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World Wrestling Legends 6:05 – The Reunion
March 5, 2006

by Scrooge McSuck

- Isn't that brand and event title a mouthful? Taped on March 5th, 2006 and featured on Pay-Per-View beginning on April 29th, from the Hard Rock Café in Orlando, FL. 6:05 The Reunion is an unusual show that followed in the footsteps of Heroes of Wrestling, putting on an event with talent that were long past their prime, but was also meant as a tribute to the 6:05 timeslot on Saturday Night, hence the name. ON TOP OF THAT, you can tell who has their fingerprints on the production, as it comes off like a reincarnation of the short-lived XWF (a promotion that was fronted by Jimmy Hart, Brian Knobs, and Greg Valentine in 2001 that attempted and failed to be a successor to WCW. See also: World Wrestling All-Stars). I've only watched the show once or twice, and recapped it when it originally appeared on PPV, and don't bother checking the archives or the message board, it's a terrible review, so we'll give it another try, 14-years later. In a dark match, Johnny B. Badd and the unknown Russ Rollins defeated the Blue Meanie and Norman Smiley. I feel ripped off.

- The TNT Girls, formerly known as the Nitro Girls, make a token appearance. I'm not familiar with the dancers, but the ones represented here are identified as Chae, Spice, Chiquita and Fyre. I get that the 6:05 timeslot was identified as belonging to Jim Crockett Promotions and later World Championship Wrestling, but the Nitro/TNT Girls don't meet the criteria based on the names alone, as the Saturday Night show was on TBS, and definitely never featured the Nitro Girls.

- Lance Russell, Jim Cornette, and Ron Niemi are calling the action, unless otherwise noted. David Penzer is doing ring introductions, and the Hebner family is working referee duty.

"Hacksaw" Jim Duggan vs. Nikolai Volkoff (w/ The Iron Sheik):

Cornette wonders why Volkoff is still carrying the flag of the USSR. "I thought communism was dead." Volkoff is wearing his US/Russian flag jacket, but he's playing heel here. He sings the Soviet anthem for old time's sake. There's an obvious edit of Volkoff stalling outside the ring. Lockup and Volkoff rakes the eyes. He throws some soft blows to the midsection and rams Duggan into the turnbuckle. Duggan returns fire and unloads with a series of mounted rights. Whip across the ring and Duggan hits the charging clothesline for three at 1:28. If they cut the match down to make it somewhat watchable, then kudos to whoever is in the editing department. No rating, but you can tell Volkoff had nothing left to offer, while Duggan could somewhat get by with his brawling and goofiness. In a huge headscratcher, Jim Duggan would have a run in the WWE throughout the rest of the decade, mostly as prelim fodder.

- Corey Maclin is standing by for words with the Dog-faced Gremlin, Rick Steiner.

Rick Steiner vs. Mr. Jones:

Penzer introduces "Mr. Jones" as Virgil, but for trademark reasons, the name can't be listed on the screen without risking being sued by WWE. Mr. Jones, a.k.a. Virgil, a.k.a. Vincent, a.k.a. Curly Bill, does the goofiest somersault into the ring, and I use the term somersault extremely loosely. Considering the career revival Scott Steiner had after his run in WWE, I'm surprised Rick Steiner mostly stayed retired, only making an occasional appearance. Jones/Virgil attacks from behind and pounds Steiner to the canvas. Both men work with shirts on. Whip to the ropes, Rick ducks a clothesline and hits the former Virgil with a pair of Steiner-Lines. Steiner with a sloppy T-bone suplex for two. Steiner no-sells a thumb to the eyes and hits a Death Valley Driver for three at 1:24. There didn't appear to be any edits here. The only spot that stood out was Jones doing an awful job bumping on that suplex.

- Corey Maclin interviews Nasty Boy Knobs. I wonder why he wasn't in action, it's not like he stayed out of the wrestling ring moving forward. He gets a spray-on tattoo of Jimmy Hart for pointless comedy. "Let's get crazy!" Umm, Knobs, shouldn't you say LET'S GET NASTY?

- Random montage of "Memphis Wrestling", because 6:05 timeslot.

Koko B. Ware vs. Disco Inferno:

Is there anyone in professional wrestling to be disliked as much as Disco Inferno by pretty much EVERYONE? I don't mean by fans, I mean other wrestlers, too. Koko sings his WWF entrance music, despite a completely different theme used to play him to the ring (I think it was also featured in the Legends of Wrestling video games, and no doubt a Jimmy Hart creation). He also works in a shirt and his baggy High Energy pants. Disco attacks from behind and puts the boots to Koko in the corner. Lots of jokes about Koko's green spray-on hair. Whip is reversed and Koko with a hip toss, followed by a slam. He takes Disco over with a snap mare and stomps him low. Whip to the corner and Disco avoids a charge. He chokes Koko across the top rope and dances. He takes a mid-match break to comb his hair and goes back to clubbering. Disco with a swinging neck breaker for two. Koko fights out of a chin-lock but is taken down with a Russian leg sweep. Disco sets up for the Village People's Elbow, but Koko rolls away. He makes his comeback with right hands and an atomic drop. Whip to the corner and Koko meets a boot charging in. He blocks Disco's knock-off Stunner and hits a running bulldog for three at 4:21. Credit to Disco for bumping around for Koko. It wasn't much, but it had some semblance of a competitive professional wrestling match.

- Jimmy Hart is standing by with Greg "The Hammer" Valentine and the 7"0" "D.N.A." Who is this goof, and who cares, isn't this a one-off show? I know the XWF had a laundry list of oversized geeks, but this guy wasn't part of that parade.

"Superfly" Jimmy Snuka vs. Greg "The Hammer" Valentine (w/ Jimmy Hart):

I swear, one day Valentine aged like 10 years, and remained that way ever since. I love how we got that vignette, but D.N.A. is nowhere to be seen. I don't want to know the combined ages of these two in 2006, but it's likely lower than Goldberg and Undertaker in 2019 (OK, maybe not, but they're more mobile). Valentine is the first man since the opening match to work without his shirt. Lockup into the corner and Valentine gives a clean break. Valentine eventually takes the cheap shot, landing a series of forearms. Snuka fires off some right hands and chops, and damn, Valentine takes a flat back bump for one of them. Whip is reversed and Snuka with a double chop, sending Valentine to the outside for some words of wisdom from the Mouth of the South. Back inside, Snuka unloads with more chops. Whip to the ropes and Valentine counters a back body-drop with an elbow to the back of the head. Valentine climbs the ropes and connects with a big chop. Valentine drives a pair of elbows to the top of the head and hooks a chin-lock. Snap mare and Valentine misses the wind-up elbow drop. Valentine recovers first, kicking at the left knee of Snuka. He goes for the Figure-Four but Snuka kicks him into the turnbuckle. Valentine takes the face-first bump for old time's sake. Snuka with a headbutt from the middle rope. Hart hops on the apron for a distraction, but it doesn't work. Snuka with the DOUBLE NOGGIN KNOCKER! He pulls Hart into the ring and climbs the ropes. Doug Dillinger tries to talk him down as DNA makes his way to the ring, complete with entrance music. Earl Hebner calls for the bell at 7:21, and I guess it's a No Contest. Wow, you're telling me two guys in the neighborhood of 60-years old can't fight to a conclusive finish?! It wasn't much, but another semi-decent match, all things considered.

- Highlights of what I assume is footage from Carlos Colon's promotion, World Wrestling Council, based on the few clips that prominently feature Carlos Colon. Are they using a knock-off of Carlito's WWE theme music for this?

Eddie Colon (w/ Carlos Colon) vs. Vampiro:

Eddie Colon is better known by WWE fans as Primo, who was only a 6-year pro at this point. Much like Heroes of Wrestling did, we've got to squeeze a little bit of young blood onto the show but matching him with Vampiro isn't the most ideal scenario in my eyes if you're trying to have a good match. Vampiro calls for a test-of-strength and quickly lands a boot to the midsection. He picks the leg and lands a blatant low blow in front of Brian Hebner. Vampiro with a kick to the chest and a Chokeslam. Whip to the ropes, Eddie slides between the legs and takes Vampiro over with a flying head-scissors. Whip and Colon with a spinning head-scissors, sending Vampiro into the corner. Vampiro counters another whip with a heel kick. Colon counters a charge, sending Vampiro to the outside, and follows with a tope suicida. Colon goes back for more and gets dropped across the guardrail. Carlos Colon tries to intervene and gets knocked. I'm surprised he didn't blade from that. Vampiro grabs a boot from ringside and smacks Carlos in the face with it. Back inside, Vampiro with a running boot in the corner. Colon fires back with chops but runs into another boot. More chops from Colon and a bicycle kick knocks him silly. Colon avoids a clothesline and connects with a dropkick. Colon with a DDT for a near-fall. Whip and Colon with a back body-drop. He takes Vampiro out of the corner with a monkey flip, but Vampiro mostly lands on his feet. He misses a spinning heel kick and Colon flies off the top with a sunset flip for two. Back slide for two. Inside cradle for two. Vampiro takes Colon down with a drop toe hold and connects with a basement dropkick. Vampiro with a sit-out Powerbomb. Carlos trips him up near the ropes, buying Eddie time to recover. Eddie has one more hope spot, but a lariat finishes him at 9:44. Post-match, Carlos and Eddie Colon take turns hitting Vampiro with headbutts.

- "Original footage from Memphis Championship Wrestling, 1979" shows the arrival of the Ugandan Hunter, Kamala, who would dine on the flesh of his fallen advisories. I'm already annoyed, because Kamala (then known as Kimala) was a character created in 1982, and I believe the vignettes were filmed on property owned by either Jerry Jarrett or Jerry Lawler.

Jake "The Snake" Roberts vs. Kamala (w/ Friday):

I'm assuming "Kim-Chee" is a WWF trademark. The "Friday" handler wasn't much different, wearing a mask to conceal his identity, so it's not too big of a deal to me. Roberts isn't looking the best, but he was in one of his cleaned-up phases before reality came crashing down again. Not to discredit Cornette's hype, but Roberts looks far from being in shape, he's just not disgustingly wasted. He's almost as big, if not bigger than Kamala. Roberts grabs the arm but Kamala bops him with an overhand chop. Is someone recording the match with a flip phone?! HOLY DATED TECHNOLOGY, BATMAN. Roberts pounds away with rights, even bouncing off the ropes for one. Kamala takes over with more chops. He's spooked by the ominous bag but regains his composure to continue with what brought him to the dance. He grabs a long nerve hold. You know, this match wouldn't feel out of place in any era, because it's Kamala, and he never did much in the ring to begin with. Kamala hits Roberts with a splash but gets off him before the count can be made. Friday pulls the bag into the center of the ring for Kamala to splash, but Roberts pulls it to safety. Friday eats a DDT and gets the snake treatment while Kamala bails… and we've got another f*ck finish on this show at the 7:30 mark. This was dreadfully dull, even if it wasn't too long. Kamala would retire from the ring after 2010 with failing health that forced the amputation of both legs below the knee, while Roberts' personal problems would carry on for another decade or so until cleaning himself up, hopefully for good, with help from long-time friend, Dallas Page.

-Sal Corrente (the money mark behind the show) introduces us to the Living Legend, Bruno Sammartino. He has a few words, Dory Funk Jr. comes out and they share a hug, then Mike Graham comes out and babbles nonsense because he's a no-talent f*ck who only got by because of his daddy and having the rights to a video tape library that was highly coveted. This love-fest is interrupted by the kind of-Horsemen, J.J. Dillon, Tully Blanchard, and... DAVID Flair? BOO! We have ourselves a tag team match, playa...

Dory Funk Jr. & Mike Graham (w/ Bruno Sammartino) vs. Tully Blanchard & David Flair (w/ J.J. Dillon):

Tag team matches are a good way to mask the shortcomings of certain talent, so hopefully it's Dory and Blanchard doing all the work, even at their advanced ages (OK, Tully isn't quite as old as Dory or Bruno, but he aged horribly and then just stayed that way forever). Three of the four men work without shirts, Dory the only holdout. I would've died of laughter if it was David Flair who kept a shirt on. Dory and Blanchard start. YAY! Blanchard swings and misses at Graham. BOO! Lockup into the corner and Blanchard escapes the wrong side of town. Blanchard grabs a side headlock but Dory counters with a rolling schoolboy for two. Blanchard backs Dory into the Horsemen corner but Funk fights free. Graham comes in and gets an elbow across the back of the head. Tully with a snap mare but he misses an elbow drop. Whip and Graham with a shoulder tackle followed by a side headlock takeover. Graham with a side headlock and shoulder tackle on Flair. Snap mare and knee across the chest for two. Funk is back in, working a headlock. Flair forces a break in the corner and puts the boots to Dory. Blanchard with a snap mare into a chin-lock. Funk fights out of the corner with uppercuts and tags in Graham. He unloads with rights and takes Blanchard over with a back body-drop. Flair in to take a slam. Graham is calling spots like crazy. He sweeps the legs and applies the Figure-Four. Dillon distracts the referee, allowing Blanchard to whack Graham with Dillon's shoe. Tully covers but it only gets two. Tully with a suplex for two. Blanchard cuts off a comeback and hits a slingshot suplex, but Graham shifted his weight, causing them to bop heads on the landing. Funk with the hot tag, running wild on both men. Whip and Funk with a charging elbow on Flair. Spinning toe hold is applied but Blanchard saves. Graham puts the boots to Blanchard as the referee loses all control. Synchronized atomic drops send Flair and Blanchard into each other. Dillon gets knocked off the apron and Bruno greets him at ringside with an uppercut. Back to the action, Flair gets whacked with the shoe, and Funk rolls him up for three at 9:46. All jokes at Graham's expense aside, this was another fun match. Nothing fancy, just competently worked. Even David Flair's involvement didn't drag things down.

Diamond Dallas Page vs. Kanyon:

Here's some good later-day WCW vibes. They refer to Kanyon as one of the most controversial stars in wrestling, no doubt tied in with him coming out as homosexual in the months after his WWE departure (a statement he went back and forth on until taking his own life in 2010). Kanyon attacks DDP in the crowd while he's making his entrance. DDP reverses a whip, sending Kanyon into a wall before tossing him over to a lower level of the audience. Kanyon takes another bump into the wall and has a trash can slammed on top of him. DDP takes a swig of a fans beverage and spits it in Kanyon's face. DDP tosses him over the guardrail and into the steps. Kanyon cuts DDP off while entering the ring. Crisscross and DDP counters a hip toss with a short clothesline. Kanyon blocks a boot but is caught with a discus lariat for two. Kanyon with a low blow in the corner, followed by a modified Snake Eyes. Kanyon pulls a table from under the ring and sets it up on the outside. DDP blocks a suplex but is hung up across the top rope. Kanyon chokes with his shirt and comes off the middle rope with a knee across the chest. Kanyon with a snap mare and flying leg drop for two. Whip to the ropes and Kanyon hooks a sleeper. DDP fights free with elbows and takes Kanyon down with a sleeper drop. DDP with a flurry of rights and lefts and another discus lariat. He introduces Kanyon to the top turnbuckle and nails him off the ropes with a boot for two. Kanyon counters a whip with a Russian leg sweep for two. Kanyon powders out to grab a chair. DDP avoids it, causing Kanyon to hit the rope and smack himself in the face, but it only gets a two-count. Kanyon with another low blow in clear view of the referee. Kanyon pulls out some brass knuckles and plays possum. Kanyon lands a right hand, but DDP gets the shoulder up at two. DDP back-drops Kanyon onto the ramp and hip tosses him onto the table that chooses not to break. Back inside, ANOTHER low blow from Kanyon, followed by a DDT for two. DDP counters a slam and the Diamond Cutter finishes at 11:30. Post-match, DDP and Kanyon make up, and Kanyon comes out, again. This felt very WCW, which works in the context of the show, but did nothing for me.

The Armstrong Family (Bullet Bob, Scott, and Brad Armstrong) (w/ Bobby Heenan) vs. The Midnight Express (Loverboy Dennis Condrey, Beautiful Bobby Eaton, and Sweet Stan Lane) (w/ Jim Cornette):

I'm not going to lie, in 2006, I really was looking forward to this one. Cornette cuts a pre-match promo, calling the Armstrong clan a thorn in his side that are about to get plucked. Heenan feels out of place here, but screw it, it's a Legends of Wrestling show. Bob Armstrong has his "Bullet" mask on, unfortunately Cornette isn't working in his red and black bodysuit. Brad and Condrey start. Crisscross and Brad catches Condrey off the ropes with a slam, followed by a dropkick and sunset flip for two. Whip to the ropes and Condrey hooks Brad with a clothesline. Eaton with a whip and elbow. Brad fights to his corner and tags Scott. He ducks an elbow and nails Eaton with a dropkick. Lane tries his luck and they jockey for position, with neither man gaining a clear advantage. Scott with a side headlock and shoulder tackle, sending Lane to the outside for a breather. The Bullet tags in for the first time and grabs a headlock on Condrey. Crisscross and he stomps across Condrey's chest before taking shots at Eaton and Lane on the apron. Lane with a cheap shot to Brad to finally get some heat on the Armstrong's. Condrey with an overhead slam for two. Eaton sends Brad out of the ring, allowing Cornette to nail him with the racket. Back inside, Lane takes Brad down with a Russian leg sweep and flicks his sweat at Scott for added jerkiness, creating a distraction that allows more interference from Cornette. Whip and a combination drop toe hold and elbow drop for two. Whip and Brad counters Eaton's back body-drop attempt with a suplex. Bullet Bob in, running wild with chops on all three Midnights. He hooks a sleeper on Eaton but Cornette hops in and smacks him with the racket. The Bullet barely sells it, causing Cornette to freak out. He powders, but it's in front of Heenan, who thumbs Cornette's eyes, tosses the racket to Bullet Bob, and a racket shot finishes Beautiful Bobby at 8:58. Post-match, Cornette flops for the referee and Lane teases giving him CPR. I was hoping for more, based on the level of enjoyment I had with the last tag match, but this was fine considering the limitations and ages of most parties involved.

Buff Bagwell vs. Scott Steiner:

Yeah, we're closing the show with this. Steiner cuts a pre-match promo, inviting all the ladies to join him for the real freak show after the match. Steiner has a random girl with her. Unfortunately, this is before Buff started doing Canadian Destroyers, so my expectations are considerably low. Buff takes exception to being called a redneck and calls Steiner "Northern trash from Michigan." Wow, what an insult. Steiner attacks from behind and pounds away on Buff in the corner. Whip to the ropes, Buff ducks a clothesline and hits Scott with a dropkick. Buff with a pair of atomic drops and a clothesline. You'd think he'd change his tights, but Buff is rocking his n.W.o. "Vicious and Delicious" tights. Scott uses his hoochie-mama as a shield, but that backfires and he's sent into the post. Buff forces a kiss on her, because it's 2006, and it was still socially acceptable. Whip to the corner and Buff meets a boot charging in. Scott with a belly-to-belly suplex and choking across the rope. He tosses Buff out of the ring again and rams him into the guardrail. The girl that Buff sexually assaulted earlier gets revenge via a weak slap. Back inside, Scott with a clothesline and elbow drop. He interrupts the pin to do push-ups and grabs a chin-lock. Scott cuts off a comeback attempt, hitting another clothesline. Buff ducks another and a double clothesline puts both men down. Buff unloads with rights and hits a swinging neck breaker. He hits the worst DDT I've ever seen for two. I have no idea what he was trying to do, honestly. Steiner's valet shoves Buff off the ropes, right into a belly-to-belly suplex, and the Steiner Recliner finishes at 7:18. I'm surprised we didn't get a non-finish here, considering the egos involved. This was acceptable and kept reasonably short.

Final Thoughts: For a Legends of Wrestling show (with a few younger guys peppered in), you couldn't ask for much more from the parties involved and it seemed like great care was put into producing a watchable event. The wrestlers that you'd expect to have a hard time getting through a lengthy match were in-and-out before it could become embarrassing, a few matches were better than I could've imagined, and while I wasn't a WCW guy, having Steiner/Bagwell and DDP/Kanyon meant more to the 6:05 time slot tribute than the Nitro/TNT Girls opening the show. The real MVP's for the night were Dory Funk and Tully Blanchard. The only match I found dreadful to get through was Roberts/Kamala, but to be fair, I would've hated it were it worked in 1986, 1996, or 2006. If Heroes of Wrestling did everything imaginable to embarrass wrestlers for profit, this was the complete opposite, and if you're a fan of the era where the majority of the performers were in their prime, it's a good old timer's day show.

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