-I am recording this between vacations. Taking some time off to make up for working almost the entire past year without a break.
-I have graduated to the final phase of my post-surgery life. I have virtually no restrictions and have lost 66 pounds since January.
-Today we look at the Great American Bash ’86 Greensboro stop from Jim Crockett Promotions and the NWA.
-The Great American Bash ’86 Greensboro took place July 26, 1986 from the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina.
-Steve Regal VS. Sam Houston: Houston gets a fantastic ovation as he is introduced. Referee Earl Hebner goes over the rules with both men. Regal with the early advantage. Houston coming back. He has Regal in a side headlock. Regal leap frogs Houston but then gets hit with a big slam. Back to the side headlock, this time on the mat for Houston. Regal reverses for a two count and Houston complains that his tights were pulled. It happens again but Regal denies it. Back to their feet. Regal hits a big running elbow. Runs Houston headfirst into a turnbuckle. He then gets a big headlock and the referee is asking Houston if he wants to give up. Houston is fighting it. Houston gets back to his feet. Regal gets a running knee into Houston’s midsection. He follows it up with a backbreaker that gets another two count. Regal gets a side headlock on, but Houston still won’t give up. Crowd getting behind Houston. He gets to his feet but a Regal elbow to the gut and he is back down again. Houston says Regal pulled the tights again which Regal denies. Houston blocks Regal’s suplex attempt and reverses it. The crowd is absolutely losing their minds. Houston follow it up with a monkey flip. He then slams Regal down on the ring. He signals for the bulldog, but Regal pushes off and Houston slams his knee into the corner post. Regal then gets the pin with his feet on the ropes. Crowd boos the result. Houston explains what happened to the referee and the crowd is so loud saying that’s what happened. Houston begging the referee to restart the match. Houston gets on the house mic and gets the crowd to chant Regal. They start to slug it out. Houston knocks Regal down and Regal rolls out of the ring. The referee goes out and raises Regal’s hand. It’s very confusing.
-Denny Brown and The Italian Stallion VS Black Bart and The Barbarian: Bart is the Mid-Atlantic Champion at the time and Brown is the Jr Heavyweight Champion. Bart and Brown start. Bart with the advantage. Brown comes back with a hip lock. Follows it up with a couple of head scissors. The faces take turns hitting Bart as he is in their corner. Bart knocked down and retreats to his corner. He comes back out and Brown does a leap frog and gets a big slam. Stallion tagged in. He gets an arm wringer on Bart. Brown tagged in. Heels take over and get Brown in their corner. Barbarian tagged in and hits a big chop from the second rope. Then he hits a shoulder block on Brown. Barbarian does a military press to Brown and slams him down. Barbarian then hits a big boot. Then a back breaker, but Brown gets a foot on the rope to stop the count. Bart tagged in and hits a big clothesline. Bart choking and biting Brown. He runs him into Barbarian’s boot. Bart with a snap mare and a leg drop. Then two more leg drops. Then a big slam. He misses the leg drop from the second rope though. The crowd comes to life. Stallion tagged in. He cleans house and hits a big dropkick to Bart. Bart with a suplex and he tags Barbarian in. He hits a top rope headbutt and gets the pin.
-Glove on a pole match. Baron Von Raschke with Paul Jones VS. Manny Fernandez: Von Raschke with the early advantage. He gets some shots in and a headlock on Fernandez. Fernandez comes back with a back elbow and starts going for the glove. Von Raschke goes to cut him off, but Fernandez jumps over Von Raschke and does a backflip. He then hits a back elbow. Fernandez hits a snap mare and a knee drop from the second rope. He goes for the glove again but gets caught and dragged off by Von Raschke. Von Raschke does a backbreaker and an elbow drop on Fernandez for a two count. Jones chokes Fernandez with his riding crop as Von Raschke is distracting the referee. Von Raschke goes for the ropes, but gets slammed off by Fernandez. Fernandez with a back elbow. He does a corner whip to Von Raschke but misses a corner charge as Von Raschke moves. Von Raschke gets the claw on Fernandez who fights it. Fernandez is bleeding. He does an elbow to Von Raschke and tries to roll through but Von Raschke keeps the claw on. Fernandez trying to fight the claw and avoid being pinned. The crowd chanting Go Manny Go as Von Raschke yells at them to shut up. Von Raschke has Fernandez down and goes for the glove. He gets it and puts it on and Irish whips Fernandez to put the claw on but Fernandez ducks and hits the flying forearm to get the pin. The crowd goes insane. Jones and Von Raschke attack Fernandez after the match. Von Raschke Irish whips Fernandez to put the claw on, but referee Earl Hebner pulls Fernandez outside.
-Strap Match. Wahoo McDaniel VS. Jimmy Garvin with Precious: Precious has Tom Miller tell the crowd not to smoke while Jimmy Garvin is wrestling. Ah, the 80’s. Precious gets into McDaniel’s face yelling at him. McDaniel puts up his fists at her and the crowd cheers. Garvin takes his time taking his gear off. So McDaniel straps his back and when Precious complains, he straps her butt. The crowd is going absolutely crazy with joy over this. He then threatens both of them with the strap. They finally both get the strap on and McDaniel is whipping Garvin with it. Garvin rolls outside, but McDaniel pulls him back in with the strap. He tries it again and gets the same result. They finally lock up. Garvin with a headlock but McDaniel gets out of it. Garvin again trying to go outside, but gets pulled back in. McDaniel strapping Garvin’s back then his front. It goes outside and they are slugging it out. Garvin runs McDaniel into the barricade and McDaniel is bleeding. He whips Garvin with the strap. Garvin wraps McDaniel with the strap and gets three corners before McDaniel breaks it up. McDaniel coming back and hitting Garvin with his fists and the strap. Garvin now bleeding. Irish whip by McDaniel and he chops Garvin down. He wraps Garvin up and gets two corners before Precious trips him to break it up. Garvin goes up top, but McDaniel pulls him off. McDaniel wraps him up again and gets three corners. Precious gets on the apron and hits McDaniel with the hair spray can, but he hits the fourth corner to win anyway. Garvin attacks McDaniel with the can afterwards. Precious tries to pull Garvin away from the ring. They slug it out and Garvin gets chopped and he leaves.
-Taped Fist Match. Tully Blanchard with JJ Dillon VS. Ronnie Garvin with Wahoo McDaniel: Blanchard tries to jump Garvin before the bell but gets back dropped and knocked out. This will be reminiscent of their Charlotte match in many ways I suspect. JJ revives Blanchard and the bell rings and Garvin attacks before Blanchard has his robe off or JJ has left the ring or anything. Blanchard keeps getting knocked down. McDaniel menacing JJ on the outside. All Garvin. Blanchard swinging wildly, getting hit, and falling down. Gets up on a 9 count. Blanchard cut over one eye. Knocked down again. Back up at 8, but swinging wildly. Knocked down again but saved by the bell. Round 2. Blanchard still down. JJ throws smelling salts on him. Blanchard goes to kick Garvin but gets caught and knocked down again. Lather, rinse, repeat. Blanchard selling hard. Blanchard kicks Garvin. Bell rings as Garvin is kicking back and the referee is getting all over him. Garvin and McDaniel argue with the referee. Round 3. Blanchard runs Garvin into the corner and kicks him over and over. Blanchard hitting Garvin with some big right hands. Blanchard with a snap mare to Garvin and punches him when he is down. Blanchard hits Garvin with a shot from the second rope as he is getting up and they both go down. Both up and they trade shots. Blanchard knocked to the outside. He pulls Garvin out. Blanchard goes after McDaniel who atomic drops him into a shot by Garvin. Blanchard out on the floor as the bell rings. Round 4. Blanchard struggling to get in and when he does he’s being peppered with shots from Garvin. He stays on his feet for the most part and when he is knocked down he’s back up on three. Garvin holds Blanchard for a big shot. He’s out and JJ is almost in the ring trying to revive Blanchard. JJ throws water on McDaniel and Garvin goes after JJ. McDaniel knocks JJ out as Blanchard puts brass knuckles on and knocks Garvin out. They are both knocked down. Blanchard gets to his feet and wins. The crowd doesn’t like it. Blanchard and JJ both bleeding as they leave. McDaniel checking on Garvin who is also bloody. Tom Miller first announces Garvin as the winner before correcting himself.
-Special Challenge match to determine the number one contenders to the world tag team titles. Minnesota Wrecking Crew Arn and Ole Anderson VS. The Rock N Roll Express Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson: Rock N Roll Express get a massive pop when they are announced. Ole and Gibson start. Very aggressive starting out. Ole gets Gibson into the Minnesota Wrecking Crew corner and tags Arn but Gibson slips away as Arn comes in. Arn with a stiff shot to Gibson and has some harsh words for Morton. Gibson with dropkicks to both Ole and Arn. All four in the ring now. Crowd is loving the Rock N Roll. Arn wants Morton so he tags in. Back and forth. Rock N Roll chant goes out. Arn with some shots to the body. Morton with a nice takedown. Morton with a DDT. Arn rolls outside. Ole goes to check on him. Fans chanting Rock N Roll again. Ole tagged in. Gets Morton in the corner and tags Arn back in, but Morton slips away like Gibson did earlier. Arn attacking Morton hard. Morton responds with another leg takedown. Gibson tagged in and goes to work on the leg. All Rock N Roll as they tag Morton back in and do a double hamstring pull. They attack Ole then go back and work on the leg of Arn again. Morton gets a leg lock on Arn. Arn gets to the ropes so Morton has to break the hold. He pulls Arn away from the ropes and goes back to the hold. Arn fighting it. He breaks the hold and tags Ole in. He hits Morton who starts going for his leg and gets him down. Morton tags Gibson in. They do quick tags and do the wishbone on Ole’s legs. Ole hits a kick to Gibson’s stomach. Minnesota Wrecking Crew double teaming Gibson, so Morton comes in. Now all four in the ring. Arn with a snap mare on Gibson, but misses a knee drop. Gibson puts the figure four on Arn while Morton puts it on Ole. The crowd is loving it. The referee gets Morton out of the ring and the Andersons take advantage. They attack Gibson’s neck and knee. Morton tagged in. He slams both Andersons before being driven into the corner by Ole. It goes outside and Arn is punching Morton. Ole punishes Morton on the ropes as a Rock N Roll chant goes out. Ole hits a back elbow for a two count as Tom Miller announces 5 minutes left in the match. Arn throws Morton over the top rope while the referee is distracted. For some reason that I don’t know, there is a camera out there and Ole uses the strap to choke Morton. Back in, Arn kicking and punching Morton and Gibson to cut off the tag. Ole hits a big knee drop from the top rope onto Morton. Three minutes left. Morton won’t give up. He starts a comeback but Arn tagged in before Morton can make the tag. Arn drops the knee on Morton. Two minutes remaining. Morton finally runs Arn into the turnbuckle and does a crossbody for a two count. They slug it out. One minute left. Arn misses a corner charge. Both Ole and Gibson tagged in with 30 seconds left. All four in and Gibson has Arn in the sleeper as the bell rings. Gibson grabs a chair and hits both Andersons with it. The match is declared a draw.
-Hair VS. Hair match. Jimmy Valiant with Manny Fernandez VS. Paul Jones with Baron Von Raschke: Valiant on the mic getting the fans to chant bald headed geek to Jones. Von Raschke attacks Valiant before the bell to give Jones the advantage. Jones gets a two count. Fans still chanting bald headed geek. Valiant trying to come back. Back and forth. Valiant bleeding. Jones hits Valiant with an illegal object. He drops it and Valiant uses it on him. Both men bleeding now. Valiant with a back elbow, then he goes after Von Raschke, who climbs up on the apron. Von Raschke throws Jones his glove, but Valiant has a glove of his own that he puts on and knocks Jones out. Von Raschke comes in and gets stopped by Fernandez. As the referee is getting them out, Shaska Whatley comes in, hits Valiant with a chain and puts Jones on top of him. Jones gets the pin. Fernandez can’t believe it. A bunch of faces come out to complain. The fans chanting no. Valiant can’t believe it but sits in the chair as Sandy Scott shaves his hair. He’s very morose as his head is shaved. He gets on the mat and gathers his hair up. Jones gets on the mic and yells out bald headed geek. The crowd is pissed at Jones.
-Best of 7 match for the United States Title, Match 4. Nikita Koloff with Ivan Koloff VS. Magnum TA: Fans love TA. He is introduced as the vastly popular Magnum TA. They battle for position to begin. Koloff knocked down and out. Back in, more positioning. Koloff with a side headlock. Then a test of strength. TA works on Koloff’s back. Koloff comes back and drops TA on the top rope. Then he hits a back elbow to TA and runs him into the turnbuckle. Then he does it two more times. TA blocks it on the next attempt and runs Koloff into the turnbuckle. Koloff working over TA’s midsection. He does a snap mare into a headlock. USA chant goes out. Koloff misses a clothesline and TA hits a crossbody for a two count. Koloff’s kick out throws TA to the outside. Koloff runs TA into the buckle post. TA bleeding. Koloff runs him in again. TA then guillotined on the top rope. Only gets a two count. Koloff working on TA’s back. He hits a snap mare on TA for a two count. Then a headlock, but TA is fighting it and pushes Koloff into the corner. TA with a back elbow. Koloff with a kick to TA’s face and a back breaker. That gets a two count. Koloff with a body slam for another two count. Throws TA to the outside. Koloff hits a big body shot on him as he tries to get in and then throws him out on the other side. Ivan Koloff attacks him on that side. He gets back in and Koloff throws him out on the other side. TA’s face is a mess. TA gets on the apron and does a sunset flip onto Koloff who tries to hold on, but Tommy Young kicks his hand away and TA gets the pin. The crowd loves it. One girl wipes her hands on TA’s face and loses it because she touched him. Heels complaining in the ring to big boos. USA chant as they leave.
-Cage Match. The Midnight Express Dennis Condrey and Bobby Eaton and Jim Cornette VS. The Road Warriors Hawk and Animal and Baby Doll with Paul Ellering: The crowd loves the Road Warriors and Baby Doll. Cornette goads Baby Doll into them starting first. This is just a ploy for the Midnight Express to try and attack her, but she hip tosses Eaton and the Road Warriors clear the ring. They run the Midnight Express head first into each other. Animal and Condrey start. Condrey hurting himself trying to knock Animal down. Animal with a big clothesline. Hawk tagged in. Condrey run into Hawk’s boot. Hawk military presses Condrey and slams him. He goes to the wrong corner and Baby Doll slaps him and Hawk gives him a big forearm. Eaton tagged in. Hawk hip tosses him and gives him a big boot. The Midnight Express and Jim Cornette complaining that the cage door is not locked but it is. Animal tagged in and he and Hawk do a double back drop to Eaton. Eaton goes over to tag Cornette but he climbs up the cage not to tag. Animal hip tosses Eaton out of the corner. Then hits a dropkick and military presses Eaton. He throws him face first into the turnbuckle. Condrey tagged in. He slams Animal down, so Cornette tagged in. He misses an elbow drop and immediately tags out to Eaton. Hawk also tagged in. He no sells Eaton’s chops. He slaps Eaton who spins around and also gets chopped by Baby Doll and sells it hard. Hawk slams Eaton down. Animal tagged in and goes for a splash, but Eaton gets his knees up. Condrey tagged in and landing shots on Animal’s lower back. Animal in the heel corner and being choked on the ropes by Cornette and Eaton while Condrey distracts the referee. Eaton tagged in and hits Animal with a big right that knocks him down. He hits a big fist drop from the top of the cage on Animal. Condrey tagged in. Gets a two count. A clothesline gets another two count for Condrey but Animal gets his foot on the ropes. Eaton tagged in and goes back to the top of the cage but Animal catches him with a shot coming off then hits a clothesline. Hawk tagged in and hits a big power slam. Then a dropkick and a shoulder block. All 6 in and Baby Doll goes after Cornette who tries to get away. She slugs him and pins him to win the match. The crowd pops big for the win. The Midnight Express and Jim Cornette limp out of the ring yelling at the camera to get out of their face. Eaton pushes the cameraman.
-Cage Match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship Ric Flair VS. Dusty Rhodes: Rhodes already in the ring as Flair’s music plays. Tommy Young shows the belt to the crowd. They are face to face to begin. Slow to start. Both do some strutting. They lock up and start jabbing at each other in the corner. Rhodes with the early advantage as Flair goes down after some shots. Flair with a headlock into a hammerlock and Rhodes reverses it. Flair goes to run Rhodes into the corner, but Rhodes blocks it. Back and forth. Rhodes working a wrist lock. Into an arm lock. Flair gets out. Shot off into the ropes and Rhodes with a hip toss to Flair. They exchange chops. Flair opens up the chop house in the corner. Rhodes with a big slam and he hits some shots in the corner. Flair gets a knee to the stomach when the referee stops it. Rhodes with a sleeper. Flair gets to the ropes. Rhodes drops an elbow on Flair for a two count. Flair lands a blow to Rhode’s midsection and he goes down. Flair runs Rhodes into the cage. He then does it again and Whoo’s to the crowd. Rhodes is bleeding. Flair drops the knee on Rhodes head. That gets a two count. Runs Rhodes head against the ropes and the cage. Rhodes just brutalized. Flair going after Rhodes leg to injure it and set up for the figure four. He puts the leg on the ropes and drops down on it. Flair puts the figure four on and the crowd comes alive as Rhodes is fighting it. He almost gets his shoulders counted down as he is exhausted from the pain. Flair really cranking the figure four. Rhodes saying no over and over. Rhodes reverses it and the crowd goes crazy, but Flair keeps rolling and they are back where they were but closer to the cage so Flair grabs it for leverage. He breaks the hold. Flair clips Rhodes leg and he falls again. Flair drops the knee for a two count. He then opens up the chop outs again. He sets Rhodes against the ropes, but He fires out with a clothesline for a two count but Flair gets his feet on the ropes. They trade shots. Flair goes to climb out of the cage but Rhodes catches him and runs his head against the cage. Flair begging off in the corner. Rhodes runs him into the cage. He then rubs his face against the cage and Flair is bleeding. Rhodes works on Flairs leg and again Flair tries to escape and climb out of the cage. He gets almost over, but Rhodes catches his leg. Rhodes runs him into the cage and Flair falls and crotches himself. Flair between the ring and the cage and Rhodes keeps hitting him into the cage. Flair chops Rhodes who falls to one knee. Flair goes to the top rope. He gets slammed off and Rhodes gets the figure four on and Flair is screaming fighting it. Flair gets to the ropes. Rhodes chops Flair in the corner. Flair falls face first. Flair chops Rhodes and goes to snap mare him, but Rhodes blocks it and goes for a back slide. Flair fights it but gives in and Rhodes gets a two count. Rhodes ducks a clothesline and hits one of his own and drops the elbow. He gets another two count. Flair again tries to leave. Rhodes goes to stop him, but Flair kicks him off and hits a crossbody from the top rope. Drink all the alcohol you have IYDAH. Flair goes to run Rhodes into the cage but Rhodes reverses it and runs Flair into the cage for a two count. Rhodes hits a back elbow, but misses the big elbow drop. Flair goes for a slam, but Rhodes turns it into a small package for the three count. New NWA Champion! The crowd pops huge. No one can believe it. Tom Miller is ecstatic when he announces Rhodes as the new champion. The faces all pour into the ring to congratulate Rhodes. He climbs a turnbuckle and holds the belt up for the crowd. He then hugs the belt in an emotional moment. A Dusty chant goes out. He hugs Magnum TA for a long time. They strap the title around his waist. He then hugs everyone else in the ring and then they all make their way to the back.
-Tom Miller thanks everyone for coming and they fade to black.