NWA Catch Up Thread February 88-April 88

[Kimmel]

2/26/88: THE BUNKHOUSE STAMPEDE



Jimmy Garvin defeated Jesse Barr to kick off the Pay Per View!!!! Garvin comes out to BadStreet USA and is announced as Jimmy Jam Garin as opposed to Gorgeous Jimmy. Garvin has a bit of a different look as well with sunglasses and a leather jacket instead of his usual look. This one goes back to last year when Jesse Barr broke Jimmy Garvin's arm and sent him out of the NWA for a time. It reignited when Garvin made his return to the NWA at the beginning of the year and reached a fever pitch when the two men eliminated each other from the last Bunkhouse Stampede Qualifier on TBS!!! Barr and Garvin throw everything they have at each other, Barr targets Garvin's arm trying to lock on the Breaker Barr to get the victory but Garvin keeps fighting out of it. Finally Garvin catches Barr with a sunset flip to get the victory here at The Bunkhouse Stampede!!!!!!


The British Bulldogs defeat The Midnight Express in a Texas Tornado Match to retain the United States Tag Team Titles when Dynamite leaped off the top rope and hit a splash on Bobby Eaton that drove Eaton through a table!!!!! Stan Lane almost got the victory after cracking Davey Boy Smith with Jim Cornette’s racket, but Dynamite made the save. The two teams brawled into the crowd at one point. In the end Davey used the racket to knock Lane out of the ring and then blasted Eaton with it, allowing him to roll Eaton onto the table so Dynamite could dive off and drive him through it!!!!



Greg “The Hammer” Valentine w/Woman defeated Nikita Koloff. This match was made when Valentine eliminated Koloff from the Wild Card Qualifier for the Bunkhouse Stampede.Woman takes her time taking the robe off Valentine, stalling for as long as they can. Once the bell rings Koloff continually tries to get his hands on Valentine but whenever he starts beating on Valentine enough Valentine bails out of the ring to stop Nikita's momentum. Nikita finally has enough and chases Valentine out to the floor!!! Nikita pounds on Valentine on the floor and whips him into the guardrail, but when Nikita charges after him Valentine moves and Nikita smashes his knee against the steel barrier!!! Nikita has a hard time getting to his feet and putting any weight on it!!! Valentine rolls Nikita back in the ring and works over Nikita's injured leg. Nikita is like a wounded animal striking out but unable to mount a sustained comeback. Valentine wins the match when he makes Nikita submit to the inverted Indian Deathlok!!!!!!



World Tag Team Champions Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard defeat The Road Warriors to retain the World Tag Team Titles after a referee bump and interference from Kevin Sullivan and the Powers of Pain. Sullivan vowed to get revenge on the Road Warriors for getting involved in the Army of Darkness’ war with Sting and Dusty Rhodes. The Road Warrior would have more than likely won this won because they had the Horsemen flying all over the ring. They hit Arn with the Doomsday Device but JJ Dillon pulled the referee out of the ring before he could make the three count. When the ref slid back in he ended up sandwiched between Arn and the corner. A battered Tully covered Hawk after the Powers of Pain laid him out with a double powerbomb to steal the win.

Before the World Heavyweight Title Match we see a replay of the interview from 3 weeks ago when Flair talked himself into a I Quit match with Barry Windham.

“The Nature Boy” Ric Flair defeated Barry Windham in an I Quit Cage Match when special referee Leon Spinks called for the bell when Windham could not answer Spinks. Flair and Windham threw everything they had at each other, both men started bleeding early and their blonde hair turned red. JJ Dillon was losing his mind on the outside of the cage. At one point Windham caught Flair with the Iron Claw, JJ started yelling for help, Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard ran down the aisle and tried to pull the cage open, Arn then started climbing the cage!!! Security ran down and pulled Arn from the cage, they dragged Tully and Arn back to the locker room, but the distraction was enough for Windham to release the claw. Flair then hit Windham with a low blow. JJ threw a chair into the ring and Flair used it to bash Windham’s knee!!!! Flair then locked in the Figure Four Leglock for the third time, Windham kept saying he wouldn’t give up but soon passed out and Spinks made a judgement call to end the match. Flair came out of the cage and was handed the World Title. Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard ran back out to the ring to help Flair to the back!!!



BUNKHOUSE STAMPEDE: RICKY STEAMBOAT, DUSTY RHODES, LEX LUGER, MICHAEL HAYES, MIKE ROTUNDO


The final match of the night was the Bunkhouse Stampede, with the winner going on to win a shot at the World Heavyweight Title. Once the bell rung it was all out chaos, after about 10 minutes we had our first elimination as Sting tossed Kevin Sullivan to the floor, and it was followed quickly by our second elimination as Buzz Sawyer rushed Sting and was backdropped out of the ring. Whether due to a lapse of judgement or whether he was just too caught up in the moment Sting was the third elimination when he eliminated himself by running the ropes and then soaring out of the ring onto Sullivan and Sawyer!!!!!! Another 7 minutes went by before the biggest shocker came when Mike Rotundo drop kicked Big Bubba Rogers from behind after Rogers laid out everyone else in the ring and Rogers fell forward, over the top and to the floor to be eliminated!!!!!! Rotundo didn’t have long to celebrate though as Luger pounced on Rotundo and threw him out of the ring. Luger found himself eliminated next by Michael Hayes!!!! Dick Murdoch threw Hayes out next!!!! Finally Dusty Rhodes and Ricky Steamboat worked together to eliminate Murdoch!!!!

Steamboat and Rhodes went to war with each other!!!! Both men are friends but they held nothing back!!! Rhodes thought he had won his third consecutive Stampede when he thought he tossed Steamboat out, but Steamboat skinned the cat and flipped back into the ring!!! The two men battled it out for another 10 minutes before Steamboat was able to toss Rhodes out of the ring and to the floor!!! Rhodes couldn’t believe it and pushed a referee down, then threw a chair!!!!! Dusty slid back into the ring, Steamboat was ready to fight but instead Dusty grabbed Steamboat in a giant hug and then held his arm up. Dusty got on the microphone and told Steamboat that he’s gotta go on, take the contract and win the title!!!! Steamboat was presented with a big boot full of cash from Jim Crockett and a contract for a World Title match. The show goes off the air with a bloody Flair standing in the aisle with JJ, Tully and Arn, Flair holds up the World Title and smirks while Steamboat holds up the boot!!!!

[Kimmel]

3/4/88:

“Exotic” Adrian Street and Todd Champion are in the rng for the first match of the night when “Iron Man” blasts over the PA System!!! Street and Champion look confused as Hawk and Animal rush the ring and beat them both up and toss them out to the floor!!!!! Paul Ellering is out and he summons Jim Ross into the ring. Ellering says at the Bunkhouse Stampede Kevin Sullivan and The Powers of Pain fired the first shot in a war they can’t hope to win against the Legion of Doom!!!! Animal says that they heard Sullivan week after week threatening to come after them for helping Sting and Dusty Rhodes, and they were fine with that, they were ready for it, but they weren’t expecting them to attack the Road Warriors during a match like a bunch of cowards. Hawk says that it seems to him that there is only one way to settle this, and that’s to fight it out until only one team is standing and the other one is a stinky, crusty pile of bones, goo and guts!!!!!! Ellering says that this isn’t the end, it’s just the beginning of the end for Kevin Sullivan and his weirdos!!!!

Norman defeats Jesse Barr in a bit of an upset after a big belly to belly suplex.

Tony Schiavone conducts a special in ring interview with Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat about winning the Bunkhouse Stampede and winning a shot at the World Title. Tony announces that this match will take place on April 14th, live on Pay Per View, WrestleWAR '88. Steamboat talks about how he and Flair were friends for years, then Flair turned on him, formed the Four Horsemen and used a loophole to keep him from getting a match for the World Title for over a year. Steamboat says he and his friends defeated Flair and the Horsemen in the first ever War Games match last year at the Great American Bash, sent Ole Anderson out of the NWA and Steamboat won the right to challenge for the title again. But once again treachery struck as Flair and JJ convinced Lex Luger to turn and join the Horsemen. But this time, this time it is going to be different, because Jim Crockett has assured him that the Horsemen AND JJ Dillon will be banned from ringside, it's just going to be Flair and Steamboat for the World Title, and Steamboat knows with those odds he can beat Flair!!

Sting defeats Ben Bassarab when he forces him to submit to the Scorpion Deathlock. Sting joins Tony after the match and says that he has been thinking all week about Kevin Sullivan, Buzz Sawyer, the Powers of Pain, all of it!!!! Tony says that Sting eliminated himself from the Bunkhouse Stampede after he eliminated both Buzz Sawyer and Kevin Sullivan when he climbed to the top rope and dove onto Sawyer and Sullivan!!! Sting says it was stupid but he just can’t get Sullivan out of his head, he says something's got to be done about it because as long as Sullivan is around Sting won’t be able to do anything else, but Sting says he thinks he’s got an idea, it’s a crazy one, but no one ever said Sting was sane!!!

World Heavyweight Champion "Nature Boy" Ric Flair, along with his manager JJ Dillon, are interviewed by Tony Schiavone. Flair says that at the Bunkhouse Stampede he climbed into the ring and faced Barry Windham in one of the most brutal World Title matches ever and walked out STILL the World Heavyweight Champion! Tony asks how Flair feels about having to face Ricky Steamboat on Pay Per View at WrestleWAR '88, Flair says Steamboat has been chasing his title for years and he hasn't gotten the job done yet. Tony asks about the stipulation that JJ is banned from ringside, JJ starts to say he has his lawyers looking into it, but Flair stops him and says it was FLAIR HIMSELF that had that stipulation added. JJ is shocked, Flair says it's nothing against JJ or the Horsemen, he just wanted to take all of Steamboat's excuses away from him. Flair says he is going to prove once and for all who the MAN is. Flair leaves and JJ follows but he has a stern look on his face.

“Mad Dog” Buzz Sawyer w/Kevin Sullivan defeats Rocky King. After the match Sawyer and Sullivan join Tony and are also joined by the Powers of Pain. Sullivan says he heard Sting, he heard Sting talk about how Sullivan is in his head and Sting is right, Sullivan is in his every thought and he’ll never leave them. Sullivan says the only way for Sting to be cured is for him to rejoin the Army of Darkness. As far as the Road Warriors go, they were warned repeatedly what would happen if they kept getting involved and they didn’t listen so they had to pay the price. Sullivan says that their debt has been paid and it is over as far as he is concerned, but if the Road Warriors want to push this, if they want to continue down a path that can only lead their destruction then SO BE IT!!!!! But do not hold him accountable for their folly!!!!

UWF World Champion Dick Murdoch is interviewed by Tony Schiavone in street clothes and Murdoch is angry that he was eliminated by Dusty Rhodes in the Bunkhouse Stampede. Murdoch says that there is only one world, so there should only be one World Champion, he wants the winner of the Steamboat-Flair match in a unification match.


The pissed off duo of Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane, The Midnight Express defeated The Dynamic Dudes, the MX worked Shane Douglas over pretty good during the match. Douglas has to be helped from the ring as Cornette and the Midnight Express join Tony, Cornette is pissed that a loser like Mike Rotundo was able to sneak up behind Bubba and push Bubba over the top and eliminate him from the Bunkhouse Stampede, he is also pissed that the British Bulldogs used his racket to help them keep the US Tag Team Titles. Cornette says they aren’t done with the Bulldogs and Bubba is damn sure not done with Mike Rotundo!!!!!!

Lex Luger and JJ Dillon are irate that Michael Hayes eliminated Luger from the Bunkhouse Stampede. Luger says a piece of trash like Hayes has no right to put his hands on the Total Package. Luger says this is all a complete outrage and he won't stand to be disrespected like this.

Michael Hayes and Jimmy Garvin defeat Dusty Wolfe and Dan Greer after Hayes hits Wolfe with a Bulldog. After the match The Freebirds talk to Jim Ross and Hayes says that Luger can run his mouth all he wants but Luger knows that Hayes could take that US Title from him if he got the shot!!!


Barry Windham spoke about Leon Spinks ending the match due to Windham losing too much blood and not being able to answer. Windham says he understand why Spinks did it, but he doesn't like it because he never said I QUIT. Windham wants another shot at the World Heavyweight Title but wishes Ricky Steamboat all the luck in the World challenging Flair at the just announced WrestleWAR '88 PPV.


World Tag Team Champions Tully Blanchard and Arn Anderson are out and they are crowing about beating the unbeatable Road Warriors. Tony says that they owe a big assist to Kevin Sullivan and the Powers of Pain, Tully says that doesn’t matter, all that matters is that the record books say that Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard beat the Road Warriors. Tully says that there isn’t a team in that locker room that can take these titles away from them!!!!!!

“The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes joins Tony to talk about Ricky Steamboat winning the Bunkhouse Stampede, Dusty says his ego is a little bruised after not being able to pull the hat trick and win his third Bunkhouse Stampede, but Ricky Steamboat earned the win and he ain’t gonna take anything away from him. Dusty says he knows Steamboat is in the back listening and he’s just got one thing to say to him, GO GET IT!!! Dusty tells Steamboat it looks like destiny and fate are shining right on him and Steamboat’s just got to reach out and take ahold of it with both hands and don’t let go!!!! Dusty is then interrupted by Sting who tells Dusty he’s sorry, but he’s got an idea and it’s a crazy one, but he needs Dusty. Dusty says he’s always willing to listen to a crazy plan and leaves with Sting.


World Television Champion Big Bubba Rogers w/Jim Cornette defeats Mike Rotundo in the Main Event in a match that Rotundo actually hung with Rogers in!!! Rotundo came into the match fired up and and tried to stick and move with Rogers. Rotundo got a near fall on Bubba that just about stopped Jim Cornette’s heart!!!! Cornette caught Rotundo with a racket shot to the back as Rotundo ran the ropes and that allowed Bubba to catch Rotundo in a Bubba Slam to get the pinfall and the victory!!




3/11/88

Mike Rotundo defeated “Exotic” Adrian Street with Rotocopter. After the match Rotundo joined Tony Schiavone on the stage and said he would have beaten Big Bubba Rogers last week if it wasn’t for Jim Cornette and the tennis racket. Rotundo says he has petitioned the NWA for a rematch for the TV Title and he thinks if he can get the rematch he can take the belt!!!!

UWF World Champion Dick Murdoch says he is going to Japan to defend the UWF World Title, he’ll be back in 6 weeks and when he returns he wants an answer from the NWA as to when he will get his unification match!!!

The Road Warriors defeat The Terrorists when Hawk pins #2 after a Doomsday Device.
Ellering then leads the Warriors over to talk to Tony, Ellering says that the Legion of Doom are looking for revenge on the Army of Darkness. Animal says that they haven’t forgotten about Tully Blanchard and Arn Anderson, they know they can take the World Tag Titles away from them but first they have to handle some other business. Hawk says that the Powers of Pain aren’t anything but two crusty, popped, oozing, pussfllled monkey zits!!!! He says when the LOD is done with the Powers of Pain it’ll be like the Night of the Living Dead, the LOD will be living and the Powers of Pain will be dead. OH WHAT A RUSH!!!!!!!

United States Heavyweight Champion "The Total Package" Lex Luger defeated Rocky King with the Torture Rack. After the match he and JJ Dillon speak to Tony Schiavone and Luger refuses to talk about Michael Hayes, Luger says Hayes isn't in his class and he doesn't talk about Street Trash like Hayes!!!

Norman defeats Bill Mulkey with a massive belly to belly suplex. After the match Norman comes over to Tony. Tony tries to talk to Norman, but Norman just wants to ask about Woman!! Does she smell pretty because she really looks pretty. Norman leaves and Tony thinks Norman has a bit of a crush on Woman of all people!!!

Johnny Ace is interviewed by Tony Schiavone and says that his partner Shane Douglas was injured by the Midnight Express last week and is going to be out for sometime, Ace says he doesn't know how he is going to do it, but he is going to get revenge on the Midnight Express and Jim Cornette.

The Midnight Express defeated The Italian Stallion and Todd Champion with the Vegomatic. Cornette and his men then talk to Tony Schiavone and Cornette says that he heard Johnny Ace out here crying about Shane Douglas and the truth is Douglas just couldn't cut it out, and Ace can't either!!! Cornette tells Ace to go find whatever partner he wants to find, or hey try Bubba on for size, if he does Cornette promises that Ace and Douglas will be able to reform their tag team, working at the counter at McDonalds!!!!! Schiavone brings up last week’s battle between Big Bubba Rogers and Mike Rotundo, Cornette says that there is nothing to talk about , Bubba won the match. Schiavone says calls into question if Bubba could have beat Rotundo if Cornette hadn’t hit him with the racket. Cornette is offended that Schiavone would accuse him of cheating and walks off while Bobby gives Tony a disapproving look.


Nikita Koloff is very angry when he talks to Tony Schiavone about his inability to win the World Television Title back from Big Bubba Rogers and his loss to Greg Valentine at the Bunkhouse Stampede. Nikita says that he has tried to do things the right way, but he is sick of not getting what he wants while other people cheat to the top. Barry Windham comes out to talk with Nikita and says he understand where Nikita is coming from and suggests the two of them team up to challenge Tully Blanchard and Arn Anderson for the World Tag Team Titles. Nikita agrees.


United States Tag Team Champions The British Bulldogs defeated Bill Irwin and Bobby Jaggers when Davey Boy pinned Irwin after a running powerslam. After the match the Bulldogs spoke with Tony Schiavone, they heard what Arn and Tully had to say last week and they have only one thing to say about that, Arn and Tully haven’t beaten them!!!!! Dynamite says that they are the United States Tag Team Champions and last time he checked that put them at the top of the list of teams who deserve a shot at the World Tag Team Titles and they are putting Arn and Tully on notice, they are coming for their belts!!!!

Kevin Sullivan, “Mad Dog” Buzz Sawyer and The Powers of Pain are interviewed by Tony Schiavone. Schiavone says that neither Sting nor Dusty Rhodes are here this week, but Tony has heard that they are putting something together and will be back next week with a big challenge for the Army of Darkness. Sullivan welcomes the challenge, whatever it is. He says Sting can align himself with the Great Liar Dusty Rhodes, but it will not keep Sting from his destiny. And as far as the Road Warriors go, as far as Kevin Sullivan goes they are square, they are even, it’s a blank slate, but if the Road Warriors want to make the mistake of continuing this, then he promises that the Powers of Pain will finish the Road Warriors once and for all.

Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat defeated Greg “The Hammer” Valentine w/Woman in the main event match of the evening. Valentine and Steamboat went all out against each other until Steamboat caught Valentine by surprise with a victory roll. During the match Woman got on the apron and tried to get involved but got knocked off the apron when Valentine mistakenly runs into her!!! Woman is out cold on the concrete when Norman comes out, scoops her up and carries her to the back!!!!! After the match Steamboat talks to Tony Schiavone. Steamboat says he is stepping up his game as we get closer to WrestleWAR '88. Tony asks Steamboat if he is worried that the Horsemen will attack him beforehand, Steamboat says that is always a concern before he can finish he is interrupted by the World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair. Flair says he isn't out to fight, he just wants to assure Steamboat that he doesn't have anything to worry about, he has already told the Horsemen to stay away from Steamboat, because he wants Steamboat to be healthy, to be at the top of his game at WrestleWAR '88. Flair says he is going to prove to the World who the greatest World Heavyweight Champion of all time is. Steamboat says that Flair is talking awfully cocky for a man who has never been able to pin Steamboat's shoulders to the mat in a fair fight, Flair tells Steamboat he's gonna do it at WrestleWAR '88!!!!


3/18/88

Sting and “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes defeat The Terrorists when Sting makes #1 submit to the Scorpion Deathlock. Sting and Dusty then join Tony and they got a challenge for the Army of Darkness. Sting and Dusty want the Army in a match at WrestleWAR ‘88, but not just any match, THEY WANT THEM IN A WAR GAMES MATCH!!!!! Sting says he is pretty certain he can find two other sick, twisted and insane men to join their team. Dusty says that Sullivan has been saying for years he is scared of nothing and he’ll do anything to get rid of Dusty Rhodes, well Sullivan here is your chance!!!!! GET IN THE CAGE, GO TO WAR AND SEE WHO’S LEFT STANDING IN THE END JACK!!!!!

World Heavyweight Champion "Nature Boy" Ric Flair battled Todd Champion and defeated him with a Figure Four Leglock. Flair was interviewed by Tony Schiavone after the match, Flair says that he is ready for WrestleWAR ‘88. Flair was then joined by World Tag Team Champions Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard. Arn is really unsure about what it is that Flair wants from them, Flair says all he wants is to prove to everyone he is the best wrestler in the World today, he doesn’t want to give Steamboat any excuses and once again says he wants Tully and Arn to give Steamboat a wide berth. Tully says that if that’s how Flair wants it, then that’s fine with them, after all they all know that Flair’s got this all under control. JJ still doesn’t looked convinced.

Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat is shown back in Charlotte training for his match with Flair. Steamboat is being put through his paces as he works out in an old race shop as opposed to his Gym. Steamboat is shown running through a field, lifting cinder blocks, climbing a rope tied to the ceiling, throwing racing tires, hauling full drums. Steamboat spars with three different men in a ring with no ring skirt set up in the middle of the warehouse. All this is set to M|A|R|R|S - Pump Up The Volume.

Mike Rotundo defeats Tony Suber with the Rotocopter. After the match he talks with Tony. Rotundo says that he heard before the match that the NWA is granting his petition and giving him a World Television Title match against Big Bubba Rogers at WrestleWAR ‘88. Rotundo says that on April 16th, live on Pay Per View he is going to prove that Bubba isn’t unbeatable!!!

Jim Cornette & Big Bubba Rogers are being interviewed by Tony Schiavone, they talk about Mike Rotundo getting a rematch for the World Television Title at WrestleWAR '88 and Cornette says that Rotundo can make all the excuses he wants but everyone knows Bubba pinned him in the ring and Bubba is going to do the exact same thing at WrestleWAR '88. Before the interview concludes they are interrupted by Johnny Ace who says he isn't out here to fight but tells Cornette he has a surprise for the Midnight Express next week because he found himself a partner. Cornette scoffs and says if Ace is so damn confident that he has such an awesome partner, then he'll give Ace the biggest present Ace has ever gotten, he'll give Ace and this partner a shot at the MX at WrestleWAR '88 just so that they can embarrass him again and send another one of Ace's partners packing!!!

The Powers of Pain w/Kevin Sullivan and Mad Dog Buzz Sawyer defeat Rocky King and Ben Bassarab when Barbarian pins Bassarab after the Kick of Fear. After the match Sullivan leads the Army of Darkness to Tony. Sullivan says he and the Army will accept the challenge of the War Games, but only on one condition, WHEN Sting’s team loses, then Sting must rejoin the Army of Darkness, no questions asked. And to show just how confident he is that this will happen, Sullivan also says that if Sting’s team can win, then he’ll DISBAND THE ARMY OF DARKNESS. Sullivan doesn’t think Sting can get the job done and says that once Sting is back standing at his side Sullivan vows to leave Sting to his true destiny!!!

World Tag Team Champions Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard are interviewed backstage by David Crockett in regards to their main event match later tonight against Nikita Koloff and Barry Windham. Arn says that Windham and Koloff are fne singles wrestlers, but they aren’t a tag team like he and Tully are, they don’t train together every day, they don’t know what the other one is thinking, they can’t anticipate what their partner can do the way he and Tully can and that is what will guarantee the victory for the Horsemen here tonight. Tully doesn’t want to end the interview without addressing to little yapping dogs, who have come out here on the program for the past two weeks and barked about how they want a shot at the World Tag Team Titles. Tully says they should have kept their mouths shut and just been happy with being the United States Tag Team Champions and being the #2 team because now they have got the attention of the Horsemen. Tully says after they get done deal with Windham and Koloff tonight they’ll properly deal with the Bulldogs.

Greg “The Hammer” Valentine with Woman defeats Steve Doll after a Hammer Elbow Drop. Valentine and Woman then join Tony. Valentine is not happy with his loss to Steamboat last week. Woman says everything has it’s time. Tony asks Woman about Norman and how Norman came to her rescue last week. Woman looks disgusted, Valentine says Norman better back off because if he gets near to Woman again, Valentine promises to put him out of his misery.


World Tag Team Champions Tully Blanchard and Arn Anderson defeat Barry Windham and Nikita Koloff when Arn pins Nikita after DDTing him on a chair that JJ Dillon slips into the ring. Referee Tommy Young didn't see the interference because he was too busy trying to break up a brawling Tully Blanchard and Barry Windham.


3/25/88

Norman defeats Tony Suber with a Belly to Belly Supex. Norman talks to Tony after the match and Norman says he doesn’t understand why Woman was so mad, he just wanted to help her. Woman comes out and tells Norman not to talk about her and to leave her alone, then slaps the snot out of him!!! Norman is shocked!!! Norman starts to stalk after Woman who rolls into the ring to get away from Norman, Norman is about to climb in when Greg Valentine attacks him from behind!!! Valentine runs Norman into the ring post and then hits him a couple of times with a Steel Chair before walking away with a laughing Woman.

Sting defeats Jesse Barr in a back and forth battle when he catches Barr with a Stinger Splash and then makes Barr submit to the Scorpion Deathlock!!!! Sting then joins Tony at ringside and says he and Dusty ACCEPT Sullivan’s stipulations. Tony asks Sting who the other two members of their team will be and Sting just smiles, lets out a howl and walks off.


Jim Cornette comes out to do commentary for the next match as Johnny Ace is going to debut his new tag team partner.

Steve Kiern and Johnny Ace defeat Bill Irwin and Bobby Jaggers when Kiern pins Irwin. Cornette on commentary is livid that Steve Kiern is Johnny Ace's mystery partner and says that Keirn hates him because Stan Lane left Kiern high and dry to join the MX, Ross says Cornette already agreed that the MX would face Ace and Kiern at WrestleWAR '88, Cornette leaves commentary before the match is over to call his lawyer and see if he can get out of it.

Keirn and Ace are interviewed by Tony Schiavone and Kiern says he has been waiting a long time for the opportunity to get revenge on Cornette and Stan Lane!!! Ace says at WrestleWAR '88 they are both going to get their revenge!!!!


A video plays of Tony Schiavone, recorded earlier in the week, at Ric Flair’s training session. As opposed to Steamboat who was working out in a warehouse, Flair is in a state of the art gym. Flair is shown working out on machines, jumping rope, posing for pictures with beautiful women and signing autographs. Schiavone asks Flair how the training is going and Flair says it going better than he could imagine and he knows he is going to be ready to prove to Steamboat at WrestleWAR ‘88 who the best wrestler in the World is. Flair then takes a woman on each arm and tells Tony that it’s time for the hot tub and a rub down, gives a wooooooo and walks away with the women.

Kevin Sullivan defeats Todd Champion with a Double Stomp. During the match Sullivan throws Champion out of the ring several times and distracts the referee to allow Sawyer and the Powers of Pain to get shots in on Champion. Sullivan and the Army join Tony after the match, Sullivan says that later in the program the Powers of Pain will destroy the myth of the Legion of Doom once and for all. As far as Sting and Dusty Rhodes are concerned, he cannot believe Sting agreed to his stipulation, he says it just proves that Sting is a deranged and desperate man. Sullivan tells Sting that after the War Games he and the Army will be ready to put their differences aside and welcome him back to the Family with open arms!!

The United States Tag Team Champions The British Bulldogs defeat The Terrorists when Dynamite pins Terrorist #2 with a flying headbutt. After the match the Bulldogs talk to Tony and renew their call for a shot at the World Tag Team Titles. Davey Boy says that the Horsemen act tough and talk a big game, but the Bulldogs know when someone’s bark is bigger than their bite and that is exactly the case with the Horsemen. Dynamite says they want a World Tag Team Title shot and they aren’t going to stop calling the Horsemen out until they get one!!!!!

The Firebird defeats United States Champion "The Total Package" Lex Luger by count out when Luger leaves the ring and refuses to re enter. After the match the Firebird removes his mask to reveal that he is in fact Michael PS Hayes!!!!!! Hayes gets on the microphone and says he just showed the world that Luger is afraid of him and he wants Luger in a match with the US Title on the line at WrestleWAR!!!!!! Luger and JJ refuse and walk away!!!

Barry Windham and Nikita Koloff defeat Dan Greer and Dusty Wolfe. After the match Nikita lays Windham out with a Russian Sickle!!!!! Nikita peels Windham off the apron and hits him with another sickle for good measure!!!! Nikita then is stopped by David Crockett as he heads up the aisle and Crockett wants to know why Nikita did that? Nikita says he is tired of playing by the rules everyone else ignores, he is tired of being nice guy, now he is bad guy and he'll do whatever he wants.

World Tag Team Champions Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard are out to talk to Tony and JJ Dillon is irate over what happened earlier with Michael Hayes and Lex Luger, he says it’s a travesty of justice and he won’t stand for it. Arn says that Michael Hayes is barking up a tree he should have just walked away from because now he has a serious problem, JJ just filled the contracts in two weeks Hayes is going to pay for what he did when he gets in the ring with Arn. Speaking of barking, he and Tully seem to have a big of a dog problem, as the British Bulldogs keep barking that they want a World Tag Team Title shot. Tully takes over and says the Bulldogs seem to want to do what every wild mutt wants to do, they wanna try and mark their territory, Tully says that if the Bulldogs want a shot at the belts then they can have it, and when the Bulldogs get in the ring with the Horsemen they are going to do what you are supposed to do to a dog that keeps running around, barking and trying to mark it’s territory, they are going to neuter them!!!!!!


The Road Warriors and The Powers of Pain wrestle to a No Contest when Kevin Sullivan and Mad Dog Buzz Sawyer get into the ring and attack the Road Warriors, it’s a 4 on 2 beat down until Sting and Dusty Rhodes run out to even the odds!!! All 8 men are fighting around the ringside area, throwing anything not nailed down at each other as the show goes off the air!!!!

[Kimmel]

4/1/88

Sting and The Road Warriors defeat Jesse Barr and The Terrorists when Sting makes #2 Submit to the Scorpion Deathlock!!!! Sting and The Road Warriors talks to Tony at ringside!!! Tony says that it’s official, the Road Warriors will be Sting and Dusty Rhodes’ partners in the War Games!!!!!! Sting is fired up and ready to finish the Army of Darkness!!!! Animal says that the War Games were custom made for the Road Warriors and when Sting asked them to be their partners it was a no brainer. Hawk says that when they get done not even their own mothers will be able to recognize Sullivan and his toadstools.

We see footage from earlier in the week, Tony Schiavone is at the contract signing between the World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair and the challenger Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat. JJ is with Flair and has a few problems with the contract but Flair tells him to forget about it and signs on the dotted line while JJ tosses his pen onto the table with an irritated look on his face. After signing Flair slides the contract over to Steamboat, Flair says that Steamboat isn’t going to have any excuses when he gets beat at WrestleWAR ‘88. Steamboat signs the contract and tells Flair that Flair is right, he won’t have any excuses, but neither will Ric Flair!!! Steamboat says he has been waiting 2 years for this, and at WrestleWAR ‘88 he is going to take the World Title from Ric Flair. Flair tells Steamboat he can try, but to be the Man you have to beat the Man and Flair doesn’t think Steamboat has what it takes!!!!!


The Midnight Express defeats Steve Doll and Italian Stallion . After the match Cornette and his men are interviewed by Tony, Cornette says his lawyers can't find a way out of the match, but that's fine because he is realizing he overreacted last week, him and his men have nothing to fear when it comes to Steve Kiern, it was Stan Lane that made the Fabulous Ones and everyone knows it, Kiern was just riding his coattails!!!!! Cornette says they'll put Kiern and Ace out to pasture at WrestleWAR '88, and as far as Mike Rotundo goes, Cornette says they have heard again and again about how Rotundo is going to be the first man to beat Big Bubba at WrestleWAR and Cornette says it’s just a pipe dream because Bubba is going to flatten Rotundo!!!!

Johnny Ace and Steve Kiern are interviewed backstage by Bob Caudle, Kiern says if Lane and Cornette really believe that Lane carried Kiern, how about they put their money where their mouths are and have Lane face Kiern one on one here next week.

Tony Schiavone interviews JJ Dillon, World Tag Team Champions Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard and United States Champion Lex Luger and reveals that Luger will have to defend his title at WrestleWAR 88 against Michael Hayes!!!! Luger says this is an outrage and refuses to continue the interview, Luger yells at JJ to do something about this and leaves JJ!!!! JJ tries to go after Lex but Tully tells JJ to let him go. Tully says that Lex has all the right in the World to be upset but when the time comes to get in the ring and get the job done, Luger is going to get it done because he is a Horsemen and that’s what they do, just like Ric Flair is going to do with Ricky Steamboat and just like he and Arn are going to do with the British Bulldogs. Arn says that before all that happens though, he and Michael Hayes are going to get in the ring next week and Arn is going to show Hayes the error in his ways. Arn says Hayes and the Freebirds used to be a big deal, everyone was scared of them, everyone ran the other way and for a long time he used to sit back and wonder what would happen if the Freebirds and the Horsemen collided. Arn says those days are gone because no one knows where Buddy Roberts and Terry Gordy have gone and all that’s left if Michael Hayes trying to hold onto a piece of past glories. Arn tells the fans to remember one key phrase “Card is Subject to Change” because Hayes isn’t going to make it to WrestleWAR ‘88, next week Arn is taking Michael Hayes OUT!!!!!!


Michael Hayes and Jimmy Garvin defeat Bobby Jaggers and Bill Irwin . After the match they talk to Tony, Hayes is ready for WrestleWAR and he says that Luger looked like a spoiled brat out here crying about having to face him. Hayes says Luger is a product of a lot of money and Hayes is a product of the streets. He grew up with nothing and fought for everything he has, he doesn't need fancy lawyers to try and fight his battles for him, he does that IN THE RING!!!! Hayes says that's exactly what he is going to do at WrestleWAR '88!!!! And as far as next week goes and getting in the ring with Arn Anderson? Hayes says Arn likes to talk a big game about how bad he is, well Hayes grew up on Badstreet pal, and can’t no one tell him who’s bad, because you gotta prove it in a fight and that’s exactly what Arn is going to be in for tomorrow night, not a wrasslin match, but a good ole fashion, knock down drag out FIGHT!!!!!!!

Nikita Koloff destroys Rocky King in the ring and refuses to let up after the bell until Barry Windham makes the save. Barry grabs a microphone and demands a match with Nikita at WrestleWAR ‘88!!!!

Dusty Rhodes defeats “Mad Dog” Buzz Sawyer with a Bionic Elbow, the ring was surrounded by Sting, The Road Warriors, Kevin Sullivan and the Powers of Pain. After the match it looks like things may break down into a brawl but Sullivan decides now is not the time.


4/8/88



Sting defeats Johnny Smith with a Stinger Splash and Scorpion Deathlock. Sting is joined by Dusty Rhodes and the Road Warriors at ringside, all four men are fired up for War Games!!! Dusty says this has been a long time coming with him and Sullivan and makes a challenge to Sullivan, it was their war all those years ago that started all this, so if this could be the end, he and Sullivan should be the first two men in the cage!!!!!


Tony talks to the United States Heavyweight Champion “The Total Package” Lex Luger, JJ Dillon and the World Tag Team Champions Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard. Luger wants to start the interview off by apologizing to Tony and everyone else for storming out the way he did last week, as a professional athlete he has very strong emotions that can sometimes get the better of him. . Lex says he appreciates everything the Horsemen have done for him and really appreciate Arn taking on Hayes tonight to solve that problem for him. JJ apologizes to Luger that he has been unable to get the match with Hayes overturned because he has been dealing with helping get Flair ready for the World Title match at WrestleWAR ‘88. Luger says it’s all good. Tony asks JJ where Ric Flair is tonight and JJ says that Flair has been in intense training and they decided it may be best for him to take a few days off, go to Hawaii and get some R&R before he has to get into the ring at WrestleWAR ‘88. Arn jumps in and tells Lex not to worry about Hayes because Arn is going to take care of him tonight. Tony asks Tully about facing The British Bulldogs at WrestleWAR ‘88, Tully says he has said all he plans to say about the Bulldogs in the last few weeks, he’ll do all the rest of his talking next Sunday at WrestleWAR ‘88 in the ring.


Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat looks great as he beats Tony Suber with a crossbody off the top rope. Steamboat broke out some new moves during the match including a suicide dive through the ropes to the floor and a variety of karate kicks and chops. Steamboat then talks to Tony and says he is in the best shape of his life and is ready for WrestleWAR ‘88. Steamboat says he heard JJ Dillon earlier saying that Flair is off in Hawaii getting some R&R before the big match, but Steamboat is here, stoking the flame and getting ready to beat Flair and take the World
Title!!!!

Steve Keirn defeats Stan Lane when Cornette's interference backfires.

The British Bulldogs defeat Ben Bassarab and Steve Blackman when Davey Boy pins Bassarab after a running powerslam. The Bulldogs join Tony after the match and say that they are ready for WrestleWAR ‘88 and they are ready to take the World Tag Team Titles!!!

Windham can’t believe that Nikita turned his back on him. He says he thought Nikita was a changed man, he thought he could trust Nikita, but he was proven wrong. Barry says Nikita is upset about how he can’t get back on track, well he is going to be a lot more upset at WrestleWAR ‘88 when Windham beats Nikita in the middle of the ring!!!!

The Powers of Pain defeat Big Bear Collie and Bob Riddle. After the match Tony Schiavone talks to Kevin Sullivan, The Powers of Pain and Buzz Sawyer, Sullivan agrees to be the first man from his team in the ring at the War Games.


Nikita Koloff vows to break Barry Windham at Clash of the Champions.

Michael Hayes w/Jimmy Garvin defeats World Tag Team Champion Arn Anderson w/ JJ Dillon and Tully Blanchard when Arn blasts Hayes with a steel chair right in front of the referee!!!! Garvin rushes into the ring and gets blasted with the chair as well!!! Blanchard and Anderson work Hayes over and try to break his leg under direction from JJ Dillon, but the British Bulldogs rush out to make the save!!! The Bulldogs are brawling with Arn and Tully as the show goes off the air!!!



4/15/88


Michael Hayes and Jimmy Garvin talk to Tony Schiavone. Hayes says the Horsemen did their best to try and take him out last week, but they didn't get the job done. Hayes says he isn't going to condemn what the Horsemen did because the Freebirds have done things just as bad in the past. Hayes says if the Horsemen want to escalate this, if they want to take it to Badstreet then he is fine with it, because no one knows how to be as bad as he does.

The British Bulldogs defeat Dan Greer and Dusty Wolfe when Dynamite pins Greer after Davey press slams Dynamite onto Greer. The Bulldogs then join Tony, Davey says tomorrow night is the big night and the Bulldogs are ready to become the World Tag Team Champions. Dynamite says that last week they saw what Arn Anderson is capable of when he attacked Michael Hayes with a steel chair, Dynamite says he knows that the Horsemen have no honor and they’ll get themselves disqualified to keep the titles, but he and Davey are ready for that and for everything else the Horsemen can throw at them!!!!!


Tony talks to United States Champion Lex Luger and World Tag Team Champions Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard. Tony asks where JJ is and Tully says he should be arriving shortly with Flair. Arn says that last week he and Tully were about to put Hayes out when the Bulldogs got involved. Tully says they were already going to give the Bulldogs a beating for continually calling them out week after week, but after getting into their business last week the Bulldogs have upped the ante!!!! Arn says before the Horsemen were just going to embarrass the Bulldogs, now they are going to hurt them!!!! Luger says Michael Hayes keeps proving time and time again that he is low class Atlanta trash, Luger says he is a professional athlete who is proud of his craft, Hayes is just a brawler who doesn’t know the first thing about training, about eating right and about keeping yourself it peak physical condition. Luger says that at WrestleWAR ‘88 he is going to show the world the difference between an athlete and a thug.


Mike Rotundo, Johnny Ace and Steve Keirn defeated The Midnight Express and Big Bubba Rogers when Keirn pins Eaton.

Tony Schiavone brings Flair and Steamboat out for one final face to face before the World Title match at WrestleWAR ‘88. Steamboat comes out in jeans and a Steamboat’s gym T Shirt, Flair comes out in a 3 piece suit, wearing a fur coat with half a dozen women and JJ Dillon. Flair says he just touched down this morning and he is ready to go wooooooooooo!!! Steamboat just stares a hole in Flair and doesn’t speak. Flair says that he has proven to these ladies who the best ever is, and he is going to prove it to Steamboat tomorrow night. Steamboat still doesn’t respond. Flair asks Steamboat what’s wrong? Is he nervous around women this fine? Flair gets a chuckle out of that and then STEAMBOAT SLAPS THE TASTE OUT OF FLAIR’S MOUTH!!!! FLAIR’S SUNGLASSES GO FLYING OFF HIS HEAD!!! Flair snaps his head back and yells at Steamboat that if he wants to go they can go right now as JJ herds the women out of the ring. Steamboat says he just wanted Flair’s attention, because he wants to make sure Flair hears what he has to say. Steamboat says for 2 years he has thought of nothing else but getting his revenge on Flair, on getting revenge on the man who stabbed him in the back, the man who was the best man in his wedding, HIS BEST FRIEND, who betrayed him all so he could hold onto the World Heavyweight Title. Well it’s worked for Flair, he has had a DEATH GRIP on the title all this time, and he has had the Horsemen to keep it that way, but tomorrow night it’s going to be different, tomorrow night it’s just the two of them in the ring and when that bell rings Steamboat is going to unload 2 years of anger and frustration on Flair!!!!! Steamboat tells Flair to be ready, because tomorrow night he is going to know what Steamboat has felt for 2 years because tomorrow night Steamboat is taking the only thing that matters to Flair, the World Heavyweight Title. Steamboat doesn’t give Flair a chance to respond as he leaves the ring. Flair yells at Steamboat that he can talk a big game, but that doesn’t make him a big game player that Flair is!!! Flair says all the anger and frustration Steamboat has felt for 2 years will be NOTHING compared to what he is going to feel tomorrow night when Flair beats him in the middle of the ring!!!!! And then, when he does, when Steamboat loses and goes back and has to look at himself in the mirror, when he can’t pin his loss on the Horsemen, or on JJ, when he has to look in the mirror and accept the Ric Flair is the better man, how is Steamboat going to cope with that?

[Kimmel]

4/16/88 WRESTLEWAR 88:

Footage is shown of Michael Hayes arriving at the arena earlier on his Harley Davidson, Tony Schiavone was waiting to get a word with Hayes in the parking lot. Tony begins speaking to Hayes when suddenly Tully Blanchard and Arn Anderson show up!!! Hayes tries to fight them off but they get the better of him and beat him down in the parking lot!!! They leave a beaten and bloody Hayes laying on the pavement!!!

Ranger Ross defeats Greg “The Hammer” Valentine w/Woman when Norman catches Valentine with a Combat Kick!

UWF World Champion Dick Murdoch is interviewed by Tony Schiavone, he is back here in the US and he wants the winner of tonight’s NWA World Title match, he wants a unification match!!!!

The Midnight Express defeat Steve Keirn and Johnny Ace when Bobby Eaton pins Johnny Ace after an Alabama Jam. It was clearly evident throughout the match that Ace was the weak link, Keirn had the MX rocking and rolling and got a few nearfalls on Lane, but Ace just couldn’t hang and cost his team the match,

Barry Windham defeats Nikita Koloff via submission when he locks Nikita into the Iron Claw!!! Nikita fights to get out of it but finally gives up!!!


Tully Blanchard and Arn Anderson defeat The British Bulldogs to retain the World Tag Team Titles in an classic 30 minute battle. Nearfalls galore in this one as the Bulldogs and the Horsemen traded control numerous times. The battle spilled out to the floor where Dynamite Kid wiped everyone out with a dive off the top rope to the floor below onto all 3 men. The end saw Arn catch Dynamite with a DDT out of nowehere to get the pin!!!!!!

Big Bubba Rogers defeats Mike Rotundo to retain the World Television Title. Rotundo gave it a heck of a try, but Rogers was in rare form here tonight. Rogers caught Rotundo with the Bubba Slam after about 8 minutes to get the pin and win.

Lex Luger defeats Michael Hayes after an Ax Bomber. Hayes comes to the ring in his jeans and cowboy boots, taped up from the beating he got earlier. Jimmy Garvin is with him, referees and officials follow Hayes out and beg him not to wrestle. Hayes says he is doing this and tells everyone to get out of the way!!! Garvin stays at ringside to cheer his friend on, Hayes puts up a hell of a fight but he is obviously hurting from the attack and Luger is vicious in his assualt. It doesn't take long for Hayes to be bleeding like a stuck pig!!! Had Hayes been at 100% he very well could have won this match.

Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat defeats "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair to become the World Heavyweight Champion after rolling Flair up when Flair attempts to apply the Figure Four Leglock for a 3rd time after 45 minutes of non stop action. Flair is busted open at about the 20 minute mark and by the end of the match Flair and the mat are covered in Flair’s blood. Steamboat collapses in the ring when the World Title is handed to him. Barry Windham, Dusty Rhodes, Sting, and the Road Warriors rush the ring. The Road Warriors put Steamboat on their shoulders, Dusty gets the microphone and announces Steamboat as the World Heavyweight Champion. Flair is walking up the aisle where he is met by JJ Dillon, Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard. JJ is yelling at Flair and point towards the ring, JJ is having an absolute fit but Flair ignores him and walks passed him to the back.


Sting, Dusty Rhodes and The Road Warriors defeat Kevin Sullivan, Buzz Sawyer and The Powers of Pain in a War Games Match. Dusty and Sullivan started for their teams as Dusty had challenged Sullivan to do. Dusty got the upperhand on Sullivan until the Army won the coin toss and Buzz Sawyer came plowing into the ring with a clothes hanger!!!! Sawyer and Sullivan beat down on the American Dream and tried to choke him out with the clothes hanger!!!!!. When the door opened again Road Warrior Animal rushed to Rhodes’ aid!!!! Animal and Dusty started to turn the tide until Barbarian became the 5th men in the ring and damn near took Animal’s head off with a Kick of Fear, Hawk evened the odds when the door opened again and brought along one of their spiked armbands!!!! Hawk used it to make Sawyer bleed like a stuck pig!!! Dusty was also gushing blood. Warlord was the final man for the Army of Darkness and he ripped one of the chains they use to chain the door shut away from referee Nick Patrick and brought that into the ring!!!! Warlord blasted Animal with a the chain,busting Animal open!!!! The Army of Darkness had total control as Sullivan pushed the spiked wrist band into Dusty Rhodes’ head!!!!! The door finally opened for the last time as Sting bolted into the ring!!! The door then closed and Gary Michael Cappetta let everyone know that the Match Beyond had begun!!!! Sting was a house of fire and quickly turned the tide!!! He hit Sullivan with a Stinger Splash, then Barbarian, then Warlord and finally Buzz Sawyer!!!! The Road Warriors whipped Warlord into the ropes and hit a double clothesline, Dusty Rhodes and Kevin Sullivan were going at it when Sting locked Warlord into the Scorpion Deathlock!!! The Road Warriors kept Sawyer and Barbarian off Sting and Warlord gave it up!!! Sting’s team has won and the Army of Darkness must disband!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Kimmel]

In the next couple of days I will have the month of May up with the first ever Clash of the Champions and then June and the build to the Great American Bash

[thecommish]

Quite a series of events leading up to Flair's loss, and what that loss means for the future of the Horsemen.

The War Games was hellacious as well. Great action here!

[wattsfan]

Really enjoying your catchup Jimmie.