NWA Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament 1986 Review

NWA Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament 1986 Review
August 5, 2023
By Ryan Porzl

Crockett Cup 1986 VHS

Event: Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament 1986

Tagline: None
Date: April 19, 1986
Location: New Orleans, Louisiana
Live or Tape: Live
Arena(s): The Superdome
Attendance: 3,500 (afternoon) and 13,000 (evening)
Announcers: None
Interviewers: None
Other: None
Broadcast: Home Video

The Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament or Crockett Cup was a tag team tournament held over two shows with the first being an afternoon show while the second would be an evening show. It was held in tribute to “Big” Jim Crockett Sr. who founded Jim Crockett Promotions in 1931 and ran until his passing in 1973. During Sr's run, the territory was mostly highlighted by tag teams which is likely the reason why this is a tag team tournament. For the original Crockett Cup, there would be teams of 24 with some teams getting byes and teams came from various NWA territories besides JCP while Bill Watts' Universal Wrestling Federation (formerly Mid-South Wrestling) would co-promote as the event was held in the Superdome which frequently held Mid-South/UWF events. The idea of the tournament is this is a single elimination tournament with the winning team getting a large trophy that represented the Crockett Cup and a check for $1,000,000. Along with the tournament, Crockett Cup events also would have one of two non tournament matches. The teams are as follows:

The Road Warriors (Jim Crockett Promotions)
The Russians (Jim Crockett Promotions)
Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard (Jim Crockett Promotions)
Magnum TA and Ron Garvin (Jim Crockett Promotions)
Baron Von Raschke and The Barbarian (Jim Crockett Promotions)
Black Bart and Jimmy Garvin (Jim Crockett Promotions)
The Midnight Express (Jim Crockett Promotions)
The Rock n' Roll Express (Jim Crockett Promotions)
Wahoo McDaniel and Mark Youngblood (Jim Crockett Promotion)
Manny Fernandez and Jimmy Valiant (Jim Crockett Promotions)
The Fantastics (Universal Wrestling Federation)
The Sheepherders (Universal Wrestling Federation)
Terry Taylor and Steve Williams (Universal Wrestling Federation)
D.J. Peterson and Brett Wayne (Universal Wrestling Federation)
Buzz Sawyer and Rick Steiner (Universal Wrestling Federation)
The Italian Stallion and Koko Ware (Universal Wrestling Federation)
Sam Houston and Nelson Royal (Universal Wrestling Federation)
The Fabulous Ones (Championship Wrestling from Florida)
Chavo Guerrero and Hector Guerrero (Championship Wrestling from Florida)
Giant Baba and Tiger Mask II (All Japan Pro Wrestling)
Bill Dundee and Buddy Landel (Continental Wrestling Association)
Bart Batten and Brad Batten (Central States Wrestling)
Dino Bravo and Rick Martel (Lutte Internationale)
Bobby Jagger and Mike Miller (Pacific Northwest Wrestling)

Now, I've been able to find portions of the show online and the entire show hasn't been released so this review will miss some of the matches. Here's the results from those matches.

Wahoo McDaniel and Mark Youngblood defeated Bobby Jaggers and Mike Miller
Nelson Royal and Sam Houston defeated The Batten Twins
Manny Fernandez and Jimmy Valiant defeated Baron Von Raschke and The Barbarian
Steve Williams and Terry Taylor defeated Bill Dundee and Buddy Landel
The Sheepherders defeated Chavo Guerrero and Hector Guerrero

Afternoon Show

Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament First Round: The Fantastics vs. The Fabulous Ones- The battle of pretty boy tag teams. The Fabulous Ones were Stan Lane before he was in the third incarnation of the Midnight Express and Steve Keirn before he was Skinner in the WWF. For 21st century wrestling fans, The Fantastics and The Fabulous Ones (or Fabs for short) were pretty much the same type of team in that they played the fun loving pretty boy tag team type that were common in the 1980s. Both teams achieved their biggest success in the southern United States during this time as well as for their matches and feuds with the Sheepherders. Ironically, The Fantastics would eventually feud with Lane in 1988 in the NWA when they feuded with the third Midnight Express while Bobby Fulton and Lane feuded in Smoky Mountain Wrestling in 1992 with Fulton in another Fantastics team with brother Jackie while Lane was in the Heavenly Bodies with Dr. Tom Prichard. Speaking of Prichard, a very young Bruce Prichard is the ring announcer.

Fulton and Lane start with circling and a tie up with Lane muscling Fulton to the corner but releases the hold. They trash talk. They tie up again and Lane muscles Fulton to the corner with the two breaking up and then shove each other. All four are briefly in the ring. Tie up again with Fulton getting a side headlock. Lane whips him to the ropes but Fulton comes off the ropes with a shoulder block. Fulton comes off the ropes, jumps over Lane, comes off the ropes, Lane leapfrogs, Fulton comes off the ropes, Lane sets up for a reverse monkey flip but Fulton stops himself, and stomps Lane before strutting to a pop. They tie up with the two trading wristlocks. Tag to Rogers who comes off the ropes, leapfrogs over Fulton, and hits a seated senton on Lane's arm. Rogers gets an arm wringer and applies an armbar. Rogers gets an arm wringer. Lane gets a drop toehold and attempts a side headlock but Rogers gets a hammerlock. Rogers kicks his legs in the air and drives his knees into Lane's arm.

They get up with Rogers getting a school boy for 1. They tie up with Lane getting an overhead wristlock and transitions to an armbar. Tag to Keirn who gets an arm wringer and applies an armbar. Rogers teases a punch with a closed fist which the referee stops and allows Keirn to pull Rogers down by the hair. Keirn applies an arm wringer. Keirn transitions to an armbar. Rogers gets up, uses the ropes to backflip, and get two arm wringers. Tag to Fulton with Rogers holding the arm while Fulton comes off the second turnbuckle with an elbow. Fulton gets an arm wringer with Keirn doing a front flip bump. Fulton pulls on the arm. At one point, Keirn gets up and turns it to a pin while grabbing Lane's hand for leverage but only gets 2. Fulton transitions to an armbar. Tag to Rogers who gets an armbar. Keirn whips Rogers to the ropes and Rogers comes off with a shoulder block.

Rogers comes off, jumps over, comes off, and Keirn tries to catch him with a hip toss but Rogers counters with his own. Rogers hits an armdrag into an armbar. Tag to Fulton with Rogers pulling back on the arm while Fulton comes off the ropes with a splash on the arm. Back to the armbar. Tag to Rogers who elbows the arm and applies an armbar. Keirn gets up and tries to armdrag out but Rogers holds on. They get up where Keirn rakes the eyes. Tag to Lane but Rogers catches him with an armdrag and applies another armbar. Tag to Fulton who gets, what else, an armbar. Lane gets a single leg takedown to get out but Fulton kicks Lane off. Take a guess what comes next? Yup. Armdrag followed by an armbar. Fulton taunts Keirn in which distracts to the referee allowing an illegal switch as Rogers comes in with an armbar. We get another illegal switch behind the referee's back and Fulton applies an armbar.

Lane finally gets out with some kicks that send Fulton over and out to the floor. Rogers goes to check on Fulton and help him back in but Keirn heads to the outside and rams Fulton's leg on the apron. Back in, Lane stomps Fulton on the stomach. Lane hits a swinging neckbreaker and then follows with a JYD four legged headbutt. Tag to Keirn who works over Fulton and bites him. Keirn then hits a hot shot. Keirn rakes the eyes. Fulton tries to fight out of the corner but Keirn rakes his eyes. Keirn whips Fulton to the ropes and catches him with another hot shot. Keirn instigates Rogers which distracts the referee which allows Lane to crotch Fulton off camera while Keirn struts. Keirn chokes Fulton with his boot in the corner. Fulton starts to make the comeback with punches and drops Keirn with one but Keirn grabs the trunks to prevent Fulton from tagging. Tag to Lane who drops an elbow to stop the tag. Lane whips Fulton to the ropes and catches him with a superkick.

The Fabs instigates Rogers in which distracts the ref and allows an illegal switch as well as Keirn tossing Fulton over and out. Rogers checks on Fulton. Fulton starts to get pumped up to a pop and heads back in where Keirn works him over with punches and drops him with them for 2. Tag to Lane who gets an arm wringer, whips Fulton to the ropes, drops his head too early, and Fulton comes off the ropes with a sunset flip for 1. Lane prevents the tag and Keirn comes in to instigate Rogers in which distracts the referee allowing another illegal switch with Keirn hitting a double foot stomp. Keirn gets some pins while grabbing the trunks but only gets 2. Tag to Lane who stops the tag and chokes Fulton on the bottom rope. Lane does some trash talking and spits at Rogers. Tag to Keirn who prevents the tag. Keirn gets a side headlock, Fulton whips him to the ropes, drops down to the canvas, Keirn jumps over, comes off the ropes, and they collide. Both are down. Hot tag to Rogers who cleans house with punches and dropkicks. Rogers hits a noggin knocker. Tag to Fulton with Keirn whipping Rogers to the ropes and attempts a back body drop but Rogers lands on his feet as Fulton gets the O'Connor roll to advance at 14:20 to a good pop.

Thoughts: DUD Unbelievably boring match with almost nothing redeemable coming out of it except maybe the Fantastics winning since I like them. The match only went 14 minutes but felt longer and the crowd seemed lackluster till the finish. The Fantastics offense drove me nuts as it's pretty much everything I despise about watching 1980s/early 1990s NWA/WCW with the boring arm work that amounts to nothing and leads to nothing. It's just there to kill time or create some illusion they're rasslin cause they applied a hold. The Fabs weren't much better and the heel beatdown was boring as well.

Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament First Round: Buzz Sawyer and Rick Steiner vs. Koko B. Ware and The Italian Stallion- This is really early in Steiner's career as he's three years in but I believe only changed his name from his real name of “Rob Rechsteiner” to “Rick Steiner” less than a year ago and he's still wearing generic black trunks and boots. Think most fans know who Sawyer, Steiner, and Ware are. Stallion was a wrestler who served as a jobber for WWF and NWA/WCW during the 1980s and 1990s. His biggest claim to fame was helping to train Mark “Henry O. Godwinn” Canterbury, R-Truth, and The Hardy Boyz all the while introducing the Hardyz to the WWF.

Sawyer and Ware start with a tie up before breaking up. Another tie up with Sawyer muscling Ware to the corner and works him over with forearms. Ware reverses a whip to another corner and catches Sawyer coming out with a back body drop. Ware then follows with a dropkick that sends Sawyer through the ropes and to the apron in a nice bump. Steiner comes in but Ware punches him out of the ring. Back in, Ware and Sawyer ties up and Ware gets a side headlock. Ware runs up the turnbuckle and gets a side headlock takedown. Sawyer rolls up Ware for 2 but Ware gets back into position. Sawyer gets up and hits a belly-to-back suplex but Ware holds on. Sawyer gets up and tries to repeatedly Ware to the ropes but Ware keeps holding on. Sawyer hits another belly-to-back suplex to break the hold. Tag to Steiner who drops a headbutt but misses. Tag to Stallion who punches the stomach and gets a side headlock takedown.

Steiner gets up, muscles Stallion to the ropes, and punches the stomach. Steiner whips Stallion to the ropes but Stallion comes off the ropes with a shoulder block. Stallion comes off the ropes, Steiner drops down to the canvas, Stallion jumps over, comes off the ropes, and Steiner tries to catch him with a hip toss but Stallion counters with his own. Stallion follows with a dropkick. Stallion gets a side headlock and tags Ware who gets his own side headlock. Steiner muscles Ware to the ropes and tags Sawyer who nails Ware but Ware comes back with jabs that drop Sawyer. Sawyer gets too close to Stallion and Stallion gets a punch in. Tie up with Ware getting a side headlock. Sawyer whips him to the ropes, drops down, Ware jumps over, Ware comes off the ropes, Sawyer leapfrogs, Ware comes off the ropes, Sawyer drops down, Ware jumps over, Ware comes off the ropes, Sawyer leapfrogs, and Ware comes off the ropes with a high crossbody for 2.

Ware gets another side headlock takedown and tags Stallion. Ware gets Sawyer up and Stallion comes off the second turnbuckle with a double ax handle. Stallion with another side headlock takedown. Sawyer rolls Stallion for 2 but Stallion gets back into position. Sawyer eventually gets up, whips Stallion to the ropes, but Stallion comes off the ropes with a shoulder block that knocks Sawyer down. Back to the side headlock takedown. Sawyer tries to grab hair but referee Earl Hebner won't allow it. They get up with Sawyer struggling to get out until he rakes the eyes. Sawyer comes off with a shoulder block. Sawyer comes off, Stallion drops down to the canvas, and Sawyer stops for a waistlock as they scramble before breaking up. Tie up and yet another side headlock takedown from Stallion. Sawyer gets up and muscles Stallion to his corner where he tags Steiner but Stallion escapes the corner. Tie up and Stallion with another side headlock.

Tag to Ware who punches the stomach. Ware whips Steiner to the ropes and catches him with a powerslam for 2. Ware gets a side headlock but Steiner muscles Ware to his corner. Tag to Sawyer who gets a punch in the corner but Ware fights back with his own punches and gets another side headlock. Sawyer whips Ware to the ropes, drops down, Ware jumps over, and Sawyer catches Ware coming off the ropes with a flying forearm that sends Ware to the outside. Sawyer follows outside as Steiner comes in to distract the referee which allows Sawyer to suplex Ware on the floor. Sawyer goes back in as Steiner comes off the apron on Ware. Stallion heads out to check on Ware but the referee sends him back which allows Sawyer to go out and ram Ware back first into the guardrail before going back in. Ware eventually makes it back to the apron where Sawyer suplexes him back in for 2. Tag to Steiner who gets a bearhug before transitioning to a belly-to-belly suplex for 2.

Steiner gets a grounded bearhug where he gets a few nearfalls. Steiner gets Ware up and hits a bodyslam. Tag to Sawyer who works over Ware and hits a backbreaker for 2 while we get a small “Go Koko Go” chant. Sawyer gets a grounded bearhug and occasionally puts his foot on the bottom rope for added leverage. He hides it twice before getting caught the third time and is forced to release the hold. Sawyer argues at referee Earl Hebner which allows Ware to get a school boy at 2. Sawyer comes back by picking Ware up and ramming him back first into the corner. Tag to Steiner who hits a side slam for 2. Steiner applies the grounded bearhug and gets some 2s. Eventually, Ware fades and Hebner checks the arm but Ware gets it up on the third check. Ware starts to get up and gets out with an ear clap. Ware tries a bodyslam but Steiner easily blocks with a forearm to the back. Tag to Sawyer who hits a suplex. Sawyer climbs the top turnbuckle but misses the diving splash. Hot tag to Stallion who cleans house, whips Sawyer to the ropes, and catches him with a dropkick. Stallion hits a bodyslam but misses an elbow drop. Sawyer gets a side headlock, Stallion whips him to the ropes, but Sawyer comes off by catching a jumping Stallion with a powerslam to advance in 15:24. Hmmm. So that's where Steiner got the idea of catching leapfrogging wrestlers with powerslams.

Thoughts: * Slightly better than the previous match but not by much. Sawyer and Steiner had some decent moments but the rest of it was just boring, especially whenever Ware and Stallion were on offense. Just replace armbars with side headlocks and it was the same as The Fantastics' offense.

Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament First Round: Black Bart and Jimmy Garvin (w/Precious) vs. Brett Sawyer and David Peterson- Sawyer is the younger brother of Buzz and achieved success in various NWA territories in the 80s such as Pacific Northwest Wrestling, Georgia Championship Wrestling, and Championship Wrestling from Florida. Peterson is best known for his work in World Class, AWA, Texas All-Star Wrestling, and Central States Wrestling. His biggest claim to fame is being one half of the final AWA World Tag Team Champions alongside The Patriot (then The Trooper).

Bart and Sawyer start by circling and a tie up with Bart muscling Sawyer to the ropes. Bart works over Sawyer then whips him to the ropes, misses the clothesline, and Sawyer comes off the ropes with a high crossbody for 2. They tease a test of strength but Bart kicks the stomach and works over Sawyer. Sawyer reverses a whip to the corner and catches Bart coming out with a hip toss. Sawyer then hits two flying head scissor takedowns. Sawyer keeps the head scissor applied until Bart reaches the ropes. Tag to Garvin with Sawyer getting a side headlock. Tag to Peterson who gets the side headlock. Garvin whips Peterson to the ropes and Peterson comes off with a shoulder block. Peterson comes off but Garvin catches him with a knee to the stomach. Garvin rams Peterson into Bart's knee. Tag to Bart who rams Peterson into the top turnbuckle. Peterson tries to fight out of the corner but Garvin hits a cheap shot from the apron.

Bart gets a side headlock and thumbs the throat as we get a small “Go Brett Go” chant. Peterson starts to come back with punches to the stomach and gets a hammerlock. Tag to Sawyer with Peterson taking Bart down by the arm and Sawyer comes off the top turnbuckle with a guillotine leg drop on the arm. Sawyer gets a wristlock and tags Peterson who does a leapfrog over Sawyer and hits a seated senton on Bart's arm. Peterson gets an arm wringer. Tag to Sawyer with Peterson taking Bart down again and Sawyer comes off the top turnbuckle with a diving kneedrop on the arm. Sawyer gets an arm wringer but Bart rakes the eyes. Bart rams Sawyer into Garvin's knee and works him over with forearms. Bart hits a hot shot. Tag to Garvin who whips Sawyer to the ropes and catches him with a back body drop for 2. Sawyer reverses a whip to the corner but Garvin rebounds by coming out with a running clothesline for 2. Garvin rams Sawyer into Bart's knee.

Tag to Bart who hits a throat thrust and hits a pendulum backbreaker for 2 as Sawyer gets his foot on the rope. Fans chant “Go Brett Go”. Sawyer tries to fight back but Garvin tags in and forearms the chest. Garvin hits a bodyslam for 2. Garvin whips Sawyer to the ropes but drops his head too soon and Sawyer comes off the ropes with a knee lift. Hot tag to Peterson and tag to Bart with Peterson cleaning house. Peterson whips Bart to the ropes and catches him with a back body drop. Peterson whips Bart to the ropes and attempts a dropkick but Bart grabs the ropes to stop himself while Peterson crashes to the canvas. Bart hits a bodyslam and comes off the ropes with a leg drop. Tag to Garvin who finishes with bombs away to advance at 6:10.

Thoughts: 1/2* Another forgettable match but thankfully it was much shorter which meant not as much boring holds from the babyfaces.

Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament Second Round: The Midnight Express (w/Jim Cornette) vs. Nelson Royal and Sam Houston- Royal was a regional wrestler from the 1950s to the 1980s where he also enjoyed six runs as NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion.

Condrey and Houston start with a tie up and Houston muscles Condrey in the corner where he works him over with punches before breaking. Condrey rakes the eyes and hits a knee to the stomach. Condrey rams Houston into Eaton's knee. Tag to Eaton who rams Houston into the top turnbuckle and works him over. Eaton whips Houston to another corner and catches him with an elbow. Tag to Condrey who works over Houston, whips him to the ropes, and hits a nice clothesline. Tag to Eaton who works over Houston. Tag to Condrey who whips Houston to the ropes but drops his head too soon and Houston comes off the ropes with a knee. Tag to Royal who works over Condrey. All four are in with Royal whipping Condrey to the ropes and catches him with an abdominal stretch. As the referee sends Houston back, Eaton comes off the top turnbuckle with a diving forearm and Condrey gets the pin to advance in 1:48.

Thoughts: *1/2 Alright for a match that went less than 2 minutes. Definitely the right call as not every match needed to go long and given Houston wasn't a big name, Royal was past his prime, and the Midnights were the tag team champions, this should've been quick.

Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament Second Round: Magnum TA and Ron Garvin vs. Buzz Sawyer and Rick Steiner- Garvin and Sawyer start with a tie up before breaking. They tie up with Garvin muscling Sawyer to the corner. Tag to Magnum who works over Sawyer in the corner, gets an arm wringer, and applies an armbar. Sawyer tries to bodyslam Magnum off but Magnum holds on. Sawyer gets up, whips Magnum to the ropes, leapfrogs, Magnum stops, and catches Sawyer turning around with an armdrag followed by an armbar. They get up and Magnum gets an arm wringer. Tag to Garvin who gets an arm wringer but Sawyer gets his own which see Garvin take a front flip bump. Garvin gets a single leg takedown but Sawyer kicks him off. Tag to Steiner who ties up with Garvin and Garvin gets a side headlock. Steiner whips Garvin to the ropes and Garvin comes off the ropes with a shoulder block that has no effect while staggering Garvin. Garvin comes off the ropes with another shoulder block to no effect.

Garvin drops Steiner with a chop and follows with more. Tag to Magnum who climbs the top turnbuckle as Garvin holds the arm. Magnum comes off with a diving ax handle to the arm. Magnum gets a fireman's carry takedown and applies an armbar. They get up with Sawyer grabbing Magnum's hair and they double team Magnum. Tag to Sawyer who bites Magnum. Sawyer works over Magnum in the corner and rakes the eyes. Sawyer rams Magnum to another top turnbuckle Sawyer applies a chinlock. Magnum gets up and elbows the stomach to get out but Sawyer scissors Magnum's leg with his feet to prevent the tag while tagging Steiner who drops Magnum with a punch. Steiner drops a forearm, applies a chinlock, and Magnum fades. The ref checks the arm but Magnum keeps it up in the third check as fans chant “Go Magnum”. Magnum gets up and runs into the corner sending Steiner into the middle turnbuckle. Steiner prevents the tag and tags Sawyer who hits a suplex for 2.

Sawyer attempts another but Magnum counters with a small package for 2. Magnum gets a backslide for 2. Sawyer sends Magnum to the corner where he and Steiner work him over as we get another “Go Magnum Go” chant. Tag to Steiner who whips Magnum to the ropes but drops his head too soon and Magnum comes off the ropes with a kick. Hot tag to Garvin who cleans house to a pop. Garvin whips Sawyer to the ropes and catches him with a back body drop. Garvin punches Steiner and tags Magnum. Garvin whips Steiner to the ropes, drops down to the canvas, and Magnum catches Steiner jumping over Garvin with the belly-to-belly suplex to advance in 5:20 to a good pop.

Thoughts: 1/2* Another alright match especially when Sawyer and Steiner were on offense. We got more useless arm work from the babyfaces.

Evening Show

We now are at the night shows. Tony Schiavone hypes the night's events including the remaining CC matches as well as Flair/Rhodes and Duggan/Slater before bringing in Jim Ross. Ross runs down the rules.

In the tournament, both teams will be eliminated in the event of a 20 minute time limit draw or double disqualification.
The teams will also only be allowed one save so they can only save their teammate from a pin once.
Piledrivers and coming off the top turnbuckle is allowed (the latter probably to Watts' chagrin)
Throwing an opponent over the top rope is illegal
Weapons are illegal

Schiavone runs through the tournament matches.

We then get the National Anthem playing.

Man, it's weird seeing JR and Schiavone together before they worked together. It's even weirder seeing a very young Bruce Prichard as ring announcer.

Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament Second Round: The Road Warriors (w/Paul Ellering) vs. Wahoo McDaniel and Mark Youngblood- The Road Warriors' theme sucks. It's no “Iron Man”.

Animal and Youngblood start with a tie up and Animal works over Youngblood. Animal whips Youngblood to the ropes, drops his head too early, Youngblood comes off the ropes with a leapfrog, comes off the ropes with a high crossbody but Animal catches him, and hits a backbreaker. Animal misses an elbowdrop. They tie up with Animal doing an overhead wristlock and an arm wringer. Tag to Hawk who comes off the second turnbuckle with an ax handle on the arm. Oh, come on Road Warriors. Not you guys too. Hawk hits a knee lift. Tag to Wahoo who ties up with Hawk before breaking. They tie up a few more times before breaking. They tie up with Hawk muscling Wahoo to the corner and hits a punch. Wahoo comes back with a chop. They trade chops until Hawk gets a side headlock. Wahoo gets out and attempts a school boy but Hawk reaches the ropes. They do a test of strength which Hawk wins but Wahoo eventually gets up and headbutts out.

Wahoo gets an arm wringer and an overhead wristlock but Hawk easily shoves him off. Hawk gets a side headlock and heads to his corner. Tag to Animal who hits Wahoo, whips him to the ropes, and catches him with an elbow for 2. Animal whips Wahoo to the ropes, misses the clothesline, and Wahoo drops Animal with a chop. Tag to Youngblood who ties up but Animal gets a side headlock. Tag to Hawk who nails Youngblood, whips him to the ropes, and comes off the other side with a jumping shoulder block. Hawk punches Youngblood but Youngblood comes back with chops. Youngblood whips Hawk to the ropes and comes off the other side with a dropkick. Youngblood punches Hawk, whips him to the ropes, and comes off the other side with a high crossbody but Hawk ducks to avoid it. Hawk then jumps to the second turnbuckle and comes off with a clothesline to advance at 4:22 to a pop while Wahoo just stands there like an idiot.

Thoughts: * Alright encounter. Nothing exciting and I guess it got the job done as The Road Warriors look good and quickly finish their opponents to advance. The only real issue was the finish as Wahoo looked stupid just standing there and not bothering to break up the pin when he had a chance.

Shaska Whatley and Paul Jones then come out with Whatley holding a piece of Jimmy Valiant's hair. He says Valiant is a coward and will destroy him. He calls out Valiant but he doesn't come out. Whatley gets on the mic and says the next time you see Valiant, he'll be laughing at the whooping he put on Valiant's ass. We then cut to Valiant and Fernandez at ringside and I guess they got into a fight with Whatley who yells at ringside while Jones throws a chair in the ring. Eventually, they're sent to the back. Didn't get this segment and it was a waste of time. Then again, anything Valiant is involved in during the 1980s, especially when feuding Paul Jones' crew, is a waste of time.

Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament Second Round: The Russians vs. Jimmy Valiant and Manny Fernandez- Prior to the match, The Russians are accompanied by Eddie Gilbert and some guy name Korstia Korchenko. Apparently, Korchenko is one of many “Russian” heels at the time who was around during the 1980s and worked for Georgia Championship Wrestling, Central States Wrestling, and Mid South/UWF. He apparently took on Hulk Hogan in 1983 and was a challenger for the UWF North American Championship when Jim Duggan had it. Gilbert thanks The Russians for having Korchenko out there and that when they win the prize money, they can take it back to Russia and he hopes they win before calling them true champions.

Nikita and Fernandez start as the fans chant “Russia sucks”. Nikita wants a test of strength but Fernandez is hesitant before eventually agreeing. Nikita wins the test but Fernandez climbs the top turnbuckle and kicks Koloff to break the hold. Fernandez leapfrogs over Koloff and then catches him turning around into a drop toe hold. Fernandez grabs the leg and drops an elbow on it. Fernandez gets a leglock but Nikita eventually makes it to his corner. Tag to Ivan who stomps away at Fernandez and works him over into the corner. Fernandez comes back by reversing a whip to another corner and catches Ivan coming out with an upper cut. Ivan gets too close to Valiant and takes a punch followed by one from Fernandez. Ivan comes back with a headbutt to the stomach and a kick. Ivan whips Fernandez to the ropes but drops his head too early and Fernandez comes off the ropes with a sunset flip to a pop for 1.

Fernandez gets a double leg takedown. Tag to Valiant who grabs the legs and points the referee to Nikita which allows him to stomp Ivan in the groin to a pop. Fernandez then crotches Ivan on the ring post to a pop. Valiant gets a side headlock and thumbs the throat behind the referee. Valiant blocks several punches and a kick by grabbing the foot. Valiant spins Ivan around and punches him for 2. Tag to Fernandez with he and Valiant double team whipping Ivan to the ropes and catching him with a double elbow for 2. Fernandez whips Ivan to the ropes and attempts a dropkick but Ivan grabs the ropes to stop himself and Fernandez crashes to the canvas. Tag to Nikita who hits a hot shot and rams Fernandez into two top turnbuckles while the fans chant “Go Manny Go”. Tag to Ivan with Nikita getting Fernandez in a front facelock and Ivan comes off the second turnbuckle with a double ax handle.

Ivan comes off with a leg drop for 2. Ivan stomps on Fernandez and applies a bearhug as the fans rally behind Fernandez. Fernandez punches Ivan and gets out with a hip toss. Tag to Nikita as Ivan stops the tag with a punch to the stomach and Nikita hits a double ax handle. Nikita hits a bodyslam for 2. Nikita applies the bearhug. Fernandez tries to reach for the tag but can't get it as Ivan comes in to distract the ref while Nikita sends Fernandez to the Russian corner. Tag to Ivan works over Fernandez into the corner. Fernandez reverses a whip to the corner but Ivan catches him charging in with a boot. Ivan climbs the top turnbuckle but Fernandez catches him and throws him off to a big pop. Hot tag to Valiant who cleans house as the crowd is loud. Valiant whips Ivan to the ropes and catches him with a sleeper but Nikita comes in to break it. All four are in but not for long as Fernandez knocks Nikita to the outside while the referee sends him back. Meanwhile, Nikita makes it back to the apron as Ivan whips Valiant to the ropes, misses the clothesline, but Nikita doesn't as he hits the russian sickle from the apron, and Ivan covers to advance in 9:01.

Thoughts: * Another alright match with a better finish. Again, served it's purpose but not much else to say. I will say it's satisfying to see Valiant eat the pin.

Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament Second Round: Steve Williams and Terry Taylor vs. Dino Bravo and Rick Martel- Taylor is replacing Ted Dibiase who is supposedly injured. In actuality, Dibiase is touring with All Japan at the time.

Match never happens as Williams and Taylor are ready to go but Martel comes out in a suit and talks with Prichard and referee Tommy Gilbert. Prichard announces Bravo is in the hospital due to appendicitis and can't compete. Not sure if this is true or not though Bravo didn't compete during this time and wouldn't again until June according to Cagematch so maybe it is. Anyway, because of this, Williams and Taylor advance via forfeit which the crowd loves because they are UWF favorites. Martel shakes their hands and that's that.

Thoughts: No Rating No match so no rating. Probably for the best given how many matches are on these shows, it's not the end of the world we were deprived another tag match.

Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament Second Round: The Sheepherders (w/Jack Victory) vs. The Rock n' Roll Express- We take forever to start as the Herders and Victory salute the New Zealand flag while the RnR get an American flag and salute that to a cheap pop.
Gibson and Luke start with Luke kneeing the stomach and muscling Gibson to the Herders corner where they double team him until Morton comes over to help Gibson fight out. Morton works over Luke while Gibson heads to the corner. Morton whips Luke to the corner where Gibson gets his feet up on Luke. Luke bails as the crowd is loud. Back in, Luke gets a side headlock but Gibson counters with an overhead wristlock. Tag to Butch who jumps Gibson from behind and works over Gibson. Butch gets a side headlock but Gibson counters that with an overhead wristlock. Tag to Luke who jumps Gibson and rams him into the top turnbuckle. Luke tries again with another corner but Gibson blocks and rams Luke into the top turnbuckle. Gibson gets a front facelock. Tag to Morton who works over Luke, whips him to the ropes, and catches him with a dropkick which knocks Luke to the outside. Butch comes in but takes a dropkick and gets knocked outside to a pop.

Back in, they tie up with Luke hitting Morton and works him over. Luke rams Morton into the top turnbuckle as the fans chant “USA”. Luke whips Morton to the ropes, misses the clothesline, and Morton comes off the ropes with a high crossbody for 2. Tag to Butch who ties up with Morton and works him over. Butch whips Morton to the ropes, misses an elbow, Morton comes off the ropes, Butch drops his head too soon, and Morton gets a sunset flip for 2. Tag to Luke and Gibson with a tie up and Luke muscles Gibson to the corner. Luke works over Gibson in the corner. Gibson reverses a whip to another corner but misses the charge and crashes shoulder first into the post. Luke headbutts the shoulder. Tag to Butch with Luke holding Gibson and Butch attack the shoulder. Tag to Luke with Butch preventing Gibson from tagging and allows Luke to punch Gibson. Luke throws Gibson to the outside where Butch whips Gibson to the ring post.

Back in, Luke hits a bodyslam and comes off the second turnbuckle with a jumping headbutt for 2. Tag to Butch as Luke grabs Gibson's leg and Butch stomps him. Butch comes off the ropes with another stomp. Butch whips Gibson to the ropes, drops his head too early, Gibson comes off the ropes, leapfrogs, and catches Butch turning around with a dropkick to a big pop. Hot tag to Morton who cleans house to a big pop. Morton works over Butch in the corner when Luke comes in but Morton stops him with a kick and hits a nogging knocker on The Herders. The Rock n' Roll hit Butch with a double dropkick to a big pop and Morton covers but the referee tries to get Gibson back in the corner. Meanwhile, Victory comes in but Morton punches him in the stomach. Morton grabs the flag and the ref catches him using it on Victory and, for some reason, that's enough for The Herders to win by disqualification at 8:43. To quote Krusty The Clown: “What the Hell was that?”. After the match, we get loud booing and a big “Bullshit” chant. Can't blame them.

Thoughts: *** Good match with a bad finish but no surprise as both can plug their formula with the other with The Rock n' Roll playing their never say die babyface role while The Herders playing their bloodthristy, brawling heel characters well. The finish was awful and one of the worst I've ever seen. I get this is 1986 and they want to protect The Rock n' Roll but how does one get disqualified by using a weapon against the cornerman? If that's the case, shouldn't The Herders be Dqed for Victory coming in the ring?

Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament Second Round: The Fantastics vs. Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard (w/J.J. Dillon)- Kind of weird to see Anderson and Blanchard as a team a year and a half before they teamed full time. Blanchard starts shit with Rogers before the match by pushing him.

Tie up to start with Blanchard muscling Rogers to the corner and they trade chops and punches with Rogers winning the exchange. Rogers whips Blanchard to the ropes and catches him with a forearm. Blanchard heads to his corner to regroup. Fans chant “Go Tommy Go!”. Tie up with Rogers getting a side headlock. Blanchard eventually fights out with punches to the back and stomach. Rogers comes back with punches of his own. Rogers ducks a punch and attempts an atomic drop but Blanchard blocks and tries his own but Rogers backflips out and catches Blanchard turning around with a dropkick. Blanchard bails out. On the outside, Blanchard tags Anderson but referee Earl Hebner won't count it. Blanchard eventually makes it back to the apron until Rogers slingshots him back in. Anderson tags in behind Blanchard's back. Blanchard attempts a takedown but Rogers dodges and all four are in until Fulton and Blanchard are sent back.

Rogers and Anderson before Rogers motions for Anderson to kiss his ass to a good pop. Tie up with Anderson getting a side headlock. Rogers whips Anderson to the ropes and Anderson comes off the ropes with a shoulder block. Anderson drops Rogers with a few punches and works him over in the corner. Rogers comes back by reversing a whip to the ropes and catches Anderson coming out with a hip toss. Rogers hits two dropkicks and Anderson bails out. The Fantastics do their strut to a big pop. Tag to Fulton as Anderson comes in. After some jawjacking, they tie up with Anderson getting a side headlock before transitioning to a hammerlock but Fulton reverses with his own. Anderson can't counter and eventually heads to the ropes for the break. Tie up with Blanchard grabbing Fulton's trunks to pull him into the ropes. Rogers comes in but is sent back which allows for an illegal switch. Blanchard knees Fulton into the corner and hits an european uppercut.

Blanchard rams Fulton into Anderson's knee. Tag to Anderson who works over Fulton as Blanchard cheap shots Rogers which brings Rogers in to distract the referee. Anderson throw Fulton to the outside where Dillon gets a stomp in and Blanchard stomps away at Fulton. Anderson pulls Fulton back onto the apron and hits some punches but Fulton comes back with a shoulder block to the stomach and a slingshot sunset flip for 2. Tag to Blanchard as Anderson prevents Fulton from tagging. Blanchard works over Fulton with stomps and punches. Fulton comes back with punches but Blanchard grabs his trunks and propels him to the outside. Blanchard instigates Rogers in to distract the ref which allows Anderson to rake Fulton in the eyes with his boots. Rogers goes to check on Fulton before being sent back. Meanwhile, Dillon comes back and, I believe, sprays something in Fulton's eyes. Rogers helps Fulton back to the ring.

Back in, Blanchard rams Fulton into Anderson's knee. Tag to Anderson who whips Fulton to the ropes, misses the elbow, Fulton comes off the ropes, and Anderson catches him with a spinebuster for 2. Anderson gets some punches before Fulton comes back with his own. Anderson falls but makes the tag to Blanchard while scissoring Fulton's leg with his feet to prevent the tag. Blanchard drops Fulton with a punch for 2. Blanchard tries several more pins for 2. Blanchard throws Fulton to the outside. All four fight on the outside as Blanchard attempts a suplex but Fulton gets out and catches Blanchard turning around with an uppercut. Back in, Fulton attempts the tag but Blanchard stops him before tagging Anderson who works over Fulton until missing a charging kick in the corner. Hot tag to Rogers who gets a slingshot dropkick and cleans house. Rogers whips Anderson to the ropes and catches him with a back body drop. Blanchard comes in but Rogers whips him to the ropes and catches him with a back body drop. Rogers whips Anderson to the ropes but drops his head too early and Anderson comes off the ropes with a gourdbuster for 2 as Fulton breaks it up. Blanchard comes in but is sent by referee Earl Hebner. Meanwhile, Anderson picks Rogers up and Fulton dropkicks Rogers back which knocks Anderson down and Rogers falls on top for the win at 11:20 to a big pop.

Thoughts: ***** Awesome match and SIGNIFICANT improvement from The Fantastics. This match had a bit of everything and these teams had great chemistry. The Fantastics were great as the never say die popular babyfaces who could wrestle and use speed while Anderson and Blanchard were great as technical wrestlers who knew how to bend the rules and use every shortcut they could. It's interesting as Anderson and Blanchard weren't even a full time team for another year but you can see their greatness. Fulton was good as the babyface-in-peril while Rogers was good as the house on fire. Like other great Anderson and Blanchard matches, they not only had great moves but the little things they do like sneak tag was great. I think another factor is this match had me wanting more. The Fantastics winning was a nice upset. While I know the UWF was technically co-promoting and The Fantastics were the champs, it has to be somewhat an upset given Anderson and Blanchard were apart of the new top stable in town in The Four Horsemen and both were singles champions. Maybe I'm looking at it in retrospect as The Horsemen were a bigger team in the long run. Nevertheless, it does make sense as The Fantastics were the full time team while Anderson and Blanchard weren't yet and the tournament needed a babyface team against The Sheepherders. The only thing that sucks is we never got these two teams in a feud when The Fantastics came to the NWA in 1988 but the tag divisions were loaded then. At least we did get a rematch two years later at Crockett Cup 1988.

Before the next match, Prichard hypes the next UWF Superdome Extravaganza.

Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament Second Round: Giant Baba and Tiger Mask II vs. Jimmy Garvin and Black Bart (w/Precious)- Think most fans know who Baba and TMII are but in case you don't, Baba is one of wrestling's biggest names and the #3 biggest name in Japanese Wrestling behind only his mentor Rikidozan and fellow Rikidozan protege Antonio Inoki. Though much bigger in Japan, Baba was pretty much in Japan what guys like Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin, and The Rock are in America in that regardless of whether you are a fan of wrestling or not, you likely know who they are. Baba originally achieved fame in America for the WWE (then WWWF), various other American promotions and Rikidozan's Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance before founding All Japan Pro Wrestling in 1972 where he served in many capacities including boss and for their first twelve years was their top star. He was Mr. All Japan until his death in 1999. Tiger Mask II is the second incarnation which means it's Mitsuharu Misawa. Misawa is another all time great who started his career with All Japan in 1981 and spent 1984-1990 as Tiger Mask II. His career peaked after taking the mask off in 1990 and served as All Japan's top star throughout the majority of the 1990s where he was arguably the best wrestler in the world given all the critically acclaimed matches he had. He also became known for later leading a huge exodus out of All Japan to create his own promotion in Pro Wrestling NOAH in 2000 which he served as a top star and boss until his death in 2009 where he infamously passed away in the ring due to a cervical spinal cord injury.

TMII and Bart start with a tie up with Bart muscling TMII in the ropes and hits a chop. They tie up again with TMII muscling Bart to the ropes and giving the clean break. They do a test of strength which Bart wins but TMII gets up, kicks a hand off, and gets an arm wringer with the other. TMII then jerks the arm repeatedly. Tag to Garvin who gets a side headlock but TMII counters with an overhead wristlock but Garvin counters with an a hammerlock and an arm wringer. TMII rolls around and does a front flip handstand to gain enough momentum to reverse with an arm wringer. Garvin hits an armdrag but TMII holds on to the armbar and drives some elbows into the arm. They get up, Garvin knees the stomach, and gets a side headlock. TMII whips Garvin to the ropes, Garvin comes off with a shoulder block. Garvin comes off the ropes, jumps over TMII, comes off the ropes, and TMII catches him with a dropkick.

Garvin rolls out and TMII comes off the ropes with a baseball slide dropkick which knocks Garvin into the guardrails to wake the crowd up. TMII teases diving to the outside but backs off and showboats to a pop. Precious climbs on the apron to complain. Tag to Baba and Bart who tie up with Bart muscling Baba to the corner and hitting a chop. Baba comes back with an overhead chop and a knee. Baba drops Bart with a chop and then hits a side russian legsweep. Bart comes back with offense, gets a side headlock, and thumbs the throat a few times with Baba doing some poor selling. Tag to Garvin who works over Baba until Baba comes back with an overhead chop. Baba rams Garvin into the top turnbuckle and hits a piledriver. Garvin rolls to his corner and tags Bart while Baba tags TMII who kicks the stomach and works over Bart. TMII whips Bart to the ropes and catches him with a back body drop.

TMII hits an elbow drop for 2. Bart comes back with strikes and rams TMII into Garvin's knee. Tag to Garvin while Bart hits a suplex and Garvin covers for 2. Garvin hits a hot shot and rams TMII into Bart's knee. Tag to Bart who works over TMII in the corner and then distracts the ref which allows Garvin to get some choking in. Bart gets more in, distracts the referee, and Garvin chokes some more. Bart gets a side headlock and a punch. Tag to Garvin with Bart holding TMII for Garvin to kick in the stomach. Garvin gets a small package for 2. Garvin gets a bodyslam for 2. TMII comes back with punches and rams Garvin into the top turnbuckle. Hot tag to Baba who works over Garvin, hits a snapmare, and stomps the stomach while smothering his boot into Garvin's stomach. Bart comes in but Baba chops him. Baba gets a side headlock, Garvin whips him to the ropes, and Baba comes off with a shoulder block with Garvin doing a big bump.

Tag to Bart with Baba getting him in a side headlock. Bart whips Baba to the ropes and Baba comes off with a shoulder block that staggers Bart. Baba comes off with another that staggers Bart. Baba then hits a polish hammer that drops Bart with Bart now bouncing around for Baba. Baba whips Bart to the ropes and catches him with a chop. Tag to TMII who comes off the top turnbuckle with a diving high crossbody but Garvin breaks the pin at 2. Tag to Baba who whips Bart to the ropes and catches him with a big boot to advance at 7:54.

Thoughts: ** You can probably file this under the “Better than it had any right to be” category. Not to take away from the guys but Bart is a solid hand but not great, I've never been into Garvin, Baba was past his prime and nearing 50, and TMII wasn't in his yet. Not to mention, the fans didn't know how to react as Garvin and Bart were heels while they probably didn't have a clue who Baba and TMII were. Still, it had some fun moments as there was some good wrestling, TMII showed his potential and even won some fans over with his athleticism while Bart and Garvin did good heel work on offense and bumped good for Baba. Baba was fine for a past his prime 48 year old who was kept to a minimum allowing TMII to do most of the work.

Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament Quarterfinals: The Road Warriors (w/Paul Ellering) vs. The Midnight Express (w/Jim Cornette)- Funny bit as Cornette is wearing a white suit coat and red pants next to Bruce Prichard. White and red. I guess Prichard was taken notes that night when he eventually came up with Brother Love. This has to be one of the first major encounters between these two teams but they would get to know each other later this year while The Road Warriors would also get to know ME Version 3 in the years to come including another memorable match at The Superdome.

Animal and Condrey start with a tie up and Condrey gets a side headlock. Animal whips Condrey to the ropes and Condrey comes off the ropes with a shoulder block but Animal isn't fazed. Condrey comes off the ropes, Animal drops down, Condrey jumps over, comes off the ropes, Animal leapfrogs, Condrey comes off the ropes, and Animal catches him with an elbow to a pop. Condrey heads back to his corner and complains to the referee about the elbow. Tie up with Animal getting a side headlock. Condrey would grab the mohawks and whips Animal to the ropes but Animal comes off with a shoulder block. Animal comes off the ropes, jumps over, comes off, stops as Condrey tries a leapfrog, and hits a dropkick which sends Condrey bailing out. Back in, Hawk tags in and has a posedown with Condrey with the fans preferring Hawk. They tie up with Condrey getting an overhead wristlock. Cornette jumps on the apron to distract the referee as Eaton comes in for his own but Hawk powers both off and follows with a double clothesline that sends both rolling to the outside to regroup.

Back in, they tie up with Condrey raking the eyes and works over Hawk. Condrey hits the piledriver and showboats but anybody that knows The Road Warriors knows Hawk no sells and gets right back up. Hawk catches Condrey turning around with a headbutt. Hawk jumps off the bottom rope with a stomp to the back and Condrey bails to regroup. Back in, Eaton tags in and ties up with Hawk. Hawk blocks a punch and Eaton rakes the eyes. Eaton gets the side headlock, Hawk whips Eaton to the ropes, Hawk drops down, Eaton jumps over, Eaton grabs the ropes to stop himself, and bail as Hawk sets up a clothesline. Animal jumps Eaton on the outside and press throws him back in the ring where Hawk hits a running clothesline which sends Eaton through the ropes and to the outside. Animal then hits a running clothesline on the outside to a pop. Eaton takes time to regroup and go back to the apron while Condrey complains about the referee and tags in.

Tie up with Condrey raking the eyes and hits a bodyslam. Tag to Eaton with The Midnights setting up the rocket launcher but Hawk gets up, The Midnights try the rocket launcher but Hawk catches Eaton, and hits a bodyslam. Hawk then hits a shoulder breaker and follows with a jumping fist drop. Tag to Animal with Hawk whipping Eaton to the ropes and The Warriors catch Eaton with a double team back body drop. Condrey comes in but taken out off camera by Hawk while Animal hits Eaton with a dropkick. The Midnights bail again to regroup. Back in, Condrey knees Animal in the stomach and hits an elbow to the back of the head. Condrey rakes the eyes and instigates Hawk in the ring which distracts the referee which allows Eaton to choke Animal in the corner and hits the throat. Animal comes back by reversing a whip to the ropes and catches Condrey with a powerslam. Animal tries to come off the ropes but Cornette nails him with the tennis racket allowing the Warriors to advance by disqualification at 8:06. After the match, The Midnights double team Animal while Hawk chases Cornette around the ring, then into the ring where The Warriors fight off The Midnights who bail.

Thoughts: *** Good match as both teams have chemistry and worked well together. This match was more about telling a specific story and I thought it succeeded in that which was The Road Warriors were just too much for The Midnights to the point where they decided, possibly out of frustration, to get disqualified rather than take the inevitable three count. The finish made sense as it gets the champions out of the tournament without them getting pinned and The Road Warriors advance.

Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament Quarterfinals: Steve Williams and Terry Taylor vs. The Russians (w/Eddie Gilbert and Korstia Korchenko)- Taylor and Ivan start with a tie up and Taylor getting an arm wringer. Ivan pulls him down by his hair but Taylor kips up and gets another arm wringer. Ivan pulls Taylor down again with the hair and Taylor kips up before getting another arm wringer. Ivan gets Taylor to the corner by pulling his hair. Taylor reverses a whip to another corner and hits a monkey flip followed by a dropkick that sends Ivan bailing to the outside. Back in, they tie up with Ivan kicking the stomach and getting a front facelock. Taylor reverses with an arm wringer and jerks the arm. Tag to Williams who comes off the second turnbuckle with an ax handle to the arm. Williams gets an arm wringer and takes Ivan down before transitioning to an armbar. Ivan grabs the hair, whips Williams to the ropes, misses a chop, Williams stops, kicks the stomach, gets an arm wringer, presses Ivan in the air, bench presses him, and hits a gorilla press slam for a good pop.

Ivan tries to tag out but accidentally goes in the wrong corner where Taylor punches him and Williams drops him with a punch for 2. Williams gets an arm wringer. Tag to Taylor who gets an arm wringer then a second with Ivan doing a front flip bump. Taylor drives his knees into the arm repeatedly. Ivan pulls the trunks but Taylor transitions to a hammerlock. Tag to Williams who drops a headbutt on the arm and applies a hammerlock. Williams hits a bodyslam and Ivan tries to tag but can't. Williams leg drops the arm for 2. Ivan keeps pulling the hair to get Williams off. Williams kicks his feet in the air and repeatedly drives the knees into the arm. Williams gets an armbar as they get up. Ivan whips Williams to a corner but misses the shoulder block and crashes shoulder first into the post. Tag to Taylor who holds Ivan as Williams punches him. Taylor covers but Nikita is arguing with the referee. Taylor gets an arm wringer with Ivan doing a front flip bump.

Taylor kicks his feet in the air and drives his knees into the arm. Taylor grinds his knee in the arm as Ivan tries to pull his hair to get him off. Taylor drops another knee to the arm. They get up with Taylor getting another arm wringer. Tag to Williams and we get yet another arm wringer. I think Williams and Taylor forgot how to wrestle and only attack the arm. Ivan tries to tag out but Nikita is not in position. Can't tell why as he's off camera. Tag to Taylor who gets another arm wringer. Ivan grabs the hair, whips Taylor to the ropes, misses the clothesline, and Taylor comes off the ropes with a sunset flip for 2. Ivan tries to tag but goes to the wrong corner. Uh, why? He's been having his arm worked on, not his bell rung repeatedly. Anyway, guess what's next. Yup. Another arm wringer from Taylor. Tag to Williams and, if you guessed he go for an arm wringer, you are correct. Williams bodyslams Ivan onto his arm for 2.

Williams swings Ivan down to the canvas and gets a wristlock followed by a hammerlock. They get up where Taylor tags in and comes off the second turnbuckle with a bionic elbow to the arm. Taylor then gets, not one, but two arm wringers. Lucky us. Ivan grabs the hair, whips Taylor to the ropes, and catches him with a kick to the stomach. Ivan drops Taylor with another kick but misses the elbow and it's more armwork as Taylor gets an armdrag for 2 and applies an armbar. Ivan pulls the hair for a head scissor but Taylor gets out, grabs the arm, and tags Williams who gets Ivan in a full nelson while Taylor punches Ivan. Williams gets another arm wringer with Ivan doing a front flip bump and repeatedly drops headbutts on it. Ivan gets up and rakes the eyes. Tag to Nikita and thank god. They pose with the fans easily preferring Williams. Fans then loudly chanting “USA” which pisses Nikita off. They tie up and break up.

Another tie up and break up. Third tie up and Williams gets a side headlock. Nikita can't get out and repeatedly grabs the hair to try. Nikita whips Williams to the ropes and Williams comes off with a shoulder block but Nikita barely moves. Williams tries again but Nikita barely moves as the crowd is loud. Nikita taunts which allows Williams to hit a dropkick that sends Nikita out of the ring to a big pop. Nikita takes some time out to regroup. Back in, Nikita wants a test of strength but Williams is hesitant. Eventually, they do it and are pretty even until Nikita kicks Williams in the stomach and Williams returns the favor to break the hold and get another big pop. They tease a tie up but Nikita kicks the stomach and works over Williams. Tag to Ivan with The Russians clubbering him with forearms to the back. Ivan works over Williams, hits a snapmare, and comes off with a leg drop for 2 as Williams bench presses him off.

Ivan rams Williams into Nikita's boot. Tag to Nikita who drops a double ax handle on Williams' back for 2. Nikita gets a front facelock. Tag to Ivan who gets one with five minutes left. Williams gets Ivan up and sets him on the top turnbuckle. Ivan tries to fight out but Williams throws him off. We get an awkward spot as Ivan tries a kick while Williams gets a single leg dropkick for 1. Ivan hits a swinging neckbreaker. Tag to Nikita who drops an elbow for 2. Nikita gets a front facelock as the fans rally behind Williams while we got four minutes left. They get up with Williams punching the stomach repeatedly but Nikita tags Ivan and works over Williams. Williams reverses a whip to the ropes and catches him with a powerslam to a pop. Both are down as Williams crawls to his corner. Hot tag to Taylor to a good pop with Taylor cleaning house. Taylor whips Ivan to the corner and catches him coming out with a back body drop.

Three minutes remain as Taylor hits Nikita and dropkicks Ivan. Ivan staggers and kicks Taylor. Tag to Nikita who hits a bodyslam and throws Taylor to the outside where Taylor crashes into the guardrail. Ivan heads out and rams Taylor into the guardrail. Williams checks on Taylor as he yells at the referee. Williams helps Taylor back in with two minutes left. Nikita hits a hot shot. Tag to Ivan who stomps at Taylor, hits a leg drop, and stomps again. Ivan whips Taylor to the ropes, misses a chop, and Taylor comes off the ropes with a high crossbody for 2. Ivan stomps on Taylor and rams him into Nikita's boot. Tag to Nikita with Ivan whipping Taylor to the ropes and Nikita catches him with a bearhug with one minute remaining. Taylor slowly gets to his corner which means one thing. Yup, Ivan distracts the referee giving us a false tag spot. As the referee is tied with Williams, we get an illegal switch as Nikita gets Taylor in a front facelock while Ivan comes off the top turnbuckle with a diving forearm with 25 seconds remaining.

Nikita claps his hands to trick the referee into believing a tag happened. Ivan covers for 2. Ivan hits a bodyslam but misses a knee drop. Fifteen seconds remaining as Taylor gets a small package for 2. Tag to Nikita who hits Taylor with a forearm as the bell rings. Nikita whips Taylor to the ropes, hits the russian sickle, and covers but the time limit expired at 20:00 thus eliminating both teams. After the match, Taylor gets thrown over and out to the floor. Williams tries to fight back but is triple teamed by The Russians and Korchenko who beat him down as the timekeeper's constant bell ringing is really annoying. I never understood why the timekeeper frantically rings the bell in post match brawls and fights. It's not like the wrestlers stop and chill out. Gilbert gets on the mic and tells everyone to show respect for real men.

Thoughts: * This was an alright match at times but had a ton of issues. First problem was the first half of the match was painfully boring with shitty armwork that once again didn't amount to anything. At least ten minutes of my life is gone for good with nothing to show watching Taylor and Williams waste time on arm work that didn't lead to anything. The match also suffered from a lack of logic as Taylor and Williams did an illegal switch early in the match and got away with it but we then got a false tag spot later that the referee didn't allow cause he didn't see it. Meanwhile, The Russians illegally switched immediately after the false tag and while Nikita clapped his hands, the ref shouldn't call what he didn't see. The Russians were also disappointing at the end, especially Nikita, as they showed no urgency in finishing the match despite time running out. Worst of all, Nikita would throw Taylor out of the ring and attempt bearhugs with less than three minutes left. Why do all that when you don't have time to do it? The match picked up a bit after Nikita tagged in but not much. Not even Williams and Nikita together was much fun despite having potential for a fun hoss encounter. The time limit draw makes sense as this show is going very long so time for some byes.

Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament Quarterfinals: The Fantastics vs. The Sheepherders (w/Jack Victory)- This match is somewhat known due to being one of the earliest matches to get a five star from Meltzer. This match, along with their match at Heroes of Wrestling in 1999, made The Herders (the future Bushwhackers) the first team to get a five star and negative five star rating. While great to see The Fantastics advance this far, I'm kind of surprised it wasn't The Fabs giving their history with The Herders. These two teams do have history as The Fantastics beat The Herders for the UWF Tag Team Championships back on March 30^th. Like the previous match, The Herders take forever saluting the NZ flag while The Fantastics encourage a “USA” chant. YEAH! Fuck those evil New Zealanders! We then get the Pledge of Allegiance.

Finally, we get a brawl to start with Rogers muscling Luke to the corner while Fulton whips Butch to the ropes and catches him with a dropkick which sees Butch roll out. Rogers whips Luke into a Fulton dropkick and he bails. The Fantastics then strut. Back in, It's Fulton and Luke who tie up with Luke getting a side headlock and a punch. Luke gets another side headlock but Fulton counters with an overhead wristlock. However, Butch is able to tag in and punch Fulton. Butch comes off the ropes with a punch. Butch gets a side headlock but Fulton counters with an overhead wristlock. Tag to Luke who punches Fulton and gets a side headlock but Fulton counters with a hammerlock. Luke tries to run to get Fulton off but Fulton takes him down. Tag to Butch who hits Fulton during a tie up attempt and works him over. Butch rams Fulton into Luke's elbow. Tag to Luke who punches Fulton, gets another side headlock and punches at Fulton.

Fulton heads to the corner and tries to fight out but Luke works him over. Luke gets a side headlock, Fulton whips him to the ropes, and Luke comes off the ropes with a shoulder block. Luke comes off the ropes, jumps over, comes off the ropes, Fulton leapfrogs, Luke comes off the ropes, and Fulton hits a reverse monkey flip. Fulton follows with two dropkicks which send Luke bailing to the outside. Butch comes in but takes a dropkick from both Fulton and Rogers before bailing to regroup. Back in, Rogers tags in and gets a drop toehold before transitioning into a side headlock. Luke eventually gets up, muscles Rogers to the ropes, and punches the stomach. Luke whips Rogers to the ropes, misses a clothesline, and Rogers comes off with a sunset flip for 2. Tag to Butch as the fans chant “USA”. Butch takes forever to come in so Rogers slingshots him in the ring. Rogers rams Butch into Fulton's boot. Tag to Fulton with Rogers whipping Butch into a Fulton punch.

Tag to Luke who kicks the stomach and rams Fulton into the top turnbuckle. Luke drops Fulton with a punch and chokes with his boot. Luke whips Fulton to another corner but misses the charge. They tie up with Fulton working over Luke with punches. Luke misses a punch, Fulton hits some more, Luke misses another, and Fulton catches him spinning around with an atomic drop that propels him into Butch and they bail to regroup. Back in, Butch tags in and gets a side headlock. Fulton counters with an overhead wristlock but Butch hits him and throws Fulton to the outside. Butch goes out but Fulton hits a punch and follows with a dropkick to a pop. Rogers and Luke join the fun and all four fight with Butch ramming Fulton into the ring post while Rogers whips Luke into the guardrail. Rogers hits a kneelift on Luke before being sent back which allows Victory to get a stomp in. Fulton is busted open as Luke rams him into the ring post again.

Rogers checks on Fulton until Fulton staggers back in the ring. Butch hits a kneedrop and repeatedly stomps on Fulton until he falls out of the ring. Rogers goes out to check on Fulton before he staggers back in. Butch hits Fulton with a double ax handle, whips him to the ropes, misses the clothesline, and both comes off the opposite sides with Fulton hitting a jumping clothesline. Tag to Luke with Butch hitting Fulton with a double ax handle to prevent the tag. Luke drops Fulton with a punch and then comes off the ropes with a fistdrop. Luke drops two knees on Fulton before biting his bloody forehead. Luke drops a knee on Fulton and he rolls out again. Butch then goes out and rams Fulton into the guardrail. Rogers briefly checks on Fulton. Fulton gets up and staggers around before heading back in. Fulton gets a few kicks on Luke but Luke blocks him from tagging. Butch distracts referee Tommy Gilbert which gives up a false tag spot as the referee misses Rogers' tag.

As Rogers argues, Butch gets the New Zealand flag for Luke to ram Fulton into but Fulton blocks and rams Luke into it to a big pop. Both are down. Hot tag to Rogers who cleans house to a pop. Luke is busted open as Rogers comes off the second turnbuckle with a punch with Luke doing a nice jump type bump. Rogers hits more punches and then a bodyslam. Rogers climbs the second turnbuckle and comes off with a punch with Luke doing another nice bump. All four are in the ring. Rogers hits mounted punches on Luke as Fulton hits Butch with punches while applying a side headlock until Butch accidentally whips Fulton into referee Tommy Gilbert and they fall to the floor. Butch hits a double ax handle on Rogers and goes out to attack Fulton. Rogers works over Luke with jabs in the ring while Fulton makes the comeback outside with Butch. Victory tries to sneak up but Fulton sees him and stalks him around ringside until Butch jumps him with a double ax handle and Victory gets a stomp.

Rogers works over Luke in the ring as Victory and Butch double team whip Fulton to the ring post. Victory takes the flag off and gives the pole to Butch who goes back in and hits Rogers with it. Meanwhile, Victory tries to wake Tommy Gilbert up. Luke holds Rogers for Butch to hit him with the flagpole. Butch tries again but Fulton trips him from the outside and heads back in where Rogers gets rid of Luke while Fulton holds Butch for Rogers to hit with the flagpole. They attempt a second but Victory comes in and takes one for the team. Tommy Young tries to revive Gilbert as Luke comes it and fights over the flagpole with Rogers until Fulton hits Luke with a dropkick. Finally, the match is thrown out and we get a double disqualification at 14:26 thus eliminating both teams. After the match, we get more fighting and brawling while Mad Maxine comes out to check on Victory. The Fantastics eventually win the exchange while Victory and Maxine try to hold The Herders back before they leave. The Fantastics then get pissed when they find out both teams are out before leaving.

Thoughts: **** Another great match from The Fantastics and a great outing from The Sheepherders. While I didn't give this the full monty like Dave Meltzer, it was still a great match that had good action, good selling, Fulton played babyface-in-peril again good, and I thought it escalated well to the finish from the fighting on the outside to the bleeding to the chaos at the end. My only minor complaint was The Herders were a bit limited on offense which is probably why I didn't go all the way on rating. Again, the finish made sense as this show is going long so this removes the semifinals.

Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament Quarterfinals: Magnum TA and Ron Garvin vs. Giant Baba and Tiger Mask II- Even though this is a quarterfinals match, the winners will go to the finals to meet The Road Warriors due to the last two matches seeing both of their teams being eliminated from the tournament.

Garvin and TMII start with a circle and tie up. TMII gets a waistlock but Garvin reverses with a hammerlock until TMII counters with his own but Garvin reaches the corner for the break. Tie up with Garvin getting wristlock and TM reverses with an arm wringer. Garvin does a front flip bump but gets a single leg takedown and transitions to a half crab but TMII gets to the ropes. Garvin gets a front facelock and tags Magnum who gets a side headlock takedown. TMII rolls up Magnum for 2 but Magnum gets back in position. TMII gets up and whips Magnum to the ropes but Magnum comes off the ropes with a shoulder block. Magnum gets another side headlock takedown for 1. Magnum then gets a 2. TMII gets up with Magnum getting a front facelock. Tag to Garvin who gets a schoolboy for 2 then gets a few more pins for 2 until TMII gets the ropes. TMII gets a kick to the stomach and works over Garvin.

Tag to Baba with TMII briefly holding Garvin for Baba before letting go. Tie up and Baba gets a standing kimura before transitioning to an armbar. Baba does a jumping armbar takedown. Garvin gets up while Baba gets an armbar. Garvin tries to get out but Baba gets an armdrag takedown into an armbar. Garvin gets out and pins Baba for a few 2s. They get up while Garvin gets an armbar. Garvin then pulls the trunks to get Baba to the Garvin/Magnum corner. Tag to Magnum who works over Baba before getting an arm wringer then jerks the arm and applies an armbar. Baba whips Magnum to the ropes and catches him with a chop. Baba rams Magnum into the top turnbuckle. Tag to TMII who whips Magnum to the ropes and catches Magnum with a dropkick. TMII hits a bodyslam and then hits a jumping elbow for 2. TMII attempts a suplex but Magnum blocks and hits his own. TMII recovers first and gets some stomps. Tag to Baba who gets a front facelock. Magnum tries to make it to his corner but can't.

He tries to get out but Baba hits a swinging neckbreaker for 2. Tag to TMII with TMII whipping Magnum to the ropes and catches him with a dropkick for 2. TMII applies a chinlock. Magnum eventually gets out with a hip toss but TMII gets a front facelock. Magnum eventually gets up and hits an inverted atomic drop. TMII recovers first and whips Magnum to the ropes but drops his head too early and Magnum comes off the ropes with a sunset flip for 2. TMII gets a front facelock. Tag to Baba who gets a schoolboy for 2 and a few more pins for 2. Baba gets an armbar but Magnum makes it to his corner for the hot tag. Garvin gets a few chops until Baba hits some overhead chops. Tag to TMII who holds Garvin while Baba throws chops. Magnum comes in and attacks Baba. Magnum and Garvin reverse whips out of the corner with Baba and TMII crashing into each other. Garvin gets on all fours as Magnum dropkicks Baba with Baba tripping over Garvin and Magnum covers for 2.

TMII comes back in and hits Garvin with a knee to the face as the referee regains control. TMII whips Garvin to the ropes and TMII comes off the other side with a high crossbody for 2. Hot tag to Magnum who trades blows with TMII. TMII gets a side headlock, Magnum whips him to the ropes, drops down to the canvas, TMII cartwheels over Magnum, and catches him getting up with a dropkick. TMII comes off with a senton bomb for 2. TMII climbs the top turnbuckle and comes off but Magnum catches him with a belly-to-belly suplex to advance to the finals at 9:55 to a pop.

Thoughts: ** Decent affair from all four. Nothing special but another solid match. The only real negative was the crowd wasn't that into it until the end. The finish was cool and creative.

Prichard then runs through the rest of the card.

UWF North American Heavyweight Championship: Jim Duggan (c) vs. Dick Slater- Story here is Duggan won the North American Heavyweight Championship on March 16^th from Buzz Sawyer who was defending the championship on Slater's behalf. This was during a short period where Mid-South made the change to the Universal Wrestling Federation but was still using the North American Title. Jim Ross is the ring announcer.

Circle and tie up to start with Duggan muscling Slater to the corner and hits a punch. Referee Earl Hebner then admonishes Duggan. Tie up with Slater muscling Duggan to the corner but Duggan blocks a punch, sends Slater to the corner, and works him over with punches of his own. Duggan whips Slater to another corner and catches him with a clothesline. Slater bails out to regroup. Back in, they tie up with Slater getting a side headlock. Duggan tries to get out with an overhead wristlock but Slater pulls Duggan down by the hair. Slater then comes off with an elbow drop but misses. Tie up with Duggan getting a side headlock. Slater muscles Duggan to the ropes and punches the stomach. Slater whips Duggan to the ropes, Duggan leapfrogs, comes off the ropes, Slater lowers his head too early, and Duggan comes off the ropes with a jumping bionic elbow. Duggan rams Slater into the top turnbuckle and hits an uppercut which sends Slater flying and laying back first on the top turnbuckle.

Duggan forearms the chest and hits another jumping bionic elbow on the chest. Duggan works over Slater in the corner until Slater rakes the eyes. Duggan comes back with a punch but Slater rakes the eyes again and throws Duggan to the outside. Slater goes out and rams Duggan backfirst into the guardrail. Slater heads back in and Duggan follows where Slater works him over. Slater hits a snapmare and drops an elbow for 1. Slater applies a chinlock to wear Duggan down. Duggan eventually gets up, elbows the stomach to get out, and hits a few punches which sees Slater to bail. Duggan heads out to chase Slater back in the ring where Slater catches him with a headbutt. Slater gets the microphone and hits Duggan with it. Slater hits a swinging neckbreaker for 2. Back to the chinlock and Duggan starts to fade. Hebner checks the arms but Duggan gets it up. Slater releases the hold and drops a headbutt. Slater climbs the top turnbuckle and comes off but Duggan catches him coming down with a punch to the stomach to a pop.

Slater approaches with a double ax handle attempt but Duggan kicks the stomach and hits some punches which drop Slater. The crowd seems to be coming alive. Duggan gets some jabs and drops Slater with a punch. Duggan hits a bodyslam and comes off the ropes with a knee drop for 2. Duggan gets another punch and attempts an atomic drop but Slater blocks and comes off with a bionic elbow for 2 with Duggan's kick out sending Slater into Earl Hebner. Slater hits Hebner with some cheapshots for the hell of it. Duggan comes back with a punch and works over Slater in the corner. Duggan whips Slater to another corner but misses the charge. Slater climbs the top turnbuckle and comes off with a diving bionic elbow. Slater revives the ref but only gets 2. Slater attempts a piledriver but Duggan back body drops out of it. Duggan gets some more punches until Slater gets him to the ropes and ties him in it. Slater works over Duggan until Earl Hebner separates them. Duggan gets out as Slater shoves Hebner allowing Duggan to hit a three point stance tackle to retain in 7:31 to a big pop.

Thoughts: ** Decent title match. Nothing wrong with it but nothing that was special. Both played their parts well and gave a solid match. Duggan was a bit on the limited side but to his credit, his punches did look great. This was the last big appearance of the North American Heavyweight Championship as Duggan made a few more defenses before the belt was retired a month later in favor of the new UWF Heavyweight Championship.

NWA World Heavyweight Championship: Ric Flair (c) vs. Dusty Rhodes (w/Baby Doll)- Legendary Houston promoter Paul Boesch is the guest ring announcer.

They circle and tie up to start with Rhodes getting a side headlock but Flair muscles Rhodes to the corner before breaking. Tie up with Flair getting a side headlock before transitioning to a hammerlock but Rhodes reverses with his own. Rhodes gets an arm wringer. Flair muscles Rhodes to the ropes and breaks. Tie up with Rhodes getting a side headlock. Flair counters with an overhead wristlock but Rhodes overpowers Flair and sends him to the canvas. Rhodes gets a wristlock. Flair muscles him to the corner and works him over. Rhodes sends Flair to the corner and works over him. Flair comes out of the corner where Rhodes repeatedly drops him with jabs to a good pop until Flair rolls out to regroup. Back in, Rhodes gets a side headlock. Flair whips him to the ropes and Rhodes comes off with a shoulder block. Rhodes comes off, jumps over Flair, comes off, Flair leapfrogs, Rhodes stops, and catches Flair turning around with a bionic elbow to a pop.

Flair heads to the corner and argues with Doll. They tease a test of strength which Rhodes starts to win with one hand locked. Flair gets out with an arm wringer but Rhodes gets his own and Flair does a front flip bump. Flair gets up and Rhodes gets a wristlock but Flair knees the back which sends Rhodes to the corner. Flair gets a side headlock punch and a chop. Flair snapmares Rhodes out of the corner and comes off the ropes with a kneedrop. Flair comes off the ropes with another kneedrop and throws Rhodes to the outside. Rhodes is busted open as Flair comes out and rams him into the post. Flair heads back in as Doll checks on Rhodes. Flair kicks the stomach and punches away at Rhodes. Rhodes gets up but Flair sends him to the corner and works him over. Flair snapmares him out of the corner and comes off the ropes but misses the kneedrop to a pop. Rhodes goes out, pulls Flair to the corner, and crotches him into the post.

Rhodes goes back in and teases breaking Flair's leg but works him over in the corner until Flair takes him down and gets a few 2 counts while putting a foot on the ropes before getting caught by referee Tommy Young. Flair comes off the ropes with a punch but Rhodes blocks and hits a bionic elbow. Rhodes drops an elbow on the leg and applies a leglock but Flair rakes the eyes to get out. The two trade chops until Rhodes hits a few double punches and a headbutt. Rhodes gets a side headlock, Flair whips him to the ropes, and Rhodes comes off with a shoulder block. Rhodes comes off, jumps over Flair, and Flair catches him coming off with a sleeper. Rhodes starts to fade and Tommy Young checks the arm but Rhodes keeps it up. Rhodes gets up and propels Flair to the corner with Flair crashing into the top turnbuckle and then coming out with a flair flop. Both are down but Flair recovers first and stomps the leg repeatedly. Flair puts the leg on the bottom rope and hits a seated senton on it. Flair comes out of the corner with a kneedrop.

Flair hooks in the figure four. Rhodes struggles but eventually rolls over to counter it. Flair hits a chop and a snapmare. Flair puts the leg on the bottom rope but misses the seated senton. Rhodes tries to pull Flair to the middle but Flair heads out. Rhodes follows where Flair tries to ram him into the post but Rhodes blocks and hits Flair into it. Rhodes then does it again and goes back in. Flair makes it to the apron where he catches Rhodes with a shoulder block to the stomach and hits a slingshot sunset flip but Rhodes punches Flair off. Flair is busted open as he heads to the corner to beg but Rhodes gets mounted punches in the corner followed by a bionic elbow. Rhodes whips Flair to another corner with Flair trying a flair flip but can't get it and gets stuck in a tree of woe position. Rhodes gets some stomps until being separated by Tommy Young. Flair charges out of the corner but Rhodes catches him with a clothesline for 2.

Rhodes drops some punches and Flair heads to the corner where he hits Rhodes and sends him to the corner. Rhodes counters a whip to another corner and catches Flair coming out with a sleeper to a pop. Flair tries to make it to the ropes but can't quite reach. Rhodes eventually releases the hold and covers but Flair gets his foot on the ropes for 2. Flair heads to the apron but Rhodes suplexes him back in for 2 as Flair again gets his foot on the ropes. Flair knees the stomach and comes off the ropes with a shoulder block. Flair comes off the ropes again but Rhodes catches him with a clothesline and applies the figure four. Rhodes gets a few 2s until Flair reaches the ropes. Flair heads to the corner where Rhodes stomps the leg until being separated. Flair comes back by punching the stomach and hitting a bionic elbow to the back of the head. Flair climbs the top turnbuckle but Rhodes punches him and throws him off.

Rhodes then hits a running tackle but Flair bumps into Tommy Young who falls out of the ring. Flair hits Rhodes and tries for a bodyslam but Rhodes reverses into a small package but no ref as Doll frantically tries to revive Young. Flair hits Rhodes off camera, takes his protective boot off, and nails him with it before throwing it out. Doll grabs the boot as Flair pulls Young back in but only gets 2. Doll jumps on the apron and Flair grabs her which results in her throwing the boot in the ring. Rhodes grabs it and hits Flair with it for the disqualification at 20:14. After the match, Rhodes nails Young with the boot and drops the boot on Flair two times. He puts the boot back on and leaves with Doll and the big gold belt.

Thoughts: ***1/2 Very good match but no surprise as these two can have a good match in their sleep by 1986. While not as great as the Starrcade 85 match, this was still good. I enjoyed it, it wasn't boring, and had good action while both bled well and the crowd was into it. I also like Flair kept his usual stuff to a minimum and actually attacked the leg without Rhodes accidentally hurting it beforehand. The only negative was Rhodes immediately stopped selling the legwork Flair did after the figure four like he flipped a switch and it looked shitty while the finish was lame but that's 80s wrestling for you as you don't want to switch the belt but you don't want the face to lose.

Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament Finals: The Road Warriors (w/Paul Ellering) vs. Magnum TA and Ron Garvin- Tony Schiavone is the guest ring announcer.

Animal and Magnum start with a tie up with Animal getting a side headlock, Magnum muscles Animal to the ropes and forearms the stomach. Animal reverses a whip to the ropes, drops down, Magnum jumps over, comes off the ropes, Animal leapfrogs, Magnum comes off the ropes, and Animal catches him with a hip toss but misses an elbow drop. Magnum hits an armdrag and follows with a dropkick. Tie up with Animal getting an overhead wristlock and takes Magnum down. Magnum reverses with a hammerlock, kicks his legs in the air, and drives his knees into Animal's arm. Magnum kicks his legs in the air again and drives the knees into Animal's arm. Tag to Garvin who gets an arm wringer and takes Animal down with a leg sweep. Animal gets up and Garvin gets a front facelock. Animal makes it to his corner and is able to tag Hawk. They tie up with Garvin getting Hawk in the corner and chopping his chest but Hawk no-sells.

Another tie up with Hawk muscling Garvin to the ropes and works him over with punches. Hawk rakes the eyes and works over Garvin in the corner. Hawk snapmares Garvin and applies a chinlock. Hawk eventually releases and hits a gorilla press slam. Hawk climbs the second turnbuckle but misses a splash. Garvin gets a small package for 2. Garvin works over Hawk with chops. Tag to Magnum who works him over, whips Hawk to the ropes, and catches him with a dropkick for 2. Magnum gets a front facelock but Hawk picks him up. Tag to Animal with Hawk hitting an inverted atomic drop while Animal hits a double ax handle to the back and stomps away. Magnum heads to the corner as Animal works over the back. Animal whips Magnum to the ropes and catches him with a bearhug. Tag to Hawk as Animal releases the hold and Hawk forearms Magnum's back. Hawk hits a gutwrench suplex for 2. Hawk gets a canadian backbreaker and hits a train wreck for 2.

Hawk whips Magnum to the ropes and catches him with a big boot. Tag to Animal who applies a chinlock. Magnum starts to get up but Animal takes him down with a hair pull and reapplies the chinlock. Magnum starts to get up but Hawk tags in and forearms the back. Hawk whips Magnum to the ropes, drops his head too early, Magnum comes off the ropes with a sunset flip, but Hawk punches him off, and misses the leg drop. Hawk recovers first, punches the stomach, and drops Magnum with a headbutt. Hawk hits a jumping fistdrop. Tag to Animal who stomps Magnum. Animal whips Magnum to the ropes and catches him with a powerslam for 2. Magnum reverses a whip to the corner and catches Animal coming out of the corner with the belly-to-belly suplex but Hawk breaks it up at 2. Tags to Hawk and Garvin with Garvin working over Hawk until they trade headbutts which affects both. Both are down. Garvin hits a chop, whips Hawk to the ropes, and tries for an abdominal stretch but can't get it. Hawk sets up a double ax handle but Garvin crawls between his legs and nails him with a punch but his taped fist gives him pain. Magnum checks on him but is sent back. Tag to Animal who hits a running clothesline on Garvin to win the Cup at 9:49 to a big pop.

Thoughts: *1/2 An alright but lackluster main event, especially when it's held in a building like the Superdome and the finals of a major tournament. The Road Warriors and Magnum were fine with what they did in terms of offense while Magnum did well as the babyface-in-peril but nothing special. Garvin didn't bring anything to the table except chops and headbutts but at least he was the fall guy. The crowd felt dead for this match until the finish when they finally woke up. The Road Warriors being the inaugural winners is a no-brainer as it gets them their first major honor in the NWA and they were one of wrestling's hottest acts at the time.

We then get the post match ceremonies where The Road Warriors are given the Crockett Cup while being joined by Mrs. Crockett (widow of Jim Sr.), Jim Crockett Jr., and Bill Watts. Mrs. Crockett presents the check and we get a photo with them to end the show.

Final Thoughts and Verdict
Crockett Cup 1986 is a mixed bag as the afternoon portion sucked from what I seen and there's nothing worth watching as not one match made the two star mark. The evening portion is much better and while nothing is bad, there are some alright matches along with several gems to see. The Road Warrior/Midnight Express and Rock n' Roll/Sheepherders matches were good while Flair/Rhodes was very good, and The Fantastics were great having the two best matches. The only negative is some matches feel there and maybe could've been better, the Rock n' Roll/Sheepherders had a shitty finish, and Flair/Rhodes is very good but have had many good matches before and after this. I say skip the afternoon portion and watch the evening portion, especially for The Fantastics latter two matches, some other stuff on the card, and if your a big Road Warrior fan and want to see them win one of their many achievements and their first in JCP/NWA.

Recommendation to avoid Afternoon show and recommended for the evening show

Crockett Cup 1986 Facts
The first Crockett Cup to feature Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard take on The Fantastics. The second time was in 1988.

The Fantastics wore different color attire for each of their matches as they wore blue in the first round, yellow in the second round, and red in the quarterfinals.

First of two straight Crockett Cup events in which The Road Warriors and The Midnight Express faced each other.

The only Crockett Cup to feature a UWF title match.

The only Crockett Cup during the JCP era to not see Tully Blanchard go to the finals

Ted Dibiase was originally scheduled to team with Dr. Death Steve Williams but Dibiase was touring for All Japan with the storyline reason being he was injured. He was replaced by Terry Taylor.

The only Crockett Cup during the JCP run to have both shows held on the same day (an afternoon and evening show). The 1987 and 1988 versions were held over two days.