Barry Windham vs Mighty Wilbur

This is from NWA Main Event in May of 1988. Barry was just starting his United States Title run. This was when I first got into wrestling, so in my mind Barry is the best U.S Champ ever. I remember so much of 88 NWA clear as a bell. While a lot of WWF from the same period is so foggy.

Probably because so much of the WWF Syndicated stuff bleeds together and I was rarely allowed to watch Prime Time Wrestling. Because Mama put me in bed at Eight PM.

Wilbur is a big dude and an interesting take on the hillbilly gimmick. Instead of the typical ethnic slur hillbilly gimmick. With guys who care barely speak English, dance barefoot and carry pigs. Wilbur is a simple grape picker from California who got into wrestling after stopping a mugger.

His intro was some really good stuff. For months Paul Jones bragged about his latest find. A wrestler called "The Mighty Wilbur". He was a huge mountain of a man and would be the man to lead his army to greatness.

Then Wilbur appears and he is a hillbilly. He is as strong and powerful as Jones claimed. But he has no mean streak. He simply does enough to win. He even shakes the referee and wrestlers hands.

Wilbur finally turns on Jones, after Jones slaps Wilbur. Later Paul Jones explains what happened. That months before, his former tag team partner, Red Bastien called and told him about his protege. He offers him to Paul Jones and Jones accepted. Only to realize Bastien wanted rid of Wilbur and still held a grudge toward Jones (the team had a sour break up).

Wilbur had a solid lower card face spot but broke his leg in a battle royal. Poor dude came back in May and had gained a lot of weight.

He takes on Barry here and it is a great Barry Windham performance. Occasionally people try to slight Barry by saying he never "carried" anyone. I think that is stupid, since if you put together anybodies best of list, it will be with great wrestlers.

Initially Barry bumps around for Wilbur. Until Wilbur gets a hold of him and does this falling suplex. It looked a house of cards falling. He gets Barry in a headlock and Barry hits a side suplex that shakes the ring.

He goes to work on Wilbur, pummeling him and trying to keep him from getting back on offense. Barry takes the time to bodyslam him. Barry had this awesome way of slamming Wilbur that got across how huge he is.

Eventually Barry misses the Yoshi elbow and Wilbur starts tearing into him with these hillbilly forearms.

Until JJ trips him up. Wilbur starts choking him on the outside and Barry locks the Claw on him. They get counted out.

Action Mike Jackson Tribute

http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?ie=UTF8&keywords=WWE&tag=planvictblogn-20&index=dvd&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325
 I first saw Mike Jackson in 1992. He was promoting a show at the Decatur Fairgrounds. He wrestled a big guy called Undertaker #2. To this day I don't know who that guy was. I just know he was able to ape Undertaker's act perfectly.

I did not know who Jackson was then, but I was really impressed that night.

I met Mike Jackson back sixth grade, which would be 1993. He was signing autographs at the Walmart before a free show in the parking lot. There were maybe fifteen people in there but he put on a good show in a rickety ring.

After that I would see him at the County Fair every year. I remember him busting out stuff like Pescados on gravel and doing missile dropkicks.

Years later I found out thru tape trading that Mike Jackson had been a regular on wrestling TV shows for over a decade in the 80s. Like Barry Horowitz I hate to call him a jobber because he was a really good wrestler.

He was at the deep end of the job guy pool. If he was in a match he was guaranteed to get a good bit of offense and even get put over on commentary. If he was in a tag match, he would never take the pin.

Unfortunately he was very small by the standards of the day. One thing about modern wrestling is as guys get bigger and bigger, there is a tolerance for smaller wrestlers. I can't imagine guys like Daniel Bryan and CM Punk even being mid carders in the NWA or WWF in the 80s. Much less World Champions.

Mike Jackson was about thirty years too soon.

Edge & Christian vs The Hardys

http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?ie=UTF8&keywords=WWE&tag=planvictblogn-20&index=dvd&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325I remember watching this match when it aired. This was the first time I ever noticed the Hardy Boys. I saw them before as jobbers and remember them beating Kaientai on the Heat episode the night of Breakdown.

Here they get a lot of offense in and they are already a damn good tag team. Edge, Christian give them a lot and even do masked confusion with Gangrel on the floor.

A few months later they were WWF Tag Champs and had a fun one month reign.

Dr Death Steve Williams vs The Hardy Boyz

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So the WWF did understand how to book Dr.Death? This is kick ass for two minutes. Hardyz try to clubber Doc and it fails.

They try Poetry In Motion and Doc catches Jeff. Clotheslines Matt out of his boots. German suplexes Jeff and hits the Stampede for 3.

Albert vs Kane

Albert recently returned as Lord Tensai. After watching the Albert/Hugh Morrus match, I came across this match from 2001.

This match is for the Intercontinental title and is non stop action from bell to bell. Albert does the best DDT to chokeslam counter I have ever seen. Then Kane does a great counter to the Baldo bomb. BTW Baldo is a great wrestling name.

Albert eats the chokeslam and loses cleanly. But he ends up looking like a million bucks. Better than he did when he actually beat Kane for the IC Belt.

Albert vs Bill Demott

Fun power match from an early Velocity. Albert just recently started wrestling in trunks and Hugh was one of the WCW guys brought back from the Invasion.

Just some good old fashion demolition derby power wrestling. Both guys keep running into each other until one side gives. Hugh hits a beautiful flying elbow and misses the moonsault.

Its amazing the height and distance he gets on that moonsault. Fat guy moonsaults tend to have terrible calibration. I mean it is a big fat guy turning a backward flip. Most of his energy is spent not dieing. But Hugh always hits perfectly.

Mark Henry vs Jeff Hardy

Jeff Hardy is still a high level jobber and Mark Henry just became a full time wrestler. He started in 96, but was injured during training. He came back shortly before the 98 Rumble as Rock's recruit into the Nation of Domination.


Really from his rookie year, Henry showed loads of potential. Here he has some great looking power offense. Like the multiple back breakers on Jeff Hardy. The one armed power slam.

Finally hitting his big splash. Which in 98, Henry has the best big splash ever. He gets a lot of height on it. Almost a standing frog splash.

Henry's problem for years was more a booking problem than anything being wrong with his work.

The Boss (Big Bossman) WCW Debut vs Rick Rude

This is a borderline great match. I would be fine using this as a spotlight on why Bossman and Rick Rude were great wrestlers.

Bossman comes in as a dominating monster. Throwing Rude around the ring, dismantling him. Then later, Bossman plays the underdog babyface despite being a lot bigger than Rude.

Rude does a great job playing heel in peril. Getting his ass kicked by Bossman and the fans eating it up. Then he does this fantastic offensive flurry. As if he is desperate, even busting out the Original Rude Awakening DDT.

He then gets control and it works perfectly because Rick Rude is the best heel ever.

Best thing is, this match has a clean finish. Of course in true pro wrestling fashion, the PPV rematch was not nearly as good.