The WFIA Tag Team of the Year Angle

[mankind2112]

Nobody could juice as good a Tommy Rich.

[kaneohe47]

Lance Russell sounds like the exasperated father of two mischievous sons.

[sammys70]

I can't but notice that most of the fans are cheering for Eddie Gilbert after he beat up Rich.

[bigD5172]

The mark on the right looks like Woody Harrelson.

[danteras23]

Eddie Gilbert was such a great heel. Pure evil. He had a lot of moments like this. One of the best.

[MrKooldaddykool]

classic

[DaveInOCNJ]

I really have to question why some hold Lance Russell in such high esteem. His delivery is so low-key, it sounds like even he doesn't buy that "rasslin is legit"...I just don't see how he was selling the product in any way.

[mamacornettesmoney]

@DaveInOCNJ 'Cause he was in Memphis. Probably the least "legit" of all the wrasslin promotions pre-WWF expansion. Seeing clips doesn't do him justice. To truly appreciate him you have to see him in the context of all the ridiculous, hokey stuff mixed in with the more realistic stuff. In other words, his style just fit the whacky, southern-fried promotion perfectly.

[dkbrain3434]

Thank you Eddie.

[Somesubjekt]

rich cut himself 3 times.thats not bad. good  bleeding by him all the time.

[thebeautifulman69]

i would have to agree with gilbert, tommy rich was trying to act like a big shot.

[OaktownABQ]

Did the promotion catch heat from the local TV station for all the blood? A lot of TV stations were kind of squeamish about color back in the day.

[gdef1966]

You will NEVER see anything like this on, what passes as, professional wrestling these days. This was one of the all time GREAT angles!!! MEMPHIS WAS SOME OF THE BEST!!!

[Paducahrus]

Cats Pause

[Paducahrus]

tcp



[MrStonecold71]

Is anybody from the WWE or TNA so-called "creative" teams watching this??? If you are, would you even have a clue on how to pull something as this great off?

[thefriendsociety]

I had a dream last night this happened between British Bulldog and Owen Hart in ECW for some reason...

[DeepSouthWrestling1]

Both Lederberg and Baum are somewhat still in wrestling... I met both of 'em in Charlotte at a wrestling convention... both great guys, especially Howard!!

[cardsfan42303]

Look!!! Its master referee Jerry Calhoun! That alone tells you its not PG.

[mabood1212]

This level of brutality would never go over today. This is small market southern based entertainment - bloody and barbaric. They do a fantastic job though selling its reality.

[NY32986]

This and They Put the flag on the cowboy were classics

[PinkSecret004]

the reason vince doesnt allow bloody matches anymore is because his wife is running for office in connecticut man for the good old days!!!!!!!

[HemiVic]

Great angle when wreatling was fun to watch! By the way, does Tommy Rich own another suit? He always seems to wear that ugly lime green disco suit!

[melbz1266]

he bladed himself wrong.the blood squirted out.he did himself wrong,but that happens sometimes.kudos to eddie.

[mamacornettesmoney]

@melbz1266 Seems like tommy Rich almost always cut an artery. he was one of the most free bleeding guys ever in wrestling. Definitely the master of the arterial cut!

[conradsdad]

@mamacornettesmoney I believe one thing he did was drink beer beforehand, and alcohol thins the blood. Anyway, he was a bleeder; that is for sure.

[clusterfocked]

I miss the days they used to really know how to build a match and cut a promo. Vince killed this part of wrestling. What a shame.

[playboydig12]

Tommy Rich is STILL over in Memphis today. I also dispute the notion that th New Fabs never took off. As a guy who grew up in Memphis at the time, I can tell you we loved them. They were better as heels, though, individually. Eddie ran Jerry Lawler over in a car, and Tommy was instrumental in shaving the King's head. Memphis wrestling rules!!!!!!!

[Westmarket39]

I would pay 39.99 ppv if this old school action was on.

[GentlemanTony]

I love how the crowd pops for Eddie at the end!

[muta157]

I prefer watching HHH win every match like they do it now adays.

Yeah, right. This video show what a lost art form and just pure awesome pro wrestling can be when it's not sports entertainment.

[songoku350]

You can see a lot of Eddie Gilberts booking style and angles such as this in Memphis and Continental in Paul Heyman's ECW booking. (Paul was also Eddie's booking assistant in 88 in Continental)

[plmathfoto]

Thanks guys, loved doing this.

Pete Lederberg

[MidnightRiderEddros1]

Excellent angle! Thanks for sharing!

[zaius316]

Was WFIA a legit organization, or did they grab some guys from the back for the angle?

[tedhobgood]

The WFIA was legit. Before I discovered the Observer, when I was doing my own attempt at a wrestling news show on the radio, I read about the WFIA in the Aptermags and joined the organization. I still have my old Marantz interview recorder, and it still has the WFIA logo sticker on it. Ah, what a mark I was!

[DoubleMiz]

Wow! This angle predates me, but that's incredible video

[cubeus19]

Man, look at all that blood on the floor, I mean that's terrible... but with the right kind of chips it's not! :')

[uncletomthall]

Damn. This whole thing was just genius. Eddie Gilbert was...wow...jusst simply a genius. It's sad that WWE and TNA will never do anything as nearly as good as this. Thank God for Youtube.

[wrest101]

That was a classic example of how hardcore memphis wrestling can get. great angle.

[GentlemanTony]

Gilbert was really good here, and totally convincing. Seeing how the crowd popped for Eddie's chair work, no wonder Rich turned heel.

[43Panthers]

I compare the appeal of Tommy Rich to the Rock and Roll Express. Tommy was over in Georgia in the early 80's but when he left Georgia, it was over with, I think people just got tired of him. Same with the Rock and Roll Express, they were huge in Mid South and Mid Atlantic in the early to mid 80's, but the crowd just got tired of them. Ricky Morton is a heck of a worker, probably could have done ok without Robert. But still Tommy Rich and Ricky Morton are two of my fav wrestlers from the 80s

[songoku350]

One of the best bladejobs ever when they meant something and not done for the hell of it like today

[olpaddy]

OMG that was CLASSIC great angle one of the all time best...

[tattypatty]

Haha. Love the cheesy old wrestling, hate the new stuff.

[Stillwater100]

What a fantastic angle! Talk about a couple of guys who gigged some gushers, and what an awesome job by Tommy selling that beat down--going all limp when they tried carrying him to the back. Too bad WWE & TNA can't pull off stuff half this good these days.

[armstrng833]

Funny how, though Gilbert is the heel, the crowd pops big for his attack on Rich.

[salanh]

This was one of my favorite angles ever, too. Thanks again for posting it. Quick question, did Gilbert and Rich ever face the original Fabulous Ones (how the angle technically go started.)

[thenoblegeek]

Wow, look at the blood all over the floor.

I wish I had the opportunity to have seen that angle as it unfolded back then. Eddie Gilbert was truly a genius and must go down as one of the most tragic losses to wrestling.

Thank you very much for this post!

[kboss2000]

As far as I can remember, and I might be wrong but I don't believe the Fabs ever fought Eddie Gilbert and Rich. Years later, the Fabs reunited and fought against Doug Gilbert and Tommy Rich. Sadly, Eddie was long gone by then.

[whitey72]

This is completely amazing. I never heard of this angle.

[jjoseph16]

just as great as i remembered it!!

[carlblack99]

this is when it was great man avery sat morn loved it

[mdhotstuff]

I can't wait for those.. Thanks..

[mdhotstuff]

Good ole Lance Russel. The coolest announcer on the planet. Jim Ross would have been screaming. Thanks so much for showing this. I do hope some day to see clips of Rich and Gilbert as The Fabulous Ones. They are 2 of my all time favorites.

[popculturestu]

I've got a couple of their matches with the PYTs from earlier in '84 that I'll be posting shortly.