These Truely Were The Glory Days | Great American Bash 89:Glory Days [VHS]

The Glory Days | Great American Bash 89:Glory Days [VHS] | NWA Wrestling, Terry Funk

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	• Great American Bash 89:Glory Days [VHS] NWA Wrestling, Terry Funk Warner Home Video, 1989 average customer review:based on 9 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

It Was Indeed The Glory Days

Before the WCW era, the NWA (on a business level) was failing. In the ring, however, the action was as good or better than what was going on in the WWF/WWE at that time in 1989! While I am not sure this vintage card is worth $[...], it is worth getting your hands on! I will warn that while every match is on the tape, some of them are edited! I will mark the edited matches with a star.

*King Of The Mountain Battle Royal - This was a two ring affair and the two rings would come into play several times during this card. This featured a young Ron Simmons, Sid Vicious, Dan Spivey, The Steiner Brothers, the late Brian Pillman, "Dr. Death" Steve Williams, the late "Freebird" Terry Gordy and others. Ends when manager Teddy Long declares a draw between Dan Spivey and Sid Vicious when they are the last two in the ring!

*Brian Pillman Vs. "Wild" Bill Irwin - Not much here except more of a display of Pillman's high flying skills. Ends when Pillman performs a flying bodypress on Irwin.....from the other ring!

*The Dynamic Dudes Vs. The Skyscrapers - Basically a one-sided whoopin' of Shane Douglas and Johnny Ace as Sid and Danny pretty much handed them their a**es! Ends with a very sloppy powerbomb from Spivey on Ace.

*Jim Cornette Vs. Paul E. Dangerously (Tuxedo Match) - A prelude to the bra and panties match we saw during the WWE Attitude era, the loser is the one that is totally stripped of his tuxedo. Cornette wins after Dangerously's powder trick backfires on him!

The Steiners Vs. Kevin Sullivan/Mike Rotunda (Texas Tornado Match) - This was LONG before Scott Steiner became "Big Poppa Pump." A wild affair that was very ECW like. Ends when both Steiners pinned Sullivan!

Sting Vs. The Great Muta (NWA World TV Title Match) - An amazing bout which saw Muta in trouble for the first time since he arrived in the NWA at that time! A double pin at the end (though Sting's shoulders were clearly off the mat before 3) causes the match to end in a draw and the NWA TV title to be held up.

Lex Luger Vs. Ricky Steamboat (NWA United States Title Match) - This was originally scheduled to be "No DQ" bout but Luger demanded that the stipulation be removed or Steamboat wouldn't get a shot (another "brilliant" WCW angle/since when does a champion dictate a stipulation before a match?)! Steamboat agreed and pretty much carried Luger to one of his better matches. Ends when Steamboat is DQ'ed for using a steel chair on Luger after Luger introduced it into the match.

The Midnight Express, The Road Warriors & "Dr. Death" Steve Williams Vs. The Fabulous Freebirds & The Samoan Swat Team (WarGames Match) - While not as brutal as the original WarGames, it may have been the most athletic of the bunch as these big men were doing some amazing things, especially The Road Warriors! Ends when the late Road Warrior Hawk makes "Freebird" Jim Garvin submit to a neckhold.

"Nature Boy" Ric Flair Vs. Terry Funk (NWA Title Match) - I personally like this one better than their more famous "I Quit" match that took place months later. This one was wild to say the least with wrestling and fighting all rolled into one. The match ends when Flair catches Funk in a roll up but then things really heat up as a four way fight between Sting, The Great Muta, Terry Funk and Ric Flair happens, capping off a great night of wrestling!

As I said, I don't know about the $[...] price tag but you won't regret it if you decide to pay that for it! Even with the first few matches edited, its still worth the price.

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These Truely Were The Glory Days

Aw, another classic VHS tape I found recently. Alot of people regard the 1989 year of the NWA to be one of the best years the company had in it's recent years due to the high caliber of wrestling matches featuring the likes of Ric Flair, Ricky Steamboat, and others while the WWF was still on the "Hulk Hogan" train riding on sports entertainment more than the professional wrestling work ethic that made the NWA a true alternative & competition with Vince McMahon at the time.

The problem with most of these home videos from this era is that most of the "card filler" matches are edited down so the PPV would only go around 2 hours long. Still, it's classic footage & unique to see how characters still active today like Ric Flair, Big Poppa Pump, Paul Heyman, Theodore R. Long, Sting, Scott Hall, Ron Simmons, and others were appearance & career wise almost 20 years ago.

"King Of The Hill" Battle Royal - This was a two ring battle royal in which the rules were that if you were eliminated from ring one, you would move over to ring two & get a second chance but if you were eliminated from ring two, you were officially out. The winner of ring one (the only man who was not eliminated at all) would face off against the winner of ring two. However, this was just a match for the team of Sid Vicious & Dan Spivey a.k.a. "The Skyscrapers" to dominate & ended up splitting the win in the end.
This match is edited.

Brian Pillman vs. Bill Irwin - Early Pillman here as he shows off his aerial offence and wins after he dove from the top rope of ring two over to Irwin in ring one.
This match is edited.

Dynamic Dudes vs. Skyscrapers - Boy, who would have know from his match that one of the Dudes would later go on to be the head of WWE talent relations & the other would go on to be a "Franchise." But in this match, they were just bodies for the Skyscrapers do dominate over.
This match is edited.

Tuxedo Match: Jim Cornette vs. Paul E. Dangerously - This was a managers match & it was here for comedic sake which it did achieve.
This is also available on the WWE's "Worlds Greatest Wrestling Managers" DVD.

Texas Tornado Match: Steiner Brothers vs. Kevin Sullivan & Mike Rotunda - For those who don't know, this was Scott Steiner's PPV debut and almost 10 years before the Big Poppa Pump gimmick while Mike Rotunda would go on to greatest success under the name I.R.S. Just a wild brawl between these two teams that was very entertaining & enjoyable to look at.

Television Champion Sting vs. Great Muta - This was a good match as Muta's japanese quick style meshed will with Sting style as well. There wasn't a slow or dull moment here and I remember it had a very controversial ending but it didn't take away from the match itself. However, this match was here more to help set up what would happen later in the night.

United States Champion Lex Luger vs. Ricky Steamboat - Although Luger had a bad reputation for being one of the most overpushed & worse wrestlers in history...this was when Luger was in his prime & could carry his own weight. The match is a step down for the Steamboat/Flair classics that dominated the NWA for the first half of the year but each wrestler held their own & again, the cheap ending didn't take away from the match itself.

War Games Match: Road Warriors, Midnight Express, Steve Williams vs. Fabulous Freebirds & Samoan Swat Team - Ah, the classic War Games match. For those who never seen this, it's a two ringed cage match with a caged top on it & the first two wrestlers go in for 5 minute period. A coin toss is held (which the heels always seem to win) to determine who goes in next and the teams alternate wrestlers entering the match. When the final wrestler enters the cage, the only way to win is by submission or surrender. However to the Maryland state athletic commission not allowing blood during the time, this match isn't as violent as previous & future War Games matches were.

NWA Champion Ric Flair vs. Terry Funk - This was Flair's first match back after winning the NWA Title back from Ricky Steamboat in which Terry Funk attacked him afterwards. Terry Funk is one of the original wrestlers who knew how to make their matches entertaining. Funk would inject some humor every now & then but you would still take him seriously. This match was good as they did good storytelling surrounding Flair's injured neck along with them trying to "out heel" each other by using the branding iron behind the referee's back. Flair won the match with a rollup but attacked by Muta which set up Sting for the save looking for revenge for earlier in the night. This one match helped set up feuds for not only the rest of the year but for the year after involving Flair & Sting.

Overall, this was a classic PPV from the later days of the National Wrestling Alliance & if you can get your hands on it, you won't be sorry.

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The Glory Days

This is one of my favorite wrestling events that I still own on tape & eventually transfered onto DVD as this was really just a classic event from the awesome NWA/WCW era from 1989. Now one thing to mention about this tape is that all of these old NWA events (for some reason) were edited down to fit a 3 hour card onto a 2 hour tape, however I have the entire event on tape so I am not sure which matches are edited. On a personal note, despite WWF being the top money company at the time, most fans can agree that the NWA '89 era featured the better wrestling matches.

"King of the Hill" Battle Royal. This was a two ring battle royal in which the rules were that if you were eliminated from ring one, you would move over to ring two & get a second chance but if you were eliminated from ring two, you were officially out. The winner of ring one would face off against the winner of ring two. One thing to look out for is that you will see familiar faces like Scott Hall, Ron Simmons, Brian Pillman & others but this match was more about the Skyscrapers (Sid Vicious & Dan Spivey) dominating the entire match before both men decide to split the winner's money along with Theodore R. Long (their manager).

Brian Pillman vs Bill Irwin. This match was more of a showcase for Pillman as he was able to use his speed & quickness to overcome the bigger Irwin. I feel this is worth watching for those that only got to see Pillman after he crushed his angle in early '96 that limited his wrestling ability.

The Skyscrapers vs Dynamic Dudes. It's interesting to point out that one of the dudes is actually Shane Douglas while the other guy ended up being the head of WWE talent relations but besides that historical factor, this match was dominated by the Skyscrapers as they made quick work of this team.

Tuxedo Match: Jim Cornette vs Paul E. Dangerously. This was a comedy match that delivered as the rules to this match was that the winner is the manager that rips his opponent's tuxedo off.

Texas Tornado Match: The Steiner Brothers vs Kevin Sullivan & Mike Rotunda. This didn't last long but this was just a wild encounter between both teams with even some stiff moments of each member using a steel chair & slamming each other on the concrete floor.

Television Champion Sting vs The Great Muta. Out of all their series of matches, this was my favorite encounter as their unique styles meshed well in what was an action packed contest that had the intensity & fire that made this feud really stand out during this point in wrestling. There was some controversy to the ending of the match but it didn't take away from what was a great match & again the best Sting/Muta encounter.

United States Champion Lex Luger vs Ricky Steamboat. It should be noted that this was supposed to be a No DQ match but Luger stated that if it was not changed to a regular match, then he would not wrestle. Steamboat showed here that he was one of the best wrestlers to ever grace a ring as he carried Luger to one of his best matches in his whole career but to be fair, Luger did a great job in keeping up with Steamboat with his power offense while Steamboat used his technique & speed to combat the bigger man. This one ended by disqualification but it was a good match regardless & again one of Luger's best matches.

War Games: The Road Warriors, "Dr. Death" Steve Williams & Midnight Express vs The Fabulous Freebirds & Samoan Swat Team. This was a two ringed cage match with a caged top on it & the first two wrestlers go in for a 5 minute period. A coin toss is held to determine who goes in next and the teams alternate wrestlers entering the match. When the final wrestler enters the cage, the only way to win is by submission or surrender. This was not as bloody or brutal as the other War Games matches have been but this was one of the more athletic matches in the War Games history as everyone was given a chance to shine & not be topped by the other.

NWA Champion Ric Flair vs Terry Funk. This match gets overshadowed by their more famous I-Quit match or even the later Thunderdome clash but this was actually my favorite encounter between these two as both men started this match wild & kept it that way throughout the match along with both trying to out heel the other by doing dirty tricks like bloodying each other with the branding iron & even brawling around ringside. There was storytelling here as Funk worked on Flair's injured neck that Funk caused at WrestleWar. The aftermath featured Sting & Great Muta getting involved that lead to a wild brawl all over the arena that lead the Thunderdome cage match.

Overall, this was a classic NWA event & my personal favorite Great American Bash show that I would recommend if you can get a copy of this event.

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NWA AT ITS BEST!!!!!

I happened to attend this event in Baltimore, MD in 1989. The atmosphere was very high for the afternoon. (PPV back then was done in the afternoons.) Anticipation was running high for the Main Event: Flair vs Funk. Some brief points before I touch on the Main Event. The Wargames Match: Very dissapointing. Compare this match with the original Wargames Matches from 1987 Great American Bash and the 1989 Wargames match doesn't even compare or match up to the 1987 event. More heat back in 1987 and intensity. 1989's went through the motions, very little action, and no blood! Wow, when is there a Wargames match in the NWA with no blood? You'll find it here.

Luger vs Steamboat: Could have been better. Luger being the U.S. Champion at the time and cocky as ever changed the stipulations in the match prior to it taking place. The Baltimore fans weren't too pleased with this. Again, big build up for the hopes of Steamboat dethroning Luger, but this was not meant to be.

Sting vs Muta: I've always had respect for Sting and enjoyed watching him live. I was there in Baltimore in 1990 when he defeated Ric Flair for the World Title at the Bash. Talk about a loud pop in the crowd!!!! Muta vs Sting feud will go down in history as on of the most hyped up feuds in its time. Muta would eventually dissapear and Sting would go back to feuding with Flair, which in my mind is one of the best NWA/WCW feuds around. Compared to Magnum TA vs Tully Blanchard, Sting vs Flair ranks up there with the all time greatest feuds in wrestling history. Muta vs Sting could have been much better during this event.

MAIN EVENT: Flair vs Funk. Now with the "No Blood" ruling in Baltimore, MD, which was based upon the Medical Commissioner at the time, he sat a majority of the time at ringside with the bell ringer. When this match was ready to take place, the medical commissioner left and didn't return. Let me tell you, with him out of the picture, Flair and Funk put on the match of their lives. Double blood and it didn't stop there. Flair and Funk gave the crowd its money's worth and thensome. After Flair had won the match, a fight broke out afterwards. I believe this is captured on the video, if not, I have it in my Video Collection. Muta came out and charged the ring. Flair was being attacked. Sting came to his aid and helped Flair. Muta and Funk were leaving the ring and words were said. Muta throws a chair at Flair and Sting in the ring. Flair jumps out of the ring and charges after Muta. All hell broke lose. Sting took off after Funk and the fight went up onto the staging area. It was wild! Baltimore Arena was so loud and wild you would have thought you were watching a hockey game.

NWA during this time really showed the talent that they had and it's a shame to see what wrestling has become today under the hand of Vince McMahon. I highly recommend this video for any true wrestling fan who has never experienced the "Glory Days" when "Wrestling" was wrestling, and the "Soap Opera" antics were left to the actual daytime drama shows.

Hlywood3@bellsouth.net

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An Event For the Ages

Event: NWA The Great American Bash 1989
Date: July 10, 1988
Location: Baltimore, Maryland
Arena: Baltimore Arena
Attendence: 12,500

Two-Ring King of the Hill Battle Royal: Sid Vicious and Danny Spivey won a "two-ring king of the hill battle royal." Also in the match were: Eddie Gilbert, Terry Gordy, Scott Hall, Bill Irwin, Brian Pillman, Ranger Ross, Mike Rotunda, Ron Simmons, Rick Steiner, Scott Steiner, and Kevin Sullivan....***

Brian Pillman pinned Bill Irwin (10:18)....***

The Skyscrapers (Dan Spivey and SidVicious) defeated The Dynamic Dudes (Johnny Ace and Shane Douglas) (9:14) when Spivey pinned Ace....***

Tuxedo Match: Jim Cornette defeated Paul E Dangerously (6:22) in a "tuxedo" match....*

Texas Tornado Match: Rick and Scott Steiner defeated Mike Rotunda and Kevin Sullivan (4:22) in a "Texas tornado" match when both Steiners pinned Sullivan....***

World Television Title Match: Sting pinned The Great Muta (8:40) to retain the title....*****

United States Heavyweight Title Match: Lex Luger defeated Ricky Steamboat (10:26) by Disqualification to retain the title....*****

WarGames: The Road Warriors (Hawk and Animal), The Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane), and Steve Williams defeated The Freebirds (Jimmy Garvin, Michael Hayes, and Terry Gordy) and The Samoan Swat Team (Fatu and Samu) (22:18) in a "wargames" match when Hawk forced Jimmy Garvin to submit....*****

World Heavyweight Title Match: Ric Flair pinned Terry Funk (17:23) to retain the title.*****

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Witness over two hours of heated battle as NWA stars participate in the most intense professional wrestling display to date...

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