December 14, 2007
Matt Peddycord

NWA World Championship Wrestling
February 4, 1989
Atlanta, GA
WTBS Studios

Your hosts are Jim Ross and Magnum TA!

Eddie Gilbert meets with JR and Magnum at the beginning of the program with his broken nose all taped up. That sets up the flashback to last week where Eddie gets a knee drop from Flair face down on the concrete! Such carnage! Gilbert tells Flair and Windham that they should have KILLED him, because now he’s coming back to get his revenge!

NWA U.S. Tag Team Champions “Dr. Death” Steve Williams & Kevin Sullivan vs. George South & Bob Emory

Where’s Rotunda? JR announces the US tag champs will take on the legendary Fantastics at the Clash. Where have they been, by the way? Sullivan attacks South’s leg and then tags Doc in for a SICK half crab. Sullivan tags back in for a kneebar. South gets tossed over to Emory for a tag. Doesn’t matter much because Doc manhandles him with a press slam. OUCH! Doc grabs a body scissors and hooks on a full-nelson down on the mat! Emory is pretty well put together. No wonder he worked in the WWF. The VC work on his arm and keep him in their corner. Sullivan hooks on an Ole Anderson-like armbar and really wrenches on it while he yells for the Road Warriors. Doc comes in for a try with the arm, but then Sullivan tags back in and hooks on a NASTY key-lock and then PULLS up on it to get the submission. (5:55) You don’t want NONE of that Varsity Club.

Steamboat’s going to work out today!

The Fantastics vs. Eddie Sweat & Trent Knight

Here’s the Fantastics! These jobbers should become a regular team and call themselves, the Sweaty Knights. BAHAHA! Sorry. Knight trips up Rogers as he comes off the ropes, but then avoids a corner charge and takes an atomic drop into a missile dropkick from Fulton! FANTASTIC! Sweat tags in and get nailed with a dropkick. Double hiptoss on Sweat, followed by the Fantastics version of the Human Cough Drop that Rose and Condrey does. Fulton grabs an armbar while Tommy Rogers sits down with the ladies in the front row. Sweat breaks free and tags in Knight, who hooks an armbar of his own. Rogers gets a tag and delivers a snap suplex, but Knight botches a knee-lift. That’s two screw-ups in one match from this Trent character! Knight punches out of a chinlock, but then runs into a powerslam. Another double-hiptoss from the Fantastics lead to a short-arm scissors. Knight rolls out of the pressure and uses the tights to get a pin, but it just won’t work. Sweat gets a tag and the jobbers double-team tactics cause a pier-six brawl! The jobbers get whipped into each other and then Fulton grabs a chinlock on Sweat. Fulton delivers a Samoan drop and tags in Rogers for the FANTASTIC SLAM (the Quebecers finisher). Perfectly executed! Cover, 1-2-3. (5:16) Great squash. It’s a shame the Fantastics didn’t do much else in the NWA in ’89.

Ric Flair and Barry Windham have a new mentor because JJ Dillon is gone! His name is Hiro Matsuda. Yay. The Japanese have bought all of JJ’s contracts and now everyone is rich, rich, rich! You know, I agree with Barry on the Four Horsemen DVD when he said that your average fan probably didn’t even notice that JJ was gone, so there was no real need to replace him with someone totally random like Matsuda. Anyways, Flair talks about how much he loves Japanese women. WOO!

Abdullah the Butcher (w/Gary Hart) vs. Dave Heath

Haha, JR talks about how the Japanese are trying to control everything nowadays, including the NWA. Heath is Gangrel, by the way. Abdullah rips at Heath’s throat for a long while and then hits the Dusty Rhodes elbow drop out of the corner for the win. (4:04) He is WILD! Thank goodness Gary Hart is in control of him!

NWA World Television Champion Rick Steiner vs. Pretty Boy Lloyd

It’s the PBL vs. the DFG. What a terrible jobber name. Steiner runs Lloyd upside down into the corner and then connects with a Steinerline. Uh oh, a SUPER POWERSLAM but Rick’s not ready to pin him. He hits a release German suplex and then smiles about it. PBL tries to start up some offense, but Rick stops him with a Steinerline. He drives his forearms into PBL’s face and then puts him away with a BELLY-TO-BELLY SUPLEX. (3:44) How was that better than a Super Powerslam?

Chi-Town Rumble ad airs.

Interview with the Varsity Club. Rotunda calls Steiner stupid and promises he’ll get the TV belt back at the Chi-Town Rumble. Sullivan and Doc believe the Road Warriors have met their f’n match.

Barry & Kendall Windham (w/Hiro Matsuda) vs. Mike Justice & Robbie Wise

Barry controls Justice to start with a Lariat and then throws him out to Kendall to get beat up. Back in, Wise gets a tag and takes a suplex. Kendall tags and helps out with a double-dropkick. Barry tags for another Lariat and the SUPERPLEX. Instead of just pinning Wise, Kendall tags in for the RUNNING BULLDOG for the 1-2-3. (2:53) Kendall gives Wise another bulldog after the match. Oh, he went there.

The Midnight Express (w/Jim Cornette) vs. The Terminators

The Terminators wear masks and they’re strong and that’s about it. Paul E and his Original Midnight Express come out to screw with Eaton and Lane while they’re trying to wrestle. Lane pins one of the Terminators after the FLAPJACK. (:54) That’ll do.

Interview with Lex Luger. Since Flair won’t allow any more title shots, he’s going after the next best thing: Barry Windham’s US title. I love Luger’s reason for going after the US belt. It’s not necessarily Windham that he wants, but knowing that if he’s the US champ, he’s automatically the #1 contender to the World belt, which means that Flair would have to wrestle him.

It’s time for Ricky Steamboat to finally work out for once in his life in preparation for his match against Flair in two weeks. Dustin Rhodes (!), Bob Cook and Ric Diamond are all here in support of the Dragon. They’re only here to help Steamboat learn to counter Flair’s moves like the back suplex, a knee drop, and the figure-four. Flair comes by about half way in and gets upset over this whole segment. During a commercial break, Steamboat and Flair have an awesome little mini-match. This was just to make you hungry for more. Steamboat’s chest is BEAT RED!

Interview with the Road Warriors and Paul Ellering. Hawk ~ “The only reason Sullivan has no fear in his eyes is because he’s dumber than a gas pump! Chicago: good for us, bad for you.” Great promo.

Hacksaw Butch Reed (w/Hiro Matsuda) vs. Jerry Price

JR brings up the Japanese conglomerate that’s buying NWA contracts and says, “Does the date December 7th mean anything to anybody anymore?” Aren’t you taking this a little far, JR? I mean, is this really to the level of seriousness that Pearl Harbor was? Reed beats the crap out of this guy before he finishes him off with the FLYING CLOTHESLINE. (2:43) Reed will meet Sting in Chicago.

Interview with Sting. He wants Reed to come out and talk nasty to him! That’s how he likes it.

NWA World Tag Team Champions The Road Warriors (w/Paul Ellering) vs. Mike Jackson & Kip Montana

Jackson tries to hurt Animal, but that won’t happen. The same happens to poor Kip, who gets put away with the LOD’s version of the Hart Attack. (1:47) LOD and Tenryu will take on Michael Hayes, JYD and the Stinger at the Clash for the six-man tag belts.

Dick Murdoch vs. Mike Thor

Murdoch works in a couple fireman’s carry throws and then grabs a headlock. Throw in some more punches, and the BRAINBUSTER gets the 1-2-3. (3:40) Next.

Interview with the Midnight Express and Jim Cornette. Corny does his best “Untouchables” impression. He then goes on to say that all evil men’s time must come. Capone died a broken man, Hitler blew his brains out, Ted Bundy met the electric chair , and now Paul E’s time has come. Excellent promo as always from one of the best talkers of all time.

Mike Rotunda (w/Kevin Sullivan) vs. Ric Allen

Oh, here’s Rotunda. He gets all cocky with Allen to start with his fireman’s carry takeovers and such. He then works the leg in and out of the ring for a bit. Butterfly Suplex gets the win. (5:38) Just a real clinic done on Allen.

Junkyard Dog, Michael PS Hayes & Sting vs. The Cruel Connection & Max McGyver

This is to get the faces ready for their six-man tag at the Clash. Such a random combination though. The Cruel Connection are just a pair of dudes in lime green body suits and masks. Think the Conquistadors. The difference between the two is that #1 is taller and slimmer than #2. Hayes is all “Let me at ‘em!” to start, but Sting tells him to go back on the apron. Sting flips out of a double-armdrag from the Connection and then armdrags them both over. You’ve probably seen the spot. Tag to Hayes, who works a headlock on #2. JYD tags in for a headbutt, but then Sting punches #2 over to McGyver for a tag. Hayes tags in and finishes him off with the DDT. (2:50) In the post-match interview, Hayes puts himself and the Freebirds over for making six-man tags what it is today, JYD needs a bone to chew on (???), and Sting’s pumped up! Before we go, Hayes says regarding Tenryu that he would love to “slap a Jap”. Wow.

YOUTUBE IT: The first two squashes were great, Steamboat/Flair confrontation is a must-see, along with the Jim Cornette interview. Great show this week.