January 5, 2008
Matt Peddycord

NWA World Championship Wrestling
April 15, 1989
Atlanta, GA
Center Stage Theatre

Your hosts are Jim Ross and Michael PS Hayes.

We start by showing the three finishes to the each fall in the Steamboat/Flair match from the Clash. What a GREAT way to kick the show off. There’s a swanky new set, by the way.

Bob Orton and Butch Reed are in the ring ready for their squash match. Dick Murdoch comes out for an interview and winds up subbing for one of the jobbers in this next match because Bob wants him some!

Bob Orton Jr. & Butch Reed (w/Gary Hart) vs. Dick Murdoch & Bucky Seigler

Seigler takes a knee drop version of the Demolition Decapitation. A way more violent version, in fact. Orton teases a tag over to Murdoch just to piss him off real good. Reed does the same thing. After Orton and Reed beat up Seigler some more, Orton gets a blind tag off a slam. Murdoch goes PUNCH CRAZY! He wants the BRAINBUSTER on Orton, but Reed helps him out with that with a block. With some help from Gary Hart, Murdoch gets double-teamed by Orton and Reed and that’s all that ref Tommy Young will take. (4:53) Young and Seigler get dumped for the triple-team stomp and no one comes to Captain Redneck’s rescue.

Interview with the NWA World TV champ Sting: He’s feeling GREAT and he wants everybody to know about it. Rick Steiner comes by and says Sting will be a real good champion. Iron Sheik and Rip Morgan show up too and want to challenge Sting for the belt. Hmm, I wonder what he thinks about Sting these days. Probably the same as everybody else, and I don’t think I need to go into that.

The Great Muta (w/Gary Hart) vs. Greg Evans

WHOA! Evans avoids the GREEN MIST~! and levels Muta with dropkicks. A roundhouse kick stops him though. Backbreaker, followed by the MOONSAULT. (0:57) Freakin’ awesome.

JR and Hayes recap the controversial fastest count ever made by Teddy Long at the Clash that cost the Road Warriors the NWA world tag belts.

Interview with the Road Warriors: Nobody can stop them from doing what they want to do! They WILL take their belts back.

“Secret Service” Jack Victory (w/Paul E. Dangerously) vs. Randy Rose

Victory doesn’t get caught by a flying Rose this week. Rose gets in a few clotheslines and a back elbow or two, but Victory is just dominant here. He tries to give Rose a SERVICE REVOLVER on the floor, but Rose backdrops out. Teddy Long is the referee here, just so you know. He just can’t referee any more championship bouts. Back in, Rose hits a clothesline and an atomic drop. Dangerously tosses in a phone, but Rose gets it and Long is right there to fight him over it. That is, until Jack-o gets tossed ANOTHER phone. Rose lets Long have the phone, then turns around and gets blasted by the other phone in plain sight of Teddy Long for 1-2-3. (4:54) Rose was SCREWED! **

Rick Steiner (w/Missy Hyatt) vs. The Raider

Before the bout, Nancy Sullivan-Benoit makes her WCW debut as the female fan who is in love with Rick Steiner and must give him weekly hugs. Steinerline! Powerslam! BELLY-TO-BELLY SUPLEX! (0:53) Afterwards, Kevin Sullivan stops by and demands JR plays the tape of him beating up Eddie Gilbert all over the Omni a week ago. What does that prove? He then tells Missy that her man Eddie Gilbert is a little boy, but at least he’s not a frog. SLAP!

Wrestle War ’89: Music City Showdown ad airs. It’s a show worthy of ATOMIC BOMB footage! According to the ad, the match list stands as follows: Steamboat vs. Flair, Luger vs. Hayes, Sting vs. Sheik, Rotunda/Doc vs. Road Warriors. Plus, the Oak Ridge Boys will perform!

Interview with Ric Flair: On May 7, Steamboat has to WALK THE AISLE. Diamonds are forever, and so is Ric Flair. WOO!

NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ricky Steamboat vs. Ron Simmons – non-title match

Hayes guarantees that after May 7, Steamboat and Luger will be beltless. That guy is PSYCHIC. Interesting TV main event, but this wouldn’t matter much until ’92 when Simmons got over. Simmons won’t take any hiptosses, so Steamboat has to out-quick Simmons with rollups. After a long drawn out tie-up segment, Simmons finally drops Steamboat throat-first on the top rope and follows up with a clothesline. Simmons misses a corner charge and Steamboat comes back with chops. Crucifix! 1-2-3. (6:12) Steamboat did the best he could with the big guy, but Simmons was in over his head. *

Interview with Jim Cornette: He says with everything that has gone on with the Midnights and Paul E. Dangerously over the last six months and all the nagging injuries they’ve suffered, the Midnight Express is taking some time off to heal and get their heads straight. I’ve got to say – I’m pretty disappointed and excited all at the same time.

NWA U.S. Heavyweight Champion Lex Luger vs. Tom Branch

Luger hits a move and jaws with Hayes. Before you know it, Luger’s got Branch in the TORTURE RACK and crying for his mommy. (1:45) Afterwards, Luger goes over and confront Hayes. He wants to get it on NOW and they do so accordingly.

YOUTUBE IT: Probably the most important part of the show was the announcement of the Midnight Express taking a sabbatical, and that’s about it this week.

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