Superstar Sleeze Posted November 17, 2015 Report Share Posted November 17, 2015 NWA World Tag Team Champions Rock N Roll Express vs The Andersons - Starrcade 1986 Steel Cage Match NOW GET READY TO BOOGIE! It is the consummate babyface tag team against the consummate heel tag team, so you can bet your ass this is pretty damn spectacular. I really enjoyed early on Arn tries to bully Robert Gibson into the cage only to be rammed into it and then in his dazed wandering over to Morton and getting nailed. The early portion of the match feels like a great tag team match that just so happens to take place in a cage. Morton is teeing off on Ole. I love in the 80s how quick the tags were in the early going. Gibson charges after Ole and his knee rams the top turnbuckle. Now we go to school! Andersons working over a limb is like chicken soup for the pro wrestling fan's soul. Gibson kicks off in a toehold sending Arn into the cage and love his presence of mind to tag Ole and stop Gibson from moving. Gibson trying to crawl away from Ole sends up the Rock N Roll chants! The Andersons are so great at ring awareness and ring positioning. These little details are so overlooked in today's pro wrestling. ENZIGUIRI! Morton's hot tag is very short lived as he sent crashing into the cage repeatedly by Ole and of course Morton is wearing the crimson mask in no time. The Andersons are wrestling a perfect tag team constantly keep themselves between Morton and Gibson and maintaining control in their corner so every hope spot can countered with a quick tag. Arn rakes Morton's face in the cage and the shreiks of the girls are amazing in this. They are working the cut and the arm of Morton. They are just dissecting Morton's arm with laser precision. In the Russians match, we did not get to see Morton in all his glory. This is Ricky Morton at his absolute best with a totally captivating performance. Morton catches Arn off the ropes and nails a DDT, but cant capitalize. Ole is quick to come in and attack launching him in the cage. Gibson needs to assert himself! I mean that both in a kayfabe sense and a entertainment sense. Watching the Andersons kick ass is great, but everything has diminishing returns. I think just like in the Russians match, the heat segment goes too long. I think a stronger Gibson presence would have added some dynamism. I really like the spinning wristlock by Ole. Morton on his knees with the crimson mask teeing off on Ole was a great act of defiance. HUGE SPINBUSTER~! ARN IS FUCKING PUMPED! Knee by Ole from top rope onto the arm. This is such a severe ass kicking. Ole cuts off with a brutal knee and Morton just wont stop fighting. Arn saves and finally Gibson runs over Arn. Gibson proves himself useful by dropkicking Morton on top of Ole for the win! Huge pop! Like I mentioned a similar issue with the Russian match that the heat segment seemed interminable. Well it turned out it was because there was no hot tag. I actually like that wrinkle, but I think there were ways to build to a more climatic finish. The Andersons are much more enjoyable to watch on offense so it was better than the Russians match. It just could have used more variety. A great master's class in tag team wrestling by four of the best. ****1/4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilTLL Posted November 17, 2015 Report Share Posted November 17, 2015 I revisited this just the other night too. The unconventional structure was one of my favorite parts. The heat was going to be insane with the RnRs going over in that fashion, so they could afford to draw it out like that. The finish is a bit awkward, as Gibson and Arn very obviously stop what they're doing and Gibson shoves Hebner out of the way to hit the dropkick, but a minor quibble on a great match. ****1/4, maybe 1/2. If you're poking around for it, do note there is an edited ~12:00 version that appears on WWE's "Bloodbath" DVD, I think from the Best of Starrcade 83-87 VHS. The full version is ~20:00 and is on the Starrcade 86 full VHS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-P Posted September 17, 2017 Report Share Posted September 17, 2017 Like I mentioned a similar issue with the Russian match that the heat segment seemed interminable. Well it turned out it was because there was no hot tag. I actually like that wrinkle, but I think there were ways to build to a more climatic finish. Agreed the finish kinda came from nowhere, although it fit the RnR still being the underdog champs, if that makes any sense. Excellent match. And Ole is criminally underrated, he's a terrific worker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul sosnowski Posted August 9, 2018 Report Share Posted August 9, 2018 Don't watch the edited version on the WWE Bloodbath Wrestling's Most Incredible Steel Cage Matches from 2003!!!! The complete version is on the Network, Pay Per Views, WCW, Starrcade 1986 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.