Ryan Navigates '90 - #31 (5/6-5/11)
I hope the El Camino I left in the Sportatorium parking lot is OK...
Good day!
This time around, the Four Horsemen add one more member to their ranks to complete the stable. Also, we have a few matches on today’s slate, including two from USWA Dallas. We’ll have tag action and Kerry Von Erich looking to exact some revenge against Matt Borne. There’s also another great trios match from EMLL and some promos to round things out.
SUNDAY, MAY 6th
WWF Superstars of Wrestling
“Mean” Gene Okerlund brings “Macho King” Randy Savage and Sensational Queen Sherri to the interview platform. Again, they look regal AF, as the kids might say.
Savage has a LOT to say, OOOOHHHH YEEAAAHHHHH, as the crowd boos the everloving shit out of the royal couple. Macho talks about Sapphire being forced to willfully crawling over to kiss his royal foot (completely with video replay of the incident), then brings up Dusty Rhodes. Savage proclaims that the American Dream will kiss BOTH the royal feet of Sherri, and she’s absolutely GIDDY at the prospect.
After Dusty pays homage to the Queen, each and every one of the commoners and peasants around the world will “simultaneously, and at the same time” kiss the feet of the royal duo. Sherri tears one of Savage’s sleeves open to free the kingly bicep.
Even though I could live without the prospect of the Savage/Rhodes feud dragging on, Macho King and Queen Sherri are still incredible fun here. If I were to pick a WWF MVP with what I’ve covered so far, I’d select these two.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 9th
USWA Evansville TV (Memphis)
We get another promo for the Evansville market, this time from Jerry “The King” Lawler. Yes, he has the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship again, having won it back from “Handsome” Jimmy Valiant on May 5th.
He expresses disappointment in the Evansville fans cheering for Valiant instead of him. Lawler doesn’t NEED the fans and claims that Valiant rode on his coattails when they were tag partners. When they clash this week in Evansville, Lawler will finish Valiant once and for all!
Just a quickie, to-the-point promo for the upcoming match. Interestingly enough, Valiant didn’t get a verbal evisceration like others have from the King.
FRIDAY, MAY 11th
EMLL Super Viernes
El Satanico, El Dandy & Emilio Charles, Jr. vs. Atlantis, Javier Cruz & Angel Azteca - We saw some friction between Atlantis and El Dandy in the last trios match we covered, so they should have some heated interactions here. Seeing Charles teaming up with Satanico and Dandy is a bit odd. I’m not sure if he turned tecnico, or if Dandy and Satanico are leaning more into rudo territory.
Cruz isn’t really someone I know much about, but he had been wrestling since 1980 and was the then-current Mexican National Middleweight Champion.
There’s a LOT of taunting and posturing back and forth during the ring introductions. Azteca and Satanico REALLY seem to want a piece of each other.
PRIMERA CAIDA: Satanico and Azteca initially start us off, but Azteca taunts El Dandy, prompting Satanico to tag him in instead. Dandy and Azteca trade flying kicks until Dandy grounds Angel with a leglock. Dandy clotheslines Azteca out of the air, then soon traps him in a half-crab, which transitions to a legbar. Azteca makes the ropes, then quickly gets a hammerlock on Dandy. Cruz tags in and resumes the hold, then Atlantis tags in to further punish the arm.
Dandy tags out to Satanico, and Atlantis immediately works over his leg. Cruz tags in and hits a running splash to the damaged leg, but Satanico soon outwrestles him, barring the hell out of his arm. Charles tags in and runs Cruz’s shoulder into the mat before tagging Dandy back in for more abuse. A very nice German gets two for Dandy, then Cruz tags Azteca back in.
Both guys exchange counters in a great little sequence that ends with an Angel kick to the back. Dandy tags Satanico in, and he immediately works over Azteca’s arm. Atlantis heads in, and him and Satanico zip around in one HELL of an athletic reversal sequence that ends in a stalemate. Cruz and Charles check in, with Cruz getting a flying headscissors before Charles hits a monkey flip. Both guys exchange quebradoras, resulting in Charles flopping out of the ring and Cruz tagging Atlantis. El Dandy now checks in to oppose Atlantis.
Atlantis sends Dandy FLYING out of the ring with a shoulderblock, so Charles re-enters. Atlantis goes for a pin, so Dandy slingshots in…but lands on Charles by mistake! Atlantis accidentally launches Dandy into a dropkick on Azteca, but Charles counters a hurricanrana into a powerbomb. Dandy pins Azteca, then Satanico counters a Cruz hurricanrana into a high-angle crab for the submission, giving the first fall to Dandy, Satanico, and Charles.
SEGUNDA CAIDA: Azteca shoulderblocks Charles down and takes him out of the ring with a couple of nifty armdrags. Atlantis and Dandy tag in and have a blistering sequence that ends with a lariat from the latter. Atlantis flips out of the corner to evade Dandy, then they exchange somersaults out of monkey flips in a nice sequence. Satanico comes in and bosses Cruz, who catches him with a couple of armdrags and a dropkick dodge. They get in each other’s faces before Cruz tags out to Azteca.
Satanico hiptosses Angel, but Azteca quickly dodges a knee in the corner and pins him with a hurricanrana. Atlantis hits a beauty of a twisted senton to pin Charles, then Cruz pins Dandy with an electric chair drop to take the second fall.
TERCERA CAIDA: Atlantis immediately drops a knee onto Satanico’s head, but Satanico comes back with a pair of DDTs. Dandy heads back in and works over the arm, but Atlantis hits a back suplex for two. Azteca re-enters and uses the ropes to attack Dandy’s neck, then dodges a corner charge, forcing a tag from Dandy to Charles. Emilio lands a vicious clothesline, but Cruz tags in and hits a big dropkick and a couple of quebradoras.
Satanico tags in and bulldogs Cruz down, then does the same to Atlantis, then to Azteca! Dandy comes in and eats a pair of dropkicks from Atlantis, who then applies a double-armbar. Atlantis transitions into a rolling pin for two, then soon hits a sweet belly-to-belly for another near-fall. Dandy mounts a comeback with an inverted Boston crab, but Atlantis powers out.
Satanico comes back in and drives Atlantis’ shoulder into the mat. Azteca tags in and endures the same, then Satanico hits a spinebuster. He goes for a pinning combo off of that, which looks like it should have been three, but Atlantis hits Satanico with a sunset flip to get the actual three. Dandy dropkicks Atlantis out and hits a pretty tope suicida! Charles hits a wheelbarrow German on Cruz, but the referees count both mens’ shoulders down for three! The match is declared a draw.
**** - Another high-level EMLL trios match here, probably about on par with the last one. This was another strong blend of matwork, acrobatics, and character dynamics. Satanico again stood out, mostly for his stuff with Cruz and his repeated use of armbar drivers and bulldogs, and the athleticism from Atlantis and Dandy was truly impressive. Great execution throughout, too.
USWA Challenge (Dallas)
Jeff Jarrett & Billy Joe Travis vs. Tony Anthony & John Tatum - People who read my Dive into ‘95 series may remember that I wasn’t exactly fond of Anthony (otherwise known as the Dirty White Boy), but I don’t mind him in a tag setting, especially when you have him paired with someone like Tatum.
Seeing Jarrett and Travis team up after Double J nearly murdered Billy Joe in that Guitar on a Pole match is a bit jarring. Imagine heel Travis and Tatum teaming up, though. That would have been GOLD, man.
Travis chases the heels out of the ring with the guitar, with Tatum in particular being hilariously over-the-top in his cowardice.
Ronnie P. Gossett is the target of “PORKY” chants from the crowd, which upsets him greatly.
Tatum and Travis start off, with Travis dodging some blows before hitting a crossbody for two. Hollywood scampers into his corner and tags in Anthony, who blasts Billy Joe with corner chops. Travis comes back with a clothesline and a backrake, then him and Jarrett ping-pong the Dirty White Boy with punches for another near fall. Anthony oozes back to his corner as Tatum calls for a time-out. There’re no time-outs in wrestling, you silly goose!
Gossett gets another round of “PORKY” chants, causing him to walk towards the back as Travis dropkicks DWB out of the ring. Travis pulls him back in, then Jarrett tags in for a double-team punch for a two-count. I feel like Jarrett and Bill Dundee are in a race to see who can lock up the “Worst Gear of 1990” award. It’s like the 1998 home run battle between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, but with ugly-ass tights instead of dingers.
Tony kicks out of the cover as USWA CHALLENGE ROLLS ON…
…and we’re back with Travis barring Tatum’s arm. Tatum’s escape attempt results in him accidentally clotheslining Anthony off the apron, then Travis and Jarrett continue working on his arm. Tatum escapes and hits a slam, then tags the future TL Hopper back in…but Jarrett immediately armdrags him down into an armbar. After some dodges, Jarrett punches Anthony down for two, but DWB escapes a headlock and secures a bodyslam.
A kneedrop from Anthony misses, allowing Jarrett to regain the upper hand with armbarring. However, Gossett (who returned to ringside) trips Jarrett, allowing the heels to take over. Tatum hits a savate kick, then we get more double-teaming from the baddies. As referee Bronco Lubich is distracted by Travis and Tatum, Jarrett gets rammed into a chair held up by Gossett, but he kicks out at two! Seconds later, the heels try the same thing, but Jarrett reverses! Anthony eats the steel and Jarrett BARELY gets the three!
After the match, Jarrett drags Gossett into the ring and pounds away at him! C’mon, he’s a manager with a heart condition! DWB attacks Double J from behind, and now the heels, including Gossett himself, overwhelm the faces.
Gossett gets a clothesline on Jarrett, then hits a couple of splashes! Tatum whips him into a corner avalanche on Jeff, and Gossett was barely able to get there without collapsing. Gossett then lands a couple of splashes on Travis before the segment ends.
**3/4 - Really solid tag match here, albeit a bit messy at the end and slightly rushed. Travis was a great babyface here, but I liked him still being a bit heelish to show that he hasn’t completely changed his DNA. Him and Jarrett made a good tandem, and Anthony and Tatum were solid heels.
The post-match with Gossett was a bit long for my taste, but still pretty effective. I normally don’t need to see managers physically dominate babyfaces, but he did at least have ample assistance from Tatum and Anthony, and him being a big fat guy made his splashes look like they would at least hurt.
Kerry Von Erich vs. “Maniac” Matt Borne - This one’s been building for a bit, but Borne beating the crap out of Chris Von Erich last time really poured some gasoline on this issue.
Kerry is INTENSELY focused here, which is great to see.
Things are so hairy that matchmaker John Brozell is out there with Bronco Lubich to ensure that Kerry doesn’t completely tear Borne asunder before the match starts.
Borne goes to attack Kerry from behind, but KVE suckered him in! The Modern Day Warrior goes HAM with right hands, but Borne blocks a discus punch and blasts him with chops. Borne assails Kerry in the corner, but Von Erich fights back with punches. Borne resists the IRON CLAW, so Kerry applies it to the stomach!
Maniac escapes by going to the eyes, then punches and bites Kerry in the corner. However, Kerry comes back with an offensive flurry, ending with a discus punch that sends Borne over the top rope as USWA CHALLENGE ROLLS ON…
…and we’re back with Borne running Kerry into the ringpost, then both guys brawl up the aisle. Kerry runs Borne into the post this time, but Borne quickly hurls a chair into the ring. Kerry contemplates using it but opts to dispose of it and continue battering Borne with his bare fists instead. Another couple of discus punches sends Borne to the floor again.
Kerry leaps off the apron with an Iron Claw, but Borne escapes, and we fight all the way to the parking lot! The referee’s counted them out long ago at this point.
It’s very dark out there, but we see Kerry ramming Borne into an El Camino. Moments later, Kerry gets back body dropped into the bed of the truck and Borne shatters the windshield with a crowbar! Borne involves a 2x4, but Kerry blocks it! After more Camino-related headbashing, Kerry bodyslams Borne onto the hood!
In his rage, Kerry slugs Brozell, who was trying to intervene! After some more back-and-forth brawling, Kerry wallops Borne with the 2x4 as Chris Adams and Jeff Jarrett break things up. Brozell tells the camera to go away as the other babyfaces herd Kerry to the ringside area and away from Borne.
***3/4 - This was an AWESOME, wild, compact, hateful brawl. The fighting was intense and HEATED, whether it was between the ropes, at ringside, or in the parking lot. You never really saw that kind of thing very often during this time period.
In contrast to more cowardly heels like John Tatum, Borne was desperate and completely unhinged here. He also took some hellacious bumps, especially on the truck.
Kerry was very intense and mostly dialed-in throughout. When Big Ker is focused (or at least appears to be), he can be truly great. I really liked the touch of Kerry not using the chair at first because he didn’t want to resort to those tactics, only to end up using the 2x4 and the truck in the parking lot because Borne pissed him off so much. Excellent segment.
The word “suspension” was floating around when Brozell was out in the parking lot, but it was unclear as to whether he was discussing Kerry, Borne, or both. Hell, he could have been talking about one of the cars.
That bodyslam onto the hood of the truck is brought to you by NINTENDO!
NOW YOU’RE PLAYING WITH POWER!
Speaking of power…
NWA Power Hour
This week on the Louisville Slugger, Ric Flair and Ole Anderson of the Four Horsemen join Jim Cornette in the ring.
After some brief hype, Ole introduces the newest Horseman: SID VICIOUS! Woman accompanies him to the ring as Corny lists all his credentials, mostly related to his size.
Sid’s first threat as a Horsemen is directed at RoboCop! Robert Cop is not the man of the future! Sid is! He’s going to crush RoboCop like a TIN CAN!
Ole brings out Arn Anderson and Barry Windham to show the Horsemen at full strength, then Flair addresses Lex Luger briefly before ending with a “WOOOOO”.
With that, the Horsemen are at full strength. While Sid is kind of an outlier from an in-ring and personality perspective, he certainly added an element of unpredictability and raw power. As well, being a Horsemen is an immediate boost in prestige, and Sid gets a chance to learn from some of the best in the country.
Plus, Sid just…fucking rules, so I’m happy to see him on my screen.
We jump to Ric Flair and Woman joining Gordon Solie on the interview platform. Woman explains that she was on a manhunt, and she got her man in Sid.
Flair says that when Woman and Flair got together, they put together the greatest sports package today. Money, brains, and more brawn than the Road Warriors, the Steiners, Luger, Sting, or anyone else can deal with. When the cage goes up, it makes no difference! Luger is going to bleed, sweat, and find out why Flair’s the world champion!
The usual Flair promo, which is always fun, and the chemistry with Woman continues to get stronger.
THE TUGBOAT TRIBUNE
As always, the news comes courtesy of Dave Meltzer and the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Tugboat, the namesake of this tribune and unanimous pick for “Greatest Wrestler Who Also Happened to be a Boat”, had been missing his WWF dates, and the company is believed to be giving up on the character.
The latest rumor is that his new name will be “Bronto” and will be feuding with Dino Bravo. Dear God, that sounds awful.
Fortunately, the rebrand doesn’t happen, but he’d definitely get de-emphasized on television.
Unfortunately, the Dino Bravo feud DID happen.
The Ultimate Warrior’s reign continues to be a big pile of meh, with lackluster reactions everywhere he goes.
In what was another sign of the NWA’s fortunes this year, Lex Luger got lost on his way to the arena for a Boston house show.
This resulted in the NWA having to change the advertised main event to Ric Flair vs. Rick Steiner. However, during the ring announcements for the main event, Luger finally made it to the venue. The Steiner match was canned, and, after a second intermission so that Luger can get his shit together, they ended up having the advertised main.
The NWA had signed Abdullah the Butcher, but he ended up quitting shortly afterwards.
Abby had a tour lined up with All Japan Pro-Wrestling, and he apparently let the company know that he couldn’t stay for long before putting pen to paper. However, the NWA still signed him and put him on TV for whatever reason.
NEXT TIME: SURVEY SAYS…for me to take a quick look at a special NWA vs. GLOW week of Family Feud.
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