Ron Garvin & Barry Windham vs. The Midnight Express, a Phony “Tiger Mask” (and other Dream Matches!)

A phony “Tiger Mask” in Central States All-Star Wrestling. What a business.

Welcome back to more Dream Matches! I’ve found some hilarious stuff today- a FAKE TIGER MASK! Plus Road Warriors rip-offs! From the same show! This is classic “podunk garbage indie” wrestling! One has Memphis jobber Ken Wayne decked out as “Tiger Mask” taking on jobber Grizzly Evans (who is named “Adams” on the chyron), while the other has 666 (a roided up squat veteran) teaming up with The Mongol (who is, of course, clearly Caucasian) against Central States Tag Champs Bulldog Bob Brown & Buzz Tyler. The best part about this whole deal is Wayne is authentically trying to do “Tiger Mask” spots and pretend he’s the real guy.

The “proper” feature match today is actually the Midnight Express (Eaton/Condrey version) against NWA US Tag Champs Barry Windham & Ron Garvin. Then it’s over to 2000 WCW as Dave Taylor impresses the shit out of me by controlling an entire match against the useless David Flair & barely-decent Crowbar, with Steven Regal backing him up! Picture-perfect European uppercuts! Then it’s more of Bill Goldberg’s reign of destruction, as he destroys the former Beau Beverly- Von Wagner’s dad Wayne Bloom! Finally, it’s the last in the Atsushi Onita vs. Masashi Aoyagi series, as they fight in the inaugural FMW Korakuen Hall show. Come see the wildness of Pro Wrestling vs. Martial Arts when all one guy has is his selling, and the other is a fat but credible karate guy!

US TAG TEAM TITLES:
RON GARVIN & BARRY WINDHAM vs. THE MIDNIGHT EXPRESS (Beautiful Bobby Eaton & Loverboy Dennis Condrey w/ Jim Cornette & Big Bubba):
(NWA Pro, Feb 21st 1987)
* I went looking for Flair/Windham vs. the Midnights, but it’s not on YouTube I guess. Here’s something not quite as good instead! Garvin’s in black trunks, Barry’s in blue, the MX are in yellow-fronted, maroon-backed matching gear- tights for Bobby and trunks for Dennis.

Barry controls Condrey with a headlock, then fires off dropkicks to the MX as the fans are a-SCREAMIN’ over this one. The MX hides outside, but as soon as they’re back in, Barry gets dragged to the corner and we’re back from break with him in a chinlock. Eaton works him over with a back elbow & clothesline, and Condrey adds a sleeperhold- Barry struggles but armdrags out, but not before a blind tag sees Eaton stuff him. Windham hits the floor, where Big Bubba smokes him and smashes him into the guardrail- his next comeback is also cut off by the blind tag and he’s smoked trying a sunset flip on the wrong guy. Condrey rakes the back to be an asshole- I get how the “smart fans” and heel fans would love these guys for being so good at double-teams and sneaky shit, but they’re also being assholes so deserve the boos.

Bobby adds one of his precision punches to the face for two, and Condrey sneaks in for his own punch, but he goes for a vertical suplex and Barry FINALLY makes the comeback by countering it with a delayed one! Condrey is selling it as completely agony, doing the full “hold the lower back while humping the mat” sell. And Barry stumbles up, looks dazed… but DIVES into the hot tag and it’s HANDS OF STONE, MOTHERFUCKERS! Garvin lays out Condrey then bashes their heads together. Condrey is dropped by a big right and Bobby drops an elbow to break it up, causing a clusterfuck to break out- down goes the ref, and Cornette sneaks in to blast Garvin with fire and the ref calls it at (8:50). The post-match is nuts, as the babyface locker room clears out to see to Garvin, and then Jimmy Garvin, a heel, tears out to see to his “brother”, then freaks out and assaults Jim Cornette in the heel locker room, requiring a melee to pull him off before they finally take Ron to a doctor to hopefully save his eyes. Great Southern angle!

Man, the Midnights were CRAZY good. Even this lesser Midnight team easily handles an entire match just based around hurting one guy. Garvin was in it for all of 30 seconds before it broke down, so they had to do like 8+ minutes on just Windham selling. So they did rapid tags, kept the weardown holds moving (tagging out repeatedly so it was like three short restholds instead of one long one), and then let Barry make a couple comebacks, halted by their blind tags always leaving a fresh guy in breaking stuff up. It came off like they were lethally-tactical and just overwhelming him, effectively fighting off two guys, so that his THIRD comeback ends up getting a bigger reaction. And this was the Midnights without any big moves, and Garvin without much of a chance to brawl! Hell, even Barry only got a couple of things in.

Rating: **1/2 (really shows the skill of the Midnights, making a match so simple and low-impact look that good)

The first match!

TIGER MASK vs. GRIZZLY EVANS:
(Central States All-Star Wrestling, Dec. 18th 1983)
* AMAZING! The first match on this podunk indie show features one of the biggest wrestling faux pas- a PHONY! This “Tiger Mask” is Memphis jobber Ken Wayne, and they’re actually pretending he’s internatinoal superstar Tiger Mask, wearing red & blue tights and a brown kitty mask. Grizzly Evans is listed as “Adams” on the chyron, and he’s a shorty, portly guy with a bad beard and haircut. Nice jobber black singlet, too.

Tiger Mask pops Evans a couple times, then actually does the SAVATE KICK, meaning he’s actually trying an imitation of the real guy’s style, haha. He didn’t get much rotation on it (just a bit too tight and it didn’t hit flush) but at least he’s attempting. Speaking of, he attempts TM’s flying headscissors reveals out of a blocked hiptoss, absolutely butchering it as both guys collapse to the ground because they have to improvise so they don’t just fall flat. A knucklelock sees Tiger Mask flip back over Evans into a savate kick and a KARATE STANCE. He does a flying armdrag out of a headlock and after some stuff puts Evans on the floor (knowing enough to stall while Evans untangles his hand from the ropes so he’s ready to catch him) and does a dive. Commentary is talking about a $25,000 battle royal with “ladies competing with men- with the equal rights movement I guess it was only a matter of time”. Evans throws some shots back in the ring as the commentary talk about how guys usually feel SAFE outside the ring and wouldn’t expect that, but Tiger Mask hits some dropkicks and finishes with a Flying Headbutt (like a torpedo flying into a standing Evans) for the three at (2:55).

Actually not as bad as you might expect a “Fake Tiger Mask” match to be, as Ken Wayne is at least physically capable and can ALMOST do the “Tiger Mask Spots”. I mean, it mostly looked like ass but a lotta dudes in this role would just do punches- this boy clearly had some TAPES and was trying to copy it as best he could. At least the dropkicks, dive & headbutts looked okay. Evans got almost zero offense but only really messed up the flying headscissors thing (probably didn’t know how to take it, so TM improvised).

Rating: 1/2* (a perfectly cromulent squash- not that pretty and downright embarrassing with the gimmick theft, but it got the job done!)

(and 23 minutes into the same video…)

NWA CENTRAL STATES TAG TEAM TITLES:
BULLDOG BOB BROWN & BUZZ “THE AVALANCHE” TYLER vs. 666 & THE MONGOL (w/ Sheik Abdullah):
* Oh my god YES!! A Tiger Mask ripoff and a Road Warriors ripoff in the same show! 666 (written and vocalized as “Triple 6” here) is a short, bulky doofus with little black swirls drawn on his body, doing Sieg Hiels while wearing Hawk’s facepaint, and is apparently a 20 year veteran by this point, usually in masked teams. The Mongol is just… some tall fat white guy with a tuft of hair on the top of his head, like Phil & Lil from Rugrats. oh, it’s Cousin Luke from WWF’s hillbilly faction! This shit is spectacular! And they’re coming down to “Iron Man”, taking on Canadian midcarder Bulldog Brown and some other dude. Both have that “Generic 1960s Wrestler” look- all squat, bulky and hairy- like your loud uncle who’s on his third marriage or whatever. Tyler looks pretty much like Grizzly Evans does- black singlet, beard, etc.

For an LOD ripoff act, these guys do pretty bad to start, Triple 6 being eaten alive as the Squat Uncle Connection trades off on headlocks- he even misses a headbutt into the corner and ends up back in it. He slinks away so the Mongol can eat a back body drop and more shots, but he slugs Brown and 666 helps him cheat. The heels trade off punching Brown and he gets smashed into the post, but he randomly makes a comeback by repeatedly crawling between the Mongol’s legs, leaving him “dumbfounded”. Tyler gets tagged and the babyfaces beat up the heels in the corner- I’m ready for a do-si-do spot but instead 666 just… wanders over to one corner and gets beat on, allowing Tyler to hit The Avalanche (lifting powerslam) for the win at (5:25).

Pretty dreadful match based ENTIRELY around headlocks and punching, as everyone here came off as old and fat. Brown was so big he couldn’t even crawl between the Mongol’s legs without getting caught up. The heels had almost no mannerisms at all and just sat there eating offense like jobbers.

Rating: 1/2* (building a match entirely around headlocks from the babyfaces is A Choice, and the heels were largely tomato cans)

WCW TAG TEAM TITLES:
DAVID FLAIR & CROWBAR vs. LORD STEVEN REGAL & DAVE TAYLOR:
(WCW Saturday Night, 2000-01-08)
* It’s time for more Crowbar! His team with David Flair is the only part of David’s career anyone likes, as they manage to make the most of his “doesn’t actually know how to wrestle” stuff by making him a deluded weird guy in a black t-shirt & jeans. Crowbar is always doing the “I’m WEIRD!” stuff by elbowdropping nothing. Regal & Taylor are at this point a strangely-positioned undercard tag team- not pushed (and Regal had just had a poor WWF run) and with a totally oddball style compared to everyone else, but not QUITE jobbers. Speaking of strange, Taylor’s singlet is state of the art with red & blue bisected by a jagged line while Regal’s in those old-ass maroon undies, haha.

Taylor immediately catches David rushing in with a European uppercut and whups on him, Flair getting up with such a rapid spin he looks like a video game character using the default animation, then chases him outside and beats on him some more. Someone must have taught Flair the proper way to get up but not warned him to SELL first because every bump he takes sees him do the exact same spin at the exact same speed, looking weird and unnatural. Regal/Crowbar go, Regal doing some cool Euro-armbar stuff and a trip, but Crowbar brawls with him and dumps him, hitting his running apron splash- the crazies get CLUBBERED, but fight back and get into an energetic display, Crowbar whipping both Brits into the railing then doing it to DAVID, who does a massive upside-down bump into it like a nutjob. Back in, Regal neckbreakers Crowbar and Flair breaks it up, so Taylor hits a pumphandle slam. He runs into the corner, but quickly trips Crowbar up and tags out- Regal beats on him but eats a back elbow. Flair comes in for a comically short period of time and Crowbar’s back with his slingshot legdrop. Regal manages to catch him up top and hits a Butterfly Superduperplex for a double-down- dual tags see Taylor rush in and just TRUCK Flair with a running European uppercut, sledgehammers BOTH guys with them and backdrops Crowbar out, then hits his Floatover Butterfly Suplex on Flair… but the distraction outside lets Crowbar come in with a pipe shot to let David win at (7:18). Totally unfair win from the… babyface champs? Well they’re cheaters but they’re craaaaaazy and are clearly fighting heels so? Shades of grey, bro?

This was GREAT with the Brits in control, as Dave Taylor of all people (a guy who is usually forgotten when talking about WCW) was just flinging himself around and controlling the whole damn match, hitting all sorts of cool shit. Regal had some of that cool UK-style “pull the wrist and do somethin’ neat” technical stuff, but Taylor was just blasting guys with perfect timing on those European uppercuts (watch him flatten David with one, then fling himself into Crowbar, then David again right on the money after repositioning). Too bad Regal did a top-rope version of the move Taylor uses for a finish, though.

Rating: **1/2 (a miraculous effort considering how bad David Flair was- they wisely just had Crowbar act as their tackling dummy instead)

BILL GOLDBERG vs. WAYNE BLOOM:
(WCW Thunder, March 19th 1998)
* Oh yes! GOLDBERG vs. BEAU BEVERLY! WCW managing to get this much hype out of total ass bottom-card guys is amazing. Bloom is absolutely gigantic and seems to be in good shape, but never had any charisma and was never pushed by WCW, yet the crowd is exploding for Goldberg and way into this match. Bloom’s in red & black tights as they try to put him over- Heenan indicates he’s a veteran and Lee Marshall adds he’s a powerlifting champion.

Immediately Bloom goes for a full nelson, so Goldberg uses raw power to blast out and hit a full nelson slam on him, then Goldberg measures him with a huge knee thrust and segues right into a pumphandle slam without letting go. Bloom fires back with palm strikes and punches to clear some distance, but whips Goldberg into the corner and SPEAR!! Snap! Jackhammer! Bloom is done at (1:19). Another solid Goldberg squash- I like how they had the huge Bloom emphasize Goldberg’s power by having his full nelson broken through sheer might, then Goldberg flattened him with some stuff, ate a strike-based comeback, then fired back like nothing happened, flattening Bloom (good spear, too- Bloom just SHOT to the ground flat).

Rating: 1/2* (These are the best under-two-minute matches you’ll ever see, haha)

PRO WRESTLING vs. KARATE (round-based match):
ATSUSHI ONITA vs. MASASHI AOYAGI:
(FMW Launch Battle, Oct. 10th 1989)
* It’s the last match in the trilogy! Last time, Onita tried brawling with the karate fighter and was undone- Aoyagi was too much for him, and their constant anger saw them break every rule in the book, tossing the referee around, jumping on one another during count-downs, and more- the ref ultimately called the match for Aoyagi to save Onita from further harm. And four days later, we have a rematch in Korakuen Hall. We see clips of them fighting at a press conference, Onita spilling tons of his own blood from a shot to the mouth, and now we’re off!

ROUND 1: Onita scores first blood with a big punch, booting Aoyagi to the floor, but this enrages the lil’ proker, who leaps over the ropes and bludgeons Onita’s ass around, sending him ass-over-teakettle to the floor upside-down after sliding through the ropes. I was gonna ask if Onita was inspired by Terry Funk, cuz that sell is right out of his playbook, but I guess that’s obvious from him recruiting Funk to FMW. Onita fires back by taking the karateka down, ripping a bandaid off his forehead and pressing him with a half-nelson. When he resorts to brawling tactics, Aoyagi quickly fights up and kicks his ass with elbows and kicks, Onita being incensed with Aoyagi’s goons poking at him from the floor. But when he tries headbutting Aoyagi in the ropes, shoving the ref off as he does so, Aoyagi kicks him square in the mouth and Onita is in BIG trouble.

ROUND 2: Onita recovers quickly enough, but is immediately comboed to the floor, where he starts a fight with Aoyagi’s goons and soon his own fly in and a karate dude eats a BIG chairshot to a huge reaction- Onita gets to the apron, but Aoyagi smokes him in the back with his rolling kick. He’s up at “7” but is dazed and limping, and wisely just takes Aoyagi down, controlling with good old scientific wrestling that’d be the foundation for FMW (*checks notes* wait). Onita fights for a keylock, gesturing to the fans like a huge ham with a wide open mouth of effort- but it works, cuz the fans are chanting his name. Aoyagi growls and yells in the hold, finally struggling out and hitting a jujigatame, but lets go to fight some more, and they circle until the bell rings, Onita now much more confident- he’s found a weakness!

ROUND 3: Onita yells at Aoyagi’s corner for a bit, but eats a spinkick to the “face” that drops him, and Aoyagi throws repeated kicks and just SENTONS him. Another knockdown has Onita try a grapple, but he stumbles and Aoyagi kicks him in the head, knocking him to the floor. And Aoyagi, before Onita can ready himself, hits another rolling kick to blow him off the apron again! Onita comes in but just gets destroyed, and a HUGE roundhouse kick to the face has him dead if this was real. He’s still up at “7” and tackles Aoyagi as the bell rings. Okay I figured Onita was gonna try more grounded wrestling but instead just got his ass beat.

ROUND 4: Onita comes up in boxing stance after looking like death for the whole break, and slugs Aoyagi in the gut to bring him to his knees. A kick combo still blasts him into the corner, and Onita uses the ref break to get a RUNNING LARIAT and the crowd chants his name! Onita, bleeding from the ear, hits a short backdrop suplex and a half-crab until Aoyagi makes the ropes. Aoyagi is dead and fading, but Onita can’t haul him up to piledrive him and they just fall back.

ROUND 5: Aoyagi, recovered, WHIPS OFF HIS SHIRT to make the second wind like he’s Rugal Bernstein. He quickly knocks Onita down with a quick kick-combo, but Onita soon lariats him and hits the mother of all high-angle powerbombs- a horrifyingly risky move that… GETS THE WIN! Onita wins at (1:14)! The crowd goes into rapture for Onita, giving him tons of chants, but as Aoyagi kneels and buries his face in his hand, Onita stares at him with respect, so they switch to cheering for him, and the SPIRIT OF MANLINESS sees Onita hug his opponent, burying the hatchet amidst the bond-forming nature of violence.

Not as impressive as their preceding match- it has SOME of the mayhem, but everyone behaves during the breaks between rounds for the most part, and the biggest thing is a rand-o taking a chairshot. But you gotta love Onita winning with a POWERBOMB. This isn’t really play as much off the last one as I thought- I was expecting Onita to use more wrestling tactics to win, especially after seeing him fight for a keylock in Round 2, but then Round 3 is just him taking another beating, Round 4 sees him use a lariat & half-crab, and fail to hit a powerbomb/piledriver, and then Round 5 sees him just use it. In the last match, Aoyagi just pounded Onita into oblivion with maximum selling and agonized facial reactions, but in this one Onita just weathers it and never really seems like he’s actually out. I wonder if this one being televised made him want to appear stronger? You’d think he’s sell MORE to make his win look even better, but that isn’t how a lot of wrestlers think.

Rating: *** (still fun, but decidedly not as incredible as the fancam one)