Old memories... WCW in Baton Rouge Aug '89

[Guest teke184]

I just got a tape in the mail from RF Video that contains matches from the only WCW taping I ever went to and, IIRC, the first live wrestling event I'd EVER been to. While it was mostly snorefests like Road Warrior Hawk vs. Samu (Rikishi's partner in the Headshrinkers and Samoan SWAT Team) with Paul E. Dangerously at ringside, it also had a few matches with some Smark favorites such as the Dynamic Dudes (WWE road agent Johnny Ace and Shane Douglas) vs. the New Zealand Militia (Rip Morgan and Jack Victory, one of Steve Corino's cronies), Douglas vs. Mike Rotunda, Brian Pillman vs. Norman the Lunatic, and Great Muta vs. Eddie Gilbert in an Anything Goes match.

 

Before I watched this tape, the only thing I remembered was Missy Hyatt getting sprayed in the eyes and hair, a nightly occurence for her I'm sure but, in this case, it was with Muta's green mist. After that, Muta and Gilbert go into a match that combines Muta's high-flying style with elements of the hardcore style that Gilbert infused into ECW in the early 90s. This match could be on WWF TV today and not be out of place as they fight on the floor, rub each other's faces into the edge of the ring, grab chairs from the crowd and beat each other, interference by Muta's manager Gary Hart and Gilbert friend Tommy "Wildfire" Rich, Muta choking out Gilbert with a piece of cord, and THREE uses of the mist in total including the dreaded RED MIST being used on Rich.

 

In a bit of true WWE booking years before its time, the finish comes as Gilbert does a high cross body on Hart and gets the three-count on him despite the fact that Muta and Gilbert were the two competitors. As revenge for the loss-by-proxy, Muta breaks out another set of green mist just for Gilbert.

 

The whole deal, including pre-match and post-match activities takes about 12 minutes and is rather good for a WCW TV match at that time not involving Ric Flair.

 

 

Yeah, this probably sounds pretty markish but I don't give a damn. Ever since I became a fan again about two years ago, I'd wanted to find some footage of this night just for the memories and I finally got it. I only wish I'd been smartened up enough back then to realize how many weeks delay the show was on and taped it myself as a keepsake.

 

 

I just wish I had a picture of Terry Funk scaring the shit out of me that night on his way to the ring... THAT doesn't appear on the tape, though, since I doubt the match that Funk was involved in (IIRC, it was a tag match with him and Muta vs. Sting and Ric Flair) made it to TV since a similar one headlined the next Clash of the Champions.

 

Questions? Comments? Anyone got their own stories?

[Guest Your Olympic Hero]

I remember going to a WCW/NWA house show when I was 5 in 1990. The main event scheduled was Ric Flair vs. El Gigante. I was excited, because as a 5 year old, seeing El Gigante would have been a treat. Instead we got Flair beating Brian Pillman in the main event. As a smark, that would be a classic, but I remember being dissapointed.