Bunkhouse Stampede '88

Legacy Review

Bunkhouse Stampede '88

January 24, 1988 from the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, NY

 

Commentary: Jim Ross and Bob Caudle

 

Jim Crockett Promotions started annual Bunkhouse Stampede matches in 1985. They were battle royales where you came "dressed as you are", which usually meant a t-shirt and jeans (a Dusty Rhodes booking tic to be sure), and where weapons were not only legal but encouraged. There would be a series of them across the house show loop, usually for large purses, and then a final would be held where only the winners of the previous matches were allowed to enter to determine one true Bunkhouse Stampede champion for the year. It probably won't come a great shock that Dusty Rhodes had won all three yearly finals so far. Up until now they were a house show only attraction, none had been broadcast on TV before. That's all changing now as JCP holds their first ever non-Starrcade PPV for the finals of the '88 edition. I don't know for sure, but my thinking is they were trying to recoup their losses from WWF putting Survivor Series up directly against Starrcade by putting this already taking place anyway show on PPV. Their expansion ambition continues as well. After holding Starrcade outside their normal territorial bounds in Chicago, for this show they're stepping firmly into pure WWF territory on New York's Long Island in an arena regularly visited by WWF that held, among other things, the first portion of Wrestlemania 2 and the very first Saturday Night's Main Event. WWF responded with another counterprogramming salvo, holding a special on basic cable USA Network at the same time where they debuted their own new spin on the battle royale format, a little something called the Royal Rumble.

 

Right after the opening graphic we see Nikita Koloff making his way to the ring, then we go to commentary for a short inrtro. Tony Schiavone is handling ring announcing again tonight. We've got another one of those odd hard camera placements tonight, at a 45ish degree angle to the ring.

 

NWA World Television Championship: Nikita Koloff (c) and "Beautiful" Bobby Eaton (w/Jim Cornette) 20:00 time limit draw- Despite this show being put on PPV most of the card has a very house show feel, with not one but two random tag team wrestlers challenging for singles titles. First up is Eaton, half of the US tag champ Midnight Express. Cornette and Eaton are actually getting some decent heat from the NY crowd that's more WWF familiar. Because of that they double up on the prematch hug to rile the crowd up more. They don't seem to want anything to do with Nikita though, even though his "reformed commie" gimmick had made him very popular in regular JCP territory. Several quick lockups to start and both guys break clean. Eaton finally tries for a cheap shot in the corner. Nikita easily wins that exchange. Top wristlock fight that the stronger Nikita again wins pretty easily. After some Nikita arm work Eaton hits a back elbow and kicks that send Nikita out to the floor. They slug it out on the floor, surprisingly won by Eaton. Eaton tries to give Nikita a buckle shot but Nikita blocks it, then tries to give Eaton one on the other side but Eaton just kind of weakly backs into the turnbuckles on the apron instead. Nikita tries to power out of a headlock, which gets some of the crowd behind him at least. Speed run and Nikita hits a slam. Long reset and back to Eaton holding a headlock. Some light "boring" chants start to float around. A punch sends Nikita back out to the floor. Nikita pushes Eaton into the post! He runs Eaton's shoulder into the post again, then hiptosses him on the floor. Eaton begs off as we get the 10 minute call. Eaton gets back on offense as they get back in and he hits an elbow drop for 2. Now Eaton works a hammerlock as the time limit draw stall really sets in. The crowd tries to get themselves back into it with a "Cornette sucks" chant. Nikita comes back with a shoulderblock, but then Eaton catches him with a likely low blow. TV was focused on some random couple in the crowd so we missed it. Eaton goes up top and hits a missile dropkick! Cover for 2. Time for more hammerlock. Another "Cornette sucks" while that's happening. Or, more accurately, not happening. Textbook draw stalling. Cornette verbally lays into Nikita a bit while they lay there. 5 minutes left. Nikita takes nearly an entire minute to slowly stand back up. At the 4 minute call he finally fights out. Sickle! He barely caught Eaton with it and Eaton fell into the ropes. Armbar slam from Eaton and, you guessed it, MOAR HAMMERLOCK. They kill 3 minutes all the way to 2 minutes left with that. Eaton cuts off a comeback attempt and hits another armbar slam, and we're right back into you know what. 1 minute left. No one moves at that call. Nikita finally slugs out. Mounted punches after the 30 second call. Nikita hits a back elbow as we hit 10 seconds left. After some more obvious waiting the Sickle hits just in time for the bell to ring for the time limit. After the bell Nikita steals Cornette's racket and gets Cornette to shit himself in fear, but then Stan Lane runs in for a 2 on 1 Midnight Express beatdown. The match had a very few moments, but there was just way too much dead time killing time for the time limit. This was so far below Eaton's usual standard I wonder if he was working hurt or something. This is also not at all the type of match I'd put on first to try to get a crowd not as familiar with the product into the show. 1/2*

 

One of the local refs hired for the show walks right between commentary and the camera as they're trying to do a stand up. Hilarious.

 

NWA Western States Heritage Championship: Larry Zbyszko (w/Baby Doll) def Barry Windham (c) in 19:16- The NWA and JCP created this title in the summer of '87 as a tribute to the old Western States title based in Amarillo, Texas. Hence the "heritage". Windham won the tournament to become inaugural champion, I guess as a thanks for all the great work he did with Flair during the first part of the year in his unsuccessful World title challenges. Given how this title went Windham might have preferred a gift card instead. Well, gift certificate back then. After the bell rings to start and the ref does all his checks Baby Doll gets in Windham's face and pokes her finger in his chest. Which ultimately goes nowhere. Once she finally gets out of the ring they lock up and Windham hits an armdrag. Speed run and Windham hits a couple of shoulderblocks, then a hiptoss. Zbyszko rolls out to rethink things. Back in Zbyszko gets a leg takedown. Windham easily gets free and Zbyszko bitches about a phantom hair pull. Another speed run and Windham dodges a dropkick. Windham uses a Zbyszko hammerlock to give him a fireman's carry takedown. Off a rope break Zbyszko tries for his quick back kick, but Windham was ready for it. He hits an atomic drop and Zbyszko powders again. Again he gets a leg takedown back in. Clearly the leg is his target. Windham fights free again and both guys shove. Nice drop toe hold from Windham into a headlock. Zbyszko responds with his own less smooth drop toe hold and again starts working on Windham's leg. This time he makes some headway as Windham has a hard time getting free. Windham gets back up and hits an enzuguri! Powerslam on Zbyszko for 2. Setup slam and Windham goes up top. Zbyszko dodges an elbow drop! Again Zbyszko is back on the leg. JR reminds me that the Horsemen had done some damage to Windham's leg, so that makes sense Zbyszko would take that opening. Windham again fights back up. Zbyszko hits the back kick this time. Ugly backbreaker for 2. Then Zbyszko abandons the leg and puts on a chinlock instead. Windham back suplexes free. Zbyszko drop toe hold and back on the leg. Full on slugfest that Windham wins. Dropkick from Windham. They badly mess up a basic suplex and Windham covers for 2. That was not pretty. Much better gutwrench suplex from Windham for 2. Windham hooks on a sleeper. Zbyszko reaches out and grabs a rope before it's on too long. He goes out to the floor again, but this time Windham follows. He gives Zbyszko a shot on a table that I assume is for the ever present NY Athletic Commission. Zbyszko pushes Windham into the post. Windham pulls Zbyszko down from the floor and crotches him on the post right in front of the ref. They have another mistimed spot where Zbyszko ducks Windham's flying lariat well before Windham launches for it. That sends Windham back out to the floor. Windham goes for a sunset flip back in. Zbyszko punches free and covers for 2. He tries a swinging neckbreaker but Windham blocks it into a backslide for 2. Zbyszko tries for a piledriver. Windham backdrops free. Speed run and big midring collision. Windham dodges in the corner and Zbyszko runs his knee into the corner. Mounted punches from Windham. Corner whip do-si-do and down goes the ref. Zbyszko gets Baby Doll's High Heeled Shoe of Pointy Death, nails Windham with it, and gets the pin to win the title. Like the last match a lot of this had a very pedestrian pace, there were a couple of very rough patches, and after so much focus on Windham's knee it went nowhere the second half of the match. But the last 5 or so minutes they finally got going pretty good. **

 

This would be the only change of hands in this title's short history. Zbyszko would occasionally defend it the first half of the year, pretty much all on house shows and not TV, until the summer's Great American Bash tour. By then they'd realize the title wasn't working and quietly pull the plug on it., though officially Zbyszko remained champion until his return to the AWA at the start of '89, after which the title was retired in the record books. 

 

NWA World Heavyweight Championship: Road Warrior Hawk (w/Paul Ellering) def "Nature Boy" Ric Flair (c) (w/JJ Dillon) by DQ in 21:39- Yes, this really is a PPV World title defense. There's a bit of an issue with the tape here, as we cut straight from the end of the previous match to the early minutes of this one and get the "presented in the most complete form possible" disclaimer. Hawk easily powers out of a headlock. Side note, this is the first time on a major show Dillon is cornering Flair despite the Horsemen being a thing for nearly two years now. Might be as a counter to Ellering. Hawk no sells a chop in the corner. Flair goes all the way out to the apron to think that over. Another chop, then Flair bounces off Hawk trying a shoulderblock. Press slam from Hawk. Flair sells it to the cheap seats and slowly rolls to the floor. Dillon wants a TO. Hawk says nah and drags Flair back in. Another press slam. Headbutt from Hawk. Flair Flop! Flair tries to beg off but Hawk stomps him down into the corner. Standing dropkick from Hawk. Fistdrop. He hiptosses Flair out of the corner and Flair goes to the floor again. Hawk suplexes him off the apron back in. Bear hug from Hawk that gets a couple of near falls. Flair tries to chop back but again it has no effect. Flying tackle from Hawk. On the floor Flair goes to the eye rake and gives Hawk a guardrail shot, which is again no sold. Hawk picks the wooden stairs up and tosses them at Flair! Back in Hawk chokes Flair and Flair uses that to sneak a low blow in. That'll turn things around. Thumb right in Hawk's eye for good measure. Now Flair's getting in a groove and gives us a "WOOOOO". Snap mare/kneedrop combo for 2. He tosses Hawk back out to the floor. Guardrail shots for Hawk. Spot longtime security guru Doug Dellinger keeping the belt and holding the guardrail up at the same time. Like Happy Hogan, a security guy of many talents. Coming back in, Flair actually hits a double ax handle off the top rope and hits another kneedrop for 2. Coming off the ropes Hawk grabs Flair and hits a neckbreaker. Flair dodges a fistdrop, and Hawk hurts his knee on the landing. Ruh roh. Flair sees that we're off to school, kids. He gets Ellering to distract the ref to sneak another low blow in too. Hawk tries to chop back but Flair hits a back suplex, then posts Hawk's knee. Figure four! With extra top rope leverage. Local ref is completely useless. Hawk uses his strength to pull Flair back to the middle of the ring and reverse it. Flair actually stays in it for a bit before grabbing a rope break. Flair goes up top again and this time gets slammed off like normal. Hawk hits Flair style chops in the corner. Flair reverses a corner whip but Hawk pops out with a clothesline, which also takes the ref down. Hawk clotheslines Flair 360 over the top to the floor. Post shot for Flair. Another one. Flair's bleeding. Powerslam from Hawk back in, but the ref is still out on the floor. Another clothesline. Flair eye pokes Hawk and goes up top again. Hawk punches and joins him. Superplex! That was a finisher back then. Hawk covers but there's still no ref. Dillon comes in and gives Hawk a chairshot! That only pissed Hawk off. He grabs Dillon. Flair gets the chair and whacks Hawk in the head with it. Cover. The ref is back but Hawk kicks out. Delayed suplex from Flair. Hawk pops back up! Mounted punches. Flair Flop 2! Another fistdrop from Hawk. Flair gives Hawk a quick knee, grabs the chair and hits Hawk with it right in front of the ref for the cheap DQ. House show booking, house show finish. Classic "Flair wrestles a broomstick" match, which considering we're well into the Peak Flair era is still pretty damn good. ***1/2

 

Pause for the cage setup. That's right, this final isn't just a Bunkhouse Stampede match. It's a STEEL CAGE Bunkhouse Stampede match. The rules are regular battle royale rules, to be eliminated you have to be "thrown" through the door to the floor, or over the top of the cage to the floor. So the opposite of WWF's escape is the only way to win cage matches. Not sure if it's a deliberate dig or not but it's likely. I'll give you a minute to figure out how a wrestler could realistically get an unwilling opponent all the way over the top of the cage and down to the floor and still keep believability. Definitely an issue from a conceptual standpoint.

 

To kill time during the cage setup Caudle reads off the credits for the show. All of them. Sadly with no accompanying name jokes. They don't seem to have planned for this intermission very well, but then again you could say that about the whole show.

 

As I mentioned earlier, in order to qualify for this Bunkhouse Stampede final you had to win one of the "preliminary" Stampede matches during the tour of them the past month or so. Those who qualified for tonight: Road Warrior Animal (who won the most prelims this year), the Barbarian, both World tag champs Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard, the Warlord, Ivan Koloff, Lex Luger (who's turned face and left the Horsemen after blaming Dillon for his loss to Dusty at Starrcade), and three time defending yearly Stampede champion and current US champ Dusty Rhodes, who just barely made it in thanks to a last chance qualifier. Trying to create a shred of doubt things might be different this year. 

 

Bunkhouse Stampede Final- I'll give them credit, the light show on the ring during intros is pretty well ahead of what WWF was doing at the time presentation wise. Warlord is wearing a lifeguard tank top, which is hilarious to me. If anyone starts drowning in the ring, we're set. Luger gets an OK ovation for soon after his face turn, though the crowd doesn't seem to be enamored with anyone in this match one way or another. Side note, Earl Hebner is one of the refs on the outside for this match, making his final appearance for JCP before jumping over to join his twin brother in WWF. All eight guys are in the cage, the bell rings, and we're off....with a bunch of weak brawling. Where the hell are the weapons? I WAS PROMISED WEAPONS! I guess if you count weightlifting belts as weapons, half the guys are wearing those. Just a whole lot of meandering around and no flow or story at all in the early portion of this. Arn saves his teammate Blanchard when Dusty tries to get him out the door. After being the first to dangle out the door, Blanchard is the first to get in the vicinity of the top of the cage. The tag champs work together to beat down their former stablemate Luger. Ivan is the first guy to start bleeding after some elbows from Dusty. Barbarian actually almost lifts Dusty over the top of the cage. Feat of strength if I ever saw one. JR says this match is "hard to call". I bet, though not for the reasons he's giving. Absolutely nothing worth mentioning is happening. Ivan chokes Dusty with I think some of his wrist tape. Closest thing to a weapon we've seen so far. Both Arn and Blanchard are bleeding from cage shots now. So is Animal, as Barbarian bites at the cut for a ringside camera. Dusty and Blanchard fight over a weightlifting belt, then Dusty starts whipping it in the general direction of everyone. Barbarian gets the belt and works Dusty over with it. Luger's been tied to the ropes with something and Arn works him over. Ivan scrapes at Dusty's arm with the buckle of the weightlifting belt, cutting him open on the upper arm. If you ever wondered how Dusty got all those scars on his arm, it's from spots like this. He's gushing pretty good, his arm is almost covered in blood. We get our first elimination tease in forever as Animal gets Arm straddled across the top of the cage. Arn yells for Blanchard to help, but Blanchard is half out the door trying to drag Ivan by the throat with the weightlifting belt out the door. Nothing comes from either tease. Animal gets Ivan up and over the top of the cage. Ivan tries to hold onto the cage, but Animal hits him and he drops down. FINALLY, mercifully we get the first elimination nearly 15 damn minutes in as Ivan is out. Animal presses Blanchard into Arn. Animal gets Warlord half out the door. A kick from Barbarian on Animal sends both Animal and Barbarian's Paul Jones Army teammate Warlord out to the floor! They're both gone. Luger works Blanchard over and hits a powerslam in the slightly less crowded ring. Blanchard is in the Torture Rack! Won't win anything for Luger in this but it'll hurt Blanchard. Blanchard grabs the cage to get free. The Horsemen start double teaming Luger again. They get him down and try to push him out the door. Luger grabs the ropes and powers them both off. They continue fighting by the door. Blanchard manages to save himself from nearly going out. Arn goes out onto the steps trying to drag Luger out, which is fine. Feet have to touch the floor to be eliminated. A push from Blanchard and all three of them tumble out to the floor! While that whole sequence was happening Dusty and Barbarian were over brawling in another part of the ring, and now they're the final two. Jones hands something to Barbarian through the cage. A weapon, finally? I guess it's knucks and he takes Dusty out with them. Barbarian hits the headbutt off the top rope. A second one hits. He drags Dusty over and tries to get him out of the door. Dusty grabs the cage side and fights him off. Back inside the ring Dusty hits a back elbow. He and Barbarian both climb the ropes. Headbutt from Barbarian. He tries to lift Dusty up over the cage. Dusty hits an elbow and lifts Barbarian up. Barbarian straddles the cage. Bionic elbow! Barbarian falls and dangles off the cage outside. Another elbow and Barbarian drops! To the absolute non-amazement of everyone Dusty Rhodes wins the Bunkhouse Stampede yet again. All you have to hear is the total lack of reaction from the crowd at the end of the match to know how that went. The trophy is a giant cowboy boot. That's fantastic. For the majority of this match it was leaning into the dreaded MINUS FIVE STARS territory, but the end run, particularly the Luger/Horsemen stuff, just barely saved it from that ignominy. DUD

 

As commentary does their close part of the crowd starts loudly chanting something. I'm almost positive it's "REFUNDS!". I think I see Hebner handing in his time card and flagging down a cab to take him straight to Titan Towers.

 

OVERALL SHOW THOUGHTS- Needing a big win after a very middle of the road Starrcade and falling more and more into debt after all their territory acquisitions, this was nothing less than an abject disaster for JCP. I can't imagine they made any new fans in the traditional WWF crowd with this either. After the Turner buyout later in the year old Bunkhouse Stampede was shipped out to the glue factory and never heard of again.

OVERALL SHOW GRADE: D-

 

version 2.0 published 8/6/26