NWA Worldwide 05/24/1995

NWA World TV Title Match: Tully Blanchard (champion with Baby Doll) def. Buzz Sawyer by DQ in 8:17

We have the less-common babyface version of Sawyer here, but let’s be honest and say Blanchard could wrestle Ted Bundy and still get heat. Tully was the perfect opponent for Buzz. It wasn’t just the bumping and selling, but it was the way that Blanchard tried to constantly run away and escape like he was in a fight for his life. The crowd was so hot for all of this. Sawyer did his part by constantly mauling Tully, living up to his Mad Dog moniker, even biting Blanchard at one point. Magnum TA was on commentary, and in the ultimate irony, he was much better as an active wrestler doing color than a retired wrestler/full-time announcer post-accident. This match was short, but all action, and the psychology was so fucking spot on. Tully got desperate and asked Baby Doll for his loaded arm pad, using it on Sawyer, causing Magnum to lose his shit and storm the ring for the DQ when Blanchard had Buzz covered at 8:30. The crowd went ballistic for Magnum as he cleared the ring. Tully went to the interview area with Baby Doll and immediately taunted Sawyer while chastising him for biting in a professional wrestling match. No one was more smug than 1985 Tully Blanchard. You can argue that the finish to the match was lazy, but they were selling Magnum vs. Tully in the big picture. Also, the crowd seemed to love every minute of this from beginning to end. ***1/2 Maybe that’s high to some, but I loved the nuances of the story they told here.