Memphis Wrestling

[ErictheDragon]

Taylor & Kelly are actually a pretty nice fit when I think about it.

Wild Bill is in for a wild night against Link.

I know we're heading to Texas but that doesn't change the fact that Memphis is probably the only territory that could pull off a match where the loser gets painted yellow.

A Texas Death match against Abby? Who the hell did Rick piss off?

No DQ is exactly the kind of environment that the DC could thrive in.

Lots of talent in that TC title 4 way and a great showing of the international talent the USWA has to offer.

Between Sullivan challenging Scott and Vader & Cactus going after the Road Warrriors the 26th could be a huge night for Soul-less.

Never heard of a tag variant of the Texas Death stip but I'm sure Rich, Gilbert and the Lawlers can work magic.

Having watched WCW growing up I have plenty of memories of Savage & Luger going at it. So I know Dallas is in for a treat.

[spaldoni]

Damn, that card is stacked! Literally something for everybody 

 

[LastStopTour]

1991 - Painting a yellow stripe down someone's back, especially on a regional circuit would still hold up well.

Gotta agree, Rick Steiner pissed someone off to get Abby in a Texas Death Match. Would not want to be him, that is for sure.

Wallstreet, Muta, Austin or Mascaras - Mil is 49 and probably isn't winning. I have to go with Muta. Wallstreet under the Varsity Club gimmick would be a strong consideration with his amateur background. Austin is left out.

Steiner/Sullivan should be a good one.

Roadies/Jack & Vader is a toss up though you have to know it will be very stuff and hard hitting.

Lawlers/First Family should also be a very good one though I have to say, I do not like the idea of having 2 Texas Death Matches on the same card.

Savage/Luger will really have to dig down deep to top some of the matches before them. Not an envious spot to have to be in if you really think about it.

Wrapping it all up, this is a pretty interesting and exciting card. Some matches that have both violence and athleticism that really shows a depth of roster here.

[kevinmcfl]

REUNION ARENA (Venue Change)

 

Feb 26, 1991

(Thought I post this early as some are waiting on some talent to head their way)

 

Dark Match

The Ebony Express over Bad Boy Billy Black and Pretty Boy Ken Timbs as the Moondogs were a “No Show” when Stevie Ray hit a spinebuster on Timbs.  The Ebony Express continue to impress with their athleticism and charisma.  In this match it was Booker T playing the Face in Peril until he ducked under a double clothesline and came flying off the ropes with a huge shoulder block causing both Black and Timbs to go flying across the ring resulting in a huge pop by the crowd!

 

 

Moadid (Ahmed Johnson) defeated Mike Graham with a huge back-flip splash off the top rope for the pin.  Moadib is one scary beast. When you combine his size and power along with his gimmick of carrying that medieval ax to the ring, he has parents covering the eyes of the young ones in the crowd.  Mike Graham has been a big name in this business but tonight, he was completely dominated as he was tossed from pillar to post.   

 

The Cam-Am Express (Furnas & Kroffat) defeated Terry Taylor & “Mr. Magnificent” Kevin Kelly is a match that some saw as an upset as Kroffat hit Terry Taylor with the Cobra Clutch Suplex for the win.  The Cam-Am Express where definitely the better team while Taylor might have been the best wrestler in the match.  Kevin Kelly has size but that is about all as he tends to be a bit of a mess in the ring which caused Taylor to do most of the work.  The outcome will become clearer in the weeks to come as Taylor was on his way out of the territory so he was the one to do the job.  Also, the USWA is losing a few of their babyface teams so the Cam-Am Express, the Ebony Express and a few others are battling to move up the card!

 

USWA Texas Title Match

“Wild” Bill Irwin © vs The Missing Link ended in a DQ win for the challenger as Bill Irwin got tired of being on the receiving end of Link’s headbutts so he tossed Missing Link over the top rope leading to the DQ for Irwin.  Give Missing Link some credit.  He still looks good at his age and he might get more out of one move (the headbutt) than any other wrestler in the business.

 

Loser Gets Painted Yellow Match

Jeff Jarrett vs Honky Tonk Man with Jimmy Hart

Jarrett, using speed and skill controls the opening segment until we get the trip by Jimmy Hart allowing HTM to take over.  HTM almost had the win with the Shake Rattle and Roll but JJ countered with a backdrop.  This brought Jimmy Hart to the apron and JJ went after him.  We get some comedy here as JJ chases Hart all around the ring until HTM submarined JJ with a elbow.  JJ goes flying and HTM is back on top.  Jimmy Hart decides its time for the finish and grabs the can of yellow paint.  He yells to HTM to hold JJ.  HTM lifts JJ up by the hair and hooks him from behind!  Jimmy Hart is dancing around with the paint as he is finally going to get one over on JJ.

He tosses the entire can of paint at JJ but JJ escapes and HTM is a yellow mess.  JJ from behind with the roll up and the three count.

Suddenly Jerry Jarrett comes to ring side with USWA officials.  He grabs the mic and lets everyone know that since Jeff has won the match and that HTM is already painted yellow, the only fair thing to do to make sure the stipulation for the match is carried out is that Jimmy Hart will be the one to be painted yellow. 

Jimmy Hart is screaming “NO” and tries to run to the locker room only to be carried back to the ring by the officials.

JJ rips Harts jacket and shirt off while the officials make sure he doesn’t escape from the ring.

JJ, to the delight of crowd, paints a huge yellow streak down Jimmy Hart’s back!

 

Texas Bull Rope Match  (Sorry, I accidently wrote this as a Texas Death Match on the card)

Rick Steiner vs Abdullah the Butcher

This match was set up by Kevin Sullivan as he has been after the Steiner’s since his arrival in the USWA.  Going back to Memphis Mayhem, we have already seen Sullivan attack Rick with the Golden Spike and has used the numbers game whenever he could to put the Steiners down.  Sullivan dared Rick to get tied together with the 400-pound Abdullah and he would be surprised if he survived.

Sullivan might have been right!  Giving Abbie more weapon in the rope and the cowbell  along with his fork, had Rick bloody from the opening minutes but he somehow survived after he clocked Abbie out with the cowbell over and over again and the Madman from the Sudan crashed to the mat and Steiner got the pin.  This match was pure violence but was not a great idea.  Abbie’s size made it very hard for Steiner to use many of his power moves resulting in both men just beating on each other but there was not enough build to get the heat needed for the bout. 

Most would agree that this was the most disappointing match of the night but not because of Steiner… just bad booking. 

 

USWA Southern Tag Team Title Match (No Disqualification)

The Rock n Roll Express vs The Destruction Crew

This is your normal RnR Express match with Ricky and Robert off to a quick start only for the heels do some dirty tactics and take over with a beat down of Ricky Morton.  It looker really bad for Morton as the Destruction Crew had him set up for their version of the Doomsday Device only to have Ricky roll forward and catch Bloom in a sunset flip for a near fall. 

This led to the hot tag a 4-man melee with the Rock n Roll Express beating the Destruction Crew all over the ring.  A double drop kick led to a near pinfall but this time it was Enos barely kicking out.

The RnR Express now are set up to whip Enos and Bloom into each other…

WHAM… Reversal by the Destruction Crew and it is Ricky and Robert now in trouble. 

Enos to the outside and he grabs a chair.  He puts the chair in the center of the ring and hoists up Ricky.

Bloom to the top rope for another Doomsday Device... this time it will end with Ricky landing on a steel chair. 

WHAM… from behind Robert takes out the leg of Enos.  Unfortunately, as Enos drops Ricky, it is right onto the chair. 

Wham… off the top rope, its Bloom with a frog splash onto Morton who is still on the steel chair.

1…2…3!  The Destruction Crew get the win and are the new USWA Southern Tag Team Champions!

(As we will learn later, it was the Rock n Roll Express who were set to leave the territory doing the job on the way out)

 

4 Man Tornado Match for the USWA World Television Title

Michael Wallstreet © with Miss. York vs Great Muta with Gary Hart vs “Stunning” Steve Austin with Medusa vs “The Man with a Thousand Masks” Mil Mascaras

A lot of talent in the ring and everybody gets some time to shine so lets just get to the finish…

With Stunning Steve and Michael Wallstreet brawling on the outside of the ring, we see Muta with a bodyslam on Mascaras.  Mascars kicks out before the count of 1.

Muta with a flying dropkick that Mascaras refuses to sell as he only staggers back a few steps into the ropes before he has completely recovered in less than two seconds.

Muta whips Mascaras into the ropes and goes for another dropkick…  Mascaras hooks the ropes and Muta crashes hard to the mat. 

Mascaras quickly scampers up to the top rope as Muta staggers slowly to his feet.  Mascaras with the Death Leap off the top rope!

WHAM… Mascaras nails Muta but as they topple to the mat, Muta rolls over and is now in the pinning position.  With the fastest count ever… Muta wins the USWA World TV Title.

Even with the cheating by the ref, it was hard to tell if Mil Mascaras kicked out or not but the ref is having nothing to do with it!

With Mascaras going after the ref, Muta takes this chance to get some extra heat and sprays Mil in the mask with the green mist! 

Muta and Hart are celebrating while Austin and Wallstreet seem to have forgotten about the title and continue their brawl on the outside.

(Truth be told … Jerry Jarrett found Mil Mascaras very difficult to work with.  His refusal to sell for anyone was a bit unrealistic at his age so Jarrett told the ref to make sure, somehow, Mil took the pin.  Mascaras is another one moving on from the USWA after Texas Tough.  Jarrett hopes that his departure doesn’t hurt ticket sales but enough was enough)

 

USWA Southern Title Match

Scott Steiner © vs Kevin Sullivan

This is experience vs youth.  This is good vs evil.  This is power vs tenacity.  The question is whether Kevin Sullivan wants to win a title or just wants to hurt someone.  For some reason, Sullivan and his gang of misfits have been after the Steiners ever since they arrived in the USWA about a month ago.

The bout starts with Sullivan backing Steiner into the corner and nailing him with two chops that echoed through the arena.  Steiner simply lifts Sullivan up and reverses positions and now gives him two huge chops.  Sullivan with a sadistic grin on his face seems to like it as Lance Russell wonders if Scott has just earned respect of the leader of Soul-les!

Huge hip toss but Steiner followed by a very athletic drop kick sends Sullivan bumping all the way to the floor.  Steiner follows him out to the floor and to the delight of the crowd, rams Sullivan into the ring post.  Steiner is willing to fight fire with fire here.  Forget the rules tonight! 

The match slows down just a bit once everyone is back in the ring.  Steiner using some arm twists and elbows to the shoulder to try and keep Sullivan on the defense but Sullivan is pretty good on the technical side himself and reverses these arm twists and eventually whips Scott into the ropes and takes him down with a great ankle lock. 

Reverse by Scott into a hammer lock.

Reverse by Sullivan into a headlock.

Reverse by Scott back to the hammer lock.

Reverse by Sullivan to a chin lock.

Lance is shocked at the wrestling of Sullivan as he usually just is more like a bull in a china closet.

Next, we get an Irish whip by Sullivan by Scott crashes right into the ref.

Wham… Sullivan tosses Scott right over the top rope where he lands hard onto the floor but the ref was down and never saw it.

Forget the wrestling now, Sullivan is now his normal crazy self.  Kick to the head of Steiner.  Sullivan with a leaping punch to Steiner who is down on the arena floor.  Sullivan drops Steiner right across the ring stairs and the next time we see Scott, we see him a bloody mess.  This is the second time tonight that a Steiner has been busted open by a member of Soul-les!

Sullivan drags Steiner back into the ring where it is punches and kicks with the occasional wrestling moves like a snap mare or bodyslam.  The ref is back up but doesn’t have too much to do as Sullivan hasn’t even tried a pin attempt yet.

Sullivan, without any thought goes to the top rope but Scott is up first and grabs him and flips him off the rope to the center of the ring.  Steiner next scoops up Sullivan for the powerslam!

Steiner rushes into the corner but Sullivan slips out.  Steiner hits the ring post hard.  Sullivan is motioning to the back.  Here comes Abdullah!

They attack is on but here comes Rick Steiner!

This is a brawl to remember with the Steiners, to the delight of the fans, controlling the ring with Sullivan and Abdullah heading to the locker room to fight another day.

One thing for certain.  Sullivan has some beef with the Steiners and he would rather take them out then win a title!

 

USWA World Tag Team

Road Warriors © vs Soul-less (Cactus Jack & Big Van Vader)- Kevin Sullivan has been barred from ringside due to his actions tonight!

No intimidation here by anyone.  Not sure any of these men have ever been intimidated by anything in their life. 

To be honest, this match was somewhat difficult to write as it was just pure chaos with many momentum changes due to some huge power moves.  Cactus Jack was the one who seemed to be on the short-end of the stick a lot of time but he seemed to enjoy it. 

As for the finish, we see Cactus Jack and Hawk both tumble out to the floor in a twisted mess as neither man would let go.  This distracted the ref for just a second as Kevin Sullivan rushed to the ring and tossed in some object to Vader. 

WHAM… Vader nails Animal with the illegal object

WHAM…  Vader with the powerbomb on Animal.

1…2…3!

Vader and Cactus Jack are the new USWA World Tag Team Champions!

(Once again, we will find out soon the Road Warriors are on their way out of the USWA and while they did not want to drop the title to Vader, they respected Kevin Sullivan and his wrestling-mind enough to do the job)

 

 

Texas Death Match

“The King” Jerry Lawler & Brian Lawler vs Eddie Gilbert & Tommy Rich with Jimmy Hart and Missy Hyatt!

The comedy side of a Death Match was watching Jimmy Hart who still had yellow paint all over him trying to act tough as he got right in the face of Brian and Jerry Lawler before the bout and was laughing and pointing at them and then giving them the universal sign for sleeping as he put his hands together on the side of his head and then pointed to the Lawlers and the middle of the ring.  All of this was happening as Missy Hyatt was acting real concerned of what was about to happen to Hot Stuff!   

As for the match, The First Family took advantage of Brian’s inexperience in the beginning and used every dirty tactic they knew to give him a pretty good beating.  Brian did a good job of always getting up before the 10-count.  Watching his son take a good beating only served to riley up the King and when he got his shot, he was like a Wildman that couldn’t be slowed.  Jimmy Hart tried to help out his men only to have it backfire as Jerry Lawler decided it was time for a barbeque and threw a fireball at Hart.  This caused him to be singed on the face and head back up the run way seeking water.  Next, the Lawlers were able to connect with dueling fist drops and piledrivers.  These two big moves kept Hot Stuff and Wildfire not to be able to answer the 10-count! 

 

 

USWA World Title Match

Randy “Macho Man” Savage © w/ Miss. Elizabeth vs “The Total Package” Lex Luger w/ JJ Dillon

Lex Luger and JJ Dillon showed up in the USWA about a month ago and have been moving towards the world title since day 1. Dillon has been tauting Lex Luger as the total package and he has been just that since his arrival in the promotion.  After winning Memphis Mayhem and earning a title shot, Luger and Savage have had a few verbal sparring matched that turned hot one day as Macho Man played up to the crowd and Luger attacked from behind eventually locking in the Torture Rack and then dumping a destroyed Randy Savage in the middle of the ring as the crowd looked on in shock!

As for tonight, a smirking, strutting JJ Dillon dressed in a sharp blue suit leads a cocky “Total Package” to the ring.  Lex is all in black from his robe to his tights and he enters the ring with a few “most muscular” posses which does impress the crowd.

Macho Man, in a multi-colored glittering jacket, hat and tights is led to the ring by the  elegant Miss. Elizabeth.  Elizabeth holds down the middle rope as Macho Man enters, stretches out his arms from the side and twirls around in a circular motion.  Savage means business!

Luger actually exited the ring as Macho Man moved in his direction.  Lex’s confidence doesn’t seem as high as it did a minute or so ago. As the match starts, Luger tosses the ring bell into the ring but Macho catches it.  Macho Man is going after Luger with the bell but the ref, to prevent chaos, wraps his arms around Savage as forces him back.  This is when Luger attacks!

A few huge kicks by Lex and then he tosses Savage to the floor.  JJ Dillon is imploring him to attack and he does.  Over and over again, Lex runs Savage into the steel barrio separating the fans from the action.  Luger back in the ring but he nails Savage with a running knee to the head as Savage tries to get back in the ring.  Savage flies back to the floor. 

Again Lex runs at Savage as the champ tries to get back in the ring but Macho Man grabs the leg of the Total Package and trips him up.  Savage drags Lex back onto the arena floor where it is his turn to use the steel barricade as a weapon.  Lex is in trouble but unlike what Lex wanted, Savage wants Luger back into the ring so he tosses him in by his head. 

Savage scampers to the top rope while Luger struggles to his feet.

WHAM… Double Ax Handle to the head.

Two count brings JJ to the apron but he is relieved when Lex muscles out before the 3.  JJ Dillon, sweating and shaking his head is screaming at Savage and the ref trying to by time for his man. 

Savage tried to use the rope to choke out Luger but Luger manages to reverse the move and is now chopping away on the champ.  Irish Whip by Lex but he rushed in too fast and Macho Man catches his with a big elbow.  How quickly the momentum changes are occurring in this match. 

Another two count has Lex begging for mercy but Savage is all over him.  Savage drags Lex to the corner and draps his throat across the edge of the ring and comes down with a big elbow to the throat of Luger.  Luger is gasping for air.

A few more two counts but no fall as Savage is getting frustrated.  He moves in too quickly and Luger with another forearm changes momentum once again but it is short lived as Savage moved out of the way when it looked like Luger was coming from behind to hoist Savage up in the Torture Rack.  When you see the replay, you see Miss. Elizabeth screaming to Savage to “Watch out.”  This warning allowed Savage to connect with a knee to the gut and once again, the champ scampers up to the top rope.

Savage about to leap through the air with the elbow drop!

WHAM…. JJ Dillon, right in front of the referee shoves Savage to the arena floor.

The ref calls for the bell and Luger is DQ’ed. 

Luger goes out to the floor and throws Savage back into the ring…

Luger locks in the Torture Rack…

The ref is calling over and over again for the bell but Luger is just cracking in the Torture Rack.  Miss. Elizabeth is pleading to no avail.  Finally, officials and wrestlers rush the ring and force the break.

The show ends with Macho Man a broken mess in the center of the ring with Elizabeth kneeling over him with tears in her eyes.

JJ Dillon shaking his head walking back to the locker room thinking about what could have been and Luger yelling at any fan that would listen to him!

I hate to end a big show on a DQ but this is Memphis even though we are in Dallas!!

[ErictheDragon]

The Ebony Express still pull out the win even after a change in opposition.

Moadid makes a frightening mark.

The Can-Ams get a chance to show off.

Wild Bill takes the easy way out.

The fans back in Memphis are really gonna let Hart have it after they saw him get painted yellow.

A bloody Rick survives the Butcher.

The DC finally get their definitive win.

Did we just witness the Dallas screwjob?

Sullivan shows off his technique before his men run down.

Jack & Vader just became the most legit tag team in the USWA.

Hart never did know to quit when he was behind. Still a nice father-son victory.

Dillon may have cost his man the title but Luger leaves the champion lying in a heap.