NWA Chi-Town Rumble 89

NWA Chi-Town Rumble 89
Chicago, IL
UIC Pavilion
Feb. 20

This is one of the NWA events I’ve been most excited to see, having heard and read so much about the Flair-Steamboat main event. Also, Clash of the Champions 5 did a great job of building the feuds and excitement for this event, so I was looking very forward to seeing this event. Somewhat unfortunately, I have a DVD rip of the Turner Home Video version, and as usual they butcher the card by editing some matches. Thankfully, they left the main matches intact and only edited some minor stuff. Still, it’s f’n annoying that all Turner PPV releases have this problem up until the late 90s! WTF!

The fans in Chicago were so pumped for this event, and it’s cool that more and more events are taking place outside of the Atlanta/North Carolina area. Also, as I mentioned in my COTC 5 review, the WCW name was in full effect. Wrestlers and commentators still say NWA all the time, but WCW is said just as much. What’s interesting too, is that Jim Ross kept stressing on commentary that wrestling matters in this company and it’s a real sport, with real athletes and competition. This was probably in direct opposition of the WWF, which in early 89 was definitely more family friendly than it had ever been, pushing things like No Holds Barred and stuff. The NWA/WCW had a lot of adult oriented storylines and athletic based matches, even in the undercard. The roster of the NWA was a lot different, as staples like Dusty, Tully, Arn, Windham, etc. were gone. Anyway, on to the matches!

1. Michael Hayes pinned Russian Assassin #1

Weird opening match, as the Assassins were doing things just a month earlier, but now he’s just here to put Hayes to the test. This is a long 15 minute match and Hayes is big time over with the fans, having just returned to the company. For some reason he turns heel not long after this. This is pretty much an extended showcase for Hayes, which the NWA did a lot in this era, and Hayes picks up the big win.

2. Sting pinned Butch Reed

This was a great battle. Reed was being pushed as a top monster heel and really pushed Sting to the limit. This match was over 20 minutes long, and it dragged at points, but was an interesting clash of styles. It’s funny how the WWF got better workers like Arn and Tully, and the NWA picked up guys like Reed, Iron Sheik, Bob Orton, etc., but tried to push them as legit badasses. In some cases it works, like with Reed. Sting wins, which made sense since he was rocketing to the top of the company. NWA did everything right with Sting’s push, giving him big wins over guys like Reed and establishing him as the real deal.

3. The Midnight Express (Eaton & Lane) & Jim Cornette beat Randy Rose, Jack Victory, & Paul E Dangerously in a “loser leaves town” match when Lane pinned Rose

What started as a great feud was now a mess. Original Midnight Express member Dennis Condrey literally disappeared from the NWA during this big angle and retired soon after. Jack Victory replaces him for no reason, and it’s hilarious to hear Jim Ross and Magnum TA try and sell the idea that he was a bigger and stronger “surprise” brought in by Dangerously to ensure victory. Yeah, okay. One of the NWA’s trademarks is always having no-shows at their events. I don’t know why that didn’t happen as much in the WWF, but it seems like at least one or two guys didn’t make it to NWA PPVs and matches got changed. This match wasn’t nearly as good as when it was Condrey and Rose, but it still featured some great tag team action. Randy Rose gets pinned and booted from the NWA right after, effectively ending this feud.

4. Mike Rotunda pinned Rick Steiner to win the NWA TV Title

Before the match, Rick does an interview introducing his brother Scott, who was still in college. Scott explains that Rick had an accident and got bashed in the head when he was young, which is why he’s a goofy weirdo nowadays. Nice storyline work done in the NWA. Rick’s feud with the Varsity Club is still going strong, and ultimately Rotunda outsmarts Rick and pins him while in a sleeper hold. Excellent wrestling in this match, especially by Rotunda, who’s awesome as a cocky heel.

5. Lex Luger pinned Barry Windham to win the NWA U.S. Title

This was the last major appearance of Windham in the NWA in 89. He had to go out for surgery a month after this, then headed to the WWF in late 89 for his very short run as the Widowmaker. This match had a ton of heat and a long backstory, so of course it makes sense that they give it 10 minutes. Huh? Why is this match way shorter than Hayes vs Russian Assassin? Does that make any sense? Of course not! Still, there’s some great wrestling here, but the finish comes out of nowhere and it’s a rather weak pin by Luger.

6. NWA Tag Champs The Road Warriors beat Steve Williams & Kevin Sullivan when Hawk pinned Sullivan

The Warriors are officially full-blown faces and have been feuding with the Varsity Club since COTC. This match was pretty much a sloppy power mess, but the crowd were super into it. The Warriors win, but the ending is dumb as Williams is covering Animal and Hawk is covering Sullivan. Hawk’s legal, so his pin counts. The goofy finish makes sense in a way because this feud continues.

7. Ricky Steamboat pinned Ric Flair to win the NWA World Title

Well here we go. A match I’ve been wanting to see for years. A match that has been so hyped on the internet, in magazines, wrestling books, etc. One word to describe it – AMAZING! Holy shit I couldn’t believe how great this match was. Flair and Steamboat had a natural chemistry in the ring and the match just flowed with an incredible pace. Both guys were so believable in their roles and legitimately seemed like they were trying to outdo each other in the ring. The pace was non-stop from the opening bell, and both guys laid in brutal chops and stiff holds. Also interesting is the mixed reaction from the fans – lots of die hard Flair fans booed Steamboat and cheered everything Flair did. Steamboat was still the overwhelming favorite, but it was interesting to see a mixed reaction years before this became so commonplace. Surprisingly the match was just over 20 minutes. I always believed it to be an hour, but that’s the rematch a month later at COTC 6. This is one of the best pure wrestling matches I’ve ever seen and it’s no wonder that guys like Ross made so many comparisons to this match. Simply put – wrestling at it’s best. Oh yeah, and Steamboat wins the title, sending everyone home happy.

Now here’s a fun fact about the NWA. For some unexplainable reason they held a not shown match after the main event! Seriously, why the fuck would anyone want to watch a couple of jobbers after such an explosive battle? Even worse, after Flair-Steamboat, the fans in Chicago got to witness a 25 minute “classic” between Kendall Windham and Steve Casey. Why not have the not shown match before the event? LOL!