Michael PS Hayes/Jimmy Garvin/BADSTREET~! vs. Tracey Smothers/Steve Armstrong/Dustin Rhodes 6/16/91-PART TWO

When we last left this match Michael Hayes had just eaten a bionic elbow from Dustin and a drop kick from Armstrong and he and his associates have demanded a time out. The ref has refused to give them a time out.

We saw in the first half that Hayes and Garvin want social approval while Badstreet just wants to do damage but it is pretty clear the gimp will only be released once the faces are tied to the chair. We have yet to see Badstreet in the ring. Faces have controlled all the wrestling exchanges but the heels have controlled the match. Heels haven’t won a single exchange yet. But through stalling and taking advantage of the ref the heels almost never let the faces get more than one mid range move off in a row. The faces want to quicken the tempo of the match but have been blocked each time they try something. We’re at the fifteen minute point and all of this stalling is about delayed gratification. The crowd has been kept from getting what they want. And they’re going to be rabid to get it.

….aw fuck I hate "to be continued" two part stories. The payoff to Yvonne Craig being tied up is never as great as Yvonne Craig being tied up. Well so instead of thinking of this as two parter, maybe you should picture Waylon Jennings voice as though we’ve just came back from commercial. Nah I'm sticking to Yvonne Craig in a sinister trap metaphor. Last time the Young Pistols were unable to get any continued offense in due to the Freebirds stalling and veteran skill at taking advantage of the ref. How will the Pistols and Dustin escape. You,the reader, has returned to find out.

Paul Jones "Buddy Colt told me once, "The only difference between a babyface and a heel is the babyface moves foward and the heel backwards."

The first whole half was built on faces being game and the heels stalling. The second half is where the faces finally get to move forward.

Hayes can’t get the time out so he’s back in the ring, Steve gets a wristlock on Hayes and then a crossbody and an armdrag.

BAM
BOOM
POW

Its three moves in a row without the heel being able to stall. Without the heel being bale to block the momentum. And the crowd is ecstatic.


GO STEVE GO!
GO STEVE GO!

Ross calls the fifteen minute point of the match and calls it a grueling match which misses the whole point. We're fifteen minutes in and the faces had been trapped, denied anything for that whole period and as can't be stated enough over the course of this match..THE FREEBIRDS SUCK! The Freebirds haven't been beating on the Pistols and Dustins body's they don't have the ability to do that. Freebirds haven't actually won any wrestling exchanges. But yet they've still controled the match. They haven't been beating on the Pistols/Dustin's bodies...they have been beating on their souls. And the story is that that has been "grueling" for the faces. Frustrating them again and again.

GO STEVE GO!!!

Garvin yells at the ref that there had been a hair pull in the arm drag, and the crowd anticipates the faces momentum being halted once again. But NO.Garvin arguing with the ref this time, forced the ref out of position. Wait the ref is out of position? And you can actually see the cartoon light bulb pop up above the Pistols heads. As its their turn to take advantage of the ref and the "face team"does a in your face false tag. Smothers claps his hand in the air and grabs a hold of Hayes arm. Faces doing the heel fake tag here is such a great outwit the heels spot. It is the perfect pay off to all the early stalling. It ‘s not at all the payoff you’d have expected but it works great.

Smothers cranks on Hayes arm. Hayes who had been manipulating the ref for good body of the match is left to ineptly look at Patrick with a “c’mon ref, you’ve got to be kidding me” face.

Badstreet does a lot of teasing of illegally entering to stop the arm work. This puts the ref again out of place for when Hayes is finally able to tag out to Garvin. Garvin comes in only for Smothers to pull on Hayes arm and tell ref to get Garvin out of ring. We get a second false face tag and Smothers continues to work the fingers of Hayes.

This whole Bizarro World faces false tag , ref out of position to see legit heel tag is such a great payoff to match thus far. Finally the faces are able to get off their quick tags and get a continued run on offense. The crowd pops for every part of this sequence.

Hayes sells the arm work but is able to escape from the hold for a second only to be hit with a Armstrong flying back elbow. Hayes drops to his knees and goes over to hug the heel corner turnbuckle. He tags in Jimmy Jam who comes into the ring confers with Hayes, helps Hayes to his feet and then tags Hayes back in. WHAT THE FUCK??? Let me repeat that for you. Hayes bails to the corner on his knees tags in Jimmy Jam who comes back into the ring confers with Hayes, helps Hayes to his feet and then tags Hayes back in.

The faces are in control, tagging in the fresh man, Garvin, won't help the heels. the only thing that can help them is to stall. The hugging corner tagging yourself out then back in isn't exactly spitting out your mouth piece for Joe Goossen to clean but the effect is the same.

Armstrong gets ready to lock up with Hayes but Hayes walks over to Smothers on the apron and smacks him. Both Garvin and Hayes have been doing this type of thing a bunch in this match, when they think the guy in the ring has their number they go over and call out the other Pistol. It’s an odd strategy as they are calling out the fresher guy. Although with all the stalling one could develop ring rust by being on the apron. Armstrong tags Smothers in and Smothers looks confused throwing up his hands “since when do we have beef?”

They go for a rope running section where Garvin jumps into the ring, Hayes drops down, Garvin leapfrogs Smothers, Smothers hits the ropes, Hayes leapfrogs smothers and Smothers walks right into a boot from Garvin which knocks him into a Hayes left.

The only difference between a babyface and a heel is the babyface moves forward and the heel backwards.”

And now at 18 minutes into the match the heels have finally won an in ring wrestling exchange.

A really pretty and smooth one at that..essentially a quick criss cross section given the appearance of a double team. All about ducking and Smothers headstong running into the punch. I'm not sure if the Freebirds of Garvin and Hayes are capable of anything else that pretty but all the stalling played off and they've finally won a in ring exchange.

And NOW it is time to tag in Badstreet—“release the gimp”.

Badstreet comes in and Fargo Struts and then just unleashes offense on the downed Smothers. A lariat, a top rope axe handle, a neckbreaker, etc..making sure to point to and taunt either Armstrong or Dustin between each move. He throws Smothers to the floor and Fargo Struts again…he is masked Freebird Evilness. Smothers eats a clothesline from Dink on the floor. Badstreet drags Smothers back to ring apron where he Garvin hits Smothers with a HY-UGE running Yakuza boot. Smothers flyes for the Yakuza boot ,taking a bump all the way to the security guard rail Hayes continues to wail on Smothers on the floor and Badstreet rams Smothers face into apron. Dustin and Armstrong try to get involved only to be stopped by Patrick. Badstreet taunting, Fargo Struts again and tags Garvin into the ring.

Garvin snap mares Smothers and puts him into a reverse chin lock. Its really anticlimactic after Badstreet’s section. But we recognize the strategy

Dink “We’ve got to get them on the mat”
Hayes “We’re the champs. We’ve got to slow it down”
Teh Freebirds, “We’ve got to slow it down”

The chin lock elicits a face hand clap from the crowd which Dustin and Armstrong milk to try to get Smothers back into the match. Smothers tries to escape and the two bonk heads and race to make the tag.

Dustin comes in a fire cleaning house. Armstrong joins him and just works over Garvin in the corner. Smothers is still out of it but Dustin is able to cause a heel miscommunication where Hayes punches Badstreet. And we're two on two and the faces FINALLY have fully escaped the trap. The crowd is ECSTATIC. Dustin punches Hayes low (getting the full on Eigen spit take) which sets up the bulldog.

Ref goes to count

ONE!
TWO!

AW Fuck. Richard Morton runs in to break pin and attack Dustin. Everyone brawls with Smothers recovered (but Badstreet not) by this point and match is thrown out while faces clean house and climb the ropes to yell at heels who bail to back.

Paul Jones “Buddy Colt told me once, “The only difference between a babyface and a heel is the babyface moves forward and the heel backwards"

Most of the matches we review are very Dustin centric. Most of what we write about is about Dustin. There have been matches which we've chosen not to write about because allthough good matches, Dustin plays a small role in their goodness or is off. I was hesitant to write about this match for that reason. But this was too much fun to ignore. This is a match where Dustin isn't asked to do much other than be a babyface and move forward. He does that. Thats really all that was needed out of him to make this work. Simple and effective.

Tracey Smothers: “That’s called working. That’s old school”.