WhiteTail Wrestling

8th January 1986

News

WCCO TV news 10pm. The Governor of Minnesota is trying to solve a strike of meat plant workers. The Dow Jones had a historic drop larger than that in the Great Depression. This was due to concerns about interest rates rather than a stock market crash. Unemployment has dropped in better economic news. The Mayor of Minneapolis is concerned about issues in the city particularly among minorities. He believes if that inequality isn’t addressed than crime will rise. A triple murder suicide occurred in South Dakota. A stressed worker killed his wife and children and then himself. A Minneapolis man allegedly killed his girlfriend and then set his own house on fire. A crime wave in Minneapolis as elderly women have been attacked and robbed. European countries are concerned about Libyan terrorism but seem unwilling to sanction the North African nation as The United States looks for increased support to make tough new sanctions effective. A court case has determined that Kodak can no longer sell instant film cameras or film due to a patent by polaroid. The FDA is claiming that a new nasal spray has been effective in preventing numerous types of colds. Officials are saying that residents of one part of Minnesota should boil their water after some bacteria was found in the water supply. Residents are claiming that the water is the reason for an increase in sickness. Some residents claim there is no problem with the water. In California a boy had a premonition about his own death requesting his heart go to his girlfriend who needed a transplant. Despite being in perfectly good health the boy died of a brain haemorrhage his girlfriend received his heart and is doing well. Mary Lund has woken up from a coma something that was not expected. The director of the St Paul orchestra is resigning next year but he is staying on as a musician. Work is continuing on the world’s largest ice palace with hopes that it will be finished on time. It got to 27 today in Minnesota the warmest of the year. There was some snow in Texas increasing the snow map. Temperatures will get into the 30’s in Minnesota tommorrow as a warm trend continues. Charges will be filed against a man that ran a red light and crashed into a bus. An official has been charged over fixing of parking tickets. There are concerns about the impact of acid rain particularly on areas such as the Great Lakes. The President as well as the Prime Minister of Canada are looking at solutions to the issue. Willie McCovey was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame as a first ballot candidate. Billy Williams missed out by just a single vote. Michigan escaped with a win against Illinois in College Basketball. The Chicago Bears are down in Georgia getting ready for the NFC Championship game. In the NHL the Minnesota North Stars have two home games coming up. In tonight’s results Toronto beat Edmonton 11-9, Montreal beat Boston 5-3 and Pittsburgh beat Los Angeles 7-3.

NHL

The Boston Bruins travelled to Montreal to take on the Canadiens. A tough physical game with numerous fights and penalties to go with them. Was competitive throughout only being truly decided by a powerplay goal in the final two minutes. The Montreal Canadiens pick up the victory at home with the final score 5-3.

TV Shows

The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson I managed to find footage of the monologue for tonight’s show. An entertaining piece of television with jokes and commentary on current affairs including the events in Libya. I found some Letterman footage lasting about 10 minutes. This was entertaining enough with a couple of jokes that worked and more that didn’t at least with me.

Wrestling

EMLL

Our first Lucha action for the year from Arena Mexico. The first match I watched featured the technico team of Atlantis, Ringo Mendoza and Ultraman against the rudos the team of Los Infernales (El Satanico & Masakre & MS-1). The technicos won the first fall but Los Infernales dominated from there with an impressive display winning both the second and third falls to win the match ***. Pirata Morgan teams up with Babe Face and Cien Caras and they beat up the winners of the previous match for about five minutes and then their opponents arrive La Fiera, Lizmark and Rayo De Jalisco arrive to a beating with the rudos destroying and bloodying them. This continues for the first fall and for a while longer but the technicos come back and take the second fall but this come back doesn’t last long and we get another rudo win. Solar II, Stuka and Acertijo took on El Talisman, El Dandy and Guerrero Negro. This was an entertaining match with some innovative spots that were done very well. This didn’t have the heat of previous matches but the match itself to me was more entertaining ***1/2. Jerry Estada, El Egipcio and As Charro took on Rokambole, Kung Fu and Mogur. This was a solid match with some decent work but like other matches on this card it went long and lacked either the entertaining spots or the heat of other matches.

College Basketball

Illinois ranked 18th in the nation travelled to number two Michigan for this vital Big Ten matchup. Michigan looked like they were going to have a comfortable win well ahead for the first half and part of the second but Illinois never gave up and fought back with the score even with just seconds remaining but Michigan scored a buzzer beater to break Illinois hearts the final score Michigan 61 Illinois 59.

Football/Soccer

FA Cup action as Tottenham take on Oxford in a Third Round replay. Chris Waddle looked to have given Tottenham the lead with a great individual goal but a player was deemed to be in an offside position despite not actually taking part in the attack. Against the run of John Aldridge gave Oxford the lead with a high quality counter attack finish. Oxford maintained that lead at half time. A quickly taken free kick gives Tottenham the equalizer with Waddle catching the Oxford defense flat footed. The game goes to extra time with Tottenham getting the win with a goal from substitute Clive Allen. Tottenham Hotspur 2 Oxford United 1.

9th January 1986

TV Shows

I found another episode of East Enders. This was entertaining just a typical old style soap. Nothing much to it than that. Yes Prime Minister is a satirical political comedy starring Paul Eddington as Jim Hacker the new Prime Minister of Britain he is assisted by Nigel Hawthorne and Derek Fowlds who act as his chief public servants who often try to prevent the Prime Minister from making any real decision. In this episode Hacker is briefed on Britain’s nuclear deterrent which causes him to consider cancelling the Trident nuclear weapons system to save money and enable Britain to introduce conscription to keep the unemployed busy. But Hacker has a visit to the United States approaching and the President may not think highly of him if Trident is cancelled and when Hacker is given the opportunity to have a personal cook in Downing Street to solve problems of a culinary nature he decides that Trident may just work after all. Yes Prime Minister like its predecessor Yes Minister is a brilliant comedy which expertly satirizes Britain’s politics in the 1980’s bringing up real issues in a most entertaining way. Eddington, Hawthorne and Fowlds play their parts brilliantly.

News

Newswatch 16 out of Scranton Pennsylvania. Trucks have been banned from driving on a section of road in the interests of public safety. A young girl was killed in an accident last year on the road. The stock market rose and fell this week rising to a record high and then falling faster than the crash of 1929 experts say that there is nothing to be alarmed and this reduction in the market was to be expected. There is a new DA in Luzerne County. Scranton’s Director of Public Works is interviewed he talks about the big issues he faces from garbage collection to fixing potholes. The weather was above freezing today although the wind was a little cold. The warming trend will continue for the next few days. Willie McCovey has been voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame with Billy Williams missing out by just one vote. A brief segment on Paul Guffrovich a local basketball star. There is a million dollar plan to sell Scranton to tourists. News 25 from Peoria Illinois. A former Peoria man was found murdered in Texas with Texas police stating that they had a man in custody for the crime. President Reagan has announced sanctions against Libya. Libya has condemned the United States and the Europeans have not come to the table to support the US with sanctions of their own. There has been some positive news around Peoria and the Mayor’s forward Peoria group has been largely responsible.

Wrestling

AJW

The Jumping Bomb Angels (Noriyo Tateno & Itsuki Yamazaki) defend their WWWA Tag Titles against The Villianous Alliance (Dump Matsumoto & Bull Nakano). Dump and Bull jump JBA right from the bell destroying only losing the first fall by DQ after a long beat down. Dump destroys JBA for most of this match pinning Yamazaki for the second fall. Yamazaki has to start on the final fall but she is injured after the Villians take out her leg. Tateno tries to start the fall but is not allowed so Yamazaki starts why she doesn’t just Tag out straight away I don’t know instead Dump continues the beat down. The match turns when Dump tags out to Bull. JBA have much better luck the young Bull and get the win after a pair of German suplexes. JBA retain ***1/2.

Joint Promotions

To the UK now for our first bit of action from Joint Promotions. Bearcat Wright teamed with Blackjack Mulligan and Mike Bennett to defeat the team of Greg Valentine, Mike Jordan and Samson Ubo. This was an elimination style match which was very entertaining with a technical style and plenty of fast paced action with no messing around this was very much the world of sport style that British wrestling was known for during this era ***1/2. Colonel Brody defeated Steve Logan in a good *** match. This was a rounds match with eight three minute rounds and two falls needed to win or a knockout. Started a little slow but about half way through the action picked up with some solid enough work although this match did not have the technical style of the previous match with Brody in particular not being suited to that style with his foreign heel gimmick. Brody takes the first fall but Logan comes back with a fall of his own. Logan stayed in it right to the seventh round but gets caught in a stretch muffler style submission to hand the match to Brody. Dave Finlay defeated Danny Collins in a very good ***1/4 match. Finlay was dominant in this match which was worked at a good pace and had well executed technical moves. Collins is a good wrestler but as is explained on commentary he is from a smaller weight division to Finlay which gives the larger man a big advantage I thought the way they did this was excellent and I really liked to see weight divisions being taken seriously in wrestling. Ray Steele the British Heavyweight champion defeated Black Salem in an entertaining *** match that was more competitive than expected with Black Salem putting up a good fight in a match with good technical work but falling short two falls to nil.

Football/Soccer

Holders Manchester United played Fourth Division Rochdale in this FA Cup Third Round Tie at Old Trafford with United running out two nil winners thanks to goals by Frank Stapleton and Mark Hughes.

College Basketball

Number five ranked Georgia Tech travelled to Madison Square Garden to play Rutgers with Georgia Tech putting in a dominant performance running out 85-46 winners. Bradley travelled to Wichita State with Bradley ahead for much of the game but always challenged by the home team who came very close to pulling off an upset win. Bradley wins 57-55.

10th January 1986

TV Shows

Miami Vice a show that represents the 80’s in every way. The music, the fashion, the style it represents a period of time. This episode was very entertaining a murderer involved in the drug trade, an attractive woman that may be a trap for Crockett and a drug kingpin willing to meet with the authorities but he has a condition that the police may not be able to accept.

News

Newswatch 16 for more news from Scranton. There was security at a local bingo hall after a man stole thousands of dollars last Friday. The man is still on the run. Launch of the Space shuttle Columbia has been delayed again. Japanese companies are developing new smaller cameras. A woman was honoured for 40 years of work for her local County. There is going to be increase in temperature for the next couple of days before things cool down again. Temperatures in the area are in the 30’s. A lot of rain in Florida. Warmer air from the North will increase temperatures in Pennsylvania. It got to 87 in California a record temperature for this time of year. There was a music festival today. A few locals are celebrating lottery wins while a bank robber tried to get away with $500 but he was caught and didn’t get away with his ill gotten gains. In sport we get the results from local high school Basketball. In the NBA Charles Barkley starred for the 76’s as they beat Sacremento 113 to 102 the Clippers beats New Jersey 125 to 120 Boston beat Atlanta 115 to 108 Dallas over Phoenix 117 to 104 and San Antonio beat Golden State 124 to 97. We also get the results from high school wrestling. In the NHL the New York Rangers beat Montreal 6 to 4 Buffalo beat Toronto 9 to 2 Quebec beat Edmonton 5 to 3 Chicago got the job done against Detroit 9 to 4. We get the winning lottery numbers. Polka is now recognized as a Grammy category and a local group has been nominated.

Wrestling

NJPW

Yoshiaki Fujiwara defeated Akira Maeda in a UWF League match. This was a very good ***1/2 match with a lot of the match spent grappling with numerous submission hold attempts. There was some striking and an excellent German suplex but this was very much a grappling match. Fujiwara gets the win after locking in the Fujiwara armbar. Antonio Inoki teamed up with Kengo Kimura to take on two mediocre foreigners Mad Maxx 1 and 2. Dull boring match with Inoki and Kimura unable to get anything out of two guys that should never have been booked in Japan at this stage of their careers. We don’t get the finish on tape but Inoki and Kimura won by DQ. Black Tiger took on Shiro Koshinaka we only get about four minutes of this and it was entertaining ending in a double count out with both men brawling on the outside. Hacksaw Jim Duggan took on Tatsumi Fujinami in what was a fairly dull nothing happening match which ended in a double count out with both men brawling on the outside.

WCCW

The Grappler defeated Brian Adias in a solid match. Some decent work I wasn’t particularly impressed with the finish as Grappler won with a boot to the mid section is his boot loaded? If so hasn’t the ref done something about it. Gino Hernandez defeated Tommy Montana in a decent match that Hernandez mostly controlled but Montana had his moments. After the match Chris Adams attacks Hernandez to the delight of the crowd. Lance Von Erich is up against John Tatum with Lance accompanied by Sunshine and Tatum by Missy Hyatt. Sunshine and Missy Hyatt try to get into a fight but the two wrestlers and the referee prevent any brawling. Missy and Sunshine are sent to the back but the match was secondary to the rivalry between Missy and Sunshine and the tension between Missy and Tatum. Missy returns to the ring tripping up Lance but Tatum can’t take advantage missing the elbow and Von Erich wins. Missy and Tatum are in the ring with Lance who takes out an attacking Tatum. Missy tries to slap Lance who blocks the attack and spanks Missy humiliating her. Missy is ashamed and angry and takes out that anger on Tatum teasing a breakup. This type of angle obviously wouldn’t happen now. Bruiser Brody and The Missing Link defeated Rick Rude and The One Man Gang in a brawl that was more of a fight than a wrestling match. This was entertaining and ended when Rick Rude threw The Missing Link over the top rope for the DQ.

NBA

The Atlanta Hawks travelled to the Boston Garden to take on the Celtics. The Hawks were competitive in the first half of a good game but the quality of the Celtics shone through in the second half and they picked up the 115-108 victory.

11th January 1986

Wrestling

AJPW

The opening match features The Great Kabuki against Isamu Teranishi. Boring to start with the action on the ground picked up a little towards the finish but a confusing finish with Kabuki getting the win. Tiger Mask teams with Haru Sonada to defeat Fumihiro Niikura and Kuniaki Kobayashi. We only get a couple of minutes of this but what we do have is really good. Mil Mascaras defeated Takashi Ishikawa in a very good ***1/4 match. This started slow but the final minutes were very good with exciting fast paced action. The US Express of Barry Windham and Mike Rotundo defeated Jumbo Tsuruta and Samson Fuyuki in a very good ***1/4 match. They weren’t given a lot of time but they took advantage of what time they did have with a fast paced and exciting encounter with an excellent final minutes except for the finish which seemed a little messed up. Riki Choshu and Yoshiaki Yatsu defeated Genichiro Tenryu and Motoshi Okuma in a decent well worked main event.

Memphis

In the opening match Rick Casey wins a fairly impressive squash against Benny Trailer finishing the match with a bulldog. A promo for a show in Evansville featuring a tournament for the Southern Tag Titles. Rick Casey is teaming up with Koko Ware in the tournament and he is interviewed. The Fantastics will also be in the tournament. Koko Ware the Mid American Champion is interviewed he is facing off against Buddy Landel for the title. Jerry Lawler lost a loser leaves town match to celebrate his career they show footage of the King’s career which is available on video cassette. Buddy Landel gets a good win against David Haskins submitting Haskins with the figure four. Landel is interviewed he’s been around the world now he wants to prove himself in Memphis. Steve Borden and Jim Hellwig the future Sting and Ultimate Warrior teamed up as The Blade Runners against David Johnson and Jim Jamison quickly squashing their jobber opponents. Steve Keirn joins Lance Russell for an interview. Keirn wants to challenge Bill Dundee anytime, anywhere with any stipulation. Tush by ZZ Top plays as The Fantastics (Bobby Fulton & Tommy Rogers) come to the ring with the crowd getting hugs and handshakes and I am sure the Fulton and Rogers were getting plenty of Tush from the rats after the show. Tony Falk is determined to get his first win in the territory and he teams with Dutch Mantell against The Fantastics. Dutch makes this match a lot more competitive than it otherwise would have been and they may have even won as Dutch was going to use a chair on the outside but Rick Casey makes the save and The Fantastics get the win against Falk. Bill Dundee and Dutch Mantell cut a promo they are going after the vacant Southern Tag Titles now that Dundee has sent Jerry Lawler packing from the territory. Dundee and Mantell are then joined by the other heels for a celebration with cake and party hats and horns and then Dundee heads to the ring to take on Jerry Garmon. Dundee wins in under a minute and contnues to attack Garmon but Big Red Reese comes out to go after Dundee who is soon joined by Dutch Mantell but Reese despite having no talent manages to take out the two heels. Tony Falk is desperate for that first win and he makes an open challenge. Rick Casey in his jeans takes on the challenge and Falk does ok until he is caught out by a bulldog out of nowhere and Casey gets the win. Lance Russell and Dave Brown end the show.

Jim Crockett Promotions

Tony Schiavone and David Crockett kick of this episode of World Championship Wrestling discussing what is coming up on the show and discussing Ole Anderson’s injury. Ronnie Garvin is interviewed he wants Ric Flair and the World Heavyweight Title. The Russians (Ivan and Nikita Koloff) take on The Italian Stallion and Rocky King. Stallion and King put in a good effort but The Russians are dominant winning in just under five minutes with Nikita getting the pin after a devastating Russian Sickle lariat to King **3/4. The Russians are interviewed they brag about their success touring Japan claiming the Japanese are like Americans no match for them. Tully Blanchard defeats Mac Jeffers in an impressive display pinning Jeffers after the slingshot suplex. The Barbarian destroys Art Pritts in a squash pinning Pritts after the top rope diving headbutt. Ric Falir is with Tony Schiavone Flair is genius as usual and the girls in the crowd are shown as they play a tape of Wanderer by Dion as Flair kind of sings along. Flair is going after Dusty Rhodes who he wants to take out and make retire after Dusty injured Ole Anderson and Ronnie Garvin has insulted his accountant by saying he only makes half a million as the World Heavyweight Champion. Magnum TA gets an impressive win against Thunderfoot after nailing him with the belly to belly. Pez Whatley takes on George South in a good *** match. This is an entertaining competitive match with Whatley winning after a diving headbutt. A pumped up Whatley is interviewed by Tony Schiavone after the match. Dusty Rhodes and Baby Doll are interviewed by Tony Schiavone. Dusty says that Ric Flair is proof that most white people ain’t got no rhythm accept Dusty himself of course. Dusty is going after Arn next but after that he wants Flair and his World Heavyweight Title. The Rock n Roll Express (Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson) defeat Randy Mulkey & Vernon Deaton in what was little more than a squash for the World Tag Team Champions finishing off the job guys with the double dropkick. Tully Blanchard and JJ Dillon are with Tony Schiavone they show footage of Tully attacking Jimmy Valiant they promised they would get Valiant first and they kept their promise. Ronnie Garvin destroys Paul Garner in a quick squash winning with his punch. The Rock n Roll Express are interviewed they want to send a message to Jim Cornette and The Midnight Express. Jim Cornette is interviewed by Tony Schiavone he is brilliant on the mic as usual and some footage is shown of The Midnight Express taking out the throat of Ricky Morton with the tennis racket. The Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton & Dennis Condrey) take on Bill Mulkey & Bill Tabb. The Midnight quickly get the job done with some quality tag team work. Bill Apter from Pro Wrestling Illustrated has a new segment called Scouting Report here he interviews Magnum TA about his 1985 and his plans for 1986 he talks about some of his opponents and even some wrestlers from outside the territory. A lot of discussion about Nikita Koloff obviously building to a push for the Russian and a future title program with TA. Magnum does a good job speaking here. Baby Doll talks to Tony Schiavone Dusty is going after Arn Anderson. Krusher Kruschev defends the Mid Atlantic Title against Sam Houston. A power vs speed match with Kruschev using strength and power while Houston uses his speed to target the leg of Krushev to impede the big man and it works when Krushchev hits the flying clothesline but the leg injury prevents the Russian from getting the pin. The other Russians at the ringside to support Kruschev but then The Road Warriors come to the ring to take out the Russians and with the referee distracted they plant Houston on Krushchev and we have a new champion. Dusty and Magnum join the Road Warriors to prevent the Russians from getting back in the ring. Solid match but a screwy finish regardless of the face getting the win. Arn Anderson takes on Mac Jeffers. Baby Doll comes to the commentary position distracting Arn but Arn hits the Gordbuster and wins the match. Dusty is in the ring with Arn on the outside without support Arn backs away not wanting to share Ole’s fate. An excellent episode of TV Wrestling.

Bob Caudle and Johnny Weaver introduce this episode of Mid Atlantic Championship Wrestling. Bob Caudle interviews Magnum TA who is happy that his friend Dusty Rhodes is now the National Champion. TA is ready for any challenger for his US Title and he has a warning for World Champ Ric Flair he is coming for you. Jim Cornette introduces his team The Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton & Dennis Condrey) who are up against Pez Whatley and Pat Tanaka. Whatley and Tanaka start well but the elite teamwork of Midnight take over. Eaton hits Tanaka with the Tennessee Jam and then a brainbuster from Condrey makes sure of the win as the Midnight send a message to their rivals The Rock n Roll Express. Bob Caudle interviews the new National Champion Dusty Rhodes. Dusty is styling with a fur coat he is after Ric Flair and his World Title in 1986. Tully Blanchard is with Baby Doll this is where we see the build to the Tully and Baby Doll breakup. Magnum TA squashes a jobber in a matter of seconds. Ron Garvin takes on The Golden Terror. Garvin quickly defeats his opponent with his fist of stone. Superstar Billy Graham is interviewed by Bob Caudle flexing his muscles and rambling. Cowboy Ron Bass is up against Tony Zane. The Cowboy wins the match with the claw hold in a fairly dull squash. Bob Caudle interviews Sam Houston and Pez Whatley Houston isn’t a great promo but Pez is really excited he is pumped for 86. A very entertaining promo. JJ Dillon is interviewed by Bob Caudle his wrestler Buddy Landel lost the National title to Dusty Rhodes he says that Landell was injured during the match by Dusty (he was fired by Dusty for missing a TV taping and then talking back to Dusty). The Rock n Roll Express are in the ring against Gene Ligon and George South. The Rock n Roll hit the double dropkick on South and win the match in quick fashion but the Midnight Express jump Rock n Roll and with the help of Jim Cornette lay into Morton with the Racket before the Cavalry arrive. Ric Flair is with Bob Caudle Flair is number one in every category from clothes to conquests of women and he is number one because he is the World Champion he is going after Dusty Rhodes in 86. Jimmy Valiant is with Bob Caudle he is tight with Dusty Rhodes and his enemies will have to go through him to get to Dusty. The Barbarian is in the ring to take on Rocky King. The Barbarian soon wins with his flying headbutt. Sam Houston and Pez Whatley are back Sam does a better job here and Pez is having some fun get down in 86. The Andersons are with Bob Caudle with this obviously being recorded before Ole was injured. Ole says Dusty Rhodes talks a lot but can’t back it up. The Russians (Ivan & Nikita Koloff & Krusher Krushev) are in action against some job guys. The Russians are dominant and win when Nikita levels an opponent with the Russian sickle. Jim Cornette is with Bob Caudle he says the Midnight did not mean to hurt Ricky Morton’s arm and shoulder they meant to break them. A fun episode but a lot of dated content.

NWA World Wide features The Rock n Roll Express (Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson) take on Mac Jeffers and an unknown jobber. Before the match Jim Cornette is interviewed by David Crockett with Cornette threatening the Rock n Roll. He is determined to get the NWA World Tag Titles onto his team The Midnight Express if he has to injure the Rock n Roll to get that done he will. Back to the match The Rock n Roll Express win in a matter of seconds hitting the double dropkick on Jeffers. After the match the Midnight take to the ring taking out Morton with the racket to the throat leaving him bleeding on the mat. Cornette and The Midnight join Crockett for an interview but a furious Gibson attacks but before Gibson can also get hurt he is saved by backup and the Midnight and Cornette run off. Great angle. Tully Blanchard and JJ Dillon are interviewed by David Crockett they are going after Dusty Rhodes in 86, we see footage of Tully jumping Jimmy Valiant piledriving him on the outside. Arn Anderson and Ric Flair are interviewed we see more footage of Ole Anderson’s injury and we hear Anderson and Flair discuss revenge against Dusty. Flair says he may join up with Arn to defend the National Tag Titles if Ole is unable to defend the titles within 30 days. Flair cuts his usual entertaining promo in a solo interview with David Crockett more about the feud with Dusty. Tully Blanchard takes on Rocky King quickly defeating him after the slingshot suplex.

Mid South

Bill and Joel Watts open the show with The Cowboy talking up the expansion of Mid South through TV syndication. We get footage of the TV Title tournament semi final match with Hacksaw Jim Duggan taking on Dick Slater. We get the finish as Slater tries to use knucks on Duggan but Duggan grabs the knucks and lays Slater out for the pin but Duggan like a complete idiot doesn’t hide the knucks and is rightfully disqualified. Slater goes through to the final. Jim Ross is in the ring interviewing the new Mid South Tag Champs Ted DiBiase and Dr Death Steve Williams. DiBiase has recently returned from injury and made a face turn and he cuts a really good face promo here stating that his injury made him reconsider his life choices which perfectly explain the turn. Jim Ross mentions a recent traffic accident in which two people were killed in Lake Charles Louisiana. Dr Death arrived on the scene and saved a third person from the wreck he doesn’t say much about the incident only asking the people in the venue and on TV to buckle up. The Tag Champs are in action next against JR Hogg and Sean O’Reilly. The Champs get the win in quick fashion with DiBiase locking in the figure four on O’Reilly. Jim Ross promotes an upcoming house show and Ted DiBiase cuts an excellent promo promoting his match with Dick Murdoch. Murdoch replies with a promo of his own. Buzz Sawyer is against Perry Jackson in our next match with Sawyer getting the win after a powerslam and then continuing to attack the downed man. Dick Murdoch and The Masked Superstar are in the ring with Jim Ross interviewing The Masked Superstar who has recently returned to the area. Superstar says he is a janitor come to clean out the trash. Murdoch and Superstar take on Tommy Wright and Steve Dobbs. Murdoch and Superstar get the win in quick fashion destroying their opponents. Murdoch gets the pin after a brainbuster. Jake Roberts cuts a promo before his big house show title match against Dick Slater. Jake is always great on the mic and then we get Dick Slater saying a few words of his own. Terry Taylor is up next taking on The Nightmare. This was not a long match but it was competitive with Taylor getting the win. Dick Slater wants a shot at Butch Reed’s North American Title. Reed is up for the challenge but for added incentive Dark Journey is at stake and Reed will get her for 30 days if he wins. Slater steals the title after using a loaded shoe on Reed. This was an excellent match with a hot crowd super excited to see a major title match in the territory on TV ***1/4. Joe Malcolm and Gustavo Mendoza take on Al Perez and Brett Wayne Sawyer. Perez and Sawyer get the comfortable victory over their jobber opponents.

WWF

WWF ran a house show at the Boston Garden in front of 15,000 fans. Lanny Poffo takes on Terry Gibbs in a match joined in progress. This was good with Poffo winning after a moonsault. Scott McGhee takes on Moondog Spot in the next match. This did not need to go 13 minutes and we didn’t get the full time on this tape. This was a complete snoozefest in the early going with the action slow and boring and when McGhee tried to speed things up he was botching. This match actually improved when Spot took control with some decent action in parts despite McGhee being not very good. Dumb ending with Spot going after a bone and McGhee taking advantage for the pin *1/2. Cousin Luke takes on Les Thornton. Just what the world needed another fat hillbilly having bad wrestling matches you can see Vince McMahon’s complete disrespect for the south right here with Luke and the other Hillbillies. Thornton beats up the hillbilly early and then Luke hulks up and sits on Thornton to win the match. Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse Ventura interview Terry Funk and Jimmy Hart. Funk claims he beat Hulk Hogan on Saturday Night’s Main Event last week and he did have him beat at one stage but as Gorilla points out he doesn’t have the belt. Jesse says that Funk will beat Pedro Morales tonight and eliminate him from wrestling. Funk vs Morales is next. This was boring at the start but when they decided they were just going to have a brawl this really improved. Funk with some really entertaining selling and then from nowhere Funk takes advantage of a distracted ref to clock Morales with the megaphone and then get the pin. George Wells takes on Iron Mike Sharpe in the next match. This was bad really boring * match. Sharpe tried to get a decent match out of Wells but he didn’t have a chance Wells was awful. The only good move that Wells hit was the shoulder block he won the match with. Macho Man Randy Savage challenges the Intercontinental Champion Tito Santana in the next match. This was a really good ***1/4 match as two super talented wrestlers had a well executed and entertaining match. Macho Man steals the win but as it is by count out Santana retains. The Iron Sheik & Nikolai Volkoff take on Corporal Kirchener and The Junkyard Dog. This was boring and sloppy and had a screwy finish. The crowd were kind off into it but I thought it was a bore *1/2. Bruno Sammartino teams up with Paul Orndorff to take on Roddy Piper and Cowboy Bob Orton. This started as a brawl before the bell and continued as a brawl until the finish with Piper stealing a count out win. For a match featuring Bruno at the end of his career this was what it needed to be **1/2.

This edition of Championship Wrestling begins with The Junkyard Dog teaming up with George The Animal Steele to take on John Rizzo and Moondog Spot. This was a terrible * match which managed to get really bad in just over three minutes. A complete mess right from the bell with terrible work and a ref that completely lost control. JYD pinned Rizzo to end this travesty. Terry Funk beats Mike Saxon putting the jobber to sleep in under three minutes and branding his chest. Pedro Morales and Tito Santana take on Al Navarro and Steve Lombardi. Morales and Santana get the win in three minutes with Santana locking in the figure four. King Kong Bundy destroyed Jeff Cripley and Paul Dose in a handicap match with the big man crushing his opponents and pinning them both at the same time with a splash. Piper’s Pit is next and Roddy has a special guest who is introduced by Jimmy Hart the new Adrian Adonis. The new Adrian Adonis has retired the leather jacket and now has ribbons and curls in his hair. The Magnificent Muraco destroys poor Joe Williams finishing off the jobber with a tombstone piledriver. Ricky the Dragon Steamboat teams up with King Tonga against AJ Petruzzi and Ron Shaw. Steamboat and Tonga control the match with Steamboat getting the win after a cross body. Good promo by Roddy Piper for his match from the Boston Garden show. Roddy is always entertaining. Vince McMahon and Bruno Sammartino close out the show.

Another house show this time from the Spectrum in Philadelphia in front of almost 20,000. Dan Spivey defeats Ron Shaw in the opener in a very simple match which went overly long. Spivey pins Shaw after a bulldog takedown **. Jim the Anvil Neidhart and B Brian Blair went to the time limit in their match. This was decently well worked and paced to go long **1/2. Hercules Hernandez defeated SD Jones in a pretty dull match with Herc winning after a backbreaker **. The Adorable Adrian Adonis defeats SD Jones in a bad boring match. Adonis in his new attire and gimmick takes forever to start the match messing with the crowd and then they have a nothing match with Adonis stealing the win when he shoves Jones head into the turnbuckle *1/2. King Tonga defeats Tiger Chung Lee in a perfectly adequate match. The work here was fine but hardly anything exciting happened **1/2. Hulk Hogan teamed up with Andre the Giant against The Heenan Family led by Bobby The Brain Heenan who was joined by King Kong Bundy and Big John Studd. The true main event of the show and promoted as so. This was entertaining enough and had the sort of big man match action that you would expect with a result to make the fans happy with Andre pinning Heenan **1/2. After the match Bundy and Studd jump Hogan with Bundy splashing Hogan before Andre could make the save. Bret Hart defeated Ivan Putski in a nothing match. Putski controlled the whole of the match and then Hart pins Putski using the ropes as leverage **. Ricky Steamboat takes on The Magnificent Muraco in a judo jacket match where both men where Judo Gi’s this results in a no DQ match. Steamboat starts well but when Muraco delivers a tombstone onto a chair Steamboat is bloodied and Muraco controls the match for virtually the entire run time. Steamboat manages to get the pin completely against the run of play. Good match but went long **3/4. The Dream Team (Brutus Beefcake & Greg Valentine) defend their tag titles against The British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith & The Dynamite Kid). This was a very good ***1/4 match which could have been even better if given the chance. The Dream Team control much of the match with top level teamwork but The Bulldogs get on a roll at the end and it looks like new champs but manager Johnny V makes the save for the champs and The Bulldogs win by DQ and therefore don’t win the belts.

College Basketball

Alabama travelled to Kentucky to take on the Wildcats. This was an entertaining game but never really competitive with the Wildcats led by Kenny Walker’s 24 points getting a comfortable home victory. Maryland travelled to Georgia Tech and early on it looked like they should have stayed home with Grorgia Tech controlling much of the first half but a spirited fightback from Maryland led to a great second half that went right down to the final possession as Maryland only just couldn’t complete the comeback going down by a single point. Cleveland State travelled to Green Bay. Green Bay an inexperienced team with only one win for the season to date started well but were outclassed despite their best efforts with Cleveland State winning 76-59.

Football/Soccer

West Ham United travelled to Leicester to take on Leicester City in this First Division match as West Ham look to make a title challenge. West Ham took the lead through Frank McAvennie in the second half. Leicester had a great chance to level the game from the penalty spot but Gary McCalister kicked the ball far too close to the keeper. West Ham hang on to pick up the points. Leicester City 0 West Ham United 1.

Horse Racing

Harness racing from Moonee Valley in Melbourne. Power of Carome wins race one with Kismet Alto 2nd and Hero Star 3rd. Haughty Lord wins in race two with Keilor Road 2nd and Diamond Magic 3rd. Balmer King wins race three with Crockett’s Last 2nd and Ben Suru in 3rd. Leslie Orm wins race four with North Sea Rover in 2nd and Mount Alm 3rd. Sir Rival the winner in race five with Tis A Miss 2nd and South Atlas 3rd. Rap Dancer wins race six with Blazing Romeo 2nd and R’Lea Jack 3rd. Liscon’s Pride in a real upset won race seven with Polka Lass 2nd and Irish Legend 3rd. Mighty Scotch won race eight with Stevan 2nd and Nachtwacht 3rd. The final race 9 sees Wings of Mercy get the win with Copper Brae 2nd and Mt Rainer 3rd.

News

A hostage crisis in Arlington Texas as a man is holed up inside a 7/11 with one person already dead. The final hostage believed to be the gunman’s wife has escaped and the gunman comes out of the store with a gun pointed at his own head. Live on TV we see shocking footage of the gunman shooting himself and falling to the ground. The SWAT team enter the store making sure nobody else is left in the store.

Music

I went on the Billboard website to get the chart for the week ending 11th January where I was asked to subscribe to some new service to access the chart. Instead of charged a fair price of a $1 or $2 to access archival charts they wanted to charge almost $200US. These people are already making money from their dumb ads when I click on their website they aren’t getting any more from me than that so Billboard please go fuck yourself these companies that charge people unfair and unrealistic prices for archival content are greedy scum that deserve to be called out for their scummy practices. Anyway I found another website which had the top 40 for the week. Not the top 100 but it will do.

1. Say You Say Me – Lionel Ritchie
2. Party All The Time – Eddie Murphy
3. That’s What Friends Are For – Dionne & Friends
4. Alive & Kicking – Simple Minds
5. I Miss You – Klymaxx
6. Small Town – John Cougar Mellencamp
7. Tonight She Comes – The Cars
8. Talk to Me – Stevie Nicks
9. Broken Wings – Mr. Mister
10. Walk of Life – Dire Straits
11. Separate Lives – Phil Collins & Marilyn Martin
12. Burning Heart – Survivor
13. My Hometown – Bruce Springsteen
14. I’m Your Man – Wham
15. Election Day – Arcadia
16. It’s Only Love – Bryan Adams & Tina Turner
17. Love is the Seventh Wave – Sting
18. Go Home – Stevie Wonder
19. Spies Like Us – Paul McCartney
20. Conga – Miami Sound Machine
21. Sleeping Bag – ZZ Top
22. You’re A Friend of Mine – Clarence Clemons & Jackson Browne
23. Perfect Way – Scritti Politti
24. Emergency – Kool & The Gang
25. Goodbye – Night Ranger
26. When the Going Gets Tough, The Tough Get Going – Billy Ocean
27. Everybody Dance – Ta Mara & The Seen
28. Sidewalk Talk – Jellybean feat Madonna
29. Sex As A Weapon – Pat Benatar
30. Face The Face – Pete Townshend
31. How Will I Know – Whitney Houston
32. Object of my Desire – Starpoint
33. The Sweetest Taboo – Sade
34. A Love Bizarre – Sheila E
35. Everything in my Heart – Corey Hart
36. Living in America – James Brown
37. The Sun Always Shines on TV – A-HA
38. Life in a Northern Town – Dream Academy
39. Kyrie – Mr Mister
40. Tarzan Boy – Baltimora

12th January 1986

Cricket

From the Gabba in Brisbane Australia take on India in Benson & Hedges One Day International action. India bat first and Australia get an excellent start taking wickets regularly and fielding better than they have all season. India at one stage were 8-113 and it looked all over but Australia started making errors in the field and with some good batting from Chetan Sharma and Syed Kirmani India finished all out for 161 certainly not a great total but with good bowling a defendable tally. Australia had a quick start with the bat regular loss of wickets made them vulnerable at one stage Australia lost 3-3 to sit in the perilous position of 5-48 but a vital partnership between Steve Waugh and Greg Matthews transformed the game and although Waugh was dismissed for 40 Matthews with support from Craig McDermott got the Australian team home. Matthews finished not out 46 and received the man of the match award.

Football/Soccer

Liverpool travelled to Vicarage Road to play Watford in First Division football. Liverpool needed a win to keep pace with Manchester United at the top of the table. Watford started the better with Kenny Jackett putting them ahead as Liverpool didn’t have the shot for much of the first half but when they did they took advantage Paul Walsh leveling the scores right on half time. The second half saw Liverpool as the dominant side Ian Rush giving Liverpool the lead and Walsh all but sealing the win with a third Liverpool goal but it wasn’t over yet Ken Loeman took advantage of poor defending by Liverpool to make it 3-2 but Liverpool hung on for the win to go third on the table. Watford 2 Liverpool 3.

In Serie A Roma won two nil away against Udinese. Pisa won one nil away against Napoli. Bari vs Sampdoria ended nil all. Juventus vs Como also ended nil all. Fiorentina vs Torino once again nil all.

To Spain where Real Madrid beat Espanyol 4-1.

NFL

The great Chicago Bears side of 1985 won themselves a chance of immortality after defeating the LA Rams and booking themselves a spot in Super Bowl XX. This legendary Bears defence were relentless shutting out playoff opposition for the second week in a row. The Bear offence was also methodical led by QB Jim McMahon. The Bear fans fans were no doubt doing the Super Bowl shuffle after this win the Chicago Bears NFC Champions. Chicago Bears 24 LA Rams 0. The New England Patriots travelled to Miami’s Orange Bowl to take on the Dolphins in the AFC Championship game. The Dolphins led by Dan Marino were a quality team and were expected to be the one team that could defeat the Chicago Bears and they had inflicted the only defeat on the Bears the entire season. The Dolphins wouldn’t get the opportunity however as a clinical display from the Patriots got them into the Super Bowl 31-14. The Patriots had a quality defense and they forced numerous turnovers from the Dolphins and in the unusual rainy conditions the Dolphins offence did not fire. The Patriots offence were clinical they didn’t break records with their performance but they made no mistakes. The Dolphins a team with champion players falls to the champion team. The Patriots were through to the Super Bowl but the challenge they faced ahead seemed insurmountable could they pull off the greatest of upsets?

13th January 1986

TV Shows

The Bill aired the episode Public and Confidential on this day. This episode contained numerous different things going on all at once showing the workload and strain that Police can be under. The events happening are not overly serious but they do need to be taken care off which means a long day ahead for officers. We first see two officers dispatched to an incident where a disgruntled member of the public is hauling down tiles from a roof claiming he wasn’t paid for the tiling job. This keeps two officers busy all day with them both reluctant to climb on the roof to get the person down. Back at the station A Polish man comes into the station not speaking a word of English a member of the public is called in who was born in Poland and still speaks the language despite living in Britain for 50 years. The man is claiming asylum and two of his shipmates appear and have to be kept away eventually the issue has to be sent to a higher power with CID and Immigration called. A man has been stealing from the gas board but a conviction will be difficult as the public don’t have a high opinion of the board and are unlikely to dob the man in especially when they are also benefiting from the crime. Finally a Police Officer’s wife makes a call to the station there have been difficulties in her marriage and he has been beating her. The Police Sergeant who is a friend of both the police officer and his wife has to deal with the issue in the end no further action is taken with the wife hoping she can help her husband get over the issues that are affecting him most likely related to his stressful job. Excellent British crime drama.

I watched part of an episode of the game show card sharks. This was a version of the card game higher or lower and was really entertaining. Good for Jim who made quite a bit of money in this episode.

Football/Soccer

Sheffield United played Fulham at home in FA Cup Third Round action. Sheffield United took the lead in the second half after some poor defending by Fulham. The Blades wrapped up the tie with a headed goal. Sheffield United 2 Fulham 0. In France Marseille fall to defeat at home against Sochaux 2-1.

News

WHO TV news from Des Moines Iowa. The 71st session of Iowa General Assesmbly began today. Two new state Senators and one house member were sworn in. The sale of lottery tickets in bars and taverns was debated this would bring in four million dollars of additional revenue. Some members were against the idea saying that selling lottery tickets to drunk people was a mistake. The bill passed the house and is expected to pass in the Senate. The state assembly is looking into passing a law requiring government agencies to purchase American vehicles provided any bid was within 5% of a Foreign bidder. The Governor wants to reduce the number of government agencies, increase teacher’s pay, tougher penalties on drunk driving and open up a trade office in Japan. The Governor will make his condition of the state address tomorrow. New federal cuts will come into affect tomorrow. Rep Charles Schumer of New York is not in favor of the cuts. The Governor of Louisiana wants to legalise gambling in Louisiana and the City of New Orleans.

President Reagan addresses a Citizens of America function. He talks about the achievements of Citizens of America. He also talks about the achievements of his administration with policies that have worked despite the fear mongering from his opponents. This will be the year when wasteful federal spending will be tackled.

Wrestling

The Fantastics (Bobby Fulton & Tommy Rogers) defeat a version of The Sheepherders (Rip Morgan & Tarras Bulba) to win the AWA Southern Tag Team Titles in a tournament final. I only found a minute of this match with the finish as The Sheepherders almost cheat themselves to a won but they are foiled and The Fantastics get the win.

14th January 1986

Football/Soccer

Struggling First Division side Birmingham City had their woes continue after being defeated by non-league Altrincham 2-1 at home in a match that many said was dominated by the underdogs who will now face Third Division York City in round 4.

News

CNN headline news with Lynne Russell. An American reconnaissance aircraft was approached by two Libyan fighter jets but was not attacked as tensions rise in the Mediterranean. The space shuttle Columbia is cutting short a trouble filled mission in space. The President of Ecuador visited the United States today. The war in Nicaragua continues with President Reagan asking for more support from Congress for rebel contras in the Central American country. Actress Donna Reed has died of Pancreatic Cancer at the age of 64. Reed was the star of the Donna Reed show as well as her role in From Here to Eternity a role which won her an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. A crime lobby group are pushing for the Reagan administration to do more to combat organized crime with the group claiming that the Mob have infiltrated various groups including the trade union movement. There is a lot of fear in the community about AIDS with 15,000 Americans expected to be diagnosed with the disease in 1986. Gay rights groups particularly those in Conservative states such as Texas are concerned that the Gay community will once again go back in the closet due to the fear about the disease outside of the Gay community this they believe will make the spread of the virus even worse. A new test for high cholesterol is expected to save thousands of lives making the condition far easier to diagnose and treat. There are concerns about cruise ships failing standards tests regarding sanitation. Human remains dating back 10,000 years have been found in a sinkhole in Miami. The NCCA convention has ended in New Orleans with NCAA schools approving a drug testing program. The Philadelphia Eagles say that Chicago Bears Defensive Co-Ordinator Buddy Ryan is in the running for the vacant head coaching role. Retail sales have been boosted in the last quarter. Teens spent $65 billion last year meaning that for advertisers they are increasingly targeting a teenage audience. In weather showers for much of the west coast. In Japan blind students have been learning weightlifting thanks to some great teaching from Mashiro Kadaka this has allowed these young people to develop some great bonds.

College Basketball

Number one ranked North Carolina travelled to Maryland for a tight contest with North Carolina running out 71-67 winners.