SUMMARY: RUNNING TIME: 15:01 Min.
Taped at a Tulsa, Oklahoma convention center, on March 30, 1986, this UWF (Universal Wrestling Federation) tag team title defense pits champions The Sheepherders (Luke Williams & Butch Miller) vs. the newly-arrived Fantastics (Tommy Rogers & Bobby Fulton). Along with the Sheepherders’ New Zealand flag-waving crony, Jack Victory, at ringside, the TV taping’s commentary team consists of Jim Ross & promotion owner Bill Watts.
This match was evidently televised on April 5, 1986.
Notes: For their entrance music, The Fantastics then shared ZZ Top’s “Sharp-Dressed Man” with “Gorgeous” Jimmy Garvin (coincidentally, a fellow aficionado of sequined-heavy entrance attire). A few years later, the veteran Sheepherders were rebranded by the WWF as the cartoony ‘Bushwhackers.’
REVIEW:
It’s not hard to visualize: the Sheepherders’ plodding villainy vs. Rogers & Fulton’s charismatic, fast-paced offense (after discarding their bowties & sleeveless tuxedo jackets). A likable finish serves as the best twist, given how routine this title bout is – i.e., the subdued audience is telling.
Seeing the underrated Fantastics in their prime, however, makes one imagine how they might have fared in Vince McMahon’s muscle-heavy WWF. As light heavyweights, their flashy babyface style resembled Stan Lane & Steve Keirn’s Fabulous Ones of the early-to-mid 80’s, including their Chippendale physiques. Yet, Fulton & Rogers were noticeably shorter than the Rockers and not nearly as power-packed as the British Bulldogs (who rivaled them, height-wise). Overall, their closest WWF talent equivalent of that era would have been the Killer Bees.
Instead of their hot 1988 NWA U.S. Tag Team Title feud against Jim Cornette’s Midnight Express, Fulton & Rogers likely would have suffered as glorified WWF jobbers. Sharing such duties with Jim Powers & Paul Roma’s Young Stallions is a fair guess, as compared to the more teen-friendly and ultra-athletic Rockers’ success. Come 1989-90, the Fantastics and the wily Sheepherders/Bushwhackers would have then been stuck outflanking one another as fan favorites in the WWF’s mid-card doghouse.
From a fan’s perspective, watching the Fantastics against their perpetual rivals, the Midnight Express, in any league (Mid-South/UWF, World Class, NWA, etc.) is far preferable, in terms of welcome unpredictability. Still, catching the agile Fulton & Rogers here during their ten-month UWF stint is a nostalgic treat. Their watchable chemistry with the future Bushwhackers makes this tag team championship bout worth a single viewing.
BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 5 Stars
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