What the HECK?/Intro- NWA Starrcade '85 : the Gathering
Yeah, I don't usualy do the big events since they're abundant, but the novelty of WWE On Demand hasn't worn off for me, yet. I had some free time tonight and after the Pirates gave up another homer to Adam Dunn, I wanted to watch something mildly entertaining so my night wouldn't feel wasted. Plus, "The Gathering" is such a goofy name... sounds like an episode of "Stargate" or "Pokemon". (No...please don't email me about Stargate, now. I've never watched it).

This was a big closed-circuit event for Jim Crockett Promotions on 11/29/85. Or as I liked to call 'em: "the NWA". The show was simulcast from two different venues; the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, NC and the Omni in Atlanta, GA. Wait, wait, wait..the NWA running a show in the Omni?! In Atlanta?! What're the odds?!!

Stilted introduction from Tony Schiavone and Bob Caudle, who also bring in Johnny Weaver, the host of the Greensboro portion.

Match 1: Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship:
Sam Houston vs. Krusher Khrushchev
Match for the vacant championship, and you've got to wonder why anything involving the word "heavyweight" includes the 217 lbs. Sam Houston. I'm surprised that "Young" isn't an official part of Houston's ring name. Five years later and they were still calling him "Young Sam Houston". Khrushchev is our old pal Barry Darsow, as a delusional American who thinks he's Russian. Sorta' like One Man Gang thinking he was black. The referee is wearing a snazzy Big Bird Yellow jumpsuit. Basic old style match with Khrushchev providing the power stuff and Houston providing clotheslines and some shitty head scissors. Houston nails his bulldog finisher and covers. Ref makes it to 2 before noticing Khrushchev's leg on the rope. Houston gets up, thinking he's won it, when Khrushchev nails him with a Russian sickle. Khrushchev gets the pin, although the ref didn't see Houston's leg on the rope.

Match 2: Mexican Death Match / Sombrero on a Pole Match:
"Ragin' Bull" Manny Fernandez vs. Abdullah the Butcher (w/Paul Jones)
Wow...this is worth my $8 monthly subscription RIGHT HERE!! I dug Manny...he was just a basic tough guy (Oh By The Way-- he did NOT play for the '72 Miami Dolphins). Abdullah's managed by Paul Jones, who apparently shopped at the "Cheap Tux N' Cane" outlet stores-- a mail-order catalog was only available to EVERY manager of the 80's. This is an anything goes, no DQ, no countout match where the winner must grab the sombrero on top of the pole. Abdullah attacks right away and pulls out a foreign object from the Bottomless Cupbaord of Stuff, aka his gut. He beats away, then reaches out to grab the ring bell hammer to smack Manny! In what becomes a recurring theme for the evening, BOTH GUYS BLEED. Manny gets a monkey-flip on the Sudanese Madman, with some help from Abdullah himself. Abby makes it up to the pole, but Manny nails him in the Little Abby. Manny gets a suplex, then Abdullah misses a charge into the corner and nails the ringpost. Abby tumbles out to ringside, alllowng Manny to grba the sombrero and win the match.

Match 3: Texas Bullrope Match: "Cowboy" Ron Bass vs. Black Bart (w/ JJ Dillon)
Grudge match between two former tag partners. Bass was decent for the time, but Bart was usually hen-shit worthless. This is the time honored tradition of both guys tied to a bullrope with a cowbell in the middle. See, if I was the booker, I'd have a "Cheese Grater on a Bungee Cord Match". Special stipulation calls for Bass to get five minutes of a bullrope match with Dillon, should he win. Basic brawl and about two minutes in, BOTH GUYS BLEED. Bass comes off the second rope and nails Bart to get the pin. Dillon immediately sneaks in (takes his shirt off) and starts kicking Bass. He chokes him with the bullrope until Bass Cowboys Up (heh..that works) and beats away on JJ. Guess what? JJ BLEEDS. Bart is still at ringside, so he hops in, gets a cheapshot and throws JJ on top to steal the pin.

Match 4: "Superstar" Bily Graham vs. Barbarian (w/Paul Jones)
Yeah, this Barbarian is the same guy who went on the Powers of Pain, Faces of Fear and Epic Bearhugs. But first, a table is set up in the ring, as we're treated to an arm-wrestling match between the two! Oh boy. Tony reminds us: "after this.. they'll WRESTLE!" Please don't remind us. Superstar wins the arm wrestling portion and then the match begins. Sluggish brawl as they fight over applying BEARHUGS. Superstar cinches his in, but Paul Jones runs in to smack him, drawing a DQ. Barbie pummels Supserstar outside the ring until he gets bored. Memory's foggy, but I think Superstar BLED.

Johnny Weaver is standing by in the locker room with Krusher Khrushchev. Khrushchev talks in a straight Amerian accent, saying that he and the Koloffs are superior Russian athletes. Could have been a funny segment, but Weaver doesn't call him out on the ruse.

Match 5: NWA National Championship:
Terry Taylor © vs. "Nature Boy" Buddy Landel (w/JJ Dillon)
The National title faded away about a year later when Nikita Koloff merged it with the US title. It's weird seeing Landel ape all the "Nature Boy" mannerisms, including the "fake the lock-up and slick your hair" spot. Taylor controls most of the match and sets up Landel for his top-rope superplex. Dillon reaches in to grab Taylor's leg. Landel falls on top and becomes the new champ.

Match 6: NWA National Tag Team Championship:
Ole & Arn Anderson © vs. Wahoo McDaniel & Bill Jack Haynes
Wahoo and Billy Jack are the NWA US Tag Team Champs, but that title is not up for grabs. Haynes dominates the early going, gorilla-pressing and tossing Ole. Andersons work in classic heel doubelteam moves, pasuing for some Wahoo chops. They cut off Wahoo in the corner, with Ole sliding out and tripping him, allowing Arn to get the pin. Wahoo's fun. Whenever he's in a tag team and he's in the ring, you always seem to forget about his partner.

Match 7: NWA US Heavyweight Championship/ I Quit, Steel Cage Match:
Tully Blanchard ©(w/ Baby Doll) vs. Magnum TA
I wont mention Baby Doll (shit, I just did) since she's the stuff nightmares and biker bars are made of. Essentially this match is a fancy brawl and guess what? BOTH GUYS BLEED! Not much wrestling as they choke each other out and jam the microphone in each other's grill. But the intensity is displayed well. Things get absolutely EVIL wehn Baby Doll tosses a wodden chair into the cage. Tully breaks off a piece and tries to drive a wooden spike into Magnum's eye! Magnum blocks it, then takes his own wodden spike into Tully's forehead. After about 30 seconds of forehead drilling, Tully screams "yes!!! Yesss!", meaning he's quit.

Johnny Weaver again hold the microphone while JJ Dillon and Buddy Landel talk. Whether intentionally or not, Landel compares himself to Ric Flair and the Four Horsemen. Dillon looks a little leery over those statements. Not sure if that was ever an angle.

Match 8: Atlanta Street Fight:
Midnight Express (w/Jim Cornette) vs. "Boogie Woogie Man" Jimmy Valiant & Miss Atlanta Lively (w/Big Momma)
This is still the Dennis Condrey/Bobby Eaton version of the Express. Since it's a streetfight, they come out in tuxedos! And here people were complaining about Christopher Daniels wearing a dress shirt for his recent "streetfight". Miss Atlanta Lively is Ronnie Garvin in drag. Including leather boots with heels. Big Momma is a black prostitute, or the person Dusty Rhodes might have originally had in mind for "Sapphire". Together the trio was called the "Street People". Lively goes right after Condrey with a puff of powder. Powder gets involved often, but guess what? The EXPRESS BLEEDS! At one point, Lively's pants start dropping, but Eaton and the referee help pull them up. Match goes all around ringside until Lively gets the pin.

Magnum TA has wandered in front of Johnny Weaver's microphone. He says that the "I quit" match wasn't a real wrestling match and things never should have come to that. Magnum's real intense as he throws out an open challenge for title contenders.

Match 9: NWA World Tag Team Championship/ Steel Cage Match:
Ivan & Nikita Koloff © (w/Krusher Kruschev) vs. The Rock n' Roll Express (Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson w/ Don Kernodle)
Not sure why Kernodle's out there. He used to be Sgt. Slaughter's tag partner, so maybe he's the de facto Pro-USA babyface. He has patriotic WRISTBANDS.. wow! Nikita beats the tar out of Robert Gibson, tagging in Uncle Ivan to do the wear-down offense. Despite the common Internet joke, Morton's on the apron for most of the match and Gibson's the one playing "face-in-peril". After some top rope antics, Morton rolls up Ivan form behind to win the straps. Russians are pissed, so they bring in Krushchev for a Rock n' Roll Beatdown. Guess what? THE EXPRESS BLEEDS!

Match 10: NWA World Heavyweight Championship:
"Nature Boy" Ric Flair vs. "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes
Duthy said: "what do Ric Flair know about HARD TIMES?!" Big grudge match after Flair and the Andersons broke Dusty's leg. Dusty hits his bionic elbow at every opportunity, then goes ot work on Flair's leg. Flair hits all of his trademark spots- including the Flop and the Flip. The referee gets knocked out of the ring and the cheeky shenanigans begin. Arn Anderson enters and gets kicked out. Ole comes in and gets sent out. A second referee slides in as Dusty small packages Flair and gets the big win. Other babyface wrestlers storm the ring to celebrate.

Backstage interview from Dusty and the boys with the champagne a-flowin'. I think the NWA came back the very next week and ordered the title returned to Flair, since a second referee made the count. Well, if the NWA committee can review and overturn decisions via videotape, they'd have to overturn about three more matches on this card and about 1,207 from the past five years. It's Logic In Wrestling!

Why'd You Tape This??
About 60% of this show is entertaining. The announcers may have been on a tape delay or something, as they're silent for most of the first 3 matches. There's also the maddening "Love Theme From Starrcade '85: The Gathering" that plays between each match. Plus an extra five minutes at show's end.

Not an amazing show, with the true highspot being a busted wooden chair. Dusty's win would have been great, had it stuck. Both tag title matches are good, the Manny-Abby bout is fun and the Atlanta Streetfight is just bizarre. Track it down if you like old-school NWA...or if you like to see EVERYBODY BLEED!

You forgot to mention ol' Ronnie bladed too... while dressed in drag. I had no idea that was him though, but it was obviously a man. :P

I enjoyed the show, since I'm a sucker for anything NWA from about 1984 through 1990. And don't dare insult Blanchard/MAgnum TA. That match is a classic I tells ya! CLASSIC!

Scrooge speaks the truth. That match displays HATE like no other. I'm gonna watch it again.

Yeah...after about the fifth match my mental blade count began to fizzle out.

I don't think I insulted Mangnum/Tully did I? Not much wrestling, but there's just an intense feel to it, no mouthguards required. With the classic image of Tully trying to stab Magnum in the forehead. I had never seen that match and I went "oh. SHIT." when Tully started breaking the chair apart.

Well, I did insult Baby Dog, but what else is new?

I'd fuck Babydoll.

21 years later, he'd still hit it.

She was about 23 at Starrcade '85, so she'd be about 44 now. Who knows, may be she's a milf. Either way, he'd still hit it.

2004 Babydoll

EDIT: The pictures wouldn't upload from the 2004 Fanfest, but the link has a few pictures of her now.

I think Baby Dog benefitted from the "Deset Island Syndrome". Put ANY single broad in amongst a group of guys and she'll seem attractive.

Oh yeah..I messed up in my review. I had a card with the Rock n' Roll Express AND Jimmy Valiant, and I didn't work in the infamous "Glass bottom boat" story. Drat!

Dang... and Baby Doll was an iffy to me. Sometimes she'd be smoking hot, and sometimes she'd look like a dog.