NWA Wrestle War 1990

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Wrestle War 90
“Wild Thing”
Greensboro, NC
Coliseum
February 25, 1990

Well here we are, back in Greensboro for an NWA PPV. This is the center of the NWA Universe (lol), and the fans are rabid for this card. Unfortunately I wasn’t so rabid. I found this card to be pretty boring, with long, slower-paced matches. It was almost like the NWA went back in time with this card. The setup looks great, the arena is very well lit, and Jim Ross and Terry Funk are commentating.

1. Kevin Sullivan & Buzz Sawyer defeated the Dynamic Dudes at 10:14 when Sawyer pinned Ace with the splash off the top

This was a surprisingly decent match, which I totally didn’t expect. Sullivan and Sawyer were forming an alliance, and even Jim Ross comments on their similar appearances: black boots, tights, and balding with ponytails. Sawyer was surprisingly great in the ring, even though he looked like he belonged in another era. The Dudes are stuck in the lower ranks of the tag team division and I don’t think much time is left for them as they get worked over for most of this match and put away clean.

Gordon Solie interviewed Teddy Long regarding the injury to Dan Spivey, with Long saying he hired a stand-in for the night and had a big surprise for later in the show. Yep, ANOTHER Skyscraper injury. Talk about a team being cursed.

2. Norman pinned Cactus Jack Manson at 9:34 with a backdrop and then reversing a sunset flip into a sit-down splash

Another match Cactus talks about in his book. He was part of the alliance with Sullivan and Sawyer, and they were trying to recruiting Norman, but he of course turned them down. It’s so weird to hear the ‘Manson’ part of Cactus’ name. This match was unfortunately a total snorefest. Norman was completely useless in the ring. Again, Jack tried hard and really sold for Norman, but it was super slow paced and was all headlocks. It went on forever! Jack tried brawling, but Norman was terrible at that too. Norman wins which made the crowd in Greensboro go nuts for some reason.

3. The Rock N Roll Express defeated the Midnight Express (w/ Jim Cornette) when Gibson pinned Lane at 23:28 after Morton tackled Eaton as Eaton & Lane attempted a flapjack on Gibson

I don’t know why they brought back the RNR Express, but I’ve never been much of a fan. Many would argue that this match is well wrestled and exciting, but I was bored to tears. All RNR Express matches follow the same formula – tons of fan pandering, Memphis stalling, and Ricky Morton being beaten up for what feels like hours. Also this feud dates back to like 1984 so it felt very outdated, though maybe it was awesome for fans who wanted a little nostalgia in 1990. I was bored to tears and this match went on and on and on until the RNR ultimately won in the end. I’m curious to see if the team sticks around or was brought back just for a short stay.

4. The Road Warriors (w/ Paul Ellering) defeated Mean Mark Callous & the Masked Skyscraper (w/ Teddy Long) in a streetfight at 5:01 when Hawk pinned the Masked Skyscraper with the Doomsday Device after Callous was thrown to the floor and opted not to make the save

I’ve read on the net that the Masked Skyscraper was Mike Enos. Hilarious to see the future Undertaker team with a future Beverly Brother! This match was a “come-as-you-are” streetfight so that meant the guys all dressed in jeans and t-shirts, which was a pretty cool visual. Once again, Callous is the star of the match and it would have been a shame had the WWF never picked him up. The Warriors dominate, and slowly Callous starts to give up on his shitty partner. Partway through the match Doom, now unmasked and wearing tuxedos, make their way down to the ring and stand with Teddy Long. Warriors destroy the Masked Skyscraper and Callous just leaves, letting him get pinned. Doom and the Warriors brawl after the match, setting up a big feud. It’s so weird to think the Warriors will be gone from the NWA in a few short months.

5. 
NWA US Tag Team Champions Brian Pillman & Tom Zenk defeated The Freebirds at around the 25-minute mark when Pillman pinned Garvin with a crossbody off the top as Garvin attempted the DDT on Zenk

Holy shit, this PPV is all tag team matches! This match was hard-fought, and Pillman and Z-Man were a great young team. It’s funny to see the women in the crowd go crazy. I’ve read a lot of stories about Pillman and Zenk tag teaming the women after these events! Once again the match goes on a little too long and I started losing interest half way through. The main problem is that a lot of these tag matches followed the same formula, so it was getting a little repetitive. Lots of faced paced action though.

6. NWA Tag Team Champions Rick & Scott Steiner defeated NWA TV Champion Arn Anderson & Ole Anderson at 16:08 when Rick pinned Ole with an inside cradle after kicking Arn

Another tag team battle, what is this, Wrestlemania 2000? This match had a great storyline though, as the Steiners were buddies of Sting and were defending him against the Horsemen. They were out for revenge on the Horsemen here. This was a real old-school, smash mouth battle. Lots of rugged wrestling, intensity, and stiff moves. Ole is still pretty good in the ring, but like a few other guys on the roster right now, looks like he’s from another era. This was the best of all the tag matches on this card. The Steiners pick up the huge win, but after the match Arn and Ole get their heat back as they attack Scottie, and attempt to break his arm. Good stuff.

7. 
NWA World Champion Ric Flair (w/ Woman) defeated NWA US Champion Lex Luger via count-out at 38:07 when, as Luger had Flair in the Torture Rack, he let go of the hold as Arn & Ole Anderson prepared to attack Sting at ringside; Sting, his leg bandaged and on crutches, appeared late in the bout to offer support to Luger; moments prior to the finish, the Andersons went after Luger, as the referee was down, but he easily threw them to the floor; after the bout, the Andersons attacked Luger in the ring with Arn dropping him with the DDT until Rick & Scott Steiner made the save, scaring the Horsemen from ringside

As you can see, so much went down in the epic main event. With Sting’s injury at the Clash, the NWA landscape was in turmoil. The natural number 1 contender was Lex Luger, who for the past year, was built as the number 2 heel in the company. His feud with Flair was a natural one though, as they wrestled to a draw in the Starrcade tournament and Luger had done interviews saying he was going for the gold. The only obstacle was whether or not the fans would suddenly accept him in the face role. Smartly, they kept Luger a shade of grey, who was out to win the match for himself, but showed a lot of toughness and tenacity in standing down the Horsemen on TV. This match was an epic battle both in psychology and wrestling. I felt it went on a little long, nearly 40 minutes, and it could have had about 10 minutes taken out of it to tighten things up. After the Clash Woman was aligned with Flair, which made so much sense since she was the hottest uh, woman, in the company. She added a lot to this match, taunting Luger and interfering on behalf of Flair. The story was that Flair just couldn’t put Luger away, no matter what he tried, and Luger had Flair on the run, but Flair kept finding cheap ways to hang in the match. The ending was a masterpiece in psychology, yet also a little stupid, as Sting hit ringside to support Luger and fire him up to put Flair away. Luger had Flair near defeat, but the ref was bumped and the Andersons hit the ring. Lex quickly cleared them and had Flair in the torture rack. Instead of jumping back in the ring, the Andersons circled Sting and grabbed hold of them. The ref was coming to and Flair was about to quit, but Lex made the choice to drop Flair and save Sting, cementing his official good guy turn. The crowd in Greensboro was RABID during this match and made it that much more dramatic. The stupid part is that Lex was counted out while the Andersons double teamed him. They should have disqualified Flair, since the beating occurred right in front of the ref. Still, it didn’t really diminish the awesome drama that unfolded. It was an thrilling end to an otherwise dull PPV.