-12/16/90
-From St. Louis, MO
-Hosts are JR & Paul E.
-JR mentions that there are 14 matches on the card, so I'm expecting a lot of rushing, especially in the tournament.
-Gary Michael Chappetta announces that the show is being aired over the Armed Forces Network, and asks that everyone stand for an instrumental version of the national anthem, which was already almost half-way done when he finished his announcement.
-Every match has a "stat card" that pops up on screen and JR reads off it. I like little touches like that.
-Match 1: Bobby Eaton VS The Z-Man
-Eaton still has the Midnight Express music. Zenk is on a 35 match win streak. JR announces that due to injuries suffered in a "limousine incident", Ric Flair is pulling out of the tag team title street fight, to be replaced by Barry Windham. Fast start as Zenk hits his springboard cross body for two. Zenk locks in a hammerlock, but Eaton punches his way out of it. Zenk lands on his feet off a monkey flip, and hits a couple dropkicks for two. Zenk gets knocked to the runway, but comes back, and ends up hitting a dive over the ropes onto Eaton on the outside.
Back in, Eaton scores with a back elbow and a bulldog to a big pop. Eaton hits the Alabama Jam to an even bigger pop, but does not go for the pin. Eaton misses...something in the corner. Zenk starts showing off...to no reaction. Eaton leaps off the top, right into a superkick. Not nearly as good as Benjamin/Michaels. Zenk misses a senton off the top, and Eaton rolls him up for the pin to another big pop. Good opener, and it's funny to see the crowd turn on Z-Man because fuck Zenk.
-Match 2 Pat O'Connor Memorial Tag Team Tournament Round 1: Col. Deklerk & Sgt. Krueger (Africa, 8th Seed) VS The Steiner Brothers (USA, 1st Seed)
-Good entrance music for the "South Africans". Steiners come out to the national anthem. Man, in shape Ted Petty is unrecognizable. Krueger shockingly gets the jump on Rick, until he eats a clothesline. Deklerk hits a spinning heel kick. Deklerk goes for a dive, and Rick just lets him drop. I'm sure that felt great. Scott finishes quickly with the Frankensteiner, although I'm not sure the ref actually counted to three before Scott rolled off the cover.
-Match 3 Pat O'Connor Memorial Tag Team Tournament Round 1: Norman Smiley & Chris Adams (Great Britain, 5th Seed) VS Rey Mysterio & Konan (Mexico, 4th Seed)
-Mysterio is Rey Sr., and the last name is spelled "Mysteric" on both the entrance graphic and the pre-match "stat card". Goofy spot with the Mexicans holding Smiley in headstand position leads to the Brits hitting stereo dropkicks. Adams hits a sweet superkick to send Konan outside. Konan does some high-flying. Smiley hits a fisherman's suplex, which Konan kicks out of immediately. There are some awkward moments until the Brits take over with basic tag wrestling. Konan hits Smiley with an inverted suplex, and pins him with a bridging cradle. Mysterio (now being called "Mysterioso") dives onto Adams after the pin, and appears to hurt himself. They tried, but the crowd didn't know how to respond to any of this.
-Match 4 Pat O'Connor Memorial Tag Team Tournament Round 1: The Royal Family [Rip Morgan & Jack "Jacko" Victory] (New Zealand, 7th Seed) VS Mr. Saito & The Great Muta (Japan, 2nd Seed)
-Crowd is happy to see Muta, and doesn't react to anything that doesn't involve him. Royal Family work Saito over. Muta gets in, and hits a swank handspring elbow on Victory. Miscommunication allows Muta to pin Victory with a German suplex. Crowd wanted more Muta than they got, and so did I.
-Match 5 Pat O'Connor Memorial Tag Team Tournament Round 1: Bull Johnson & Troy Montour (Canada, 6th Seed) VS Victor Zangiev & Salmon Hasimikov (U.S.S.R. 3rd Seed)
-Zangiev & Johnson do some mat wrestling that might get a reaction in RoH, but nothing here. Zangiev grabs a waistlock, and dumps Johnson right on his face. Crowd grows restless. Hasimikov takes Montour down with an overhead belly-to-belly throw, then holds him down as the ref, after a brief pause, counts three. What the fuck was that?
-Match 6: Terry Taylor VS Michael Wallstreet (w/Alexandra York)
-Wallstreet & York predict a win in 8:32 or less, so a clock ticks down during the match. Taylor jumps Wallstreet before Wallstreet can take his suit off. Taylor controls the first couple minutes, hitting a clothesline for two. Wallstreet controls with an armbar for a bit. Wallstreet misses an elbow, but connects with a big clothesline. Legdrop gets two for Wallstreet. Taylor comes back with a flying forearm for two, but Wallstreet hits a hot shot and Stock Market Crash for the win. Your average Rotunda match.
-Match 7: Big Cat & Motor City Madman VS The Skyscrapers
-Skyscrapers win in a really quick squash. Spivey has to help Sid hit Madman with a powerbomb for the win.
-Match 8: Ricky Morton & Tommy Rich (w/Robert Gibson) VS The Fabulous Freebirds (w/Little Richard Marley)
-Gibson is still on crutches. Morton actually dominates the first few minutes. Hayes gets nailed by Gibson. Heyman's laugh when JR asserts that no one is low enough to attack a man on crutches is awesome. Morton & Rich lock in stereo figure 4s. Match quickly breaks down. Freebirds send Marley up top, but Gibson smacks Marley with a crutch, causing him to crash into Garvin. Garvin chokes Marley, so Morton school boys him for the pin. Freebirds destroy Marley after the match. Babyfaces run them off, so they drop Gibson with a double clothesline.
-Match 9 Pat O'Connor Memorial Tag Team Tournament Semi-Finals: Rey Mysterio & Konan VS The Steiner Brothers
-Everyone finally figures out how to say "Mysterio". Steiners quickly demolish Konan with the Doomsday bulldog, but do not go for the pin. Mysterio tries a hurricarana on Rick, who counters with a powerbomb for the pin. That's about it.
-Match 10 Pat O'Connor Memorial Tag Team Tournament Semi-Finals: Victor Zangiev & Salmon Hasimikov VS Mr. Saito & The Great Muta
-Zangiev almost pins Muta with a belly-to-back suplex with a bridge. Muta saves Saito from a Boston Crab. Hasimikov gets a nice suplex on Muta, but Saito finishes Zangiev with a suplex short after that. Next!
-Match 11 for the United States Championship: Stan Hansen [c] VS Lex Luger [Texas Lariat Match]
-This is a bullrope match, where the winner has to touch all four corners. Match almost immediately spills outside, where Hansen cracks Luger across the back with a chair. Back in, Luger hits a big clothesline and drops for the cover. Hansen cuts Luger off when he tries to touch his third turnbuckle, and hits a sloppy belly-to-back suplex. Hansen tries to drag Luger by the neck. Hansen tries to hand Luger. Hansen makes it to three corners, but gets cut off before he can make it to the 4th. Match goes back outside, and Luger rams Hansen into the ring post. Back in, Luger ties Hansen's hands together, and drags him across the ring. Luger crashes into the fourth corner, as Randy Anderson stupidly stands between Luger and the corner he needed to touch, so Anderson doesn't see Luger win the match.
Nick Patrick rushes out to ref the match. Hansen starts touching corners, and the crowd is PISSED. Hansen floors Luger with a lariat, and touches his fourth corner. Randy Anderson comes to as Patrick is about to award the match to Hansen, and motions that he DID see Luger touch the fourth corner, thus Luger wins the match and the title. Crowd loves that. Pretty good brawl. I even liked the Dusty Finish in this spot.
-Match 12 for the World Tag Team Championship: Doom [c] (w/Teddy Long) VS Arn Anderson & Barry Windham [Street Fight]
-Match immediately spills outside. Reed cracks Windham into the ring post, busting him open. AA whips Reed with a leather strap. Horsemen double team Simmons in the ring. AA hits a loud chair shot on Reed. Windham hits a less impressive chair shot on Simmons, who is bleeding. Simmons whips Windham into a Reed chair shot, and a Simmons' spine buster gets two. Reed hits AA with a flying shoulder block from the top. Windham DDTs Reed. Simmons blocks a AA chair shot, and hits AA for two.
Reed hits Windham with a piledriver. Simmons catches a flying AA with a clothesline. As Simmons pins AA, Windham rolls Reed up, and there's a double pin. The fight continues on the runway. JR figures out that the match is a draw due to the double pin, but no announcement is made.
-Match 13 Match 10 Pat O'Connor Memorial Tag Team Tournament Finals: Mr. Saito & The Great Muta VS The Steiner Brothers
-There's a Japanese ref, not Dick the Bruiser, who will be reffing the main event instead. Muta hits some nice kicks on Scott. Rick drops Saito with a dropkick. Muta threatens to dive onto the Steiners, so Rick shakes the ropes, and Muta gets crotched. Crowd gets into it with a loud "USA" chant. Muta hits the handspring elbow. Scott fucks up an Irish Whip, spinning into the corner, but comes back with a belly-to-belly suplex on Muta. Collision puts both Rick and Saito down. Muta gets in, and hits a powerdrive elbow on Rick. Outside, Saito rams Rick into the post.
Muta grabs the ring bell, and cracks Rick with it. Rick is face in peril for a couple minutes. Scott gets the hot tag, and hits a Tiger Driver on Muta for two. Saito hits a high angle suplex on Scott. The Japanese hit Scott with a spike piledriver, and Muta lays Rick out with a kick. Rick makes a blind tag while Saito has Scott in a sleeper, and comes off the top with a sunset flip on Saito for the pin, as Scott holds Muta back. Obviously the best match of the tournament, as the crowd cared about 3 of the 4 wrestlers in it. Finish was slick.
-Steiners are awarded a giant trophy by Jim Herd. Steiners wish the troops well.
-Match 14 for the World Heavyweight Championship: Sting [c] VS The Black Scorpion [Cage Match]
-Dick the Bruiser comes out to ref, and Paul compares him to Popeye. Four Scorpions come out to ringside, before a flying...something comes down, and a voice over announces that the other Scorpions were only messengers, and this one is the true Black Scorpion. Scorpion controls Sting with basic offense. Scorpion figure 4s his legs around Sting's head. Scorpion goes for the pin and puts his feet on the ropes, but Bruiser won't count. Scorpion keeps control of the match. Scorpion starts throwing punches, and they look very familiar.
Sting finally goes on offense with a military press slam, but misses a cross body, sending himself into the cage. Sting lands some punches, but the Scorpion goes to the eyes, and launches Sting into the cage. Scorpion hits a piledriver for two. Sting comes back with a Stinger Splash and the Scorpion Deathlock. Sting gets one mask off, but of course there is another underneath.
Scorpion tries to escape and sends Sting down, but Sting stumbles into the ropes, crotching the Scorpion. Sting lawn darts the Scorpion into the cage. Sting finally finishes with a cross body from the top. Well that match sucked.
-The other Scorpions hit the ring, but Dick helps Sting unmask them and fight them off. Windham and AA rush out to beat on Sting. The real Scorpion hits some weak-ass chairshots, and the way he uses the chair should have clued in anyone who hadn't figured out who the Scorpion was yet. Sting gets some help from Zenk, Morton, Taylor, and The Steiners, who open the cage door with bolt cutters. Sting finally rips the mask off the reveal Ric Flair, who quickly runs away as the show ends.
-FINAL THOUGHTS: This show was destroyed by bad ideas. The tag team tournament killed the crowd and completely disrupted any kind of flow the show could have built. The Black Scorpion angle could have been saved a little bit with a decent reveal and a good match, but we got neither.
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