Lombardi's_kid_brother Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 (edited) Anyone want to see Jerry Lawler call Jimmy Valiant a fag while a greener than grass, blonde-haired future HonkyTonk Man watches in confusion? Of course, you do. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99N62akUqM4 Memphis Wrestling was an entirely different planet, man. Lawler, the babyface, drops three slurs and smacks the heel. Want to hear Kevin Sullivan speak Satanic gibberish in a Boston accent out of Good Will Hunting while a 50-something Mark Lewin crawls out of the ocean? Of course, you do. King Curtis doing the voiceover really helps, because this whole thing was a little subtle before that. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EloX-k6ikFY Edited May 15, 2015 by Lombardi's_kid_brother Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lombardi's_kid_brother Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 I actually think I watched this promo during the original broadcast. The Freedbirds were like nothing else at the time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FH7eWcgvk1M Michael Hayes puts over the team, Freebird Rules, their persona, his persona, and gets the fans to hate them all within 2 minutes. Terry Gordy was a fascinating character. By the way, I think Hayes had just turned 21 during this interview. This is the angle that made me a wrestling fan. I wanted to write a letter to Ted Dibiase at the end of it. I remember wondering why JYD was standing there with his thumb up his ass while Dibiase was potentially dying in the ring. Solie is kind of over-rated these days, but he was incredible after the match, treating this like a real potentially tragic event. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EN74RaW7UgA Harley Race is largely forgotten, but he might be the best combination wrestler/talker ever. This is such a basic angle, but he does it so well. "Take the damn money." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pfkam4NOjY In the kayfabe era, I wonder if any redneck idiot tried to collect on a bounty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lombardi's_kid_brother Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 (edited) The Midnights take on a jobber tag team with some very familiar physiques. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggaqBY8EkL8 This is after Cornette hit Baby Doll with the racket. Dusty giving the high five to David Crockett during this IS pro wrestling to me. Just goofy violence. The best Eddie Gilbert moment ever. Everything about this is perfect - particularly Jim Ross on commentary. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bu-fG9jozKU For God's sake, get that flag off the Cowboy. Finally, I loved this feud as a kid. Piper was awesome way before Piper's Pit. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkdzEIXmDD0 Edited May 15, 2015 by Lombardi's_kid_brother Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Sinister Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 Damn that Midnight Express-Rhodes back and forth was awesome lol. Cornette spittin hot fire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lombardi's_kid_brother Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 Damn that Midnight Express-Rhodes back and forth was awesome lol. Cornette spittin hot fire Dusty basically drops a "Yo Mama" joke in there out of nowhere and then pulls a "You're queer, not that there's anything wrong with that" line just because he can. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VeroViper Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 Great stuff guys. I grew up an NWA fan. I attended the '86 Great American Bash at RFK as a kid. I still have an autographed polaroid picture with myself, my brother and Ric Flair. Have you guys watched the E60: WWE Behind the Curtains? If not I highly recommend. It follows a few of the guys in the NXT. Some good behind the scenes stuff. And after you watch you will never boo or jeer Adam Rose again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lombardi's_kid_brother Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 And after you watch you will never boo or jeer Adam Rose again. That sounds like an awful thing for a pro wrestler, to be honest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattFancy Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 That and LKB hasnt been around to give us more of his old timer NWA tales I say it often, but anytime LKB tells his old-man tales about wrestling, I make sure to immediatley click in here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TK Posted May 15, 2015 Author Share Posted May 15, 2015 Well here Flair basically implies Ricky Morton likes little girls 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lombardi's_kid_brother Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 Throwing a training bra in Ricky Morton's face practically became a cliche after a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TK Posted May 15, 2015 Author Share Posted May 15, 2015 Throwing a training bra in Ricky Morton's face practically became a cliche after a while.That Eddie Gilbert clip...man that was awesome. JR's announcing really helped sell it & put it over the top. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lombardi's_kid_brother Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 That Eddie Gilbert clip...man that was awesome. JR's announcing really helped sell it & put it over the top. Paul E broke this angle down on Austin's podcast a while back, and you can see its influence on a lot of the early stuff he did in ECW. Bill Watts was alone in the ring, because the Cowboy was not afraid of a little punk like Gilbert. Gilbert apologize for hanging out with Russians, but not for being a little punk. The Blade Runners hit the aisle thinking that Gilbert had betrayed them, but he assures them he is still their manager, just not the manager of the Russians. Watts wants to burn the flag, because he is the Cowboy and loves America, damn it. This distracts him long enough for the Russians to hit the ring and unleash a hellacious beating. The babyfaces immediately come to the rescue....but the Blade Runners are blocking the aisle. That gives Gilbert the time he needs to drape the flag over Watts....which is really the important part of this as JR keeps saying. The Cowboy doesn't care about some blood. He damn well cares about being covered in that Commie flag. Mid South booking was so simple, but so perfect: Babyfaces never, ever quit. (Unlike WWE where they will beg The Authority for their jobs because they live paycheck to paycheck despite making half a million a year). Watts came back in this same show I believe with a literal bloody shirt and a baseball bat. Heels didn't set out to "hurt" the babyfaces; they set out to humiliate them. Everyone in that audience knew that Watts could take a shovel to the head and keep on ticking. That man would lose sleep over being under a flag. (The WWE tries to do this sometimes but generally goes for over the top comedic humiliations). JYD getting blinded was a definite physical injury. But it was the frustration of not being able to see his brand new daughter that sent that angle into the stratosphere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeesburgSkinFan Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 Here are two of the all time great talkers (Mr. Wrestling II and the Assassin). Plus only in pro wrestling will you see two grown men dressed in suits and wrestling masks taken totally seriously: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IM9HKd7gHXw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovetoaster Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 I went to a music festival last weekend, and one band used Dusty Rhodes' Hard Times promo as their intro. I was an immediate fan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lombardi's_kid_brother Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 (edited) Here are two of the all time great talkers (Mr. Wrestling II and the Assassin). Plus only in pro wrestling will you see two grown men dressed in suits and wrestling masks taken totally seriously: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IM9HKd7gHXw Georgia really took the masked guys seriously. At one point, I think they had Wrestling I and II, The Assassins, the Masked Superstar, and The Spoiler all hanging around. I love the fact that dudes bled through the masks sometimes. Here is a great Georgia angle featuring a masked man, the mysterious Mr. R. (Tommy Rich lost a loser leave town match so of course, a masked man named Mr. R shows up shortly thereafter. Ted Dibiase was determined to prove that Mr. R was Tommy Rich and got a match with him). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9t_lqve5LQ Georgia was a really basic territory. The fans just wanted to see a fight break out and Ole was a traditionalist in every sense. Most of their stuff was just a variation on a theme that happened somewhere else...but they had the national spotlight. And some pretty good workers. (Though Tommy Rich is already well on his way to being a fat guy here). I went to a music festival last weekend, and one band used Dusty Rhodes' Hard Times promo as their intro. I was an immediate fan. Classic promo, of course. But let's talk about his outfit here. Three piece suit up top. Jeans downtown. Who does this? I love this Dusty promo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0sFhGM83VE Shameful..... Edited May 15, 2015 by Lombardi's_kid_brother Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lombardi's_kid_brother Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 Ric Flair likes the rough stuff. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLxzLkeW7-o Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Evil Genius Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 Magnum TA was the **** in my area back in the day. I wonder if he would/could have been huge (gone on to WWF success) if not for that car wreck? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DM72 Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 Oldskool NWA. Nothing was ever better. But LKB, the heels wanted to humiliate theheels faces in promos, but it seemed as if they wanted to hurt them during the matches. Just go back and look at some of those old NWA matches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRAVEONTHEWARPATH93 Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 (edited) Damn, I hate not being able to add much to this conversation. A bit before my time and the network doesn't have a lot of nwa Specifically in the 80s Edited May 15, 2015 by BRAVEONTHEWARPATH93 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DM72 Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 Magnum TA was the **** in my area back in the day. I wonder if he would/could have been huge (gone on to WWF success) if not for that car wreck? Magnum was the biggest "what if" in the history of pro wrestling. I had heard he was going to win the world title at Starrcade 86 from Flair, then the accident happened and they replaced him with Nikita Koloff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DM72 Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 Damn, I hate not being able to add much to this conversation. A bit before my time and the network doesn't have a lot of nwa Specifically in the 80s Yeah and that pisses me off. And from what I read today, don't expect to much old NWA footage to be added because according to reports, not to many people watch the old footage on the WWE Network Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Evil Genius Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 Unless I'm mistaken, Magnum TA also had the first "I quit" match in major wrestling promotions. His match (and feud) against Tully Blanchard was epic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DM72 Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 Unless I'm mistaken, Magnum TA also had the first "I quit" match in major wrestling promotions. His match (and feud) against Tully Blanchard was epic. That is my favorite match of all time. That whole feud was epic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lombardi's_kid_brother Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 Oldskool NWA. Nothing was ever better. But LKB, the heels wanted to humiliate theheels faces in promos, but it seemed as if they wanted to hurt them during the matches. Just go back and look at some of those old NWA matches. On his podcast, Austin always talks about the need for a heel to have a "mean streak." Everytime he does that, I think of Tully Blanchard who was the perfect heel in everything but size. That guy looked like he wanted to cripple people when he was in control of a match. I guess I draw a line between the buildup to the match and the match. And I'm also really talking about Watts here. Crockett and Georgia tended to be a little more wrestling based at all times. (Flair and Magnum had a great buildup to the Starrcade match that never happened and in one segment, Flair basically embarrassed Magnum as a mat wrestler.....really exposing the fact that this was the green youngster against the veteran. Of course, Flair cheated some but whatever. Later Magnum just beat the piss out of Flair and stripped to show that he was bigger, stronger and faster.) Here it is. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39FAKPI-bgY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lombardi's_kid_brother Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 Magnum TA was the **** in my area back in the day. I wonder if he would/could have been huge (gone on to WWF success) if not for that car wreck? Magnum wasn't colorful enough for the WWF, I don't think. That guy was built for the NWA/WCW southern audience though.He could have been the crafty vet fighting the NWO in '96, you know. The one question I always have is, could Dusty/Crockett/WCW have booked a babyface champion? It ALWAYS flopped there. The guy who should have caught the first flight to New York was Nikita Koloff. Nikita versus Hogan would have been an epic Wrestlemania II main event and could have conceivably pushed Hogan-Andre to Wrestlemania IV. Nikita was truly terrifying, whereas all previous WWF foreign heels were just stooges. Nikita as Dusty's second banana never really worked past the first few months where the emotion of Magnum's accident carried everything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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