A rematch for the six man belts, and this time the Von Erichs are at full strength. Look out Dynamic Duo and the Snake.

Before the bell Kevin attacks Adams, who is game for that fight. Adams is depicted (as much by himself as commentary) as being obsessed with being better than the Von Erichs) while Kevin is still not over the anger of Adams turning on him. It’s a nice little bit (Where Gary Hart has to explain to Adams) this is a title match, that is played as serious and could affect the match itself. This singles feud could have consequences. First minute between Gino and Kerry is a bit messy, but they shape it up somewhat. Gino really tries hard. Mike versus Jake actually has a better dynamic thanks to Mike’s eagerness and Jake’s persona. They talked about Mike’s first time using the Iron Claw on Christmas Night, so watch out for that. Adams and Kerry. Kerry eats him up until Adams stops and hits a superkick out of nowhere. Good execution and an exciting turn of events. Pile driver from Adams at the five minute mark.

Good intense work and story moment as Adams misses a dive and Kerry tags in Kevin. Adams rushes to tag out, Kevin dives on him with punches, and Kevin becomes trapped by the heels in the corner. Jake is tagged in. Jake is really amazing to watch is short bursts. Not that he’s the “best wrestler,” but he’s go at execution and his psychology on how to carry himself is amazing. Adams tags in to get at Kevin, but Kevin has a hope spot and Adams tags Gino. A minute later we get an Iron claw tease.

The action becomes so intense and quick that I can’t detail it all, but it definitely has a cerebral edge to it. Adams is looking to beat up Kevin, but only when Kevin is weakened by someone else or a double team. The hot-headed Von Erich Brothers keep rushing in to make the save, but Ref Bronco Lubich is trying to keep order. Of course this leads to more heel cheating. Heels regain control and work over Kevin. Kevin has a way of making all of his hope spots appear real and exciting. The heel beatdown isn’t always perfect, but the way each heel plays their part is perfect. Kevin comes back with a huge punch on Adams that knocks him out of the ring. Ten minutes gone.

Mike Von Erich comes in and you get to see how much better of a heel Adams is than a face when he superkicks Mike then yells at the crowd. The big brothers pull Mike out of the ring to check on him, then send him back in. Mike ends up barely selling a pile driver and hot tagging Kerry. Roberts plays pinball for the V.E. punches. Adams is constantly cheating, and Kevin keeps going after him. Jake pulls out a sleeper on Kerry. Mike comes in and has a nice sequence with Jake, finishing with Jake hitting DDT. He taunt the brothers on the apron, gets caught with a punch by Kerry, and gets rolled up by Mike for the pin in about 14 minutes. The Von Erichs are the new six man champs.

Adams as the mega heel and constant meddler is so much more fun than babyface Adams ever was for me. Gino was actually the least involved and interesting heel in the match, and Gino’s persona is skyscraper tall. I wouldn’t say this team is a better match for the Von Erichs in ring than the Freebirds, but as parts I like the Dynamic Duo and Jake better. As a whole it’s still definitely Freebirds. What this match lacked as far as smoothness at times it made up for in intensity. Even when the guys weren’t on the same page you still had the feel of a real fight overriding anything else. A lot of smaller story dynamics were there too (Adams and Kevin, Mike coming of age versus Jake, Kerry against Gino). There was sloppiness, but the structure of the match was clean. I really liked the finish from the DDT on Mike to Jake taunting the V.E after a DDT on Mike, only to get knocked out with a punch from the apron and covered by Mike. This will finish just above the middle for me, maybe even top thirty or forty. 3 ½ stars and 7.05/10

Now that Adams has taken Kevin out, the Dynamic Duo and the Snake go for the NWA Six Man titles against the Von Erichs and fill-in Fulton.

After Adams took out Kevin earlier in the night with a wooden chair, Bobby Fulton of the Fantastics has replaced him at the request of the Von Erichs. They have actual belts for the title now. Appropriately, Kerry goes right after Adams as the bell sounds, and then everyone is brawling. The Von Erich side clears the ring. Looking at Mike Von Erich, I truly miss David and take back all my comments about his awkwardness. Kerry, on the mic, challenges Adams to start. He gets Gino instead. Kerry schools Gino with his agile moves, so the more thought out Jake the Snake is tagged in. Jake having to sell for Mike’s nonsense bums me out, but the match moves along fine as the teams feel each other out. Adams tags in, shoves Fulton around, but when Kerry is tagged in Adams runs away. Good building dynamics here.

Kerry injures his shoulder on the post chasing Jake, and Adams comes in to get at him. It’s sloppy as they’re over-excited. The heel team does start working over Kerry’s knee and cutting off the ring with quick tags. Five minutes gone.

Kerry gets a flash pin, but Adams and his superkick keep Kerry on the mat. Jakes few minutes with Kerry are good, and Gino plays his part well. Kerry finally gives the hot tag to Mike, and Mike aggressively tries to take it to Adams for his brother. Mike ends up being the face in peril, as Adams/Gino/Jake go to work with double teams and some taunting. Mike’s face in peril kinda sucks, and Kerry is back in without a dramatic tag. Fulton sits on the apron, barely used.

Gino misses a horrible backwards elbow drop, and Fulton tags out a moment after being in. Mike puts a sleeper on Gino, then sits their watching as Gino tags out and Adams goes to the top for a double axe handle that sort of lands. Mike’s sell of it, having watch it, was pretty bad. Ten minutes gone.

Mike is the face in peril, until he’s not. That sums up Mike’s understanding of psychology. Kerry has some good exchanges with Jake, then it breaks down with everyone in the ring. Kerry has Jake up for the suplex, then Adams superkicks him right on the face. The crowd is pretty dead for this section, where you’d think they’d be heated. They both sell, Jake eventually rolling on top of Kerry for the three count. The other wrestlers and the crowd just watch this with little reaction. Great idea for the end, but they’d lost me by that point. Jake/Gino/Adams are the new champs. The post-match interviews in the locker room are somewhat standard, but great character moments for the heel champs.

There are a lot of loose sloppy moments in this, but the structure, character motivations and actions in the match are very good. I want to like it for the structure, but Fulton barely gets used, Mike was a horrible face in peril for both selling and the lack of well built drama to his tags, and Kerry ends up being the anchor. The heel side was inspired at times, but there was a lot of sloppiness/uneven flow in this one that’s holding me back from really ranking it top thirty or so. Even the big crowd seemed down on this one at key moments near the end. The finish was a good idea, but it didn’t feel like it was built to properly, and it got no reaction for the title change. 3 stars and 5.8/10

80s wrestling icon Jake the Snake makes his debut on our World Class Diaries journey, facing the man who is about to form a Dynamic Duo with Gino Hernandez.

Sometime in August of 1984 Chris Adams made the decision to use Gary Hart as his advisor. He did not make a heel turn yet, but said he trusted Hart with his career. Hart, in an interview with Mercer between he and Adams, gave no indication that he would be leading Adams down a diabolical path. That eventually leads us to this match. This is a “Beat the Television Champion” Challenge. The purse is $1500 dollars. One fall, fifteen minute time limit. Adams, the former champ, is with advisor Gary Hart. Jake the Snake Roberts is the TV Champ.

I’ve always loved the way Jake carried himself with this “I don’t care, except when you’re not looking” vibe. Adams goes right to the headlock, but Jake manages to turn those into pin attempts, then pulls at Adams’ face. Jake runs the ropes, gets hiptossed, but avoids a teased superkick. Hart can be heard barking out orders as Adams advances on Jake. Jake works a long hammerlock, taking Adams to his knees before Adams reverses. Jake works a great knee lift, then points to Hart before punching Adams in the ribs. Five minutes gone.

Jake takes Adams down by the hair and out scrambles Adams to stay in control. Jake is taunting Hart. This is a very simple match based on short bursts and subtle holds. They do standing switches until Adams pops Jake with one elbow, and Jake goes down hard. Great little detail work. They aren’t being lazy with the holds and you can see the chess match and the struggle. Adams works a sleeper on Jake, and Jake makes holds up his arm on the third drop. He gets his leg on the rope and rolls to the floor. Great woozy selling from Jake as he resets. Jake’s still not well when he gets back in, and Adams bursts at him with bodyslams and punches. Jake rolls away from a senton and the crowd gets loud as they crawl around on their knees. They’ve done so little, and yet it feels appropriate for them to be selling a lot here. Less is more. Jake’s selling is great. Pay attention to this one: Jake pulls something from his tights and hits Adams. He throws it away as the ref checks to see what it was. Hart gives Adams some sort of choker, and Adams attacks Jake with it. In a scramble Adams is stronger, and they work it that way. Jake starts to lose as they announce ten minutes gone, five remaining.

Adams shoves ref Bronco Lubich, who then doesn’t see Jake back body drop Adams over the top rope to the floor (which would be a DQ). I love how this is escalating. Hart helps Adams back into the ring. Jake with a suplex and an entertaining nonchalant cover. Hart puts Adams foot on the ropes. Jake continues to throw measured uppercuts, and then a short arm closeline. Gary Hart distracts from the easy pin, Jake tosses Adams over the ropes on the other side so he can go after Hart, but Adams lands on his feet and come right back In the ring. Adams hits a perfect superkick as Jake turns back towards him, makes the cover, and Adams wins the TV championship in 12:40.

This is a great little match. The mid games being played by Hart and Jake builds throughout the match. The chess match going on in the simplicity of the moves that built the match, and how it all escalated from the nine minute mark until the end, was appropriate and told a good story. Adams seemed more inspired with the added dimension of the heel advisor on his side. There’s just a ton of great little detail work in here, and the work itself was tight enough, and more so pretty psychologically sound, that this is a reasonably intelligent match while at the same time being a simple match. The two using foreign objects back-to-back was great. The last minute and the pop at the end for the title change made every other decision they made pop out. Great match. 3 ½ stars and 7.1/10

This is a match I’ve never heard legend of, including the feud itself, and I’m surprised by that. The crowd is so passionate before the match can even start, waiting for an unhappy Dark Journey to get into the cage that will be suspended over the ring, that you begin to get involved in the match without really having a context for it. This is an example of pro wrestling doing entertainment right without using so-called entertainment as a blanket statement to be a low brow poorly written skit comedy show.

The stips here remind me of the Duggan-Dibiase feud and I’m left wondering where the build up to this match was on the extras disk. Anyone knowing the TV build up in the months leading up to this match please inform me in the comments section below. The match is for the North American title as well as either the TV title or one half of a tag title. I’m not sure because it’s hard to hear. The DDT is now legal (would love to know why it wasn’t), there is no DQ or time limit, and “there must be a winner”. I can see how this would be a hot ticket around Houston. Dark Journey finally gets in her cage and Jake essentially threatens to force sex on her afterwards via the microphone. Oh, that poorly raised Jake. Tehe.

Jake presence and playing to the crowd in Houston is awesome. The Gerreros-Fabs feud in the same time frame was good, but this was a lot better as an overall package. Certain G Brothers vs Fabs matches were probably better though. But Jake gets them chanting DDT and cheering Dark Journey in the cage well before the bell. Now, can the match be as good as my nonsense makes the preamble seem?

Early stuff (over five minutes) is the face Roberts dominating and taking advantage of the lack of rules. Slater goes over the top, arm against the ring post, and everything else. All the work is concentrated on Slater’s arm and vicious. It plays well and has purpose. Even with reversals Jake comes back hard the way a fed up babyface should. Great shots of Dark Journey so far above the ring to put everything into perspective too. The crowd is even super hot for rest holds, and at least Jake looks around to milk it.

Good spot where Slater almost gets a pile driver but Jake stalls it and back body drops him. Slater does get the advantage on the outside though, put Jake into the ring post. Slater’s heat on Jake is based around damaging the right shoulder, originally hit by the post. Another great spot was Jake getting his right damaged arm tied up in the ropes, which was played to perfection by both men. Slater even gets a chair and clobbers the arm 3 times from the outside. Crowd goes NUTS! Jake sells like crazy.

After ten minutes Jim Ross commentary kicks in, so this was probably a raw footage feed of the entire match and here is where it got picked up by TV. Jake still getting beat and takes another creative post shot. Loving the simplicity of this as they can and do pull off violence. They have now gotten heat on each other for about the same amount of time.

I love that when Jake tries to punch he hits Slater clean, but then crumbles form the pain of his shoulder’s movement. Someone needs to steal that presently. Slater does hit the piledriver and goes for the first pin I can remember. Two count. Very logical stuff. Slater stays on him.

Jake makes a comeback but still selling big, rubbing the arm and shaking it. Two boot shots (Jake took his boot off), but Slater reverses out of the DDT and hits a side Russian leg sweep. Then Dark Journey drops a chain down to Slater. I wish I could hear the crowd but it’s not mixed with the commentary. Damn. This is great.

Great teases and recovery! Slater gets clotheslined so he can’t use the chain. Jake tries to use it but gets back dropped to the floor (great recovery by Slater after a miscommunication). Ross points out here that Fergie is counting both men for no reason. He has been trying to officiate way too much in this match.

Slater goes up top and when Roberts slides in he’s hit with a hard elbow and pinned clean! Wow! Not expecting that. Big heel win gets Slater tons of heat and both the N.A. title and the TV title. They even threaten the people with arrest for throwing stuff at Slater. Thanks to Mid South for turning the crowd sound on again.

I think you can tell I loved this. It’s a top 20 match to me. High end for matches so far this year. Really makes for a very strong heel, which I tend to like. 4 stars and 8.2/10.

Match Discussion Here

I could have sworn the whole point of Match # 106: Terry Taylor vs Jake Roberts was to determine a number one contender for the North American Title, yet Taylor won and Jake is in the title match. What’s this all about?

This is no disqualification and Dark Journey is nowhere to be found at the start. Apparently Jake DDTed the young lady the week before, but he asks about her over the house mic anyway. Slater attacks straight out.

No detailed play-by-play reviews for a bit here. Trying new stuff. I liked that they took advantage and established the no DQ from the start w/ Slater choking Jake with the robe. The match layout seems to fit the story of Slater’s North American title run so far as well as the feud. By the way, the match IS for the title

Jake’s selling isn’t as pronounced in this match but it’s fine. I don’t need everyone to ham everything up, but Jake looks normal selling instead of above great, as he often can be. Just an observation.

Slater kills him with a big beatdown and heel stuff the fist seven minutes straight from the bell. Maybe one or two hope punches/kicks, which is a plus as Jake was great at desperation stuff. Stupid Tommy Gilbert interjects himself as the match escalates with Slater using wrist tape to choke Jake. Just as good are Slater’s punches, and his right fist being taped fits the match well.

Gilbert allows Jake to have a great emotional comeback by killing Slater with his boot. So that’s okay because he’s a face? At least Gilbert wasn’t threatening either with a DQ. Jake really connected to the Houston crowds, which is why I’d imagine this run was so effective with Slater as the main nemesis. Builds to a DDT tease, which Jake highlights well always. Slater’s reversal and suplex elevate the tease and the match. Also a great false finish where Jake gets his boot on the rope.

Jake comeback a second time lands the DDT. Jake is bloody by the way, which doesn’t add quite as much as I’d hoped. Jake wins clean with the DDT in around ten minutes. I’m not sure if this was a Dusty finish later on, but apparently that was it and Jake leaves immediately with the title.

Match was really getting good (and was already very entertaining), but that finishing sequence and clean pin was so quit it cut off the enjoyment too soon. Still, a good match and a fun feud. 3 ¼ stars and 6.6/10.

Match Discussion Here

Is Jake a heel here or is this face vs face? It’s a TV taping, so we should get commentary background. It’s being pushed as a # 1 contender’s match for the North American Title. That seems fair given the participants. Taylor gets a mix of cheers and boos. Roberts gets more cheers. Jim Ross and Joel Watts on commentary.

The story on commentary is a year ago Jake (I believe as a heel) DDTed Taylor on a steel chair. Early on Taylor gives some nice arm drags and Jake does his best to put the exclamation point on them with his looks from his knees.

It is face vs face, but it’s being worked in the ring like Taylor is the face. Fans disagree.

Jake goes for the DDT and Taylor scoots away. Crowd starts a DDT chant. We’ve got a minor HHH-Cena circa ’06-’08 situation on our hands. Makes for a cool atmosphere. Taylor seems like he’s really trying, and Jake always looks like he’s very skilled but it’s a walk through.

Taylor with the offense. Works on the left arm. solid though uninspired so far, which is funny because the crowd has a genuine emotional battle on their hands. Flair can go at this pace and make it flow. Several others too. This just seems like it’s a bit sleepy first gear stuff from to great wrestlers.
Jake with a short arm clothesline. He grabs his left elbow to sell the damage done. Points to you, sir.

JR tries to put the heat on N.A. Champ Dick Slater and valet Dark Journey for the match. Joel Watts says Jake is getting cheered, “but he’s also a scoundrel”. Did people in Louisiana actually say scoundrel in 1986?

Jake chose to go with a grounded rest hold. Not the best time. Taylors comeback out of it – a vicious back breaker – was the perfect answer a minute later. He misses the elbow and they both sell.
They go back and forth, and so it not only picks up, but the fans get more emotionally involved with the reversals. Good stuff ending with a powerful DDT on Taylor. He sells it dead. Jake rolls him over and pins, but at 2 Tommy Gilbert realizes Taylor’s foot has been under the ropes and out of the ring. Ross shines here on commentary pointing out Jake rolled him the wrong way. Jake thinks he’s won though. Crowd not happy. Match continues.

Now we’re in third gear, moving well. Jake goes for the knee lift and misses. Jake grabs him and gets cradled for the three count. Taylor wins.

Match could have benefited from some false finishes towards the end or more of a beating from a frustrated Jake, but at the same time they went to the finish at a peak, and it made sense. It got heat, so maybe booking wise it’s not what they wanted, but it wasn’t go-away heat on Taylor.

Everything worked well, but wasn’t overwhelming, and it wasn’t booked to be a classic. Just a neat solid match. 3 stars and 6.4/10.

Match Discussion Here

Masked Superstar is a pre-Demolition Bill Eadie. He’s not very intimidating in that shirt though. Thankfully for me his partner is the great Dick Murdoch! Sawyer and Perez are very good smaller faces that never made it, but are very good.

Starts out with all four throwing hands intensely. Heels powder out and we even get chairs sent in the ring. Flying ones, you see.

Murdoch starts out and makes it fun early with the way he sells punches and being knocked silly. Eadie works well for the short time he’s in and the quick tag out. Jim Ross on commentary points out how good Murdoch is when on the offensive. Hot tag to Brett Sawyer and the man is small. I mean tiny. But Then what do I know, cause he’s not to small never to Murdoch.

Masked Superstar misses a running splah in the corner. Faces get the hot tap. Perez runs wild and Murdoch kills the faces with a chair when they pin Masked Superstar, and it’s a DQ finish.

This is a solid but average match, as pretty much this entire disk has been. Nothing blows you away, but not much is hated. I don’t have much else to say on this one. Murdoch made the match for me. 2 ¼ and 4/10.

Match Discussion Here

Match # 101: Dick Slater vs. Jake Roberts (1/24/86)

Slater has on the worst robe ever. Jake is your face here. I haven’t mentioned this in any of the reviews, but Jake doesn’t have a snake in any of these matches. Also, Duggan doesn’t have a board. Slater does have a North American title though, which he owns, and a Dark Journey. The person, not the prefer path of seemingly every wrestler.

Dick Slater earlier this week was given the greatest compliment of being called “a poor man’s Terry Funk” by a DVDVR board member. He also comes out after every opening bell with a gyration that can only be described as the chicken dance. It’s goofy as hell, but so were Funk and Tracy Smothers.
This is a personality clash I like. Slater is great when he’s cocky, and he knows how to move and bump to maximize its effect. Jake slams him early, then wins a gut kicking contest. Jake’s kick to the gut is really good, which is an odd move to be really good at.

Jake tries several times for the DDT early, and they pause an appropriate amount of time to not only get over the move attempted, but that it would have been trouble for Slater. Effective arm submission early, though most might find it run-of-the-mill. Jake is very aware of not only the fans but Dark Journey at ringside, which makes her relevant here more than in the other matches.

Slater gets out of the hold but Jake atomic drops him so hard he bumps over the top rope. Slater wants a DQ, which is funny. Chase ensues and ends with a knee lift. No DDT attempt as Slater is out again. That’s the first 5 minutes: Jake dominates, slater sells and shows fear, and Jake wants the DDT. I like the match story.

Slater gets the advantage via the old Flair spot where the ref won’t let Jake punch, so Slater takes a shot at him. He does the headlock and sneak a punch spot, which I enjoy. Slater also kicks Jake hard off the apron at one point. Good bump. Slater gets heat doing a boxer-punch routine and then pinning Jake using the ropes for leverage.

The progression of hope spots for Jake have good movement and great heel moves to cut the come back off. Slater can’t seem to keep him pinned though he tries.

The announcing is horrible by the way. Where’s Paul Boesch?

Slater’s sleeper on Jake never fully builds up the crowd, but its smart work, leading Jake to sit out into a jawbreaker. Punches and then a DDT attempt. Slater turns it into an awesome overhead suplex and sells afterwards. He makes up for his awkwardness with a strange presence and pacing. He knows when to sell appropriately.

Slater gets knux from Journey, bumps the ref out of position, and goes to him Jake. Jake blocks, DDT, and pin. NEW North American Title holder!

Nope. The Ref called for the DQ. Watts really helped make Tommy Gilbert look like more of an ass than he was in big Mid South matches. Gilbert counted 1-2- and stopped as he was about to go three. It’s brilliant live and for the time, as the fans explode. Problem is Gilbert should have never counted anything if he called for the bell on a DQ (Slater DQed for the brass knux). NA title doesn’t change hands and Jake wins but doesn’t get the belt. I like the finish for the crazy reaction and then let down, but it is a bit odd.

Match was very smart and well worked. I felt it told a simple yet effective story and had some creativity to it which the audience bought into. I can’t say it set new standard, and it could have been more than it was, but it was better than other Slater matches. 3 ½ and 6.8/10.

Match Discussion Here

Dick Slater and Dark Journey are mid-ring with Jim Ross. He’s interviewing the two because it’s the finals of the TV tournament. But more importantly, Slater is the new North American Champion. He beat Butch Reed. Slater says he wants both the N.A. title and the TV title, even if Mid South says he can’t hold both. If that’s true then why did they let you come out for the match, sir? You goose!

Slater starts hot and heavy attacking Jake and chopping him on the outside. Slater moves as gracefully as William Regal. He tries for the cover early but Jake’s foot is on the ropes. Of course subsequent pinfall attempts involve tights-holdng. Beautiful neck breaker by Slater as Jake tries a comeback.

Jake with a back body drop off a Slater back body drop attempt, but Jake is a pro so he sells. He lets Slater cut him off and THEN gets an atomic drop a minute later. Jake looks thinner and in shape here too. Fans want the DDT. All his punches, the knee lift, and kicks out of the corner have A LOT of purpose. Jake goes after the interfering Dark Journey and Slater goes back on offense.

Jake hits a DDT out of nowhere minute later and wins the TV title clean in the middle. God, they still have that silly medal. That was about a five minute sprint, but it did tell a story and everything was well defined. Fun stuff. 2 ½ and 5/10.
Match Discussion Here

Match # 99: Dick Slater vs. Butch Reed (1/1/86)

So the last match Slater had won the title from Butch Reed, but here Reed has the ugly belt. It says it all happened the same day, so perhaps these are air dates. Either way Reed is your champion and all around good guy here. Slater has valet Dark Journey and a gravel voice.

Slater and Reed are both in the ring. Jim Ross is interviewing Slater. Dark Journey, for those who care, actually looks hot here. Nice tight red top and mini skirt. I’m usually not much for her one way or the other. Slater complains he’s always putting up something to get at Reed, and this time its Dark Journey for 30 days. Ross somewhat admonishes him. Apparently the title isn’t on the line now, but Reed agrees to put it up and stupid ol’ Grizzley Smith agrees. So it’s the North American title vs Dark Journey for 30 days. Slater gets booed big time. Reed shows some charisma (he signals Dark Journey will be shining his shoes, so he’s a pretty progressive black man, huh?).

Dick Slater is awesome. He bumps around for hip tosses and big power slams and then yells and holds his back as he runs to the outside. Still taking the old sell approach to punches to the face and the third is a slow fall, but I’ll live. Watts on commentary does mention the Jake match “next week”, so this and Match #98 are out of order.

Butch Reed and Duggan are the same reason # 231: Watts constantly says both are “Walking Tall” because he’s obsessed with his Cowboy nonsense. So says the Northeasterner that I am, living near Philly and NYC.

Slater drops a desperate elbow off the ropes and takes over. He puts together some good stuff, and I like the way it seems he’s working hard to contain a fire in Reed. As if Reed could dominate him even half dead, so he won’t give him that inch even on the ground. Slater goes for the spinning toe hold and Reed kicks him off. Both take their time so the crowd goes nuts. Reed quick to the punch gains control. Two moves later Reed kills Slater with a pile driver. Slater sells it to perfection. Reed continues to go at him, but hams it up a bit for the crowd. Watts puts over that it’s a receipt for Flair and Slater going after Butch Reed’s neck in the fall. This match just pumped a half a star.

Reed does a shoulder block that knocks him back a bit, and then he sells too. That’s what I hate about Reed and some wrestling lay out of the time. Reed’s BIG MOVE is the shoulder block missile, yet a regular one against a smaller man (hence why you do the shoulder block) hurts him too at times. I find it stupid. That said, once they are both down they can milk the count and crowd to a fevered pitch, which I imagine was the goal. Its how they went about it I take issue with.

Slater with the cradle pin and Reed reverses for a two. Atomic drop on Reed and another double ten count. Great timing calls on both. Slater goes for the figure four and it’s on. HOT crowd. Reed reverses the pressure. They sell it brilliant as they both try to stand on weaker knees. Slater tries to run the ropes but his knee is bad, so he misses Reed and Reed rolls him up off the ropes. A roll through and it’s Slater on top. Again, this is why I hate Reed. He’s holding the tights next to the ropes while HE’S pinned! Why are you helping him with leverage and also not grabbing the rope to break the count.
It’s all made worse by the fact Slater is suppose to be the ne grabbing the tights, but that wasn’t my focus as a fan. Slater gets the three.

I’m about to kill someone but the ref says no fall. Slater is already outside with Dark Journey. Thank you. It can’t end like that, not as a fan, but for the sake of my ballot.

Back inside Reed meets Slater with fists. He goes for the “spear” shoulder, but misses Slater and hits the turnbuckle. Slater pins but is pressed off by Reed. Slater lands on the ref with a knee, which Watts says was intentional (it was supposed to be, but Reed pressing him right there was too obvious a co-op.) Slater gets Dark Journey’s shoe and smashes Reed for the pin and a lot of crowd boos.

Up and down match for me that was awesome at times, and very frustrating at others. Overall I liked it and the finish was very skin of your teeth Flair-esque to me, which I liked. 3 ½ and 7.3/10.

Match Discussion Here

Things really move when you watch sets with cherry-picked matches. Jake was in a big singles/tag team mess with Dibiase and Dr. Death Steve Williams just a few matches back. Then he had his big babyface World Title shot at Ric Flair, which was really a backdrop for Butch Reed’s title quest. Now Jake isn’t just in a feud with Lord Humungous, it’s a big cage match/possible blow off. That was quick.

Humungous is a heel played by a guy named Jeff Van Kamp. I have no idea is the man himself is horrible, but the character dresses like Demolition in the Mad Max sense and wears a hockey mask like Jason, and walks like him too. Basically the character is straight out of the Memphis Monster factory; Goofy as hell.

Jake is brilliant, as he comes out with a Jason mask (Friday the 13th character) like Lord Hum wears. Humongous is pissed. He holds his arms out like a childs book monster and stomps/slaps the ropes. See, he’s dumb, but he destroys. I got it. Jake outsmarts him twice and the fans chant DDT. Headbutt from Humungous, but it’s mask on mask. Jake doesn’t point to his head like he’s smart, but knee lifts instead. Oh, Oliver Humperdink is the manager/mouthpiece of the Lord. Cool cool.

Boesch’s commentary is comedy this time around. He doesn’t know it though.

Humongous sucks, slow and lumbering, but Jake works around him well on offense.

Yikes. Jake misses a move, takes a big bump, and gets his hockey mask removed. Fans react vocally. Hope he can carry this selling.

Jake busted open right away, gets grated against the cage a lot. Nothing going on but the fans chant for Jake, so they aren’t lost. Real slow stuff now. Even the stomps from Hum suck. Maybe he can’t see well out of the mask. At least he can do the leg drop with the accuracy of Hogan. He also poses to the crowd every few minutes, and it’s silly.

5 minutes in Jake gets put in the sleeper-like “Cobra hold”. Jake struggles for a hope spot, and little by little makes a passionate comeback. Jake could really tell a story.

Full comeback. Jake with the DDT. Lord Hum sells it by adjusting the mask right before the pin.

All-right. 1-2- huge press kick out. Undertaker-like sit up. The Lord kicked out of the big move and is no-selling. Works for a monster, but even then he’s terrible with his movement. Jake’s screwed now as he’s caught in the ropes again. Didn’t anyone notice Jake got his arms caught up a bit too much in the ropes? He’s choked and punched in an average way. The Nightmare is unmasked apparently, and in a stable (Humperdink) with Lord Humungous. He tosses him a chair. The monster grabs it but Jake kicks the belly. Jake gets free, big DDT, and the pin. Crowd goes crazy. Post match exchange between Jake and The Nightmare. Not much to it. Seven minute cage match.

Dud. Jake tries to carry it but it wasn’t much. Audience liked it, but there’s a huge amount on this set way better. 2 stars and 3/10.

Match Discussion Here

Reason number 457 to love this set – unique match-ups you would never have seen growing up in the Northeast. Perhaps these two crossed pathes during Flair’s WWF run, but I don’t remember it off the top of my head if they did. This is an excellent chance to see a well defined Flair heel champ character work with an early Jake babyface character, and both character’s are well defined. In fact, both haved the work and psychology down pat. Can’t wait.

Awesome beginning to the match story. Flair comes up to stare down and psych out Jake. He teases Jake for wearing a shirt, and it gets ugly fast. Pushing and shoving leads Jakes to grab and DDT the World Champ! Jake’s got him beat, the crowd goes crazy, but the belt hasn’t rung. The ref won’t ring the bell, and Jake realizes he can’t pin Flair, who is selling face down in the middle for a minute. Fans chant “DDT”. Jake is screaming “ring the bell”. Fans realize the problem and now they give heat. Jake plays this so perfectly. Cool start.

Flair rolls to the floor and grabs the belt. Took him a bit but he’s come to and he’s leaving. Ref has to order him back. Jake mic work gets crowd hot, but to maximize all this they have to do a count. Flair actually walks back in from the locker room. This whole story killed about 7 minutes in a very main event way.

Bell rings and it’s crazy atmosphere. People are hooked and so am I. Ya think they played this like Flair was over matched early? Shocking, I know. Very entertaining classic Flair stuff. Loses a lock up, stares in anger. Throws Jake to the outside, but Jake pops back in. Flair then begs off. He did the hammer lock with the hair pull when he’s losing to ground Jake. He even does a Flair flop.

Jake works a front face lock early, but unlike the other opponents who have on this Flair run in Mid South, it actually makes SENSE. See, Jake would work that because he keeps teasing the DDT, but Flair goes to his knees to block it. Hence, your already in the hold.

Flair gains an advantage 7-8 minutes in and works the mid section. His swagger and chops are on tonight. He really only hasn’t been 100% for maybe 1 or 2 matches on the set, andeven then it seems more like him being very good, but unable on that given night to carry Butch Reed (my Super Dome match opinion) or Von Erich.

Flair slows it down with a sleeper and some pin attempts. Very cool block of Flair signature knee drop by Roberts, who holds on and turns it into the Fig Four. Flair tasting his own medicine gets the crowd going again. Rope break by Jake completely takes it to him. Desperation pin with feet on the ropes is done well. Upsets fans. Jake uses open hand palm chops and Flair bumps around. Roberts connects well with the fans, which I don’t remember as much in terms of in ring babyface charisma.

Flair uses a sweet knee breaker to get an offensive streak 14 minutes in, but the great stuff is a minute later as Jake hulks up off being chopped, they do some reversals, and Jake grabs Flair in a sleeper. Flair sells for a time before he pulls off a suplex and they both get a count. Great stuff.
Jake with a good looking running knee connects after he sends Flair off the top rope (Flair’s top rope bump). He signals and fans yell for the DDT. Running knee again at Flair misses and he hits the turn buckles. Flair goes right for the figure four, gets rolled up, but moves into the top position on that pin. Flair wins.

Jake complains of tights being pulled and feet on the rope. Butch Reed is out to deal with Flair since he’s the one getting the run, so Jake is out and Flair bumps for Reed. Still not selling the neck even with a brace on, huh Butch?

This match may get lost in Flair burn out, especially with their being a Flair formula and everyone having been inundated with Flair as “the greatest” for years. There may be some mental backlash even if people love Flair for those reasons, or because he wasn’t permanent Mid South, or they have other M.S. workers they think better of. I understand the burn out, as I feel the same way about the great Rock N Roll Express team. Thing is, at 18 minutes officially and probably 25 with the pre-match stuff, this was a unique different spin on the Flair formula with a babyface I personally got into a lot more than Butch Reed or Kerry Von Erich. I’m not gonna over rate it, but I’d have loved to see this early in the set before the bigger Flair matches. Just another night at the office for the greatest of all time (I believe he is, for the record). 3 ¼ and 7/10.

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