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IWA IN TAMPA, FLORIDA LIVE REPORT: DETAILED LOOK AT WRESTLEREUNION CONVENTION'S LIVE CARD
By Mike Johnson on 2005-02-08 22:00:00
What would a wrestling convention be without some actual live wrestling? Well, it would still be a wrestling convention because very rarely do conventions actually incorporate live shows.
Two weeks ago, however, I attended the first-ever Wrestlereunion convention in Tampa, Florida. The event, promoted by Sal Corrente and Rob Russen, collected well over 80 stars in one place at the same time for Q & A Sessions, autograph signings, and a live event.
I previously covered most of the weekend's events in a column when I returned from Florida but wanted to cover the live event as a separate entity due to the unique nature of the show.
Before we jump into the report, I am going to note here that there will be times where I go into background and history of different personalities during the report, both as a way to try and convey my own personal insight into the event and give some information to those of you who may not know who, for example's sake, Oliver Humperdink is).
Before I get into the wrestling event, it should be noted that the show should be judged on the merits of a universe upon itself. It's unfair to those who wrestled to try and grade them on the same scale as your typical independent show. With that said, the live event, held exclusively for Elite VIP ticketholders, was an awesome evening for old school wrestling fans. I can honestly say that I walked out of the show having enjoyed myself more than I have at many recent independent wrestling events, and I have no problem admitting that. That's not to say the Internet should be stampeding to track down a tape and analyze the matches the way they love to do for Ring of Honor and other independent promotions.
Wrestlereunion wasn't a show where you expected tremendous professional wrestling going in. There weren't going to be any five star classics that would be legendary among the Internet fans the next morning. What you expected instead was some good pure fun, some old stars getting the chance to be heroes and villains again before an audience that loved and respected them in their prime, and a chance for everyone involved to enjoy themselves.
When it comes to enjoyment, Wrestlereunion made their mark. Held in the ballroom of the Tampa Doubletree, the Wrestlereunion IWA event on Saturday 1/29 looked to have drawn in the area of 250-300 fans total, all of which were Elite VIP ticketholders.
The show was filmed with three cameras, including a “hard camera" that was sitting atop a ladder above one of the ring posts, which will likely be similar to the camera view that ECW used in the old New York City Elks Lodge. There was a professional lighting rig wired into the ceiling of the ballroom to light the ring and as I joked to a few friends, it was a better setup than ECW's second PPV (which was notorious for poor production). The show's commentary was done live as the show happened with Lance Russel and Jimmy Hart doing the entire show, joined early by Diamond Dallas Page and later in the show by Joey Styles. The second I found out Russel was at the convention, the weekend was made for me personally. Bill Apter worked as timekeeper. Styles was originally booked as ring announcer, but was trapped on the runway for five hours due to an ice storm in Atlanta. Mark Nulty of WrestlingClassics.com (who commentates ROH with Gabe Sapolsky) was tapped to announce instead and looked to be beaming as he came to the ring....only to be enthusiastically booed by his home state.
The show opened with Bill Apter and Diamond Dallas Page, who were working as the faces of the convention, coming to the ring to film an opening segment and thank everyone for coming. They announced that they had several legends awards to give out and presented plaques to the daughter and son-in-law of the late Gordon Solie, Pam and Bob Allyn and one to Mike Graham, who accepted on behalf of his father the late Eddie Graham. Eddie was considered one of the greatest bookers who ever lived, grooming Dusty Rhodes and Bill Watts, among others during his time while Solie was the man when it came to announcing. Page gave a long tribute to Solie, crediting him for teaching Page how to commentate when they worked together for the Florida Championship Wrestling revival in the late 1980s. They also gave a plaque to Jimmy Valiant, who was advertised as retiring tonight. It was a nice classy moment to open the evening.
Roddy Piper came to the ring, where he awarded a plaque to Bill Apter, which I believe was something Apter didn't see coming based on his reaction as he didn't ham up the way Apter traditionally does when he's on camera. Apter and Piper joked back and forth with each other, which the crowd enjoyed. Piper went to leave the ring, but Apter reminded him that they had advertised that Piper would be appearing on “Apter's Alley" an interview segment. Apter brought out Jimmy Snuka, playing off the famous coconut angle, saying that in all the years he covered the business, he never saw Piper apologize. Roddy teased that he would but didn;t do it. Just as Piper was “about" to apologize, out came Col. DeBeers, Bob Orton, and Buddy Rose, managed by Sherri Martel, who confronted Piper and Snuka, then attacked them. Jimmy Valiant hit the ring for the save, sparking the opening match.
Roddy Piper & Jimmy Valiant & Jimmy Snuka defeated Col. DeBeers & Bob Orton & Buddy Rose (with Sherri Martel) when Piper pinned Orton. Rocky Johnson was advertised as the partner here but never returned his contract to the promoters, so Snuka was tapped as the replacement. Piper looked to be in better shape than he had been in recent years. Snuka looked the same as he has in recent years while Valiant looked very thin and like he had lost even more weight from the last time I saw him a year previous. Of the heels, Orton was in the best shape, working in a singlet. This was likely the first match for Rose and DeBeers in years. From the moment this started, everyone in there was trying their best to have a good time with all kinds of brawling and back and forth stuff. Rose actually took an insane bump through the ropes to the floor that I think shocked everyone in the building. As someone who grew up watching Piper and Orton as a duo, it was wild to see them going at it. It was odd that in a match billed as his farewell, they didn't have Valiant score the pin. Orton's partners turned on him after the match, leading to Piper making the save and reuniting with his "Ace" for the first time since 1987. Piper kissed Sherri Martel for good measure.
Lanny Poffo pinned Adam Windsor. Poffo, aka The Genius during his main event heel run in 1990 for the WWF recited a poem before the match about friends that got a huge round of applause. Windsor is the top student/trainer for the nearby Dory Funk Jr. BANG! School in Ocala, Florida and Funk accompanied him to ringside. Poffo had some trouble with his tights during the match as he had gotten rid of most of his gear previously, never expecting to get back in the ring, and the outfit he wore ended up exposing him several times during the match. Poffo actually stopped fans the next day to apologize, which I thought was an extremely classy thing to do. Windsor was trying to work heel and get Funk to help him but Dory wanted no part of it. The ref took a bump (in the second match?) and Funk held Poffo but was stuck by Windsor. Funk laid him out with a clothesline. Poffo came off the ropes with a moonsault flip (or as high as he was going to get at his age) for the pin.
The Missing Link pinned George South. South still looks good for his age and Link looks to be in better shape now than he did 20 years ago. I was a little bummed as I expected South to do the bit he does working Southern independents, taking forever to remove his ring jacket. South was a longtime enhancement talent in the Jim Crockett territory and was always well liked for making the stars look great. Link came to the ring hitting himself in the head with a chair. If this was any other show, the crowd today would have booed the chair shots but because the fans respected the guys who were they were, they simply cheered it, which I thought was super cool. South tried to use the chair on Link, who no sold them due to how "hard"Â his head was and scored the pin with a clothesline. This was like being at the old Techwood Drive TBS Studios.
Wendi Richter & Bambi & Malia Hosaka & Jenny Taylor defeated Sherri Martel & Peggy Lee Leather & Team Blondage, Krissy Vaine & Amber O'Neal (with Joyce Grable) in an eight woman tag. This was billed as the first time Richter and Martel had ever gotten in the ring with each other, but there wasn't much interaction between the two. Bambi and Leather, who have worked together excessively over the last decade, chopped the crap out of each other and brawled outside the ring. Richter looked like she hadn't ever planned to get back in the ring as she had put on some weight. Martel was actually in the best shape of all the older ladies, which makes sense as she still does indies all the time. Taylor is a southern babyface who works indies. Team Blondage have a great look and worked their tails off. Krissy Vaine is made for a WWE developmental deal, although I suppose she'll need to get some "enhancement" done before that happens. She and O'Neal worked really well as a team. This was a really fun match with everyone working hard. Richter scored the pin after a powerbomb on O'Neal. I actually expected this to go a little longer but it was fine for what took place. Grable was awesome trying to get heat at ringside.
Hacksaw Duggan pinned Kamala. This was billed as a rematch from the old Watts territory days of Mid-South Wrestling, but was more of a reprisal of 1994 WWF. Duggan tried to rally the crowd by chanting "USA" but the hardcore fans turned it around on him, chanting "Uganda" instead with Kamala pumping his fists before jumping back into character. Duggan scored the pin with the old football stance into a clothesline.
Mike Rotunda and Barry Windham defeated Ron Bass and Larry Zbyszko. It was wild to see Windham and Bass in a ring together in Florida, but it's not 1985 anymore for Windham. Still, it was cool to see one of my all time favorites one more time. Zybszko got a great line in at the onset of the match, telling Windham that he was still the Western States Heritage champion. Rotunda and Zbyszko still looked to be in the best shape. Bass looked really heavy and his trademark handlebar mustache is long gone. Windham and Bass went back and forth and Windham told him that Bass hadn'¢t been in the ring for 15 years because, "I could tell." All four ended up brawling outside the ring at one point. This was a match where it was nostalgia all the way.
Jimmy Hart introduced Sabu and asked the fans to give him a round of applause, then introduced Joey Styles. Styles apologized for not arriving sooner and hit his trademark "Oh My God" over the mic. He looked to be beaming about getting the chance to be in front of a live crowd again.
The Masked Superstar defeated The Grappler in a Mask vs. Mask match. This match was a funny inside joke to my friends and I as the Grappler was nowhere to be found during his scheduled signing on Friday so we all joked that he had to be walking past us all weekend and we didn't know what he looked like so he'd never sign. At one point, Superstar ripped Grappler's boot off, which fell apart under the stress as he ripped the heel off. Superstar ripped off Grappler's mask for the pin.
NWA Tag Team champions America's Most Wanted defeated Terry and Dory Funk Jr. via disqualification. Funk was questionable going into the match as the word going around was that he had suffered a heart attack in late December and had surgery to remove blockage in an artery. He probably shoudn'tt have been in the ring, but God bless that crazy man, there he was. I wasn't expecting the amazing Terry Funk doing moonsaults and tearing down the house as he so often has before, but it was still one hell of an effort and anyone who walked away let down by this match needed to get their priorities in line as the Funks went well beyond the call of duty. Dory Funk looked awesome in the ring. It was like a light switch clicked the second the bell rang as he moved with more fluidity than most indy workers, hitting uppercut after uppercut. AMW played heels, which was smart since no one was going to boo the Funks. Funk cut an awesome promo saying he was pissed because he found out AMW was getting more money than he was. Hell, it may have been the truth. At one point, Terry and Chris Harris brawled through the ballroom and threw each other into the door of the room. Terry hit both members of AMW with the NWA Tag title to get disqualified, so he took out the referee for good measure. Dory made the cover and Terry counted to three, giving the Funks the moral victory. One of the prime reasons I flew down was to get the chance to see the Funks together in the ring one last time. Terry is the epitome of all that is good and fun about this business and I wish him nothing but good health for the next 50 years since he spent the last 50 giving it away for love of wrestling. A really fun match.
Mark Nulty noted some of the luminaries in attendance, then introduced Steve Williams to the crowd. Williams got in the ring and told the fans to please keep their prayers coming. He said that he was proof that everyone can do anything they put their minds to and swore that he would return to the ring. The day he does, I hope I'm there to see it. God bless the guy (and John Tenta as well) as they continue to fight the good fight.
Marty Jannetty pinned Gary Royal. Royal, who worked a lot of territories in the 1980s and under a hood as Cruel Connection I for Crockett, wore the craziest outfit ever, this golden glittery creation. He also bumped like he was trying out for a WWE deal. Jannetty looks like he hasn't aged a day since 1994, with blonde streaks in his hair and still a really tight physique. This was better than anyone would have expected going in and was one of the nice surprises of the weekend.
Greg Valentine won a Battle Royal to become the IWA champion by eliminating Bugsy McGraw. Bugsy McGraw was the last guy out?! Others working the battle royal were Brad Armstrong, Ronnie Garvin, Adrian Street, Virgil, The Thunderfoots, Chavo Guerrero Sr., Bob Armstrong (as the Bullet), Shane Douglas, Jake Roberts, The Warlord, Hack Meyers, and Scott Armstrong. It was great to see some of these guys in the ring, especially Garvin and the Armstrongs, but I wont mince words. This sucked. Roberts got a huge pop coming out as he got over with the fans during his Friday night Q & A. Brad Armstrong, who was always one of the truly great unsung performers in the business, looked awesome and if there was any justice, he'd have a chance to do one last great match before he hangs it up. I got a big kick out of seeing The Bullet live as well. The match also left me with some letdowns because in my mind, I was fantasy booking this in better detail than those responsible for putting the show together did. Ronnie Garvin didn't do the Garvin stomp? Shane Douglas was booked and didn'tt do any mic work? Adrian Street was booked and didn't do his infamous lip synching entrance? Like the WWF gimmick Battle Royal at Wrestlemania 17, there could have been some cool nostalgia stuff before the match, but it didn't happen here. Maybe next time. Again, Bugsy McGraw?!
In the best match of the evening, The Rock N' Roll Express and The Fantastics (with Bobby Heenan) defeated Jim Cornette and the Midnight Express, Stan Lane & Bobby Eaton & Dennis Condrey (all teaming together for the first time ever) in a No DQ, No Countout, No Time Limit Bout. I hope that the DVD of the match allows for those watching at home to experience even a glimmer of how much fun this match was for those of us sitting ringside watching. The Midnights all had matching outfits. Of the heels, Lane looked to be in the best shape which was ironic considering he got out of the ring after a motorcycle accident. Of the babyfaces, Tommy Rogers looked the best but everyone was working their tail off. The Midnights were doing all of their trademark cheap heat heel tactics. At one point, Cornette cracked Bobby Fulton in the eye with a stiff potato shot and it swelled up immediately. Fulton tried several times to get his hands on Cornette in retaliation. Cornette was dressed the same way he used to wrestle in those old 1980s Bunkhouse matches and hit a bodyslam and elbowdrop on Fulton, just like the old days. It ended up with everyone piling on Cornette for the pinfall. There was so much that was great and fun about this match and unlike everyone today hitting more spots than 101 Dalmations, this was a case of less meaning more because they gave you a reason to care about everything and enjoy yourself. This match was worth the price of the weekend itself.
Christopher Daniels pinned Pat Tanaka with a sitdown powerbomb. AJ Styles was booked here but was unable to make it in due to the Georgia ice storm. I think Wrestlereunion missed a chance here to put Brad Armstrong in with Daniels and have a really fun match, but for all I know, Armstrong might not have been physically up for that type of match. Daniels got a lot of offense in on Tanaka, then scored the pin. What happened is they were given the sign to go home early so none of what was planned actually had a chance to take place in the ring so Daniels ended up squashing Tanaka. The funniest thing about the bout was one woman sitting in the third row cheering on Tanaka like it was her first born, screaming at Daniels not to give up his day job because he sucked after he won. That was especially funny since Daniels is one of the best overall performers working today.
NWA champion Jeff Jarrett pinned Tully Blanchard (with JJ Dillon) with Kevin Von Erich as the special guest referee. Ricky Steamboat was supposed to be the referee here but told promoters that he had just gotten an MRI done on his knee and was worried about looking bad in the ring getting up and down for the pinfalls. They asked Von Erich, who was happy to substitute, even coming out barefoot the way he did when he wrestled. Von Erich was a nice surprise as its probably been over a decade since he was even inside the ring. Jeff Jarrett brought out Baby Doll as a surprise to shock Tully which wouldn't have worked anywhere but this show, but was a nice idea. Tully looked to be in awesome shape as he worked out for several months and had told me during an interview that he'd be ready to go 60 minutes if needed. He actually proposed winning the belt and then dropping it at TNA TV but it wasn't to be. The match was a slight disapointment in that between the awesome promo Tully cut on the Wrestlereunion website, his training, flying in his father to witness the match, etc. one truly expected a great glorious long wrestling match in the vein of the old school NWA matches. Instead we got an OK eight minute match that would have been fine otherwise, but given the hype was probably the only letdown of the weekend for me personally. Blanchard got a foreign object from JJ (what? No shoe?) but Baby Doll got involved. He struck Jarrett with it for the pin but Von Erich pulled off Tully. They had words and Kevin locked on the iron claw for a pop. Jarrett hit a back suplex for the pin. I knew it was the finish when it happened but until the three count was made, I was hoping for a kickout and another 10 minutes of back and forth wrestling. Maybe next time.
Mike Graham & Dusty Rhodes & mystery partner Dustin Rhodes defeated Kevin Sullivan & CM Punk & mystery partner Abdullah the Butcher (with Harley Race, Honest John, and Oliver Humperdink) with Cactus Jack as the special referee when Dusty pinned Punk with the bionic elbow. This was supposed to be a Cage match and at one point, Jack Brisco was booked to be in the babyfaces' corner but Brisco was nowhere to be found. They announced that due to the logistics of the building, they couldn't fit a cage so they were adding mystery partners. Punk & Abby & Sullivan may have been the most unique six man combination since Junkyard Dog & Tommy Rich & Ricky Morton. Graham got no pop, which shocked me given they had just given his father a plaque several hours earlier and it was billed as his homecoming. Punk's role was to bump for the faces and make everyone look good, and he earned his money. At one point, he did the Terry Funk seesaw in the ropes, then fell backwards, caught his foot on the ropes and bumped backwards to the floor. Abby broke a beer bottle on the ringpost and carved Dustin's forehead with the youngest Rhodes bleeding a gusher. It ended up with Foley giving Punk Mr. Socko (I actually wish they hadn't billed it as Cactus Jack here as to me Cactus is about mayhem and great promos, not Triple H jokes and socko, but that's just me as an old school Foley fan). Punk went down and was hit with the elbow for the pin. Sullivan turned on Punk, ramming him into the ringpost after the match. Overall, one hell of a fun night to be a wrestling fan, and isn't that what it's all about?
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