I had to learn to run ropes at the matches, and I guess the same is true for 2003 students. Adrian had throat cancer a couple of years ago, but has done well battling it because he has always been a fighter and for real tough. He and Linda are great people, and I always wish them the best.

- DiBiase-Hercules Hernandez vs. Magnum TA-Terry Taylor. Ted and Herc are about to get the tag belts so they go over strong. Taylor is returning and TA is leaving so that finish is obvious, right? Nope. DiBiase cracks Taylor with the loaded glove and Herc finishes him with the shininnomake aka the cobra clutch and million dollar dream. Stunning, except, I think Taylor's push to the top was already planned and this result, odd as it seems, is just a hurdle, so that Taylor beating DiBiase for the NA title four months from now is even more of a triumph. That's my theory anyway. This is a great MSW main event, but it still isn't a "main event in any arena in the country," as Jim Ross again calls it. Yeah, these four guys would have main evented Madison Square Garden or the Charlotte Coliseum in December of 1984. Okay, I'll stop now.

- 12-7-84

- Boyd and Bill open. Here comes the dream match. And the first one is: Ladd vs. Reed for the NA title.

- Clips from 12-3-84 in New Orleans as DiBiase and Hernandez win the tag team titles from the Rock-n-Roll Express. Gibson has Herc pinned in a small package when Landel gives DiBiase something for his glove and Ted fist drops Robert so Hernandez can get the pin. Watts tells us later that the ref had taken DiBiase's glove weapon away earlier. What did Teddy put in that glove anyway?

- Express vs. Terry Ellis-Randy Barber. Watts puts over the Express as great champs for the rematches. Then they get a squash win.

- Buddy Landel vs. Bill Dundee. MSW Television Title match. Here's one for all the Landel fans in the house. Our favorite sneak gets his one and only MSW title in a virtual squash over Dundee. Dundee is the man who in many ways sparked the MSW revolution of 1984 by telling Bill Watts the territory didn't have any bl... oh I can't say that, can I, Vince? Well, it is an all-time funny line. Try it yourself with a Dundee accent and then imagine Bill Watts taking him literally. See if you don't crack yourself up. But Dundee is g-o-n-e after this match. Plus Ernie Ladd must have taken the book from him some time ago because Ladd did win the NA title in October and who would have booked that in 84 but Ladd? Landel posts Dundee and Bill blades and then back in the ring he lays down for the big elbow. New champ and Buddy wins one!

- Ernie Ladd vs. Butch Reed. NA Title match. I don't know if the dream match was a work, but if it wasn't this just illustrates my point about Reed. He should have won the title right here and been given a Dog-like superman push with clean wins over everyone complete with guys like Ladd and DiBiase putting him over as better than Dog ever was. What happens instead? Brad Armstrong wins the title in his second week in the territory as a segue to DiBiase and eventually Terry Taylor's main event push. Reed wouldn't win his second NA title until October of 1985 and his babyface push was ultimately deemed a head-scratching failure. Of course by October of 85, Reed had spent much of the year putting guys like the Barbarian over, had failed to take the NWA title from Flair and the excitement of his baby turn was a year past. Instead of a big success of a dream match with the title change, this match is all distraction as Landel is at ringside and ultimately interfering and Kamala makes his return and splashes Reed.

- Chavo-Hector vs. Mike Jackson-Jimmy Powell. Good action as you would expect given the workers here. I read on the KFM message board confirmation that the right Rev. Mike is indeed still defending his title in 2003 in the great state of Alabama. Doesn't that make you smile?

- Magnum TA vs. Steve Williams. TA's still holding his own in MSW. Here he matches Doc at all of Doc strong points and finally Williams just conks TA on the head with his Oklahoma helmet for the DQ. Good stuff.

- Brad Armstrong vs. Jack Victory. Armstrong goes over strong to set up his title win. For all I have said about Reed, much like I enjoyed Taylor's 85 push, I like Brad. I don't deny that he should have been booked strong, and the destruction of Brad is one of the many crimes I hold against Dusty and WCW. BTW, I read a post wondering why the Armstrongs never got as big as the Harts and the Von Erichs and the answer is simple. Bob Armstrong was never the promoter pushing his sons to the moon. Some bookers protected the Armstrongs and used them well but lots of others didn't. Some bookers simple jobbed the boys to rub their name value while other booked them oddly for reasons of ego. (For instance in 93, Austin Idol booked Steve Armstrong and Wendell Cooley as a tag team so neither could challenge his spot as his promotion's lead face. Guess how well that promotion did?) Victory has lots of green boy moments in 84-85 and one comes here as he takes a clothesline bump on what ends up being Brad's sleeper.

- DiBiase-Hernandez vs. Taylor-Horner. The new champs against two good workers and everything clicks. Today Boyd utters my hated line, this time saying this match would headline all over the *world*. It was bad enough last time with TA and DiBiase, two legit headliners in 85. Now we have Tim Horner, a guy I personally like (sorry JC) and a guy who was perfect for his spot as the sympathy baby who could carry guys and make them look good going into their spots against the big boys. But a main eventer all around the world? I know, I know. Let it go. I have a buddy who's peeve is "capacity crowd," and the Apter mags always complained about Monsoon's "he's literally been sitting on the shelf." It's just the izbay. Con, con, con. In fact, Horner does exactly what he does best, as he and Taylor make the champs look vulnerable yet tough, until Butch Reed comes to get revenge on Akbar. Pandemonium ensues, DiBiase loads the glove, Horner does the honors, and Reed and Taylor stand together to fight off the bad guys. Ironic given what I've had to say about the next year of MSW.

Bottom line: Well, I'm still a little bothered about the website mislistings and the problem looks to continue for a few more tapes. I hope they get that fixed because if this was the tape I ordered, I would have loved it. Instead I'm thinking about the matches that I was supposed to get that must be on tape 078. As for the action here, it is very good and there are lots of reasons to buy the tape as I have listed it.