The SmarK 24/7 Rant for World Championship Wrestling – February 15 1986
– Hosted by Tony solo again.
– Jimmy Valiant v. Ron Rossi. Another opening slot for Valiant for some reason. I guess they were really hoping that Tully Blanchard feud took off or something. Valiant attacks the poor jobber and tosses him, then sends him into the ringpost and it’s back in for a nerve hold. He continues wrestling like a heel, pounding away in the corner and raking the back, and it’s elbow and elbow to finish at 2:17.
– JJ Dillon and Tully accuse Jimmy of having trouble with the jobber, and JJ claims that Tully could beat the same guy in a faster time than 2:14. You’d think that would lead to an angle, but no. Next order of business: He should be National champion instead of Big Dust, and he guarantees that within four weeks, he will be. Keep that in mind later.
– Back with Jim Cornette and the Midnight Express, as he exposes the fans of the Rock N Roll Express by showing a poster of someone who sent in a picture of themselves, and it’s Bertha Faye in a bikini, more or less.
– Baron Von Raschke v. Kent Glover. Baron pounds Glover down and hiptosses him, then works on a top wristlock. Glover fights back, but the Baron no-sells it and pounds him down, then chokes away on the ropes. Elbowdrop and he stomps away, and the Iron Claw finishes at 3:57.
– Paul Jones introduces us to the newest member of his army…Teijho Khan. I didn’t know Chuck Liddell used to be a wrestler for Crockett. And apparently an “Asian” one, too! Anyway, Khan is a white guy named Tom Bassett who did nothing of note and retired in 1994.
– The Barbarian v. Paul Garner. As usual, Barbarian tosses the jobber around the ring and press-slams him. He works on the back and drops the leg, then hits a series of headbutts to put him on the floor. Back in, more headbutts and the big boot follow, setting up the flying headbutt at 5:51. Same old same old.
– Jimmy Valiant heads over to dispute Tully Blanchard’s “Domino Theory” and threaten a tag team with Dusty Rhodes. God, no, anything but that.
– Tully Blanchard v. RAY TRAYLOR!!!! Holy SHIT! Big Bossman as a jobber! I’ve heard about this match before but never seen it. Bossman in a singlet is a scary sight, by the way. Tully takes him down and controls on the mat, then fights him off in the corner and drops elbows, but Ray fights back in another corner until the ref forces a break. Tully legsweeps him and takes him down again, then finishes quick with the slingshot suplex at 3:48. Traylor got HUGE props from the guys backstage for being able to take that move, and earned himself as a job as Jim Cornette’s bodyguard Big Bubba Rogers as a direct result. And the rest is history.
– Tony brings out Jim Crockett to discuss the Jim Crockett Senior Memorial Tag Team tournament. Oh, and apparently Ric Flair has a new belt. BEST SHOW EVER!
– Ron Garvin v. Art Kryss. I think that was his name, but really who cares? Garvin wrestles him on the mat and hiptosses him out of the corner, then throws headbutts on the mat and beats him up in the corner some more. Ron ties up the poor guy on the mat, but he makes the ropes. Some woman in the crowd yells “Ric Flair’s gonna beat you!” Geez, that’s just MEAN. Hands of Stone finishes at 3:57.
– Jim Cornette comes out to bitch about potentially having his tennis racket taken away by Jim Crockett and then to introduce the champs.
– NWA World tag titles: The Midnight Express v. Ron Bass & Don Kernodle. Pretty big match for this show. Bass overpowers Dennis to start and goes for the claw, but Condrey escapes and regroups. Eaton comes in and Bass goes for the arm, then blocks a hiptoss with a slam. Kernodle comes in and gets an atomic drop, but he gets caught in the corner and beaten down by Condrey. Backdrop gets two. Kernodle gets a rollup for two, but Eaton saves and gets a quick double-team. Kernodle comes back with a clothesline and we take a break. Back with Condrey hitting Bass with a kneelift for two, but Bass rams the Express’ heads together and they back off again. Condrey tries a test of strength and then cheats to win, before bringing Bass to the heel corner for some more double-teaming. Bobby goes up with the Alabama Jam for one. Bass gets the hot tag to Kernodle, and he rams Condrey into the turnbuckle and gets a neckbreaker for two. Abdominal stretch follows, which turns into a cradle for two. Bass comes in and Kernodle drops Dennis onto his knee, but it’s back over to Bobby Eaton again, and he pounds Bass down to allow Condrey to hit the chinlock. Bobby comes in and misses the flying elbow, and it’s back to Kernodle again, but Condrey suplexes him for two. Over to Bass again, and he elbows Condrey down for two and into the Iron Claw, but Cornette hits him with the tennis racket for the DQ at 10:38. Weird pairing here and it never clicked. **
– The Rock N Roll Express complains further about Cornette, so Dusty Rhodes gives them a present: A steel cage to put Cornette in during their matches against the Midnights.
– Dusty and Baby Doll carry on the war of words against Tully Blanchard.
– The Rock N Roll Express v. Larry Clarke & Bob Owens. The Express trade headlocks on Owens to start, and then it’s over to Larry Clarke to try and turn the tide. That doesn’t work, as the RNR continue to trade off with headlocks and then work on his leg. Gibson with a bodypress for two and he takes Owens down with a sleeper, but the Express run the jobbers into each other and finish Owen with the double dropkick at 4:52.
– The Koloffs let us know that they are not scared of the cage match, they are looking forward to it! And Magnum is a liar and a cheat. So Nikita will not wrestle on TV again until coward Magnum signs to meet Nikita for the US title on this very show.
– Magnum TA v. Lee Peek. Magnum gets a hiptoss to start and dropkicks Peek, and finishes with the belly to belly at 0:34. No boring squashes with Magnum TA, for sure.
– World TV title: Arn Anderson v. Sam Houston. Arn grabs a headlock and knocks him down with a shoulderblock, then offers him a chance to walk away. Sam refuses, so Arn slugs him down, which elicits a dance from Houston. Yeah, that’ll really earn you respect, Sam. Sam blocks a clothesline and reverses into a hiptoss, and Arn bails. Back in, Houston slugs him down and Arn bails again. They’re just telegraphing the 10 minute draw now. Arn slugs away, but Houston evades him with a cartwheel and dropkicks him down, so Arn backs off again. Houston grabs a headlock and that goes on for a while, until Arn hits him with a forearm to the gut and pounds him down. And then some CONTINUITY, as Arn goes for the arm that the Andersons broke in 1985, and Tony even brings that up back in the days when he gave a crap. Arn goes to work on the arm and we take a break with a standing armbar in progress. Back with Sam fighting back, but Arn catches him with his head down and gets the hammerlock slam before going back to the arm again. He pounds it on the ropes and blocks a sunset flip attempt, then takes Houston down and hammerlocks him as we’re well over 10:00 now with no bell apparent. Arn stomps the arm down and goes back to the hammerlock, but Sam fights up and monkey-flips him out of the corner. Another try is blocked with an atomic drop, and that gets two. Houston keeps fighting and backdrops Arn for two, but he misses a bodypress and clotheslines himself on the ropes, allowing Arn to pin him at 12:39 to retain. Kind of a weird finish, but it was a strong match. ***
– Back with Cornette one more time, as he rages about the cage.
– Nikita Koloff v. Josh Stroud. Last we’ll see of Nikita for a while, apparently. Nikita immediately drops Stroud on the top rope and elbows him down, then chokes away on the mat and drops an elbow. Josh fights back, but Nikita casually boots him down and then drops him with the Sickle to finish. Magnum hits the ring to save the jobber and quickly gets double-teamed, as Nikita hits him with a top rope Sickle before Dusty Rhodes finally saves his friend. Geez, took him long enough.
