Glass Hand Disolving: The Nightmares

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 still in control. The Nightmares pull a switcheroo, and with the freshman in the ring, The Nightmares take control. Rich knows he's been cheated, and tried to rip the mask off of the Nightmare in the ring, but this single-minded focus keeps from really turning the tables. Eventually, Steve Armstrong tags in, and it turns into a brawl. It looks like Armstrong has it won, he has one of the Nightmares in a sleeper, but the other Nightmare blindsides him from the top rope, Armstrong gets pinned, and The Nightmares win. 

vs Fire & Flame (Memphis 7/12/1986)

Fire and Flame are the type of team that can convincingly grind down The Nightmares. They do a pretty good job of that. I will say that pretty early on, they take a pair of suicide dives from The Nightmares that they don't even really register, they get hit, they bum, but five seconds later, Fire and Flame are back in control. This match just kind of ends, the referee throws the match out, it's unclear why when you watch it. At the end of the match, people from the crowd are up and moving. When we come back, Lance Russell tells us that Fire and Flame are banned from wrestling in the studio, for allegedly getting involved with the fans, but you don't really see that during the match. 

vs The Dirty White Boy & Jerry Stubbs (Continental 3/21/1987)

This is a cage match for the Continental Tag Titles. We don't get the finish, we run out of TV time, and I don't know if the finish would have made this better. It's an odd match because it's not bad, I would say in particular, Jerry Stubbs is kind of incredible here, but on the other hand, there isn't a lot really going on here. Guys are punching, The Nightmares are trying to escape the cage at points, but really, it is just a lot of punching, and I love punching, but there isn't anything else, and it doesn't really get anywhere and lead to anything. 

vs The Southern Boys (Continental 5/1/1988)

Boy, The Nightmares are really grimy looking here, there's a certain level of grime you'd expect with a Memphis/Continental team, but these guys look super shady here in 1988. It is especially stark when compared to Armstrong and Smothers, who are gassed to the gills. Armstrong takes most of this match and is in control for most of it. Smothers eventually tags in, but his first stay in the ring is short, and Armstrong is back. This has been mostly Armstrong on top, not a beatdown, but The Nightmares aren't really ever in control. We are a solid ten minutes into the match, and The Nightmares are starting to gain some ground, but Steve Armstrong. Things come to a halt when Armstrong misses a Thesz Press and ends up getting hit in the junk. Armstrong can't continue. Danny Davis shows concern for Armstrong, but Ken Wayne is in the ring, wearing the tag titles and celebrating. We get some tension, but nothing explosive. 

Verdict

A solid territory tag team. The matches with Tommy Rich, especially, are in front of hot crowds. I would say The Nightmares are a fine team, but they don't really jump out to me as great.