2. The Blackjacks Implode
No Way Out Of Texas: In Your House - Feb.15.1998
Bradshaw vs Jeff Jarrett
NWA North American Championship Match
Pele. Madonna. Morrissey. Prince. Pop culture is littered with stars so iconic that they need only be referred to by one name and yet remain instantly recognisable and in January 1998 wrestling gained a new mononym in Bradshaw. No longer a Blackjack, a Hawk or a Justin, our man had settled on just one name that would define him for the vast majority of his career. The Blackjacks had broken up in January 1997 when Barry Windham did the unthinkable, turning on Bradshaw to join Jim Cornette's NWA Invasion, breaking the hearts of some Blackjack fans somewhere presumably.
The NWA invasion angle was a curious beast. WWF, keen to cash in on/rip off WCW's wild success with the NWO had first tried the Gang Wars - a hideous series of midcard feuds between some clones of established WWF stars - and when that bombed they presumably thought "why don't we do our own invasion angle but just change one of the letters?" and lo the NWA Invasion was born. It has to be said that the genesis of this angle, a series of impassioned addresses that Jim Cornette gave about the pitiful state of pro wrestling or "sports entertainment", were really awesome stuff and they showcase what a master of the mic Corny once was. Furious at the sleaze, silly gimmicks and adult themes present in the WWF Cornette launched a crusade to bring back "real" wrestling, prompting an invasion of some guys who were totally past it, Dan The Beast Severn as a fish out of water with 15 championship belts and Jeff Jarrett. It says something that Barry Windham saw this motley crew and thought that the grass looked greener than in the Blackjacks. As a kid I didn't know what was going on with this group or this feud at all really but I did think it was cool seeing these belts from a "rival" organisation appear on WWF TV, especially as Dan Severn had so many that Jim Cornette had to help him carry them to the ring
This whole deal is indicative of the weird stop-start pushes that Bradshaw was subjected to in the early part of his career. He was constantly talked about as a stud and so forth but rarely won, he was thrown together in various angles that went nowhere and whenever he was seemingly given some direction things tended to go weirdly off piste or be aborted. Bradshaw was betrayed by Barry Windham so on PPV he's wrestling...erm..Jeff Jarrett? Brad would have to wait until the 17th March Raw for his grudge match with Barry (Brad picking up the win in 3 minutes. An instant classic I'm sure). One final note on the New Blackjacks. Since we last heard of them at Survivor Series 1997, they had a sojourn to Japan to take part in the AJPW Real World Tag League, taking on the likes of Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi, Johnny Ace, Jun Akiyama, Hayabusa, Jinsei Shinzaki, Dr Death & Stan Hansen. Something I had never heard of until now though surely more significant than anything they achieved in their WWF tenure.
That's more than enough intro, so let's get down to brass tacks. Bradshaw has graduated from opening match to midcard attraction and after the awesome WWF Attitude promo Double J makes his way to the ring to some really weird music, wearing really weird attire, accompanied by a huge cadre of NWA dudes. It's Texas, it's the NWA and JR is in his element talking about history and Paul Boesch and Bradshaw being a big Texan and etc. Brad is still wearing the New Blackjacks gear and using the same entrance music which makes him look bush league but it worked for Roman Reigns and Bret Hart so what do I know.
JR is waxing lyrical about Bradshaw's football career as the angle going into this is that the NWA lads have been targeting Bradshaw's knee injury which saw him retire from the game. Before the match even begins Jimmy Korderas throws all of the NWA guys out and sends them to the back which begs the question as to why they even bothered coming out in the first place. The angle may not be the hottest thing ever but this is Bradshaw's first proper singles outing on PPV with no stupid gimmicks to get in the way so it's exciting to see how he fares. They're playing to Brad's strength straight away as he gives Double J a pasting on the outside before Bradshaw can even remove his chaps or his vest. He rolls Jarrett into the ring and takes off the chaps, whipping Double J with them which is quite possibly something that Bradshaw has innovated.
Bradshaw beats the piss out of Jarrett with clubs, boots, big chops. They do the classic spot where Bradshaw telegraphs a back body drop and Double J kicks him but Bradshaw just no sells it and blasts him with a big boot and a clothesline to the outside, before throwing up the bullhorns to the Texas crowd. Good babyface shine to start. On the outside Corny gets involved allowing Jarrett to take the initiative while JR and King bicker about the Southern states.
Jeff takes over with his every-shortcut-in-the-book offense, loads of chokes and taunts with Cornette getting involved. Cornette does a few choke spots on the ropes while Jarrett struts. Bradshaw no-sells Cornette's offense and chases him around until Jeff again cuts him off. JR talks about Cornette's history here in Houston with the Midnight Express and speculates that the tennis racket isn't actually a tennis racket but something more sinister and devastating.
Jeff attempts the same choke on the ropes spot followed by the Boss Man Attack but there's nobody home. Before Bradshaw can take advantage however Cornette whacks the aforementioned injured knee with the aforementioned sinister tennis racket, downing the big man. JR again puts over just how badly injured Bradshaw's knee is, saying he had four surgeries on it and then JR adds a great wrinkle, saying it was Barry Windham who betrayed Bradshaw's trust and revealed how badly hurt that knee was as he'd learned from travelling the road when the New Blackjacks were a team.
Jarrett is now fully in control, working the knee in preparation for the Figure Four, constantly cutting off Bradshaw's comebacks. It's basic stuff but the crowd are into it with loud "JAR-RETT SUCKS" chants. Bradshaw regains the initiative, taking Jeff up top and looking for a superplex but Jeff shoves him off. Jarrett looks for a cross body but Bradshaw catches Jeff "like a small child" as JR says and launches him with a Fall Away Slam - the first on this blog. "How strong is Bradshaw to do that!?" cries the King.
Bradshaw hits a nice powerbomb, again bullhorning the crowd and then he brings Cornette in the hard way (how come nobody does that anymore?) after Jimmy got himself up on the apron. Bradshaw whips Cornette into Jarrett and turns his attention to the manager. The distraction allows Jarrett to get the tennis racket however and he blasts Bradshaw, causing the DQ.
Post match Bradshaw grabs the tennis racket off of Jarrett and nails him. The Rock And Roll Express run in but Bradshaw rackets them for their trouble. Bradshaw corners Cornette slamming him and measuring him for the Clothesline From Hell. Barry Windham breaks my heart however, grabbing Bradshaw's leg as he hits the ropes and sparing Cornette from certain death. What I wouldn't give to have seen that connect.
Following the trip all the NWA lads swarm Bradshaw before the Legion of Doom hit the ring to clean house. The three babyfaces dare the heels to come back into the ring while JR points out how massive Bradshaw is even compared to the LOD. "Look at the size of Bradshaw ... he is one young, big monster!". He is fucking enormous it has to be said. His physique has improved as well, losing the flabby gut he had in his Justin Hawk days. Sadly this transfers the feud and the heat onto LOD rather than leading to a 6 man tag match which could have given us Road Warrior Bradshaw.
It's a shame about the fuck finish but a win is a win and that's our man's first ever PPV victory. Double J at this point was solid yet plodding but the crowd were hot which helped a lot in the stretches where Jeff was on top. They played to Bradshaw's strengths, with Jarrett controlling the pace of the match between big spots that showcased Bradshaw's power and size. It's nothing spectacular but it's decent, competent stuff.
RATING: 6/10
Win/Loss record: 1 - 3
WrestleMania 14 - Mar.29.1998
Bradshaw & Chainz vs The Legion of Doom vs Steve Blackman & Flash Funk vs Too Much vs The Rock N Roll Express vs The Truth Commission vs The Quebecers vs The Midnight Express vs Farooq & Kama vs Mark Henry & D'lo Brown vs The Headbangers vs The Disciples Of Apocalypse vs The Godwinns vs Los Boricuas
No.1 Contender Tag Team Battle Royal
Normal service has been resumed. After flirting with a proper midcard singles feud, WrestleMania 14 sees Bradshaw back in the curtain raiser and back in the tag team division. What an odd cast of characters it is in this match, none odder than the tandem of Bradshaw and Chainz. Quite why Chainz has teamed up with the big Texas cowboy even though his DOA stablemates are competing in the match is anyone's guess. I wasn't going to include this initially since I still aren't certain what to do with Battle Royals. It doesn't feel like there's a fair way to judge them really but as it's WrestleMania I thought I'd make an exception (a decision I would come to regret).
After an opening promo package which celebrates WrestleMania legends like Salt N Pepa and Lawrence Taylor, and insinuates that Vince McMahon Sr's ghost is somewhere watching, we go right to ringside where the Nation of Domination's Farooq & Kama are making their entrance. As JR informs us 14 of the 15 teams are already out and we are awaiting the "mystery team". The mystery team of course turn out to be the LOD to a massive pop - except, we're making a few changes. This is LOD 2000. Led to the ring by Sunny and now dressed like characters from Fallout, they have put aside the differences they were apparently having and are presumably now better than ever.
Once LOD are in the ring and remove their spikes everyone piles in and we get the above image which is used at the start of every Royal Rumble By The Numbers video package for some reason. The ring is absolutely packed with 30 guys in there so not a whole lot is going on other than everyone leaning against the ropes and exchanging punches. Bradshaw pairs off with Recon in the corner, on the side of the ring nearest the hard cam cos he's savvy. He even looks directly into the hard cam after chopping the future Bull Buchanan.
Savio Vega is the first man eliminated and that's the last we will ever see of him. The rules are that once one man is eliminated that means that the team is eliminated. Kurrgan lumbers to the ring and interferes, throwing Sniper over the top rope to eliminate the Truth Commission from the match. Seconds later Barry Windham also interferes, coming in to eliminate Chainz and therefore Bradshaw with him. Again a weird wrinkle in Bradshaw's storylines. Barry Windham is feuding with Bradshaw so when he interferes here he attacks Bradshaw's partner. Why not attack Bradshaw himself? Maybe Barry just couldn't find him.
Nothing of consequence happens as everyone stands around exchanging punches and people are chucked over the top. One high point comes when Mark Henry hits a Gorilla Press Slam on Brian Christopher. This is followed immediately by JR saying he doesn't know why Mark Henry is even in the ring anymore as D'lo has been eliminated which only makes it all the better. Mark is soon dispatched by Henry Godwinn chucking him through the middle ropes.
Things thin out but the remaining lads are content to carry on leaning on the ropes, exchanging punches and chokes. Eventually it comes down to LOD2000 vs The New Midnight Express. The Godwinns come back into the ring to assault LOD with their slop buckets. Even though we're down to two teams there's no action to speak of and its all leaning on the ropes still. Animal hits his big powerslam at one point which is genuinely the second actual wrestling move after Mark Henry's Gorilla Press. Awkward little double team sequence and then Hawk just clotheslines Bart Gunn out for the win. That's it. We don't even get the Doomsday Device. Should be noted though that Hawk and Animal are still over like rover and there's a huge LOD chant while they celebrate.
It's hard to imagine Vince McMahon Sr.'s ghost looking on and smiling proudly that his legacy is a match so devoid of action, we actually got a replay of Kurrgan doing a run in. The only good thing about this is Sunny.
RATING: DUD
Win/Loss record: 1 - 4
Over The Edge 1998 - May.31.1998
Bradshaw & Taka Michinoku vs Kaientai
3-on-2 Handicap Match
Nevermind that shit. This is one I was looking forward to the moment I started this insane project. Another day another random tag team partner for Bradshaw. Not entirely sure how this one came about other than Kaientai has been running around causing chaos and they've run afoul of Bradshaw at some point. The Kaientai squad of Men's Teioh, Sho Funaki and Dick Togo are out first with Yamaguchi-san as their manager. It's odd how guys in this blog keep popping up as oddly topical in 2020, with Dick Togo returning to screens last month in New Japan.
Taka and Bradshaw come out to Bradshaw's Lenny Kravitz music and they waste no time, rushing the ring and cleaning house. Bradshaw presses Taka overhead and launches him onto Kaientai on the outside, taking them all out. Taka lands on his feet and even decks Yamaguchi-san for good measure. Straight away this is off to a great start.
JR informs us this is a special bonus match that has come about as a result of Kaientai's "gang attacks". The match gets underway in earnest with Funaki and Taka squaring off. Funaki drops him with a dropkick, leading Taka to tag out but Kainetai all simply run away from Bradshaw and refuse to get into the ring with him. Taka tags back in opposite Men's Teioh. A brief exchange and again Bradshaw tags in sending Kaientai running. This time Bradshaw gives chase and King says it's like they're running from Godzilla, foreshadowing events yet to come for Bradshaw.
JR gives us Bradshaw's credentials, telling us he's in the best shape of his life at about 290 and that he was a 2 time all American. Taka and Dick are the legal men but things begin breaking down. Men's Teioh attempts a dive over the top to the outside on Bradshaw but Bradshaw catches him with ease and slams him, before Taka follows up with an Asai Moonsault to Funaki. Back in the ring Dick Togo hits a great wheelbarrow facebuster (which JR calls a "reverse powerbomb") on Taka and we're into the real meat of the match now as Kaientai begin building heat on Taka with quick tags and great offence.
Men's Teioh hits a nice butterfly suplex and Togo tags in and hits what is essentially the Whisper In The Wind. It's a far cry from the Godwinns doing quick tags to do kicks and punches. King is trying to prattle on about Sable but JR just ignores him, calling the action and King eventually gets pissed off and asks if his mic is working. There's simply too much going on in the ring for Lawler's bullshit.
Big double team elevated DDT from Teioh and Funaki gets 2 as Bradshaw comes in to make the save, stomping Teioh as he sells frustration at not being able to get into the match to help his mate Taka. "Bradshaw is a horse" exclaims JR which is, for some reason, a lot funnier than a "hoss". Perhaps a "horse" is a more refined version of the Hoss which is kind of my point with this blog. He doesn't just do sidewalk slams.
Kaientai remain in control as Togo hits a senton bomb and did Jeff Hardy just steal Dick Togo's moves? Funaki grabs a sleeper hold (now he's wrestling that WWF style) but the rest holds are short lived as Kaientai fold Taka up like a pretzel in a combo Boston Crab/Camel Clutch/Basement Dropkick, eliciting a "My God" from JR. Wonderful stuff.
Piledriver by Teioh and Kaientai again look for a double team. This time however Taka rallies, exploding with a couple of spinning wheel kicks and finally he gets the hot tag to Bradshaw. It is fucking awesome. Bradshaw is in his absolute element here. He looked big against Jeff Jarrett, against Kaientai he looks like a giant. They all try and rush him but he drops each of them with "big Texas boots". Funaki wraps up his legs while Teioh attempts a cross body to no avail, Bradshaw simply catching him and slamming him to the mat. Huge powerbomb to Funaki.
Togo gets a sneaky low blow on the monstrous cowboy and Kaientai form a human pyramid with him, as if they've just felled a giant or something
It matters not. Bradshaw just shrugs them all off and he destroys Funaki with a short clothesline, garnering an "OHHHH!" from the crowd. The coupe de grace comes when he blasts Men's Teioh with a fucking Tiger Suplex. Mr Bradshaw with this hot tag you are spoiling us.
The Tiger Suplex gets a 2 count with Togo breaking it up. Taka flies in to nail Togo with a missile dropkick and by now the crowd are eating up every second of this. Taka tags in with Bradshaw telling him it's time for the Michinoku Driver and he duly delivers, driving Togo down to the joy of the crowd. Kaientai break up the cover and things break down with all 5 men in the ring. In the melee Men's Teioh hits a big chokeslam on Taka and Togo comes off the top rope with a senton for the win.
What a match. They cut a great pace from the start, loads of great offence especially from the Kaientai lads and the way they kept their powder dry with Bradshaw not being in the match until he just comes in at the end and lays waste to everybody is masterful. The offence being used here is the sort of thing you just hadn't seen in WWF at this point. It's clear at the start of this that the crowd don't really give a shit but everything they do is so good that by the end they're loving it. Legal man syndrome at points but honestly it's so fast and so good you don't have time to care about it.
Easily the best match on the timeline so far. File it under hidden gem.
RATING: 7/10
Win/Loss record: 1 - 5
Thanks for reading. Join us next time where Bradshaw becomes a dastardly heel and strikes out on his own for all of one pay per view before forming yet another midcard tag team. This one might just stick around, though.
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