Goody Bag 85: Back to the Vault

 

NWA World Title Match: Ric Flair v Kerry Von Erich: From WCCW Parade of Champions in Irving Texas on May 6 1984, and the title can change hands on a DQ for this. They’ve got a huge crowd for this (reportedly over thirty thousand), but they didn’t bother scaling the stadium at all, so it looks significantly less impressive in the wide shots. They feel each other out to start, with Von Erich surprising the champion by not only hanging, but dominating. A criss cross allows Kerry a pair of dropkicks, and Ric begs off in the corner. Von Erich wins a test-of-strength into an armbar, so Flair throws shots, but Kerry hangs tough, and press-slams him. Flair bails, and manages to suckers Kerry as he comes back in. That allows Flair to go to town with chops, and he dumps his challenger to the outside. Kerry hustles back in with a slingshot sunset flip for two, so Flair goes to the eyes. Cross corner whip, but Von Erich reverses, and grabs a sleeper on the rebound. Flair side suplexes his way out of it, and both guys stagger up - Flair able to shoot first with a chop. That allows Ric a kneedrop, and a vertical suplex gets the champion two. Kerry fires back with a dropkick, and he works an abdominal stretch, but Flair manages a hiptoss to escape. Kerry stays on him with a few kneedrops, so Flair goes with a punch to the gut, and throws a knee. They criss cross, and Kerry grabs the clawhold! Flair fades, so he throws a desperate low blow to force a break. That allows the champ a snapmare, and he goes to the top, but gets slammed off before he can dive. Flair begs off, but Von Erich shows no mercy, and a cross corner whip flips Flair over the buckles. Ric throws a big chop to buy time for a snapmare, and he tries for the figure four, but Von Erich blocks. Ric tries again, blocked again. That leads to a reversal sequence, and Von Erich counters a hiptoss to a backslide at 10:43. This was decidedly okay, but not much beyond that. **

Ultimate Warrior and Kerry Von Erich v Mr. Perfect and Rick Rude: TV taping dark match from Providence Rhode Island on August 8 1990. Kerry starts with Perfect, and blitzes him. Cue major overselling from Perfect, left and right. Rude tries to help, but Warrior cuts him off, and the heels both end up on the outside. Back to Kerry and Perfect, and Perfect manages to power him into the corner for a chop, but a cross corner whip gets reversed, and Kerry clotheslines him on the rebound. Kerry with a bug punch for two, and a few turnbuckle smashes rattle him. Kerry grabs a wristlock, but Perfect fights it off in the corner, and tags Rude. Rude tries a backdrop, but Von Erich leapfrogs, and tags. Warrior hits Rude with an atomic drop right away, and he goes to town in the corner. A cross corner whip rattles the ring, and Warrior chucks him around a bit, before a facebuster. Warrior with a clothesline, and he passes to Kerry for a vertical suplex that gets one. Rude manages to shove Kerry into a shot from Perfect, and the heels gain control. They cut the ring in half, until Perfect accidentally hits Rude with a dropkick, and Warrior gets the hot tag! He runs wild on Perfect, and the jumping shoulderblock sets up a splash at 9:57. An entertaining dark match with the SummerSlam leads. In a different era, this would have been on the go-home RAW. *

Two-out-of-Three Falls Match: Sabu, Cactus Jack, and Psychosis v. Rey Mysterio Jr, Super Calo, and Winners: From a AAA event in Chicago Illinois on October 21 1995. Looking at this group, you’d never in a million years guess that there are two future world champions in the bunch. Let alone in the WWE. And, even more shockingly, that the smallest guy in this particular group would be one of them. Jack and Calo start, and Jack throws a clothesline to put a stop to Calo’s dancing. Jack hammers on him in the corner, and Sabu comes in for some abuse. Calo tries a flying bodypress, but Jack catches him in a backbreaker, though misses a 2nd rope elbowdrop. That allows Calo a trio of clotheslines to send Jack over the top, so Sabu attacks on the outside, as Psychosis blocks Calo’s partners from saving. Inside, the dust settles on Sabu and Winners, and Winners wins a criss cross. How about that. Winners with a gourdbuster to set up a flying fistdrop, but Sabu dodges, and hits a slingshot moonsault for two. Sabu with a scoop sitout brainbuster and he tags Psychosis for a dropkick, but it knocks Winners right into a tag to Rey. Rey snaps off a rana, so Psychosis tries dumping him over the top, but Rey lands on the apron, and sends Psychosis into the post. Sabu and Calo are next in, and Sabu bodyslams him to set up a slingshot legdrop, then a camel clutch, but Calo has the ropes. Calo puts him in a Mexican surfboard, but Jack gets the tag, and brutalizes him. Jack misses a charge, and goes flying out of the ring, so Calo dives at him. Winners then dives at Sabu, which leaves Rey to hit Psychosis with a springboard flying rana into a cradle at 5:45. This was fine for what it was, and interesting from a historical perspective… but hardly a hidden gem. *

WWF Title Ladder Match: Shawn Michaels v Goldust: From a WWF house show in Toronto Ontario Canada on August 24 1996. I've covered this twice before, and even recently, but the WWE Vault added an uncut version, so I want to give it one last, definitive, look. Goldust tries playing mind games to start, so Shawn tackles him down, and unloads mounted punches. Shawn dumps him over the top to dive at with a plancha, and he feeds Goldust the steps while they’re out there. Michaels with a flying axehandle on the way back in, but Goldust blocks, and adds a clothesline. That allows him to pound the champion, and another clothesline sets up a fistdrop. Goldust goes for the ladder, but Shawn attacks him with a chair as he’s dragging it down the aisle. Michaels tries a vertical suplex on the floor, but Goldust reverses it onto the announce table - Shawn landing with a ‘thud’ as the table doesn’t break. Inside, Goldust stays on the back with an axehandle, and he hammers Michaels in the corner. Goldust with a corner whip, and he tries for the Curtain Call on the rebound, but Michaels blocks. Superkick, but Goldust blocks, and they collide for a double knockout. Both guys stagger up, and Goldust slugs him. He tries for a bodyslam, but Shawn counters to a rollup, but Goldust blocks, and puts the boots to him. Goldust pulls one of the top turnbuckle pads off, and he ropeburns the champion before cross corner whipping him into it. Corner splash, but Shawn dodges, and Goldust hits the exposed steel himself. That allows Michaels to use a turnbuckle smash, but a cross corner whip gets reversed, and Shawn flips over the buckles, and rebounds into a right hand. Goldust uses a catapult to send Michaels over the top, and the challenger follows to feed him the steps out there. Goldust gets the ladder to ringside, so Shawn tries latching onto him, but Goldust decks him. Goldust decides to plank the ladder between the apron and the guardrail, and he drops the champion across it with a snake-eyes. Goldust rolls him in and drops the ladder across his back a few times, then leans it up in the corner to whip Shawn into. Goldust climbs, but Shawn throws a low blow to slow him down, and then slams him off. Goldust tries a vertical suplex, but Shawn shoves him into the ladder to block, and delivers a swinging neckbreaker. Michaels keeps coming with a piledriver, and he climbs, but Goldust tips the ladder over, and the champ takes a dramatic bump across the top rope. Goldust stays on him with a bulldog onto the ladder, and he dumps Michaels to the outside to give him a clear path up the ladder. Goldust nearly makes it, but Michaels dives with a flying axehandle to knock him off, and both men are left looking up at the lights. Shawn grabs a sleeper as they get vertical, but Goldust drops down with a jawbreaker to quickly shake it off. Goldust drops him across the top rope to knock Shawn silly, and he leans the ladder up in the corner again, but Shawn reverses the whip into it this time. That allows Michaels a bodyslam onto the ladder, and a jumping forearm finds the mark. Shawn slams the ladder across the challenger's back a few times, and a vertical suplex allows Shawn the time to climb the ladder for a flying splash! Shawn climbs, but Goldust is headed up the opposite end. They meet at the top for a slugfest, and Shawn is able to knock him off. He goes for the gold, but he’s battered, and Goldust is able to tip him - Michaels landing crotched across the top rope. That allows Goldust to climb, but Shawn tips him over - right into the exposed buckle from earlier! Shawn climbs, but Goldust cuts him off, and pulls him off the ladder into the Curtain Call - only for Michaels to counter with the superkick! That knocks Goldust out enough that the battered Michaels can slow climb at 22:40! Despite the additional six minutes or so, my opinion didn’t change. The clipped version didn’t fundamentally change the match. Either version is awesome, anyway. ****