NWA (WCW) Power Hour (January 26, 1990)

 

Original Airdate: January 26, 1990 (taped January 15)

From Johnson City, Tennessee; Your Hosts are Jim Ross and Jim Cornette

Samoan Savage v Robbie Idol: Steve Williams split screens in here, and he’s twirling, twirling all the while. Savage with a pump-splash at 4:39. This was practically a sprint compared to most of these WCW squashes. DUD

WrestleWar ad

Gordon Solie is in the studio for Wrestling News Network. Most of the focus is on the Clash and WrestleWar, but he also notes the merger of Dallas (WCCW) and Memphis (CWA) into the USWA - while quickly noting that the real good stuff (WCW) will be in Memphis soon, so don’t worry if the local promotion sucks. I’m paraphrasing 

The Fabulous Freebirds v Ranger Ross and Italian Stallion: Cornette goes on a weird rant about how Ranger Ross shouldn’t be in the ring with the Freebirds because of the Confederacy… but from the perspective of Ross being on the wrong side of history. Yeah… I get that Jim is a heel, but… uh… maybe just don’t say every little thing that goes through your mind. He then tops himself, by noting that Stallion is a ‘meathead,’ you know, because he’s Italian. Meanwhile, Ross puts over the next TV taping in Atlanta, noting that ‘tickets are free,’ so just come on down. And meanwhile they were acting like they were so legit compared to the ‘joke’ WWF. You know, the guys about to put 67,000 people in a dome for their big supercard show. Michael Hayes with a DDT on Stallion at 6:07. ¼*

Terry Funk hosts Funk’s Grill, with guest Sting. Funk tries to warn Sting about trusting the Horsemen, but Sting thinks he’s just stirring things up

Six-Man Tag Team Match: Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, and Sting v Great Muta, Buzz Sawyer, and Dragon Master: The crowd is rabid here. Arn and Buzz start, and they posture. A criss cross is won by Anderson with a right hand, and then Sting just dives into the ring with a slingshot clothesline on Buzz for good measure. That draws all the heels in, but the Horsemen fight them off, and clean house. The dust settles on Sting and Buzz, and Buzz bodyslams him, but Sting responds by press-slamming him. That draws Muta in, but Sting press-drops him over the top, right onto his two partners on the outside. Again, the crowd is just losing their minds for everything here, and it’s great. The WWF had a better overall product, but WCW had some really passionate fans. The heels muscle Sting into their corner, but he fights off the triple team, and a criss cross with Muta ends in Sting delivering a monkey flip. Muta gets hammered by Flair and Anderson in their corner, and Sting passes to the Nature Boy. Ric backdrops Muta, so he passes to Master - who walks right into a backdrop as well. Tag to Arn, and he clobbers Master to block a backdrop. Tag to Buzz, and he manages to cross corner whip Arn, but a charge in misses. Arn wraps his arm around the post for good measure, and he passes to Sting to hold Sawyer in a wristlock. Buzz escapes, and delivers an elbowdrop, but a second one misses. That allows Sting to pass to Flair, and he throws chops, but Buzz responds, and we have a slugfest. Flair wins, but Master catches a tag, so Ric starts unloading on him instead. Flair with a kneedrop, and he passes to Arn, who goes to work on Master’s leg. Over to Sting for the Scorpion Deathlock, but Buzz breaks it up right away. That allows Muta to tag in, and he tries a backdrop on Flair, but gets blocked. Muta throws a spinkick, but Flair pops up, and side suplexes him. That allows Ric lock the figure four, but Master quickly breaks. That allows the heels to get control on Flair, and they work him over. Buzz with a powerslam for two, but Flair counters a suplex with a small package for two, so Muta comes in. Muta lands a handspring backelbow, but he fights Master off, and actually lands a flying tomahawk chop. Well, he was due. Hot tag to Sting, and Buzz takes the Stinger Splash. Scorpion, but Muta spits mist in his eyes for the DQ at 15:42. This was really fun, with lots of heat. ***

BUExperience: Fun episode of this week.