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NWA Saturday Night 1-13-90

Broadcast on January 13, 1990 from Center Stage in Atlanta

Hosted by Jim Ross and Kevin Sullivan

JR and Sullivan run down the latest happenings as Arn Anderson won the TV title over The Great Muta on Friday Night’s Power Hour and the next PPV has been announced as Wrestlewar 1990 on February 25 and Sting has been awarded the title shot. Sullivan says Lex Luger will be after Sting and wouldn’t be surprised if Sting didn’t make it to the PPV. The Rock & Roll Express return tonight and Ric Flair will be Jim Cornette’s guest on “The Louisville Slugger”.



Sting vs. Bob Cook

Sullivan says there would be NO problems if Flair and Sting were to go head-to-head at Wrestlewar because it would stay in the family. Yeah. Sting beats up Cook and sends him to the floor. Cook trips on the rope on his way back in the ring. Standing dropkick and Sting goes for the Scorpion but Cook fights it off so Sting goes to work on the leg like his Horseman buddy Ric Flair. He goes for the Scorpion again and Cook blocks it as they are clearing killing time to fill this segment. Sullivan and Ross are talking about the potential conflict between Flair and Sting as this PPV date gets closer. It’s kind of interesting because they know, like we do, that Cook isn’t a threat so they are putting over a not-yet-developed storyline. I like that. After a fairly length headlock sequence it’s Stinger splash and the Scorpion to end things.

They go back to the Main Event when Norman the Lunatic gave Woman a special portrait and it looks like a child drew it. So she slaps him and he takes offense to it and beats up Woman’s clown bodyguard Nitron until Kevin Sullivan comes in to defend the honor of his wife. As odd as this sounds Norman is quite over with this crowd.

Back to the ring.

Paul Drake & Agent Steel  vs. Doom

Drake actually looks pretty in shape for a jobber on these broadcasts. Doom is still in masks and managed by Woman at this point. It’s pretty easy to tell which one is Simmons and even JR mentions that it’s not exactly a big secret who the members of Doom are -- sort of a hint that they are going to lose their match against the Steiners at the upcoming Clash, which would turn out to be the best thing for the team. Simmons and Steel compare masks for a second so Simmons extends a hand and then clothesline the shit out of him. Reed in and he kicks Steel in the face a lot before hitting a flying lariat. Steel tags in Drake who gets his ass kicked too as Reed catapults him into the buckle and hits a bulldog. Second rope variation of the Hart Attack finishes this. And then Reed LAUNCHES Steel over the top rope. Damn that was a hands free bump Steel took.

Back to the Ring.

The State Patrol vs. The Rock & Roll Express

When you look at how ridiculously deep the NWA’s tag division was at the point of this taping and over the past 4-5 years you wonder how did the Rock & Roll Express hold those titles FOUR times. And Road Warriors only held them once I believe. Not saying the Express weren't good, they were but four-time champions?

Morton and Wright start off and Morton wins a rope sequence and adds a kneelift. Tag to Gibson and the Express do corner shoulder blocks. Wright tags out but Gibson escapes the heel’s corner. Another rope sequence and Gibson elevates Parker. Rock & Roll do some cool double teaming on both guys. Double elbow/fist combo to Parker and then a drop toe/flying elbow combo on Wright. Gibson and Parker in the ring now and Gibson with a body slam. Tag to Morton and he slams Parker and adds a knee drop. The Patrol try to corner Morton but he too escapes. Even in a preliminary match there’s some cool psychology as the Patrol try hard to corner both guys and the faces keep countering.

Finally the sneaky heel tricks work and the Patrol add a double shoulder on Morton. Parker in with a gut wrench suplex for two. Tag to Wright who gives Morton and suplex and a diving headbutt for two. Snapmare and rolling neck snap by Wright before tagging Parker, who gives Morton an elbow drop for two. Morton catches Parker barreling in the corner on a blind charge. But Parker baits Gibson and that allows the heels to execute the battering ram. Powerslam by Wright gets two but he sets too early on an Irish whip and Morton escapes to make the hot tag. Things get out of hand as the Express give the Patrol a double atomic drop and a double dropkick on Parker gets the pin. Great old school stuff here and if they had 15 minutes this could have easily reached four stars.

(Rock & Roll Express def. State Patrol, pinfall, ***)

It should be noted the commercials weren’t edited out of this episode’s upload so I’m seeing that awesome Soloflex add from yesteryear.

Ric Flair appears on The Louisville Slugger and Cornette accuses Flair of asking for favors with the NWA to get the Sting the title shot over Luger. Flair says Sting deserves the shot for winning Starrcade but Luger deserves a shot too. Cornette says Sting is Flair’s friend and won’t hurt him but Flair says the title will bring out the competitor in anyone. And now Woman comes to the ring to begin here courtship. Nancy was cute here but she climbed into the sexy zone around 1995-1996 when she was a Horseman. In this segment Woman just sort of puts it all out there and Flair is impressed because you know he loves the ladies but he has to separate business from pleasure and she is a little too much of a distraction for the Horsemen right now. Woman says she wants to rule the wrestling world in 1990 and to do that you have to own the Horsemen. All righty.

More commercials. SEGA Genesis is NEW! And it features Altered Beast and Hang On and Golden Axe and Space Harrier 2 and Tommy Lasorda Baseball and….man that lineup was hurting until the Sonic series began and the sports lineup from Electronic Arts got going.

Back to the ring.

Brody Chase vs. Ranger Ross

Wow I thought Ross was gone by the last quarter of 1989. Oh well. Ross does some stuff as Sullivan and Ross continue to talk about Flair vs. Sting and how Luger fits in there. Ross mentions that the date of the
PPV, February 25th is Flair’s birthday. Ross works on the arm for a bit as the crowd, who is hot for everyone, clearly decided to take a piss here.  Chase looks like a cross between Bobby Eaton and Bobby Fulton but really fat. Ross is just milking his seven minute segment for all its worth, doing near falls and all. Chase tries to rally but he looks blown up to all hell. Combat kick ends this. Ross was technically fine but boring as hell.

Sting does a solo promo and talks about winning the Future Shock tournament and being a Horseman and wrestling Flair and they have talked it over and there will be no hard feelings. God you really want to smack this guy for being such a sucker.

Back to the ring.

Rick Fargo vs. “Dr. Death” Steve Williams.

Fargo jumps on Williams and tosses him to the floor but Williams hops back in and nails him with a clothesline. Doc goes for the press slam and but Fargo didn’t time it so he gets a belly to belly suplex instead. NOW Williams gets the press slam. Regular vertical suplex by Williams and a body slam and a nice running drop kick. Doc goes up top and hits a high cross body! Oklahoma stampede ends things. I’m really surprised Vince didn’t want a piece of Williams in 1990. Guy had all the tools.

Lex Luger claims a conspiracy for giving Mr. Popular a title shot over the true No. 1 contender. But they don’t want to see Lex as a champion but it doesn’t matter who the world champion is because eventually it will be the total package. He truly was in a zone here as a heel.

And to the ring.

Pat Rose vs. Lex Luger.

Luger is, of course, crazy over despite doing his best to be hated. Rose actually gets the upper hand early by working on his arm but Luger escapes and then falls victim to an armdrag. Crowd starts chanting for Sting and angering Luger so he takes it out on Rose but misses a blind charge and gets rolled up on two. Rose with an armdrag but Luger comes back with a powerslam and the human torture rack ends it quickly.

Flyin’ Brian and Z-Man tell the Freebirds that they are coming for ya!

Back to the ring.

The Italian Stallion & Randy Harris vs. Flyin’ Brian & Z-Man

Awww look, Pillman and Zenk are matching now. Pillman catches Stallion in a grapevine for a quick two count and follows with a hiptoss and an armdrag. Double team by the faces gets a two count. Zenk gets a two with a reverse cross body and then hits a drop kick from the second rope. Harris gets tagged in and Zenk rocks him with a leg lariat. Tag to Pillman and a super dropkick from him and then a flying elbow. Harris takes control and tags Stallion but Pillman rams him in the buckle and hits a top rope axe handle. Tag to Zenk and a double elbow. Double dropkick and double suplex on Harris sets up a slingshot splash for three.

We got back to the events that led to the Lee Scott-Cactus Jack challenge

Lee Scott vs. Cactus Jack Manson

Scott SPRINTS across the ring and jumps all over Foley. Irish whip to the corner and Scott with a corner elbow. Spinning elbow from Scott and a flying shoulder but Jack ducks the high cross body attempt. Jack hits baseball slide and rams Scott into the security railing. Jack rakes his face and hits a tight clothesline for a two count. Jack sends Scott out to the floor again. Scott tries to get back in the ring but Jack gives him a hangman. Back in the ring Jack sends Scott to the corner and charges in with a knee. Jack with a legdrop to the lower abdomen. Scott gets a small package for two and a drop kick but Jack sends him to the floor again. Jack follows him out and hits a clothesline off the ring apron. Jack rolls Scott back in the ring and gets the pin. Jack isn’t done as he tosses Scott to the floor and hits the Cactus elbow. Fun stuff to see Foley transitioning from a jobber into a mid-carder.

(Cactus Jack def. Scott, pinfall, **)

After some commercials (CNN World Report feature will be the future of radio in Europe now that the cold war is over) we’re back to the ring.

Hacksaw Higgins vs. Arn Anderson

JR informs us that Cactus kept beating up Scott during the break and the referee overturned the decision. BOO! Anderson works his way around the bigger Higgins with some wrestling and of course he works on the arm. Higgins corners Anderson and pounds away but Anderson back with a knee lift and goes stomping away until Higgins takes a powder. Back in the ring and Higgins continues to use his weight advantage to overpower Anderson and gets a Randy Orton special on him to kill time. He holds it for a long time until Anderson fights out and gets the DDT for the win.

The Horsemen talk about the future match and everyone’s happy because the title will stay in the family. Sting knows that the guy across the ring from him is a great competitor but after the match will be his friend again. God he’s a moron.

Back to the ring.

Ricky Nelson vs. Michael P.S. Hayes

Hayes, of course, will do anything to stall so we get the full complimentary of shimmies and moonwalks he can muster up. Nelson gets an armdrag off the collar and elbow tie up. Hayes comes back with a side headlock but Nelson goes back to the arm. Hayes turns up the pressure with a few chops and sends Nelson to the floor where he roughs him up there for a bit. Back in the ring Nelson hits a dropkick but misses a clothesline and gets floored with a left hand. Rear chinlock by Hayes for a second but he hits Nelson with a corner clothesline and the DDT ends things.

And we go to another match.

Sean Regal & Gene Liggett vs. The Midnight Express.

I love how the Midnights are heels but totally suck up the face heat. They were such a unique team. Popular in spite of everything they tried to do to be hated. Lane and Liggett start out as Cornette joins Ross and Sullivan at the broadcast booth. In the ring Lane finds some trouble with Liggett and gets into a confrontation with the referee. Lane bounces back and tags Eaton, who gets slammed. Hmmm, well they have a nine minute segment to fill as Cornette badmouths the Dynamic Dudes. Liggett and Eaton do a nice little sequence and Liggett with a monkey flip and a dropkick but Eaton comes back with a flying clothesline. Tag to Lane and a snapmare assists Liggett to make the tag to Regal. Lane begins to take control and hits a power slam. Eaton chokes out Regal using the cable that connects the turnbuckle…even their chokes are different! Eaton tosses Regal to the floor and Lane hits him with a savate kick to the face and Eaton with a bulldog to the floor. Back in the ring and a tag to Lane, who continues the assault on Regal. Lane with a slam and the Express do their elevated ledgrop combo and the double flapjack ends it.

Finally commercials are edited out. A little late.

Rick Ryder & Larry Santo vs. The New Skyscrapers.

Spivey and Callous take turns abusing poor Ryder before letting him tag to Santo and Callous does the rope walk flying elbow to end the match after about 90 seconds.

JR and Sullivan close out the show.

Bottom Line: Two hours worth of story line development with an excellent RnR/State Patrol tag match in there makes this an easy winner.

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