NWA (JCP) World Championship Wrestling (November 23, 1985)

Original Airdate: November 23, 1985 (taped November 17)

From Atlanta, Georgia; Your Hosts are Tony Schiavone and David Crockett

Terry Taylor v Black Kat: Terry is the NWA National champion, but this is non-title. Taylor works the arm through some basic stuff, and you know, I really don’t get where all the nostalgia for this set comes from. It makes the WWF look like they were running stadiums in 1995 by comparison. But I guess that’s kind of how nostalgia works, it knows no rules. I mean, hell, I’m nostalgic for 1995 WWF, so I’m hardly one to talk. Taylor with a vertical superplex at 2:55. ¼*

We take a look back to some of NWA World Champion Ric Flair’s heelish actions of late, such as cheating to win in the six-man tag last week, and working with the Anderson’s to break Dusty Rhodes’ ankle in September. One of those is not quite on par with the other. David Crockett is terrible here, taking about two weeks to get a sentence out, and not getting this over at all. He sounds like a child

Dusty Rhodes cuts his go-home promo on Ric Flair for Starrcade. Nothing special here, but Dusty could cut a solid promo in his sleep

Don Kernodle v Don Turner: It's the Battle of the Don Dons! Maybe after, Baby Doll will dance atop the WTBS arena. Kernodle looks like he could be the third Anderson if they ever needed another guy. Money left on the table there. Kernodle with a flying clothesline at 1:09. Energetic and to the point. ¼*

Barbarian v Stoney Burke: Stoney attacks before the bell, but Barbarian quickly fights him off. Barbarian knocks him around, before dumping him to the outside for Paul Jones to abuse. Barbarian follows for a bodyslam on the floor, but Burke stupidly beats the count, and gets killed with the flying headbutt drop at 4:11. A little long, but energetic. ¼*

Ric Flair stops by the desk to give his go-home promo for the big show, and one fan in the building is really excited, yelling “yeah Ric,” or “you tell ‘em, Ric” after literally everything the champ says. “I took a shit today.” “You the man, Ric!”  

Superstar Billy Graham v Tony Zane: Graham’s entire general look here, but especially his wrestling gear is exactly - exactly - Hulk Hogan’s during his return to the WWE in 2002. It’s uncanny. It’s almost like someone was creating it using a create-a-wrestler feature in a videogame. Graham also looks ancient here, despite only being in his early 40s. Bearhug finishes Zane at 2:17. “The pythons are locked in,” note the announcers. Seriously, I knew Graham was a huge inspiration for Hogan (and Scott Steiner), but it’s incredible how much they straight up lifted from him without even trying to make it their own. DUD

Buddy Landel v Manny Fernandez: Both of these guys look as if they should only ever exist in the 1980s. Fernandez knocks him to the outside at the bell, so Buddy stalls. He tries pounding Fernandez into the corner as he comes back in, but Manny reverses a cross corner whip, and Buddy ends up on the outside again. “You can definitely say that the Raging Bull is raging,” note the announcers. There’s that in-depth analysis we all came here for. Back in, Fernandez continues to knock him around with ease, with Buddy taking stall breaks on the outside to break the momentum every few moves. Buddy manages to get some control with a few armdrags, and a bodyslam leaves Manny in an armbar. Buddy is feeling good and confident as he holds that one, but that quickly fades when Fernandez forces a criss cross, and takes him down with a drop-toehold. Fernandez works the leg. For a good, long while. Buddy finally fights him off by going for the eyes, and he capitalizes with some quick rights to bust Fernandez open. I’m pretty sure a light breeze would bust Manny open by the looks of his forehead, though. Buddy works a chinlock, but Manny manages a side suplex to escape. Landel stays on him with a ropechoke, and a headbutt gets him two. Back to the chinlock, but Fernandez escapes, and now it’s comeback time! 2nd rope kneedrop misses, however, allowing Buddy to slap on the figure four, but Fernandez reverses! It’s still so odd to me that they’d have two guys in the same promotion with the same look, gear, finisher, and nickname. Buddy reverses the hold back, but time expires at 15:38. This was competent, but dragged on for way too long. *

Taylor swings by the desk, ready to get ‘hot and heavy’ on his way to Starrcade. Hopefully Elaine has approved this promo

Flair is back, but sadly, this time his fanboy isn’t so enthusiastic. Ric just learned an important lesson in diminishing returns here

Black Bart v Rocky King: JJ Dillon sure managed a bunch of scrubs before falling into the Horsemen. Bart is such a dull, generic worker that I honestly forgot he’s not the same guy as Ron Bass. Bart with a 2nd rope legdrop at 4:26. This felt endless. DUD

Speaking of Ron Bass, here he is to clear up any confusion

The Road Warriors stop by the desk, and they’re sweating like they just got done working, despite not having a match tonight. Cocaine is a hell of a drug

Billy Jack Haynes v Jim Jeffers: Haynes is the first of the guys wrestling tonight that actually looks like a star as opposed to some truck driver in his underwear, which is probably why he ended up in the WWF not too long after this. Full-nelson finishes at 1:50. Afterwards, Billy Jack stops by the desk, and he’s ‘not trying to be a hotdog’ but wants everyone to watch him pose. Sure sounds like he’s being a hotdog to me. Stop being such a hotdog, Billy Jerk. DUD

Six-Man Tag Team Match: Ron Bass, Pez Whatley, and Italian Stallion v Carl Styles, Larry Clarke, and Kent Glover: Bass not only looks like Bart, but he’s a dead ringer for Manny Fernandez as well. The whole roster at this point just felt so incredibly generic, like those non-affiliated wrestling games you’d see in a Pizza Hut in the early 90s. Say what you will about the faults in Vince McMahon’s style of presenting professional wrestling, but when you turned on his show, his guys looked like stars. Pez with a headbutt at 3:01. DUD

NWA Junior Heavyweight Champion Denny Brown stops by to continue the generic streak. He hypes up the card for Starrcade, match by match, which seems like kind of a weird way to use his time. What an ugly title belt that is, too

Sam Houston v Golden Terror: Ric Flair sits in on commentary, since that diminishing returns lesson clearly didn’t stick earlier. Sam dominates, and delivers a bulldog, but Terror is in the ropes. They collide during a criss cross, leaving Sam on the apron, and Flair pounces, since Sam is a protege of Dusty Rhodes. So Ric suplexes Houston on the floor, and Terror picks up the countout win at 3:44. ¼*

BUExperience: This show was a total yawner, and didn’t really make me excited to see Starrcade. For all the talk about how guys from this territory and era were such incredible promos, most of them didn’t have much to actually say. One guy literally hyped up matches he wasn’t even in!