TCW II: It Takes Two, Night Two Recap

Pre-Show: We start off with footage from before the show. Randy Rose and Dennis Condrey confronted Stan Lane in the parking lot. Angry words were exchanged and tempers flared until Lane started throwing punches. Before it could escalate, Bruiser Brody and Bobby Eaton came running along, breaking it up and sending the Original Midnights packing before any real damage was done.

TCW US Tag Team Championship Tournament - Round One

Johnny Valentine and Scott Taylor vs. The Bolsheviks
Johnny Valentine defeated Nikolai Volkoff via pinfall (ATOMIC SKULLCRUSHER) at 16:48. ****1/2

The Bolsheviks executed their tag team plan to perfection, isolating Johnny Valentine from his match the entire match, never letting Scott Taylor tag in. Johnny kicked out of seven separate pin attempts, though, before finally catching an opening at the end of the match and hitting his finisher twice on Volkoff to steal the win in a remarkable show of resilience.

Chaz and Tugboat Taylor vs. The Original Midnight Express
Dennis Condrey defeated Chaz Taylor via pinfall (FACE FIRST LEG SWEEP) at 3:06. 1/2*

It was a simple, efficient win for the Midnight Express, who really channeled their anger from the parking lot confrontation into the match.

Sam Houston and Wild Bill White vs. King Kong Bundy and Ivan Koloff
Ivan Koloff defeated Sam Houston via pinfall (leg drop) at 22:35. ***1/2

In a surprisingly competitive match, the underdogs took Koloff and Bundy to the limit. At one point, Sam Houston hit his BULLDOG finisher off the top rope onto Bundy, but he couldn't keep the big man down. Eventually, Koloff was able to overpower Houston and keep him down to advance.

Terry Gordy and Tully Blanchard vs. The Machines
Greg Valentine defeated Tully Blanchard via submission (FIGURE FOUR LEGLOCK) at 3:33. 3/4*

Tully started the match for his team, but Valentine took advantage, immediately targeting the arm and working it over. With Tully unable to defend himself after Valentine hit an arm breaker, Valentine locked him in the FIGURE FOUR LEGLOCK in the middle of the ring. Tully fought it off, but he was unable to escape and had to tap.

Post-Match: Tully Blanchard clutched his arm after the match, and he was swiftly attended to by the trainers. After tending to him briefly in the ring, they carefully got him out of the ring and headed to the back for evaluation.

TCW World Tag Team Championship Tournament - Quarterfinals

The Road Warriors vs. Lenny Lane and Ron Hutchison
Animal defeated Lenny Lane via pinfall (POWER SLAM) at 2:12. 1/2*

The Road Warriors dominated the match, making quick work of their overmatched opponents.

Diamond Dallas Page and "Hacksaw Jim Duggan" vs. The Midnight Express
Diamond Dallas Page defeated Stan Lane via pinfall (DIAMOND CUTTER) at 5:54. *1/4

What looked like it would be a lengthy, well-matched contest changed on a dime like so many DDP matches: with one well-executed DIAMOND CUTTER. Eaton tried to break up the pin, but Duggan cut him off with a big shoulder tackle as Page got the 1-2-3.

Vanity vs. The Valiant Brothers
Jimmy Valiant defeated Exotic Adrian Street via countout (DOUBLE CLOTHESLINE) at 5:35. *1/2

The Valiant Brothers once again displayed great tag team synergy, showing themselves to be experts in the art form. They overwhelmed the new team of Vanity with their experience, leaving Street laying out of the ring for the countout after a DOUBLE CLOTHESLINE.

"Dr. Death" Steve Williams and "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase vs. The Rock and Roll Express
Steve Williams defeated Robert Gibson via pinfall (OKLAHOMA STAMPEDE) at 15:58. ***1/4

The Rock and Roll Express started off strong, using quick tags to get the better of Williams and then isolating DiBiase for a while in the middle of the match. King Kong Bundy tried to come down to help get DiBiase cleared, but the World Heavyweight Champion ran down to ringside and chased the big man off. DiBiase was eventually able to get a hot tag out to a rested Dr. Death, though, who cleaned house to clear the ring before dropping Gibson after a Doctor Bomb and two consecutive OKLAHOMA STAMPEDES.

TCW US Tag Team Championship Tournament - Round Two

Ivan Koloff and King Kong Bundy vs. The Midnight Express
Stan Lane defeated Ivan Koloff via pinfall (DARK SIDE) at 20:21. ****1/4

In a great, back and forth match, both sides got in plenty of offense. The Midnights took to the sky to attack Bundy with great success, but they couldn't match the power advantage of their opponents. Bundy got a hot tag to Koloff near the match's end, but he was immediately met with a massive dropkick from Eaton and then took the DARK SIDE from the Midnights for the loss.

Backstage: A backstage reporter enters the trainer's room, where Tully Blanchard was getting tended to. It was confirmed that his arm has been broken, and they expect his recovery time to potentially keep him out of action until June.

The Machines vs. Lenny Lane and Ron Hutchison
Greg Valentine defeated Ron Hutchison via submission (FIGURE FOUR LEGLOCK) at 2:22. 1/2*

The Machines dominated another quick match, putting Hutchison down with a shoulder breaker from Valentine and then locking in the FIGURE FOUR LEGLOCK to win via submission.

Johnny Valentine and Scott Taylor vs. The Rock and Roll Express
Ricky Morton defeated Scott Taylor via pinfall (huracanrana) at 1:12. 1/2*

The Express was fired up after their earlier loss. Morton used that babyface fire to grab a quick win after a flurry of punches, a clothesline, and a huracanarana.

Original Midnight Express vs. Vanity
Gorgeous George defeated Dennis Condrey via pinfall (ROLLING HIPLOCKS) at 13:52. **3/4

Vanity worked a much better tag execution against the Midnight Express than in their first match, which was necessary for them to match up against the tag vets. The Midnights worked over Gorgeous George, who tried to carry the action, but he was forced to tag in to Street, even with the punishment he'd taken in the previous match. He was rested enough to pull out the win for his team, though, and Vanity scored the win to advance.