The SmarK Rant for NWA Power Hour – 05.11.90
Oh man. I have gone over to the other side and this is my first ever rant on a MACBOOK.
I picked up a 2020 MacBook Pro i5 1TB for an insane sale price of $899 Canadian today (regular price $2800 CAN) basically on a whim, thus ending my lifelong run of Windows PCs and finally putting me 100% into the Apple ecosystem thanks to my iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch. I still use a variety of wireless headphones that aren’t AirPods, but maybe someday I’ll get those as well. And after years of being a PC guy, I have to say it was incredibly easy to shift over, mostly since everything I do is on the cloud in some form anyway and it’s just a matter of installing the apps to access it and signing in with my various accounts. Install Office 365, install Google Drive, install Chrome, and boom, I’m done. Also the touchbar is kind of stupidly awesome, even if it didn’t last for another generation.
Taped from Rainsville, AL
Your hosts are Gordon Solie & Jim Ross
Eddie Gilbert & Tommy Rich v. The State Patrol
So we fall down the rabbit hole of weird WCW 1990 timelines, as Eddie Gilbert was gone by now and this was obviously taped before his actual last appearance. Eddie hits James Earl Wright with dropkicks and does some strutting after an initial run of offense from the State Patrol. Over to Rich, as he dodges a charging Buddy Lee Parker and the Patrol collides on the apron. Back in the ring, Rich works the arm and switches off with Eddie for some skullduggery from the babyfaces. This once again leads to me discuss Gilbert and Rich in Memphis as “The New Fabulous Ones”, which was one of the most disastrously backfiring repackages in the history of the territory. People did not buy them as a replacement for Lane & Keirn, to say the least. They continue double-teaming Parker’s arm and Tommy drops an elbow for two. Tommy misses a dropkick and Parker gets a half-assed clothesline as Rich looks more like he’s falling down after one too many beers, but Tommy comes back and makes a hot tag to Eddie Gilbert. But then the Patrol dumps Eddie over the top rope with the ref distracted, only for Tommy to quickly finish Parker with the Thesz Press at 8:38. OK I’m pretty sure THAT is the end of Eddie Gilbert in WCW, although lord knows they could drag up another match from weeks earlier on the next show. **1/4
WRESTLING NEWS NETWORK! WITH GORDON SOLIE!
Gordon announces that later tonight, we will be introduced to the newest member of the Four Horsemen (besides Barry Windham), and also this is Gordon’s final show on the Power Hour and he’ll be replaced by Paul E. Dangerously. Uh oh, bookerman Ole is cleaning house already. Well they’ll save money on liquor at least with Solie gone.
Lex Luger v. Ric Flair
Non-title match from Worldwide Wrestling here, with Flair wrestling in a ponytail that makes him look like Buddy Landel. YOU NEVER GO FULL BUDRO. Flair chases Lex to the apron and tries chopping him out there, but Lex flexes on him and comes back into the ring with a clothesline out of the corner and gorilla press. Lex whips him into the corner for the Flair Flip and they brawl on the floor, but Flair pokes him in the eye and beats on him with a chair, which Lex immediately no-sells. Back in the ring, Lex gets another press slam and goes to a bearhug. Ric escapes with a cheapshot and starts throwing chops, but Lex gets all revved up and hiptosses him, then charges and lands on the floor. Funny bit from Teddy Long on commentary, who thinks that Lex should be disqualified for “deliberately throwing himself over the top rope”. No wonder he got fired from refereeing. Flair talks some shit to Sting on the floor while Ole Anderson gets his cheapshots on Lex behind the ref’s back, but Lex FLEXES UP again and exchanges chops with Flair before getting a backslide for two. Lex with a clothesline out of the corner for two, but Flair takes him down and tries the kneedrop, which misses. Lex gets a figure-four, which he dedicates to Sting, but Flair makes the ropes and desperately throws chops that have no effect. Flair bounces off Lex’s PECS OF STEEL and goes up, but Lex slams him off the top and then puts him back on top for a superplex. Finally the Andersons just run into the ring for the DQ at 9:00 and we get a huge brawl, with Barry Windham making his return to the Horsemen to join into the beatdown, including Sting getting brutalized and Flair going after his knee. So that was supposed to be the configuration of the Horsemen, but Ole Anderson was forced to retire and they needed someone else to take his place. I mean, it’s a Flair v. Luger match, you know exactly what you’re getting. ***1/2.
Ole Anderson and Ric Flair join Jim Cornette to introduce the fifth Horsemen, who is of course Sid Vicious. I mean, star power wise, he obviously fit the bill, but Sid was just such a square peg with that group and didn’t come off as a smooth talker or big partier in the least. And Sid immediately threatens ROBOCOP and threatens to CRUSH HIM LIKE A TIN CAN. Sadly we never got that match because it would have given me material to work with for years. And man, that mid-life crisis ponytail on Flair was such a bad idea.
Kevin Sullivan, Bam Bam Bigelow & Cactus Jack v. Norman the Lunatic, Captain Mike Rotundo & Abdullah the Butcher
Solie calls this “an interesting and curious mixture”, which is an understatement if there ever was one. Norman immediately misses a blind charge on Sullivan and has to tag in the Butcher to handle Bigelow, and they have a HOSS FIGHT. Over to Jack, and he gets in trouble quickly and Sullivan has to yank him out of the ring to regroup. Meanwhile Gordon Solie discusses his new role as video archivist for WCW, producing the Mat Classics series that is upcoming and trying to find usable footage from the very early days of TV wrestling when they were fresh off inventing the cameras. Sometimes it’s so old and deteriorated that you can barely make out Bobby Fish! Rotundo throws Jack around with suplexes and Butcher comes in with his own suplex on Jack, and then Captain Mike hits Jack with the airplane spin for two. Sullivan hits Mike with a cheapshot from behind and then chucks him over the top behind the ref’s back, and the heels take over on Rotundo. Rotundo comes in with a sunset flip on Sullivan for two, but Bigelow catches him with a bearhug and the heels triple-team Rotundo in the corner. Mike cradles Sullivan for two for the hope spot, but Sullivan cuts off the tag and holds him in the corner before bringing Jack in again. High knee gets two. Jack goes to his own bearhug, but Rotundo breaks free and they clothesline each other for a double down. Rotundo finally makes the hot tag to Norman, and he powerslams Jack for two. And it’s BREAKING LOOSE IN TULSA as everyone brawls to the floor aimlessly and we have a double countout in 10:18. This would have been way better with an actual finish but it was still a heck of a TV match even so. ***1/4.
Well this was quite the show for my first rant in the Apple era! Aside from the fact that neither of the feature matches actually had a finish of any note, this was a hell of a show.