House Show Happenings 2 - Where The Big Boys Play!

[Chili]

16 minutes ago, davertfnewman said:

Had missed this thread - admittedly, I'd checked out of the WWF version after the era I'm interested in had passed. Will be fun to check this out pretty much to the end of the company.

Even though it's a month old, I find it an interesting story with Bob Orton, who muscled up substantially for a feud with former partner Muraco, who also trimmed some of the fat and had the veins like shoelaces to be "The Rock". Seemingly gets fired after an incident at an airport (confirmed?) and turns back up in the AWA doing the bodyguard/tag partner role with Adrian Adonis, which gives us those old hands against Shawn and Marty, then slims down into weathered veteran Bob for his WCW run and smaller companies. He pretty much looks the same (old) in 1989 against Murdoch as he does at the Night of Legends with Slater against Garvin and the Stomper.

What was the altercation at an airport?

[davertfnewman]

Not aware of the particulars, but apparently it was disturbance at an airport in Calgary.

[air_raid]

Apologies for the delay, life's getting in the way. By "life" I mean "work."

SEPTEMBER 1989

MAIN EVENTS
We've still got Ric Flair vs Terry Funk for all the marbles 1st-3rd in Odessa, Monroe and in a Texas Death Match at the Omni (15,500 - FUCKING HELL, a good gate!!) and 6th in Alexandria. 9th they draw 4000 to the Capital Centre - an admittedly tough market where the WWF will insist on exclusivity thereafter, Flair turns back Dick Slater instead of the injured Funk there, 10th at the Greensboro Coliseum (just 5000) 15th in St Louis (<3000) and 16th in Kansas City (2500) where on both its refereed by Harley Race (!) and 17th in Chicago (2500, <1900 paid). That show's a fucking disaster even WITH Funk and Sting (also crocked) advertised. When it rains, it pours for WCW. 19th in Harrisonburg seems to have been topped by The Midnight Express vs The Steiner Brothers for the tag title, but Flair vs Funk is back on 21st/22nd in Savannah and Asheville but a hurricane stops various wrestlers getting to Richmond on 23rd prompting an hour long queue for refunds - The Great Muta vs Sting for the TV title went on last of what they could put on ; 24th in Charlotte was cancelled altogether. Sting vs Muta main events again 26th in Beckley WV before Flair and Funk main event 27th-30th in Worcester (700 fans only, it's claimed), Troy, Syracuse and Buffalo - what the hell were they thinking running the North East??

B shows! 1st in Fayetteville and 2nd in Myrtle Beach SC we have no full reports but 8th in Miami (1100), 9th in Palmetto, 10th in Fort Pierce running parallel to Flair's crew it's The Road Warriors vs The Samoan Swat Team in a cage match and again 15th in Corpus Christi (refereed by Wahoo McDaniel), 16th in Lubbock and 17th in El Paso. 

THE CARDS
Lex Luger vs Tommy Rich for the US title runs all month. The Great Muta vs Sting for the TV belt runs for two weeks (Muta pinning Sting in Atlanta is to settle the vacancy) before Stinger gets injured. Early-mid month it's Michael Hayes & Jimmy Garvin vs The Midnight Express for the tag straps for virtually two straight weeks (Eaton vs Hayes in singles has to go on in Palmetto and Worcester later in the month and Hayes vs Lane in Asheville and Troy) and joy - Jim Cornette vs Paul E Dangerously is back on! That tag title match is usually concurrent to The Road Warriors vs The Samoan Swat Team in a cage match (which actually also goes on last in Atlanta) and The Steiner Brothers vs The Skyscrapers. First week's card is rounded off with Brian Pillman vs Norman (the Lunatic), second week in we get back to Steve Williams vs Mike Rotundo, plus The New Zealand Militia vs Scott Hall & Ranger Ross, Dick Murdoch vs Cuban Assassin, Eddie Gilbert vs Ron Simmons and Lou Perez vs Powerhouse Parker. Week 3, with Sting hurt, Muta starts losing by DQ to Murdoch and we add The Dynamic Dudes vs Morgan & Victory, Butch Reed vs Hall, Greg Evans vs Larry Williams and Assassin vs Richard Sartain. 21st thereafter, we're back to Sting vs Muta, and that's how we finish the month, plus Freebirds vs Steiners starts in earnest (they did also meet in Monroe) and ideally a return to Dudes vs Militia and the Roadies vs Vicious & Spivey - hurricane permitting (see below). In the North East we move to Dudes vs Scrapers but The Franchise breaks a bone in his wrist in Worcester ; Shane guts it out in (shoot) namesake city Troy, but misses the next three nights (see below, again) though he'll be back in the ring for 02/10 TVs. Hawk & Animal slum it with Morgan & Victory, there's Gilbert vs Assassin and - here's a talent that never got his due - Tom Zenk vs Norman.

Those B shows have Midnights vs Militia 1st/2nd, and that's about all we know.

VARIATIONS
2nd in Monroe it's Luger vs Murdoch (DQ finish), a random Chavo Guerrero vs Bill Irwin (sub for random Alex Porteau) and Skyscrapers vs Hall & Steve Casey. Atlanta get Brad Armstrong (sweet!) vs the Assassin and Simmons vs Tom Branch (the latter's last match). In Miami Sweet Stan misses it so BA subs in with Eaton to beat the Freebirds by DQ after earlier losing to Kevin Sullivan. 10th in Fort Pierce Eaton & Pillman beat the Freebirds by DQ, Harrisonburg (at least) see Hall beat the Assassin and (context would be nice if anyone has it) The Iron Sheik is in big Ron's corner as he loses (!) to Ranger. In Richmond, hurricane amendments include Hawk vs Sid to a DQ, Douglas vs Morgan, Simmons vs Razor, Norman vs Ace and Z-Man vs Dick Slater. Beckley, it's Steiners vs Hayes & Simmons, ( @gmoney ) the Militia BEAT Rich & Gilbert (fuck), and Norman pins Anderson. Worcester it's Animal vs Morgan and Rich vs Victory ; two scheduled tag matches including Midnights vs Freebirds don't happen AND Shane hurts his wrist - Worcester's cursed for tag team wrestling! Finally 29th Syracuse in Ace loses to Spivey then next night in Buffalo Ace loses to Sid and Dr Death is missing so after beating Assassin on first as planned, "Hot Stuff" loses to IRS later. Poor Eddie.

TVs
11th in Greenwood SC we tape, but there are also great dark matches - title matches of Muta vs Sting and Freebirds vs Midnights plus the Roadies/Headshrinkers cage match! Night after in Columbia (2600) its Clash VIII - they must have liked the "Fall Brawl" subtitle because as you know, its used for a PPV from 93 onwards. Seeds of dissent are sown between the Steiners and their valets which is paving the way for Robin Green to end up with Doom, and Paul E is dumped by the SST after the lose to the Road Warriors. Little of note 14th at Center Stage, 18th in Roanoke there's Luger vs Rich and Steiners vs Scrapers plus the Dudes (now managed by Cornette) beat Paul E's (?) Militia, which is the last TV appearance of the Scarsdale walrus for now. Finally 20th back at Center Stage tapes the episodes which include Scotty Steiner getting attacked by two blokes not seen by the camera, that we will later on learn to be Doom. Never trust a woman/Woman.

DEPARTURE
Paul E Dangerously leaves again. He'll back in May, managing a certain future dead man.

In the absence of any matches... did you know WrestleMania 2 legend Elvira later "jumped ship" and promoted Halloween Havoc 89 (and 90)? You do now.

[BomberPat]

26 minutes ago, air_raid said:

(context would be nice if anyone has it) The Iron Sheik is in big Ron's corner as he loses (!) to Ranger.

WCW very briefly ran with Sheik as Simmons' manager; I think it lasted less than a month, probably only one set of tapings - though there are Sheik promos about trying to find Simmons a tag partner, so maybe there was an idea to have him manage Doom at one point, as that was round the corner for Simmons. 

They brought Sheik in to feud with Sting in 1989, and very quickly realised that he wasn't up to working at the level they wanted from him, but they were paying him a lot of money. They thought they could rely on wrestler ego to solve their problem, and figured that if they kept booking him to lose to less well known wrestlers, he would get annoyed and want to quit, but he didn't give a shit and was happy just getting paid. So they relegated him to only working on house shows, and in a very "lol WCW" move, they forgot to give him notice of when his one-year contract was expiring, so the office rolled it over into another year, and they were stuck with him all through 1990 as well. 

Edited June 17, 2025 by BomberPat

[gmoney]

35 minutes ago, air_raid said:

2nd in Monroe it's Luger vs Murdoch (DQ finish), a random Chavo Guerrero vs Bill Irwin (sub for random Alex Porteau) 

The Goon subs for The Pug!

[Tamura]

11 minutes ago, BomberPat said:

WCW very briefly ran with Sheik as Simmons' manager; I think it lasted less than a month, probably only one set of tapings - though there are Sheik promos about trying to find Simmons a tag partner, so maybe there was an idea to have him manage Doom at one point, as that was round the corner for Simmons.

Although I'm not sure why they decided to put Simmons with Iron Sheik in the first place, I think it's doubtful he was ever going to manage Doom. By that point (August apparently) the Robin Green angle had been ongoing since late May, and you'd have to imagine Robin turning on Rick Steiner and revealing herself to be the evil Woman had been written with her managing a specific team.

[air_raid]

Most importantly, we're all excited that Nitron will be in soon. He really should have been a big star during the Monday Night War.

[Tamura]

On 6/17/2025 at 4:36 PM, air_raid said:

Most importantly, we're all excited that Nitron will be in soon. He really should have been a big star during the Monday Night War.

His British wrestling career didn't go too well, although he hasn't done too badly for himself since by all accounts. 

[SpykeDudlei1]

On 6/17/2025 at 4:00 PM, gmoney said:

The Goon subs for The Pug!

Who?

I’m being Sincere.

?

[air_raid]

OCTOBER 1989

MAIN EVENTS
Still Ric Flair vs Terry Funk for all the marbles 1st in Rochester, 6th/7th in Norfolk and Pittsburgh (Texas Death match), a double shot on the 8th in Orangeburg SC and at the Omni (I Quit matches), 10th in Orlando and 12th in Tallahassee, we have a sidebar to Flair vs The Great Muta 14th in Baltimore (just 4500 attend) and 15th in Greensboro. 20th in Washington and 22nd in Chicago we move to Flair & Sting vs Funk & Muta before 25th in Jackson (TN) and 27th in Richmond its back to Flair vs Funk.

CARDS
In week 1 we have regular title matches of Lex Luger vs Steve Williams for the US title, The Great Muta vs Sting rolling on for the TVT and Michael Hayes & Jimmy Garvin vs The Steiner Brothers to DQ finishes. We've also got The Skyscrapers vs The Midnight Express, Brian Pillman vs The Cuban Assassin, Tommy Rich vs Norman, Ranger Ross vs Brad Anderson, Tom Zenk vs Bill Irwin and more of the neverending feud of The Dynamic Dudes vs The New Zealand Militia. Week after we move to The Road Warriors vs Sid n Spivey, Luger's back with Rich while Doc is back beating Mike Rotunda (both of which also happened in Rochester), plus Pillman vs Eddie Gilbert and Z-Man vs Dick Slater. While Flair's with Muta we get Flyin Brian doing the honours for Terry Funk, there's although a mid-month pivot to Midnights vs Militia and Rich vs Assassin. Understandably in Washington and Chicago the tag title switches to Freebirds vs Roadies while we're back to Luger vs Williams underneath and an absence somewhere means Scotty Steiner vs Sid is a singles match. Month end Steiners vs Scrapers resumes from Orlando and its still consistently Luger vs Doc, Muta vs Sting, Hayes & Garvin vs Hawk & Animal, Douglas & Ace vs Victory & Morgan, Pillman vs Rotunda and Zenk vs Irwin - numerous incomplete reports all month that one as the only confirmed match, they wrestled each other a lot.
VARIANTS
ROCHESTER - Freebirds vs Midnights, Z-Man vs Norman, Gilbert vs Assassin, Roadies vs Militia, Spivey vs Ace in singles. ATLANTA - Sting vs Gary Hart (!) when Muta misses it, Pillman vs Eddie. ORLANDO - Zenk vs the Assassin, Freebirds vs Ace & Pillman due to Douglas' absence. WASHINGTON - Ace vs Morgan in singles.

TVs
9th in West Palm Flair vs Funk, Sting vs Muta and Steiners vs Scrapers are all dark. 16th in Greenville there's Flair vs Funk (Texas Death match), Freebirds vs Steiners, Sting & Pillman vs Muta & Slater and Dudes vs Militia on top of the televised enhancement matches. 17th they tape at Cobb County Civic Center in Marietta - shame Boss Man wasn't on the books. On that taping Oliver Humperdink (ugh) returns to manage the Samoan Swat Team ; I have no memory of that. The Samoan Savage (Sam/Tama/Tonga Kid) wrestles in singles and Samu & Fatu beat Greg Evans and (hey yo) Scott Hall. 24th in Little Rock they get Flair vs Funk again, Muta vs Sting and Freebirds vs Roadies. On 28th its Halloween Havoc from Philly on which Doom beat the Steiners with help from Woman, and Flair & Sting beat Funk & Muta in a convoluted cage/towel match refereed by Bruno Sammartino.

DEPARTURE
Early month TVs have the last appearance of Missy Hyatt as the Steiners' manager ; she'll be back on commentary and interviews in 1990.

Edited September 26, 2025 by air_raid
Ready or not, here I come.

[air_raid]

NOVEMBER 1989

MAIN EVENTS
We still have Ric Flair vs Terry Funk 2nd-5th in Norfolk, Fayetteville and Conway and Spartanburg (both SC). 7th in Chicago it's Flair vs Dick Slater, 10th-12th Funk's back in Asheville (cage match), Oklahoma City and Funk's hometown Amarillo. After the Clash Funk's out as a wrestler so its Flair vs The Great Muta 18th/19th in St Louis and Pittsburgh, 21st-24th in Raleigh, Charlotte, at the Omni Thursday 23rd up against Survivor Series, 24th in Roanoke, a double shot of the Philadelphia Civic Center (1400) then Baltimore Arena on 25th and New Haven on the 26th, plus 28th at Center Stage which boasts a full card per the rest of the circuit AND all the TV squashes.

B shows - still decent shows split out from Flair's crew 4th/5th in Springfield MO and Indianapolis are topped by The Great Muta vs Sting for the TV title, then 7th-9th in Columbia (SC), Birmingham and Knoxville it's Lex Luger vs Brian Pillman for the US title. Not sure all the reported dates are accurate as a lot of talent seems to have worked Columbia and Chicago on the same day despite it being a 3 hour flight. 29th/30th Flair gets a rest (doesn't seem fair to Flair) so Luger vs Sting for the US title goes on last in Warner Robins GA and at Meridian (MS) High School and The Steiner Brothers vs Doom for the tag titles headline Albany and Columbus (both Georgia).

THE CARDS
Early month cards have Lex Luger vs Brian Pillman for the US title, still The Great Muta vs Sting for the TV title plus Michael Hayes & Jimmy Garvin vs The Road Warriors ostensibly for the tag titles even though the Freebirds have already lost them (see below) - in truest WCW tradition, the change won't be recognised until it airs on TV. Plus The Steiner Brothers vs The Skyscrapers, The Midnight Express vs The New Zealand Militia and Tom Zenk vs Mike Rotunda going 50/50. After the split of the rosters Zenk pins Norman and the Midnights are back with The Dynamic Dudes. Week 2, plenty more of Luger vs Pillman, Zenk vs Rotunda and depending where they are, the Roadies are with the Freebirds or back with Vicious & Spivey with the Steiners working the other heels, plus Dudes or Midnights vs Milita, and we get Tommy Rich vs Norman and a revival of Eddie Gilbert vs Cuban Assassin. Into week 3 Steiners vs Doom is a new tag title match now the switch has aired, Pillman's injured so Luger's with Z-Man after Zenk pins - get this - The Iron Sheik in the opener, Midnights are back with Douglas & Ace, we add The Samoan Swat Team & The Samoan Savage vs Gilbert, Rich and Ranger Ross. Straddling both weeks 3 and 4 is one Roadie vs Spivey in singles as Sid's also benched. Also the big one week 4 is Luger vs Sting for the US title, we also move to Militia vs Brad Anderson & Trent Knight and Rotunda vs Norman - IRS vs Bastion Booger? Yes please. Plus more of Eaton & Lane vs the Dudes and the Headshrinker/Islander six man. After the crews split we also get a Z-Man and the recovered Flyin' Brian vs the Freebirds, month end little changes except Zenk vs Hayes as a singles repeats.
VARIANTS
Norfolk has Ace vs Bill Irwin, in Chicago there's a reprise Luger vs Rich plus Butch vs Scott Hall, Asheville has Gilbert vs Norman, in Raleigh it's Rick Steiner vs a Doom (the reporter doesn't know which) and Zenk vs Bob Emory.

TV TAPINGS
1st at Centre Stage, Pillman beats a young Louie Spicolli going by "Lou Taffiloni", Buzz Sawyer returns as part of J-Tex to help their feud with the quasi-Horsemen and The Steiners unseat the Freebirds to lift the tag titles for the very first time. 14th it's Clash IX - the Roadies unsuccessfully challenge the Freebirds for the titles they've already lost, @gmoney The Super Destroyer (Victory) loses to Steve Williams, Nitron makes his real time TV debut in a post match attack and Flair beats Funk in the I Quit Match after which J-Tex turns on Funk and they and The Total Package beat up Flair, Funk and Sting. 20th in Columbus there's an Alex Porteau sighting doing jobs for Flexy Lex and Kevin Sullivan. 27th in Pensacola there's a full dark match card with Sting vs Luger, Steiners vs Doom and Zenk & Pillman vs The Freebirds. 28th at Center Stage there are a series of 5 minute challenges by the Midnights until they're beaten by masked me "Bruce Wayne & Dick Grayson" (LOL) who unmask to reveal Ace & Douglas - "winning $10,000 of Jim Cornette's money." These tapings also have the return of Kendall Windham, a Steiners squash featuring a certain Cactus Jack Manson, and a few appearances by masked man The Pro who we'll later call Mike Awesome.

DEPARTURES
None that I know of unless we count legendary ref Tommy Young who gets injured refereeing Rich vs Rotunda and won't referee again for nearly 10 years.

Edited September 26, 2025 by air_raid
Bang bang!

[air_raid]

It’s not just because of the poke by @Chili, it HAS been too long since I updated. Fact is, before the end of July I used to do a fair bit of the research (and indeed formatting/posting) during my working day, because I could do my job standing on my head and still earn max payout every month ; since starting my new job I don’t have the same chance or inclination to skive. The standard WWE ones I can knock out by checking the results two mornings out of every calendar month at present, these take more effort. But it’s a labour of love.

DECEMBER 89

MAIN EVENTS

Ric Flair vs The Great Muta continues 1st in Memphis, there’s a brief break with Flair vs Terry Funk in a cage in Chicago (exact date lost to the mists of time on one of the evenings after afternoon TVs elsewhere) then it’s Muta 7th in Buffalo (2000), 8th in Norfolk where poor weather causes many no shows (see below) and 9th in Washington (1000). 15th in St Louis it’s Flair vs Lex Luger (though the Steiners go on last) but the 1300 at the Kiel Auditorium is considered such a disaster they immediately cancel the return show - oh dear. Next night at Cobo Hall (Detroit) is not much better - 2500. WCW runs a packed Christmas program as the WWF always tended to do, and its Flair vs Luger from Christmas Day to 30th in Charlotte, Knoxville, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Richmond and Greensboro. Running WWF strongholds in the North East during the holidays goes as well as you expect - 4000 in Baltimore and just 2100 in Philly, though “home turf” isn’t MUCH better with 3500 tickets sold in Richmond and 5200 in Greensboro.

Split crews have Sting vs The Great Muta 2nd in Nashville and The Steiner Brothers vs Doom on last 4th in Beckley WV and Christmas Day afternoon in Greenville before the bigger show in Charlotte later.

THE CARDS

Sting vs The Great Muta seems to wrap in Chicago (well, and fairly decisively at Starrcade) then after Christmas it’s a big six-man where the TV champ tags with new Horsemen allies Arn & Ole Anderson against Muta, Buzz Sawyer & Dragon Master (Kazuo Sakuraba). Tag scene has some symmetry - The Steiner Brothers vs Doom for the tag belts runs six shows in the first three weeks including the big ones in St Louis and Detroit, then again Christmas Day in Greenville. The Road Warriors vs The Skyscrapers is supposed to be a feud but only actually happens in Greenville due to injury to Sid (as you’ll know if you watched Starrcade or bought the tape like me) ; Hawk vs Spivey in singles replaces it on four shows before we eventually move to Steiners & Roadies vs Doom/Vicious/Spivey on every festive evening card. The Midnight Express vs The Dynamic Dudes repeats nearly every night early month and on all the Christmas shows. Amusing note - Douglas & Ace lose the vast majority of these matches but Christmas Day at the Greenville matinee there’s a “5 minutes with Jim Cornette” stip if they win, so naturally they do. Eaton & Lane avenge that ignominy in Charlotte and every night thereafter.

The Samoan Swat Team vs Eddie Gilbert & Tommy Rich repeats in Beckley and Buffalo, we’ve got Brian Pillman & Tom Zenk vs Michael Hayes & Jimmy Garvin in Buffalo, Washington and St Louis, and the Freebirds beat Gilbert & Rich in Norfolk and Washington - later in the show losing to Flyin’ & Z-Man. After Christmas Pillman vs “PS” repeats as a singles match. Early month repeats also include Mike Rotunda vs Norman and Kevin Sullivan vs Brad Anderson, Gilbert vs Sullivan goes down mid-month and in Knoxville then the rest of the month/year Kev beats Hector Guerrero. In Detroit Eddie actually spends the night in hospital after injuring both his ankle AND rotator cuff during the same fall, but as you read, is back in the ring by month end. Finally, Rich & Ranger Ross vs The New Zealand Militia repeats in St Louis and over Christmas.

It’s weird, I own the Starrcade tape and others from early 90 and have watched a ton of the retrospective stuff about this time period but had no recollection of Ole actually wrestling, so all four of this incarnation of the Horsemen were wrestling. Confirming that (the numbers don’t lie) the 3 wrestler Flair/Arn/Roma edition of the IV Horsemen was undisputedly the worst, but the best is still the version led by Double J, with Flair, Benoit, Mongo and still-sort-of-officially Arn.

VARIATIONS

US title is a very mixed bag - Lex Luger vs Steve Williams in Chicago, Luger vs Zenk (sub for Sting) in Buffalo then Luger vs Sting IS ON 9th in Washington. In weather-hit Norfolk, Sting beats Sullivan who earlier had won a battle royal to earn his match with the Stinger. Outliers to the main event tag scene are Scotty Steiner vs Sid and Road Warriors vs Freebirds in Chicago, and Animal vs Spivey in Buffalo. The Samoan Swat Team & Samoan Savage vs Gilbert, Hector & Ross is unique 1st in Memphis as is Zenk vs Garvin in singles, Arn & Ole vs SST in Detroit has reports vary as to whether this was Fatu & Savage, per Starrcade, or Fatu & Samu like every other straight tag for the Team. My guess, the latter. Sting and Hayes both get Charlotte off so Flyin Brian randomly tags with the Minnesota Wrecking Crew against J-Tex. Philly has nights off for Ole and Muta so it’s Sting/Arn vs Master/Sawyer, and also a one off Heidi Lee Morgan vs Dusty Comet. Other one-offs see Pillman vs Rotunda and Zenk vs Bill Irwin in Chicago, and just for @gmoney, Victory vs Ross in Detroit and Ace vs Victory in Chicago. Finally unique to Greensboro, Pillman goes over Garvin instead of Hayes, and “The Franchise” wrestles Sweet Stan in a singles which has a MATCH with Cornette at stake. After his racquet-wielding interference costs Lane the match, Jim also inspects the lights for Shane.

TVs

3rd in Bristol TN Arn & Ole are already taping squashes to air after the PPV, there’s a Kendall Windham sighting and Mania 3 legend Lord Littlebrook seconds the Militia in their DQ reversal Dusty finish loss to the Dudes for Pro. 5th in Dayton (just 2000) the Wrecking Crew go over the Freebirds, 10th afternoon in Greensboro there are actually dark matches in Flair vs Muta, and a Dudes vs Midnights match meant for air that ends up being re-taped 14th in Peoria. Next night in Raleigh there’s a first Pillman vs Cactus Jack Manson match and dark it’s Flair & Sting vs Luger & Muta. Which brings me nicely to Starrcade on Wednesday 13th at the Omni, a show dedicated in its entirety to Iron Team and Iron Man round robins. The Roadies lose to the Steiners with a double pin/bridge finish that protects them, but pinfall wins over Doom and Fatu/Savage win them the tournament on points when Rick & Scott do shitty non finishes (protecting THEM) with both the heel teams. Bet you can’t wait for the PPV blow off for the belts between the two hero units? Meanwhile in singles, Luger also gets protected beating Muta by DQ and going broadway with Flair but loses out topping the table to Sting who he earlier pinned, by virtue of Stinger pinning both Muta and lastly Slick Ric, with the finish they’ll recycle just six months later for the big title change. 6000 in the building with configuration for 10,000 will have been a huge disappointment for a card boasting Flair vs Luger, Flair vs Sting and Steiners vs Roadies. Worse, it was a 7PM start as opposed to the usual 8 on a weeknight so many were still filing in when the show started ; Meltzer reckoned only 2000 saw the opener. LOLWCW. Finally next night in Peoria there’s a Zenk & Pillman vs Freebirds match that never airs and ANOTHER use for TV of one of my most hated WCW finishes where Douglas is somehow permitted to beat Lane by pinning Cornette when he interferes. Oh, fuck off.

DEPARTURE

That’s the last match of this sojourn for Terry Funk - he’ll host, interview and commentate for a bit then leave, plying his trade until his next return in the USWA, All Japan, and the fledgling Eastern Championship Wrestling.

 

Edited September 29, 2025 by air_raid
Konnan taught him the Sharpshooter too.

[gmoney]

7 hours ago, air_raid said:

Dragon Master (Kazushi Sakuraba)

Kazuo Sakurada, no? This Dragon master didn't look like he's go on to have an MMA career...

[air_raid]

7 hours ago, gmoney said:

Kazuo Sakurada, no? This Dragon master didn't look like he's go on to have an MMA career...

LOL, yes. “Mr Sakurada” of “mentioned by Bret” fame.

[air_raid]

JANUARY 90

MAIN EVENTS 

New Years Day they’re back at the Omni just 19 days after Starrcade with Ric Flair vs Lex Luger in front of about the same 6000 the PPV attracted. After TVs, 4th in Roanoke has very little details online, 5th in Raleigh (4300) the Nature Boy swaps into the Andersons’ six man in the semi main then has 6th off entirely - Luger vs Sting goes on last in Raleigh and at Charlottesville University Hall. It’s again Slick Ric vs The Total Package 10th-14th in Toledo, Hammond IN (5400 is a sellout for the Hammond Civic Center), Cincinnati (4500), Charleston WV (6000) and Asheville. We’re missing mains 18th at Marine Corps base Camp Lejune NC (birthplace of AJ Styles) and 19th at the Scope, 20th in Baltimore (just 5100) and 21st in Richmond (4000) it’s still Flair vs Luger though the tag title cage match goes on last - that’s not fair to Flair - then the champs off again 23rd for the return to Raleigh so Sting, Arn Anderson & Ole Anderson vs The Great Muta, Buzz Sawyer & The Dragon Master goes on last, in the cage. That they’d try to run the Dorton Arena twice in three weeks and not have the champ on the second show is probably why only 1000 turned up. Missing main 24th in Myrtle Beach SC and Flairs still off 25th in Columbia so The Steiner Brothers vs Doom for the belts inside the cage is truly the main event. Next night back at the Omni (yet already, again - 4400) it’s again Flair vs Luger but the Steiners and The Road Warriors vs Reed, Ron, Fatu & The Samoan Savage in the cage goes on last - 27th in Charleston and 29th in Savannah incomplete.

THE CARDS

Sting, Arn Anderson & Ole Anderson vs The Great Muta, Buzz Sawyer & The Dragon Master continues in Atlanta and mid-month though a couple of those shows Brian Pillman has to again sub for Ole. Mid month The Road Warriors are supposed to have a run with Danny Spivey & Mark Callous as the new incarnation of The Skyscrapers but they only manage three non finishes (LOL) with future Taker and Spivey before Danny gets a knock and Mike Rotunda has to sub until week 3. The Midnight Express vs The Dynamic Dudes rolls on, the only match that happens every show of the first three weeks including part reports, then we switch to the Dudes losing to The Samoan Swat Team and rolling back the years, Eaton & Lane are with familiar foes, The Rock N Roll Express before the Dudes revert to the Midnights for the rest of the month and Ricky & Robert start trading wins with the future Headshrinkers. We should note, lots of these still have the “Douglas wins a match with Jim Cornette” stip hanging over them.

Flyin’ Brian & Tom Zenk vs Michael Hayes & Jimmy Garvin continues in weeks 1 and 3 with Zenk vs Hayes one on one inbetween. Week 1 also sees Tommy Rich & Eddie Gilbert vs The New Zealand Militia, Rotunda vs Brad Armstrong and The Samoan Savage vs Ranger Ross. Mid month there’s Steve Williams pinning Savage, Norman vs The Iron Sheik, who’s subbing for The Taskmaster - Sheik vs Bastion Booger? Sounds the worst match imaginable. Plus the Militia now have Lord Littlebrook in their corner and are getting their wins back from Rich & Gilbert - I can’t believe how much Hot Stuff’s stock has fallen. Week 3 and 4 Norm vs Kevin Sullivan is finally happening (yay), Victory & Morgan swap wins with Gilbert & Ross as Rich goes 50/50 with IRS.

VARIANTS

Atlanta on New Year’s has final rounds of Steiners & Roadies vs Doom & Samoans, Gilbert vs Sullivan, Rich & Ross vs Militia and Pillman vs Hayes. First visit to Raleigh as noted above it’s Ric Flair/Andersons vs  Muta/Sawyer/Dragon Master beneath Luger vs Sting which is definitely not fair to Flair. Charlottesville see Arn & Ole vs  Muta/Dragon Master, Rotunda vs Ross is unique to Hammond, Animal vs Taker in singles seems to only happen in Columbia. Finally the return to the Omni has Arn vs Muta in a rematch for the TV title, Sting vs Dragon Master and the Dudes back with the Militia.

TVs

2nd in Gainesville (where AJ grew up) episodes of Worldwide are recorded where The Enforcer wins the TV title off Muta, and Cactus Jack Manson again beats up his tag partner after a loss to Rick & Scott. Plus Woman announces her intention to buy the contracts of the Horsemen. More developments next night at Center Stage but far more important for our field of interest, Flair/Sting/Arn vs Muta/Sawyer/Master is a dark main. 9th in Saginaw, Sting beats “Mr Asia” for telly (regular job guy Hacksaw Higgins in a mask) and dark, The Nature Boy once again retains the big gold belt over The Total Package. 15th in Johnson City, Dudes vs Midnights is taped but never airs. A scheduled taping at Center Stage has to be scrubbed because of renovations there (exactly the kind of detail WCW loves to overlook) so they tape next night in Huntsville where Gilbert unsuccessfully challenges Double A in a rare televised bright spot for Eddie. 23rd in Greenville they tape Flair pinning Z-Man with a handful of tights during which Woman and Nitron come to ringside to watch. Hmmm. 30th at Cobb County Civic Center, Flair vs Zenk and Luger vs Sting are both bonuses to what airs. Finally next night back at Center Stage Mil Mascaras and Doug Furnas both tape squash wins. I also note Keith Hart did a fair few jobs this month but they’re unremarkable, much like Keith himself.

DEPARTURES 

No notable ones, I don’t think.

If you enjoyed the novelty of Sting in the Horsemen as I did, watch this.

Of course, by virtue of his time in the Wolfpack, Stinger is in a very elite group, to have been both a Horseman and a member of the nWo. Up there with the greatest Horsey of all time, Double J. Ain’t he great?