Million Dollar Team vs Dream Team (WWF, 11-22-1990)

WWF Survivor Series, Hartford, CT

A request! It is Dusty’s birthday, as discussed before, and so this is fitting.

It’s also fitting, kinda, because last night on the NXT program, a 614-year-old Undertaker got to come in and punch Bron Breakker in the face one time which sent Bron Breakker into the great beyond, followed by a chokeslam and Undertaker making clear that this little loser wiener isn’t a big American Bad Ass like him. If they follow this up by having Breakker spear Undertaker in a WrestleMania match until Undertaker shits his pants and gets on the mic and says “ive shitted my pants ill go home now” then I think that’s probably pretty good

(Requests open and tips always appreciated!)

Ric Flair vs Dusty Rhodes (NWA, 7-26-1986)

NWA The Great American Bash Tour, Greensboro, NC

Today would have been Dusty Rhodes’ 78th birthday. The American Dream is and will always be one of my favorite wrestlers to ever do it, and to celebrate his birthday, let’s watch a Dusty match. And a great one at that.

This match is for Flair’s NWA world heavyweight title, which Rhodes failed to win at both Starrcade ’84 and Starrcade ’85, even though the latter they pretended on the live show that he did win, only for the decision to be changed to a Rhodes DQ win after, thus no title change.

We’re in a steel cage in front of about 15,000 at the Greensboro Coliseum.

(Requests open and tips always appreciated!)

Samoa Joe vs Homicide (ROH, 4-23-2004)

ROH Reborn: Stage One, St. Paul, MN

From the first night of the “Reborn” weekend, ROH’s first after the Feinstein scandal, getting their ducks back in a row, getting the company ready to move on, and becoming what it really was to me, because right about here is where I first got into it. The next night was their debut in Chicago (Ridge), and my first ROH live show.

Joe has already held the ROH title a while (I don’t feel like looking it up and don’t remember off hand) and become a true dominant champion, and Homicide had a shot at him and the belt back in May 2003 in Philadelphia, which Joe of course won. They also had a non-title, no holds barred match in October 2003, which Homicide won.

(Requests open and tips always appreciated!)

Asuka vs Roxanne Perez (NXT, 10-10-2023)

WWE NXT, Orlando, FL

Didn’t get to watch this one live during NUCLEAR TUESDAY because it was head-to-head against a mid-match Bryan Danielson vs Swerve Strickland. I was hoping this would go head-to-head against, like, Chris Jericho or Edge “Adam Copeland,” but it did not. Sad, really.

What I hope for here is something like the famous ’94 RAW Bret Hart vs 1-2-3 Kid match, but I also have my doubts.

(Requests open and tips always appreciated!)

Randy Savage vs Ric Flair (WWF, 9-14-1992)

WWF Prime Time Wrestling, Hershey, PA

A request! The match was taped on Sept. 1, aired on Prime Time 13 days later, right toward the end of the show’s run before it became Monday Night Raw in January ’93, which is also when Flair would leave the company.

This is a title rematch from WrestleMania VIII, with Savage defending against Flair. It’s a match with a pretty good Cagematch rating, but one Flair did not remember fondly at all and has a bad general reputation.

(Requests open and tips always appreciated!)

Ric Flair vs Randy Savage (WWF, 4-5-1992)

WWF WrestleMania VIII, Indianapolis, IN

A request! Ah, WrestleMania in Indianapolis, where it will never be again, even if Pat McAfee begs, because Indianapolis is … Indianapolis. You ever been there? I have.

This is kind of an odd duck WrestleMania to me looking back, because it did 62,000 in claimed attendance at the old Hoosier Dome, a year after they had to fake Sgt. Slaughter security threats because they couldn’t sell the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in a cooling period coming out of the white hot 1987-90 “Hulkamania” run, but they did a big crowd here because Indianapolis was, for the time, kind of the perfect spot.

It’s also a good show, I think. Obviously not a star ratings bonanza but you had a billed double main event with this title match and Hogan vs Sid Justice up top, kinda half-billed as Hulk potentially retiring, you know, for his hugely promising film career, and you had a great, somewhat thrown-together undercard program with Piper and Bret for the IC title that only had about two months to really build.

(Requests open and tips always appreciated!)

LA Knight vs Montez Ford (WWE, 6-2-2023)

WWE Smackdown, Wilkes-Barre, PA

A request! Someone wanted to request an LA Knight match and I asked only for it to not be one with Austin Theory.

This is a Money in the Bank qualifying match. I rarely watch Smackdown in full, and I definitely didn’t watch this episode.

(Requests open and tips always appreciated!)

Charli Evans vs Scott Green (Newy Pro, 10-7-2023)

Newy Pro Clash at the Castle II, Erina, New South Wales, Australia

This is on FITE+ (I don’t get anything if you sign up through that, but I should) and I’m just looking for stuff to watch for the evening, basically.

“Newy Pro” is short for “Newcastle Pro Wrestling,” and apparently they really use “Newy Pro” as their abbreviation, so I have to use it, too, for the SEO and all that.

(Requests open and tips always appreciated!)

Bryan Danielson vs Kyle Fletcher (AEW, 10-7-2023)

AEW Collision, Salt Lake City, UT

Just wanted to watch this one. Only so many Bryan Danielson matches left, supposedly. He stressed in his pre-intro Collision promo that Kyle Fletcher is 24 YEARS OLD!!!

It’s also a great way to keep Fletcher showcased while Davis is sidelined again. Clearly these dudes were supposed to win the tag belts at WrestleDream (I was 100% sure of that when the Bucks won the four-way) and their time will come.

My affinity for Tag Wrestlers In Singles Matches is also in play!

(Requests open and tips always appreciated!)

Becky Lynch vs Tiffany Stratton (NXT, 9-30-2023)

NXT No Mercy, Bakersfield, CA

A request! I did not do a review for the first Stratton vs Lynch match, but I did happen to watch that one and thought it was really good. And joking about Becky getting busted down to NXT so she can fruitlessly chase a legacy as deep and meaningful as Charlotte Flair’s aside, I have no actual problem with her winning the NXT title.

1. Wrestling belts are pretend.
2. NXT is, basically, pretend. It has had so little actual impact on what happens for someone when/if they move up that it’s hard for me to take NXT seriously in the sense of, like, “protecting” talent. If you watch it every week and want to do so, feel free, just prepare for disappointment when people get to the big shows.
3. Working with Lynch makes Stratton better — or should, if Stratton is worth her salt, as she damn sure appears to be — and gives Stratton the rub of hanging with an established, true, actual superstar. Not WWE Superstar. A superstar pro wrestler. This idea doesn’t always (or even usually!) work like that, but I think this is the exact type situation where it does.
4. It gives NXT a shot in the arm. That seems to be working. I fully expect NXT to beat AEW in the numbers head-to-head this coming week when Dynamite does a Tuesday one-off, but mostly I’m looking forward to a fun ass night of wrestling because both shows appear to be loading up.

(Requests open and tips always appreciated!)