- 2-15-85

- DWB video. Again. Tony Anthony is young and skinny here. Leads to ...

- DWBs versus Tim Horner and Shawn Michaels. Sure enough, all the men cheer the DWBs, but maybe because all the women screech for Shawn and Tim. Lot of good it did them! I am not up on who booked MSW when, but Len Denton showing up, makes me think he had or is about to get the pencil here. Sure enough, he gets the win, pinning Shawn. Yes, Shawn is below Tim on the ladder. Funny, huh?

- Duggan-Doc recap. Williams interview. One of his best ever. Sure, Doc still stammers and slurs his way through the interview, but he expresses his points: that he gets hurt sometimes, no big deal, that he hates Duggan and that he now will wrestle with a protective arm pad. Doc's also wearing all his Oklahoma rings which I always thought was cool. Leads to ...

- Williams-Edcar "Boo" Thomas vs. Mike Jackson-Mark Cooper. An all American at Oklahoma, just like Doc and Bill Watts, Thomas debuted to no response. He never got one either and disappeared after about a year. This is not "Hanging with Mr. Cooper" Mark Cooper. This is "Alabama Junior Heavyweight Champion" Mike Jackson, although in Alabama he is also known as "the wrestling preacher" or "nobody ever made money wrestling for Mike Jackson but Mike Jackson, Mike Jackson." Imagine (if you will) seeing Mike Jackson on the indie circuit in the mid 90s (or 2003, I think he STILL works) and seeing him GO OVER. That's what happens when you own your own promotion! So ... Williams doesn't even need the brace, he just creams Cooper with the Oklahoma Stampede to show his anger at Duggan.

- Best Dressed Man Contest. Duggan looks goofy in white. DiBiase looks like, gasp, the million dollar man. I'm shocked. The girls all scream for Duggan and I am even more confused. Ted demands a rematch with an electronic measuring device.

- Butch Reed vs. Kamala. Reed is failed JYD remake No. 4, I think. It is really not his fault. The 1985 crowd likes him fine, but I do notice as I go back that Reed is good when carried, but not good at carrying the big lugs he had in with him the first year after his turn. Kind of like Ron Simmons years later as WCW champ. Still this match is good and gets better when everyone hits the ring. (Come to think of it, most of MSW is that way.)  Akbar, Friday, Iceman, Hercules and Taylor get involved leading to Dr. Death laying out all three faces with the loaded forearm. Kamala goes to "finish" Reed with a splash from the top rope, but Duggan and the 2 by 4 saves. Good stuff.

- Terry Tayor-Jake Roberts. TV Title. Terry is selling the loaded forearm, so he can't defend. The Snake is livid and looks like he might hit ref Ron West. Brad Armstrong shows up and offers to take the match, but Jake declines saying he wants Terry first and Brad isn't even as good as his "washed up old man." Brad then smacks the crap out of Jake. This looked so good, it soon made the show's opening montage.

- Los Guerrerros vs. the Rock and Roll Express. Hector and Chavo could really work and this match was probably great at the house shows. Two refs = two ref bumps. All four men hit the ring, but then it is "we gotta go, Tony." I hated JCP for this, but here it seems not so offensive. For one thing, they always stressed TV time remaining, and for another this match started ten minutes earlier and even had a commercial break. In JCP they always started the match at 55 minutes and it just came off sleazy. Both teams worked hard, and it ended with me wanting more, which is, I guess, the point. 

- Overall: I liked this tape and I recommend it despite a few things bothering me. It has good stories, a couple of classic angles and lots of the Watts magic.