December 25, 2007
Matt Peddycord

NWA World Championship Wrestling
March 18, 1989
Atlanta, GA
WTBS Studios

Your hosts are Jim Ross and Magnum TA.

Interview with Gary Hart: Hiro Matsuda introduces the greatest Japanese import to America. Hiro’s English not so good. His name is the GREAT MUTA, and he belongs to Gary Hart. It’s about time we heard the name Muta around here.

Eddie Gilbert & Rick Steiner (w/Missy Hyatt) vs. The Enforcer & Max McGiver

Enforcer is a masked man. WHODATHUNKIT? Gilbert escapes a headlock from the Enforcer and tags in Rick. He roughs up McGiver a bit. Gilbert tags back in and works McGiver’s arm on the mat for a while. Blind tag to Steiner, and he finishes McGiver off with a BELLY-TO-BELLY SUPLEX. (4:06) JR calls the First Family the team to watch in ’89.

The Danger Zone

Junkyard Dog is the guest tonight. They get into a hilarious exchange.

JYD ~ “I got something big going on tonight.”
Paul E ~ “What’s that, your girlfriend’s in town?”
JYD ~ “Shut up! I’m a happily married man!”
Paul E ~ ”You know why you’re a happily married man?”
JYD ~ “Yeah, because I-”
Paul E ~ “Because your girlfriend’s in town.”

Just awesome. Then it gets even better. Paul E asks JYD what he thinks about the Varsity Club, Eddie Gilbert and Ricky Steamboat, and then pulls the mic away when JYD starts to talk. It’s an old Brother Love trick. I’m sure it was done before him too. JYD gets pissed and walks away, then Paul E questions why people are so edgy on his show. Haha.

Interview with the Varsity Club: Rotunda still has the ten grand. Bring him some competition! Good to have Doc on the show this week. He wonders when Ted Turner is going to get some AC in the TBS studios. It’s so hot!

Ranger Ross vs. Lee Scott

Lots of riding on the mat from Ross. LOTS of riding. Scott hits a swinging neckbreaker, but misses a flying elbow. Ross comes back with kicks-a-plenty and finishes Scott with the COMBAT KICK (less-than-exciting superkick). (4:20) Jokes.

Interview with Sting: He says he gets excited in airports just thinking about people watching him perform!

The Samoan Swat Team (w/Paul E. Dangerously) vs. Mike Justice & Rick Allen

The SST are still undefeated! Paul E makes JR spill the beans about April 2nd when his Samoan Swat Team takes on the Midnight Express. Samoan offense abounds with Samu getting the pin on Justice with a back superplex. (4:54) Fatu wants a splash afterwards, but Paul E brings him down to show he’s got CONTROL over these monsters. Good stuff.

Interview with NWA World Champion Ricky Steamboat: He beat Flair FAIR AND SQUARE for the belt in Chicago, but he’ll give Flair a rematch anywhere in the world to prove to him he’s the REAL world champion.

NWA World Television Champion Mike Rotunda (w/Kevin Sullivan, Dan Spivey & “Dr. Death” Steve Williams) vs. Richard Sartain

Eddie Gilbert and Rick Steiner stop by to make a challenge for the money and the title as the match begins. Lots of mat work from Rotunda sets up the Guillotine for the win. (3:49) Another clinic from Rotunda.

Interview with Ranger Ross: When you step in the ring with the Ranger, your life is on the LINE! By the way, Sheik is a rat soup-sucking dog. EWW!

The Iron Sheik vs. DeWayne Bruce

Usual stuff from Sheik. He hits a bunch of suplexes and tries to quiet down the USA chants. CAMEL CLUTCH gives Sheik another win. (3:30) Can’t wait for that big Ross/Sheik blow off!

Sting vs. Snake Brown

Let’s hope no audience members get their ankles stepped on like they did last week during the Sting squash. Sting jumps up and down during an arm wringer until Snake falls down in the corner. During a test of strength, Sting brings Snake’s hands to the mat and being the sportsman that he is, stomps his knuckles good one time. Stinger Splash sets up the SCORPION DEATHLOCK for the win. (4:22) They really had no idea what to do with Sting at this point.

Interview with Ric Flair: He guarantees he will regain the NWA title belt. Flair puts over Steamboat for beating him for the belt, but he’s got to beat THE MAN twice. WOO!

The Junkyard Dog, Steve Casey & Dick Murdoch vs. The Raider, Chance Myers & John Brewer

Could this tag team be anymore random? Casey performs like a wrestler who has no idea what he’s doing. Brewer get punched with straight rights by Murdoch on the floor. Back in, JYD headbutts Brewer for the three-count. (3:13) Didn’t care for that squash much at all.

Interview with the First Family: Gilbert tells us he’s not cool with Paul E Dangerously and then makes another challenge to Sullivan and Rotunda for the ten grand and the TV belt.

“Dr. Death” Steve Williams & Dan Spivey (w/Kevin Sullivan & Mike Rotunda) vs. Jerry Price & Greg Brown

Spivey hits an enziguri (!) and then tags Doc in after a lariat. Who could seriously beat this team? Where is a weakness? Doc throws Brown all around the ring. Spivey tags in for a double shoulderblock. POWERBOMB plus an elbow drop gets 1-2-3. (1:59) This marks the first time in three weeks the Varsity Club boys haven’t made their opponents submit.

The Great Muta (w/Gary Hart) vs. Cougar Jay

This is the in-ring debut of Muta in the NWA, and Cougar Jay is the first unlucky opponent. For some reason, they call him Mota. Muta quickly dumps Jay out for a neat pescado, then right back in for the power drive elbow drop. Sick! Jay runs into a spin kick out of the corner for the 1-2-3. (1:24) Impressive debut that didn’t show too much all at once.

Hacksaw Butch Reed & Rip Morgan vs. Bob Emery & Tony Suber

No Matsuda? Aww. Another odd tag team combination. You’ve got the crazy New Zealander who wishes he was Bruiser Brody with a big, mean black guy. Lots of CLUBBERIN in this match. Looks like a running palm strike from Morgan sets up a FLYING SHOULDERBLOCK from Reed to Suber for the win. (5:44) WAYYY too long. Reed and Morgan just don’t make sense. Plain and simple.

Lex Luger & Michael PS Hayes vs. Barry & Kendall Windham (w/Hiro Matsuda)

From the previous Omni show on March 12. This is the match where Hayes turns on Luger and sells out to the Nagasaki Corporation. Don’t forget that Matsuda had been keeping an eye on Hayes for the past several weeks. Also, this match is on the “Most Powerful Families in Wrestling” DVD that the WWE put out earlier in the year. We get the Hayes stall treatment to start, complete with the moonwalk and everything. After Hayes does all that, the crowd wants Luger instead. Hayes gives the crowd what they want and now it’s time to HOOK IT UP! Barry and Luger go nose-to-nose. Luger NO-SELLS a backbreaker and press slams Barry to the mat. Barry retreats to his corner while Hayes pumps up the crowd. Luger wants the ten-count corner punch. Barry tries to counter with an atomic drop, but Luger avoids that and drops Barry with a clothesline for two. Luger brings Barry from the apron to the ring with a suplex for another two. Hayes tags in and does what he does best: work the crowd. Barry makes a big deal about a clean break in the corner, so Luger takes advantage and slaps Barry’s taped up hand. That causes chaos, but then out of nowhere, Hayes gets down on all fours behind Luger and Kendall nails Lex with a Lariat. Kendall rolls out while Barry covers for 1-2-3. (5:16) We get a triple –stomp job on Lex, including a DDT from Hayes. JR demands that Hayes admit he took the money from “those Japanese people”, but Hayes says he doesn’t have to tell him anything. After two months, Michael Hayes is sick of being Mr. Nice Guy. Heaven doesn’t want him, and hell’s afraid he’ll take over! BADSTREET IS BACK! Luger wakes up, so Hayes shut ups and gets the heck out of Dodge. Excellent match for what it was, and a great heel turn for the greatest Freebird of them all. **

YOUTUBE IT: Lots of good stuff this week. The Danger Zone, the SST squash, Muta’s (or Mota) NWA debut, and certainly the main event. The Hayes heel turn in hindsight didn’t set the world on fire or anything, but it was the first real attempt to build him up as a singles star.

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