WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING 4/20/85

"We Are the World" Dusty Rhodes

PAS: There must have been a Braves game on or something (pre-season maybe?) as this show seemed to run shorter then most, and was pretty uneventful.

LB:  Even the preshow clip of Tully jawing with Dusty from the interview stand that concluded with a freeze-frame shot of Dusty about to slap the manly face of Perfect 10 Baby Doll went nowhere during the actual show.  I do like the freeze frame device, as if the producers are sparing us from something that would be just too awful to watch.  I wish TNA would try pixel-ating Christopher Daniels the next time LAX busts him open, just for the effect.

PAS: We got to see a comparison of the three greatest elbow drops in wrestling history on this show. Abdullah The Butcher, Dusty Rhodes and Buddy Landell. I think Abby wins the elbow dropoff as he gets crazy height for such a corpulent man and crushes Gene Ligon with the point of the elbow on the throat and the tit flab across the chest. The whole squash was pretty fun, with Ligon showing some fire and Abby doing a bloodless mauling, including trying to pry out Ligon's eye.

PAS: Budro's squash was much less impressive then his mauling of Sam Houston the week before. He worked over the shoulder the whole match, a strategy which consistently befuddled Tony Shivone and David Crockett. The elbow drop had nice height and torque but landed on the chest not the throat, so it would be the least of the triumvirate on this day.

LB:  It's always nice to watch J.J. Dillion trying to pry the frenzied Budro's figure four leglock off his near-crippled opponent.  J.J.'s delicate manipulations that the announcers interpret as actually causing more harm are a nice touch.

PAS: Dusty defended his WORLD TELEVISION TITLE against Krusher Kruschev in a pretty fun match, although a step below the other feature matches. Dusty does break out his dropkick, but Kruschev kind of stinks, and is pretty much all shitty bearhug. Dusty's elbow was thrown early in the match and was done with blinding speed. He looked like the worlds ugliest Dragon's Gate wrestler.

LB:  Prior to this match, there was a taped and not very impressive ceremony in which Jim Crockett announced an agreement involving Japan and some other countries resulting in the creation of the WORLD TV title.  Jim quickly got out of the way after presenting the belt so Dusty could claim We are the World!  I guess this WORLD TV title concept was quickly forgotten.

PAS: Arn looked better this week, in your Minnesota Wrecking Crew squash. Including busting out some viscous looking arm takeovers. Ole was still the man though, as he has been my favorite wrestler to watch in this serious of shows.  I liked how he wouldn't even let the black jobber tag in, there is man who sticks to his principles.

LB:  Goodness, Thunderbolt Patterson sure was useless with his rubber-limbed offense and lazy eye.  Teaming him with Manny Fernandez did Manny no favors (the Bull and the Bolt!), and Manny's fire and charisma failed to rub off in the least on the scorned Patterson.  I am curious to see how the National Tag Team title situation sorts itself out, although there can't be much suspense in the outcome.

PAS: Fuck was Paul Jones's cream colored tuxedo amazing looking. What was the impetus  for the Jones v. Boogie Woogie feud? Was it lost in the mists of time? Because that lasted longer then the Hatfields and McCoys. We haven't even gotten to all of the betrayals yet. Boogie Woogie still has his innocence.

LB:  I would love to have a butter-colored tux to wear, but I could do without the forearm and wrist scars that Paul Jones insisted on showing off to the camera. 

PAS: Yeah he looked like a depressed goth teenage girl.