Wrasslin' Back in the Day

[BruiserBrody]

http://culturecrossfire.com/wrestling/from-the-wwe-network-smackem-whackem/

SMACK'EM WHACK'EM 

- Lord Al hosts with the Bushwackers. This ends in his Lordship's untimely death. Uh, Spoiler alert. 
- The Hitman and HBK have an excellent ladder match
- Bret Hart facing Ric Flair proves to be a letdown as two of the best ever cannot gel in the ring. 
- KAMALA works a much different, but somehow better match with Hart.  Yeah, probably not a popular opinion.
- We spend 10 minutes watching Yokozuna eat.  That is not a metaphor. 
- Crush and the Berzerker fulfil our daily requirement of HOSS. 
- Earthquake and the Repo Man have a pointless, terrible little match. 
- The Undertaker does his best zombie monster act as he battle Razor Ramon in a rare encounter between the two stars. 

[BruiserBrody]

http://culturecrossfire.com/wrestling/wrasslin-back-in-the-day-wwf-boston-garden-9-7-1985/

WWF at the Boston Garden 9/7/85 
 
- Lanny Poffo offers new tricks on wrestling physics 
- Cpl. Kirschner defends America against the evil forces of the Swamp People. 
- King Kong Bundy cosplays as Dracula. 
- Gorilla Monsoon finally finds a wrestler who can apply a proper abdominal stretch! 
- Monsoon always offers up why women are inferior athletes
- Haku makes an uninspired debut 
- A rather terrible card if your looking for competitive bouts as Hogan defending against Bundy is far and away the most notable encounter 
- Greg Valentine has to try and do the wrestling for 5 other guys in the co-main event as he is saddled with old guys and Beefcake. 

[BruiserBrody]

http://culturecrossfire.com/wrestling/wrasslin-back-in-the-day-wwf-maple-leaf-gardens-9-23-85/

The WWF at Maple Leaf Garden Sept. 1985
- A multi time champion from the Florida territory wallows in the prelims upon his debut
- Dino Bravo cosplays as 1991 Jacques Rougeau
- King Kong Bundy tangles with someone less mobile than he is.
- The Killer Bee's had theme music?!?!?!
- Ricky Steamboat shows great fire as he tears into Don Muraco in a Lumberjack match.
- Haku continues to be a poor babyface.
- Uncle Elmer proves to be the worst worker on the show.
- Lanny Poffo showcases his abilities as he grapples with "Cowboy" Bob Orton
- Jesse Ventura proves to be popular with the fans, even though he is challenging IC champ "Chico" Santana.
 

[BruiserBrody]

http://culturecrossfire.com/wrestling/wrasslin-back-in-the-day-cwfs-battle-of-the-belts/

CWF's Battle of the Belts 1!!
- Wahoo McDaniel defies his age as he battles NWA champ Ric Flair in a 3 Fall fight for the gold.  
- The Road Warriors have a FIGHT on their hands as they match up with Stan Hansen and Harley Race! 
- AWA Champ Rick Martel fails to appear, leading to a poor replacement taking his spot against Nick Bockwinkel 
- Cocoa Samoa's crazy life outside of wrestling proves to be more entertaining than his match. 
- Rookie sensation Kendall Windham struggles with a jabroni.
- Percy Pringle does his best to entertain us in lieu of the action in the ring. 
- A raw Rick Rude shows his potential as he grapples with Billy Jack Haynes. 

[BruiserBrody]

http://culturecrossfire.com/wrestling/the-best-of-memphis-wrestling-volume-4/

The Best of Memphis Wrasslin Vol. 4

- Monster heels sing the music of their homeland.
- Bill Dundee's ego shows through as he beats up multiple babyfaces by himself.
- Jerry Lawler wins a squash in a most amusing manner.
- Memphis becomes a hot territory as The Flame, The Torch, The Inferno and Fire all make appearances.
- Tojo Yamamoto sets back race relations 50 years with his promos.
- Promoter Eddie Marlin is busted up while trying to get involved in a battle between Jeff Jarrett, Pat Tanaka and Tojo's hired goons.
- We close with a bonus six man match from JCP where the JYD partners with an ex-football player, and a notoriously awful worker to face off with a former world champ, a crippled manager and a resthold loving Oriental assassin! Can it be as bad as it sounds?

[BruiserBrody]

http://culturecrossfire.com/wrestling/the-best-of-memphis-wrestling-volume-5/

The Best of Memphis Wrasslin Vol. 5!
- Big Stan Frazier returns to the area, drawing crowds and having dreadful matches.  
- Cheesy gimmicks run amuck as we get Beach bums facing some sort of cyberpunk, glam rock heels 
- JOE MOTHERF#*#**# LEDUC kills jobbers.  I love this man!!!!
- Tommy Rich is battered into a bloody mess.  How many times did Memphis fans see that? It's still awesome. 
- The action is so wild, even the backstage office goons wind up busted open. 
- Jerry Lawler promises to commit a straight up homicide. 
- The mysterious identity of Mr. Liberty
- Bam Bam Bigelow puts the MONSTER in monster heel. 
- This was an outstandingly fun hour of southern wrasslin' goodness! 

[BruiserBrody]

http://culturecrossfire.com/wrestling/from-the-wwe-network-invasion-of-the-body-slammers/

INVASION of the BODY SLAMMERS!!!

- Kamala is given bowling lessons in your painful show long "humorous" bits. 
- A former heavy hitting headliner is squashed by the new monster heel in town
- JR does his best to make mediocre matches important in the big picture
- Macho Man and Undertaker's unlikely bromance is revealed. 
- Typhoon has a surprisingly watchable fight with Bam Bam Bigelow. 
- Repo Man breaks several laws on camera as his side job is given a (long) profile. 
- Bret Hart and HBK have another stellar match as both men claw their way up the rankings. 
- Heel Doink messes with poor Kamala's simple mind. 
- The Undertaker matches magic powers against voodoo powers as he collides with Papa Shango. 
- A battle royal ends with a GIANT surprise.
- Mr. Perfect squares off with Ric Flair as a time traveling JR calls the action, 
- Macho Man and Bobby Heenan drop insider lingo and possible shoot comments as they argue over Savage and Flair's feud. 

[BruiserBrody]

http://culturecrossfire.com/wrestling/from-the-wwe-network-uk-rampage-93/

UK Rampage 1993! 

The WWF puts on a strangely booked TV special for their UK fans. 
- The longest match features Samu the Headshrinker....in a singles bout. 
- Doink the EVIL clown outwits Kamala.
- A former World champ has possibly the worst match on the show. 
- Typhoon takes nearly 10 mins to end the threat of the Brooklyn Brawler.
- Shawn Michaels is tasked with carrying Crush to something watchable. 
- Noted promo savant Mr. Fuji is given a live mic and too much time. 
- The UK fans rally behind American Hero "Hacksaw" Duggan as he fights Lex Luger in the headliner. 
- I run down all the major talent left off this stinker of a show and why they possibly missed this tour. 
- Bobby Heenan and JR almost save the show with great commentary and humor throughout. 

[BruiserBrody]

http://culturecrossfire.com/wrestling/the-best-of-memphis-wrestling-86-volume-6/

- My favorite monster, Joe LeDuc is now a babyface.
- A classic chaotic studio brawl as the King and Dirty Dutch deal with JD Costello's henchmen. 
- Austin Idol and Stan Frazier join Lawler in a six man Mid-South Coliseum clash
- Rookie Jeff Jarrett admits he sucks. 
- Casual Racism. Because wrestling. 
- Jobbers get angles for reasons that are lost on me. 
- The joys of live TV are revealed as a 10 man match with jabronis goes on and on as extra falls are added to soak up TV time. 

[BruiserBrody]

http://culturecrossfire.com/wrestling/wrasslin-back-in-the-day-september-1985-part-one/

September of 1985 sees...
- A legendary baseball announcer is rumored to join the WWF's new venture into PPV
- Hillbilly weddings are all the rage!
- Roddy Piper hosts a CBS primetime special full of stars from music, wrestling, sports and TV. 
- Hulk Hogan is injured. What top heels nearly were earmarked for "replacing" the Hulkster on top?
- A talent swap amongst managers leads to a dramatic gimmick change for a former championship contender. 
- A Hall of Famer makes his final in ring appearance at nearly 70 years of age...in a cage match no less!
- Gagne and Crockett bring a cavalcade of stars to battle Vince in several cities.
- The WWF squanders their new hot Montreal talent almost right away. 
- A former AWA World champ made a surprise one off appearance at MSG. 
- Roddy Piper and Bruno kick off their hot feud. 
- Despite featuring the AWA and NWA world champions, among other mega stars, the NWA branch of St. Louis wrestling is dealt a final death blow by Vince McMahon's maneuvering. 

[BruiserBrody]

http://culturecrossfire.com/wrestling/the-best-of-memphis-wrestling-86-volume-7/

- Bam Bam Bigelow eliminates the all doubt as to his rule breaker status. 
- Jerry Lawler shows how to get rookie monsters over. 
- Blatant racist promos air for the cheapest of cheap heat. 
- A new roided up beast hurts jobbers with his sloppy offense, 
- Broken down, old man Stan Frazier works against a masked rookie Sid Vicious(!) 
- Jerry Jarrett must have gotten a discount deal on masks because there are masked jabronis everywhere!
- Memphis tries to keep up with the wrestling trends and hires every green guy who could stick a steroid needle in his hind end. 

[BruiserBrody]

http://culturecrossfire.com/wrestling/wrestling-back-in-the-day-september-1985-part-2/

September 1985 continues on with....
- The Road Warriors no show an ESPN TV taping as their AWA run careens towards a bitter end. 
- A long running feud ends with a peep, not a bang. 
- SuperClash 85 proves to be the promotional high point for Pro Wrestling USA. 
- PWUSA nearly falls apart as Gagne and Crockett argue over money and talent. 
- A top heel faction loses a match to a midget. 
-  The WWF books a mega match, and brings in Mr. T to try and sink their competition in a head to head matchup. 
- Jerry Lawler and Ric Flair headline a huge show.  The backstage drama involved in booking this main event caused enough heat that no rematch was ever signed. 
- The WWF invades Jerry Jarrett's territory, with Roddy Piper on top. Would the southern wrasslin' fans embrace or rebuke the Yankee promotion? 
- Bill Watts loses the booker who sparked one of the hottest periods of business for Mid-South.  

[BruiserBrody]

http://culturecrossfire.com/wrestling/the-best-of-memphis-wrestling-86-volume-8/

Volume 8! 
- Rookie Bam Bam Bigelow continues his rampage.
- Hillbillies run amuck
- Memphis pushes racial good taste with a new manager and his posse
- Martial Artists use their boards for more than choppin' through. 
- A jobber steals his gimmick from an AWA star from the past. 
- Jerry Lawler meets some super heroes. 
- The day a bomb threat interrupted live studio wrasslin' 
- Fred Ottman debuts and butchers an interview. It's no "Shock" he isn't a "master" at promos. 
- The editors at Amazon Prime create an all time bad segment thanks to their copyright concerns. 

[BruiserBrody]

http://culturecrossfire.com/wrestling/cactus-jack-vs-terry-funk-the-barbed-wire-collection/

Amazon Prime has put up several of the Death matches Cactus Jack and Terry Funk took part in against one another in Japan.  Through their grit and bloodshed, their respect for one another grows stronger and yet the student must beat the teacher or his star will never reach its true potential. 

[BruiserBrody]

http://culturecrossfire.com/wrestling/from-the-wwe-network-bashed-in-the-usa/

 Bashed in the USA!

- A match I have been waiting 26 years to see shows up on this tape!
- Future nWo members collide in the least physically taxing match you'll see this week. 
- A six-man tag with loads of talented workers fails to impress. 
- Lord Al butchers the English language...I think....?
- We see if Mr. Perfect can make stamp collecting into riveting TV. 
- Shawn Michaels is profiled.  He struggles mightily in matches with Kamala and Skinner of all people, but finds his groove against the potent puncher Virgil. 
- 40 men collide in a battle royal.  The star power of the roster in the WWF in 1992 is on full display. 
- A lot of old grudges are hinted at in the skirmish.  
- Bret Hart tangles with Rick Martel in a fine little match before storyline building has to spoil things. 
- The untold story of my "run in" with Tugboat on the Internet is revealed.  Find out how I angered one of my childhood heroes with one of my articles. 
- 3 guys who had already left the WWF are featured in one tag team match. 
- The Undertaker collides with Yokozuna in a match where the entrances took longer than the battle. 
- Sigh.