The SmarK Rant for JCP Omni Show 02.01.87

The SmarK Rant for WWE Vault – JCP Omni show 02.01.87

I am absolutely all over this, of course. Bring it on, WWE Vault, you magnificent bastards!

For reference, here’s the World Championship Wrestling episode from the night before, reviewed back in July 2020:

https://www.blogofdoom.com/2020/07/01/the-smark-rant-for-world-championship-wrestling-01-31-87/

Taped from the Omni in Atlanta, GA

No commentary for this one but it’s great VQ and clear sound.

Central States title: Bill Dundee v. Dutch Mantel

So a year earlier, this would be a bigtime main event in Memphis at the Mid-South Coliseum. Bill takes some bumps off a headlock attempt and Dutch backdrops him for one and then goes to work on the arm. Bill tries to cheat, so Dutch grabs his trust whip and trips him up like Indiana Jones would, which is somehow not a DQ because I guess we live in CRAZYTOWN. Bill bails off that and looks for a timeout, so Dutch cradles for two. Bill goes low and puts the boots to him before taking him down with an armbar, but they trade rollups and Bill grabs the tights for the pin at 5:14. Well that was a brisk opener. *

Jimmy Garvin v. Bob Armstrong

Jimmy attacks before the bell and slugs away in the corner, but Bob slips out of the brainbuster and hits him with REDNECK KARATE and rolls him up for the flash pin at 0:31. I think Bob actually had a cast on his wrist there. Weird to see the Bullet going over clean in 1987 when Jimmy was very much a pushed guy.

Arn Anderson v. Brad Armstrong

Arn’s white jacket variation is pretty sick here. Lex Luger is with Arn tonight, but the poor ring announcer doesn’t actually know his name yet. So JJ does the honors of introducing the newest Horsemen associate and no doubt changing the lives of the Atlanta crowd in ways they didn’t even realize yet. Arn works a headlock on Brad, but he comes back with dropkicks and chases AA to the floor. Back in, Brad works the arm while Lex ponders at ringside, no doubt thinking hard about all the ways he can go AAAAAAAAGH!, when he does forearms. They make sure to focus on him deep in thought, too, drawing our attention to his face even as the match is happening in the ring. My god he’s magnificent. The blog is going to have so many questions about him in the future. Arn escapes the armbar with a cheapshot in the corner, putting Brad down with a knee and hopefully Lex is taking notes at ringside. Mental ones if not actual handwritten ones. Arn drops a knee for two and follows with the spinebuster, but that only gets two. So Arn goes up and snatches defeat from the jaws of victory, allowing Brad to make the comeback. We know that Lex sure studied THAT strategy. So Arn bails the floor and Brad suplexes him back in, but Lex trips him up and Arn falls on top for the pin at 8:09. Look at him, earning his keep already! This gets four Lex Lugers out of four.

World TV title: Tully Blanchard v. Wahoo McDaniel

So young Lex is back at ringside again for this one, really soaking in all the knowledge that the Horsemen have to offer. I think Wahoo was actually only 24 here, but it was a hard-living time in the 80s for wrestlers. Kids came out of the womb looking like Nelson Royal back then. Tully immediately throws a tantrum and so Wahoo beats on him with chops in the corner, which JJ rightly points out is illegal. I hope Lex is paying attention and learning the rules here. This time he has more of a surly, determined disposition at ringside, watching with arms crossed in disapproval of Wahoo flaunting the laws of wrestling. Wahoo with more chops and Tully bails over the top off that, which JJ claims is Wahoo throwing him out. Somehow not a DQ, despite JJ being very credible as a witness. Back in the ring, Tully goes to the eyes and slugs away on the ropes before going to a chinlock and then running away again. Back in the ring, he drops elbows on Wahoo, but gets chopped down again for two. But then JJ takes the ref and that rascal Lex Luger pops in and nails Wahoo with the TV title, allowing Tully to get the pin and retain at 5:16. This kid is really paying off for the Horsemen! This gets three Lex Lugers out of four because he didn’t seem as into the match as he did for the last one.

Elimination tag match: The Midnight Express v. Ron Garvin & Robert Gibson

This is a weird mix and match combination. We’re still in classic Dennis Condrey era for the MX here, although that would soon change. Robert works a headlock on Bobby to start and gets the FULL BODY LIFT AND SLAM into the corner while Jim Cornette rants about wanting the camera off him at ringside, the only time you’ll ever hear him complain about being filmed. Over to Dennis, but he gets trapped in the babyface corner and double-teamed, with Garvin slugging him down for two. Ron drops an elbow for two and gets a cradle for two. Bobby chokes him out in the corner and Bubba adds a shot from the floor, which gets two, as Ron is in the ropes. So Dennis pulls the foot off the ropes, but Ron puts the OTHER foot on the ropes to be a dick, and finally a frustrated Dennis has to hook both legs for two. What a fun bit of business that is. Condrey goes to a rear chinlock and Ron powers out of it, so Bobby takes out Robert and cuts off the tag before slugging away on Garvin in the corner. Ron fires back with a headbutt out of the corner and it’s hot tag Robert Gibson, who gets a sleeper on Bobby as it’s BREAKING LOOSE IN TULSA. But then ref takes Garvin out of the ring, and Cornette nails Gibson with the racket and Bobby falls on top for the pin at 7:43 to eliminate him. That leaves Ron alone against the Midnights, but he rolls up Bobby and catches a quick one at 8:05 to even it up. So Condrey takes over again and drops an elbow on Garvin for two before going to an armbar on the mat and wrapping him up for two. Dennis drops knees on him for two as Garvin is in the ropes and they do the routine again before colliding heads for a double down. Dennis tries a suplex and Gavin reverses him for two. Condrey misses an elbow and Garvin NAILS him with the right for two. Surprised that wasn’t the finish. So Ron continues slugging on him and elbows him down for two, but this time Condrey is in the ropes. And then Garvin tries a Texas piledriver, but Condrey backdrops out and Garvin reverses to a cradle for two. Big Bubba tries to interfere, but Garvin runs Condrey into him and pins him to win the match at 12:50! This was a really awsome house show match and something I would have found on a Midnight Express comp from a tape trader back in the day. ***

The Superpowers v. Ivan Koloff & Vladimir Petrov

Oh man, Petrov. The Russians immediately clobber the ref and Nikita and attack Dusty, beating him down with the chain for an apparent DQ before the match even starts, which trust me is better than having to watch Petrov work a match in case you’ve never had the pleasure.

NWA World tag team title: Rick Rude & Manny Fernandez v. The Road Warriors

There’s only one possible finish here. Rude & Fernandez were a very underrated team at the time, although watching Rude do his pre-match spiel here it’s obvious where he would quickly end up anyway. This man was built from the ground up for Vince McMahon to push as a top heel. Hawk wants a test of strength with Rude right away and Rick stupidly accepts and that goes badly for him. So then Bull tries to jump on Hawk and he gets clobbered too, sending the heels retreating to the corner. Over to Animal, who puts Rude down with shoulderblocks and chases them away again, setting up stereo press slams from the Warriors as the crowd goes crazy. Rude claims a pull of the tights, so Animal calmly moves the ref out of his way and tells the champs to quit stalling. Over to Manny, as Animal hits him with another press slam and sends him to the floor. Back in, it’s over to Rude and he tries a DDT, but Hawk just grabs the ropes and Rude takes the back bump with a shocked look on his face in a great bit of business. And then Hawk goes up and hits a flying clothesline for two. However, Animal accidentally distracts the ref and the heels double-team Hawk in the corner to take over. Manny drops a knee for two and Rude goes up with the flying fist, which gets two. Hawk tries a bearhug, but Manny breaks it up while Rude claps his hands to trick the ref into thinking there was a tag, so they can switch out. Back to Rude as he slugs away on Hawk and adds a piledriver, but Hawk doesn’t sell piledrivers and pops back up. Hot tag Animal and he hits Fernandez with a flying shoulderblock for two and a powerslam for two, but Paul Jones pulls out the ref for the DQ at 11:10, which is of course the only finish they could book. Your basic Road Warriors house show main event. **

If you’re looking for a fun and breezy hour of Crockett entertainment, this is the one for you! Hopefully lots of people check out the show so they keep feeding us this content and not just “Top 10 John Cena Attitude Adjustments” or whatever else is on the channel.