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NWA Territories

3K views 16 replies 11 participants last post by  Ghost Lantern 
#1 ·
I want to watch all possible things about NWA territories? What have I to watch? TV show or single feuds /matches? What are the NWA territories that I have to watch? Thanks
 
#2 ·
1986 Jim Crockett Promotions is probably the best wrestling promotion and wrestling year that I have ever seen. As far as territories in general I would recommend Mid Atlantic(which is basically Jim Crockett), early 1980s Georgia Championship Wrestling, World Class Championship Wrestling and the Memphis territory.

Also, I think the AWA is another treasure gem. (especially late 70s to mid 80s)
 
#4 ·
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzKMa9zvx4rQn7-TPewu6zQ/videos

There's a lot of Mid-South Wrestling available on this channel that I've been binge watching lately. Recently they also put up some of the best of the Four Horsemen and the best of the Fabulous Freebirds DVDs as well. I'd actually suggest finding a way to download these for yourself off YouTube even, because I could see this channel getting taken down if some of this footage is copyrighted.

Hope this helps.
 
#6 · (Edited)
Here are some matches to get started with:

1953, MADISON SQUARE GARDEN
NATURE BOY BUDDY ROGERS VS JOHNNY VALENTINE (Greg V.'s dad)


NWA WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH, 1950, CHICAGO AMPHITHEATRE
LOU THESZ VS. NATURE BOY BUDDY ROGERS

Check out the last two minutes of this video for one of the best flying moves you will ever see.
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NWA UNITED STATES HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH, CHICAGO AMPHITHEATRE, circa mid-1950s
VERNE GAGNE VS. DICK "THE BRUISER" AFFLIS
 
#7 ·
1986 Jim Crockett Promotions is probably the best wrestling promotion and wrestling year that I have ever seen. As far as territories in general I would recommend Mid Atlantic(which is basically Jim Crockett), early 1980s Georgia Championship Wrestling, World Class Championship Wrestling and the Memphis territory.

Also, I think the AWA is another treasure gem. (especially late 70s to mid 80s)

I don't know if Mid-Atlantic in 86' is the best overall, because I haven't seen everything from that year, but at the very least it's in the top 5 from what I've seen. Mid-Atlantic in 86' is really what wrestling is all about, IMO. Wrestling was still protected enough and presented as legitimate, so it always felt like real stakes where on the line, while it wasn't SO protected that the matches weren't exciting, the characters were still over the top and entertaining, just all around it was the sweet spot for wrestling.

Here is the best stuff from Mid Atlantic in the 1980's and WCW in the early 90's that I think you need to make priority viewing:

1. The Ricky Steamboat/Jay Youngblood vs Sgt. Slaughter/Don Kernoodle tag team titles feud, culminating in the unbelievable cage match in Greensboro, which is one of the top 5 best tag matches I've ever witnessed. This entire feud was booked damn near perfectly, you simply HAVE to see it.

2. The Rock n Roll Express vs The Fourhorsemen (Ole and Arn mostly) feud that culminates in another fabulous cage match for the tag titles, this time at Starrcade 86'.

3. The Tully Blanchard vs Magnum TA feud. I can't say it definitively, but off the top of my head this MIGHT just be the best singles feud ever done in Mid Atlantic, maybe the best feud PERIOD. It was that good. Real life animosity, Magnum was married to Tully's ex-wife and raising Tully's kids, mixed with picture perfect booking and incredible realistic/brutal matches make this one of the best feuds of all time. The blowoff, an I Quit Cage match at Starrcade 85', is one of the top 5 matches of that entire decade and one of the top 10-15 best matches I've ever seen. Needs to be seen to be believed.

4. Ricky Steamboat vs Ric Flair, THE iconic feud of the era along with Dusty/Flair, these two feuded on and off from the late 70's, all the way through the 80's and into the early 90's, and you won't find a single match that isn't good, if not GREAT. Don't need to spill anymore ink, if you know wrestling you've heard of the legendary Steamboat/Flair feud/matches and know what kind of magic you are in store for.

5. Midnight Express vs The Fantastics; Midnight Express vs Rock n Roll Express, Midnight Express vs The Road Warriors. For my money the greatest tag team of all time is the midnight express. Whether it was the Eaton/Condrey or Eaton/Lane iteration, they were the gold standard as far as tag teams go. For the best matches, go with their Fantastics feud. For sheer pandemonium, incredibly heat, and iconic matches go with the Rock n Roll feud. For big time, big money, rock the house matches go with the Road Warriors feud. Or better yet watch them all, and throw in the Midnight Express vs Southern Boys GAB 90' match, as that's my 2nd favorite tag match ever.

6. Dusty Rhodes vs Ric Flair. To put it simply, the best mic work done in the history of wrestling was in this feud. The matches are all very solid, but man on man the wrestling is totally secondary to the characters involved, Dusty can throw 1 punch and have it give you chills, that's how good he was. Again, I don't need to spill anymore ink over this, if you know wrestling you know the biggest feud of the 80's was Flair vs Rhodes. Must watch for any wrestling fan.

7. Ricky Steamboat/Jay Youngblood vs Briscoe Brothers. As good as the Slautghter/Kernoodle feud, this matches right up with it, only instead of blood soaked brawls they worked technically perfect, psychology heavy tags that were every bit as exciting and enjoyable. The Briscoe's were just vile, evil people, it's amazing to watch how much heat they could get doing such simple things.

8. Ric Flair vs Terry Funk. My 2 favorite Flair matches of all time were with the Funker, here he was middle aged and crazy, bat shit crazy, and also probably the best heel in the history of wrestling. The Funker is in my opinion the best wrestler ever, while Flair is #2 . That tells you all you need to know, when the best and 2nd best ever, in both of their primes, collided for a magical feud at the end of the 1980's.

Let me know if you need any more recs :)
 
#8 ·
Do you know where I can watch stuff like this? For example I want to watch some Mid South from 95-96 (full shows) but I can't find them at all...the other day I watched an Arn Anderson promo and I was fascinated, so I want to get into old school wrestling :laugh:
 
#10 ·
I also recommend Central States and St. Louis Wrestling also. Especially St. Louis, they brought in Flair, the Von Erichs, Bruiser Brody, Ken Patera, and others.

Also, if you can find it check out Championship Wrestling from Florida, especially from the early to mid 80s. Must-see is the feud between Dusty Rhodes and Kevin Sullivan.
 
#14 ·
NWAClassics.com is really awesome but he was asking for full TV shows which isn't what the site is. It's arena matches from Paul Boesch's Houston Wrestling at the Sam Houston Coliseum. Really awesome matches though with the vast majority of the big stars of the 80s having at least 1 or 2 matches up already.
 
#15 · (Edited)
Well you could forget all of this advice and find Memphis/CWA from 1982.

Then you would have the single most entertaining promotion and year.


You get

Kaufman vs Lawler

Jim Cornette, JJ Dillon and Jimmy Hart leading heel stables

Rookie Kimala, Midnight Express first appearance (Condrey, Rose, Austin), Iron Sheik, Fabulous Ones debut, Ron Bass, Jimmy Valiant, Bobby Eaton, Bill Dundee, Dutch Mantell, Kendo Nagasaki, Terry Taylor, Koko Ware, Jaques Rougeau, Ricky Morton, Tojo Yamamoto, One Man Gang, Tommy Rich, Dream Machine, Steve Regal, Luke Graham, Adrian Street, Bobby Fulton, Jesse Barr, Robert Gibson, The Sheepherders.

Lawler feuds with Bockwinkel and Flair.

And all that Memphis storytelling combined with actual talent, and brawlers.

No matter how many people try to dismiss Memphis they all understand Memphis was ahead of it's time.
 
#16 ·
Well you could forget all of this advice and find Memphis/CWA from 1982.

Then you would have the single most entertaining promotion and year.


You get

Kaufman vs Lawler

Rookie Jim Cornette

JJ Dillon and Jimmy Hart leading heel stables

Rookie Kimala, Midnight Express first appearance, Iron Sheik, Fabulous Ones debut, Ron Bass, Stan Lane, Jimmy Valiant, Bobby Eaton, Bill Dundee, Dutch Mantell, Terry Taylor, Koko Ware, Jaques Rougeau, Ricky Morton, Tojo Yamamoto, One Man Gang, Tommy Rich, Adrian Street, Jesse Barr, Robert Gibson, The Sheepherders.

Lawler feuds with Bockwinkel and Flair.

And all that Memphis storytelling combined with actual talent, and brawlers.
Ron Bass was one of my favorite wrestling characters. Also, was Robert Gibson's brother in Memphis? I seemed to remember that he tagged with his brother in Portland???
 
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