This was a free pack handed out at the entrance to the card show I reported on at Thorzul Will Rule. I believe that in 1991 I was probably at the tail end of my wrestling interest period. These WCW cards, I believe cover some of the territory during which the classic AWA and NWA franchises folded and morphed into the Ted Turner WCW enterprise. I could be all wrong on this, but that's OK, it's just wrestling.
Let's tear in.
Top Turnbuckle to Bottom Rope:
147 Doom (This is actually a tag team made up of Ron Simmons and Butch Reed. I remember "The Natural" Butch Reed from his WWF days, but have no memory of this team-up. They have Sting in a headlock. This is from the days before Sting changed his persona into a Crow ripoff.)
87 El Gigante (Back copy: "Those who disbelieve the existence of biblical Goliath will lose all skepticism once they lay eyes on El Gigante.")
55 Flyin' Brian (Hometown: Cinicnnati, Ohio)
111 Steiner Brothers (I remember these guys, big time. Rick Steiner was portrayed as being quasi-retarded, and he always wore his Michigan singlet and head gear into the ring. And this is what Scott looked like before he devoured a 55-gallon drum of steroids in one long, hectic weekend and changed into Big Poppa Pump.)
99 Ricky Morton (Ht: 5'9")
32 Sid Vicious (I think he got to the WWF eventually. Words to live by: "I'm no blonde, prima donna cutie pie.")
141 Doom (Again. "...you don't want to square off against these two without medical insurance.")
95 Tommy Rich (The back of his card lists his favorite hold as the "Thesz Press." I guess that would make him a disciple of wrestling pioneer Lou Thesz. It's embarrassing that I would know that.)
78 Dutch Mantel (You're going to have to wait until next Card-vent to see this one.)
125 Fabulous Freebirds (Michael "P.S." Hayes' hometown is listed as Badstreet, USA. What a crock. I was doing some reading on wrestling this summer, and some research indicated that Haku was probably the meanest wrestler of all time. He reportedly gouged out the eye of Jimmy Jack Funk during a backstage brawl. More on this here, if you're so inclined. Tonga Fifita (his real name) and Bad News Brown could have shown these two what real tough guys were like.)
22 Lex Luger (Who doesn't remember this guy?)
154 Jim Ross (Commentator, and apparently still at it.)
Not a bad stroll down Memory Lane. To get this I bypassed a rack pack of 1990 Donruss, and I must say that this sure beats getting that Ed Whitson Diamond King for the millionth time.
If you want in on a cheap group break, check this out. Spots are still available.
Other sport connections from this pack.....
ReplyDelete1. Ron Simmons of Doom finished 9th in the 1979 Heisman balloting as a defensive lineman. He's been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. No word on whether his induction was accomplished at the threat of a vicious bodyslam.
2. Flyin' Brian Pillman played special teams for the Bengals. Died of a heart condition in 1997. As can be said for most of these guys, admitted steroid user.
3. Lex Luger -- before he killed Miss Elizabeth with drugs (allegedly) Larry Pfohl played on the 1979 University of Miami team with Jim Kelly and logged some time in the CFL. He has turned his life around, so I shouldn't rag on his so much. See http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?id=3016179
4. El Gigante was Argentinian Jorge Gonzalez who was an Atlanta Hawk draft choice in 1988. When he couldn't make it there, Ted Turner moved him from the Hawks to WCW.
Hey! I was going to post the Atlanta Hawks thing! He couldn't play basketball worth a damn, I'm not sure if he was much better as a wrestler. HE sure was good at being huge though.
ReplyDeleteWCW was the good ol' boys southern promotion out of Atlanta, so you probably got a healthy weekend diet of WCW back in the day. My nephew and I used to collect these back in the day; he mailed me the Brian Pillman one when he died.
ReplyDeleteAnd Sid is apparently still hoping the phone rings with Vince on the other end. Even at 50ish, he's still an absolute beast.
I don't think I can wait a whole year to see "Dirty" Dutch Mantel from Oil Trough, Texas. Does the card show an action shot with Dutch using his whip?
ReplyDeleteBeing a die hard WCW mark I about jumped out of my seat when I saw this post. Thank you! God I miss Nitro...
ReplyDeleteSid was in the WWF/E twice and the WCW 3 times, as well as a few other wrestling promotions. He's still going at it, almost 8 years after breaking his leg during a match. (There's probably a video of it on Youtube, but it ain't pretty.)
ReplyDelete