Reel in Place

vs The Rock N Roll Express (Memphis 1/13/1985) There's a bit of stereo offense and stereo stooging, early in this match, which is never really going to win me over. After the Nightmares pout on the outside, things are tentative. Eventually, Wayne tosses Robert Gibson to the outside, where Danny Davis is waiting and when Gibson is rolled back in the ring, Wayne takes over and The Nightmares are in control. They work over Gibson for a while, until Ricky Morton gets the tag and he is on fire. Things seem to be going the Rock N Rolls way, but Jimmy Hart throws his care in the ring, and Morton gets crumpled. Ken Wayne goes to the top rope, but misses a flying headbutt, and Morton and Gibson get the win.  vs Steve Armstrong & Tommy Rich (Continental 6/17/1985) Rich and Armstrong hit the ring and are all over The Nightmares. Wayne and Davis do a great job of stooging and bumping around in the opening part of this. We got to commercial, and when we come back Rich and Armstrong are stil...

vs The Killer Bees (2/21/1988) The Bees do everything right. They work hard, they make tags, they do what they can to win the match, but they just can't. Demolition does some of their standard pummeling, but this is a lot of Bees, and when they really start to get somewhere, Ax hits Brunzell in the neck with a cane, and the match is over shortly thereafter.  vs The Brain Busters (7/18/1989) Demolition are the champions here, and this is two-out-of-three falls. Demolition wins the first fall. Tully stoogets around early, but eventually the match evens out. Smash pins Arn, and we're onto the second fall. This match is like a playoff hockey game. Both teams are constantly committing penalties, the ref isn't really interested in calling them, and one team, Demolition, is getting cheered because they're the home team. The Brainbusters get a little extra grimy and take control of the second fall, but only for a bit. Things break down into a brawl, and the ref throws the fall ...

vs  Andre the Giant & Giant Baba (11/20/1990) This is Taue and Jumbo's first real time in the ring with Andre. Jumbo was in a battle royal in 1974, but this is real virgin territory for Taue. This is fine. You get all of the Andre stuff you'd expect, Baba does everything he needs to do to make Andre's moments meaningful, Jumbo plays his part, but fiery underdog Taue slapping the shit out of Andre is the highlight of this match. That isn't the highlight of a great match, but it certainly makes this one worth watching.  vs Mitsuharu Misawa & Toshiaki Kawada (AJPW 9/4/1991) There's a lot to like here. I would say that over the course of these matches, Taue has stood out more to me than Jumbo, and he's fine here, but Jumbo is great, in particular, the exchanges with Kawada are great. The shame of this match is that the Kawada/Jumbo sections aren't the main trust of the match. The main conflict is Jumbo and Misawa, which is fine, but it doesn't really...

  vs Los Destructores (UWA 5/8/1988) Los Destructores are Emilio Charles Jr, Tony Arce, and Vulcano. All 3 Brazos are still masked here, which will not be the case not too far in the future. Things start of really hot with all six competitors in the ring and throwing punches, just when it seems like order might be restored, and the rules in place, the fight breaks out again. The brawl continues, El Brazo's mask is ripped. Brazo de Oro's mask is ripped off entirely. With Brazo de Oro out of the picture, Los Destructores focus on El Brazo; all three are pounding on him inside the ring while using the numbers advantage to keep Brazo de Plata from getting in the ring at all. Brazo de Oro comes rushing into the ring with a new mask on and totally turns the tide. Turnabout is fair play here, and the Brazos are able to isolate Emilio Charles Jr in the ring and beat him bloody using the numbers advantage. Somewhere in all of this, Los Destructores take the first fall for unclear reason...

with Stan Lane vs Robert Gibson, Rick Gibson, & Tojo Yamamoto (Memphis 1/6/1982) This is best 2-out-of-3 falls. This starts off by getting most of the participants involved for a bit. Sugar starts with Robert Gibson, then Eaton tags in, then Lane is in, and Eaton is back in, and the heels are now in control, each taking turns taking it to Robert. Eventually Robert tags in Rick and the other Gibson clears house before taging in Tojo. Things fall apart from here, all the while Tojo is working an abdominal claw. Eaton blindsides Yamamoto from the top rope, puts Ware on top and the heels have won the first fall.   Tojo and Ware start the first fall, but he qucikly tags in Robert, who Ware Irish Whips toward the ropes, where Jimmy Hart is keenly waiting to pull down the top rope, and Gibson spills to the floor. The second fall is a DQ, but that's a simple formality because that cause everything to fall apart, and the teams are brawling on the outside. That's all we get because ...

Ted DiBiase & Matt Borne vs Junkyard Dog & Mr. Olympia (Mid-South 10/30/1982) The face team hits the ring, and it's on with Dog and Olympia taking the upper hand. The Rat Pack rolls to the outside to regroup, and when they get back in the ring, order has been restored. JYD and DiBiase are obviously two of the bigger stars in the territory, and Watts really puts this over on commentary and a bit of dick measuring contest to see who the top guy really, truly is. Borne, and to a greater extent, Mr. Olympia hold up their end of things, as proxies and as individuals, but this is not a match about Matt Borne or Jerry Stubbs. Most of this is JYD and Mr. Olympia kicking ass, I'd say Mr. Olympia really comes off as an ass kicker in this match, really taking it to DiBiase. The Rat Pack eventually isolates Stubbs and work him over for a bit. As you might expect, eventually the Dog gets in, takes over, and takes it to The Rat Pack, until Jim Duggar comes out in a Gorilla Suit, turn...