House Show Happenings 2 - Where The Big Boys Play!

[davertfnewman]

Not sure if you're not aware, but Keith Hart isn't Bret's brother who turned up for Survivor Series, it's a jobber of the same name (and quite a decent one, to be honest, getting at least something watchable out of Minotaur/Steve DiSalvo).

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18 minutes ago, davertfnewman said:

Not sure if you're not aware, but Keith Hart isn't Bret's brother who turned up for Survivor Series, it's a jobber of the same name (and quite a decent one, to be honest, getting at least something watchable out of Minotaur/Steve DiSalvo).

Quite. Not a problem we’ll have when we get to Owen.

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FEBRUARY 1990

MAIN EVENTS 

Still champion vs champion with Ric Flair vs Lex Luger 1st at the Mid-South Coliseum (5500), 2nd at Springfield (MO) Shrine Mosque and 4th in Dallas (just 2500) - 3rd in Oklahoma City report incomplete as is 8th in Belton TX, just 2000 in San Antonio is really disappointing considering a certain lucha legend is booked (see below), The Steiner Brothers vs Doom is the biggest title match (Luger had transport issues) then next night in Cincinnati (3300) Luger defends the UST against hometown hero Brian Pillman with a Dusty finish - although both close with battle royals won by Hawk. 11th in Knoxville (4000) Flair vs Luger is back on, 15th in Augusta the tag title is the biggest draw again and 17th in Jackson (TN) The Road Warriors vs The New Skyscrapers goes on last (18th in Murfreesboro TN incomplete), 21st in Birmingham is disastrous as allegedly just 800 turn up for the latest in Flair vs Luger. No full matches reported 27th at Thomas Stone High School in Waldorf MD - no, me neither. Not where the salad comes from.

THE CARDS

Early month The Steiner Brothers & The Road Warriors vs Doom & The New Skyscrapers transitions neatly into more of Steiners vs Doom for the belts and Hawk & Animal vs Spivey & Taker through Texas, then Rick & Scott move onto The Samoan Swat Team. Staying with tags, Brian Pillman & Tom Zenk vs Michael Hayes & Jimmy Garvin is non stop as is The Rock N Roll Express vs The Midnight Express including several shows where we don’t know the main, in weeks 2-3 Arn Anderson defends the TV title against various men as his scheduled challenger has departed (see below) and Morton (working double duty) is the only repeat, wrestling Arn in Knoxville, Birmingham and Asheville. The Dynamic Dudes vs The New Zealand Militia also has no end in sight, other repeats include Steve Williams vs The Samoan Savage in Dallas and Jackson either side of the Clash and TVs, week 1 seeing continuation of Mike Rotunda vs Ranger Ross, Norman vs Kevin Sullivan early month plus a streetfight in Knoxville and reprisal in weeks 3-4 and both Tommy Rich vs Cactus Jack and the Samoans vs Eddie Gilbert & Ross in Birmingham and Asheville.

VARIANTS

There’s Williams vs Buzz Sawyer in Oklahoma City, Arn & Sting vs Sawyer & Dragon Master in Dallas is the last match Sting wrestles as a Horseman. Also of note there, Wahoo McDaniel refs Steiners vs Doom. San Antonio has a serious juggle from the planned card with Arn vs Rich and Cactus vs Alex Porteau (sounds like a 96 Superstars) plus Manuel Villalobos vs Chuck Allen and Mil Mascaras vs Gilbert. Cincinnati sees Arn vs Z-Man sandwiched between Zenk & Pillman dropping the Freebirds in a streetfight and Flyin’ challenging The Total Package - talk about maximising a small crew. Knoxville has Rotunda vs Gilbert, in Augusta it’s Gilbert vs Cactus (long overdue visit to the pay window for Eddie), Dudes vs Headshrinkers, Hawk vs Callous one on one and Norman vs Zan Panzer (Brad Anderson). Finally in Jackson, Cactus vs Ross and Norman vs Rotunda.

TVs

6th in Corpus Christi is of course is Clash X, which features the unmasking of Doom and more vital the expulsion of Sting from the Horsemen to signing on to challenge Slick Ric at WrestleWar - oddly timed and causing J-Tex to get incongruous cheers in the main - and the “you couldn’t have booked it better” scenario of The Stinger suffering a legit injury attempting to scale the cage and get to Flair at show close. 7th in Beaumont, Porteau does jobs for Luger and Doom, and they tape semis in a tournament to crown new US tag team champions - which is won 12th in Rainesville AL by Pillman & Z-Man over the Freebirds. 15th in Gainesville (GA) Doug Furnas tapes squashes, 20th in Ozark both Rock n Rolls vs Midnights and Flair vs Luger (Dusty finish) are dark bonus matches, 22nd is largely notable not for any matches taped at Center Stage but for Flair giving up the book because he’s fed up of Jim Herd meddling. Most crucially, with Sting injured, Herds insistence that Luger needs to win the title at WrestleWar is the final straw. He’s the only one that thinks so - Flair is convinced Sting is the future and wants to lose the title to him regardless how long he has to wait, the booking team are otherwise unanimous that it’s the wrong call, and even Lex himself insists he isn’t ready. Let’s see how it winds up - we’re on a slippery slope here that’s going to slide through The Black Scorpion all the way down to Ric and the Big Gold Belt heading North. 25th in Greensboro is the PPV of course (7500 paid), somewhat cursed - Sully subs for Muta tagging with Sawyer and for some reason they’re allowed to go over the Dudes, Spiveys hurt again so Taker & “The Masked Skyscraper” (Mike Enos) lose to the Roadies, Ricky Morton tears a pec and Arn suffers a pinched nerve. But none of that matters compared to a superb main in which The Total Package releases the rack on Flair to save Sting from the Andersons and chaos ensues. 26th in Beckley WV a perfectly awful spell for injuries rolls on when Douglas does his knee in, then 28th with our old friends at Jaffa Mosque in Altoona PA, Lex needs stitches after a wayward belt shot from Samu splits him open. Fuck.

DEPARTURES

The Clash is the end for The Great Muta, who’s back to Japan with his reputation as a performer enhanced internationally. WCW apparently were keen to keep him but depending on who you ask, their booking to date or desire to turn him babyface deterred him from accepting their offers to stay. It’s also the last appearance this month for a couple of years for Steve Williams when a planned PPV shot at Lex at WrestleWar bites the dust when he’s a casualty of the domino effect of Sting’s injury, and he’ll head to All Japan to team back up with Terry Gordy, upon which the bulk of his legacy will be built - they’ll be tag team champions by March 6th.

 

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Oh, hello you.

MARCH 1990

Hardly any matches known from 1st-3rd in Roanoke and Williamson WV and Fort Bragg and Wilmington (both NC) then 5th-11th it’s Ric Flair vs Lex Luger in Amarillo, Lubbock (refereed by Terry Funk), Midland, El Paso, Savannah, Greenville and at the Omni (8300). After TVs they’re  down in Florida and it’s still World vs United States champs 14th in Tallahassee then 16th/17th in St Petersburg and Daytona Beach, 18th in Miami is TVs, no report from 19th in Fort Pierce, then 22nd in Farmland IN there’s a benefit show for the towns volunteer fire brigade also featuring Flair vs Luger while a B crew is up North (see below). 23rd in Chicago (little over half full at 6500) is the notorious show in which Flair refused to drop the title to Luger because he hadn’t been given due notice per a contractual obligation (uh oh) and he later admits that he’d promised the honour to Sting - so he pins The Total Package after hitting him with Womans shoe, which is also the finish the next two nights in St Louis (a woeful 4500) and Baltimore (5000). Doesn’t look good drawing so low in one of their strongholds, does it? Our long-standing main closes out the month 30th in Richmond and 31st in Knoxville.

B shows! 9th-11th they also run Columbia, Florence and Danville VA but again no reports. 20th-22nd up in Saginaw, Dayton and Toledo the US tag title semi-main or RnRs vs Freebirds is man for man the most star power on the card but the biggest names go on last - The Road Warriors vs The New Zealand Militia. Around Richmond, a depleted crew runs 28th in Harrisonburg, 29th in Hampton and 30th in Lynchburg with Brian Pillman & Tom Zenk vs The Midnight Express for the secondary tag straps.

THE CARDS

Early month tag feuds that see no end in sight are Brian Pillman & Tom Zenk vs Michael Hayes & Jimmy Garvin for the US tag title, The Road Warriors vs Doom (a series of street fights in Texas are refd by Wahoo McDaniel) and The Rock N Roll Express vs The Midnight Express. “PS” does miss a few gigs and journeyman Steve Casey subs in. Mid month we add The Steiner Brothers vs Arn & Ole Anderson for the big belts - that one also rolls on quite a while, as does Cactus Jack vs Mike Rotunda (which starts in Atlanta) and Norman vs Kevin Sullivan. The Omni also plays host to Steiners vs The Minnesota Wrecking Crew (Rumble 93 foreshadow) which repeats in St Louis, between Chicago and Baltimore - presumably because by this point Ole is too knackered to work Rick & Scott three nights on the trot. In Florida we’re supposed to get The Dynamic Dudes vs The Samoan Swat Team but after Tallahassee Douglas picks up a knock so it becomes Ace & Tommy Rich vs Fatu & Samoan Savage (repeating later on the B shows) plus a pivot to an opener of Eddie Gilbert vs Cuban Assassin - Rich having wrestled Buzz Sawyer in Tallahassee, who he’ll meet again at Monroe Center High School (Farmland) and in Knoxville. Up North the Rock n Rolls work the makeshift Freebirds of Garvin & Casey and Zenks also on the DL so Flyin Brian tags with Gilbert against the Midnights but Z-Man recovers for the scheduled match on the big shows in Chicago, St Louis and Baltimore. B show Vermont matches include Samu losing in singles to Gilbert (a repeat from Hot Stuff working double duty in Saginaw), Rotunda vs Zan Panzer and Dutch Mantel vs Italian Stallion.

VARIANTS

Sweet Stan misses a few this month, it’s Pillman vs Eaton in Fort Bragg and Morton vs Eaton in Wilmington. Amarillo has a lone reprisal of Steiners vs Doom plus Assassin vs Cajun Predator (no, me neither) and Fatu & Savage vs Eddie & Manny Villalobos. Atlanta sees Ace vs Fatu. In Tallahassee Gilbert vs Savage is the original opener before things shuffle, Samu loses by DQ to Ranger Ross in Dayton, Harrisonburg seems to be the only meeting of Ricky and Robert against Doom. The big Richmond show has Rotunda vs Jonny Rotten, Norman vs Johnny Ringo and Doom vs Rich & Hawk (double sub!). In Lynchburg it’s Fatu & Samu vs Ace and Brad Anderson, Gilbert & Ross vs The MOD Squad (?) and Victory & Morgan beat (!) The Fantastics. Finally in Knoxville Flyin’ and Z-Man turn back makeshift challengers Beautiful Bobby and the Taskmaster.

TVs

4th in Rock Hill SC there are dark match bonuses of Steiners vs Anderson’s and Flair vs Pillman, 12th/13th there are TVs in Marietta (🎶you’ll be serving harrrrd tiiiiime🎶) and Columbus, the latter again featuring the Steiners vs Arn & Ole for the tag belts as a dark main. 18th in Miami get Roadies vs Doom, and also a job appearance for Dennis Knight. 26th in Johnstown Pillman & Zenk beat the Midnights dark after tapings which include the Flair vs Gibson match that airs on Power Hour. The US tag belts go on last again night after in Canton though far more important is the news Missy Hyatt is the new cost of Main Event. Fun fact about that taping, Jim Cornette throws his toys out of the pram and quits the booking committee when Jim Herd blocks a planned storyline where Jimmy C sells the Midnights contracts to Woman making them part of the restructured Horsemen

DEPARTURES

Those Freebird subs are the only calls for Steve Casey who resurfaces in Texas in the Autumn where he’ll cross paths with a certain other Steve. Everyone’s favourite southern gentleman Danny Spivey no-shows Miami and is promptly let go ; he’ll later claim he was unhappy with his payoffs and also didn’t like working the Road Warriors because he perceived them to take liberties with his rookie tag partner, Mean Mark. Oh, the irony. Wrestling being what it is, Spivey returns to WCW in September.