#99 – Great American Bash 1987
Get comfortable because you’re about to travel back to 1987 with the Black Cat and Dre and oh boy does Black Cat have a lot to say about 1987 NWA! We revisit the great Turner Home Video classic, “The Great American Bash 1987” and also announce the release of the OSWP Season 2 Box Set and the INCREDIBLE Dean Stahl designed “David Crockett’s OSWP Thanksgiving Dinner” poster. Please support the podcast by visiting flairchop.com where you can also buy our tremendous “mail-order wrestling gimmicks” t-shirt, posters, and the box set of our first 50 episodes. You can also get a free OSWP sticker by leaving a comment on the iTunes store.
This episode has been archived. It is available either by ordering the physical “OSWP Season 3 box set” with episodes 76-100 or it can be instantly downloaded in a digital version of the “OSWP Season 3 complete set” with episodes of 76-100. The physical box set will always be our favorite, as it comes with a full color booklet featuring art by our friend Dean Stahl and looks great on your bookshelf next to your coliseum home videos. The instant digital download version also comes with high resolution PDFs of the booklet that you can view on your computer. Both the physical box set and the digital download come with two bonus episodes featuring our reviews of the Clash of the Champions 9 and the Royal Rumble 1988. These episodes have never been available on flairchop.com. But if you only want to hear this one episode, we also offer the option of instantly downloading just the individual episode for a small price.
This episode has been archived in the Season 3 digital box set available for $9.99 at the OSWP Merch Store!
A great long episode to set the tone for what I’m expecting will be an EPIC episode #100. I remember watching this Great American Bash video from my local video store several times. I can’t recall now if I figured out at the time it was a compilation video, but I definitely remember the two War Games bouts. One with JJ, and one without.
War Games is where Tom Miller shines. While he does the best announcement of Barry Windham ever, there is something else he does that is (sadly) a fond memory of my childhood. Whenever it was almost time for the next wrestler to enter War Games, Tom would count it down. For some reason, when he got to 15 seconds, he would go nuts. 15 SECONDS! I loved it. That was for him what saying Guerrero/a was for David Penser (Juventud Gue-rerrr-AH).
I have already bugged Black Cat about this on Twitter, but I find it very hard to believe that Black Bart won two matches in a row ever. He must have faced Chris Adams in the first round, and then got a bye into the finals due to a draw or double DQ/CO.
I will always remember the image of a bloody JJ Dillon getting a spiked wristband jammed into his eye and his pasty body quivering as he gives up. I actually liked that they put the War Machine in the second one, because it meant the good guys would have to actually win, not just beat up JJ.
On one of these old videos, The Freebirds were wrestling some tag team, and Terry Gordy got the win with an elbow drop. Tony Schiavone said “and Terry Gordy, with the coup de gras”. For the longest time I thought that was the name of Gordy’s finisher. Oh the innocence of childhood. Not quite Space Mountain, but it’ll have to do.
And the new poster, the Crockett Thanksgiving, is absolutely amazing!
What a great episode, This was my favorite time watching wrestling as a kid and you guys dd a great job of capturing my memory of how good some of these angles actually were. My favorite part of this was actually the return of Magnum TA. I was such a huge fan of Magnum and remember as a kid not understanding where he went. I did not have access to wrestling magazines so if someone left I just did not see him anymore and I remember wondering what happened.
I remember it like it was yesterday my brothers and I were ready to watch the Crockett TBS show and the show started with a graphic of windshield wipers on a rainy car window and scrolling words that talked about how Magnum TA had been in an accident some time ago (I do not remember this being talked about on the air ,I may have just missed it). Long story short the last words “Tonight Magnum TA returns” My brothers and I went nuts jumping up and down making alot of noise , My Dad then came in and made us turn it off (he did not like wrestling). Magnum was interviewed that night of course I did not see it but after that he made appearances at the announce table and with Dusty to the ring.
YOu made me laugh out loud when you were reffering to “Space Mountain”. I remember having absolutley no idea what he was talking about but as a kid from CA who took a regular family vacation to Disneyland I just assumed that Ric Flair was taking these women to Disneyland in his Jet….
Let me also say that James J Dillon’s ring atire remined me of Harly races ring atire from the first Starcade.
I am so envious of the NWA DVD collection you purchased. It must literally be like going back in time, Let me know if you would like to sell it. I just ordered my 2nd season of the show, cant wait for it to arrive I am looking forward to the artwork (Insert shameless plug here)
Thanks for the hard work guys Congrats on 100 episodes
Tits!!
A random wrestling fact I thought of while listening to the show came as the following questions, I wanna see who else knows this (and don’t Google this Dre!):
[a] What wrestler(s) fought in the War Games, Hell in a Cell, and the Elimination Chamber?
[b] What wrestler(s) fought in the War Games and the Hell in a Cell?
[c] What wrestler(s) fought in the War Games and the Elimination Chamber?
If memory serves me correctly, only one guy fits in each question! Have fun.
Thanks for another great epiosode gentlemen! I listened to it at work, living the American Dream, working hard for the man with my hands! I even work with a sweet, sweet Sapphire!
You guys saying that the Texas Death Match (TDM) was like any other hardcore match broke my heart, since the TDM was my favorite stipulation while I was a kid. One of three tapes I grew up on was the Halloween Havoc 1993 tape, since I loved watching the TDM with WCW Champion Vader and Cactus Jack!
The TDM is the combination of a Last Man Standing Match (LSM) and the Falls Count Anywhere match (FCA). What the difference is, simply, is falls count anywhere and the one who “lost the fall” has to get up to his feet by a count of ten (or 30, as Dory Funk defines on his website, or back to his feet and back into the ring within 60 seconds as to the WrestleMania X match with Randy Savage and Crush).
Anyways, that’s me being a little picky. Thanks again for awesome 99 episodes and can’t wait for another 101!
Awesome episode! Just a little Jimmy Garvin facts. You mentioned you thought Jimmy threw some pretty stiff chops, and when he first came into Crockett, in early to mid 1986, he came on TV challenging Wahoo McDaniel in who had the best chops. Which led to their series of Indian Strap Matches in the 1986 Bash tour. And Jimmy was, and still is, married to Precious. She replaced Sunshine as Jimmy’s valet while in World Class.
Here’s some links to complete Memphis TV from 1986-1988 on Youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/user/TraderJack641/videos
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzrLGyTej1cJ5A7_TvsiZug/videos
This must be Christmas. This is a goldmine you just gave us.
If memory serves me right when you joined the Rock & Roll Express’ fan club you got a 45 of them singing their “hit” song Boogie Woogie Dance Hall. I remember seeing Ricky Morton in the studio singing this instant classic on a Saturday afternoon episode of Mid-Atlantic Wrestling. Boy those were the days!
First of all, congratulations on Show #100! If you just devoted three hours to the Bash and War Games, I can’t wait to see what you come up with for the anniversary.
Speaking of the Bash, I think I had the exact same thoughts regarding Space Mountain. Ten-Year old me: “Ric Flair must have season passes to Disney World.”
Although I must have been a really dumb ten-year old because I completely forgot about the Jimmy Garvin/Precious/Flair feud and the hotel room encounter. After listening, I had to find the Precious/Flair “date” – which is all kinds of hilarious.
http://youtu.be/ozByQnmAVto
Talk about being the greatest manager of all time – JJ Dillon prepares every last detail for his “champ.” And then in probably one of those only in wrestling, super weird, homoerotic moments – he asks Flair if he can hide in a closet and “watch.” (11:30 mark in the video)
And to top it all off, the object of Flair’s desire – Precious – basically looks like a drag queen.
Oh, the 1980’s.
Great ‘cast and glad I could be a part of Box Set 2! Some info about Dark Journey.
DJ worked as a stripper in Tulsa and was “discovered” by Dick Slater..He made her his ring valet in early ’86. Slater was getting a big push in mid south/uwf as was Dark Journey, who was receiving several “pushes” from other wrestlers. Slater got into it with Sting over Journey and Watts cut him loose and kept Journey.
Journey then became a major part of why Bill Watts ex-wife owned the entire mid south uwf library until selling to Vince. Apparently Bill needed someone to “shine his helmet” and DJ was his girl. When Mrs Watts found out, she took everything and his kids helped her and helped her run the video library business.
Very good info. It sounds like her name was appropriate for what Bill’s experience with her turned out to be.
As far as Black Bart goes, he received big pushes in both World Class and UWF for a while. Even as a kid, I wondered how this guy kept winning matches.
Hi guys, half-way through this so far. Funny that the image you found was from my site.
I too became interested in what the hell the Western Heritage State title was meant to be or why it was created and essentially:
– They wanted a title to be defended at main events in old Bill Watts country.
The completely retarded thing is that they’d just retired the UWF belt, so why not just use that instead of making this completely meaningless new one with no history?
Look forward to finishing the rest of this.
And fellas, I’m still living that dream to do a joint show one day.
Oh and I’m spending the $10 just for the PWI 500 show.
Bill Watts said that when this was going on, he tried to sell Crockett on an “Invasion” type storyline with the UWF wrestlers going into NWA..Everyone agreed it was a great idea except for Dusty, who proceeded to bury everyone except for a couple of guys.
Some Rick Steiner info:
Steiner was a jobber starting out,going by Rob Ricksteiner. After several months, Mad Dog Buzz Sawyer began a partnership with him, taking him under his wing(or his paw), and he became Rick Steiner at this point. Steiner began using some of Sawyer’s moves, and even wore a dog chain to the ring. This carried over into his run in Hot Stuff Inc under Eddie Gilbert, and his early run in NWA.
Gotta call Dre out on a mispronunciation. I’ve heard it on older episodes and again 3 times on episode 99. It’s a Hurricanrana, not a HOON-acanrana
I’m sorry. When I was a little kid, Mankind put me in the mandible claw and I have had a speech impediment ever since causing me to mispronounce simple words like Hoonancanranna, and Earl Hefner, and Bill Aptner. I have a handy cap!
***and as always, I give legal notice that The Old School Wrestling Podcast is a fountain of misinformation.
Hey Gentlemen!
Great freaking episode, but it left me with a little sadness. At this particular moment in time, Jim Crockett Promotions had peaked. Their roster was as good as you would ever find & the storylines were great + believable. Unfortunately, it was downhill after this. Once JCP purchased Bill Watts’ UWF (Which was amazing shit!! One of the best wrestling programs I have EVER seen in my 52 years here on the planet!) I feel that they “Jumped The Shark”! Things just started to get a little stale. Not only that, but it was the root cause of Crockett’s financial ruination and the sale to Turner which really helped kill the rich history of the NWA. However, during this particular time, 6:05 on Saturday night couldn’t get here quick enough!! That Super Station show back then was definately Tits McGee! Also, Dre’s impression of Stardust cursing up a storm in the ring was freaking hysterical!! You guys are the best! One of these times I have to tell youu about the night I hung out drinking with the NWA guys at the Philadelphia Airport Holiday Inn bar in 1988. Talk about marking out! As always, thanks for all you guys do! Can’t wait for #100!!
If you need a reason to never review a TNA event after reviewing the very first PPV, look no further than the fact that they had the good guys win the coin toss one year in their War Games style match Lethal Lockdown.
Being over 25, I was tempted while listening to the Steve Austin Show to put some T+ in my cart. Then I saw the price. Even with the 10% discount from putting in the /steve part, I think I’m going to need to win the lottery before I can have my flagpole at full ass solute everytime a pair of legs and a pair of tits walks by.
Whats up guys. Very new to the board here and the podcasts as a whole. I used to do a podcast over at gerweck.net back in the day. I’ve been listening to my buddy John Orlando’s pvdcast and I’ve been looking for different things to listen to while doing yardwork and that sort of thing. So far I’ve downloaded and listened to this episode and the 1995 ECW tv and I’m currently downloading the san fran 49er episode.
I gotta say I’ve become a pretty big fan in a short time. I picked up this Bash tape at a flea market for $4! Not a bad deal. It’s in great shape too. I also got the bash 86, the second crocket cup and starcades 86, 87, 88 & 89. Great score! From the same guy I’ve also been able to grab 1-19 in the Best of the WWF, Halloween Havoc 91, Beach Blast 92 and the Great American Bash 90. Pretty impressive. Anyhow I’m a tape trader from way back in the old Wrestling All Stars: Heroes and Villains days. I love the conversation and it’s a pretty well produced podcast as well. Doesnt sound like two guys on cell phones anyway. Bash 87 was a great compilation of matches from some of the very best talemt ever assembled. I dont think todays workers, with the exception of a select few, could pull off such brutality. I will always considee myself an NWA guy and even today I follow what has become somewhat of a joke in the now independent NWA. However todays NWA has a really solid group of guys who almost remind me of the glory 80’s group. I’m curious what your opinion is on todays stars, or stand outs maybe, Adam Pearce, Chance Prophet, Damien Wayne, Lance Erikson, Kahagas, Chase Owens, Houston Carson and Jax Dane. I think there are some guys in that list who could really have held their own in the 80’s. Just curious. Anyhow again, I love the podcast and I’m looking forward to hearing the Jarrett/Booker/Russo episode and I also look forward to posting comments here as well. Keep up the excellent work guys and as always, You want heat? Start a fire.