dusty rhodes — page 7

–Gordon Solie, Dusty Rhodes, and Larry Zbyszko are the commentary team and they are taped from Columbus, Georgia.

Live from Tokyo, Japan

Airdate: January 4, 1992

Attendance:  50,000

Will Chosu or Fujinami unify the G18/IWGP title? Can Chono win the WCW World title? Will Muta and Sting keep their peace against the Steiners? Let’s find out!

Taped from Topeka, KS

Airdate:  November 25, 1989 (taped 10/31)

Attendance:  unknown

Hosted by Vince McMahon & Jesse “The Body” Ventura

Can Hogan retain the WWF title against Genius? What is Mr. Perfect’s involvement? Read on!

Live from Rosemont, IL

Airdate: November 23, 1989

Attendance:  15,294

Hosted by Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse “The Body” Ventura

Who will survive? The Dream Team or the Enforcers? The King’s Court or the 4x4s? The Hulkamaniacs or the Million Dollar Team? Rude’s Brood or Roddy’s Rowdies? The Ultimate Warriors or the Heenan Family? Let’s find out!

This week’s show features two historic debuts. Also, NWA World Champion Ric Flair returns. He was sorely missed on the previous week’s program. Plus, there’s blood and an interesting six-man tag…

The NWA Title has been returned to Ric Flair after one of Dusty Rhodes’ earliest, and most infamous, Dusty Finishes. That was the big news from last week. What will this week entail? Let’s find out…

Live from Chattanooga, TN

Airdate: December 7, 1988

Attendance:  unknown

Hosted by Jim Ross & Bob Caudle

This is the first supercard under the Turner umbrella as Ted Turner officially purchased Jim Crockett Promotions on 11/2.

We open with footage from Ric Flair’s Starrcade ’85 entrance. Flair lost the NWA Title to Dusty Rhodes at Starrcade, nine days ago. To the standard open…

Tony Schiavone & David Crockett are our hosts once again this week. They let us know the big Superstation Championship Challenge Series (SCCS) will be a six-man tag: Tully Blanchard & the Andersons vs. Billy Jack Haynes, Magnum T.A. and Sam Houston. They run down all the title changes from Starrcade (five of them). David mentions the new NWA World champion when Tony cuts him off and says we’ll talk about that later on. Sounds like Dusty’s title reign is in doubt…

Starrcade ’85 “The Gathering” is in the books and five new champions were crowned, including a new NWA World Heavyweight Champion, Dusty Rhodes. Two days later, we’re back in the TBS studios for another exciting edition of the Saturday night tradition, NWA World Championship Wrestling.

Continuing the chronological look back at the NWA/Jim Crockett Promotions’ run in the mid-late 80s, it’s time for Starrcade ’85 “The Gathering”. Our main event is a rematch from Starrcade ’84, NWA Champ Ric Flair vs. Dusty Rhodes. However, perhaps the most anticipated match on the card is the I Quit steel cage battle for the U.S. Title between Tully Blanchard and Magnum T.A. Let’s roll…

We are five days away from Starrcade ’85 “The Gathering”. Presumably, this show will presumably push the event heavily … We open with a video clip of how we ended last week: Dusty Rhodes and Magnum T.A. challenging the Four Horsemen to step into the ring. The Horsemen’s 4-2 advantage quickly disappears when the Road Warriors provide some backup for Magnum & Dusty. The Horsemen backdown and we go to the show open…

Twelve more days ’til Starrcade ’85 … We open with a clip of Nikita Koloff vs. Jimmy Black Blackland Backlund. The Russian Nightmare turns the scrawny ginger inside out with the Russian Sickle. Great bump by the future gigolo. We go to the show open.

Thanks to Scott’s awesome Observer recaps, there has been a lot of talk on the Blog of Doom about the bewildering decision by the NWA to put the title on Ronnie Garvin in 1987. I thought a historical perspective might shed some light on the state of Jim Crockett Promotions at the time, why this was such an atrocious idea, and what the WWE should learn from it.

Live from Albany, GA

Airdate: September 7, 1988

Attendance:  3,700

Hosted by Tony Schiavone, “Nature Boy” Ric Flair, Jim Ross, & Bob Caudle

Prior to the first match, Tony acknowledges that the “Total Package” Lex Luger is Flair’s toughest test to date. Methinks Rhodes did NOT write that line for him.

Monday Nitro #282
Date: March 19, 2001
Location: O’Connell Center, Gainesville, Florida
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Scott Hudson

Greed has come and gone and it should be interesting to see where things go with this final real show before next week’s grand (work with me here) finale. Scott Steiner is still World Champion after demolishing Diamond Dallas Page because that’s what Scott Steiner does, though it does raise the question of who is left for him to beat. In theory that would be Booker T., who became US Champion for the first time last night. Let’s get to it.

Greed
Date: March 18, 2001
Location: Jacksonville Municipal Coliseum, Jacksonville, Florida
Attendance: 5,030
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Scott Hudson

After all that, we’ve come down to this. Seventeen years ago, the first WCW (NWA at the time) super show aired and it was called Starrcade. The main event of that show saw Ric Flair win the NWA World Title from Harley Race in a changing of the guard, only to be challenged by Dusty Rhodes before the show ended as part of a legendary feud that would headline the next two Starrcades. Now it’s a show called Greed and Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes will be facing off in a featured match with stipulations involving the loser kissing a certain part of the winner. Sometimes wrestling is funny but this is sad. Let’s get to it.

Monday Nitro #280
Date: March 5, 2001
Location: Bi-Lo Center, Greenville, South Carolina
Commentators: Tony Schaivone, Scott Hudson

After last week, it’s really hard to say what we should expect here as Nitro worked very well but Thunder was every bit the show you would have expected it to be. I’m liking Scott Steiner vs. Diamond Dallas Page but the rest of the show is so all over the scale that it’s hard to guess what you’ll get. Let’s get to it.

Live from Baltimore, MD

Airdate: July 10, 1988

Attendance:  13,000

Hosted by Tony Schiavone & Jim Ross

Live from Miami, FL

Airdate: June 8, 1988

Attendance:  unknown

Hosted by Tony Schiavone & Bob Caudle

While the initial Clash stands on its own as a spectacular, this Clash serves as a promotional vehicle for the upcoming Great American Bash tour. Get out your beach umbrella, fruity cocktail, and sunscreen as we head to Miami, Florida for some NWA wrestling action!

Live from Greensboro, NC

Airdate: March 27, 1988

Attendance:  6,000

Hosted by Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross, and Bob Caudle

In previous reflections, we learned that Vince McMahon and the WWF initially opposed Starrcade ’87 with Survivor Series then subsequently Bunkhouse Stampede with Royal Rumble on USA. With the help of TBS, Jim Crockett Promotions counter-attacked by opposing WrestleMania IV with this show. Back in 1988, despite my admiration for Savage, I tuned in to watch this show instead. Let’s see what transpired.