Despite being a criticised event I still enjoyed it. It was a fun event, and not one match on this card was bad. They were all good matches, there was lots of controversy, a great atmosphere and Dusty Rhodes being Dusty Rhodes, along with other legends. Overall, a great event but not a classic. Lots of fun.
Match 1 (NWA World Television Championship) - Nikita Koloff (c) vs Bobby Eaton
''The Russian Nightmare'' against one half of arguably the greatest tag team of all time, accompanied by a colourful Jim Cornette. What's not to love already? The match itself was also really good. Koloff brawled, tried to maul and was constantly resilient. Eaton dominated for long spells of the match, keeping Koloff on the mat for large parts, he dictated the tempo and he eve delivered some of his great high flying skills (not flashy in comparison to today's standards of high flying but simple and effective). You would never expect a guy like Koloff to be the underdog here, but for most of this match he was fighting for survival. You'd think Eaton would be the one fighting for survival and holding on with the skin of his teeth, but no, he really took it to Koloff here until the match ended in a time limit draw, followed by a beatdown from the Express on Koloff, but at least he retained the belt. By no means an all time classic match, but a very good, solid and entertaining match. And Cornette was at his most jiggety throughout. That's not a real word, but it makes sense if you watch the match.
Match 2 (UWF Western States Heritage Championship) - Larry Zybyszko vs Barry Windham (c)
Barry Windham must have been rolling in female vagina during the 80's. Tall, athletic, blond locks that the god Apollo would be proud of.... Anyway, that's besides the point, because this is a wrestling blog, and Windham, as a wrestler, is one of the best of all time. Perhaps, the most naturally gifted wrestler to ever partake ion the business. He was tall, strong, agile and tough as nails. I've never heard a bad word said about his in ring ability, and some of the greats have spoken with love and admiration about the times they entered the ring with him. He even made Arn Anderson smile. Arn Anderson doesn't smile much. As for Larry Z, well he wasn't bad either, was he? And neither was this match. Definitely one for those who love pure wrestling until it turns into a beautiful, dirty brawl. It has it all. And what a finish? Larry battering Windham with a shoe and pinning him for the 1,2,3 and a new champion is crowned.
Match 3 (NWA World Heavyweight Championship) - Road Warrior Hawk vs Ric Flair (c)
A tremendous bumpfest by Ric Flair. I love the way Flair takes slams. Not many sell pain as much as Flair. Flair took a beating in this one, and delivered one back. The match started off as Hawk's, as he threw Flair around like a rag doll with powerful slams and dominated with brute strength. However, Flair was typical Flair and managed to sneak his way back into the match by running away and being ''the dirtiest player in the game.'' What followed was Flair's period of methodically breaking down Hawk by being a dirty ol' bastard basically. Hawk managed to become superhuman again towards the end and threw Flair around once more, but Flair managed to retain his title by getting himself disqualified. Really fun match.
Match 4 - Steel Cage Bunkhouse Stampede - Dusty Rhodes vs Arn Anderson vs The Barbarian vs Tully Blanchard vs Ivan Koloff vs Road Warrior Animal vs Lex Luger vs The Warlord
An elimination match where pin falls and submissions did not count. The only way to win these matches is to throw your opponent over the top of the cage or send them out the cage door. A truly ridiculous concept for a match - especially with 500k on the line, but sometimes in wrestling the more ridiculous the better. For a start, the mix of wrestlers in here is amazing - from some of the greatest of all time like Dusty and Arn and Tully to the bonkers like The Barbarian and The Warlord who were great for being them. This match wasn't a wrestling match - it was punches, kicking, grinding, whipping, beating, choking and shoving. A brawl basically. And it's amazing.
So, what's the best part of this match? Well, it's Dusty Rhodes obviously, and to be more precise, it's Dusty Rhodes bounving around each corner of the ring whipping everyone in sight with his belt.
The first to be eliminated was Ivan Koloff, after being thrown over the cage and punched off it. Next up, The Warlord and Animal left at the same time after being eliminated through the cage door. Next, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard and Lex Luger all went at the same time after a struggle to hold on outside the cage door.
The final 2 are The Barbarian and Dusty Rhodes, a bout where we are treated to diving headbutts from The Barbarian off the top rope. The match ends when Dusty finally eliminates him with his trademark elbows off the top of the cage and brings an end to a chaotic match that was also a helluva lotta fun.
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