WrestleWar '89: Music City Showdown — One Masterpiece, Then Terry Funk Lit the Fuse

The match is only three minutes, but Muta makes every second useful. His movement is unlike anyone else on the card, the handspring elbow and plancha wake up the crowd, and the moonsault still looks spectacular enough to justify the showcase presentation. Doug Gilbert provides exactly the resistance needed without pretending the result is in doubt.

The limited runtime caps the score because there is no real competitive story. This is an introduction rather than a complete match, and the value comes from making Muta look different and dangerous. As a squash it succeeds completely; as a pay-per-view match it remains too brief to climb much higher.

Ranger Ross gets an energetic opening, but the match quickly settles into basic control work from Butch Reed. Reed uses the ropes for leverage and works a chinlock while Teddy Long scouts from ringside, giving the segment more storyline texture than actual wrestling variety. The Nashville crowd never becomes especially invested.

Reed eventually wins with the top-rope shoulder block. The finish is clean and the match is short enough to avoid becoming a major problem, but there is little reason to revisit it. The bout functions as television-level character advancement placed on a pay-per-view card.

The bullrope stipulation fits the wrestlers because both are comfortable turning the match into a fight. Murdoch and Orton use the rope, cowbell and ringside area without trying to create a complex structure, and the Tennessee crowd responds to Murdoch's roughhouse style.

The finish is memorable enough: Murdoch hogties Orton in the ropes and drops an elbow for the pin. The post-match attack extends the feud but does not add much to the match itself. Five minutes is the correct length, and the score reflects a decent brawl that never tries to become more than it is.

The match follows a familiar tag structure and benefits from doing so. The Samoan Swat Team controls Johnny Ace for the long middle stretch, Shane Douglas waits for the hot tag, and the power difference between the teams creates a clear story. Samu and Fatu look especially credible whenever they cut off attempted comebacks.

Douglas finally enters with dropkicks and pace, while Ace's missile dropkick helps create the upset finish on Fatu. The crowd responds better than the character presentation suggests it should. The match is solid rather than special, but it gives the card a competent eleven-minute tag match with an actual beginning, middle and end.

Lex Luger brings power and urgency while Michael Hayes supplies heel personality, but the match is longer than the material supports. Hayes stalls effectively and controls with shortcuts, yet extended rest holds and repeated interference teases slow the middle. The crowd stays involved because the title matters and Luger remains popular.

The finish is protected through Terry Gordy's run-in. Hayes lands the DDT, both men are down, and Gordy places Hayes on top for the pin and championship. The title change advances the Freebirds direction, but the interference weakens the achievement. There is enough solid work for a passing score without making sixteen minutes feel justified.

The match is almost entirely a Sting showcase. Sheik attacks early with the robe and flag, Sting immediately turns the momentum, and the crowd gets the Stinger Splash and Scorpion Deathlock in just over two minutes. There is no meaningful suspense about the result.

The brevity prevents the segment from becoming tedious, but it also prevents it from becoming substantial. Sting remains protected and over, which is the only real objective. The score reflects a squash that accomplishes its purpose without offering enough wrestling to justify a higher grade.

The match begins with the same competitive language that made the first two meetings special: clean breaks, counters, hard chops and constant attempts to seize positional control. Steamboat attacks the arm, Flair searches for openings and every transition has a purpose. Thirty minutes never feel excessive because the match keeps narrowing toward the physical question of which man will finally create a decisive weakness.

The closing stretch is extraordinary. Steamboat hurts his leg on the floor, Flair attacks it immediately and the figure-four becomes a real threat. Steamboat escapes and continues fighting, but the damaged leg finally gives way during a slam attempt and Flair catches him with the inside cradle for the title. The handshake afterward completes the rivalry without diminishing either man.

This is elite wrestling and an ideal trilogy finale. The finish pays off the body-part work, the championship changes hands cleanly enough, and the crowd understands the significance without needing a gimmick. Only the absolute ceiling of the scale keeps it from a perfect score.

The match works because it stays short and physical. Steve Williams can stand toe-to-toe with Hawk and Animal without shrinking the Road Warriors' aura, while Mike Rotunda provides the movement and technical contrast. Nikita Koloff as special referee gives the bout extra star presence without dominating it.

The Doomsday Device appears to produce the finish, but Kevin Sullivan and Dan Spivey pull Koloff from the ring and trigger the disqualification. The Road Warriors win but do not take the titles, and the controversy later leads to the championship being vacated. The brawl is fun; the protected ending prevents it from becoming more satisfying.

The match has a coherent story from the opening attack. Sullivan and Spivey injure Rick Steiner's shoulder and force Eddie Gilbert to survive most of the match alone, which gives the champions a simple underdog structure. Gilbert sells the pressure well and the crowd understands exactly what Steiner's eventual return is supposed to mean.

A false tag creates confusion, Steiner finally lands the Steiner-Line and Gilbert catches Sullivan with the sunset flip to retain. The work is perfectly acceptable, but following Flair-Steamboat and the Funk attack makes the entire segment feel like an encore nobody requested. Placement hurts the match more than execution.