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NWA Saturday Night 1-27-1990

Broadcast on January 27, 1990
Taped from Von Braun Civic Center in Huntsville, Alabama

JR and Solie talk about a huge show with Cactus Jack and “Dr. Death” Steve WilliamsArn Anderson defends the TV title against Eddie Gilbert and an 8-man tag with the Rock & Roll ExpressDynamic Dudes vs. The Freebirds and Midnight Express.

Let’s go to the ring.



The State Patrol vs. The Steiner Brothers.

Doom cuts a promo as the Steiners get to the ring. Yeah it’s Ron Simmons basically saying…yeah you know who we are but we’re defending our right to wear masks! Can’t argue with such logic.

Scott and Lt. James Earl Wright begin things. Scott with an armdrag and Wright complains about a hair pull. Of course he’s bald. Scott with a fireman’s carry takeover and Wright complains about the tights being pulled and the ref humors him. Wright takes control briefly and is caught trying a leapfrog and Scott gets a fallaway slam. Wright tags in Parker and Scott gives him a tilt-a-whirl slam and tags in Rick. Parker gets a couple shots on Rick but Rick retaliates with a clothesline and tosses Parker to the floor. Scott sends Parker into the railing and Rick beats up Wright. Back in the ring and a tag to Scott with the Franksteiner and the easy three count. They gave the Patrol nothing.

Back to the ring.

Lee Scott vs. Kevin Sullivan.

Poor Scott...Sullivan takes him and stomps on his back before tossing him to the floor. Running kick to the head. Ross says Scott is one of his favorites while Solie says (in so many words) that the best way for Scott to learn is to get the shit kicked out of him. Sullivan batters Scott and sends him to the floor again, smashing his head into the railing and sending him into the ring post. Cactus Jack Manson has come to ringside and he’s reading a book. Meanwhile Sullivan slams Scott on the floor and Sullivan tosses him in the ring and rips him with a clothesline from the middle rope. Sullivan ties Scott in the tree of woe and hits him with a couple running knees. Double stomp ends this slaughter. Sullivan made his stuff look like it really hurt.

NWA Live Events! Temple, Texas on Feb. 8, Beaumont, Texas on Feb. 7! Clash of Champions X from Corpus Christi! JR returns to his home state on Feb. 3 as the NWA is in Oklahoma City! Savannah Ga. On Jan 29 and TONIGHT in Charleston, South Carolina!

Back in the ring.

Galaxian #2 vs. Ranger Ross.

Jim Cornette comes out to the broadcast area to cut a promo as Ross and Galaxian botch a rope sequence. Cornette talks about the U.S. Tag Team tournament and correctly tells Solie that the Express gave up their U.S. title reign the last time because they were the World tag champions. Galaxian goes for a suplex but Ross counters and hits the combat kick for three.

Hmmm JR goes to a recent taping of NWA Main Event where Cactus Jack took on Dr. Death. I thought it was scheduled for this show but whatever. I guess they were using Main Event matches that didn't make the broadcast on Saturday Night while they were away from Center Stage.

Cactus Jack Manson vs. “Dr. Death” Steve Williams.

Manson attacks Williams as he is removing his ring jack and stuns him with a clothesline. A second clothesline doesn’t get Williams off his feet but a third sends him to the floor. Jack sends Williams into the railing and the ring steps but Williams whips Cactus up and over the railing in a crazy bump. Williams suplexes Jack on the floor. Cactus makes his way back to the ring as Ross wonders if he feels pain. Headbutt by Williams and a Orton special as Ross puts over Jack as a tough competitor. Jack, playing the heel in peril, fights out of the chinlock but Williams ducks a clothesline and gives Jack a fallaway slam to the floor! Ouch. Jack tries to get back in the ring but Williams dropkicks him back to the floor. Back in the ring and a ridiculous lariat damn near takes Foley’s head off and gets a two count. Back to the chin lock. Jack slyly escapes the move and counters into a hammerlock. Cactus drops a knee on Williams’ shoulder and Jack tries a chinlock of his own but Williams quickly fights his way to a vertical base and gives Cactus a jawbreaker. Cactus comes back with a headbutt that Williams no sells. Spinebuster slam by Dr. Death and a two count. Williams with a shoulder lock as the match has went from a brawl to a scientific affair.

Jack gets to his feet as Dr. Death changes the move to a full nelson. Foley backs him into a corner and tries to get some shots. Williams with a corner whip but he eats a boot on the charge and stumbles to the outside where Jack hits him with a clothesline from the apron. Jack tries the same move twice and Williams catches him and press slams him on the floor. Jack tries to get in the ring and Williams hits him with a baseball slide (!!). Back in the ring and Jack misses a corner clothesline and Williams gets the Oklahoma stampede for the three count. Great match!

(Williams def. Cactus Jack, pinfall, ***1/2)

We’re back as Buzz Sawyer and J-Tex cut a crazy promo. Actually Sawyer is the only one that talks which is probably a good thing since I can't translate Japanese.

We see highlights of the Power Hour six man between Flair/Sting/AA vs. J-Tex as NWA doesn’t care about giving away the Main Event of the Clash a week and a half before the actual event. Looks like they have devoted a full segment to this clip so let’s review it.

Sting, Ric Flair and Arn Anderson vs. Buzz Sawyer, The Great Muta and The Dragonmaster.

We pick this up early in the match as Sawyer misses an elbow and Sting grabs his arm and tags in Flair. They shove each other and Sawyer tries to match Flair chop for chop but that’s a mistake. Tag to Dragonmaster and Flair drops him with a right hand. Snapmare and the CLASSIC knee drop follow. Tag to Anderson and he drops a elbow on Dragonmaster’s knee and then drops six knees on the Dragonmaster’s leg. Spinning toehold by Anderson and a tag to Sting, who tries for the Scorpion but Sawyer saves. Tag to Muta and Flair and Muta hits a spinning back kick but Flair with a back suplex and a figure four but Dragonmaster makes the save. Flair ends up in the wrong corner and Sawyer whips Flair over the ringpost and to the floor. Muta and Dragonmaster abuse the champ on the floor but Flair goes to the eyes and Anderson pounds on Sawyer. Flair gets run into the steel railing and Anderson goes over for help. As the ref gets Anderson the Japanese contingent send Flair into the post and roll him back in the ring. Dragonmaster pulls Flair into his corner and tags Sawyer. Big powerslam from Sawyer gets two. Flair tries for a small package for two. Tag to Muta and he takes Flair down with a single leg. Muta gets Flair in the corner and hits the handspring elbow. Tag to Dragonmaster and he whips Flair into the corner but he flips and nails Sawyer and Muta before making the hot tag to Sting. Dropkicks for everyone. Stinger splash for Sawyer and the Scorpion but Muta hits Sting with the mist and everyone is going crazy. The heels clean house and Sawyer hits the top rope body press on Sting before Flair and Anderson make the save.

(Horsemen def. Sawyer & J-Tex, disqualification, *** from what I saw)

JR is with Sting and they talk about the Horsemen parties and Sting also puts over his own lifestyle and
representing for the little Stingers. JR talks to Sting about the February 25th date and taking on Ric Flair. Thankfully Flair jumps into the picture and brings in Anderson and a nice entourage of ladies. Anderson drops some lyrical magic and tells Eddie Gilbert to bring it. JR asks Flair about Woman and as if her ears were burning there she is. Flair tells Woman she’s all that but he’s got to draw that line between business and pleasure. He’s ready for some pleasure right now and she’s about business. Woman tells Flair when he’s done with his girls there’s a Woman waiting for him.

Now that’s the type of crazy segments I loved about the old NWA. They tied a bunch of shit together in one five-minute package and nothing felt out of place.

Live NWA events! We’re in Dallas on Feb. 4, Springfield, Missouri on Feb. 2 and the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis on Feb. 1! I bet that was a fun show.

Back to the ring.

Robbie Idol vs. “Mean” Mark Callas.

I think it should be Callous but the graphic says Callas so that’s what I will use. Idol ducks a clothesline but Callas fucking destroys him with a running boot. Suplex and a suplex leg drop. He’s jumping especially high on his moves. Callas does lots of mean things and Long even joins in on the fun. Callas with a back suplex and a thumb to the throat. Super lariat from Callas and he walks the ropes and drops the big elbow for three. Watching early Undertaker is pretty cool because you could see the tools as clear as day.

The Road Warriors and Paul Ellering cut a promo on the Skyscrapers. Hawk says men build Skyscrapers and Road Warriors knock ‘em down.

Back to the ring for 8-man action.

The Fabulous Freebirds & Midnight Express vs. The Rock & Roll Express & Dynamic Dudes.

TAG TEAM HYSTERIA~! The crowd heat for this is already pretty impressive. Beautiful Bobby and Robert Gibson will start in a lock up they have done roughly 1,238 times before. Eaton backs Gibson on the ropes and clocks him with a right but Gibson retaliates. Eaton with a headlock and I notice there’s no Solie on this match call which makes me think it was a replay from the Main Event. Anyway Gibson with a hip toss on Eaton and a tag to Johnny Ace, who gets sent to the floor but takes Eaton with him via head scissors. Shane Douglas hits a suicide dive on Eaton before Cornette and Lane check on him. Lane enters the ring and Shane tags Morton. Here we go as Morton sends him to the floor and beats up on Michael Hayes, who finds himself in the wrong corner and gets beat up some more.

Hayes and Morton in the ring and Morton tags to Gibson. Double hamstring pull and a punch for the heels in the corner. Hayes roughs up Shane in the corner and sends him to the heel corner. Garvin tagged in and hits a kitchen sink knee. Douglas goes for a sunset flip next time around and gets two. Tag to Eaton, who gets hit with a high cross body for two. Douglas with a flying head scissors on Eaton and then dropkicks Eaton to the floor and adds three more for the rest of the heels. Lane and Morton in the ring now and Morton with a hip toss on Lane and Eaton and Garvin but Hayes holds up and Garvin comes from behind with a bulldog. The heels BRUTALIZE Morton for about 30 seconds and now Garvin in the ring with a hot shot on Morton. Eaton in the ring but Morton reverses a corner whip and charges only to get cause by a snake eyes. Hayes in the ring and he sends Morton to the floor where Cornette gives him the racket and then Lane chokes him out with the TV cable.  Finally the Dudes get him back in the ring where Morton gets powerslammed by Eaton. Tag to Lane and and his side Russian legsweep gets two. Lane distracts the ref and tosses Morton over the top where Hayes and Eaton double team him. Oh Ricky, you ARE the face in peril.

Morton continues to fight off three guys on the floor who are joyfully kicking his ass. Back in the ring and Morton with a sunset flip on Lane for two but Lane back with a clothesline. Corner whip by Lane but he misses the big move. Hayes in the ring but Morton pushes him off on the bulldog attempt. Hayes tags in Lane but Morton makes the hot tag on Douglas. Shane cleans house and adds a dropkick for Cornette. BONZO GONZO~! The Dudes hit a double elbow on Lane and a suplex/dropkick combo but the ref is distracted and Eaton hits the Alabama Jam and Eaton puts Lane’s arm on the unconscious Douglas for the three count. Yeah this was an awesome as it sounds.

(Freebirds/Midnight Express def. Rock & Roll Express/Dynamic Dudes, pinfall, ****)

Back to the ring and “live” action where Jim Cornette’s Louisville Slugger brings in Flyin’ Brian and The Z-Man. Pillman and Cornette rip on each other with all kinds of gay jokes (“I’m watching for your forehand and Z-Man is watching for your backhand because we heard you swing both ways.”). They continue just hurling insults against each other while Cornette tries to talk about the U.S. Tag Title Tournament and talk about a match with the Midnight Express. I hate that they didn’t devote an episode of Saturday Night to that tournament because I bet it would have been fun. The insults continues as the three of them are clearly doing this on the fly and having fun with it.

Back to the ring.

Hacksaw Higgins & Bob Cook vs. Flyin’ Brian & The Z-Man.

Zenk and Pillman work on Cook’s arm and Pillman adds a knee drop and Zenk hits a side kick that Cook takes a nasty fall from. That looked a little accidental there. More quick tags from the faces until Cook tags out to Higgins. Zenk and Pillman hit an awesome front kick/enziguri combination on Higgins that gets two. It’s cool to see how this team has gelled in the past 3-4 weeks. Zenk goes for a slam but Higgins reverses it and goes for a second one but Zenk hits a clothesline. Pillman back in the ring and and he hits some chops and a flying headbutt. Higgins tags to Cook but Pillman hits a flying mare. Double suplex and a slingshot splash finish this one off.

The commercial for Wrestlewar 1990 is really bad.

JR plugs the hotline 1-900-909-9900…Kids make sure to ask your parents first. Anyone ever call the hotline?

Larry Santo vs. The Samoan Savage.

If you are keeping track, Savage is The Tonga Kid or also known as Tama from the Islanders. He’s billed at 228 pounds but that’s clearly just his gigantic ass. He chokes a lot before hitting a pretty impressive springboard flying headbutt and dispatching of Santo in about 90 seconds.

Sting plugs Roos sneakers and I watch a commercial for Starburst’s “California Fruits”. I think the Strawberry/Watermelon one was pretty good.

Back to the ring.

World TV Title: “Hot Stuff” Eddie Gilbert vs. Arn Anderson.

They do a little handshake and they fight into the corner where Gilbert offers a clean break. Second collar and elbow and Anderson with a side headlock but Gilbert fights out and takes Anderson down with a overhand wrist lock and Anderson makes the ropes. Gilbert continues to counter Anderson but not follow up as JR speculates Anderson is collecting data. They fight over an armbar and Anderson with a single leg and drops a knee on the quad before Gilbert hits the ropes. Anderson waits until five to break and Gilbert objects so Anderson slaps him. Finally some action and Gilbert gives Anderson a facebuster and sends him to the mat. Gilbert sends Anderson into the turnbuckle but Anderson fights back and sends Gilbert to the floor. However, Gilbert is too quick and grabs AA’s leg, sending it into the post twice. Back in the ring and Gilbert with a spinning toe hold and then he steps over and goes down with it. Anderson fights out with a punch and backs Gilbert up to the corner. Gilbert reverses a corner whip but Anderson hits an inverted atomic drop.

Anderson continues the offensive with a snapmare and a series of stomps. Anderson sets early on an irish whip and Gilbert goes for a sunset flip but Anderson blocks it with a punch. Chinlock by Anderson. This eats up about a minute before Anderson goes for something on the ropes but Gilbert catches him with a clothesline. Hot shot from Gilbert but Anderson is on the ropes and Gilbert can’t get a count. Gilbert goes to the top and Anderson catches him coming off with the spinebuster and gets the three count.

(Anderson def. Gilbert, pinfall, **1/2).

JR and Solie recap all the action.

Bottom Line: Lots of great stuff on this episode. I think the show returns to Center Stage for the Clash go home show.

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