7/7/90 WCW U.S. Tag Team Title: Midnight Express (Stan Lane & Bobby Eaton) (c) w/Jim Cornette vs Southern Boys (Steve Armstrong & Tracy Smothers

Eaton jumped Armstrong before the bell and Lane thrww him out of the ring. The challengers fought back at ringside and gave Eaton a double backdrop in the ring. They also shoulderblocked Eaton and knocked Lane off the apron. Armstrong armdragged Eaton. Eaton punched Armstrong repeatedly and slammed him. Armstrong caught Eaton on the top rope and slammed him to the mat. They had a criss cross and Armstrong monkey-flipped Eaton. Armstrong gave Eaton some punches and dropkicked him. Armstrong gave Eaton a top rope clothesline and Eaton bailed out of the ring. The Southern Boys twisted Eaton's arms and chopped him down. Eaton headlocked Smothers and they did a criss cross. Eaton punched Smothers but Smothers countered on another criss cross and scored with a punch and a superkick. Eaton backed Smothers into a corner, elbowed him and gave him some punches. Smothers whipped Eaton into the opposite corner and backdropped him. He superkicked Eaton and lane finally tagged in. Lane landed a punch on Smothers as they teased a karate dual. Lane scored with a couple roundhouse kicks and a savate kick. Smothers caught Lane's leg when he attempted another kick and gave him some punches and a superkick. Smothers also suerkicked Eaton when he tried to intervene. Smothers hammerloked Lane but Lane countered with a drop toehold. Smothers went back to the hammerlock but Lane raked his eyes. Smothers caught Eaton as he tagged in with an armdrag and armbar. Eaton gave Smothers a couple punches and whipped him into the corner but Smothers jumped over the ropes, then caught Eaton with a dropkick as he jumped back into the ring. Smothers dropkicked Eaton, who was at ringside, through the ropes. Lane attacked Smothers and he and Eaton elbowed Smothers. Lane whipped Smothers into the corner but Smothers evaded a corner splash, ran to his corner and Armstrong shocked both champions with a flying bodypress for a pop and a near fall. Armstrong and Smothers rammed their opponents into each other. After the champions stelled a bit, Eaton backed Smothers down and kicked him. Smothers rolled up Eaton but Lane tagged in and threw Smothers over the top rope (illegal) when the ref's back was turned. Lane whipped Smothers into the barricade and Cornette hit him with his tennis racquet. Lane elbowed Smothers off the apron and Smothers crashed into the barricade taking a huge bump by pre-Cactus standards. Lane atomic dropped Smothers into a backbreaker by Eaton, who turned the backbreaker into a submission hold. Smothers landed a couple punches but Eaton clotheslined him. Eaton held Smothers across the top rope and Lane jumped down on Smothers's back. Lane punched and kicked Smothers in the corner, then snapmared him. Eaton gained a near fall on Smothers. Smothers fought back with a couple kicks and a savate kick. Eaton recovered and slammed Smothers and hit a top rope legdrop. Lane punched Smothers and choked him in the ropes. Lane went for a backdrop but Smothers sunset flipped him for a near fall. Lane gave Smothers a roundhouse kick and Eaton added a neckbreaker. Eaton threw Smothers out of the ring and slingshot him back into the ring. Lane double arm suplexed Smothers for a near fall. Eaton punched Smothers, who fell out of the ring. Eaton tried to pull Smothers back into the ring but Smothers slingshot him out of the ring. Lane clotheslined Smothers but Smothers repeatedly rammed him into the corner. Lane raked Smothers's eyes and punched him. Eaton also punched Smothers. The Midnights went for a double backdrop but Smothers sunset flipped them both and tagged Armstrong. Armstrong attacked both opponents with punches and chops, and rammed them together. Eaton punched Armstrong from behind but Armstrong gained a near fall on Lane. Smothers slammed Eaton. He lifted Lane and Armstrong gave him a top rope dropkick. Armstrong went for a pin but the ref was distracted by Smothers being in the ring. Armstrong went to the top rope but Eaton pushed him off. Lane slammed Armstrong and pushed Eaton off the top rope into a rocket launcher on Armstrong. Eaton gained a great near fall on Armstrong. As the heels argued with the ref, Smothers traded places with Armstrong and acted shot, then rolled up Eaton for a near fall. Lane caught Smothers on a criss cross with an enzuguiri from the apron and Eaton rolled him up for the pin at 18:17 to retain the title. This was an old-school tag team match, but a beautiful one at that, with lots of hot offense and intensity for the time. The Midnights worked great with fast-paced opponents, and the Southern Boys were no exception. Not the best team work-wise, but they had great chemistry with the Midnight Express. Perhaps the weakness was the short closing stretch, but that was such a dominating characteristic of most U.S. tag team matches at the time (and still is to an extent) that it shouldn't detract from the rating. A classic match, and maybe the best U.S. match of 1990. ****1/2

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