Crockett Cup '87 Uncut
aka Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Tag Team Tournament 1987
by Jeremiah, 2/19/2003
--I just got this tape in a few days ago and I figured that since I already did a review of the Turner Home Video version, I might as well go ahead and review this Uncut version as well. Now, this is NOT the whole tournament....it's the 2nd night of the tournament, and the reason this footage is uncut is that the NBC affiliate in Washington D.C. was getting material for the George Michael Sports Machine, in order to do a story on professional wrestling. So there's lots of interviews here, including several places where the producer, or Michael himself, does several takes of somebody saying something to get it exactly right.
--It would probably be a good idea to read my review of the Turner version before you read this one, although not a necessity. And if you're thinking of getting this show, whether from me or somebody else, it's probably best that you get the Turner version as well. Because of the nature of this particular review, I'm going to assume that everyone reading this has at least a working knowledge of the NWA. This way, I don't have to explain about fueds or anything like that in this review. Well, let's get YOUR matchlist.....
Various interviews for the George Michael Sports Machine
Shaska Whatley/Teijo Khan vs. Road Warriors
Midnight Express vs. Ronnie Garvin/Jimmy Garvin
Kevin Sullivan/Arn Anderson vs. Bob Armstrong/Brad Armstrong
Brad Batten/Bart Batten vs. Tully Blanchard/Lex LugerMore interviews, plus the segments that were eventually shown on the George Michael Sports Machine
Tully Blanchard/Lex Luger vs. Bob Armstrong/Brad Armstrong
Midnight Express vs. Road Warriors
Rick Rude/Manny Fernandez vs. Dusty Rhodes/Nikita Koloff (JIP)
Tully Blanchard/Lex Luger vs. Giant Baba/Isao Takagi Semi-Finals
Midnight Express vs. Dusty Rhodes/Nikita Koloff Semi-FinalsRic Flair vs. Barry Windham NWA World Heavyweight Title Match
Tully Blanchard/Lex Luger vs. Dusty Rhodes/Nikita Koloff Finals
--We are ON TAPE from Baltimore, Maryland, 4/10 and 4/11/1987. Your announcers are...well, I guess I'm your announcer, since this is just a still shot camera, whose only purpose is to pick up alot of footage to use for the Sports Machine. Also, the camera angle is totally different than the TVH camera shot, so this will look alot different for some people, if you ever happen to watch this version of the show.
First off, we get backstage interviews. Don't get excited....nobody breaks kayfabe or anything. Also, it's good to listen to the way Michael steers the conversation to the things he wants to exploit for the Sports Machine, which I'll point out later.
Ric Flair interview-- Michael asks him about being a bad guy. Ric says he's not really bad, just driven and determined, and sometimes that makes you do stuff that's not popular. Wrestling is the greatest sport in the world. Michael mentions a previous comment that Ric made saying he was the most recognizable wrestler in the world today, and Ric talks about that. I have to disagree with that unfortunately....there were people who have NEVER watched a wrestling match, but they knew who Hulk Hogan was. I doubt Flair could say that same thing at the time. Flair would put his W2 against anybody as far as money goes. Wrestling is bigger than ever because of the cable systems, etc. etc. Ric then closes out the interview by saying he's the best in the world, in JUST THAT LITTLE WAY that only Ric Flair could do it. Michael (sarcastically)-- "Geez Ric, it's a shame you can't deliver a closing line and know nothing about TV." They share a laugh over that.
Mike Rotundo-- Before they start with audio, you can faintly hear Michael prompting Rotundo about what he's gonna ask, mentioning Steamboat jumping to the WWF and Rotundo jumping to NWA. Rotundo doesn't look happy with that, but Michael assures him it will be fine. With the mic actually on now, Michael then actually asks about leaving WWF and going to NWA. Mike goes straight BS kayfabe mode here--he wants the best and purist form of wrestling, which is in the NWA. Asks about former tag team partner Windham getting the title shot and whether he'll get one (Rotundo, World Champion....haha). He's currently Florida heavyweight champion and that's typically been a stepping stone to the title (Dusty, Funks, Brisco, etc.). Puts over the million dollar prize (bogus, of course) to the winner of the Crockett Cup.
Jim Cornette/Midnight Express/Big Bubba-- Michael wants Cornette to tell the world why the Midnights are the greatest tag team in the world in 15 seconds or less, and with no warning and off the top of his head Jim just GOES OFF so fast that I can't even follow him. Anybody who's seen a decent amount of Cornette knows how awesome he can be. Michael looks kinda awed here and tells his cameraman/producer/whatever that that's perfect.
Magnum T.A.-- Michael asks about the car accident and about attending the show tonight. For those that don't know, that accident rendered Magnum's right arm useless and caused him to retire..him appearing tonight at the show was the reason the Turner Video version has those three Magnum matches as tribute, since this was the first time he appeared at an event since the accident. Magnum says trying to come back is another challenge and maybe he can inspire somebody. Magnum talks for awhile about a bunch of stuff, and when he finishes Michael turns to the camera to cut it off...if I'm any judge of body language, he doesn't really look happy, and obviously thought talking to Magnum was useless.
Random Guy, probably an NWA Executive or promoter in Baltimore/Washington D.C. area-- Michael asks about the growth of wrestling and the guy gives the old stand by "we're doing big business blah blah blah." Nothing here.
Road Warriors-- Michael-- "There are tag teams....and then there are the Road Warriors." Paul Ellering gives a promo about how they're the best that would sound the exact same if they were actually in the ring. Michael plays the role of the dummy interviewer like in any regular wrestling promo.
Teijo Khan/Shaska Whatley vs. Road Warriors
Warriors get a big pop, natch. The heels jump them at the bell, but the Warriors fire back and the heels bail. This crowd is HOT. Hawk with a shoulder backbreaker and Animal gets a gorilla press slam back inside. Slam by Animal, but an elbow misses. The heels get a double back elbow and they pound Animal in the corner. Animal fights them off, but gets slammed and elbowed by Khan for 2. Khan/Whatley hit a double suplex, but a follow-up splash hits knees. Hot tag to Hawk, and a dropkick, neckbreaker and powerslam gets 3. 1/4*. I get the feeling that both teams knew this match wasn't gonna make it into the Turner version.
Midnight Express vs. Ronnie/Jimmy Garvin
Here's a tidbit that I did 't know when I originally did the Turner review for Crockett Cup....this was the very first match, ever, for the Bobby Eaton/Stan Lane version of the Midnights. So for you historical purists out there, well there you go. The Garvins charge the ring and destroy the Midnights to start, so the Midnights bail. This crowd is NUTS. The Midnights stall outside for awhile to let the Garvins cool off. Bobby controls Jimmy, and Sweet Stan comes in with a superkick. Bobby comes back in for the chinlock. Back elbow for 2. Hot tag to Ronnie and he has punches for everyone while Bobby gets back body dropped. They roll outside where Ronnie tries a piledriver on the floor, but Cornette cracks Ronnie with the tennis racket to put him down long enough for the Midnights to get the countout win. *. Garvins clean house on everybody postmatch. The only difference between this and the THV version is the Midnights stalling clipped out.
Kevin Sullivan/Arn Anderson vs. The Armstrongs
Nice little sequence to start, but Arn has none of it and kicks Brad's ass. Brad fires back and gets a flying crossbody for 2. Bob Armstrong comes in with Sullivan and chops him down. Brad comes back in, so Kevin no sells and Arn comes in to kick Brad's ass some more. Arn and Kevin control for awhile before a hot tag to Bob, but the crowd doesn't care. Bob hits his weak-ass rights, which Kevin and Arn sell like death after no selling everything Brad has done so far. They cheat to win, but Bob gets the tag to Brad. All 4 guys are in, but Kevin tosses Brad outside like a lump and the heels pound on Bob. Brad manages to pull himself back onto the apron, Kevin charges, but Brad sunset flips inside for the 3 while Bob holds off Anderson from breaking it up. 3/4*. Okay match, great finish.
Brad/Bart Batten (Correction...the M.O.D. Squad) vs. Lex Luger/Tully Blanchard w/JoJo
I made a mistake when I first wrote this out, but it was pointed out to me in email that the MOD Squad are the guys in this match, not the Battens. The Battens WERE in Crockett Cup 86 though, where they lost in the first round to Nelson Royal and Sam Houston. Just to show that I do occasionally make mistakes I kept my mistake in there; however, I still don't know the individual names of the MOD Squad, and really I don't care right now, so don't email about it. So since I don't know MODs' names, by the continuing magic of KickWhamStunner tape reviews, they are now Brad and Bart. Tully and Lex actually get a good pop even though they're heels, because any moron watching this show knows that the Battens are gonna job. On top of that, Luger is actually way over with the crowd the whole night, they just love him. Tully plays around a bit with Brad before Luger comes in and overpowers both of them. Tully comes back in to beat down the Battens a bit, but they fire back and get a few shots on Tully. Lex comes back in and does all his usual power moves. Tully eventually gets the foot up on a blind charge, then hits an elbow from the middle to send these fuckin jobbers home. 1/4*, squash city all the way.
Windham interview-- One of Michael's lackeys is apparently doing this interview. He asks why wrestlers jump back and forth between the feds. Windham says the WWF offered a big contract, so he went with them for a year, but then had disagreements with the contract so he came back to the NWA. Says NWA is his style of wrestling, and just preferes it more, as it doesn't have people coming to the ring with birds on their shoulders or carrying snakes. Barry thinks he's world championship caliber. Question about money, and Windham says there's a certain group who will get a large portion of the money and he's lucky to be a part of that group. They talk about him tagging with Rotundo, and that Rotundo is Windham's brother in law. Woah, I did not know that. Does his dad (Blackjack Mulligan) working for WWF cause any problems? Barry laughs and says No.
Dave Meltzer-- What's wrestling worth? 150-175 million dollars in USA, in the whole world 250 million. Michael scratches that answer and asks Meltzer to answer again with one answer, so he says in excess of 250 million. How does the money wrestling generates compare to other sports? Meltzer doesn't know. How much has wrestling changed in the last 5 years? The major change is that novelties went from zero, to about half of what wrestling grosses. Live attendance hasn't really changed that much, but ticket prices are higher though, so there's more gate revenue now than 5 years ago. Who's the highest paid and how much? Meltzer says Hogan without even thinking, at least one million and "maybe" two million per year. Michael asks about Ric Flair. Meltzer says Flair is definately top three, maybe Piper might be ahead of him. What about pro wrestling and money from top to bottom? Meltzer says wrestling is like acting, there's an small upper tier that makes the mega-bucks, but the vast majority don't make that much.
The George Michael Sports Machine-- Various WWF and WCW clips including some from the Crockett Cup. Wrestling is big business. WM III, 93,000 people generating $10 million revenue. Now wait a minute...10 million? I reach for a tape reveiwer's biggest helper, the PWI almanac, and it says the live gate is 1.6 million. Maybe through PPV or something it got 10 million, but that's not how Michael said it. Lots of Hogan clips, mentions he makes "approximately" 2 mil a year. Fans spend "nearly" 300 million a year on wrestling. Again, that's not what Meltzer said. Talk about Hogan in Rocky and Rock 'n Wrestling. Michael says the WWF is the best known, but NWA and Lou Thesz is the heart of wrestling. Gorgeous George clips from the 50s. Many experts say Lou Thesz was the greatest wrestler of all time. Clip of an interview with Lou Thesz. Lou doesn't think much of Hogan, he's popular, but he doesn't have any wrestling skill. They show the first clip on this tape of Flair talking about being a bad guy and doing what's sometimes unpopular. Lou thinks Flair is a great athlete and that he's the best wrestler out there. What would happen if Flair were to meet Hogan? We get a still shot of Flair and Hogan side by side. Answer--It would be the biggest payday in wrestling history, but will it ever happen??? Fade out. Oddly enough, Vince would have this very opportunity 4 years later and pretty much blow it.
NBC screen test--
George Michael Sports Machine Take 2-- We see the Paul Ellering/Road Warriors clip from earlier talking with Michael. There's a war going on between WWF and NWA. Mentions Ricky Steamboat jumping ship and show him beating Savage for the IC Title at WM 3. Clip of Steamboat interview, Ricky just says it's big business and not unlike free agents in other sports. Clip of Windham earlier and Michael overdubs it and says Windham is "grateful" to be away from the WWF while showing a very carefully selected portion of the interview that seems to support Michael's claim for gratefulness. Now THAT IS NOT what Windham said. That's fuckin bullshit. Hogan is most popular, blah blah blah...now he earns "over" 2 million a year. Now, see how that is...first Meltzer said "maybe" two million, the first take said "approximately", and in this second segment he's making "over" 2 million per year. BUT...he hasn't beaten Flair and a match between them will never happen because of egos......Clip of Flair saying that the WWF title isnt equal to the NWA, and that the WWF guys would probably say the same thing in relation between their title and the NWA title. Hogan promo says that he can't be beaten. If they would meet it would be the biggest payday ever, but it won't happen because neither one will want to risk a knockout. It's actually pretty weird watching these clips and interviews, given 15 years of perspective on them.
Oh yeah....the above two clips are just proof that you can't trust how ANYTHING is presented on the news, or any other kind of reporting....because they always clip the interviews so that the clips imply what the reporters want them to imply.
--Okay......now, at least on my tape, we get 2-3 minutes of random shots of women walking around and going to their seats....for apparently no reason. However, by the zooming in that the camera does, I think we can figure out what the camera operator is thinking about....
And finally, back to wrestling.....
Tully Blanchard/Lex Luger vs. The Armstrongs
Brad dominates to start and headscissors Tully outside, so the Horsemen stop to talk it over. Back inside, Brad controls the headlock for awhile, then goes to the arm. The Armstrongs work the left arm for close to 10 minutes on Tully, cheating like crazy to keep it on, and letting Tully get to within INCHES of making the tag to Luger before pulling him away. Luger steams on the apron and gets more pissed off with every close tag. Crowd LOVES this, as the Horsemen are getting their own medicine. Yes, it's just armbars, but it IS entertaining. It's called working a crowd. Some indy wrestlers should look into that. Luger FINALLY gets the tag and faces off with Brad, before promptly tossing him around. Brad recovers and comes back with a dropkick. Crossbody gets a VERY HOT 2 count. Luger hits the armbar, which is where the TVH version picks up the match. Well, I suppose I can understand that clipping to this point under the circumstances, but the Armstrongs were entertaining at least. Tully comes back in and misses a charge, which lets Brad hit a missile dropkick for 2. JJ Dillon pulls down the top rope on a whip and Brad tumbles outside, and Lex and JJ immediately put the boots to him. Brad goes into the railing before Tully drags him back inside for a belly to back suplex. Luger comes back in and hits an elbow for 2. Suplex, but Brad gets his foot on the ropes. Funny moment as Luger just brushes Brad's foot off the ropes and covers again, but Earl Hebner won't count. Brad fights off the heels and gets a backslide for 2. Atomic drop causes Lex and Tully to collide. Bob gets the hot tag and cleans house. Brad dropkicks Lex and Bob slams Tully, but Earl is distracted by Luger and can't count the pin on Tully. JJ Dillon and Tully work together for a double clothesline on Bob to get the win. **1/2, which is a 1/2* bump from the TVH version.
Midnight Express w/Jim Cornette & Big Bubba vs. Road Warriors
This crowd is HOT!!! Holy fuck, they are pumped up for this one. Hawk overpowers both Express to start and they immediately bail outside. We get clippage of about 3 seconds when Bobby climbs back in the ring, and Hawk immediately press slams him into the corner. Okay, ouch! Stan tries some rights on Hawk, but Hawk reverses a whip and Stan Flair-flips into the corner. Double elbow by the Warriors, and Animal drops an elbow for 2. Another press slam by Animal. This is just all Road Warriors here. Stan retreats to his own corner and the Midnights talk it over. Hawk taunts Big Bubba, so Bubba climbs onto the apron and the crowd EXPLODES! Holy shit, now THAT was totally unexpected, I had no clue Ray F'n Traylor was so over. Crowd boos the ref vociferously for forcing Bubba off the apron. They exchange some verbal jabs and we get another 15 second clip past that. Bobby resorts to acting like a little shit in typical Midnights fashion, but Animal still ends up getting a powerslam for 2. This is where the TVH picks up the match, so after a paste and clip.....Animal hits Stan an elbow to send him outside, where Cornette uses the million dollars as the proper motivation to continue. Tag to Hawk, who hits a gutwrench and flying clothesline, but Bobby breaks it up at 2. Heel beatdown, and Bobby chokes Hawk with his tape. Bobby officially in now and Hawk takes a beating from both heels. Running knee by Bobby and Stan tosses Hawk over the top rope, but ref didnt see it. Crowd is just screaming bloody hell for that. Back inside, and Stan holds Hawk for a racket shot by Cornette. Hawk fires back on Bobby, but Stan hits a legdrop. Middle kick, but Hawk shows his disaproval with a BIG kickout. Bobby tastes sole on a charge, hot tag Animal as he cleans house. Back body drop and dropkick for Bobby as the ref gets bumped, and everything just turns into a huge clusterfuck as everyone gets involved and the crowd is just screaming their damn fool heads off. Huge shoulderblock by Animal, and Cornette tries to hit him with a fireball, but Ellering pulls him away just in time. Ellering gets the tennis racket, he and Animal clean out the ring......but the ref sees it for the DQ. ***1/2, a 3/4* bump from the TVH. I said this in the other review, but I'm not kidding....the crowd almost riots at the Road Warriors getting DQed. Just absolutely insane heat here.
Rick Rude/Manny Fernandez vs. Dusty Rhodes/Nikita Koloff
For whatever reason, this match is clipped almost exactly the same as the TVH version. Copy and paste is my friend, so.....We pick up a crossbody by a relatively svelte looking Dusty, and it gets 2. Slam and elbows. Manny comes back with some kneedrops right on the throat and choking. Rude posts Dusty as the ref is distracted, and a back elbow gets 2. Rude in, and he RANGS Dusty's belly. Inside joke, email me if you want to know. Slam and top rope knee drop get 2. Manny in, more headbutts as Dusty tries to fight back. SLEEEEEPAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!, but Dusty fights out and gets a flying (relatively of course) clothesline. Manny with a crossbody, but Dusty rolls through for da 3. *1/2.
--We take a pause from the action as the cameraman zooms in on more women in the stands....KEEP YOUR MIND ON YOUR WORK!!!
Tully Blanchard/Lex Luger vs. Giant Baba/Isao Takagi
Now here we go.....a never before seen match for most people, as aside from some clips, Baba and Takagi don't even appear on the TVH version. Takagi and Tully start with Takagi controlling the left arm. Baba gets in to a pretty big pop. Baba easily controls Tully, with Tully selling Baba's mere touch as death. About 30 seconds of stalling is clipped after Tully rolls outside, but no action is missed. Tully manages to back Baba into the heel corner, but Baba hits his famous overhand chops (Northern Chop) and fights his way out. BTW, that sequence is the exact clip that the TVH uses in their big run of clips to start and end the tape, right there. Luger gets the tag and Baba takes him right down. Again, Luger sells everything like death. Takagi comes in, so Luger no-sells and goes to the leg. This is weird....the same thing happened in the Armstrong match...Luger and Tully sold EVERYTHING for Bob Armstrong, nothing for Brad. Same here. Tully and Lex work the leg for a bit. Baba comes back in and stares Luger down. BIG noise for that. Luger slams Baba to a MEGA pop, but Luger misses an elbow. Side Russian leg sweep(!) by Baba. NORTHERN CHOPS!!!! Tully tags in again and gets the same thing. Takagi gets some token offense, and Baba comes back in for a big boot that gets 2 before Tully breaks it up. All 4 guys in and the Japanese no sell everything. Takagi slams Luger and whips him into the corner. Blind charge by Takagi, but Luger dodges and goes for the Torture Rack....but he can't lift Takagi up for whatever reason, so he just drops him down and pins him to finish it. *. Hmmm...well, that was a shitty finish, I probably wouldn't want to put that onto a commercial tape either. Well, I really can't say that it was any good. It barely qualifies as decent. But it was entertaining and it WAS damn cool to actually see Baba/Takagi in the tournament though.
Midnight Express vs. Dusty Rhodes/Nikita Koloff
I didn't mention it last match, but Nikita is wrestling with a small neckbrace to prevent further injury. So, now that I've mentioned it, you know it'll come into play somewhere during the rest of this show. Nikita and Bobby start. Bobby acts like a shit and gives Nikita a cheap right, which initiates some chasing and the Midnights bail. Stan gets in with a hiptoss before the Midnights stall some more. Dusty comes in after all the stalling is done and hits the Bionic elbow on both heels. Funny moment as Bobby gets trapped between the middle and top ropes, and Dusty keeps hitting the Bionic elbow while Bobby keeps bouncing back and forth. The tape breaks up here for some reason and we pick it up again right where the THV version starts, with Dusty hitting multiple Dream elbows for everyone, including Big Bubba as he tries to interfere. Dusty struts and dances and the Express stall. Cool moment as you can clearly hear Bobby tell Bubba "Don't do that, we could get DQ'ed." Back in, Nikita goes to the armbar on Stan, then a top wristlock which Bobby breaks up. Tag to Bobby for a snapmare and elbow drop. Stan comes back in for a swinging neckbreaker and leg drop. The heels choke on Nikita and get 2. Bobby hits the chinlock, really wrenching on Nikita's neck to take advantage of the injury. Nikita powers up, and Stan comes in on a false tag to drop Nikita across the top rope. Bobby chokes Nikita with Cornette's racket. Nikita finally comes back with a shoulderblock for 2. Bubba tries to interfere, but Nikita dodges and hits the Sickle for the 3. **1/2, a 1/4* bump from the TVH. Postmatch, Cornette and the Express cry in the ring in a real funny moment that we didn't get to to see in the Turner verision
Ric Flair vs. Barry Windham
This crowd is ready for this one. Actually the crowd is hot all night for the most part. Flair works Windham to start and Whoos alot. Flair chops and struts, but Windham just no-sells and chases Flair off. Shoulderblock by Windham. Flair comes back and chops and struts some more, then tells Windham to bring it. Flair chops some more and begs off. Dropkick by Windham gets 2. Flair drops down off a whip, but Windham outsmarts Flair and just stops and slaps on a headlock. Flair knees out of that and bails. Stungun by Flair gives him the advantage, and the Flair knee drop helps him keep it. Flair dumps him outside, then chops away and puts Windham into the railing. NOW The Man is going to work. Flair takes Windham down and uses the ropes to cheat, and another Flair kneedrop gets 2. Windham fires back with rights and Flair flops. The TVH version picks up the match right here with Windham getting a 10 punch in the corner. Now, I watched this whole match because it's an awesome fucking match and I wanted to make sure there was no other clipping, but we're cutting and pasting again.....so.....BOOM, there you go...
Hiptoss by Windham, but a dropkick misses and Flair slaps on the figure 4. He holds the ropes, as always, and talks smack on Windham the whole damn time. HAHA!!! Flair and Tommy Young get into a shoving match after Tommy catches him pulling the ropes. Corner whip, but Windham roars out with a big clothesline. Flair with the BEG OFF OF DOOM, then kicks Windham right in the pills. Flair hits a back elbow to send Windham over the top to the outside. No DQ called for going over the top, for some reason. Flair tries a piledriver outside, but Tommy Young breaks it up and warns Flair he'll DQ him right there. Schiavone actually right on the ball here as he confirms that it would be a DQ. HUGE chop by Flair. Windham slingshots back inside and gets a sunset flip for 2. Backslide gets 2, and trading punches leads to Flair going down again for 2. Windham beats the hell outta Flair, and a nice stalling vertical from the apron inside gets a hot 2 count. Windham misses....something....off the top and both are down. Flair goes for the figure 4, but Windham counters into a small package for 2. Shoulderblock, but Flair comes right back with a sleeper. Windham uses the turnbuckle to counter, and punches send Flair over and out, again no DQ. Maybe I just didnt hear them saying it was no-DQ or something. Windham follows and introduces Flair to several guardrails. Piledriver attempt, but Flair hits the back body drop. Back in, and Flair goes up top, even though this never ever hits........OH MY GAWD, HE HIT A FLYING CROSSBODY!!!!!! What in the hell just happened, did I enter into an alternate dimension? Now, for YEARS I have told people that I know I have seen Flair actually hit a move from the top rope, but nobody believed me. But I have the proof RIGHT HERE!!!!! Still, as rare a moment as this is.....Windham rolls through for a superhot 2 count. Even when Flair hits it, he can't win.
Corner whip and Flair flip outside. Windham follows, but Flair just crushes him with a ballshot. After a few moments of respectful silence for the death of Windham's nuts there, Flair goes for a suplex inside, but Windham floats over and gets a sleeper. Great fuckin psychology next as Flair tries to use the same counter that Windham used earlier in the match, but Windham just shoves him chest first into the buckle, then goes right back to the sleeper. Flair almost gets out as he desperately paws at the ropes but can only brush them with his fingertips. He's almost gone, but at the last second he remembers he has a leg and puts it on the ropes to break. Nice stuff there. Windham stays on Flair and drags him to the middle, but Flair gets the knees up on a splash attempt. BIG chop, Flair goes upstairs, but the streak ends at 1 and the world returns to its natural form, as he gets slammed off. Windham hits the figure 4 as the crowd goes apeshit, but Flair reaches the ropes. Powerslam gets 2. Windham goes for the figure 4 again but Flair blocks this time. Trading punches leads to Flair hitting a crossbody which sends both guys outside. Trying to post Windham, but no.....back in, Windham up top, and a missile dropkick gets the 3!!!! BUT WAIT!!!!.....Flair's foot was on the ropes, and Tommy Young realizes it and orders the match to restart. Windham goes right back to work after some suitable swearing, and a big clothesline only gets 2 as Tommy sees the foot on the ropes this time. Beautiful stalling vertical by Windham, which is impressive at this stage in the match. Flair reversal sequence ends in a backslide that gets 2 for Windham. Windham flips out of a belly to back to get a rollup for a superhot 2, but Flair reverses that to his own and grabs as much trunks as someone can possibly have to get the 3. The TVH version was clipped and therefore just fell short, but YOU KNOW this gets *****. Everyone needs to bow down right now and pay homage to the greatness of Ric F'n Flair. Savage/Steamboat won Match of the Year for 1987 and was very deserving, as it was the culmination of a big angle and it was a great match at the biggest event, ever, until that point in time.....but as a pure match, Flair/Windham blows it out of the water. Awesome fuckin match. This tape is worth it just to have this match in its entirety.
Lex Luger/Tully Blanchard vs. Dusty Rhodes/Nikita Koloff
Magnum T.A. comes out and we see him and Dusty, and then him and Nikita, share a big hug as the crowd goes nuts. Magnum was definately mad over. I'm not a fan of Magnum's wrestling, but it was a shame he had his career cut short in that accident.
Dusty and Tully start. Tully comes out firing, but of course Dusty fires back. Dusty holds a headlock for awhile. HILARIOUS spot as Tully puts a foot on the top rope to break the hold, then he puts the other foot up there for no discernible reason other than to make sure the ref saw it. Dusty just shrugs his head and waits for the five count.....then just lets Tully land right on his face. Tully backs away and retreats to his own corner. Dusty plays with Tully for awhile, turning his back and daring Tully to attack, and then holding up the Big Elbow to scare him. As much as it pains me to admit, the crowd fuckin loves Dusty. Luger and Nikita come in and they pace around before testing each others' strength multiple times with lockups. Neither gets the advantage. Luger offers a test of strength which initiates a HUGE Nikita chant. Nikita powers him down, but naturally Luger cheats. However, Nikita manages to get a monkey flip, and Lex bails. Nikita meets Tully coming in with an atomic drop and a bearhug, but Luger breaks it up. Horsemen cheat to win. Tully goes for a suplex, but Nikita reverses and clotheslines Tully, Lex, and JJ out of their boots. BIG pop for that. Suplex gets 2 for Nikita, but Nikita then clotheslines Tully outside and falls out himself, so JJ pounds him down and takes the neckbrace off. Right around here is where the TVH picks the match up. Luger rolls Nikita back inside, then tags himself in and goes right to work with punching and choking. Tully hits a knee for 2, then a swinging neckbreaker for another 2. The heels cheat like hell and choke the shit out of Nikita. Nikita fires back on Tully, but Tully gets a slick little tag to Luger, who comes back to control with a clothesline. More of the usual heel tactics commence. Dillon cracks Nikita with his shoe on the outside. Back inside, Tully hits elbows and knees, then slingshots Nikita against the bottom rope. I love that spot. Double axe misses, and both men are down. Dusty finally gets the hot tag, allowing him to hit about 15,000 Bionic elbows before hitting a couple running shoulderblocks. He tries again, but the 3rd misses and he goes outside where Luger can kick him around. Meanwhile, inside, Tully accidently nails JJ Dillon with the shoe. Dusty posts Luger on the outside to escape. Tully goes for a piledriver to put away Nikita, but Dusty heads upstairs(!) and hits a crossbody that gets the 3. ***1/4, 3/4* bump from the TVH. Good final match.
--We close out with Mrs. Crockett Sr. and Jim Jr. presenting Dusty and Nikita with the Crockett Cup and the million dollar paycheck.
Official Grade-- B-. An odd tape to grade. It really comes down to what your personal taste in wrestling is. While we get all the matches uncut, it also loses a little bit of steam that the Turner version had. The interviews are interesting, and Baba/Takagi make their appearance....but the Turner version had the advantage of flowing a little better. In the end though, the tournament wasn't really that great in the first place, so I think those things balance out. I gave this tape the slight upgrade from the C+ I gave the Turner just because Flair/Windham is uncut. That match is one I would consider Must-See. I think having both this version and the Turner greatly increases the enjoyment of both, but this can stand alone by itself as well. Recommended.
Acknowledgements-- This review was brought to you by,,,,the letter W and the number 57, in cooperation with an iced tea and a glass of milk. It was not brought to you by another tape dubbing behind me, as I reviewed this as it was dubbing for somebody else, but it WAS brought to you by these songs that were playing on my Winamp playlist (set on random) as I typed and proofread this for spelling and sentence structure, as its hard to be accurate while reviewing a tape that's dubbing, since you can't rewind it for any reason whatsoever. So here you go.....
China Girl-- David Bowie
Stuck With You-- Huey Lewis and the News
What Is Love-- Haddaway
Jay's Rap-- From the movie "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back"
Too Much Time On My Hands-- Styx
Ladies Night-- Kool and the Gang
Burning Down the House-- Talking Heads
Only In Dreams-- Weezer
Let's Dance-- David Bowie
Wannabe-- Spice Girls
You Give Love A Bad Name-- Bon Jovi
Two of Hearts-- Stacie Q
Sexi Lexi (Live)-- Distorted Penguins
Another Big Surprise-- Distorted Penguins
California Love-- 2Pac
Baby's Got Back-- Six Mix-a-Lot
Love at First Sight-- Kylie Minogue
Cloud 9-- Distorted Penguins
Oh Me-- Nirvana
Desensitized-- Mighty Mighty Bosstones
Papercut-- Linkin Park
My Favorite Game-- The Cardigans
Mitternacht-- Kraftwerk
Dust in the Wind-- KansasAnd finally.....
The Imperial March-- Star Wars