December 14, 2007
Matt Peddycord

NWA World Championship Wrestling
February 25, 1989
Atlanta, GA
WTBS Studios

We kick off the program with Steamboat’s NWA title win. It’s the Chi-Town Rumble fallout show!

Your hosts are Jim Ross and Magnum TA.

JR announces that Steamboat is the new NWA world champion, Mike Rotunda regained the NWA world TV belt, and Lex Luger regained the NWA U.S. belt as well. Neither Paul E Dangerously or Jim Cornette left the NWA after Monday night. I gotta watch!

Junkyard Dog & Michael PS Hayes vs. El Negro & Nightmare

JYD is back hangin’ and bangin’ with Michael Hayes. Hiro Matsuda is out to watch Michael Hayes and Junkyard Dog. The Negro screws up the finish, but Hayes gets the DDT anyway for the win. (6:10) Next.

Hacksaw Butch Reed (w/Hiro Matsuda) vs. Chris Powers

No relation to Jim Powers that I know of. He’s too out of shape/not on the juice to be bear that family name. Reed works a chinlock for most of the match. FLYING SHOULDERBLOCK will be all for Powers. (4:31) Okay, let’s pick things up a little bit here, guys.

Chi-Town Rumble highlights video is shown. First up, they air the finish to the Rotunda/Steiner match where Rotunda pins Steiner while he’s KO’ed in the sleeper. Next is the finish to the Windham/Luger match, which is basically the same ‘80s cliché finish. Windham delivers a bridging back suplex, but Luger gets a shoulder up at two and Windham’s pinned. We now go to the Road Warriors/Varsity Club match. Doc breaks up a Doomsday Device attempt on Sullivan, but Hawk still floors Sullivan with a flying clothesline for the win. We don’t get the finish to the Flair/Steamboat match just yet, only the reaction and the aftermath.

They show the Rotunda/Steiner match the way it would end up on the Turner Home Entertainment release. If they’re going to show that much of any match, this was the best choice I think.

NWA World Television Champion Rick Steiner (w/Scott Steiner) vs. Mike Rotunda - (Chi-Town Rumble, 02.20.89)

In a pre-match interview, Scott Steiner makes his NWA debut and explains why his brother Rick is well…the way he is. Apparently, Rick was involved in a car accident a few years back and he hasn’t been quite the same since. When Rick left the Varsity Club, he created this imaginary friend named Alex because he had no one else to talk to. Now Scott is here because of Rick’s worsening condition. This is a rematch from Starrcade which was way too clipped, but this one is basically in full. They trade fireman’s carry takeovers to start. This leads to a shoving match and then Rotunda gets sent out on the floor during a waistlock. JIP to a Steiner headlock. Rotunda escapes but then gets decked with a Steinerline. Another JIP to Rotunda wanting a handshake to screw with Steiner. Alex says don’t do it, so Rick calls Rotunda a bad man. Rotunda still manages to apply the abdominal stretch near the ropes to cheat up a storm. Scott lets Teddy Long know what is happening, and eventually Rotunda gets caught. Rick reverses into an Oklahoma roll, but he’s in the ropes. Rotunda takes a breather and comes back in with a cheapshot. Rotunda tries a crossbody out of the corner, but Steiner rolls through for 1-2-NO! Rotunda powers Steiner to the mat into an elevated armbar. Steiner comes back with a backdrop for two. Steiner wants a flying splash, but Rotunda rolls away and throws Steiner out for a good shoulder posting. Back in, Steiner surprises Rotunda with a powerslam. He hesitates to cover though and only gets two. Oh man, Kevin Sullivan is out here now with a mic in-hand. He mentions something about Rick Steiner’s dog Spike and then laughs all evil-like. That brings Rick out to the floor and gets him all distracted. Back in again, Rick gets dropped with a nice back suplex for two. Rotunda whiffs on a dropkick and takes ten-count corner punches in the corner. Sleeper hold follows, but Rotunda falls back on top and Steiner gets his shoulders counted for the 1-2-3. (16:21/12:35 shown) I still feel pretty much the same way about it. It’s a good match, but I’m not so big on that finish even if it does show the absentmindedness of Rick’s character. **¾

Now back to the show.

Missy Hyatt and her Gucci bag are back with Eddie Gilbert because people are trying to break his nose and that’s just not nice.

Eddie Gilbert (w/Missy Hyatt) vs. Rick Conners

JR says Missy has the two biggest…blue eyes in all of wrestling. Lots of back and forth offense, but Gilbert still gets the HOT SHOT. Make it two of them. Cover, 1-2-3. (5:49) A little long for my tastes.

Steamboat/Flair recap video. Of course, it doesn’t possibly do it justice. If you don’t have the attention span to watch the whole match, at least check this out if you never have. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve seen that match.

Uh oh, Iron Sheik makes his return to the NWA! He talks about his successes in the ’68 Olympics, the AWA, the NWA and the WW-whatever. Ha! He makes a challenge to the new champ, Ricky Steamboat. Get in line, pal. IRAN, NUMBER ONE. USA, HACK-POOEY! JR’s not comfortable with that because it’s not “American”.

Dan Spivey vs. Tom Pitner

Where’s the rest of the Varsity Club? Spivey roughhouses this guy. Yes, there is a powerbomb! SIDEWALK SLAM gets the win. (3:27) Nothing to it.

Interview with Dick Murdoch. He wants to fight Butch Reed down in New Orleans!

Dick Murdoch vs. Keith Steinborn

A few minutes of an armbar is followed by the Dusty Rhodes elbow drop for the win. (4:25) Bring on some Bob Orton Jr. so Murdoch has something to do besides beating up defenseless jobbers every week.

Interview with Dan Spivey. He says the Varsity Club is the best!

Kendall Windham vs. Keith Hart

No, not that Hart. Just a jobber. JR mentions that Barry is going to have some medical specialists look at his hand thanks to Luger at the Chi-Town Rumble. Oh man, a “Kendall” chant! After some chinlocks and armbars, Kendall drops Hart with the RUNNING BULLDOG for the win. (5:50) He doesn’t stop there – Kendall gives Hart another bulldog to show he’s a bad, bad man.

Interview with Michael PS Hayes & Junkyard Dog. Magnum asks Hayes why Matsuda is scouting after him. Hayes admits that the Japanese have been making him some pretty nice offers (even after he said, “slap a Jap” on TV?), but Japanese money doesn’t mean anything to him. He says something else that gets edited, so I’m sure it was pretty funny. If only I could read lips. JYD does his best Japanese impression and says something about Toyotas. I can’t help but think of Ping from “The Dundies” episode on the Office when JYD does that. Yeah, wrestling has done wonders for race relations.

Vincent Young vs. Joe Cacane

Who knew a breakdancing patriot wouldn’t get over in the south in 1989? The only thing I’ve seen him do to perfection was jump over the top rope onto the apron. Much like last week, the jobber gets in quite a bit of offense, which makes Vincent Young look incredibly weak. Flying sunset flip gets the win. (4:19) With the crowd booing him like that, they should’ve turned him heel and gave that a try because no matter what he does, they do not care for this guy.

The battle of the Midnights highlight video package airs to close out the program.

YOUTUBE IT: The Iron Sheik and Hayes/JYD interviews are gold. Check those out for sure.