-7/23/89
-From the Baltimore Arena in Baltimore, MD
-Hosts are Jim Ross & Bob Caudle
-Match 1: $50,000 "Triple Crown" Battle Royale: Kevin Sullivan VS Mike Rotunda VS Rick Steiner VS Scott Steiner VS Brian Pillman VS Eddie Gilbert VS Terry Gordy VS Sid Vicious VS Dan Spivey VS Scott Hall VS Bill Irwin VS Ranger Ross VS Ron Simmons VS Steve Williams
-This is the finals of the "King of the Hill" battle royale series that took place during the Bash tour. It's two rings, and everyone starts out in ring one. Only way to be eliminated from ring one is to be thrown over the top into ring two. Last man standing wins ring one. Once a man is in ring two, he fights whomever else is in there under regular battle royale rules. Last man standing in ring two faces off against the winner of ring one in a regular match. Got it?
-Ross is the first man eliminated from ring 1. Simmons follows soon after. Ross is able to eliminate Simmons as Hall joins him in ring two. Gordy joins ring 2, so Hall & Ross double-team him until Irwin joins ring 2. Ring 2 quickly fills up. Spivey spikes Ross with a powerbomb. Sid & Pillman are the last two men in ring 1. Ring 2 quickly empties as Sid and Pillman continue to fight it out. Sid wins ring 1, and does his "I'm the man" pose to celebrate. Pillman is quickly dumped from ring 2. Williams, Rotunda, and Spivey are the final three in ring 2. Williams gets rid of Rotunda as Spivey stands around and watches. Williams works Spivey over, but can't get him out. Rotunda trips Williams up, distracting him. This allows Spivey to clothesline Williams over and out.
-The Skyscrapers' (Sid & Spivey) manager Teddy Long gets in the ring, says he's not going to be stupid and let his tag team tear each other apart. He announces that they will split the prize money instead. So we don't get to see if Sid's life was going to fade in Danny Spivey's hands. This was a battle royale, so you know what to expect. Relatively quick.
-Match 2: Brian Pillman VS Bill Irwin
-Match is clipped to Irwin clotheslining Pillman out over the top. Pillman comes back with a couple dropkicks, a clothesline, and a big splash for two. Pillman misses a missile dropkick, but does get a crossbody from the top of ring 2 into ring 1 for the pin. Clipped too much to make a judgement on it.
-Match 3: The Skyscrapers (w/Teddy Long) VS The Dynamic Dudes
-I don't like the Dudes' chances. Match is clipped to Sid dropping Shane, then posing and getting a huge pop for it. Sid applies a back claw. Don't think I've seen that before. Crowd boos Spivey as he's tagged in, then chant "We Want Sid!". Spivey misses a diving headbutt. Shane makes the tag to Vince's new right hand man. He takes Spivey down, but Sid breaks up the pin by kicking him in the face. Skyscrapers accidentally clothesline each other. Shane gets dropped on his head by Sid, and Spivey follows up with a really shitty and dangerous looking powerbomb for the pin. Needed more Sid.
-Match 4: Tuxedo Match: James E. Cornette VS Paul E. Dangerously
-Cornette punches Paul in the mouth, so Paul responds by throwing powder in his face. Match is not-so-subtly clipped to Paul working Cornette over. Paul looks like a sleazy villain from about 100 different 80's movies. Cornette gets tired of this shit and FIRES UP. Caudle sounds a little too excited at the prospect of seeing Paul stripped. Paul tries the powder for a second time, but Cornette kicks it in his face before pulling his pants off for the win. About as good and as heated as you will ever see a tuxedo match be.
-Match 5: Texas Tornado Match: The Steiner Brothers (w/Missy Hyatte & Rick's Dog) VS Mike Rotunda & Kevin Sullivan
-Match immediately breaks down. Rick no-sells a chairshot from Sullivan before delivering one of his own. Sullivan crotches Rick on the guardrail. Scott & Rotunda go back-and-forth while Rick & Sullivan continue the fight on the outside. Rick & Sullivan fight with the timekeeper's table. Scott is sent over the top, as Rick & Sullivan get in the ring. The Steiners quickly take over, and get a couple near-falls. Rick is sent back outside by Sullivan. Varsity Club get their own near-falls. Sullivan takes a shitty bump off a Rick clothesline. Sullivan tries to slam Rick, but Scott comes off the top, and they both pin Sullivan. Pretty wild brawl. Appears to be in full.
-Match 6: NWA Television Championship: Sting [c] (w/Eddie Gilbert) VS The Great Muta (w/Gary Hart)
-Muta has a giant gong for his entrance. Muta has such a presence about him. Sting goes after Muta to start, but makes the mistake of turning his attention to Hart, allowing Muta to take the advantage. Muta tries to finish quickly with the moonsault. Sting moves, but Muta lands on his feet. Sting no-sells one kick, but takes another. Muta hits a dive to the outside onto Sting. Lots of Muta fans in the house. Sting comes back with a flying clothesline. Sting goes out over the top, but it looks like Muta is out of position to catch him on a dive, so Sting lands on his feet and chops Muta. Back in the ring, Muta gets a sleeper. Sting fights out with a Gorilla Press, but misses an elbow drop. Sting avoids the handspring elbow and comes back. Muta bails to slow the momentum. Muta tries to red mist Sting, but gets Nick Patrick instead. Muta avoids the Stinger Splash. Muta gets the moonsault. Tommy Young rushes in, but Sting kicks out at two. Sting gets a belly-to-back suplex for the pin. Really good. HUGE pop for Sting's win. Hart grabs the belt and hands it to Muta. They take off. The crowd chants "bullshit", perhaps thinking the title was changing hands. Sting is not happy that his belt is gone.
-Match 7: NWA United States Championship: Lex Luger [c] VS Ricky Steamboat (w/Bonnie, Little Ricky, and a Kimodo Dragon)
-Steamboat is carried out on a wooden plank. Announcers state that Luger is refusing to wrestle if the match is no-DQ, as it is supposed to be. Luger gets on the mic and confirms this. Steamboat, not really having a choice, agrees. Steamboat blitzes Luger right off the bat, getting a couple near-falls and working him over on the outside. Luger manages to turn the tide, and starts working over Steamboat's back. Nice sequence as Steamboat gets a schoolboy for two, so Luger nails three running clotheslines, with Steamboat popping right up after each one, before swinging wildly at nothing and falling back down. Steamboat manages to come back after sending Luger to the outside. Luger tries going up, but gets slammed down. Steamboat gets a big chop from the top for two. Luger grabs a chair, but Steamboat flips out instead, wearing Luger out with the chair and pushing Tommy Young down to draw the DQ. Steamboat chases after Luger all the way down the aisle, swinging the chair like a madman. Nice to see pissed-off Steamboat for once. Really good match, finish made Luger look really smart.
-Match 8: War Games: The Fabulous Freebirds (Michael Hayes, Jimmy Garvin, & Terry Gordy) & The Samoan Swat Team VS The Road Warriors, The Midnight Express, & Steve Williams
-Eaton & Garvin start it out. They go back-and-forth. Garvin mashes Eaton into the cage while Hayes taunts him. Eaton locks in a Boston Crab as Terry Gordy enters the match. This naturally leads to Eaton getting double-teamed. Williams enters to even the odds. Williams focuses on Gordy. Samu enters to help Gordy while Garvin pulls on Eaton's face. Animal gets in to kick ass and chew bubblegum...and he's all out of bubblegum. Animal charges across one ring to send himself into the other with a shoulderblock on Samu. On the outside, Hayes orders Fatu to "KILL KILL KILL". Fatu gets in, but doesn't do any killing. Crowd deflates a little bit as Lane enters, as it looked like they were expecting Hawk. Hayes does not want any part of this. Hayes gets in, quickly lays out three of the other team members with DDTs, then struts before taunting Hawk. Hawk gets in the start "The Match Beyond".
-Total chaos as everyone gathers in one ring. Paul E. tries to break the cage open to get his phone in there. Garvin breaks up a Dommsday Device on Gordy, so he takes the flying clothesline instead. Hawk hits a couple neckbreakers, then puts Garvin in a hangman's submission for the win. GREAT match. The winners go to leave, but when it's only Animal inside, the heels keep the door closed and lay waste to Animal. Hawk finally gets in, and the heels scatter.
-Match 9: NWA World Heavyweight Championship: Ric Flair [c] VS Terry Funk (w/Gary Hart)
-Anyone know what Funk's entrance music is? It's AWESOME, and the lighting effects make his entrance even better. Flair gets the golden showers for his entrance. Match starts with Flair pounding on Funk on the outside. Funk tries to get the guardrail to bring it into the ring. Back in, Funk lands some big chops, but Flair responds with some STIFF AS HELL chops of his own. Back outside, Funk sends Flair into the ringpost to turn the tide. Suplex takes them both outside, where they exchange chops again before they both go to the eyes, which Funks wins. Back in, Funk goes for a piledriver, but Flair backdrops him over the top and out. Flair starts going to work on Funk's neck. Flair gets a piledriver, then another, taking time to pose a little bit with the second one before falling back. Funk can't take anymore and bails, but Flair follows him out, and throws him back in.
After working on the neck, Flair locks in the Figure 4. Hart distracts the ref, allowing Funk to nail Flair with a branding iron to break the hold. Flair is busted wide open off that. Funk gets a piledrive, but Flair's foot is under the bottom rope. Funk moves some mats back and tries for a piledriver on the floor, but Flair counters. Funk comes back and continues to work on Flair's neck. Funk yells at Flair to submit. Flair gets a hold of the branding iron and nails Funk. That busts Funk open. Flair rams Funk's face into the ringpost before bringing him back in.
Flair misses a charge in the corner. Funk tries the spinning toe hold. Flair gets a rollup, Funk reverses, then Flair reverses again for the pin to retain. Excellent match that felt like a hate-filled FIGHT rather than your average wrestling match.
-The Great Muta comes out to spew green mist at Flair. He and Funk work Flair over while the crowd chants for Sting. Doug Dillinger is useful for once, stopping an attempt to spike piledrive Flair on a wooden chair. Sting finally makes his way out to even the odds, and the babyfaces clear the ring. Flair poses with the belt, but someone launches a chair at him, prompting the fight to continue down the aisleway, until the heels are chased off for good.
-FINAL THOUGHTS: Wow, a great show that deserves the reputation as one of, if not the, greatest PPV event ever. Nothing that was shown in full is worse than good, with the last four matches being really good ---> really great. The crowd is absolutely MOLTEN throughout, which helps out tremendously. Highly recommended show if you have never seen it.
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