I've been combing through the old issues of the WON looking for matches which Dave has rated. There's a lot of show results (12/17 in Lancaster, CA drew around 75 fans as Jack Armstrong pinned Mando Guerrero **3/4) where star ratings are given, but most of these are based on live reports from fans. I decided not to include those. If there is a match "missing" from the order, it's either because there was no rating given or that page of the WON was missing. The bolded date before the matches is the WON issue where the review was found. There is a suspicious lack of Japanese Television match ratings. Special thanks to Cory for all of his research and OCR work!
01/02/1989
NWA Starrcade (12/26/88)
1. Steve Williams & Kevin Sullivan downed The Fantastics to capture the US tag team championship in 15:50. ***1/2
2. Jim Cornette's Midnight Express downed Paul E Dangerously's Midnight Express in 17:26. ***1/4
3. The Russian Assassins retained their masks and Paul Jones' job by defeating Ivan Koloff & Junkfood Dog in 6:47. *1/2
4. Rick Steiner pinned Mike Rotunda in 17:59 to win the NWA TV title, They had lots of heat early and the execution between the two was great, although the pacing was more deliberate than in the earlier matches during the early part. ***1/2
5. Barry Windham retained his US title beating Bam Bam Bigelow via count out in 16:17 in a match which showed that Windham is the heir apparent to Ric Flair's long-time role as the best all-around wrestler in the business. ***3/4
6. Road Warriors retained their NWA tag team titles losing via disqualification to Dusty Rhodes & Sting in 11:20. **3/4
7. Ric Flair retained the NWA title with a pinfall victory, yes, you read that correctly, over Lex Luger in 30:59. ****1/2 (This match easily beats out the Lawler vs Kerry match as the best PPV event of the year--actually if Windham's match had a better finish, it would have topped the Lawler vs Kerry match as well)
01/16/1989
NBC aired a WWF Saturday Night Main Event on 1/7 (taped 12/7 in Tampa)
1. Brutus Beefcake beat Ron Bass in a hair vs hair match in 7:40. *1/2
3. Anabolic Warrior pinned Honkeytonk Man with a flying tackle in 5:01. *1/4
4. Tito Santana pinned Red Rooster (Terry Taylor). **3/4
5. Curt Hennig pinned Koko Ware with a fisherman suplex that they are calling the perfect plex. *
01/23/1989
WWF Royal Rumble 1989
1. The Hart Foundation & Jim Duggan won two of three falls from Dino Bravo & The Rougeau Brothers. **1/4
2. Rockin Robin pinned Judy Martin in 6:24 to retain the WWF womens title. *1/4
3. Now it was time for the posedown between the Anabolic Warrior and Rick "The Stick" Rude. -* (I'd call it a dud except I know people who found this thing severely taxing)
4. Haku earned to right to be called "King" by pinning Harley Race in 9:01 after a thrust kick. DUD
5. John Studd won the Royal Rumble in 64:53. (no stars listed)
The NWA was in town the night before at the Kaiser Convention Center in Oakland
1. Mike Golden pinned CW Bergstrom with a small package after a poorly-timed foot to the face. DUD3. Dick Murdoch pinned Ray Candy in 5:05. -*
4. Lex Luger & Michael Hayes (subbing for Dusty Rhodes, nobody noticed nor complained) & Rick Steiner downed The Road Warriors & Paul Ellering in 12:33. ***
5. Ric Flair pinned Sting in 29:38 to retain the NWA title. ***1/2
6. Finally we had the 7:30 version of the Poseiden Adventure Bunkhouse Stampede. DUD
02/13/1989
Giant Baba promoted a television taping on 2/2 in Kansas City in conjunction with Bob Geigel's Central States promotion at the Kansas City Memorial Hall. (Dave attended the show enroute to Philadelphia)
1. Bobby Jaggers, sporting short brown hair and looking like he had swallowed most of Dunlap, Kansas, pinned Ric McCord in 8:31 after an elbow drop after McCord missed a monkey flip. 1/4*
2. Tiger Mask pinned Tommy Sharpe in 8:47 after a splash off the top ropes. 3/4*
3. Dory & Terry Funk downed Doug Somers & Gary Young in 10:28 when Terry made Young submit to the Texas cloverleaf hold (similar to the scorpion deathlock). ***
4. Genichiro Tenryu pinned Bill Irwin in 9:24. *3/4
5. Akio Sato pinned Curtis Hughes, who subbed for Kerry Von Erich who no-showed for the third time in a row that he was booked in this town. *1/4
6. Rock & Roll Express went to a 30 minute draw With the British Bulldogs with Pat O'Connor as the special referee. **3/4
7. Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu captured the PWF World tag team titles beating Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy in 16:37. ***1/2
8. After all that action, poor Mike George and Steve Ray had to follow it up battling for George's "World" title. **
Saturday night we wound up in the Philadelphia Civic Center for "NWA Suicide Tour '89."
1. Butch Reed pinned Steven Casey in 11:37 after a shoulderblock off the top rope. I didn't watch the match closely but everyone I talked with said it was a 12 minute long coma and worth negative several stars.
2. Junkfood Dog & Michael Hayes downed Dennis Condrey & Randy Rose in 12:43 when Hayes pinned Rose after a cross bodyblock. *
3. Rick Steiner retained his TV title beating Russian Assassin #2 (Vladimir Victory) in 11:17 with a belly-to-belly suplex. -*
4. Lex Luger pinned Commando Ray Candy with a sunset flip in 14:06. -**
5. Abdullah the Butcher, who was advertised as being part of the six-man semi-main event, instead destroyed Bob Bradley in 4:02 of a squash. *14
6. Road Warriors & Paul Ellcring downed Kevin Sullivan & Steve Williams & Mike Rotunda in 15:49 when Animal pinned Sullivan after a clothesline. *14
7. Sting & Eddie Gilbert downed Ric Flair & Barry Windham in 24:01. ***1/4
03/01/1989
NWA Chi-Town Rumble
1. Michael Hayes pinned Russian Assassin #1 (even though Dave Sheldon had been Russian #1 all along, this was Jack Victory as Sheldon was either fired or quit earlier in the week). *1/2
2. Sting pinned Butch Reed with a sunset flip coming into the ring at 20:07. 1/2*
3. It picked up from here, as Jim Cornette & his Midnight Express of Bobby Eaton & Stan Lane downed Paul E Dangerously and his substitute Now Original Midnight Express of Jack Victory & Randy Rose. ***1/4
4. Mike Rotunda regained the TV title from Rick Steiner in 16:21. *1/2
5. Lex Luger won the US title from Barry Windham in 10:43. ***3/4
6. Road Warriors retained the NWA tag titles beating Steve Williams & Kevin Sullivan in 8:27. **3/4
7. Steamboat pinned Flair in 23:18 to win the NWA title. *****
Quickly, we take you back to WWF Saturday night at the Rosemont Horizon.
1. Ron Garvin pinned Boris Zhukov after a flying bodypress off the top rope. Since I wasn't there, this was committee graded at 1.39 stars.
2. John Studd and Akeem went to a double count out in 6:05. Graded at negative 1.64 stars, only because it was so short. It could have been a lot worse.
3. Rick Rude pinned Brutus Beefcake using the ropes for leverage. *1/2
4. Curt Hennig pinned Hercules in 11:14 when Hercules did a back suplex but Hennig lifted his shoulder at two (see Windham vs Luger two nights later). *1/4
5. Randy Savage pinned Badnews Brown in a non-title Harlem Street Fight in 4:53. *(simply for noise)
6. Bret Hart beat Honkeytonk Man via DQ in 10:27. *1/4
7. Bushwackers beat Rougeaus in 12:48 of a match which seemed like it lasted at least 30 minutes. -**
8. Hulk Hogan downed Big Bossman in 8:46 by getting out of the cage. **1/2
And now we head to Cleveland on 2/15 for NWA Clash of the Champions V.
1. Jim Cornette's Midnight Express downed The Russian Assassins in 13:14. 1/2* (only for the finish)
2. Butch Reed pinned Steven Casey in 17:36 after a flying shoulderblock. -*
04/10/1989
WWF WrestleMania V
1. Hercules pinned Haku in 6:57 when Hercules used the back suplex, both guys had their shoulders down for two but Hercules raised his at the two count so Baku was counted down for the pin. 1/2*
2. The Twin Towers (Big Bossman & Akeem) downed the Rockers (Shawn Michaels & Marty Janetty) in 8:02 when Akeem pinned Michaels after a big splash. *3/4 (mainly because of lack of heat because it was an average match otherwise)
3. Ted DiBiase went to a double count out with Brutus Beefcake in 10:01. *3/4
4. The Bushwackers downed the Rougeaus in 5:10 after a double stomach-breaker on Raymond. -****
5. Mr Perfect (Curt Hennig) pinned The Blue Blazer (Owen Hart) in 5:38 with a fisherman suplex. **1/4
6. Demolition retained the WWF tag team titles beating Powers of Pain & Mr. DUD
7. Dino Bravo pinned Ron Garvin in 3:48 with a side body drop. DUD
8. The Brainbusters (Tully Blanchard & Arn Anderson) downed Rick Martel & Tito Santana in 9:17 with Santana getting pinned after an awesome looking stuff piledriver. **1/2
9. Jake Roberts beat Andre the Giant via DQ in 9:44. -*** (would have been even lower except the finish was almost interesting)
10. The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart & Jim Neidhart) downed Honkeytonk Man & Greg Valentine in 7:40 when Bret Hart pinned Honkey after hitting him with Jimmy Hart's megaphone. **1/4
11. In what was a lot better in reality than it sounds on paper, Rick Rude captured the Intercontinental title from the Anabolic Warrior in 9:36 when Bobby Heenan tripped Warrior as he tried a suplex and Rude fell on top for the pin. **1/2
12. Jim Duggan and Badnews Brown went to a double disqualification in 3:49. DUD
13. Red Rooster (Terry "Requiem for a heavyweight" Taylor) pinned Bobby Heenan in 27 seconds after Heenan missed a block into the buckles. DUD
14. Then came the biggie and in a new Hogan record of 17:51, the mighty Hulkster captured the WWF title for the second time using the dreaded legdrop on Randy Savage. **3/4
NWA Rajun Cajun Clash on 4/2 from the Superdome,
1. The Samoan Swat Team downed the Midnight Express in 20:32 when Fatu hit Bobby Eaton with the telephone and got the pin. ***
2.The F-----' Great Muta pinned Steven Casey in 8:11 with the moonsault press. ***4 ( for an incredible one man show)
3. Junkfood Dog pinned Butch Reed in 9:56. -*
4. Bob Orton pinned Dick Murdoch in 9:33 when Murdoch went for the brainbuster, but Gary Hart tripped Murdoch and Orton fell on top for the pin. 1/2*
5. Steve Williams & Mike Rotunda captured the NWA tag team titles from the Road Warriors in 11:40 when Williams pinned Hawk in a screw-job finish from new heel ref Teddy Long. ***1/4
6. Ranger Ross downed the Iron Sheik via DQ in 1:56. -1/2*
7. Eddie Gilbert & Rick Steiner retained the US tag team titles beating Dan Spivey & Kevin Sullivan in 3:51 when Gilbert pinned Sullivan after hitting him with Missy Hyatt's Gucci purse. *3/4
8. Rick Steamboat retained the NWA title beating Ric Flair in a two of three fall match which went 55:32. *****
05/15/1989
| NWA WRESTLE WAR '89 |
2. Butch Reed pinned Ranger Ross with the shoulderblock off the top rope in 6:59. 1/4*
3. Dick Murdoch pinned Bob Orton in a bullrope match in 4:54. 1/2*
4. The Dynamic Dudes (Shane Douglas & Johnny Ace) upset the Samoan Swat Team in 11:02. **3/4
5. Michael Hayes won the US title from Lex Luger in 16:06. ***
6. Sting blitzed the Iron Sheik in 2:12, making him submit to the scorpion to retain the TV title. DUD
8. Road Warriors beat Steve Williams & Mike Rotunda via DQ in 6:06 in a match which resulted in the NWA tag team titles being held up. ***1/2
9. Eddie Gilbert & Rick Steiner retained the US tag titles beating Sullivan & Spivey in 6:41. **1/2
WWF House Show in Nashville the night before Wrestle War
1. Greg Valentine pinned The Blue Blazer (Owen Hart) when Blazer came off the top rope with a flying body press and Valentine reversed it, holding the trunks for the pin. Told it was average.
2. They did the angle where Rick Martel attacks Tito Santana before the match and takes out his knee, and the bout is postponed until later in the show.
3. Bret Hart drew Mr Perfect (Curt Hennig). **3/4
4. Hillbilly Jim beat Honkeytonk Man via DQ. -**3/4 (yes, it really was that bad)5. Anabolic Warrior beat Rick Rude via count out for the IC title in the match which had the most heat of the card. **1/4
6. Red Rooster (Terry Taylor) pinned Brooklyn Brawler (Steve Lombardi). 1/4*
7. Martel pinned Santana in three minutes with his feet on the ropes. *
8. Jim Powers pinned Mike Sharpe after a powerslam. **1/4
9. Demolition beat Twin Towers by DQ to keep the WWF tag titles. **
10. Randy Savage pinned Brutus Beefcake after Sherri Martel threw powder in Beefcake's eyes.
11. Jake Roberts cradled Ted DiBiase in a match that seemed like it would never end. *1/4
06/05/1989
Titan also ran its latest WWF Saturday Night's Main Event on 5/27 (taped in Des Moines about a month back).
1. Jim Duggan beat Rick Rude via count out so Rude kept the Intercontinental title. **3/4
2. Randy Savage pinned Jim Neidhart in five minutes. ***1/4
3. Hulk Hogan beat Big Bossman in a cage match to keep the WWF title. ***3/4
4. Tully Blanchard & Arn Anderson beat Demolition via DQ so the latter duo keeps the WWF tag titles. ***1/4
06/12/1989
NWA Oakland House Show
1. Dynamic Dudes (Shane Douglas & Johnny Ace) beat Jack Victory & The Raider (Doug Gilbert) in 7:56 with the double slingshot back suplex on Raider. *1/4
2. Butch Reed pinned Ranger Ross with an elbow drop off the middle rope in 6:05. *1/2
3. Steve Williams destroyed a short, fat guy named Tony Garcia in 1:01 with the stampede. *
4. Dick Murdoch pinned Bill Irwin in 11:06. Boring bout.
5. What started out as a single match with Scott Steiner vs Mike Rotunda turned out as a tag when Rick Steiner came down after two minutes and Kevin Sullivan got involved. **3/4
6. Lex Luger pinned Michael Hayes in a Bad Street Match in 10:21. **1/27. Road Warriors and Samoan Swat Team went to a double count out in 2:52 and after which they brawled to the back. *
8. Rick Steamboat beat the Great Muta via DQ in 22:54 when Gary Hart interfered. ***
NWA Stockton House Show
1. Dudes beat Victory & Raider in 7:30 with the same finish as the night before. **3/4
2. Reed pinned Ross after a legdrop off the middle rope in 7:00. **
3. Murdoch pinned Irwin in 13:50. **1/4
4. The Steiner brothers downed Sullivan & Rotunda in 13:20 when Rick pinned Sullivan with an inside cradle. ***1/2
5. Steamboat beat Muta via DQ in 10:55 when Gary Hart pulled down the top rope and Steamboat went over it. ***1/2
6. Road Warriors and Samoan Swat Team went to their 2:50 double count out brawl. *1/4
7. Steve Williams pinned Hayes in 17:25. *
06/26/1989
Clash of the Champions VII: Guts and Glory
(Missing pages in this WON issue which have rest of the show)
11. Ricky Steamboat beat Terry Funk via DQ in 14 minutes. ****1/4(rating is for a combination of both the match and the ensuing angle)
New Japan . TV results: 5/27 (taped 5/25 in Osaka):
1. Habieli Victashev, the Soviet champion in sambo wrestling, beat Takahiro Iizuka by submission in the fourth round. *1/2 2. Riger pinned Hiroshi Hase to win the jr. ***3/4
3. Selman Hashimikov beat Big Van Vader to win the IWGP title. 1/2*
4. Inoki beat Shota Chochyashivili with a second round submission in the Egg Dome rematch. DUD
New Japan . TV results: 6/10
6/10 television results:
1. Victor Zangiev made Osamu Kido submit to a kneelock after two belly-to-belly suplexes. *1/2
2. Riki Choshu pinned Vladimir Berkovich, or actually made him submit with the scorpion deathlock after a Saito suplex and lariat. Bad. 1/2*
3. Hashimikov pinned Masa Saito with the Northern Light suplex. Match was like an amateur match for the first five minutes and looked legit. *3/4.
All Japan Television results: 5/21 (taped 5/20 Nagoya):
1. Furnas & Kroffat beat Takagi & Takano when Kroffat pinned Takagi after a DDT from the middle rope. **1/2
2. Foot Loose beat Davey Boy & Johnny Smith. *
3. Dynamite Kid pinned Nakano after a head-butt off the top rope. *
4. Tsuurta & Yatsu kept the tag belts beating Slater & Spivey. ***
All Japan Television results: 5/28
1. Kid & Smith beat Kroffat & Furnas when Kid pinned Kroffat after a head-butt off the top rope. **1/4
2. Spivey pinned Takagi with a DDT. *
3. Tsuruta & Yatsu best Foot Loose. ***1/2
All Japan Television results: 6/4 (taped 5/24):
1. Tenryu & Foot Loose beat Spivey & Furnas & Kroffat in 17 minutes when Tenryu pinned Furnas after a power bomb. ****1/2
07/31/1989
NWA The Great American Bash (1989)
1. The card opened with a two-ring "King of the Hill" Battle Royal. ***
2. Brian Pillman pinned Bill Irwin in 10:18 when he leaped off the top rope in one ring and flew to the other ring onto Irwin for the pin. **1/2
3. The Skyscrapers beat The Dynamic Dudes (Shane Douglas & Johnny Ace) in a 9:14 squash match which was the only bad match of the show. *
4. Jim Cornette beat Paul E Dangerously in the Tuxedo Street Fight in a marathon 6:22. *3/4
5. Rick & Scott Steiner won a tornado match beating Mike Rotunda & Kevin Sullivan in 4:42. **1/2
6. Sting and the Great Muta went to a no decision in 8:40 in a television title match. ***1/4 (would have been rated higher except for the lack of explanation and bad execution of the finish)
7. Lex Luger beat Ricky Steamboat via DQ in 10:26 to retain the US title. ****1/4
8. The babyface fivesome of The Road Warriors & Midnight Express & Steve Williams beat the fivesome of The Samoan Swat Team & The Freebirds in 22:18 of a War Games when Hawk made Jim Garvin submit to a hangman hold. ****
9. Ric Flair made his return to the ring after the second longest ring absence of his career and pinned Terry Funk in 17:23 to retain the NWA title. ****1/2 (Note: I'm told that if you include the post-match antics, that I couldn't see live, that this was a five star).
We also attended an NWA show on 7/22 in Philadelphia
1. Big Al Greene & Ron Simmons beat Scott Hall & Joey Maggs in 8:30 when Simmons pinned Maggs after a shoulderblock from the middle ropes. *
2. Norman the Lunatic pinned Ranger Ross in 6:21. 1/4*
3. The Skyscrapers beat Johnny & Davey Rich in 7:40 when they used a double power bomb on Davey. * (the star is strictly for the one bump)
4. Dynamic Dudes beat New Zealand Militia in 6:20 when Shane Douglas pinned Jack Victory with a cross bodyblock. **1/2
5. Mike Rotunda pinned Scott Steiner in a suplex match even though Steiner's foot w4s on the popes during the pin in 5:38. **1/2
6. Kevin Sullivan pinned Rick Steiner in an incredible brawl for 5:10. ***1/2
7. Great Muta pinned Eddie Gilbert in 11:20 in a Coal Miners Glove match. ***1/2
8. Lex Luger beat Ricky Steamboat via DQ in 14:10 in a US title match in a match that was even better than their PPV match. ****1/2
9. Sting beat Terry Funk in a no DQ match by pinning Bill Irwin in 14:35. **** (would have been rated higher except for the finish)
10. Road Warriors & Steve Williams & Midnight Express beat Freebirds & Samoan Swat Team in 16:15 of a Bad Street match. ***3/4
08/07/1989
The WWF ran its Saturday Night Main event on 7/29, taped on 7/18 in Worcester, MA.
1. Hulk Hogan pinned Honkeytonk Man in 6:00 to keep the WWF title. 3/4*
2. Jimmy Snuka pinned Greg Valentine in 3:00. 1/2*
3. Brutus Beefcake beat Randy Savage via DQ in a (surprise, surprise) great match. ***3/4
4. Tully Blanchard & Arn Anderson won the WWF tag titles from Demolition in a two of three fall match. ***1/2
08/21/1989
The WWF rolled into town this past week for television tapings in Oakland and Fresno
1. Bore-us Zhukov pinned Mark Young in the opener. *;
2. The Widow Maker (Barry Windham) beat Red Rooster (Terry Taylor) via count out. **1/4;
3. Ted DiBiase beat Tim Evans with the sleeper.
4. The Rockers, who had Tito Santana in their corner, beat The Black Knight (Billy Anderson) & Tim Patterson.
5. Koko Ware, with blonde and blue hair, pinned Greg Valentine.
6. Rick Martel, accompanied by the Rougeaus, pinned Jerry Monti with the old Bombs Away kneedrop off the top rope.
7. Dusty Rhodes pinned Barry Horowitz.
8. Tully Blanchard & Arn Anderson beat Stephan DeLeon & Louis Spicoli with a stuff piledriver;
9. Anabolic Warrior beat Steve Vega.
10. In a Prime Time Wrestling match, Curt "Mr Perfect" Hennig went to a 20 minute draw With Santana. *1/4 (only because Hennig took some outrageous bumps);
11. Widow Maker pinned Dan Brazil with a superplex.
12. Dino Bravo & Honkeytonk Man beat The Hart Foundation via DQ. *1/2
13. Widow Maker pinned Spicoli.
14. Bushwackers beat Peter Ketchum & Don Stevens.
15. Badnews Brown pinned Jim Gorman;
16. Jim Duggan pinned Ed Vargas, who those of you who have bad dreams that were reality may remember as former AWA superstar Rocky Mountain Thunder.
17. Well, the delay was more exciting than the next match where Ted DiBiase pinned Hillbilly Jim on PTW. Almost all stalling till the finish. 1/2* (because DiBiase took one really good bump off the top rope);
18. Rougeaus beat Jim Evans & Dennis Mirto. The Rougeaus song is a hoot;
19. Ron Garvin (newly reinstated as an active wrestler by Jack Tunney) used his dreaded NWA finishing move, the KO punch on The Intruder.
20. Jimmy Snuka pinned Mike Luka;
21. Haku pinned Riki "Power Bomb" Ataki. Haku gave Ataki a chance to show some stuff;
22. Warrior pinned Andre in about 20 seconds after three clotheslines.
23. Bushwackers beat Blanchard & Anderson via DQ in a title match. The execution stunk but the "story" of the match with the near falls was good. Heels DQ'd for double teaming *3/4;
24. Brutus Beefcake pinned Chuck Hambone. Beefcake got a lot of whistles from the crowd. Unfortunately, the whistles were all from guys;
25. Demolition beat Zhukov & Jake "The Milkman" Millman;
26. Bossman pinned Bob Ellis (not the famous wrestler by the same name).
27. Rick Rude pinned Tim Horner in a PTW match. Very good fast-paced match with good execution. Easily the best thing on the card and Horner was the best worker on the card. ***;
28. Hercules beat Darryl Nickel;
29. Powers of Pain beat Tom Stone & Dale Wolfe (used to be Dusty Wolfe but nobody can be called Dusty here except for the Dream).
30. Rhodes pinned Bossman in five minutes after an elbow drop. DUD;
31. Randy Savage beat Hulk Hogan via count out in eight minutes. **
The NWA show at the UIC Pavilion
1. The Ding Dongs (Richard Sartain & Greg Evans) beat Big Al Greene & Trent Knight in 7:45 when Ding picked up Dong and dropped him legdrop style onto Knight for the pin. *
2. Ron Simmons pinned Brad Anderson (son of former pro wrestler Gene Anderson) in 5:25 with Arn Anderson's spinebuster move. *1/2
3. Brian Pillman pinned Norman the Maniac (no longer Norman the Lunatic, he's been promoted) in 5:05. **
4. Rick & Scott Steiner downed the New Zealand Militia (Jack Victory & Rip Morgan) in 11:15 when Scott pinned Morgan. ***
5. Steve Williams pinned Bill Irwin in 3:45 when Irwin tried to slam him into the ring but Williams fell on top for the pin. *1/4
6. The Freebirds (Michael Hayes & Jimmy Garvin) kept the NWA tag team titles beating the Midnight Express in 12:24. **1/4
7. Sting beat Great Muta via DQ in 9:11 in a match for the held up TV title, which with the DQ, is still held up. *1/4
8. Lex Luger kept the US title pinning Tommy Rich using the trunks in 11:15. **1/2
9. Ric Flair pinned Terry Funk in 18:58 to keep the NWA title in another incredible brawl. ****1/2
10. Road Warriors beat Samoan Swat Team in a cage match. ***1/4
09/03/1989
WWF's Summer Slam '89
1. The Brain Busters (Tully Blanchard & Arn Anderson) won a non-title tag team match from the Hart Foundation (Bret Hart & Jim Neidhart) in 16:23. **
2. Dusty Rhodes pinned Honkeytonk Man in 9:36. -** (that's giving it one star for the finish because it was negative three at that point)
3. Mr Perfect pinned Red Rooster in 3:21 with the perfect-plex. 1/2* (only for one nice high spot early; finish came out of nowhere and was a dud)
4. Rougeaus & Rick Martel beat Rockers & Tito Santana in 14:58. ***1/4
5. Anabolic Warrior pinned Rick Rude in 16:02 to win the Intercontinental title. ***1/4
6. Demolition & King Jim Duggan beat Akeem & Big Bossman & Andre the Giant in 7:23. *
7. Hercules beat Greg Valentine via DQ in 3:08. 1/2* (for the angle)
8. Ted DiBiase beat Jimmy Snuka via count out in 6:27. *1/4
9. Hulk Hogan & Brutus Beefcake beat Randy Savage & Zeus in 15:04. **1/2
09/25/1989
NWA's Clash of the Champions card from Columbia, SC
1. The Road Warriors beat the Samoan Swat Team in 6:46. ***1/4
2. The Z-Man (Tom Zenk) beat The Cuban Assassin (Dave Sierra) with the sleeper in 3:36. 1/2*
3. Sid Vicious destroyed Ranger Ross in 1:08 with the power bomb. 1/2*
4. The Freebirds (Michael Hayes & Jim Garvin) retained the NWA tag team titles beating the Steiner brothers in 10:27. ***1/2
5. Brian Pillman pinned Norman the Maniac in 3:38 with an arm and leg crucifix takedown. Too short to be a three-star match but too good to be anything less than three stars.
6. Steve Williams pinned Mike Rotunda in 7:04. ***
7. Lex Luger pinned Tommy Rich in 10:36 in the surprise match of the night. ****8. Ric Flair & Sting beat Dick Slater & Great Muta via disqualification in 19:16. ****1/4
NWA show in Chicago
1. Greg Evans pinned Larry Williams with a Randy Savage elbow drop off the top ropes in 8:15. DUD
2. Cuban Assassin pinned Richard Sartain in 6:00 after a backbreaker. 1/2*
3. Dynamic Dudes beat New Zealand Militia in 9:00 when Rip Morgan had Johnny Ace picked up for a bodyslam and Shane Douglas dropkicked Ace's back and he fell on top for the pin. **
4. Butch Reed pinned Scott Hall with his feet on the ropes in 11:00. -1/2*
5. Rick & Scott Steiner went to a double count out against the Skyscrapers (Sid Vicious & Danny Spivey) in 15:21. *3/4
6. Lex Luger pinned Tommy Rich in a match that wasn't scheduled on the card to begin with but they brought the two in for the show to hopefully pacify the fans because Terry Funk and Sting, two of the guys in the top two matches, weren't going to be there because of injuries. 1/2*
7. Dick Murdoch beat Great Muta via DQ in 5:30 in a TV title match. -**1/2
8. Ric Flair kept the NWA title beating Dick Slater in a death match when Slater couldn't answer the bell for the sixth fall in 18:33. ***1/2
10/23/1989
WWF Saturday Night's Main Event aired on 10/14 after being taped last month in Cincinnati.
1. Randy Savage pinned Jimmy Snuka. **1/2
2. Hulk Hogan pinned Ted DiBiase in the WWF title match. **
3. Roddy Piper pinned Haku with a belly-to-belly suplex in 3:02. *1/2
4. Rick Martel and Tito Santana went to a double disqualification. ***1/2
5. Bushwackers beat Rougeaus in 3:15 when they did the double stomach breaker on Jacques. 1/4*
11/06/1989
NWA Halloween Havoc
1. The Z-Man (Tom Zenk) pinned Mike Rotunda in 13:23 when Rotunda did a cross bodyblock off the middle rope and Zenk reversed it for the pin. 3/4*
2. The Samoan Swat Team & The Samoan Savage beat Midnight Express & Steve Williams in 18:16 when Jim Cornette collided with Stan Lane and Lane was pinned by the Savage (Sam Fatu). **3/4
3. Tommy Rich pinned Cuban Assassin with the Thesz press in 8:26. DUD
4. The Freebirds retained the NWA tag team titles beating the Dynamic Dudes in 11:28. **1/2
5. Doom (Ron Simmons & Butch Reed under masks managed by "Woman") beat Rick & Scott Steiner in 15:26 when Reed got a foreign object from Woman and put it in his mask and head-butted Rick and got the pin. **1/4
6. Lex Luger pinned Brian Pillman with a hotshot in 16:48 to retain the US title. ***1/4
7. Road Warriors beat Skyscrapers via DQ in 11:39 when the ref caught Danny Spivey using the key. **1/2
8. Ric Flair & Sting beat Terry Funk & Great Muta. ****
11/13/1989
The WWF was in Madison Square Garden on 10/28
1. Tito Santana pinned Bore-us Zhukov in 12:48 with the flying forearm. 1/2*
2. Al Perez beat The Conquistador (Jose Luis Rivera) in 10:16 after the alley-copter. -1/2*
3. Bret Hart went to a 20 minute draw with Dino Bravo in a match which lasted 18:18. DUD
4. Brooklyn Brawler beat the unmasked Jose Luis Rivera, 1 who proved to be equally terrible without the hood in 7:35. -*1/4
5. Randy Savage pinned Jim Duggan to keep the crown in 16:03. ***1/4
6. Hercules beat Akeem via count out in 11:20. -**1/4
7. Mr Perfect (Curt Hennig) pinned Jimmy Snuka with the fisherman suplex in 10:37. 1/2*
8. James, The Ultimate Chemical Freak defeated Andre, The Ultimate Genetic Freak in 21 seconds after three clotheslines. DUD
9. Bushwackers beat Powers of Pain via DQ in 7:54. 1/2*
11/27/1989
NWA Clash of the Champions/ New York Knockout
1. The Freebirds beat the Road Warriors via DQ in 5:18. DUD
2. Doom (Ron Simmons & Butch Reed) beat Tommy Rich & Eddie Gilbert in 5:15. *1/4
3. Midnight Express beat Dynamic Dudes in 9:22 when Cornette, who had stayed neutral the entire match, hit Douglas with the tennis racquet and Eaton pinned Douglas. ***1/2
4. Steve Williams pinned Super Destroyer (Jack Victory) in 1:41 with the Oklahoma Stampede. *1/2
5. Rick & Scott Steiner downed The Skyscrapers via DQ in 6:08 when Doom did a run-in. ***1/4
6. Lex Luger pinned Brian Pillman in 12:38 to retain the US title. ***3/4
7. Ric Flair made Terry Funk say "I Quit" in 18:38 of a one-of-a-kind match. *****
12/26/1989
NWA STARRCADE '89: FUTURE SHOCK
1. Rick & Scott Steiner beat Doom via count out in 12:24. **1/2
2. Lex Luger pinned Sting in 11:31. **1/43. Road Warriors beat Doom in 8:31 by pinfall. **
4. Ric Flair pinned the Great Muta in 1:55. **
5. The Steiners beat the Road Warriors in 7:27. ***
6. Sting pinned Muta in 8:41 with a superplex. **3/4 (mainly for the closing sequence)
7. The New Wild Samoans (Fatu--Solofa Fatu and Samoan Savage--Sam Fatu, who are actually brothers) beat Doom in 8:22. **
8. Ric Flair went to a time limit draw with Lex Luger at 17:01. ***3/4
9. Samoans beat Steiners via DQ in 14:05. ***
10. Luger beat Muta via DQ in 11:48. ***1/4
11. The tag team tournament came down to Warriors vs Samoans. -*
12. It's now down to the singles finals - Flair went for the figure four, Sting caught him in an inside cradle and got the pin at 15:54. ****1/4
There's about a zillion disclaimers I could give. The difference in 2015 could be attributed to lots of things. TV ratings are down so perhaps interest is down. Cena did less house shows. Top stars are few and far between and some got hurt. Ticket prices have been going up. This doesn't include NXT events. This doesn't include any TV tapings (including Tribute to the Troops). I only compared cities where I had a "baseline" from prior years. If the baseline was one visit, then it's not so hard to be far above or far below. I used a combination of the city that Dave listed and the CageMatch results to reconcile whether WWE was going back to the same city or not. Going back to 2012-2013 means that we're still talking about the era of split brand house shows, so that can influence the numbers. What time of the year the tour is going on can influence the numbers (i.e. the Nov-Dec is usually hot while June can be low. Int'l tours are usually april & nov which is why those numbers were combined with other months.Thought others might be interested in what I found.
