So the thrid annual Crockett Cup and the final due to Ted Turner buying Jim Crockett promotions. What a great way to bow out. This is a great event. So, let's read on and see who wins the million dollars....
Match 1 - Jimmy Valiant & Mighty Wilbur vs Ivan Koloff & Dick Murdoch - Round 1
This match had some great competitors but it wasn't a great match by any means. Dick Murdoch's knee to the back on Valiant was great though. Quite a fun start to the tournament, but far from being good in any shape or form.
Match 2 - ''Dr. Death'' Steve Williams & Ron Simmons vs Mike Rotunda & Ricky Steiner - Round 2
Steve Williams and Ron Simmons are 2 legit fucking legends. It's a scientific fact that Simmons is actually God himself. Ask any scientist. If they say there is no God then they're lying because Ron Fuckin' Simmons is God.
This was a good match. Fast paced and intense, and Williams and Simmons pretty much owned it. However, it ended with Kevin Sullivan delivering a cheap shot to Simmons causing him to be counted out. This really annoys me a lot because Williams and Simmons should have went through at least one more round because they were much more dynamic, fun to watch and cool. Actually, I no longer nothing Rotunda. Flat out FUCK Rotunda and Kevin Sullivan. I hate them for screwing Simmons and Doc. Also, Doc & Simmons would be a bad ass name for a tag team, detective duo, superhero team or insurance company.
Match 3 - Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard vs Kendall Windham & The Italian Stallion - Round 2
Kendall and Stallion weren't bad here at all. They were both young and athletic and really caused the Horsemen some problems. The match was fast paced, intense and physical and didn't let up for a second. However, inexperience got the better of the young jobbers and Arn planted Stallion with a DDT. The team of Kendall and Stallion were glorified a little in their defeat, and if given a longer amount of time at a PPV perhaps they could have gained a little credibility. And to be fair, Arn and Tully are one of the best teams ever and Windham and Stallion, well... aren't.
Match 4 - The Road Warriors vs The Jive Tones - Round 2
The Jive Tones were riding on momentum going into this, but they ultimately got squashed here. Sure, they put up a decent effort in the brief 2 or so minutes the match lasted, but in the end the Road Warriors weren't going to lose to a team that looked put together for the sake of it because the wrestlers didn't have a lot going on. It would have been nice to see them get a push though, perhaps by beating another team and progressing further.
Match 5 - The Fantastics vs Larry Zybyszko & Al Perez - Round 2
This was one of the better matches of a nice, solid bunch. The Fantastics win this one in great face fashion by getting the roll up pin after Larry Z and Perez attempted a double team move. This match was good due to the 4 great wrestlers in the ring. Tommy Rogers is easily won of my favorite wrestlers since discovering NWA.
Match 6 - Sting & Lex Luger vs Dick Murdoch & Ivan Koloff - Round 2
The 2 biggest babyfaces in the company at the team were forced to team up due to circumstances outwith their control and take on the 2 crafty old veterans of Dick Murdoch and Ivan Koloff. Lex Luger does one of the most ridiculous dropkicks in the history of wrestling and then manhandles Koloff. Essentially, this match was used to get Sting and Luger over, but it's Murdoch and Koloff who really look like a more convincing tag team. They're nasty and they're dirty. They're everything Sting and Lex aren't. That's why I love them really. I mean, Sting and Luger are fine. Dick Murdoch though - that's the fucking man right there. Great match though.
Match 7 - Midnight Express vs. The Sheepherders - Round 2
Pretty standard match. Back and forth brawl. Pretty fun. Ends with a sneaky tennis racket to the back from Eaton and a cover from Lane. If this match showed anything, it's that the Express are better heels than the Sheepherders. Also, the Sheepherders are a great stereotype.
Match 8 - Jimmy Garvin vs Kevin Sullivan - Prince of Darkness Death Match
Yet another match in the feud over that bitch Precious. She's not good enough for a guy like Garvin and Kevin Sullivan is perhaps the only human rodent in NWA at this time. He's a prime example of genetics having a blood orgy with themselves. At least for this match his face was covered. Oh yeah, it was a blindfold match. So the match is pretty self explanatory, punches being thrown everywhere, chokes, the crowd direct Garvin, Garvin wins, gets beat up, brother comes to his aid, Rotunda comes to make it 3 on 2, a bunch of babyfaces run out to help ease the situation. Nice match for the sheer pointlessness and crapfest it is. This one was for the crowd to shout, like a pantomime when you're a kid and the big bird runs behind the witch. Kevin Sullivan has a fatter, hairier stomach than the slut I lost my virginity to as well.
Match 9 - Bunkhouse Stampede Finals - Bunkhouse Stampede 1988 - RECAP Match
This was from another event, one which I covered in full in my review of Bunkhouse Stampede 1988 which you'll find on this blog. If you want the quick summary - fun but not spectacular. Have no idea why it's been shown again here. Got to love random shit sometimes.
Match 10 - The Road Warriors vs Powers of Pain - Quarterfinals
It's a shame that this is the only quarterfinal match shown considering Sting & Luger took on the Midnight Express, and they showed a match from Bunkhouse Stampede which really didn't need to be shown. But, this match wasn't a disappointment. It was an all out brawl between some big bad sons of bitches, with big slams and steel steeps thrown all over the place. Throw in a steel chair and we have ourselves the perfect amount of chaos for a respected tag team tournament. This kicked anus. Ended with a great disqualification after a powerful clothesline on the referee and the Powers of Pain progressed as a result.
Match 11 - The Midnight Rider vs JJ Dillon - Bull Rope Match
This match was fun and probably booked for the crowd to see Dillon take a beating from Dusty (sorry, Midnight Rider... ahem). This match started of with Dillon in control but Rider gains control with a low blow and wrapping JJ across the head with a cowbell and pursues him with the cowbell throughout, busting JJ open. Rider wins after beating JJ over the head with the bell once more. I really enjoyed this match. It was only a few minutes of Dillon being beaten with a bell, choked and beat some more, but it was good for being exactly that. The post match brawl involves an appearance from The Texan, who comes out and beats on Dust... I mean Rider and Murdoc... I mean, Texan really does a number on Dusty. Then Dr. Death appears to defend Rider, but he gets wrapped with the bell also. Great match.
Match 12 - Lex Luger and Sting vs Powers of Pain - Semifinals
2 babyfaces against 2 brute, ugly heels. A tried and tested formula that delivers on entertainment more often than not. None of these teams work particularly great together, for instance, they aren't as dynamic as the Horsemen or Midnight Express. It's more a series of individuals teaming up rather than a functioning effective team. However, they still are good teams, just not great teams. Sting and Luger was a team made for the fans, clearly. And boy, were they over. Both of these teams though were pretty much in their infancy.
My favorite moment of the match is when The Barbarian big boots Sting from the apron. It's great and Sting sells it like a champ, but I think it's a possibility Barbarian actually stuck him. Another great moment is when Warlord slams Sting straight to hell. The Powers of Pain were the best part of this match, but Sting and Luger were able to overcome the odds like classic babyfaces. Good match.
Match 13 - Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard vs The Fantastics - Semifinals
This was a great match. Easily the best of the entire event. It's pretty much what you'd expect from a match between The Horsemen and The Fantastics. It's tag team wrestling to the highest standard, 4 greats working a routine terrific match and the Horsemen being executioners and The Fantastics taking it and fighting with all they have left after the methodical beatdowns by Arn & Tully, while gaining spurs of momentum from the supporting crowd who chant their name.
The Fantastics spend the majority of the match with Bobby Fulton getting annihilated by The Horsemen, but they start to take it to them when Tommy Rogers gets tagged in, even connecting with The ROCKET LAUNCHER (which may I add is a timeless tag team move), but Tully breaks it up. Arn nails Rogers with a shoe pretty soon after and ends this great match with a Horsemen victory.
Match 14 - NWA Heavyweight Championship - Ric Flair vs Nikita Koloff
At this time, Barry Windham had just joined The Horsemen and accompanied Flair to the ring, so I suspect most of the boos here were for Windham. This was a solid bout but nothing spectacular as they had better matches with each other than this one, but it was a fine filler to take up a few minutes. All the matches at this event were roughly under 10 minutes as there was so much to get through, so given the time limit that they could work with this was a good match. Actually, it was nice to see them go at a relentless pace and switch it up a bit. Also, Flair bled like a boss as per and retained through DQ.
Match 15 - Sting & Lex Luger vs Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard - Final
Oh man, this was awesome. This match, Luger and Sting finally looked like a tag team. The team of Stinger and Lex don't allow the Horsemen to get their game plan going by preventing tags and working on Arn Anderson, but Arn is a dirty player in the game in his own right and he manages to pull out a little trick to get Sting off him and Tully in the ring and change the match in the direction of The Horsemen. After a spell of dominance by Horsemen, the match becomes a go between and ends with a roll up pin by Luger on Arn. Sting and Arn a million richer as well.
Summary: A great event overall with some great matches. I recommend you check it out.
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