SUMMARY: APPROX. RUNNING TIME: 32:33 Min.
Taped in either January or early February 1987, this no-disqualification title rematch from Starrcade ’86 pitting the NWA’s two top singles champions against one another takes place at the Coliseum in Charlotte, NC. The bout subsequently aired on February 7, 1987, for WTBS’ World Championship Wrestling TV series.
Late in the game, backing Flair is his nefarious Four Horsemen crony, Tully Blanchard. Koloff’s ‘Superpowers’ tag team partner, “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes, also makes an appearance to even the odds.
REVIEW:
It is easy to recall Sting and Lex Luger as the greatest power wrestlers challenging Ric Flair’s NWA World Championship reign in the Late ‘80s. Yet, Nikita Koloff, in his prime, was no slouch, either.
Considering Koloff’s remarkable in-ring chemistry with Flair, one wonders why “The Russian Nightmare” did not serve a brief run as the NWA’s World Champion. His powerhouse gimmick, suffice to say, was ideal for the old school NWA mindset that preferred wrestlers over live-action cartoons.
Despite a predictably inconclusive finish, Koloff demonstrates that he could readily keep up with Flair’s renowned stamina for more than a half-hour. Make no mistake: Flair and Koloff’s athletic choreography ages far better than sitting through one of Hulk Hogan’s sluggish WWF World Title defenses against Nikolai Volkoff. Wrestling nostalgia buffs, if anything, should consider revisiting the mid-80’s Koloff-Flair feud as some of the best low-key NWA World Title clashes of that era.
BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 7 Stars
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