Happy new year! Not that I celebrate it in any sustainable way, anyway. Here’s the go home show for Dixie Dynamite.
Slight change to the intro, with Jim Ross in front of a green screen showing the crowd behind him. That ALWAYS looked awful. Still no Bob back.
Ricky Morton vs. Rip Rogers
Corny was talking on his podcast about Rogers’ propensity as a trainer in OVW to call people cunts a lot. Still better than the Assassin in Deep South with his guns in the office that they had to sneak out. Jim talks about Dusty Rhodes joining him on commentary at the Clash, and I definitely hope he joins him on this show because JR going solo and vamping is torturous stuff. Headlock and hammerlock showcase early on, punctuated by Ricky using Rogers’ pigtails to throw him across the ring. Rogers gets an atomic drop from the headlock to break the momentum and a Bob Orton powerslam for two. Weird hip toss where Rogers drops down with him, like a belly-to-belly. Morton reverses a suplex to one of his own and rolls up Rogers after a missed charge. Perfectly fine. The Greatest…
Ricky talks to Paul E Dangerously about his match with Terry Taylor at the clash. Ricky talks through his current frustrations while Terry comes out to challenge Paul E on stirring up shit. A handshake ends the segment, but it’s a pretty good tease for Terry being a hypocrite.
Sid Vicious vs. Greg Sawyer
Always my favourite segment around these times. Sid talks on an insert about getting his own medics to escort his victims out. Clothesline and double axehandle. Sid was great at just appearing like a lion ravaging a rabbit, scarier than anyone else but the coolest guy on the roster. Stiff shoulderblock in the corner and a powerbomb out of nowhere. He just picked him up and threw him down, which was definitely reckless but looked vicious. The Greatest…
Gotta talk about the Wrestle War ’91 advert, which has some cool bits from the wrestlers at the same time as an annoying, nerdy narrator, but the whole thing of “It’s time to go to war!” had to be rubbing a raw nerve at the time.
Wrestling Wrap-Up with Gordon Solie, promoting Scott Steiner challenging Ric Flair for the world heavyweight championship. A bit of promotion for it, with Jim Ross interviewing new champion Flair after his win at the Meadowlands, flanked by Arn and Barry. Ricky Morton and Brian Pillman brush past on the way out, pouring scorn on him, before Flair calls out the Steiners as they walk past, leading to a confrontation. Then the unfinished eight-man, with Scott and his wet mullet getting it on, with Flair running off from him. Scott then gets a gravelly promo while Flair rebuts while namedropping Ted Turner and Jane Fonda as the greatest romance of all time, which would later be disproved.
Tim Horner vs. Sheik Ali Shikar
See the paragraph before last. The jobber is, of course, from Iraq, and has a prayer mat. He looks a bit more like Al Perez than the Iron Sheik, though. Commentary is already massively improved for Paul E having joined the commentary on the last match, leading to Paul questioning why Dusty’s on commentary at the Clash and not him, what’s he ever achieved? “Three world titles, to name… three things…”, says Jim, lamely. Sheik rakes the eyes and gets a small package for one. Horner flips too far on a backslide as Paul calls Shikar “the wacky Iraqi”. Horner with a sunset flip as Paul proudly admits to being a chauvinist, then a block of an atomic drop and reversal to an O’Connor roll for the win. Match was fine, Paul was awesome on commentary. The Greatest…
Missy Hyatt talks to Michael Wall Street and Alexandra York ahead of Wall Street’s match with Horner at the Clash. Horner’s going down like a recession. York and Missy continue their mutual admiration ahead of the latter’s arm wrestling match at the Clash.
Michael Wall Street vs. Scott Allen
Alexandra calls it in under six minutes – it’s ALWAYS under six minutes. JR talks about how York may not even bring Michael to the Clash and instead debut the newest member of the York Foundation, which was indeed the case because Michael left mid-push just before this episode aired to go the WWF to be IRS for four years. So, wheels in motion for changes that would be very much of the reason why I’m focusing on WCW in 1991. JR continues to move the heat to York by saying that she’s the real brain while Michael’s the puppet. Wall Street drops the elbows on the leg and goes to a rope-assisted grapevine. Paul’s pissed off that this “broad” has outdone his mobile phone with her laptop. Stock Market Crash finishes in under the predicted six minutes. A Because WCW mentality, but The Greatest… just for Jim being so blatant in burying Rotunda on the way out.
Doom vs. Mike Samples and Mike Hart
Simmons pounds Hart from the start. Reed in with Samples, with an impressive pair of suplexes given how big Samples is. Then a running slam into the corner, with the cameraman holding on for dear life while avoiding Samples’ feet. Four consecutive backbreakers on Samples as the referee randomly decides to end the match based on Samples being unable to continue. Reed continues to lay it on with a piledriver. Teddy encourages more violence while Simmons tries to pull him off. Hart comes in to interrupt too, so Simmons flips again and punches him out. Eventually, Samples rolls out to avoid more punishment. Fine match, but weird finish, mainly to establish Reed as the ruthless one and Simmons as the more sportsmanlike one in a build towards their split. The Greatest…
Paul talks to Teddy and Doom after the match ahead of facing Sting and Lex at the Clash. Pretty sure Teddy gets the date wrong. He and Butch look forward to partying afterwards, but Ron says he’s all about business, not playing.
Flyin’ Brian vs. Cajun Predator
The jobber isn’t half as interesting as he sounds, just a stocky, bald guy in black trunks and white boots, no dreadlocks or clicking noises. Pretty bad body language and selling on his part, just walking into dropkicks, then running the ropes with tiny steps. Pill must be able to tell, because he goes to a head scissors then lights him up with chops. TERRIBLE fall off a chop off the ropes. He then gets the timing wrong on a fake out spot, so Brian hits him with a dropkick off the second rope and Air Pillman finishes. Nothing wrong with Brian here, but I can imagine him tearing up the room backstage with how bad the jobber was. Because WCW.
The Fabulous Freebirds vs. David Isley and John Faulkner
Pretty sure that Isley was around for quite a while, even into the 2000’s. Michael gets his one good move in, the left of death, then tags in Garvin. Noise level isn’t bad, but lots of visible empty red seats opposite the camera. Garvin alternates between slamming and kneeing Faulkner. If they got in and out in two minutes it wouldn’t be bad, but this is dragging even at four. Garvin reads the room and hits the DDT for the win. Weird position of two heels having an over move and playing to that while not producing anything else otherwise. Because WCW.
Scott Steiner vs. John Peterson
Tuneup for Nature Boy. Paul gives the game away that they’ve moved the upcoming Clash from CNN Centre to the Georgia Mountains Centre. Stiff Steinerline and elbow drop sets a belly-to-belly off the top, Frankensteiner finishes. Scott in the ring could do no wrong at this point. The Greatest…
The Royal Family vs. Keith Hart and Larry Santo
These guys are still around? Santo is famous, as per Mick Foley’s book, for infamously ugly gear. Here, it’s red trunks and boots and tan tights. He gets a few shots in on Rip Morgan before getting cut off. Morgan tags in Victory and whips Santo into a really nice flying clothesline. Hart tags in, and he’s tiny, so Jacko launches him with a back body drop. Rip tags in and sees how high he can lift him and how far he can throw him too. Bodybreaker/flying forearm shot. While the heels work the arm, JR tries to vet the crowd for the next TV taping. Santo comes in, but misses a dropkick, and the Royals finish with a double gourdbuster. The Greatest…
Paul interviews Sting and Lex ahead of the match with Doom, full sarcasm on display. Neither really has much of a point, so Lex just decides to randomly pose and they walk off.
Recap of the Missy/Paul E issue, because the announcers obviously need more time than the champs and stars. Paul goes for a massage while Missy works out with her boobs thrusting towards the camera.
Arn Anderson and Barry Windham vs. Carl Robertson and Rick Ford
Paul brings up missing Bob, first suggesting that he hooked up with Missy and she made him have a heart attack before switching to placing him at the Betty Ford Clinic. Apparently it’s just a vacation, but has he gone a world tour or something? Barry walks Ford around with a suplex before letting Carl come in to an elbow before calling a side salto to ringside. Impressive superplex finishes. The Greatest…
Special video with Arn and Barry going back to basics, smashing up cars in a junkyard with sledgehammers. This is filmed in black and white with Arn talking about how the Horsemen might have gotten too comfortable in the eighties and Barry talking about how they’re gonna get more honest and brutal in the nineties. They sound convincing when they talk about the resurgence of the unit, but the reality would be different even six months later.
Beautiful Bobby vs. Brett Wayne
Brett continues to get more egg-shaped. Bobby still has to deliver his own inserts promos, with JR saying he can’t call him the Harpo any more now his manager has left. Wayne gets to show some stuff while Bobby takes it in as Jim and Paul throw homophobic barbs at one another. Bobby seems to have it in mind that he doesn’t want to do any bumping or power moves, although he hits his sweet elbow to the forehead twice. Jim says Bobby says he’s a more popular Alabama native than Bear Bryant, which leads Paul to tell a dad joke: What would Bear Bryant say if he were alive today? “LET ME OUT OF THIS COFFIN!” Wayne gets a bit of a volley going again, but walks into an elbow and the Alabama Jam finishes. Wayne is so close to him that he just drops, doesn’t even jump. The Greatest… just for the joke.
The Renegade Warriors vs. The State Patrol
Hopefully the last one for the faces for a while. The Horsemen shit on them from backstage and say they’ll interrupt their interview. Paul asks if the Warriors are from the Chicken Heart tribe. They’re not even bothering with the paint now. Chris misses a charge to set up the Patrol’s backbreaker/headbutt double team. Parker powerslam sets up a splash, but Chris gets the knees up and tags in Mark. Mark makes the comeback but gets clotheslined out of a roll up. The heels run into one another and the Warriors finish with the double chop. Because WCW.
As promised, Arn and Barry interrupt the interview, but walk off when challenged, then go to attack from behind and get caught in a brawl to end the show.
Melting it down: Overall decent show with a few crappy bits in, but ready to get past the Clash with the Dream back in the booking seat and see how quickly things start changing.