On Brand Segunda Caida: Tully vs. Ricky...in 2004

Tully Blanchard vs. Ricky Morton NWA-Bluegrass Boogie Bash 2004

ER: Blanchard come out of another several year retirement on a Jimmy Valiant tribute show, in a main event oddly and very specifically announced as having a "16 minute time limit". Don't ask me, the time limit never factored into the match in any way. Blanchard is 50 here, looks to be in great shape (probably much easier to stay in great shape when your body is not beaten up from wrestling), and it's pretty stunning how good he looks in ring after such a long layoff. He is clearly faster than Morton, but Morton is no slouch here. Blanchard really runs into Morton on a shoulderblock, and they both show off how quickly they can both snap off an armdrag, and bump for an armdrag. Tully's rope running is really impressive, and both bump nicely for each other. I'm talking about them like they're total dinosaurs (Ricky is only 47/48 here) but this felt a little more inspired than some other legends main events we get on convention shows. Tully is a great heel, really animated, and his execution on any move he does is excellent. I loved how he tossed Ricky to the floor, loved how he would screech at the ref whenever the ref made a call against him. We did get into a long series of chinlocks, but get this: Tully Blanchard has a really good chinlock. Did the match need three different chinlock sequences? No it did not. But Tully worked all three of them differently, including a great one where he got extra leverage by leaning into Morton's back with a knee. Morton had a nice fiery comeback and threw a couple of great right hands, and Tully's stooging and swinging at air was as great as it was in 1984. The finish is a bit of a mess, with a series of small package reversals where neither guy really looks like their shoulders are down, and then the ref does a distractingly fast count to give Morton the win. The best part of the finish was Tully acting like he won with a small package, and then screeching WHAT!?!? when Ricky was announced as winner.