This match is from the Greensboro portion of the show and our announce team is Bob Caudle and Johnny Weaver. Earlier tonight Weaver was backstage, outside Dusty's locker room. He says Dusty Rhodes has been denying all interviews before his match but thinks he might be the man to get some thoughts, Dusty tells him to fuck off so I guess not. Tully Blanchard enters first with JJ Dillon, who is holding a towel. The American Dream gets what would become the Goldberg treatment, being shown leaving his locker room and walking to the ring. JJ Dillon tries to put headgear on Blanchard before the match but Rhodes and referee Earl Hebner are having none of it. They try vaseline but Hebner wipes it off Blanchard's face, getting into a shoving match with him too. Dusty Rhodes hits a Bionic Elbow on Dillon and the referee gets rid of the vaseline. Rhodes stomps on Dillon who's busted open. Weaver mentions the match would be over if it was Dillon instead and I'm already starting to not like him.
DUSTY RHODES © VS. TULLY BLANCHARD
(NWA Television Championship – First Blood match)
Jim Crockett Promotions Starrcade 1986 (27th November 1986)
Tully Blanchard bails to the floor as the bell rings, helping his manager with the cut and getting him back to his feet. Tully Blanchard gets back in the ring and circles with Dusty. He charges with a high knee, but Rhodes moves and sends him into the turnbuckle. Dusty Rhodes kicks at Blanchard's leg, taking him down. Blanchard gets to his feet near the ropes and they lock up, Dusty blocks a right hand, Blanchard scrambles away. Dusty taunts Blanchard, showing the elbow that just bust his manager open. They lock up and a knee sends Dusty to the corner, Blanchard hits a right hand, Dusty ducks under another attempt but still doesn't connect with Blanchard. Another lock up and again Blancard knees Dusty in the gut, then trips the leg. Rhodes avoids the fist drop and gets to his feet but Tully Blanchard bails out to the floor again. The referee starts counting him out after all commentary said at the beginning about “a fight to the finish.” Blanchard is back in at 6, they lock up and Dusty Rhodes knocks him down with a headbutt.
The crowd has a reserved reaction as Dusty checks his forehead. Rhodes sends Blanchard over with a snapmare and stomps at the knee. They lock up and go to the corner, Blanchard covers his head so Rhodes targets the midsection. Blanchard covers up before he can get hit in the head, hugging Dusty's leg. Dusty Rhodes hits him with an elbow to the top of the head. Dusty has a standing toehold before dropping his elbow into Blanchard's knee. He goes back to the head, but Blanchard bails back to the floor for a bit. He hits Dusty with a knee to the midsection and a right hand in the corner, then sends him over with a snapmare. Tully hits an elbow drop then start ripping at Dusty's face to cause a laceration. Rhodes sends him over and stomps Tully's head. He waits for Tully to stand up only to knock him down with a double sledge, Hebner checks for a cut but there's no blood.
Tully Blanchard's head is sent into the turnbuckle and Dillon tries to trip Dusty from ringside, he gets the referee too and throws a shoe to Blanchard, who comes off the middle rope with it into Dusty's arms. Dusty Rhodes sends Blanchard into the corner, Dusty hits a vertical suplex, knocking Hebner down again and grabs the shoe, he decides against it and throws it into the crowd. He hits a Bionic Elbow and mounted rights on the mat cut Tully open. Dusty Rhodes keeps attacking the cut but Blanchard rolls over to JJ Dillon, who wipes the blood and rubs vaseline on the cut to stop the bleeding. JJ Dillon hands Tully Blanchard a roll of coins, he hits Dusty with them, causing the juice to pour. The referee notices Dusty's cut and hands Blanchard the championship.
WINNER: (Tully Blanchard NEW NWA Television Champion)
Dusty is pissed off after the match, he tries to explain to the referee, but Hebner has to call what he sees.
This was an amazing oldschool match, the rope breaks and count outs are confusing through modern eyes. At this point in time these stipulations were more about fist fights than adding weapons to the match, which brings me to the referee bumps near the end. Two in a seven minute match, that's excessive for Attitude Era, let alone this. That aside it was an amazing match, the opening few minutes with Blanchard using the hit and move strategy made it mean more as Rhodes got his hands on him. – As a match it's *** ½ but personally I'd rate it 7/10
No comments:
Post a Comment