ARENA FLASHBACK – 20 YRS AGO: Warrior no-shows, Virgil-Neidhart

This correspondent report originally was published 20 years ago in Pro Wrestling Torch Newsletter #357. VIP members can access the entire contents of all 1995 Pro Wrestling Torch Newsletters HERE.
Ultimate no-show in Las Vegas
National Wrestling Council
October 7, 1995
Las Vegas, Nev. – Aladdin Theatre
Estimated Attendance: 600

Report by Harry Simon, PWTorch correspondent

Ultimate Warrior Jim Hellwig no-showed a scheduled 1 p.m. appearance at “Ultrazone,” a kiddie place and major NWC sponsor. When the show opened that evening, NWA president and booker T.C. Martin welcomed fans to the arena, but said, “Look, I’m not going to bullsh– you. As of two hours ago, The Warrior has disappeared. He and Jim Neidhart, his scheduled opponent in the main event, had words earlier during dinner and we don’t know where the Warrior is.” Loud boos followed.

Neidhart ran to the ring, got on the mic, and claimed that Warrior is a coward and just doesn’t want to face him. Neidhart claimed to be the toughest man in the NWC and bragged about hanging Virgil in that brilliant KKK angle at the Aug. 25 house show. Of course, Virgil ran in and attacked Neidhart. The locker room cleared for a mega-pull-apart brawl. Carter then “asked” the fans if they wanted to see Neidhart vs. Virgil, which despite no pop from the fans, Carter announced as the new main event. Carter also said there would now be a $10,000 battle royal with everyone on the card in it.

Main Event: Jim Neidhart fought Virgil to a DCO at 1:48 (yes, less than two minutes). Virgil ran in and immediately started brawling with Neidhart. Soon, they spilled to the ringside area, but nobody cared – and it was obvious this time, because everyone in the crowd turned around to watch a real fight in the upper stands. Given all the missed moves all night, at this point, the fans were thankful for anything with plausible looking action. It seemed because the match couldn’t compete with the legitimate fight, the ref David Hogg called for the DCO less than two minutes into the substitute main event.

Battle Royal Finale: Jim Neidhart won a 17 man battle royal at 8:40 to win a $10,000 check. The $10,000 prize would be more than the entire amount of money taken in tickets and merchandising that night. The order of elimination was as follows: Earthquake Ferris, Silver Wings, Blackhawk, Dirtbike, Navajo, Haystacks, Hindu, Superboy, Bobby Bradley, Koko B. Ware, Honky Tonk Man, Virgil, Zuma, Juan, Paine, and Larry. The Irish Assassin never came out, even though his name was called.

The wrestlers were more entertained than any of the fans (small feat), as Bobby Bradley and Virgil were visibly laughing throughout the match. Nothing extraordinary. When Dirtbike was ejected from the ring, T.C. announced “The Dirtbag Kid has been eliminated!” The only notable bumps belong to Superboy and Bobby Bradley. Superboy did a high plancha-like backdrop over the ropes, crashing into the safety rail. Bradley did him one better by flying over the ropes, over the rail, and into the front row’s laps. Finally, it came down to Neidhart, Larry, and Paine. Larry dumped Paine, and Neidhart dumped Larry. This gets no points for originality, big points for Superboy’s and Bradley’s bumps, and Yokozuna-sized points because it marked the end and thus indescribable relief that we could now go home.

After the card, people were throwing things in the ring as Carter announced their “Halloween Massacre” show on Monday, Oct. 30 at the Aladdin, featuring Cactus Jack vs. Too Cold Scorpio in the main event, plus Bradley & Rob Van Dam defending the NWC Tag Titles against The Powers of Pain, and Paine vs. Judge Dread. Before Carter could leave the ring, he was bombarded with chants of “Warrior” and “Refund.” One fan shouted he was going to burn his NWC shirt. Every fan left the building looking angry. Hardcore fans in this area used to consider Carter and the NWC funny in a pathetic sort of way, but they now see them as totally inept in a pathetic sort of way. This does not bode well.

Battle of Memphis: Honky Tonk Man fought Koko B. Ware (w/Frankie the Parrot) to a DDQ at 8:13. During his entrance, Ware went down off the stage and into the general admission seats to dance with the fans. By the way, every time War started dancing, one woman sitting two rows from ringside would frantically jump up and down and celebrate as if Elvis were in the building (no offense, Honky). They did a cute routine where HTM unwrapped the tape from his wrist and wrapped it around his fist. Every time the ref would check for the tape, HTM would hide it. What a concept. They didn’t lock up until 3:00. The DDQ came when both HTM and Ware hit the ref. You know that weird heel charisma Honky has? He didn’t use it tonight. Neither guy had any sustained offense and the finish came out of nowhere.

In Other Bouts: Bobby Bradley & Zuma beat Li’l Haystacks (Wayne Bradley) & Don Juan (w/Bodacious Barbara Blaze)… Navajo Kid pinned Dirtbike Kid… Barbara Blaze pinned Lady Victoria… Irish Assassin pinned Li’l Haystacks… Larry Powers pinned Earthquake Ferris… Silver Wings beat Johnny Psycho Paine via DQ… Superboy & Principe Hindu beat Blackhawk & Kerry Love… [Harry Simon reporting]