a while.

 

I only got to two three matches (two segments).

 

Gordy/DiBiase and Gordy/Hayes (10/17/1986): I think Johnny and Pete more or less nailed everything I loved about the Gordy/DiBiase match, especially the angle. I won't repeat everything they said. I will add that I liked that parts of this were a little slower than I expected as they really sold that this was a FIGHT between two bad mother fuckers and they were both feeling it. Gordy's blade job was one of the most obvious I have seen, but it was also brutal. The crowd is face-melting hot eating up everything they gave em. I have nothing but love for this match. It is a ****3/4 to me, but that doesn't do the segment as a whole any justice really.

 

DiBiase isn't done yet. The people paid to see him whip Hayes' ass and he is going to. I loved that he wouldn't let the belt be outside the cage so the match had this weird dynamic where Hayes is trying to get the belt back and DiBiase is beating his ass to keep it inside. It let them do some cool things with the how the match was functionally laid out without making it a stipulation. Also, they beat the holy hell out of each other. This is an all time performance from DiBiase really. You add the interviews before and after and this was just top shelf pro wrestling. I loved every minute.

 

Andre vs Harley Race (1/7/1979): For my second (third) match I decided to check out that Andre/Race match I heard people going on about. This was so much fun. Seeing Andre work that main event style was really interesting, and somewhat strange. I loved seeing them go back and forth and really sell the competitive struggle between the two. I also always love seeing younger Andre; both men were really dynamic here. On the other hand seeing Andre work over a much much smaller man's arm and then get put in a bear hug was strange. Nothing that really took me out of the match, it just created some dissonance for me. This was still a great, fascinating match.

 

I can't wait to dig into more this. I have some recommendations from people I am looking forward to getting to soon.

[shoe]

Glad you like it.

[shoe]

6 man tag

 

6 man action in Houston. They're meshing some of their top feuds in umbrella story fashion. They're calling this a tag team war so the bar is raised with that build. Ref trying to maintain order. Murdoch teasing friendship with Duggan. Crowd is hot. Duggan and Murdoch finally lock up. Duggan strikes. Buzz is in and its on. Pier 6 brawl now. Folks it's out of control. Babyfaces standing tall as they clear the ring. Duggan and Murdoch are back at it. Teddy now getting a piece of Murdoch. Eye rake by Murdoch . Faces turn the tide. Nothing the heels do can stop the momentum. The heels sucker Doc into the corner, but his strength is too much to handle. Eventually they cut off Ted and work his neck. This was hurt in the Murdoch angle, and in the past against the Freebirds. We get a chair shot for a shitty finish. Crowd heat was tremendous. 3 1/2*

[shoe]

Chavo vs Keirn

 

This is the loser gets painted yellow. I love stips like these.Fists flying early. Chavo winning both punch exchanges. Chavo working the leg early. Loved the hamstring kicks into an Indian Death Lock. Keirn makes the ropes. Chavo continuing his shine gives a knee to the back. Keirn with an eye rake to set up his heat. Keirn biting the forehead opening up a cut. Now Keirn is punching the cut. Bootscraping it for good measure. Chavo fighting back. Like the revenge spot of trying to bust open Keirn. A Bret Hart turnbuckle bump into a Chavo German suplex for the win. Fabs attack Chavo postmatch and cover him in yellow. I loved the angle. The match was a tad more technical than it should have been. Still had a good match. 3*

[Matt D]

I liked it a lot when they were brawling, but at the same time, a lot of it felt a little amorphous and it was just painful early on when Chavo was trying oblique submission moves. Post match must have driven Boesch nuts since there was stuff flying all over the arena.

[Matt D]

Part of me wonders just where that new Sheepherders/Fantastics New Zealand Boot Camp match would have landed on the DVDVR 80s set. I could see top 15 (which says as much about the voters as the match).

[Johnny Sorrow]

Fantastics vs. Gilbert and Sting :Part 3 The Heretics is fucking awesome . Holy shit. No nonsense ass kicking Fantastics and Eddie Gilbert at the top of his game with a young, green, Sting who is rising to the ocassion by working with three masters? Yeah, this fuckng rules.

[shoe]

Sheepherders vs Fantastics

 

Sheepherders attack before the bell. It's a brawl from Jump Street and it's a New Zealand Boot Camp Match. This is chaotic, full of danger and wildness.Loved when the Sheepherder went for a chair in the crowd and they wouldn't give it to them. Both Fantastics are bloody as hell. It seems to be Texas Tornado rules, no DQ. Fulton is bleeding . One Sheepherder is using a rope, while the other is using a wooden fork. It's been all Sheepherders. This is a total , A USA chant breaks, but the beatdown shuts the chant down. Fantastics starts a comeback with a policeman's night stick , but they're cut off. Fulton is a bloody mess. This is A Fulton showcase. He's the glue, to these brawls. He has that Memphis pedigree. Boy though the Fantastics gave a great comeback. Tons f revenge spots. They're showing tons of fire after having their asses handed to them. Super stiff brawl, and a great blow off to the feud. 4*

[Matt D]

I came out of the two matches (and everything else we've seen) wondering in the Fantastics aren't the best team of 86, which is saying a ton.

[shoe]

I came out of the two matches (and everything else we've seen) wondering in the Fantastics aren't the best team of 86, which is saying a ton.

 

 

I can buy that argument. I need to do some more thinking about it though.