The SmarK Rant for NWA Power Hour – 11.17.90

The SmarK Rant for NWA Power Hour – 11.17.90

Taped from Anderson, SC on 10.29.90, sort of. One match is taped from there, and the rest are assembled from other TV tapings yet again.

Your hosts are Jim Ross & Paul E. Dangerously

This week: Rick Steiner is RUNNING THE GAUNTLET.

Terry Taylor v. Tony Burton

Burton throws a punch and misses, going flying over the top as a result, and Taylor works on the arm back in the ring. Burton with a clothesine for two as the announcers point out that maybe Arn Anderson should defend his World TV title at some point in 1990. Taylor with an atomic drop and he finishes with the Five-Arm at 2:18.

Doom v. Dave Diamond & Lynn Fields

We’re suddenly in Center Stage as they recycle this one from one of the other shows. Doom beats on Diamond in the corner and Reed goes up with a middle rope elbow for two. Over to Fields, and Reed hits him with a high knee. Over to Simmons and he wants a powerslam but Fields can’t or won’t go up for it, so Ron beats him down and hits a neckbreaker, and then puts him down with a spinebuster. Reed with a shoulderblock for the pin at 3:10. And then they brutalize the jobber some more, and he’s barely able to run the ropes and take that bump. Well that was embarrassing.

WRESTLING NEWS NETWORK! WITH GORDON SOLIE!

First up, we join Teddy Long, who is checking out Ric Flair’s Rolls in the parking lot in advance of Clash 13, since he wins the car if Flair loses. Teddy decides he’s gonna put a do-rag on the chauffeur and then tours the back, where there’s a PHONE in the back! Can you imagine? Making a phone call from a car? Next up, Teddy heads to the marina and checks out “Magnificent Obsession”, which is Flair’s yacht. So he helps himself to a tour of that and pledges to change the name to “The Godfather’s Soul Machine” and then the crew throws him off.

Moving on, we go back to Halloween Havoc AGAIN, for the Black Scorpion and his black magic, which is like four weeks in a row now where we see the same footage because they’ve got nothing else going on with this stupid feud.

Lex Luger v. Rip Rogers

Rip attacks to start and takes Lex down for an elbowdrop while Paul E. takes photos at ringside. Rip with a clothesline for two and a DDT, but Lex pops up and runs Rogers into the turnbuckles and then finishes with the powerslam and torture rack at 2:14. Rip worked the entire match with his ring jacket on, which is awesome.

Meanwhile, Paul E. Dangerously rents out an area for Motor City Madman to spar with four opponents, and he beats them all up while wearing his leather jacket. Apparently this dad bod doofus was supposed to be posing a threat to Lex Luger.

The Master Blasters v. John Earnest & Scott Allen

Earnest & Allen sounds like a law firm. Blade with a press slam on Allen and Steel adds a powerslam and chokes him down, and they finish Earnest with a double shoulderblock at 3:24.

The Big Cat v. Tommy Angel

He hits Angel with a glancing clothesline, and then another one before dropping a knee for two. Powerslam and he finishes with an even worse version of the torture rack at 1:45. What a golden age we’re living in now.

RUNNING THE GAUNTLET: Rick Steiner v. Moondog Rex

Rick brings his pitbull, Arnold, to the ring, and Dangerously quips that it looks like JR’s mother. JR: “Hey now, there’s enough jokes being made about people’s mothers in wrestling as it is right now.” Rick grabs a headlock on Rex and invites Arnold into the ring to chase Rex away, which I feel like should be a DQ loss. So then the dog comes in AGAIN and Rex jumps over the top rope in terror while Rick lays on the mat and offers up a free pinfall. Rex heads back in and gets a couple of cheapshots on Rick, but then the dog is back in the ring for a third time and chases Rex off and even JR has had enough. Rex slugs away in the corner and grabs his bone, but Scott Steiner steals it and Rick finishes with the suplex at 4:28. Really awful. -**

Next up, Rick Steiner faces the next stern challenge to his $15,000 on World Championship Wrestling…

RUNNING THE GAUNTLET 2: Rick Steiner v. Tim Horner

They trade headlocks while Sid joins us at ringside, in advance of potentially facing Rick in the finale. Horner works the arm while neither guy wants to turn their back on Sid. Rick breaks free of that and takes Horner down with an armbar, but now the Nasty Boys join us at ringside as well and the match stops again while the referees banish them. So they start again and Rick hits a powerslam and goes to a wristlock, but Horner uses the ref to flip out of that in a cute spot. They fight for a backslide and Horner turns it into a cradle, but Rick reverses for the pin at 6:18. This was a lot of nothing. *

And finally we head to the Main Event…

RUNNING THE GAUNTLET 3: Rick Steiner v. Sid Vicious

The Nasty Boys attack Rick on the floor and run him into the post before the bell, and then double-team him in the ring and Sags drops the Shitty Elbow on him until referees break it up. I guess this counts as a DQ win for Rick and he runs the gauntlet successfully? It wasn’t ever clarified. This was by far the worst of all the gauntlet runs and felt completely pointless, like they just stitched together 3 Rick Steiner matches in post-production.

Next week: We run one last gauntlet and then WCW forgets about the idea forever.