Tracking the Territories 1984- Volume Three

by Liam Byrne

  With time running out on the show, Hart is out once more with Mr. Ito and the Animal as he talks about his dislike for old people, in particular Tojo Yamamoto. Hart lists a number of different sporting accolades he has achieved including basketball, baseball and boxing awards. His most important award is his black belt in karate, which he will use to embarrass Yamamoto at the Coliseum. Hart chops Ito and the Animal to fire up his team before they head to the ring for a match I don’t have.

  To finish the show, Ron Mikolajczyk and Lawler are out to query Hart’s sporting records as well as promote a football helmet on a pole match between Mikolajcyzk and Jim Neidhart, with the promotion clearly getting their money’s worth out of the pole they’ve invested it. There is nothing particularly exciting about either man’s promo – standard face fare.

  It is a hard show to judge due to the cuts, but the storyline development between Lawler, Rude, Bundy and Rich has at least been fun. The Bundy and Rich match involved a little bit too much outside interference throughout for my liking, but did the job.

  Championship Wrestling From Florida 28.7.84

  The introduction to the show is now adorned with a Dusty Rhodes entrance from his match against Ric Flair from the ‘Lords of the Ring’ contest. As we join Gordon Solie, he explains we will get to see the finish to the match later on in the evening, whilst Barbara Clary’s Take Five will see her talk to Kevin Sullivan, who has something to say to Rhodes in an unsurprising turn of events. Solie and Buddy Colt announce that Ric Flair will be in the Florida region the following week and it is Colt who gets to announce the big main event for tonight’s show: One Man Gang and Blackjack Mulligan versus Ron Bass and Black Bart. Solie also announces another big match as Mike Rotunda goes up against Dory Funk Jr., who has been conspicuous by his absence in the Mid-Atlantic I have access to. Chief Lightfoot is suddenly with the commentary team as he asks to thank the French and Haitian fans before talking about how much he is looking forward to watching Rotunda versus Funk Jr.

  It is Billy Jack up first as he takes on Mike Allen, with both men sharing a handshake before the match begins. Allen initially slaps on a side headlock, but two shoulderblocks don’t budge Jack who takes Allen down with a bodyslam. A rear chinlock is held on for longer than might be expected, seemingly to showcase Jack’s bulging arm muscles, before Allen reaches the ropes to break the hold. However, a snapmare leads Allen straight back into the hold. A bell clap makes a break fairly unclean for a heel, with Jack following up with a clothesline, press slam and a second rope fistdrop. Jack slings Allen around with the full nelson to get the easy victory. The way Jack slings Allen down to the mat post-match somewhat undermines the respect element of the match we saw earlier on. Nothing special, especially as multiple rear chinlocks in a squash feels lazy.

  Jack joins Solie for the local promotional interviews as he talks about a chance he will have against Ric Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight Title, a match that he has talked through with Dusty Rhodes and goes into believing the he can win with the full nelson. The cut of this episode is weird as it means we then go back to ringside where Solie is talking to…Jack. This time, he is talking about getting back the Florida Heavyweight Title by defeating Billy Graham. Jack shows himself to be a bit of a one trick interview pony as he speaks about his relationship with Rhodes, though this time he also expresses his excitement about meeting Dory Funk Jr. now that he is down in Florida.

  The Saint is due to take on Mike Fever, but Oliver Humperdink is clearly unimpressed by the standard of competition. Like a man playing peekaboo, Chief Joe Lightfoot is suddenly back on commentary and Humperdink challenges him to a match on the Saint’s behalf. Lightfoot is due to wrestle in another match that evening but accepts the challenge, taking off his headdress and heading straight into the ring.

  The Saint wins an opening exchange of punches, but a Lightfoot chop to the chest has the crowd excited. A snapmare and a knee to the head seem to have Lightfoot in control, but the Saint lands a snapmare and a fistdrop of his own. Lightfoot’s strikes once again have the Saint rocking, as does a dropkick, but Lightfoot can only get a two count. The match is back and forth as the Saint lands a suplex for two of his own, before Lightfoot hits a kneedrop and a snapmare in an effort to remove the mask. The Saint telegraphs a back body drop, lands a big neckbreaker and then a second one for good measure to pick up the three count. That isn’t enough for the Saint as he ties Lightfoot into the ropes, as well as dropping Fever (who attempts to stop the Saint) with a neckbreaker and a kneedrop off of the second rope. A fun, if brief, brawl that earns the Saint a big victory.

  After some commercials, Solie is joined by Funk Jr. who runs down some of the different wrestlers that Ric Flair will be facing whilst in Florida, including Dusty Rhodes and Barry Windham. However, Funk Jr’s focus is on his belief that Rhodes has been ducking a challenge from Funk Jr. over the course of the last year, something that surprises Solie. Billy Jack is back to introduce himself to Funk Jr., only to get a slap around the face as he proclaims Rhodes to be the best wrestler to come out of West Texas. Solie and Colt are in shock as Funk Jr. and Jack have both left the commentary booth, with neither announcer able to understand the sudden flare up that just happened.

  Before the halfway mark of the show, the big main event is underway as Blackjack Mulligan and the One Man Gang head to the ring to meet Black Bart and Ron Bass, though for some reason Angelo Mosca’s name finds its way onto the chyron. It is Gang and Bart who begin the contest for their respective teams, though Bart is quickly back into his own corner after taking a huge blow to the top of his head from Gang. Bass has more words of wisdom following a Gang shoulderblock, with Bart having more success as soon as he rakes the eyes, yet it takes a missed charge into the corner for the tide to turn completely. All four men end up in the ring for no real reason as Mulligan attacks Bart before sending him to ringside and over the wooden wall separating the fans from the wrestlers. The referee throws the match out and that is it – a no contest. A real anti-climax for a match that had the potential to be fun on paper.

  Dusty Rhodes joins Solie to talk about the actions of Funk Jr. towards Billy Jack earlier, before turning his attention to the Lords of the Ring match and his upcoming shot at Flair’s NWA World Heavyweight Championship. The end of the match in the Orange Bowl Stadium is shown as Flair slaps on the figure four leglock, only for Rhodes to roll into the ropes to force the break. A Flair crossbody almost grabs the victory for Flair, but it is a small package by Rhodes that ends the contest as Flair seeks to re-apply the figure four leglock.

  Dory Funk Jr. is now in the ring, using a whip with some ferocity as Mike Rotunda waits on the outside for the show of aggression to finish. Colt talks about this having the potential to be a great match based on his first-hand knowledge of meeting Funk Jr. in the ring. Funk Jr. tries to keep Rotunda down on the mat, but is unable to hold him down. Several European style uppercuts do allow Funk Jr. to slap on an armbar, with an armdrag to help re-apply it. Rotunda clearly has the speed advantage and grabs a quick two count with a crossbody after avoiding a Funk Jr. clothesline, yet his side headlock just allows Funk Jr. to put the armbar back on. Rotunda manages to put on the airplane spin, his usual finishing move, but Funk Jr. puts a foot on the bottom rope to break the pin.

  Just as it looks like Rotunda has the former world champion completely reeling, Funk Jr. jumps up onto the top rope and drags Rotunda to ringside in a very neat manoeuvre. The referee decides that Rotunda is in not state to continue having landed on the concrete, but Funk Jr. just pushes him out of the way and applies the stepover toehold. Billy Jack comes down and puts on a full nelson in retaliation, only to then get hit with a chair by the Saint. Saint pulls Funk Jr. up and away from the carnage, perhaps hinting at Funk Jr. being involved with Oliver Humperdink. A short match but one that was some fun grappling before some interesting extra-curricular shenanigans.

  After various local promotional interviews that promote Billy Graham versus Barry Windham in a c
age, Ron Bass and Angelo Mosca taking on One Man Gang and Blackjack Mulligan, as well as Dory Funk Jr. stumbling his way through a promo concerning Mike Graham, we get Kevin Sullivan’s music, but it isn’t just Sullivan who is heading to the ring. A man under a hood is revealed to be Mike Davis, who had gone missing around a month ago according to Colt. His hair and movements around the ring are mimicking Dusty Rhodes, especially as he hits Denny Brown with several big elbows to the head and an elbowdrop for a victory in very short order. Not quite how I expected the disappearance of Davis to be resolved, but I’m intrigued as to where it is heading.

  The shortness of the match has Solie scrabbling around for what standby match is up next as ‘Kung Fu Fighting’ hits the PA system signalling the arrival of Superstar Billy Graham. Shotgun Willie has the unenviable task of taking on Graham, who instantly uses a side headlock and a couple of punches to the head to put Willie on the back foot. A double sledge to the chest off of an Irish whip is enough to allow Graham to lock on the full nelson and we have our second very quick match. Nothing to write home about.

  We are at least in a position to get some more answers about the Sullivan//Davis situation as they join Barbara Clary for Take Five. A typical Sullivan promo includes Abudadein apparently saying that Sullivan and Rhodes would one day walk together, with Davis apparently the physical embodiment of that prophesy. Davis does an admirable enough impression of Rhodes’ distinctive voice, whilst also referring to Rhodes as Virgil Runnels as he talks about how there is only one Dusty Rhodes in a surprising peek behind the curtains during this time period. Odd, but very engaging.

  Mike Graham and Scott McGhee versus The Guerreros is the final match of the show after a brief segment that advertises a charity softball game that had originally involved some CWF wrestlers, though the shill makes it very clear that they have since been removed from the match. It is McGhee and Chavo who start, but Chavo quickly tags out to Hector after some brief grappling exchanges. McGhee lands a back body drop and tags out himself to Graham, who tries to work the leg of Hector to slow him down on offense. Hector manages to tag his way out of a leglock, only to initially have little success as Graham again goes after the legs as well. However, Chavo lands a few short forearms and a shoulderblock, only for a leglock attempt by Graham see the Guerreros eventually sent crashing into each other as Graham uses a slingshot after a back body drop avoided the initial attack.

  McGhee is also in the ring now, with the faces using a rowing boat spot to work the legs of both men. As he leaves the ring, Graham does finally put on the leglock, but it is broken up behind the referee’s back. A suplex and back body drop by Hector have Graham in trouble, but the time is running out. The match continues as the time runs out and the credits roll, with double back drops putting McGhee and Graham back in control.

  I’ve begun to rely on Florida for good television, which is strange considering I was completely underwhelmed by what they offered nearer the start of the year. Unfortunately, this is a rare week where it just wasn’t very good. Outside of Funk Jr. and Rotunda, squashes that did very little and a ‘main event’ that lasted two minutes with a weak finish just added up to a bad show considering how good Florida can be from week to week.

  MACW World Wide Wrestling 28.7.84

  We are straight into the ring this week as always, though I am not exactly on the edge of my seat as I see Brian Adias lock up with Paul Kelly. David Crockett Jr. does try his best to sell this as potentially exciting match and Adias gets a quick two count with a crossbody after a leapfrog as I see more action in this squash than any of his previous ones. However, things slow down quickly with Adias using an armbar to keep Kelly under control. The action continues to come in bursts as Adias uses another leapfrog to get into position for a monkey flip, only to return to the armbar; the same sequence practically follows after a roll-up attempt earns him a two. Some token offense from Kelly is pretty much shrugged off as Adias uses an Irish whip and the airplane spin to pick up the three count. Better than previous Adias showings, even if that isn’t saying much.

  Crockett is with Wahoo McDaniel whilst brandishing the recently vacated NWA United States Heavyweight Championship. For the first time, we get footage of the incident that led to the title being held up as we are shown the ending of the match between McDaniel and Ricky Steamboat for the belt. A collision with Ricky Steamboat sees the ref also take a bump, which allows Tully Blanchard to enter the ring with a chair and swing for the Chief. McDaniel ducks and the steel collides with Steamboat, knocking him out cold and eventually (though not shown) allowing McDaniel to get the three count.

  McDaniel is unhappy about Crockett’s suggestion that what happened warranted the United States Championship being vacated, explaining that Steamboat would have done the same. More damning is the footage that follows as we again see Blanchard and McDaniel teaming together to take out Ric Flair after McDaniel is disqualified in a title match. McDaniel claims prejudice is the reason why they continue to focus actions, whilst still proclaiming himself the number one contender.

  Speaking of titles, the NWA World Tag Team Champions are up next as Don Kernodle and Ivan Koloff take on Mark Fleming and Gary Quartanelli. It is Fleming and Kernodle who are up first as the champion rides Fleming’s back on the mat with ease. A drop toehold sees the match return to the canvas as Kernodle locks in a facelock before tagging to Koloff who applies his own facelock. Two back elbows and a snapmare lead to Koloff missing an elbowdrop, but Quartanelli charges straight into a half nelson. To Koloff’s surprise, he ends up lifted and dropped in a Samoan-esque drop, with Quartanelli then landing a bodyslam.

  Quartanelli’s momentum is cut off quickly as he gets a kick in the face whilst reaching to pick Koloff up, with a Kernodle dropkick moments later seemingly halting his chance. However, he does power out of a front facelock by Koloff and turns it into another slam for a two count, but Koloff holds on to the hold and continues to put on the pressure. After fighting out of an abdominal stretch by Kernodle, a lively Quartanelli hits a powerslam on Koloff and finally tags out to Fleming. He has no such luck as a missed charge in the corner sees him eventually set up for the top rope clothesline/back suplex combination. An interesting squash, if only for the way a green Quartanelli was looked after in it.

  After local promos that see Paul Jones take a pop at the announcer for his poor attempts at growing a moustache and Nikita Koloff show off his fledgling grasp of English, we get another promo for the T.C.B. tour of Dusty Rhodes as he wears a black glove in a reference to the Human Rights Salute by Tommie Smith and John Carlos in the 1968 Olympic Games.

  Ric Flair makes a rare appearance in the ring in my time watching Mid-Atlantic as he meets Gary Royal. Flair takes Royal down to the ground and rides out the escape attempts in a start that somewhat mirrors the previous contest. A hiptoss and a Russian legsweep earn Flair a one count before he uses a side headlock takedown in an attempt to ground Royal. Royal fights his way out, but there is some extra venom on a hiptoss by Flair and a very stiff chop. The fans pop for some strutting, whilst Flair puts the match to bed with a butterfly suplex and a figure four leglock. A simple showcase for the champion.

  The cut of the episode means we jump around a bit at this point, with Paul Jones and the Assassin initially talking about the unmasking of Assassin #2, with a challenge for a Taped Fist match offering the Assassin a chance to get revenge in his trademark contest. We then cut to the Koloffs and Kernodle as they do their usual promo in which they offer anyone to come and try to take the belts, though they also announce themselves as the NWA Six Man Tag Team Champions which starts the latest run of that set of belts having been written out at the turn of the decade.

  Jimmy Valiant is against Kurt Von Hess in the next match and for once doesn’t jump his opponent before the bell rings. He does, however, give Hess a pat on the behind as the jobber tries to use the ropes to halt Valiant’s advances. Hess charges straight into two bodyslams and an armdrag takedown, whilst Tully Blanchard joins Crock
ett on commentary. The Television Champion waxes lyrically and sarcastically about Valiant’s ability to do a hiptoss, though he does then return to another bodyslam/armdrag takedown combination straight after. In a rare moment during a Valiant squash, Hess has him back on his heels after a rake to the face, but the Boogie Woogie Man fires up, hits a back elbow off of the ropes and an elbowdrop for the win. This was somewhat uncharacteristic of a Valiant match on syndicated television, and not really the better for it. It reminds me of when Georgia tried to push the Road Warriors as guys who could wrestle as well as beat the crap out of people.

  The Renegade, or Jay Youngblood to his friends, is up next against Jeff Sword as his initial offense targets his opponent’s arm, before a shoulderblock sees the match head to the mat with a Renegade side headlock takedown. Another shoulderblock and a big chop across the chest sees the match pretty much reset and the crowd is silent – not the usual reaction for anything involving the Youngbloods. Even a dropkick to Sword’s face doesn’t kickstart the audience, nor would a side headlock held on for some moments. The Renegade lands a snapmare and a legdrop for a two count, but Sword gains some momentum with a shot to the stomach and a snapmare of his own.

  Renegade fires out of the corner with a clothesline that threatens to excite the fans, only to go back to a grounded side headlock. A whip into the corner sees Renegade then dodge a charging Sword, who hits the post, leading to the war dance, several chops and an enziguri style kick for what seems like the victory, but Sword rolls his shoulder. Instead, a sleeperhold puts Sword away. This was all wrong in terms of pacing, offense and the finish; the Youngbloods just don’t work as well when they are separated.