Pro Wrestling Chronicle

Match # 126: Terry Taylor vs. John Tatum (8/17/86)

Taylor is your vanilla babyface here, and John Tatum is your heel. I know so because of his strut, the great heat he gets for doing it, and the fact Missy Hyatt is on his arm. Tatum looks like a tanner version of Buddy Landell. Terry Taylor is your TV champ, so the belt is on the line tonight in Tulsa.

Right away I love Tatum. Taylor arm drags him a few times so he rolls out and almost cries as he pouts on the floor. I mean he’s actually slumped against the rail while Missy berates him. Apparently both are part of Hot Stuff International, so this is where Edie Gilbert helped book himself a wife. Very nice. Oh, and the cherry on top is Tatum’s long delay getting into the ring and then immediate insistence that Taylor had tights.

The paragraph above explains a lot of the good stuff in this match. Taylor does several simple and effective moves to Hollywood John, who bumps like crazy and makes a spectacle of himself. He’s the whole show here, and Taylor is just wrestling around him. The good stuff is Tatum and his heel stuff. Very Memphis. In fact, please tell me this man had a heel run in Memphis. Eddie Gilbert is the head of this man’s stable. I has to be true.

Match does get very dull whenever Taylor is on offense though. Rest holds. Odd stretches where the babyface in control is so dull you hope the charismatic overacting heel makes the come back. Fun Tatum stuff, but not a barn burner or classic technical match. Tatum does do an all time highlight as he throws an illegal punch and swears to the ref it wasn’t thrown as he holds/shakes his fist in pain.

Eddie Gilbert is out in an angle alert moment. Taylor kicks out to an alright pop, but this Tulsa crowd is usually really hot. Now Tatum is wrestling around Taylor, but in a good way. Jim Ross on commentary mentions a “computerized” top ten. Remember when Computerized anything was this myth that was full of so much excitement and early on no substance? Well I do.

Last few minutes of this are awesomely hot athletic back and forth stuff. Definitely Ric Flair influences in both men. Tatum sells like a son of a bitch. He’s great. Taylor does move well when he needs to, but is missing that extra something. Missy in the ring. Tatum bumps Taylor into Missy. He waves in Eddie Gilbert, who doesn’t look happy. Gilbert with the powder, it of course backfires and goes in John Tatum’s face. Taylor pins him with help from the ol’ Memphis playbook. The heels are all mad at each other. Great fun. 3 ¼ and 6.6/10.

Match Discussion Here