-Today we look at the Bunkhouse Stampede from the NWA and Jim Crockett Promotions.
-The Bunkhouse Stampede was broadcast on PPV on January 24, 1988 from the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. It was the fourth Bunkhouse Stampede event to be promoted by JCP, but the only one to air as a PPV event.
-This is the second shot fired between the WWF and JCP. WWF couldn’t go the dual PPV route again, so they did the next best thing.
-Before the event aired live on PPV, Sting and Jimmy Garvin defeated The Sheepherders Butch Miller and Luke Williams by disqualification in a non-televised tag team match. It was supposed to be The Rock and Roll Express taking on The Sheepherders, but Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson left the promotion the day before the event.
-We start out the PPV with the Opening Credits.
-We see Nikita Koloff coming to the ring.
-Bob Caudle and Jim Ross welcome us to the Finals of the Bunkhouse Stampede. Tony Schiavone is your ring announcer.
-NWA World’s Television Championship Match: Nikita Koloff VS. Bobby Eaton with Jim Cornette. Bobby has got to wrestle because Koloff can’t. They start out with a clean match. It devolves. Koloff does play to his strengths which are power moves. They go to rest holds on the mat. They eventually go to the outside. They brawl out there but go back into the ring. Back in, Eaton has the advantage. He hits a top rope leg drop. Koloff kicks out. Eventually Koloff hits the Russian Sickle on Eaton, but can’t cover. Eaton puts him in a hammer lock, hits two drop arm bars, but can’t get the submission. Koloff hits the Sickle again, but time expires. Stan Lane comes out and The Midnight Express jump Koloff.
-Jim and Bob talk about the last match before moving on to the next match.
-Western States Heritage Championship Match: Barry Windham VS. Larry Zbyszko with Babydoll: Music Dub City to start.
-Babydoll goes right after Barry Windham before the match begins. THANKS JIM, You’ve ruined the Western States Heritage Championship for me.
Larry Zbyszko comes out quick. Windham is up to the challenge, so Zbyszko classically stalls. They do some chain wrestling, and Windham is constantly frustrating Zbyszko. Zbyszko then gets Windham down and works the leg. Windham is so athletic trying to get out of it. Windham goes up top, Zbyszko moves, then takes over. Back and forth. Windham is selling his knee hard. They show a girl in the crowd who looks like she doesn’t know where she is. They go outside to fight for a bit. Windham posts Zbyszko. Zbyszko falls coming back from an Irish whip as Windham was going for a bulldog or lariat and Windham goes flying out. Zbyszko takes advantage. Later they both go down. The referee gets knocked down. Zbyszko hits Windham with Babydoll’s shoe and gets the pin and the championship.
-NWA World’s Heavyweight Championship Match: Ric Flair with JJ Dillon VS. Road Warrior Hawk with Paul Ellering: Hawk no sells the chops from Flair, so Flair closes the Chop House and withdraws. Hawk does power moves. Flair does a sell job. He then opens the Flair flophouse. Flair getting beat from pillar to post. Hawk is dominating Flair and Flair is making him look good. Flair goes to take a breather, Hawk follows. Hawk throws the ring steps at Flair. Back in, Flair hits a low blow. Flair takes over on Offense. He keeps battering Hawk on the outside railing. Flair focuses on Hawk’s knee. Hawk does sell the knee. Flair final gets the figure four on. Hawk fights to turn it over and gets it. Flair gets to the ropes. Hawk accidently hits the referee after clotheslining Flair. Flair gets clotheslined over the top rope. They both go out. Flair bleeds. Hawk takes over but there isn’t a referee. Hawk hits a superplex. JJ comes in and hits Hawk with a chair, Hawk then goes after JJ. Flair then hits Hawk with the chair, Hawk still kicks out on 2. Hawk no sells a suplex. Flair hits him again with the chair for the disqualification.
-They set up the cage for the Bunkhouse Stampede.
-Bob and Jim talk about the last match and about the final of the Bunkhouse Stampede.
-They run down the credits i.e. they need to stall for time.
-They go over the rules for the Stampede. You go out if you are thrown out of the cage or out the door to be eliminated.
-They then review the Barry Windham/Larry Zbyszko match.
-They talk about the men in the Bunkhouse Stampede.
-The Bunkhouse Stampede Final: Dusty Rhodes, Road Warrior Animal, Tully Blanchard, Lex Luger, Ivan Koloff, The Warlord, Arn Anderson, The Barbarian are your participants. They all start going after each other. The forearms are just flying. Lots of shoving and rubbing against the cage. Dusty Rhodes was close to elimination, but pulls out a stay. Koloff is bleeding. Ditto Blanchard. Unlike Starrcade, they do say DDT this time. Anderson gets one. Both he and Blanchard are bumping machines in this one. Animal gets busted open. The crowd gets into it as Rhodes gets Blanchard’s belt and hits everyone. Anderson is bleeding. It slows down as people are being worn down. Blanchard tries to pull Koloff through the door. Koloff gets thrown over. Warlord and Animal then get thrown out. Anderson, Luger, and Blanchard all out the door as the Horsemen were trying to get Luger out. Paul Jones slips The Barbarian something. He hits Rhodes then head-butts him. Rhodes gets Barbarian up and gives him two bionic elbows and Barbarian goes out. Rhodes wins.
-Bob and Jim recap the night and sign off and a recap package is shown of the night.
-This event did not meet with success because Rhodes booked himself to win every Stampede Final. The event was also marred by having the wrong time printed on the tickets and a majority of the fans missed the first half of the event.