Burning Hammer DVD Review #7

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WG: We Like To Hurt People
Compilation Tape

--Taped from various places

--Your hosts are Jim Cornette & Dave Meltzer

--Tennessee Streetfight Match: New Fabulous Ones V. Phil Hickerson, Spoiler II. This is from the CWA, in 1984. The New Fabulous Ones, consisting of Tommy Rich & Eddie Gilbert, were the brainchild of Jerry Jarrett, and the idea was to cash in on the popularity of the original Fabulous Ones, and this idea totally bombed with the Memphis fans. Hickerson might be better known to some people from his stints in WCCW & USWA as the Vietnamese mercenary PY Chu-Hi. This was not the original Spoiler, Don Jardine, but was rather Frank Morell under a mask as Spoiler II. Total bloodbath, with Rich bleeding more than any human being should be able to bleed. He bleeds so much that he turns the front of his white shirt a dark red. Gilbert gets the pin on Hickerson at 6:31 after Rich hit Hickerson with a middle-rope Headbutt, while wearing Spoiler II's loaded mask. *1/2 Wild, chaotic brawl, with lots of bloodshed, but there was no flow or rhythm to this match whatsoever.

--Rock ÔN' Roll Express V. Randy Savage, Lanny Poffo (W/Angelo Poffo). This is from the CWA, in 1984, and would be a rematch from the match on The Maim Event DVD. Lanny hits a Standing Senton on Morton. Savage once again tries for a Piledriver on Morton through a table on the outside, but this time Morton reverses and sends Savage into the table, but not through it, with a Backdrop. Gibson pulls out a Superplex on Lanny, which was a very rare move at this time. Express get the win at 8:28 aired by disqualification when Angelo attacks them. ** Some good southern tag team wrestling, which most likely set up another rematch down the road.

--Dick Slater V. Dory Funk Jr.. This is from SCW, in 1984. Dory is Terry Funk's older brother, and at this point in time Slater was wrestling exactly like Terry, so this was the equivalent of Dory versus Terry, just without Terry being involved. Dory wins by disqualification at 6:26 when Tully Blanchard attacks him. * This was just one long feeling out process, with both men just biding their time until the run-in.

--Cage Match: Tiger Jeet Singh V. Sheik. This is from the Toronto territory, sometime in the late 70's. Escape the cage to win rules are in effect here. Singh wrestled as a heel everywhere else in the world, but due to the massive Hindu population in Toronto, he was a face in this match. Singh would be the father of Tiger Ali Singh, and no matter how you slice it, I don't think either father or son has ever been involved in one good match. Sheik is the uncle of Sabu, and is responsible for training both Sabu & Rob Van Dam for pro wrestling. We're six minutes into the match and it's nothing but punching & kicking so far. Singh unleashes his devastating finisher, the Cobra Claw, which was nothing more than a glorified strangle choke. Sheik amazingly finds a way to get loose, and manages to survive being in the dastardly Cobra Claw. Sheik win the match at 7:46 when Singh dumbass that he is knocks Sheik through the door when punching him. DUD This was a good match between Sheik & Singh, which is the reason I'd rather not have to ever watch them wrestle each other again.

--SCW Tag Team Championship Match: Al Perez, Manny Fernandez V. Fabulous Blonds. The Blonds consist of WCCW mainstay Eric Embry, and Ken Timbs, who would go onto much fame in Mexico as Fabuloso Blondie. The Blonds are the 80's equivalent of Billy & Chuck, except they weren't gay, and they could actually wrestle. Nice crisscross sequence sees Fernandez hit a Dropkick and a pair of Armdrags on Embry. Timbs tries a Springboard Crossbody out of the corner on Perez, but misses. Perez gets the pin and the titles at 10:56 after a Fernandez Lariat on Timbs. ***1/4 The face team of Perez & Fernandez lay a beating on the heels after the match, until the Sheepherders, the future Bushwackers in the WWF, make an appearance and proceed to beat down Perez & Fernandez until they're bloody.

--NWA Heavyweight Championship Match: Harley Race V. Terry Funk. This is from the Toronto territory, on February 06, 1977. Funk came into the match selling an already existing knee injury, and Race worked on the knee for most of the match like any smart wrestler would. Funk counters a Pendulum Backbreaker attempt with a Headscissors. Funk with the Spinning Toehold, but Race toughs it out. Race hooks in an Indian Deathlock, and Funk tries to hold out, but after a couple of minutes he finally gives in and submits at 7:19 aired to give Race the title. NO RATING They showed 7 minutes of what was around a 30 minute match, so there's no way I can rate it. What they did show was some good stuff, but I really wish they would have put the entire match on here.

--Pepper Gomez V. Bounty Hunter. This is from the WWA, sometime in the late 70's. I have no idea who Bounty Hunter is, so if anyone can fill me in, please let me know. Gomez's gimmick was that he had a cast-iron stomach, and nothing could hurt him in the stomach area. Gomez gets the pin with a Rollup at 4:22. 1/4* Nothing of any note from this match.

--Austin Idol (W/Jimmy Hart) V. Jim Neidhart (W/Spoiler II). This is from the CWA, in 1984. Neidhart wins by disqualification at 5:56 aired when Hart attacks him, which was a rather weird finish considering that Neidhart was the heel, and Idol & Hart were the faces, and in that situation the finish is usually the exact opposite of what it was here. 1/4* When a Bearhug is the highlight of the match, I doubt a good match will result, and this match was no different.

--Junkyard Dog V. Butch Reed. This is from the CWA, in 1984. Dog uses a Crawling Headbutt, and one has to question how much that actually hurts Dog's opponents. Once you take into account the fact that Dog has a massive afro, which had to provide some padding during the impact, how effective can the move really be?. Dog gets the pin at 7:44 aired with a Powerslam. 3/4* Dog was a couple of years past being worth anything in the ring, and it really showed here.

--Rick Rude (W/Angel), Jim Neidhart, Ox Baker, & Japanese Assassin V. Robert Reed, Tiger Mask II, Keith Eric, & Mad Dog. This is once again from the CWA, and it once again takes place in 1984. Tiger Mask II is not Mitsuharu Misawa, but is in fact Ken Wayne under the mask, and this was around the time that Satoru Sayama was winding down his career as the original Tiger Mask. Now, unless I'm wrong, this takes place before Misawa ever debuted as Tiger Mask II, so that would in fact make Misawa Tiger Mask III, but once again, if I'm wrong feel free to correct me. I have no idea who the Japanese Assassin or Mad Dog are, and neither do Cornette or Meltzer, so don't even bother asking. Rude is wearing a dress in this match, as a result of some pre-match stipulation. Meltzer thinks Rude looks a little like Chyna, but Cornette thinks that's rather insulting to Rude. Rude gets the pin on Eric at 3:20 with an Elbowdrop. DUD Completely meaningless squash.

--King Kong Bundy (W/Jimmy Hart) V. Jerry Lawler. This is from the CWA, in 1984. Stipulation for this match was that Lawler would get $1,000 from Hart for every minute he could last with Bundy. That of course lead to a boat load of stalling by Lawler here. Bundy gets the pin, with a 5 count instead of the standard 3, at 7:14 after nailing Lawler in the head with a chain, and hitting a Standing Splash. 1/2* Bundy won by a 5 count because his gimmick at the time was that he was such a monster he could beat people with a 5 count instead of a 3 count. Good story, bad match, with a lot of stalling helping the story but hurting the match.

--Terry Funk V. Mark Lewin. This is from the Detroit territory, sometime in the late 70's. Lewin holds onto an Armbar for a really long time. Funk keeps on trying to get out of it, but Lewin just won't let go. Match is a draw at 4:36 when both guys brawl to a count-out. 1/2* Post-match Funk tries to maim Lewin with a shard of wood. Match was just one long resthold.

--AWA International Championship Match: Tommy Rich (W/Tojo Yamamoto) V. Massao Ito (W/Jimmy Hart). This is from the CWA, in 1984. Ito apparently loves the Nerve Grip, because he keeps on going back to it time and time again in this match. Rich wins the match and the title at 8:06 by pin after tossing salt in Ito's eyes. * Lots of Chopping, Thrust Punches, and Nerve Grips dragged this match down.

--Jerry Lawler V. Kamala II (W/Jimmy Hart). This is from the CWA, in 1984. This would be the same Kamala that had a run in the WWF in the mid-90's. It's the 2nd Kamala overall however, with Stan Frazier, or Uncle Elmer as he was known in the WWF, being the original one. Kamala with a Pectoral Claw, and I can't recall ever having seen that move used before, and that of course is not counting whenever any male wrestler has used an *ahem* Pectoral Claw on a female wrestler. Lawler wins by count-out at 10:32 after hitting Kamala in the head with a chair and causing him to go into convulsions on the outside. *1/2 Lawler tried to make this interesting, but Kamala was just as bad back here as he was during his run in the WWF.

--Ray Stevens, Blackjack Mulligan (W/Blackjack Lanza & Bobby Heenan), Baron Von Raschke V. Crusher, Dick the Bruiser, Sailor Art Thomas. This is from the WWA, sometime in the late 70's. I know of, or have already seen every wrestler in this match but Art Thomas, who, despite Cornette & Meltzer extolling how popular he is, I have never even heard of, let alone seen. Bruiser gets the pin on Raschke at 7:01 with a middle-rope Foot Stomp. DUD Nothing match.

--Final Flash: Nothing to write home about on this volume of Wrestling Gold. The only match worth anything, Blonds/Perez, Fernandez, isn't worth checking out on its own. The commentary was good once again, but not good enough to save this DVD.

Not Recommended.

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