Ryan Navigates '90 - #36 (5/20 - 5/25)
The Lion, The Switch, & The Wired Rope
Good day!
“USWA Dallas Grudges” is the theme of the day, as we’ll get action from the three big storylines going on in that promotion. Aside from that, we finally get some more New Japan action with Keiji Muto and Riki Choshu going at it in an absolute belter, Paul E. Dangerously’s return to management, and some other odds and ends to button things up.
We don't have anything for 5/20-5/23, so we'll start on the 24th.
THURSDAY, MAY 24th
NJPW Crush The Super Heavy 1990, Night One
“Crush The Super Heavy” is such an awesome tour name.
Riki Choshu vs. Keiji Muto - As discussed in a prior Tugboat Tribune, Muto started wrestling as himself in lieu of his Great Muta character, and is getting over as a babyface as a result. It looks like he had some cupping therapy done around his shoulder, or he lost a fight with a giant squid.
Muto goes for a headlock, but Choshu immediately sends him out of the ring with a MASSIVE Saito suplex, then follows with an old man tope! Choshu aggressively suplexes Muto back in for two, but Muto soon comes back with a spinning back kick and a dropkick to send Choshu to the floor. Muto lands a huge slingshot plancha, then brings Riki back in for a handspring elbow and a couple of awesome Muto elbows before slowing things down a bit with a bridging Muto Lock. That first couple of minutes was unreal.
Choshu eventually rolls over, so Muto continues to punish the knee. A figure four attempt is blocked by Choshu at first, but Muto eventually sinks it in. Choshu reverses the pressure, then escapes and takes over with some kicks. Choshu tries a Scorpion Deathlock, but Muto (and Choshu’s own knee) fight against it. Muto wrestles out of that and into a leglock, which Choshu tries to battle out of with slaps to the face. A pissed-off Muto releases and just UNLOADS with right hands!
Choshu carries Muto out of the corner and hits an overhead throw for two, then grounds Muto with a figure-four headscissors. Muto rolls to the ropes and takes his time escaping the hold as Choshu was hesitant with the release. After a brief respite on the floor, Muto tries a takedown, but Choshu hits a flying headscissors to put Muto on the mat, maintaining the hold to wear Keiji down. Muto escapes and applies a side headlock, but Choshu ends that with a kneebreaker. Scorpion Deathlock attempt is broken up with an eye rake, then Muto shifts his weight on a Saito suplex attempt for a near-fall.
Muto hits a facecrusher, then a series of kicks against the ropes. Muto misses one dropkick attempt, but when Choshu tries to approach from another side of the ring, he gets caught with a second one. Another dropkick sends Riki to the floor, then Muto follows with a MASSIVE tope over the corner!
Muto suplexes Choshu back in and hits his moonsault halfway across the ring! Muto covers, but Choshu BARELY rolls his shoulder off the mat before the three! German suplex from Muto gets another extremely close near-fall, then he applies an octopus hold that Choshu rolls out of. Seconds later, Choshu lands a lariat and applies the Scorpion Deathlock!
The fans will Muto to the ropes, but Choshu locks it in for a second time! Muto doesn’t give in, so Choshu releases and blasts him with another lariat for a CLOSE near-fall! Choshu beheads Muto with one last lariat, FINALLY keeping him down for the three!
****1/2 - This was one HELL of a battle, with the younger Muto putting up his high-flying/brawling style against Choshu’s classic playbook. The start was absolutely incredible with both guys throwing bombs right away, and the finish was super-exciting with plenty of near-falls and a molten crowd. The story was expertly told, and I enjoyed Choshu trying some of Muta’s stuff (that tope!) in the beginning before opting to keep him grounded.
Some may take issue with the slight lack of leg selling from Muto during the middle portion, but I thought it was fine for the amount of time that Choshu worked it, and he did sell it at the end. Plus, everything was hard-fought and executed with copious amounts of aggression and tenacity. Choshu prevailed in the end, but Muto looked mighty in defeat.
FRIDAY, MAY 25th
NWA Power Hour
This week on the Louisville Slugger, Jim Cornette welcomes Theodore R. Long and “Mean” Mark Callous.
Cornette asks about how Mean Mark developed his deadly heart punch finisher, but Teddy shuts that down as he has a BIG ANNOUNCEMENT, one so big that the CNN cameras are at ringside! Teddy sees Mark as a future heavyweight champion, but he doesn’t have time to manage both him and Doom. He’s gonna stick with the tag champs, so Mean Mark’s contract is up for sale.
Long says the buyer is also a manager, and he’s a GOOD FRIEND of Cornette’s! That man is… Paul E. Dangerously! Cornette’s face going from gleeful anticipation to crushing disappointment is great.
Cornette unleashes a pissed-off tirade against Paul E. as he enters the ring, then warns Teddy to “take cash”. There’s some ECW guys who should have followed the same advice.
Dangerously’s not here to cause trouble, though he does imply that he did some naughty things with Cornette’s mother. Dangerously says that nothing will stop Mean Mark and his heart punch from being the next world champion. Even his lawyers say so!
With this, Paul E. returns to managing duties in the NWA. I liked how, even though they’re both heels, Corny and Paul E. aren’t automatically buddy-buddy after feuding in 1989 (not to mention their real-life beef). Their mutual distaste here was entertaining. Say what you want about him as a human (really, please do), but Heyman’s always been a great manager, so it’s good to see him resume that role.
USWA Challenge (Dallas)
Barbed Wire Match: Steve Austin vs. “Gentleman” Chris Adams - In this contest, the titular wire is strung up between the standard ring ropes.
Adams comes out to Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down”, which only came out just a little over a year prior. It’s kind of weird to think of a time when “Full Moon Fever” was a relatively new album.
You know what? I think it’s time for a MUSIC BREAK!
Adams isn’t happy about Jeanie being at ringside, and Austin’s back is already scratched up from going in and out of the ring earlier.
Adams rolls towards Austin a couple of times early on, prompting him to bail and nick himself on the wire. After Austin re-enters, Adams wrestles him down and drags his face towards the wire, but Austin blocks it. Adams applies a headlock, but Austin backs him into the corner, unloads with some punches, and teases shoving him face-first into the wire, prompting shrieks from the crowd. The Gentleman’s facial expressions are great here.
Adams fights out, then full-nelsons Austin and again tries to barbed-wire his face, but Austin escapes and hits a high knee as USWA CHALLENGE ROLLS ON…
…and we’re back with Adams again trying to introduce Austin’s face into the wire, but Austin again rebuffs and takes over with a sleeperhold. Adams fights out, but Austin catches him with a sweet powerslam, but a top rope splash misses. Adam hits a piledriver, but his own splash hits knees. Austin presses Adams up and threatens to drop him onto the barbed wire, but Adams wriggles free and catches Austin in a crucifix for the three!
Post-match, Jeanie gives Austin some brass knuckles, which Steve uses to slug Adams. She tosses in a chair, and Austin absolutely pummels his trainer with it. Jeanie even gets to claw at Adams’ eyes as he’s rolling to the apron.
*** - This was a very interesting one. If you came into this expecting a bloodbath like something out of ECW or FMW, you’ll be sorely disappointed as the only lacerations came from Austin exiting and re-entering the ring. However, this match worked because it was built around the danger of the wire. Both guys did a terrific job selling the peril, and the teases were suitably dramatic.
This was definitely the best match between these two that I’ve seen so far. The post-match beatdown from Austin (and Jeanie) was really brutal, too.
We clip to the finish of “Superstar” Bill Dundee (c) vs. “Hollywood” John Tatum for the Southern Heavyweight Championship. Tatum berates Tessa, and she’s not entirely sure which corner she wants to be in. Dundee applies a sleeper, but Hollywood breaks it by backing into the corner. Tatum continues punishing Dundee with chokes and stomps.
Superstar comes back with a rapid-fire series of rights, prompting Tatum to beg off. However, Tatum evades a dropkick, and referee Tony Falk gets bumped during a bodyslam attempt. Tatum heads upstairs…but Tessa shakes the ropes! Tatum gets crotched, and Dundee picks up the win to retain! Dundee and Tessa smooch before heading to the back. Issues with aspects of the storyline aside, this was a pretty nice payoff with Tatum getting some much-deserved comeuppance.
USWA Texas Heavyweight Championship, Lumberjack Match: “Maniac” Matt Borne (c) vs. Kerry Von Erich - A barbed wire match AND a lumberjack match on the same show? That is this, Extreme Rules?
Of course, Borne and Kerry had that awesome fight that turned into a parking lot brawl a few weeks ago, necessitating the lumberjack stip. Aside from the lumberjacks at ringside, a bunch of officials and bigwigs (like John Brozell) are out there to keep control of things.
The myriad officials try to keep the parties separated for the introductions, but Kerry pisses off Borne by piefacing him. The bell rings, and both guys charge into each other with blows, with Kerry getting the upper hand. Borne withstands some punches and hits a belly-to-belly, but Kerry keeps slugging away. Von Erich punches Borne out of the ring a couple of times, and Maniac Matt is immediately redeposited into the ring by the lumberjacks.
Borne regains the advantage with some fists, and Kerry gets a turn at getting shoved back into the ring by the jacks of lumber. Kerry applies a sleeper, but both guys tumble over the top. The lumberjacks eventually separate them and toss them back in, where both guys trade blows on their knees. Kerry applies the IRON CLAW, then releases in order to hit a discus punch for a very close two.
Vertical suplex gets another near-fall for Kerry, but Borne tosses him out and onto Percy Pringle at the announce desk. Jimmy Jack Funk helps Kerry in, who hits another discus punch. However, Percy hops onto the apron to bitch Kerry out for ripping his jacket, allowing Borne to roll Kerry up for the pin to retain!
An incensed Kerry snatches the house mic and tells Borne to get his BUTT back out there as we cut to commercial.
**3/4 - This was quite short and not as great a match as their last one, but it was still a very intense, well-worked brawl. It was relatively realistic; not in a UWF way, but it was messy, heated, and you felt the hatred between both competitors. The execution of the finish was pretty weak, but it does further establish Pringle’s presence in the story.
EMLL Super Viernes
We don’t have a match from EMLL this time, but we do get some interesting clips from the end credits. We see footage of various street vendors outside the arena selling food and merchandise, like magazines, masks, and action figures.
This was a nice little peek into the culture at the time, and I enjoyed seeing all those collectibles. I like that there’s some football player action figures mixed in with the lucha ones.
THE TUGBOAT TRIBUNE
As always, the news comes courtesy of Dave Meltzer and the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Before the Road Warriors took the WWF offer, they had offered to avail themselves to both AJPW and NJPW.
The deal was 16 weeks a year for $20,000 per week, but both companies found that a tad steep.
The “ComSat buying WCW thing” that came up last time was a tad exaggerated. ComSat was actually wanting to purchase the rights to show PPVs in Ramada hotel chains.
Ole Anderson has been negotiating with Big Van Vader about coming in for the Great American Bash PPV.
We go from one good Ole decision to a less-good one, as Junkyard Dog is replacing an ailing Lex Luger opposite Ric Flair on the house show circuit.
NEXT TIME: Misawa & Company vs. Jumbo & Company in trios action, Earthquake confronts the Hulkster, and more!
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