National Wrestling Alliance / World Championship Wrestling - Saturday, April 27^th, 1985

By Bill

Again, the show opens with a dramatic moment ending in a freeze-frame, and then the opening credits. This time, it's Manny Fernandez nailing an unnamed opponent with the flying forearm and going for the cover. Maybe Rip Rogers?
Tony Schiavone and David Crockett are your announcers. "Nature Boy" Ric Flair, the Andersons, and Dusty Rhodes will be here today. Dusty has brought a friend, but the announcers are going to let Dusty tell us who it is himself later.
"The Minnesota Wrecking Crew" Ole & Arn Anderson vs. The Italian Stallion & Gerald Findlay
- I think they spelled Findlay's name different last week.
- The Italian Stallion's greatest claim to fame is that he won a spaghetti-eating contest at some point.
- Ole Anderson still has his belt.
- Arn versus the Stallion. Some back-and-forth and Ole is tagged in.
- Ole goes to work on the arm. Arn is quickly tagged back in, and he continues working on Stallion's left arm.
- NWA National Heavyweight Champion Ronnie Garvin will be here today, Tully Blanchard and Baby Doll, and Magnum TA will be putting his US Heavyweight Title on the line against Scott "The Hog" Irwin.
- Stallion is trying to get to his corner to tag out, so Arn brings him down in the Anderson corner and tags Ole in.
- A couple knees from both Andersons, and Arn is tagged back in.
- Arn snapmares Stallion, and Stallion is able to tag Findlay in. Findlay doesn't even get through the ropes before Arn starts going to work on him.
- Bodyslam by Arn on Findlay, and then an arm lock.
- Two headbutts by Findlay, but Arn smartly rolls him through to the Anderson corner and tags Ole in. Nice work by Arn there.
- Ole's choking Findlay out while working on his shoulder.
- Arn is tagged back in, and he's back on Findlay's left arm.
- Findlay tossed shoulder first into the corner, and Arn puts the arm lock back on.
- Knee to the arm...yank, yank, yank...
- Ole tagged back in. More work on the arm, and a slam right down on the arm...that's usually Arn's move.
- Arn is tagged back in. Stomp, stomp.
- Arn slams Findlay on his arm. Findlay almost gets the tag, but Stallion probably wasn't too anxious to get in there. Ole is tagged back in. Findlay goes out to the floor, and Arn tosses him right back in.
- Arn tagged in for him to extend Findlay's arm as Ole comes off the top rope.
- This week, they don't even go through the pretense of tagging Ole back in. Ole's got the arm bar on, and he gets the submssion. Ole totally was not the legal man in the ring when he got the submission.
- Your Winners: Ole & Arn Anderson via submission.
Schiavone interviews NWA National Heavyweight Champion Ron Garvin. He says that Tully Blanchard is gunning for him as a stepping stone back to Dusty's World Television Championship. He says for Tully to come get him because he "doesn't back down from no one". Anywhere in the country. Same goes for any challenge from Bob Roop.
After a commercial break, Schiavone is with Dusty Rhodes. Dusty says that he went to the San Diego Zoo to see a gorilla, and he brought back his cage, Betty Lou. That's right...a cage, for the live gorilla Dusty is going to bring next week for the Koloffs to have to deal with. My gosh, that in addition to his soliloquy...Dusty is a nutcase.
"The Raging Bull" Manny Fernandez vs. Doug Vines
- Vines has tights like Ken Patera used to wear.
- Lock up, criss-cross, hip toss by Fernandez.
- According to Crockett, Fernandez is a Vietnam Vet.
- Headlock by Fernandez, into the ropes, no clean break by Vines. The lack of a clean break got Vines quite a beating by Fernandez.
- Flurry of offense by Fernandez into a headlock on Vines on the mat.
- Fernandez stands Vines up, boxes his ears, and then puts Vines in a rear chinlock.
- Vines gets out with a rake across the eyes, but Fernandez comes right back.
- Rear elbow by Fernandez. Looks like the end is near.
- Nope...I was wrong. Head scissors on the mat by Fernandez. A bunch of Kappa Alpha guys in the front row in the background cheering on the action.
- Knee to the head by Fernandez. Chop to the chest, and an odd dropkick by Fernandez. Cover...one-and-a-half.
- Back to the rear chinlock by Fernandez.
- They stand up, into the ropes, and again no clean break from Vines. Same end result...a beating from Fernandez.
- Whip to the ropes, flying forearm, and 1-2-3 and it's over. Oddly, the annoncers call the flying forearm "a double thrust with a side body block". I watched it in slow motion and they may be right, but it looks like a flying forearm in real time.
- Your Winner: Manny Fernandez via pinfall
Schiavone is with Ric Flair and the 10 pounds of gold. Flair puts over the NWA and Jim Crockett Promotions. Flair predicts that his cousins The Andersons will be the next NWA National Tag Team Champions. Flair says he has an open contract for anyone to wrestle him, and he names some of the top contenders...Kerry Von Erich, Kevin Von Erich, Manny Fernandez, Bob Armstrong, etc. It was a surprisingly calm interview by Flair.
Bob Roop vs. Golden Terror
- Golden Terror is in a full body leotard with gold shorts and a gold mask.
- Some basic moves, back and forth.
- Roop starts to get the advantage, and goes to more power moves with knees and stomps.
- The Golden Terror keeps trying to come back. The Kappa Alpha guys are still having a blast in the background.
- The announcers are playing up Roop's amateur background as well as raw strength.
- Wow...Roop's got Golden Terror behind him, pulling Golden Terror's arm over his (Roop's) shoulder, and pulls so hard that he lifts Golden Terror off the ground and holds him there. Then Roop runs into the corner to give Golden Terror a Snake Eyes.
- Roop goes to the basic arm bar.
- Roop's an odd guy...he seems very detached from what's going on. A very blank expression. Interestingly, just as I'm typing this, Crockett makes the exact same observation. Schiavone says "The face of a card player."
- Roop keeps working on the arm, with knees and punches thrown in for good measure.
- Neck jerks in the corner by Roop.
- Golden Terror comes back with two whips in the corner, but Roop comes back with a knee.
- Power moves, shoulder breaker by Roop. 1-2-3 on the first attempted cover of the match.
- Your Winner: Bob Roop via pinfall
Tony Schiavone is with the NWA World Tag Team Champions, Ivan & Nikita Koloff. They are also 2/3 of the World's Six-Man Tag Team Champions. Ivan says the Americans are a lot of talk and no action, and Dusty is getting a gorilla because he looks like a gorilla. Nikita talks...he dares Dusty to get any partner he wants and to come after them. Oddly, Ivan is wearing a custom-made "Ain't Nothing Can Stop Us" t-shirt. I can't imagine him saying it quite like that.
Schiavone wishes a happy 53^rd wedding anniversary to a couple from West Bend WI on May 4^th. He gives the address to send any 50+ wedding anniversaries to get announced on the air.
Tully Blanchard w/Baby Doll vs. Lee Ramsey
- Baby Doll gets in Ramsey's face before the match.
- Handshake before the match...Lee Ramsey didn't know what to make of it.
- Takedown from behind by Blanchard.
- Ramsey escapes.
- Clean break from Blanchard on the ropes.
- Arm drag by Blanchard, leg trip, and an arm bar by Blanchard.
- Take down by hair by Blanchard after he distracts the referee. Blanchard talks trash.
- Blanchard reverses an arm lock and turns it into a Russian Leg Sweep.
- Roll-up by Blanchard, two count.
- Front facelock by Blanchard, Ramsey attempts to slam Blanchard from it, Blanchard rolls him up into a small package. Two count. Man...you don't see wrestling like that anymore.
- Blanchard is upset with the slow count. He gets in the ref's face and Ramsey takes the opportunity to mount a short comeback.
- Blanchard backs off to change the tempo.
- Knee and a few forearms by Blanchard. Body slam, five elbow drops. Two count only.
- It's all Tully...Knee lift, punch to the midsection, another punch to the midsection, a whip and a big fist into the midsection.
- Kick, European uppercut, and Ramsey does a face plant. I think the kick wasn't legal because, if I remember correctly, in the NWA and/or the WWF in the 1980s, kicks with the top of the foot were not legal. Stomps were legal, though.
- Tully starts slapping Ramsey in front of the camera, calling him out.
- Knees, punches, and the Kappa Alpha guys in the background are eating it up.
- Ramsey with a very brief comeback, but Tully hits the slingshot suplex and that's all she wrote. 1-2-3.
- Your Winner: Tully Blanchard via pinfall
In a presumably non-title match: NWA National Heavyweight Chamption Ron Garvin vs. George South
- According to George South's Wikipedia entry, he was very much a rookie at this point in his career, and he's still wrestling. I may be wrong on this but I think that, many years ago, he was the very first born-again Christian pro wrestler to really go public with his faith.
- Lock up, roll up by Garvin, and he almost gets a three count.
- Clean break by Garvin on the ropes.
- Arm wringer by Garvin, reversed, and South takes Garvin down by the hair.
- Exchange back and forth, and Garvin takes South down twice with the "hand of stone".
- Garvin looks to be attempting a suplex, but turns it into a small package for a two count.
- Front facelock on the mat by Garvin, with a go-behind into a sleeper. South goes to the ropes.
- South with a rake to the face and some clubbing offense.
- Hip toss by South (wow!) but Garvin comes back with two running tackles.
- Roll up by Garvin, two count and South escapes into the ropes. Clean break by Garvin.
- Knee, hip toss via the hair by Garvin.
- Hammer lock into an arm bar and then the sugar hold by Garvin. The sugar hold is hard to explain I think it's the same pressure as a full nelson, but it's done with one arm on the mat. I tried looking up an official definition of the sugar hold, but there seem to be very different things all with that name.
  - In Ole Anderson's autobiography, he states that the sugar hold was the hold he used to put knock marks unconcious whenever they tried to mess with him. In addition ot putting them out, it would break a number of blood vessels in their eyes so that they'd have really bloodshot eyes for several days as a reminder not to ever mess with him again.
- Garvin...sits right on his face.
- Garvin and South really start to mix it up. Garvin reverses a whip, big back body drop, big slap, abdominal stretch and...South gets to the ropes.
- Gut wrench suplex by Garvin, standing splash, 1-2-3.
- Your Winner: NWA National Heavyweight Champion Ron Garvin via pinfall.
- George South made a decent showing for himself in that match. It was definitely not a squash.
Tony Schaivone interviews Paul Jones (with a cast on his left arm and a cane), Superstar Billy Graham (with a bandage on his head), Barbarian (with face paint), and Abdullah The Butcher (with what looks to be a horse blanket). Jones' army is going to destroy Jimmy Valiant. Wow...the close up of Billy Graham has him looking pretty beat up.
Ric Flair is back, with Tony Schiavone and David Crockett. He's there to scout Magnum T.A.'s match.
For the NWA U.S. Heavyweight Title: Magnum T.A. (champion) vs. Scott "Hog" Irwin of the Long Riders
- Irwin jumps Magnum from behind with a knee to the back right after the bell rings.
  - Well, I hate to say it, but the bell had rung.
- Stomps by Irwin. Whip into the ropes, and back elbow by Irwin. Two kicks while Magnum is on the mat.
- Whip and a big punch by Irwin. Body slam by Irwin. As this is happening, the commentary by Flair is that Magnum may have bitten off more than he can chew with this match.
- Leg drop by Irwin, two count.
- Head butt by Irwin. It has been 100% Irwin thus far.
- Standing headlock by Irwin. Magnum tries to power out, and that just earns Magnum a kick in the back.
- Thrust to the head by Irwin, and Irwin slams Magnum's head into the top turnbuckle. Back to the headlock. Two more thrusts to the head by Irwin as we go to commercial break.
- We come back, and Irwin does a big back body drop on Magnum. Geez...this is like watching Ricky Morton get beat up.
- Kick...punch...punch...headlock...punch...punch...headlock...punch...dropkick to the face...cover, two count only.
- Seated headlock...Magnum is bleeding. Club to the back.
- Magnum gets his first offense...punch to the gut on Irwin, and a back elbow to Irwin's face. Dropkick by Magnum.
- Irwin comes back with a head to Magnum's gut and a European uppercut.
- Punch...choke...punch...choke on top rope...choke...standing headlock.
- Kidney punches by Magnum to get out of that, and then some rope-a-dope boxing by Magnum.
- Mangum goes for a back body drop, but he ducks his head too early and gets kicked by Irwin.
- Elbow drop by Irwin, two count.
- Irwin with a headlock...Magnum flips Irwin out of it, but Irwin comes back with punches, a head butt, and some chokes. Whip into the ropes, and a kick.
- Irwin sits Magnum on the second rope and pushes the referee out of the way. Magnum jumps off and lands a knee on Irwin.
- Belly-to-belly suplex by Magnum. 1-2-3.
- Your Winner: And still NWA U.S. Heavyweight Champion, Magnum T.A.
- Scott Irwin is in disbelief at the outcome.
- A sad note...less than two years after this match, Scott Irwin would be dead of a brain tumor.
Schiavone interviews Tully Blanchard and Baby Doll. Tully says he'll go through Ron Garvin and Magnum T.A. to get to Dusty Rhodes if he has to.
The pre-commercial graphic shows Jimmy Valiant and the caption is "I Love You...We Are The World." WTF?
Schiavone is with Dusty Rhodes, who has his NWA World Television Belt with him.
Dusty talks about the Koloffs, Magnum, and Flair. Dusty says that he and Flair are eventually going to settle the issue of who is the greatest.
NWA World Tag Team Champions Ivan & Nikita Koloff vs. Mike Jackson & Paul Garner
- I'm going to assume that this match is not for the title.
- Crockett notes that Ivan always starts the match.
- Some early offense by Ivan on Jackson, Jackson reverses with a monkey flip but misses an elbow. Ivan takes over.
- Jackson with a reversal or two, and we have a stand-off.
- Inset with Dusty and his cage.
- Ivan with the advantage and Nikita is tagged in for a double elbow.
- Jackson tries a side body block and Nikita catches him in mid air and tosses in.
- Three backbreakers by Nikita. That's followed by a press slam.
- Jackson scoots around Nikita and tags Garner in.
- Nikita goes right to work, issues some punishment, and tags Ivan in.
- Ivan methodically takes Garner apart.
- Ivan with the Russian Hammer. Two count only.
- Choke, choke, choke. Nikita is tagged in.
- Damn...snapmare by Nikita but Garner has trouble going over. I thought Nikita was going to pull Garner's head off.
- Headlock, knee to the head, choke on the top rope.
- Ivan gets a shot in behind the referee's back
- Ivan is tagged in. Foot to the midsection. Knee drop.
- Garner misses a corner charge, and he's subject to another snapmare. Kick, kick.
- Nikita is tagged in. Clubbing blows.
- Ivan is back in. Garner starts to break free but Ivan tags Nikita in for the Russian Sicle. 1-2-3.
- Your Winners: NWA World Tag Team Champions Ivan & Nikita Koloff via pinfall
- Ivan Koloff storms the announcers' area to confront Dusty. Dusty keeps talking about the gorilla that he's bringing next week. Ivan storms off.
Thunderbolt Patterson vs. Randy Barber
- The graphic has Thunderbolt's first name as "T'BOLT". Maybe the graphics guy was paid by the letter.
- Patterson has his National Tag Team Belt.
- The Minnesota Wrecking Crew is walking around at ringside.
- Ole comes to the microphone off-screen and says that the Crew is tired of waiting for Patterson to send the belt back.
- Meanwhile, back in the ring, classic mat wrestling, dominated by Patterson.
- Ole doesn't get why Patterson seems so nervous with the Andersons at ringside, since the Andersons are minding their own business.
- Patterson with the clean breaks.
- Barger looks a lot like a pudgy Arn Anderson.
- Ole is claiming that Patterson is afraid to wrestle either of the Andersons.
- Whip into the ropes, double throat thrust by Patterson (since when is that legal?), 1-2-3.
- Your Winner: Thunderbolt Patterson via pinfall.
- As soon as the match is over, Ole says "Right about now is as good a time as any" and the Andersons rush into the ring and open up a can of whoop-ass on Patterson.
- The guys in the Kappa Alpha shirts at ringside are going absolutely bonkers.
- Manny Fernandez comes out, climbs to the top turnbuckle in the opposite corner and waits for Arn to turn around so he can walk right into a double axe handle from the top turnbuckle from Fernandez. Arn rolls out of the ring.
- With the odds evened up, Patterson ejects Ole from the ring.
- Patterson and Fernandez stand defiantly in the ring, trying to get the Andersons to come back in now that the odds are even. The Andersons want no part of it.
Tony Schiavone interviews Ric Flair, who has his World Heavyweight Championship belt and is wearing a totally white suit. He looks a bit like an ice cream man in Beverly Hills. Schiavone wants to talk about Magnum, Flair wants to talk about Flair. Flair says that he is the man because he is the World Champion and it doesn't matter what any of the other contenders think. He is what's happening in the professional sports world today.
"Pistol" Pez Whatley vs. Vernon Deaton
- Chain and mat wrestling by Whatley to start out.
- Clean break by Whatley on the ropes.
- Arm drag by Whatley, head lock, shoulder block, standing dropkick, shoulder toss, front face lock on the mat.
- Deaton punches his way out only to suffer a headbutt.
- A few punches by Whatley. One count.
- Snapmare by Whatley.
- "Cowboy" Ron Bass will be on later. He is just back from a tour in the Orient.
- Small package by Whatley. One count.
- Headlock and roll through by Whatley.
- Clean break by Whatley on the ropes, but Deaton takes the advantage.
- Deaton tries slamming Whatley's head into the turnbuckles a couple times. That didn't go too well for Deaton.
- A flying lariat by Whatley, and body press, and it's over, even though Deaton was trying to kick out.
- Your Winner: Pez Whatley via pinfall
Schiavone and Crockett are talking about Valiant's very serious injury. Valiant is there to be interviewed along with Dusty Rhodes. Rhodes will be speaking for Valiant because the injury prevents Valiant from speaking. The announcer notes that Valiant's stick ("The Old Lady") has been banned by the NWA. Jimmy Valiant has been fined, along with Paul Jones, the Barbarian, and Superstar Billy Graham. When the announcer says that Paul Jones and his men may also be suspended, Valiant writes "NO" in big letters on a chalkboard.
The announcer asks Valiant if he has a message for the fans. He writes "I LOVE YOU ALL. WE ARE THE WORLD."
They show the tape of the injury occurring. Barbarian and Graham were destroying two ham-and-eggers after the bell and Valiant jumped in with his Old Lady (the bat). Eventually, the bad guys got hold of it and clotheslined Valiant with it.
We come back to Valiant and Rhodes, where Rhodes is speaking for Valiant. It is now "war", and Rhodes will stand by Valiant to the end.
"Cowboy" Ron Bass w/JJ Dillon vs. Rocky King
- Man, that is some afro on Rocky King!
- Bass starts right in manhandling King with power moves...just destroying him, and King is getting no offense in except some punches with no effect.
- JJ is looking at his watch, apparently very confident in the outcome.
- The announcers talk about the possibly loaded glove on Bass' right hand.
- Bass is putting on a clinic of basic power moves...suplex, kneelift, stomps, etc.
- King keeps coming back with punches, but really isn't getting anywhere with them.
- Kneedrop by Bass, only a one count.
- Bass slams King's head into the top turnbuckle twice. Apparently, King is the only black wrestler without a really hard head.
- Powerslam, and you can sense the end is coming.
- Claw hold to the forehead with the gloved right hand. The referee counts the pinfall as Rocky King's shoulders are on the mat while in the claw hold. It's the first time the announcers have ever seen Bass use that hold.
- Your Winner: "Cowboy" Ron Bass via pinfall.
Schiavone interviews the NWA/WCW US Heavyweight Champion, Magnum TA. Magnum says that Scott Irwin has, thus far, been his toughest title defense. (No offense to Scott but, man, I would hope Magnum is going to get tougher competition than that.) Magnum respects Flair as a champion, but Magnum is ready for him.
Superstar Billy Graham, The Barbarian & Abdullah The Butcher w/Paul Jones vs. Mike Simiani, Gene Ligon & Ron Rossi
- This is not going to be pretty.
- Graham and Rossi to start. Graham quickly sends Rossi into the corner to be triple-teamed. Barbarian is tagged in.
- Barbarian lets Ligon tag in, and starts destroying Ligon with headbutts, chops and bites.
- Ligon is so in the wrong corner when Abdullah gets hold of him.
- Big standing legdrop from Barbarian.
- Graham is tagged in, and he gets in a chop and throws Ligon into the wrong corner.
- Barbarian and Abdullah choke Ligon in the corner with Graham's black belt.
- Uh oh...Abdullah is tagged in.
- Big shoulder block by Abdullah.
- Thrust to the throat and Abdullah throws Ligon to the floor where he is headbutted by Barbarian. Barbarian then picks Ligon up and drives him back-first into the ringpost...twice.
- Ligon back into the ring where Barbarian is waiting. Into the ropes and a big clothesline.
- Graham is tagged back in and Simiani is tagged in for the first time.
- Simiani comes in house-of-fire, but a rake to the eyes by Graham stops that in a hurry.
- Whip into the ropes by Graham and a karate chop to the midsection. Another chop and Barbarian is tagged in.
- Press slam by Barbarian on Simiani.
- Abdullah is tagged in.
- Big elbow by Abdullah, and it's over. 1-2-3.
- Your Winners: Superstar Billy Graham, The Barbarian & Abdullah The Butcher via pinfall
The announcers quickly close the show by saying they'll see us next week. And that's all she wrote.
The Good: Another solid show.
The Bad: The portrayal of Scott Irwin as a serious contender for the US Title.
The Ugly: The angle with Dusty and his gorilla. I'm dreading seeing where this is going to go.

National Wrestling Alliance / World Championship Wrestling - Saturday, April 27th, 1985

By Bill

Back to DDT Digest

National Wrestling Alliance / World Championship Wrestling - Saturday, April 27^th, 1985