THE BEST OF WRESTLERS SLAUGHTERING JOBBERS:
* Okay, so there’s a long, proud history of wrestlers taking liberties with job guys who piss them off for some reason, so I figured I’d find a handful of them. I can only imagine at the backstories to some of this- wrestlers being giant liars and all, it’s tricky to find out just WHY some of these dudes apparently had to die, but boy you can tell when it happens.

KOKO WARE vs. THE MASKED PATRIOT:
(Memphis, 1985)
* An infamous one where Koko just trucks a guy. Koko’s short, squat and muscular in red tights with white trunks over them, and the jobber is some pasty white guy in a blue singlet and a red mask & trunks, with white boots. Well I guess he has the colors, but he’s too cheap to buy stars for his gear?

Gorilla Monsoon, Bobby Heenan, and Jim Neidhart continue to call the action from Green Bay, Wisconsin.

The British Bulldog’s squash that aired on Prime Time Wrestling two weeks ago is shown.

Gorilla Monsoon, Bobby Heenan, and Jim Neidhart are in the booth, doing the last taped broadcast from Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Gorilla Monsoon, Bobby Heenan, and Jim Neidhart do commentary, providing the last episode of the taping cycle in Reno, Nevada.  Heenan and Neidhart debate how lucky Ted DiBiase is to have Sensational Sherri in his corner.

The British Bulldog’s squash from Prime Time Wrestling starts the show.

Gorilla Monsoon, Bobby Heenan, and Jim Neidhart are in the booth, closing out the television taping in Biloxi, Mississippi.

Sid: A 10/10 in “Look” if there ever was one, with physical charisma to match… it’s a shame he never figured out the other stuff.

Welcome back to more Dream Matches! I have a wild assortment for you today, as I cover WWF, WCW, and even a really cool old-school match from Japan in 1974!

We start off with Sid’s big 1995 return, as he takes on newbie Justin “Hawk” Bradshaw in one of those bouts that is everything Sid is- quick, not highly-rated, yet completely awesome and drives the fans wild. Then it’s the strangest Clash of the JTTS Guys ever, as Virgil faces “El Matador” Tito Santana in the friendliest match ever in Spain! More of Buddy Landel’s weird WWF run, as he gets a jobber squash against a young Matt Hardy and showcases his stiff striking skills! Then it’s a Battle of the Brits in WCW, as Dave Taylor faces off against “British Bulldog” Davey-Boy Smith.

And finally, we hit Japan in 1974, as a 23-year old Jumbo Tsuruta with all of one year in the business faces the NWA World Heavyweight Champion Jack Brisco in a title fight! Come see just HOW GOOD Jumbo was with only a year in the business, and how much the ’70s style resembled the ’80s NWA one.

SID vs. JUSTIN “HAWK” BRADSHAW (w/ Uncle Zebekiah):
(WWF RAW, 1995-ish)
* Okay, HERE’s a wild one- Sid, freshly returned as a babyface out to help Shawn Michaels now that the Ultimate Warrior’s gone again, and he’s up against midcarder Bradshaw, not QUITE as protected as he’d be even a couple of years later. And in a perfect expression of Sid’s power, his borderline S-Tier charisma has the entire crowd eating out the palm of his hand, which tended to happen every time he debuted, even though he had weak promos and worse in-ring skill.

Vince McMahon and Bobby Heenan are calling the action for today’s episode, which was taped in Springfield, Massachusetts on August 7.  According to the historyofwwe.com, the show drew a crowd of 7,700.  McMahon is substituting for Gorilla Monsoon, who was having a toe amputated.  This is the “go home” show before SummerSlam.

Welcome back to another Dream Matches column! Here, we get one of the most famous bad matches in wrestling history, as WCW sends out terrible rookies Sid Vicious & Bryan Clark on a major national television show! Who can lead the match? NOBODY, as it turns out! And then they bring out a BIG AXE!!

Then we get the bizarre SmackDown! match where Triple-H has to take on Kai En Tai & the Brooklyn Brawler to earn a match against Chris Jericho on the next RAW- it’s semi-famous for the ending, which is kind of a one-time-only thing. Then “The Best of Roadblock” continues as he takes on Diamond Dallas Page in a throwaway match, and we visit PCO during his SECOND run in WCW as he fights Big Vito. And we finalize everything with the FIRST EVER match between the Undertaker and Kane!!! Except it’s in WCW with a green-ass rookie “Unabom” Glen Jacobs an an invading WWF purple-gloved Taker. But it still counts!

Lance Russell and Dave Brown are back in the booth and they are calling the action in the WMC-TV5 studio in Memphis, Tennessee.

Russell talks with Jesse James Armstrong, who is not happy that Randy Hales has suspended his friends in SMW.

Lance Russell and Dave Brown call today’s action from the WMC-TV5 studio in Memphis, Tennessee.

Lance Russell and Dave Brown are calling the action and they are broadcasting from the WMC-TV5 studio in Memphis, Tennessee.

Lance Russell and Dave Brown are calling the action, broadcasting from the WMC-TV5 studio in Memphis, Tennessee.

A video package highlights Brandon Baxter’s issues with Jimmy Valiant.

Lance Russell and Dave Brown are in the booth and they are broadcasting from the WMC-TV5 studio in Memphis, Tennessee.

Footage of Jerry Lawler defeating Razor Ramon for the USWA Unified World title in Memphis is shown.  Ramon was initially declared the winner after decking Lawler with Jimmy Harris’ walkie talkie, but the decision was made to restart the match and when Sid distracted Ramon, Lawler schoolboyed his opponent for the victory.

USWA Southern Heavyweight Champion Brian Lee and Harris tell Russell that Lawler is a marked man.

Lance Russell and Dave Brown are in the booth and they are broadcasting from WMC-TV5 studio in Memphis, Tennessee.

Brown interviews Scott Studd, who argues that USWA Southern Heavyweight Champion Brian Lee will not give him a title shot.  Lee walks out and says Studd does not deserve one.

Lance Russell and Dave Brown are in the booth and they are broadcasting from the WMC-TV 5 studio in Memphis, Tennessee.  Russell begs for the PG-13-Tommy Rich/Doug Gilbert feud to end and announces that there will be a cage match between the two teams at the next Memphis Coliseum show.

As per usual, Lance Russell and Dave Brown call the action and they are from the WMC-TV 5 studio in Memphis, Tennessee.  Brown lets fans know that Jerry Lawler is the new USWA Unified World Champion.

Lance Russell and Dave Brown call today’s action from WMC-TV 5 in Memphis, Tennessee.

Lance Russell and Dave Brown call today’s action from the WMC-TV 5 studio in Memphis, Tennessee.

While Smoky Mountain Wrestling (SMW) was a nostalgic look at wrestling’s past, the United States Wrestling Association (USWA) stubbornly fought for its existence, casting itself as a major promotion that was on the same level as the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) or World Championship Wrestling (WCW).  Based in Memphis, Tennessee, a classic wrestling hotbed and arguably the only place to successfully fend off Vince McMahon’s territorial expansion in the 1980s, the USWA was created from a merger of the Continental Wrestling Association (CWA) and World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) in 1989.  The promotion tried to run shows along the East Mississippi and Texas in the early 1990s, but the venture proved unsuccessful.  By the middle of the decade the USWA was back to running its weekly shows in towns such as Louisville, Kentucky and Evansville, Indiana, as well as holding weekly supercards on Monday nights at the Memphis Coliseum.  These events were heavily promoted on USWA TV, filmed at the WMC-TV 5 studio in Memphis.  While that may have made USWA TV seem second rate, the company had a talented core with owners and bookers Jerry Jarrett and Jerry Lawler, as well as announcers Lance Russell and Dave Brown (who had a full-time gig as WMC-TV 5’s meteorologist).  They were supplemented by older territory stars such as Tommy Rich, Doug Gilbert, and Bill Dundee and a crop of new talent that included Lawler’s son Brian Christopher, PG-13, and wrestlers that the WWF and WCW sent for seasoning as the USWA had a working agreement with both.

WCW Halloween Havoc ’93

Live from New Orleans, LA

Airdate: October 24, 1993

Attendance:  6,000 (3,000 paid)

Hosted by Tony Schiavone & Jesse “The Body” Ventura

Can Cactus Jack exact revenge upon Vader and defeat him? Will Flair regain a “World” title? Who will be the “franchise” of WCW? Let’s find out!