Jim Crockett should've reminded J.J. and Tully that if the Horsemen backed out of Starcade they would all be stripped of their respective titles and the titles would be up for grabs at Starcade.
One of the best pops and shocks in wrestling. Still one of the best shocks with Nikita coming out with Dusty after Magnum T.A.'s crash.Hogan on his best day couldn't create a pop like this.
Do you ever notice how fans always compare everyone & everything to Hulk Hogan????? The answer of course is that Hogan is the measuring stick in Pro-Wrestling and believe you me nobody measures up!!!!
Ole was still kinda fresh cause Nikita wouldn't let him back in the ring Arn was there and Ric Flair even Tully Blanchard they had the advantage why they didn't get into the cage?I forgot Dusty had that cast on his arm he would have cold kocked each and everyone of them if they would have came into the ring.LOL!!!!
Look how Nikita sold it, staying back a few seconds to make fans wonder if whose side he was on. Then when he started helping Dusty, the place went nuts. I remember watching this and thinking 'Holy Crap' Great booking by Dusty
This clip is another reason why 1980s NWA > 2011 WWE. There's no way, NO WAY, Vince McMahon's "Creative Team" can book something like this on the fly the way Dusty Rhodes did back then, because they script EVERYTHING.
@darrinbaker00 I second that. Big Dust did take a bad situation and make it a plus really quick. None of Vince's so called high powered writers couldn't outbook Big Dust on their best days.
@speedbuggy The NWA started coming on TV in Philly in 84. I only remember it from then. I've seen some of the earlier stuff on YouTube. That stuff was just as special also.
@darrinbaker00 Based on 2011 WWE, I think its obvious Vince isn't as big of a genius as people think. He may have marketing sense but he always had good bookers like George Scott, Jerry Jarrett, JJ Dillon, Paul Heyman and Pat Patterson and he had amazing talent like CM Punk (the best thing in that company) Steve Austin, and The Rock who got themselves over. Vince has no idea how to make a good show anymore. Hopefully, Triple H knows how to when he takes over.
This was tthe loudest crowd reaction I've ever heard ......This still gives me chills 25 years later...I remember seeing this and almost falling out of my chair....This was real emotion andshows the power of good storylines
@Simplyphenomenal07 LOL yeah right, As if women would EVER cheer for Bald Nikita Koloff. This must have been mostly if not all guys, of varying ages that cheered here when Nikita turned face. women never cheered for Nikita as a face or heel, he had barely any female fans, if at all. Also remember most of the audience was male maybe 70%-80%. So probably no female fans cheering for Nikita. I mean a totally bald guy getting female fans back then in the 80's?? no way!!!!
D We all believe our wrestling was better.... I beleive that every generation of wrestling was better than this crappy generation, but don't act like our generation didn't have its flaws. For every Superpowers formation there was a Dusty finish or NWA World Champion Ron Garvin blackeye mark on our sport.
the funny thing about the promo is that JJ Dillon was having surgery for his eyes. That is why his eyes where black!!! LOL. No chance wrestling can every come back like this. DAMN INTERNET!!!
As much as I liked this angle,one part always puzzled me about the Horsemen's boycott threat.Flair was signed to defend the NWA title against an opponent yet to be named.Wouldn't no-showing Starcade be a contract violation and possibly result in him being stripped of the belt?Did it really make sense storyline-wise for Flair to risk everything to help Tully get the TV Title back?
@RSXemperor Some other I would add are Lex Luger & Barry Windham beating Arn and Tully for the NWA tag titles at the first Clash of Champions, when Undertaker returned at Unforgiven in 2000 and when Steve Austin returned at No Way Out in 2003.
@detchuck You are a decade off my friend. The Attitude era happened 10 years later, and they did that because the WWF couldn`t compete with WCW and the NWO angle. Ric Flair, in all his time in the NWA could not save it. But when Hulk Hogan came to WCW, HE DID SAVE IT and even was instrumental in making it better for 2 years along with Hall, Nash and others.
starrcade 87 was a piece of crap being held in chicago instead of greensboro ( there was a small house show with the main event ivan koloff vs mighty wilbur then break your neck trying to watch starrcade on the screen the last 2 big things crockett had was the clash with sting vs flair and steamboat winning the title from flair
@pattersongrove Well Koloffs Popularity would not last long, remember just a few months after this the fans started cheering more for his opponents the Horsemen then they did him. Like if you saw Koloffs matches with Luger for example, the crowd in every match, cheered more for Luger. When Luger beat Nikita for the US title, the fans in the arena erupted in cheers for Luger. I mean all the ladies obviously were cheering for Luger.
Don,t get me wrong I was a big crockett fan but alot of things went wrong after 86 crockett buys central states and florida then bill watts,s uwf and totally ruins it Dibasie goes to wwf one man gang drops the title to bubba they made the freebirds and steve williams a joke the best thing they got was sting and jim ross
the crowd reaction was ridiculous!! everyone ..EVERYONE was on their feet the whole time...ready to jump in the ring if they could!! now that's believable....!!!
awesome fued the road warrior with dusty andnikita against the horseman..wrestling ruled back then..lucky they have wwe classics on demand to relive all this
A follow-up to one of my previous posts: Magnum and Jim Garvin blew off their feud right before Magnum's accident. Garvin was then put into a program with Brad Armstrong. The work was that Garvin was making Magnum out to be gay because he said that Magnum wanted to have a "friendly" wrestling match. I guess that Crockett had to find a counter to Adorable Adrian Adonis in WWE.
This is great for the subtle things like Dusty never looking back so you have to wonder if he is aware that Nikita is behind him or not especially considering the buildup going into this match beforehand
Loudest pop in history, hogan on his best day can't touch this crowd reaction. Dillion and Blanchard do an excellent job in the promo--to all Cena and Orton fans, THIS is what passion and intensity in your words is all about, make me believe you're upset, don't tell me you're mad, make me feel it.
@bishopeod What Mad e The Four Horsemen The Best was the fact that you had 4 Great Wrestlers who could all do great interviews and great promos. You cannot compare today's wrestlers to these guys. The WWE does not have them do promos for every show in every city like they used to. The only promos they really do now is for the Pay Per Views and the next televised event.
With my understanding If magnum hadn,t of been in a car wreck they were gonna put the world title on him @ starrcade 86 this would,ve put a hurtin on hogan and the wwf they really had no choice but to make nikita a face I believe this was the birth of crockett going down hill
@pattersongrove You're probably right. From what I heard, the best-of-seven series between Magnum and Nikita during the Great American Bash tour was done to give Nikita credibility and then the US title, freeing up Magnum to go after Ric Flair and become NWA champion.
@bishopeod it's sad that you'll probably never see an era of wrestling like this again. i remember how Lance Storm mentioned that the 80's wrestling was driven by emotion rather than just moves and Bobby Heenan mentioned that the game is now up. everything now is just so....contrived.
@bishopeod No the largest pop in history probably was The Great American Bash 1987--war Games The Match Beyond:: The Road Warriors, Precious Paul Ellering and The Superpowers vs. The Four Horsemen and James J .Dillon.
@JuliusC1973 Actually the biggest pop I think was when Lex Luger beat Nikita Koloff to win the US title at the 1987 Great American Bash. I remember the place exploded in cheers as the whole crowd cheered for Lex!! They loved it when Lex won the US title in a dominating match against baldy.
@bishopeod: I agree this is one heck of a pop. And that's one of the things that I loved about the old NWA. But in reference to Hulk Hogan, he got a phenomenal response in Canada when he "hulked out" during his match with the Rock at Wrestlemania 18. The crowd and the atmosphere was UN-real!
@nomar06mvp ....Guess I'm guilty as charged. It's not that I think "my" wrestling was better. But there was more substance to it then. Think about the length of time champions held their titles. Longevity added prestige to the title and the champion. Plus the build up to a feud and pending title match was bigger (see above video). I won't say my wrestling is better. But for the sake of a newer generation of fans, they don't know what they're missing....
@bishopeod No pop can touch Hogan at Wrestlemania 3. Sorry. However this is still a classic, though I always thought it could've been executed better. Like, not having Nikita and Dusty coming down the aisle together.
@ASBNews come on, i remember this like it was 10 minutes ago. no one was expecting for nikita to walk down the aisle with dusty. this was totally unexpected and couldn't have been more exciting.
@ASBNews Perhaps the fact it was 90,000 people compared to maybe 10,000. God, Hogan's match with Andre at Wrestlemania 3 is the worst "classic" match ever.
@Chrisdrumz Keep in mind, Andre's body was starting to break down back then. He sat out most of 1986 after having back surgery, and began wearing a singlet in the ring to hide the back brace he now wore.
Al Snow recently said that everybody says Savage-Steamboat was the greatest match at WM 3, and that they're all wrong. He says the greatest match that day was Hogan vs. Andre - because it drew the most money. I see his point, but ...
@TheJohnnyCotts Steamboat/Savage was a classic, but the new generation of fans that Hogan/Andre drew also became fans of Steamboat/Savage that same night. If Steamboat/Savage truly stole the show, then people would have begun leaving after their match was done.
@Derby14 Yeah it was, but Hogan and Andre wrestled in front of 90,000 fans. This is a house show in front of probably 5,000 or so fans. You can't find me any other organization that could make 5,000 fans pop like that. JCP was the best, most exciting wrestling of all-time.
Without a doubt one of the greatest moments in pro wrestling. There is not a single wrestler today that come close to the talent that Dusty Rhodes, Nikita Koloff, or Ole Anderson had. I miss those days.
dusty cast did not do that he had plastic surgery that he was secudaled for before this match he used the scars and the cast to say dusty did it to him that was priceless. the good old days if I remeber correctly this took place at what is now the Bogangles colusium that used to be the Charlotte Colusium back in the day sorry about the spelling
i remember that moment it was classic. the NWA has always been my favorite wrestling i prefer to watch the old NWA clips anytime instead of wwf new ones.
It happened already when the NWO Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall just after forming the NWO beat the shit out of the Horsemen. The Crowd loved it!!Scott Hall Razors Edged Arn Anderson, Kevin Nash Jacknifed I think Flair or Benoit and Hulk Hogan took out Steve "Mongo" McMicheal. I think there was someone else with NWO then, but I forgot who.
this was one of the best face turns ever--NOBODY saw this coming...Koloff was scary back then, he was a MONSTER heel....no one would've thought he would team with Dusty
this was maybe the greatest week in pro wrestling. horsemen jump dusty,magnum gets in car accident,nikita joins dusty.i have never seen anything like that again! today's stuff is boring and has no suspence.
LOVE IT...LOVE IT...LOVE IT. This was one of the most shocking moments in wrestling history.... back then, you didn't see a "turn" comming as you do today. But this was all the more shocking as far as storylines cause Dusty/Magnum was at war with the Russians before TA's accident, and the notion that Ivan had such a tight hold on Nikkita, this was totally unexpected. Ric played it well at the end setting up their match at Starcade
Only when Koloff teamed up with those other faces, did Koloff get really cheered. If you notice in Nikitas individual matches, most of the crowd especially women were cheering the other guy even when Nikita Koloff was a face. Only whyen Koloff teamed up with someone else, did they cheer him more, but even there it wasn't that much.
I do not know business or even the wrestling biz,but I read somewhere that Davids overbookings caught up with him! He could have been in Vinces place today if he would have had the smarts! I wish he would have!!
I don't know. If Vladimir Kozlov came to the the Bash Pay Per View and jumped into the ring during the Randy Orton vs. Triple H Match, Fans would not know who he was there to help or to hurt.
This is 110% accurate. Why would Nikita calmly walk all the way down to the ring 5 feet behind Dusty. Nikita should have started running in just as Dusty got to the door. He could have had Ole and JJ hold Dusty, and BAM, he nails Ole and then JJ, saving Dusty. By the time they got to the ring, 80% of the crowd knew he was there to help Dusty, they just didn't pop and show the approval till Nikita jumped in and nailed Ole.
I agree with your idea 100% but with that crowd I'm not sure anyone could have run down to that ring without someone getting hurt. It would have been cool though.
It was not a bike accident. Magnum TA wrapped his Porsche around a telephone polle, he almost died and never wrestled ever again. Yes, Jim Crockett, Jr. and the American Dream took a chance turning one of their best heels into a face, but it worked.
actually jj said in a shoot interview that it was to lift some bags from under his eyes, which is why his eyes looked so bruised and swollen, if it had been his nose youd have to think there be bandages on the nose instead
In contrast with someone like Goldberg, who is one of my favourites, Goldberg brought a certain new dimension into the ring with his presence and his dominance. Goldberg was able to appeal to fans more.
Yeah like even as a face, only some fans actually cheered for him. Most fans in his matches were cheering for the heel. From his matches with Ric Flair, Lex Luger, Terry Taylor or Arn Anderson etc.
demands what you mean by that. I mean if you go by the reaction at the moment of him turning face, it was big. But afterwards, he didn't really do much for the fans and he continued to get bood alot of the times, or atleast have his oponents be cheered for more when he was facing them as face.They had to make him a heel again because he didn't have enough fans to cut it as a true face.
I think Dusty was the booker back then ; say what you want but he did some great turns for that group. I was in Baltimore 2 years later when they had Ron Garvin do a similar turn against Dusty. That was a great pop also; no one saw it coming.
I haven't seen this since it aired about 25 years ago!!! What's so funny is the bandage and "scars" JJ had to "carry" (i.e. the bruising around his eyes and bandage above his nose) were REAL due to a "nip and tuck" surgery he had the day before! He was interviewed a couple of years ago and said he had surgery to remove the bags from his eyes, and played it up like it was what "Dusty did to him in the cage." This brings back memories from the 1980s.
If you listen to the crowd reaction its amazing! The southern wrestling fans in the 1980s support the NWA great. crowds from Atlanta to Chicago had crazy fans in big numbers.
This was probably the most shocking face turn ever, IMO. They were supposed to start Magnum, T.A.'s run to the NWA Title at the TV tapings the night after his accident, so JCP had to come up with some things fast. For instance, Ron Garvin's program with Nikita was dropped and he was paired with Big Bubba Rogers (Ray Traylor). Jim Garvin, who had been feuding with Magnum, was paired with Brad Armstrong. Those were 2 other notable effects of the accident. Sad.
I believe one of the main reasons is J.J. actually has some cosmetic surgery done. The bruising on his face in this video is real but it was from the surgery so they wrote this into an angle.
this is what makes good,no..legendary wrestling:MOMENTS. pivotal moments that change the face of the game 4ever. this was one of those moments. u can ask the question where were u when nikita turned good? this marks the first EVER russian face in pro wrestling. on another note,they opened up a can of whupass on jj,damn.
This happened on the ONE Saturday that I missed NWA Wrestling! I remember my friends at school told me that Nikita turned good and I was like "no way!" Glad to finally get to see this.
heard jj on world wrestling insanity's website say that he was looking to have plastic surgery to remove some bags under his eyes and came up with the idea of letting dusty attack him with the cast to fit his operation into the story line, so the scars are real but not because of the cast
This was one of the biggest mark-out moments of my youth. The Crocketts surely had lightning in a bottle back then. I have been waiting for someone to post this for quite a while. Got me thinking what were the other huge face turns of that time?
Wow Tully......cocaine much?
randal2477 4 days ago
Hey, Tully....Herb Tarlek wants his sportcoat back!
pauliewalnutsism 1 week ago
Jim Crockett should've reminded J.J. and Tully that if the Horsemen backed out of Starcade they would all be stripped of their respective titles and the titles would be up for grabs at Starcade.
donn409 1 month ago
Am I the first to notice that, at 2:08, it sounds like Crockett said "Let's show you f*gs why they're so upset"?
linesinaconversation 4 months ago in playlist Good face turns
@linesinaconversation Ha ha! It does sound like that's what he said. Think he meant 'fans' though. Nice catch.
redneckvideogamer 2 months ago
One of the best pops and shocks in wrestling. Still one of the best shocks with Nikita coming out with Dusty after Magnum T.A.'s crash.Hogan on his best day couldn't create a pop like this.
Mrslammie 5 months ago
One of the best pops and shocks in wrestling. Still one of the best shocks with Nikita coming out with Dusty after Magnum T.A.'s crash.
Mrslammie 5 months ago
@Mrslammie yeah the way they played it people didnt know if nikita was going to jump dusty or join him. Nice
pazios2002 4 months ago
Was it just me, or did anyone else hear the cash register going off in Dusty's head at 4:28?
darrinbaker00 6 months ago
Do you ever notice how fans always compare everyone & everything to Hulk Hogan????? The answer of course is that Hogan is the measuring stick in Pro-Wrestling and believe you me nobody measures up!!!!
hunkallgood73 6 months ago
Ole was still kinda fresh cause Nikita wouldn't let him back in the ring Arn was there and Ric Flair even Tully Blanchard they had the advantage why they didn't get into the cage?I forgot Dusty had that cast on his arm he would have cold kocked each and everyone of them if they would have came into the ring.LOL!!!!
MrStover007 6 months ago
JJ deserved it!!!
SallyLulu885 6 months ago
Dusty beat the shit out of JJ.
belldn3 7 months ago
he ran the executive committe
winfir0 7 months ago
Between this and the War Games matches he was in, I think JJ Dillon's only real job in WCW was to get the crap beat out of him.
jliller 7 months ago
- Good ol down-South wrasslin'.
It's like waking up in the morning to the smells and sight of fresh, buttered biscuits, bacon and eggs, grits and fresh-squeezed OJ
smoothpants 7 months ago
Look how Nikita sold it, staying back a few seconds to make fans wonder if whose side he was on. Then when he started helping Dusty, the place went nuts. I remember watching this and thinking 'Holy Crap' Great booking by Dusty
RayNDeere 7 months ago
This clip is another reason why 1980s NWA > 2011 WWE. There's no way, NO WAY, Vince McMahon's "Creative Team" can book something like this on the fly the way Dusty Rhodes did back then, because they script EVERYTHING.
darrinbaker00 8 months ago
@darrinbaker00 I second that. Big Dust did take a bad situation and make it a plus really quick. None of Vince's so called high powered writers couldn't outbook Big Dust on their best days.
SulMonee 7 months ago
@SulMonee The thing I like most about it is the simplicity of it all. No music, no pyro, just two guys walking to the ring, and the fans went NUTS.
darrinbaker00 7 months ago
@darrinbaker00 Definitely! THat was the beauty of the NWA from 84-88. You could tell a story with no extra stuff. All substance!
SulMonee 6 months ago
@SulMonee Just 84-88? What about the entire 1980's & even earlier?
speedbuggy 5 months ago
@speedbuggy The NWA started coming on TV in Philly in 84. I only remember it from then. I've seen some of the earlier stuff on YouTube. That stuff was just as special also.
SulMonee 5 months ago
@darrinbaker00 Based on 2011 WWE, I think its obvious Vince isn't as big of a genius as people think. He may have marketing sense but he always had good bookers like George Scott, Jerry Jarrett, JJ Dillon, Paul Heyman and Pat Patterson and he had amazing talent like CM Punk (the best thing in that company) Steve Austin, and The Rock who got themselves over. Vince has no idea how to make a good show anymore. Hopefully, Triple H knows how to when he takes over.
RSXemperor85 5 months ago
in the 80´s Wrestling was on his real Prime. God i miss this Time.
L0wki 8 months ago
This was one of the biggest face turns in pro wrestling history...damn I miss the old Jim Crockett Promotions!
blacklionSM 8 months ago 3
This is this is pro wrestling at its best
jnmeeks 9 months ago
Damn! This is classic stuff! LOVE IT!
cuban252 10 months ago
Dillon said he had a face lift, that why had the black eyes.
mrbluto3 11 months ago 4
@mrbluto3 That is correct. He had surgery done on his eyelids because has JJ put it, they started to get a little droopy
bilskie1 2 months ago
Comment removed
bturner20 11 months ago
It was just as loud when Hogan showed up on American Idol, over 20 years after his prime
Shockage 11 months ago
I LOVE TO SEE NIKITA VS HOGAN & YES IN JAPAN!!!!!!
toressm 1 year ago
This was tthe loudest crowd reaction I've ever heard ......This still gives me chills 25 years later...I remember seeing this and almost falling out of my chair....This was real emotion andshows the power of good storylines
jajvick 1 year ago 2
THIS is the most shocking face/heel turn of all time because NO ONE, and I mean NO ONE saw it coming.
chrisz31974 1 year ago 4
great angle.
however, after watching alot of old JCP videos dating back to the early 80's
this would have been the ideal time for Roddy Piper to return as the top face.
imagine Flair vs. Piper at Starcade
it would have been a perfect time for Valentine and Steamboat to return as well. Valentine could have replaced Ole
gannable 1 year ago
@gannable ---yeah everyone wanted Valentine to come back and replace Ole. He would have been the perfect fit.
goodekj 1 year ago
a loud pop, but this was mostly women and children by the sound of it.
Simplyphenomenal07 1 year ago
@Simplyphenomenal07 LOL yeah right, As if women would EVER cheer for Bald Nikita Koloff. This must have been mostly if not all guys, of varying ages that cheered here when Nikita turned face. women never cheered for Nikita as a face or heel, he had barely any female fans, if at all. Also remember most of the audience was male maybe 70%-80%. So probably no female fans cheering for Nikita. I mean a totally bald guy getting female fans back then in the 80's?? no way!!!!
xhemexx 1 year ago 3
@xhemexx Lol i guess but the pop wasnt the typical male pop so thats why i thought it was children and women.
Simplyphenomenal07 1 year ago
D We all believe our wrestling was better.... I beleive that every generation of wrestling was better than this crappy generation, but don't act like our generation didn't have its flaws. For every Superpowers formation there was a Dusty finish or NWA World Champion Ron Garvin blackeye mark on our sport.
angelgu323 1 year ago
As a kid I jumped up and down in my living room when I saw this..
nomar06mvp 1 year ago
the funny thing about the promo is that JJ Dillon was having surgery for his eyes. That is why his eyes where black!!! LOL. No chance wrestling can every come back like this. DAMN INTERNET!!!
msehmi3 1 year ago
Why did Nikita come out with Dusy? Wouldn't this have made more sense is Dusty was having his ass kicked and Nikita saved him?
muta157 1 year ago
As much as I liked this angle,one part always puzzled me about the Horsemen's boycott threat.Flair was signed to defend the NWA title against an opponent yet to be named.Wouldn't no-showing Starcade be a contract violation and possibly result in him being stripped of the belt?Did it really make sense storyline-wise for Flair to risk everything to help Tully get the TV Title back?
bull705 1 year ago
I was the referee of this and one more match afterwards. It was absolutely deafening in the arena. Loudest pop ever!
dewaynecullen 1 year ago
@dewaynecullen You are Tommy Young?
muta157 1 year ago
Nikita was the shit,
joebill1974 1 year ago
Koloff turning was amazing. though i feel bad for magnum.
but if you seriously think "hogan on his best day cant get a pop like this", you'r stupid or mad.
hogan got louder pops on his worse day. & atleast 50 superstars got bigger pops than this
sayanroy36 1 year ago
Props to bishopeod.......no passion at all with wrestling these days....
leche1230 1 year ago
Man I still get goose bumps watching this old NWA!!!!
jamoes95ta 1 year ago
when wrestling was great before the internet and all the idiots giving away secrets...before vince destroyed wrestling forever!
jthek69 1 year ago 2
Loudest Pops:
1) Mankind wins the WWF Title from the Rock/Steve Austin interferes
2) Davey Boy beats Bret Hart at SS 92'
3) Goldberg beats Hogan
4) Flair beats Ronnie Garvin to become 5 time champ
5) This
RSXemperor 1 year ago
@RSXemperor Some other I would add are Lex Luger & Barry Windham beating Arn and Tully for the NWA tag titles at the first Clash of Champions, when Undertaker returned at Unforgiven in 2000 and when Steve Austin returned at No Way Out in 2003.
landinmycourt 1 year ago
@RSXemperor I would say the initial debut of Jericho in the WWF from 1999 is in the top 3...
loganwi104 1 year ago
@loganwi104 what about the pop Stone Cold got when he got involved in the Rock-Manking match when Mick Foley won his first title
d820m 1 year ago
the loudest pop EVER-guaranteed...
dxsmackdown8 1 year ago
@detchuck You are a decade off my friend. The Attitude era happened 10 years later, and they did that because the WWF couldn`t compete with WCW and the NWO angle. Ric Flair, in all his time in the NWA could not save it. But when Hulk Hogan came to WCW, HE DID SAVE IT and even was instrumental in making it better for 2 years along with Hall, Nash and others.
xhemexx 1 year ago
@xhemexx I forgot you are the resident Nikita hater/Luger lover. Way to rewrite history.
sanddune 1 year ago
starrcade 87 was a piece of crap being held in chicago instead of greensboro ( there was a small house show with the main event ivan koloff vs mighty wilbur then break your neck trying to watch starrcade on the screen the last 2 big things crockett had was the clash with sting vs flair and steamboat winning the title from flair
pattersongrove 1 year ago
@pattersongrove Well Koloffs Popularity would not last long, remember just a few months after this the fans started cheering more for his opponents the Horsemen then they did him. Like if you saw Koloffs matches with Luger for example, the crowd in every match, cheered more for Luger. When Luger beat Nikita for the US title, the fans in the arena erupted in cheers for Luger. I mean all the ladies obviously were cheering for Luger.
xhemexx 1 year ago
Don,t get me wrong I was a big crockett fan but alot of things went wrong after 86 crockett buys central states and florida then bill watts,s uwf and totally ruins it Dibasie goes to wwf one man gang drops the title to bubba they made the freebirds and steve williams a joke the best thing they got was sting and jim ross
pattersongrove 1 year ago
@pattersongrove And Rick Steiner who would later team with his brother Scott to become the team of the 90's.
landinmycourt 1 year ago
I never get tird of watching this
slydewinder 1 year ago
the crowd reaction was ridiculous!! everyone ..EVERYONE was on their feet the whole time...ready to jump in the ring if they could!! now that's believable....!!!
T74G 1 year ago
@detchuck
damn straight chuck!!!
T74G 1 year ago
awesome fued the road warrior with dusty andnikita against the horseman..wrestling ruled back then..lucky they have wwe classics on demand to relive all this
feterpicco 1 year ago
It was a loud reaction, but there have been louder, like when Austin comes out to help Foley win the WWF title on the 1/4/99 Raw.
SabinBlitz81 1 year ago
the pop is crazy!!!!!!!
Marquis103 1 year ago
I remember when i saw this for the first time. Vince McMahon can never ever create this type of magic again, even if he tried!
ohioarrowhead 1 year ago
A follow-up to one of my previous posts: Magnum and Jim Garvin blew off their feud right before Magnum's accident. Garvin was then put into a program with Brad Armstrong. The work was that Garvin was making Magnum out to be gay because he said that Magnum wanted to have a "friendly" wrestling match. I guess that Crockett had to find a counter to Adorable Adrian Adonis in WWE.
mkl62 1 year ago
This is great for the subtle things like Dusty never looking back so you have to wonder if he is aware that Nikita is behind him or not especially considering the buildup going into this match beforehand
wolfhawkfield08 1 year ago
Ah the good old days,
Dusty, Nikita, Four horsemen, etc.
Great time for wrestling.
Kinda lame nowadays.
rdoble 2 years ago
Loudest pop in history, hogan on his best day can't touch this crowd reaction. Dillion and Blanchard do an excellent job in the promo--to all Cena and Orton fans, THIS is what passion and intensity in your words is all about, make me believe you're upset, don't tell me you're mad, make me feel it.
bishopeod 2 years ago 38
@bishopeod What Mad e The Four Horsemen The Best was the fact that you had 4 Great Wrestlers who could all do great interviews and great promos. You cannot compare today's wrestlers to these guys. The WWE does not have them do promos for every show in every city like they used to. The only promos they really do now is for the Pay Per Views and the next televised event.
JuliusC1973 1 year ago
With my understanding If magnum hadn,t of been in a car wreck they were gonna put the world title on him @ starrcade 86 this would,ve put a hurtin on hogan and the wwf they really had no choice but to make nikita a face I believe this was the birth of crockett going down hill
pattersongrove 1 year ago
@pattersongrove You're probably right. From what I heard, the best-of-seven series between Magnum and Nikita during the Great American Bash tour was done to give Nikita credibility and then the US title, freeing up Magnum to go after Ric Flair and become NWA champion.
TheJohnnyCotts 1 year ago 2
@bishopeod uchum... I would remind you of Hogans Slam on Andre the Giant at wrestlemania 3!!
xhemexx 1 year ago
@bishopeod it's sad that you'll probably never see an era of wrestling like this again. i remember how Lance Storm mentioned that the 80's wrestling was driven by emotion rather than just moves and Bobby Heenan mentioned that the game is now up. everything now is just so....contrived.
keithyw 1 year ago
@bishopeod It's true.... so true...
jamoes95ta 1 year ago
@bishopeod "Loudest pop in history," LOL. Not even close. Pretty selective view of history you have there.
KaneRobot2 1 year ago
@KaneRobot2
yeah there's a limit to overreaction
"loudest pop in history" is not only stupid, but overemotional.
Hogan got louder pops in avergae house shows.
sayanroy36 1 year ago
@bishopeod No the largest pop in history probably was The Great American Bash 1987--war Games The Match Beyond:: The Road Warriors, Precious Paul Ellering and The Superpowers vs. The Four Horsemen and James J .Dillon.
JuliusC1973 1 year ago 2
@JuliusC1973 agreed. it was so loud that you couldn't hear the announcers for periods.
bull864 1 year ago
@JuliusC1973 Actually the biggest pop I think was when Lex Luger beat Nikita Koloff to win the US title at the 1987 Great American Bash. I remember the place exploded in cheers as the whole crowd cheered for Lex!! They loved it when Lex won the US title in a dominating match against baldy.
xhemexx 1 year ago
@bishopeod: I agree this is one heck of a pop. And that's one of the things that I loved about the old NWA. But in reference to Hulk Hogan, he got a phenomenal response in Canada when he "hulked out" during his match with the Rock at Wrestlemania 18. The crowd and the atmosphere was UN-real!
dariusdynamite 1 year ago
@dariusdynamite Hogan always got loud pops. Just bitter old fans who act like the wrestling they liked was always the best.
nomar06mvp 1 year ago
@nomar06mvp ....Guess I'm guilty as charged. It's not that I think "my" wrestling was better. But there was more substance to it then. Think about the length of time champions held their titles. Longevity added prestige to the title and the champion. Plus the build up to a feud and pending title match was bigger (see above video). I won't say my wrestling is better. But for the sake of a newer generation of fans, they don't know what they're missing....
dariusdynamite 1 year ago
@bishopeod No pop can touch Hogan at Wrestlemania 3. Sorry. However this is still a classic, though I always thought it could've been executed better. Like, not having Nikita and Dusty coming down the aisle together.
ASBNews 1 year ago
@ASBNews come on, i remember this like it was 10 minutes ago. no one was expecting for nikita to walk down the aisle with dusty. this was totally unexpected and couldn't have been more exciting.
mrknowitalllt1 1 year ago
@ASBNews Perhaps the fact it was 90,000 people compared to maybe 10,000. God, Hogan's match with Andre at Wrestlemania 3 is the worst "classic" match ever.
Chrisdrumz 1 year ago
@Chrisdrumz Keep in mind, Andre's body was starting to break down back then. He sat out most of 1986 after having back surgery, and began wearing a singlet in the ring to hide the back brace he now wore.
Al Snow recently said that everybody says Savage-Steamboat was the greatest match at WM 3, and that they're all wrong. He says the greatest match that day was Hogan vs. Andre - because it drew the most money. I see his point, but ...
TheJohnnyCotts 1 year ago
@TheJohnnyCotts Steamboat/Savage was a classic, but the new generation of fans that Hogan/Andre drew also became fans of Steamboat/Savage that same night. If Steamboat/Savage truly stole the show, then people would have begun leaving after their match was done.
Shockage 11 months ago 2
@bishopeod I enjoyed the NWA back in the day as well...however, it was kind of loud when Hogan slammed and pinned Andre...
Derby14 1 year ago
@Derby14 Yeah it was, but Hogan and Andre wrestled in front of 90,000 fans. This is a house show in front of probably 5,000 or so fans. You can't find me any other organization that could make 5,000 fans pop like that. JCP was the best, most exciting wrestling of all-time.
bull864 11 months ago 8
@bull864 Definitely. JCP had some of the hottest crowds I've ever heard.
frrrrrunkis 2 weeks ago
@frrrrrunkis The best my man. Doesn't get any better.
bull864 2 weeks ago
Look at these interviews and the NWA Wrestling action and how great it was! Then look at the garbage that both the WWE and TNA are showing us!
HemiVic 2 years ago 3
@HemiVic And the sad thing is that we may never get back to that time.
ia74me 2 years ago
Without a doubt one of the greatest moments in pro wrestling. There is not a single wrestler today that come close to the talent that Dusty Rhodes, Nikita Koloff, or Ole Anderson had. I miss those days.
LCARLAN2 2 years ago
i love how when people got their hands on managers they would kick six pounds of crap out of them
jrtowler 2 years ago
God, do I miss the old NWA from the 80's
heverling 2 years ago 39
dusty cast did not do that he had plastic surgery that he was secudaled for before this match he used the scars and the cast to say dusty did it to him that was priceless. the good old days if I remeber correctly this took place at what is now the Bogangles colusium that used to be the Charlotte Colusium back in the day sorry about the spelling
fedexskins 2 years ago 2
it truly WAS the most unexpected face turn EVER... and yes, that WAS the loudest crowd pop i ever heard.
flameofelijah 2 years ago 5
i remember that moment it was classic. the NWA has always been my favorite wrestling i prefer to watch the old NWA clips anytime instead of wwf new ones.
mrknowitalllt1 2 years ago
Tully goofed I thought it was 'Put up or shut up' he said it backwards
cooksta4prez08 2 years ago
That has to be one of my favorite moments in wrestling.
biged469 2 years ago
i wish they could've had one story where one of the horsemen got sneak attack or get jumped by four good face
vesta759 2 years ago
It happened already when the NWO Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall just after forming the NWO beat the shit out of the Horsemen. The Crowd loved it!!Scott Hall Razors Edged Arn Anderson, Kevin Nash Jacknifed I think Flair or Benoit and Hulk Hogan took out Steve "Mongo" McMicheal. I think there was someone else with NWO then, but I forgot who.
xhemexx 2 years ago
JJ used to bleed alot . Great manager and often overlooked.
thebestaround5000 2 years ago
Old school NWA stuff was really good
puffykilled2pac 2 years ago 3
maybe the biggest crowd pop ever..Simply great angle
jajvick 2 years ago 3
Man, Dusty sounds a lot like his son Goldust in this interview.
acclaim92 2 years ago
nikita was awesome heel until they turned him babyface , what a pop
mustangkayfabe 2 years ago
I heard Dusty Rhodes was an major asshole in real life
bluethundershark 2 years ago
nature boy sucks? dude do u even watch wrestling? i guess u saying the nature boy sucks kinda says it all doesnt it idiot!!
marathonriverrat 2 years ago
this was one of the best face turns ever--NOBODY saw this coming...Koloff was scary back then, he was a MONSTER heel....no one would've thought he would team with Dusty
miggy25 2 years ago
The crowd pop was off the charts.
samsdaddy0525 2 years ago 3
Dusty Rhodes and Nikita Koloff were very brutal.
khiemvu88 2 years ago
this was maybe the greatest week in pro wrestling. horsemen jump dusty,magnum gets in car accident,nikita joins dusty.i have never seen anything like that again! today's stuff is boring and has no suspence.
sonnyblackish 2 years ago 2
wow. i remember this just like it was yesterday... this is when wrestling was at its BEST.
tnj420 2 years ago 3
LOVE IT...LOVE IT...LOVE IT. This was one of the most shocking moments in wrestling history.... back then, you didn't see a "turn" comming as you do today. But this was all the more shocking as far as storylines cause Dusty/Magnum was at war with the Russians before TA's accident, and the notion that Ivan had such a tight hold on Nikkita, this was totally unexpected. Ric played it well at the end setting up their match at Starcade
seddrock 2 years ago
Comment removed
rlouie05 2 years ago
This was right after Magnum T.A. got hurt,
they needed an ally for Dusty.
slydewinder 2 years ago
Only when Koloff teamed up with those other faces, did Koloff get really cheered. If you notice in Nikitas individual matches, most of the crowd especially women were cheering the other guy even when Nikita Koloff was a face. Only whyen Koloff teamed up with someone else, did they cheer him more, but even there it wasn't that much.
xhemexx 2 years ago
Really hard to believe Crockett was bankrupt 2 years later--some of the hottest crowds EVER
Mp25DIII 2 years ago
I do not know business or even the wrestling biz,but I read somewhere that Davids overbookings caught up with him! He could have been in Vinces place today if he would have had the smarts! I wish he would have!!
1975tooto 2 years ago
You see, it's because the nature boy sucks.
xhemexx 2 years ago
That was because of moving Starrcade to Chicago and buying the UWF. hell, all they got was Sting. Big deal. Crockett could have waited for that.
NWA1985WCCW 2 years ago 2
oh my god. i remember the day i watched this. i swear i too was shocked to see nikita help dusty. damn this brought back memories
lagerbeer1974 2 years ago
Comment removed
rlouie05 2 years ago
And Vince is hunting you down to write for him, eh?
Massive NO.
degraff19er 2 years ago
I don't know. If Vladimir Kozlov came to the the Bash Pay Per View and jumped into the ring during the Randy Orton vs. Triple H Match, Fans would not know who he was there to help or to hurt.
JuliusC1973 2 years ago
This is 110% accurate. Why would Nikita calmly walk all the way down to the ring 5 feet behind Dusty. Nikita should have started running in just as Dusty got to the door. He could have had Ole and JJ hold Dusty, and BAM, he nails Ole and then JJ, saving Dusty. By the time they got to the ring, 80% of the crowd knew he was there to help Dusty, they just didn't pop and show the approval till Nikita jumped in and nailed Ole.
Rcksaltnnails 2 years ago 2
I agree with your idea 100% but with that crowd I'm not sure anyone could have run down to that ring without someone getting hurt. It would have been cool though.
slydewinder 2 years ago
It was not a bike accident. Magnum TA wrapped his Porsche around a telephone polle, he almost died and never wrestled ever again. Yes, Jim Crockett, Jr. and the American Dream took a chance turning one of their best heels into a face, but it worked.
JuliusC1973 2 years ago
JJ was good as WCW commish back in the mid to late 90's
thedude19766 2 years ago
Ok time for a little Trivia,the bruising on JJ's face was because he had surgery on his nose. This was the best wrestling ever was.
Hardeen31 2 years ago
actually jj said in a shoot interview that it was to lift some bags from under his eyes, which is why his eyes looked so bruised and swollen, if it had been his nose youd have to think there be bandages on the nose instead
chriskoob 2 years ago
In contrast with someone like Goldberg, who is one of my favourites, Goldberg brought a certain new dimension into the ring with his presence and his dominance. Goldberg was able to appeal to fans more.
xhemexx 2 years ago
yeah, I mean a big bald guy who SEEMINGLY sounds Russian is NOT an appeal for the fans.
xhemexx 2 years ago
Yeah and most fans really didn't like him anyway. So it's like he had no choice but to go back as a heel.
xhemexx 2 years ago
Yeah like even as a face, only some fans actually cheered for him. Most fans in his matches were cheering for the heel. From his matches with Ric Flair, Lex Luger, Terry Taylor or Arn Anderson etc.
xhemexx 2 years ago
demands what you mean by that. I mean if you go by the reaction at the moment of him turning face, it was big. But afterwards, he didn't really do much for the fans and he continued to get bood alot of the times, or atleast have his oponents be cheered for more when he was facing them as face.They had to make him a heel again because he didn't have enough fans to cut it as a true face.
xhemexx 2 years ago
I think Dusty was the booker back then ; say what you want but he did some great turns for that group. I was in Baltimore 2 years later when they had Ron Garvin do a similar turn against Dusty. That was a great pop also; no one saw it coming.
timcrtr 2 years ago
I haven't seen this since it aired about 25 years ago!!! What's so funny is the bandage and "scars" JJ had to "carry" (i.e. the bruising around his eyes and bandage above his nose) were REAL due to a "nip and tuck" surgery he had the day before! He was interviewed a couple of years ago and said he had surgery to remove the bags from his eyes, and played it up like it was what "Dusty did to him in the cage." This brings back memories from the 1980s.
JIMMYLINE 3 years ago 2
Damn near brung a tear to my eye..
The good ole days...
NWA had some of the best feuds in Wrestling history.
SparkWater 3 years ago
This is a video I've been waiting ages to see again
SFCRedRage 3 years ago
I wonder why Nikita turned Vince down?
Koolazzmike 3 years ago
I so wish they would of had the superpowers feud with the horsemen over the tag belts rather than continuing to watch morton and gibson bore us.
ringgiant1 3 years ago
If you listen to the crowd reaction its amazing! The southern wrestling fans in the 1980s support the NWA great. crowds from Atlanta to Chicago had crazy fans in big numbers.
Metros2004 3 years ago
I haven't seen this footage in years. It's as great as I remember it. A gret turning point in wrestling history. Thanks for posting this footage.
JuliusC1973 3 years ago
i started watching nwa at 6 yrs old...i miss the days aswell
704ondeck 3 years ago
This was probably the most shocking face turn ever, IMO. They were supposed to start Magnum, T.A.'s run to the NWA Title at the TV tapings the night after his accident, so JCP had to come up with some things fast. For instance, Ron Garvin's program with Nikita was dropped and he was paired with Big Bubba Rogers (Ray Traylor). Jim Garvin, who had been feuding with Magnum, was paired with Brad Armstrong. Those were 2 other notable effects of the accident. Sad.
mkl62 3 years ago
One thing that helped was great workers made Nikita look good.
hairbandfan 3 years ago
the most shocking turn in wrestling history right there. JCP was amazing during the mid 80's.
bull864 3 years ago
Why JJ Dillion wrestling and not Arn Anderson
adheckle 3 years ago
I believe one of the main reasons is J.J. actually has some cosmetic surgery done. The bruising on his face in this video is real but it was from the surgery so they wrote this into an angle.
samsdaddy0525 3 years ago
this is what makes good,no..legendary wrestling:MOMENTS. pivotal moments that change the face of the game 4ever. this was one of those moments. u can ask the question where were u when nikita turned good? this marks the first EVER russian face in pro wrestling. on another note,they opened up a can of whupass on jj,damn.
truaswad 3 years ago
This happened on the ONE Saturday that I missed NWA Wrestling! I remember my friends at school told me that Nikita turned good and I was like "no way!" Glad to finally get to see this.
KSchwab9 3 years ago 2
I didn't think I would ever see this again. Thanks so much for posting this you rule
KK872 3 years ago
Oh,the memories.
11121southedbrooke 3 years ago
This was THE moment that got me hooked on wrestling when I was 6 years old. Fucking phenomenal. I'm markin' out all over again.
yettibrad 3 years ago
Yes they do. I subscribe to both!
yettibrad 3 years ago
The only way WWE or TNA could EVER get a crowd this loud is to pipe in the audio!
jlowry71 3 years ago 2
These are cage matches no climbing over the top to escape bull shit.
pattersongrove 3 years ago 2
heard jj on world wrestling insanity's website say that he was looking to have plastic surgery to remove some bags under his eyes and came up with the idea of letting dusty attack him with the cast to fit his operation into the story line, so the scars are real but not because of the cast
chriskoob 3 years ago
One of the all-time great "Oh sh!t!" moments EVER-
Mp25DIII 3 years ago
This was one of the biggest mark-out moments of my youth. The Crocketts surely had lightning in a bottle back then. I have been waiting for someone to post this for quite a while. Got me thinking what were the other huge face turns of that time?
bigestylz 3 years ago
Thank you so much for posting this!!!!
DVROFFMAN 3 years ago