NWA Clash of The Champions III: Fall Brawl Review!

 

Hello and welcome to another edition of Seanomaniac Wrestling Reviews, the only wrestling review series on the internet that carries more hatred than The IWC’s attacks on Tay Conti! It’s Clash of The Champions III with a main event that has immediately captured my attention: that being Sting vs Barry Windham for the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship! Two rising stars in the company in a main event vying for the championship should be great fun! Meanwhile we also have Brad Armstrong challenging Mike Rotunda for the NWA Television Championship and some odd matches to round out the card. Where are Arn & Tully? Where is Ron Garvin for his feud with Dusty? Well, there’s some news there that we will get to later.

 

(NWA Television Championship Match) Mike Rotunda © W/ Kevin Sullivan vs Brad Armstrong

So Rotunda continues his reign that does not interest me in the slightest but Rotunda and The Varsity Club do have some heat to them, Rotunda lands a belly to back suplex and a fireman’s carry before Armstrong almost steals the win reversing a diving crossbody. Rotunda is very cautious, crowd seems hot on this night. Rotunda works the ribs, uppercuts for good measure. Armstrong lands a hip-toss and a dropkick for two, Rotunda powders for the second time. Side headlock takedown by Armstrong, Rotunda uses the tights to reverse the hold and uses the ropes too but Armstrong continues to maintain the hold. Shove-off, Armstrong lands a flying crossbody for a close two. Rotunda stalls, Armstrong holds onto the headlock. Rotunda tries running away but nope not going to work as Armstrong works the arm.

 

Rotunda looks to take the back, they are in the corner. Rotunda’s attacks backfire with Armstrong working the arm once more, Rotunda grabs the hair. Right hand by Armstrong, shove-off again. Knee to the ribs from Rotunda, Rotunda drops Armstrong on the top rope. Sullivan smashes Armstrong into the guardrail. Rotunda distracts the referee, Sullivan continues to attack Armstrong. Suplex from the apron into the ring from Rotunda, delayed cover for two. Rotunda is not happy but it’s his own fault for stalling, rear chin-lock from Rotunda. Rotunda works Armstrong with kicks to the back, another chin-lock before Rotunda pulls the hair to get him into position. Armstrong fight out before Rotunda lands The Write-Off! Elbow drop from Rotunda for two, crowd wants Armstrong to capture the gold. Rotunda rakes the eyes and lands a back-breaker for two.

 

Armstrong is tossed to the floor again, Sullivan gets his attacks in behind the referee’s back. Sunset flip from Armstrong for two, Tommy Young argues with Sullivan. Elbow and leg-drop from Rotunda, Dr. Death Steve Williams is here at ringside for Armstrong. Crowd is going bananas, small package for two. Rotunda slaps on the chin-lock again, fuck me if he keeps going back to this I am going to cry. Armstrong shoves Rotunda to the corner, rights and lefts. Rotunda whips Armstrong, airplane spin on Armstrong. Cover for two, gut-wrench suplex for two. Small package by Rotunda for two again, right hand floors Armstrong for two. Rotunda tries cradling Armstrong with the ropes for leverage. Clothesline by Rotunda for two, Rotunda tries getting the pins but he cannot pin Armstrong.

 

Rotunda continues to bore me inside of that ring, the chin-lock master ladies and gentlemen. Moral victory my ass, Rotunda has failed to impress me every time inside of that ring and having watched The New Generation Era, things ae not going to get any better. Armstrong is a great hand in that ring, can have exciting matches and make people look good but a twenty-minute draw ain’t my cup of tea when it’s with Mike Rotunda.

 

Time-Limit Draw!

 

Nikita Koloff & Dr. Death Steve Williams vs The Sheepherders W/ Rip Morgan

Well this is going to be snug I can tell you that much, the makeshift babyface tag team might struggle against the tag team veterans. Williams and Luke start, eye-rake from Luke. The Sheepherders try to batter Williams who comes out swinging, Sheepherders don’t want that fair fight against their opponents. Side headlock from Williams, shoulder block floors Luke. Luke fights his way out with punches and a shoulder block before Williams tackles everyone down. Butch and Koloff are going to throw down now, maybe I am not sure as Koloff poses and scares The Sheepherders. Eye rake from Butch, rights and lefts from Butch but Nikita counters and slams both Sheepherders. Noggin-knockers, Butch regroups and goes low, Nikita is double-teamed now. Nikita starts firing up on Luke, tag to Williams.

 

Middle rope axe handle, arm-bar. Luke uses the tights to shove off Williams but Williams clotheslines Luke and suplexes Luke into the ring. Diving crossbody from Williams for two, tag to Nikita who smashes the arm of Luke. Luke brawls back into it but Nikita works the arm more and more, in comes Williams. Arm-drag into an arm-bar, tag to Nikita. Arm-bar from Nikita, eye-rake from Luke. Nikita turns the tide and drops down, dropkick and arm-drag from Nikita. Tag to Williams and whip to the corner, Williams spears the corner shoulder-first as Luke dodges. Butch comes in and clubs down Williams, Sheepherders beat down Williams who begins to shake off the attacks. Butch lands a blow to the back of the head, Butch lands a knee to the gut for two.

 

Butch smashes Luke with a knee by mistake, in comes Nikita. Elbow from Nikita, ten punches in the corner. Rip Morgan attacks Nikita behind the referee’s back, Luke lands a scoop slam and a middle rope headbutt. Two for Luke, Butch chokes Nikita from the apron. Snap-mare with a knee-drop, Butch cuts off Nikita who cannot make it to Williams. Double clothesline by The Sheepherders, two for Butch. Nikita looks to fight back but Luke chokes the life out of Nikita. Sleeper from Luke, Williams fires up the crowd. Luke continues the attacks, Nikita ducks the clothesline and lands a right hand to stop Luke. Morgan distracts Williams, Nikita goes to tag but nobody is there. Luke lands a scoop slam on Nikita, top rope splash misses.

 

Nikita tags in Williams, rights and lefts. Morgan is taking down too, military press slam is blocked as Butch chop-blocks Williams. Tag to Nikita who lands The Russian Sickle and this match is over!

 

So, Nikita gets worked over for an eternity and makes the hot-tag to Williams who gets one chop-block and decides fuck it let me tag in Nikita who has taken quite the ass-kicking and remarkably, Nikita lands The Russian Sickle to end the match. What the fuck? Apart from that, decent tag match that isn’t up to the high standards of Express, Fantastics and Horsemen but until the ending it is quite fun.

 

Winners: Nikita Koloff & Steve Williams over The Sheepherders via Russian Sickle!

 

Dusty Rhodes vs Kevin Sullivan W/ Gary Hart

These two had a great feud in the early 80s but this is 1988 and they are feuding because who knows why? Sullivan is tossed to the floor and brutalized by Rhodes, Gary Hart suffers too before they step back into the ring. Elbows by Rhodes before Sullivans shakes off Rhodes. Gary Hart stabs Rhodes with his show, there is no DQ so why be discreet? Sullivan stabs Rhodes with an object and slaps on a sleeper. Low blow from Rhodes, Rhodes floats and stings before knocking down Sullivan. Sullivan thumbs the eye, Gary Hart is on the apron. Rhodes stabs Sullivan with the spike, Gary Hart decides to fight. Rhodes stalks Gary Hart, Al Perez is here with a chain. Rhodes dives on the chain and Sullivan collides with Perez before Rhodes small packages Gary Hart for the win.

 

You thought I was making that up right? Nope, Rhodes pinned Gary Hart to win. As if this card wasn’t already a bizarre one, we have finishes like this.

 

Winner: Dusty Rhodes over Kevin Sullivan via Small Package!

 

(Russian Chain Match) Ivan Koloff W/ Paul Jones vs Ricky Morton

What is this match? Where did it come from? Why? You have to touch all four corners to win so it is more like an Indian Strap match. Where is Robert Gibson? Fired apparently, Koloff clubs down Morton. Irish whip and a throat thrust, Morton is down. Ivan chokes Morton with the chain. It’s plodding along nicely with Morton stopping Ivan from touching the corners by going to the floor, using his quickness etc. Ivan kicks Morton and chokes with the chain some more! Morton gets in some attacks before Ivan lands a middle rope axe handle. Ivan climbs to the top, Morton yanks Ivan off the top rope. Ivan chokes Morton on his back with the chain, Morton flips over and lands a right hand. Snap-mare and whips with the chain, Morton is in serious trouble. Ivan starts touching the corners, Ivan reaches 3 corners. Morton grabs onto the leg of Ivan who falls to the mat.

 

Morton tees off with right hands, right hand after right hand and a choke with the chain. Whips with the chains, Ivan comes back before Morton lands more attacks. Boot by Ivan, Ivan decides to come off the top rope and gets caught with the chain in the face. They struggle and struggle before Morton finally touches the buckle. Paul Jones is irate at Ivan Koloff, The Russian Assassin attacks Morton as Paul Jones berates Ivan Koloff. Ivan smashes Paul Jones before The Assassins save Jones.

 

Awful match, nobody needed that to go nine minutes, at least 8 minutes too long!

 

Winner: Ricky Morton over Ivan Koloff!

 

(NWA United States Championship Match) Barry Windham © W/ JJ Dillon vs Sting

I thought this would be a possible match at Starrcade considering how both men were on the rise and the matches would deliver but I am wrong on that one as here we have these two meeting in the main event. Crowd has been hot all night, can they continue to be at this level for the main event? Windham and Sting circle one another, Windham has no time for Sting’s scream. Arm-drags by Sting, Windham is not happy. Windham is in the face of Sting, lots of trash-talking. Clean break from Sting before Windham lands a massive right, side headlock from the champion. Shoulder block, drop-downs and leap-frogs from Sting before a shoulder block and a dropkick from the challenger. Windham is on the floor, Windham tries again and ends up on the floor again after two dropkicks.

 

Test of strength with Windham going low with kicks and a right hand to the jaw, right hands from Windham. Sting counters with an inverted atomic drop, Irish whip and a back body-drop. Windham begs for mercy, they brawl on the floor after Sting misses an elbow. Windham rakes the eyes, apron axe handle and scoop slam on the floor. Suplex into the ring from Windham, Sting fires back but Windham rakes the eyes. Sunset flip from Sting before Windham cracks him with his legs, knee to the face from Windham. Irish whip and powerslam from Windham, knee-drop for two. Small package from Sting for two, Windham goes back to take control. Windham misses a corner splash, Sting sends Windham to the floor. Sting sends Windham into the ring-post, Sting bites the head of the champion.

 

Back-rake from Sting, dropkick from the challenger. Cover but the ropes save Windham, Irish whip and a sleeper from Sting. Windham fights furiously to escape but Sting holds on, it takes a shin-breaker to break the hold. Windham starts attacking the knee of Sting, Sting’s leg is taken out multiple times. Windham stomps all over Sting, figure four from Windham. Windham uses the ropes and Dillon for leverage, Windham isn’t happy to break the hold after being caught by Tommy Young. Belly to back suplex from Windham, right hands from Sting. Windham is rocked, Sting wants a suplex and it connects but Sting’s leg gives away with Windham looking for The Claw. Looks more like a titty twister with Windham not using the claw on the head of Sting.

 

Getting Indiana Jones’ vibes here with Windham attempting to rip out the heart of Sting, Sting begins firing up. Windham is sent to the floor, back body-drop and elbow drops from Sting. Hip-toss across the ring, Irish whip is reversed by Windham who knocks down the referee with a clothesline, Sting comes in and lands right hands. Whip to the buckle, Stinger Splash and The Scorpion Death-lock! Dillon has a chair but Sting sees that coming and knocks down Dillon, Windham has the chair and waffles Sting. The famous football player declares Sting the winner by DQ with Dillon losing his mind before John Ayers saves the day.

 

What a disappointing finish but hey, that’s the company at the time. Windham and Sting have solid chemistry with one another, Sting’s rise is certainly a fun watch with each and every match, the crowd reaction continues growing but Luger is possible too, we don’t know what way things are going to go but that finish is just so flat, I felt I have seen it so much over the course of 1988. Sting needs a championship or something around his waist to keep him hot, Windham needs that big match too. Maybe it could be with one another but I need a definitive winner!

 

Winner: Sting over Barry Windham via DQ!

 

That was WCW’s Clash of The Champions III: Fall Brawl, a largely disappointing show from Jim Crockett Promotions, I don’t know how to feel about the direction of the company at this point. So I said earlier in the piece about The Horsemen, Ron Garvin etc. Well they are either gone or in the process of leaving, pay disputes and bad booking have seen a core member of roster members leave the company. The Powers of Pain and Terry Taylor are in the WWF, seeing that they weren’t going to be booked well and didn’t want to have to have Scaffold matches while a pay dispute will see Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard leave three days after this event after dropping the titles to The Midnight Express. The dusty-finishes are taking their toll, I don’t know if I can stomach another card where either Luger, Sting or Steve Williams don’t pull off the big win. How many more times can you make me invest and put down my money without a pay-off? It feels like groundhog day and I just don’t know if I can commit to that without losing my mind. 1988 is a rough year for the promotion but we have 2 more shows to get through so let’s see what they have in store. Final thought: not worth watching at the end of the day, two matches on the card feel like placeholders because plans have fallen apart, the opening match with Rotunda = No thanks Tom Hanks! And the main event is fun if you can suffer through another non-finish but I think I am losing my will to live here so not for me! Thanks for reading and remember: there’s always another night!

NWA The Great American Bash 1988, July 16th Tour Review!

 

Hello and welcome to another edition of Seanomaniac Wrestling Reviews, the only wrestling review series on the internet that puts people to sleep quicker than a Great Khali match! This time we are looking at a Great American Bash tour show that took place after the PPV featuring a big War Games main event which should be a lot of fun, we also have a ton of irrelevant matches that judging by the looks of the “talent” on display, I am going to enjoy not very much at all. We also have continuation of the major feuds from the bash like Jimmy Garvin continuing his battle against The Varsity Club, The Midnight Express vs The Fantastics and The Horsemen vs Dusty Rhodes & Co.

 

Bugsy McGraw & Tim Horner vs Rip Morgan & Larry Zbyszko

Larry Zbyszko is kind of an enigma to me because while taking part in one of the biggest feuds of all-time with Bruno Sammartino, everything else he does feels like a footnote whether it be AWA or NWA. So, Zbyszko came in with some momentum picking up a win over Barry Windham and here he is now in an opening match with Bugsy McGraw who I haven’t seen in about 3 years and Tim Horner who I haven’t seen in a year or two teaming with Rip Morgan who was the flag-bearer/manager for The Sheepherders.

 

Zbyszko and Bugsy start, scoop slam by Zbyszko but multiple elbow drops miss, scoop slam by Bugsy. They lock-up, we go to the corner. Side headlock from Bugsy, Zbyszko cannot escape the headlock. Tag to Horner who takes over with the headlock, shoulder blocks to Zbyszko. Sunset flip for two, Zbyszko claims Horner was pulling the tights. Morgan comes in, knee and clubbing blows to the back of Horner. Snap-mare into a rear chin-lock, Bugsy fires up the crowd as Morgan whips Horner. Horner ducks two clotheslines and floats over the back before nailing a dropkick, arm-wrench from Horner. Bugsy comes in and pulls Morgan down by the hair, cover for two. Morgan backs up for a breather, eye rake from Morgan who delivers some big elbows.

 

Zbyszko nails a spinning kick and a right hand, scoop slam for two. Front chancery from Zbyszko, Morgan distracts the referee so Teddy Long doesn’t see the tag to Horner. Team Zbyszko rough up Bugsy in the corner, clothesline by Morgan. Bugsy dodges the falling headbutt, Irish whip but Bugsy ducks his head off an Irish whip and Morgan kicks it as hard as possible. In comes Zbyszko again, Horner clotheslines Zbyszko from the apron but Bugsy misses the elbow drop. Morgan comes in with the boot and clubbing blows before biting the head of Bugsy, choking clothesline from Morgan for two.

 

Boot to the head, Zbyszko rakes the eyes and attacks Bugsy but misses with the dropkick. Bugsy crawls and crawls, tag to Horner who comes in with punches flying. Right hands to Morgan and Zbyszko, noggin-knocker from Horner. Scoop slam to Morgan, two for Horner. Zbyszko kicks Horner, Morgan misses a clothesline and Horner pins Morgan off of a flying crossbody.

 

Vanilla match inoffensive and bland in every way possible, the quintessential opening match from this era. Dare I say Larry Zbyszko deserves better? Not sure, looking forward to seeing what he can do in The Dangerous Alliance when we get there!

 

Winners: Team Horner over Team Zbyszko via Flying Crossbody!

 

Ron Garvin W/ Gary Hart vs The Italian Stallion

Dickhead Garvin is large and in charge after knocking out Dusty Rhodes a few nights before, shoulder block from Garvin who leap-frogs Stallion and claims to have blown-out his ankle. Stallion looks and gets caught by the right hand of Ron Garvin who knocks him out in 45 seconds. Great way to get over Ronnie Garvin and Gary Hart can talk people into the building so that makes up for the big flaw of Garvin’s game.

 

Winner: Ron Garvin over Italian Stallion via Right Hand!

 

Dick Murdoch vs Gary Royal

 

Well I know Dick Murdoch but who is Gary Royal? Why are these two wrestling? Murdoch choke Royal, clean break. Side headlock by Royal, Royal wrenches the shit out of the headlock. Murdoch tries countering but Royal holds on tight, Murdoch tries a few cradles but Royal is in firm control. Side headlock takedown from Murdoch, we go to the corner. Elbow to the head from Murdoch, beautiful elbows to the head. Right hand to the nose, Royal fires up with dropkicks. Murdoch powders, knee to the gut from Murdoch. Elbows on the ring apron before Royal meets the scaffold. Royal reverses a scoop slam into a roll-up for two. Murdoch stomps the shit out of him, elbow to the face from Murdoch. Murdoch calls for the finish, sheer-drop Brain-buster.

 

Another squash that goes a little too long for my liking, not sure why there are so many squashes on the card but it does its job so why not I guess? Not entertaining but not offensive so far.

 

Winner: Dick Murdoch over Gary Royal via Brain-buster!

 

Gorgeous Jimmy Garvin W/ Precious vs Rick Steiner

 

We start with a clothesline and stomps, Steiner rakes the face. Garvin is choked with the ropes, right hands from Steiner. Whip to the buckle, Garvin dodges and fires up with right hands to Steiner. Crowd goes nuts as Sullivan appears, Garvin fights off Sullivan. Small package from Garvin back in the ring and it’s over!

 

Christ is this the nice of the squashes? What in God’s name is going on with this card? Steiner pinned like that? Damn NWA, that’s cold!

 

Winner: Jimmy Garvin over Rick Steiner via Small Package!

 

The Rock “N” Roll Express vs The Sheepherders W/ Rip Morgan

Lots of stalling before we start, dropkicks are on the menu for the sheepherders. They powder and regroup, Butch and Gibson start the match properly with Luke coming in to rough up the ribs of Gibson. Gibson ducks and ducks before trying a sunset flip, two for Gibson. Luke lands a massive knee to the ribs, Luke climbs high. Middle rope splash misses, knee-lift from Gibson which Luke tries to break up. Butch stomps Luke and Rock “N” Roll land dropkicks while Morgan clotheslines his team by mistake. Morton and Luke wrestle with Luke tossing Morton into the buckle, Butch comes in and beats down Morton. Morton slides through the legs and slams Butch and Luke. Noggin-knocker, Gibson and Luke reset. Luke eats a crossbody as Morgan battles Morton, Butch comes in and waffles Gibson with the flag.

 

Luke drives knees into the spine of Gibson, Morton tries helping but cannot do much as Gibson tastes the flag across his spine. Gibson fights back upon re-entering the ring, we have cheap-shots from the apron by Butch though which allow Luke to choke Gibson. Gibson starts swinging at everything but Luke grabs on a rear chin-lock. Butch is in, Gibson catches Butch with a huge kick to the face. Luke tags in but Gibson battles back, Luke goes to the ribs. Snap-mare back into the rear chin-lock, Gibson lands a double crossbody before tagging in Morton who steps in with a kick. The Sheepherders collide with Morgan being wiped out too, Butch stops Morton’s roll-up attempt.

 

Morton is tossed to the floor, Butch tees off on the outside with Morton watching his back for Morgan. Gibson and Luke brawl in the ring as Morton is sent into the ring-post. Gibson gets wiped out with a knee to the back courtesy of Butch, Luke can hold Gibson for the attacks of Butch. Double gut-buster from The Sheepherders, Gibson pulls Butch into Luke who spills to the floor and Morton lands the diving crossbody on Luke for the win.

 

Good tag team match, good heels in Sheepherders and great babyfaces in Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson, they work over Gibson well during the match, crowd is hot for the hot-tag and a lot of the spots were fun and got the crowd going which was nice to see. A definite change of pace from the previous matches, happy to see some wrasslin’ on my card.

 

Winners: Rock “N” Roll Express over The Sheepherders via Diving Crossbody!

 

Al Perez W/ Gary Hart vs Brad Armstrong

This should have some fine wrestling, Perez and Armstrong lock-up and we get a clean break. More clean breaks, Armstrong has the arm. Perez cannot shake Armstrong, Perez wants to crack Armstrong with his fist but decides not to. Despite monkey flipping Armstrong, Perez cannot break the hold. Perez backs Armstrong to the corner and here we go, gut shots from Perez. Forearms to the face, Armstrong stops the Irish whip and continues working the arm. Wrenching and shoulder blocks from Armstrong, Perez has been second best this entire stretch. Perez goes to the ropes, side headlock from Armstrong. Perez manages to escape but misses the elbow drop and ends up back in the arm-bar.

 

Knees to the arms from Armstrong, Perez backs him to the corner. Armstrong shoves down Perez and chases Hart, Perez lands an apron axe handle. Scoop slam on the concrete, stomps for good measure too. Hart rams Armstrong into the scaffold, few stomps too because why not am I right? Perez rams Armstrong into the ring apron, clubbing blows to the spine too. Elbows to the spine and a massive crucifix powerbomb spinning manoeuvre from Perez with a little knee-drop for two. Rear chin-lock from Perez, Armstrong fires up but Perez maintains control with a camel clutch after some elbows. Armstrong escapes and lands a knee-lift, Perez is staggered.

 

Perez eats gut shots from Armstrong, whip to the opposite buckle and Perez dodges Armstrong’s attacks. Irish whip, Perez ducks and Armstrong goes for the backslide. Small package for two, Perez hurls Armstrong to the floor. Armstrong lures in Perez and slams him on the floor, gut shot from Armstrong. Standing dropkick which sends Perez crashing to the floor, Armstrong tries a suplex into the ring but Hart trips up Armstrong and holds down his leg so Perez can take the win.

 

Well I thought this would be the wrestling match of the night from how it started with the working of the arm and all that but no, it was a standard affair and the finish is nice, I just wish I cared more about the action that was in the ring, not really entertaining for me.

 

Winner: Al Perez over Brad Armstrong via Gary Hart’s Help!

 

The Fantastics vs The Midnight Express W/ Jim Cornette

So this is a Bunkhouse match, a handicap one at that where anything goes. Fulton and Eaton to start, they lock-up with Eaton landing a massive right. Eaton celebrates before Fulton lands his own right. Eaton lands an elbow and a right hand, hip to the side of the head. Shoulder block from Eaton, back body-drop from Fulton who lands a right and Rogers gets in on the action too. Everyone begins brawling with Cornette defending himself with a chair, Cornette scrambles when Rogers takes the chair. The Fantastics strut all around the ring, Eaton and Fulton are fighting again. Right hands from Eaton, Eaton grabs a chair. Fulton atomic drops Eaton onto the chair and cracks with the chair too.

 

Eaton is down on the floor, Rogers chases Cornette. Eaton is decimated with the chair, not sure why Tommy Young is trying to police this match when there are no rules as Schiavone stated at the start of the match. Eaton is cracked I want to say at least 12 times with the chair. Lane and Cornette are irate, telling Eaton to get back in there like a man. Lane and Rogers will wrestle now, Rogers calls Cornette a chicken, Lane lands his thrust kick and throat thrust. Rogers skins the cat and dropkicks Lane multiple times. Fulton cracks Cornette but Lane and Eaton take out Rogers with an enzuigiri to the back of the head. Cornette throws a chair on Rogers’ head, Eaton grabs the chair and works the ribs.

 

Cornette gets in on the action with an elbow drop to the floor, Rogers is being choked with a camera cable as the referee deals with Fulton in again, a match that is meant to have no rules. Massive Lariat from Lane, Cornette comes in and lands a fist drop and elbow drop. Cornette picks up Rogers who fires up but Eaton lands a right hand to the face. Eaton stabs Rogers with some object in the throat twice, atomic drop into a back-breaker from Eaton. Scoop slam from Eaton, in comes Cornette with his wrist-tape. Another fist drop, Cornette needs a hand from Eaton to slam Rogers. Russian leg-sweep from Lane, Eaton climbs high for The Rocket Launcher. It connects beautifully, Cornette wants to pin Rogers which leads to some argument with Eaton.

 

Rogers kicks out and tags Fulton because Cornette was a colossal ass, Fulton comes in and wreaks havoc with a back body-drop. Cornette has powder and blinds Eaton by mistake, Rogers slams Cornette as Fulton takes out The Midnight Express and we have a double clothesline for the win with Cornette whipped like a dog by The Fantastics.

 

Fun match, entertaining and Cornette as an overconfident fool who causes his team to lose is classic wrestling perfection, such a fun match between these two. There might be hope for this card just yet, their previous match was not very good but I hold out for more classics between these two teams.

 

Winners: The Fantastics over The Midnight Express via Double Clothesline!

 

(NWA Television Championship Match) Mike Rotunda © vs Sting

Sullivan and Steiner are at ringside, no idea how this championship is still around the waist of Rotunda, I think he is the least interesting of The Varsity Club members but I guess the TV title was not all that important at the time. Sting leap-frogs Rotunda and dropkicks all three members, noggin-knockers but the referee does not call a DQ as Steiner and Sullivan rushed the ring. How lenient of him, side headlock from Sting. Shove-off from Rotunda who eats a shoulder block, hip-toss and scoop slam by Sting. Rotunda re-thinks his strategy, lock-up with Rotunda backing into the corner.

 

Boot misses for Rotunda, massive right hand from Sting. Leg-drop to the groin, Steiner is less than pleased about this. Rotunda lures in Sting and works the leg, enzuigiri from Sting. Rotunda takes another breather, asking for a time-out. Steiner distracts Sting but nothing comes of it, what is with this stalling? Side headlock again, Rotunda shoves off Sting. Steiner trips up Sting, Rotunda takes control. Sting is hurled to the floor, Sullivan uses a weapon to decimate Sting. Steiner does nothing but Rotunda continues dishing out punishment. Irish whip into an elbow, snap-mare into an elbow drop for two. Rear chin-lock from Rotunda, Sting escapes but Rotunda cuts off Sting. Rear chin-lock again from Rotunda, Steiner talks trash from ringside.

 

Right hand and a scoop slam from Rotunda, Rotunda climbs high. Rotunda hesitates so Sting capitalizes, right hands stagger Rotunda who is thrown to the other ring, Sting runs the ropes and dives into the other ring. Stomps and ten punches from The Stinger, Stinger Splash and Scorpion Death-Lock but Steiner and Sullivan come in, Sting escapes the beatdown but is not a champion.

 

Sting is red-hot, Rotunda bores me in the ring and we have a very boring match as a result, I don’t know why Rotunda has the championship especially when we had the likes of Blanchard, Anderson, Rhodes and Koloff. It’s quite the drop-off but it is what it is, this match blows and Sting deserves better.

 

Winner: Sting over Mike Rotunda via DQ!

 

(Scaffold Match) The Road Warriors W/ Paul Ellering vs The Power of Pains W/ Paul Jones

The best part of this is that the actual Powers of Pain had left for the WWF so The Russian Assassin and Ivan Koloff are portrayed as being the group the whole time. Now, I think the scaffold match is a spectacle and one of these was enough for me so imagine my thrill at seeing my 3^rd one. These matches are a mess, limited action and limited space and I am just over the concept at this point. Club, club, club, punch, punch, punch. Nothing going on whatsoever and Animal manages to push off Koloff, Hawk manages to kick off The Russian Assassin and its over. The match was garbage, not a fan of this match at all.

 

Winners: The Road Warriors!

 

(WarGames Match) The Four Horseman (Ric Flair/Tully Blanchard/Arn Anderson/Barry Windham) vs Dusty Rhodes/Lex Luger/Dr. Death Steve Williams/Nikita Koloff

So how does this work? Two cages and two teams, two men start with team members entering at timed intervals until all members are in the ring. Once all members are in the ring, the match can end by submission, surrender or someone being knocked unconscious. There have been legendary WarGames’ matches and I hope this may be one of the occasions. Who is going to start for each team? Well Rhodes decides he wants to be the man while Arn Anderson steps up for his team. The bell rings and we are underway, Anderson wants Rhodes to come to him. Rhodes tentatively crosses over, both men start brawling with Rhodes landing elbows to start. Anderson begs for mercy, Anderson tries a sunset flip but Rhodes lands a right hand. DDT from Rhodes, Anderson is getting whooped here.

 

Anderson backs off, Anderson is sent flying into the cage. Rhodes smashes Anderson off the cage wall again and again, The Horsemen shout words of encouragement but it is not going to help I don’t think. Rhodes comes in to lift up Anderson with Anderson landing a massive kick to the thigh, Anderson goes to work like only an Anderson can with repeated attacks to the leg. Anderson is using something to choke and stab Rhodes, Rhodes is a bloody mess. WarGames lifts up to the hype, low blow from Rhodes. Anderson comes off the middle rope and eats a right-hand, Rhodes wrenches and applies the figure four. Barry Windham enters, Rhodes wants to kill Windham. Understandable and Dream knocks down Windham & Anderson.

 

Crowd is like molten lava at this point, Anderson attacks Dream from behind. Rhodes is in trouble now, Windham tees off with right hands and calls for The Claw. Claw from Windham, Rhodes is in deep trouble. One minute before someone can help, Dr. Death comes in and tees off on The Horsemen. Double clothesline to a monster pop, Williams chop-blocks both Windham and Anderson time and time again. Anderson begs for mercy from Williams, Windham is with Rhodes. Williams mounts Anderson and explodes with right hands, Windham tastes the cage. Williams blocks the cage and Anderson tastes the cage again as Ric Flair watches on from ringside. Anderson goes low with a headbutt, Williams dodges a knee-drop.

 

Ric Flair comes in, a shock that the last man will be Tully. Flair chops Williams who no-sells that, chop after chop has no effect. Williams stalks Flair, low-blow from The Nature Boy. Williams meets the cage, Windham and Anderson double-team Rhodes. Williams is bleeding now, Anderson helps Flair punish Williams. Vicious DDT from Anderson, Rhodes is bleeding everywhere. Flair spits on Luger, taunting The Total Package. Luger comes in and clotheslines Windham, Flair is panicking now. Flying clothesline to Flair and Windham, powerslam to Flair. Powerslam to Windham, Torture Rack on Flair. Massive low blow from Windham, Flair and Windham wear down Luger who shakes it off. Flair tries to send Luger into the cage but Luger blocks and lands ten punches in the corner. Final man in for The Horsemen, here comes Tully with a chair who waffles Luger. Tully targets the knee but Luger fights it off, Flair lands right hands to Package.

 

Rhodes continues to attack Windham, knee-drop from Flair to Luger. Nikita comes in and cleans house, I made a mistake about Tully being the last man as I think we are going to have JJ Dillon and Paul Ellering wrestle in this one. Nikita locks Flair in the figure four, Nikita continues to show great power as Flair begs for mercy. Heated contest for sure, lots of low blows going on now. It’s dick-punch city, Dillon comes in looking as white as a ghost but Dillon gets to work helping his team before Nikita grabs the hapless manager and batters him over and over. Williams kicks Flair, this could be a fun match to see one day. Meanwhile, Rhodes is always looking for Windham to torture him. More low blows as in comes Ellering, Ellering is fighting off The Horsemen as Williams chokes Dillon.

 

Tully wants to make Ellering tap but Rhodes is here fighting everyone in sight, lots of pairing off now. Dillon and Ellering are alone, this could spell disaster for either team. Irish whip but Ellering dodges the dropkick, atomic drop and Rhodes applies the figure four with the ropes for the leverage and win.

 

A little anticlimactic with the finish but I suspected some sort of finish like that once I saw the managers were taking part in the match. I loved the start, brutally at its finest and despite my feelings about Rhodes vs Windham at their previous match, their hatred for one another comes through in full effect here which is tremendous for the setting and the match. Good to see Williams in there too, most talent from the UWF acquisition were not doing too well so at least their champion is being positioned as a big deal. Rhodes getting the win instead of Luger irks me a little, I think Luger deserved the win considering the tour and PPV was based around Luger vs Flair but then again, Rhodes is the booker man jack and the booker man is going over! All in all, it lived up to the hype with a finish that sends the fans home happy.

 

Winner: Team Rhodes over Team Horsemen via Surrender!

 

This was The Great American Bash’s July 16^th tour show and it was mostly uneventful if I am honest, you could take at least 3 to 4 of the matches off this card because they meant nothing to me. 3 to 4 squashes in first half an hour was a little intense, I thought Steiner deserved better in his feud with Garvin, thought there would have been more to that but I guess it was not meant to be while The Fantastics vs The Midnight Express is a great tag team wrestling as is The Rock “N” Roll Express vs The Sheepherders so if you are a tag team wrestling fan, there are matches that deliver on this card. The Scaffold match is what it is, I could die happily never watching another one. Finally, the main event is a bloody spectacle with violence and intensity to it, the finish leaves a lot to be desired but it wasn’t a PPV so I guess I will let it slide. If you like good tag team wrestling, seek this out otherwise I would give it a pass! Thanks for reading and remember: there’s always another night!

 

 

NWA The Great American Bash 1988 Review!

 

Hello and welcome to another edition of Seanomaniac Wrestling Reviews, the only wrestling review series on the internet that is more low-brow than an MJF promo! It’s WCW’s Great American Bash of 1988, this is the July 10^th edition with some massive matches including Lex Luger challenging Ric Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship as well as Dusty Rhodes taking on United States Heavyweight Champion Barry Windham while Tully Blanchard and Arn Anderson defend their World Tag Team Championships against the team of Sting and Nikita Koloff, plenty of big names and big matches up and down the card but will this deliver inside of the ring? Let’s find out!

 

(NWA World Tag Team Championship Match) Nikita Koloff & Sting vs Tully Blanchard & Arn Anderson © W/ JJ Dillon

Team babyface batter the heels, Anderson eats a dropkick before powdering and Sting dives over the top rope with a plancha. Anderson nails a shoulder from the apron but the axe handle misses, Sting lands a right hand and works the arm. Nikita comes in and stomps the arm, arm-bar from Nikita. Anderson shoves Nikita back to the corner, kicks and punches but Anderson dodges the corner attack. However, no effect on Nikita, double Russian Sickle as the champions are wiped out by Nikita. Tag to Sting who works the arm, Anderson pushes back Sting. Sting whips Anderson to the corner, knee counter from Anderson. Anderson is too slow but manages to crack on a sleeper, Sting runs Anderson into the buckle. Leg-drop onto the arm, Tully comes in to help but Sting flips through and takes both down with a dropkick. Nikita clubs down Arn, Arn headbutts Sting. In comes Tully, arm-drags from The Stinger and a tag to Nikita.

 

Nikita clubs away and works the arm of Tully, Tully reaches the ropes with Nikita continuing to work the arm. Nikita tries covering Tully but Tully continues to kick out, Tully makes it to the ropes but Nikita drags Tully to Sting. Sting bites the arm before Tully sends Sting to the corner, Tully misses the corner spear and Sting goes for the cover. Ear-clap from Nikita and Sting lands a massive right hand, Tully is scrambling to Arn but it is not going to happen. Nikita sends Tully into the buckle with a hammerlock throw. Sting and Nikita continue working the arm, tag to Nikita. Arm-bar from Nikita, Tully tries snap-maring out of the hold but Nikita holds on. Tully tags in Arn, Nikita gets away from the corner with a frustrated Arn looking on from his side of the ring. Lock-up and Arn buries his left hands low, Nikita counters with a drop toehold into a hammerlock hold. Full-nelson from Nikita, Arn kicks the knee of Nikita. Tag to Tully who works the knee, Nikita lands his Russian Hammer on Tully. Tully pops up and eats a shoulder block, Nikita clotheslines Tully to the floor. Tully is on the apron, suplex into the ring with JJ Dillon attacking Nikita. Nikita snaps and goes for the sickle but Dillon ducks and Nikita hits the ring-post hard. Arn shoulder-breakers Nikita into the ring-post, the weakness has been targeted. The champions club that left arm, beautiful hammerlock suplex from Arn.

 

Knees from Arn, Nikita comes up though and shakes off Arn’s attacks. Nikita ducks off of an Irish whip though, Arn spikes the shit out of Nikita with a DDT! 1…2… Nikita kicks out! Arn tags in Tully who dives onto the arm, Tully looks to snap the arm with Nikita surviving at this point. Arm-bar from Tully, tag to Arn. Snap-mare and Arn climbs high, Nikita blocks the splash with his knees and tags in Sting. Back body-drop and dropkick for Tully, military press slam for Tully. Arn comes in and eats a bulldog, Arn shoots low with a left and Tully comes in but eats an atomic drop, Sting lands another dropkick. Noggin-knocker, crowd is going bananas. Tully tags in Arn, Irish whip with Sting reversing for a sleeper.

 

Arn fights back with elbows, tag to Tully. Diving sunset flip from Tully does not work, Nikita decks Arn with The Russian Sickle. Tully is whipped to the corner, Stinger Splash, Scorpion Death-Lock! Nikita keeps away Arn Anderson and JJ Dillon, Sting clamps it on and Tully does not tap as the time-limit expires! Crowd is rightly outraged as they wanted to see The Stinger as champion!

 

Fun match for sure, I thought that was the best I had seen for Nikita in quite some time, Nikita has been such a disappointment for me considering what I saw in his future. Sting is catching on like crazy, it’s so clear to see that he is the chosen one! Nothing better than watching Sting batter Tully & Arn, Tully & Arn do an excellent job making Sting look like the future of the business. Getting a lit worn down by shenanigans in my tag matches but I think change will be coming a lot sooner than I expect.

 

Time-Limit Expires!

 

(NWA United States Tag Team Championship Match) The Fantastics © vs The Midnight Express W/ Jim Cornette

Jim Cornette is in a cage above the ring, wrapped in a straight-jacket. If the challengers lose, they will be whipped ten times including Jim Cornette, I swear twenty-minutes of this is Cornette being put in the cage. Fulton and Eaton to begin, side headlock from Fulton. Shoulder block, Fulton slides through for a sunset flip for one. Lane talks strategy with Eaton, side headlock takedown from Eaton. Fulton backs Eaton to the corner who lands a massive right, Fulton head-scissors out of the corner, hurricanrana and Rogers lands a punch to the face too. Eaton tags in Lane, test of strength. Arm-drag with Lane powdering, Rogers come into the ring. Side headlock from Rogers, shoulder block and dropkicks from Rogers.

 

Lane lands a low shot, elbow to the head. Eaton comes in and lands himself in an arm-drag, Eaton shoves off Rogers and lands a knee to the ribs.  Right hand from Eaton, Rogers rolls up Eaton with an O’Connor roll before jumping to the middle rope and landing a crossbody for two. Rogers tags Fulton and they hit a double back body-drop and dropkick, the champions continue to keep control. Lane and Eaton are sent to the floor as The Fantastics strut around the ring. Rogers works the arm with Lane landing some big kicks, tag to Eaton who lands a beautiful bulldog behind Rogers’ back. Two for Eaton, big knee-lift from Eaton. Tag to Lane, Lane rakes the face of Rogers across the top rope. Left-arm lariat from Lane, Eaton lands an elbow and an elbow drop for two.

 

Rogers tries fighting back but Eaton lands a massive neck-breaker for two, in comes Lane. Massive kicks into a back-breaker from Eaton, tag to Lane again. Throat-thrust from Lane, Eaton lands a mean right to the face. Lane throws Rogers to the mat, in comes Eaton. Tilt-a-whirl back-breaker from Eaton, Eaton maintains a hammerlock before Rogers lands a massive mat-slam. In comes Lane, Lane kicks Fulton to distract the referee. Right hand into a jacknife cover for two, Lane applies the abdominal stretch. Eaton gives the assist behind the referee’s back, Fulton protests again. Eaton is sent into the ring-post by Rogers, headbutt from Lane and more kicks. Sunset flip from Rogers for two, tag to Eaton who stomps all over Rogers. Scoop slam, Alabama Jam from Eaton. Tag to Lane, Fulton breaks it up. Abdominal stretch from Lane, Russian leg-sweep from Lane. Rocket-Launcher is blocked as Rogers uses his knees.

 

Tag to Fulton who pummels Eaton, Irish whip and a back body-drop. Fulton kicks off Lane, O’Connor roll on Eaton for two. Lane tries tripping Fulton, Fulton gets distracted and Lane slams Fulton to the floor. Rogers takes out the referee with a crossbody, Lane has something in his hand. Lane passes it to Eaton, Eaton cracks Fulton in the eye with the chain as Rogers brawls with Lane on the floor, we have new champions.

 

It was alright, I was spoiled by these two teams at The Clash, they tore the house down on that night, didn’t click for me here but they weren’t exactly giving me a reason to go nuts. I will say that Bobby Eaton is so much fun to watch though, constantly doing amazing shit inside of that ring but yeah, I have seen much better from both of these teams and I hope if there is a rematch, it is more like what I saw previously and not like this match.

 

Winners: The Midnight Express over The Fantastic via Chain To The Head!

 

(Tower of Doom Match) The Garvins/Steve Williams/The Road Warriors vs Kevin Sullivan/Al Perez/Russian Assassin/Ivan Koloff/Mike Rotunda

The feud between The Garvins and The Varsity Club continues as we enter The Tower of Doom match, three cages stacked on top of one another and you have to try and get out of the cage. Takes an eternity to set up, Tommy Young climbs the ladder as slow as possible probably scared of heights which I do not blame him for as it’s really high. Christ almighty, this takes an eternity to get them up there, Koloff and Ronnie Garvin start in a cage alone while we have to wait for other people to get involved? This doesn’t seem fun at all, I want to see everyone brawl. Dr. Death and Mike Rotunda come in with Williams slapping the shit out of everyone while the trap-door opens and Ronnie Garvin slowly makes his way around in a most anti-climatic way. Ronnie Garvin is just standing around like a fool, Ronnie Garvin makes it out of the cage.

 

How anti-climatic, Animal and Al Perez come in now. Williams and Koloff are brawling away in the middle cage, Animal is being double-teamed. Animal runs wild and slaughters both Rotunda and Perez, Hawk and The Russian Assassin come into the match. Hawk starts battering the two, this match is so limited they cannot even bump. It’s pure madness, in comes Jimmy Garvin and Kevin Sullivan. Animal and Al Perez are in the bottom cage, Animal walks out before Al Perez dramatically gets up and walks out. So, Hawk makes it down and slaughters Koloff and The Russian Assassin before they walk out after him. Dr. Death makes it to the bottom cage and walks out.

 

So Rotunda and Sullivan are left with Jimmy Garvin, Garvin kicks and punches his opponents with all the venom he can muster, you can’t even see Ron Garvin at ringside so he obviously doesn’t care. Rotunda makes it to the bottom cage and walks out, we are down to 1:1. Everyone is brawling on the floor because yeah, having people who hate one another stand side by side and not kill one another was crazy. Garvin maintains a spinning toe-hold on Sullivan, Sullivan fights back with an eye-poke and right hands. Sullivan and Garvin are in the bottom cage, Garvin tees off with right hands. Brainbuster from Garvin, Precious goes to unlock the cage and Garvin makes it out but Sullivan locks the cage and he is with Precious.

 

Hawk eventually saves the day but by God, this match is awful. On par with The Bunkhouse Stampede Match, a whole lot of nothing going on for twenty plus minutes, nobody does nothing better than The NWA as that was absolute hot garbage. Hoping that these stupid matches can be left in the past, terrible stuff.

 

Winners: Team Garvin over Team Sullivan via Escape!

 

(NWA United States Championship Match) Barry Windham © W/ JJ Dillon vs Dusty Rhodes

Windham left Rhodes laying at The Clash, Windham joined The Horsemen and took the place of Luger, could the student topple the master? Arm-drag and shoulder block from Rhodes, Windham powders to the floor. Windham lands an elbow but eats a military press slam, DDT from Rhodes. Bionic Elbow and Rhodes is climbing high, diving crossbody for two. Windham powders again,  Windham locks Rhodes into the corner. Rhodes fights out with jabs, Windham is down as is Dillon who eats a Bionic Elbow. Windham begs for mercy, Windham kicks down Rhodes after luring him in for a test of strength. Windham wants a piledriver but Rhodes brings Windham down with a back body-drop and a massive clothesline.

 

Windham tees off in the corner with massive rights, axe handle to the floor. Rhodes is bounced off the ring apron, Rhodes pulls the ropes and sends Windham to the floor. Scoop slam on the floor, Dillon distracts Rhodes so Windham comes in with a huge scoop slam and elbow drop. Windham calls for the claw, right hand to stagger Rhodes and The Claw Hold is applied. Rights and lefts from Rhodes but The Claw Hold is locked in tight. Rhodes fades at first before drawing strength from the fans, Windham squeezes tights once again. Rhodes does not drop, Rhodes is on the middle rope and stops the hold with an almighty elbow but no, Windham has too much strength. Never seen so much milking in my life, elbows from Rhodes to stop the claw.

 

Figure four is blocked though, what a surprise. Caught me completely off-guard as Windham clamps back on The Claw, Rhodes tries escaping on the top rope once more. Rhodes start clubbing down at Windham, Windham lands a gut shot. Rhodes knocks down Windham but the referee is wiped out, Windham climbs high. Rhodes blocks Windham and looks for a military press slam which connects, Bionic Elbow but there is no referee. Ronnie Garvin comes down to the ring because why? Ronnie knocks out Dusty with a beautiful right hand and Windham applies The Claw Hold for the win.

 

Well it was nothing special inside of the ring, both men can be great inside of the ring but on this night with one another, it didn’t really do anything for me. I am happy for the continued push of Barry Windham, I want to see Windham and Sting go at it soon, that would be nice to see. Luger vs Windham would also be great to see considering what happened between the two. As for Rhodes, a match with Ron Garvin does little for me but you never know, might surprise me.

 

Winner: Barry Windham over Dusty Rhodes via The Claw!

 

(NWA World Heavyweight Championship Match) Ric Flair © vs Lex Luger

Luger was a Horseman but refused to relinquish his championship match against The Nature Boy, Luger was kicked out of The Horseman and replaced by Barry Windham. These two will finally meet, can Luger topple the seemingly unstoppable Ric Flair? They square off with one another, Luger is chasing down Ric Flair. They lock-up, Luger shoves down Flair who begs for mercy. Luger says bring it while Flair re-evaluates, lock-up and arm-drag from Luger and Flair says Luger pulled the hair. Side headlock from Luger, Flair escapes but runs into a military press slam. Flair powders and is frustrated by Luger, Luger gains control in the ring as Flair tries to chop his way back into it. Military press slam once more, Flair begs for mercy again. Bearhug from Luger, Flair struggles and struggles as we have a break with Flair pulling the hair of Luger.

 

Irish whip but Flair holds onto the ropes, Luger is in firm control though. Suplex back into the ring, Flair is in a bad way. Massive elbow drop from Luger for two, Luger misses the elbow drop but hops right back up, massive hip-toss out of the corner. Flair pokes the eyes and chops Luger, Luger is bounced off the barricade. Snap-mare into a knee drop from the champion, Flair works the ribs before Luger comes up. Luger answers back with a massive diving clothesline, two for the challenger. Flair goes to the ribs, snap-mare again. Flair climbs to the top rope, Luger is up too fast and Flair crotches himself on the top rope. Another hip-toss, Luger misses a dropkick as Flair holds onto the ropes to dodge it.

 

Whip to the corner but Luger explodes out of it and lands a big clothesline. Flair puts his feet on the ropes to survive, Flair throws Luger to the floor. Apron shoulder block from Luger, sunset flip succeeds for a close two. Flair cracks Luger with his feet to survive, Flair works the knee. Flair drops his weight on the leg, wrenches the leg and says it’s time to go to school. Figure Four Leg-Lock with a little ropes for leverage when necessary, Luger screams and screams as referee Tommy Young misses what Flair is doing. Luger powers up and reverses the hold, Flair has to break the hold. Flair kicks the knee of Luger, Flair tries to drop his weight on Luger’s leg but Luger dodges.

 

Luger ducks Flair’s attack and clotheslines The Nature Boy to the floor. Dillon coaches and cheers on Flair, Flair wants to punish Luger. Flair chops and chops but Luger shakes it off and power-slams Flair. Luger tries a knee-drop, Flair dodges and climbs high. Flair takes too long and is yanked off the top rope, Flair begs for mercy. Ten punches from Luger, Luger eats an inverted atomic drop but fires up with a clothesline. Flair is in the ropes, Luger looks to the crowd with Flair begging for mercy. Ten punches again, Irish whip with a Flair flip to the floor. Flair can’t nail the hip-toss, back-slide from Luger. Two for the challenger, Irish whip and Flair dives into Luger with both men jumping over the top rope.

 

Flair hobbles and hobbles, Luger meets the ring-post hard. Flair grabs a chair, referee Tommy Young says drop that while Dillon sends Luger into the ring-post. Flair drags Luger to the corner, chops from Flair. Ten punches from the champion, inverted atomic drop from Luger. Flair’s chops have no effect as Luger lands a powerslam, Luger calls for The Torture Rack. The referee Tommy Young calls for the bell, we have a new champion???? Wait, hold on a second, the athletic commission have said there will be no blood on this night and we have to stop the match, Flair is going to retain his championship!

 

Well this company certainly has a way with screwy finishes, the dusty finish is I full effect. What makes this even funnier is wrestlers in this company bleed to an unnecessary degree and while watching this show, I thought it was bizarre that nobody was bleeding and well, I should have seen this coming with a finish like this. Nobody even was bleeding in the cage so yeh maybe I should have seen this coming but wow, that finish is terrible. What I will say is that Flair continues to be a master inside of that ring as he can make anyone and everyone look great inside of that ring, another memorable match with a hot crowd to boot. The formula works boys and girls whether you like it or not but what a sour end to this show!

 

Winner: Ric Flair over Lex Luger via Referee Stoppage!

 

That was The Great American Bash 1988, a less than stellar show from Jim Crockett Promotions! The stars are there and the action is hot but the finishes leave much to be desired, Sting, Koloff and Luger were all robbed of victories on this night, a night for The Horsemen  for sure with all of them keeping their gold. I don’t mind heels all going over but there has to be better ways to do this, better ways to get out of these messes. The Fantastics and Midnight Express had a very underwhelming match while that Tower of Doom Match is arguably the dumbest match I have ever seen, more boring than The Bunkhouse Stampede because at least in that they could move a little, this was a train-wreck from top to bottom. It’s baffling because I know this company can deliver, they did with the first Clash but they are burning their fans bad now and it’s hurting business and my interest so we shall see what happens next but this was not a fun one. Thanks for reading and remember: there’s always another night!