Wow, I’ve fallen behind in my reviewing and watching of the NWA. I have three events to catch up on, and many more to watch! This is the second of three historic cards in the war between McMahon and Crockett in the late 80s. The first shot was McMahon having Survivor Series 1987 on the same night as Starrcade 87, now in order to sabotage this PPV, the WWF presents the inaugural Royal Rumble event free on the USA network. The Rumble, while primitive, establishes a cornerstone event that becomes legendary in the next few years.
The same can’t be said for this pile of shit. This is easily the worst NWA event I’ve watched thus far. Seriously, I’d rather watch a primitive Starrcade 83 over this piece of junk. The NWA sabotaged themselves with this event, though I’m sure fans at the time were hoping it would be awesome. It’s a PPV with four matches! Yes, seriously, four f’n matches! And none of them were really PPV caliber, especially the dreadful main event. And, it’s only two hours long! What is this, In Your House: Bunkhouse Stampede? Might as well have been!
Interestingly the event takes place in the WWF’s neck of the woods in Uniondale, NY, home of the Islanders. Surprisingly the crowd is into the action. I didn’t know the NWA had that much of a presence in New York. Despite the better look of Starrcade 87, the arena is completely dark and it looks and feels a lot like a tour card.
1. NWA TV Champ Nikita Koloff drew Bobby Eaton
My main problem with this match is that it makes absolutely no sense. Why would one half of the Midnight Express, Bobby Eaton, get a singles title shot? The match itself is pretty good, but still, no one bought Eaton as a threat to the title. My next problem is the finish. Why not put Koloff over strong? It won’t hurt Eaton, as the Express are a top team. There’s zero need for this to go to a time limit draw. The match is well wrestled on the mat, but feels like a tour card match, as it never really takes off into anything special.
2. Larry Zbysko pinned Barry Windham to win the Western States Heritage Title
First off, I can’t stand Zbysko. I think he’s always sucked and was a lousy worker. He spends a good chunk of this match stalling and jaw-jacking, which is annoying. Windham is super over, but he’s still holding this goofy belt. The NWA had way too many titles floating around: this, the US title, tag titles, US tag titles, World title, etc. It’s hard to keep straight! The ending is dumb as Zbysko hits Windham with his female manager’s shoe. I can’t even remember her name. This match sucked.
3. Road Warrior Hawk beat NWA World Champ Ric Flair via DQ
Here again we have another match that has no place on a PPV with a really dumb finish. Why would Hawk get a world title shot against Flair on PPV? Again, this match would be good on a house show or on TV, but who buys Hawk winning the damn World title! And again, why the cheap finish? Flair should have won clean, he didn’t need a cheap DQ to beat Hawk. Another problem is Hawk wrestling solo for twenty minutes. He just doesn’t have the moves to carry it off. It’s still a good match, but Hawk busts out the same punches, kicks, and clotheslines again and again. The crowd however, goes insane for Hawk!
Hilariously, the ring crew is assembling the cage for the main event and the announcers stall for time. They have credits in the middle of the card and the announcers read through the credits seriously. Ridiculous!
4. Dusty Rhodes won a Steel Cage Bunkhouse Stampede. Also in the match were: Arn Anderson, The Barbarian, Tully Blanchard, Ivan Koloff, Lex Luger, Road Warrior Animal & The Warlord
Okay, this was one of the dumbest, most boring matches I’ve ever seen. So here’s the concept – apparently Bunkhouse Stampedes were held throughout December and the winners advanced to one final Bunkhouse Stampede and fought for $500,000. So how does the match work? It’s a steel cage battle royal where you have to eliminate your opponents through the door, or stupider yet, over the top of the cage! Yes really! Oh, and all the guys came out wearing street clothes for some reason. The guys brawl endlessly for nearly twenty minutes before an elimination happens, and then they start happening more quickly. Dumb things happen like Dusty Rhodes dragging the Barbarian up the ropes and trying to eliminate him over the cage. It’s so stupid on every level! Dusty finally wins this snorefest, surprise surprise, after Ross and Schiavone hype all match long that he’s the king of the Bunkhouse Stampede. Dumb ending to a dumb PPV.
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